Mediation Dictionary:
A reference guide of terminology relating to the gentle art of mediation
Backlash --- Backlash is a negative response to an action. When someone or a group is forced to do something against their will they will often resist or try to get back at the person or group who forced them in the first place. This can result in a reversal of an apparently resolved situation, and may even escalate the conflict further.

Bad Faith --- When parties attend a mediation with undisclosed motives and without a willingness or ability to come to an agreement.

Bargaining Unit --- Which employees are to be represented if the union wins a representation election and who may vote in the election are initially proposed by the union starting the campaign. If the employer disagrees, the Board may have to investigate and conduct a hearing to determine the coverage by job classifications of the unit in question.

BATNA -- (Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement) A measure developed by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project which enables negotiating parties to evaluate their options. The BATNA is the best result that a party could hope for if it called off the negotiations.

Bachelors Degree in Mediation --- Cloverdale College has developed a Bachelor of Art Degree program with a concentration in mediation. They review candidate students career history and determine if any portion may be used on a transcript towards a Bachelors degree
[ ref. http://www.cloverdalecollege.org ]


Baseball or Final-Offer Arbitration --- In this process, used increasingly in commercial disputes, each party submits a proposed monetary award to the arbitrator. At the conclusion of the hearing, the arbitrator chooses one award without modification. This approach imposes limits on the arbitrator's discretion and gives each party an incentive to offer a reasonable proposal, in the hope that it will be accepted by the decision-maker. A related variation, referred to as "night baseball" arbitration, requires the arbitrator to make a decision without the benefit of the parties' proposals and then to make the award to the party whose proposal is closest to that of the arbitrator.

Binding Arbitration --- A private adversarial process in which the disputing parties choose a neutral person or a panel of three neutrals to hear their dispute and to render a final and binding decision or award. The process is less formal than litigation; the parties can craft their own procedures and determine if any formal rules of evidence will apply. Unless there has been fraud or some other defect in the arbitration procedure, binding arbitration awards typically are enforceable by courts and not subject to appellate review. [See also Non binding Arbitration.]

Blacklist --- A list of names or persons or firms to be discriminated against, either in employment or patronage.

Bona fide --- Latin phrase meaning "good faith." Normally it is used to mean real, actual or genuine; not feigned. [see also G "Good Faith"]

Bounded or High-Low Arbitration --- The parties agree privately without informing the arbitrator that the arbitrator's final award will be adjusted to a bounded range. Example: P wants $200,000. D is willing to pay $70,000. Their high-low agreement would provide that if the award is below $70,000, D will pay at least $70,000; if the award exceeds $200,000, the payment will be reduced to $200,000. If the award is within the range, the parties are bound by the figure in the award.

Boycott --- The refusal to deal with, buy, supply or handle the products of a business as a means of exerting pressure in a labor dispute.

Broadbanding --- The replacement of a salary schedule or pay classsification system that has numerous salary grades or levels with one that has only a few "bands" that each carry wider pay-range spreads.

Brokered Talks -- Talks are often deadlocked because of the number of parties involved and the myriad of sensitive issues that run between some or all of them. Brokered talks can act as an impartial, creative force to kick start 'talks about talks', providing momentum towards optimal results.

Bumping --- A contractual right whereby employees scheduled for layoff are permitted to displace less senior employees in other jobs for which they are qualified.

Buyers Remorse --- Is a term that refers to doubts following a settlement or purchase where in the party or purchaser begins to wonder that he/she got the best deal. [See also Post Settlement Blues.]
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