What we can learn from major corporations and organizations that have instituted systems of dispute resolution in response to ongoing destructive conflict, expensive litigation and crippling settlements — including illuminating case examples and stories from Brown and Root,Emerson, Hewlett Packard, Kaufman and Broad, Warner Brothers, Universal, Kaiser Permanente,General Electric, the US Postal Service, Johnson and Johnson, and others.
Book Details:
- Author: David B. Lipsky
- ISBN: 9780470892909
- Year Published: 2003
- Pages: 432
- BISAC: BUS110000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Conflict Resolution & Mediation
About the Book and Topic:
What we can learn from major corporations and organizations that have instituted systems of dispute resolution in response to ongoing destructive conflict, expensive litigation and crippling settlements — including illuminating case examples and stories from Brown and Root,Emerson, Hewlett Packard, Kaufman and Broad, Warner Brothers, Universal, Kaiser Permanente,General Electric, the US Postal Service, Johnson and Johnson, and others.
All corporations and organizations are vulnerable to toxic and costly conflicts regarding personal injury claims, product liability, employment, civil rights, contractual disputes, environmental disputes, sexual harassment, accomodating the disabled, age discrimination, and wrongful termination as well as problems caused by governmental regulation and court actions. Over the past forty years, such conflicts have become debilitating, expensive and counter-productive to the goals of any progressive management. Consequently more and more executives, managers and HR personnel have sought ways to avoid extremely time-consuming and expensive litigation by integrating systems of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) into their standard operating procedures that can prevent and resolve a broad variety of internal and external conflicts. Many factors contribute to when, why, and how these systems are launched, including specific external crises that can precipitate such a change in philosophy (like an employee class action suit or court order), government regulation (creating regulatory infrastructure; mandating arbitration), market competition (needing decreased costs), as well as internal factors like corporate culture (authoratative vs. egalitarian), management commitment (usually cost-related), and the role of a champion (one person who is passionate about ADR). Responses to external and internal precipitating factors can vary, also, depending on the attitude of management personalities — from “contendors” who will fight every battle to the bitter end, the “settlers” who want to negotiate a quick resolution, to the most enlightened “preventors” who realize the benefits of instituting a system which heads off destructive conflict before it begins. The authors draw upon their vast research and front-line experience with specific corporations and organizations to illustrate the variety of circumstances and responses to universal problems. The result is a fascinating and enormously useful approach to the application of the most up-to-date systems of organizational conflict resolution, and how it can work for your specific situation to save you time and money.
A landmark book that analyzes and presents methods for integrating systems of dispute resolution into official corporate procedures. * Written by Lipsky and Seeber–top experts in field who do extensive consulting for Fortune 500 companies–and Fincher a well-known industrial and labor consultant. * Offers effective dispute resolution tools for top management and human resource personnel seeking stress reduction and financial savings. * Illustrates the wide variety of circumstances and effective responses to universal problems within organizations. * Presents a useful approach to the application of the most up-to-date systems of organizational conflict resolution, and how it can work for your specific situation to save time and money.
About the Author
David B. Lipsky is professor and director of the Institute on Conflict Resolution, School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University. Ronald L. Seeber is associate professor and associate dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University and executive director of the Institute on Conflict Resolution. Richard D. Fincher is an arbitrator, mediator, attorney, and managing partner of Workplace Conflict Resolutions in Phoenix, Arizona.