Role of Leader in Managing Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Role of Leader in Managing Conflict - Essay Example Prior to the discussion of conflict management, it is vital to comprehend the meaning of conflict. Kleynhans (2009) described a conflict as an active disagreement between people with different opinions, values or interests. The Foundation Coalition (n.d) defined conflict as the bone of contention among individuals or groups due to differing goals, needs and ideas. Marshall (2006) defined the sources of conflict to be diverse in nature; †¢ Differences in the values and customs of the individuals †¢ Presence of limited number of resources, thus provoking individuals to compete †¢ Lack of information or barriers in communication †¢ Presence of hostility in relations In terms of the initiation of conflicts, the health care industry is no different. Health care sector faces numerous instances of conflicts on a daily basis; some of the instances might be witnessed between doctors and nurses whereas others amongst the nurses. Pierre, Hofinger and Buerschaper (2008) stated that health care professionals are faced with intense moments of unexpected scenarios, rare illnesses and reactions that require dynamic and effective decision making. Such capabilities are even greatly required in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) where patients are faced with life threatening situations. Therefore, this study seeks to critically discuss the role of a leader in managing conflict in a CCU, using real life examples and case studies from the health care sector. An example is drawn from critical care unit in Riyadh Military Hospital to identify the real life instances of conflicts in a health care organization. This paper seeks to critically analyze the different types of conflict management strategies and techniques with the aid of the available literature and theories, as well as the approaches that can be adopted to avoid conflicts in the health care sector. 2. Nature of Conflicts in a Health Care Organization Certain degree of clashes of ideas about tasks and projects are often witnessed in a health care organization. Hovatter (n.d) stated that conflicts are mainly initiated when needs are not met effectively. He further stated that conflicts involve the inhibition of achievement of tasks of an individual or group by the actions or ideas of an individual or a group. In the light of this notion, it can be stated that there are mainly two types of conflicts that are found in an organization; group and individual conflict. Group conflict pertains to collective disagreement over something by a group of people in the organization. On the other hand, individual conflict is more personal and it mainly involves individuals. In order to solve the conflict s, the leaders need to assume the responsibility of ensuring an amiable and supportive environment in the organization. The health care sector has witnessed great changes with the passage of the years. Fagin and Garelick (2004) stated that doctors have been considered as the main sources of knowledge and authority over the possession of medical information. Doctors have been known to be educated while nurses have been trained to follow the instructions of the doctors in the most effective manner. However, Fagin and Garelick (2004) also stated that the gap in the acquisition of knowledge has been reduced by the improvement of standard of training of nurses, which became effective in 2000 by the Department of Health’s Project. Vivar (2006) also agreed that the broadening of the scope of training and education of the nurses has resulted in greater conflicts between doctors and nurses.