Housing Managers as Referrers to Mediation - Conflict Management in a Housing Company with an Internal Mediation Service

Abstract

Objective: To examine a conflict management system of a housing company in Finland with an internal mediation service. The focus of the study was on how conflicts are received, intervened in, and referred to mediation by the housing managers, and which kind of conflict management system this created.

Method:. The data were gathered by interviews with 14 managers of the target company and one mediation group. All interviews followed a thematic method and were analyzed using the method of content analysis. The topic is examined through theories of conflict resolution and a conflict management system design.

Results: The main finding was that the managers’ approaches to conflicts included the rights-based approach and the problem-solving approach to conflict management. The former entailed systemic disadvantages when implemented preliminary to the mediators’ approach. The findings, therefore, reinforce the pre-existing understanding of the hierarchy of the conflict management.

Conclusion: Internal conflict management systems within housing companies benefit from designed systems where the mediators and the housing managers have integrated conflict management roles. The problem-solving approach is one possibility for the role of the housing manager and should be further examined.