O - Z

Offer

A settlement proposal made by either party which addresses the issues of the dispute.

Ombudsperson

(Also refered to as Ombuds or Ombudsman.)  An official third party, appointed by an institution to investigate complaints or grievances aimed at the institution by its constituents, clients, or employees.  The ombudsperson is often employed by the institution, by a branch of the military or agency of the government.  The ombudsperson is responsible for preventing disputes and facilitating resolution.  She may advise the complainants of available options and recourses, suggest systemic changes within the institution and advise managers of possible policy violations.

Opening Statement

Statements made by the mediator and both parties at the beginning of the session.  The mediator’s opening statement delineates the process and sets the tone of session by establishing a climate of trust and cooperation which encourages settlement.  The opening statement of the parties identifies their needs and usually sets the agenda for the session.

Option

A substitute procedure or suggestion or solution that may satisfy the needs of the parties.

Peer-based Mediation

Mediation practiced in a school by trained student mediators where the disputants are their peers.  Usually used for minor disciplinary incidents such as malicious gossip, girlfriend/boyfriend jealousy, fighting, name calling, racial slurs, harassment, arguments and classroom disruption.

Position

Statements of the parties that identify a specific need (i.e., I want the house).

Positional Bargaining

A negotiation strategy in which the interests or positions are sequentially presented in set order where the first issue represents the greater demand and all subsequent issues are listed with the last being the least important issue.

Procedure

Sequential steps ordered to achieve a desired outcome.

Process

An aggregate of procedural steps or a format to achieve a desired outcome.  Process refers to how and the way something is done, not what was done.

Proposal

A suggestion or option as to how best to proceed during the negotiation session.  It is usually an offer to do something.  (Taken from Vinson Institute of Government, UGA, 1992).

Public Dispute

Controversies that affect the public.  Public disputes generally involve local, state or federal agency policies challenged by affected members of the community.  Usually the agency has the ultimate decision-making authority (i.e., land use, re-zoning, eminent domain).

Reality Testing

A mediation strategy, usually applied during caucus, by which the neutral asks the party to consider the true consequences of a proposal or demand.  The mediator can suggest that the party consider their BATNA.  Reality testing is sometimes used to determine what the parties really want or if they know what their demands mean.

Reframing

A communication strategy a mediator may use to extract then re-state in a more positive, palatable, win/win manner some inflammatory, negative, toxic language used by a disputant.  Reframing makes it easier for the parties to agree.

School-based Mediation

Mediation practiced in an educational environment.  It encompasses the administration, staff, teachers, students, and community.

Self-executing Agreement

An agreement that is wholly executed at the end of the session or an agreement that is self-evident that the parties will abide by the written terms of the agreement.

Settlement

The agreement.

Settlement Conference

A resolution process usually chaired by a lawyer or judge who acts as a third-party neutral to facilitate agreement between the parties.  She may offer suggestions during the process.  Although the neutral does not make the decision, she may, if requested by the parties, make non-binding recommendations.

Strategy

A conceptual plan that outlines the steps to be taken to attain a desired outcome.  It is an if this-then this response to another’s actions.

Summary Jury Trial

Consists of a summary trial before a jury drawn from the regular panel list.  The trial can be completed in one day.  Both attorneys make a brief presentation resulting in advisory verdicts.  The verdict may e accepted by the parties or may provide the basis for further settlement discussions.  If either party rejects it, a regular jury trial can be obtained, buy often this process leads to settlement.  (Taken from Vinson Institute of Government, UGA, 1992).

Win/Win Negotiations

A negotiation strategy coined by Fisher and Ury that features non-adversarial bargaining.  The principal tenet of this strategy is that the parties seek outcomes that satisfy their needs and the needs of the other party.  It is a process that promotes trust and builds or preserves relationships.

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