Conflict Resolution at General Hospital
Dr. Lu Leadership and Organizational behavior- BUS520
November 27, 2011

Discuss the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital.

General Hospital was developed as a non-profit hospital in 1968. In the 1980s, General Hospital had a high success rate with 90% occupancy in rooms. However, with the emergence of greater medical technological advances, General Hospital lagged behind a nearby medical center and lost majority of their parents to the competing hospital. Mike Hammer, CEO of General Hospital, realized General Hospital is in a major financial crisis and could face closing its doors if change does not occur. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011) Mike Hammer believed the key to cutting costs in a hospital setting is to reduce physician-driven costs. Hammer had previously implemented two different approaches to cutting physician-driven costs; however both approaches failed. After analyzing the previous failures, Hammer felt that reducing physician-driven costs must be done one physician at a time. Hammer believed by producing short-term wins employees will realize that change is necessary and can be done successfully, therefore generating buy-ins from employees who were otherwise opposed to the change process. Hammer brought in Marge Harding, COO of General Hospital, to help with the change process. Harding was given the task of finding areas where cost-reduction was necessary. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011) Marge Harding decided after reviewing each candidate’s pros and cons that the EKG readings cost the hospital well over $100,000 each year (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). EKG’s were interpreted by Dr. James Boyer, an attending cardiologist. Dr. Boyer provided on-time and accurate results for the past 15 years at General Hospital. Harding believed by eliminating Boyer’s position she can save the hospital $100,000 a year which would save the hospital a lot of money in the long run. To replace Boyer, Harding brought in a computerized EKG reading system which she believed would bring in instant results. After installing the system and training the staff the computerized EKG system was put into place. Harding notified Boyer his services as cardiologist were no longer required and Harding went on a one week vacation putting her assistant in charge. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011) The new computerized EKG system presented many problems from the beginning. The new system provided results from patients not at General Hospital, delivered results too late and sometimes results did not show up, also results were labeled with the incorrect patient. The new EKG system frustrated physicians and had many questioning what happened to Dr. Boyer? The medical staff had a meeting the following week to discuss the major issues with the new EKG system. Neither Marge Harding nor Mike Hammer attended the meeting. Instead, Harding sent a message through her assistant notifying the staff the EKG system stays in place. Hammer also avoided the physicians and said the problem will get resolved by Harding. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011) Conflict is defined as, “friction or opposition resulting from actual or perceived differences or incompatibilities” (Businessdictionary.com). (Please use APA and cite your source correctly.)Hellriegel & and Slocum (2011) discuss four levels of conflict in organizations: intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup (p. 385). It appears that General Hospital is experiencing intragroup conflict, intergroup conflict, and intrapersonal conflict. Mike Hammer was faced with the issue on how to cut costs at General Hospital so the hospital does not close its doors with the help of its medical staff. Additionally, there was significant intergroup conflict among the critical stakeholders within the hospital preventing the development of a sound resolution to address the pending fiscal crisis. The medical staff was also opposed to Hammer and Harding’s decision making which brought about intragroup conflict.
Discuss the conflict management styles that are evident in the case.
Conflict management is a major skill that every leader should possess for the well being of any organization. Conflict management is not a simple issue resolving technique. It is the process by which a leader should ensure that a positive environment is created after the conflict is resolved and also to keep in track that no negative impacts has been developed among anyone based on this conflict. This positive environment will ensure that the productivity of the people is always high and they are motivated always. Whereas any negative impact will have serious effects on the organization. It could be anything like the change in the behavior of the employees, or reduced productivity or even may increase the attrition rates. Hellriegel & Slocum (2011) identified five conflict-handling styles: forcing, collaborating, avoiding, accommodating, and compromising (p. 390).
From the context, it is understood that Dr. Hammer has adopted himself different types of conflict management styles at different point of time for bringing in cost reduction.
Initially, he started off with ordering style. He presented his findings to the director and the physicians and asked them to reduce their expenses. For example, the transportation cost. He suggested new measures to them. But, when he could not convince them on those measures, he moved to the avoidance style. In this, he avoided everyone and authenticated powers to Ms. Harding to bring up measures to reduce the cost. Once Harding had come up with her ways to reduce cost, Hammer moved to the compromising style. He presented his findings and measures from Harding’s study and was trying to compromise them that the outcomes were clear and they had to be implemented. But still he could not succeed.
[Comments]
This assessment asks you to discuss the conflict management styles that are evident in the case.

Harding used a forcing style which is characterized by “assertive and uncooperative behaviors and represents a win–lose approach to interpersonal conflict” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, p. 392). She tried to achieve her own goals without concern for Dr. Boyle. She adamantly said that the hospital needed to stay abreast of ongoing technological developments, especially when costs are reduced, and that the computerized EKG system would. This conflict management style resulted in Dr. Williams using a forcing style in his rebuttal message to Harding: “Either speak to us today and resolve this problem, or we will admit all new patients to other hospitals.”

Mike Hammer used an avoiding style which is characterized by “unassertive and uncooperative behaviors” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, p. 394). He brushed off Dr. Williams to stay away from conflict and remain neutral. The avoidance approach reflects an aversion to tension and frustration and may involve a decision to let a conflict work. Hammer said that he was very busy and that, hopefully, the problem would get resolved by those directly involved.

The doctors on the medical staff used a collaborating style characterized by “high levels of cooperative and assertive behaviors” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, p. 391). They joined together in their defense of their colleague Dr. Boyle. The physicians were furious. They did not recognize the physicians who had certified the EKG reports. “What happened to Dr. Boyer?” became an echo. When they discovered that Dr. Boyer had been fired, they vehemently complained to Dr. Williams. Dr. Boyer’s colleagues felt strongly that, because Dr. Boyer was part of the medical staff, a review of his termination was in order.

Discuss how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive.
The mission of the CEO of General Hospital Mike Hammer is to reduce cost in order to keep the doors of the hospital open, therefore keeping everyone working. Working in teams has a lot to do with understanding what the goal or mission is, what you are trying to accomplish. Understanding the mission would help address the cost reductions needed because it would be clear that their jobs were on the line. This message did not appear to reach the physicians, Mike Hammers wanted to speak to everyone, but only reached upper management. The physicians would be united and the big picture would guide their actions.
The physicians are the one’s creating the cost, and are better able to determine where cost can be cut most effectively. By splitting into team by their expertise or area of specialty they could take each department apart by cost and put it back together in a cost effective way. They are the ones that know what is cutting edge and cost effective or cost effective but a waste of money. They also know what is cutting edge and a waste of money because they are approached by pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment companies on a daily basis. They are also in contact with other physicians who may have tried these measures with success or failure currently or in the past. (Business) (Please use APA and cite your source correctly.)
Describe how Hammer can use negotiation skills to get buy-in for the cost reductions.
There are two major negotiating strategies: distributive, which focuses on win-lose outcomes, and integrative, which focuses on win-win outcomes. In this case Mr. Hammer used the distributive negotiating strategy. There are four common win-lose types of negotiation strategies associated with distributive negotiating: I want it all, Time, Good cop, bad cop and Ultimatums. The, I want it all strategy hopes to wear down their opponents resolve by offering to give them a concession for their agreement. The time strategy gives the opponent a limited time to accept the offer while it is on the table or lose the offer totally. The good cop bad cop strategy hopes to get the opponent on their side by alternating between sympathetic and threatening behavior. Mr. Hammer and Marge said they were going to use the good cop bad cop strategy to bring the cost down at the General Hospital but instead of being the good cop Mr. Hammer avoided getting involved when the conflict started happen. The ultimatum strategy tries to force the opponent to the will of the other person. Dr. Williams tried to use this with is response to Marge, demanding that she meet with them or the physician would start sending patients to other hospitals. (Hellriegel, Slocum pg. 397) (Please use APA and cite your source correctly.)
Because of his past failures Mr. Hammer is trying to “play hardball” by seeking to win the negotiation at the expense of the hospital staff and by “gamesmanship” in which he is trying to gain the advantage over Dr. Williams and the hospital’s board of directors. Both of these can be affective negotiating styles but only Mr. Hammer will win. The first step Mr. Hammer should take is to change his negotiation strategy to integrative and start focusing on a win-win outcome that will benefit the hospital and the staff. (Career)
Recommend a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Mr. Hammer has to dispel some of his assumptions about physicians. First, “physicians in the main did not understand, nor were they interested in the role of costs in determining the viability of hospitals. (Hellriegel, Slocum pg. 546)” This is not correct because, “Physicians are bombarded with new protocols, critical pathways, and process changes that purportedly lead to cost savings and are repeatedly told that reducing resource consumption contributes significantly to the financial success of the health system. Toward that end, physicians continue to expand their current hospital roles beyond simply rationing care to more fundamental redesigns of the way they provide care.” (Paul, MD, PHD & MHA, 2000) (Using double quotation marks means a direct quote. Thus, you need to provide page number or paragraph number, para.)
(This quote contains more than 40 words. Please use Block Quote correctly.)
Second, physicians have a stronger allegiance to their profession then the hospitals they work for. Mr. Hammer’s failures in the past caused him to believe that physician-controlled cost needed to be addressed in a step-by-step manner, one physician at a time. This is a good place to start because “Physicians must gain a better understanding of cost drivers and must participate in the operations and allocations of institutional fixed direct and indirect costs if the overall cost of care is to be reduced. (Paul, MD, PHD & MHA, 2000)” Mr. Hammer must stop talking only to upper management and begin communicating with the physician and staff themselves. This is a good time because of the recent changes, they will be more motivated to try and prevent decisions like this from happening again without prior notification or their input.
[Comments]
This assessment asks you to recommend a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Since this assignment is all about the conflict, you are supposed to suggest a best conflict management strategy to resolve the problem. Integrative strategy and/or collaborating style both create the win-win situation. The two major negotiating strategic are disruptive (focus is the win-lost outcomes) and integrative (focus on win-win outcomes). There are five styles for handling interpersonal conflict: avoiding, forcing, accommodating, collaborating, and compromising (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010). Collaborating style is “the win-win approach to interpersonal conflict handling” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2010, p. 391), which is the best choice among these five styles as suggested by experts in the field.

References Paper is prepared in Times New Roman 12-point type and is double-spaced throughout. Do not use bold, underlining, or all capital letters. Use italics sparingly for emphasis. (APA 8.03; the APA manual, 6th ed.)
Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W, Jr. (2011). BUS520: Organizational behavior: 2011 custom edition (13th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Business, E. O. 2. E. Conflict management and negotiation (Reference for Business). Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Comp-De/Conflict-Management-and-Negotiation.html.
Career, M. T. E. S. F. A. E. Win-Win negotiation (Finding a Fair Compromise). Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/NegotiationSkills.htm.
Connely, J. (2009, April 1). Doctors are opting out of Medicare. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/business/retirementspecial/02health.html. Paul, A. T., MD, D. B., PHD, L. C. G., & MHA. (2000, March 1). Physician impact on the total cost of care. Annals of Surgery A Monthly Review of Surgical Science Since 1885.
Academy Integrity: If you present non-original thought that is not common knowledge, you must cite the reference. Failing to cite quotations and / or paraphrase sections is considered plagiarism. To avoid plagiarizing, please cite your references correctly. Credit sources directly quoted or paraphrased in your paper by providing in-text citations as well as a references page at the end of your paper.

In-text citations: The authors (or in their absence, the title of the work) appears first, followed by the year of publication.

System development life cycle (SDLC) is a module used to represent the ongoing process of developing (or purchasing) information system. The major phases of the cycle are planning, analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2009).

References
Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2009). Healthcare information systems: A practical approach for health care management (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

**A work with 3 to 5 authors, you need to list all of the authors and connect their last name with an ampersand & like this: (Magliano, Fiorillo, Malangone, Del Vecchio, & Mai, 2008). For the same reference, in the second and subsequent in-text citation, you can do like this: (Magliano et al., 2008).

Magliano, L., Fiorillo, A., Malangone, C., Del Vecchio, H., & Maj, M. (2008). Views of persons with schizophrenia on their own disorder: An Italian participatory Study. Psychiatric Services, 59(7), 795-9.
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Gillham (2000) commented that the power of triangulation is to confirm the researcher’s understanding of any one set of data.
Other researchers (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994) suggested that use of multiple measures of the same phenomenon with triangulation can eliminate the potential problems of construct validity.
****If you paraphrase the statement, you’re not required to cite the page number.
Direct Quotations. (Please see: Section 6.03-6.09, pages 170-173; APA Manual, 6th Edition).
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Or “…researcher have been slow to undertake empirical studies of stepfamily dynamics” (Ganong & Coleman, 2007, p. 6).
The principle of nonmaleficence is commonly known as “do no harm” (Ascension Health, 2009, para. 2).
Ascension Health. (2009). Key ethical principles. Retrieved January 2, 2010, from http://www.ascensionhealth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:principle-of-beneficence&Itemid=171
For quotations of more than 40 words, use block quotations. If referencing electronic media, cite the paragraph number (para.) or page number (p. or pp.). Start a block quotation on a new line and indent the block about a ½ inch from the left margin. Double-space the entire quotation. At the end of a block quotation, cite the quoted source and the page or paragraph number in parentheses. Do not use quotation marks to enclose a block quotation.

[Example]
One workers’ compensation insurance carrier in the Southwest provides the following statistics:
SFC Arizona has seen injury claims for all workers in all industries jump from 56,000 in 2005 to 65,000 in 2006 largely because of the population increase and jump in number of jobs where injuries are common, said spokesman Rick Degraw. (Graham & Dempsey, 2007, p. D3)

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Medline Plus®’s Website offers you anything you need to know on your own health (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/).
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Example of Textbook
Griffin, R.W., & Moorhead, G. (2007). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations (8th ed.). New York: Houghton Mifflin/ Cengage Learning.
Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2009). Healthcare information systems: A practical approach for health care management (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Book or pamphlet with no author identified.
The PDR family guide to natural medicines and healing therapies. (1999). New York, NY: Three Rivers-Random House.
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College Board. (2005). Trends in college pricing 2005. New York, NY: Author.
United States. Department of Homeland Security. (2004) Preparing for disaster for people with disabilities and other special needs. Washington, DC: FEMA.
Example of Journal Article
Head, T., Yaeger, T., & Sorensen, P. (2010). Global organization structural design: Speculation and a call for action. Organization Development Journal, 28(2), 41-49. Retrieved from Strayer ProQuest database.
Example of Electronic Retrieved Article
Fredrickson, B. L. (2007, March 8). Cultivating positive emotions to optimize health and well-being. Prevention & Treatment. Retrieved from http://journals.apa.org.html.
Borman, W. C. (2001). Role of supervisor. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 443- 449. Retrieved from Strayer ProQuest database.
OR
Gerry, R. (2010). Tempo training for freestyle. Journal of Swimming Technique, 34(1), 40-42. doi:10.1022/0202-9822.77.4.444
An article in an online newspaper
Ault, A. (2007, October 16). Uninsured? You’re not alone. The Washington Post on the Web. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/12/AR2007101201945.html
Covert, K. (2009, May 12). Women leaders good for business; Diversity isn’t only about gender; it’s about new ways of thinking. Times-Colonist. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/pqdweb?index=6&did=1715778691&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1258410032&clientId=2606
Computer Software Reference
Miller, M. E. (1993). The Interactive Tester (Version 4.0) [Computer software]. Westminter, CA: Psytek Services.
Document on a university or government site
Mcclintock, R. (2000, September 20). Cities, youth, and technology: Toward a pedagogy of autonomy. Retrieved from Columbia University, Institute for
Learning Technologies Web site: http://www.ilt,columbia.edu/publications/cites/cyt.html
An online government report
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2007). Management, business, and financial occupations. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/reprints/ocor002.pdf
An online report
Apostolidis, S., & Ferguson, R. (2008). Catalyst’s report to women in capital markets: Benchmarking 2008. Retrieved from http://www.wcm.ca/bindocs.aspx?id=10000251
Document on Web site, with author
If some Web document:
Lay, K., & Skilling, J. (2005). The importance of ethical decision making. Retrieved from www.texasheroes.com/enron.html.
American Diabetes Association. (n. d.). All about diabetes. . Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org./about-diabetes.jsp
For the in-text citation, you use (American Diabetes Association, n. d.)
American Heart Association. (n. d.). Transient ischemic attack. Retrieved from http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4781
Document on Web site, no author
For instance, you wish to use the information regarding motivation from http://www.allbusiness.com. The author of this document is not identified, start the reference with the title of the document.

Ten tips on improving employee motivation. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-employee- productivity/11136-1.html
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In-text citation: (“Ten Tips,” n.d.)
For instance, you wish to use the information regarding concepts of leadership from http://www.nwlink.com. The author of this document is not identified, start the reference with the title of the document. Concepts of leadership. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadcon.html
The reason I include the year as 2008 because I saw “Updated May 21, 2008” down to the bottom of the Webpage. Then you need to use an in-text citation: (Concepts of Leadership, 2008) in your paper.

Blogs and achieved discussion lists
Gracey, D. (2001, April 6). Monetary systems and a sound economy [Msg 54]. Message posted to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/email/message/54
Schwalm, D. (2005, February 15). Re: Value of an education, Message posted to WPA-L electronic mailing list, achieved at http://lists.asu.edu
Johnson, D. F. (2009, April 3). Problems accessing information [Online forum comment or electronic mailing list message or Web log message]. Retrieved from http://groups /google.com/group/sci.psyc.hyposis/

Online Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Protein. (2011). In Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrieved from http://www.search.eb.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/eb/article-9110575 In-text citation: (Protein, 2011)
Tavris, C. (n.d.). Queen bee syndrome. In Women’s studies encyclopedia (Fall 2007 ed.). Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/entries.readingtrends
In-text citation: (Tavris, n.d.)

Points: 280 | Assignment 4: Conflict Resolution at General Hospital | Criteria | UnacceptableBelow 70% F | Fair70-79% C | Proficient80-89% B | Exemplary90-100% A | 1. Discuss the conflictthat is occurring at General Hospital. Weight: 15%(42/42) | Did not submit orincompletely discussed the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital. | Partially discussedthe conflict that is occurring at General Hospital. | Satisfactorilydiscussed the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital. | Thoroughlydiscussed the conflict that is occurring at General Hospital. | 2. Discuss the conflictmanagement styles that are evident in the case. Weight: 15%(32/42) | Did not submit orincompletely discussed the conflict management styles that are evident in the case. | Partially discussedthe conflict management styles that are evident in the case. | Satisfactorilydiscussed the conflict management styles that are evident in the case. | Thoroughlydiscussed theconflict management styles that are evident in the case. | 3. Discuss how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive.Weight: 20%(56/56) | Did not submit orincompletely discussed how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive. | Partially discussedhow General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions neededto stay competitive. | Satisfactorilydiscussed how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive. | Thoroughlydiscussed how General Hospital could have used teams to address the cost reductions needed to stay competitive. | 4. Describe howHammer can use negotiation skills to get buy-in for the costreductions.Weight: 15%(42/42) | Did not submit orincompletely described how Hammer can usenegotiation skills toget buy-in for the cost reductions. | Partially describedhow Hammer can use negotiation skills to get buy-infor the costreductions. | Satisfactorilydescribed how Hammer can use negotiation skills toget buy-in for thecost reductions. | Thoroughlydescribed how Hammer can use negotiation skills toget buy-in for thecost reductions. | 5. Recommend a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Provide a rationale for the recommendation. Weight: 20%(40/56) | Did not submit orincompletely recommended a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Did not submit or incompletelyprovided a rationale for the recommendation. | Partiallyrecommended a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Partially provided a rationale for the recommendation. | Satisfactorilyrecommended a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem. Satisfactorily provided a rationale for the recommendation. | Thoroughlyrecommended a strategy for Hammer to resolve the problem.Thoroughly provided a rationale for the recommendation. | 6. 4 References Weight: 5%(14/14) | No references provided | Does not meet the required number ofreferences; some or all references poor quality choices. | Meets number of required references;all references high quality choices. | Exceeds number of required references;all references high quality choices. | 7. Clarity and writingmechanicsWeight: 10%(22/28) | More than 6 errorspresent | 5-6 errors present | 3-4 errors present | 0-2 errors present | (248) Nice job!