Bachelor
2026/2027
Research Seminar "Business Mediation"
Type:
Elective course (International Programme 'International Relations and Global Studies')
Delivered by:
Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs
When:
3 year, 4 module
Open to:
students of one campus
Language:
English
ECTS credits:
3
Contact hours:
32
Course Syllabus
Abstract
Within research seminar on business mediation we treat mediation as a practical way to work through corporate disagreements and as a skill that changes how people handle conflict next time. Cases cover strategy, structure, processes and transactions. Students learn the mediator’s step-by-step workflow, build fluency in core business terms, and practice framing options that parties can accept. By the end, students can read a commercial dispute, choose tools that fit and move sides toward a workable agreement.
Learning Objectives
- present and defend a dispute-resolution strategy
- develop possible settlement options and explain the reasoning behind them
- explain the main principles and stages of mediation
Expected Learning Outcomes
- identify the main actors, interests and positions in a business conflict
- analyse negotiation strategies, communication barriers and manipulative techniques
- develop possible settlement options and explain the reasoning behind them
- analyse commercial and cross-border disputes in their legal, economic and organisational context
Course Contents
- Perception and communication in business conflict
- Emotions and behaviour in conflict
- Anatomy of a conflict
- Negotiation as a method of dispute resolution
- From negotiation to mediation
- The mediation process
- The mediator’s tools
- Mediation, litigation and commercial arbitration
- Cross-border business disputes
- Trade, transport and finance
- Insurance, construction and real estate
- Business mediation in practice
Assessment Elements
- Seminar participationParticipation in case discussions, negotiations and work with assigned materials.
- Conflict MapAn individual in-class assignment based on a business dispute. Students identify the parties, their interests and positions, sources of conflict, constraints and possible areas for agreement.
- Mediation ColloquiumStudents work with a commercial case as parties, advisers or mediators.Assessment is individual and takes into account preparation, understanding of the case, argumentation and use of negotiation and mediation techniques.
- Final Applied Research Project (Oral Exam)Students choose a real or constructed business dispute and prepare an analytical project covering: 1. the origins and development of the conflict; 2. the interests and positions of the parties; 3. the institutional and legal context; 4. available dispute-resolution mechanisms; 5. whether mediation is appropriate in this case; 6. a proposed strategy for resolving the dispute.
Interim Assessment
- 2026/2027 4th module0.2 * Mediation Colloquium + 0.15 * Conflict Map + 0.4 * Final Applied Research Project (Oral Exam) + 0.25 * Seminar participation
Bibliography
Recommended Core Bibliography
- Arbitration and Mediation in International Business : Designing Procedures for Effective Conflict Management, Buhring-Uhle, C., 1998
- BĂDIȚOIU, L. A., & STĂNESCU, A. (2018). A Strategic Approach to Conflict Management Systems. Review of International Comparative Management / Revista de Management Comparat International, 19(5), 487–496. https://doi.org/10.24818/RMCI.2018.5.487
- Brett, J. M. (2014). Negotiating Globally : How to Negotiate Deals, Resolve Disputes, and Make Decisions Across Cultural Boundaries (Vol. Third edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=716710
- Emotions and social relations, Burkitt, I., 2014
- Fundamentals of anatomy & physiology, Martini, F. H., 2012
- Human anatomy and physiology, Hole, J. W., 1993
- Ross, M. H. (2007). Cultural Contestation in Ethnic Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=206682
- Stephan Proksch. (2016). Conflict Management. Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.b.spr.mgmtpr.978.3.319.31885.1
Recommended Additional Bibliography
- International financial disputes : arbitration and mediation, , 2015
- Kohen, M. G., & Hébié, M. (2018). Research Handbook on Territorial Disputes in International Law. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1919002