Main Post
Emergence of professional disputes and conflicts is inevitable because of existing cultural, social, and experiential discrepancies among employees and employers. To avoid such misunderstandings, a hospital should establish specific ethical and moral codes (Roussel & Swansburg, 2009). However, I had a bad experience of being involved into a conflict with a physician who would cause resentment and ignite conflicts among the nurses. By creating uncomfortable comments, the physician discouraged employees and made them be reluctant to work in a toxic environment.
Judging from the case, the presented dispute was between the physician and the rest of hospital staff. To resolve the conflict, I had to fire the physician because he was the core reason for emerging disputes and the created unfavorable environment. Perhaps, dismissal was not the best solution in the situation, but I failed to talk to the physician and make him behave in a more appropriate way.
Defining Conflict Management Style
According to Thomas Killman Mode Index, there are five types of conflict management style (Kritek, n. d.). These are avoidance, which is the most common way of resolving conflicts, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration, which is the most attractive way of solving problems (Kritek, n. d). The case under analysis is identical to the first type of conflict resolution as the physician – the main source of discomfort – was fired to avoid conflict situations in future. Absence of the resentment source provides no grounds for further quarrels and, as result, nurses should feel much more comfortable. On the one hand, the termination of the physician’s contract requires searching for other candidature for this position, which is quite costly for an organization. On the other hand, keeping the physician on this position can hamper the organizational activities, which also lead to financial losses.
Personal Response to Conflict
Conflict recognition is an essential step forward to resolving disputes between people (Porter-O’Grady, 2004). More importantly, nurse leaders should be aware of their roles in defining and managing conflicts and building approaches to addressing the reasons for misunderstanding among nurses. In this respect, it is vital to understand the main elements of conflict, including its nature and major characteristics. Leadership role is fundamental for conflict resolution at all organizational levels. Each leader, therefore, should fully understand the degree and nature of conflict reactions, the emotional content of the dispute, reasons for avoiding the conflict, and previous conflict behaviors. Regarding this, the case reveals that previous experiences of managing conflicts have been carefully analyzed. However, because conflict emergence at our hospital is a rare occasion, more consistent algorithms should be adopted to prevent similar situations in future. In particular, specific conflict application skills should be worked because it is important for a leader to understand that conflict is a normative phenomenon; because of different values and beliefs, people are often engaged in disputes to protect their positions (Porter-O’Grady, 2004, p. 183). Therefore, admitting the possibility of conflict is the first step to its resolution.
To build out an effective framework for conflict evaluation, it is purposeful to consider such variables as individuals involved, events which follow the conflict, power of influence that each person has in the situation, as well as existing regulatory issues worked out by conflict managers (Sportsman, 2005). A complete scheme of alternative conflict resolution can prevent the staff from experiencing critical situations. Moreover, it can contribute to creating a safer and healthier environment for producing the highest results.
References
Kritek, P. (n. d.). Managing Conflict.
Porter-O’Grady, T. (2004). Embracing conflict: Building a healthy community. Health Care Management Review, 29(3), 181–187.
Roussel, L., & Swansburg, R. C. (Eds.). (2009). Management and leadership for nurse administrators (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Sportsman, S. (2005). Build a framework for conflict assessment. Nurse Management, 36(4), 32–40.