Essentials of Nursing Leadership and Management, 5th Edition

100 unit 2 | Working Within the Organization

Study Questions

1.Debate the question of whether conflict is constructive or destructive. How can good leadership

affect the outcome of a conflict?

2.Give an example of how each of the seven sources of conflict listed in this chapter can lead to a

serious problem.Then discuss ways to prevent the occurrence of conflict from each of the eight

sources.

3.What is the difference between problem resolution and negotiation? Under what circumstances

would you use one or the other?

4.Identify a conflict (actual or potential) in your clinical area, and explain how either problem

resolution or negotiation could be used to resolve it.

Case Study to Promote Critical Reasoning

A not-for-profit hospice center in a small community received a generous gift from the grateful

family of a patient who had died recently. The family asked only that the money be “put to the best

use possible.”

Everyone in this small facility had an opinion about the “best” use for the money. The

administrator wanted to renovate the old, run-down headquarters. The financial officer wanted to

put the money in the bank “for a rainy day.” The chaplain wanted to add a small chapel to the

building. The nurses wanted to create a food bank to help the poorest of their clients. The social

workers wanted to buy a van to transport clients to health-care providers. The staff agreed that all

the ideas had merit, that all of the needs identified were important ones. Unfortunately, there was

enough money to meet only one of them.

The more the staff members discussed how to use this gift, the more insistent each group

became that their idea was best. At their last meeting, it was evident that some were becoming

frustrated and that others were becoming angry. It was rumored that a shouting match between the

administrator and the financial officer had occurred.

1.In your analysis of this situation, identify the sources of the conflict that are developing in this

facility.

2.What kind of leadership actions are needed to prevent the escalation of this conflict?

3.If the conflict does escalate, how could it be resolved?

4.Which idea do you think has the most merit? Why did you select the one you did?

5.Try role-playing a negotiation among the administrator, the financial officer, the chaplain, a

representative of the nursing staff, and a representative of the social work staff. Can you suggest

a creative solution?

References

Block, P. (2004). A time to heal. Reflections.Fourth Quarter, 20, 22.
Browne, M.M., & Kelley, S.M. (1994). Asking the Right Questions:
A Guide to Critical Thinking.Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Budd, K.W., Warino, L.S., & Patton, M.E. (2004, January). Traditional
and non-traditional collective bargaining strategies to
improve the patient care environment. The Online Journal of

Issues in Nursing,9(1). Retrieved September 8, 2008, from

http://cms.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/

ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/

Volume92004/No1Jan04/CollectiveBargainingStrategies.aspx

Crochette, C.A. (2008). Employment low, negotiation, and the

business environment. Journal of Legal Studies, 25(1), 127–182.

Drucker, P.F. (2002). They’re not employees, they’re people.

Harvard Business Review,80(2), 70–77, 128.