How can we manage and meaningfully resolve conflicts between stakeholders in our CO?
Why is it relevant?
Learning how to effectively manage and resolve conflicts between participants in your CO is crucial for ensuring the success and sustainability of these initiatives. Conflict is a natural occurrence when diverse individuals and groups come together, each with their own interests, perspectives, and expectations. By understanding conflict management strategies, you can help your CO address disagreements in a constructive manner and:
prevent conflicts from escalating and hindering progress,
promote transparency, trust, and mutual respect among stakeholders,
enhance the overall credibility and legitimacy of your CO, by demonstrating a commitment to fair and inclusive decision-making processes.
How can this be done?
Conflict is an inevitable part of collaborative governance, but it need not derail cooperation; when addressed constructively, it can clarify differences and strengthen relationships. This can be done through a graduated set of practices that match the intensity of the conflict: direct negotiation empowers parties to co-create solutions (Fisher & Ury, 2011); mediation introduces a neutral facilitator to balance power asymmetries and guide dialogue (Moore, 2014); and arbitration provides rule-based decisions that ensure legitimacy when consensus cannot be reached (Moura & Teixeira, 2009). Embedding such practices in the CO creates structured ways of turning potentially destructive conflict into constructive engagement.
A. Facilitated and rule-based resolution
i) Negotiation,
ii) Mediation, and
iii) Arbitration
A. Facilitated and rule-based resolution
Conflicts that cannot be resolved through direct discussion may require the involvement of neutral facilitators or mediators to guide dialogue and balance power asymmetries, or more formal arbitration processes to ensure fair and binding outcomes. Such approaches provide structure, legitimacy, and impartiality, helping participants to de-escalate disputes and reach sustainable agreements (Moore, 2014).
Negotiation
Negotiation is a widely used and cost-effective method of resolving disputes in the construction industry, allowing the involved parties to maintain control over the resolution process. To achieve a successful negotiated settlement in a conflict, four key characteristics should be met: fairness, efficiency, wisdom, and stability (Moura & Teixera, 2009). Fairness ensures that all parties have an equal opportunity to present their perspectives and interests. Efficiency focuses on reaching a resolution in a timely and cost-effective manner. Wisdom involves making informed decisions based on sound judgment and expertise. Stability aims to establish a durable and long-lasting resolution that minimises the likelihood of further conflicts arising. By incorporating these characteristics into the negotiation process, a positive outcome can be achieved for all parties involved.
Negotiations are often divided into two types: cooperative and competitive. Cooperative negotiation, also known as win/win negotiation, involves a different approach compared to competitive negotiation. Each approach has fundamental elements that should be taken into consideration:
Approaches for different negotiation types (Fisher and Ury, 1991)
Separate people from the problem: View the other person as someone with whom you can solve a problem, not the opponent. Don't personalize the situation.
Focus on interests, not positions: The underlying interests are what truly matter for effective problem-solving. Concentrate on understanding the reasons behind a demand and seek solutions that address these interests.
Generate options for mutual gains: Explore ways of expanding the benefits for all parties involved. Seek creative solutions that enhance mutual benefits.
Use objective criteria: Rely on mutually accepted and objective criteria to evaluate the outcomes of the negotiations, promoting fairness and legitimacy.
Consider the best alternative to a negotiated agreement: By considering the alternatives, you can better understand the value of finding a mutually acceptable agreement and avoid potential drawbacks.
Refrain from launching personal attacks and instead adopt an impartial perspective.
Actively listen to and acknowledge the opposing viewpoint, striving to find areas of agreement.
Focus the discussion on finding solutions that meet the interests of both sides.
Utilise the other party's ideas as a foundation to facilitate their agreement.
Present proposals in a way that makes it challenging for the other party to refuse.
These elements for the different approaches to negotiations are accompanied by a list of thirteen principles for a negotiator:
Establish commonly accepted facts.
Separate people from problems.
Base your position on principles, even if your opponent tries to make it personal.
Emphasise equality principles.
Ask questions instead of making statements.
Explore the principles of the other side.
Listen, rephrase, and clarify your points.
Take time to consider the problem and prepare your response; avoid making immediate decisions.
Present your reasons before proposing.
Present your proposition as a fair solution.
Share your perspectives on the consequences of reaching an agreement or not.
Give the other side an opportunity to influence the outcome of the negotiation process.
Conclude the negotiation in a conciliatory manner, even if you do not fully feel it.
Mediation
Mediation is a conflict resolution process in which a neutral third party, known as a mediator, assists individuals involved in a conflict to negotiate and reach a mutually acceptable agreement (Moore, 2014). There are strong ties between negotiation and mediation, and the two approaches are often used in conjunction (Currie et al., 2017), particularly when those involved in the dispute are not familiar with common patterns of behaviour in conflicts or be aware of the various options for resolving their differences (Bollen & Euwema, 2013).
In order to structure and implement mediation processes, a six-step process is often used.
Steps:
Introductory Remarks: The mediator facilitates introductions, creates a non-threatening environment, and establishes their neutrality, while outlining the participants' roles and briefly addressing the main issue.
Statement of the Problem by the Parties: Each party is given an opportunity to present their story, allowing them to frame the issues and providing the mediator with emotional information.
Information Gathering: The mediator employs open-ended questions, active listening, and summarising to delve into the emotional undercurrents and build rapport between the parties.
Problem Identification: The mediator strives to find common goals and identify the issues that can be settled or prioritised for resolution.
Bargaining and Generating Options/Reaching an Agreement: Through various methods like caucus sessions or proposals, the mediator facilitates option generation, negotiation, and the exploration of potential solutions leading to a final agreement that resolves the conflict.
Reaching an agreement: Private sessions with each party separately are conducted to accelerate negotiations, allowing for confidential discussions, brainstorming, and the surfacing of underlying fears to find common ground and possible solutions.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a way to solve disagreements in a formal and controlled manner. Instead of going to court, those involved in the dispute agree to have a private person or a group of people called arbitrators decide on the outcome of the conflict. These arbitrators are qualified, impartial and chosen by both parties involved or by a mutual agreement.
Here is a four-steps approach to the arbitration process (Moura and Teixera, 2009):
Steps:
The parties agree to settle any current or future disputes through arbitration. This is called the arbitration agreement.
The conflicting parties choose an arbitrator or a group of arbitrators together.
The arbitration procedure begins when one of the parties takes the initiative to address the dispute.
The final stage is the award and enforcement of the arbitrator's decision. This decision is typically considered binding and cannot be changed, except in specific circumstances mentioned previously.
Additional resources
The Community Engagement Good Practice Guide (The Policy Project, 2020) provides guidelines for adopting effective community engagement practices, including the management of conflict situations amongst stakeholders.
The WeObserve Cookbook (WeObserve Consortium, 2021) provides comprehensive support for CO practitioners, including specific pages on stakeholder management
References
Bollen, K., & Euwema, M. (2013). Workplace mediation: An underdeveloped research area. Negotiation Journal, 29(3), 329–353. https://doi.org/10.1111/nejo.12028
Currie, D., Gormley, T., Roche, B., & Teague, P. (2017). The management of workplace conflict: Contrasting pathways in the HRM literature. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(4), 492–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12107
Fisher, R., Ury, W. L., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. Penguin.
Moore, C. W. (2014). The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. John Wiley & Sons.
Moura, H. M., & Teixeira, J. C. (2009). Managing stakeholders conflicts. In Stakeholder management (p. 286). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444315349
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