Negotiation Information

Four Ways To Work Out Business Disputes


Business owners have four options to resolve disputes with partners, vendors or customers. Each option is based on different assumptions, and entails a different cost. Therefore, it pays to understand them better.

Option #1 - Direct negotiation

Direct negotiation is certainly the cheapest - but not necessarily the easiest - way to resolve a conflict. A good place to start, is to get clear about what one wants, why, and how much one cares for the future relationship with the other person. The next step, is finding out how the situation looks from the other person's perspective. This task requires effective questioning, listening, and observing. The final negotiation step, is crafting an agreement that both parties believe to be better than all other alternatives.

To negotiate successfully one needs some planning, communication and negotiation skills. Without them, it is easy to end up with no deal, or a bad deal, or even a personal war.

Option #2 - Mediation

The goal of mediation is not to find who is right or wrong, but how the problem at hand can best be resolved. Mediation is a process in which parties who disagree meet with a neutral third-party, who facilitates their negotiations. The mediator doesn't have any decision-making authority. The parties decide how to resolve their problem, in a way that is mutually acceptable.

Since mediation is confidential, mediation discussions and materials are not admissible in court. In a sense, when people mediate they have everything to gain and nothing to lose. If they are able to reach a mutually acceptable agreement with the mediator's assistance, that's great. Otherwise, they can still use the remaining two options. And in that case, whatever they have said or heard, offered or counter-offered during mediation, doesn't matter.

Option #3 - Arbitration

The business dispute is submitted to a neutral arbitrator, who examines the evidence, listens to the parties and renders a binding decision. The conflicting parties must accept the arbitrator's decision, no matter whether they like it or not. Arbitration is past-oriented, and requires a certain amount of fact-finding. Therefore, generally it takes more time (and money) than mediation, but less than litigation.

Option #4 - Litigation

The fourth option is to let the judge decide which party is right or wrong, based on the facts and the law. In actuality, though, the vast majority of civil cases never get that far (some statistics say up to 90%). They settle out of court. A few days - or even hours - before the trial, the two conflicting parties, assisted by their respective attorneys, prefer to negotiate their own agreement, rather than running the risk of losing in court.

For business owners - as well as for anyone else - litigation has two major drawbacks. First, it inevitably has a detrimental effect on the future relationship between the parties. Second, it can be quite expensive in terms of time, money and stress. Nonetheless, when a business dispute cannot be resolved any other way, litigation is a valid option.

About The Author

Giuseppe Leone is a Business and Workplace Mediator. Past President of SPIDR (Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution) Hawaii Chapter. Mediator for Hawaii District Courts. Email: mediationplus@yahoo.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Iran's "Tensions" Not to Be Resolve By Short-Term Negotiations - Paper
istockAnalyst.com, OR - 10 hours ago
Considering the first direct attendance of Americans in Iran's nuclear negotiations in Geneva, we should say that although the undersecretary of state for ...


Pacific NGO calls for halt in negotiation on regional free trade ...
Radio New Zealand International, New Zealand - 14 hours ago
The NGO, the Pacific Network on Globalisation, or PANG, has called for a moratorium on negotiations on Pacific countries opening service sectors to ...


Union involvement in 457 negotiation "unnecessary"
Queensland Business Review, Australia - 11 hours ago
A proposal by the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) for compulsory involvement of unions in the 457 visa process has been slammed by ...


Will Iran Freeze?
Payvand, Iran - Jul 24, 2008
Or as a sign of Iran's commitment to the negotiation process, they might choose to insist on a public commitment on Iran's part that may, as it did in the ...


Dr. Strangelove Visits Iran
American Spectator - 14 hours ago
For their part, the Iranians are using the North Korean method of negotiation: Keep talking about fringe matters and avoid as long as possible concrete ...


Negotiation 101: Understand the market, remove the guesswork
Grand Junction Free Press, Colorado - Jul 24, 2008
By Rick Thurtle Negotiating a real estate sale can be stressful. If you’ve fallen in love with a property and have already imagined it as your next home, ...


US calls on Iran to choose nuclear negotiation
The Associated Press - Jul 19, 2008
GENEVA (AP) — The United States is calling on Iran to negotiate over its nuclear program, after diplomats agreed to resume talks in two weeks on suspending ...


Chair: Compromise On TRIPS Issues Still Possible, If Broader WTO ...
Intellectual Property Watch, Switzerland - 19 hours ago
“This issue will probably be activated when you see the elements” of modalities for the main issues under negotiation at this week’s WTO ministerial: ...


US and Iran: A One-Sided Negotiation
TIME - Jul 21, 2008
But when Rice took over as Secretary of State in 2005, she agreed to support European negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. ...


CCTV

Russian deputy PM to visit China for energy resources negotiations
Xinhua, China - Jul 24, 2008
Sechin will visit at the invitation of Vice Premier Wang Qishan, and they will co-chair the energy resources negotiation. China was looking forward to ...
Top Russian official to visit China this weekend for high-level ... International Herald Tribune
all 16 news articles

Negotiation - Google News

home | site map
© 2006