Third Party Intervention

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THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTIONS
Prior focus on the parties, and what they can do

themselves
Here, focus shifts to TPI (Third Party Intervention)
Why is TPI used? Why not?
Advantages
Disadvantages
When is TPI used? A: Mainly at impasse, or when
potential for impasse is high
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 Third-party

intermediaries
are
people,
organizations, or even nations (in an international
perspective) who enter a conflict to try to help the
parties de-escalate or resolve it (Burgess, 2004).
Formal intermediaries are people who are
professional conflict resolvers and who are hired
specifically to do that job. They maybe professional
mediators, arbitrators, facilitators, or judges, who
work privately or with a government agency.
Informal intermediaries are people who find
themselves in an intermediary role, but it is not
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When Is Third Party Intervention

Useful?
High risk with raising an issue
Patterns of behavior are hard to change
Potential for violence

When the parties arent able to clarify the basis of

the conflict
When external parties request a third party

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What Do Third Parties Do?

There are three general types of third parties--arbitrators,

mediators and facilitators. They differ in terms of the degree

of control they have over the settlement terms, their role in
the negotiation or conflict dialogue process, and their
knowledge of the issues in dispute.

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 WALTONS APPROACH TO THIRD PARTY INTERVENTIONS

PEACE MAKING INTERVENTIONS

InWALTONS METHOD, Walton has presented a statement of theory

and practice for third-party peace making interventions that is

important in its own right and important for its role in organization
development.

Third party interventions involve confrontation and Walton outlines

confrontation mechanisms. A major feature of these mechanisms is

the ability to diagnose the problem accurately.

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Conflict
Conflict is inherent in groups and in organizations. It can

arise from a variety of sources (Cummings, T.&Worley, C.,

2001):
Personality

Task orientation
Perceptions among group members
Competition over scarce resources

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Conflict can:
Enhance motivation
Enhance innovation
Lead to better understanding of ideas and views

On the other hand, conflict can:

Prevent people from working together constructively
Destroy necessary task interactions among group members
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The diagonistic model :

The model is based on four elements:
1.
2.

3.
4.

The conflict issues.

Precipitating circumstances.
Conflict relevant acts.
The consequences of the conflict.

It is also important to know the source of the conflict.

Sources:
Substantive issues, which is conflict related to practices, scarce resources,
and differing conceptions of roles and responsibilities.
Emotional issues, involve feelings between the parties, such as anger, hurt,
fear, resentment, etc.
The former requires bargaining and problem solving and the latter requires
restructuring perceptions and working through negative feelings.
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Substantive Issues
Involves disagreement sover policies and practices,
competitive bids for the same resources and differing
conceptions of roles and role relationships.
Require problem-solving and bargaining behaviors
between the principals.
Emotional Issues
Involves negative feelings between the parties(e.g., anger,
distrust, resentment, fear,rejection).
Requires restructuring perceptions and workin gthrough
negative feelings.
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Further, Walton has outlined the ingredients of a

productive confrontation (the process of addressing
conflict), they are:
Mutual positive motivation, which refers to the

willingness on both parties t resolve the conflict.

Balance of power. There ought not be any power
differentials between the parties involved in a
confrontation.
Synchronization of confrontation efforts. The
two parties must address the conflict simultaneously.
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 Differentiation and integration of different phases of the

intervention must be well paced. The intervention involves working

through negative feelings and ambivalent positive feeling. The intervention
must allow sufficient time for this process to take place.
Conditions that promote openness should be created. This could
be done through setting appropriate norms and creating a structure that
encourages openness.
Reliable communicative signals. This statement refers to using
language that is understood by the parties involved in the confrontation.
Optimum tension in the situation. This means that the stress
experienced by both parties ought to be sufficient to motivate them but not
too excessive.
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Control Over Settlement Terms

Arbitrators

Varies from a lot to none

Mediators
Facilitators

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Little, if any
None

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Role in the Process

Arbitrators

Structures the process, may influence

the process
Mediators
Structures the process (with
different levels of participant input)
Facilitators Structures the process

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Knowledge of the Issues

Arbitrators

Usually a lot

Mediators

Little if any

Facilitators

Little if any

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What Kind of TPI Is Appropriate?

Level of Negotiator Control
o Over Outcome
Control of

Procedure Low
Low

Autocracy

High

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Arbitration

High
Mediation
Fact-finding

Negotiation

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Common Third Party Interventions

Fact-finding
Without recommendations
With recommendations
Arbitration
Conventional arbitration -- arbitrator has great freedom to fashion a
remedy within confines of an arbitration agreement
Final Offer Selection (FOS, a.k.a. sudden death)
Mediation
Other forms -- some details on these later
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Fact Finding
Objectives:
Discover parties positions; clarify them
Possibly publicize them
Possibly make recommendations
Theories:
Parties may not be communicating clearly -- disagreement may be
simply a misunderstanding
Publicity may shame the unreasonable to change
Report or recommendations may guide others
Reality: Not used much. Disagreements are real, public
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often doesnt care or understand

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Arbitration
Makes a decision for the parties

Generally used where basic principles are not at stake; a

decision may be as, or more important, than what the decision is

Some problems with arbitration
Decision-acceptance: Parties lack commitment
Biasing: Partiality endangers acceptability
Half-life: Decisions almost inevitably anger losers
Narcotic or dependence: Excess reliance

Chilling: Discourages negotiation (FOS ?)

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FOS Arbitration: Final Offer Selection (a.k.a.

Sudden Death)
Expressly designed to counter chilling effect

Theory:
Conventional arbitrators may adopt split the difference approach; parties expect this,

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and adjust
Parties response: Take extreme positions
This lessens chances for reaching agreement
FOS arbitrator must select one partys position
Creates new incentive for parties: Try to be a tad more reasonable (arbitratoracceptable) than the other side
Parties may find they are not too far apart, and reach agreement on their own
Also, parties have shaped the agreement more directly, at least with no modifications
option (purest form of FOS)
Should reduce decision-acceptance problems
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 The terms "third party" and "intermediary" are both used to refer to a person or team of

people who become involved in a conflict to help the disputing parties manage or resolve it.
Third parties might act as consultants, helping one side or both sides analyze the conflict and
plan an effective response. Alternatively, they might act as facilitators, arranging meetings,
setting agendas, and guiding productive discussions. Facilitators will also usually record what
was said, and may write up a short report summarizing the discussions and any agreements
that were reached.
A more active and powerful third party role is that of mediator. Mediators not only facilitate
discussions, but they usually impose a structure and process on the discussions that is
designed to move the parties toward mutual understanding and win-win agreements. While
many different styles of mediation are common, most mediators have the conflicting parties
sit down together to explain to each other their views about the nature of the problem and
how they think it might best be solved. The mediator often tries to get the disputants to
focus on underlying interests (the things they really need or want) more than their initial
opening positions (what they initially say they need or want). By clarifying the divergent
views and reasons for those views, mediators can usually get the parties to develop a
common understanding of the situation, which often yields a solution which satisfies the
interests of all parties. While some mediators take a stronger role in option identification
and selection than others, mediators do not have the power to impose a solution. At most,
they can suggest a solution, which the disputants may or may not accept.

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 The most powerful third party role is that of an

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arbitrator. An arbitrator listens to presentations made by

both sides, examines written materials and other
evidence relating to a case, and then makes a
determination of who is right and who is wrong, or how
a conflict should be settled. Usually, the arbitrators
decision is binding and cannot be appealed. Thus, the
arbitrator is the most powerful type of intermediary.
Arbitration works well when the parties simply want a
settlement, and do not worry about losing control of the
process or the outcome. For parties that want to
maintain control, however, the other forms of
intervention (mediation or facilitation) are often
preferred.
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Team Building Interventions

Presented by: Shraddha Thakker (07bs4614)

Urmi J. Shukla (07bs4643)

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Distinction between
Groups and Teams
A work group is

- a number of persons
- usually reporting to a common superior
- having some face-to-face interaction
- persons have some degree of interdependence in carrying out
tasks for the purpose of achieving organizational goals
A team is
- a form of group
- has some characteristics in greater degree than ordinary groups
- and a higher degree of interdependency and interaction
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Why People Join Teams?

Security
Status
Self- esteem
Affiliation
Power
Goal
achievement
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Feel stronger
Reduced insecurity of remaining alone
Recognition to members
Feeling of self worth
Fulfill social needs through interaction
Things cannot be achieved individually can
be achieved through group actions
Pooling of talents, knowledge or power
enables to get job completed

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What Is Team?
Team is a group of a persons- supervisor and
members interacting with each other.

Listening
Participating
Collaborating
Supporting
Coordinating
Motivating

Effectiveness of team is not merely measured in

completing a task or reaching a decision, a team
must be aware of the process.
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What Is Team?
Collection of people relying on group

collaboration achieve success and goal achievement.

Importance is on joint, concerted and

coordinated effort which generate positive energy

to achieve goals.

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Benefits Of Team Building

Management, complexity of task and situation requires to be creatively and
collectively managed.
Capable of rapid response to situations.
Encourages high motivation and consequent achievement.
Level of commitment is high.
Collaborative strength of team and teams are task oriented.
All the members benefits from the team individuals and organization.
Achieve higher level of productivity and performance.
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Expanded job skills as they do each others job this increases organizational
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flexibility to deploy members in long run.

Life cycle of team

Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning

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Stages of Group Development

E X H I B I T 82

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Characteristics Of Effective Teams

Clear purpose to all
Members know their goals mission, vision

Participation
All members are listened as there is effective interaction

Consensus decision making

Situation is diagnosed by joint decision and problems are solved through
cooperation and supportive relationship

Leadership
Anyone is free to volunteer and leaders role is supportive and informal

Trust and respect for one another

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Characteristics Of Effective Teams

Close sense of identification
High degree of group loyalty, group solidarity or cohesiveness.

Positive synergy
Level of performance is greater due to coordinated effort

Self assessment
Periodic examination how well the team is functioning?

High performance teams

All the above + commitment, ambition, mutual accountability
members are interchangeable with complementary skills
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Strategies For Team Building

Diagnosis

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Task
accomplishme
nts

Team
relationships

Team and
organization
processes

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Strategies For Team Building

Work
Team
Building
Activities

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A. Diagnostic Meetings:
unfreeze the members to be ready
Joint data collection
Feedback data and discuss problem areas
of the group
B.Team building focused on:
Task accomplishment including problem
solving, decision making, role
clarification, goal setting
Building and maintaining effective inter
personal relationships
Understanding and managing group
process and culture identify barriers and
seek collaboration
Role negotiation techniques. 2/16/2015

Types Of Teams
Work team
Comprises of
section/work group i.e.
supervisor and his
employees

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Problem solving
teams

Common in 1980s
Quality circles,
productive teams, task
force etc.
Not given authority to
unilaterally implement
any of their actions.
Members are from the
same section or
department
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Cross functional teams

Become vogue in 1990s
Composed of members from different departments to coordinate complex
projects and are from same hierarchical level
Effective way to exchange information, develop ideas and solve problems and solve
complex projects
Gradually builds trust and team work as people are from different back grounds,
Selfwith
managed
different teams
experience and perspective.
Cross functional so skills are complementary
Collective control over work and are empowered
Sharply focused objective
Near complete operational and decision making autonomy- set their rules to
operate
Every member has separate role for his department
Training and grooming of members as business managers
Self evaluation

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TEAM WORK
Successful teams have a combination of qualities summed up

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in acronym team work

T :- trust
E:- enthusiasm
A:- ambition to succeed
M:- mutual interest
W:- workability of goals
O:- openness to share ideas
R:- resilience
K:- key result areas

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How Team Manage Themselves?

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Form the team

6-8 cross functional members

Set targets

Investigate current conditions

Plan the activity

Assign every member a role

Analyze problems

Identify the causes

Find solutions

Consult the leader if necessary

Put into action

Ensure unity of purpose

Validate the result

Register
achievement

Is the solution permanent

Acknowledge result as target
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Different Types of Teams

Cross-Functional Teams: comprised of individuals with

functional home base- eg. Manufacturing, design, eng

etc.- but they meet regularly to solve ongoing challenges
requiring input from a number of functional areas
Effective Teams: are relaxed, comfortable and informal
High-Performance Teams: have strong personal

commitment to each other- commitment to others

growth and success
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Effective Team
An effective team has certain characteristics that allow the team
members to function more efficiently and productively.
An effective team develops ways to share leadership roles and ways to
share accountability for their work products, shifting the emphasis from
the individual to several individuals within the team. A team also develops
a specific team purpose and concrete work products that the members
produce together.

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Major approaches to Team Building

Formal work group diagnostic
meeting
Formal work group tem-building
meeting
Process Consultation

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Gestalt OD
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THE FORMAL GROUP DIAGNOSTIC MEETING

Its purpose is to conduct a general critique of the
performance of the group and to uncover and identify
problems on which they will work on

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THE FORMAL GROUP TEAM-BUILDING

MEETING
It has the goal of improving the teams effectiveness through
better management of task demands, relationship demands
and group processes.

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PROCESS CONSULTATION INTERVENTIONS

Process consultation model is similar to team-based

interventions
It places greater emphasis on diagnosing and understanding
process events

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GESTALT APPROACH TO TEAM

BUILDING
Focuses on individual than the group
It is based on the belief that persons functions as whole total

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organisms.
And each person possesses positive & negative characteristics
that must be owned up to &permitted expression
People get into trouble when they get fragmented, when they
do not accept their total selves &when they are trying to live
up to the demands of others rather than being themselves
The goals of gestalt therapy are:
Awareness,Integration,Maturation,Authenticity,SelfRegulation,Behaviour Change,
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 Basically one must come to terms with oneself, must accept

responsibility for ones actions, must experience & live in the

here & now & must stop blocking off awareness, uthenticity &
the like by dysfunctional behaviours
It can be applied to boss-subordinate relations & team building.
The primary thrust is to make the individual stronger, more
authentic & more in touch with the individuals feelings building a
better team. The individual must recognise, develop, &experience
his potency & ability to cope with his organizational world
whatever its present condition.
To do this people must be able to express their feelings fully both
positive / negative. They must learn to stay with transactions
with others & work them through to than suppressing negative
feelings or cutting off transactions prematurely.
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Techniques and Exercises used in Team

Building
ROLE ANALYSIS
TECHNIQUE

APPRECIATIONS &
CONCERNS EXERCISE

INTERDEPENDENCY
EXERCISE
RESPONSIBILITY
CHARTING

ROLE NEGOTIATION
TECHNIQUE

VISIONING

FORCE-FIELD ANALYSIS

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Steps in Team Intervention

Step 1 - Identify At-Risk Population
Step 2 - Initial Intervention Team Meeting
Step 3 - Interventions Begin
Step 4 - Second Intervention Team Meeting

Step 5 - Request for Further Testing

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Key Issues
Creating a Healthy Environment
Developing an Agenda
Establishing Team's Expectation
Setting Priorities
Task Versus Interpersonal Focus
Follow-up Sessions

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Step 1 - Identify At-Risk Population:

It must be determined which members are at-risk. The lowest 10% in each

level will be the target group.

Identify them by considering Previous years review or with various
assessment technique.
Step 2 - Initial Intervention Team Meeting:
- Review data with all personnel in attendance
- Brainstorm interventions (interventions must be research-validated). Other

interventions may have been agreed upon during the initial Intervention Team
meeting.
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