LEARNING KEY SKILLS IN NURSING MANAGEMENT
education and practice have especially high standards of performance that help to counter this tendency.
Groups are more likely to become cohesive when members:
● Share similar values and beliefs ● Are motivated by the same goals and tasks ● Must interact to achieve their goals and tasks ● Work in proximity to each other (on the same unit and on the same shift, for example) ● Have specific needs that can be satisfied by involvement in the group
Group cohesiveness is also influenced by the formal reward system. Groups tend to be more cohesive when group members receive comparable treatment and pay and perform similar tasks that require interaction among the members. Similarities in values, education, social class, gen- der, age, and ethnicity that lead to similar attitudes strengthen group cohesiveness.
Cohesiveness can produce intense social pressure. Highly cohesive groups can demand and enforce adherence to norms regardless of their practicality or effectiveness. In this circumstance, the nurse manager may have a difficult time influencing individual nurses, especially if the group norms deviate from the manager’s values or expectations. For example, operating room nurses may be used to arriving at the time their shift starts and then changing into scrubs. The nurse manager, in contrast, may expect the staff to be changed and ready for work by the time the shift starts. In addition, group dynamics can affect absenteeism and turnover. Groups with high levels of cohesiveness exhibit lower turnover and absenteeism than groups with low levels of cohesiveness.
For most individuals, the work group provides one of the most important social contacts in life; the experience of working on an effective work team contributes significantly to one’s pro- fessional confidence and to the quality of work life and job satisfaction. The work group often provides the primary motivation for returning to the job day after day even when employees are dissatisfied with the employing organization or other working conditions.
Work groups not only perform tasks but also provide the context in which novices learn basic skills and become socialized and experts engage in clinical mentorship, standard setting, quality improvement, and innovation. Work-group relations influence the satisfaction of staff with their jobs, the overall quality of work life, and the quality of the environment for patient care. Managers play key roles in guiding the tasks of work groups and ensuring efficient and effective performance; managers also encourage relationships among members of work teams that will promote coordination and cooperation.