Global Mediation
As the international
community matures, global mediation has increasingly served as a necessary means
for conflict resolution among disputants.
As a result several organizations specializing in the field have formed
throughout the world. Of these companies,
the following will be analyzed; Global Mediation Service, International
Mediation Institute (IMI), and Global Mediation Services Ltd. (GMS). This examination will focus on organizational
theme commonalities in their services and approach to understanding cultural
differences and any variance which may exist in relation to the native country
of the company.
To
begin with, the mission of Global Mediation Service is to prevent business
failure which is typically a result of disputes and conflict. Their goal is to resolve these issues in a
time and cost efficient manner. Although
their company is based in Los Angeles, their
offices have expanded throughout the United
States including New York,
Chicago, Dallas,
and Miami. Their services consist of but are not limited
to; mediation, arbitration, negotiation, contractual disputes, border and
boundary disputes, debt collection, international commercial disputes, customer
warranty disputes, corporate shareholder disputes, and conciliation, and extend
across the U.S. to China. The Global Mediation Service “approach to
dispute resolution begins with the premise that disputes cost money and detract
from a businesses resources and its ability to make money” (Global Mediation
Service, 2006). They believe that a lack
of information and clarity concerning objectives and interests are often the
cause of these issues. Therefore, they
assist their clients by explaining these factors and creating a bilateral
understanding.
Next,
the International Mediation Institute (IMI) “is a non-profit foundation and
registered charity established in 2007 as a global public service initiative to
drive transparency and high competency standards into mediation practice across
all fields, worldwide” (IMI Mediation, 2010).
This company is based on the internet, operating internationally, but is
based in The Hague,
The Netherlands. (The Hague is the City of International Peace,
Justice, Reconciliation, and Security and exemplifies neutrality). Their mission is to globally promote and
elucidate the art of mediation throughout various fields inclusive of
obligatory information, essential materials, appropriate training, and feedback
from their clientele. IMI attempts to
enable disputants to turn win-lose scenarios into mutual gain, litigation to
negotiation, and risks into opportunities.
They utilize methods of mediation and negotiation to resolve disputes
and encourage international peace.
Then,
there is the Global Mediation Services Ltd. (GMS) based in Hong
Kong. This organization
“was formed in 1999 to develop and expand the ADR and mediator training
business of Commercial, Mediation & Arbitration Services Ltd (CMA)” (Global
Mediation, 2010). They offer training
courses which range from one-day mediation or ADR
familiarization courses, to five-day mediator training courses in which
professionals seek accreditation based on the standards required by
international associations. These
training courses:
-
provide a high level of interactive participation by
role-play training techniques and group debriefing
-
teach theoretical and practical mediation skills and
ADR techniques
-
provide a high faculty/student ratio by the use of
experienced co-trainers and coaches
-
are tailored to the individual and/or cultural needs
and background of the participants and/or needs of sponsoring bodies
-
are developed and modified in the light of participant
feedback
(Global
Mediation, 2010).
The
co-trainers and coaches hail from foreign jurisdictions or countries providing
their clientele with intercontinental specialist knowledge and expertise in ADR
and mediation processes.
Now what these organizations share
in their approach to understanding differing cultural patterns is consideration
of the background of the disputants and maintaining and utilizing a staff which
is trained and experienced in international business, mediation, law, or
consulting. What varies in their approaches,
are their initial focus which reflects the core of their individual
organization. This is based in the
origin of the company. The Global
Mediation Service, based in the United
States, is primarily concerned with
resolving conflict in effort to improve or protect their clients’ financial
interests. This is synonymous with the
American society which tends to perceive money as an indicator of success, status,
power, and importance. The International
Mediation Institute, founded in The Netherlands, centers on peace and conflict
avoidance which mirrors their diplomatic, serene, accepting, and accommodating
culture. Then the Global Mediation
Services Ltd., based in Hong Kong, utilizes team
and teacher-to-student approaches in order to assist their clientele. This is reflective of their society as well.
In
closing, mediation companies are an increasing necessity in international
affairs in effort to resolve the inevitable conflicts which will occur among
disputants. Although these
organizations’ approaches to varying cultural patterns may differ in some
instances based on the origin on the company, their personnel is skilled in
international etiquette, practices, and awareness. These factors are vital to their success and
essential to effective global mediation.
References:
Global Mediation Service. Retrieved
November 29, 2010, from
Global Mediation Services Ltd.
Retrieved November 29, 2010, from
International Mediation Institute.
Retrieved November 29, 2010, from
