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Is Testing in the Workplace Ethical?
The simple answer is yes-testing in the workplace is legal. Tests are not only critical in hiring people with the skills and competence to do the work, but they also are used to decide a candidate's aptitude for the work. It is a widely accepted practice rooted in...
Greek Mythology and Ethics
The story of Sisyphus comes from Greek Mythology. According to the legend Sisyphus was a king who ruled through guile, deceit, and cruelty. According to the story this king's misdeeds were so severe that the god Zeus punished him by compelling him to push a huge...
How to Avoid the Escalation that Leads to Conflict
A recent article on Mediate.com offered a commentary on Forbes Magazine's annual Best Places to Work survey. The article touched on a number of issues that interest mediators and conflict resolution practitioners, but three of the points from the Forbes survey are...
Are Provocative Questions Helpful?
On a website dealing primarily with mediation and its many facets a contributing writer suggested that it was perhaps time for mediators to adopt a version of the Hippocratic Oath. The writer includes a brief summary presumably distilled from those who favor such an...
The Gap between Conflict and Resolution
I am in the conflict resolution business and every day I open the newspaper or turn on the television, and see many examples both large and small demonstrating how unskilled we are in diffusing conflict in a constructive manner. As a mediator, a conflict resolution...
Is the Whistleblower dead?
Whistleblowing is much in the news these days. However, the reports showing up in the newspapers and on television are not the typical whistleblowing stories. For many years the reports about whistleblowers revolved around misconduct by companies. Those reports not...
Persuasion – Does it apply in a Mediated Dispute?
A recent article discussed in Mediate.com focused on the notion of “persuasion”, and whether it should be encouraged or discouraged in the course of mediation. The article rightly pointed out that many practitioners see the use of persuasion as a negative that can...
In Pursuit of Absolutes
The title of my monthly newsletter is Putting It in Context. In the letter I look at conflict, its causes, and the affect it has on companies, organizations, and individuals. The letter looks at the tools and techniques for dealing with conflict, and how I use them...
Stepping Into Blended Families – Very Carefully
Much of what I do as a mediator involves disputes between companies, employee disputes, intra and inter-organizational disputes, and disputes between individuals. I have mediated disputes between individuals and companies often vendors they did business with. When it...
Beware the Ides of March
The Danger of Making Assumptions In business, as in life, we all make assumptions about people and events, and we do this because we believe the assumptions to be true. We take it personally when our assumptions are shown to be false. We often make assumptions to...