Is manipulation in the novel always a bad thing? Why or why not?

By its very definition, manipulation is not good because it implies that someone is performing an action with the intent of getting what he or she wants.  In getting what is desired, the person being manipulated is somehow hurt most of the time.  In this novel, the inmates are "manipulated" by Nurse Ratched who, by any definition, does not care who is hurt by her manipulation.

I assumed this is the question you were asking.