The mediator as power broker
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Bruce Fraser
Abstract
There once was a poor devout man, his old blind mother, and his barren wife. After many years of prayer, God inquired of him what one thing he truly desired. He went home to discuss the matter with his mother and his wife. They could not agree on a single request: his mother wanted her sight back; his wife wanted a son; and he wanted a job so he could support his family.
The poor man left the house and consulted with a mediator, telling him of his dilemma: “My mother wants eyesight, my wife wants a son, and I, I would like a bit of money so we can eat everyday. What shall I ask? Whose needs come first?”
The mediator thought for a moment, then he answered: “You must not choose for any one of your family alone, but for the good of all. Say, ‘Oh Lord, I ask nothing for myself; my wife asks nothing for herself; but my mother is blind, and her desire is, before she dies, to see her grandson eating milk and rice from a golden bowl’.”
(Adapted from the folk tale: Wisdom of the Mediator — Trinidad)
Abstract
There once was a poor devout man, his old blind mother, and his barren wife. After many years of prayer, God inquired of him what one thing he truly desired. He went home to discuss the matter with his mother and his wife. They could not agree on a single request: his mother wanted her sight back; his wife wanted a son; and he wanted a job so he could support his family.
The poor man left the house and consulted with a mediator, telling him of his dilemma: “My mother wants eyesight, my wife wants a son, and I, I would like a bit of money so we can eat everyday. What shall I ask? Whose needs come first?”
The mediator thought for a moment, then he answered: “You must not choose for any one of your family alone, but for the good of all. Say, ‘Oh Lord, I ask nothing for myself; my wife asks nothing for herself; but my mother is blind, and her desire is, before she dies, to see her grandson eating milk and rice from a golden bowl’.”
(Adapted from the folk tale: Wisdom of the Mediator — Trinidad)
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
-
Part I
- Reputation and refutation 3
- The mediator as power broker 19
- “We are different than the Americans and the Japanese!” 39
- Games of power 63
- The grammar of bargaining 77
- Negotiation in business meetings 91
- Interlocutionary scenarios as negotiation of diatextual power 107
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Part II
- Addresser, addressee and target 125
- Negotiation of irony in dialogue 139
- A case of negotiation 149
- Silence as a tool for the negotiation of sense in multi-parties conversations 167
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Part III
- The negotiation of affect in natural conversation 183
- Implicit communication in political interviews 197
- Negotiation of topics in professional e-mail-communication 215
- Negotiation and identity 225
- The negotiation of relevance 239
- Unspoken assertions 253
- Negotiating social relationships: Fontane’s gossip 267
- General index 289
- List of contributors 293
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
-
Part I
- Reputation and refutation 3
- The mediator as power broker 19
- “We are different than the Americans and the Japanese!” 39
- Games of power 63
- The grammar of bargaining 77
- Negotiation in business meetings 91
- Interlocutionary scenarios as negotiation of diatextual power 107
-
Part II
- Addresser, addressee and target 125
- Negotiation of irony in dialogue 139
- A case of negotiation 149
- Silence as a tool for the negotiation of sense in multi-parties conversations 167
-
Part III
- The negotiation of affect in natural conversation 183
- Implicit communication in political interviews 197
- Negotiation of topics in professional e-mail-communication 215
- Negotiation and identity 225
- The negotiation of relevance 239
- Unspoken assertions 253
- Negotiating social relationships: Fontane’s gossip 267
- General index 289
- List of contributors 293
