Introduction
Decision-making in any working environment can positively or negatively affect the working relationship between the management and its employees. Conflicts arising from work setups test the ability to apply a suitable dispute resolution mechanism and the suitability of a decision that has been made to try to solve the conflict. Consequently, employers ought to make decisions that are beneficial to the organization and employees. Organizational decision-making should be guided by principles that benefit all stakeholders.
Case 4 Who Staffs the Hospital
Decision Ramification and Impact on Hospital’s Bargaining Power
The Director of Nursing has the power to make decisions where a conflict arises between the hospital management, member of staff, and a trade union. Standard practice procedures require institution heads to first solve a dispute before other avenues can be explored (Robbins & Judge, 2019). A good decision will create clarity on the power to assign duties to nurses and whether nurses are under obligations to respect directives from the hospital. Additionally, the decision will determine whether a nurse can be transferred from an area of specialization to another area to respond to urgent situations. A decision against the union will drastically affect the upcoming contract negotiations, while a decision in favor of the union would give nurses the power to overturn management decisions. Consequently, the hospital management will be rendered powerless, with no bargaining power against its’ workers and the union.
Arbitration Approach
Arbitration provides an avenue for an aggrieved party to appeal a decision reached by the management if it is unfair or unjust to another party. A decision made by an arbitrator binds all parties to the dispute and overturns all initial decisions (Amsler et al., 2020). Making a decision on whether the hospital management should have a right to assign nurses to new departments would be in the affirmative. Such a decision is informed by the urgent needs of a patient, a supervisor’s opinion on the competence of a nurse, and as a last resort measure when the hospital is understaffed in a certain department (Robbins, & Judge, 2019). Such a decision can only be deemed as a necessary evil that has to be done and does not mean that the management will always transfer nurses at its convenience.
Whether or not this decision will be appealed to an arbitrator does not change the rationale behind it. Reversing this decision will create a binding precedent that will forever leave the hospitals’ hands tied when it comes to flexibility in addressing patient needs and understaffed departments. Moreover, it will give the union and its members the power to overturn any decision made by the management that they are not in agreement with. The ripple effect of this is that it places the management at the behest and control of the nurses. Therefore, the appeal decision must consider both parties’ interests and strike a reasonable balance between the two.
Conclusion
Effective decision-making is crucial when handling work-related disputes. The hospital management is in conflict with its nurses and is unsure of whether it has a right to assign new duties to other staff members and whether the re-assigned staff will agree to it. What is more, the decision made should consider the views of the nurses, the trade union and what the hospital management wants. Effective decision-making, therefore, would mean finding a balance between the three competing sides. A decision can be first arrived at through negotiation, but if that fails, a more authoritative and binding decision from arbitration will ensue.
References
Amsler, L. B., Martinez, J., & Smith, S. E. (2020). Dispute system design: preventing, managing, and resolving conflict. Stanford University Press.
Robbins, S. & Judge, T. (2019). Chapter 7: Who staffs the hospitals? In Organizational Behavior (18th ed.). Pearson.