Brian M Harmer | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

At cross-purposes: head-to-head professionalism in not-for-profit pastoral organizations.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the paper is to explore the nature and causes of observed tensions among healthcare professionals in not-for-profit organizations such as hospices. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: In the paper the narratives collected from discipline leaders in each of five New Zealand hospices are thematically analysed in order to identify consistent and recurring sources of conflict both within and between disciplinary groups. FINDINGS: The paper finds that motivational differences, poor conflict management, interdisciplinary tensions, divergent attitudes towards volunteerism, strategic planning processes, and poor consultation are identified as some of the starting-points for tensions in the participating hospices. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The research in this paper is based in New Zealand and uses qualitative methods not intended to produce generalizable results. Nevertheless it was conducted in hospices typical of the Western developed countries and identifies focal points and potential avenues for further exploration. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The paper shows that researchers and managers involved in not-for-profit healthcare organization may find the identified issues useful as starting-points for actions to minimise the tensions between and within groups. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper explores aspects of a rarely discussed issue, and suggests opportunities for more research in this field.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Do not go gentle: intractable value differences in hospices.

As hospices have evolved and grown, from small community-based cottage institutions to larger and more complex healthcare providers, they have begun to acquire staff with characteristics that are significantly different from those of their founding members. Because the timeline of the modern hospice movement is so short, many still have founding members at work, and institutions find themselves employing people with diverse aspirations and motivations. Such value differences would normally be a sufficient basis for conflict in most organizations. In the particular context of hospices, and perhaps other healthcare institutions, such conflict often goes underground, as each protagonist tries to live up to its image of what is appropriate. This narrative research, based in five New Zealand hospices, explores the problem of hidden but unresolved tensions and suggests some possible avenues for management involvement.

Conflict, Psychological↗