Study of Conflict Management Styles in Tehran University Affiliated Hospitals Print

Conflicts in hospitals, in addition to reducing Employee’s productivity and satisfaction, and also increasing hospital’s costs, has a negative effect on the treatment process. Therefore, acquiring necessary knowledge and skills for conflict management are essential for hospital managers. The present study aimed to investigate the conflict management strategies used by managers of hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).
This is a descriptive – analytic study conducted as a cross-sectional one in 2015. The sample consisted of 563 managers of three levels of management including senior, middle, and executive managers in hospitals affiliated with TUMS. Using a high valid and reliable self-made questionnaire based on Thomas and Kilman’s model, the data was collected. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software 19, and using descriptive (Mean, Standard Deviation, Frequency and Percentage) and inferential statistics (Regression, Spearman and ANOVA).
The results show that collaborating style was the dominant style used by hospital managers. Compromising and accommodating styles were the next management strategies in order. There were significant statistical relationship between management style and management level (P=0.038), age (P=0.016), manager’s work experience (P=0.019), management experience (P= 0.021) and conflict management training courses (P=0.001).
The nature of healthcare organizations requires that managers use collaborating, compromising and accommodating styles in order to interact with various stakeholders. Holding suitable training course in the field of conflict management has a significant role in reducing devastate effects of conflict in the hospitals.