The ten principles of dispute management that follow provide one example of ethical guidelines for managing disputes. It is not the last word on dispute management. It serves, however, as an exemplary list of checks and balances to help you stay on course when engaging in a collaborative process to manage disputes. It is a common mistake to focus only on the substantive issues often ignoring human relationships and procedural details of the collaborative process. Building and maintaining positive relationships with others involved in the dispute is as important as understanding the data and technical issues associated with the problem.
Procedural details comprise how the collaborative process operates.
You must continually assess if the collaborative process is accomplishing prescribed and mutually agreed upon goals. You must be prepared to take steps to alter the process if goals are not being met satisfactorily. Principle 2 - In order to find a satisfying solution you must understand the problem. It may also require visits with those who are not as directly involved but perhaps more informed. Investing the time to understand the problem results in more productive meetings designed to solve the problem.