Chapter 24: Managing conflict Flashcards
A group of staff nurses is dissatisfied with the new ideas presented by the newly hired nurse manager. The staff members want to keep their old procedures, and they resist the changes. Conflict arises from:
a. Group decision-making options.
b. Perceptions of injustice.
c. Increases in group cohesiveness.
d. Debates, negotiations, and compromises.
B
Two staff nurses are arguing about working on holidays. In trying to resolve this conflict, the nurse manager understands that interpersonal conflict arises when:
a. Risk taking seems to be unavoidable.
b. People see events differently.
c. Personal and professional priorities do not match.
d. The ways in which people should act do not match the ways in which they do act.
B
The nurse manager is aware that conflict is occurring on her unit; however, she is focused on preparing for a provincial health department visit, so she ignores the problem. A factor that can increase stress and escalate conflict is:
a. The use of avoidance.
b. An enhanced nursing workforce.
c. Accepting that some conflict is normal.
d. Managing the effects of fatigue and error.
ANS: A
Purposeful avoiding is an appropriate strategy when the conflict is interpersonal and the individuals involved in the conflict have the necessary skills and insight to be able to own the problem and solve it themselves. When these conditions are not present and avoidance is not purposeful, then avoidance can increase stress and escalate conflict.
- The nurse manager decides to use a mediator to help resolve the conflict among staff. Which of the following is a basic strategy for truly addressing this conflict?
a. Identify the conflicting facts.
b. Be determined to resolve the conflict.
c. Schedule a meeting time for resolution.
d. Have a clear understanding of the differences between the parties in conflict.
ANS: D
The manager must determine whether a conflict is constructive or destructive. In this situation, the manager has determined that the conflict is destructive and does not want the conflict to escalate, and so a mediator has been engaged.
Ylena, a staff nurse on your unit, witnesses another nurse striking a patient. Ylena wants to remain friends with her colleague and worries that confrontation with her colleague or reporting her colleague will destroy their relationship. Ylena is experiencing which type of conflict?
a. Intrapersonal. b. Interpersonal. c. Organizational. d. Professional.
A
The chief nursing officer plans a series of staff development workshops for the nurse managers to help them deal with conflicts. The first workshop introduces the four stages of conflict, which are:
a. Frustration, competition, negotiation, and action.
b. Frustration, conceptualization, action, and outcomes.
c. Frustration, cooperation, collaboration, action, and outcomes.
d. Frustration, conceptualization, negotiation, action, and outcomes.
B
Two nurses on a psychiatric unit come from different backgrounds and have graduated from different universities. They are given a set of new orders from the unit manager. Each nurse displays different emotions in response to the orders. Nurse A indicates that the new orders include too many changes; Nurse B disagrees and verbally indicates why. This step in the process is which of the following in Thomas’s (1992) four stages of conflict?
a. Frustration.
b. Conceptualization. c. Action.
d. Outcomes.
B
A nursing instructor is teaching a class on conflict and conflict resolution. She relates to the class that conflict in an organization is important and that an optimal level of conflict will generate which of the following?
a. Creativity, a problem-solving atmosphere, a weak team spirit, and motivation of its
workers.
b. Creativity, a staid atmosphere, a weak team spirit, and motivation of its workers.
c. Creativity, a problem-solving atmosphere, growth, and motivation for its workers.
d. A bureaucratic atmosphere, a strong team spirit, and motivation for its workers.
ANS: C
Differences in ideas, perceptions, and approaches, when managed well, can lead to creative solutions and deepened human relationships. Conflict can stimulate growth, creativity, and change.
Jane has transferred from the intensive care unit to the critical care unit. She is very set in the way she makes assignments and encourages her new peers to adopt this method without sharing the rationale for why it is better. This is a good example of a process and procedure that creates ________ conflict.
a. Organizational. b. Intrapersonal. c. Interpersonal. d. Disruptive.
C
Mrs. Gordon, aged 68, was hospitalized after a stroke. The speech therapist recommended that oral feeding be stopped because of her dysphagia. During visiting hours, Mr. Gordon fed his wife some noodles. The nurse noticed this and stopped Mr. Gordon from feeding his wife, telling him it was the doctor’s decision. An hour later, the nurse returned and found Mr. Gordon feeding his wife again. The nurse tried to stop him again. Mr. Gordon refused and claimed that the clinical staff was trying to starve his wife; he also threatened to get violent with the nurse. The nurse decided to walk away and documented the event in Mrs. Gordon’s chart. According to Thomas’s (1992) four stages of conflict, in which stage could the nurse have been more effective?
a. Frustration.
b. Conceptualizing. c. Action.
d. Outcomes.
ANS: C
The nurse’s actions did not include actions such as clarifying Mr. Gordon’s views on feeding his wife, clarifying what was necessary to achieve good care for his wife, and engaging in dialogue with Mr. Gordon, thus preventing identification of a common goal. The action stage involves a behavioural response such as clarification or dialogue.
Jill is the head nurse on a unit in a large hospital. Two of the staff nurses are constantly arguing and blaming each other for mistakes, and a resolution has not occurred in months. To solve the existing conflict, which is the most desirable conflict resolution?
a. Avoiding.
b. Competing.
c. Compromising.
d. Collaborating.
ANS: D
The collaboration technique has both sides in the conflict working together to develop an optimal outcome. This results in a win-win solution.
A nurse educator is giving a workshop on conflict. During the sessions he makes various statements regarding conflict. All of the following statements are true except:
a. “Conflict can decrease creativity, thus acting as a deterrent for the development of
new ideas.”
b. “Conflict can arise over the most trivial issues.
c. “A variety of definitions of conflict are known.”
d. “All conflicts involve some level of disagreement.”
ANS: A
Research has shown that conflict, like change, increases creativity and allows for the development of new ideas.
The nurse manager performs his role in a way that he believes empowers his staff; however, the staff feel smothered by his micromanagement approach. This is a good example of which of the following conditions that propel a situation toward conflict?
a. Incompatible goals.
b. Role conflicts.
c. Structural conflict.
d. Competition for resources.
ANS: A
Goal conflicts often arise from competing priorities. In this example, the nurse manager desires to empower employees, but his behaviours indicate to the staff that he is practising micromanagement.
Kala, a unit manager, in discussing a role the hospital’s chief executive officer would like her to perform, makes the following statement, “I will sit on the hospital task force on improving morale if you send me to the hospital’s leadership training classes next week, so I can further develop my skills and thus be more effective.” Which of the following conflict management styles is Kala using?
a. Collaborating.
b. Avoiding.
c. Negotiating.
d. Accommodating
ANS: C
In this particular situation, an exchange of concessions (membership on a committee in return for attendance at a workshop) or trading occurs. This strategy supports a balance of power.
Marcus is a circulating nurse in the operating room. He is usually assigned to general surgery, but on this day he is assigned to the orthopedic room. He is unfamiliar with the routines and studies the doctor’s preference cards before each patient. The fourth patient comes into the room, and Marcus prepares a site for a biopsy by using a Betadine solution. The surgeon prefers another solution. He notices what Marcus has done and immediately corrects him by rudely insulting him. Which of the following is the most appropriate approach to conflict resolution in this example?
a. Collaboration.
b. Compromising.
c. Avoiding.
d. Withdraw.
B
