Pledge- Phrase containing the commitment of the organization towards certain principles and values for the management and resolution of conflict. This phrase, created by stakeholder groups after consultation with their constituents, is widely distributed and explained throughout the organization and serves as a guide for all its members.

Education and Training — Providing members of the organizations with awareness about the importance of good communication and conflict management; building communications skills (listening, open questioning, rephrasing, empathy); mediation or facilitation skills. Explaining the purposes and ways to use a Conflict Management system.

Open Door Policy- In organizations with an open door policy, employees are allowed to circumvent normal organizational hierarchies to voice complaints and procedures. While many organizations boast of an open door policy to resolve conflict quickly, more often than not they are too informal and unstructured to be effective. The initiative is placed on the employee, not management. There is often a perception that there will be reprisals, despite management's assertions to the contrary.

Facilitated Meetings - A collaborative process involving the use of a neutral third party (facilitator) to design and oversee a group process with the objective of sharing information or building consensus (i.e. strategic planning)

Ombuds ﾑ Common in large organizations, government and universities, the Ombuds operates an independent and neutral office within the organization to investigate and resolve workplace problems. A point of contact for the filing of complaints in confidence, the ombuds is independent of management, and typically reports directly to the CEO. The Ombudsmen Association provides a code of ethics to guide an organizational ombuds practice.

Hotline — A 1-800 line established with the objective of receiving and processing complaints from an organization’s internal or external costumers in a confidential manner.

Organizational Assessment- Use of periodic assessment tools of workplace climate with the objective of proactively address problems identified.

Negotiation - Process where parties directly exchange ideas, views, promises, and problems surrounding a dispute. Positional bargaining tends to focus on demands, and counter-demands of disputing parties, sometimes leading to a bargaining process where parties trade concessions and demands. Principled, or Interest-based negotiations focus on the interests underlying one's position on an issue. The parties explore their needs, concerns, and eventually work on developing mutually acceptable solutions that meet as many of the disputants' interests as possible.

Mediation - Process in which a third party neutral (mediator) facilitates communications and negotiations among parties to find a mutually acceptable resolution of a dispute. Although often considered a facilitative process, in some forms of mediation, the third party neutral may engage in evaluative tasks, such as helping parties assess likely outcomes and exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented. Mediation in organizations can be internal of external, depending on the type of neutral used. Internal mediations use trained mediators from within the organization, usually for easier day-to-day cases that don’t need special knowledge/ experience from the mediator. A type of internal mediation is peer mediation (when the mediator is a peer of the parties). External mediation is used for more complicated/ escalated/ sensitive cases or those that require a higher level of expertise and/or confidentiality.

Facilitated Intervention - A collaborative process involving the use of a neutral third party (facilitator) to design and oversee a group process with the objective of proactively addressing group conflict or dissatisfaction and finding solutions that satisfy the interests and needs of participants.

Internal Investigation- An investigation is a procedure used by employers to determine whether allegations of misconduct or inadequate performance are justified. Normally, found in disciplinary procedures, the investigation should include notice to the alleged offender, a reasonable opportunity to respond, reasonable timeliness, and impartiality by the decision maker.

Grievance Procedure- An internal procedure through which an employee can complain and seek internal review of a decision, act or situation that constitutes a violation of their contractual and/or legal rights.

Peer Panel Review- An internal procedure through which an employee can complain or seek review of a management decision by a panel comprised of the organizations employees and management. Panels typically have limited power and authority and the matters they can review are defined. They normally cannot alter existing policy, rules or conditions of employment.

Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) - An assessment of a dispute, usually conducted at the beginning of a court-connected ADR process. ENE helps parties and their legal counsel to determine the strengths and weaknesses of their case through neutral analysis. Designed to be used prior to significant discovery.

Arbitration - Process in which a neutral third party (arbitrator) hears arguments from disputants, then issues a decision. Whether court-annexed or private, this process tends to be more formal and judicial than other ADR processes, but less formal than a court procedure. Depending on the situation, an arbitrator's decision can be either binding by law or non-binding. The exact nature of the process and decision is usually prescribed before hand by court rule or a contract.

Summary Jury Trial- The summary jury trial is a non-binding ADR process used to promote settlement in trial-ready cases headed for protracted jury trials. Usually a judge or magistrate judge presides over the SJT; occasionally, a neutral attorney conducts the process. Part or all of a complex dispute may be submitted to a summary jury trial. After an abbreviated hearing in which counsel present evidence in summary form, the jury renders an advisory verdict. Non-binding, it becomes the basis for subsequent settlement negotiations. If the parties do not reach a settlement, the case proceeds to trial.

Adjudication- Any of the forms of dispute resolution in which the parties to the dispute present proofs and arguments to a neutral third party who has the power to deliver a binding decision, generally based on objective standards. The term subsumes arbitration and litigation.