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How Mediation Works 35 tor's choice of intervention moves, it is important to distinguish between a mediator assisting in recognizing, organizing, and marshaling existing power of a disputant and a mediator becom- ing an advocate and assisting in generating new power. and influ- ence. The latter strategy clearly shifts the mediator out of his or her impartial position, while the former keeps the mediator within the power boundaries established by the parties. There is no easy answer to this strategic and ethical problem, but it does have an important impact on the types of moves a mediator initiates. Negotiation Procedures. Negotiation is a form of joint problem solving. The topical problems that negotiators focus on are often called issues. An issue exists because the parties do not agree on a particular topic and because they have perceived or actual exclusive needs or interests. In the Singson-Whittamore case described in Chapter One, the issues about which the two people will negotiate include: (1) Can Whittamore continue to practice medicine in a town in which he wishes to live? (2) Will there be a penalty for breaking the contract? (3} If there is a penalty, how much will it be? (4) How will the penalty be calculated, and what factors should be considered? (5) Is there a way that Whittamore can stay at the clinic and still maintain some distance from his estranged wife? (This, after all, is the crux of the problem.) Note that the fram- ing, or description, of the issues above is in neutral terms that favor neither party, and that the wording describes a problem to be solved rather than a particular alternative to be forced by one bargainer on another. Parties to a conflict select one of two major negotiation procedures to handle issues in dispute: positional bargaining or interest-based bargaining (Fisher and Ury, 1981). Positional bar- gaining usually occurs when a negotiator perceives that con- tested resources are limited and a distributive solution, one that allocates shares of gains and losses to each party, is the only possible outcome (Walton and McKersie, 1965). Interest-based bargaining, on the other hand, occurs when negotiators seek integrative solutions that meet as many of the needs of both parties as possible (Walton and McKersie, 1965). Generally,