Unit 5: Discussion – Conflict Management in Healthcare

Introduction

According to one author, conflict resolution is a daily occurrence at work that can either propel or disrupt the momentum for a leader, team, or the entire organization (Llopis, 2014). Llopis (2014) goes on to state that conflict can create a toxic workplace. He also pointed out that sometimes when you resolve conflict it creates another one (Llopis, 2014). There is also a difference in the level of conflict. There can be departmental conflict or ones that are organization-wide. The techniques used for managing a departmental issue might include understanding the situation, acknowledging the problem, being patient, and avoiding coercion (Smith, 2018). Managing departmental conflict will be the topic of this week’s discussion.

References

1. Llopis, G. (2014). 4 ways leaders effectively manage employee conflict. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/11/2…
2. Smith, G. (2018). Conflict resolution: 8 strategies to manage workplace conflict. Retrieved from https://www.businessknowhow.com/manage/resolveconf…

Unit Learning Outcome

ULO 1: Evaluate the cause and resolutions of departmental conflicts (CLO 4 and 5).

Directions

Initial Posting

For this week’s discussion question, we will explore managing departmental conflict. You have just taken over the Health Information Management Systems Section. You are coming from a department that for the most part ran smoothly. Everyone knew their role and completed their tasks with little to no issue. You are anticipating the same thing in this department. Shortly after settling in, you are approached by Nancy Wilson. She is letting you know that your predecessor had given her an unapproved flex schedule to allow her to pick up her children from school and she was expecting that it would continue under your leadership. You have also noticed that there is a culture of non-accountability. Staff come in late and leave early with no repercussions. The unit supervisors seem to turn a blind to it. Staff are allowed to do only certain parts of their job by arguing about the parts they don’t want to do. You have one employee, Betty Bunn, who calls out at least once a week, which requires others to cover her duties. You also have a supervisor who is second guessing your decisions with your staff. The department has a reputation for not being efficient or easy to work with because of the staff’s attitude and work ethic. You find yourself in conflict with the staff, supervisor, and departmental policies/procedures as you look to bring the department’s performance up to par. You have voiced your concerns to your supervisor. He indicated that this is a departmental issue and that you have the authority to make the changes you need to handle the issues. You have decided to prepare a table to address each of the issues you have noticed to date, which you will share with your boss. When preparing your table, be very specific. List the conflict you are addressing, who it is with, the impact on the unit, the technique to handle it, and the expected outcome. Also discuss if you believe some staff members should be let go as a way of resolving the conflict.

The initial posting table should be prepared as a Microsoft™ Word document, and then attached to the unit discussion thread. There is no minimum or maximum in terms of the word count; however, the response should explicitly address all required components of this discussion assignment. The document should be prepared as a practical business deliverable (single-spaced) and reflect higher-level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation).

Support the initial posting with at least 3 references of credible or peer-reviewed sources. The in-text citations and the list of references should be consistent with the APA writing style (7th ed.). To earn the maximum number of points for the initial posting, the overall quality of the writing should be consistent with that expected of a college student and industry professional.

Peer Responses

It is important that healthcare managers become comfortable receiving and giving constructive criticisms, since this is an important component in one’s professional growth and development, and a core competency for supervisory roles. Students will be expected to read the initial posting of at least TWO peers, and then provide thoughtful comments addressing the following:

• Point out what you perceived to be the strengths of the initial posting along with supporting rationale.
• Identify specific opportunities for improvement regarding the content in the initial posting. Furthermore, you should provide supporting rationale for your stated position, as well as concrete suggestions and guidance intended to strengthen the effectiveness of the content.

Peer responses should be typed directly into the discussion thread and not attached to a posting. Each response should include at least one reference of credible or peer-reviewed sources to support the content within the posting. Proper in-text citations and correctly formatted references should be prepared consistent with the APA writing style (7th ed.). The list of references should be physically positioned at the end of the postings. To earn the maximum number of points for the peer responses, postings should contribute something new to the discussion thread.

Introduction

Conflict occurs when two or more parties disagree with a principle or thought process (Bright, 2017). In today’s rapidly changing workplace, it is difficult to avoid conflict. In order to move past this, some sort of resolution is needed. There are 5 well-known techniques that most managers will more than likely use. These techniques are avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration (Bright, 2017). Each one has its advantages and disadvantages. Using these management styles will be the focus of this assignment.

Reference

1. Bright, P. (2017). Advantages and disadvantages of conflict styles. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from https://careertrend.com/info-8461007-advantages-di…

Unit Learning Outcome

ULO 2: Identify and discuss commonly used conflict management techniques (CLO 4 and 5).

Requirements

For this week’s assignment, we will explore the impact of organizational conflict. St Mary’s Hospital, located in Columbia, SC, is a 300 bed facility. It is part of a nation-wide chain with a reputation for providing quality care. Earlier in the week, the president of the hospital received the resignation of Mary Johnson, the VP of nursing services. This was upsetting as he personally brought her onboard to help with some serious issues in the nursing department. He has asked her to reconsider long enough for him to find a solution to the conflicts that led to her resignation. You, as the Associate Director of St Mary’s, have been tasked with finding out what has happened and developing a strategy do deal with the issues. Here is what you found out:

1. There is a severe shortage of nursing staff
2. The nursing standards are lower than expected
3. The organization has a bad reputation
4. She has several staff members that continually go around her when she makes a decision they don’t like
5. She only has one or two nurses that are professional; the others leave the floor whenever they like
6. She cannot get the needed information to plan workload from other departments
7. She has issues with the manager of admitting, central supply, and pharmacy. When she brings an issue to his attention, he disregards it or blames it on inefficiencies in her department.
8. There was a specific issue with the pharmacy section and the time it took to process medications. The process required written orders and requisitions.
9. She and the pharmacy chief came up with a better method that the pharmacy manager did not agree with. He offered no rationale for this.
10. There was an issue with the dietary department, admitting office, and nursing. The issue was the time it took to get new patients meals. The nurses complained to nutrition. The nutrition staff blamed the admitting staff, who in turn blamed the admitting physician.
11. She encountered problems with the VP of HR with his ideas for recruiting nurses. His ideas clearly demonstrated his lack of understanding on how to recruit nurses. He did not solicit any ideas from her.

After collecting, all of the above information, you will provide a narrated PowerPoint. This will be presented to the president of the organization. Things to consider when formulating your presentations.

• What are the types of conflict that have been observed;
• Which ones are departmental; organizational; what led to these (Student will need to make inferences based on facts provided);
• What has been the impact on the organization, patients, etc. (Student will need to make inferences based on the facts that have been provided); and
• What are the best strategies to deal with these conflicts (Be very specific with these- to include technique, who would be involved, and expected outcome)
• How to Narrate a PowerPoint Presentation (Links to an external site.)

Case study: The students are expected to carefully read the assignment instructions, then thoroughly and explicitly address each component of the corresponding case study questions. The submission should reflect higher-level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation), which is essential for someone being prepared to serve in an operational capacity within the healthcare and related industry.

To earn the maximum number of points, the submission should reflect college-level execution with clear evidence of critical thinking, synthesis of relevant information from credible sources, and clear mastery of the concepts necessary to successfully execute each component of the assignment.

• There is no minimum slides requirement but must explicitly address all required components of this assignment.
• The PowerPoint must adhere to the APA writing style (7th ed.), and include at least three (3) references of credible or peer-reviewed sources to support any suppositions and recommendations.
• Finally, it should be prepared as a PowerPoint document and uploaded to Submit Assignment