Gini Nelson’s Engaging Conflicts

“Being righteously right leaves absolutely no space for collaboration, for communication, for skillful conflict resolution, let alone for true relationship.” — Daniel Bowling

Engaging Conflicts Today interviews Daniel Bowling, ADR Program Staff Attorney for the US District Court for Northern California, and co-editor and co-author of Bringing Peace into the Room: The Personal Qualities of the Mediator and their Impact on Conflict Resolution (Jossey-Bass, 2003). He co-founded the first mediation organization in South Carolina, the LowCountry Mediation Network. As Executive Director of SPIDR, he managed the merger among SPIDR, AFM, and the Conflict Resolution Education Network, and served as the first CEO of ACR. He is working on a new book on Mindful Mediation.

If you would like a copy of his interview, and are not signed up for the newsletter (which you can do in the sidebar on the right!), e-mail me this week at engagingconflicts@gmail.com with Daniel Bowling in the subject line and I’ll e-mail it to you.

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, point #4 here, point #5 here, point #6 here, point #7 here, point #8 here, and point #9 here.

10.  Ombuds Provide Upward Feedback
In addition to facilitating resolutions of individual concerns, ombuds also act as catalysts for change in their organization.  Ombuds are uniquely positioned to notice patterns and related incidents as they are developing.  While protecting their visitors’ confidentiality, ombuds can alert their organization to concerns and problems that have not yet become formal.  For example, an ombuds may become aware that a newly-hired supervisor is bullying his employees.  The employees may be candid with the ombuds but too afraid to go to management or human resources.  By alerting the organization’s executives about the collective concerns, the alleged bullying can be investigated and addressed before the department becomes dysfunctional or crippled by attrition.

Surveys indicate that ombuds spend about a third of their time on systems change – working to improve conflict management systems of their organization.  Generally, ombuds provide upward feedback informally and discretely to key individuals.  Some ombuds produce periodic public reports with statistical information about visitors and highlight significant concerns.  (See, e.g., annual reports from the ombuds at Ryerson Unversity, United Nations, and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.)  Whatever the format, feedback from the ombuds should be highly valued by the organization.  Attorneys should not expect, however, ombuds to provide more details which would compromise the confidentiality promised by the ombuds office.

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, point #4 here, point #5 here, point #6 here, point #7 here, and point #8 here.

9. Ombuds Are Not Agents for Notice

Ombuds stress that they are cannot receive notice on behalf of their institution. Since ombuds are ethically bound to keep confidences, their knowledge is not imputed to their employer. According to the ABA, if an ombuds is functionally independent, impartial and confidential then:

(a) no one, including the entity in which the ombuds operates, should deem the ombuds to be an agent of any person or entity, other than the office of the ombuds, for purposes of receiving notice of alleged violations, and (b) communications made to the ombuds should not be imputed to anyone else, including the entity in which the ombuds acts …. (ABA Standards, p. 6.)

In addition to advising visitors that they cannot accept notice, many ombuds also operate under written protocol that clearly states this limitation (e.g., NASA’s ombuds program).

The benefit of this arrangement is that ombuds can assist visitors in deciding how to effectively raise their concerns formally if an informal resolution is unsuccessful or impractical. Ombuds often explain how to put their organization on notice by contacting another office and triggering an appropriate process. Visitors are thus empowered and better participate in a formal resolution.

Tom’s series will continue Wednesday.

            

Please note Diane Levin’s blog’s new name and home: MediationChannel.com. She’s one of the best of the ADR bloggers…. and one of my favorites. I interviewed her in the past for Engaging Conflicts Today, and she continues to provide, as she puts it, “the latest news, info, and ideas (not to mention the odd offbeat story) about mediation, negotiation, conflict resolution and the law”.

            

This in from Science In the NewsSigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, as a service for its members and the public):

Headlines - January 4, 2008

Evolution Book Sees No Science-Religion Gap
[from the New York Times (Registration Required)]

In 1984 and again in 1999, the National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s most eminent scientific organization, produced books on the evidence
supporting the theory of evolution and arguing against the introduction of creationism or other religious alternatives in public school science
classes.

On Thursday, it produced a third. But this volume is unusual, people who worked on it say, because it is intended specifically for the lay public and because it devotes much of its space to explaining the differences between science and religion, and asserting that acceptance of evolution does not require abandoning belief in God.

“We wanted to produce a report that would be valuable and accessible to school board members and teachers and clergy,” said Barbara A. Schaal, a vice president of the academy, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University and a member of the panel that produced the book.

To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/us/04evolve.html

Or: http://snipurl.com/1wk52

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, point #4 here, point #5 here, point #6 here, and point #7 here.

8. Ombuds Don’t Keep Records

To preserve confidentiality, ombuds do not create or maintain records for the organizations about individual cases. Notes taken during the course of working on a case that are intended only for the ombuds’ interim reference are routinely destroyed and are not kept past the conclusion of the case. Ombuds publicly and specifically advise visitors and prospective visitors that they have no record-keeping function. (See examples from Stanford University, United Technologies Corp., Putnam Investments, and the United Nations.) The Coalition of Federal Ombuds has concluded that ombuds’ notes from specific cases are exempt from the Federal Records Act. (See The Guide for Federal Employee Ombuds, Federal Guidance Note at p. 9.) Attorneys should therefore expect that efforts to compel production of ombuds’ case materials to be a fruitless exercise.

Tom’s series will continue soon.

            

This is one of Guest Blogger Ombuds Thomas Kosakowski’s posts in his series “10 Things Lawyers Should Know About Ombuds”, part of the Engaging Conflict’s Taking Peacemaking Public series. His Introduction and point #1 are posted here, point #2 here, point #3 here, point #4 here, point #5 here, and point #6 here.

7. Ombuds are Increasing in Number

Naussau County in New York established the first classical ombudsman program in the United States in 1966. Shortly thereafter, organizational ombuds offices proliferated on college campuses. Currently, there are 201 active ombuds programs at U.S. colleges and universities according to a study conducted by Mary Newhart, a masters candidate at Cornell University, with 42% being established since 2000. In addition, many Federal agencies, companies and other organizations have created ombuds offices to manage conflict. Some programs have been established to prevent litigation or as part of settling a lawsuit. Growth in the private sector has been spurred because ombuds programs provide a confidential and anonymous reporting channel as required by Sarbanes-Oxley (while traditional compliance offices cannot).

In the past first year, the Ombuds Blog posted announcements of about 50 ombuds jobs, many at newly-created offices. The site also features links to 281 ombuds offices in corporations, higher education, government, health care, NGO’s and school districts. The International Ombudsman Association, the primary professional association for organizational ombuds, counts 331 full members (who adhere to IOA Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics). While ombuds are not yet widespread, their numbers will continue to expand with the implementation of alternative conflict management programs.