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2 Changing the Adversarial Culture of the Construction Industry
Pages 7-12

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From page 7... ... These include: contentious or competitive corporate cultures; the personal or emotional investment of business managers in disputes; business managers who abdicate their problem-solving responsibilities and pass the problems to their lawyers; lack of supportive leadership; a corporate culture that discourages new solutions; the misalignment of incentives within companies and law firms, including traditional hourly billing arrangements; and a professional legal culture that seeks "perfect" information before deciding how to dispose of a case. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... Also, disputing parties tend to lack confidence in arbitration because of a lack of qualified arbitrators and uneven administration of the arbitration process. In a 2002 survey of experienced arbitrators in the United States, 31 out of 42 respondents indicated that "arbitration is becoming too much like court litigation and thereby losing its promise of providing an expedited and efficient means of resolving commercial disputes…." On the other hand, a 2004 Corporate Legal Times Survey found that 59 percent of respondents thought that arbitration was less expensive than litigation and 70 percent thought that arbitration was faster than litigation. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has developed a mediation center because it recognizes mediation as an absolute necessity in the modern business world and sees an opportunity to promote international trade and growth; however, it may be some time before mediation in a form recognizable to westerners is a widely used to resolve business disputes. ELEMENTS OF CORPORATE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS In addition to arbitration and mediation, ADR encompasses other innovative strategies, outlined in the 2002 CPR survey of corporate conflict management programs: • ADR point person and ADR counsel in the organization, • Participation in the CPR Institute's coalition, • Negotiation and mediation advocacy training for inside counsel, • Incentives such as annual performance reviews to encourage attorneys to seek ADR whenever possible, • Incorporation of ADR in the company's Total Quality Management or Six Sigma Program, • Early conflict assessment procedures and standardized analysis to guide fact/case investigations, • Formal decision analysis tools (decision tree) Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... . Successful partnering addresses myriad project concerns: • Job roles and responsibilities, • Scheduling and document control, • Design issues, • Procurement, • Construction process, • Risk allocation and incentives, • Changes and modifications occurring after project completion, and • Groundwork for managing conflict through a tailored conflict resolution system. Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... CHANGING THE ADVERSARIAL CULTURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 11 Negative 200 Positive/Innovative 180 160 62 140 99 120 22 100 80 125 60 89 88 40 20 6 8 0 Mediation Dispute Review Arbitration Partnering Boards FIGURE 2.1 Reported positive/innovative versus negative experiences of contractors. Negative Positive/Innovative 120 30 100 49 80 60 26 88 40 64 46 20 4 13 0 Mediation Dispute Arbitration Partnering Review Boards FIGURE 2.2 Reported positive/innovative versus negative experiences of architect-engineering firms. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... ABOUT THE INSTITUTE The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) , created 25 years ago, is a nonprofit alliance of global corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions dedicated to the principles of conflict prevention and "appropriate dispute resolution." CPR helps companies manage conflict and avoid litigation, arbitration, and related risks and high costs. Read the entire page →

From page 7...

... These include: contentious or competitive corporate cultures; the personal or emotional investment of business managers in disputes; business managers who abdicate their problem-solving responsibilities and pass the problems to their lawyers; lack of supportive leadership; a corporate culture that discourages new solutions; the misalignment of incentives within companies and law firms, including traditional hourly billing arrangements; and a professional legal culture that seeks "perfect" information before deciding how to dispose of a case.

Read the entire page →

From page 8...

... Also, disputing parties tend to lack confidence in arbitration because of a lack of qualified arbitrators and uneven administration of the arbitration process. In a 2002 survey of experienced arbitrators in the United States, 31 out of 42 respondents indicated that "arbitration is becoming too much like court litigation and thereby losing its promise of providing an expedited and efficient means of resolving commercial disputes…." On the other hand, a 2004 Corporate Legal Times Survey found that 59 percent of respondents thought that arbitration was less expensive than litigation and 70 percent thought that arbitration was faster than litigation.

Read the entire page →

From page 9...

... China, one of the fastest growing economies in the world, has developed a mediation center because it recognizes mediation as an absolute necessity in the modern business world and sees an opportunity to promote international trade and growth; however, it may be some time before mediation in a form recognizable to westerners is a widely used to resolve business disputes. ELEMENTS OF CORPORATE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS In addition to arbitration and mediation, ADR encompasses other innovative strategies, outlined in the 2002 CPR survey of corporate conflict management programs: • ADR point person and ADR counsel in the organization, • Participation in the CPR Institute's coalition, • Negotiation and mediation advocacy training for inside counsel, • Incentives such as annual performance reviews to encourage attorneys to seek ADR whenever possible, • Incorporation of ADR in the company's Total Quality Management or Six Sigma Program, • Early conflict assessment procedures and standardized analysis to guide fact/case investigations, • Formal decision analysis tools (decision tree)

Read the entire page →

From page 10...

... . Successful partnering addresses myriad project concerns: • Job roles and responsibilities, • Scheduling and document control, • Design issues, • Procurement, • Construction process, • Risk allocation and incentives, • Changes and modifications occurring after project completion, and • Groundwork for managing conflict through a tailored conflict resolution system.

Read the entire page →

From page 11...

... CHANGING THE ADVERSARIAL CULTURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 11 Negative 200 Positive/Innovative 180 160 62 140 99 120 22 100 80 125 60 89 88 40 20 6 8 0 Mediation Dispute Review Arbitration Partnering Boards FIGURE 2.1 Reported positive/innovative versus negative experiences of contractors. Negative Positive/Innovative 120 30 100 49 80 60 26 88 40 64 46 20 4 13 0 Mediation Dispute Arbitration Partnering Review Boards FIGURE 2.2 Reported positive/innovative versus negative experiences of architect-engineering firms.

Read the entire page →

From page 12...

... ABOUT THE INSTITUTE The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) , created 25 years ago, is a nonprofit alliance of global corporations, law firms, scholars, and public institutions dedicated to the principles of conflict prevention and "appropriate dispute resolution." CPR helps companies manage conflict and avoid litigation, arbitration, and related risks and high costs.

Read the entire page →

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2 Changing the Adversarial Culture of the Construction Industry Pages 7-12

2 Changing the Adversarial Culture of the Construction Industry
Pages 7-12