Mediation as an ethical adjunct of stakeholder theory

A driving force behind the evolution of the stakeholder concept is the pote ntial of negative outcomes for an organization as the result of conflict be tween that organization and its stakeholders. Where conflict does arise bet ween an organization and stakeholder how might it be resolved in a manner c ompatible with stakeholder theory? Applying feminist ethical theory as a th eoretical basis for stakeholder theory, mediation provides an appropriate p rocess for resolving such disputes in comparison to traditional adversarial strategies. This paper discusses the attributes of mediation, and its pote ntial benefits as a method to resolve disputes between businesses and their stakeholders.