Nursing Leadership: Isaacs case
In the assigned case scenario, Isaac’s disruptive behavior hurt the overall atmosphere in the healthcare unit, as nurses experienced discomfort and pressure while working with Isaac. I was an assistant nurse manager who will be obliged to resolve this conflict since it has a damaging effect on the hospital’s position in the labor market and questions the appropriateness of the provided working conditions.
In this case, my main responsibilities will not only be related to finding the most suitable solution to the conflict but also will pertain to changing Isaac’s attitudes towards his co-workers and suitable working conditions for their professional development. Thus, it is necessary to ensure that the hospital’s standards and values are communicated successfully, as this matter might be a defining aspect of modifying Isaac’s behavior (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). Overall, it could be said that my main responsibilities will be related to being a role model, finding cause-and-effect relationships, cherishing the company’s values, creating an atmosphere of trust and respect, and employing these ideas in my management and leadership initiatives.
Based on the description of the responsibilities, the next step will be to ensure that Isaac has a clear understanding of the hospital’s rules, values, and policies. In the context of the presented case, it is evident that Isaac has a completely different perception of leadership while being a dominating and authoritative leader, who seeks power and does not consider alternative opinions.
Today, the idea of management in the hospital is different while respect is given to transformational leadership implying a possibility for cooperation and change (Doody & Doody, 2012). Consequently, organizing a formal meeting with Isaac and having an empowering conversation with him covering the effectiveness of modern leadership approaches with the help of real-life examples can be considered as the next step. Simultaneously, during this occasion, it will be reasonable to review the hospital’s policies and potential consequences of Isaac’s behavior while clearly stating that his actions do not comply with organizational values.
Thus, apart from having a formal conversation and imposing possible sanctions for misconduct, it will be essential to help Isaac develop more effective people skills. In the first place, it will be crucial to conduct the evaluation and determine the set of skills that have to be improved. After that, it will be possible to organize different training sessions where Isaac can work in collaboration with other workers and experience the benefits of teamwork. Apart from that, engaging Isaac in various social activities continuously, being a role model, monitoring his behavior, and providing constant feedback to his actions will eventually help him become a respected leader of the nursing unit.
Management in the nurses case
In the context of this case study, the main problem pertains to catering to the needs of nurses concerning their holidays’ preferences. The central issue is the fact that it will be not possible to satisfy all requests due to the limited capacity and mobility of staff. Initially, this situation puts dramatic pressure on me since I will have to take responsibility and make well-weighed decisions when prioritizing nurses, whose needs have to be satisfied in the first place. Distributing holiday coverage effectively might also be a source of the major tensions between different levels of subordination and require me to find compromises to the rising issues. As for the unit staff, it is apparent that some of their needs will only be partly satisfied due to the limited capacity. This matter may create conflicts between nurses and damage the working processes in the hospital.
It remains apparent that this conflict will hurt the working atmosphere while triggering the development of subsequent tensions between the employees. Simultaneously, it is widely known that conflicts are believed to have an adverse influence on employee performance while doubting the ability to provide high-quality services (Donkor, Afriyie, Danquah, & Nimsah, 2015). A combination of these factors questions the possibility to apply the principles of patient-centered care. Nonetheless, one of the positive outcomes is the fact that explaining the managerial processes to nurses will help them understand the complexity of decision-making and change their attitude towards the situation. At the same time, the management will discover this problem from a different perspective and propose a relevant solution that deems the most appropriate.
When finding a solution to this conflict, it will be reasonable to take advantage of the collaborative problem-solving method, as it implies having a conversation and brainstorming as the most relevant approaches to cater to the needs (Coleman, Deutsch, & Marcus, 2014). After giving priority to people in need such as workers with children, it will be necessary to organize individual meetings and discover preferences. It will be logical to negotiate and discuss potential solutions after clarifying all desires, as this method will help find resolutions that satisfy the needs of both parties. In the end, it could be said that reporting the reasons for the development of a particular ranking system will also be critical to avoid misunderstandings and assist the workers in gaining profound knowledge in understanding the decision-making mechanism in the hospital.
References
Coleman, P., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. (2014). The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Donkor, P., Afriyie, S., Danquah, B., & Nimsah, W. (2015). Effect of conflict on employees performance: Evidence from Coca Cola Company Limited, Kumasi branch. American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences, 14(3), 44-53.
Doody, O., & Doody, C. (2012). Transformational leadership in nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing, 21(20), 1212-1214.
Weiss, S., & Tappen, R. (2014). Essentials of nursing leadership and management. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.