Conflict management styles of nurse managers and influencing factors in children’s hospital, Vietnam

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aimed to describe the conflict management styles and identify factors affecting the conflict management styles of nurse managers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing nurse managers with a questionnaire, including the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II Form B, used to assess an individual’s approach to conflict management across five styles: cooperating, competing, compromising, obliging, and avoiding. Results: A total of 30 nurse managers participated in this study. The mean scores of the cooperating style were the highest at 4.3 ± 0.4, followed by a compromising style at 3.4 ± 0.5, an avoiding style at 3.1 ± 0.6, an accommodating style at 2.9 ± 0.7, and a competing style at 2.8 ± 0.8 (χ2 = 66.624, P < 0.001). The mean scores for avoiding style among bachelor’s degree nurse managers (3.2 ± 0.6) were higher than those of master’s degree nurse managers (2.7 ± 0.6) (P = 0.036). Nurse managers over 40 years old, holding a managerial position for ≥10 years, and frequent conflict handling rated higher mean scores for the cooperating style than their counterparts (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The cooperating style was the most commonly used conflict management style among nurse managers. Factors affecting the conflict management style were age, education level, and experience in management and conflict handling. These findings are useful for developing interventions that enhance the competencies of nurse managers in conflict management.