The role of workplace mediation: a critical assessment
| Date | 29 July 2014 |
| Published date | 29 July 2014 |
| Pages | 764-779 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2012-0036 |
| Author | Tony Bennett |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
The role of workplace mediation:
a critical assessment
Tony Bennett
Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
Abstract
Purpose – Interest in mediation as an alternative strategy for managing conflict in the workplace has
grown recently both in terms of theory, practice and government policy.The pu rpose of this paper is to
investigate the efficacy of the process as practised in higher education, where its use is quite well
developed. Its key aim is to increase the understanding of the process through a more qualitative
sectorial analysis.
Design/methodology/approach – The research took place over a six-month period in 2011.
It is based on the views and experiences of 36 representatives from 16 universities across the North of
England and four senior managers from mediation providers serving those organisations. Face-to-face
semi-structured interviews with an average duration of one hour were undertaken with the majority of
respondents with a small number of slightly shorter telep hone interviews. All interviews were fully
transcribed.
Findings – The key findings of the research suggest that universities, whilst having similarities to
other organisations in terms of the rationale, implementation and management of workplace
mediation, have a practice also informed by some aspects specific to the sector. These include: the
ethos of the sector, the nature of the academic labour process, its potential client base and also in its
desire to network with others within the sector.
Originality/value – The study offers a more in-depth understanding of mediation as practised in a
cross-section of organisations in one sector and is in contrast to the predominantly more quantitative
approach adopted so far in the mediation literature in the UK.
Keywords Higher education, Qualitative, Alternative dispute resolution, Conflict resolution,
Workplace mediation, Managing workplace conflict
Paper type Research p aper
Introduction
There has been a growing interest within the field of HRM in recent years in the
process of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and specifically the utilisation of
mediation, in seeking to resolve disputes in the workplace ( Johnston, 2008; ACAS, 2011b;
CIPD, 2011b; Latreille, 2011). Mediation is not a new concept. It has its origins in the
resolution of family and community disputes (Kelly, 2004) and more recently has been
used successfully for many years in the USA, particularly in resolving employment
disputes in the public sector (Mareschal, 2003). Its increased prominence in the UK, it can
be argued, has resulted in part from the repeal in 2009 of the legal obligation for
organisations to have formal grievance and discipline procedures (Davey and Dix, 2011)
and, influenced by the Gibbons (2007) report, in a move to a more informal and it can
be further argued less confrontational method for seeking to resolve disputes in the
workplace.Significantly, thetimeliness of thispaper is evident in the British government’s
decision to promote mediation as a key employee relations strategy (BIS, 2011). This
approach is more explicitly apparent in a subsequent decision to fund a pilot scheme
to train employees from two groups of SMEs to provide teams of trained mediators to
support other organisations in their respective networks (BIS, 2012).
That the current UK government is giving such priority to workplace mediation
raises the questions, “how successful might such an initiative be?” and “what do we
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
Received 22 February 2012
Revised 22 August 2012
26 April 2013
Accepted 15 June 2014
Personnel Review
Vol. 43 No. 5, 2014
pp. 764-779
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-02-2012-0036
764
PR
43,5
currently know, academically and practically, about how mediation is currently
practiced in British workplaces?” Higher education (HE) has the most developed
model of mediation in the UK, and it is currently utilising to a deg ree the practice of
networking (PMA, 2012). Therefore, it is seen as a highly appropriate sector to explo re
the implications of these and other questions relating to wo rkplace conflict.
In order to contextualise the research, the paper also draws on the well-established
field of conflict management (Costantino, 2009; Goldberg, 2005) derived from studies of
how ADR processes, such as mediation, have come to symbolise the increasingly
individualised nature of the employment relationship in the USA (Lipsky, 2007).
The study is also info rmed by current research in the UK on workplace mediation
(ACAS, 2011a; CIPD, 2011a; Saundry et al., 2011; Latreille, 2011).
It is of note, however, with the exception of Ridley-Duff and Bennett (2011)
and Latreille et al. (2012), that there are few other academic studies on the subject. The
aim of this paper is, therefore, to extend that knowledge through a critical assessment
of mediation within the HE sector. It is important to emphasise that this is not a study
of HE per se. Rather it offers, through investigating how mediation has developed in
the sector, a deeper understanding of the practice in the UK cu rrently absent in the
literature. Specifically, the research considers the efficacy of mediation within a cross-
section of universities in the North of England, as reported by key personnel involved
in the introduction and management of the process in their respective institutions.
The research took place over a six-month period in 2011 and is based on the views of 36
representatives from 16 universities in the region, and four senior managers from UK
mediation providers who have worked in the region and the sector.
Whilst initially considering generic aspects of mediation, the key finding of the
investigation is that elements specific to the HE sector can also be identified. These
include: the ethos of the sector, the nature of the academic labour process, the potential
client base and a desire to netwo rk with others within the sector. The limitations
of mediation are also recognised in the analysis. The pap er commences with a critical
review of the current literature. The methodology adopted is then discussed and the
research findings subsequently presented. The paper conc ludes with an analysis of
those findings and a reflection on the implications for researchers, practitioners and
current government policy.
Literature review
It is only recently that research has focused on the extent and effectiveness of
mediation in the British workplace. Furthermore, with the exception of Ridley-Duff
and Bennett (2011) and Latreille et al. (2012), there have been few academic
investigations of mediation in the UK. In contrast, policy and practitioner focused
studies have dominated the field.
Given this paucity of academic interest in ADR, and mediation in particular, in the
UK it is of value to consider the literature on conflict management systems that
has been critically developed over a number of years in the USA; which in contrast to
the UK has seen significant changes in the way disputes are managed in the workplace,
and reflects the changing nature of “the social contract” between employer and
employee (Lipsky, 2007). This development in employee relations practice heralded a
refocus by academic researchers on how contemp orary conflict management systems
could be more effectively conceptualised (Costantino, 2009; Rowe, 2009) and, cr ucially
for the topic of this paper, which new types of ADR processes were being integrated
into these management systems (Lipsky and Seeber, 2001). Where ADR can be defined
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The role of
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mediation
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