 |
'A hard nut' – multi-party negotiation and consensus building in the macadamia industry
Most mediators learn an “interest-based” process for facilitating the resolution of conflict and disputes between two parties; this becomes second nature with application and practice. But how can this fundamental process be enhanced and coupled with consensus building techniques when confronted by large scale multi-party conflict? Using a case study of a multi-party conflict within the Australian macadamia industry, this paper shows how the theory of facilitated multi-party negotiation and consensus building can be applied successfully. It also highlights the similarities to, and differences from, the “standard” mediation process and explores how complexity affects the practicalities of consensus building when some 300 people are directly involved in the process. The presenter will provide his own methodology, his reflections and learning, and will encourage discussion about the application of theory to practice. Participants will be encouraged to discuss some of the underlying difficulties in following pure facilitative practice in such large scale conflicts. |
About the session
|
Paul is an avid fly fisher who recently travelled to Patagonia fishing for some of the world’s largest trout. He regularly fishes in Tasmania and New Zealand, as well as secret locations closer to home. Paul also works with outdoor educators in the Blue Mountains helping to develop teenage boys, and he has facilitated a father & son weekend bonding experience each year for the last five years. He lives in the sleepy fishing village of Watsons Bay in Sydney.
|
Dr Paul Gibson
Paul was originally a line manager and ended up running a number of significant businesses at quite an early age, accumulating quite diverse hands on management and industrial experience.
He’s been a broad-based management consultant for the last 20 years helping large organisations work their way through complex change and much of this has involved resolving conflict. Over the last five years Paul has specialised and concentrated on more formal dispute resolution.
He is a nationally accredited mediator as well as a graded arbitrator, but he uses common sense in most disputes applying techniques and tools that we would variously call facilitation, conciliation or mediation in order to get a result for the parties. Paul specialises in organisational and workplace conflict as well as doing some commercial mediation. He trains & coaches in mediation and has been adjudicating the Negotiation Competition in the UNSW Faculty of Law.
Paul’s qualifications include BSc(Hons), MEngSc, Dip CDA, PCertArb and DBA. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Corporate Directors’ Association of Australia.
© LEADR 2009 | Disclaimer