A not-for-profit hospice center in a small community received a generous gift from the grateful family of a patient who had died recently. The family asked only the money be '' put to the best use possible.
Everyone in this small facility had no opinion about the best use for the money. The administrator wanted to renovate the old, run-down headquarters. The financial officer wanted to put the money in the bank 'for a rainy day.' The chaplain wanted to add a small chapel to the building. The nurses wanted to create a food bank to help the poorest of their clients. The social workers wanted to buy a van to transport clients to health-care providers. The staff agreed that all the ideas had merit only one of them.
became that their idea was the best. At their last meeting, it was evident that some were becoming frustrated and that others were becoming angry. It was rumored that a shouting match between the administrator and the financial officer occurred.
1. In your analysis of this situation, identify the sources of the conflict that are developing in this facility.
There are three sources of conflict: goal differences, communication breakdown, and poor leadership (Whitehead, Weiss, & Tappen, 2010). The main source of conflict is the lack of a common goal. The group is operating on the competing style of conflict resolution, where everyone asserts themselves, cooperation is low, and everyone seeks to reach their goal at the expense of others. They are operating under a win-lose approach. There also appears to be a general communication breakdown within the organization. Worse, the group lacks a leader with conflict resolution skills (Nursing: Scope and Standard of Practice, 2004).
2. What kind of leadership actions are needed to prevent the escalation of this conflict?
The group needs a strong leader with a collaborative conflict resolution style, where all members are given a chance to assert themselves within a framework of cooperation—a win-win approach. The leader should define a common goal, facilitate cooperation, and create a team out of the band of members. The first step is to improve communication and channel conflict into a positive direction (Whitehead, Weiss, & Tappen, 2010).
3. If the conflict does escalate, how could it be resolved?
If the conflict escalates a mediation process has to be initiated. First, the group needs to acknowledge that a conflict exists and that each member is part of the conflict. Second, each member of the group needs to recognize and discuss the impact they are having on the group dynamics. Third, everyone has to agree to collaborate in arriving at a resolution of the conflict. Finally, the members have to make a commitment to communicate and try to understand each other (Whitehead, Weiss, & Tappen, 2010).
4. Which idea do you think has the most merit? Why did you select the one you did?
The food bank to help the poorest of their clients seems the best idea. First of all, this is a not-for profit hospice center, which means that if any member is to benefit from the gift, it must be from a project that can be launched in the immediate future. Also, the very fact that the nurses are concerned about the nutrition of their clients suggests that there is an essential need in the healthcare of these clients that is not currently being met (Nursing: Scope and Standard of Practice, 2004).
5. Try role-playing a negotiation among the administrator, the financial officer, the chaplain, a representative of nursing staff, and a representative of the social work staff. Can you suggest creative solution?
The gift is said to be generous, so it may be possible to allocate the resource amongst the various players. As this is a hospice center, some of the money should be put to immediate use for the direct benefit of the clients. The food and the van should easily fall within the budget. How are the clients being transported to their healthcare appointments now? Wouldn’t having a van save money in the long run? And couldn’t the van be used to transport clients to a local chapel, or to a food donation center? Or, could the renovation of the old headquarters perhaps include a chapel? The financial officer could help determine how to allocate the funds and how to invest them to ensure a return.
References
Nursing: Scope and Standard of Practice (American Nurses Association), Fifth Ed.
(2004). Amer Nurses Assn.
Whitehead D.K., Weiss S.A., & Tappen R.M. (2010). Essentials of nursing leadership
and management, 5th Edition. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.
