It is an extremely important skill of manager is how to solve conflict. It may be an difficult process and challenging . Conflict can occur inevitably everywhere and every time, especially in the workplace and in complex organizations today, even it is more common in the past. The existence of conflict is not necessarily a bad thing : As long as the conflict is resolved well, it may lead professional development and help themselves . The conflict resolution requires different skills which are negotiation, mediation and arbitration. They can effectively make up the difference between positive and negative results. In contrast, if the conflict is not resolved efficiently, the consequences can be very serious . Conflict dissatisfied settlement cause to decline outcomes of individuals and groups. Poor conflict management can create a vicious circle of negative impasse and accuse each other in the organization.
1. Negotiation is not an event, it is process that is a back-and-forth communication process designed to anticipate, contain, and resolve disputes so that parties with some shared and some opposing interests can reach mutually acceptable solutions. Conflict negotiation refers to a voluntary, two-way communication in which parties involved control both the process and the outcome. According to Schmidt & Conaway, 1999, there is a three-phase conflict negotiation model.
Background phase:
• Refer to all the essential planning for the negotiation session
• Require an understanding of the other party and parties with personality attributes, roles, perceptions and expectations of the other negotiator, including differing culture values, norms and beliefs.
• Select an appropriate negotiation setting and determine the role of translator and interpreters if there are any language differences.
Process phase: Refer to the actual give-and-take and competitive or collaborative engagement of the parties themselves. Each party finds out and interacts other through their unique background, styles, personalities and so on.
Outcome phase: Concludes the complex events and communication behaviors composing the conflict negotiation process.
2. Mediation is a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties with concrete effects. The mediator encourages the parties to advance solutions and make reciprocally beneficial commitments.
3. Arbitration is a private and confidential process which can provide parties with a relatively fast, final and binding resolution of a dispute. The arbitrator is a neutral , objective third-party who will resolve the conflict solely on the content presented by the immediate parties themselves. Unlike mediation, arbitration leads to a timely resolution by the arbitration.
Conflict is the thing that people cannot avoid in the nowadays life, sometimes it may cause the serious consequences. Therefore, the role of negotiation, mediation and arbitration is extremely important.
Subject: Conflict negotiation, mediation and arbitration 
Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:19 pm
