Call for Submissions: Conflict Resolution in Education Settings

The Fourth R, the semi-annual newsletter of the Education Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution, has announced a call for submissions for its Summer/Fall 2009 issue. The publication seeks articles of approximately 800-1500 words related to research and work in the field of conflict resolution education. The submissions should include: a conflict story; an analysis of the conflict or its impact on school culture; and a theoretical or research grounded resolution process. The deadline is June 15, 2009. (ACR Update.)

New Ombuds Office at Wright State University

The public university in Ohio has appointed Joan Bernstein to head its new Office of Ombuds for Students. Adhering to principles of confidentiality, informality and impartiality, the office serves students with university related conflicts, issues or concerns. Bernstein explained that the office was launched without significant publicity and that most of the visitors are referred by administrators. Bernstein also serves as the university's Communications Manager for the Enrollment Management Division. (Wright State Ombuds.)

University of Idaho Ombuds Publishes Annual Report

University of Idaho Ombuds James R. Fazio and Roxanne E. Schreiber reported that their caseload rose slightly in the 2007-08 academic year, reversing a two-year decline. There were substantially more referrals that previously. A slight majority of visitors were women. The report also provides unsolicited feedback from visitors and the results of a self-appraisal survey. (UIdaho Ombuds Annual Reports.)

Related post: University of Idaho to Expand Ombuds Services to Students.

Job Posting: Boston University

Following through on a recent faculty recommendation, BU has opened a search for its first Ombuds. The position will report directly to the University President and serve faculty, students and staff on the Charles River Campus, Medical Campus and satellite facilities, foreign or domestic (a population of nearly 40,000). An advanced degree in a related field is required; doctorate preferred. Prior experience in an academic environment is a must, with previous experience as an Ombuds strongly preferred. No closing date indicated. Salary range (grade 78): $60,960 to $101,180 per annum. (New England HERC; BU Jobs; BU Salary Structure.)

Related post: Study Concludes Boston University Should Establish Ombuds Office.

International Labour Organization Issues Annual Report

The ILO Office of the Mediator (which functions as an organizational Ombuds), has published its report for 2008. Director Asha Singh Williams reports that her office handled 201 cases in the past year, an increase of 32 from 2007. However, she emphasized that she perceives the increase as a positive indicator: more staff are using the informal conflict resolution mechanism. The ILO Office of the Mediator also provided information and assistance to other NGO at the annual meeting of the UN System Network of Ombudsmen and Mediators held in Washington in July 2008. (ILO Office of the Mediator Annual Reports.)

FDIC Ombuds Creates Unit for Bank Customers

In the wake of an increasing number of bank failures, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has established a new unit within its Office of the Ombudsman to assist customers with loans at failed banks. The new unit will complement the work that the FDIC already provides to the public and is another effort to improve communications with borrowers of failed banks. The FDIC emphasized that the Office of the Ombudsman will continue to serve as an independent and neutral resource. (FDIC Press Release; South Florida Business Journal.)

Related posts: FDIC Ombuds Issues Biannual Report; Ombuds as Spokesperson; FDIC Ombuds Reports Strong Growth in Visitor Traffic.

Rules for Being an Ethical and Effective Leader

Bruce Weinstein, “The Ethics Guy” for Business Week, says that winning at all costs is for losers. He offers ten leadership guidelines those whose decisions can affect the financial well being of other people.

1. What's good for the gander is good for the goose — As organizations slash labor forces and freeze salaries, leaders should also take pay cuts.
2. Know your product — Leaders have an ethical obligation, to their organization, clients and themselves, to know understand their organization is doing and to speak up about any concerns.
3. Winning at all costs is for losers — Hardball leadership is shortsighted, unfair, and ultimately bad for the organization, since the consequences will be more regulation and oversight.
4. Tell the truth — A leader has an ethical obligation to be honest with stakeholders about issues that directly concern them.
5. Prevent harm — The good leader recognizes that preventing harm to clients and the organization is both an ethical responsibility and a wise business policy.
6. Don't exploit — It is easy to take advantage of a crisis for financial gain, but doing so isn't consistent with good leadership. Taking the low road can be harmful professionally and personally.
7. Don't make promises you can't keep — Good leaders are careful to make only those promises they are likely to keep and keep the promises they do make. When they are unable to keep those promises, they own up to it.
8. Take responsibility for your mistakes — Transparency and accountability should be the new buzzwords. This means, in part, that business leaders who make mistakes should apologize to those they have let down and do whatever is necessary to make amends.
9. People, not profits — Money has no intrinsic value; it is good only for what it can get us. For the good leader, this means that the ultimate goal in business—and life—is not hoarding riches but making things better for all, especially the neediest.
10. Be kind, not king — Good leaders are enthusiastically devoted to accomplishing their mission, but this pursuit cannot be at the expense of the well being of others.
11. (Bonus rule) You are not your career — Good leaders not only make room for family, friends, and spirituality; they know these are the things that truly make life worth living.

Good advice in difficult times. (MSNBC/Business Week; see also, The Ethics Guy Blog.)

New Ombuds Program at Valencia Community College

The multi-campus college in Orlando, FL, has implemented a student Ombuds program staffed by more than a dozen faculty and administrators. Student Ombuds are designated by each of the campus provosts, and are charged with being independent, impartial, and confidential. The program was set up with significant input from VCC’s General Counsel and Vice President for Policy, William J. Mullowney, who once served as the Ombuds for the University of Miami. (VCC Ombuds Homepage; VCC Ombuds Program Guide.)

Update: Washington Post Objects to Politicization of DC Schools Ombuds

The editorial board of the Washington Post decries the DC Council’s attempt to erode mayoral control over the public schools. Among other things, the Post is concerned about changes that seem to imperil the independence of the Public Schools Ombuds: “Having the school ombudsman report to the elected board would politicize an office that is supposed to be a dispassionate solver of problems.” (Washington Post.)

Update 5/13/09: Chancellor Michelle Rhee agrees. (Washington Post.)

Prior post: Local Politics Threaten DC Schools Ombuds.

Conflict Management Course for HR Generalists in Toronto

The Human Resource Professionals Association is offering a one-day workshop to introduce HR generalists to conflict management processes, principles and practices, and their application to the workplace. The course covers a wide variety of dispute resolution techniques such as workplace mediation, neutral evaluation, relationship by objective programs, the Ombuds model, workplace rehabilitation and neutral fact finding. Rick Russell of Agree Dispute Resolution, former Ombuds at McMaster University is the presenter. The workshop takes place on HRPA Education Centre on May 12, 2009. (HPRA Events Info.)

Call for Proposals: Economic Crisis and Conflict Resolution Conference

The Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the Boyd School of Law, UNLV, is organizing a conference for February 12-13, 2010, tentatively titled: ”The Economic Crisis and Conflict Resolution.” The focus is how to use conflict resolution tools to deal with aspects of our ongoing economic crisis. Some speakers will be asked to write articles for inclusion in a symposium issue of the Nevada Law Journal. Some speakers will be eligible for travel, accommodation and food reimbursement. Proposals are due May 18, 2009. (ADR Prof Blog.)

Related post: Study Shows Ombuds Mitigate Hidden Costs of Downsizing.

ADR Blog Directory Hits Milestone

In 2006, Diane Levin, began the ADRblogs.com to catalog blogs that discuss ADR, negotiation, consensus building, negotiation, conflict resolution, and human-centered innovations in law and justice. Now known as the World Directory of ADRblogs, the recently marked a major milestone by adding its 200th blog. Although Levin has a category for Ombuds Blogs, there are only two entries so far. Nonetheless, this is a remarkable resource for all Ombuds. It is easy to spend a couple hours looking at the collected blogs. (World Directory of ADR Blogs via Mediation Channel.)

Local Politics Threaten DC Schools Ombuds

A dispute between District of Columbia politicians is threatening to draw in the recently created public schools Ombuds. Local observers believe that a disagreement between Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and the District Council is affecting the approval of the mayor’s budget. Among other cuts, the Council is considering an 80% reduction in the budget for the office of Deputy Mayor for Education, which would be accomplished by transferring away several areas of responsibility, including moving the public schools Ombudsman to the State Board of Education’s purview. Thursday night, several school officials slated to appear at a community forum hosted by a Council member withdrew at the last minute with no explanation leading some to speculate that Mayor Fenty blocked their attendance. Interim DCPS Ombuds Jeff Ross did appear as promised. (Washington City Paper, City Desk Blog for April 27 and May 1; Washington Post DC Wire.)

This is a terrible situation for the Interim Ombuds. It's hard enough maintaining actual and perceived independence and neutrality within your organization without adding local politics. Surely, the DCPS Ombuds is not being paid enough to worry about becoming a pawn in the fight between the Mayor and District Council. The District already lost its first Ombuds and is looking for the permanent replacement. If the situation does not improve, qualified applicants may be discouraged. There is a real danger here that the office will be irreparably weakened (and the benefit to the school community lost) if cooler heads do not prevail.

Related posts: DC Schools Ombuds Lasts Just 14 Months; DC Schools Appoints Interim Ombuds.

New Ombuds Program at University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey

The state-run health sciences institution has appointed Neil Schorr to the newly created position of University Ombudsperson. The position reports directly to the University President and was approved by UMDNJ’s Board of Trustees in September 2008. Until now, UMDNJ had only a Research Ombuds and Ombuds for students and housestaff. Schorr previously served as Interim Vice Presiden and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer for the University. Before coming to UMDNJ in 2006, Schorr was special advisor to the Chief Postal Inspector of the United States. He earned his BA in Economics from Lehman College and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and a number of professional organizations including IOA, Health Care Compliance Association, and the American Society for Industrial Security. (UMDNJ Trustees Minutes, 9/10/08; UMDNJ President’s Cabinet.)

Study Shows Ombuds Mitigate Hidden Costs of Downsizing

Research by Charlie O. Trevor and Anthony J. Nyberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business confirms that when companies layoff employees to boost productivity, voluntary turnover rates also increase significantly. Trevor and Nyberg then examined what sort of companies did not suffer from an unexpected surge in voluntary attrition after a downsizing program. They found that companies with Ombuds were better insulated from these unintended consequences.

There is at least some good news for downsizing companies, however, as the study also identifies human resource practices that can substantially buffer the downsizing effect on subsequent turnover. One way is through practices that foster job embeddedness, such as defined-benefits plans, sabbaticals, on-site childcare, hiring for organizational fit, and flextime. Another is through practices that convey a concern with procedural justice -- practices that provide employees with a means of addressing perceived injustices on the job, such as through an ombudsman or a confidential hotline or a formal grievance process. For example, a company that downsizes 2% of the workforce (the median rate of the downsizers) and has high levels of either type of HR practices would be expected to see turnover rate increases less than one fourth the size of the increases at low levels of the HR practices.

Apparently, employees at such companies were confident that the downsizing efforts had been fair and unavoidable. The research will be published in the next issue of the Academy of Management Journal. (Wisconsin School of Business News; Freek Vermeulen’s HBR Blog.)

Related posts: Ombuds Can Help Minimize Effects of Layoffs; Ninety Second Defense of an Ombuds Office.