Comments on: Recommended books for mediators, ADR professionals: a brief bibliography

By: John Adamsky

John Adamsky — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:27:57 +0000

I found a book called “Alternative ways of solving conflicts (ADR)” written in romanian language. (Sustac&Ignat, 2008, Publisher: University, 242 pages). The beginning is nice: “Introduction of mediation and alternative conflict resolution (ADR) in the daily life of the Western world is not just a change of procedure, but is a change in the culture and mentality. Mediation is a fundamental change in the level of mentality and a major progress of civilization in that it allows parties to make the possession of its own destiny, when they failed in an attempt to find a solution themselves.” Do you know something about an english version?

Thanks,
John

By: Diane Levin

Diane Levin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:31:35 +0000

Tom, thanks for the tips. I appreciate it when people weigh in with their favorites!

By: Tom Valenti

Tom Valenti — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:59:39 +0000

Here are a few more:
Mediating Dangerously: The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution
by Kenneth Cloke

Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate
by Roger Fisher, Daniel Shapiro

Bringing Peace Into the Room: How the Personal Qualities of the Mediator Impact the Process of Conflict Resolution
by Daniel Bowling, David Hoffman

By: michael webster

michael webster — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:05:20 +0000

Thanks for the link to the free content. I was lazy and just posted the first google search, since I already had my copies. Very bad form, I know.

By: Diane Levin

Diane Levin — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:31:40 +0000

Michael, thanks for calling attention to a worthwhile article. FYI, access to the full Plous article requires paid membership. Since I try where possible to ensure that the online content that I link to costs nothing for readers to access, here’s a link to a free version:
http://www.socialpsychology.org/pdf/jpr93.pdf

(Got to love Google.)

Thanks again, Michael. I can always count on you for in-depth content.

By: michael webster

michael webster — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:01:37 +0000

If I had to recommend one piece, it would be Plous’s article on perceptual dilemmas, even though it is a theoretically very incomplete.

Scott thought that US Senators and USSR representatives ascribed different motives regarding the arms race to each other, based upon a survey he sent out.

While the arms race had been modeled as a prisoner’s dilemma, Scott was intrigued to learn that a) each side believed that the other side would take advantage of a unilateral ratcheting down, and b) but, that each side would prefer not to engage in the arms race.

Essentially, the two sides were playing two different games, and not realizing it, something Scott called a perceptual dilemma.

A very worthwhile paradigm to understand for mediators, in my opinion.

By: Diane Levin

Diane Levin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:37:32 +0000

Excellent! Michael, I was hoping I’d hear from you. I knew I could count on you for some great suggestions. Thanks.

By: michael webster

michael webster — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:19:46 +0000

Interesting.

Here are five books in five distinct areas that would be on my short list.

1. Labour – A behavioral theory of labor negotiations, Walton & McKersie [1965]

2. Crisis Negotiations – Essence of Decision Explaining the Cuban Crisis, Graham T. Allison [1971]

3. Strategic Business Problems – Co-Opetition, Branderburger and Nalebuff [1996]

4. Cognitive Science – Mistakes were Made (But not by me) Travis and Aronson [2007]

5. General Overview – The Manager as Negotiator Lax and Sebenius, [1986]

On your short list, I would replace Plous’ excellent overview with his article on Perceptual Dilemma’s and the Arms Race:

http://jpr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/2/163

I would also replace Shell with his new book, The Art of Woo. Interesting that on Barbara’s list, 95% of the books are after 1995!