Proposition 4 The negotiation agenda has moved beyond issues of distribution to issues of performance as companies have driven inexorably for the competitive edge in quality and price. Mediators and their agencies have been drawn into managing restructuring within enterprises and into resourcing negotiations on all aspects of enterprise performance. Mediators have been used as change agents to facilitate parties introducing these concepts and to manage the consequences of their introduction. The transformation of the workplace has led inevitably to the transformation of the mediation process and a widening of the mediator's repertoire of knowledge and skills. Preventive mediation will enjoy increasing prominence in the strategic vision of mediation agencies.
Preventive mediation improves understanding in the workplace and builds relationships.
It facilitates mutual gains and promotes self-reliance in conflict management. Mediation agencies increasingly recognise the importance of becoming pro-active and preventive in the strategic orientation of their services. Circumstances have persuaded mediation agencies to develop applications beyond the collective relationship. The First World is characterised generally by declining rates of union membership. In the U.K. under Thatcher, the number of workers covered by collective agreements shrunk by 50 percent.