Reflective Essay On Mediation

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party helps disputants resolve a conflict (Bishop, p. 64). The employee/supervisor mediation was my first experience role-playing as a mediator in a dispute. I enjoyed the experience and recognized how significant the role of a mediator was. There are many strategies/avenues a mediator can take when conducting a mediation and it is imperative that the mediator is able to adapt their mediation strategy in order to satisfy the party’s needs. This in-class role-play gave me the opportunity to apply all the knowledge that I learned during the course, to a real workplace scenario. I especially utilized Ewert’s five-stages of mediation, by preparing, introducing, framing the issues to the parties, determining the parties’ interests, and crafting solutions. Overall, I was extremely proud of the mediation and how passionate my disputants were. At the end of the mediation, my disputants were able to reach a collective solution where both parties’ interests were considered. Due to the positive result, I demonstrated many effective

Overall, I recognized that mediation is a much better choice than adjudication (Bishop, p. 38). Mediation not only restores relationships but it settles disputes and facilitates understanding, learning and growth (Bishop, p. 6). Additionally, the in class mediation made me realize that mediation is not linear. In a mediation, the mediator has to constantly adapt in order to move the parties closer to a solution. Furthermore, through the four in class mediations I realized that mediation could be applied to a wide variety of scenarios. Therefore, I learned a lot from my experience and I feel confident that I will be able to apply my skills to my personal life, academic journey and professional