BUSINESS and WORKPLACE MEDIATION
TRAINING WORKSHOP
Near WASHINGTON, D.C. in Bethesda, Maryland
July 31-August 2, 2009
Thank you for your interest in our basic training workshop in business and employment mediation for professionals to be held July 31-August 2, 2009 at the offices of Mediation Matters in Bethesda, Maryland. This training is designed to provide both practical skills and a clear framework to help you resolve business and employment disputes. Our past participants tell us that this is some of the best professional training they have ever received. We hope your experience will be the same.
The Society for Human Resource Management "strongly encourages the establishment of dispute resolution procedures that provide employees a process that is accessible, prompt and impartial, and that results in reduced dispute resolution costs and more timely resolution of complaints as an alternative to costly litigation."―HR Magazine, January 1996.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for anyone interested in developing mediation skills for use in business and workplace
disputes. Prior mediation training is not required, but it is an opportunity
for anyone who has had basic mediation training to expand his/her skills. The
workshop is relevant for attorneys and managers interested in workplace
mediation, human resource professionals and persons responsible for staff
development in their own organization, as well as private practitioners who
want to expand their practice.
What does this workshop include?
The workshop, with a 400-page manual, covers the basic content areas of business and workplace mediation. The training focuses on the stages of the mediation process and the skills involved in becoming an effective workplace mediator. The program provides a framework for mediating business and employment-related disputes, including mediating EEO and disability disputes. This training is not primarily a commercial or civil mediation training. Our focus is on:
- business, with attention focused on family businesses;
- workplace mediation, especially one-on-one employee grievances; and
- employment disputes, including discrimination related to age, race, and disabilities, and sexual harassment complaints.
We will use skill-based employment exercises and simulations selected for their relevance to real-life situations businesses and professionals confront.
The training will present a six-stage model of the mediation process and focus on the skills involved in becoming an effective mediator. Some of the many components in this training include:
- the anatomy of conflict
- three core mediation paradigms for dealing with conflict
- mediation in the universe of dispute resolution
- legal vs. business perspectives on decision-making
- working effectively with attorneys in mediation
- generating options for possible settlement
- confidentiality
- using caucus effectively
- how co-mediation adds value
- mediator ethics and standards of practice
- writing effective memoranda and agreements
- professional organizations & development
A distinctive feature of this training is extensive use of videotapes for instruction, including tapes of actual mediations.The workshop includes a minimum of four mediation role-plays so that each participant can practice and develop his/her skills.
Can I apply for membership in the Association for Conflict Resolution after this workshop?
Yes. Graduates of this program may join the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), the newly merged successor organization to the Academy of Family Mediators, the Conflict Resolution Education Network, and The Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution. This program also can be applied toward the 40-hour training requirements for Practitioner Member status in ACR.
A certificate of completion, suitable for framing, will be issued to you upon successful completion of and full attendance at the training course.
Who are the faculty for the course?
The workshop will be led by:
Carl D. Schneider, Ph.D... Over the past twenty years Carl has trained several thousand mediators locally, nationally, and abroad. Currently Director of Mediation Matters, Bethesda, Maryland, Carl is a registered psychologist, licensed clinical Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Mediator with the Maryland Council on Dispute Resolution and with the Supreme Court of Virginia, and an Advanced Practitioner Member of the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). Carl is the former Director (1981-1989) of Divorce Mediation Service, a group practice of 16 mediators in the Chicago area, and former Director of the Mediation Program of Woodbury College in Montpelier, Vermont. He has been on the Board of Directors of the national Academy of Family Mediators, the Mediation Council of Illinois, and the Family Mediation Association of Georgia. He has been the chair of the Certification Committee for the Maryland Council on Dispute Resolution. Carl is author of Shame, Exposure and Privacy (Norton, 1992) and has served on the editorial board of Mediation Quarterly. He holds a M. Div. degree from Union Theological Seminary in N.Y.C. and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
"Strengths too numerous to enumerate here - Generally, Carl Schneider does everything in the training well - outstanding teacher, speaker, preacher, entertainer - Teaches by example - what an example."
— Louisa Abbot, Superior Court Judge, Chatham County, Georgia
Dates/Time/Location:
July 31-August 2, 2009. This is an intensive, experiential twenty-four hour workshop. We will meet from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Friday-Sunday. Please plan to be present for the full workshop. Registration will start at 8:45 a.m. on the first day, and the workshop will begin at 9:00 a.m. We end the workshop by 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The workshop will be held at the office of Mediation Matters, 9816 Parkwood Drive, Bethesda, Maryland (click for directions).
What is the cost?
Early registration (a $175 deposit at least thirty days prior to the workshop) is $925 (manual included). After that, the fee is $995. The full balance is due two weeks prior to the workshop with no refunds beyond that point.
How do I register?
Send a check for $175 and a completed registration form to:
Mediation Matters
9816 Parkwood Drive
Bethesda, MD 20814
Your registration fee is refundable, less $25 service fee, up to three weeks prior to the training. After that, there are no refunds. Registration for the workshops is limited in order to give proper attention to small groups and role plays. Since many of our workshops fill quickly, we encourage you to register early.
Should I read anything beforehand?
Yes. We recommend two books - Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith, Resolving Conflicts at Work (rev. ed., San Francisco: John WIley & Sons, Inc., 2005. $17.95 pb) and Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, , Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc., 1999; $17.67 pb). These books can be ordered online from Amazon.com by clicking on the covers below.
The Training Manual for the workshop will be distributed the first day of the training.
Accommodations and Meals:
If you would like assistance in finding nearby comfortable accommodations, please contact us. We will provide a continental breakfast in the morning, snacks in the afternoon, and a gourmet luncheon daily.
What is the attire of the workshop?
Feel free to wear clothes in which you will be comfortable. Our experience is that people often differ in what they regard as a comfortable room temperature, so you may want to dress accordingly.
Please join us:
We hope you will be able to join us for this fine professional training. If you have any questions not answered on this page, feel free to call us (301/581-0330 or 1-800-905-2221 outside of the Washington DC area). We look forward to seeing you in July.
Carl D. Schneider,
Ph.D.
Director,
Mediation Matters
