mediator

An impartial, mutually acceptable third party whose goal is to help conflicted parties resolve their dispute. Mediators lack the power to coerce or bargain, but they can use facilitative power to influence disputants. (Michael Watkins and Susan Rosegrant, Breakthrough International Negotiations [Jossey-Bass, 2001], 93)

The following items are tagged mediator.

Mediating Tragedy: Managing the Boston Victim’s Compensation Fund

Posted by & filed under Mediation.

In mid-May, about a month after the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, lawyer and mediator Kenneth Feinberg stood in an auditorium at the Boston Public Library to address families who had been directly impacted by the tragedy. Feinberg was in charge of administering One Fund Boston, a fund created to distribute donations to the victims.

Mediating Disputes

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Institute, Harvard Negotiation Institute (5 Day Courses).

October 14-18, 2013
Registration has closed for the Fall 2013 Mediating Disputes course. To be added to our wait list, please email hni@law.harvard.edu.
The Mediating Disputes workshop will provide you with core mediation skills training and hands-on experience as a mediator in a variety of simulations. The course examines the mediation process through the lens of both caucus and non-caucus models of practice, and considers the role of law, as well as interest-based bargaining, in shaping mediated settlements. In addition, the course addresses legal and ethical issues in mediation, and the psychological dimensions of the mediation process. The course faculty are leading practitioners in the world of mediation as well as thought leaders in the field of dispute resolution.

What to Do Before the Deal Breaks Down

Posted by & filed under Dealmaking.

Whenever one side fails to meet its contractual obligations, renegotiation is more likely to succeed if the parties have a strong relationship. Ideally, the aggrieved party will value long-term relations more than potential gains from a claim for breach of contract. For example, a bank will be more willing to renegotiate a loan with a delinquent debtor when the prospect of future business with the debtor is likely. Bondholders of the same debtor, on the other hand, will generally be more resistant to renegotiation, as they tend to lack opportunities for a profitable future business relationship.

Negotiation Design Dimensions: A Checklist

Posted by & filed under Sales Negotiations.

Here the Program on Negotiation offers a checklist of negotiation design categories. Whether your overall negotiation design is decide-announce-defend (DAD) or full-consensus (FC), or a hybrid of both, raising these issues is usually preferable to falling into a set of important decisions by default.

Confronting Evil Conference postponed to Saturday, April 20th

Posted by & filed under Events.

Harvard University is closed today due to an ongoing public safety situation in the area. This afternoon’s first session of the “Confronting Evil” conference is postponed until tomorrow morning, starting at 9:00.

Please check here for further updates later today.

Prospering in a Multiparty Trade Zone

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

With thorough preparation, the help of a trained mediator, and useful reports from subgroups, participants in a multiparty negotiation should be able to find their way to the trading zone. Once they’ve arrived, the next step is to work together to ensure that everyone’s interests are met.

Managing Group Interactions in Multiparty Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Business Negotiations.

When multiple parties gather to discuss issues, someone has to oversee the group’s efforts, or the process will descend into chaos or stalemate.

A negotiation manager should prepare the group’s agenda, establish ground rules, assign research tasks, summarize conclusions, and represent the process to the outside world.