Business problem solving: Mediation

Marjorie Hurwitz Bremner outlines the merits of mediation in solving commercial and employment disputes.

What is mediation?
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) defines mediation as “a flexible process conducted confidentially in which a neutral person actively assists parties in working towards a negotiated agreement of a dispute or difference, with the parties in ultimate control of the decision to settle and the terms of resolution”.

Mediation, or facilitation as it is sometimes called, is the most common form of ‘alternative dispute resolution’ (ADR), a body of dispute resolution techniques that avoid the expense and inflexibility of litigation, focusing instead on enabling the parties to achieve a better or similar result, with the minimum of direct and indirect cost.