Intercultural Communication Institute

SIIC 2009 Description

33 | Negotiating Conflict Across Worldviews

Drawing on cultural fluency as a resource, we will deepen capacities to dialogue and negotiate effectively across worldview differences and within complex organizational, interpersonal, and communal settings.

Designed for
Seasoned consultants, negotiators, facilitators, mediators, educators, and trainers who want to increase their capability for negotiating complex conflicts or for dialoguing in the midst of layered differences. Also for organizational and community leaders whose work involves dispute systems design, change management, or the provision of ombuds or conflict resolution services.

Objectives
Participants will have the opportunity to:

Expand repertoires of effective negotiation and dialogue strategies applicable in intercultural conflicts
Explore ways of applying intuition and imagination in the midst of strong emotions
Articulate and deepen understanding of how identity relates to spirituality and diverse worldviews in intercultural conflict
Learn creative strategies to engage the symbolic dimension of conflict—including dynamics of identity and meaning-making
Develop intervention strategies for situations from workplaces, communities, and families
Understand and apply findings from cognitive science to practice
Ask and answer questions both specific and diffuse relating to practice, including those questions that seldom get asked or engaged due to lack of time, opportunity, or ease of framing

Learning Activities
As a learning community, we will:

Explore applications of dialogue and negotiation in intercultural settings using case studies, participants’ experiences, and new international work
Use ourselves and our work as seedbeds of exploration about creativity and effective action in “turning point” moments
Examine personal and shared worldviews and how these influence the course of conflicts in intercultural relationships
Explore strong emotions, especially anger, and learn ways to work with them
Support each other in developing new skills and capacities for planning and implementing dialogic and negotiation processes

Faculty: Michelle LeBaron and Mark McCrea

Michelle LeBaron is a scholar/practitioner, professor of law, and the director of the Program on Dispute Resolution at the University of British Columbia. Michelle is known for her work on creativity and multiple ways of knowing as resources for resolving conflict. She is the author of three recent books, Bridging Troubled Waters: Conflict Resolution from the Heart; Bridging Cultural Conflicts: A New Approach for a Changing World; and Conflicts Across Cultures: A Unique Experience of Bridging Differences.

Mark McCrea supervises alternative dispute resolution services for the Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry. He frequently conducts mediation, negotiation, and conflict management training for various groups throughout the U.S. Mark has extensive experience mediating disputes involving employment, organizational, and public policy issues for a number of governmental and commercial groups. In 2007 the Minnesota State Bar Association presented Mark with a distinguished service award for his contributions to the growth of alternative dispute resolution services in Minnesota.