Conflict: concepts, causes, and resolution strategies

Conflict Management

The purpose of this work is to describe a conflict within XYZ Hospital in a brief memorandum to a supervisor in which a scenario of conflict will be created. The scenario will reflect inter-group conflict, will identify relevant variables which affect the selection of appropriate conflict management style and discuss each in terms of its' importance in the conflict situation. Evaluation of a subset of approaches in dealing with the conflict will be performed and recommendation of the appropriate conflict management style for implementation and an accompanying rationale for this choice.

MORANDUM

CONFLICT Management in HOSPITAL

Description of Situation

As you know there has been conflict within the group working on second shift in the hospital emergency room for some time now and many methods of resolving this conflict have been tested without success. The stress experienced in the nightshift ER is strenuous therefore time has been applied to research of this matter. Due to the 12-hour shifts and the high-pace of action in the ER there is little time for paperwork and recently this has led to problems among the nursing staff because no one wants to stay over in the morning after 12 hours to catch up on the paperwork and time has not been found within the shift in order for it to be completed at that time.

Secondly, staff that have earned more vacation due to longer service are in a struggle over who will take their vacation and when causing the nightshift manager to deny all vacation until further notice.

Through research the following conflict management styles have been identified:

Conflict Management Strategies:

Conflict Management Strategies include the following:

Force: using authority or other power vested in position to resolve the conflict satisfying personal concerns without regards for the concerns of the party or parties with whom the conflict is involved,

Accommodation: Allowing the other party to satisfy their concerns while neglecting ones' own concerns.

Avoidance: Not giving attention to the conflict or taking action to resolve the conflict.

Compromise: Attempting resolution of a conflict by identification of a solution that is partially satisfactory to all parties but not completely satisfactory to any party.

Collaboration: Working through collaboration with the other party to understand their concerns and allowing expression of the concerns of all parties toward finding a completely satisfactory solution or a win-win solution.

Collaboration is the strategy most often used in handling interpersonal conflicts. Collaboration promotes creativity in solving problems and is a way of promoting mutual respect and rapport. The only consideration is that collaboration is a time-consuming process and conflicts are often too urgent or too inane to justify the time expended in collaboration. Managers who are skilled in conflict management situations have the ability to interpret interpersonal conflict situations as well as apply the appropriate conflict management strategy.

In reviewing the main considerations that define conflict management situations and in making a determination which strategy has a likelihood of being effective the factors to be considered are:

Issue Importance

Relationship Importance

Relative Power

It is important to consider the importance of the issue, which has been done and although the conflict is centered around important issues the resolution is not one that lack of resolve creates immediate demand of resolution through force. In terms of relationship, the situation is one that suggests fostering of relationships through the resolution process to be vital. As to relative power, that power held by supervisors does not need to come into play unless no other form of resolution is successful.

Recommendation for Resolution of Conflict:

After having performed research of conflict resolution and studied the methods utilized by other institutions in conflict resolution it is stated as a recommendation that the method of "Collaboration" be used in reaching resolution to the conflict in XYZ Hospital Emergency Room. It is suggested that a meeting schedule be established and that a conflict resolution team be hired to come to the hospital and work with the nightshift emergency room employees to assist their understanding of exactly what collaboration constitutes, what collaboration requires of each employee and what the hopes and intents for collaboration actually are among the employees.