a group experiences with another group. For ex- ample, the pharmacy department and the nursing department in a hospital disagree about the best time of day to perform cart exchange. Interorga- nizational conflict is the struggle an organization experiences with another organization2. For ex- ample, a chain of retail pharmacies disagree with the city transit company over the removal of bus stops near several pharmacy locations. These types of conflict can arise just as quickly as intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict but they typically take a longer amount of time to resolve. Resolution of conflict brings physical and emotion- al relief. Physiological responses like the sweaty palms and fear return to baseline. Resolving con- flict also brings workflow relief. Gaps in communi- cation or flaws in processes have been revealed and addressed allowing operations to return to normal. Resolution and relief can be achieved more quickly in intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict because there are fewer people involved. The larger num- ber of people involved in intergroup and interorga- nizational conflict lead to more possibility of “us- against-them” thinking, ingrained attitudes and
less likelihood of compromise making these types of conflict harder to resolve. Intergroup and interorganizational conflicts place a significant and often unacknowledged strain on pharmacy teams. In these types of conflicts, phar- macy staff can feel compelled to support their group or organization but powerless to make an impact in the situation. This impasse creates pro- longed and/or recurring experiences of the “fight or flight” response. Even though the conflicts between groups and organizations seem insurmountable, there are several strategies that individuals can employ to manage any conflict: competing, accommodating, avoiding, compromising, and collaborating. While all strategies have effective applications, some strategies provide greater satisfaction in a broader range of scenarios. To learn about these management strategies, let’s return to the scenario of the brand-new pharma- cy technician experiencing intrapersonal conflict while waiting for the final check to be completed.
Competing, accommodating, and avoiding provide the least satisfaction in the narrowest range of scenarios.
Competing : One of the parties in the conflict uses power or authority to resolve the conflict to their own satisfaction with no regard for the satis- faction of the other party. To resolve the conflict of waiting, the brand- new pharmacy technician puts pressure on the pharmacist to finish quickly, using their physi- cal power (standing close, staring at the phar- macist, sighing loudly) to apply pressure. Accommodating : One of the parties in the con- flict shows no regard for themselves and resolves the conflict to the satisfaction of the other party. To resolve the conflict of waiting, the brand- new pharmacy technician hides their feelings from the pharmacist to make sure they can complete the final check with no disturbance. Avoiding : One or both of the parties in the con- flict ignore the conflict as if it does not exist. To resolve the conflict pressure of waiting, the brand-new pharmacy technician decides to fo- cus on another work task, pretending the final check is not their work but someone else’s.
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