Identify Conflict Resolution Styles used by Nursing Professionals working in Clinical and Academic settings of selected Hospitals and Nursing Colleges of Southwestern Rajasthan

 

Mr. Chris Thomas

Lecturer, Saroj Lalji Mehrotra Global Nursing College, Aburoad, Rajasthan

*Corresponding Author’s Email: christhomas0002@yahoo.com

 

ABSTRACT:

Background: Conflict is a situation where the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible. Conflict management is an administrative process that becomes an integral and essential aspect of organizational activity . There are five conflict resolution strategies includes Avoidance,  Accommodation, Competition, Compromise and Collaboration. Objectives: (1) To  identify the predominant conflict resolution styles used by nursing professionals working in clinical  and academic settings. (2)  To determine the significant difference in conflict resolution style between clinical and academic settings. (3) To determine the association of conflict resolution styles with their selected demographic variables. Material and Methods: A Non-experimental, Descriptive cross sectional survey approach was used for the study. Data was collected from 100 Nursing Professionals who were working in both clinical and academic settings by Non-probability purposive sampling technique. Standardized Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument(TKI) was used for data collection. Results: Distribution of mean, SD and mean% of conflict resolution styles used by Nursing Professionals showed that the highest mean score (7.17±1.94) which is 60% of the total score was obtained in the area of Accommodation and lowest mean score(4.94±1.53) which is 41% was obtained in area of Competition. Accommodation conflict style was  used more in age group of more than 44 years and age group of 25-34 years. Nurses in clinical area and academic area used accommodation style most frequently. There was much difference in collaboration style (53.6% clinical vs. 36.6% academic).Conclusion: Accommodation style was most predominantly seen conflict resolution styles used by Nurses. It is used when a person ignores his or her feeling about an issue in order to agree with the right side.

 

KEYWORDS: Conflict resolution styles, Nursing Professionals

 

INTRODUCTION:

Conflict has been an integral component of human functioning throughout history. Rahim (2001) suggests that while no single definition is accepted, conflict can be generally described as an interactive process manifested as incompatibility, disagreements, or dissonance within or between social entities (i.e., individuals, groups, and organizations).1

 

Thomas and Kilmann (1974) describe conflict as a situation where the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible.2 McShulskis (1996) reported that Managers, including those in nursing environments, may spend much of their time resolving employee conflicts.3 Hirschman (2001) quoted that If conflict is not dealt with properly, it may significantly affect employee morale, increase turnover, and even result in litigation, ultimately affecting the overall well-being of the organization.4

 

There are five conflict resolution strategies includes Avoidance, Accommodation, Competition, Compromise and Collaboration (Figure 1). Kantek and Kavla (2007) stated that within health care organizations, unsuccessful conflict management is a prime cause of stressful work environments, power games, patient and employee dissatisfaction, poor quality of care, and increased costs.5

 

Vivar (2006) mentioned that conflict among nurses has been identified as an extremely important issue in health care environments worldwide . The most important sources of conflict in nursing environments are differences in management styles, employee perceptions, inadequate personnel, goal differences, and competition between work groups.6 Tyler andCushway (1995) quoted that Conflict can exist between employee and supervisor, as between nurse and head nurse, between nurse and physician and between nurse and patients.7

 

With the professional and personal experiences, the researcher also observed that nursing professionals always encounter conflict in both clinical and academic settings. Nurses are adopting different conflict resolution styles but it varied significantly with workplace setting and even with employment level and their  demographic characteristics. The methods nurses uses to manage conflict in their working place is unexplored in developing countries like India. Thus the researcher interested to conduct the  present study which aims to identify the predominant conflict resolution strategies used by nursing professionals in clinical and academic settings.

 

 

Figure 1- Dimensions of conflict handling intentions. From Thomas, K.(1992)

 

 

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

1.     To  identify the predominant conflict resolution styles used by nursing professionals working in  clinical  and academic settings

2.     To determine the significant difference in conflict resolution style between clinical and academic  setting

3.     To determine the association of conflict resolution styles with their selected demographic  variables

 

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Research design and approach:

Non-experimental, Descriptive cross-sectional survey approach

 

Setting of the study:

Selected Hospitals and Nursing colleges of Southwestern Rajasthan

 

Population:

Nursing professionals working in either clinical or academic settings

 

Sampling technique:

Non-probability purposive sampling technique  was used for selection of Nursing Professionals for the present study.

 

Sample size:

100 Nursing Professionals.

 

Inclusion criteria:

1.      Nurses with a qualification of GNM/Diploma in Nursing, B.Sc Nursing/ P.B.BSc Nursing, M.Sc Nursing, Phd in nursing

2.      Nurses who are working within clinical or academic settings.

3.      Nurses who are willing to participate in the study

 

Tool and technique:

Section A- Socio demographic variables of Nursing Professionals

 

Section B- Standardized Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument(TKI), consists of  30 dual-choice questions for which respondents choose the answer (A or B) that characterizes their dominant response in a particular conflict situation.8

 

Data collection procedure:

Prior to data collection, ethical approval was obtained from Ethical and Research Committee of J. Watumull Global Hospital and Research Centre, Mount Abu and informed consent was obtained from samples. Before administration of tool, the purpose of study was explained to the samples. The instructions on the tool were made clear to facilitate the cooperation. The questionnaires were issued to the samples and instructed to fill it. Adequate time was provided to complete the questionnaires (45-60 min). The researcher helped the samples to understand the questions for obtaining the correct responses. The researcher personally visited the nurses at their working place.

 

Data analysis:

Descriptive statistics like mean, SD, mean percentage was used for description of demographic characteristics and assessment of conflict resolution styles. Inferential statistics like chi-square test was used to find out the association between the conflict resolution styles with demographic variables.

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Section A 

Description of socio-demographic data of Nursing professionals

Majority of the samples were belongs to 25-34 years (41%). Both male and female Nurses were equal in number (50%). Maximum number of samples were single (65%) and 27% were married. With regard to their educational status, most of the Nurses were B.Sc. Nursing/Post Basic B.Sc. Nursing (49%). Highest percentage of samples were having experience below 5 years (51%) and 24% had experience more than 15 years. Most of the samples collected were from clinical area (58%) compared to academic area (42%). According to organizational level, most of the samples were staff nurses and Clinical Instructors (28%). 18% of the samples were Nursing Supervisors.

 

Section B

A.  Assessment of conflict resolution styles

Figure 2 shows that Accommodation style (24%) was most predominantly used conflict resolution style by Nursing professionals. A study conducted by Nina Poloski (2010) found that compromising is the frequently used approach and accommodation as a principal conflict resolution strategy among Croatian employees.9

 

 

Figure 2-percentagewise distribution of conflict resolution styles used by Nursing Professionals

 

 

B. Area wise comparison of mean, SD and mean % of conflict resolution styles used by Nursing Professionals

Table 1 shows that highest mean score (7.17±1.94) which is 60% of the total score was obtained in the area of Accommodation and lowest mean score(4.94±1.53) which is 41% was obtained in area of Competition.

 

Section C. Comparison of conflict resolution styles with selected demographic data

Table 2 shows that according to age group, accommodation conflict style was  used more in age group of more than 44 years(7.88±2.02) and age group of 25-34 years (7.82±1.86).

 

Table 3 shows that Accommodation style was most predominantly used by all nurses irrespective of their educational status.

 

Comparison of mean % of conflict resolution styles according to present work place

Figure 3 show that Nurses in clinical area and academic area used accommodation style most frequently. There was much difference in collaboration style (53.6% clinical vs. 36.6% academic). The study findings is supported by the study conducted by Marta Elena, Ricardo Becerro (2012) who found that there is also a difference in the collaborating style (67% academic vs. 33% clinical).10

 

Table 1: Area wise comparison of mean, SD and mean % of conflict resolution styles used by Nursing Professionals

Sl.No

Conflict resolution styles

Max. Score

Mean

SD

Mean %

1

Competition

12

4.94

1.53

41%

2

Collaboration

12

5.6

1.89

47 %

3

Compromise

12

5.48

2.44

46%

4

Avoidance

12

6.81

1.66

57%

5

Accommodation

12

7.17

1.94

60%

 

Table 2:Comparison of mean  and SD of conflict resolution styles according to their age  

S.N

Age 

No. of

Nurses

Competition

Mean(SD)

Collaboration

Mean(SD)

Compromise

Mean(SD)

Avoidance

Mean(SD)

Accommodation

Mean(SD)

1

< 24 yrs

25

5.16(1.31)

5.64(2.05)

6.16(2.37)

6.92(1.52)

6.12(2.26)

2

25-34 yrs

41

5.02(1.78)

4.53(1.59)

5.17(2.56)

7.43(1.44)

7.82(1.86)

3

35-44 yrs

25

4.48(1.44)

6.84(1.34)

5.84(2.39)

6.08(1.73)

6.76(1.01)

4

> 44 yrs

09

5(1)

7.33(0.70)

4.44(0.88)

5.33(1.41)

7.88(2.02)

 

Figure 3-Percentagewise distribution of conflict resolution styles used by Nursing professionals according to work place

 

Table 4: Comparison of mean, SD and mean% of conflict resolution styles according to their experience

S.

N

Experience 

No. of

Nurses

Competition

Mean(SD)

Collaboration

Mean(SD)

Compromise

Mean(SD)

Avoidance

Mean(SD)

Accommodation

Mean(SD)

1

< 5 years

51

5(1.7)

5.2(1.9)

5.8(2.7)

7.1(1.7)

6.8(2)

2

  6-10 years

13

5.6(1.3)

4.5(1.5)

5.8(2.4)

6.5(1)

7.3(2)

3

 11-15 years

12

4.4(1.4)

6(1.7)

5.6(2.8)

6.2(1.7)

7.5(1.8)

4

> 15 years

24

4.6(1.1)

6.7(1.3)

4.5(1.1)

6.4(1.5)

7.6(1.6)

 

Table 5: Comparison of mean, SD and mean% of conflict resolution styles according to their organizational level

S.

N

Organiz.

level

No. of

Nurses

Competition

Mean(SD)

Collaboration

Mean(SD)

Compromise

Mean(SD)

Avoidance

Mean(SD)

Accommodation

Mean(SD)

1

Nursing Supervisor

18

4.5(1)

7.3(0.6)

5(0.59)

5.9(1.1)

7.2(1.3)

2

Senior Staff Nurse

12

5.2(1.3)

5.5(2.1)

6(2.8)

6.2(1.5)

7(1.9)

3

 Staff Nurse

28

5.3(1.6)

6.2(1.7)

4.7(2.9)

6.9(2.1)

6.7(2.3)

4

 Professor

4

3.7(2)

6.2(0.9)

5(2.7)

6.7(2)

8.2(2)

5

Assist. Prof/ Lecturer

10

5.1(2)

3.8(1.3)

5.8(1.9)

7.2(1.2)

8.1(1.5)

6

Tutors

28

4.8(1.4)

4.3(1.3)

6.2(2.5)

7.3(1.3)

7.1(1.9)

 

 

Table 4 shows that Nurses who have less than 5 years experience used avoidance style as most frequently, where as those who have more than 15 years experience were used accommodation style as most predominantly.

 

Table 5 shows that within clinical area, collaboration style was more frequently used by Nursing Supervisors, where as Senior staff nurses used accommodation style and staff nurses used avoidance style as most frequently. Within the academic area, tutors used avoidance style more frequently and both professors and lecturers used accommodation style more predominantly.

 

Section C

Association of conflict resolution styles with present working place

Table 6: Association of conflict resolution styles with present working place (Clinical and Academic settings)

 

Sr.No

Conflict Resolution Styles

χ2   Value

Level of significance

1

Competition

0.13

Not Significant

2

Collaboration

28.56

Highly Significant

3

Compromise

2.25

Not Significant

4

Avoidance

1.70

Not Significant

5

Accommodation

3.18

Not Significant

(df-1, Table value=10.83, P<0.001)

 

 

Table 6 shows that  there was highly significant association between collaboration and working place, as the calculated χ2value is more than the table value at P<0.001.

 

CONCLUSION:

Accommodation style was most predominantly seen conflict resolution styles used by Nurses. It is used when a person ignores his or her feeling about an issue in order to agree with the right side. Nurses tend to use this strategy when they want to maintain a peaceful, workable environment. Conflicts are inevitable facts of life. Nurse can educate self about it, understand it better and try some new approaches so that they will be better equipped to manage and deal with problems as they arise.

 

REFERENCES:

1.       Rahim, M. A. Managing conflict in organizations.2001; 3rd ed. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

2.       Thomas, K. W., and Kilmann, R. H. Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. 1974.

3.       McShulskis, E.. Managing employee conflicts. Human Resources Magazine. 41(9);1996: 16–18.

4.       Hirschman, C. Order in the hearing. Human Resources Magazine, 46; 2001: 58–63.

5.       Kantek F., and Kavla, I. Nurse–nurse manager conflict: How do nurse managers manage it? The Health Care Manager. 26(2); 2007: 147–151.

6.       Vivar, C. G. Putting conflict management into practice: A nursing case study. Journal of Management. 14;2006: 201–206

7.       Tyler, P. A., and Cushway, D. Stress in nurses: The effects of coping and social support. Stress Medicine. 11; 1995: 243–251.

8.       Thomas Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument. Available from: URL: http:/ www. wmcaclerks.org/ Resources/ Documents/2012-2013/2013%20 Conference/ Handouts/ Dr. Seuss-Kilman ConflictModeInstrument.pdf

9.       Nina Poloski Voki, Sanja Sontor (Croatia). The relationship between individual characteristics and conflict handling styles – the case of Croatia. Problems and Perspectives in Management.8(3);2010: 56-67

10.     Marta Elena, Ricardo Becerro. Conflict resolution styles in the nursing  profession. Contemporary Nurse (2012) 43(1): 73–80.

 

 

 

 

Received on 02.07.2015           Modified on 05.08.2015

Accepted on 22.08.2015           © A&V Publication all right reserved

Int. J. Adv. Nur. Management 3(3): July- Sept. 2015; Page 273-277

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2652.2015.00015.3