Forms of resolving conflict

 Common forms of conflict resolution include:

a)  Negotiation

 Negotiation is the most basic means of settling differences. It is back-and-forth communication between the parties of the conflict with the goal of trying to find a solution.

 Negotiation is a discussion among two or more people with the goal of reaching an agreement. Broadly speaking, negotiation is an interaction of influences. Such interactions, for example, include the process of resolving disputes, agreeing upon courses of action, bargaining for individual or collective advantage, or crafting outcomes to satisfy various interests. Negotiation is thus a form of alternative dispute resolution.

 Negotiation is the most basic means of settling differences. It is back-and-forth communication between the parties of the conflict with the goal of trying to find a solution.

b) Meditation

 Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which a neutral third-party facilitator helps people discuss difficult issues and negotiate an agreement. Basic steps in the process include gathering information, framing the issues, developing options, negotiating, and formalizing agreements. Parties in mediation create their own solutions and the mediator does not have any decision-making power over the outcome

Mediation is defined as a negotiation to resolve differences that is conducted by an impartial party.  The mediation process is considered private and confidential between the parties involved.

Mediation has two purposes.  The first is to facilitate the communication between parties so that they may, on their own accord, come to a mutual agreement about a dispute.  If that does not happen mediation will take another form in which the mediator will take into account the facts and evidence presented and make a prediction on how a court of law might decide the matter.  Mediation is most often the route taken in interpersonal disputes such as divorce, estates, and other family matters.

c) Conciliation

 Conciliation is the least intrusive of third-party processes. A neutral person agreeable to all parties is selected to serve as conciliator. The conciliator serves as a go-between. Typically the conciliator meets separately with each party in attempts to persuade the parties to proceed with each other. Thus, the conciliator’s primary role is to reestablish or improve communication between the parties. When the parties are too angry to speak with each other, a conciliator may be all that is needed.

d) Arbitration

Arbitration is a process in which a third-party neutral, after reviewing evidence and listening to arguments from both sides, issues a decision to settle the case. Arbitration is often used in commercial and labor/management disputes.

Arbitration is a form of conflict resolution in which an outside party, known as an arbitrator, evaluates a civil dispute between parties and, in essence, acts as the "judge and jury."  The decision that the arbitrator makes is often binding upon the parties involved.  A court of law is, in no way, involved in arbitration and will only interfere when there are egregious actions taken on the part of the arbitrator.  Arbitration is the most common form of alternate dispute resolution seen in contract disputes.

e) Adjudication

Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved.

f) Litigation

  Litigation involves the disputing parties going into court to have a judge or jury decide the matter for them.  Litigation is by far the most costly form of legal conflict resolution and many should attempt to resolve their differences with a form of alternate dispute resolution prior to going down that path.