Corporate Conflict Management 4.0: Reflections on How to Get There from Here

Abstract

The paper summarizes the key topics at the program "Managing Conflict 4.0: The New Wave of Opportunities for Businesses Around the Globe", conducted November 9-10, 2015 at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution of the Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu California and offers reflections and recommendations on how to synthesize and apply the innovative conflict prevention and resolution concepts presented there in order to advance the field of corporate conflict management. The paper addresses the opportunities through application of cultural awareness, brain science, cognitive processes, relationship building and data analytics to less expensively prevent and resolve disputes and achieve more valuable business-oriented outcomes. The paper makes a recommendation for forging a path forward in corporate conflict management by combining these concepts in early dispute resolution initiatives that design the most effective processes for optimal resolutions for all parties to a conflict.

Keywords: early dispute resolution, neuroscience, brain science, cognitive biases, cultural awareness, data analytics, relationship building, process design