People live with both emotion and intellect. Before taking decisions, it is important to address both factors. If this is not done, strategies and processes are often not implemented as they were decided. This leads to reduction of efficiency and productivity of an organization. Worse, this can lead to conflicts which must be resolved with a large amount of time or even more seriously to conflicts which are not dissolved and subsequently lead to frustrations among employees.

Thanks to the background recognition phase, which is inserted into the decision process, the team that has to prepare or make a decision receives the opportunity to comprehensively analyse the topic. A first level is to exchange the data, positions and hard facts and then go into the second level of interests and needs of the team. The essential here, is to highlight as well the underlying interests and needs which lead to positions, arguments or hard facts.

This in-depth exchange allows all interested parties to understand the true motivations for an argument or a position and the paths which led to those decisions. Thus, the taken decisions are implemented in wholeness and the effectiveness of their implementation is maximized.

The background recognition phase is led by the moderator.

For example: applying the background recognition phase for the development of a corporate strategy

If an internal or external conflict negatively affects productivity, I propose mediation.

Mediation is a structured process for constructive settlement of a conflict, in which the independent third party – the mediator- helps to restore communication between the people and to open the way for the conflicted parties to freely negotiate solutions.

Mediation is a voluntary process, which is based on the following rules:

• the confidentiality of the discussions
• voluntary participation of participants
• mutual respect
• the interruption of possible litigation

The mediation is based on personal responsibility and self-determination of the people.

The mediator does not make any decisions regarding the conflict. His goal is to lead the conflicted parties to develop freely their own solutions to the conflict.