Conflict management styles used by nurses in Jordan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the conflict management styles used by nurse managers in Jordan. There are five main styles which nurse managers use to deal with conflict. At present research into their utilisation is dominated by reports from Western countries. This research is the second to investigate their use by nurses in an Arab country and it illustrates both similarities and differences with this earlier work, allowing an initial profile to be constructed which may be applicable to the larger Arab world of health care. Cross sectional quantitative survey of nurse managers in Jordan. The Rahim Organisation Conflict Inventory (ROCI II) questionnaire was completed by 350 (83% response).The nurse managers were most likely to use an integrating style of conflict management, followed in rank order by comprising, obliging, dominating and avoiding. A tentative model of the styles which nurse managers in Arab countries use to manage conflict is proposed, which suggests that these managers are likely to provide stable workplaces.