Informal Discussion If an employee has a problem relating to a work situation, the employee is encouraged to request a meeting with his or her immediate supervisor to discuss the problem in an effort to clarify the issue and to work cooperatively towards settlement.
Informal Dispute Resolution (a) Prior to the initiation of formal dispute resolution procedures (i.e., arbitration), the Parties shall first attempt to resolve their dispute at the senior manager level. If that level of dispute resolution is not successful, the Parties shall proceed informally, as follows: (i) Upon the written request of either Party, each Party shall appoint a designated representative who does not otherwise devote substantially full time to performance under this Agreement, whose task it will be to meet for the purpose of endeavoring to resolve such dispute. (ii) The designated representatives shall meet as often as the Parties reasonably deem necessary in order to gather and furnish to the other all information with respect to the matter in issue that the Parties believe to be appropriate and germane in connection with its resolution. The representatives shall discuss the problem and attempt to resolve the dispute without the necessity of any formal proceeding. (iii) During the course of discussion, all reasonable requests made by one Party to another for non-privileged non-confidential information reasonably related to this Agreement shall be honored so that each of the Parties may be fully advised of the other's position. (iv) The specific format for the discussions shall be left to the discretion of the designated representatives. (b) Prior to instituting formal proceedings, the Parties will first have their chief executive officers meet to discuss the dispute. This requirement shall not delay the institution of formal proceedings past any statute of limitations expiration or for more than fifteen (15) days. (c) Subject to Subsection (b), formal proceedings for the resolution of a dispute may not be commenced until the earlier of: (i) The designated representatives concluding in good faith that amicable resolution through continued negotiation of the matter does not appear likely; or (ii) Thirty (30) days after the initial written request to appoint a designated representative pursuant to Subsection (a), above, (this period shall be deemed to run notwithstanding any claim that the process described in this Section 11.2 was not followed or completed). (d) This Section 11.2 shall not be construed to prevent a Party from instituting, and a Party is authorized to institute, formal proceedings earlier to avoid the expiration of any applicable limitations period, or to preserve a superior position with respect to other creditors or as provided in Section 11.6(a).