Dispute System Design
Dispute Systems Design
Ury, Brett, and Goldberg pioneered Dispute Systems Design (DSD) in the 1980s, as a method for resolving intractable or frequent conflicts in troubled organizations, businesses, or entire industries. Their pioneering work was done at the Caney Creek Coal Mine, a mine that had been plagued by strikes in the 1970s.[4] At the center of their method were three heuristics for analyzing conflicts and designing new systems, which could deal with these conflicts quickly and efficiently, before they escalated into the frequent strikes, and lockouts that had been occurring at this mine almost routinely. The first heuristic involves the relationship between three ways of resolving disputes: by negotiating interests, by adjudicating rights, or by pursuing power options (such as strikes or lockouts). Ideally, disputes should be resolved at the lowest level, through negotiating interests. Claims of interest focus on the desires of the actors in any given dispute. Rather than focusing on what a person can do based on their rights and power, Ury, Brett, and Goldberg argue that actors should focus on what they wouldlike to do based on their own interests. Interest-based claims are more negotiable, and hence less likely to become intractable. Only if interest negotiation doesn 't work, should the parties try a rights-based approach (such as a legal suit). And power-based approaches, such as strikes, should be reserved for those few conflicts that cannot be resolved either through interest or rights-based approaches.
At the Caney Creek mine, most disputes, even minor ones, were resolved with power struggles. The employees found the grievance procedures so cumbersome and ineffectual, that they just started a wildcat (impromptu) strike whenever an affront occurred, because they found this to be the best and quickest way to get response from management. But this approach is very costly for both sides.[5]
The following diagram shows a distressed conflict
Ury, Brett, and Goldberg pioneered Dispute Systems Design (DSD) in the 1980s, as a method for resolving intractable or frequent conflicts in troubled organizations, businesses, or entire industries. Their pioneering work was done at the Caney Creek Coal Mine, a mine that had been plagued by strikes in the 1970s.[4] At the center of their method were three heuristics for analyzing conflicts and designing new systems, which could deal with these conflicts quickly and efficiently, before they escalated into the frequent strikes, and lockouts that had been occurring at this mine almost routinely. The first heuristic involves the relationship between three ways of resolving disputes: by negotiating interests, by adjudicating rights, or by pursuing power options (such as strikes or lockouts). Ideally, disputes should be resolved at the lowest level, through negotiating interests. Claims of interest focus on the desires of the actors in any given dispute. Rather than focusing on what a person can do based on their rights and power, Ury, Brett, and Goldberg argue that actors should focus on what they wouldlike to do based on their own interests. Interest-based claims are more negotiable, and hence less likely to become intractable. Only if interest negotiation doesn 't work, should the parties try a rights-based approach (such as a legal suit). And power-based approaches, such as strikes, should be reserved for those few conflicts that cannot be resolved either through interest or rights-based approaches.
At the Caney Creek mine, most disputes, even minor ones, were resolved with power struggles. The employees found the grievance procedures so cumbersome and ineffectual, that they just started a wildcat (impromptu) strike whenever an affront occurred, because they found this to be the best and quickest way to get response from management. But this approach is very costly for both sides.[5]
The following diagram shows a distressed conflict