Emerging Systems for Managing Workplace Conflict: Lessons from American Corporations for Managers and Dispute Resolution Professionals

ADR experts Lipsky, Seeber and Fincher have provided a comprehensive and practically written account of the evolution of corporate alternative dispute resolution ("ADR")processes from the early days of collective action in the 1930's to the present-day use of conflict management programs to enhance the productivity and overall satisfaction of workers in companies seeking to compete in global markets. The book places today's corporate ADR programs in the context of labor history and the increasingly complex federal, state and local legislative scheme, thus providing an important frame of reference to those interested in introducing, designing, and implementing internal ADR systems. The authors' premise is that corporations that consider managing workplace conflict as a significant organizational goal have moved from a "dispute resolution" perspective to a "conflict management" paradigm. Whether a corporation will adopt any such system depends on a myriad of factors both internal (corporate culture and mission) and external (markets, regulations, litigation exposure). The authors note that the field of dispute resolution has depended on almost allegorical accounts of the cost-savings, efficiencies, and high satisfaction rate reported by participants in ADR systems. The field has not generated the empirical support for these oft-repeated benefits of dispute resolution processes, leaving corporations without the metric economic evidence needed to support new corporate initiatives. Recognizing the challenge of providing "hard evidence that corporations actually do save time and money by using ADR, however" (p.313), the authors "conclude that the vast majority of corporations favor dispute management over conflict management." (id.)The authors use the building blocks of hundreds of interviews of corporate executives, human resources, employee relations and legal department officials throughout the country as well as government representatives to make their case that corporations that approach conflict management systematically and with a long-range perspective will ultimately embrace and benefit from successful systems. One of the most useful contributions made by the book is the extensive discussion in Part Two: The Extablishment of Conflict Management Systems, which provides -- excuse the expression-- a "road-map" for individuals within corporations seeking to introduce, design and implement a complete workplace conflict resolution system. The authors provide templates for deciding such important questions as composition of the design committee, eliciting support from various corporate constituencies, determining the scope of the process, common design features, and methods for evaluating success. The authors conclude the book with a clear-eyed discussion of the future of workplace conflict management systems, in a society still grappling with litigation prevention and reduction strategies. As a practitioner in the field, I highly recommend t

Emerging Systems for Managing Workplace Conflict is a rich compendium of research, insightful analysis and practical advice that will be invaluable for any individual interested in the field of workplace conflict management. Written by three authors who each bring an average of between 25 and 35 years of background experience in labor relations and human resources management, supplemented by extensive work as mediators, arbitrators and consultants to public and private sector organizations, it is a "must read" in its field. The work is based on more than six years of research into conflict management systems in the United States. The authors draw upon surveys of general counsel of Fortune 1000 corporations, onsite interviews with over 700 executives, managers and attorneys in sixty firms and extensive interviews with individuals operating as neutral parties in the settlement of conflicts and disputes.Based upon their research, the authors conclude that "... there is a sea change in U.S. organizations that reflects an emergence of systems of conflict management and a new paradigm for organizations" (p.5). Their finding, they note, is independently confirmed in research conducted in 1999 by Bingham and Chachere who found that "about half of [U.S.] `large' private employers ha[d] established some sort of formal dispute resolution procedure for their nonunion employees"(p. 81). With this major movement established, the authors proceed to explain the reasons for the shift to conflict management systems, the processes that have emerged to service that demand, how those systems were created and implemented and the challenges that lie ahead in the field. Importantly, the authors immediately focus on the corporate interests that drive the development and implementation of alternative systems for conflict management. Overwhelmingly, the primary driver in developing alternative systems to replace litigation procedures is the belief that dispute resolution can be accomplished at less cost in dollars and time." (p.6). "In our survey of the Fortune 1000," the authors write, "about 80 percent of the respondents told us that saving time or saving money was the primary reason the corporation had used ADR" (p.313). The implications of this finding are clear and reflected, as the authors point out, in the fact that "... the vast majority of corporations favor dispute management over conflict management" (p.313). Having presented us with the primary drivers as well as several other contributing factors, the authors move into a discussion of alternative management systems and their components. Readers will learn the pros and cons of the main features of these systems. It is truly a handbook of elements for both the decision-maker and the designer.The book explores who is eligible in most systems, the essential elements for judging the fairness of a system, the issues of who pays the costs, training requirements, the use of outside "neutral" parties

For many years, scholars and academics have focused on the importance of conflict resolution in the workplace. This tradition goes back to studies that were done in the 1940s-50s. In more recent years, conflict in the workplace has become a major issue. No longer are workplaces those socially integrative, sometimes paternalistic, havens for lifetime security. They are now arenas for multiple conflicts. The issue therefore becomes how to deal with these conflicts in a non-ad hoc manner--how to put in place systems for managing conflict. American corporations have much to teach the world in this regard. The problem is that before this book, no one has systemized these lessons. Before this book, there was no central location where the tools, the methodologies, and the processes necessary for putting quality conflict resolution was readily available. Lipsky, Seeber, and Fincher have provided a critical service in having completed this volume. They have written the definitive reference volume on the specific issue of alternative dispute resolution techniques in American business. In this context, they have served the practitioner community well. Yet not only is this a well-written book for the practitioner, it is an informative book for the academic. The combined research record of these authors is impressive and it serves them well in putting this material together. Anyone interested in alternative dispute resolution in the workplace must have this well-written volume as a reference.