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Conflict Management E-Newsletter
March 2002 #26
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Contents 1. Articles
2. Workshop Announcement
3. Employee Wellness Programs
4. Online Conflict Management Class
5. Free Resources Available by E-mail Autoresponder
6. Intergroup Dialogue
7. Quotes
8. New Book
9. Key Sexual Harassment Defense Unavailable To view the E-Newsletter online:
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1. Articles In the Eye of the Beholder:
Using Perceptual Errors to Resolve Employment Disputes
By Melissa Janis
Consider the simple problem of tardiness.
How many times have we heard people attribute
other people's tardiness to internal characteristics
(she's just inconsiderate!) and yet blame their own
lateness on external factors (the traffic jam was impossible!).
This is what author Melissa Janis calls fundamental
attribution error, one of two major perceptual errors
that she discusses in this article.
Master Negotiator Tells How to Keep Squabbles
from Turning into Nasty Fights
Bottom Line/Personal interviewed William Ury
We've all heard the saying, "There are two sides
to every conflict." But there is also a third side --
the larger community in which a conflict takes place.
Tapping the power of the third side can help us resolve
disagreements more constructively --
and maybe even prevent them.
Managing Dispersed Work Effectively
A Primer
By John D. Adams
The purpose of this article is to present some
research-based recommendations for managing
dispersed work as effectively as possible, for use
by both OD practitioners and dispersed team managers.
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2. Conflict Resolution in the Workplace:
A Primer For H. R. Managers
Special Half-Day Workshop with John Ford No one likes conflict, but all H.R. managers know that
conflict is an inevitable fact of life, and that the workplace
is no exception. As an H.R. manager, your ability to prevent
and resolve conflict is key to creating a productive
work environment. This workshop introduces effective
techniques to deal with interpersonal conflict and provides
an overview of the "best practices" for managing workplace
conflict. Tuesday March 5, 2002 -- 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Employers Group Regional Offices
120 Montgomery St., Suite 1050, San Francisco
Cost: $75.00
(510) 658-5524 or e-mail johnford@mediate.com ------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Employee Wellness Programs Boost Morale About 50 percent of 531 companies surveyed
by the ERC Dataplus and HR Executive indicated that
their company had some type of employee wellness
program in place for its employees. Of those that supported
a program, increased morale was the top benefit
derived by such a program, followed by reduced
employee absenteeism, and reduced on-the-job injuries. The top five types of wellness programs offered
for employees were:
an employee assistance program or EAP (79 percent),
safety/first aid training (73 percent),
health screenings (68 percent),
exercise/fitness program (58 percent), and
ergonomics (57 percent). Less than half (42 percent) of all organizations sponsored
athletic teams for employees, and only 28 percent had
in-house fitness centers. Regarding payment for these
programs, 44 percent indicated that the employer paid
for the program in full, while 49 percent were
partially paid for by the company, and the remaining 7 percent
were paid for exclusively by the employee. For complete results http://ercdataplus.com/hrexecutive ------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Online Conflict Management Class:
Campus Mediation And Conflict Management Programs This course will present a comprehensive look at
ways to integrate mediation and conflict management
processes into the campus community, including uses
for managing student behavior and supporting judicial
systems. The course does not presuppose prior mediation
knowledge or training. Registration Deadline: March 12, 2002
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5. Free Resources Available by E-mail Autoresponder 5.1. Measuring the Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict
5.2. Coaching in Workplace Mediation
5.3. Mediating Disability Issues: Reasonable Accommodation
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6. Intergroup Dialogue Intergroup dialogue is a process which enables
people from all walks of life to talk deeply and
personally about some of the major issues and
realities that divide them. Dialogues are being
organized in communities around the world on
such topics as racism, the current crisis, abortion
and violence in schools and communities, and
they often involve people who represent groups
that are in conflict. Dialogues are powerful,
transformational experiences that lead to
both personal and collaborative action.
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7. Quotes "A "no" uttered from the deepest conviction is better
and greater than a "yes" merely uttered to please,
or what is worse, to avoid trouble."
Mahatma Gandhi "Human beings love to be right. When a person is willing
to give up being right, a whole world of possibilities
opens up."
Pete Salmanson ----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. New Book Work With Me
Resolving Everyday Conflict in Your Organization
Author: Gini Graham Scott A powerful model for taking charge of conflict in the
workplace. In this practical and positive guide, author
Gini Graham Scott explains what it takes to deal with
such common workplace conflicts as clashes between
co-workers, breakdowns in communication, power
struggles, and friction with troublesome people.
Work with Me! shows how to apply Scott's proven
ERI (Emotion-Reason-Intuition) model to handle the
emotional fallout of a workplace conflict, assess the
factors contributing to the problem, and determine the
most effective strategy for creating a satisfying and
lasting resolution. Written for everyone within an
organization - from frontline workers, managers,
and supervisors to human resource directors and CEOs -
this book is filled with the information and tools
needed to take charge of workplace conflicts.
The practical ERI model can be used on the job
to conquer emotional barriers to ending conflicts,
overcome communication problems, recognize
the organizational and individual factors that can
create friction, and deal with difficult people.
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9. Key Sexual Harassment Defense Unavailable Under California Law In a blow to employers, a California Court of Appeal
recently held that a key sexual harassment defense
is not available to employers sued for sexual harassment
under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The case involved an employee of the Department of
Health Services (DHS) who sued her former supervisor
for sexual harassment and sex discrimination under FEHA.
DHS argued that a defense outlined by the U. S. Supreme
Court in two 1998 decisions applied to the FEHA claims. Under this test (known as the Burlington/Faragher defense
after the Supreme Court decisions), an employer can avoid
liability for sexual harassment by a supervisor if:
*The employer did not take any tangible, adverse job action
(such as termination or demotion) against the employee;
*The employer exercised reasonable care to prevent harassment
and to correct harassment episodes; and
*The employee unreasonably failed to take advantage
of the employer's preventive or corrective policies or
opportunities (such as failing to file a complaint
under company policy) or
otherwise failed to avoid harm. The Burlington/Faragher decisions were landmarks
with significant benefits for employers. However, they
only applied to federal claims under Title VII, the federal
act concerning discrimination based on sex. Even
though a recent 9th Circuit decision (Kohler v. Inter-Tel
Technologies)
held that this same defense should apply under
California's FEHA, no California court had directly
ruled on the issue and it remained open. However, the Court of Appeal has now ruled that
the Burlington/Faragher defense will not apply to
sexual harassment claims brought by employees
against supervisors under FEHA. The court held
that California law clearly holds employers strictly
liable for the harassing conduct of supervisors,
even though the employer did not know, and had
no reason to know of the supervisor's conduct. (Department of Health Services v. Superior Court
(McGinnis) No. C034163 (November 29, 2001)) Source: California Chamber of Commerce,
Labor Law Extra ----------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Feedback and Subscriptions welcome If you have any suggestions, tips, or other comments,
send an e-mail to johnford@mediate.com.
New subscriptions are welcome. Forward this to a
friend or colleague. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Conflict Management E-Newsletter
Published by John Ford and Associates
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