Mediation – Practicum

What kept the two sides glued to the negotiating table was their mutual desire to stay out of court . Although for different reasons , a court case would not help the causes of Manasseh Pulp Company (Manasseh ) and Shawnee Power Company (Shawnee . Manasseh had two reasons for wanting to settle the dispute out of court . First , the company was not financially healthy . It feared that the combined cost of taking down the dam and bringing Shawnee to court would dangerously drain the company coffers . Second , it considered Shawnee a big customer for their specialty

s and believed , correctly , that filing a suit would certainly mean losing a sizable amount of business (Selig , 2002 Although Manasseh appeared adamant in its initial demand , I believe that the company was really hoping for a favorable out of court settlement . Shawnee , on the other hand , had its own reasons for avoiding a court case . Even before the problem with Manasseh arose , the company had already received an from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA requiring it to clear the river of their toxic metal discharge . The company counsel pointed out that a suit involving the same issue might work to their disadvantage in that it might force EPA to compel Shawnee to speed up its compliance with the clean-up directive . Shawnee would not want this to happen because it would mean an earlier cash outflow for the project . Moreover , if Shawnee lost a court case with Manasseh (and the probability was very high because unquestionably , Shawnee was the source of the toxic metal in the river , the company counsel feared that such a ruling might cause a negative influence on the EPA regarding their directive on the toxic metal clean-up (Selig , 2002

The aforementioned motivations compelled both parties to keep on discussing possibilities despite recurring impasses brought about by their conflicting interests . The counsels of both parties played a significant role in maintaining interest in the discussion not only by their constant reminders about the undesirability of litigation , but also by their active participation in efforts to look for mutually-beneficial alternatives . It must be properly noted that during one of the lulls in the discussion , it was the remark of one of the legal counsels that it would be a lot simpler and cheaper if we could repair the dam instead of having to take it down (Selig , 2002 ) that started the ball rolling again . Notice should also be made of the participants ' enthusiasm in following-up any new ideas that came from discussants from both sides of the table every time an impasse occurred When one of the attorneys made the remark about the possibility of a repair being cheaper , it was a Manasseh vice president who followed it up by asking if we were to repair this dam , could we restore railway service over the top and also use it once again to generate electricity (Selig , 2002

Another constructive quality shown by the parties to the conflict was their readiness to look at...