The team has lost their first game of the season and is blaming each other for not performing during the game. My task as the coach of the team is more providing technical support to the team, the team members must be in good terms if they are to play at their level best the rest of the season. The circle process is the best fit for this conflict because it enables both the players and coach to interact and contribute. The circle process will encourage equality and a sense of mutual responsibility within the team (Greenwood, 2005). In the circle, all participants have an equal voice because as a team, what happens to one individual affects the whole team.
The circle is inclusive, and all team members are encouraged to speak and listen from the heart. Each member of the team must narrate the events leading up to the bitter exchange of texts, tweets and facebook updates from their perspective. To ensure the equality of all participants, everyone will sit in a circle and on the same level.
The circle sitting style and the talking piece ensure a structured dialogue by cultivating a value-oriented atmosphere. This encourages the team members to engage both their emotions and mind. The talking piece signals the opportunity to talk. When a team member receives the talking piece, they have three options. One may talk, hold the piece in silence, or pass it to the next person. The best talking piece for the purposes of this circle process is a baseball (Greenwood, 2005).
As the facilitator of the circle process, I will first make initial contact with each of the team members personally. During the initial contact, which may be through the mail or phone call, I will make clear the purpose of the meeting. After the initial letter, I will schedule a personal meeting at the convenience of each to discuss their experience and answer any question they might have about the circle process to help them make a decision about attending. The next phase is making a plan for the circle process. Consider a time and place comfortable for the participants. To ensure enough time for the circle process I will allow at least three hours. All participants will seat in a single circle with enough space around the perimeter of the circle to ensure an open environment. Food and drinks will be available to create an informal welcoming space (Greenwood, 2005).
The circle process will include a few people who are fans of the team. This may include parents, other students, or members of staff. I will choose this people carefully to ensure only people who embrace the needs of the team are selected. The arrangement of the room will create a focal point at the center of the circle. At the center of the circle will be a baseball, a bat, and trophies that signify past victories. This will support and enhance the process by ensuring everyone remains focused. The ideas and concerned raised by members of the team will be recorded on a board. To avoid compromising the circles atmosphere, a concerned member of the community will do the recording. After the talking piece has gone round the circle and everyone has expressed their views, I will give a summary of their views drawing the underlying interests and concerns. To reach a consensus, I will place the talking piece at the center of the circle to open the forum (Greenwood, 2005).
I will note any joint agreement that emerge and invite the team members to reflect and discuss the achievability of the mutual goals. I will ask the team members if they would like to come back for another circle process. The follow up process would discuss the progress made regarding the agreements. After the circle has reached a conclusion on what the purpose of every member in the team should be, I will draft the agreement on a piece of paper and have every person in attendance sign it (Greenwood, 2005). I will make photocopies and give a copy to everyone in attendance. After the end of the circle process, there will be further conversations and refreshment for anyone who wishes to stay around. In case the participants do not agree on a follow-up circle process, I will contact individual team members after some time.
Scenario B
In this case, it seems that the customer has not yet purchased a repair agreement from the company that sold her the car. This is so, because if she had the service contract in the first place, she would have taken the car to the obligor when it broke down. An obligor is the car dealer or seller who has the ability and willingness to fix their customers car when the car breaks down. There are various types of repair agreements, in which the buyer is expected to pay some amount of money ranging from $ 1000 to $ 3000 (Howells & Reiner, 2009). Therefore, since there was no legally binding agreement between the customer and the car seller regarding the car repair, then it follows that a court proceeding would not be necessary.
Apparently, the court would require the customer to produce the legally binding contract (the repair or service contract) requiring the seller to promptly pay for the claims. Failure to produce the document would lead to nullification of the case. Nevertheless, if the sales contract signed by the customer covered the expenses for mechanical repair, then the customer ought to first try to contact the seller in order to resolve the dispute together (Howells & Reiner, 2009). Nevertheless, since this customer does not seem determined to resolve the case in such manner, then the situation requires a review of other options at the customers disposal. There are various alternatives to resolve conflicts that often arise between car dealers and buyers.
With this scenario, I would start as a negotiator. I would try to draw a verbal agreement between the car seller and the customer, although this would require the customer to pay some extra money to the seller to acquire the aforementioned car service contract. The process may not work because either the client may not be willing to pay the extra dollars, or the seller may not be in a capacity to offer a service contract. If such a scenario emerges, I would try out a mediation program. Mediation is a lawful process that involves a third party, the mediator, who listens to both sides of the story and decides who is in the right. Mediation is one of the various alternative ways of resolving conflicts between two or more persons with concrete results, in which the mediator could assist the two parties to negotiate a settlement. In this scenario, the customer and her car sellers would be taken through a private and confidential process enforced by the laws of the land. However, both parties must be willing to work mutually towards a solution, and be willing to offer the mediation fee. If either or both parties decline to work out the dispute through mediation, I would initiate an arbitration process. Arbitration process involves a neutral individual, the arbitrator, who could be either an expert or a non-professional in arbitration (Howells & Reiner, 2009). The arbitrator makes the rules that the other parties have to follow. The rules may change depending on the case and the arbitrator, and if all this fails to work the problem out, there would be no other resolution other than litigation.
No one wants to go through litigation but in this case, it might be the only option. The process would involve a judge to tell them who needs to pat what to whom after reviewing the legitimacy of other ADR techniques mentioned above. My view is that the judge would advise the customer to contact the countrys Attorney General, a local customer protection organization, or even an insurance commission that deals with such disputes (Howells & Reiner, 2009). The judge may also advise the customer to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). However, as a concerned party in this case, I would be involved throughout the whole litigation process to make sure that the judgment is fair for both the seller and my customer.
Scenario C
Home Owners Association is a community organization whose members are probably neighbors without formal resolution mechanism. Such organizations often hire trained local volunteer mediators to assist in dispute resolutions when conflicts arise within the organization, but there are no absolute qualification requirements since community-based mediation practices are not moneymaking ventures. However, a nominal fee is chargeable for the services provided. Education and training are two essential requirements in successful mediation. To mediate in the present scenario effectively, some basic training in community mediation is an important facet, as well as an advanced mediation education from a university or a college. In this sense, members of this organization should seek a well-qualified community mediator with a minimum of a degree in conflict resolution. However, the mediator should have basic mediation training, probably a certificate in mediation from a reputable institution. This scenario does not require professional mediation, thus, the kind of training and education that the members should expect from our services are not fixed, though as stated, some basic training is indispensable (Mulcahy, 2000). This is because the quality of service required here must be consistent with the values and needs of HOA. Without basic ethics and underpinnings of mediation, the mediator would not be in a position to effectively, and satisfactorily handle the issue.
Community mediation requires a competent mediator entails an individual with the capacity to deliver high-level mediation services. The assurance of such service provision is attained through a process of development of skills and assessment of individual performance. In this context, some of the experiences are necessary for a competent mediator. First, an individual should possess fundamental mediation training. This implies that the mediator has successfully completed essential training in community mediation. Secondly, the mediator must have undergone an apprenticeship with a community conciliation program following the successful completion of the basic training. In addition, a competent mediator ought to have participated in community-related dispute resolution cases in order to gain sufficient knowledge and get used to management of such situations. However, the effectiveness of a mediator largely relies on the content and context of the conflict at hand, the knowledge or expertise the concerned parties expect, as well as the personalities and work situations of the involved parties. Since the dispute in HOAs case is a community-based conflict, the mediator ought to possess far-reaching experience in neighbor-to-neighbor disputes. Finally, a competent mediator should have the appropriate blend of skills, education, training, and innate skills to handle case-specific conflicts (Mulcahy, 2000). Other necessary skills include good communication, neutrality, ability to describe and clarify problems, and the ability to pay attention and understand the issue in detail.
Mediation is a process of resolving a dispute between two people by involving a neutral third party who uses proper techniques to help the parties reach an agreement. Mediators do not impose any disposition in the dispute, they only function as facilitators and are ethically bound. Historically, mediation is found in ancient societies across all continents. In Asia, Confucius advocate for moral persuasion rather than coercion in conflict resolution. The modern day mediation is an improvement of ancient mediation with the employment of scientific methods of conflict management (Gaur, 2009). Mediation was reinvented in the 20th century to enable peaceful co-existence of countries after the Second World War. Mediation is critical to success in life and every person engages in mediation at least once in his or her life. With modern life becoming more complex, mediation needs have increased (Mulcahy, 2000).
Two fundamental assumptions serve as the building block of any mediation. The parties involved in the case must believe that the dispute can be settled, and they engage in the mediation efforts in earnest to settle the dispute. Although the parties engage in a mediation process believing that they can reach an amicable solution to the dispute, the important question to both sides of the conflict is at what cost. Mediation is not for the faint of heart and is often more difficult than going to trail. This is because the accuser relinquishes his or her right to prevail in trail. The accusers accept less than they believe they should, and the accused pays more than he believes he should (Gaur, 2009).
In mediation, the mediator serves as an agent of reality. The mediator gets the parties involved engaging in structured negotiations by framing the issues. He or she also enables the parties involved identifying their interests and those of others. It is not necessary for mediators to be experts on the substantive issues in dispute. However, there are some qualities that a mediator must have for a successful process. The mediator must maintain neutrality to ensure the faith reposed by the parties at the beginning remains even after the mediation process. One of the reasons party resolve to have a mediator help solve their dispute is because they do not what to have their issues out in the public. Confidentiality is an important quality in a mediator because it attracts disputing parties to mediators unlike court processes that are public (Mulcahy, 2000). The Home Owners Association (HOA) members and HOA property manager have an interest in the association. Mediation is the preferred method of conflict resolution because no one wants to wash dirty linen in public (Gaur, 2009).
Mediation involves more than passing along offers, our company helps the client assess the case by providing expert opinions and an analysis of strengths and weaknesses. As mediators, we prepare the client not only to negotiate with the facts, but also present them in a manner that highlights the strengths. The cost of our services is 80 dollars per hour. Good advice from our legal experts will enable you develop a case that is sound and likely to persuade the defendant to compensate well (Gaur, 2009). As mediators, we provide space for the meeting at our business premises. The environment in the meeting room is optimized for dispute resolution. When a settlement is reached, we provide the means to make it legally bidding before the end of the session by putting it in writing and ensuring the concerned parties append their signatures.
References
Gaur, L. K. (2009). Qualities of a Good Mediator.
Greenwood, J. (2005). THE CIRCLE PROCESS: A Path for Restorative Dialogue. Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking.
Howells, G. G., & Reiner, S. (2009). Modernizing and harmonizing consumer contract law. Munich: Sellier European Law Pub.
Mulcahy, L. (2000). The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea? A Critique of the Ability of Community Mediation to Suppress and Facilitate Participation in Civil Life. Journal of Law and Society, 27 (1), 133-150.
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