Academic literature on the topic 'Organisational-professional conflict'

Organisational management characteristics occur with varying rates across industries and organisations within industries. While professional organisations tend to have fewer undesirable management characteristics than non-professional organisations, little work has been done to assess whether healthcare, with its unique legal structure that can put hospital administration at odds with physician autonomy, is an exception among professional organisations. In this study, rates of positive as well as undesirable management practices were estimated from publicly available ethnography data and compared to data from non-healthcare professional settings. A structured literature review was conducted to validate the ethnography data and further explore possible mechanisms. The main finding is that healthcare professionals do have greater group conflict with administration than other professionals and that healthcare settings exhibit greater instances of unwritten rules than other professional organisations. Overall, our results suggest that common management practices in other professional settings may not fully apply to healthcare. The potential for group conflict between physicians and administration is higher than other autonomous professional fields. Healthcare administration may benefit from examining practices in non-professional settings for beneficial ideas in management innovation.

In contemporary research on organisational effectiveness, the concept of culture is gaining ground. Not only organisational and/or national culture is considered, but also the whole range of local subcultures: professional, personal, age, etc., which also need to be analysed and taken into account. This circumstance affects the micro- and macro-level functioning of the organisation in the cultural code. The article studies the phenomenology of conflict from the perspective of an organisation’s conflictological profile, which is a reflection of its cultural identity. A typological cross-section of the conflict, its operational, strategic and symbolic types has been revealed. They have individual characteristics and have an impact on the functioning of the organisation, shaping its unique conflictological profile.

The author introduces a psychological game named TAMED – the TA Myth of Explanatory Depth, which she suggests provides an explanation of unhealthy dynamics occurring within transactional analysis membership and professional associations. She illustrates this with four case examples based on personal experiences. She also provides an overview of TA theory about psychological games, the bystander role, the various roles within the drama triangle and extensions of it, and the potency pyramid. She provides a selection of materials by TA and non-TA authors to support the premise that such games are more to do with organisational and group processes than the script of the individual who is seen as the cause of the conflict. The article concludes with some initial thoughts about how TA organisational diagrams need amending to reflect the structure and dynamics of professional associations.

Major restructuring of health care services has meant changes in service delivery, organisational structures and work practices. There has been a significant impact on the roles and responsibilities required of health care professionals in the current health care environment. The literature reveals that this often brings about conflict between professional values and organisational values. Although many of the current changes in health care are compatible with the philosophy of occupational therapy, there are policy and organisational factors that have an impact on occupational therapy practice and service delivery. In this article, the emerging characteristics of the contemporary health care environment are identified and the strengths and weaknesses of the profession in adapting to this environment are discussed. It is argued that the survival and growth of the profession are dependent on the extent to which it is able to capitalise on strengths, overcome weaknesses, articulate its overall purpose and function and redefine its role and scope of practice in order to meet changed societal and organisational demands.

Abstract The purpose of the current study was to examine the frequency of ethical conflicts amongst social workers, deriving from dual obligations to clients and employers, as associated with their organisational affiliation and professional seniority. The sample included 723 social workers from three organisational sectors in Israel: the government sector, the third sector and the for-profit sector. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the main and interaction effects of organisational affiliation and seniority on the frequency of ethical conflicts amongst social workers. Social workers in the for-profit and third sectors experienced a significantly higher frequency of ethical conflicts than those in the government sector. In addition, social workers with moderate seniority were found to experience ethical conflicts more frequently than those with low and high seniority. These findings have an important contribution to the ongoing public debate on the privatisation of social services, by pointing to the difficulties encountered by social workers employed in partially privatised social services in meeting their obligations to clients. Better public monitoring and adequate supervision of social workers are recommended. In addition, it is suggested that partial privatisation processes be reconsidered in the case of vulnerable populations.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to communicate the findings of an empirical research project based on a real world problem that involved the development of a continuous professional development (CPD) framework for a children’s integrated service workforce. In addition, to give attention to the notion that children’s integrated services have not necessarily been viewed from the perspective of conflict management and that this has meant ensuing conflicts that characterise such organisations are more often than not ignored. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach involving a mixed methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews for senior managers and service leads; a quantitative survey for frontline practitioners and focus groups for service users, carers and children. Findings Rather than the service being fully integrated, services were aligned, and this was reflected in the conflict between professional cultures, reinforcing an “us and them” culture. This culture had seemingly permeated all aspects of the organisation including the senior management team. It was also noted that certain systems and processes, as well as bureaucracy, within the service were seen as hindering integrated working and was in effect a catalyst for conflict. Research limitations/implications What has become evident during the course of this empirical study is the need to further explore the functioning of children’s integrated services using conflict management theories, tools and techniques so as to understand how best to manage conflict to an optimum where an environment of creativity and productiveness is created. Practical implications Therefore, when devising a CPD framework it can be argued that there is a need to address some of the types of conflict at the micro-frontline practitioner level of the organisation, as it is this level where there is opportunity through a variety of mechanisms, for example formal and non-formal learning, ring-fenced time, attendance at conferences, team away days and shadowing opportunities can be used to achieve a greater understanding of professional roles, improve working relationships and engage in the division of tasks in a fashion that will promote collaborative working. Social implications The extent to which a children’s integrated service can be the harbinger of a range of multi-faceted conflicts that include the jarring of professional cultures, task conflict, inter-personal incompatibilities and competing value bases cannot be underestimated. Therefore, when devising a CPD framework it can be argued that there is a need to address some of the types of conflict at the micro-frontline practitioner level of the organisation. Originality/value Through the application of conflict management theory it will be illustrated how conflict could be used to effectively steer children integrated services towards creativity and productivity through an organisational wide framework that not only embraces dissonance, but also promotes a learning environment that takes advantage of such dissonance to incorporate a hybrid of professional practice and expertise.

Johanna Woodcock Ross and Charlotte Crow explore the professional identity and practice strategies of the new role of private fostering social worker. A case study approach is used to reflect on the practice required to support private fostering. The perceived role of the private fostering social worker and the practice strategies adopted are affected by confusion and stereotypes about what constitutes private fostering and which children can be considered as privately fostered. Significantly, in addition to professional practice, private fostering social work has to cope with critical attitudes and negative cultural stereotypes among professional colleagues, many of which are reinforced by social and political arguments, media and organisational scrutiny, and resulting low staff morale. The core practice strategies of the private fostering social worker involve working against oppressive labelling, communication and engagement with ‘sofasurfing’ teenagers and developing skills for working with conflict. While it is relatively easy to understand the confusion, conflict and cultural stereotyping as representing defence mechanisms to ‘taking in’ the pain and complexity of the situations of these young people and their carers, the impact upon the professional identity of the social workers involved exacerbates feelings of being maligned, isolated and undervalued.

This pilot study of child protection case conferences in a region of Melbourne highlights the dynamics of inter-organisational and inter–professional interaction. Data from direct observation of a small number of case conferences and focussed interviews with participants before and after each case conference, in addition to an interviewer administered questionnaire with professionals from agencies regularly participating in case conferences was analysed using manual and computerised methods. The findings relate to: parental attendance; interagency and interprofessional dynamics: case assessment focus; and worker anxiety about conflict. The management of conflict, the tension between the different purposes of case conferences, and the importance of the quality of leadership in case conferences, are discussed.

The behaviour of employees is increasingly being recognised as the critical factor in achievement of organisational effectiveness. Therefore, the need to address inefficiencies that are derived from the organisation-employee relationship is being recognised as important to organisational success. For many years the concept of organisational commitment provided the means to develop theory in relation to organisation-employee relationships. More recently, however, other types of workrelated commitments have been identified as having importance to the organisationemployee relationship. In the contemporary political-economic context, professionals are increasingly becoming employees of organisations which operate according to market or quasi-market principles. There are some fundamental differences between professional occupations and non-professional occupations. These differences may have consequences for the relationship between professional employees and their employing organisation. The differences may also have consequences for other workrelated outcomes for professional employees in ways that are different from the work-related outcomes of non-professional employees. Importantly, for professional employees commitment to the profession is developed during the pre-workplace entry educational experiences and may have consequences for the retention of professional employees within organisations, as well as retention within the profession. Therefore, the commitment of professional employees to their occupation may be both an antecedent to and a consequence of other work-related outcomes. However, to date, professional commitment has not been studied from a developmental perspective and the effect of workplace exposure on professional commitment is not understood. This thesis reports the findings of a study in which a theoretical model of the relationship between professional commitment prior to workplace entry and professional turnover intention was evaluated using path analysis. The relationships included in the model were between commitment to the profession as both an antecedent to, and a consequence of organisational-professional conflict, job satisfaction and organisational commitment, as well as the relationship that each of these variables may have to organisational turnover intention and professional turnover intention. A repeated measures design was used with a sample of nursing professionals. Professional commitment before entry to the workplace was measured, and after a period of workplace exposure, professional commitment was again measured, as well as the other work-related outcomes identified in the model. The Blau (2003) occupational commitment measure was used to measure the pre-and-post workplace entry levels of professional commitment. The thesis also examined the factor structure of the Blau (2003) occupational commitment measure. The results of the model evaluation indicated that it is a plausible model of the identified relationships. Examination of the factor structure of the Blau (2003) occupational commitment measure indicated that it is best represented by five rather than four components. This research found that professional commitment was quite stable in the initial period of workplace exposure. The research findings also indicated that the relationship between professional commitment and organisational commitment was mediated by job satisfaction and that organisational-professional conflict and job satisfaction were directly related to organisational commitment. The research found that job satisfaction and professional commitment after a period of workplace exposure were related to organisational turnover intention, but that organisational commitment was not. The final major research finding was that organisational turnover intention was the only workplace variable in the model that was directly related to professional turnover intention. This research has contributed to the organisational behaviour literature through the development and initial evaluation of a model of the relationship between professional commitment prior to workplace entry and professional turnover intention. The results of the model suggested that when organisations provide professional employees with workplace experiences that are professionally, as well as personally satisfying, they promote retention of professional employees with their own organisation, as well as retention of professionals within the profession. This research recommends that for organisations that employ professionals, the model of the organisation-professional employee relationship that is likely to promote the retention of professional employees both within the organisation and within the profession, is a partnership model. Conflict resolution principles are recommended to inform the partnership model of the organisation-professional employee relationship. In addition, the empowering leadership style is recommended for organisations that employ professionals, because it is better matched to the employment mode and characteristics of professional employees.

Examines the "findings of a study in which a theoretical model of the relationship between professional commitment prior to workplace entry and professional turnover intention was evaluated using path analysis"--Abstract.

This chapter investigates the tension between bureaucratic expertise and situated knowledge in the context of social innovation. It addresses the frictions that emerge internally in public organisations when they attempt to respond to local demands of social innovation, citizen's engagement, and democratic participation. The chapter's contribution to a critique of contemporary technocratic urban management and planning lies in identifying the key axes of internal conflict between public professional expertise and the situated knowledge in urban neighbourhoods. It particularly looks at the actions of ‘boundary spanners’, and their narratives, to examine the role of a new professional profile within public organisations. Boundary spanners work across organisational boundaries, developing a specific expertise which is instituted to connect the internal working of bureaucracies with the external demands and needs of actors in particular urban areas.

This chapter analyses the organisational and operational requirements for crowdfunding service providers (CSPs) under the Crowdfunding Regulation. These requirements are in follow up to the authorisation requirements that the CSPs have to meet in order to obtain market access. CSPs should comply with certain requirements designed to ensure that projects on their platforms are selected in a professional, fair, and transparent way, and that crowdfunding services are provided in the same manner. The chapter then discusses the governance arrangements that CSPs should have in place to ensure their effective and prudent management, including the prevention of conflicts of interest. It also assesses the prudential requirements that are applicable in order to protect clients against operational risks and the rules in respect of outsourcing.