Conflict and disputes can easily arise within different businesses across England and Wales, no matter what the size or scale of the business is. Unfortunately, sometimes businesses are faced with conflict or disputes that are difficult to resolve.
Conflict and disputes can arise from a number of different issues or problems within all industries. For example, lack of payments from business to business can cause a dispute, negligence of duty and care will see a number of issues arise, and also tax disputes are quite common in bigger businesses. The business should identify these problems as early as possible to avoid them from getting worse and causing a conflict or dispute, but sometimes it is too late. To get ahead of the game, you should consult an experienced team of solicitors to help you along the way.
When conflict or disputes between business and clients, they can create an uncomfortable an unpleasant environment for all who work in the business, even if they are not involved in the dispute. This is particularly the case if there is a dispute between upper management, but other employees have built steady relationships with employees at the other client. Therefore, not only is it important to resolve the dispute for all of those who are involved but it is important to solve it to avoid any tension or awkwardness. If you are looking to resolve conflict or a dispute that has recently occurred for your business, then there are a number of different ways that you can do so. Keep reading on to see a number of different ways that you can solve a dispute calmly within the Business-to-Business industry.
Litigation
One of the most effective ways of resolving a conflict or dispute in the corporate world is through litigation. This method of conflict resolution is extremely effective but should only be used when the dispute is severe and is causing a lot of issues for the company itself. For a legal team to be involved, it must be serious, so make sure you are looking for experienced and trusted solicitors. This method should also only be used when other methods of conflict resolution have been ineffective or unsuccessful at solving the dispute or conflict. Litigation is a process that involves both parties that are involved in the dispute going to court where a judge will formally decide on what the outcome of the dispute should be. As we mentioned earlier, bringing a dispute to court will require you to hire a solicitor to help you through all the stages of the conflict resolution. Try to keep it local as well if you can. Say, if you are in the North West, hiring a dispute litigation solicitor in Manchester for example will be extremely beneficial when it comes to solving the disputes, as they will be able to represent or defend the parties that are involved within the legal parameters. You’ll also be able to build a relationship with the team and develop a sense of trust. Interestingly, dispute litigation solicitors in Manchester are extremely professional and will provide you with any advice that you may need when preparing to bring the dispute to court. The dispute litigation solicitor that you hire will also be able to communicate with the judge that is on the case and will help to solve the dispute effectively, resulting in the best possible outcome for both parties involved in the legal wrangle.
Mediation
Another effective method that can be used to solve any disputes or conflicts that arise in the corporate world is mediation. This method of conflict resolution is a step up from negotiation and involves the input of a third party. This third party will typically be a lawyer or solicitor, who is neutral to the dispute. This means that they have no connection to the dispute or personal relationship to any of the people who are involved in the disagreement. Mediation is effective and positive way of resolving a dispute as it allows both parties to express how they feel and then tries to resolve the dispute amicably with the help of a third party. This third party, usually a team of solicitors will take all of the parties’ feelings and actions into consideration before deciding on a resolution and outcome that works for all of the parties involved. If its a Business-to-Business disagreement then there may be more people involved, but discussions would still be conducted with the same goal in mind.
Mediation is an effective and fair method that can be used to solve disputes between companies, as it often results in a win-win outcome for all of the parties involved. Using mediation as a method of conflict resolution will avoid any favouritism of parties and will avoid an awkward atmosphere from being created between the business relationship. This is particularly relevant in the case of a long-standing business and client relationship. Furthermore, this method of conflict resolution can be used for more serious conflicts and disputes, including negligence of duty of care and withheld payments.
Arbitration
If neither negotiation or mediation are ineffective at solving the dispute or conflict, then the method of arbitration can be used. Arbitration is another effective method that many businesses worldwide use to revolve any disputes or conflicts that arise within their industry. Arbitration is similar to the conflict resolution method of mediation but differs ever so slightly. This method of resolution involves the third party acting as a judge, rather than a mediator, to resolve the dispute or conflict. The third party, who is again neutral to the dispute, will make a series of decisions in order to reach and agreement and settle the dispute for all of the parties that are involved.
When using arbitration to resolve a dispute or conflict, all parties must be more engaged and involved with the discussions. This is because the decision that is made by the third party is final and can not be appealed by any of the parties that are involved in the dispute. Arbitration is an effective method of conflict resolution when the members involved in the dispute do not want to go to court but are still looking for a final and fair outcome. Arbitration is also commonly used to solve disputes or conflicts that include sensitive or private information, that the parties involved may not necessarily want to show to a lawyer or judge within a court.
As you can now see, there are a number of different ways that you can solve a conflict or dispute that has occurred between businesses. The method of resolution that you decide to use will depend on the severity of the dispute, but all of the methods that have been mentioned are extremely effective when it comes to conflict resolution. Like previously mentioned, it is important that you solve any conflicts or disputes in order to prevent the issues from getting worse and creating an uncomfortable work atmosphere.
