Discussion Paper



Discussion Paper

Introduction

Nurse leaders deal with conflict on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the choice which the Nurse Leaders adopt depends on their leadership style in handling the conflict effectively. However, the ability of Nurse Leaders to manage the conflict is becoming the benchmarking requirement with the passage of time. The relationship between culture and leadership has been prevailing over the period of time. Moreover, the personal as well as emotional tensions or conflicts are one of the integrated parts of the organizational setting. It depends on the leaders that how they resolve conflict and punish or reward the followers. It depends on the leader's concern pertaining to the renewal of organizational culture to foster the atmosphere of creativity and problem solving (Behfar et. al., 2008).

It is very necessary for nurse leaders to resolve the conflict as soon as possible. However, unmanaged conflict could produce detrimental outcomes for clinical settings including expensive legal consequences, negative employee dissatisfaction, higher turnover rates and lower productivity. All of these factors promote the notion of resolving conflict by nurse leaders. As a matter of fact, the applicability and effectiveness of the five approaches to conflict resolution including, compromising, collaboration, avoidance, competition and accommodation are well known (Iglesias et. al., 2012). These methods of conflict resolution depend on the individual's conflict resolution style. Developed by Thomas-Kilmann, the five approaches to conflict management are vital for nurse leaders to have their optimum use in the clinical setting for the purpose of conflict resolution (Thomas, 2008).

Discussion

Compromising strategy of conflict management is appropriate for the ones who partially want to satisfy everyone involved in the conflict. Nurse leaders in the strategy strives each of the parties involved in the conflict to compromise to a certain extent. This approach is all about bargaining process which results in the solution that is based on concessions by one party on another against something (Iglesias et. al., 2012). As a matter of fact, this tactic does not have sustainable solution of the issue as the settlement is of temporary basis. The central idea of this approach is to quick fix the problem as essence of the time. However, this strategy is preferred for mild or even moderate kind of issues; for example, the issue of patient safety cannot be compromised. The nurse leaders use this kind of approach when the parties involved are of equal rank or fall on the same level in the hierarchy.

The use of this strategy is not recommended over the period of time as it brings negative consequences in the overall environment of the clinical setting. The approach ceases the parties to have a long term goals or make them habitual to keep people happy without resolving the root of the conflict. However, the frequent use of this approach surpasses the real values of the clinical setting. Nurse leaders use this approach when the situations are of urgency, or the importance of time is high. As a matter of fact, the compromising strategy does ...