What is happening under the surface? Power, conflict and the performance of medical teams

Abstract

Power and conflict strongly influence interpersonal behaviour. Characteristics of medical action teams give rise to all kinds of issues of disagreement and are accompanied by complex issues of intra-team power distribution. We argue that how team members coordinate, cooperate and communicate is steered by members' personal motivations, which, in turn, strongly depend on their perceptions of power and conflict. Given the importance of the performance of these teams, we suggest future directions for the development of training interventions building on knowledge and theories derived from social and organisational psychology.

Assessing the effectiveness of conflict management training in a health sector organization: evidence from subjective and objective indicators

“…Whilst there are multiple guidelines for implementing conflict resolution systems in healthcare organisations, little research has been done to explore the impact of conflict management training on organizational outcomes even though conflict management has been recognized as a pivotal competence that workers should develop to do their jobs effectively (e.g., Brinkert, 2011;Greer et al, 2012;Janss et al, 2012;Saltman et al, 2006;Vivar, 2006). In this context, the study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of a theory-driven conflict management skills training intervention implemented in a healthcare organization.…”

“…Hence, conflict management has become a matter of increasing interest in organizations where workers' well-being and performance depends to a great extent on their social interactions with co-workers and customers (e.g., Behfar, Peterson, Mannix, & Trochim, 2008;Dijkstra, Beersma, & Evers, 2011;Dijkstra, de Dreu, Evers, & van Dierendonck, 2009;Friedman, Tidd, Currall, & Tsai, 2000;Giebels & Janssen, 2005;Greer, Jehn, & Mannix, 2008;Leon-Perez, Medina, Arenas, & Munduate, 2014;Tekleab, Quigley, & Tesluk, 2009). This is the case of healthcare settings, where conflict plays an important role in critical dynamics for organizational functioning, like the episodes of violence in a workplace that must deliver a high-quality service (e.g., Beech & Leather, 2006;Janss, Rispens, Segers, & Jehn, 2012). For example, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO, 2013), an independent non-profit organisation that accredits and certifies healthcare organisations in the United States, considers that the establishment of procedures for conflict management within healthcare organisations is a key performance indicator, providing assurance that conflict will not prevent quality care or impinge upon patient safety.…”

“…Once equipped with these skills, the trainees should (a) achieve effective conflict resolutions at work, thereby preventing the escalation of conflict to more destructive or intractable levels (Greer et al, 2012;Janss et al, 2012;Saltman et al, 2006); (b) display a reduction in the psychological distress associated with workplace conflict (Dijkstra et al, 2009(Dijkstra et al, , 2011Friedman et al, 2000;Giebels & Janssen, 2005); increase their performance at work (Tekleab et al, 2009;Tjosvold et al, 2014). The study makes several contributions to the conflict literature by translating the dual-concern model principles into practice, thereby linking training in essential conflict management skills to relevant outcomes.…”

“…Furthermore, this model is easier to extrapolate to the healthcare context in which workers need to maintain a high level of concern for the interests of the other party in conflict situations if they are to do their jobs effectively, given the demands inherent in providing high quality care to patients and task interdependence between co-workers in the sector (Brinkert, 2011;Greer et al, 2012, Janss et al, 2012Vivar, 2006).…”

“…However, mainstream approaches in the healthcare industry have focused on developing formal systems of conflict resolution by incorporating mediation or third-party interventions to cover not only interpersonal conflicts at work (between patients and healthcare providers, or between co-workers) but also conflicts derived from medical malpractice (JCAHO, 2013), ignoring the need for conflict management systems to focus on the prevention of destructive conflict by providing employees with effective conflict management skills (Brinkert, 2011;Greer, Saygi, Aaldering, & De Dreu, 2012;Janss et al, 2012;Saltman, O'Dea, & Kidd, 2006;Vivar, 2006). Moreover, research addressing the effectiveness of conflict management interventions is rather scarce, despite widespread recognition of the importance of conflict management skills as a crucial interpersonal competence (for recent notable exceptions, see Lu, Tjosvold, & Shi, 2010;Tjosvold, Chen, Huang, & Xu, 2014).…”