NEGOTIATION AS A CONFLICT MANAGEMENT TOOL AND EMPLOYEES' COMMITMENT AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

1 2 3 Akanbi LanreKamoru, Kadiri Ismaila Bolarinwa Ph.D., Ajeigbe Mahmud Babatunde

Abstract

The primary responsibility of health care workers is to collectively see to the well-being of the
patients, although there have been increased agitations by other medical professionals contesting
this practice in recent time. This situation has led to interdisciplinary conflicts among the health care
professionals. This study seeks to examine the impact of negotiation on employees' commitment
among healthcare professionals. Data was collected through structured interviews of eight
executives purposively selected from labour unions within the establishment. Thematic analysis was
carried out using Nvivo 12 software and four sub themes emerged: team spirit, job security, salary
relativity and headship. The study found that all the themes have a positive relationship with
employees' commitment. Thus, well-structured conflict management strategies will lead to
increased employees' commitment. Managers must have the ability to understand negotiation skills
and to deploy appropriate negotiation styles to extract the commitment of workers towards
increased performance. The study therefore recommends that the government should take the issue
of signed agreements during negotiation very seriously in order to extract the commitment of
employees, while management of healthcare institutions should get themselves acquainted with the
dynamics involved in negotiation.