Negotiating at an Uneven Table: Developing Moral Courage in Resolving Our Conflicts ANNOTATION
Discusses committing to personal authenticity/supporting truth telling/initiating innovative practices/etc.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In Negotiating at an Uneven Table Phyllis Beck Kritek explores the process of attempting to resolve conflicts in situations where unacknowledged inequity has an effect on problems and their outcomes. The author draws on her nursing background - from inexperienced student to accomplished dean of nursing - to offer an insightful book interwoven with original poetry, poignant stories, thought-provoking exercises, illustrative parables, and practical recommendations for solving problems and negotiating conflicts with fair and ethical outcomes. To help open minds and balance the negotiation process, Kritek outlines ten ways of being that constructively address inequalities and diversity, including committing to personal authenticity, supporting truth telling, and initiating innovative practices. This inspiring book challenges traditional approaches to dealing with inequities at the negotiation table and offers alternatives for reframing the process. While drawing on examples from health care and educational settings, the book is a valuable resource for conflict negotiators, mediators, managers, therapists, social workers, and health care practitioners.
SYNOPSIS
Kritek, a nursing professor who conducts conflict resolution, leadership, and gender and communication workshops and training programs, explores the process of resolving conflicts in situations where unacknowledged inequity influences disputes and their outcomes. She challenges traditional approaches to dealing with inequities at the negotiation table and offers alternatives for reframing the process. Kritek teaches nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Nursing. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Kritek (chair, mental health nursing and management, Univ. of Texas Sch. of Nursing, Galveston) received a National Leadership Fellowship from the Kellogg Foundation in 1986 to study conflict resolution. That study gave birth to this "record of lessons from [her] life experiences at uneven tables," i.e., negotiations where one side has power over another. Including examples from her own experiences as the nondominant negotiator, Kritek intends to encourage dialog about "dominant power." Rather than offering practical methods for achieving equality, she suggests ten "ways of being" (e.g., "be a truth teller," "be innovative") to provide a philosophical context for nondominant negotiators to use when approaching uneven tables. Unfortunately, Kritek's penchant for rambling philosophical reflections leads to writing that is verbose, repetitive, and prone to digression and forces the reader to look hard for substance. Not recommended.-Carol R. Nelson, Ball State Univ. Lib., Muncie, Ind.
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