NURSING LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT NCLEX PRACTICE QUIZ #2 (40 QUESTIONS)

Nursing Leadership & Management NCLEX Practice Quiz #2 (40 Questions) Question-02-001 Katherine is a young Unit Manager of the Pediatric Ward. Most of her staff nurses are senior to her, very articulate, confident, and sometimes aggressive. Katherine feels uncomfortable believing that she is the scapegoat of everything that goes wrong in her department. Which of the following is the best action that she must take? A. Identify the source of the conflict and understand the points of friction. B. Disregard what she feels and continues to work independently. C. Seek help from the Director of Nursing. D. Quit her job and look for another employment. Correct Answer: A. Identify the source of the conflict and understand the points of friction This involves a problem-solving approach, which addresses the root cause of the problem. Seek to understand the underlying emotions of the employees in conflict. Employers can manage workplace conflict by creating an organizational culture designed to preclude conflict as much as possible and by dealing promptly and equitably with conflicts that employees cannot resolve among themselves. Option B: Do not ignore conflict, and do not avoid taking steps to prevent it. Unresolved issues of interpersonal tension and conflict can create emotional stress for employees, politicize the workplace and divert attention from the organization’s mission. Option C: Before escalating the conflict to the Director of Nursing, the unit manager should first try to de escalate the problem. If a manager has mechanisms in place to resolve conflict at its early stages, employees will generally see their employer as fair in their dealings with them and will likely be more satisfied with their jobs. Option D: If the manager does not act, conflicts will escalate into larger problems, discrimination and harassment complaints may increase, and the employer’s reputation could be damaged. When employees mistrust management or perceive the organization as acting unfairly, turnover may increase. This can lead to recruiting and training expenses for new hires and the costs attributable to slippage of performance until new employees become fully proficient in their jobs. Question-02-002 As a young manager, she knows that conflict occurs in any organization. Which of the following statements regarding conflict is not true? A. Can be destructive if the level is too high. B. Is not beneficial; hence it should be prevented at all times. C. May result in poor performance. D. May create leaders. Correct Answer: B. Is not beneficial; hence it should be prevented at all times. Conflicts are beneficial because it surfaces out issues in the open and can be solved right away. Likewise, members of the team become more conscientious with their work when they are aware that other members of the team are watching them. What conflicts do is that they encourage debate and competition which is good for almost any environment. Also, it improves team culture and allows people to learn more. Option A: The most obvious disadvantage of conflict is the toll on emotions. When employees feel they are being bullied, taken advantage of, or facing favoritism, they may begin looking for another job or performing poorly. Conflicts between departments can disrupt production, and result in lost business or customers. Option C: Unscheduled absences drive up employers’ costs through benefits outlays, the use of replacement workers, higher stress levels among employees, and a decrease in overall employee performance. Option D: With more workplace conflicts, the team may accomplish its goals in no time. This does sound surprising to most of us but it is very true. Conflicts are a vital part of work culture and they nourish the minds in several ways. Question-02-003 Katherine tells one of the staff, “I don’t have time to discuss the matter with you now. See me in my office later” when the latter asks if they can talk about an issue. Which of the following conflict resolution strategies did she use? A. Smoothing B. Compromise C. Avoidance D. Restriction Correct Answer: C. Avoidance