Advantages and Disadvantages of Avoiding the Courtroom

Currently, there are two main trends from which parties involved in a conflict can choose to resolve it. On the one hand, parties can choose to initiate a litigation process in a courtroom, making their stands before a judge or a jury and having these establishing an outcome. On the other hand, parties can go for alternative approaches such as negotiation, mediation or arbitration, either in their traditional forms or through an electronic mean, with the assurance that they will undergo a more flexible process, with emphasis on building empathy and searching for mutually satisfactory solutions. This chapter focuses particularly on these alternative means: their advantages and their disadvantages. It does so in a systematic manner, pointing out the current causes for the identified problems and ending with the enumeration of a series of potential solutions for these problems. One particular issue addressed is the one of Media Richness and how the current lean communication means are hindering conflict resolution processes conducted online. The solutions pointed out will be addressed individually in the upcoming chapters.