Nursing

Managing Conflict Managing conflict is an important part of the nurse manager’s job. Managers are often involved in conflict management on several different levels. They may be participants in the conflict as individuals, administrators, or representatives of a unit. In fact, they must often initiate conflict by confronting staff, individually or collectively, when a problem […]

Outcomes The outcome affects how conflict will be addressed by the parties in the future. The optimal solution is to manage the issues in a way that will lead to a solution wherein both parties see themselves as winners and the problem is solved. This leaves a positive aftermath that will affect future relations and

HANDLING CONFLICT 165 Conflict Behaviors Conflict behavior results from the parties’ perceived or felt conflict. Behaviors may be overt or covert. Overt behavior may take the form of aggression, competition, debate, or problem solv- ing. Covert behavior may be expressed by a variety of indirect tactics, such as scapegoating, avoidance, or apathy. Conflict Resolved or

Perceived and Felt Conflict Perceived and felt conflict account for the conflict that may occur when the parties involved view situations or issues from differing perspectives, when they misunderstand each other’s position, or when positions are based on limited knowledge. Perceived conflict refers to each party’s per- ception of the other’s position. Felt conflict refers

Competition for Resources Competition for scarce resources can be internal (among different units in the organization) or external (among different organizations). Internally, competition for resources may involve assigning staff from one unit to another or purchasing high-technology equipment when another unit is desperate for staff. Externally, health care organizations compete for finite external resources (e.g.,

Task interdependence is another potential source of conflict. Nursing and housekeeping, for example, are interdependent. Housekeeping cannot completely clean a room until nursing has discharged the patient. Other examples of interdependence are the relationships among shifts and those between physicians and nurses. Interdependent relationships have the potential to ini- tiate conflict. Structural Conflict One conflict

The conflict process. CHAPTER 12 • HANDLING CONFLICT 163 Antecedent Conditions Antecedent conditions are associated with increases in conflict. Antecedent conditions propel a situation toward conflict; they may or may not be the cause. In nursing, antecedent conditions include incompatible goals, differences in values and beliefs, task interdependencies (especially asymmetric dependencies, in which one party

Outcomes and conflict have also been studied. One study compared how groups managed conflict with their performance and satisfaction (Behfar et al., 2008). Researchers found that three conflict resolution styles more often led to positive performance and job satisfaction out- comes: focusing on content of the conflict rather than the delivery; explicitly discussing rea- sons

Explain how to manage conflict. Interprofessional Conflict Working in high-stress jobs, nurses often have conflicts with other health care professionals, ad- ministrators, or coworkers. A common example is conflict in the interprofessional team is feel- ing like each other’s time isn’t respected. To do multidisciplinary rounds, the doctor might want to meet at 1 p.m.,

Identify different approaches that can be used to manage conflict. Competition occurs when two or more groups attempt the same goals and only one group can attain those goals. Filley (1975) defines competitive conflict as a victory for one side and a loss for the other side. The process by which the conflict is resolved