Fall 2016 - 60720 - PA388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy

Negotiation & Dispute Resolution

Participants in the class will be able to:

Demonstrate the skills necessary to be an effective negotiator and/or mediator within diverse bilateral and multilateral disputes;
Be confident in skills to prevent or manage disputes by working with parties who have different points of view; and
Communicate to others how a public-sector executive is likely to use negotiation, mediation and negotiated rule-making in professional life.
Develop methods to assess when to use negotiation or mediation techniques;
Advise colleagues or clients about the process and potential of negotiation or mediation;
Assist colleagues or clients effectively before, during, and after negotiation or mediation; 

The course approaches the study and practice of mediation for executives from four perspectives; skill development; practice; theory; and the law.  Initial classes explore dispute resolution and dispute prevention, with particular emphasis on negotiation. Later class addresses the mediation process and skills useful for mediators assisting stakeholders to resolve issues. The course addresses relevant mediation regulations and trends. The role of the mediator is examined, including ethical responsibilities, explicit authority and limitations. Participants will consider and experience mediation from four perspectives: as a disputant, as an advocate representing clients; as an observer; and as a mediator. The instructor uses diverse training methods to address different learning styles, including: (a) lectures; (b) group discussions; (c) mediation simulations; (d) role plays and mock negotiations; (e) videos of actual meditations; (f) other structured participatory activities. Participants will complete 44 hours of in class training and a minimum of 12 hours outside-of-class in field mediation exercises. Participants will observe simulated and videotaped mediation or negotiation sessions to evaluate behavior of disputants and mediators. A minimum of 40 percent of training hours shall be spent in participatory activities, defined as supervised and structured activities that require interaction among two or more people.

Mediation training is organized in a way that guarantees that each participant receives individual attention and feedback for improving her/his skills to assure that each participant can finish the course with a realistic understanding of her/his abilities as a mediator. The course has been designed so that each practice part will fulfill the requirements for a “Certificate of Completion” of the Texas Mediator Trainer Roundtable standards for a forty-hour ‘Basic Mediation” course, so a person can achieve the initial steps to be certified as a Mediator in Texas based on the mediator training requirements under Texas ADR Act.