Hello and welcome to a look back on the
3rd International Summer School on Business Mediation . ISBM 2008!

July 14 – 18, 2008 in Admont / Austria

Business Mediation and Family Enterprises

Unmanaged conflicts rank among the most significant value-destroying aspects of family businesses.  As such, the third international gathering of experienced business mediators from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S. focuses on the conflict culture in these organizations – organizations central to the economies of all European countries.
 
Our goal will be together to assemble and make connections between international experiences with alternative conflict management policies, to consider new methodological approaches, and to discuss with representatives of family enterprises – via concrete case studies – the prospects and risks of implementing business mediation.
 
Highlights of the 3rd International Summer School on Business Mediation:
  • A look at family enterprises from various professional perspectives (law, business, psychology, architecture, philosophy, medicine)
  • Insight into the costs of conflict in Austrian family enterprises (presentation of latest research findings as a follow-up to the study, financed by Federal Ministry for Economy and Labour and presented at ISBM 2004 entitled “Conflict Culture in Austrian SME”)
  • Opportunities for the implementation of different approaches to conflict management in various conflict situations such as:  succession planning, outside manager assignments, growing ownership families with few common interests, second- and third-generation withdrawal politics, family system crises, employee selection, and termination of long-standing employees or even family members
  • Business mediation demonstrations performed by leading international business mediators, as well as work on case studies
  • Participation by international presenters from the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, and Austria
  • Up to 100 experienced mediators, working together for five days, sharing experiences and establishing new connections
  • Participation by up to 80 executives from Austrian family enterprises (members of the ownership family, as well as outside managers)
  • Lively learning using all the senses:  pantomime, music, art, meditation, bodywork, systemic structural constellation, puppet theater, dialogue forums, and pausing in a relaxing space are just a few of the learning modes offered
Located at Admont in the Steiermark region of Austria, the conference site sits at the nexus of a unique natural landscape (Nationalpark Gesäuse) and a centuries-old spiritual center (Admont Monastery).
 
 
The Organizers
 
Mario Patera                                                                            Ulrike Gamm                                                                                                  
IFF Vienna                                                                                Konfliktkultur-Kulturkonflikt