The Ombuds Blog: Radio Interview With Columbia Ombuds Faculty

January 28, 2014

Radio Interview With Columbia Ombuds Faculty

Earlier this month, Beth Fisher-Yoshida, interviewed John Zinsser on WKCR in New York. The interview was part of with the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity. Zinsser is an instructor at the negotiation and conflict resolution masters program at Columbia University.

He discusses his experience as an Ombuds and consultant for organizations like hospitals, universities and corporations. It's an excellent overview for novices and he offers some insightful critiques that experienced Ombuds will appreciate. (WKCR.)

Related posts: Baker Hughes Opens Ombuds Office; Columbia Adds Course on Advanced Ombuds Practice; Revisiting the Issue of 'Fairness'.

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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