Conflict Management
Conflict is a term that is used to refer to a collision of interests, principles, proceedings, views or instructions. Conflict arises mainly due to misunderstandings between individuals. These disagreements are caused by so many things which include having different views on an issue, following different directions and having diverged thoughts on an issue. Conflict states arise because of various reasons. Some of them are fear, which refers to the situation where one is highly concerned about what the future has in store for him or her. The second one is a force of any kind that has the ability to push an individual into making decisions. Fair also is the other thing that enables conflict to arise. Fair refers to the act of wanting fairness to existing in various dealings. Costs of the conflict have the ability to incite conflict and at the same time, it may help in its resolution. Other causes include lack of communication, interpersonal differences, views, and status. Conflicts occur in various places, there can be conflict in the workplace as the pressure to meet the demands of the worker’s increases.
Conflict can sometimes be seen as a continuous process. In various workplaces, conflict can be seen as a tool that increases the efficiency of a company. Conflict as a process has various stages which follow each other in a sequential manner. First, there should be the conflict state, then awareness of the state of conflict, its realization, the show up of the actual conflict and the aim to deal with the conflict then the consequences of the conflict (Callahan, 2007).
Conflict situations may have positive or negative impacts in the community .hence conflict states can either be resolved or managed so as to be useful. The manager of the organization where the conflict has occurred should be able to create an atmosphere that will enable him to manage and regulate behavior. There are various theories that have been put forward to explain conflict management. Some have said that conflicts are not good and hence measures have to be put in place to deal with it.
It states that human beings always have conflicts. These conflicts are as a result of modifications and may have substantial benefits to the organization if well managed. Others consider that change is a mechanism that brings together divergent thoughts and views into a fresh and special change.
For an individual to manage conflict properly, the manager involved has to understand the response styles of the parties involved so as to be able to deal with conflicts effectively. There are various responses which can be grouped into different categories. First, there are addresses; these are those groups of individuals who are ready to take the ideas and risk to seek the appropriate solutions through engaging their challenges into agreeing on some of the issues. Secondly, there are confronters who believe that things are not good and they won’t lose anything if they confront. Others are those who are not ready to take risks and have no say in anything, first steppers, those who consume their feelings and those who are ready to change the subject (Porter-O’Grady & Malloch, 2003).
To deal with conflict, therefore, the manager of the organization has to understand all the response styles. It should also be understood that conflicts are normal in an organization, these if well managed they can act as a source of motivation for those involved. The manager has to be in a position to see the upcoming conflicts and identify the better solution.
Communication Skills
Communication skills play a major role in resolving conflicts. Effective communication leads to the development of good relationships, increasing closeness, faithfulness and the ability to give support. On the other hand, lack of communication brings about the weakening of bonds, lack of trust and eventually leads to hatred. When conflict arises a manager who possesses good communication skills should be having the ability to create a conducive environment that allows effective communication between the two parties.
There are various ways in which the conflicting groups or individuals can react when they are involved in a conflict. First, they can fight though this is not the most appropriate solution to the problem as it entails having losers on one end and those who gain on the other end. This can only be useful in a court where the end product of the process is either losing or winning.
Secondly, the conflicting groups can be involved in negotiations. These negotiations occur in the conflicting situation and are not focused on resolution. The third parties, therefore, have a major role to play in reaching consensus. Others can decide to look for a solution to the problem. This involves identification of the cause and how to deal with the main cause of the conflict. This may not bring out an effective solution as it might have brought out great influence on the situation. There is also plan which is the aim to bring the conflict to normal. This sees disagreements as a state rather than a problem. This option aims not only to provide a solution to the problem that is already there but it also foresees what might happen.
There are various aspects of communication which are regarded as negative as they rather increase the conflict. An example is whereby an individual tries to avoid the conflict. The individual does not engage in any discussion regarding the matter and rather remains silent until the situation explodes. This situation causes a lot of stress to the parties involved in the conflict and a great argument arises at the long run.
The best way to handle a situation is to be involved in discussions regarding the major cause of the problem and trying to get a solution together. This way helps in reducing stress and tensions between the two groups as they address the cause of conflict and look for the best solutions together. The key player in obtaining a happy relationship is ensuring that there is effective communication for example, in a marriage communication helps in conflict resolution.
Another aspect of communication that does not bring out a fruitful solution is whereby an individual is not willing to accept any wrongdoing and they struggle to ensure that there is no possibility that they can be regarded as the source of a problem. This denial may bring about long-term problems for an individual as it removes pressure for a short term. The best way to carry out this process is by attending to the arguments of the opponent keenly and being in a position to recognize the extent of the disagreement and seeking to obtain a clear view of the other person’s thoughts on the issue. This will, in turn, reduce stress and enable the individuals involved to avoid long-term conflicts (Callahan, 2007).
Some other form of communication which is not helpful is where an individual does not address the issue directly. The phrases that are used in this situations include the use of terms like, you always… or you never… and others which do not specify the issue in question. To be able to manage conflicts effectively one has to establish the main cause of disagreement and be able to talk about it in presence of the two parties involved. The cause of conflict has to be addressed there and then.
Being in a position to judge your way of looking at things as right always may not enable one to resolve a conflict. One does not have to expect people to view things the same way with the other person as people are different and they always have different thoughts over an issue. Therefore to be able to get a solution to the problem you should be able to know that there is no wrong opinion, and all opinions presented by individuals might be right.
There are various other negative communication skills which are of great help in conflict management if they are avoided. These skills include the ability to assume that you know everything that is going through the mind of the other party, and their actions are as a result of their thoughts. The other thing is an inability of an individual to listen to the other person. When a person always wants to be listened to and even when the other party is talking, the person is looking and rolling the eyes searching for the next information that will be put forward (Bercovitch, Huang & Teng, 2008).
Communication Devices
Communication devices are very useful tools that are applied together with the communication skills to enable an individual to resolve a conflict effectively. They range from simple to complex devices. There are various examples of communication devices which include mobile phones, internet-enabled tools which include laptops. The way in which these devices work hand in hand with the skills is seen in a situation whereby an individual wants to resolve a conflict with a deaf person using the skill of addressing the issue direct. One will be able to send a text message which will be read by that person. In that case, an individual has resolved a conflict with the aid of the communication devices.
Nurse Conflict Resolution Strategies
In the care delivery setting, a mother was horrified to see a nurse attending to her with a single glove that was already dirty. The nurse never changed the gloves even after they were smeared with blood and lost their color completely. This was a new nurse at the reception. She later explained to the senior nurse her experience. She had gone to the store to collect more gloves but there was nothing. The senior nurse responded to her in a harsh tone, “that was your incompetence. You should have looked for it early enough.” (Finkelman, 2012). The new nurse kept quiet but her facial expressions told she was upset. The senior nurse did not take any action to prevent such a mess in future although she was responsible for ordering the new stock of gloves and other apparatus. The new nurse did not report the case to the manager in fear of being harassed by senior employees (Finkelman, 2012).
This conflict was not resolved because the senior nurse never reacted adequately towards the incident hence she did not take necessary action. She had to ensure that the gloves were supplied in time. If the store person was the one who never ordered the gloves in time, the new nurse should have reported this to her senior colleague. Inaction of a senior nurse is a clear indication that the problem has not been resolved. Further, the senior nurse never acknowledged her mistake and was unfair to her colleague (Finkelman, 2012). Knowing that it was her fault, she had to apologize to the new nurse. She never apologized, which could have resolved the conflict but instead it was rather building up (Finkelman, 2012).
Delegation of duties was not an issue in the case because the tasks were well assigned and it was clear that the senior nurse had the responsibility of ensuring available inventory (Finkelman, 2012). She was also expected to collaborate with the store person to prevent stock shortages. She was further expected to cooperate with the new nurse and assist her at any point (Finkelman, 2012).
The type of conflict identified in this case is individual because it has occurred between the two nurses expected to be working together (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). Precisely, it is a role conflict. There is incompatibility between the roles expected of the senior nurse. She does not understand her roles, which makes the work of a new nurse more stressful. Consequently, the patient does not get decent care she deserves and the new nurse is confused about her roles. She rushes to the store to collect the gloves, which is the duty of the senior nurse, who should have organized the stock in advance. (Finkelman, 2012)
The decision to choose this conflict is based on how well the roles are defined. It is noticeable that the senior nurse does not clearly understand her roles (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). Analysis of the outcome in a given case makes it clear that the senior nurse is not fully aware of her duties. Instead she blames the fault on the new.
Four Stages of Conflict
Conflict development is a process. Through a critical analysis it has been established that given conflict has four stages of development.
- The first stage is latent conflict. This phase entails conflict anticipation. At this stage, the conflict can manifest in the parties’ competition for resources or in a significantly inadequate communication between individuals (Weiss & Tappen, 2014). Tension is high between the conflicting parts. Staff members are already worried about the tasks ahead of them and many thoughts cross their minds. Conflict anticipation takes place when one party has a feeling that the co-partner is incompetent or does not perform his or her roles as expected, which affects one’s work (Kelly, Vottero, & Christie-McAuliffe, 2014). The tension between the new and the senior nurse began when the new nurse experienced the shortage of gloves due to the failure of the senior nurse to order more stock in advance.
- The second stage starts when the conflict becomes apparent. Here, it should be acknowledged that a conflict has emanated from particular groups in the workplace. Although the conflict is felt, it may not be a subject of discussion. Acknowledging a conflict is essential as it determines its presence and provides insights and tips on how it can be resolved (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). In a given case, if a manager acknowledges the conflict between the senior and the new nurse, it will be resolved whereas a failure to do this will result in a long presence of the conflict (Finkelman, 2012).
- The third stage of a conflict development is when it is felt, which happens when the parties involved begin to develop the feelings of anger, hatred or anxiety towards one another. Consequently, other staff members share the stress related to this conflict. At this stage, avoidance technique may prevent the conflict from escalating to the final stage. However, avoidance will not resolve the conflict rather provide a cover up (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). Under such circumstance, the conflict may erupt again in a more complex manner and will be rather difficult to resolve it. The levels of trust exhibited by the participating parties play a key role here. The extent to which they believe that the conflict will be solved is important in regaining the state of trust among one another (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). The staff members should be more comfortable sharing their feelings with one another. In this case, the new nurse is already upset and we can predict that the next time this repeats she will burst in anger. She is already stressed because of the conflict between her and the senior nurse. Avoidance would only work here if the senior nurse realized her sluggishness and apologized. Otherwise, this conflict could better be resolved through other means (Kelly, Vottero, & Christie-McAuliffe, 2014).
- The fourth stage is the manifestation of a conflict in an explicit form. At this stage the conflict is either destructive or constructive. Destructive conflict manifests in such behaviors as avoiding one another, forming negative attitudes towards a colleague, failure to acknowledge a problem and failure to adhere to policies (Sullivan, 2013). Constructive conflict entails encouragement and problem resolution, willingness to develop one another’s careers and expression of positive feelings towards one another. In this case, the conflict is likely to be destructive as it manifests in the feelings of anger experienced by the new nurse towards the senior nurse hence if possible the new nurse will avoid working with the senior nurse (Sullivan, 2013).
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Conflicts are inevitable within the workplace. Therefore, as a manager, one should establish strategies that will help prevent such conflicts from interfering with organizational productivity (Sullivan, 2013).
- First, a manager should empower his or her employees, which entails sharing power with the employees. For example, it means encouraging collaborative decision making when dealing with the issues (Sullivan, 2013). It gives employees the power to decide how certain issues should be handled in the presence of the manager. These issues mostly include conflicts amongst the staff. Therefore, the staff should be empowered based on the well outlined procedures or policies otherwise it might lead to conflicts. An example of such policies is the Nurses’ Act (Sullivan, 2013).
- The second strategy is recognizing personal feelings. As a nurse manager, one must keep calm and self-regulate own behavior once realized that a staff member is expressing hostility towards you or colleagues. Call him or her aside and try to discuss the matter (Sullivan, 2013).
- Thirdly, a manager should avoid intimidating or coercing his her subordinates. When people are forced, they comply with the demands only temporarily, which might soon become the worst conflict than ever. Moreover, the same problem will resume after some time and become even more complicated (Sullivan, 2013).
- The fourth strategy is focusing on the problem rather than the staff members involved. Unfortunately, in many workplaces, there are members already perceived as “problematic” and even in the event of a small problem, the manager is likely to develop biased attitudes towards that employee. This should not be the case. Therefore, a manager should get to the root of the conflict and facilitate open discussions aimed at resolving the conflict (Weiss & Tappen, 2014).
- The fifth strategy is maintaining open channels of communication. This implies allowing the conflicting parties to express their views about the conflict emphasizing where they think their rights were infringed (Sullivan, 2013). Further, this strategy requires listening to them carefully and encouraging suggesting a solution to the conflict. If they fail to generate a solution, a supervisor or mediator should suggest the best resolution to the problem and have them agree to that decision.
Was Delegation an Issue in the Conflict?
Delegation was not an issue in the conflict because the tasks were well assigned and it was clear that the senior nurse had the responsibility of ensuring available inventory. In particular, the senior nurse was expected to collaborate with the store person to prevent stock shortages as well as cooperate with the new nurse and assist her at any point. However, in my opinion, the responsibility of acquiring medical supplies should have been delegated to the manager or other senior employee rather than a nurse, who has the responsibility of attending to the patients.
In the case I encountered at a work place, I would explain to the nurse manager whatever I witnessed. I would then suggest to him or her to call both nurses at different times to discuss the problems they may be having with their duties. Since the conflict was started by the senior nurse, I would ask the nurse manager to remind her the roles she should be performing in a polite way. I would also advise him or her to encourage the two members to collaborate and work as a team.
I chose this resolution strategy based on the nature of the conflict. Since it is an individual conflict, the best way to address it is to talk with the individuals involved personally.
Conclusion
Noteworthy, this conflict can be described as the most recurring especially when one member of the staff is new at a work place. Senior members usually take time to teach them and accept as a part of the team. In order to resolve this conflict, I would organize routine parties whenever a new staff member was introduced to a team to give employees a chance to meet and socialize with the new colleague. Consequently, this would help them accept the new member faster and avoid such a conflict.
In conclusion, conflicts are a daily occurrence in the lives of human beings and hence people should always be able to look for ways in which they can get effective solutions to the disagreements. The use of both communication skills and devices enables the manager to effectively manage conflicts.
