CONFLICT IN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS

The role of emotion in conflict in Healthcare Organizations

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of Role of emotion in conflict in healthcare organizations in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on role of emotion in conflict and its relation with Health care organization. The research also analyzes many aspects of emotion and conflicts and tries to gauge its effect on health care organizations. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for conflict in healthcare organizations and tries to describe the overall effect of role of emotion and conflict on health care organizations.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion3

The Conflict Process5

Healthcare organizational Characteristics6

Gender Impact on Communication7

Generation Impact on Communication8

Bullying and Horizontal Hostility Impact on Communication8

Strategies to Attain and Maintain Positive Work Environments9

Conflict Outcomes10

Third-Party Intervention11

Methods of Intervention12

Outcomes of Intervention13

Conclusion14

The Role Of Emotion In Conflict In Healthcare Organizations

Introduction

Both within and between organizations, individuals interact regularly and almost as regularly experience conflict with one another. Sometimes the conflict between individuals is minor and unnoticed, whereas other times it is heated and drawn out. Whatever the case, the characteristics of conflict between individuals are important to understand for the sake of individuals and the organizations where they work. This paper discusses the role of emotion in conflict in healthcare organizations. This paper also provides a general understanding of emotional conflict in healthcare organizations and highlights some of the most recognized ideas that have been presented in research on the subject. Now, patients in the United States typically pay more of their healthcare expenses than they had previously. Thecurrent competition creates patients who are more sensitive consumers. Healthcare providers want to improve the quality of their patient care and employees from both a remedial and an emotional perspective. (Antonioni, 2008)

Emotional conflict is a state that exists between two individuals with valued interests in which one individual's (or each individual's) interests are violated, or in danger of being violated, by the other individual. It is an external form of conflict, as opposed to internal conflict where two or more of an individual's interests are mutually exclusive (e.g., role conflict, conflict of interest).

Discussion

Emotional conflict occurs between parties with opposing interests and can take three forms: normative, judgment, and goal. Normative conflict exists when one individual is offended by another individual's behavior and believes that the latter should have behaved differently. Judgment conflict occurs when the individuals disagree over a factual issue (e.g., how a particular event transpired). Goal conflict is a situation in which two individuals are seeking mutually exclusive outcomes (e.g., how a slice of cake will be divided between them). (Frost, 2009)

In 2002, Thomas, an extremely influential figure in conflict research, divided conflict into four factors that affect one another directly or indirectly: structural conditions, the conflict process, outcomes, and third-party intervention. Structural conditions make up the context of the situation in which conflict occurs and include the relatively stable factors of the parties and their surroundings. When conflict is triggered, the conflict process ensues ...