Depending on the Angle: Perspectives on Conflict and Workplace Climate

Abstract

This study closely examines the relationship between perspectives on conflict and workplace climate to create a model for forecasting the likelihood of successful organizational change. That change, in this case, is the implementation of new technology - electronic medical records (EMRs) - in nursing homes. A case study of ten nursing homes (on average 255 beds) in the New York City area is used to identify different workplace issues and managerial approaches to dealing with conflict. The research question examined is how organizations with the same types of conflict can experience vastly different workplace climates. The preliminary findings indicate that different perspectives, not merely types, of conflict were what shaped either a positive or negative workplace climate. Three managerial approaches to dealing with conflict are identified, and workplace climate is illustrated in feedback from personal interviews with both managers and front-line staff at eight of the ten homes. Scholarship would benefit from additional research that tests the proposed model.