Conflict Management Conflict Natural Can be a useful

Conflict Management

Conflict • Natural • Can be a useful growth experience • Arises between 2 or more individuals from a perceived threat to their wants, needs, feelings, behaviors, or attitudes • Organizational conflict: arises from competition for limited resources

Conflict Theory • Conflict closely related to power and political issues • May offer an individual personal gain, provide prestige to the winner, be an incentive for creativity, and serve as a powerful motivator • Conflict that is managed instead of avoided, ignored or suppressed can be used effectively…if ineffective it can be debilitating

Sources of Conflict • Conflict can arise because of differing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors • May arise because the individuals involved have differing viewpoints • People working together in complex environments encounter numerous sources of conflict

• Conflict increases with both the number of organizational levels and the number of specialties • Greater as the degree of association increases and when some parties are dependent on others • Competition for scarce resources, ambiguity, communication barriers and the need for consensus all contribute to conflict

Conflict • Job conflict: the struggle between individual & organizational goals • Conflict occurs because of discord between one’s individual values, philosophies & beliefs and those of others • When conflict is handled positively, there can be personal or professional growth, improved creativity, & satisfaction • Conflict handled poorly can cause fear, retaliation, anger and hostility

Categories of conflict • Intrapersonal: arises within an individual from 2 competing demands or ideas • Interpersonal: the battle between 2 or more individuals arising from miscommunication or differences in values • Intergroup: the result of struggles between 2 or more groups

Conflict for Nurses • Nurses can feel conflict in form of role overload (required to do the work of other professionals); role ambiguity (the nurses’ responsibilities and duties expand without a job description); and role stress (the nurses’ boss has one idea about the job and the nurse has a different perception)

Managing conflict • Essential for all leaders • Essential for positive work groups • Nurses also need to be effective at managing conflict with clients, physicians and other health care providers

Escalation of conflict tactics • Competition escalates conflict • When we feel we are righteous we stop listening…then we lose an opportunity to learn • Labelling escalates conflict • Dealing with personalities escalates conflict…separate the person from the problem • Constricting others and making threats escalates conflict • Issue expansion…need to stay focused

Stages of conflict • Latent – antecedent conditions predict conflict behavior • Perceived – cognitive awareness of stressful situation exists • Felt – feelings and attitudes are present and affect the conflict • Manifest – overt behavior results from 3 earlier stages

Conflict Resolution • Techniques include avoiding, forcing, competing, compromising, confronting, collaborating, bargaining, and problem solving

Avoiding • One party does not pursue own concerns or those of other party • Unassertive or uncooperative: the conflict is not addressed • May relate to the sense of powerlessness associated with roles • Creates lose-lose situations • Withdrawal from a conflict does not resolve it, & the individual who retreats may becoming increasingly angry

Accommodating • Cooperative but unassertive • One party neglects own concerns to satisfy concerns of others; emphasizes similarities, minimizes differences, self sacrificing • By complimenting one’s opponent and accentuating points of agreement, one may smooth out an agreement on minor issues but the real issues still need to be dealt with

Compromising • Assertive and cooperative • One party gives up something to satisfy both parties; middle position • Because both parties feel that they sacrifice something they are only partially satisfied and it feels like a lose-lose situation; may seem like a “quick fix” for temporary settlement of complex issues

Collaborating • One party works with other party to find solution that satisfies both parties • Cooperative, confronting issues • Merge insights from different perspectives with the commitment developed through participation and resolution of hard feelings • Win-win

Competing • Power oriented mode: assertive but uncooperative • One party wins, one party loses; high concern for self, low concern for others • Used for quick decisions; unpopular causes; issues vital to the organization; defence against people who exploit noncompetitive behaviors • win-lose situation

Deescalating • • Listening Showing tact and concern for others Appealing to deescalation Goodwill gestures Airing feelings Negative inquiry metacommunications

• • • Responding to all levels of communication Fractionalization Position paper Problem solving Establishing outside criteria

Win – Lose strategies • • • Position power Mental or physical power Failure to respond Majority rule Railroading competing

Lose-lose • • Compromise Bribes Arbitration General rules

Win-win • Consensus • Problem solving • Collaborating

Strategies • • Don’t blame the person for the problem Focus on the issues, not the personalities Protect each party’s self respect Facilitate open and complete discussion of the issues • Give equal time to each party • Encourage the expression of both positive and negative feelings

• Encourage each party to listen actively and try to understand the other person’s point of view • Help develop alternative solutions • Summarize key points and plans

Outcomes • Win-win: when both parties are satisfied with the outcome • Win-lose: when one party wins without concern for the other • Lose-lose: when neither party gets what they want.