For workplace mediation programs, success is most often measured by assessing the agreement rate. However, it is unlikely that all signed agreements are of equal quality. Starting with the principle that the “success” of a mediation program cannot be limited to its agreement rate, we designed a study to assess the quality of mediation agreements. This article uses a questionnaire based on a five‐dimension framework (mediator’s usefulness, procedural justice, satisfaction with agreement, confidence in agreement, and reconciliation between parties) to conduct a cluster analysis of a sample of agreements from a governmental mediation program. Three types of agreement are identified: disappointing, satisfactory, and value‐added agreements. The study’s theoretical contributions as well as its practical implications for mediators and mediation programs are discussed.
Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of conflict management on conflicts at work. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 148 post-graduate students in management responded to a questionnaire online. Two cluster analyses were performed to identify dispute resolution patterns and organizational dispute states. Then, cross tabulation between the two clusters was performed (Pearson's chi-square coefficient and Sommer's D statistic). Findings -Cluster analyses identified three styles of dispute resolution pattern -interest-based, based on controlled power, and power-based -and three different organizational dispute states: harmony, dissonance, and conflict. Finally, the influence of resolution patterns on dispute states was been confirmed by the cross tabulation.Research limitations/implications -Firstly, Ury et al.'s theoretical typology should be revised, especially for the rights-based approach. Secondly, the results of our cluster analysis indicate that it might not be necessary to measure the emotional and behavioral dimension of conflict separately. Thirdly, our research confirms the impact of conflict management on conflicts at work. Practical implications -The results show that dispute resolution patterns have a non-negligible influence on organizational conflict states. In order to increase the likelihood of a harmony state, an interest-based dispute resolution pattern should be adopted. Originality/value -First, the statistical technique used -cluster analysis -is somewhat innovative. Secondly, this research shows that dispute resolution patterns may affect organizational dispute states.One of the basic tenets of conflict management is that the way an organization settles its conflicts has a direct impact on the workplace climate, and in particular on the conflict aspect of this climate. The purpose of this study is to explore this claim in three steps. First, using cluster analysis, the study identifies three patterns for resolving disputes within organizations: interest-based resolution, resolution based on regulation, and power-based resolution. Second, using cluster analysis, the study isolates three different states of organizational dispute: a state of harmony, a state of dissonance, and a state of conflict. Lastly, the study confirms the significant impact that dispute resolution patterns have on organizational dispute states. The practical implications of these results are then discussed.While previous research shows that conflicts are inevitable, it also stresses that the ways in which conflicts are managed can have positive or negative consequences for organizational performance. In fact, certain studies suggest that, by definition, conflict harms the organization's economic and social performance (Pondy, 1967) by impairing communications (Gray and Starke, 1988;Hall, 1991), slowing strategic decision making The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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