96 unit 2 | Working Within the Organization
former nurse manager had not enforced this
policy with Ms. Deloitte, but the new nurse
manager thought it fair to enforce the policy
with everyone, including Ms. Deloitte.
■Possible Solutions
1.Ms. Deloitte resigns.
2.Ms. Deloitte is fired.
3.Allow Ms. Deloitte to take her vacation as
planned.
4.Allow everyone to take vacations between
December 20 and January 5 as requested.
5.Allow no one to take a vacation between
December 20 and January 5.
■Evaluate Suggested Solutions.Ms. Deloitte
preferred solutions 3 and 4. The new nurse man-
ager preferred 5. Neither wanted 1 or 2. They
could agree only that none of the solutions satis-
fied both of them, so they decided to try again.
■Second List of Possible Solutions
1.Reimburse Ms. Deloitte for the cost of the
tickets.
2.Allow Ms. Deloitte to take one last vacation
between December 20 and January 5.
3.Allow Ms. Deloitte to take her vacation during
Thanksgiving instead.
- Allow Ms. Deloitte to begin her vacation on
December 26 so that she would work on
Christmas Day but not on New Year’s Day.
5.Allow Ms. Deloitte to begin her vacation earlier
in December so that she could return in time
to work on New Year’s Day.
■Choose the Best Solution.As they discussed
the alternatives, Ms. Deloitte said she could
change the day of her flight without a penalty.
The nurse manager said she would allow solu-
tion 5 on the second list if Ms. Deloitte under-
stood that she could not take vacation time
between December 20 and January 5 in the
future. Ms. Deloitte agreed to this.
■Implement the Solution.Ms. Deloitte returned
on December 30 and worked both New Year’s
Eve and New Year’s Day.
■Evaluate the Solution.The rest of the staff
members had been watching the situation very
closely. Most believed that the solution had been
fair to them as well as to Ms. Deloitte. Ms.
Deloitte thought she had been treated fairly.
The nurse manager believed both parties had
found a solution that was fair to Ms. Deloitte
but still reinforced the manager’s determination
to enforce the vacation policy.
■Resolved, or Resume Problem Solving?
Ms. Deloitte, staff members, and the nurse man-
ager all thought the problem had been solved
satisfactorily.Negotiating an Agreement Informally
When disagreement has become too big, too com-
plex, or too heated, a more elaborate process may be
required to resolve it. On evaluating Case 1, the
nurse manager decided that the tensions between
Team A and Team B had become so great that
negotiation would be necessary.
The process of negotiation is a complex one that
requires much careful thought beforehand and
considerable skill in its implementation. Box 7-2 is
an outline of the most essential aspects of negotia-
tion. Case 1 is used to illustrate how it can be done.Scope the Situation
For a strategy to be successful, it is important that the
entire situation be understood thoroughly. Walker
and Harris (1995) suggested asking three questions:
1.What am I trying to achieve?The nurse manager
in Case 1 is concerned about the tensions
between Team A and Team B. She wants the
members of these two teams to be able to work
together in a cooperative manner, which they
are not doing at the present time.
2.What is the environment in which I am operating?
The members of Teams A and B were openly
hostile to each other. The overall climate of the
organization, however, was benign. The nurse
manager knew that teamwork was encouragedbox 7-2
The Informal Negotiation Process- Scope the situation. Ask yourself:
What am I trying to achieve?
What is the environment in which I am operating?
What problems am I likely to encounter?
What does the other side want? - Set the stage.
- Conduct the negotiation.
- Set the ground rules.
- Clarify the problem.
- Make your opening move.
- Continue with offers and counteroffers.
- Agree on the resolution of the conflict.