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Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) |
When disputes arise in the workplace, supervisors are expected to support the earliest possible use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to manage and resolve them.
ADR refers to a series of dispute resolution processes that incorporate the use of a neutral third party to assist individuals in dispute to decide how to resolve their own problems. This is different from the traditional adjudicatory or adversarial methods, in which a judge or hearing officer decides how to resolve the dispute for the people in conflict. Examples of adjudicatory methods include litigation, hearings, agency administrative processes and appeals. Examples of ADR processes include mediation, facilitation, neutral evaluation and peer review.
Mediation is the most popular form of ADR in use by NASA for resolving workplace conflicts. Mediation is not designed to determine who is right or wrong. Instead, a mediator – the neutral third party in mediation – helps people in conflict (1) talk respectfully about what they believe has happened, and then (2) to create their own resolution to the problem. A mediator does not take sides, and does not make a decision about how to resolve the conflict.
