Conflict Resolution: A Management Mediation Case Study Approach

This case study examines a conflict between two middle-level managers, Brenda Bennett (HR) and Harold Stokes (Engineering), stemming from disagreements over intern hiring procedures. The mediator's role is to facilitate a compromise through a structured process involving introductory remarks, problem statements, information gathering, problem identification, bargaining, and agreement. The mediation addresses Bennett's concerns about HR procedures and potential EEO implications, and Stokes' need to meet project deadlines. The resolution involves the HR department handling recruitment within the engineering team's timelines, ensuring qualified professionals are selected, and maintaining HR's oversight to prevent future conflicts. The final agreement ensures both departments' needs are met while adhering to company policies, highlighting the importance of cooperation and compromise in conflict resolution.

Running Head: MEDIATION 1
CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
Student’s Name
Course
Professor’s Name
University
Date

MEDIATION 2
Introduction
The mediation process, just like the sales process there is a lot of negotiations. The
only different aspect between the two is that misunderstanding at the end of mediation can
have significant negative consequences for all the involved parties .In a journal “Essentials of
negotiation” written by Plawecki, Barry, & Saunders, (2011), the process is properly
expounded in order to give the reader a broader scope of what entails of a great mediation
scenario. The main objective of this paper is to apply a case study involving two middle-level
management members in a company who are in huge disagreement because of their
responsibilities clashing. The position of the mediator will be of a third party, and her goal
will be to outline an effective process of mediation that will see both parties coming into a
compromise.
(1) Introductory remarks:
The mediator will have to wait until both parties are physically available and then
make the introductory remarks. The setting seat of mediation will be a neutral location so that
no one would feel threatened. In most cases, the conflicting parties coming with strong
feelings and anger into the mediation process (Pilbeam, & Corbridge, 2010).Such kind of
feelings can be a huge hindrance to the mediation process. Therefore, as a mediator, I will try
to gain the trust of both parties before the mediation process begins. This will allow me to
stabilize the parties and show them that I am in control and uncompromised. Moreover, this
stage will assist both parties to feel comfortable and polite, so they can express their
grievances freely (Sholihin, Pike, Mangena, & Li, 2011). The opening statement during the
introduction will set the foundation for the entire process (Schlierf, & Meyer, 2013).
Both Bennett and Harold will be greeted, be directed where to sit, I will provide them
with beverages of their choice, state the main objective of the mediation process, confirm that

MEDIATION 3
I don’t intend to favor any side, get their trust to proceed, get their commitment that no
parties will be interrupted, each party will be provided time to tell their part of the story in
full and use calming techniques as needed.
(2) Statement of the problem by the parties:
Brenda Bennett - the Engineering Department requested two summer interns. Jim
Lexington, Brenda’s subordinate and head of the intern program, informed Engineering
department that they would be forced to wait much longer because hiring would start for at
least two weeks .As a result, the engineering department went ahead and hired two interns on
their own initiative without consulting with HR manager. Brenda is now concerned due to the
following issues.
1. First, the intern programs are Brenda’s responsibility and therefore she has to
budget for it. Due to Bennet’s decisions, she will be inconvenienced if she pays the
two interns without following the company’s procedures.
2. Both interns are white males, close friends of Joe Barnes who is Bennet’s Manager.
Brenda is now concerned about implications by the E.E.O.
3. The intern program begins with a general orientation and training of the interns
before they start working for the company, and these two students will be phased out.
4. Brenda feels there is a need to be a better application of the necessary hiring
procedures.
5. Brenda feels that it is important to start an HR territorial right to prevent such
inconveniences in the future.

MEDIATION 4
Harold Stokes – Harold states that the engineering group is behind on schedule with
some major projects .Most of the untouched work involves simple drafting procedures, with
minimal engineering knowledge if the interns are properly supervised. However, it must be
started right away. Harold and his staff decided that a few summer interns would be perfect
for the job. Joe Barnes, Harold’s manager of the Engineering department, tried to hire
students through the HR Intern program; however, he was told that the process would take
about two weeks to commence. Hence Harold just instructed Barnes to hire two interns
whom he knew so that they can start the work without further delay. My job as a mediator is
to help the parties communicate freely to tell the problems.
As you can see, the conflict involves two groups, Brenda Bennett, the human resource
manager and Harold Stokes, the vice president of the Engineering department. According to
Thompson, Wang, & Gunia, (2010), the most fundamental thing in a mediation process
involves, understanding the situation at hand. This is simply described as first understanding
the significance of both sides that are in conflict in an effort to come up with a type of
interdependence that exists between the two parties. This would ensure that Samantha Pinder
has an upper hand on information on both warring factions (Alfes, Shantz, Truss, & Soane,
2013). Moreover, she will be able to show the parties, the importance of coming into a
compromise because of their interdependence to each other.
In this case, it would first involve alerting the Vice president of the engineering
department on the importance held by Bennett in these cases since all salaries have to come
through her office. Therefore, if the engineering department does not follow the proper way
of employing the interns, they might not get paid, which would bring up other conflicts
altogether (Bennett, 2013).It would also mean enlightening the HR manager of the important
position held by Stoke and his team following their projects in the engineering department.

MEDIATION 5
(3)Information gathering
The mediator will ask both parties a number of open-ended questions in an effort to
get into their complaints. She may be forced to repeat back some of the questions to the
parties. This will assist in building a strong rapport between the parties, particularly when
applying facilitative strategies into the process (Cammaerts, 2013).
4) Identification of the problems
After listening to the stories, I was able to summarize the problem for each of them.
Below is the summary of the problem for both Bennett and Stokes:
1. Bennett – No employees should be hired without the knowledge of the HR
department
2. Stokes – Employees should be recruited by the HR team at the earliest to
meet the demand of the engineering department
Identification of the problem would provide the mediator with an opportunity to
choose the most appropriate solution. The level of conflict, in this case, can simply be
described as an intra-group conflict because it involves a single team working in different
departments. After both factions have properly understood this, it becomes much easier to
move into the third step (Latreille, 2010).
(5) Bargaining and generating options.
This step is also known as distributive bargaining step. In this stage, the entire
alternative must be brought to the table for both parties to review it (Urgal, Quintás, &
Arévalo-Tomé, 2013). What can both parties offer a compromise that does not have to
negatively affect the other side? In this scenario, Bennett has to determine what can be done

MEDIATION 6
by stokes, which wouldn’t jeopardize the engineering department with the Human resource
department since the interns are already working. I help the parties negotiate.
Cooperation is important for mediation processes that lead to an agreement. However,
this necessitates a strong foundation to eliminate any form of disruptions and smooth
exchange of information (Saundry, Bennett, & Wibberley, 2013). As a mediator, I helped
them to negotiate and trust each other for a positive outcome. I pressed them to establish an
accommodating framework by patiently assisting them to seek alternative remedies, and by
directing focus to their progress (Nie et al., 2015). Both Bennett and Stokes were tough to
handle, but I insisted that some compromise on both sides and helped them to negotiate with
each other ensuring that both of them are not offended. The focus was to arrive at a solution.
The distributive bargaining step also calls for the consideration of the resistant points
of both parties. These are usually the areas that each of the involved parties is not willing to
concede. In this cases scenario, it is to be assumed that Bennett cannot have the two interns
continue working and expect to get their payments in time, without having to prove that they
were competent enough to get the green light to work and that there was no nepotism in their
picking for their assignment (McKenzie, 2015).On Stokes’ side, he would probably not stand
for further delays of his project due to multiple time constraints and would not accept having
to starting out with new interns. To come to an agreement, there is need to establish a process
that would change the perception of each party, and therefore the negotiator has to put on the
table the cost of having to end the negotiations (Ridley‐Duff, & Bennett, 2011).
There would be a need for the two interns already working to understand that they
will be paid. This is under the impression that the interns did not have any idea about the
conflict since they didn’t follow the set procedures. Moreover, they have to be assured that
they are ‘legally employed’ which is a reference to them passing through the Human

MEDIATION 7
Resource department for proper staffing. This responsibility would fall on stoke to give them
the information and ensure that they agree to terms.
After they have accepted these terms, it would be a much easier process to settle the
disagreement, which would only involve Bennett actually taking them through the proper
staff recruitment process while they are still working. However, since they won’t be requiring
any form of training and orientation at this stage, the mediator would suggest special
recommendation to have to be made by the engineering department and later approved by the
HR department, indicating that the two have been approved due to the expertise and the need
to save crucial time to complete the project. The final step after all these have been agreed is
to get a commitment for both parties to get into an agreement (Latrelle, 2011).
6) Reaching an agreement
Finally, an agreement was reached and it is as below: For Bennett – All her concerns
were addressed:
1. No employee will be recruited without the knowledge of the HR department
2. The HR department will recruit the employees using their budget
3. There will be no bias and only qualified professionals will be selected
4. Orientation program and other formalities for the recruited employees will be
conducted by the GR team
For Harold – The concerns need to be addressed as follows
1. Recruitment will be based on the needs of the engineering team and not on the
timelines that the HR team have. Emergency needs to be addressed to avoid any delay
in the work.

MEDIATION 8
2. Employees need to be well qualified
3. No individual decision will be taken and the recruitment will be completed by the
HR team, however, the suitability of the employees to the engineering team will be
scrutinized by the engineering team as a second level of testing.
4. Unlike the former Director of Human Resources (Brenda Bennett's predecessor),
Brenda was amicable and was focused hence Stokes was comfortable to form an
agreement with her.
Both the parties Bennett and Stokes agreed for the resolutions stated above and
agreement statement was clarified again to ensure a clear understanding of the role of each
individual in the recruitment process. This step is where a huge number of negotiators hit the
rock, mainly because one of the parties always wants to get more out of a deal than the other
(Lorenz, 2015).Therefore it is the job of the mediator to have in mind the most appropriate
deal for both parties and try to direct both parties towards that direction (Boon, Hartog,
Boselie, & Paauwe, 2011). In this case, since we already know what each side won't be
willing to give up, it would be easier to conclude that the end results that Samantha Pinder
would have in mine would be the most suitable for both factions.
Harold made a formal apology for disrespecting Brenda and her department. They
agreed on a process by which the HR manager would be invited for a bi-weekly engineering
staff meeting as a member of the management team. In turn, Brenda would have a better
understanding of the pressures of the engineering department and be in a better position to
respond to their needs as they develop. Harold’s invitation would also set a good tone and
example for other departments to follow suit. As a concession for this and for her
department's inability to respond quickly, Brenda agreed to leave the existing interns in place
and fund them from her department for a 90-day term or the length of the assignment,

MEDIATION 9
whichever was shorter (Tang et al., 2010). If the assignment looked like it would last for
greater than 90 days, this would become apparent to both Brenda and Harold in plenty of
time to work together on a better, long-term solution. This was a win-win for both parties.
Brenda was able to implement a new process that clearly demonstrated to all departments that
it is important to involve HR in all the hiring decisions.
For this time, Harold was able to keep his interns and will benefit from a motivated
and more committed HR department that will assist in fulfilling the his staffing needs in a
more proactive manner and avoid last minute resource issues in the future. With a HR’s better
understanding of all the needs of the engineering, she can drive the recruiting process,
implement their E.E.O policies and work in partnership with each other. Mediation is a tricky
process and if the mediator does not follow due process, there are high chances of failure.
Therefore, for a mediator, get both parties on the table; let them know of the problem at hand
and its impact on their interdependence, identify the type of conflict, initiate distributive
bargaining where offers and concessions are made without any party losing to the other, and
get the two parties to commit to the deal and then close the deal

MEDIATION 10
References
Alfes, K., Shantz, A. D., Truss, C., & Soane, E. C. (2013). The link between perceived
human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a
moderated mediation model. The international journal of human resource
management, 24(2), 330-351.
Bennett, T. (2013). Workplace mediation and the empowerment of disputants: rhetoric or
reality?. Industrial Relations Journal, 44(2), 189-209.
Boon, C., Den Hartog, D. N., Boselie, P., & Paauwe, J. (2011). The relationship between
perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–
organisation and person–job fit. The International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 22(01), 138-162.
Cammaerts, B. (2013). The mediation of insurrectionary symbolic damage: The 2010 UK
student protests. The international journal of Press/Politics, 18(4), 525-548.
Latreille, P. (2010). Mediation at work: of success, failure and fragility. Advisory,
Conciliation and Arbitration Service Research Papers, 6.
Latrelle, P. (2011). Mediation: A thematic review of the Acas/CIPD evidence. Acas.
Lorenz, E. (2015). Work organisation, forms of employee learning and labour market
structure: accounting for international differences in workplace innovation. Journal of
the Knowledge Economy, 6(2), 437-466.
McKenzie, D. M. (2015). The role of mediation in resolving workplace relationship
conflict. International journal of law and psychiatry, 39, 52-59.

MEDIATION 11
Nie, Y., Chua, B. L., Yeung, A. S., Ryan, R. M., & Chan, W. Y. (2015). The importance of
autonomy support and the mediating role of work motivation for well‐being: Testing
self‐determination theory in a Chinese work organisation. International Journal of
Psychology, 50(4), 245-255.
Pilbeam, S., & Corbridge, M. (2010). People resourcing and talent planning: HRM in
practice. Prentice Hall.
Plawecki, R. J., Barry, B., & Saunders, D. M. (2011). Essentials of negotiation. New York:
McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Ridley‐Duff, R., & Bennett, A. (2011). Towards mediation: developing a theoretical
framework to understand alternative dispute resolution. Industrial Relations
Journal, 42(2), 106-123.
Saundry, R., Bennett, A. J. W., & Wibberley, G. (2013). Workplace mediation: the
participant experience. Acas research papers.
Schlierf, K., & Meyer, M. (2013). Situating knowledge intermediation: Insights from science
shops and knowledge brokers. Science and public policy, 40(4), 430-441.
Sholihin, M., Pike, R., Mangena, M., & Li, J. (2011). Goal-setting participation and goal
commitment: Examining the mediating roles of procedural fairness and interpersonal
trust in a UK financial services organisation. The British Accounting Review, 43(2),
135-146.
Thompson, L. L., Wang, J., & Gunia, B. C. (2010). Negotiation. Annual review of
psychology, 61, 491-515.

MEDIATION 12
Tang, J., Musolesi, M., Mascolo, C., Latora, V., & Nicosia, V. (2010, April). Analysing
information flows and key mediators through temporal centrality metrics.
In Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Social Network Systems (p. 3). ACM.
Urgal, B., Quintás, M. A., & Arévalo-Tomé, R. (2013). Knowledge resources and innovation
performance: the mediation of innovation capability moderated by management
commitment. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 25(5), 543-565.