Part 2, Conflict management. Managing low-to-mid intensity conflict in the health care setting

Abstract

Physician executives face low to mid-level intensity conflicts, day-to-day issues and problems associated with pressures and changes in the health care environment. Such conflicts can be sorted on the basis of relationship, duration, and intensity. The authors apply the five major modes of conflict management--competition, avoidance, compromise, accommodation, and collaboration--to specific scenarios taken from their work in health care and suggest guidelines for managing conflicts with peers, supervisees, and authority figures. Thorough preparation and a portfolio of skills build flexibility through the conflict management process. In part 1 of this article series, the authors presented the conflict management checklist, a diagnostic tool for assessing conflict in organizations.