Conflict Management Strategies For The Health Care Organization

In today’s organizations conflict and power are important elements to the success of any company but can also create negative long term impacts if not addressed. Organizations require enough power within the leaders to get through conflict and enough conflict within individuals to create new innovations. Not all conflict is bad but when there is conflict individuals with power must assist in aligning conflict resolution to assist in understanding for everyone involved in the conflict. The need for successful conflict resolution is vital for employees so that they are capable of moving on and understanding why the conflict was overcome.

A conflict can be described as an interpersonal disagreement between two or more parties having a difference in opinion, controversy, negative understanding or insufficient communication (McKibben, 2017). Within the healthcare arena, conflict cannot be avoided. It can have the ability to have a negative impact on the function of the team and result in inadequate patient care. When poor patient care is provided, the integrity of the nurse, the nursing profession, and healthcare as a whole is endangered (McKibben, 2017). As a result, conflict management is the process of recognizing and dealing with conflict in a realistic, fair, and competent fashion. Productive communication, problem solving, and discussing with a focus on the issues are required skills needed for conflict management (Saeed, Almas, Anis-ul-Haq, & Niazi, 2014).

Whether you work for a manufacturing facility or the health care system, conflict is unavoidable. As a manager, you must learn to deal with conflict in the workplace. In this paper I will describe the different styles of conflict management. I will also discuss my preferred conflict management style with examples of its use. Lastly, I will describe a situation at work and how a conflict management strategy could have improved that situation.

“People are afraid of conflict because they do not have essential skills to manage it well.” This is true because according to O’Grady and Malloch (2016), conflict is reflection of an insufficient knowledge of the dynamics of conflict and a lack of capability in its management. In the case of Nancy, perhaps she needs to undergo specialty training or classes about conflict management in order to improve their unit’s dynamic or interaction.

According to the conflict perspective, a conflict theorist argues that instead of defining health care as a right, our capitalistic system treats health care as a valuable commodity dispensed to the highest bidder. Studies consistently find that those in upper social classes have better health, health insurance, and medical access than men and women of lower socioeconomic status (Leon-Guerrero 2016, pg. 277).

As a healthcare leader I will work to minimize conflict using the four pillars by addressing trust, respect and communication by ensuring that each and every patient will know that they can trust me with their health concerns and issues, a lot of conflicts happen because there’s lack of communication, I will make sure that there has been a misunderstanding and listen first instead of talking.

If the manager addresses conflict directly & head on, any disconnection or dispute that has occurred can be turned into an opportunity for the team to understand each other a little better, as well as an increase personal & professional connection & trust.

Effective managers are successful within the workgroup and organization when a style is used to resolve a conflict. People do experience conflict in their lives. There has always been a lot of interest in how to manage conflict once it appears in the open, and that is important. What is not so common is a concern for preventing unnecessary conflict, so it does not start in the first place. Managers are capable of using all five resolutions skills to deal with conflict in the workplace.

Conflict is generally considered a typical part of human interactions and is not in itself essentially damaging. Rather, it is how conflict is managed that determines whether or not the outcomes are going to be constructive or damaging (Deutsch, 2006). Thus, conflict management, the method of managing a dispute and associated conflicts, is very important in producing satisfactory or disappointing outcomes. It is therefore vitally important to know your conflict management style, along with its inherent strengths and weaknesses, as a leader of a healthy organization, in order to deal with conflict in a positive manner.

Conflict is a fact of life - for individuals, organizations, and societies. The costs of conflict are well-documented - high turnover, grievances and lawsuits, absenteeism, divorce, dysfunctional families, prejudice, fear. What many people don't realize is that well-managed conflict can actually be a force for positive change.

Conflict Management is essential to the work place, which needs to be managed appropriately and effectively this can make a difference between a positive and negative outcome.

According to our textbook Beebe, Beebe, & Ivy (2014), “interpersonal conflict is a fact of life and eventually all relationships experience conflict” (p. 218). Precisely how the conflict is resolved left up to the involved parties. I am credible because I participated in the following conflict with my mother, analyzed the conflict using the Beebe, Beebe, & Ivy (2014) text, and then used the collected information to structure this paper. The central idea of this essay is that people with conflicting personalities and viewpoints need to be more understandable towards each other in order to be an effective communicator. This paper will first discuss the type of conflict that occurred, the conflict management style used by each party, the effectiveness of the management of the conflict, and four conflict management skills that could be improved in this specific conflict. Now aware of the construction of this essay, it is now time to understand and examine the type of conflicts involved.

Conflict is something that will always be present in the health care world. So the question is how will one handle it? We have to always remember we are responsible for our actions in every situation. So remember to ask ourselves are we going to allow conflict to have a positive impact on patient care. For example new techniques just as the importance of sterility in certain situations derived from a conflict. As well as disagreement in values or beliefs may cause a positive effect it can just as well cause a negative effect. Due to high emotions and collaboration with other health care personnel conflict can cause a disruption in patient care and can jeopardize workplace relationships if not handled properly. Choosing the appropriate approach

The article “Managing conflict: Third-party interventions for managers” delineates the essential steps followed by a manager in effectively and efficiently managing organizational conflict and the various approaches adopted for its resolution. It identifies certain key variables to consider for each step of the decision process concerning intervention and presents guidelines for making appropriate choices. It also describes a variety of pitfalls that a manager must beware of when intervening as third party in managing conflict. Third-party intervention by the manager assumes greater significance in the light of increasing use of teams and participatory management approaches used by organizations wherein timely

To what extend do you accept the view that conflict is an inevitable feature of management and organizational behaviour? Suggest how management can attempt to avoid the harmful effects of conflict.