Business Conflict Blog

It’s my turn to teach First Day School (what Quakers call Sunday School) for the past few weeks.  And as usual I’m having more fun than the kids are.  The King James Version of the Bible has been a favorite ever since I took Prof. Bond’s course on “The Bible as Literature” at Dartmouth (before the Punic Wars, it sometimes seems) and it is a delight to revisit that wonderful collection of superb writing.

Looking through the story of Moses has stirred some concerns, though, about what we Americans think justice is, and what we use the law to accomplish.  In particular, I wonder whether we have lost our fundamental cultural moorings a bit when it comes to our response to being injured. Read more »

Tags: Culture

The third and final student paper I intend to share addresses the emergence of Islamic law in countries that are, or promise to be, important trade partners with western businesses.  Read more »

Tags: Culture, Negotiation

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays of the year for Americans.  It is also culturally becoming.  We are encouraged to pause and reflect on what we have received, especially from those no longer at the table. 

(There are, as always, other ways to look at it — Ayn Rand famously called it a typical American holiday because it celebrated not Pilgrims, but successful production, in a selfish and therefore commendable feast of conspicuous overconsumption.)

Might we consider an accompanying holiday — one where, instead of thinking of what we have received, we think of what we might get rid of?  In particular, our resentments, our grudges, our get-back-ats, and our expensive, time-consuming claims against one another?  Rather than Thanksgiving Day, what about Forgiving Day?

(No, this isn’t religious — it’s commercially rational.  Read on!) Read more »

Tags: conflict management, Culture

Part I of this post summarized reports from Spain, South Africa, Bahrain, Pakistan and the Balkans.  This second and concluding part presents reports from Argentina, the United States and Europe broadly. Read more »

Tags: ADR Institutions, conflict management, Culture