Download File - Yesenia Hurtado

Running head: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
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Conflict Management
Katherine Alcayde, Katrina Catipon, Yesenia Hurtado, Judy Rabano, Nandi Sealey
California State University, Stanislaus
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Conducting a thorough search of credible sources is of utmost importance when
composing a piece of literature. It is important to verify the website’s credibility before
incorporating it into one’s own work. In this paper, three websites - Mind Tools, Wright State
University, and Helpguide - were consulted as resources for conflict management and resolution.
A conflict will be identified, the resolution critiqued, and alternative conflict management
solutions offered. Conflict will be defined and the authors’ own conflict management styles will
be evaluated. This will be compared to conflict management within the healthcare profession.
Finally, several techniques to assertively manage conflict will be presented and will be used to
suggest an alternative resolution to the previously presented conflict.
Resource Evaluation Criteria
When searching for resources on the internet, it is important to take into account several
criteria in order to evaluate a website’s credibility. Various sources are available that discuss
these evaluation criteria, all of which must themselves be evaluated. The library website of the
University of Maryland (UMD) includes a page entitled “Evaluating Web Sites,” which breaks
down evaluation criteria into four categories: authority and accuracy; purpose and content;
currency; and design, organization, and ease of use (2013). Authority and accuracy focus on the
author of a website - including qualifications and expertise - the domain, and the reliability of a
site (UMD, 2013). When evaluating the purpose and content of a source, the mission and bias of
the source are also appraised (UMD, 2013). While the currency of a website refers to how
updated the information is, the design criteria of a website focuses on how easy the site is to
navigate and understand (UMD, 2013). The University of California, Berkeley also provides a
tutorial regarding evaluating resources developed by Barker and continued by Hennesy (2012).
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Entitled “Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask,” the extensive
tutorial includes many of the same criteria as the UMD source, but it also includes a section
questioning what other users say about the source and whether or not the source could potentially
be a satire or spoof (Hennesy, 2012).
Conflict Management Resources
In a search for sources regarding conflict management, three websites were selected to be
evaluated for this paper. The first website, entitled MindTools (n.d.), provides a page called
“Conflict Resolution: Resolving Conflict Rationally and Effectively,” which presents various
theories and tools regarding conflict management. An author is not noted, but the domain is .org.
The “About Us” page indicates that the organization seeks to provide individuals with the skills
necessary to succeed in the workplace. The information on the conflict resolution page is
straightforward, well-organized, and seemingly lacks any bias. Finally, the page lacks any date;
therefore the currency of the information cannot be evaluated. Given the lack of an author or
date, the website may provide a wealth of helpful information, but it does not meet all of the
criteria necessary to be considered a reliable source.
The second website evaluated, Williams (n.d.), is part of the Wright State University
website (.edu domain). It publishes a website entitled “Leader Letter,” with a page on “Conflict
Management – Style and Strategy.” In addition to the author’s name, the page also includes the
author’s qualifications as a Ph.D.-holder and professor in the Department of Management at
Wright State University. The page does not provide a date in order to evaluate currency, but it
does include references and an email address in order to contact the author. The overall style of
the page appears to be factual and educational, earnestly attempting to provide individuals with
information to help with conflict resolution.
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The final website evaluated and ultimately selected as the main source for this paper
comes from helpguide.org, which describes itself as a “trusted non-profit resource”, and provides
a page entitled “Conflict Resolution Skills: Building the Skills That Can Turn Conflicts into
Opportunities” (2013). The main website itself includes an “About Us” page which describes
that the inspiration for starting the site was to provide helpful information without bias and
without advertisements. Topics such as “Mental & Emotional Health”, “Healthy Lifestyles”,
“Children & Family”, and “After 50” are featured on this website. The authors of this particular
page are indicated, as well as their qualifications as having a Ph.D. and M.A. degree. A date of
the last update is included, as well as a method for contacting the organization. Regarding the
content of this particular page, it is presented in a very organized manner, covering different
topics related to conflict and including diagrams that present information in a user-friendly and
easy-to-read style. Considering the lack of bias and objective approach, as well as the various
criteria discussed above, this website is a credible and reliable source of information regarding
conflict.
Conflict in the Clinical Setting
During the first semester of clinical rotation, one of the authors was assigned to a Medical
Surgical-Telemetry floor at Saint Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton, California. This
particular hospital has the room number on the outside of each door with tabs that can be pulled
out to alert staff whether the patients are a” Fall Risk”, “NPO” (nothing by mouth), or
“Isolation”. The tabs were usually correctly pulled out according to the patient’s status, but the
nurses sometimes forgot to double check. One patient in particular was supposed to be NPO due
to a scheduled procedure that afternoon. During lunch the students and the resource nurse were
passing out lunch trays to the patients. The patient who was NPO received a lunch tray and ate a
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few bites of his lunch. During that time frame the doctor went into the patient’s room and noticed
that he was eating, despite doctor’s orders that the patient was to be NPO. The physician became
very irate and began to shout at the nearest nurse in front of everyone because he was angry that
his orders were not being followed. The nurse told him that she did not deliver the tray to the
patient, who was not hers. The resource nurse then stepped in and informed the doctor that she
gave the patient the lunch tray. The doctor was angry and continued to yell at both nurses. He
then commented that he wanted the resource nurse to be written up for her actions. The resource
nurse reviewed the doctor’s orders and realized that the NPO tab had not been pulled out.
The aforementioned situation could have been avoided had the “NPO” tab been pulled
out to alert the staff; it was an error that anyone could have made. In addition, although the
patient was aware of his status, he did not speak up when his lunch tray was delivered. It is easy
for patients to assume that a few bites of food is inconsequential, despite a physician’s order;
therefore education is important. The physician handled the situation inappropriately when he
shouted at the nurses. He created conflict between the nurse and resource nurse, as well as
embarrassed them in front of patients and other staff. After the incident, the charge nurse
instructed the students to confirm with each nurse which of their patients was NPO and to check
the tabs before delivering a food tray. Later that day, other nurses and patients in the unit began
whispering about what happened and the patents began to inquire about the situation, which
created an uncomfortable atmosphere. The doctor might have assumed that it was within his
right to unleash his anger to perceived subordinates and that he was setting an example.
However, his actions could have caused the nurses to look incompetent and could have led
patients to lose confidence in their nurse’s ability to care for them. Alternative responses include
the doctor speaking to the nurse(s) privately and reminding the nurses how important it is to read
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doctors’ notes. It is important not to let things get out of hand and to respect team members
regardless of the position each holds.
What is Conflict?
The word “conflict” usually has a negative connotation, especially in the workplace
environment, yet it is an inherent part of all organizations. There are many definitions of conflict,
which can be viewed as functional or dysfunctional depending on how it is perceived. According
to K.W. Thomas, one of the developers of the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode (as cited in
Vivar, 2006), ‘conflict is the process that begins when one party perceives that the other party
has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that he or she cares about.’
Another way to define conflict is “[the] internal or external discord that results from differences
in ideas, values, or feelings between two or more people” (Marquis & Huston, 2012). With that
said, conflict may be beneficial in encouraging change by highlighting organizational issues,
inefficiencies, and bad practices. A research study by Spagnol et al. (2007) found that conflict
between nurses in the healthcare environment was mainly due to lack of responsibility and
commitment, lack of cooperation, differences in opinions, lack of motivation, breakdown in
communication, and workplace gossip.
In general, there are three primary categories of conflict: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and
intragroup/intergroup conflict. Intrapersonal conflict occurs within the person when one usually
finds oneself in a situation, which does not match one’s values (Nastase, 2007). Interpersonal
conflicts occur between “two or more people with differing values, goals, and beliefs,” and may
be closely linked to horizontal violence (Marquis & Huston, 2012). Intragroup conflict occurs
within the same group and may be caused by differences in perceived expectations, status within
the group, or relationship within member (Nastase, 2007). Intergroup conflicts occur between
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two or more groups that may arise due to differences in organizational priorities or beliefs and
limited sources (Nastase, 2007).
The aforementioned primary categories may then be further broken down according to
their sources of conflict: conflict of objectives, process conflict, or emotional/relationship
conflict. Task conflict refers to differences in viewpoints and opinions in accomplishing a task or
goal, while process conflict occurs due to differences in the process or directions in
accomplishing a task or goal (Almost, 2005). Emotional/relationship conflict arises from
confrontation of values or personality differences/incompatibilities (Almost, 2005).
Conflict Styles and Improvement Suggestions
The authors of this paper generally have very similar conflict styles. Several of them tend
to avoid conflict, whether due to a general dislike of confrontation or a preference for pleasing
others. Despite this, the authors recognize the value of resolving conflict in order to preserve
relationships, improve the work environment, and facilitate change. Once presented with
conflict, the authors value speaking factually, aiming for compromise and collaboration, and
allowing each side to present their version of the story. One of the authors tends to take on
conflict rather than avoiding it, in order to avoid lingering anger or resentment, and generally
approaches confrontation prepared to share thoughts and emotions. For all of the authors, it is not
important to win during conflict resolution. Rather, it is more important to resolve the issue in a
manner that preserves or improves the relationship or working environment.
An article from International Nursing Review investigated conflict management of
health-care personnel in Cyprus hospitals and found that sixty-four percent of respondents were
not made aware of conflict management methods in their professional education (Pavlakis et al.,
2011). Additionally, the study found that avoidance was chosen as the primary conflict
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resolution style for more nurses than the other professions - physicians, psychologists,
physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. Several of this paper’s authors have a tendency to
avoid conflict. While the conflict resolution style of avoidance can be helpful in dealing with
small arguments, it can also create a bigger problem. According to Segal and Smith (2013), fear
and avoidance is an unhealthy response to conflict. Instead, one should believe that facing
conflict is in the best interests of both sides. If the conflict is ignored, it does not get resolved and
can then reemerge as a greater problem in the future. To improve conflict resolution styles, it is
important to know the different kinds of conflict management strategies and in which situations
to implement them. It is recommended that team members learn to incorporate other conflict
management styles into their current tendencies, and adapt them to different problems that they
may encounter to promote not just resolution of the conflict, but win-win solutions for all parties
involved.
Assertive Responses to Conflict
Marquis and Huston (2012) mentioned several different ways to assertively respond to an
aggressive person: reflect, repeat the assertive message, point out the implicit assumptions,
restate the message by using assertive language, and question. In the conflict described above, it
was noted that the physician reacted aggressively towards the nurses and created an
uncomfortable atmosphere on the unit for both staff and patients. It would have been more
beneficial for the physician to use assertive communication, rather than verbally abusive
techniques to express himself. Furthermore, the nurse could have taken a more assertive
approach. This includes reflecting the physician’s message back to him by acknowledging his
concern regarding the NPO status of the patient and the need to discuss the problem in a more
appropriate setting.
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In conducting a search of credible sources, it was determined that a website’s validity
was evaluated on four categories - as defined by the University of Maryland: authority and
accuracy; purpose and content; currency; and design, organization, and ease of use. Based on
these criteria Helpguide was selected as the main source for conflict. The conflict of the nurse
giving a food tray to a patient who was on a NPO restriction highlighted the doctor’s response as
a mismanagement of the conflict. This example illustrates K.W. Thomas’s definition of conflict
where one person negatively affects something that another person cares about. Each author
offered perspective on how each responds to conflict, which highlights that in a similar situation
each author might have reacted as the nurses did. Research has found that many health care
personnel do not have any conflict management education and that nurses tend to use avoidance
techniques. This is important considering that avoidance is seen as an ineffective way to resolve
conflicts and cause them to escalate. It is apparent that in order to better handle conflicts in the
healthcare setting, staff should be educated about conflict management techniques and assertive
communication.
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Almost, J. (2005). Conflict within the nursing work environments: concept analysis. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 53(4), 444-453. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2006.03738.x
Engle, M. (2012). Evaluating web sites: Criteria and tools. Retrieved from
http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/webeval.html
Marquis, B.L. & Huston, C.J. (2012). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:
Theory and application. (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
MindTools. (n.d.). Conflict resolution: Resolving conflict rationally and effectively. Retrieved
from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm
Nastase, M. (2007). Types of organizational conflicts. Review of International Comparative
Management, 8(4). Retrieved from
http://rmci.ase.ro/Login/no8vol4/Vol8_No4_Article7.pdf
Pavlakis, A. A., Kaitelidou, D. D., Theodorou, M. M., Galanis, P. P., Sourtzi, P. P., & Siskou, O.
O. (2011). Conflict management in public hospitals: The Cyprus case. International
Nursing Review, 58(2), 242-248. doi:10.1111/j.1466-7657.2011.00880.x
Segal, J., & Smith, M. (2013). Conflict resolution skills: Building the skills that can turn
conflicts into opportunities. Retrieved from
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq8_conflict_resolution.htm
Spagnol, C.A., Santiago, G.R., Campos, B.M.O, Badaro, M.T.M., Vieira, J.S., & Silveira, A.P.O.
(2010). Conflict situations experienced at hospital: the view of nursing technicians and
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University of Maryland (UMD). (2013). Evaluating web sites. Retrieved from
http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/evaluating-web
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Vivar, C.G. (2006). Putting conflict management into practice: A nursing case study. Journal of
Nursing Management, 14, 201-206
Williams, S. (n.d.). Conflict management – style and strategy. Retrieved from
http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/conflict.htm