Deck 9: Third Party Intervention

Question 1

Explain how a third party can be helpful in working with intransigent parties who are willing to move but are hesitant because of image or face concerns.

Answer 1

(When parties are afraid to look weak, they can agree to some change that the third party suggests and "blame" their own movement and apparent flexibility on the third party by saying that the third party persuaded them to move from their original position.)

Question 2

The two core concepts that define transformative mediation are:

A) compromise and competition
B) escalation and de-escalation
C) empowerment and recognition
D) negotiation and settlement
E) apology and forgiveness

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Describe two ways in which mediators use caucusing to help with their work as conflict interveners.

Answer 3

(Parties express negative emotions and vent feelings without hurting relationships between the parties; mediators can foster creative movement on issues, mediators can synchronize concessions)

Question 4

Which of the following mediator practices would be inconsistent with transformative mediation?

A) mediators help parties to understand their goals
B) mediators support shifts in the quality of the parties' interaction
C) mediators help parties to understand each other
D) mediators support parties in figuring out how they will live with difference
E) mediators help find common ground where there appears to be none

Question 5

When a third party intervenes in conflict, they always do so with some mandate to intervene. Which of the following statements about third party mandates is inaccurate?

A) some mandates carry formal endorsements
B) some mandates carry informal endorsements
C) if an endorsement of a mandate is withdrawn, the third party's ability to act is limited or removed
D) a third party mandate is relational in the way that power in general is relational
E) mandates lose their power once third parties enact them

Question 6

If third parties exert motivational control during a conflict intervention, they:

A) renew their motivation and desire to work on the conflict
B) exert power over only the issues which the parties care the most about
C) use incentives that try to move the parties towards agreement
D) use incentives to get other people to help intervene in the conflict
E) convince the parties to use binding arbitration

Question 7

Explain what non-binding arbitration is and how parties might use it to help with the management of their conflict.

Question 8

If a facilitator made the following comment to a workgroup, which framing strategy would he or she be using?
" Well, all of you agree that some people are taking vacation time on Fridays and Mondays to extend weekends rather than taking larger blocks of time off with vacation. Some of you feel this is not right, while others feel it is ok. The important issue here is whether this acceptable company policy. The conflict is not about preferences. It needs to be determined by stated company policy."

A) right-wrong frame
B) negotiation frame
C) underlying conflict frame
D) stop frame
E) inducing competition frame

Question 9

Third parties often use framing when they discuss or present parties' issues. The third party's framing can affect disputing parties' perceptions of a problem and the way they think about their issues. Consider the following statement that a facilitator made to a work group about a problem they wanted to address. " Many of you on this team see the conflict as being about the competence of individual members on this team. If we look closer at this situation, there seems to be an unacknowledged but real factor that is affecting team performance - the resources available to the team to get their work done."
Which framing strategy is the facilitator using in making this statement?

A) right-wrong frame
B) negotiation frame
C) underlying conflict frame
D) stop frame
E) inducing competition frame

Question 10

If a mediator sets groundrules for parties' interaction at the beginning of a mediation session, the mediator is enacting which type of third party control?

A) process control
B) content control
C) motivational control
D) mandate control
E) endorsement control