Managing conflict is broader than what most people understand as ‘mediation’, which we might paraphrase as: ‘an intervention between disagreeing parties involving a third party, aimed at bringing the dispute to a conclusion that both can accept’. It is a responsibility that needs to be shared by the whole management team of any organization as much as with those who might often be though of as ‘the conflict specialists’:

• front-line managers can play a vital role in recognizing the early stages of potential unproductive conflict, step in and stop many disputes from developing further, as well as helping to minimize or prevent conflict from happening in the first place