Zaid Al Hamdan
Nurse managers work in environments in which conflict frequently arises and can be difficult to resolve. This study explored how diverse backgrounds among nurse managers influenced their conflict management styles. A total of 321 nurse managers, working in referral hospitals in the Sultanate of Oman, were surveyed using an adapted version of the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory II (ROCI-II) scale, and a response rate of 271 (86%) was obtained. Data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical package. The one-sample Kolmogorov– Smirnov test was used to determine the conflict management styles used by nurse managers. A nonparametric Spearman’s rho test was used to determine whether there was any relationship between age and number of years of experience and conflict management style. The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare male and female managers with regard to conflict management styles. The findings indicated that conflict management styles varied according to the nationality, gender, age, marital status and number of years of experience of the nurse managers. In addition, the grade and education level of nurse managers played a role in conflict management. These findings have implications for policy makers and nurse managers in helping them to understand the effect of diverse nursing backgrounds on conflict management, and the need to develop new approaches with regard to conflict management styles.
