I did a presentation on conflict back in May this year wherein I spent time explaining the dual concern model. At the end of the presentation there was a question and answer session. One of the attendees asked how she could be move from the side of the model where
I recently read an article in the Los Angeles Times about the crisis level shortage of water in the Colorado River. Written by Ian James, the article describes years of warnings from the scientific community about how the dangers of drought and overuse of the river would lead to dire
I am a knowledge worker. What I do at work is based on my knowledge of law and regulations and processes for dealing with very specific and ultimately common events. I do not think that what I do is difficult, but it took me many years to get to the
I am employed by a large government agency and I was recently given the opportunity to participate in what I like to call participation kabuki. Participation kabuki is when an organization desires to make a show of soliciting input from throughout the organization. Typically a committee is formed to organize the
I have in the past year and a half had to talk with numerous people who are averse to taking the COVID vaccine. During almost every meeting I have been a part of there have been one or more people going on harangues about the COVID vaccine. The typical official
I never went to war while I was in the army. I was stationed in Korea during the first Gulf war. I cannot say with absolute certainty how the active duty and veterans who served in Afghanistan feel; I believe that I do have an idea about those feelings. The
Strategy is useful to conflict, but not in the way most people think about it. Strategy commonly seems to be thought of as a mapping out of actions that will lead to a particular goal. This can be true, but in the context of conflict you are dealing with other people. People
Mediation as Strategy
Mediation is a method of problem solving. Problem solving is one of the strategies associated with the dual concern model. One of the implications of viewing mediation as a method of problem solving is that it involves two or more parties who are highly interested in the outcome of their