The Power of Mediation. (Conflict Management)‪.‬

MEDIATION HAS PROVED itself very useful in many contexts for solving problems and resolving conflicts. Unfortunately, mediation is still greatly underutilized--most people either don't know what it is; have never used it (and, at some level, may be afraid to try it out); or don't believe that they need its help. Mediation is part of a family of procedures called "alternative dispute resolution," or ADR. The term ADR is somewhat unfortunate, because the procedures are "alternative" only insofar as they are not part of the judicial process. One of the preeminent ADR procedures--arbitration--arguably has more in common with judicial process than it does with other ADR alternatives, such as mediation. In order to break this conceptual linkage and develop independent recognition for what each of the procedures has to offer, practitioners increasingly refer to "dispute resolution" or "conflict resolution" procedures rather than ADR.