Mediation and Arbitration
G. W. Goodrum, Jr.
In the following
paper I will attempt to explain the function, role and effectiveness of
mediation and arbitration in conflict resolution. I will also describe what types of disputes
can be utilized by mediation and arbitration.
There will be an explanation of what the American Arbitration
Association (AAA) does as an organization and we will examine how it could be
used in my current or future career.
Finally, I will conclude by identifying some drawbacks to mediation and
arbitration.
In the
United States of America there are over 317 million people, world-wide there
are over 7 billion people. With that
many people living all around us, there are bound to be conflicts. According to Cahn and Abigail (2007), “recent
studies have shown that conflict is a “common and inevitable feature” in close
social relationships.” With conflicts
come resolutions; how an individual chooses to resolve their conflicts depends
on variables like the participants, their relationships, the environment and a
willingness to work out social differences.
Most
of our social issues can be settled by communicating with one another, while other
conflicts must be settled using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods. These alternate methods to settle conflicts
are called mediation and arbitration. Though
communicating with conflicting parties should always be first technique used to
resolve conflicts, these alternatives specifically the American Arbitration
Association (AAA) are offered to mediation parties for amicable resolution of
disputes.
Founded in 1926, the
AAA has provided tens of thousands of mediations to individuals, companies,
state and local government agencies, courts and many other organizations, according
to www.adr.org.
The function of this organization is to be an alternative to litigating a
dispute in the courtroom (Sido, 2005).
Why do people choose ADR? People
choose these alternatives for a myriad of reasons such as, attempting to lower
court caseloads, reduce parties’ expenses, and or to increase voluntary
compliance with resolutions (Caper and LaRocca, 2008).
When communications
attempts breakdown then ADRs should be the next course of action to resolve
differences. The attempts at settle
disputes through resolutions will be placed in mediation or arbitration. The function of mediation and arbitration is
a defined method to settle and or resolve social differences in our
society. Just as there are varying degrees
of disputes and arguments there are several different ways to resolve these
issues.
Case
#1 – The Boss’s Expense Report
Your boss conveniently loses his expense report for
his last trip. On his way to a meeting,
he drops a blank report on your desk and asks you to fill in the blanks,
saying, Make it add up to $300 or so.”
What
will you do?
As I conferred with my co-worker who handles expense
reports, our general consensus would be to inform the boss that we cannot
submit expense reports without original receipts. Payroll does reimburse employees expenses
without hotel, gas or meal receipts.
Expenses accrued in the past will not be submitted for reimbursement in
later months. According to the Controller
Report (1998), “ethics are considered reinforcement for what people already
know is proper behavior.” In general employees feel better about themselves
when they know the company and management are acting ethically. By informing your boss that you need receipts in
order to complete his expense reports shows that you have integrity and you
should not waver on this issue because he is your boss.
Case
#2 – Lunch Reservations
Ever since you took the job last year, your boss has
asked you to schedule a weekly lunch date with his mistress. You don’t like doing it, but you’ve made the
reservation anyway. Last month you met
his wife at a business luncheon. Now
that she has met you, whenever she calls and he is out, she asks, “Can you tell
me where he is?” You can’t stand being
an accomplice.
What
will you do?
Early identification of ethical issues creates what
are called “Whistle-blowers.” From the
onset you are not obligated to continue the status quo of bosses making
unethical demands of their employees.
Far too often, whistle-blowers fear reprisal, dismissal or may even
develop a culture of silence. Companies
must encourage employees to come forward and not be accomplices to unethical
behavior. You should blow the whistle on
your boss and inform him that you are no longer putting up with his behavior
and that you have filed an ethics complaint against him for scheduling lunch
dates for him and his mistress.
Case
#3 – Dinner a la Corporate Card
A very attractive manager from another department
asks you out to dinner. You are surprised when you arrive at a restaurant with
average prices of $50 a plate. But you
enjoy the meal and the conversation; especially since work doesn’t come
up. Desert and after-dinner coffee are
added to the bill. The big surprise
comes when your date pays for everything with the company’s credit card.
What
will you do?
Conflicts often arise in ethical matters when one
person is perceived to be right, obligated or even objectionable to you or your
way of thinking. The Charter of Public
Sector Ethics (1994) states that ethics…involves deciding on a course of action
in the face of competing priorities, responsibilities and
accountabilities. Your attractive
manager is displaying how managers often feel. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 noted that honest
and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent
conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships (Gaumnitz,
2004). Certain managers believe that the
code of ethics tends to be dismissed simply because of business practices. You should file an ethics complaint against
the attractive manager. She may not
understand how unethical her behavior is.
Case
#4 – The Confidential Report
It is afternoon and you have just received a bulky
interoffice mail package. As you begin
sorting the content you discover a cover letter addressed to someone else and a
folder stamped “Confidential” in big, red letters. As you begin to put it back in the mail bag,
half the contents of the folder slip out and fall all over your desk. Since it is “Confidential,” you try not to
look, but you can’t help yourself. You
discover your company is involved in the scandal of the century. What will you do?
You should immediately contact your Business
Standards Advisor (BSA) and inform them of your current situation. As an employee you should be aware that it is
appropriate to keep company information confidential. The lack of an ethical position, however,
does not necessarily indicate a lack of ethics; it indicates a need for
guidance (Gaumnitz, 2004). Your BSA will
provide you with the guidance your need.
Case
#5 – Party Marty
Marty is another administrative assistant who works
in your office. Over the last two years
the two of you have become great friends.
The only thing you don’t like about Marty is her cavalier attitude
toward “sampling” company property, like packages of ballpoint pens and reams
of paper for her home computer. You have
never said anything before, but now she has gone too far. Yesterday she announced that she had
“borrowed” the keys to a condo at the corporate retreat. “No one will be there this weekend,” she
says, “so I’m throwing a party! Wanna
come?” You know Marty’s boss has no idea
his keys are missing and you’re uncomfortable participating in such an
incriminating activity.
What
will you do?
Ethics is about making decisions on what are good
and bad acts, about right and wrong in practical situations (Farrell,
1998). It is concerned with judging what
people and the consequences of what they do (Nuttall, 1993). Marty is wrong on every level and should be
reported to her boss. Though she is your
friend, your integrity should be above reproach and not be comprised by your
friendship for someone who has shown a wreck less attitude since you met her.
In conclusion I have
attempted provide you with information that will make you think about how you
would proceed if faced with the following workplace ethical dilemmas. After receiving feedback from co-workers, I
researched the scenarios to clearly identify and prepare an explanation of how
you would respond or react in each scenario using communication techniques used
to manage conflict. The responses are
thorough and in completed details explaining the responses and using knowledge
from this class and two outside resources.
References
Fewer companies
have ethics policies, controllers report. (1998). The Controllers Update, (163),
1-3. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/221261400?accountid=32521
Gaumnitz, B.
R., & Lere, J. C. (2004). Codes of ethics with impact. The CPA Journal,
74(5), 64-66. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/212322037?accountid=32521
Nuttall, J.:
1993, Moral Questions (Polity Press, Cambridge).
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