8125

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8125
• Author: Moore, C. W.
• Title: Editor
• USFW Year: Series
• USFW - Doc Type: 1986
• Copyright Material: YES

38 The Mediation Process
parent his children, (2) a desire to continue practicing his pro-
fession, (3) a desire to avoid contact with his estranged wife, (4)
a preference for maintaining amicable relations with the clinic
and its staff, and (5) a need to minimize the amount of initial
penalty payments to the clinic so that he has enough money to
start his own practice.
Some of Singson's interests include: (1) avoidance of
monetary loss and patient attrition when a doctor leaves the
staff, (2) maintenance of clinic management's prerogative to set
the terms of an employment contract, (3) avoidance of a prece-
dent in which a doctor leaves the clinic before the expiration of
a .contract and begins a practice in town, and (4) avoidance of a
law suit.
Interest-based bargaining begins with an understanding of
each of the interests of the two parties, not statements of posi-
tions. Often the parties identify their interests and those of
other disputants in private and then hold •a joint meeting to
share their results. Parties discuss and modify their interests
based on these early discussions. Once the interests have been
revealed, explored, and accepted at least in principle, the parties
can begin a mutual search for solutions that will meet their
needs. Reaching an agreement requires negotiators to develop
settlement options that meet at least some of the combination
of substantive, procedural, and psychological needs of all parties.
Interest-based bargaining focuses on the satisfaction of
particular interests rather than advocacy of a particular position
that may or may not meet the needs of the individuals, as is the
case in positional bargaining. The procedure in interest-based
bargaining is one of mutual problem solving, similar to the pro-
cess involved in putting together a puzzle. The parties sit side by
side and attempt to develop a mutually acceptable settlement.
Mediators can help parties conduct either positional or
interest-based bargaining more efficiently and effectively. Since
the goal of mediation is to help parties reach a mutually accept-
able settlement, mediators generally have a bias toward interest-
based and integrative solutions. Often parties are engaged in a
positional process that is destructive to their relationships, is
not generating creative options, and is not resulting in wise de-