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Nurse educators'/administrators' ways of handling conflict
P E Valentine1, S Richardson, M J Wood
1Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Summary
Female nurse educators/administrators rejected competing in conflict management, frequently using compromising and avoiding. Traditional theories based on male behavior do not fully explain women
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Qualitative Research
- Organizational Behavior
Background:
- The study examines group dynamics and conflict resolution among female nurse educators/administrators.
- The research context involves integrating nursing education programs from diverse institutions between 1987 and 1990.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the conflict-handling strategies used by a group of female nurse educators/administrators.
- To compare these strategies with those found in traditional, feminist, and nursing management literature.
- To identify unique conflict management approaches within this professional group.
Main Methods:
- A qualitative, retrospective case study design was employed.
- Women's standpoint research methodology was used for data analysis.
- The study focused on a group of 27 female nurse educators/administrators.
Main Results:
- The group frequently utilized compromising and avoiding conflict-handling strategies.
- The strategy of 'not competing' was uniquely identified and employed.
- Integrating, though effective, was used sparingly, and accommodating was not overtly apparent.
Conclusions:
- Traditional conflict management theories, often based on male behavior, are insufficient to explain nurses' conflict management.
- Nurse educators/administrators may possess a distinct, unrecognized approach to conflict management.
- Further research is needed to understand gender-specific conflict resolution in nursing leadership.