Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School is launching a new program aimed at teaching business professionals and law students how to rise above conflict and achieve a “win-win” outcome for them and their clients.
WMU-Cooley’s Center for the Study and Resolution of Conflict offers seminars and specific undergraduate and graduate-level courses that teach participants how to improve the way they deal with conflicts.
Center officials plan to demonstrate how to improve listening skills, explain the benefits of understanding the opposite point-of-view and teach the value of addressing conflict in a timely manner.
Center director Graham Warn said participants will master best practices for the selected process, heavily consider the decision-making process, develop an appreciation for creative and alternative options and learn how to minimize damage and improve the relationship among the involved parties.
Ward said he hoped to create a deeper understanding of the art of negotiation, including its history, societal contributions, and how it has evolved through time.
“While we all engage in negotiations, virtually every day and irrespective of our personal relations and employment responsibilities, few have been formally trained in the art and science of negotiation,” Ward said.
The four goals of the program, according to Ward, are “to provide historical background, introduce modernized win-win and principled-negotiation concepts, demonstrate various negotiating styles and identify specific conflicts within those styles.”
Instructors will introduce participants to the various negotiating styles and tactics in how to get a positive result from their clients, he said.
Participants will receive advice on setting up in-house procedures to resolve conflicts in their professional environment and also have an opportunity to observe dispute resolution efforts with actual clients.
Ward will be facilitating a variety of programs and seminars including upcoming lunch seminars with Prof. Kenneth Jones of the WMU Integrated Supply Chain Management Program.
He said topics would include: “Compete or Collaborate,” “The Three Ps: Pitfalls, Problems and Perils of Positional Bargaining,” “The Productive Use of Conflict” and “Please Never Talk Money at the Beginning.”
The center is able to customize courses and seminars as needed by corporations, institutions, and government entities.
The center is a collaborative effort with Western Michigan University.
More information is available at cooley.edu/clinics/conflict-resolution-management-training.html.
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