Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Conflict resolution sometimes requires both a power-based and an interest-based approach, such as the simultaneous pursuit of litigation (the use of legal power) and negotiation (attempts to reconcile each party’s interests). There are a number of powerful strategies for conflict resolution.

Knowing how to manage and resolve conflict is essential for having a productive work life, and it is important for community and family life as well. Dispute resolution, to use another common term, is a relatively new field, emerging after World War II. Scholars from the Program on Negotiation were leaders in establishing the field.

Strategies include maintaining open lines of communication, asking other parties to mediate, and keeping sight of your underlying interests. In addition, negotiators can try to resolve conflict by creating value out of conflict, in which you try to capitalize on shared interests; explore differences in preferences, priorities, and resources; capitalize on differences in forecasts and risk preferences; and address potential implementation problems up front.

These skills are useful in crisis negotiation situations and in handling cultural differences in negotiations, and can be invaluable when dealing with difficult people, helping you to “build a golden bridge” and listen to learn, in which you acknowledge the other person’s points before asking him or her to acknowledge yours.

Articles offer numerous examples of dispute resolution and explore various aspects of it, including international dispute resolution, how it can be useful in your personal life, skills needed to achieve it, and training that hones those skills.

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Dueling Experts?

PON Staff   •  11/09/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution, Daily

Adapted from “Battles of the Experts,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Sometimes conflict is triggered by honest disagreements over the facts. When one partner buys out another, for example, the two might disagree about the value of the business. Similarly, if a piece of high-tech equipment fails, the manufacturer might point to improper maintenance while … Read Dueling Experts?

Winning in the New Century Means…

PON Staff   •  11/05/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

Co-authored by Pierre Pettigrew, Mark Freeman,
Robert C. Bordone, Reza Nasri, Balaji Chandramohan

In the 21st century, the power to persuade will be a more practical and useful tool for settling disputes than flexing either military or economic muscle. In this posting, Robert C. Bordone, Thaddeus R. Beal Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Harvard … Read Winning in the New Century Means…

Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program Featured on HLS Website

PON Staff   •  10/28/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

“In the polarized atmosphere of Washington, D.C. today, consensus is becoming an increasingly rare commodity, as this year’s debates over health care reform and financial regulation have made clear.  To help curb that trend, twenty senior federal officials – both Republicans and Democrats – met in Washington in July to hone … Learn More About This Program

Who Will Guarantee the Safety of Off-shore Oil and Gas Facilities?

PON Staff   •  10/15/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

Lawrence Susskind, Ford professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology; author of Built to Win; co-author of Breaking Robert’s Rules and Breaking the Impasse

Building consensus among regulators and the oil and gas industry about how to avoid future oil spills may be easier than previously thought. In this posting, Lawrence Susskind … Learn More About This Program

New Constitutionalism: An Approach to Human Rights from a Conflict Transformation Perspective

PON Staff   •  08/27/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

Author: Eileen Babbitt, Professor of International Conflict Management Practice at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

The pursuit of human rights can be helped along by paying more attention to the principles of conflict transformation. This piece shows how countries that have known violent internal conflict can use the negotiating of a constitution … Learn More About This Program

Profiting from Collaboration

PON Staff   •  07/23/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

CNBC’s television series Collaboration Now featured Professor Deepak Malhotra discussing how successful collaboration can help companies overcome barriers that are holding them back and meet the needs of demanding customers. In this video, you can find examples of collaboration, including how the American trucking company YRC is making inroads across the globe, and how, with … Read Profiting from Collaboration

Multiparty Negotiation wins IACM Outstanding Book Award

PON Staff   •  06/29/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution, Daily

Multiparty Negotiation by Lawrence Susskind and Larry Crump (2008) won the International Association for Conflict Management’s 2008-2009 Outstanding Book Award at the 23rd annual IACM Conference last week.

The IACM committee stated that:

– This book is one of the most ambitious set of readings in recent memory, along side the Druckman and Diehl volumes on Conflict … Learn More About This Program

International Association for Conflict Management’s 23rd Annual Conference

PON Staff   •  06/23/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution

In collaboration with the Program on Negotiation and other cosponsors,  the 23rd annual International Association for Conflict Management conference will be held in Boston July 24-27. The conference will feature a combination of poster and paper sessions, workshops, symposia, and roundtables. The IACM conference highlights the interdisciplinary nature of IACM and the excellent scholarship of … Learn More About This Program

When peace breaks out

PON Staff   •  06/22/2010   •  Filed in Conflict Resolution, Daily

Adapted from “Framing a Negotiation to Foster Cooperation,” first published in the Negotiation newsletter.

Sometimes in negotiation, against all apparent odds, peace breaks out. Union leaders and management reach a last-minute agreement that averts a work stoppage. Litigants settle their differences as they mount the courthouse steps. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief and moves on.

But … Read When peace breaks out

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