Date of Award

Fall 12-2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Communication

Committee Chair

Dr. Steven James Venette

Committee Chair School

Communication

Committee Member 2

Dr. Eura Jung

Committee Member 2 School

Communication

Committee Member 3

Dr. John Meyer

Committee Member 3 School

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Dr. Kyna Shelley

Committee Member 4 School

Communication

Committee Member 5

Dr. L. Paul Strait

Abstract

In the present study, participants described their conflict management strategies. After obtaining the participants form nursing associations, qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted. The twenty-seven individuals responded to questions relating to the communication strategies they used in a conflict, the factors which affected their approaches to conflict management, the types of Emotional labor (EL) they performed, how deception could be correlated with EL and whether EL contributed to conflict between nurses. After analyzing and transcribing the data, the qualitative software program NVivo was utilized to discover themes and subthemes.

The results indicated that nurses adhered to the Code of conduct’s mandate of professional behavior when engaging in conflict which involved nonreactive, non-accusatory language as well as assertive communication. The codes of conduct and ethics, training, and Cultural sensitivity and training were the main factors affecting conflict management. Second, nurses performed EL by suppressing their actual emotions outwardly by maintaining poker faces while experiencing inner turmoil within themselves and restraining from voicing their frustrations opting for sweet pleasantries instead. Additionally, EL did not contribute to conflict between nurses instead it was implemented to maintain relationships and teamwork. Finally, there was no correlation between EL and deception due to the altruistic motives of performing EL. Lastly future research suggestions were provided suggesting that formal conflict management training would prove beneficial in nurses’ performance.

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