Saturday, August 31, 2019
Why I Love South Africa
South Africa bubbles with wonderful, culturally diverse people. A colourful array of different foods, religions, beliefs and traditions are blended together to make up the amazing nation of the republic of South Africa It is, arguably (and ironically), one of the most liberal, free, and constitutionally healthy democracies in the Western World – and, most certainly, in Africa. To have achieved this after hundreds of years of the most brutal repression and trashing of human rights – 15 years of true democracy, is nothing if not a monumental achievement. Then there are the challenges – yes, South Africa has many. But that’s what makes it exciting to be here. To be part of facing these challenges and (re)building a country . The people – ALL the people – are just great. There are simply no sacred cows in South Africa any more. Anything and everything can and is being discussed openly. Only once you have been to a South African braai, the beach in December, the bustling cities zig-zaged by taxis, a game park and met our vibrant inhabitants can you under. Where else in the world can you go from Oceans and Mountains, through beautiful vinyards and into arid desert, from open bushveld, to tropical forest. Where else can you find such a diversity of people that 11 official languages are required. South Africa is a country rich with resources, cultures and geographies and few countries the size of South Africa can boast such diversity. But none of this matters, if it doesn’t feel like home, and thats why I love SA. Its home. This is the home of ubuntu. For those of you who don't know, it basically means a spirit of community and sharing and kindness. Here’s to the glorious South African sunsets and the great blue African skies. Here’s to the rich wildlife and the friendly, happy people. Here’s to melktert and koeksusters, mampoer, bobotie, sosaties, amasi, isidudu, chutney and bunny chow, vetkeok and malva pudding. Here’s to a melting pot of cultures, coming together in one home under one roof – Indians, Chinese, Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Afrikaans, the San bushmen, English†¦ Here’s to Shaka Zulu, Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron, Freek Robinson, Riaan Crywagen, Natalie du Toit, Makhaya Ntini and the man on the street. Here’s to the Drakensburg, Table Mountain, The Tsitsikama forests in Knysna, the Garden Route, the warm Indian ocean intermingling with the cool Atlantic, the dry escarpment of Gauteng and the Great Karoo. Here’s to every different season and landscape contained in one immensely beautiful country.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Indigenous Health Essay
?â€Å"This is the welfare generation, and that is incredibly sad. That will be judged in history as being far worse; I believe, than the stolen generation, because we are literally losing thousands and thousands of our indigenous brothers and sisters to the effect of welfare- drugs, gunja, low morale, alcoholism. I see it every day and it can stop. The solution is education, training and a guaranteed opportunity. †– Andrew Forrest Andrew Forrest suggests that aboriginal Australians are worse off now than in the past. To what extent do you agree that the Aboriginal Civil Rights movement essentially failed? Legal rights- ref Wik Mabo Land rights Equal wages Publicity- to be noticed Reactions from politicians Freedom rides Sorry speeches Measures of equality Health + literacy stats Life expectancy Social attitude Racism- Adam goods in football Disease The 20th century has born witness to the ever changing landscape of the treatment of the Australian indigenous community. Throughout this period it has been stated that the Civil Rights Movements initial goals of total equality for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians has failed to some extent and has not fulfilled what it has initially intended to do. These statements can be seen as partially incorrect as the Civil Rights movement had some success in highlighting the plight of the indigenous Australian and generating some sort of action in Aboriginal issues and affairs. However, it is true that in some respects various factors of the Aboriginal Civil Rights movement have primarily succeeded, through publicity and legal rights. One fundamental success of the Civil rights movement in Australia was its ability to publicise the issues, and draw attention to the plight of the Australian indigenous population. The civil rights activists were able to use the media to voice their opinion; this was of great significance because this inevitably meant that there was a wide range of support for the movement from the non-indigenous society. For example the 1965 Freedom ride demonstrated to what lengths people were willing to take to expose the level of discrimination against indigenous people was a success. Led by Charlie Perkins, students travelled through western, northern and coastal New South Wales. The students who participated were for the most part non-aboriginal and had been involved in organised protests in Sydney. The tour started as a fact-finding mission but eventually ended as a protest against segregation across Australia. The Ride was to highlight examples of segregation including public pools, picture theatres and pubs, where Aboriginal people were declined entry. Perkins and the students helps to bring the ingrained discrimination and racism in NSW towns to the attention of the wider Australian public, and was part of a broader push for Aboriginal Civil Rights taking place across the county. Another success through publicity was the formal apology from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He apologised to Indigenous Australians for poor or unwise treatment from the time of the European settlement through to recent years. Another example of a successful movement, through a public awareness campaign enabled a referendum to change the constitution which enables indigenous Australians to be recognised in the census. In 1967 the Holt government had rejected the land rights to the Gurindji people at Wave Hill. Recognising that there were inequalities to address, however Holt called a referendum to count Aborigines in the Australian census that same year. The referendum was most successful ever passed, with over 90 per cent of Australians agreeing to the application. The Mabo case in 1992 was one of the most significant moments in relations between indigenous and non-indiginious Australians and enabled the High Court of Australia to deliver its landmark Mabo decision, which rewrote the Australian common law and gave a massive boost to the struggle for the recognition of aboriginal rights. Eddie Mabo led the Meriam people and took action to the high court to overturn the doctrine of terra nullius. However if the original protagonists of civil rights here in Australia were alive I believe that they would believe that their dream has been deferred . This is because the original goals of the Civil Rights Movement failed because they did not achieve their initial objectives. Andrew Forrest states that â€Å"Aboriginal are worse off than in the past. †Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that Indigenous Australians accounted for around 25% of Australia’s prison population in 2009. The age-standardised imprisonment rate for Indigenous people was 1,891 people over 100,000 of adult population, while only 136 for non-Indigenous Australians; which meant the imprisonment rate for Aborigines was 14 times higher than that of a non-indigenous person. Data showed that from 1989-200, 15. 7 per cent of homicide offenders and 15. 1 per cent of homicide victims were Indigenous. There is also a great variance in comparing Aboriginal life expectancy to a non-Indigenous person. Aboriginal people are expected to die more than 10 years earlier than non-Aboriginal Australians. The life expectancy is so low because Aboriginal health standards in Australia are so depraved that 45% of Aboriginal men and 34% of women die before the age of 45. 71% die before they reach the age of 65. Literacy rates among Aboriginal students are lowest in remote communities; reasons include low literacy of parents and poor school attendance. 30 per cent of Aboriginal adults lack basic literacy skills. Conversely racism in Australia is perceived as immoral and degraded, it is classified as intolerable. The Adam Goodes incident which included a 13 year old girl calling the Indigenous footballer an ape sparked opprobrium from all quarters. The effect of these remarks is simply to highlight how deeply racism runs through our community. There is no way of avoiding the conclusion that within us all there is a racist streak. Australia has come a long way in addressing racism in society, but the job is still a long way from being complete. The cumulative low literacy standards, increasing criminal statistics, the year gap in life expectancy as well as racism still exists are far more important measures of failures to the Civil rights movement. In this context, Forrest states about the state of contemporary aboriginal Australia is somewhat significant has some merit. Andrew Forrest suggests that Aboriginals are more beneficial to be living in the past rather than the present. His statement to some extent has merit; however there have been many successful events in the Aboriginal Civil Rights Movement that speak otherwise. Actions that have received accomplishment are firstly, publicising the discrimination and inequality toward non-Indigenous people. The significance of awareness led to a referendum to change the constitution, which allowed Aborigines to be recognised in the census. Political and legal change was substantial as demonstrated by the recognition of indigenous land rights. However these successes do not essentially achieve the aims of the Civil Rights Movement, and that the life expectancy, literacy gap as well as criminal records are more important measures of the failures of activism than the rather less perceptible gains by politicians. Forrest‘s solution is an accurate approach to the problem, with education, training and guaranteed opportunity Australia can change the living habits of the Aboriginal people.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Ap Human Geography Green Revolution
For the greater half of the 20th century and the start of the 21st century, The Green Revolution has taken off as the mission to end world hunger. It proves that humans have the power to â€Å"engineer crops†and change the way they grow and how sustainable they are. It alters the concept of agriculture as a whole. The Green Revolution is the future. Executed correctly, and it might be the solution to our food supply problems. Using safe modifications and pursuing further ventures in research is one way we can continue on the path of the Green Revolution. Also, implementing and refining concepts that we know have worked in the past can allow for advancements and more prominent results. In many countries, due to scarcity of land, farmers practice double cropping. This allows for two crop seasons a year. The only problem with this is that there would have to be two monsoons, on natural and the other â€Å"artificial. †India, which has found more efficient sources of food after their infamous Bengal Famine, has been one of the first countries to take an initiative in the green revolution. By using genetics to create HYVs, or High Yield Value seeds, they have been able to claim foreign acclaim and produce crops with increased viability. Agriculture is the largest employing industry in the world. The Green Revolution will keep that number high because of the amount of lateral facilities and resource plants that are affiliated with agriculture. Despite limits, such as falling short of demands and global implementation, the Revolution has shown tremendous results that show high prospects for the road ahead.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Impact of leadership decisions relating to hospital closures in Essay
Impact of leadership decisions relating to hospital closures in Southern California - Essay Example                                                                                                                             __________________ I dedicate the research work to the true leaders who continuously seek innovative ways to effectively manage the hospitals in southern California. Without them, the healthcare services rendered to the public could gradually deteriorate overtime. I deeply appreciate the support I receive from my family whose love and care are immeasurable. To my friends whose worth is more than material things can offer. These people have been with me before and during development stage of the research work. Their critics and advice has made this paper a success. I will be forever grateful to you guys. Started back in 1980s, the number of rural hospital closures has significantly influenced the limiting of the available healthcare services throughout the United States (U.S.) (Rosenbach & Dayhoff, 1995). The large number of hospital closures required the public to travel more than 15 miles just to receive either the basic or emergency healthcare services. (Health Access California, 2006) Even though there were some hospitals available to serve the medical needs of the patients, the long queue and the waiting time which could last for more than 6 hours in emergency rooms was very alarming (Hospital Association of Southern California, 2006). Back in 1988, California had a total of 494 acute care hospitals with a capacity of 84,366 total licensed beds and 77,396 available beds (OSHPD, 2008). Between the years 1988 until the late 2006, the total number of licensed acute care hospital beds in California declined from 84,366 down to 70,820 beds whereas the available number
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Teen Drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Teen Drinking - Essay Example However, our society has not caught up with the evolution of the teenager. They are still viewed as members of our society who need to be constantly policed and told what to do and when. This is the situation that applies to the drinking laws in relation to American teenagers. The rest of the world though, have come to acknowledge that it is better to recognize that teenagers will drink alcohol due to exterior influences and, therefore, society must learn to adapt and ensure that they drink responsibly instead. That is the focus of the T.R. Reid essay â€Å"Let My Children Drink†, while Joseph Califano Jr. chooses to oppose the view of Reid in his own essay titled â€Å"Don't Make Teen Drinking Easier†. Although I see the point of Mr. Califano, I must agree with the benefits as described in Mr. Reid's essay. That is because teenage drinking does happen and it cannot be ignored. The three points that I will be raising in this paper are that: 1. Teenagers who know their p arents trust them to drink responsibly make for more mature adults. 2. Anything done illegally is more likely to draw teenagers to try the activity and go overboard in the process. Teens will also commit crimes regardless of being drunk or not. 3. Lowering the drinking age will make teenagers mature faster in terms of personal responsibility and logical thinking. The worst age that a human being can be stuck in would have to be the wild, wonderful, and sometimes wacky teenage years. It is during this time in a teenagers life that he learns to experiment and differentiate for ourselves what, as adults, shall be the right and wrong actions for him. This is the time when releasing the parental restraints slowly reaps its benefits most specially in terms of teenage drinking. As Mr. Reid put it so effectively in his essay (Reid): As a wandering Post correspondent, I have raised teenagers in three places: Tokyo, London and Colorado. No parent will be surprised to read that high school and college students had easy access to alcohol in all three places. In all three countries, kids sometimes got drunk. But overseas, they did their drinking at a bar, a concert or a party. There were adults -- and, often, police -- around to supervise. As a result, most teenagers learned to use alcohol socially and responsibly. And they didn't have to hide it from their parents. By allowing teenagers to drink in a supervised situation, they are forced to take responsibility for their actions stemming from alcohol consumption. The presence of adults and other persons of authority is a clear indication to them that they will be allowed to have fun but not go overboard about it. This is the kind of situation that directly appeals to teenagers. It is obvious that the lower drinking age works for the teens mentioned in Reid's article because they are given full responsibility for their actions. You choose to drink, you take responsibility for whatever happens if you get drunk. End of story. That is the kind of maturing life lesson that teenagers so badly need in their lives. It is probably a stand that, if presented to most underage teenagers in America today, they would gladly agree to in order to prove that they can actually be as responsible as their adult counterparts if not more. However, Mr. Califano strongly disagrees with Mr. Reid simply because he is overprotective and unable to trust that a teenager, when given the freedom to choose, will choose to do the right thing. His data that explains that (Califano); â€Å"British fifteen and sixteen year olds were more than twice as likely as Americans to binge drink (50% vs. 24%) and to have been intoxicated within the past thirty days (48% vs. 21%).â€
Monday, August 26, 2019
How Reflective Practice Promotes Personal And Professional Development Essay
How Reflective Practice Promotes Personal And Professional Development of Teachers - Essay Example ing nature of the basic learning needs of children, youth and adults requires a broadening of the scope of basic education and redefining it to meet the needs of changing times. The changing dynamics of the social fabric in multicultural societies across the globe have increasingly become major challenges within the education system, especially in UK secondary school system. 2. Need for teacher development The quality and standard of teaching considerably influences students’ performance. The teachers need to evolve and develop appropriate skills to suit the changing needs of the pupils and raise their achievement level. It is important to understand the nature of teachers’ learning in order to exploit their competencies and promote new initiatives in teaching methodologies. Moreover, the key objective of a teachers’ development program is to challenge the status quo of existing knowledge to evolve a more creative way of teaching effectively (Craft, 1996). Teache rs’ teaching is also influenced by their beliefs, ideas and their life experience (Borko, 2004). Moreover, teachers should also be able to communicate effectively to transfer knowledge. Their ability to communicate and their expertise in the subject are a critical paradigm that must be constantly updated to include new approaches and ideas. Effective communication promotes the retention of knowledge and the development of a critical outlook amongst the students. Effective teaching is contextual as its efficacy can only be tested in the context of learning and the environment and support within which it is imparted. Thus, environmental changes vis-a-vis advancing technology, globalization, demographic changes etc. become challenging issues for teachers that significantly impact teaching. Though,... This paper approves that the need to identify and evaluate various parameters of reflective practices becomes an essential ingredient for teacher development. At the same time, many other issues like socio-psychological factors have significant impact on the metacognitive responses of the teachers. Thus, the behaviour, attitude, beliefs, value system etc. of the teachers have increasingly emerged as crucial elements within teaching process for eliciting positive responses from the students. Teachers learn what type of behaviour and attitude motivates students for higher achievement. When they change their behaviour to suit the needs of the students, they improve their teaching. This report makes a conclusion that the role of teachers is important within the field of education as they are proactively involved in the development of children and students into responsible citizens. Their professional development becomes necessary due to the evolving dynamics of the external environment. Reflective practices in the professional development of teachers help to identify shortcomings and promote wider understanding of the various methodologies that can be used to enable teachers to become more articulate and effective in teaching. Reflective practices therefore have gained popularity due to their active learning processes that constantly motivate teachers to improve. The various facets of reflective practice as discussed, reveal their importance in the overall development of teachers and how they contribute in adding value to the teaching.
Brand Integrity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Brand Integrity - Assignment Example He should communicate with the employees, and recognize their contribution towards the brand promise. In an unfavorable economic environment, holding on to the loyal customers is the key to success. The article poses five questions as part of the ‘Excellence Audit’. These questions focus on team members being committed to a common cause and giving in their best to achieve that cause. This audit uncovers the strengths and weaknesses of the organization with the help of quantitative data. A quiz comprising of ten questions that helps examine how connected the employees are to the brand promise is also mentioned in the article. The article puts forth a potentially controversial argument that the customers come second and that, in reality, employees of the organization who serve these customers come first. The article, through a dialogue conveys that the marketplace customer is â€Å"first†but the employee serving the customer is â€Å"more first†. The internal ambience, excitement, exuberance and spirit of the organization should create that magnetic pull on the customer, asserts the article. The article also suggests that every employee has the potency to become a leader if the leadership development process is initiated early. When the business environment is not propitious, say there is a recession, cost cutting, layoffs are a common phenomenon. The pressure on profitability may lead managers to ignore the needs of the employees as well as the customers. I feel that gains obtained by compromising the brand promise or not treating the employees in a fair manner would be short-lived. An organization gains the most through its loyal customers. It is important to remember that customers will remain loyal only if the brand delivers on its promise. Thus, any attempt to hoodwink the customer will have adverse consequences on brand performance. As stated in the
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Epistemologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Epistemologies - Essay Example In addition, the manifestation in this epistemology that knowledge relates with our history and social lives is arguably true since knowledge may originate from such quarters. Nevertheless, we cannot rely on historical knowledge alone to operate in today’s world. Hence, this epistemology significantly confirms that we must accommodate societal and developmental changes to define today’s knowledge. Similarly, the notion in this epistemology that realism correlates with empiricism to suggest that we can use our consciousness to establish the reality of things that exist outside our realms of knowledge is very fundamental. Hence, I agree with the fact that consciousness and reality are not distinct in establishing knowledge but rely on each other because humans have no capacity to establish all the truth but their consciousness can help them to establish some reality. Indeed, consciousness is a component of the absolute reality. Actually, reality involves more than our per ception and thus to establish adequate knowledge, there is need to apply consciousness. However, I partly agree with the notion that total knowledge exists outside our consciousness since I doubt whether we can realistically detect that knowledge as knowledge is always in motion. In addressing interpretivism, I partly concur with the fact that the knower seemingly constructs the reality. However, I concur with the idea that what we know is ultimate and that our consciousness only consults itself and not objective reality to establish the absolute reality. Indeed, we cannot use objectivity presume knowledge as our consciousness equally has limits. Nevertheless, the idea in this epistemology that the knower plays a noble part in establishing knowledge is very true in that one cannot claim to obtain knowledge in absentia. In addition, this epistemology
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Nintendo Corporation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Nintendo Corporation - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that the internal resources include the strengths and weaknesses while its external resources are the opportunities and threats. Nintendo Corporation should strive to maximize its strengths and opportunities while at the same time minimizing its weaknesses and threats. Nintendo Corporation boasts of strong, formidable and established brands in the world market. Most of its products are unrivalled putting it in a better position to command and dictate the taste of the market. For instance, the Nintendo 3DS that was initiated in the US in March 27, 2011 enables the users to view contents in 3D without necessarily using the special glasses. Additionally, the Wii that comes in different advanced revolutionary features has made the product the best selling in the world. The corporation also has a robust and steady escalation in its revenue. Although the company was founded in Tokyo, Japan, it now has branches in all major world markets of the world. As of March 2011, the conclusion of their economic year, the entire proceeds of the corporation was $ 4799.40. This shows that company stands in better grounds in terms of assets and strengths. Besides, Nintendo Co. Ltd. has a strong cash flow system. The operating cash flow indicates the amount of money in cash that the firm generates when it sells its products or renders the services. It is calculated by subtracting the firm’s taxes from the taxes. As of march, 2011, the cash flow for Nintendo was $ 1.19 billion. The major fault that this corporation faces is the shortages of inventories.Â
Friday, August 23, 2019
Language Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Language Development - Research Paper Example At the age of four, a child’s speech should be 100% intelligible with minimal absence or exchange of consonants or sounds (Sax & Weston, 2007). Ella’s language is fully comprehensible; she uses phonological assimilation and elision as evidenced in her pronunciation of ‘want to’ [wÉ’nt tu] as ‘wanna’ [wÉ’nÃ"â„¢], and ‘going to’ [gÃ"™ÊŠÉ ªÃ…‹ tu] as ‘gonna’ [gÉ’nÃ"â„¢]; she also pronounces ‘because’ [bikÉ’z] as ‘cuz’ [kÊÅ'z], and fails to pronounce the final consonant of ‘yes’ [jÉ›s] and says [yÉ›Ã"â„¢]. It also seems that Ella is not aware of the difference in pronunciation of ‘know’ [noÊŠ] and ‘now’ [naÊŠ] because when meaning ‘know’ she said ‘now’. She is also able to use contractions as evidenced when she says ‘I’m’ [aim] rather than â€Å"I am’ and ‘that’sà ¢â‚¬â„¢ [É µÃƒ ¦ts] instead of ‘that is’.2.2 Morphology Morphology, together with syntax make up the grammar of a language. Morphology is concerned with how words are made up of smaller morphemes; a morpheme is the â€Å"minimal linguistic unit of a language that carries meaning (Silzer, 2005, p.101) and can be used to change the meanings of words. Prefixes, suffixes and affixes can be used and fall within two categories – derivational (changes word class) and grammatical (changes grammatical meaning) (Pence & Justice, 2008). In Ella’s language for example she proves to have acquired correct usage of the plural morpheme ‘s’ as in ‘cousins’, ‘friends’ and ‘millions’; she also shows good usage of the inflectional grammatical morphemes ‘ing’ for present continuous as in ‘flying’, ‘finding’ and ‘going sailing’ and past tense ‘edâ€℠¢ as in ‘picked’. All such morphemes are usually acquired before the age of four (Pence & Justice, 2008) and are in accordance with Brown’s (1973) syntactic stages III and IV.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Reflection on Impact of Emerging Markets Essay Example for Free
Reflection on Impact of Emerging Markets Essay The world of business has changed in recent years. Usually, the firms of developed countries dominated the globe and developed countries’ markets were the most attractive. However, new attractive markets and new players have emerged from areas outside the developed world. These new markets such as the BRICs and the MISTs have large populations, high economic growth and increasing demands for goods. Also, they are expected to surpass the developed economies by 2050 (Goldman Sachs, 2003). According to Jagdish N. Sheth, the emerging markets have impacted both the theory and the practice of marketing. The reason is very simple; marketing is a discipline that was developed in the concept of industrialized (developed) markets meaning that most of the marketing tools are designed to work specifically in industrialized markets (Sheth, 2011). Therefore, adapting most of what is known about marketing is necessary to succeed in new markets and new marketing research approaches need to be taken. The article Impact of Emerging Markets on Marketing: Rethinking Existing Perspectives and Practices covers some of the most important characteristics of these markets such as their growth, market heterogeneity, sociopolitical governance and comparative advantages. Also, the author suggests some changes that need to be made to the existing marketing theory, marketing strategy, marketing policy and marketing practice. Moreover, Sheth argues that companies (from developed countries as well as from the emerging countries) who succeed in the mentioned markets are becoming global competitors. The reason is that these firms have to innovate to overcome challenges such as shortages of resources, inadequate infrastructure and unbranded competition. As a result, innovation makes these firms more efficient as well as it creates a competitive advantage which allows them to compete globally. Having grown up in Mexico, one of the so called MISTs, I can relate many of Sheth’s marketing suggestions with some strategies used by Mexican companies. Some of these companies are already global players such as Grupo Bimbo, Cemex and America Movil (Inter-American Developing Bank, 2008). They are strong competitors in the bakery industry, building materials industry and telecom industry respectively. However, there is another rising player named Coppel S.A. de C.V. that already started to expand to other emerging markets outside Mexico, aiming to become a global competitor in the retail business. Coppel is family owned business with 1,000 stores and 80,000 employees in Mexico. Also, it has eight stores in Argentina and eight in Brazil. I will like to focus on Coppel, 2011’s biggest retailer in Mexico (El Economista, 2012), and how this company has already applied some of Sheth’s suggestions to marketing perspectives and practices. Even though the article mentioned many good points to succeed in emerging markets, the most important are purpose driven marketing, resource improvisation, and market development. Purpose driven marketing According to Sheth, purpose driven marketing is going beyond highlighting the benefits of a product or service, creating a lifetime value among the customers, employees and other stakeholders. Coppel wins its customers’ hearts with the slogan â€Å"Coppel Mejora tu vida†which translates to â€Å"Coppel improves your life†. Along with the slogan, Coppel offers a range of products such as clothes, furniture, electronic appliances and financial services to the 68 percent of the Mexican population whose monthly income is less than 2,743 pesos, close to 165 EUR (DigitalPersona, 2012). Most of the products sold by Coppel are products that fulfill the customers’ needs. At Coppel’s stores, it would be difficult to find expensive shoes or clothes. Also, Coppel guarantees all the furniture and any electronic product regardless of the brand sold at their stores up to 2 years; while most manufacturers only guarantee the first year. This warranty is very important to the customers since a washing machine or refrigerator can be equivalent to ten or eleven months of salary. In the financial services part, Coppel offers credit to buy goods in the store and cash loans up 1,000 EUR (loyal customers who have been Coppel’s clients for more than a year). Coppel is not as strict as many of the different financial institutions in Mexico which would never lend a single peso to any of Coppel’s customers. In other words, Coppel has a marketing policy of inclusive growth which means including in their policies those markets that marketers would have left out. In addition, Coppel extends its marketing to its stakeholders such as the community, employees, channel partners and suppliers. For the employees and their children, Coppel offers to pay half of their school tuition up to the master degree level as well as provide school supplies for them. Also, Coppel encourages its employees to get married by giving employees up to two months’ salary as a wedding present. Marriage is seen as a very important tradition in a conservative country such as Mexico. As a result, Coppel does improve the life of its customers as well as their stakeholders. It focuses on creating a lasting value to position itself as a company that offers more than just quality products and services. For this reason, Coppel has better financial performance than its competitors. Resource improvisation. â€Å"If necessity is the mother of invention, then resource shortage is the father of innovation†(Sheth 2011). For that reason, firms operating in emerging markets gain advantage by improvising with scarce resources, making them more innovative relative to their competitors. Coppel’s most innovative process is the use of a fingerprint biometrics in the point of sale (POS) and in all operating systems (DigitalPersona 2012). This system has helped to improve the verification process of purchases for 20.6 million customers since a customer can buy on credit (in the store) using just his or her fingerprint without using any type of identification. As mentioned, Coppel has close to 20 million registered customers’ fingerprints in their database. That represents almost 20 percent of the entire Mexican population, which allows Coppel to generate a reliable source of information about its customers. Reliable information about customers is not easy to have in emerging markets. For that reason, Coppel has an advantage over its competitors since it can use that information to create new marketing strategies to target a specific customer behavior. Also, the fingerprint system has reduced the possibility of fraud since every single customers information is linked to his or her fingerprint. This system has proved very useful in Argentina and Brazil where most customers (low income class) hardly carry an ID with them. Another innovating process is Coppel’s distribution system. The reason is that Coppel has 19 warehouses with 127 distribution centers to supply all its stores in 337 different cities in Mexico (DigitalPersona 2012). The distribution system is in-house designed which means that Coppel can modify it whenever is needed without having aid from an external provider. This decreases the response time when a challenge is raised. Also, Coppel’s system updates in real time. This means that the company knows exactly what products are being sold at any given time and what products are on the delivery trucks. In addition, Coppel daily supplies all the stores just with the right amount of goods that were sold the day before using small trucks with low gasoline consumption or pressured gas to keep down the cost. It also offers free delivery to its customers. This is a competitive advantage since other competitors do not offer it free of charge and almost half of the Mexican population does not have cars. Moreover, the distribution system is very efficient that some other retailers like Wal-Mart Mexico have tried to replicate it. In Mexico, Coppel is known as an innovative firm due to its distribution and fingerprint systems. Market development. While developed markets’ firms target customers’ needs using market intelligence, firms in emerging markets such as Coppel create customers’ needs by shaping customer expectations. In other words, create a â€Å"Field of Dreams†and customers will come. â€Å"Coppel mejora tu vida†is a statement that brings the customers to that â€Å"Field of Dreams†. Since customers in emerging markets are seeking to improve their life condition within their limited economic capacity, Coppel offers accessible and affordable products and services. Coppel has created and developed its own market over the last 70 years. The firm took care of the expectations of the poorest segment in Mexico and that segment has become Coppel’s most loyal customers. Therefore, developing a market brings more financial benefits than market orientation since the firm that develops a market gets the advantage and creates barriers for new entrants. Huawei in China and Avon in Brazil used marketing development to shape the customers’ expectations to positioning themselves in those markets. Nowadays, both of them are strong global competitors. Conclusion Coppel has the widest profit margin of any major Latin American retailer (Bloomberg 2012) because its strategies are based on purpose driven marketing, resource improvisation, and market development. Also, Coppel has developed a market as a result of a lifetime value that is attractive to all the stakeholders while innovating to overcome the challenges generated by the characteristics of operating in an emerging market. As mentioned by Sheth, new ideas from the emerging markets are impacting what we know about marketing. In the 1980s there was the belief that â€Å"The products and methods of the industrialized world play a single tune for all the world, and the world eagerly dances to it†which was written in the 1983’s article The Globalization of Markets by Theodore Levitt. This statement suggests that no adaptation was needed to Marketing practice and theory. On the other hand, Sheth says â€Å"the rise of emerging market is inevitable and it will have a disruptive impact on the marketing practice and theory†in 2011. Sheth’s article creates the bases of what is going to be new approaches for marketing research. The emerging markets will become the focus of the next generations of marketers and firms such as Coppel will be an example of how the emerging firms are shaped by their surroundings. References Sheth, J.N. (2011). Impact of emerging markets on marketing: Rethinking existing perspectives and practices. Journal of Marketing, 75 (July), 166-1 Levitt, T. (1983). The globalization of markets. Harvard Business Review, 61 (May/June), 92-102 Goldman Sachs (2003). Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050. Goldman Sachs. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/topics/brics/brics-reports-pdfs/brics-dream.pdf Inter-American Development Bank (2008). From Multilatinas to Global Latinas The New Latin American Multinationals. Http://www.iadb.org. N.p., 2008. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. http://www.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/pe/2009/03415.pdf El Economista (2011). â€Å"En El 2011, Coppel â€Å"abaratà ³Ã¢â‚¬ a Liverpool†. En El 2011, Coppel abaratà ³ a Liverpool. N.p., 15 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. . Coppel. Coppel. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. . DigitalPersona (2012). Coppel Corporation Uses DigitalPersona Fingerprint Biometrics for Customer and Employee Security and Convenience. Coppel Corporation Uses DigitalPersona Fingerprint Biometrics for Customer and Employee Security and Convenience. N.p., 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Bloomberg News (2012). â€Å"Mexico’s Coppel Brothers Emerge With $16 Billion Fortune.†BusinessWeek. N.p., 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2012.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Downsizing the Human Resources Department Essay Example for Free
Downsizing the Human Resources Department Essay Human Resources Department manager Pat Sutton is requesting the downsizing of the Human Resources Department. Instead of the eight employees already in place, Pat wants the department pared down to five employees. She wants the names of three employees selected to be terminated. There is no other alternative to termination, and the company policy states that there can be no early retirement and no moving laterally to another department. Cost-cutting measures are now requiring that five employees do the work of eight. In addition to the names of the three employees recommended for termination, Pat wants to know what action management should take if any of the three employees decide to file a discrimination case against the company and what the employees would have to prove in order to win a discrimination case. Employees Recommended for Termination Pat, I have chosen the three employees to be terminated based on their skill set, work experience, and job function within the Human Resources department. The three to be terminated are: Dianeâ€â€she has been with the company for 10 years, and although she is an outstanding worker, her attendance problems have cost the company. Horatioâ€â€he has only been with the company for six months, is just learning insurance and health matters, and his skills are marginal at best. Gregâ€â€he has been with the company for five years and has shown an ability to quickly learn complex areas of work. However, he has not been trained in tech hiring, and his job skills are just average. Of the three named employees, one is female and two are male. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the main law of employment that is pertinent to these three employees. Possible Cases of Discrimination against Cost Club There are three different types of discrimination cases that could be file by the three employees. Race discriminationâ€â€Horatio could file a case of this type. He is Hispanic and has not quite grasped the English language. He would have to prove that because he is Hispanic and has a limited knowledge of English, the company terminated him. I really do not think that Horatio would win if he decided to file a racial discrimination case against the company. His minimal skills in health and insurance after six months are more than enough reason to terminate him. Gender discriminationâ€â€Diane could file a case of this type. Her attendance problems stem from her children’s sicknesses over the years. She would have to prove that her termination stemmed from her being a female and missing work due to her sick children. We may have a tough time if Diane files this type of case against the company. She is an outstanding worker and her only blemishes are her missed days of work due to her sick children. Religious discriminationâ€â€Greg could possibly file a case of this type. His religious convictions prevent him from working on Saturday or Sunday. This forces other workers to work weekends more frequently. Greg would have to prove that the company terminated him because his religion keeps him from working on the weekend. Greg would have a hard time winning a discrimination case if he were to file, because his work is just average at best. With regard to each employee’s possible claim of discrimination, the company should prepare itself by carefully looking into each employee’s work performance employee performance appraisals. After all, the company needs to offer the three workers more than just a â€Å"we had to terminate three people and you were one of them†explanation. Failure to promote qualified employees is a form of adverse employment action. Employee performance appraisals provide written documentation and prove the employer acted fairly in terminating an employee. Documenting Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) The Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) is intended to smooth the progress of positive conversation involving an employee and his or her manager and to explain the work performance that needs development. The PIP is put into effect, at the choice of the manager, when it is deemed essential to assist an employee in improving his or her performance. This arrangement allows managers to set objectives, determine procedures, manage evaluation meetings, and record development. No particular quantity of time is needed for a worker to adhere to a PIP. As a matter of fact, if no improvements are made, an employee can be terminated after a number of weeks. Performance Improvement Plans have an awful reputation amongst personnel who view them as the last step in terminating employment. This is because numerous companies apply Performance Improvement Plans the wrong way or use them for generating a lawful safety net prior to ending employment. Performance Improvement Plans should only be applied if a manager sincerely believes that the worker possesses the ability to improve. Every other thing is agonizing for the worker and takes up too much time for human resources staff and managers. Regarding human resources personnel and managers, a Performance Improvement Plan is more or less hardly ever fitting. If a supervisor is performing poorly or at a level below standards to necessitate a Performance Improvement Plan, it is very rare that he or she will salvage the needed assurance of subordinate employees or his or her own manager. Human Resource organizations possess more than enough admission to extremely private, unique data. Moreover, because of their place in the organization, the harm to your belief in them and their trustworthiness is almost impossible to overcome. Dispute Resolution Process A dispute resolution process is categorized into two types: adjudicative and consensual. In an adjudicative dispute resolution process, an arbitrator, judge, or jury decides the result of the arbitration or litigation. During a consensual dispute resolution process, such as mediation, collaborative law, negotiation, or conciliation, the participants try to come to an agreement (FITT, 302). For the three employees we are terminating, we would need an adjudicative dispute resolution process. This way, an arbitrator can decide the outcome of the case. Responding to Charges of Discrimination Should we be charged with discrimination from terminated employees, we will follow these steps: 1. Gather documents and evidence but wait to interview witnesses and meet with the company’s legal specialist to decide who must manage the inquiry. It may be essential to run an investigation that we reveal to the examining organization, or it may be more vital to run an investigation that can be suppressed. Nevertheless, we should amass any records which specify what actually happened. If a discrimination claim is made founded on a â€Å"disparate impact,†we will need to collect some simple material concerning the diversity of the company’s workforce. This way, the company’s attorney can determine if that data has any importance statistically. 2. If we opt to prepare a re-tort to the discrimination charges on our own, we should take into account that we have numerous onlookers. Initially, some EEOC offices will send a duplicate of the reply to the terminated worker or his/her legal counsel. If the employee or the EEOC chooses to take legal action, they are apt to attempt to exploit the company’s stance as substantiation in their argument. The simple rule to constantly abide by is to just state the facts. Do not state undesirable points about the terminated worker that are case irrelevant, and be sure to corroborate all testimony with any documents available. We should only give the EEOC additional information if it strengthens the company’s stance. This is my recommendation on who should be terminated and what avenues of approach we should take should any discrimination charges be brought against the company.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Sears lack of employee involvement and empowerment
Sears lack of employee involvement and empowerment Sears is a leading retailer providing merchandise and various services, which offers a wide variety of products with more than 2,300 stores in the U.S. and Canada (Sears home page). The company has a strong cultural base with effective operation systems, of which internal and external environment scans can be identified with a SWOT analysis. Internal Strengths Since established in 1886, Sears has developed a strong retail network with extensive customer database of more than 60 million Sears credit card holders (Prentice-Hall, 2003). The company has gained good reputation as a reliable retailer and great trust from consumers thanks to its flexibility in identifying need and adapting strategies to provide best service (Rucci et al., 1998). Even during the crisis period, consumers faith was basically unchanged. It has many nation-wide known brand names with focused range of products and attracts large attention from both male and female customers. Internal surveys also revealed that employees had high expectation from the company and great desire to contribute to the companys success. Internal Weaknesses During the 1980s, the company expanded its business into other fields, for instance insurance, investment and banking, real estate, which resulted in loosing strength and prestige position in its core business as a retailer (Rucci et al., 1998). It was no longer the leading company in retailing but ranked number three after Wal Mart Stores, Inc. and Kmart Corporation. Lack of focus made the company fail to follow new trends in selling and respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. Another problem was the inappropriate attitude towards consumers. The senior managers in the head office were said not to listen to customers need, which resulted in high proportion of dissatisfaction. Other factors, for instance, low inventory turnover, bad service and poor sales companion also contributed to the companys downturn. Opportunities: The company started to realise the importance of female customers and changed the image of a mans store to attract more women by offering new ranges of apparel and cosmetics (Rucci et al., 1998). On the other hand, the application of the employee customer profit chain had positive effect on operation as employee satisfaction on the Sears TPI was high and employees were highly aware of the need for performance improvement. The development of learning maps, town hall meetings, and later maps, including Voices of our customers, The Sears money flow and Ownership, seemed to significantly promote learning environment in the organisation and enhance realistic action. External Threats: The intense competition in retailing was a comparatively significant threat to the company. The industry with a variety of old names like Wal Mart and Kmart as well as new arrivals caused great pressure for Sears to compete and required the company to apply the most suitable strategies without fault to survive and develop. Main issues In a previous study, Sears used an employee-customer-profit chain to collect data from up to 800 stores and found that a five percent increase in employee satisfaction drives a 1.3 percent in customer satisfaction, which results in 0.5 percent increase in revenue growth (Rucci et al. 1998). Thus, the company itself realised the necessity to employees attitude improvement. Although the company was on the fast track of recovery, there were still many issues to be identified and tackled in order to achieve sustainable growth as described in Rucci et al. (1998). First, lack of communication and cooperation between different departments and functions in the company resulted in poor operation efficiency. Customers satisfaction had decreased significantly and it was frontline employees who seemed to know this situation the best. However, they had little opportunity to deliver their messages to the management. The next problem was lack of employee involvement and empowerment. The companys strategies and expectations were poorly transferred through to them, and thus, they were lost in ambiguity about the tasks they were assigned. Moreover, employees are not given enough creative power to have influence on the shaping of companys future. Moreover, employees had to opportunity and support to realise their personal goals. The company aimed to create a compelling and motivated working environment. In reality, however, they still had a long way to go. To some extent, the old control and command culture had prevented the company from advanced development and employees were not highly valued enough as an ultimate resource in the organisation. Misunderstanding was another major issue which the company had to pay much attention to. According to a survey conducted by Sears itself, employees believed that Sears made profit of 45 cents on each dollar while the real figure was 2 cents. This was seen as a barrier to trust. While the company had to implement some changes in operation such as cost cuttings and reduced rewards to cope with crisis, employees might oppose them because they thought the company was doing well. Consequently, there was a lack of sense of urgency and commitment to change through the company. Another point is that the company should have invested more on develop their reward practices although the company was in a crisis and struggling to survive. It becomes even more important to have reward strategies supporting business objectives during hard times as they will strengthen existing resources and help the company overcome difficulties (CIPD, 2009). Approach to reward management With the emergence of the global knowledge and service oriented economy, more attention has been paid to the value of human resource to improve operation capability and create sustainable competitive advantages (Thompson, 2002). However, it is increasingly challenging to attract, motivate and retain employees with the most appropriate reward strategy which can maximise the benefits and perceived value of the rewards at an affordable cost to the company. Although managers at Sears recognised the significance of reward management and executive incentives were based on both financial and non financial performance, they still lack of a systematic approach to the issue. Consequently, a total reward system consisting of financial and non-financial, direct as well as indirect, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards is what Sears needs to improve reward and compensation strategies and reinforce its core values. Total reward, as defined by CIPD (2011), is a concept that encompasses all aspects of work that are valued by employees, including elements such as learning and development opportunities and/or an attractive working environment, in addition to the wider pay and benefits package. Under this concept, employees are empowered and engaged in operation, and can have positive attitudes towards the company. In return, employers get to know more about staffs work life and receive commitment and high performance from employees (Zhou, Qian, Qi Lei, 2009). A useful total reward model was developed by WorldatWork (2006) with five elements as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Elements of Total rewards (adapted from worldatwork.org) Total reward approach helps to allocate resources properly and guarantees that all aspects of reward offering are monitored and utilised (CIPD, 2009). When all elements are delivered, employees are increasingly motivated and satisfied with the package, and thus, more engaged in fulfilling responsibilities, improve customer service and enhance performance. The company may choose different strategies from each element to give employees offers aiming at attracting, motivating and retaining them. Compensation It is widely recognised that pay plays the most important role in staff recruitment, motivation and retention process (CIPD Mercer, 2010). Pay at least needs to be set at a reasonable rate to render employees effort and contribution. Apart from fixed pay, employees can earn bonuses for better than expected performances or results achieved. It is especially suitable for Sears where bonuses can encourage employees to perform better and improve customers experience. It also keeps the companys reward package stay competitive against that of other retailers. Benefits The company needs to design a flexible benefit programme, which is available to all levels of employees, to supplement cash compensation and promote the companys image. The offerings may contain: social insurance (e.g. social security, unemployment benefits, shopping discounts, workers compensation,), group insurance (e.g. life insurance, savings, health vouchers) and paid leave (e.g. sickness, holidays, vacation). Good benefits may assist employees in avoiding financial risks and obtaining a stable life, while at the same time, mirror the companys positive values and deliver promising messages to its stakeholders (WorldatWork, 2006). Moreover, well-designed benefits schemes can even lower the expenses and make some savings (Silverman Reilly, 2003). The company can attract employees attention to the most cost effective benefits, for instance, discounted gym membership, child care facilities or cheap loans. Benefits can also be designed as a percentage of salary, then the company may avoid the fluctuation of benefit cost and transfer part of this risk to employees. For instance, employees may choose to withdraw a cash allowance of four percent of salary each year, or invest it in a health and well-being programme offered by the company. Work-Life It contains the experienced working reality in the company, which includes the physical and emotional environment (Higgs, 2006). Policies are designed with an aim to support employees to get the balance and success both at home and in the workplace. In order to achieve this element, the company needs to have an open management style in which everyone is highly involved as a strong community and empowered. There should be flexibility at workplace and great concern from management about employees health and well being, with occasional financial support, if necessarily. Performance and Recognition Performance: This is a significant component in determining the companys success, in which performance of all employees is assessed to evaluate the efficiency. The management as well as employees must invest properly on planning process to link expectations with individual, team and organisational goals. Then, feedbacks are provided to all levels of staff to examine whether performance is up to expectations and goals or not. Appropriate feedback is important as it can motivate employees and improve their working efficiency. Recognition: After performance has been assessed, recognition is psychologically necessary to appreciate ones efforts and acknowledge his/ her contributions. Public recognition is important as it not only affects ones behaviour but also has impact on the others as well (Wiscombe, 2002). Awards can be cash or non-cash (e.g. certificates, restaurant or movie tickets, verbal or written notes of thanks). It is crucial that recognition be proper and fair as the company can gain greater employees loyalty and commitment with such programmes (Boxall Purcell, 2008). Development and Career Opportunities The company is supposed to provide employees with continuous development to enhance their skills and competence as it is an important part in the psychological contract between both sides (CIPD, 2009). On the other hand, a plan for career advancement not only makes employees be more responsible to their work but also deliver greater value to the company (Higgs, 2006). For development strategies, the company may offer different learning opportunities, for instance, short term training courses, on the job learning, coaching and mentoring, leadership development. As Sears already has a corporate university, more employees should be given the chance to attend it rather than managers only. For advanced opportunities, the company may offer some internships, apprenticeships with experts, attendance on meetings and lunches with senior managers for best performers. Each employee will be consulted with individual career ladder plans so that he/ she can know clearly what to do to be promoted. The company should also consider about succession planning to prevent job gaps and operation disruption. Elements to consider Although Total Reward has been proved to be effective in many companies already, it is necessary for implementers to apply its elements in correspondence with each companys specific situation. Contractual arrangements The company must regulate clearly what benefits are offered to employees in the contract to avoid any ambiguity or misunderstanding in reward strategies. Besides, as employees may change their choices or obtain new benefits regularly, the contract needs amending accordingly. Communication to employees It is important that the company deliver the right messages to its workforce explicitly or implicitly to obtain sustainable high-performance (CIPD, 2011). The company must provide employees with enough information about benefits schemes and update regularly about new policies or offers in different forms, for instance, through intranet, posters, emails and in verbal. As many people tend not to see the true value of benefits realistically, good communication may help them to get an idea of basic mechanics of the plans and their operation (Silverman Reilly, 2003). Managers can discuss with their staffs about salary progression, potential for higher salaries, promotion possibility to give them clear vision and expectations of what they can have and how to get these benefits (Armstrong Murlis, 2004). Valuation of benefits Evaluation of the benefits schemes before and after deployment is crucial to achieve the best efficiency. Reward practitioners need to design a plan which is both cost-effective for the company and advantageous to employees. After execution, the outcomes need to be reviewed and lessons are to be learned for improvements. Cultural dynamics Reward management must be considered in the context of the organisations culture (Armstrong Brown, 2006). Companies have different styles of work culture, which significantly affect the way employees work and behave. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the companys culture thoroughly before deciding the type of reward strategy and ways to deliver them to employees. Conclusion This paper attempts to analyse Sears case study with some key drivers for change and main issues, then propose an applicable model for implementing reward management at the company. Given the urgent need to design and deploy applicable strategies for the company to follow, it is hoped that the proposal bring about expected outcomes for the companys sustainable growth in the future. Word count:
Monday, August 19, 2019
Eating Disorders Essay -- Food Health Anorexia Research Papers
Researchers study eating disorders to try to understand their many complexities. â€Å"Eating disorders are complicated psychiatric illnesses in which food is used to deal with unsettling emotions and difficult life issues†(Michel & Willard, 2003, p. 2). To help those with eating disorders, one must understand the causes, effects and treatments associated with the disorders. Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Compulsive Overeating are three common eating disorders found in society today. â€Å"No one knows exactly what causes eating disorders. However, all socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural groups are at risk†(Matthews, 2001, p.3). Eating disorders are difficult to diagnose but can be deadly if left untreated. Background The Alliance for Eating Disorder Awareness (n.d.) observes, Eating disorders affect five to ten million Americans adolescent girls and women and approximately one million American boys and men. In addition, approximately 70 million individuals in the world struggle with this disorder. In a single person’s lifetime, approximately 450,000 individuals will die because of this terrifying disease. Eating disorders know no race, age, class or gender. They can happen to anyone. Eating disorders have been present in children as young as three years old and in adults as old as ninety. However, typical age of onset is anywhere from 12-18 years of age. Eating disorders often develop in adolescence because it is a time of numerous changes including sexual, physical, and emotional ones. Rachel Bryant-Waugh and Bryan Lask (2004) conclude that with adolescent changes, weight fluctuations often occur and many individuals may not feel ready to handle the differences (p.38). The inability to deal with change during this time often leads to anorexia, bulimia, or compulsive overeating. The American Academy of Family Physicians (2003) states, â€Å"People with anorexia starve themselves, avoid high-calorie foods and exercise constantly.†The person suffering from anorexia is abnormally sensitive about being fat or has a massive fear of becoming fat. Low self esteem and a constant need for acceptance commonly is seen in anorexics. Michel and Willard (2003) contend the most prevalent characteristic with this disorder is reduced calorie intake. The initial need to lose just a few pounds is somewhere forgotten and the cycle of the disorder takes over. Anorexic... ...nab Bryant-Waugh, R. & Lask, B. (2004). Eating disorders: A parent’s guide (Rev. ed.). New York: Brunner-Routledge. Kirkpatrick, J. & Caldwell, P. (2001). Eating disorders: Everything you need to know. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books. Levine, M. & Maine, M. (2004). Some basic facts about eating disorders. Retrieved April 28, 2005 from http://www.brooklane.org/whitepgs Matthews, D. (Ed.). (2001). Eating disorders sourcebook (1st ed.). Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. Michel, D. & Willard, S. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous: A guide to understanding and treating anorexia and bulimia. New haven, CT: Yale University Press. Missouri Department of Mental Health. (n.d.). Eating disorders. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http://www.dmh.missouri.gov/cps/facts/eating.htm Simon-Kumar, R. (2001). Eating disorders. Retrieved May 1, 2005 from http:// www.psychology4all.com/EatingDisorders.htm The Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness. (n.d.). Eating disorders statistics. Retrieved April 28, 2005, from http://www.1st-eating-disorders.info The American Academy of Family Physicians. (June 2003). Anorexia nervosa. Retrieved April 18, 2005, from http://www.familydoctor.org/063.xml
My love :: essays research papers
She sat across from me in Algebra class. In terms of appearance, I always compared the two of us as complete opposites. There I sat; a dark-haired, tan-skinned, green-eyed, arm-scarred, large, short-haired, tall, rather awake and attentive child whose only noticeable feature was his strong chin. I didn't even mention the bags under my eyes so bad, it looked as if they were packed and ready for vacation. She had a light complexion with freckles just above the bridge of her nose and below her eyes. Her eyes were robin's egg blue and her lips were a beautiful dark crimson red that stood out, but didn't scream for attention. Her lips were thin, like her. The hair that she had was red with dark blond streaks. She didn't have a scar on her. The bags under her eyes were non-existent. However, she liked to sleep in class. This made the beauty of her face covered by her long hair and the wonder that were her eyes covered by her eyelids. I would always look at her eyes. I peered in the hopes that she wouldn't see me each time I looked. Maybe I wanted her to see me. Catch me lost and swimming in her eyes. Although, no matter how much I looked at them, all I ever got back in return was my reflection. Her windows were like those of a limo - she could see out but you could not see in. This taught me the lesson that here eyes were strictly aesthetic. It was too bad that she liked to sleep. It never gave me much time to gaze at her eyes. Of course I saw her in other classes throughout the day, but I never got a view like the one in Algebra 3-4. In fact, Algebra 3-4 became the highlight of the day. There would be so many schooldays where the only thing, the only hope, getting me through the day was the opportunity to just look upon her face. It got me through almost anything at times. I wasn't obsessive, nor in a mentally grotesque state at that time. I knew my fondness for her was high, but it was pure. My thought of this was validated by how I knew what kind of a person she was on the inside. The leaves fell off the trees and turned brown, signaling the arrival of autumn.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
A close Relationship with Nature :: essays research papers fc
A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE      Cold Mountain is a four hundred and forty-nine-page novel by the North Carolina author Charles Frazier. The novel takes place during the civil war but constirates more on the life lessons each character learns. Throughout the novel Charles Frazier takes each character through very different, yet very difficult journeys. Cold Mountain consists of two parallel journeys, eventually meeting up in the end.      Each one of Cold Mountains characters are all very conscious about nature and have learned to appreciate and even revolve daily routines around it.      Man is one major character that has been deeply effected by nature. He is able to understand the beauty of nature and trys to absorb as much as possible. He carries along his Bartram, a book filled of poems and stories all on the topic of nature. â€Å"He told her how it helped sustain him on his journey, how he had read it many a night by the firelight of a lonesome bivouac. Ada was unfamiliar with it, and Inman described it to her as a book concerned with its very part of the world and with everything that was important in it. He shared with her his view that the book stood nigh to holiness and was of such richness that one might dip into it at random and read only one sentence and yet is sure of finding instruction and delight (415).†This book helps Inman get through many tough times and finds the book to be very comforting and relaxing. Inman's journey back home from after leaving the hospital has made him a stronger person and more down to earth. Inman has seen nature as a positive and a negative thing on his journey. It has helped him get along and survive. Lending him a place to hide out from the cold and the home guards. â€Å"He went at a dead run to the line of trees and brush beyond the spring. He plunged in and then, hidden from sight, he worked his way around until he found a thick stand of twisted laurel situated to give him a view of the front of the house (311)†Nature has provided him with food, and even helped with its landmarks to give him a guideline of where he is and the direction he should be traveling to get back to Ada. Nature helped him understand his dreams and what he thought of such animals. A close Relationship with Nature :: essays research papers fc A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE      Cold Mountain is a four hundred and forty-nine-page novel by the North Carolina author Charles Frazier. The novel takes place during the civil war but constirates more on the life lessons each character learns. Throughout the novel Charles Frazier takes each character through very different, yet very difficult journeys. Cold Mountain consists of two parallel journeys, eventually meeting up in the end.      Each one of Cold Mountains characters are all very conscious about nature and have learned to appreciate and even revolve daily routines around it.      Man is one major character that has been deeply effected by nature. He is able to understand the beauty of nature and trys to absorb as much as possible. He carries along his Bartram, a book filled of poems and stories all on the topic of nature. â€Å"He told her how it helped sustain him on his journey, how he had read it many a night by the firelight of a lonesome bivouac. Ada was unfamiliar with it, and Inman described it to her as a book concerned with its very part of the world and with everything that was important in it. He shared with her his view that the book stood nigh to holiness and was of such richness that one might dip into it at random and read only one sentence and yet is sure of finding instruction and delight (415).†This book helps Inman get through many tough times and finds the book to be very comforting and relaxing. Inman's journey back home from after leaving the hospital has made him a stronger person and more down to earth. Inman has seen nature as a positive and a negative thing on his journey. It has helped him get along and survive. Lending him a place to hide out from the cold and the home guards. â€Å"He went at a dead run to the line of trees and brush beyond the spring. He plunged in and then, hidden from sight, he worked his way around until he found a thick stand of twisted laurel situated to give him a view of the front of the house (311)†Nature has provided him with food, and even helped with its landmarks to give him a guideline of where he is and the direction he should be traveling to get back to Ada. Nature helped him understand his dreams and what he thought of such animals.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Tainted Milk Powder
Question 1: Given strong profit growth, has there been any damage to Baidu. com’s reputation? Answer: Yes, there was damage to Baidu. com’s reputation. The examples of damage to Baidu. com’s reputation are: * The rumors made the company’s information appear unreliable. * Baidu. com’s users may start to boycott from using this search engine. They are hoping that Baidu. com may change their behavior after the protest. * Due to the boycott activity, the number of daily visitors may reduce drastically. * Due to the number of visitors decreased, those existing advertisers may withdraw their advertisement and switching to other company.As a result, they lost valuable contracts/customers. * Baidu’s shareholders also may sell off their shares in market. As a result, the share price dropped, this is also indicating that they lost public trust. Question 2: What the future reputational damage affect and how could it be measured? Answer: * Damage public trust, number of viewer and user drop * Mostly for a company to gain trust and confidence from the user of their product is not easy and take time. * But, to damage it just take a short period of time. For example doing unethical action in managing business operation. * Many news and rumors spread in media about Baidu. om have received some payment from tainted milk manufacturer for not advertise any news about them. * No concrete evidence about the rumors, but could damage their reputation, public trust and confidence of their source of information. * The number of viewer or user that use their search engine that been lower after the spread of bad news and rumors could be used to measure for the damage of public trust. * Investor not interested to invest, share price drop * The bad news and rumors about the unethical action by this company triggered the public trust toward them * It makes many people debate and alked about their action after the spread of issue regarding informatio n hidden, thus make many speculations towards this company. * Too much bad speculation been made toward their company impact to drop of share price. * We think that it would make investor or future investor might be not interested to invest in this company if the rumors are true due to the share price dropped continuously. * Affect company profitability, low income from advertiser * When the trust or confidence from the user or people toward this Baidu. com has decreased, it means that the viewer or user their search engine also decreased. Thus, the better for advertiser to promote their product in the search engine which have more viewer compared to Baidu. com * Besides, we think that Baidu. com might have to reduce the advertising fee in order to attract the advertiser use their search engine to promote products * Thus, impact from advertiser being changed to the other search engine or lower the advertising fee make the Baidu. com would faces low profitability and income. Question 3: What steps could Baidu. com take to restore its reputation, and what challenges will it have to overcome?There are 3 steps to restore the company reputation as below: 1. Know The Truth * The Company will first have to look at themselves and seek the reality. * Is there any truth in what the people say about themselves? * Baidu. com will have to look at the rumor of how they were said to have accepted payments to withholding a company’s information from online searches. 2. Take Action * Baidu. com might held a press conference to admit its wrong doing and try to fix it from there. * Although there were many are upset by the admittance, but they will be more upset if the Baidu. om have not admitted to their wrong doing. * That’s the matter related to trust and knowing that they will stand up for the mistake that have been made. 3. Dispel the Rumors * Baidu. com will have to overcome the rumor of how they were said to have accepted payments for withholding a companyâ €™s information from on-line searches. * They will have to disclose all of their financial records. This is done in an effort to make the company financial activities as transparent as possible and display that they are confederate in their financial activities. This will aid the company in regaining the trust of the public and the public will ultimately trust the information that is contained on the search engine. The biggest challenge is regaining trust from the stakeholders, investors and then the consumers as the company bad reputation has built over a period of time. * Do not expect to get rid of it within a few hours or days. It will take time for people to remove the company old, bad image from their mind and replace it with the new, pleasant one. * It is a matter of trust and knowing that one will stand up for the mistakes that have been made. Therefore the company needs to take social responsibility for the crisis. * There were innocent lives lost all because no one spo ke up about the tainted product. * Naturally there will be repercussions for all involved but consumers are forgiving if the situation is handled correctly. So, just keep on making efforts and soon, people will get used to the image of the ‘new you'. Question 4: Governments throughout the world have been slow to react publicly to serious problems such as SARS, mad cow disease, and now melamine contamination. Who benefits and who loses because of these delays?Answer: a) Benefits * Companies involved in related industry. * Government’s slow reaction gave opportunities for these companies to continue supply consumer with no quality product that bring harms to the consumer itself as long as the company gain benefit from it. * Eg: Mad cow disease was cause through nutrient give to the cows itself. Naturally, cows are supposed to eat grass. However, the ranchers try to cut costs by feeding these animals with dead animal. Besides, the ranchers feeding them with hormones and ot her chemical to fatten them up faster for marketing.In a nutshell, the ranchers along with other related parties are benefited through cost reduction as well as faster â€Å"harvesting†. * Government * Government itself gain benefit from their action. * One of the examples is from tourism industry. When the government announces the serious problem face by the country, especially if it is health related, it might frighten the tourist to visit the country. Thus, it can affect income received by the country. * The government usually will try to protect their local market and local product.For instance, what happen in China when the news of contaminated milk spread is that it causes sales of dairy product to drop by 30-40%. * Government slow action has given them opportunity to search for proper solution before expose it to the public. Aside from avoid panic among public, this action can also benefit them from loss of income and maintain country’s reputation. b) Loses * Pu blic * Public were negatively affected from government slow action, especially when it’s involving human’s life. * Eg: The melamine-tainted milk powder was responsible for the deaths of four infants and the sickening of more than 6,200 more.If the public are aware of the situation, they won’t buy the milk powder, thus can prevent loss of lives. * Also, it can hurt public’s finance when they spend their money on the products that they can’t even use. * Most importantly, public might lose faith on the government itself. Public rely on the information given by the government. If the government itself didn’t disclose important information, from whom the public can depend on. * In addition, when the countries are facing serious problem such as diseases, the government need to diverge the limited public money to support medical costs.It is burdensome since the public monies are use to clean up the mess done by irresponsible parties that only have view on profit only. * Pharmaceutical industry * It is not a one-day task in developing a new cure for new disease * The scientist needs to do research, identify the cause of disease, and find suitable chemical/element needed to produce the drugs. * When the government gave late announcement to public, all scientists are not able to create new medicine and thus, bring loss to them in terms of profit. Question 5: In some cultures, a ‘culture of secrecy’ or manipulation of the news is tolerated more than others.How can this be remedied by other governments, corporations, investors and member of public? Answer: * Governments * Government can design law to prevent this culture because it can affect public. * They can impose fine and penalty to those who are exercised the culture of secrecy. * The penalty imposed is a way to punish company and people who involve in this case. * It is as a warning to others firms so that they are not doing the same thing in the future. * The law and penalty should be imposed when there is evidence that the company is exercising this culture. * Corporations They should disclose all the information that concerns about public because public has the right to know what happen because it relate to them. * For example, corporations can disclose about their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their website. They should include all information so that public didn’t lost trust to them. * Investors * Investors can take action such as disapprove the unethical activities done by companies. * They have a great power towards companies because they are the shareholder. * Investors can sell their shares as a way to disapprove action taken by companies. If by taking that action also cannot alert the company, they can be a whistleblower by telling the authority about the company wrongdoing. * Member of public * Member of public can prevent this culture by the increasing of press freedom. * They can work with press to make sure that news spread faster. But, immunity should be given for public interest disclosure where the matters give serious harm to public. Before the immunity given, the news should be disclose to authorities both internally and externally and no action taken. Besides, public can complain to non-profit organization (NGO) or consumer association about companies wrongdoing. * Thus, when this action can be taken, companies may be thinking twice before they hiding something from public and consequences that they are going to face in the future. References 1. Tainted-Baby-Milk Scandal in China, RetrivedMarch 8, 2013 from http://www. time. com/time/world/article/0,8599,1841535,00. html, 2. Tainted Baby Formula Scandal Blows Up in China, Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://blog. foolsmountain. com/2008/09/12/tainted-baby-formula-scandal-blows-up-in-china/ 3.Baidu Caught in Backlash Over Tainted Milk Powder: Search Engine Denies Screening Out News; More Rivals Online, Retrieved March 9, 2013 fro m http://online. wsj. com/article/SB122176870268453547. html 4. The Google of China: The Secret of Baidu’s Runaway Search Engine Success, Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://www. time. com/time/world/article/0,8599,2111545,00. html 5. Lorraine Day, M. D. Mad Cow Disease: What the Government didn’t Telling You. Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://www. drday. com/madcow. htm 6. 2008 Chinese Milk Scandal. Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal#Chinese_industry . Pharmaceutical Industry. Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pharmaceutical_industry 8. Tainted milk: Unravelling China’s Melamine Scandal. Retrieved March 9, 2013 from http://thinkbusiness. nus. edu/articles/item/118-tainted-milk-unravelling-china%E2%80%99s-melamine-scandal 9. Storer, J. A chance to tackle the culture of secrecy in government. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from http://www. thepunch. com. au/articles/a-chance-to-tackle-the-cu lture-of-secrecy-in-government/ 10. 2008 Chinese milk scandal. Retrived March 12, 2013 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal
Friday, August 16, 2019
Change and Culture Essay
To adjust to greater competition and pressures of obtaining increased organizational efficiency and cost containment, many organizations have begun to examine strategies related to restructuring and downsizing to maintain organizational viability. These processes have included mergers and acquisitions, and redefining occupational roles of workers within the organization. Consequently, successful management of the structural change process can be daunting and overwhelming if not handled in an organized and thoughtful process. Those who are responsible for the process must recognize the barrier that may be hindrances to conception and implementation of the change process These barriers include: (a) lack of concise and coordinated planning/goals, (b) resistance to change within the organizational workforce, (c) failure to consistently evaluate the progress of the proposed change within context of the entire system, and adjust methodology as necessary. Thus, in order to achieve a balance between achieving organizational goals and addressing the uncertainty that may occur in the workforce, organizational leaders are tasked with the responsibilities of finding creative means to facilitate the mandated objectives while at the same time finding vehicles to maintain adequate levels of employee satisfaction and productivity in order to facilitate the ability to service their respective consumer base. It is the purpose of this paper to re-examine the fictional organization created in the week number four Culture Case Study I, and determine the means to facilitate a redesign in workforce brought on by a mandated reduction in work force. This paper will examine the concept of the universal worker as part of the proposed redesign, with further evaluation of the communications and organizational process that will have to be implemented in order to facilitate successful achievement of administrative goals and employee adoption of their new roles. Case Study In an attempt to achieve increased cost containment, six months after the merger of Charles Drew and Florence Nightingale Hospitals, the managerial hierarchy has proposed a significant reduction in workforce. Subsequently, a decision was made that the best way to facilitate continued safe patient care was to redesign the patient care delivery workforce. As recommended by the administration, the initial proposal for redesign was that of the universal worker. As understood, the paradigm of the universal worker would allow remaining employees to be cross trained in different job duties; thus, allowing more flexibility in staffing and personnel assignments (web. Answers. com, 2011). Through examination and implementation of the concepts of the universal worker, along with consideration of other strategies, the thought is that assigning additional duties to remaining personnel would allow continued adequate delivery of many support services. Past experiences in attempt to implement this type of change has proven to be met with resistance by personnel, and difficult to implement when introduced at other organizations; nevertheless, the administration has charged the mid-level management team with successful achievement of the proposed redesign in order to meet organizational objectives. The Change Process When beginning the process of job redesign within this organization, it will be important for those who are responsible for implementation of the change to understand the overall mission and goals of the organization and the global ramification of the change within the institution. It will be important to understand that a change in one area can have either a positive or negative impact on other areas within the organization (Leadership and Motivational Training, 2012). Thus, in viewing the potential upheaval that a reduction in workforce can create, and the subsequent potential for feelings of job insecurity that may be experienced by the remaining workforce, it will be important to allay these fears and allow enhanced empowerment of employees being affected by this process. This can be facilitated through inclusion of employees in the redesign process (i. e. implementation of work teams) and establishment of clear channels of communication within the system. Managing this process of job redesign and change can be successfully implemented through the initiation of a defined process to guide the change and an assigned change leadership team (Resnick, 2012). Through this process not only will the affected employees be allowed to have input to the process that will affect the their individual stake in the organization, they will also have the opportunity to implement substantial and lasting change for the overall system and the culture of then organization. As described by Peter Senge in his postulates regarding organizational culture, this inclusion, empowerment and open communication among those in leadership and front-line employees will work to facilitate what he described as the learning organization and systems thinking (Smith, 2001). Inclusion of work teams into the change process, and the subsequent implementation of the cross training of employees into various departmental roles, the concept of the universal worker among the care provision staff will allow the reshaping of the organization into one that has the flexibility to adapt to the rapid change that may be incurred, and foster an atmosphere of collegiality – where people are continually learning to see the whole together (Smith, 2001). Measuring Processes and Expectations Post Redesign Once the redesign process has been completed it will be very important to implement measures to review the process of performance and if the predetermined goals of the change are being met. Since employees will potentially be relied on to increase performance and acquire additional employment duties, it will be important to examine how the implementation of change will impact employee satisfaction. It can be said that if an organization can meet the need for a satisfying work environment, then the employee will have a greater propensity to be more motivated and productive. As a consequence the satisfaction will have a greater correlation to improved outcomes and patient satisfaction. Examination of outcomes can be achieved through the â€Å"utilization of the creation of a balanced scoreboard-or dashboard- of the key internal and external measures that provide a comprehensive view of the organizations performance, with as much insight as possible regarding the implication of the change for the future†(Resnick, 2012). Examples of these tools could include utilization of employee satisfaction surveys, provision of strategically placed employee eedback boxes to solicit employee input to parameters for ongoing improvement, and implementation of employee councils to examine how to best meet the needs for improving overall workplace satisfaction and employee morale. With completion of the tools for review of performance, the organization will have a balanced understanding as to how the implementation of the job redesign has impacted organizational goals and desired outcomes -i. e. decreased attrition rates of employees, decreased sick leave utilized, increased patient safety and patient satisfaction scores – (Ugboro, 2006) . Creation of a Learning Organization As the paradigm begins to change in the organization, and implementation of change becomes manifest within the organization, it will be important to foster structures that will provide for a cohesive and well-rounded workforce. As a result, it will be important that all employees have a thorough understanding of what is meant by a learning organization, and how this concept will be imperative e to the ongoing success of current and future change. As described by Peter Senge, the learning organization can be viewed as a structural environment in which the employee is empowered to create the outcomes that they truly desire. In this type of environment, the employee is allowed the room of creativity to redefine not only themselves within their organizational role, but also the organization itself. This paradigm shift differs from the previous downstream constricted organizational structures in that it moves the process for acquiring new organizational traits and skills from learning a means of survival to one that embraces learning that enhances the capacity to create and innovate (Smith, 2001). As such, this paradigm allows progress of the employee to have a greater role in obtaining self-actualization through growth of objectively understanding how change and the end-results of proposed change will affect the organization and the system as a whole. Additionally, it changes the view of management from one of overseer, to one of fostering learning opportunities and helping employees develop systemic understanding (Smith, 2001). In relation to the mandated job restructuring that will take place within this merged organization this change will be facilitated through the creation of interdisciplinary teams of care providers that will comprise the teams that will be responsible for the redesign of the care delivery model. In context of the proposed reduction of staff, it can be assumed that the employees affected by the ensuing change will be instrumental in facilitating this change if allowed to be part of the redesign of priorities and duties. Consequently, with each group bringing their individual and collective spheres of knowledge, there will facilitation of the exchange of ideas, expansion of personal mastery, enhancement of mental models, and a building of a shared vision. All of which are characteristic of the described learning organization. In this case, enactment of the concept to the universal worker will require cross training of employees into potentially new areas of responsibility, or areas in which personal mastery has not been achieved. As such, training can be perceived by employees as a measure of the organizations commitment to them. Subsequently, training is one of the most powerful vehicles for an organization to create change. As stated by Resnick (2012), â€Å"First, it builds alignment to the desired change. Second, it provides individuals with the knowledge and skills to implement the change. Third, it creates the opportunity for cross-functional communication in the implementation of company-wide initiatives†. As this process evolves, management can ensure that continual educational opportunities exist for employees to grow technically and professionally in their respective duties. As these opportunities are allowed, evaluation of individual mastery should be evaluated and opportunities for individual employees to become mentors or resources for fellow employees should be encouraged. By facilitation of this process of collaborative self-management, satisfaction within the process will be enhanced and peer-to-peer sharing can take place. This will allow greater cohesiveness among the teams and a greater sense of inclusion among all team members. As stated by Smith (2001), â€Å"when teams learn together, not only can there be good results for the organization, members will grow more rapidly than could have occurred otherwise†. Measurement of Individual Satisfaction Measurement of individual employee satisfaction can be facilitated through many means. Standard traditional measurement tools could include employee surveys, employee feedback solicitation, and input gained during annual performance reviews. Although these means may allow the management team to gain greater insight to employee satisfaction with change, they are primarily founded in anecdotal response, and may be difficult of quantify. Thus, alternative measurements of satisfaction can be employed. These include monitoring of employee retention rates, review of utilization unscheduled employee leave, and patient provided satisfaction surveys. As indicated by Plowman (2009), â€Å"many studies suggest that the cost of turnover is on-and-a-half times an employee’s salary, when considering recruitment, selection, and training costs. Therefore, to monetarily measure the impacts of reduced turnover, one can calculate the expected cost of replacing employees who chose not to leave as a result of increased employee satisfaction†. Furthermore, enhanced patient satisfaction and outcomes may have a direct correlation to enhanced satisfaction in that increased individual productivity may be a sign of an employee who has taken ownership of his or her role in relation to change. Conclusion In today’s environment of organizational change, and redefining of traditional job functions and roles, it is imperative to create new paradigms within the organizational structure. Along with the changing responsibilities for employees, management must provide the means to promote atmospheres of renewed learning and assist the empowerment of employees in actualizing the larger systemic needs of the organization, and their role in the facilitation of making lasting change. Successful implementation of these concepts, along with meeting the needs for maintaining employee fulfillment and satisfaction will be essential for the economic longevity of all business organizations that provide essential services to the public. Change and Culture Essay When two companies merge, upper management has many decisions to make about the organization, from what the mission statement will be, to what type of goals they have in mind to how many employees will be necessary to accomplish the goals. In the beginning, it is important to blend the two cultures and create the new organization. Six months after the merger of Cypress Creek Hospital and Clovis Community hospital, it was important to determine if the goals are met or if changes need to be made. In the instance of the organization from the first case study, it was decided that further change had to be made. To make the desired changes, administration has decided to reduce the current workforce significantly and to change how patients are tended to. Because the change is so detailed, the administration has recommended that a new position of a universal worker be created. The term â€Å"universal worker†generally refers to a person who is trained in multiple positions in the workplace and therefore has a little more assignments flexibility. Universal workers are often used in call centers and hospitals to alleviate staff shortages and provide better service without the difficulties of processing so many referrals or dealing with call transfers (webAnswers. com2013). It is imperative that in the role of universal worker, ways are found to redesign the current set up of the organization and make the necessary changes within the organization to meet the needs of the administration. Historically, organizations were set up where each person had a set task. When an organization incorporates universal workers in the workplace, it creates an environment in which few do a variety of tasks. In health care, this means that patients deal with fewer faces, and get used to their caregivers. For the organization, it means that a staff that can perform different roles and are even more valuable than they would be in traditional roles. Process of Redesigning Because the organization has decided that patients care delivery needs to be redesigned, it must be determined how to begin that process. The first thing that must be taken into account is that change in an organization often disrupts operation. In the instance were significant changes will be made in the size of the staff, adding more change typically will not be received well in the beginning. It is very important to plan accordingly so that productivity is not affected for a long time. One way to accomplish this is to make changes with staff involvement. If staff is allowed to give ideas and be part of the changes, it will fill their needs for learning, change, and variety. One way to do this is create different committees so that staff could be part of an even smaller team and be able to express their ideas and contribute to the change. Encouraging staff participation in planning how change is to take place, and the timing of that change appeals to the need for control that people innately have. â€Å"Organizations that regularly assess the person-job fit of their employees may in turn, experience important benefits from these healthy, thriving and motivated employees who individually redesign their own jobs if necessary†(Tims, 2010). Redesigning in this way, by allowing staff to assist in it, allows the organization to go from being a series of smaller fragmented parts to being a group of fewer parts that function well together. In creating universal workers, the new management needs to go among the staff and see what each employee excels in and in what areas need further training if necessary. Management needs to get an idea of what the pulse is within the organization, have an idea of who is good at what, what jobs are not as necessary, what can be consolidated, what new positions need to be added and feel confident in his or her decisions so that the job redesign can be put into place. Work Processes and Performance Expectations When redesigning is done, the organization can expect to have their employees more satisfied in their work. People are more satisfied internally with their new responsibilities and are more satisfied in general. However, it sometimes makes people more dissatisfied with their current pay and benefits because they believe that they are doing more and that their pay and benefits should reflect those changes. Also the negative is that because people are given so much say in what they are doing when redesigning the workplace, they often become dissatisfied with their direct supervisors and management if something is not done to continue the autonomy that employees achieved with assisting in the redesigning. Job productivity goes up and goods produced tend to be better quality the pride that staff has in what they do. To ensure a more satisfied staff after redesign is complete, it is important not only to change the jobs of subordinates but even those in middle management so that everyone feels more satisfied and angry feelings do not develop among staff. If change happen were people are more satisfied, the organization will better for it. Further, change cannot happen and just come to a halt. Change is never constant; it has to continue to keep a learning organization on track. Steps and Structure to Change a Learning Organization Peter Senge, (1990), a learning organization is organization â€Å"where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expensive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspirations is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together†(Senge,P. , 1990). According to Senge (1990), a learning organization excels in five different disciplines. A learning organization looks at long-term solutions, not necessarily the first solution that comes to their head. This is important because often organizations think of short-term benefits, and do not consider what changes will do to the organization long term. Because of this, a universal worker would do best to keep from making hasty decisions, and rather would create groups where people gather and look at things more on a long-term direction and see how the organization could be affected. Another thing that can assist in change would be encourage workers to continue learning, whether it be a seminar held for staff or encouraging people to continue with their education on their own time. In workplace today teamwork is encouraged in the workplace. People are no longer given tasks, and expected to do them on their own. Rather, working together, sharing ideas and being a team help an organization to grow. Another step that needs to occur is that leadership roles need to be looked at differently. Instead of leaders being seen in the traditional role of being â€Å"better than†their subordinates or thinking for the staff, upper management roles need to changed to suit the changes in staff. Management needs to encourage learning, share the vision that leaders of the organization have. Management also needs to â€Å"create and manage creative tension especially around the gap between vision and reality. Mastery or such tension allows for a fundamental shift. It enables the leader to see the truth in changing situations†(Smith, 2001). To create change, the entire organization needs to change, not just the subordinates. Change takes time but the benefits long-term are well worth the efforts. Satisfaction for Universal Worker The universal worker approach seems to enhance job satisfaction. Feedback from the staff indicates that they enjoy being responsible for the patients as whole rather than one aspect of care. It is a feeling that undoubtedly enhances the caregiver’s sense of job importance (Widdes, 1996). Training staff to assume responsibilities across departments and even more challenging, reshaping their attitudes and approach to care is an undertaking that requires a commitment to training, retaining and diligent follow up. To keep a universal worker happy would require giving such staff opportunities to continue growing. In healthcare, allowing staff to be responsible for different aspects of patient care, rather than doing just one simple, respective role brings satisfaction. People get bored doing the same thing day in day out. Allowing staff to do different things, creates an excitement for the job that they are doing and creates a feeling of responsibility, and pride in their job. However, because a universal worker does so many different tasks, the staff should be given incentives be it through raise or benefits or other methods, it is imperative that management be very much in tune with this philosophy. Otherwise, staff will begin to feel overworked, and underappreciated. Conclusion In conclusion, merging of two organizations into one organization can be a very difficult undertaking. If not done correctly, it can fail completely. Even if a merger is successful, it does not mean that changes will not have to be made to operations to bring further success down the line. Sometimes, staff needs to be cut, and new positions be created. This can create some turmoil within the organization if not handled right. It is important to communicate with everyone throughout, and allow staff to assist in building ideas, and making the changes, allowing them to share in some of the responsibilities that the organization will undertake. Creating autonomy, particularly when creating universal workers, is important to keep staff satisfied. Along with bonus, raise, benefits, or other incentives would be wise. If staff is satisfied, the organization runs smoother and is more profitable. Satisfaction from employees radiates onto the customers and creates the type of environment that one would prefer to do business with. Change can work correctly if the needs of staff throughout the change are kept in mind.
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