K-School Center Sponsor Conflict Negotiation Conference

Thirty-five of the nation's business and government leaders gathered at the Kennody School of Government this weekend to settle a dispute between the Environmental Protection Agency and a company accused of pollution. The catch; the dispute was a case-study and those arguing the government's case were from the private sector. While those defending the company's actions were representatives of the state.

The negotiation exercise was part of a two-day conference on resolving conflicts sponsored by the Kennedy School's one-year-old Business and Government Center. The Center is dedicated to "bringing the worlds of the public and private sectors closer to one another," said Director Winthrop Knowlton '53 last week.

"Business and government don't really understand each other very well," Knowlton explained, adding that disputes between the two sectors are for the most part resolved only by "expensive and time-consuming litigation."

The purpose of the conference was to show participants on both sides that there were better techniques for arriving at solutions which "maximize gains for both sides, with no winners or losers," he said.

Participants agreed yesterday that the conference helped them to understand each other's point of view and the advantages of direct negotiation. "Both sides got into each other's shoes with a vengeance," said assistant professor James K. Sebenius, "and they came out of it with a good consensus on the problems of poor agreement, impasses and escalation of conflicts."

Mayor Tom Moody of Columbus, Ohio said that the Center's case-study techniques were "an improvement on the old forums."

Instead of trying to "become a how to conference" on every issue, the Center's program tried to analyze the "anatomy of disputes" and suggest the use of mediators and structural changes in the negotiation process, he added.

Established in 1982 to aid communication and corporations between the government and business sectors, the Center last year brought 110 corporate executives to the Kennedy School to participate in conferences on education and high technology corporate takeovers, and "America's crumbling infrastructure."

The Center has also worked to expand curriculum offerings in the business and government area, introducing in one year six of the nine related courses currently available.

In addition, it organizes and supports research projects in four major areas, including a study conducted by Economics Department Chairman Michael Spence on the subject of international business competition.

Knowlton said that while he and other Kennedy School staff involved in the Center were "extremely pleased" with the progress it has made in its initial year, they were also looking to expand its projects into new areas.

One possible project proposal is a quarterly newsletter which would highlight the best recent examples of business and government cooperation, "syndicating success stories so others can learn, and not repeat their mistakes," he said.

But Knowlton stressed that the new Center should be careful "not to spread itself too thin. We don't want to get involved in too many issues per se, but rather focus on the process of collaboration itself," he said.

"It's important to put public issues on the private sector agenda and vice versa," Knowlton said, "so that both sides can make their own work more effective."