experience in process

Mediation In Action

These case study summaries are provided as informational only. Actual results depend on many factors. Contact us for more information. To protect confidentiality, names in some summaries have been changed or removed.

• Business Partners Transform Dissolution into New Opportunities through Mediation
  Partners in a multi-platform business for women entrepreneurs were unable to agree on future business plan and were contemplating dissolution. Each partner in the company had distinctive skills and assets which were brought to the partnership. Failure to address financial aspects of business between the partners, however, created conflict and a desire to end the partnership. Before seeking legal action, partners met with a mediator to discuss their financial, product mix, future plans and relationship issues. After discussing their concerns in a supportive environment, the partners decided to dissolve the partnership, but also agreed to continue working together by utilizing their shared strengths and spinning the partnership off into solo enterprises the various parts of their skills that did not enhance the group as a whole.




• National Park Turns to Mediation to Help Smooth Transition of New Operations As often happens in large organizations – be they business, government or nonprofits – the hiring or transfer of high level managers can lead to conflict with current managerial staff. Such was the case in a national park when a second in command transferred in and almost immediately clashed with the head of human resources there. After trying to address the conflict directly for several months without success, the director of the park turned to mediation. After two days of patient listening and helping the conflicting parties identify their primary needs and interests, the Sharp Resolution mediator facilitated the creation of a mutually satisfactory agreement covering future interactions and conduct, timelines and performance evaluation mechanisms.




• Community Development Organization Resolves Internal Conflict at Director Level A San Diego community development organization brought in Sharp Resolutions conflict resolution specialists to assist them with a very challenging and common problem in group settings: internal decision-making difficulties involving department directors and the executive director due to some personal friction and disparate viewpoints on how best to accomplish the corporation’s goals. To assist them in dealing with this problem, Sharp Resolutions created and implemented a process specifically designed to fit their unique needs that included three phases: first, by working out personal issues in a series of mediations between the conflicting individuals; second, by facilitating a consensus building process that helped the directors reconfirm their organization’s mission, identify their primary objectives and brainstorm specific solutions acceptable to all; and, third, by training the directors in conflict resolution and consensus building skills to help them to prevent and resolve future issues.




• Mediator Helps Traumatized Employee and Federal Agency Resolve Challenging Conflict When an employee developed severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from an assault on foreign soil while working for the United States government, a Sharp Resolution mediator was brought in to help the employee and the agency work through the very difficult employment issues. Multiple sessions with the traumatized employee, her supervisor and a human resources manager helped everyone sensitively address the horrible event and create an agreement to provide for the current and future medical, psychological and financial needs of the employee.




• High School Uses Mediation to Resolve Sensitive Staffing Issue A prominent, nationally-recognized private high school engaged Sharp Resolutions to assist them with very thorny and delicate conflicts that arose as the result of hiring a new teacher the year before to head up one of their departments (in one of the subjects taught there). During this first year, numerous conflicts arose on a personal and professional level between teachers of this department and the new head. After initial consultations with the principal, the department head and the affected teachers, Sharp Resolutions designed a two-step process to deal specifically with their needs: first, by conducting private, one-on-one mediations with each of the teachers and the department director; and, second, by conducting a full department consensus building process. After addressing and mediating the personal conflicts, the full group, in a series of meetings facilitated by Sharp Resolutions experts, reached consensus on their shared educational mission and goals, created specific approaches to meet their objectives and developed mechanisms for dealing with future conflicts within the department.




• Facilitator Helped Disputants Plan for Change A law school that administered due process proceedings on behalf of the state of California for over 20 years found itself in the middle of disagreements among disputants about its hearing process. After trying to resolve the issues directly with less than fully effective results, the school engaged a facilitator to conduct several meetings with the highly contentious stakeholders. After working through the strongly felt perspectives, the facilitator helped the disputants create a plan to modify the hearings to address the concerns, needs and interests of all.

Dennis Sharp's extensive mediation and arbitration experience for court-referred and private cases can be found at: Business | Employment | Real Estate/Construction | Personal Injury

For additional examples of Susan Garrett's and Gail Nugent's extensive mediation experience, please contact us.

For more information about our mediation, please click on one of the following: senior community, school, nonprofit organization, business, community group or government agency.