Post a brief overview of the conflict you selected and how this specific type of conflict has impacted the work environment.

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High-pressure environments, life-or-death implications, constant change, and long days of exhausting work … It is not surprising that conflicts arise in health care settings. In the fast-paced environment in which nurses work, small differences in decision making, processes, work ethic, and personal characteristics can quickly escalate

As a nurse manager, you need to develop and model skills that effectively address conflict situations. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, offers sound advice that can be applied to conflict management and resolution. In Habit 4, Think Win-Win, Covey (2004) explains, “[m]any people think in terms of either/or: either you’re nice or you’re tough. Win-win requires that you be both. It is a balancing act between courage and consideration.” Ultimately, how you manage conflict in your setting will determine whether you foster an environment that breeds contempt or one that fosters growth.

Conflict abounds in any workplace; it is a normal part of organizational life. Instead of avoiding or ignoring conflict, the role of the nurse manager is to coach employees through conflict situations and to exercise judgment on how and when to intervene. When managed effectively and focused on substantive issues, conflict can actually lead to better outcomes. However, when interpersonal conflicts go unaddressed, employee morale and engagement–two factors that can seriously impact quality of patient care—will dwindle.

When nurse managers observe employees engaging in toxic or inappropriate workplace behaviors, they must prepare to give difficult feedback. Delivering difficult feedback can be challenging for nurse managers, as they must address employees in a way that is authoritative, supportive, and resolute. One strategy nurse managers can use to deliver difficult feedback is to employ the scripting framework. In this week’s Discussion, you gain experience with using the scripting framework to resolve a conflict situation that you have observed in your past or present workplace.

To prepare

  • Review this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on the various forms of conflict that can occur in the workplace.
  • Consider the types of conflict, including bullying, horizontal violence, toxic and disruptive employees, misuse of social media, unbalanced power, harassment, and favoritism, that exist in your current organization or past place of employment.
  • Select one type of conflict you have observed. How has conflict impacted your work environment? How have nurse mangers attempted to address conflict situations?
  • Examine the six-step scripting framework for delivering difficult feedback in Chapter 7 of the course text, From Management to Leadership: Strategies for Transforming Health Care. Then, use this framework to script a conversation between you and the employee(s) involved in the conflict situation you selected.
  • When drafting your script, reflect on how HR might be able to help you in addressing this issue, both before you talk to this employee and if the problem continues to exist.
By Day 4

Post a brief overview of the conflict you selected and how this specific type of conflict has impacted the work environment. Share the script you drafted and explain at least one way you would enlist HR’s help in managing this situation. Support your response by referencing authentic examples from the workplace and the Learning Resources as applicable.

 

Required Readings

Manion, J. (2011). From management to leadership: Strategies for transforming health care (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 7, “Coaching and Developing Others” (pp. 339–341)Review the scripting model on these pages. In this chapter, Manion discusses motivation and explains how leaders can make the most of it through coaching. She explains the leader’s role, the coaching role, and the difference between coaching and being a coach.

Alichnie, C. (2012). Social media and nursing. Pennsylvania Nurse, 67(1), 3–10.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article discusses the use of social media in nursing. The author determines that social media can be a means to an end if it’s used wisely, professionally, and within legal and ethical boundaries.

Barrett, A., Piatek, C., Korber, S., & Padula, C. (2009). Lessons learned from a lateral violence and team-building intervention. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 33(4), 342–351.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This study focuses on nurse interaction in relation to lateral violence. The authors conclude that the key to a cohesive work environment is a nurse leader who is able to drive and sustain change.

Barton, S. A., Alamri, M. S., Cella, D., Cherry, K. L., Curll, K., Hallman, B. D., et al. (2011). Dissolving clique behavior. Nursing Management, 42(8), 32–37.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

This article addresses clique behavior in health care settings. The argument is that the current economic climate encourages regression in health care workers.

Brinkert, R. (2010). A literature review of conflict communication causes, costs, benefits and interventions in nursing. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(2), 145–156.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The author assesses the effects of conflict communication on nursing. The study concludes that conflict will always be a part of nursing but that it can be mitigated if nurse managers use employee-effective intervention methods.

Cronquist, R., & Spector, N. (2011). Nurses and social media: Regulatory concerns and guidelines. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 2(3), 37–40.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Identify the purpose or goal for your team. Then, reflect on the following questions: What type of team would you create (leadership, ad hoc, or primary work team) to accomplish this purpose or goal? What are the benefits or disadvantages of creating this type of team?

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Creating, Developing, and Leading Effective Teams

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
—Henry Ford

A critical skill for all nurse managers is the ability to create, develop, and lead effective teams. When people are part of an effective and well-functioning team, they are more productive and have a stronger commitment to the organization. Nurse managers have a responsibility to create teams that fulfill functional needs within their units or departments. These can include leadership teams, ad hoc project teams, or primary work teams.

As a nurse manager, there is a variety of ways that you can enhance team functioning. The first step is developing the structural elements of the team and then designing the team with the appropriate membership. Just as you must critically examine each application during the employment process, so will you critically examine the skills and attributes of each employee before appointing him or her to a collective team.

In this week’s Discussion, you lay the groundwork for creating and developing a team for your unit, department, or health care setting. You also identify leadership strategies that you could employ to increase the team’s organizational effectiveness.

To prepare

  • Review Chapter 5, “The Art of Effectively Facilitating Processes” from the course text, From Management to Leadership: Strategies for Transforming Health Care. Carefully examine the section, “Essential Elements of a Team” to identify the six steps of creating an effective team.
  • Consider a team you might create for your current organization or one with which you are familiar. For example, is there a project to be accomplished or a problem to be solved? Perhaps there is a need for a leadership team within your unit or department?
  • Identify the purpose or goal for your team. Then, reflect on the following questions:
    • What type of team would you create (leadership, ad hoc, or primary work team) to accomplish this purpose or goal? What are the benefits or disadvantages of creating this type of team?
    • What staff members would you want on this team? Why? How could their skill sets and positions make them effective team members?
  • Explore this week’s Learning Resources to identify leadership strategies you might employ before, during, and after the team-building phase. For example, what leadership strategies might influence synergy among team members while also increasing the effectiveness of the team?

Post a description of the team you would create, including the purpose or goal the team would serve, the team type, and the specific skills each member would contribute as well as their job positions. Describe at least two leadership strategies you could implement to help this team effectively achieve its purpose or goal.

 

Required Readings

Manion, J. (2011). From management to leadership: Strategies for transforming health care (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chapter 5, “The Art of Effectively Facilitating Processes” (pp. 179–242)This chapter describes the many components that make up the facilitating process. Some of these elements include empowerment, authority, resolutions, and negotiation.

Chapter 6, “Getting Results” (pp. 243–282)The main points of this chapter are the components that contribute to effective teamwork. The author lists the benefits and pitfalls of proactive behavior, group decision making, and problem solving.

Beeson, J. (2011). Build a strong team. Leadership Excellence, 28(2), 15.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Beeson’s article focuses on the importance of building a structured team. He provides five steps that leaders can implement in the workplace to create a strong team that benefits the whole workplace.

Calendrillo, T. (2009). Team building for a healthy work environment. Nursing Management, 40(12), 9–12.  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, Calendrillo states that skilled communication is the foundation for strong team building in clinical settings. When skilled communication has been mastered and used, quality patient care and healthy work environments are among the many results.

Assignment 1: Journal Entry:Intersection and Religious Discrimination

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Assignment 1: Journal Entry:Intersection and Religious Discrimination

When pieces of cloth are sewn together, you might have trouble discerning the individual pieces of cloth that make the final garment, but by looking carefully, you can find the seams. You may have experienced similar difficulty in the first week of this course when asked to explore the individual aspects of culture that combine to create your unique self-identity. Forms of oppression can come together often in almost imperceptible ways to form the complex environment in which you and your clients live and interact. As a social worker, you must examine carefully the intersections between religious discrimination, sexism, classism, and racism so you can respond accordingly.

To prepare: Consider this week’s resources that describe how religion intersects with other forms of oppression.

 

Submit your response to those resources and analyze what you think is the role of religion in reinforcing sexism, classism, and racism.

 

As a social worker, how can you address these issues on a micro and macro level?

 

 

Assignment 2: Race, Empowerment, and Cultural Competence

The ideas, attitudes, values, and beliefs with which people are surrounded as they grow up inform their perceptions about themselves and their place in the world. Family and religious systems are usually the first place that people get messages about themselves and others. Those messages can be positive and illustrate how important it is to embrace difference, or they can be full of hate and intolerance. For this Assignment, consider how your own ideas about race and ethnicity have been influenced by those around you.

 

Submit a 2-page paper that answers the following question:

 

How does your family and religious systems lead to your ideas about your own racial ethnic group as well as the racial and ethnic group of others? 

 

Be sure to address the concepts of ethnocentric practice, empowerment and cultural competence. Please use the Learning Resources to support your answer.

 References (use at least 2)

 

Cristol, D., & Gimbert, B. (2008). Racial perceptions of young children: A review of literature post-1999. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(2), 201–207.

  •  Patcher, L. M., Szalacha, L. A., Bernstein, B., & Garcia Coil, C. (2010). Perceptions of racism in children and youth: Properties as a self-report instrument for research on children’s health and development. Ethnicity & Health, 15(1), 33–46.
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.

  • Chapter 5 (pp. 254-294)

 

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PHI 208 Week 3 Discussion Question Prompts

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PHI 208 Week 3 Discussion Question Prompts
Instructions:  Please select one of the prompts from the set below and post it as an initial post in the discussion this week. Attached reading information also.

 

1.      Think of someone real or fictional whom some people regard as a “hero” for helping others, stopping something bad or evil, and so forth, even though by doing so they violated what would normally be considered a moral rule (focus on morality; don’t simply think of someone who broke the law). For example, they may have lied, broken a promise, stolen, harmed someone innocent, or even murdered, but done so with good intentions. (Note: this last part is crucial: make sure you explain what it was that they did that would otherwise be morally questionable. Also, it need not be someone you think is a hero.)

Try to think of any example that we would either all be familiar with, or something we can easily look up (in other words, don’t just make something up or describe something generic). Many examples are given in the guidance and the readings, including people like Robin Hood, Edward Snowden, etc. Please don’t use an example that someone else has already used!

Now here’s the fun part: once you have thought of your example, evaluate what they did according to Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Is what the person did moral, or immoral, according to the CI?

Do you agree with this evaluation of the action? If you agree, how would you explain to the person in your own words why what they did was wrong? If you don’t agree, and think that what they did was morally right, how would you respond to the question, “what if everyone did that?”

When responding to your peers, consider whether they have correctly applied the Categorical Imperative, and if they agreed with Kant, consider what a consequentialist might say; if they disagreed with Kant, consider what a Kantian might say, and use those considerations as a springboard for dialogue and discussion.
2.      One of Kant’s ways of formulating (i.e., expressing in words) the Categorical Imperative says that “one should always treat humanity, whether in oneself or in another, always as an end and never merely as a means”. This is often called the “Formula of Humanity” (or sometimes the “Formula of the End-In-Itself”).   Briefly explain in your own words what you think Kant means by that. Consider a specific example from the world of business, either one that you have directly encountered or one you heard about, in which a company honored this principle, and consider an example in which a company failed to honor this principle.  Be sure to clearly explain your example with respect to Kant’s theory, and refer to the other readings on business ethics when appropriate.  If you find the example from a source on the Internet or in an article be sure to share that with your classmates.  Discuss whether or not you believe that businesses could actually run according to a Kantian moral framework or if they must necessarily break Kant’s laws in order to function according to business principles.
3.      Is it ever morally permissible to lie to someone?  Describe a circumstance in which it seems that lying might make more people happy than telling the truth.  Would lying be the right thing to do in that circumstance, or is it our moral duty to tell the truth, even then?  Consider what Immanuel Kant would say, and explain that with reference to this week’s readings.  Then, offer your own perspective.  If you agree with Kant, consider and respond to an objection to his view.  If you disagree with Kant, explain why.  Discuss the positive and negative aspects of deontological theory as it relates to another of the theories you have encountered in this course.

 

4.      Can acting out of a sense of one’s duty be the wrong thing to do?  Think of an example in which someone (perhaps you) acted out of a sense of duty, even though by doing so one caused greater harm than if one had not acted, one failed to prevent harm from occurring, or one failed to bring about greater happiness.  Then, explain whether you think that (a) this person was right to do that despite the negative consequences; (b) it was wrong for this person to act in this way, despite the fact that it was their moral duty to do so; or (b) this person was mistaken about what their duty really was.    Be sure to back up your answer with argument and references to the text.  Discuss the positive and negative aspects of deontological theory as it relates to another of the theories you have encountered in this course.

 

5.      Kant famously states that the only thing good without qualification is a good will.  On this basis, he holds that we can do the “right action” but not out of a good will, and that only actions done from a good will are morally praiseworthy.  Do you agree with Kant?  Provide an example (real or made up) of someone doing a good thing but out of a motive other than that of a good will, and give reasons for why you think Kant is right, or why you think Kant is wrong that this action lacks moral value.  Discuss the importance of the will and how one can attempt to create a good will.  If you do not think a good will is important discuss your reasons for believing that the will is not important in ethical action.

 

6.      One of Kant’s formulations of the Categorical Imperative says that one should always treat humanity, whether in oneself or in another, always as an end and never merely as a means. Consider a specific example from the world of business, either one that you have directly encountered or one you heard about, in which a company honored this principle, and consider an example in which a company failed to honor this principle.  Be sure to clearly explain your example with respect to Kant’s theory, and refer to the other readings on business ethics when appropriate.  If you find the example from a source on the internet or in an article be sure to share that with your classmates.  Discuss whether or not you believe that businesses could actually run according to a Kantian moral framework or if they must necessarily break Kant’s laws in order to function according to business principles.

 

7.      Using at least one quote from chapter six of Understanding Philosophy, describe the core principle of utilitarianism and discuss the problem of the “tyranny of the majority.”  Find a real example of a current or past social practice, (or create your own fictional example) that illustrates this problem.  Complete your post by evaluating whether the overall good generated by the practice outweighs the suffering caused by the practice.

 

8.      After watching the videos “Drones are Ethical” and “Drones are Not Ethical,” and taking note of the different considerations they make, identify one argument made in the videos that is clearly a utilitarian argument, and explain what makes it utilitarian. (It can be an argument for or against the use of drones).

Also identify an argument that would not be a utilitarian argument (this can also be an argument for or against the use of drones). Explain how this sort of argument differs from a utilitarian one (you do not need to identify what kind of argument it is instead, just to point out how the considerations are different than utilitarian ones).

Discuss with your peers whether the arguments they make are utilitarian or not, and the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches.

 

9.      After watching the 9-minute  Films On Demand video “Religion, War and Violence: The Ethics of War and Peace,” provide an example of a war waged on the basis of retaliation against an aggressor, and a war waged on the basis of humanitarian intervention.   Discuss the differences between the ways in which these two kinds of war apply the utilitarian principle of the greatest good.  Be sure to identify whose greatest good is being served in each kind of war.  Complete your post by discussing which of these kinds of war is easiest to justify using utilitarian principles.

 

10.  After watching Michael Walzer’s  video on Just War Theory, explain his idea of the “moral equality of soldiers on the battlefield,” and discuss the ways in which this equality might complicate the utilitarian goal of promoting the greatest good for the greatest number.

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