Catherwood LibraryILR School

David B. Lipsky, Ronald L. Seeber, and Richard D. Fincher

"Managing conflict effectively has become a nearly universal concern. In this book, we discuss the ongoing search for better methods of managing and resolving workplace conflict. In Part One, we describe how dissatisfaction with traditional methods of resolving workplace disputes, such as litigation, has caused many U.S. employers to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR), especially mediation and arbitration. We discuss why the use of workplace ADR led some employers to develop workplace conflict management systems--to move beyond ADR to a more holistic, proactive approach. Analyzing the forces and factors at work in this move away from traditional techniques and toward a systems approach is the central concern of Part One. In Part Two, we move from the "what" and "why" of conflict management systems to the "how." We describe how corporations and other organizations design, implement, and evaluate workplace conflict management systems... In Part Three, we consider the future of workplace conflict resolution. We focus first on the barriers to the growth of these systems and then on why we think these barriers will be overcome and the growth of systems will continue to occur." [from the Preface]