words – Page 18 – understand-culture

Repeal means Revise

The right to a speedy trial, the American expectation that conflicts within teams are resolved quickly, can indeed lead to judgements passed which are not ideal, optimal, right or even just.

Americans make decisions quickly, often hastily. But, if the decisions are narrow in scope – have been isolated – then they can be revised. There is time for reconsidering and revision. The parties involved in the decision can be brought back in.

This same logic applies to the American judicial system. It allows anyone sentenced in a court to appeal that sentence. An appeal is when the accused (and sentenced) can take their case from a lower to a higher court for review.

In the American business context, a team member who believes that the judgement is wrong, or the conflict resolution process was unfair, can ask to have that decision reviewed by next-level management or by a neutral third party within the company, typically the human resources department.

Underdog

One reason why Americans don’t mind losing an argument is that once they lose, they can be seen as the underdog. Underdogs are people who are considered unlikely to win. There is a long history in America of the Underdog finding support and overcoming difficult odds to ultimately win in the end.

In the 1960s and 1970s a cartoon superhero series about an underdog (that was even called “Underdog”) was very popular.

In 1980 the US Olympic hockey team, which was comprised of young and inexperienced players, played against the seasoned Russian Olympic team. Even though the Russian team was highly favored to win, the American team ultimately defeated them. This event later inspired the 2004 film “Miracle.”

Cowboys, as lone travelers in a foreign land, were often the underdogs in the cowboy/Indian conflicts in early American history, yet many of them were able to overcome the difficulties and survive.

At age 13, Bobby Fischer won a chess match against one of the leading American chess masters. That match became known as the “Game of the Century.”

underdog: a loser or predicted loser in a struggle or contest; a victim of injustice or persecution: a less powerful person or thing that struggles against a more powerful person or thing.

Robert Frost, the celebrated American poet, wrote in 1928: „I’m a poor underdog. But tonight I will bark with the great Overdog. That romps through the dark.“

Rekonstruktion

Rekonstruktion. Reconstruction. To rebuild; to explain an event, situation, thing as it once was; a work of art, music, literature, a physical thing such as a building or the behavior of people, an historical development.

Sich ein eigenes Bild von etwas machen. Literally to make for oneself a picture of something; to look at something with one‘s own eyes; to inform oneself at the scene.

Wahrheit. Truth; as it is, was; what is true, is lasting; what was truly the case, what is accurate.

Umstand. That which is present, literally standing around; what was present and influenced an event; contextual factors; an important, critical factor or influence.

Einordnen. To put into order, to fit in; to put in place within a system; to judge; to fit into an existing pattern or set-up; to size someone up, to get a read on.

Beweismaterial. Evidence; information relevant to a court case; to gather, secure, proof, destroy, hide evidence.

Schlichter

The process of Schlichtung – arbitration, mediation, conciliation – is a bit different in every case. To get a sense for the process it is helpful to take a look at the Mediationsgesetz – mediation law, for there is actually a law in Germany supporting out-of-court arbitration.

The law states clearly that the Schlichter takes a neutral position during the mediation. She or he is to lead the conflict parties to a consensual (both agree freely) resolution of the conflict, so as to avoid the need for a court case.

The Schlichter speaks with each party separately in order to reconstruct the conflict as objectively as possible. But what does “objective” actually mean? The mediation law does not answer that question. It is the job of the Schlichter, typically via a long process, to find the truth.

The one conflict party tries to prove the guilt of the other party. That party, in turn, does their best to prove lack of guilt. The mediator does her best to get as objective a picture of the situation as possible.

Fester

Americans – both team leads and team members – almost always prefer a suboptimal conflict resolution reached in a timely manner over an optimal resolution arrived at late. Americans refer to conflicts which fester.

fester: to become painful and infected; to become worse as time passes; to cause increasing poisoning, irritation, or bitterness; to undergo or exist in a state of progressive deterioration; to make inflamed or corrupt; “We should deal with these problems now instead of allowing them to fester.”

First known use 14th century. Synonyms: break down, corrupt, decompose, disintegrate, decay, foul, mold, molder, perish, putrefy, rot, spoil.

Ultima ratio

German workers do not like to strike. It is considered the ultima ratio – weapon of last resort – used only when negotiations about wages and worker‘s rights have completely broken down.

In 2002, when the German government passed painful but necessary social and employment reforms, there were strikes in 938 companies. In 2000 there was not a single strike. 2001 saw only 48 strikes. A decade later, in 2011, there were 158. On average only three days a year are lost due to strikes in Germany.

Ultima ratio. Latin ultimus, the last, final, the furthest away. ratio: reason, reasonable thoughts; the last possible solution, the final remaining path out of a conflict.

Friedenspflicht. Literally peace obligation or obligation to keep the peace. When German employers and employees enter into wage negotiations they are obligated for the first ten days to refrain from strikes or lockouts.

The Friedenspflicht is anchored in §74 of the Betriebsverfassungsgesetzes, the law governing the relations between employers and employees:

The employer and the works council (a kind of white collar union) should meet at a minimum once per month in order to discuss potential conflicts and to propose in good faith recommendations on how to resolve them. The employer and the works council are obligated to refrain from methods of pressure – strikes, lockouts, etc. – which could disrupt company operations.

In 1923, during the politically unstable Weimar Republic, the Stresemann government passed laws requiring a mediator to resolve conflicts between employers and labor. Should companies and labor unions not come to agreement on wages and other benefits, the government had the power – and the obligation – to engage an arbitrator, whose decisions were legally binding.

German schools train both students and teachers to anticipate and prevent potential conflicts, as well as to mediate those which have been escalated.

The Prussian military instituted a rule informally called the Prussian Night, which obligated conflict parties to not escalate their problems within the first 24 hours of the conflict. Those in conflict should first „sleep over it“, then decide how to proceed.

heraufbeschwören

Anhörung. Hearing. A discussion open to the public in which subject area experts are asked their opinion; statements given by witnesses; a questioning of participants and or witnesses in a conflict.

Ursache. Cause; from the beginning, start, origin; the reason for a court proceeding; something which causes an event, a development; the immediate and actual cause; to investigate, identify, establish the cause; the law of cause and effect.

eindämmen. Containment; to control the flow of water via a dam; to influence or steer the direction of something; to limit the spread of something, wildfire, costs, crime; to limit another person‘s influence.

heraufbeschwören. To bring about a negative event or development; thoughtless provocation of something negative, destructive; to cause a danger, a conflict.

Verzögerte Anhörung. A delayed hearing. German mediators reserve the right to call a hearing with both conflict parties present, but at a later stage in the resolution process.

Verleumdung. To bear false witness against another person; to damage someone‘s honor by making an untrue accusation; to knowingly state a falsity about the other conflict party; lie, defamation.

Hasty

Überstürzen. To act impatiently; in haste, without thinking it through; to decide, act, react too quickly; a situation develops too quickly to react to; rapid developments.

Hastig. Hasty, due to impatience; lack of grounding, emotionally excited; in a hurried manner steps, breathing, movements, thoughts.

Holzweg. Literally wooden path. Middle High German holzwec, path in the forest where cut wood is transported; wrong path, path in the wrong direction; to misunderstand a situation, to think wrongly, to err in thinking.

Vertagen. To postpone; to push off to another day; to extend a decision, an event.

Vertuschen. To hide, cover up; to mask something unfortunate, embarrassing or incriminating.

Symptome. Latin symptoma, Greek sýmptōma, temporary characteristic, coincidental event; in medicine an indication of an illness; an observable trait or sign of something negative.

Nachhaltig. Sustained, sustainable, an effect which is lasting, of duration, of influence and importance; to make a sustained impression; to exert influence in a sustained way.

Etwas über das Knie brechen. Literally to break something over the knee. To do something out of haste, without reflection, to force something.

Gut Ding will Weile haben. Literally good things demand patience.

More Rules of Moderation

The Germans believe that moderation can succeed only if it makes clear to all parties involved that there will be no naming a winner and a loser.

Naming one side the loser is a guaranty that the conflict resolution will not hold, that the „losing party“ will seek to roll back, revise, reject the resolution. True acceptance, real stability, can be achieved only if both parties come away accepting a compromise.

Akzeptieren. Latin acceptare, to accept, take on, allow, approve, recognize; to come to agreement with someone; to accept an apology, a recommendation, an idea.

Schlichten

vermitteln. To reach agreement among enemies; intervene in a conflict, argument; enable communication between opposing parties; to bring about, to make happen; to bring those in disagreement together; to facilitate; to make a match, marriage, friendship; to help someone achieve a goal.

Diktat. Latin dictatum, from dictare. Dictation; to dictate, determine; a written command, order; to force something on another person, from the outside; dictator.

schlichten. Old High German slihten, to even out, smoothen; as a neutral party help resolve a problem, end a fight; to make a wooden or metal surface smooth, shiny; to make leather soft, pliable.

Holzhammermethode. Literally wooden hammer method; to try to accomplish something with force. Using a wooden hammer is a metaphor in Germany for taking an unsophisticated, rough, impatient approach to a sensitive matter.