The Ombuds Blog: IOA Announces Winner of 2014 Writing Competition

July 15, 2014

IOA Announces Winner of 2014 Writing Competition

The International Ombudsman Association has selected Vikram (Vik) Kapoor as the winner of its 2014 Writing Competition for his entry entitled "Well-Being at Work and the Positive Organizational Ombuds.” Kapoor will receive a cash award of $1,500, an Associate Membership for 2015, and an invitation to the 2015 IOA Annual Conference in Atlanta.

Kapoor’s submission explores several common conflict scenarios in the workplace through the lens of positive psychology – the scientific study of happiness. Through the use of vignettes, this piece encourages the organizational ombuds to consider whether and when applying positive psychology in their practice would be helpful in engaging workplace conflict. His paper will be made available later this year.

Kapoor will soon be joining the ADR Division of FEMA as an ADR Attorney, where he will be providing ADR services to FEMA offices and employees throughout the Agency. Kapoor is a litigator, facilitator, and court mediator and has served on the ABA's Ombuds Taskforce and the Council of the ABA's Dispute Resolution Section. He received his JD from Georgetown University and his BA from UCLA. (IOA News.)

Related posts: First Annual IOA Student Writing Competition; IOA Announces First Winner of Student Writing Competition; Journal of IOA Publishes Latest Issue in Time for Annual Conference; IOA Opens Writing Competition to Non-Ombuds (2013); IOA Announces 2013 Writing Competition Winner; IOA Announces 2014 Writing Competition; Southern California Ombuds Meeting Highlighted by Presentation on Positive Empathy.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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

Comment Policy

Content and Relevance

Stay on topic: Comments should be relevant to the post.
Be respectful: Personal attacks, insults, profanity, inflammatory language, and discriminatory or harassing comments will not be tolerated.
No self-promotion or spam: Comments should contribute to the conversation and not be used to for commercial purposes.
No confidential information: Do not share confidential information about your organization or visitors.

Length and Format

Keep it concise: Comments should be clear and to the point. Excessively long comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Use appropriate formatting: Do not use all caps unnecessarily. Comments may include HTML formatting for readability.

Other Considerations

Be professional and respectful: Please be mindful of your content, even when commending anonymously.
Comments may be edited: I reserve the right to remove or edit any comments that violate these guidelines. My edits will be noted.
Complaints about IOA: This is not the appropriate forum to lodge formal complaints against the International Ombuds Association.
Guest editorials: Please email me directly to discuss a guest editorial offering a longer, more in-depth perspective on a topic related to the organizational ombuds profession