What is conflict? According to Masters & Albright (2002), “Conflict exists when two or more parties disagree about something” (pg. 14). Is conflict bad? Not necessarily, conflict can be good or bad. In fact, according to Lewicki et al. a moderate amount of conflict can be productive where as too little or too much conflict can result in complacency or chaos (as cited by Almost, 2006, pg. 447). In healthcare organizations, like other organizations, conflict is an everyday occurrence. According to Thomas, “managers spend approximately 30% to 40% of their workday dealing with some form of conflict” (as cited by Haraway & Haraway, 2005, pg. 11). Conflict will exist between nurses and physicians, within a healthcare organization, and between the organization and other organizations. This conflict can affect the treatment that patients receive. The key is being able to utilize good conflict while effectively managing other conflict which can be destructive to an organization. In determining how to effectively manage conflict within the organization, this report will cover conflict within a healthcare organization, conflict between health care organizations, the effects of conflict on patients, the effects of good conflict, and how to manage conflict.
Conflict within a health care organization
No matter what type of occupation someone holds there will be conflict between them and their coworkers. This is the same for nurses. The reasons stem from “inherent differences in goals, needs, desires, responsibilities, perceptions, and ideas” (Danna & Griffin as cited by Almost, 2006, pg. 444). When two nurses that work together have two separate goals they both have their own ideal way of reaching that goal which will be represen...
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Incivility is prevalent in the healthcare setting and is a broad term used to describe any negative discourteous manner all the way up to more serious bullying and violent behaviors. If these behaviors go unregulated, then there is the likelihood that low-intensity negative attitudes can turn into aggressive behaviors (Laschinger, Wong, Cummings, & Grau, 2014, p. 6). Consequently, there are serious repercussions which affect the persons involved, directly and indirectly, the work environment within the healthcare organization, and the nursing profession. These repercussions can range from poor work performance to staff retention issues. Therefore, this paper will address the issue of incivility, how it
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Conflict has been an issue for man since the dawn of civilization. In today’s fast paced world conflict, especially in the workplace, is a frequent occurrence. When that workplace is a health care environment where lives are at stake, emotions run high and collaboration with many different disciplines is required conflict often becomes a prevalent part of everyday life. Conflicts in the workplace can lead to reduced morale, lowered productivity resulting in decreased patient care and can cause large scale confrontations (Whitworth 2008). In the field of nursing whether a conflict is with a peer, supervisor, physician, or a patient and their family, conflict management is a necessary skill.
Nursing shaping and influencing health and social care policy. Journal of Nursing Management, 17(6), 698-706. Luparell, S. (2011). The 'Path of the Earth'. Incivility in nursing:
Many people enjoy working or participating in a group or team, but when a group of people work together chances are that conflicts will occur. Hazleton describes conflict as the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality and what is seen as ideal (2007). “We enter into conflicts reluctantly, cautiously, angrily, nervously, confidently- and emerge from them battered, exhausted, sad, satisfied, triumphant. And still many of us underestimate or overlook the merits of conflict- the opportunity conflict offers every time it occurs” (Schilling, nd.). Conflict does not have to lead to a hostile environment or to broken relationships. Conflict if resolved effectively can lead to a positive experience for everyone involved. First, there must be an understanding of the reasons why conflicts occur. The conflict must be approached with an open mind. Using specific strategies can lead to a successful resolution for all parties involved. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument states “there are five general approaches to dealing with conflict. The five approaches are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. Conflict resolution is situational and no one approach provides the best or right approach for all circumstances” (Thomas, 2000).
Although there is a plethora of possible sources of conflict in any workplace, the ones in this case are rather explicit. These include personal differences, Informal deficiencies’, role incompatibility, environment stress, perceptions, and expectations. Personal differences could be related to personal values, physiognomies, family bonds or ties, and material belongings.
workplace include greater total resources, greater knowledge band and a greater source of ideas. However, these advantages can also bring on conflict within teams and the entire workplace. Varney (1989) reported that conflict remained the number one problem within a large company. This was after several attempts were made to train management in conflict resolutions and procedures. However, the conflict remained. The conflict possibly remains because the managers and leaders did not pay attention to the seriousness of the issue. In order to maintain an effective team, leaders and team members must know and be proactive in the conflict resolution techniques and procedures.
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Gross and Guerrero (2000) supported Rahim’s conflict management styles and identified that these styles are associated with organizational climate and culture, job satisfaction. Their research on 50 employees uncovered some facts include employees who were involved in unmanaged conflict end up in job dissatisfaction and subsequently their performance deters (p. 208). The competence-based model developed by Canary, Cupach and Serpe (2001) contrast with Rahim’s theory, where the effectiveness of conflict management styles is based on the situation and understanding of individuals (p. 81). They tried to find a resolution for the conflict instead of implementing the strategy to reduce tension by applying conflict management styles, resulting in inconsistent outcomes (p. 531).
In the workplace, disagreement or arguments may arise due to several reasons. This can further result into a state of antagonism or opposition, resentment, avoidance, verbal assaults, and inability to work together. Such may arise due to personality clashes, differences in style, differences in leadership, interdependence conflicts and differences in the background or gender. With reference to the conflict between Norm and Norma, disagreement arose due to differences in styles. This is because Norma was after quick result from the initiated project while Norm believed he could work from home and still meet the expected standard. However, Norma expected full commitment from all the staff under her. For good working relations, conflicts should always be resolved and hence improve good working relationship among the employees both the juniors and seniors. Professionally, conflicts can be solved via two models; circle of conflict and triangle of satisfaction (Susan Holton, 1998).