Conflict Resolution and Public Policy

This work represents a broad-based perspective of the conflict resolution process. While related books have tended to specialize on specific settings, this volume gives in-depth treatment of four various settings--environmental risk resolution, rule-making in the public sector, consumer disputes, and contracts and the courts. It also examines future models for resolving disputes. With its contributions from both practitioners and theorists in the art/science of conflict resolution, this volume properly emphasizes the important role that public policy plays in the settlement of societal conflict. The first section of the book deals with dispute resolution related to environmental issues. Articles in this section address negotiations in the area of hazardous waste, present a review of the timber, fish, and wildlife policy negotiations of Washington State, and examine environmental regulation in the Reagan era. The second section focuses on consumer disputes in two areas--utilities and those exposed unwittingly to asbestos. The third section discusses contracts and the limitations of courts as a higher authority. The fourth section reviews negotiated rule-making in administrative settings. The final portion presents a modern approach to dispute resolution using decision-aiding software. This book serves as valuable reading for anyone interested in the interconnected fields of dispute resolution and public policy.

Table of Contents:
Introduction by Miriam K. Mills Environmental Risk Resolution The Hazardous Waste Dilemma and the Hazards of Institutionalizing Negotiation by Barry G. Rabe The T/F/W Environmental Policy Negotiations of Washington State by René-Marc Mangin and Mary Ann E. Steger The Reagan Era in Environmental Regulation by Lettie McSpadden Wenner Consumer Disputes Utility Consumer Dispute Settlement: A Regulatory Model for Mediation, Arbitration, and Class Advocacy by Drew Hyman The Asbestos Model: Labor and Citizen Groups and a Multipronged Approach to Regulatory Change by Reuben A. Guttman and Kathryn D. Wagner Contracts and the Courts Efficiency, Justice, and Rentseeking in Federal Contract Dispute Resolution by Robert E. Lloyd Labor Arbitration Policymaking: Federal Court Enforcement and Collateral Review of Railroad Grievance Awards by William Green and Wiley S. Rutledge Negotiated Rule Making Dimensions of Negotiated Rule Making: Practical Constraints and Theoretical Implications by Daniel J. Fiorino Competition, Negotiation, or Cooperation? Three Alternative Models for Contracting for Services by Ruth Hoogland DeHoog Computers for Resolving Differences Multicriteria Dispute Resolution through Computer-aided Mediation by Stuart S. Nagel Select Bibliography Index

About the Author :
MIRIAM K. MILLS is Professor of Organizational Science at The School of Industrial Management of the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Previously, she was the Director of Manpower and Labor Relations of Jersey City Medical Center, New Jersey. A frequent contributor to various journals, she has coauthored Evaluation Analysis with Microcomputers and coedited Biomedical Technology and Public Policy. Dr. Mills is also an arbitrator-mediator with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and other labor panels.

Review :
.,."valuable to those interested in conflict management and policy making for at least three reasons. First, these essays, taken together, make the valuable point that conflict management tools--like other decision-aiding initiatives before them--must be considered a part of the policy process. Secondly, this volume demonstrates anew that conflict management is no panacea for the challenges posed by interest-group liberalism. Finally, the professionalization of conflict management introduces new challenges for researchers and practitioners alike."-Public Administration Review ?...valuable to those interested in conflict management and policy making for at least three reasons. First, these essays, taken together, make the valuable point that conflict management tools--like other decision-aiding initiatives before them--must be considered a part of the policy process. Secondly, this volume demonstrates anew that conflict management is no panacea for the challenges posed by interest-group liberalism. Finally, the professionalization of conflict management introduces new challenges for researchers and practitioners alike.?-Public Administration Review ..."valuable to those interested in conflict management and policy making for at least three reasons. First, these essays, taken together, make the valuable point that conflict management tools--like other decision-aiding initiatives before them--must be considered a part of the policy process. Secondly, this volume demonstrates anew that conflict management is no panacea for the challenges posed by interest-group liberalism. Finally, the professionalization of conflict management introduces new challenges for researchers and practitioners alike."-Public Administration Review