Services Provided By Otey Associates, Inc.

Mediation

Mediation is an informal confidential dispute resolution process by which a neutral third party, the mediator, attempts to facilitate communication between parties to promote reconciliation, settlement, or understanding. Mediation is a process that can effectively, efficiently and respectfully resolve the following types of disagreements and disputes.

Employment

Janie has grieved her evaluation and the guidance that she believes she has not received in her job. The conflict between Janie and her supervisor is disrupting the entire department. Employees are "taking sites" and spending more time talking about the problem that doing work. Something needs to happen Quickly to pull these people together or someone will have to go. Of course, finding and training new people is very hard and costly.

Business

The Eversobia Corporation has run into problems with the small company that produces a product vital to the successes of their businesses. Something needs to happen quickly or Eversobia will suffer financially. Business disputes reduce productivity and success.

Divorce

Mark and Cleo have decided to divorce after 15 years of marriage. The are having trouble reaching agreement on property and the four children. They would like to be able to work it out as amicably and efficiently as possible.

Post-Divorce

John and Mary have been divorced for five years. At the time of their divorce their children were toddlers. Now the children are older and the parenting schedule on the original decree no longer works for the children or John and Mary. They want to work out new parenting schedules without the hassle and expense of long drawn-out battles.

Community

The neighborhood association is in dispute with a local business over expansion and parking. Both would like to discuss the issues openly and without major blowups and harsh words.

The Church

The church has been in open disagreement about the educational program of the youth group. Angry words have been exchanged and fourteen families are threatening to leave the church and take their children and financial support with them. There must be some way to reach resolution.

Education

The new principal and the "old" assistant principal disagree philosophically about how to run the school. The faculty and parents have begun to get involved and take sides with their favorite administrator. Instructional time with students is becoming disrupted.

Special Education

The parents of a child with disabilities is unhappy with the school services and is considering filing a Due Process Hearing. They really prefer to try to work with the school because they believe that a positive relationship with the school will benefit their child.

Facilitated Negotiation

People negotiate on a daily basis. People negotiate to try to solve a problem or to establish some kind of new condition between them. There are times when relationships and disputes are so difficult that it is helpful to have a neutral third party facilitate the negotiation discussion or conversation.

Group Process Facilitation

Group Process Facilitation involves a neutral person facilitating a group as they work through a process to complete a task or solve a problem.

Sometimes people want to consult with skill and expertise before attempting to address a conflict or dispute on their own. Conflict coaching involves the conflict resolution specialist assisting a person identify primary concerns and a possible approach to take in trying to resolve the conflict. Coaching may be done in person, on the telephone, or through e-mail.

Change Transition Process Facilitation

Change is everywhere. New leaders typically enter a position with specific goals and directives for improving the organization. They frequently have little or no time to thing about "how" to enter the existing system in the most effective way. Following a change process can actually reduce and/or prevent future conflict in the group or organization. The goal of the facilitator in a change process is to assist the group develop strategies for going through change and addressing the conflict that usually accompanies change.

Strategic Planning Process Facilitation

Sometimes groups are charged with long range planning. Conducting long-range planning is challenging enough and if there is conflict or tension in the group, the results can be paralyzing. A facilitator assists the group in working through eh planning process while also dealing effectively with conflict when it arises in the group.

Team Building Process Facilitation

What makes some groups or teams work well together and others never quite get going? Team building is much more than activities to help groups get to know wand like each other. Team building means identifying individual styles and what they mean for the group as they work together. Team building means identifying what is working well on the team and what could be different. Team building means developing systems or processes for the team to utilize during the life of the team. Otey Associates uses the Strengths Deployment Inventory to assist teams in working together more effectively.

Public Policy Dispute Resolution

A neighborhood association is in disagreement with the city on how to develop a particular piece of land adjacent to the neighborhood. A neutral facilitator can help representatives from the two groups discuss the issues, identify the primary concerns and the criteria for any solution. The process can lead to a recommendation of the public policy or resolution to a public issue.