Employee Conflict in a Medium-Sized

Employee Conflict in a Medium-Sized Profit Driven Healthcare Organization: Possible Causes

An increase in the number of conflicts in a medium-sized (seventy-three employee) healthcare organization that is profit-dependent and profit generating (in excess of $1 million annually) has led to the formulation of several competing explanations. An empirical examination of the issue is required to determine the actual causes of these conflicts. The literature review proposed and described herein would provide much of the necessary background information on the issue, facilitating further direct study.

Instructional Problem

After determining the likely cause(s) of the increase in employee conflicts, instruction on how to handle these underlying issues and the conflicts themselves will need to take place with both management and employees. Learning how to identify the root source of conflict and how to best overcome these problems will be the focus of such instruction. In addition, it will be necessary to develop and apply organizational practices and a corporate culture that will fully support the findings of the investigation and the instructional conclusions.

Instructional Setting

Instruction will take place within the organization itself on a rotating and ongoing basis. Direct and immediate application of developed practices and standards will assist in reinforcing instructional-based learning with practical experience and adjustment, and with communal assistance.

Questions for Literature Review

The primary question that the study hopes to answer, i.e. what is the cause of increasing employee conflicts, is best addressed by focusing on more narrowly defined questions with more direct answers. The questions that could be answered in a literature review provide some of these: what circumstances/developments have been shown to lead to an increase in employee conflicts in the past? To what degree can certain of the identified causes of employee conflicts be eradicated/mitigated, and to what extent is it an issue of individual personalities? what methods have proven successful in combating increases in employee conflicts within healthcare organizations specifically and in other organizations at large? how can these methods best be adopted by a profit-dependent organization with minimal disruption to service or the profit margin? These questions simply begin to address the myriad of background issues that are attendant upon the primary research question and instructional need, but they provide a specific avenue into the topic.