Identification of a Scenario and of Leadership/Management Skills - Essay Example

Identification of a Scenario and of Leadership/Management Skills Introduction In nursing, management relates to performing the functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading and directing, and controlling and evaluating the activities of a nursing enterprise and departmental subunits. A nurse manager would thus need to manage the organizational environment of the nursing care so it may create optimal climate for provision of nursing care. Nursing management knowledge can be applicable to all nursing management situations including the unit and the executive levels. It is well known that present day nurse managers need to know leadership and management. From the experience of nurse managers, the problems with work are problems mostly with people. The primary purpose for studying leadership and management is to learn how to work with people, not only as individuals but also as members of groups, teams, and organizations. Use of nursing leadership and management concepts and skills allows the nurse manager a greater understanding and control of events in work situations (Clark, 1994). In health care we work in many different kinds of teams, many of them multidisciplinary, with many different management arrangements. There are many teams where managerially the team is accountable to one person but individual members each have professional hierarchies of their own. In many of the teams I have worked with there are some members who believe the team exists in order to advise the team leader, and others who perceive it as a decision-making group, with all members having an equal say. When these beliefs coexist in the same group, without being made explicit, then unresolved conflict is inevitable, and typically members will complain about each other (Wenckus, 1995). The scenario which is being dealt in here actually happened in our unit. There are two teams, team A and team B. As of now, there is gross animosity between these two teams to an extent that member of team A has stopped talking to each other and among one another. If several members of team-A are out sick, no one in team B will help team A on work. Team A members have stopped taking telephone messages of any members in team B and team B members would ask the caller to call later if the call is for any one in team A. When members of each team come across each other in the hall, they try to avoid eye contact or if at all they make contacts they will glare at each other. It seems the whole unit is in a state of perennial argument with one another. In many states during the work, the argument is sure to occur when the same piece of equipment is needed by the members of the two opposing teams. This would include the pulse oximeter and even the nursing computer terminal. The day I am talking about the incidence revolved around a pulse oximeter. A team-A nurse reached for the pulse oximeter at the time, another Team B nurses needed it. The team-A nurse accused the team B nurse that they were using this pulse oximeter the whole morning. The team B nurse responded that it would be used since she has quite a number of patients to monitor. In reply, the team A nurse said, it is wrong on the part of team B members to think that they are only doing the work. Team B nurse said in reply that naturally since they take good care of the patients. It was turning out to be a heated verbal altercation since in response the team-A nurse said it is absurd for her to think that they take good care while the team-A people dont take any care of the patients. At this point, I entered the room, and I decided I will solve this interpersonal conflict (McElhaney, 1996). In this scenario, the players are nurses of team A and Team B, their individual members who were engaged in the conflict, the nurse manager. The stakeholders are the hospital management, the nurse managers, the patients, and the overall administration of the hospital. Conflict management is an essential skill of the nurse manager. This needs a greater understanding and control of events in the work situations. A conflict situation in the nursing practice scenario in the unit can be very confusing, frustrating, and terribly discouraging. The nursing work is basically a teamwork, and they rarely work alone. Moreover, they are parts of healthcare teams composed of other nursing personnel and members of other health-related disciplines. In the current scenario, there is a change necessary, and the manager will initiate the change and will take steps to perpetuate these changes. Conflict is such a force that it can affect their ability to provide the highest quality care. It is very clear that in this scenario, the co- working nurses have a very limited view about their roles, and therefore, to resolve the conflicts, assertiveness and negotiation skills can help (Walker & Harris, 1995). While conflict is inevitable in any work situation, and constructive conflict is necessary for better quality output, the unhealthy type of conflict can be corrosive, making people feel cut off from each other and draining energy. This can also be termed as dysfunctional disagreement that may lead to frustration, anxiety, and anger. In this case scenario, the origin of the conflict is from disputes over allocation of resources. There may be other factors involved which are scarce resources such as money, equipment, space, power, and recognition. There may also be an element of perceived personal threat to this issue. The most efficient approach to such situations on the part of the manager should begin even before the conflict arises. It is specially helpful to create a climate in which individual differences are considered natural and acceptable (Sanon-Rollins, 2000). The conflict in this group should be interpreted as a sign of a problem that needs to be resolved. No manager or leader should interpret conflict as an indication of serious malfunction. Thus a realistic and optimistic attitude is the best way to solve such conflicts. The conflicting groups should be brought into a point where they accept that conflict exists. A consensus approach may then be taken where both the groups may discuss about the source of the conflict and who are involved. If the source is not clear or tension is too high to move into problem solving, confrontation and issue-focused meetings are needed first (Tappen, 1978). The leader has very important role to perform here, so the leader would need high level of leadership skills to keep the conflicts from escalating. By seeing the intensity, I decided to discuss among these two groups about which are the areas of agreement between them. As expected I observed that this discussion helped to reduce the gap between the opposing sides. I preferred to use a problem solving approach in this. The goal in problem solving is to be as creative as possible in finding a solution to a given problem. This process includes identifying the issue or problem, generating possible solutions, evaluating the suggested solutions, choosing what appears to be the best solution, implementing that solution, evaluating the degree to which the problem has been resolved, and, finally, concluding either that the problem is resolved or that it will be necessary to repeat the process to find a better solution (Tappen, 2001). When asked I found that the confronting groups were vague about what their real concern was, and with specific questioning, it was apparent what the real problem was. There was really an extent of emotional involved in between the group members, and this further clouded the issue. I helped them to clearly sort out their problem so they can seek a solution. I guided them through the process to help us formulate some possible solutions. Many of the nurses came out with possible solutions, and I did an open-minded objective evaluation of each of their suggestions, although I knew that accomplishing them would be difficult. When a group problem solves, it is sometimes difficult to separate the suggestion from its source (Tjosvold & Tjosvold, 1995). The true test of any suggested solution is how well it actually works. Once a solution has been implemented, it is important to give it time to work. Impatience sometimes leads to premature abandonment of a good solution. In this scenario, it is clear that there have been deeply embedded issues. Thus it is expected that this animosity would not be resolved successfully on the first attempt. In the successive encounter, the process needed to be resumed with greater attention to the real problem, but this time there were better suggestions. In this case, since the problem has grown too big, too complex, or too heated, and an elaborate process would be required. This would require long process of negotiation. The process of negotiation is a complex one that requires much careful thought beforehand and an equal amount of skill in its implementation (Vayrynen, 1991). I reflected thoughtfully what was I trying to accomplish? I wanted the members of these two teams would be able to work together in a cooperative manner, which they were not doing at the present time. They were openly hostile to each other, despite the overall climate of the unit being peaceful and benign. I wanted the teams to be involved in encouraging teamwork, and administration being the largest stakeholder in this problem would support me to accomplish that. I had heard about this problem for a pretty long time, but I did not interfere, and for this reason, perhaps the problem has grown. This conflict did not spare even the physicians, patients, social workers, and visitors. Team members were actively trying to get other staff to take sides, making clear they felt that “if you are not with us, you are against us.’’ Avoiding a problem that is impeding progress is usually an unproductive strategy because many problems grow larger and more serious if you avoid dealing with them. Although this strategy sometimes works, more often minor disagreements become major conflicts when ignored, and small misunderstandings become serious communication blocks when they are not resolved. In addition, silence in the face of a conflict may be interpreted as acceptance of the status quo. The manager should move quickly to intervene when a conflict arises or progress toward a goal ceases (Walker & Harris, 1995). Assertive approaches usually employ a calm and positive manner. Aggressive behaviour, which is more often hostile or defensive in tone, has a very different emotional valence. An accommodating approach attends only to the other person’s view. Avoidance is ineffective because no one’s view is considered and no interaction regarding the conflict occurs, leaving it unresolved. A consolidating approach is considered preferable. When a consolidating approach is used, both parties’ views are attended to in a nondisruptive manner. Respect for each other’s opinions is evident, and efforts are directed toward finding a solution that works best for both sides in the conflict. Negotiation is a give and take between individuals or groups during which the parties involved try to come up with a resolution of their problems that is acceptable to all concerned. Negotiation is needed to resolve complex problems, especially conflicts, once they have been identified and explored (Walker & Harris, 1995). Conclusion This assignment demonstrates, as a nurse manager how I resolved the issues between two conflicting teams. My main job was to guide both the teams and bring them to a platform where at least they become willing to interact with each other. Initially, the opposing sides are often unwilling to meet to discuss the problem. If this occurs, it may be necessary to confront them with direct statements designed to open communications. Based on those, I needed to create ground rules to begin negotiation and with successive negotiations things started appearing better. In the course of few days, my observation resulted in satisfactory results, and the two teams started going along well with improvement in their team and individual performances. It was a great experience where I could apply my academic management learning into work very successfully. References Clark, C.C. (1994). The nurse as group leader. New York: Springer. McElhaney, R. (1996). Conflict management in nursing administration. Nursing Management, 27(3), 49–50. Sanon-Rollins, G. (2000). Surviving conflict on the job. Nursing Spectrum Career Fitness Guide (pp. 6767–6868). Barrington Ill.: Gannett. Tappen, R.M. (1978). Strategies for dealing with conflict: Using confrontation. Journal of Nursing Education, 17, 47. Tappen, R.M. (2001). Nursing Leadership and Management: Concept and Practice. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis. Tjosvold, D., & Tjosvold, M.M. (1995). Psychology for Leader: Using Motivation, Conflict, and Power to Manage More Effectively. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Vayrynen, R. (1991). New Directions in Conflict Theory: Conflict Resolution and Conflict Transformation. London: Sage. Walker, M.A., & Harris, G.L. (1995). Negotiations: Six Steps to Success. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Wenckus, E. (1995, February 21). Working with an interdisciplinary team. Nursing Spectrum, pp. 12–14. Read More