Exam 1: Chapter 8 Flashcards
A group of staff nurses is dissatisfied with the new ideas presented by the newly hired nurse manager. The staff wants to keep their
old procedures, and they resist the changes. Conflict arises from:
a. group decision-making options.
b. perceptions of incompatibility.
c. increases in group cohesiveness.
d. debates, negotiations, and compromises.
ANS: B
Conflict involves disagreement in values or beliefs within oneself or between people that causes harm or has the potential to cause harm. Conflict may result from the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatibility and the potential for
interference.
Two staff nurses are arguing about whose turn it is to work on the upcoming holiday. 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.
ANS: B
By definition, conflict involves a difference in perception between two or more individuals.
The nurse manager is aware that conflict is occurring on her unit; however, she is focused on preparing for a state health
department visit, so she ignores the problem. What factor can increase stress and escalate conflict?
a. The use of avoidance
b. An enhanced nursing work force
c. Accepting that some conflict is normal
d. Managing the effects of fatigue and error
ANS: A
Avoidance as a conflict-management style prolongs conflict and tends to escalate conflict.
The nurse manager decides to use a mediator to help resolve the staff’s conflict. A basic strategy for truly addressing this conflict is
to:
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
It is important for each person in the conflict to clarify the conflict as “I see it” and how “it makes me respond” before all the persons involved in the conflict can define the conflict, develop a shared conceptualization, and resolve their differences.
Sarah, a staff nurse on your unit, witnesses another nurse striking a patient. Sarah wants to remain friends with her colleague and worries that confrontation with her colleague or reporting her colleague will destroy their relationship. Sarah is experiencing which type of conflict? a. Intrapersonal b. Interpersonal c. Organizational d. Professional
ANS: A
Intrapersonal conflict occurs within a person when confronted with the need to think or act in a way that seems at odds with that person’s sense of self. Questions often arise that create a conflict over priorities, ethical standards, and values. Some issues present a conflict over comfortably maintaining the status quo and taking risks to confront people when needed, which can lead to
interpersonal conflict.
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, and action outcomes.
d. frustration, conceptualization, negotiation, and action outcomes.
ANS: B
Thomas (1992) determined that conflict proceeds through these four stages in this particular order.
After using a mediator to resolve a conflict between the nurse manager and two staff nurses, the chief nursing officer decides to:
a. observe to make sure the conflict has been resolved.
b. fire both staff nurses.
c. reassign both staff nurses.
d. reassign the nurse manager.
ANS: A
The nurse leader should follow up to determine if the conflict has been resolved because, in professional practice environments,
unresolved conflict among nurses is a significant issue that results in job dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and turnover, as well as in
decreased patient satisfaction and poorer quality in patient care.
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:
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, a strong team spirit, 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. Work on conflict suggests that complete resolution of conflict is counterproductive to the achievement of
organizational goals, organizational change, and cohesiveness of employees.
Jane has transferred from the ICU to the CCU. 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 which type of conflict?
a. Organizational
b. Intrapersonal
c. Interpersonal
d. Disruptive
ANS: C
Interpersonal conflict transpires between and among nurses, physicians, members of other departments, and patients.
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’ stages of conflict?
a. Frustration
b. Conceptualization
c. Action
d. Outcomes
ANS: B
Thomas’ Stages of Conflict include conceptualization, which involves different ideas and emphasis on what is important or not or about what should occur.
Mrs. Hill, aged 68, was hospitalized after a stroke. The speech therapist recommended that oral feeding be stopped because of her dysplasia. During visiting hours, Mr. Hill fed his wife some noodles. The nurse noticed this and stopped Mr. Hill from feeding his wife, telling him it was the doctor’s decision. An hour later, the nurse returned and found Mr. Hill feeding his wife again. The nurse tried to stop him again. Mr. Hill 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. Hill’s chart. According to Thomas’ four stages of conflict, in which stage could the nurse have been more effective?
a. Frustration
b. Conceptualizing
c. Action
d. Outcomes
ANS: C
By walking away, the nurse is engaged in an action or a behavioral response, which is the action stage of conflict that is outlined in the four stages of conflict (Thomas, 1992). In this stage, the nurse might have used more effective strategies, such as clarifying Mr. Hill’s views on feeding his wife and engaging in dialogue with Mr. Hill to clarify his concerns and attempt to reach a common goal.
Mrs. Hill, aged 68, was hospitalized after a stroke. The speech therapist recommended that oral feeding be stopped because of her dysplasia. During visiting hours, Mr. Hill fed his wife some noodles. The nurse noticed this and stopped Mr. Hill from feeding his wife, telling him it was the doctor’s decision. An hour later, the nurse returned and found Mr. Hill feeding his wife again. The nurse tried to stop him again. Mr. Hill 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. Hill’s chart. The outcome as depicted by
Thomas’ conflict stages can be considered to be:
a. compromising.
b. confronting.
c. constructive.
d. destructive.
ANS: D
Resolution was absent because the nurse did not have time to effectively deal with the issues in the conflict. This can lead to negativity, increased frustration, and further distancing between individuals or groups, including between patients and nurses.
Jill is the head nurse on a unit in a large hospital. Two of the staff nurses are constantly arguing and blaming each other, and a
resolution has not occurred in months. To solve the existing conflict, which is the most creative conflict resolution?
a. Avoiding
b. Competing
c. Compromising
d. Collaborating
ANS: D
Collaboration, although time consuming, is the most creative stance. The collaboration technique involves 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
statements are true except:
a. conflict can decrease creativity, thus acting as a deterrent for the development of new ideas.
b. horizontal violence involves those with similar status but little power in the larger context.
c. interprofessional collaboration reduces unresolved conflicts.
d. all conflicts involve some level of disagreement.
ANS: A
The opposite is true because research has shown that conflict, like change, increases creativity and allows for the development of new ideas.
Sarah is a nurse manager in a surgical unit. She is concerned about a conflict between Lucy (a staff nurse) and one of the maintenance personnel. Sarah explains to Lucy that unsatisfactory resolution of the conflict is typically destructive and will result
in:
a. decreased frustration between the maintenance worker and her.
b. a good relationship with the maintenance department.
c. eventual resolution of the problem without further intervention.
d. decreased productivity on her part.
ANS: D
Productivity decreases with destructive conflict, whereas constructive conflict strengthens relationships.
