Obama administration

The following items are tagged Obama administration.

Dispute Resolution in China: Apple Apologizes for Warranty Policies

Posted by & filed under Dispute Resolution.

In China this April, Apple CEO Timothy D. Cook made the unusual move of apologizing to Chinese customers for his company’s warranty policy and promised to make amends, the New York Times reports.

On March 15, International Consumers’ Day in China, the nation’s largest state-run television network criticized Apple for giving iPhone customers in China a one-year warranty, less than the two years required under Chinese law, and for charging consumers about $90 to replace faulty back covers on iPhones.

When Negotiation is Your BATNA: The US Engages on Syria

Posted by & filed under BATNA.

The United States and Russia have announced plans to hold a peace conference aimed at ending the civil war in Syria, which has killed more than 70,000 people.

In an op-ed in the New York Times this May, Christopher R. Hill, the dean of the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and a former U.S. ambassador, argues that the Obama administration’s decision to engage Russia on the Syrian conflict is both long overdue and insufficient.

Conflict Management: Obama Compromises on Birth Control Rule

Posted by & filed under Conflict Management.

On February 1, the Obama administration proposed a compromise to a federal policy requiring health insurance plans to provide free contraceptives to women.

The proposal would expand the number of groups that need not pay directly for birth control coverage, the New York Times reports. Some religiously affiliated hospitals, universities, and social service agencies would join churches and other religious organizations as exempted groups.

The Fiscal Cliff and the Debt Ceiling: Program on Negotiation Chair Robert Mnookin Discusses Recent and Future Negotiations Between Congressional Republicans and the White House

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

Though Congress and the President were able to reach a deal and avoid the dreaded fiscal cliff, both sides engaged in some tough negotiating which has both bewildered and captivated the United States for months. Given all of the posturing and tough talk, some may ask: Is there a method to this madness?

Learning from International Negotiations: The Chen Guangcheng Crisis

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The Obama administration’s powers of diplomacy were put to the test in recent weeks when Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng made a dramatic escape from house arrest to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on the eve of the United States’ and China’s annual negotiations on strategic and economic issues.

Negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials involving Chen’s fate were conducted under top secrecy, at the Chinese government’s insistence. “Face is more important in Asian society than any contract,” one senior American official told the Times, emphasizing China’s need to keep the sensitive negotiations under wraps.

Did the Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Meet Its Goals?

Posted by & filed under Crisis Negotiations.

In early February, following months of difficult negotiations, the attorneys general of 49 states (all but Oklahoma) and the Obama administration reached a settlement agreement with five of the nation’s largest banks aimed at improving the stability of the U.S. housing market and punishing the banks for foreclosure abuses, the New York Times reports.

The deal was rooted in an investigation into mortgage servicing following revelations that banks were evicting borrowers based on false or incomplete documentation. The settlements gives financial relief to nearly 2 million current and former American homeowners hurt by the 2008 housing crisis through reductions in mortgage debt, home refinancing, and cash payments. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial must pay about $5 billion in fines and spend at least $20 billion in borrowers assistance.

Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Federal Government: What’s up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and elsewhere?

Posted by & filed under Daily, Dispute Resolution, Events.

The PON Dispute Resolution Forum and the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program Present:
Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Federal Government:
What’s up at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and elsewhere?
with
Deborah Osborne,
Group Manager, Dispute Resolution Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Thursday, March 4, 2010
8:00AM Breakfast
8:30AM Talk
Pound Hall, Room 335, Harvard Law School Campus

How are ADR principles applied

PON Professor Mnookin’s New Book Highlighted in NY Times

Posted by & filed under Daily, International Negotiation, News.

Professor Robert Mnookin’s “Bargaining with the Devil:  When to Negotiate, When to Fight,” was highlighted in Richard Bernstein’s New York Times article, “Is it Time to Engage the Taliban?”  Published yesterday, Bernstein uses Professor Mnookin’s most recent book as a framework to discuss whether now is the time for the Obama administration to negotiate with