Cool heads, if only they prevailed a bit more often. It seems that wherever there are people, there will inevitably be disputes – whether over money, territory, possessions or rights.
Disputes at the highest levels can have massive costs. For instance, in 2012 Samsung was hit with a head-spinning 1.5 billion dollar lawsuit in a patent dispute with Apple. Then there are industry-shaking disputes such as that between peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster and the Recording Industry Association of America. Even sport has had its share of ignoble, fractious episodes – just think of the sundering caused by Roy Keane’s withdrawal from Ireland’s world cup squad in 2002. And all this is to say nothing of the far more serious spats that have turned into conflicts which then resulted in wars.
Yes, cool heads are needed in high places, but they are needed elsewhere too – in community halls and in boardrooms and in classrooms everywhere. It is for this reason that dispute resolution (or ADR – alternative dispute resolution) has become such a popular study option.
Qualifications in Dispute Resolution are offered at Independent College Dublin and at Dublin Business School. The former runs a raft of Diploma-level courses in related areas such as Mediation Theory and Skills, Workplace Dispute Resolution and Family Mediation; students at the latter can study for a part-time Diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Because effective dispute resolution techniques can help improve relationships and cut costs, those with a qualification in the area can find work in the areas of law, education, business and politics, where they can establish and implement successful conflict resolution programmes.
So if you’ve got the ability diffuse arguments between friends, or find common ground where none previously existed, then it might be worth looking into developing that skill to the point where you can get paid to help a company reduce its expenses.
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