It's good to talk Mediation involves both parties sitting down across the table and reaching an agreement together - unlike arbitration, where each side addresses their argument to an arbitrator. The role of the mediator, therefore, is simply to help the parties reach agreement. They can act as a facilitator, seeking to aid communications between parties in order to help them understand each other's perspectives and interests. Secondly, the mediator can act as a neutral evaluator, suggesting a non-binding assessment of the dispute which may be accepted or declined by the parties. Where mediation does not conclude with a mutually agreeable settlement, litigation and arbitration remain available options, without discrimination or inquiry into the cause of the mediation's failure to resolve the dispute.
Proponents argue that it is the inherent benefits which really set mediation apart.
It offers users the possibility of a speedy resolution, at a fraction of the cost of a lengthy trial, and provides flexibility in approach and outcome in a way that decisions made in court never could. Crucially, by allowing the introduction of interests past and present to the discourse, mediation allows the maintenance of relationships after the dispute. Most companies will find themselves at some stage participating in conflicts and disputes involving various stakeholders and interest groups in matters seen not only as the concern of businesses, but in which society has an interest. Here, the company can run the risk of taking an action which could prompt a whole host of public bodies or pressure groups to take legal action. Stakeholder dialogue' was introduced to the UK by Shell to deal with the Brent Spar disaster in 1996 when it was faced with having to dispose of an oil platform from the North Sea.