Arbitration & Mediation

Differing Types of Logic May Affect Negotiation

By Christopher Annunziata

Stephanie West Allen has an interesting post over on Idealawg about how differing problem solving styles may affect communication, goal setting and mediation.  Stephanie then asked several of us whether mediation is causal or effectual.  I was quite amazed to learn that there were different types of logic - causal and effectual.  I was even more amazed to learn that there are mediation participants who actually think logically.

Stephanie quotes a passage from From “New Book Reveals Entrepreneurial Thought Process” (Research News - University of Virginia) that best explains the difference between the two:

A cook using causal logic would start with a menu or a specific recipe while a cook using effectual logic would look in the cupboards to see what ingredients might be available to create an entirely new dish.

Put that way, the vast majority of mediations I handle are causal.  They are the so-called “single issue” case where the only issue is money.  The parties want to settle at a sum that both can live with and we haggle back and forth until that number is reached.

Yes, I know that some of you believe that money is never the only issue, but I respectfully disagree.  Sure, people want to vent, but in the end, they also want a check.  I have yet to see a mediation where the aggrieved party was willing to walk away once they told off the other side.  So, the process is very familiar and very formulaic - not unlike a recipe.

Someday I hope to get to a place in my career where the cases are complex, have many moving parts and allow me to flex my effectual logic muscles.  But right now, I find my mediations are very causal.

Full post as published by CKA Mediation and Arbitration Services Blog on August 12, 2008 (boomark / email).