Conflict Resolution Critical Incident Paper

Conflict is a natural inevitable condition in organizations. Conflict occurs every day in a variety of situations ranging from emotional disputes between colleagues, to disputes between departments about lines of authority, to legal disputes involving several organizations. According to Sullivan and Decker (2009), conflict is defined as the consequence of real or perceived differences in mutually exclusive goals, values, ideas, attitudes, beliefs, feelings, or actions within one individual, between two or more individuals, within one group, or between two or more groups. Conflict arises for many reasons and can be characterized in numerous ways. Jehn (1995) discusses the types of conflict regardless of level, as task content conflict, emotional conflict, and administrative conflict. Furthermore, conflict can be a situation that is beneficial or detrimental to the organization and or those who are involved. Considering the statistics, DelBel (2003) states that worldwide, nurses are three times more likely than any other service occupational group to experience workplace violence, and United States (US) health care workers face a 16-times greater risk of conflict than other service workers. In addition, more than half of US workplace aggression claims emanate from the health care sector (DelBel, 2003). Therefore, it is incumbent for nurses to understand that conflict can be successfully managed through the understanding and application of various conflict-management techniques and negotiation skills. While not all workplace conflict is avoidable, research indicates that a significant portion of conflicts are preventable. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of an incident that occurred during clinical hours, des...

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...anagement strategy. In one particular study, Sportsman and Hamilton (2007) determined prevalent conflict management styles chosen by students in nursing. Out of a convenience sample of 126 health profession students, approximately 84 percent chose a collaborative style when presented with a conflict (Sportsman & Hamilton, 2007). Men were more likely to choose avoidance, followed by compromise (Sportsman & Hamilton, 2007). The avoidance approach is unassertive and uncooperative because you sidestep the conflict without trying to satisfy either person’s concerns. According to GE Healthcare (2009), this approach should rarely, if ever, be used. It should only be used when one wants to avoid certain emotional conflicts and issues where little can be gained. Moreover, avoidance leads to poor communication, which is one of the antecedents of conflict (Johansen, 2012).