Raymond was one of the two male nurses working in an ICU in aninner-city hospital. The nurse manager always put him in charge ofthe ICU whenever he worked his twelve-hour shift. When Raymond wasin charge, problems were handled quickly and without drama. Hisefficient demeanor during a code comforted families, staff nurses,and even the medical interns and residents. Attending physiciansrequested that Raymond care for their sickest patients as well astheir family members. In addition, letters were often written tothe hospital about his outstanding care and his attention todetails. His exceptional customer service and outstanding patientcare made Nordstrom’s customer service department look bad!
However, if there was a question that needed an answer, Raymondknew it and wasn’t shy about letting everyone else around him knowit too. His self-assured behavior came across as overconfident andconceited. It didn’t help him win any popularity contests as he wasthe only master’s-prepared nurse on the unit; most of the nursesdidn’t even have their bachelor’s degree. He tried to fit in withthe other nurses by joking with them or giving the best assignmentsto the most popular nurses. Raymond didn’t realize it, but thenurses in the most popular group were always putting him down andcriticizing him behind his back. During morning rounds withphysicians, the other nurses would challenge Raymond and try toembarrass him or roll their eyes whenever he spoke.
Raymond wanted to join the “in gang” and so started to sharesome personal information with the other nurses about hisdeteriorating relationship with his wife. She was unable to workdue to a chronic medical condition and was becoming increasinglyneedy with repeated hospitalizations. The other nurses ralliedaround him pretending to offer support when they were actuallyscheming to teach him a lesson since he was a “know it all.” Onenurse got his personal e-mail, while the other nurse planned theprank.
A few weeks later, Raymond started receiving e-mails from asecret admirer named Terry. Their e-mail relationship lastedseveral months before he told his coworkers about it. He sharedstories with his interested coworkers about the admirer and toldthem that he was actually thinking about leaving his wife for her.Later, Raymond found out that not only did the entire staff in theICU know about this prank but his e-mail conversations weredistributed to the unit’s nursing and support staff.
Tasks:
Discussion Questions
- What is the nature of the organizational behavior problem?
- Which theory or theories do you believe best explain thebehavior of Raymond’s coworkers
