So, why does it seem as if everyone wants to sue everyone else? Well, the answer, in a word is 'conflict'. When we think of conflict, the words: disagreement, argument, fight, struggle, discord, antagonism, etc. come to mind. But even without a thesaurus or dictionary close by, we all know what conflict is - we experience in just about every relationship we ever had - whether it is with our parents, spouse, children, colleagues, classmates, boss - it really doesn't matter. Conflict is a normal part of human relationships. And, in America, when people think of how they can resolve their conflict, the first thought that comes to mind is to take them to court.
Unfortunately, the legal system is not particularly efficient when it comes to resolving everyday conflict. First of all, for the most part it takes a long time to bring and resolve a lawsuit. Second, there is a cost factor - lawyers are not cheap. Third, courts take away an individual's ability to craft their own resolution. After, in court a judge or a jury decides who wins and who loses. Finally, there just may not may any legal recourse available for the kind of conflict that you are involved with... say for example, a parent versus a teen, or students in a high school, or issues regarding noise complaints among neighbors. However, we all know that the lack of a legal recourse does not mean that the problem goes away --- it just continues to escalate until it reaches a breaking point.
The chart below shows how conflict will increase in intensity over time until individuals start hurting each other - or "start acting out." It is at the height of the conflict that most people start looking around for a solution. That means we see people try to negotiate with each other or find some other kind of dispute settlement process like the courts to resolve the issue. As such, we see the conflict decreasing.
But look at some of the outcomes in a typical conflict situation: (i) if it a dispute among employees one person may end up getting fired; (ii) at school, students can be subjected to suspensions or maybe even expulsions; (iii) a dispute among neighbors may escalate to the point of physical violence and monetary damages are assessed by the courts; and (iv) parent-teen disputes may lead to having social services involved or sometimes even the police... These are just a few examples of the solutions that are likely to occur when we take a litigious approach to dispute resolution. Remember in the court system: one person wins and the other loses and the judge (or jury) makes the decision.
This is where Alternative Dispute Resolution steps in. ADR is a general term encompassing various techniques for resolving conflict outside of the court system. Though the term technically includes arbitration, thi blog will focus mainly on mediation, facilitation and negotiation. In the next I will define each of these terms.
This is where Alternative Dispute Resolution steps in. ADR is a general term encompassing various techniques for resolving conflict outside of the court system. Though the term technically includes arbitration, thi blog will focus mainly on mediation, facilitation and negotiation. In the next I will define each of these terms.
This is just an overview of what this blog will be about so welcome aboard!
