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The Program on Negotiation Brown Bag Lunch Series

Ariel Avgar
PON Graduate Research Fellow and
PhD Candidate, Cornell University

Thursday, February 1, 2007
12:15 P.M.
Pound Hall 506, Harvard Law School
(click for map)

Join PON Graduate Research Fellow Ariel Avgar for a discussion about dispute resolution in the healthcare industry. 

Ariel Avgar’s dissertation, Treating Conflict: Dispute Resolution in the Healthcare Industry, examines outcomes associated with different dispute resolution practices in hospitals. He conducted an in-depth case study of a unique dispute resolution program initiated by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in a large unionized hospital in Ohio. 

The concept of “social capital” is used in the study of a wide variety of social phenomena, from educational disparities to international relations.  Mr. Avgar proposes that social capital is, by definition, a negotiated form of capital. Providing empirical support for this proposition, his dissertation examines the relationship between specific types of organizational conflict and the creation of social capital in a hospital setting. Using survey data collected in a large Ohio hospital, the paper identifies key elements that account for variation in levels of social capital within hospital units.       

Mr. Avgar holds a law degree from Hebrew University and has served as a law clerk for the President of the Israeli National Labor Court.

Bring your lunch — drinks and dessert provided.