ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF MEDIATION IN RESOLVING WORKPLACE CONFLICTS

Abstract

The following dissertation was written as part of the MA in Dispute Resolution at the Independent College Dublin (ICD). During this dissertation, a critical analysis of the use of mediation and other Alternative Dispute Resolution methods to resolve workplace conflicts. This research will consider the challenges, difficulties, and limitations experienced by the parties involved in workplace disputes, the alternative methods available to solve disputes that arise in the workplace, and how efficient mediation is to resolve such disputes. The critical analysis will focus on how mediation is used to resolve workplace conflicts such as bullying. Harassment, discrimination, and employers use to this mechanism. This research will also examine other ADR mechanisms such as Arbitration, Negotiation, Conciliation, we will also examine the stages involve when resolve a dispute through mediation (Frenkel and Stark, 2008), the weaknesses and the strength of using this ADR mechanism, the advantages of ADR in resolving conflicts, the outcomes of using mediation. Also, this research work will present critical reviews on the use of this process and how other scholars have observed. The methodology which will be used in this work will be purely academic bibliography that is it will be based on a constructivist philosophy approach. This is to say, it will examine mainly what others have written on the use of mediation in resolving workplace conflicts. All the difficulties faced by the parties involved in terms of limitations, the unique characteristics of these disputes, and the orientation of the principles, approaches, and declarations in using alternative methods and mediation demonstrated that alternative dispute resolution is a good choice to resolve workplace conflicts especially with the abundance of advantages it has. Mediation is essential and valuable because it can guarantee a good relation and co operation between the parties in the future, and arbitration, even with no high number of cases been resolved by this method, seems to help cross border disputes. Keywords: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), workplace conflicts (WPC). Workplace Relation Commission (WRC)