DELEGATION

- the transfer of responsibility for a task performance from one person to

another.
There are 8 Keys to Delegating:
-The 1st KEY to delegating is to hire for attitude and recruit the best.
-The 2nd KEY to becoming an effective delegator is to delegate as much as you can to as
many as you can.
-The 3RD KEY is Focus on relationship, understanding and love.
-The 4th key is Allow for human frailty, mistakes and errors.
-The 5th key is Use authority sparingly
-The 6th key is Acknowledge and affirm people
-The 7th key is Be visible.
-The 8th key is Make it fun
Reasons for Delegation:
1. So that managers can handle problems that are more complex
2. To allow someone who has expertise or knowledge on how to solve the problem
3. To provide learning or “stretching” opportunities for subordinates
Underdelegate
- manager’s false assumption that delegation maybe interpreted as lack of ability
on his or her part to do the job.
Overdelegation
- manager overburdens the subordinates
Improper Delegation
- delegating at the wrong time, to the wrong person, or wrong reason
FOUR STEPS OF EFFECTIVE DELEGATION:
1. Set clear goals and expectations. – people need to know what they are
striving for and whether or not they have met your expectations.
2. Give people the freedom to act. – delegate the authority to make decisions.
Resist the temptation to interfere. Overrule your people only when necessary.
3. Motivate and encourage – give plenty of credit, affirmation and incentives.
4. Remember that the buck stops with you. – even though you trust others to
make decisions and get the job done, you are still in charge. Stay on top of things,
get regular reports, and hold people accountable.
COMMUNICATION
- A complex exchange of thoughts, ideas or information on at least two levels:
verbal and nonverbal.
- A manager’s written communication reflects greatly on both the manager and the
organization. Thus, managers must be able to write clearly and professionally and use
understandable language.
- Non Verbal Communication must be examined in the context of the verbal content.
- Generally, if verbal and nonverbal messages are incongruent, the receiver will
believe the non verbal message.
- In all communication, there is at least one sender, one receiver, one message
and a mode or medium through which message is sent, verbal, nonverbal or written.
- The internal climate includes the values, feelings, temperament, and stress
levels -of sender and receiver.
- The external climate includes weather conditions, temperature, timing,
organization climate, status, power and authority.
 Sender
-Internal climate
-External climate

- The incongruence between verbal and non verbal message is the most significant barrier to
effective interpersonal communication.
- Effective leaders are congruent in their verbal and non verbal communication, so followers
are clear about the messages they receive. Likewise, leaders are sensitive to the non verbal
and verbal messages from followers and look for inconsistencies that may indicate
unresolved problems or needs.
- Active listening is an interpersonal communication skill that improves with practice.
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS used by the manager in the organization may be:
1. UPWARD – manager is a subordinate to a higher management. Needs and
wants are communicated upward to the next level in the hierarchy.
2. DOWNWARD – manager relays information to subordinates. This is a
traditional form ofcommunication in organizations and helps coordinate activities in
various levels of the hierarchy.
3. HORIZONTAL – managers interact with others in the same hierarchical level
as themselves who are managing different segments of the organization. It
increases as departmental independence increases. ( ex. Supervisor to another
supervisor)
4. DIAGONAL – manager interacts with personnel and managers of the other
departments and groups who are not of the same level of the organizational
hierarchy. (eg. Nurse to a doctor )
5. GRAPEVINE – most informal communication. It flows haphazardly between
people at all hierarchical levels and usually involves 3-4 people at a time. It is
subject to error and distortion because of the speed at which it passes and the
sender has little accountability for the message.
a) Elaborate on the original story but convey its original intent.
b) Distort the message either deliberately or unintentionally
c) Stat a contradictory message because they disagree with the original
message received
Modes of Communication
1. Written communication
- allow for documentation
- open to various interpretations an is time-consuming
2. Face-to-face communication
- done through oral communication but few people receive the information
- done in formal meetings.
3. Nonverbal communication
- includes facial expression, body movements, and gestures (body language)
- involves the emotional component of the message.
- More reliable than verbal communication
4. Telephone communication
- rapid and allow clarification of message at a given time
- there is no nonverbal message but is an important communication tool.
Telecommunication Technologies
- increase the potential for effective and efficient communication in the
organization:
1. E-mail
2. Faxes
 3. Teleconference
4. CD-Rom
Internet
- is increasingly being used by nurse-managers as both an information source
and communication tool.
- Provides access to e-mail, file transfer protocol and world wide web.
Confidentiality
- it is the duty of the nurses to maintain confidentiality revealed to them by
patients.
- this can be breached legally only when one provider must share information
about a patient so that another provider can assume care.
MANAGING CONFLICT
Conflict – the internal or external discord that results from differences in ideas, values, or
feelings between two or more persons.
Categories of Conflict:
1. Intrapersonal conflict - occurs within the person.
- Involves an internal struggle to clarify contradictory values or wants.
2. Interpersonal conflict
- happens between two or more people with differing values, goals, and beliefs.
- maybe experienced in the downward, upward, horizontal, or diagonal communication.
3. Intergroup conflicts
- Occurs between two or more groups of people, departments or organizations

Five Stages in Conflict Process

1. Latent conflict
- Implies the existence of antecedent conditions, such as short staffing and rapid
change, although no conflict has occurred.
2. Perceived conflict
- or substantive conflict
- is intellectualized and often involves issues and roles
3. Felt conflict or affective conflict
- when conflict is emotionalized
- Include hostility, fear, mistrust, anger
4. Manifest conflict
- or overt conflict
- action is taken to withdraw, compete, debate, or seek conflict resolution.
5. Conflict Aftermath
- maybe positive or negative:
- Positive if there is fair hearing.
- Negative if poorly managed and later cause more conflict
Conflict Management
Approaches to Conflict Management:
1. Compromising
- each party gives up something it wants
2. Competing
- one party pursues what it wants at the expense of others.
3. Cooperating
- opposite of competing.
- One party sacrifices his or her beliefs and wants to allow the other party to win.
4. Smoothing
- One person “smoothes” others involved in the conflict in an effort to reduce the
emotional component of the conflict.
 - used by manager to get someone to accommodate or cooperate with another
party
5. Avoiding
- Both parties choose not to acknowledge or attempt to resolve conflict.
6. Collaborating
- Is an assertive and cooperative means of conflict resolution that results in a
win-win solution.
- All parties set aside their original goals and work together to establish priority
common goal
Six Common Causes of Unit Conflict:
1. Poor communication
2. Lack of clear jurisdiction
3. Incompatibilities or disagreements based on temperament or attitudes
4. Individual or group conflicts of interest
5. Operational staffing changes
UNIONIZATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Collective Bargaining
- are activities occurring between organized labor and management that concern
employee relations.
People are motivated to join or reject unions as a result of many needs and
values:
1. increase the power of the individual
2. to communicate their aims, feelings, complaints and ideas to others
3. to eliminate discrimination and favoritism
4. social need to be accepted
5. union contract dictates that all employees belong to the union
Reasons why Nurses Reject union:
1. Distrust unions
2. Need to demonstrate that they can get ahead in their own merits.
3. Belief that unions are for blue collar jobs and not for professors, doctors, nurses, etc.
4. Values more closely behind management than with workers
5. Fears of employer’s reprisal
- The middle-level manager has the greatest influence on preventing
unionization in a nonunion organization.
- Functions
1. Know and care about your employees
2. Establish fair and well-communicated personnel policies
3. Use an effective upward and downward system of communication
4. Ensure that all managers are well trained and effective
5. Establish a well-developed formal procedure for handling employee grievances
6. Have a competitive compensation program of wages and benefits
7. Have an effective performance appraisal system in place.
8. Use a fair and well-communicated system for promotions and transfers
9. Use organizational actions to indicate that job security is based on job performance,
adherence to rules and regulations and availability to work.
10. Have an administrative policy on unionization
- Managers have a very important role in establishing and maintaining effective
management-labor management
- It is possible to create a climate in which labor and management can work
together to accomplish mutual goals.
- Labor Relation Laws relate to the rights and duties of unions and employers in
their relationship with each other.
 - Labor Standards are regulations dealing with the conditions of the employee’s
work, including physical conditions, financial aspects and the number of hours
work.
- The middle-level manager is in good position to detect health hazards in the
workplace.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Collective Bargaining
Advantages Disadvantages
Equalization of power Adversary relationship
Viable grievances Strikes may not be prevented
Equitable distribution of work Leadership maybe difficult to obtain
Professionalism promoted Unprofessional behavior
Nurses control practice Interference with management

Types Of Strikes:
1. Economic Strikes
- Employees attempt to get their employer to meet their demands by
withdrawing their services. An employee cannot be fired for participating in an
economic strike but can be replaced.
2. Unfair Labor Strike
- Results from an unfair labor practice by an employer or a union.
3. Sympathy Strike
- Employees of one employer strike in support of another. Workers can refuse to cross
picket lines.
4 Jurisdictional Strikes
- There is work stoppage over the assignment of work or more unions.
Employees may strike because the employer assigned a particular job to another
union.
5. Illegal Strikes
- Comprises violent strikes, boycott, or secondary strikes, and wildcat, or surprise
strikes that are not authorized by the union.