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Running head: MANAGING CONFLICT 1

Managing Conflict

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MANAGING CONFLICT 2

Several months ago, I had a conflict with my colleague. We were assigned by the

hospital manager to take care of the same patient in the intensive care unit (ICU). I was

working during the day shift while my colleague was working the night shift. She was

dissatisfied with how I worked during the daytime, and this led to serious disagreement and

conflict that affected my productivity. The night shift nurse believed that I was disorganized

and I regularly left the workspace in an untidy and mystifying condition. I became upset

because she thought that her duties are more demanding than mine.

In an effort to resolve this conflict, I thought through the situation by discussing it

with my friends and family. I made sure that the third parties were not involved with the case

in any way as their opinions could be biased (Clipper, 2013). After listening to their views, I

decided to meet my colleague face to face. We decided to set time and place that was

convenient for us to talk. To set up the meeting, I communicated to my colleague through the

phone and not email or letter to avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding. At first, it was

intimidating, but it was the best way. The face to face communication provided us with the

opportunity to exchange information and make use of handshake, eye contact, smile, gestures

and other body languages. This approach worked as we agreed to leave the workspace in an

organized, tidy and satisfying condition for the person coming on the next shift (Marquis &

Huston, 2015).

In case the conflict recurred today, I would handle it that same way, and use a

mediator in situations which are volatile or troublesome. A mediator should be objective and

neutral, and should listen to both parties and provide a solution acceptable to both sides. Also,

in case the situation recurred today I would apologize to my colleague even if the entire

conflict is not as result of my doing. Finally, I would work on my communication skills to

freely express myself to my colleague on what is on my mind and ask her what she needs to

be done to create a favorable environment (Clipper, 2013).

MANAGING CONFLICT 3

Conflict presents an opportunity for improvement in future, and there are several steps

which a nursing professional can pursue to improve comfort level and skills for managing

conflicts in future. The steps include clarifying what the disagreements are, and the primary

cause of the conflicts. Creating common goals for both sides, discussing means for arriving at

the common objective. Addressing the obstacles to achieve the common purpose and

concurring on the best technique to resolve the disagreement. Finally, determining the

responsibilities each party has in the resolution (Johansen, 2012).

Similarly, there are conflict management techniques that are essential for handling

conflicts in future. The strategies include forcing, which is also called competing. A nursing

professional sticks to his or her concerns regardless to resistance from the other parties. The

win-win or collaborating technique, both sides tend to find means of working together to

solve the issue at hand. The approach ensures the conflict resolution as a chance to come to a

mutually agreeable result (Johansen, 2012). The other strategy is smoothing. This entails

accommodating the concerns of others instead of focusing on oneself. The other technique is

compromising. This advocates for a jointly satisfactory solution which partly satisfies both

parties. Finally, there is the withdraw strategy, which is also called avoiding. A party does not

pursue their concerns or that of the opponent. He or she does not address the conflict

("Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)," 2017).

Leadership in an organization such as hospital entails defining and communicating the

long-term vision and mission. On the other hand, managing conflicts involves offering

solutions to the problem at hand. An effective leader creates teams that work perfectly

together in an organization. He or she facilitates resolution of conflicts which divert the team

members, reduces productivity, or lead to frustration or anger. An effective leader is aware

that some conflicts are unavoidable and are essential to produce innovative solutions which

MANAGING CONFLICT 4

encourage meaningful communication between workers and ultimately leading to

cooperation and clarification (Johansen, 2012).

MANAGING CONFLICT 5

References

Clipper, B. (2013). The nurse manager's guide to an intergenerational workforce.

Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International.

Johansen, M. L. (2012). Performance potential and Keeping the peace: Conflict management

strategies for nurse managers. Nursing Management, 43(2).

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in

nursing:

Theory and application (8th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). (2017). Cpp.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017,

from https://www.cpp.com/products/tki/index.aspx

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