Degree Level in Nursing Versus the Baccalaureate

The Associate-Degree Level in Nursing Versus the Baccalaureate-Degree Level in Nursing The Associate-Degree Level of Nursing Versus the Baccalaureate-Degree Level in Nursing Multiple pathways exist today for an individual deciding to seek a career in the nursing profession. It can be intimidating to an individual trying to decipher the various educational programs and the relationship of each program to the future nursing practice (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Programs at all levels provide these multiple pathways that can lead an individual to one or more nursing credentials (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011).The historical overview of the various programs available can help in building a greater understanding of the factors that are influencing nursing education (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). The associate-degree and the baccalaureate-degree levels of nursing both provide contributions towards the contemporary health care system, advancement of the nursing profe ssion, and promotion of a profession dedicated to lifelong learning. In 1965, the educational entry point into the professional practice of nursing was designated to be the baccalaureate degree by the American Nurses Association (ANA) (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. 2011). Three educational pathways for the registered nurse (RN) still exist more than 45 years later. These educational pathways include the diploma programs, associate degree, and baccalaureate. For an individual trying to choose the best pathway to enter the nursing profession, it can be confusing with the existence of the various program types that still exist today. Associate-Degree Level of Nursing In 1952, the Associate Degree in Nursing was designed by Mildred Montag in to assist in the shortage of nurses caused by World War II. These programs were an alternative to the collegiate preparation of technical nurses (Creasia, J. L. amp; Friberg, E. , 2011). A pilot project funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1958 successfully led to a large increase in the numbers of associate degree programs in the United States (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Community colleges started offering the associate degree programs, along with four-year colleges and the universities. By 1973, approximately 600 associate degree programs existed in the United States (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Nearly 1,000 state-approved associate-degree nursing programs now exist today according to the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) (Creasia, J.L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Out of these 1,000 programs, 652 of them are accredited (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Designed to be two years in length, the associate degree programs provide academic credit and consist of a balance between general education and courses in clinical nursing (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). The purposes of the ADN programs are to prepare competent technical bedside nurses for care settings that included co mmunity hospitals and long-term health-care facilities (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011).The intent Montag had towards associate degrees was that the ADN nurse would work under the direction of a baccalaureate level registered professional (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). This caused some confusion about the roles and relationships among the levels of nursing. According to the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, their Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree in Nursing programs educate the registered nurse (RN) as a generalist who provides health care to clients and family groups. Their competencies relate to the art and science of nursing (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011).Graduates from the Maricopa Community Colleges are able to utilizing therapeutic communication and caring to create an environment that achieves desired client outcomes, demonstrate verbal, behavior, and written communication skills that are effective with health team member, and can care to a div erse population because they are culturally competent (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011). They gain competencies to be able to utilize research and recommend evidence-based nursing care to meet individualized needs across the care continuum (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011).An ADN RN can demonstrate coordination of nursing care for multiple clients in collaboration with health team members (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011). They demonstrate legal and ethical behaviors in all nursing activities, along with behaviors that promote the image and integrity of the nursing profession (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011). The ADN RN will competently apply the nursing process to provide safe client care and produce positive client outcomes through the use of teaching and learning activities (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011).Maricopa Community Colleges nursing programs allow the RN to be able to safely provide evidence-based clinically competent care within the current healthcare enviro nment by applying clinical reasoning and scientific principles (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011). Last, but not least, the ADN graduate can demonstrate accountability for quality improvement in the health care system and provide safe, effective client care by integrating technology (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011).Graduates of the AAS Degree in Nursing programs are provided with an educational foundation for delivery into the university setting (Maricopa Community Colleges, 2011). I am an ADN graduate from the Maricopa Community Colleges. Baccalaureate-Degree Level of Nursing The University of Michigan established the first baccalaureate of science in nursing program in the United States in 1909 (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Baccalaureate programs consisted of five years of education until the mid-1950s (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. 2011). Today, most baccalaureate programs are now four years in length (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Compared to the ADN graduate s who are educated as generalists delivering health care to clients and family groups and their competencies are related to the art and science of nursing, baccalaureate graduates are â€Å"prepared as generalists to practice nursing in beginning leadership positions in a variety of settings† (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). Several components are essential to prepare nurses for this complex role.Quality and patient safety, liberal education, information management, evidence-based practice, communication/collaboration, health care policy and finance, professional values, and clinical prevention/population health are all essential components for all baccalaureate programs (Creasia, J. L. & Friberg, E. , 2011). According to Grand Canyon University College of Nursing’s philosophy, â€Å"the nursing programs prepare graduates to provide excellent, holistic care while encouraging a passion for achievement, a lifelong curiosity for knowledge, and pursuit of advanced p rofessional degree† (GCU, 2011).Transitioning to the Baccalaureate-Degree Level of Nursing The movement to increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in the workforce is accelerating due to the release of landmark reports from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (2009) and the Institute of Medicine (2011) (AACN, 2013). These reports have linked nursing education to enhanced patient outcomes. The need to advance education is also being recognized by registered nurses.In order to transition nurses to the baccalaureate level of proficiency, competencies must include the several essential components as listed in the baccalaureate-degree level of nursing section (AACN, 2013). The AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice guides the curriculum for Grand Canyon University’s College of Nursing (GCU, 2011). Three dimensions of nursing education and formation were examined in the Carnegie National Nursing Education Study (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2009).The study showed a major finding that due to the demands of nursing practice, today’s nurses are undereducated (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2009). â€Å"To meet the demands of an evolving health care system and meet the changing needs of patients, nurses must achieve higher level of education,† states the expert committee charged with preparing the evidence-based recommendations contained in the landmark report on The Future of Nursing released by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in October 2010 (AACN, 2013).Education has strongly impacted a nurse’s ability to practice (AACN, 2013). AACN also believes that patients deserve the nursing workforce to be the highest educated possible and the nursing profession should strive to be able to give that to their patients. Research reinforces these beliefs. For example, Dr. Linda Aiken and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylva nia showed a clear link between higher levels of nursing education and better patient outcomes in their study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 (AACN, 2013).It was an extensive study on surgical patients and how their survival rate advantage was substantial if treated at a hospital with higher percentage of nurses with degrees at a baccalaureate level or higher (AACN, 2013). The study showed that â€Å"a 10% increase in the proportion of nurses holding BSN degrees decreased the risk of patient death and failure to rescue by 5% (AACN, 2013). † The IOM is recommending that by 2020, the workforce should contain 80% baccalaureate prepared RNs (AACN, 2013). The educational preparation of a BSN nurse versus a diploma or and ADN degree does improve patient care.An example of a patient situation I have experienced that supports this statement is when I witnessed my preceptor who is a BSN nurse educate a family on their child’s condition and h ospital care. Having the background of performing evidence-based research, the BSN RN understood the reasoning behind current practices and was able to educate the family on the patient's plan of care. Being a recent ADN graduate nurse, I felt undereducated and knew that my preceptor was better educated to assist the family with this task.I know my clinical skills, but I am continuing my education to be able to understand the reasons behind our nursing practices. BSN nurses also tend to take a step back and look at the whole picture of patient care before jumping into a situation. This is extremely important when it comes to being on a Rapid Response Team or a Trauma Team. In these situations, I have seen the difference in approach with ADN nurses versus the BSN nurses. I look forward to continuing my education to becoming a baccalaureate-degree nursing professional and providing an even higher level of care to my patients.According to Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professio nal Nursing Practice, â€Å"the demands placed on nursing in the emerging health care system are likely to require a greater proportion of RNs who are prepared beyond the associate degree or diploma level† no matter which type of pathway one takes in the field of nursing (Creasia, J. L. ; Friberg, E. , 2011). I look at the pathway I have chosen in the nursing field and I feel that â€Å"it’s not where you start, but where you finish that counts (Dr.Tim Porter-O’Grady). † References American Association of College of Nursing (AACN). (2013). Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from http://www. aacn. nche. edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/nursing-worforce American Association of College of Nursing (AACN). (2013). White Paper on Expectations for Practice Experiences in the RN to Baccalaureate Curriculum. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from http://www. aacn. nche. edu Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teac hing. 2009). Book Highlights from Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from www. carnegiefoundation. org/elibrary/educating-nurses-highlights Creasia, J. L. ; Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing (5th Ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc. Grand Canyon University (GCU). (2011). Grand Canyon University College of Nursing Philosophy. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from https://lc. gcu. edu/learningPlatform/user/users. html? oken=oxZQCy8VMjQpm14sIn3jTa0SXVNp6bLCdTzhVnvsNXrt%2bE4%2fDNAR1q2VJGlolDMG;operation=home;classId=707215#/learningPlatform/loudBooks/loudbooks. html? operation=landingPage; Institute of Medicine (IOM). (2011). The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from http://www. iom. edu/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Workforce/Nursing/Future%20of%20Nursing%20Education. pdf Maricopa Community Colleges. (2013). Nursing. Retrieved on February 15, 2013 from www. maricopa. edu/programs/index/show/id:3812

Early Civilization Matrix

Early Civilizations Matrix Using your readings and outside sources complete the following matrix. Be sure to address the following in your matrix: †¢Provide names, titles, dates, brief descriptions of important events, and other details as necessary. †¢Note the details of key political, socioeconomic, technological, artistic, musical, architectural, philosophical, and literary developments for each civilization listed in the table, which were evidenced in the humanities. Be sure to properly cite the sources that you use in completing this matrix. Civilization|Politics|Society/ Economics|Technology|Art|Music|Architecture|Philosophy|Literature| Prehistoric |N/A|N/A|Arti-craft was one the many thing that was invented during this time, anti-craft are item such as hunting weapon spears, rocks. |Art was one of the many things that was started in the prehistoric era cave art was founded in many part of the world the oldest one was founded Lascaux France in1945 this is known to be one of the oldest cave art. |N/A|Stonehenge was the biggest architectural piece that the prehistoric built. It was used as a celestial calendar predicting the movement of the sun and moon, it was built in Wiltshire, England on 3000-1800 B. C. E. |N/A|N/A| Mesopotamian |During this point of time communication was a very difficult process. This caused the Mesopotamian to create different city-states and independent of the others and protective of its independence. |The Mesopotamian had a very wealthy economy; due to its landscape surrounded by major part of water, fishing was one of the many great part of trading this led them to be a very wealthy country. | The major technology introduces in this era in the second millennium B. C. E was Iron. Iron was a technology used for many thing such as farming tools, armor. |Graves found in Ur, Iraq and in a different place in Mesopotamian led archeologist to find beautiful art. Sound box of a Harp illustrated non-surviving portions of epic, or they referred to admired fables. |Harps were found in Ur, Iraq. This was a clue that music was played during this time for people to tell stories about epic characters|One of the many architectures found in Mesopotamian are this gigantic temples that were found in Ur, Iraq. This was used to worship there god and to teach the young bout their history and about their god. |Much epic philosophy was founded for this era. The biggest one was Babylonian consideration had a considerable influence on early Greek and Hellenistic philosophy|One of the most famous literature of this era Epic of Gilgamesh, in twelve books, translated from the original Sumerian arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a s ingle adventure in the career of Gilgamesh. | Ancient Egyptian|The leader of the lawful system was formally the pharaoh, who was accountable for enacting laws, delivering truthfulness, and maintaining law and order. Egyptians did not use currency until the later in time; they did use a sort of money exchange system with typical sacks of grain and the Deben a weight of roughly 91 grams|Traditional empiricism since evidenced by the Edwin Smith and Eber in 1600 BC is first recognized by the Egyptians. The Egyptians formed their individual alphabet and decimal system. |Artist in Ancient Egyptian used stone to carve statues and fine reliefs The Bust of Nefertiti, by the sculptor Thutmose, is one of the most famous masterpieces of ancient Egyptian art. In Ancient Egypt music and dance were trendy entertainments, for the wealthy one. Early on instruments included flutes and harps, while instruments similar to trumpets, oboes, and pipes developed later and became popular. Music was an impor tant piece during religious times. |Ancient Egypt includes some of the most famous structures in the world: the Great Pyramids of Giza which is known to be built in 2575 B. C. E. Structure projects were planned and funded by the state for sacred and celebration purposes, but also to reinforce the power of the pharaoh. The tale of Sinuhe, written in Middle Egyptian, may be the classic of Egyptian writing. Printed at this time was the Westcar Papyrus, a set of stories told to Khufu by his sons involving the marvels performed by priests. The Instruction of Amen mope is measured a work of genius of eastern literature. |Script first appeared in involvement with kingship on labels and tags for objects establish in royal tombs. A few of the finest acknowledged pieces of ancient Egyptian writing such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, were written in Classical Egyptian, which sustained to be the language of writing until 1300 BC. Aegean|The position was ruled by a king, whose role was militar y, judicial, and religious. |The economy was controlled by the regime, which prepared memo of external and internal crop, disperse work, and were in charge of the giving out of food. |More powerful iron was built during this time 1200 B. C. E. This led to a larger military and more tools for hunting and farming. |One of the most famous art in this time era is the Bull-leaping fresco, in Knossos, Crete in 1500 B. C. E. Picture of the modern bull fighting which were codified by Julius Caesar. |Music was used for religious occasion. Occasionally used during burial and church activities. |Citadels were isolated forts that undoubtedly served to militarily control territory. Walls were often made in a fashion called cyclopean, which means that they were constructed of large, boulders loosely fitted without the clay mortar of the day. |The Aegean age told many stories but the most famous one were the one of Trojans war passing them from generation to generation. The story are known to be called the Iliad and the Odyssey. |Story of Iliad and Odyssey were written in script this story is written in 16000 long lines. | Archaic Greek|Archaic Greek is known to own kingdoms ruling over relatively large territories. |Archaic Greek was one of the most advanced pre-industrial economies. Mostly all the people had a job to do which kept the economy growing. ||||||| Classical Greek||||||||| Hellenistic ||||||||| Roman||||||||| Judaic ||||||||| Early Christian||||||||| Byzantium||||||||| Islamic||||||||| .

Is a successful marriage a utopia today? Essay

The latest marriage statistics should make every couple doubt about whether their relationship shell be sealed with a marriage. Beside the fact that considerably less couples decide to marry at all, in the US every second, in Austria (as an example for middle Europe) every third marriage is divorced. This is not a particularly promising prospect for a couple planning to marry and swear to love each other for the rest of their lives. Therefore the question must be raised: Is a successful marriage Utopia today? When I take a closer look at our society, I can imagine some reasons why successful marriages, which mean staying together happily for a lifetime, have become so rare. One reason might be a shift in our society towards more self-realization and less responsibility. In my opinion many couples may not detect the enormity of their decision to marry. Before making that decision each partner should think about all consequences a marriage might have on the relationship and all consequences a marriage definitively has when it comes to legal terms. Taking the decision whether or not one wants to marry his or her partner should not be made hasty in a romantic mood or occasional feelings of perfect happiness and love. Nevertheless many couples fix their marriage either before really knowing each other or not thinking of the consequences it has. After a little time, when the butterflies in their stomachs are often gone, many couples realize that their relationship has changed, but they then have to realize as well that divorcing is by far not the same as breaking up. A second reason might have to do with the role of women in our society. Nowadays nearly every woman is educated or emancipated enough to earn her own money. Therefore only some women are still financially dependent on their husbands which was/is often a reason for women staying married although being unhappy in the relationship. A woman who earns her own money and can lead an independent life without her husband as well will have no fear of getting divorced, as this was the case in the last centuries. However, not only the roles of women, but also our society as a whole has changed and made divorce absolutely tolerable. In former times our society consisted of either happy or unhappy married couples with at least one or two children. These couples married or were forced to marry fairly early and stayed together till the end of their days. Nowadays our society is structured completely different: many couples life together without marrying or having children, others marry and get divorced once or more often. Additionally homosexual relationships are relatively tolerated and the number of singles, who spend the main part of their life alone, is one the raise too. In such a heterogeneous society divorce has become a normal, for some even a natural, thing. Terms like common law spouses have emerged and some people think of their partners as temporary phenomenon only. Nevertheless I truly believe that in the 21st century a successful marriage must not be or is not Utopia. I, for myself, cannot tell what future holds in store for me and my relationship, but I can observe many happy and therefore successful marriages which have been lasting for more than 25 years by now in my surrounding. In my opinion the society and therefore the people living in a society are always subject to change. And these changes also include changes of people’s behaviours, customs, morals or values. Although today’s marriage statistics do not suggest bright expectations for a successful marriage, I think it is still can and does happen. Maybe the preliminaries for such a marriage have changed, nevertheless many couples show us that living in our society happily and married is still possible. So, for many couples a successful marriage has become Utopia, but the alternative is still there.

Alcohol in India Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alcohol in India - Research Paper Example Men are ten times more likely to use alcohol regularly as compared to women. Raffensperger further states, â€Å"While alcohol consumption is low overall, it's even lower in women than in men in India†. Social Organizations and Use of Alcohol In India, people are divided into various categories according to their castes. There also exist many subcultures in India. Three most common subcultures in India are Punjabi culture, Bengali culture, and Marwari culture. Alcohol consumption is relatively low in Punjabi culture as compared to other two subcultures. The social class structure, family system, and different subcultures put a significant impact on overall alcohol consumption in India. The social structure of India is a mixture of diverse cultures, religions, and racial groups. Hindu religion, Muslim religion, and Sikhism are the most prominent religions of India. Social structure of India influences the institutions of family, marriage, and caste (Gihar 58). If we talk about social organizations in India, the most common social organizations include Forward class, Backward class, and Harijans. The social class structure of India includes different classes to which people of India belong. Forward class consists of rich people or those belonging to higher castes. People belonging to this class consume the highest percentage of total alcohol consumed by Indian people. Such people generally have fewer tensions in their lives as compared to lower classes. The main reasons for Forward class to consume a high percentage of alcohol include sociability and taste. Consumption of alcohol is not considered bad among higher classes of India. The most common brands used by the Forward class people include Blossom Hill, Smirnoff Red Vodka, and Carling. People belonging to Backward or middle class also use alcoholic drinks but the percentage is considerably low as compared to Forward class or Harijans. In the societies of Backward class people, use of alcohol is not co nsidered a good deed. The family structure of India plays an important role in controlling the percentage of alcohol consumption in this class. â€Å"Most of the families in India are extended families, wherein every member has his/her own role, often influenced by age and gender† (Rampur). Every member of a family resects the norms and values of the family structure. The reason behind low percentage of alcohol consumption in this class is the joint family structure of India. It is very difficult for the adults to use alcoholic drinks in front of their parents or relatives. Children respect their parents and do not do any such thing, which their parents do not want them to do. Harijans or lowest class people are the most alcohol addicted people in India. These people are not financially stable and have many tensions in their lives. They take alcohol in order to forget their problems for a while and to feel relaxed. However, they take low quality alcohol because they are not a ble to buy expensive or high quality alcoholic beverages. Living Conditions, Leisure, and Recreation Living conditions of Indian people and leisure also put a significant impact on overall alcohol consumption in India. Some people belonging to elite class use alcohol as a recreational activity. The people belonging

Market Power, Price Discrimination, and Alocative Efficiency in Assignment

Market Power, Price Discrimination, and Alocative Efficiency in Intermediate-Goods Market - Assignment Example Such firms are usually said to have the capabilities of affecting either the standing market price or the total quantity of products within the market single handedly. Price discrimination is described as a situation whereby identical goods from the same organization exist in the market but sold at different prices. This mainly occurs in monopolistic or oligopolistic markets. With reference to the guidelines given, this paper will critically analyze the Market power, price discrimination, and allocative efficiency in intermediate-goods market while thinking about it in an economic way. In addition to this, the paper will aim at establishing how this topic will be a motivation to the marketing manager of an organization (Katz 2007). The party that would be interested with this topic is the marketing manager of an organization that has a command in the market. ... Such aspects balance the consumer’s ability to buy products, as, due to differentiated prices in the case of price discrimination, the consumers, regardless of their income levels, they are able to afford a good or a service. For instance, in the case of students, firms often reduce their products and services by 10% for the sake of students. They are typical examples of individuals in the society with low incomes. Due to this fact, their demands can be said to be more elastic. Due to reduced prices, they are able to access these services as well as products due to the reduced prices (Rey and Verge, 2008). Further, this topic, especially the market power, is essential as studying about it ensures that the marketing manager, or any one given the mandate to see an organization attain a commanding lead in the market, obtains appropriate information on how his company can generate sizable or substantial benefits in its operations while experiencing relatively low levels of liabili ties. . General Setting This topic is underlain in monopoly aspect of macroeconomics. To understand this, it is essential that one take on each notion at a time. Market power; commonly, market power is usually referred to as monopoly power. An organization with market power is usually said as having control putting the terms as well as conditions of exchange into consideration. As such, such an organization can effectively raise the prices of its products as well as its services and still not lose its clients. On the other hand, the company can reduce the prices and still not cause a price war amongst the competitors, which is usually ruining. When an organization offers a differentiated product or a service to the market, it is

MGM D1 Health Care and The Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGM D1 Health Care and The Law - Essay Example Some of the things that cause suffering of the poor in healthcare services include racism and discrimination, denial of the minority groups in accessing healthcare services, and failure by the government to enroll the minority and the poor in the social healthcare programs (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). In the US, according to the commissioner of civil rights, although there is existence of civil rights legislation that addresses the issues of healthcare discrimination of the minority and the poor, the reality is that these laws are not followed accordingly (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). About 38 million Americans are not insured for healthcare services and have very limited financial means of accessing the healthcare services; a biggest proportion of this figure represents the poor (Kant & Rushefsky, 2006). In March 2010, president Obama signed legislation to refurbish the nation’s healthcare system which would guarantee access to medical insurance for all Americans (Shear, 2012). The law aims at extending insurance to over 30 million people, first and foremost by expanding Medicaid and availing federal subsidies to lower and middle-income earners. However, the bill is faced by enormous challenges after republicans appealed against it (Shear, 2012). Some of the challenges facing the law include tougher oversight of health insurers, protection of workers with pre existing conditions and expansion of coverage to one million young adults (Shear, 2012). However, the Obama administration retaliated that it would not unify essential health benefits and that each state should specify the benefits within broad categories. It can be argued that the legal challenges might be reasonable to some extent, although they seem to be politically instigated by republicans, something that would jeopardize its applications. All in all, these challenges are seen to be for the greater benefit of most Americans. All what needs to be done is for all the stakeholders to

Retail Management Career Path Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retail Management Career Path Paper - Assignment Example It gives an individual an opportunity to interact with employees and understand their weaknesses and how to improve them (Sims, 2008). This form of skill empowerment is not only important to the organization but is also crucial in improving personal relationships. This is the ability of the human resource manager to maintain focus on the activities that possess the greatest potential of meeting the work commitments. It is an attribute that allows them manager to understands and concentrate on facts that have a greater impact in the meeting of work requirements While other professionals may work from their homes or in pleasant working conditions, an average human resource manager works for a standard 40 hours per week. This is due to the requirements involved in fulfilling the role. These include organizing trainings and concentrating on improving employee output. Human resource managers are required to attend various refresher courses in handling the dynamics of manpower management. The mangers are also expected to work on their individual relation building attributes so as to ensure that they understand the needs of the organization and how to align them with the available manpower (Martin, 2008). Career advancement in the field of human resource goes to the doctorate level. This is the highest point of academic advancement that a human resource manager can archive. There are also training sponsored by renowned human resource trainers in the world. Human resource managers’ are expected to attend such training and receive certifications that are globally recognized (Martin, 2008). The training is tailored to meet the modern requirements in the field of human resource management. The compensation in this field is decided by a number of facts including; education and personal achievements. There is no limit to the nature of compensation that a human resource manager is entitled to. The dynamic involved include the size of the organization, the

Case studty (marketing) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

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Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 23

Reflection Paper - Essay Example oss such situations where irrespective of being apparent that a person did good to others, sans caring about personal well being, people did find a strong need to imbue such an act with selfish motives. In that context Robert Trivers’ concept of reciprocal altruism is of immense importance. Many individuals do believe that Triver by ascribing the notion of reciprocal to a noble notion like altruism does divest it of its inherent goodness and nobility. However, I think that even if we ascribe to the idea that people do altruistic activities to avail the benefits of reciprocity from the subjects they benefit, it still does prove one important fact that overall the human conscience and its genetic makeup is born to be good. It is a fact that people many a times act in ways that tend to benefit other people. However, the cynics believe that they do so to get something in return. At the least people engage in goodness and altruism to get the benefit of believing that they did something selfless for others. Thereby, in a cynical context, the moral satisfaction of doing an altruistic act qualifies to be a cause of selfish personal aggrandizement. This readily turns the idea of altruism to be opened to evolutionary ideas and explanations. Trivers in his article talks about the theories of kin selection and reciprocal altruism to convey that they emotional makeup and thereby the underlying genetic framework of humans so designed to be altruistic with the idea of benefiting from it at some other time. The crux of Trivers’ theory is that evolution does happen to favor such individuals that sacrifice their personal well being to do well to others with the intention of accruing a favor at a later stage. T he theory of reciprocal altruism did explain one important evolutionary enigma as to how do the organisms that sacrifice their personal well being, life and the ability to reproduce for the sake of others happen to evince evolution. It is quite understandable to consider

European Coal and Steel Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Coal and Steel Community - Essay Example There was a dire need to build what was ruined and Europe has the choice whether to pursue this as an integrated region or as individual countries. As to the integration, there were two political and economic models invented at that time - the long history of nation building wherein economic integration follows political unification and the model of Zolverrein where political unification follows economic integration (Lecture, Topic 2: From Post War Reconstruction to the European Coal and Steel Community) One of the aftermath of World War II is the European Coal and Steel Community, a moved that strengthened both the economic and political ties of the surviving European countries. "The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty was signed in Paris in 1951" (Europa.eu). It involved the Benelux countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands together with West Germany, France and Italy. Its goal was to "organize a free movement of coal and free access to sources of production" (Europa.eu). One of the unique aspect of the integration was the establishment of a common High Authority which supervised the market including the competition rules and price transparency. The ECSC Treaty became the "origin of the institutions as we know them today" (Europa.eu). The ECSC was the first community organization that was created as an aftermath of the 2nd World War. The devastation brought by the war needed economic reconstruction of the European continent and attaint lasting peace. Since coal and steel were the basic industry of the two countries France and Germany, "the idea of pooling Franco-German coal and steel production came about" (Europa.eu). Thus the the European Coal and Steel Community was formed. Obviously, the war has made both countries realized that a truce between them would help establish both their political and economic health. Thus the strong necessity for a truce led to the acceptance of a the necessity to submit some elements of their sovereignty to a Higher Authority. "The underlying political objective was to strengthen Franco-German solidarity, banish the spectre of war and open the way to European integration" (Europa.eu). The Creation of the European Coal and Steel Community The idea of an integrated coal and steel industry was first toyed by Jean Monnet, the head of the French Commissariat du Plan for the reconstruction of the French economy, and the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman. On May 1950, Monnet and Schuman "published a declaration calling for a new structure to control the resurgent heavy industries in France and Germany" (Renner). The idea that Monnet and Schuman conveyed in the declaration necessitated a new institution that "have a political life independent of the existing governments - at least for the range of powers which a capitalist state at that time exercised over its coal and steel industry" (Renner). The idea developed by Monnet and Schuman envisioned new institutions that should The Schuman Plan was not aloof of power politics, as observers at the time noted (Parker 1952). Their proposal was not a conventional international organization which are usually led by committees of ministers. According to Jean Monnet in his Mmoirs, it was the second-best indirect solution after the attempt to promote direct routes aimed to eliminate risk of

Video game fanatics Essay Example for Free

Video game fanatics Essay My name is Antonio Parker and I’m here to write an essay about people who play video games nonstop, twenty-four seven, without rest. I chose this topic to specify the social behavior in people who play video games from a rare to an extremely high basis. I’ve always wondered how games impact children and, to why they play them. Video games, as of today are becoming a childhood leisure activity, and adults respond with concern about the possibility of bad effects of the games on children I had to look into this because when I was growing up playing video games like Atari 7800 and Coleco Vision, gaming wasn’t as exciting, but several years later, between the same time Atari was about to fail, Nintendo was introduced and since then, video games within the past two decades have slowly, but surely, started to lift heads, and have now erupted into a twenty billion dollar industry in the U. S economy. I, myself, am a gamer, one of world’s biggest fans when it comes to videos. So yes, I’ve been playing video games since my mother put a joystick in my hands at the age of five. I get very excited when playing, watching, or when someone brings up gaming, I’m in the middle of that conversation. Every gaming console from Nintendo, Sega, Neo Geo, PlayStation, Turbo Grafx 16, PC, and the most talked about game system, Xbox, I have purchased all to start a collection. I must say that I admit of being a video game fanatic. I used to play video games for roughly six to eight hours a day without rest. Being able to witness some my friends that play video games on a consistent basis, I come to believe that it is needed to be seen and to understand how a simple one-player game to multiplayer online-role playing games affect people in real life. When I watch G4TV to look at live events on video games, there would be a group people dress up as their favorite video game character as though it was them for real. This is the real case for those who have played an interactive to multiplayer video game. I truly believe that video games don’t control any social abilities in us, but I’ve come to hypothesize that in reality, most people that play video games have more tendency to less sociable to their own peers when outside of the â€Å"game-world†. Work Cited Parker, Antonio. A Study into Social Functioning in Video Game Fanatics. Yahoo! Contributor Network. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Jan. 2013.

Berkshire Threaded Fasteners Case Essay Example for Free

Berkshire Threaded Fasteners Case Essay Berkshire Threaded FastenersBerkshire Threaded Fasteners Company has recently lost their president, John Magers. The resulting appointment of his inexperienced son Joe Magers has lead to the companys loss of confidence. Brandon Cook is the recently appointed general manger who was hired to turn the company around after a loss of $70,000 in a good business year. As a member of an outside consulting firm I have been called in to give advice on the problems the company is facing. The time period has been updated to the present times. Manufacturing ProcessSee Appendix A for the detailed manufacturing process. In short, fasteners begin as wires, rods and bars which are then cut to length, headed and finally threaded. What should be noted is that this particular manufacturing process called cold forming is high-speed, high-volume, economical and has low wastage. Such economies of scale will allow Berkshire to offset the very high costs of cold-forming equipment. Business StrategyA careful analysis is needed in order to determine Berkshires business strategy. At first one would think it was product differentiation because of the inelastic demand in the short run. But one thing that should also be noted is the fact that for most goods, demand is much more price elastic in the long run than in the short run. This combined with the fact that Berkshire is convinced that it could not individually raise prices without suffering substantial volume declines, and that all the products of the different manufacturers in the industry are very similar, prove that their business strategy is in fact cost leadership. Another piece of evidence that also supports this strategy is the fact that the major focus of their accounting system seems to be on cost reduction. Place in the EconomyThe industrial fastener industry has been experiencing modest growth since the 1990s with an average per annum revenue growth rate of 3.6% ; though the number of employees have remained relatively the same. The North American fastener industry is still expected to grow by around 4% annually despite the competition from foreign countries. However this number represents a decline from the 9% growth spurt which occurred in 1998. The North American fastener production is strongly tied to the production of automobiles, aircraft, appliances, agricultural machinery and equipment, and the construction of commercial buildings and infrastructure. The more these industries prosper, the greater the demand and prospects for the fastener will there be. There has been as ever expanding market for fasteners in the 21st century in the aerospace industry. In fact a 9% annual growth in fasteners for this industry can be expected. Motor vehicle sales have also increased by 9.6% from 2005 to 2006. Unfortunately housing starts have only increased by 0.7% from 2005. In the future analysts expect metal fasteners to face competition from the adhesives industry as more products are being made with plastic, a product best joined together by adhesives. Also buyers have now been demanding innovative and diverse fasteners which are also more environmentally friendly- fasteners that maintain lubricity without the use of cadmium, a suspected carcinogen. So the industry is slowly shifting its focus to more highly engineered, technologically advanced fasteners. SWOTStrengths:1) Newly appointed Brandon Cook has wide executive experience in manufacturing products similar to that of Berkshire. 2) Berkshire operates in a capital intensive industry. But as a percentage of total sales, Berkshires labour costs are 24.69%. This suggests that they either still retain their employees even when they could have done without them or that they pay very high salaries to a few workers. This shows that Berkshire has either very loyal employees or very skilled employees- both being assets. Weaknesses:1) Joe Magers is not very experienced and the company is facing losses in the production of the 200 and 300 series. 2) As a percentage of total sales, Berkshires fixed costs are 47.37%. This is much higher than what a price competitive manufacturer like Berkshire should have had. 3) Berkshire pays 49% of all its wages and salaries to administrative and sales employee, when the industry average is 27% . This shows poor decision making processes of the firm. Opportunities:1) If product lines are discontinued, with the excess capacity and skilled labour force they can branch out into the production of more diverse fasteners. This ties in with the fact mentioned previously that buyers are now demanding more specialized products. Threats:1) Berkshire operates in an industry where a few of its competitors are much larger. 2) The industry is dominated by Bosworth who dictates the prices that are charged for fasteners. 3) Buyers are slowly demanding more specialized fasteners. ProblemWhat is very evident is that the company is losing money on its products. In the previous time period they had incurred a loss of $70,000. Berkshire is unsure if it is the result of the production of the 300 series or the pricing decisions of the 100 series. These alternatives need a careful analysis in order to make informed decisions that will help turn the company around. Alternative #1 Status QuoQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the company should do nothing, is to predict the future cash flows and net income (loss) for the second half of the year. See Appendix B for this calculation. The predicted net income is in fact a loss of 1134. Yet, net income may not be a faithful representation, so cash flows have also been calculated. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 388. These amounts while better than alternative #3 (drop the 300 series) is not as good as the cash flow and net income amounts for alternative #2 (reduce price levels of the 100 series). One very important thing that needs to be noted is the fact that variable costs are indeed relevant. Fixed costs remain constant even after the production is stopped, but variable costs increase and decrease with production. Therefore the total contribution margin for this alternative was calculated to be 1504 which does show this alternative in a better light  especially when in comparison to its net loss and cash flow figures. Qualitative Analysis:The reduced production of the 100 series as a result of the price level remaining the same will have a significant impact on Berkshire. The reduced production may lead to employees worrying about the fact that they may be laid off to such an extent that their productivity is significantly lowered. Berkshire could also develop a reputation of charging higher prices than the industry standard and they could end up loosing more and more buyers to competitors. Alternative #2 Change price level to $2.25 for the 100 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the price level needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of its impact on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. These calculations are shown in Appendix C. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1035. The predicted cash flow is a negative amount of 289. While these figures do seem abysmal, what should be noted is that in comparison to the other alternatives, these figures are much better. Both the net loss and negative cash flow amounts in this alternative is 99 lower than the status quo alternative and 338.58 lower than the drop 300 series alternative. This hints to the fact that maybe the price should in fact be dropped. Another fact that backs this assertion up is in the calculation of the Contribution Margin (CM) for both price levels, based on data from the first half of the year. Table 2 in Appendix A shows this calculation. While the CM of the new price level is lower than that of the original level (0.96 vs. 1.16), the fact that they will sell 250,000 units more (and hence a higher total CM for the new price) clearly makes up for this difference. The success of the new prices level will be contingent on the number of units sold. What is very dangerous about this alternative is that if in the future the demand in the market for this product line slumps, only a very small amount of money will be available to be used to pay off the fixed costs. Qualitative Analysis:The change in price level will not have much of an effect on the employees of Berkshire because they would still be producing  around the same amount of units (1000000 vs. 996859). They would not have to worry about being laid off. What will be affected is Berkshires reputation. If they had not changed they would have developed a reputation of charging high prices. The reduction of the price would put them at par with Bosworth. Alternative #3 Drop 300 seriesQuantitative Analysis:In order to determine if the 300 series needs to be dropped a few calculations are needed. First a prediction of the impact of its removal on the net income and cash flows for the second half of the year is needed. The predicted net income figure is a loss of 1373.58 and the predicted cash flow is calculated to be a negative amount of 627.70. The net loss figure calculated is the highest loss of all three alternatives and the negative cash flow amount is also much higher than the alternatives as well. This hints to the fact that maybe the 300 series line should not be dropped. Also, if the 300 series had been dropped at the beginning of the year it can be seen that there would have been a loss of -183. See the calculations for these numbers in Appendix D. Another aspect that backs up this assertion is the calculation of the Contribution Margins for all three product lines based on first half information. Even though Berkshire incurred a loss of .22/unit in the first half for series 300, when you calculate the CM it is a whole new story- the CM of 300 is a positive number- 1.15/unit, this means that Berkshire would in fact incur an even greater loss if they chose to halt production. The 1.15 per unit would no longer be available to cover some of the fixed costs. What is also surprising is the fact that the 300 series Contribution Margin is not far behind from that of the 100 series (the most profitable product line) and equal to that of the 200 series. A few other very important observations also need to be taken into account. First, since many products do cover all their variable costs, no product line would ever be dropped if only a contribution margin analysis were conducted. Second, even though the 300 series covers its variable costs and part of its fixed costs, it proves to be below par when considering full costs. Finally, in the long run all costs are variable, so the 300 series in this time frame is in fact a poor product line. Qualitative Analysis:If the 300 series was dropped it would have a significant qualitative impact on Berkshire and its employees. All the employees who were involved in the production of this line would either have to be laid off (which would have a negative impact on the reputation of the firm), or they could still be retained (which would lead to them obtaining a deep sense of respect and loyalty to the firm). Also the employees who would be shifted around would gain a greater skill set and hence become very valuable assets to the company. Evaluation of the alternativesComparison Table1) Profitability2) Timeliness3) Consistency with Strategy. Alternative #1-$11347 daysNot as muchAlternative #2-$10354-7 daysYesAlternative #3-$137410-14 daysNot as much1) Profitability:The primary objective of all businesses, no matter how big or small, is profit. That is why as a criterion, Profitability was given the number one rank. The three alternatives can easily be evaluated on this criterion by comparing the net income figures. Alternative #2 easily wins in this criterion. Despite the fact that it does have a net loss, the loss was not as great as that of Alternative #1 and #3. One important thing that should be noted is the fact that perhaps the second half of the season is always a slow period and that is why the net income figures are so low. 2) Timeliness:Berkshire operates in a business environment where if firms that lag behind in decision making, implementation of policies etc, they will be left behind with no profits. That is why Timeliness was given the rank of two. Surprisingly Status Quo would have an implementation time of around 7 days. Since keeping the price level of the 100 series the same at 2.45/unit would result in them producing 385332 less number of units (See Appendix E for the calculation), time would be need to shift employees around to new jobs in the firm, possibly close down a warehouse or even convert the machines used to produce the 100 series to now produce a different product line. Alternative #2, reduce price level would probably only take 4-7 days to implement. The only thing Berkshire would need to do would be to inform their current buyers of their new price level and perhaps also to advertise the lower price in a specialized fastener industry journal. Alternative #3, drop the 300 series would probably take around 10-14 days. Not only would Berkshire need to shift employees around, close down a warehouse etc, as a result of producing a lower number of 100 series units, but they would also have to announce the dropping of the 300 series line to its buyers, move even more employees around (or possibly lay them off), close even more warehouses down, move machinery around the manufacturing space etc. This would be a very time consuming process. Overall Alternative #2 would win in this criterion as it would have a less time consuming implementation time and process. 3) Consistency with Strategy:This criterion was given a rank of three because while necessary in the evaluation, Profitability and Timeliness do have a greater importance. In the short run Alternative #2 had the greatest consistency with strategy. Berkshire is a cost leader, and reducing the prices of the 100 series ties in very well with this strategy. Alternative #1 and #3 chose not to reduce the price and this decision conflicts with their cost leadership strategy. ConclusionOverall I would recommend that Berkshire implement Alternative #2- reduce the price level of the 100 series, as it did win in all three criteria. But one important thing needs a re-mention. The CM per unit of the reduced price level was lower than that of the higher price level. It was only because of the higher volume of sales did it manage to have a higher total contribution margin. In the future if sales volumes drop, despite the price change Berkshire would incur heavy losses. At this present time Alternative #1 and #3 are both very unprofitable and will still be in the future. At least Alternative #1 is not as unprofitable at this present time but what happens in the future will all depend on sales. Recommendations for Specific Action1) Chose a date when the price change will come in to effect and make sure all current buyers are aware of this well ahead of time. 2) Advertise in newspapers, journals etc to get the message across to new buyers that Berkshire has reduced its prices. 3) All forms, documentation, accounting systems etc should be changed to take into account the new price level. 4) Make sure that there are people at hand to research the market and evaluate whether demand is going to decline for the 100 series. 5) Make sure that there are researches available to study the market for new trends and new types of fasteners that could be produced in the future.

The Emergence Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay

The Emergence Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Information Technology Essay Many organizations have initiated Enterprise Resource Planning systems, using such packages as SAP, Peoplesoft and Oracle. The ERP market is one of the fastest growing in the software industry. In a research conducted by APICS, 34.5% of the companies with revenues over $1 billion planned to purchase or upgrade in ERP system. This research is relevant to indicate that the ERP market may reach $ 1 trillion by the year 2010 (Umble et al., 2005). Enterprise resource planning systems are a major investment. Companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in ERP software. Its implementation promotes a variety of business justifications which include replacement of numerous legacy systems, reduction in cycle time from order to delivery, and reduction in operating costs. Also, the on-line, real-time operational data that ERP systems enable managers to make better decisions and improve responsiveness to customer needs (Gyampah, 2004). There is evidence that organizations are satisfied with ERP. Based upon a sample of 117 firms in 17 countries, the Conference Board reports that 34% of the organizations were satisfied with ERP, 58% were somewhat satisfied, 7% were somewhat unsatisfied, and only 1% were unsatisfied (Al-Mashari, M., Zairi, M., 2009). Organizations have a business justification for implementing ERP systems. The business benefits of ERP include improved accessibility of information, real time access to data across the organization, improved cycle time for orders, decreased financial closing time, reduced operating costs, and lowered inventory levels. In addition ERP systems provide an opportunity to re-align business processes with best practices and to integrate enterprise-wide information supporting financial, human resources, manufacturing, sales and marketing functions. Evolution of ERP It was in the Sixties that the concept of resource planning was first introduced by software packages that dealt with inventory control capability. Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems were later introduced in 1970s and these contained a master production schedule and a bill of materials file with list of materials needed to produce each item. MRP systems were enhanced by adding tools for sales planning, customer order processing and capacity planning that provided input production scheduling, known as closed loop MRP. In the 1980s, MRPII systems incorporated financial accounting system along with manufacturing and materials management systems. MRPII led to an integrated business system that was used to create a database of material and capacity requirements for production and this system then translated these requirements into financial information. By 1990s ERP systems provided seamless integration of all information flows in the company- Financial Accounting, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management and Customer Information (Rondeau Litteral, 2001). Challenges of ERP System ERP system projects involve considerable time and cost not only in terms of investment but also for realization of benefits from their implementation. Research by Standish Group illustrates that 90% of ERP projects are late over budget. Meta Group survey data, based on 63 companies, showed that average implementation cost of ERP was $ 10.6 million and took 23 months to complete (K. Siau, 2004). A successful implementation of ERP requires a multi-stage approach (Jones M. and Price L., 2004), and the benefits of ERP may not occur until later stages. Jones et al., propose three stages: the project phase, the shakedown phase, and onward and upward phase. ERP software is introduced during project phase and is implemented into firms operations during shakedown phase. It is not until onward and upward phase, during which ERP modules are successfully integrated with operations, that the organization can achieve actual business results, such as inventory reduction (Motwani et al., 2002). However, Spathis et al. identify four phases for implementation of the same. The phases are: a planning phase, a re-engineering phase, a design phase, and a configuration and testing phase (Spathis et al., 2003). They indicate that re-engineering business practices around the ERP software is critical to successful implementation. In their stage analysis, Rondeau et al. (2001) suggest benefits of ERP occur when ERP modules are implemented successfully and when organizations can use the ERP foundation to add advance modules such as customer relationship management. A company has to make sure that its ERP investment fetches increased profitability. The key challenge is not in managing technology, but in managing people. An ERP system changes the way people work, and for the system to be effective, the change must be dramatic. It promotes efficient business processes with the requirement of fewer people than before ERP implementation or up-gradation. This implies that some employees will be asked either to change their day-to-day activities or their services would no longer be needed. Managing human behavior aspects of organizational change also known as organizational change management (OCM) cannot be underestimated in importance of this part of the implementation process. One of the keys to managing OCM is to realize that people tend to defy changes associated with their work related activities. If the ERP implementation is a project that is being forced on the employees, then they will instinctively resist it. However, if it is viewed as a chance to make the company more efficient and effective by improving business process, and consequently these process improvements will make the company more profitable and ensure job security to employees, then there is a greater likelihood that the employees will wholeheartedly support the implementation efforts. The best way to improve a business process is to delegate the task to develop process improvement ideas to people who are most familiar with the process using their experience and creativity. Sometimes, a company is not ready for ERP. In many cases, ERP implementation difficulties result when management does not fully understand its current business processes and cannot make implementation decisions in time . In order to obtain benefits from an ERP system resulting in reduction of costs needs an organization to streamline its business processes. However, if a company is not prepared to change its business process es, it will find a large bill for software and consulting fees with no improvement in organizational performance. ERP packages imply, by their design, a way of doing business, and they require users to follow that way of doing business. Some of business operations, and some segments of its operations, may not match the constraints inherent in ERP. Therefore, it is imperative for a business to analyze its business strategy, organization, culture and operations before choosing an ERP approach. Review of Literature Companies implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in order to achieve better responsiveness to the needs of customers through real-time information provided by the system, to link customers and suppliers into a complete supply chain, to provide high degree of cross functional integration, to reduce the costs and to provide the foundation for effective e-commerce (Vollmann et al., 2005). The pressure to survive in the new world order and align with the new paradigm for organizational success, namely, speed, flexibility, integration and innovation, further drives organizations towards adopting integrative software approaches like ERP. It is also a well known fact that information technology affects the organization structure (Bhattacherjee, 2000). Hence, ERP implementation would impact the structure, but this impact has not been elaborately investigated. It is often supposed that IT creates a flatter structure (Stevens, 1998). The flat structure speeds up decision-making p rocess, shortens lines of communication and aids in savings (Klein, 2001). ERP implementation benefits are not realized quickly as expected and the process is lengthy and expensive (Siau, 2004). Many organizations world over and particularly in the fast developing countries are traditional hierarchies and managing changes in structure offering challenges. As ERP implementation is an enterprise wide venture of change.It is important to understand how to manage impact on the organization structure. Two research objectives were central to this research project. ERP implementation influences the structure of the organization. Management of the change to the new structure. This paper is an attempt to examine the ERP implementation experience in a company. It drew on Organization Theory and Change Management theory to understand the transition between structures and to provide the explanations (Amoako-Gyampah, 2004). ERP represents a comprehensive software approach and information technology effects on the organization structure (Kurup, 2004) and ERP implementation success involves change management of techniques, the change management theory (Paton and McCalman, 2004) prove useful in explaining the outcomes of the case study . IT and Organization Structure The organization structure defines how the tasks are to be allocated, who reports to whom and the formal coordinating mechanisms and interaction patters that will be followed (Robbin, 1990). Organization structure has three components: Complexity, Formalization and Centralization. These components are described below and impact of IT on these components is expressed and applied to case analysis to aid in investigation of the influence of ERP on organization structure. Complexity Complexity refers to the degree of differentiation that exists within an organization. This includes the degree of specialization or division of labour, the number of levels in the organizations hierarchy, and the extent to which the organizations units are dispersed geographically (Klein, 2001). With introduction of this component of organization structure, it is possible to have wider span of control with more knowledgeable and empowered employees. Companies with IT can reduce the middle management layers and widen span of control and thereby flatten the organization structure. However, removing layers might create new challenges. New mechanisms for coordination might be needed or new process of governance might be necessary. According to the model proposed by Klein (2001), IT results in wider spans of control, fewer levels, fewer people, easier collaboration and communication. In other words, IT lowers the complexity. Formalization Formalization refers to the degree to which an organization relies on rules and procedures to direct behavior of employees. Evidence exists to indicate that developing detailed guidelines of appropriate operating procedures enhances coordination and is suitable in a stable environment (Martin, 2009). Formalization, however, is negatively associated with adoption and implementation of innovation in organizations (Ahadi, 2004) and hence it is negatively related to the ERP implementation because it tends to boast deleterious effects on the work attitudes. Centralization The decisional control in organization could be centralized or decentralized. In traditional hierarchies the decisional control is usually centralized. Research indicates that IT tends to make the decisional control more decentralized with no commensurate loss of control by the top management (Robbin, 1990). It is possible that the centralization component is related to the size of middle management although there are conflicting findings. IT results in a decrease in the size of the middle management workforce in organizations with centralized decision authority and with an increase in the number of middle managers in organizations where the authority is decentralized. Change Management The change management when linked to ERP implementation has been more focused on process change (Davison, 2002). The other type of change namely organizational restructuring provides specifics related to moving from one structure to another. The objective of restructuring is based on the companys long-range plan and the intention is to set up a structure that enables a company to be ready for new activities. However, changing an organizations structure can be difficult and successful restructuring depends on three conditions: sound planning, effective leadership and organizational commitment (Witzel, 2002). To examine organizational change in a traditional hierarchical organization, consideration is given to: Human element and informal organization. Necessity of strong management actions and inspirational vision. Sustainability of an initiative. None of available models considers all the three aspects. Informal Organization INPUT Strategy Formal OUTPUT Resources, Organization Individual Environment team, Performance Managing Change Transformation Process Figure -1 In traditional organizations, manager had to solve problems by directly communicating with the employees and was related to power and values. However, in ERP implementation much of the learning process comes from hands on use under normal operating conditions after the implementation period is over. Thus power is then transfered to individuals who are able to operate the ERP system better and utilize Work People the system resources efficiently (Aladwani, 2009). ERP affect on nature of work and training is an important part of change management practices. ERP requires users to understand that they are no longer working in isolation, and whatever they do now impacts someone else. This can create resistance that comes from a fear of the unknown and from the need of stability. There are two fundamental sources of resistance to innovations like ERP: perceived Risk and Habit. The habit of keeping the routine practices prevalent in hierarchies has to be tackled using appropriate strategies. Spathis and Constantinides (2003) have proposed a planned change model and this model assumes that change can be defined and moved in a planned way. Unlike other planning models, the four phases suggested in this model are linear and irreversible. This model satisfies the requirement of well-controlled change and strong management actions. Four phases that have been suggested are: Exploration, Planning, Action and Integration. Implementation of ERP Information technology leads to a tremendous impact on productivity of both manufacturing and service organizations. Companies have implemented systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), MRP, EDI, over time for improving their productivity. ERP systems have received attention lately due to more effective decision-making capability. Many companies are implementing ERP as a means to reducing operating costs, increasing productivity and improving customer services (Martin, 2009; Pliskin and Zarotski, 2000). ERP system can cripple a company, if not implemented properly. There are horror stories concerning implementations gone astray (Laughlin, 1999; Bancroft et al., 1998). Implementing ERP system successfully calls for strong leadership, a clear implementation plan, and a constant watch on the budget (Wagle, 2008). From a project managers point of view, most important consideration is a clear implementation plan and a strategy, that should evolve through systematic consideration of companys requirements and its ability to manage changes called for under new circumstances. Some of the factors to be considered seriously at planning stage are: Information needs at the operational and managerial level for various functional areas. Feasibility of ERP system integration with the existing information systems Schedule for adaptation of the new system. An organization requires development of an implementation strategy. Such a strategy, will determine how the related changes can be successfully absorbed at various parts of the organization. It has been found that the organizations that had no SAP implementation strategic plan performed poorly compared to those who had a plan. ERP implementation from countries around the world demonstrates that success is essentially conditional on adequately managing complex context of the implementation, which necessitates change management across various key areas related to business processes, IT structure, and management systems (Al-Mashari and Zairi, 2009). This highlights practical issues associated with the implementation of ERP systems. For successful implementation three basic requirements are to be met: a clear business objective, comprehension of the nature of changes and understanding of the project risk. Strong leadership and constant watch on budget are the two other, yet equally significant requirements, as stressed by Wagle (2008). For an effective implementation of ERP system, particularly SAP R/3, an organization must take a holistic view of the process (Al-Mashari and Zairi, 2009). Various issues at strategic, managerial, and operational levels should be addressed in order to achieve optimum outcomes from an ERP system. For a successful outcome an organization must establish competencies in four core areas: Change Strategy development and deployment, Enterprise-wide Project Management, BPR integration with IT, and technical aspects of ERP installation. These competencies will enable managers to effectively manage changes and direct the organization to desired goals (see Fig.2). Fig. 2. Core competencies in effective implementation of ERP (adopted from Al-Mashari and Zairi 2009). Change management Strategy Changes in an organization are brought about through implementation of strategies. Kuruppuarachchi et al. (2002) examined the success (and failure) factors and implementation methodologies that contribute to change management strategy formulation in organizations. Fig. 3 presents a framework of the change management process, incorporating change agents and strategic considerations at various stages of ERP implementation, when viewed from an IT project implementation point of view. Meyers et al. (2009) analyzed about 130 research papers to find out factors influencing the implementation of new technologies for improved operational efficiencies. They classified implementation success factors as buyers characteristics, seller characteristics, buyer-seller interface, and environment. These factors are listed below: Human resources: greater education and training among personnel; positive motivation, attitudes, and commitment toward the innovation. Structure: an adaptive and flexible structure; strong communications mechanism and net work across structural boundaries. Decision processes: broad strategic, as opposed to narrowly and earlier involvement of technical goals; greater and earlier involvement of the operational workforce; top management support and commitment and the presence of a champion; cooperation among units; slow, gradual radical incorporation of the innovation. Technology fit: familiarity with the new technology and availability of relevant skills within the organization. Higher level of technical capabilities of the seller. Strong communications skills of the seller. Expertise in project management of the seller. Constructive cooperation between buyer and seller in implementation. Knowledge transfer: the buyer is involved in leaning, diagnosing, and shaping usage patterns of the buyer. Intensive networking within and across industries leading to greater exposure to innovations. Fig.3. Change management considerations (Source: Kuruppuarachchi et al., 2002). Case Study -I Pantaloon: ERP in Retail More than eight years after it forayed into the retail business, Pantaloon Retail decided to implement SAP to keep itself competitive in the rapidly growing Indian retail market. Store operations have never been as important to retailers as they were then. Successful retailers are those who know that the battle for customers is only won at the frontline, which in the case of a retail chain is at its stores. Pantaloon was regularly opening stores in metros and there was an urgent need for a reliable enterprise wide application to help run its business effectively. The basic need was to have a robust transaction management system and an enterprise wide platform to run the operations, says Rakesh Biyani, Director, Pantaloon. The Solution The company was looking for a solution that would bring all its businesses and processes together. After a comprehensive evaluation of different options and software companies, the management at Pantaloon decided to go in for SAP. Some of the qualities of SAP retail solutions are that it supports product development, which includes ideation, trend analysis, and collaboration with partners in the supply chain; sourcing and procurement, which involves working with manufacturers to fulfill order according to strategic merchandising plans and optimize cost, quality, and speed-variables that must be weighted differently as business needs, buying plans, and market demand patterns change; managing the supply chain, which involves handling the logistics of moving finished good from the source into stores and overseeing global trade and procurement requirements; selling goods across a variety of channels to customers, which requires marketing and brand management; managing mark-downs and capt uring customer reactions, analyzing data, and using it to optimize the next phase of the design process. In a Nutshell Aim To deploy a robust transaction management system and an enterprise wide platform to run its operations. Solution SAP retail solution Implemented by SAP team with the help of Novasoft, Singapore Number of users Around 1,200 Time taken About six months Cost of implementation A $ 10 million Implementation The implementation was outsourced to a third party. The implementation was done by the SAP team with help of Novasoft which is based at Singapore, says Core Team Member. This project was headed by Pantaloons Chief Information Technology Officer, Chinar Deshpande. Some people from Pantaloon assisted in the project and twenty four qualified people worked on the SAP implementation. Three Phases SAP implementation in Pantaloon was not a single phase process. The project was divided into three phases. The first phase of implementation involved blueprinting of existing processes and mapping them to the desired state. In this phase, the entire project team worked on current processes within Pantaloon Retail. The various existing processes were thoroughly analyzed and drafted. This blueprint was later used in the formation of new states of the solution. Since the SAP would combine all the processes, each and every one of these had to be evaluated. In the second phase, the SAP platform was developed with the help of Novasofts template which was predefined by SAP after evaluation of Pantaloons needs and expertise in retail solutions. The last phase in this project was for stores to switch over to the new system and for current data to be ported. Before the SAP implementation, all the data was unorganized. This data had to be migrated to the new SAP application. The project was flagged off on 15th June 2005 and took about six months to finish. It went live at the head office on 1st January 2006. The Pantaloon Retail stores used SAP from 1st January 2006 to 30th June 2006. Benefits and Challenges The key challenges in this project were not in the implementation. Rather, the difficulties were faced during the data migration and in managing the interim period when the project was underway for about six months. Migrating unorganized data to an organized format was a challenging task. SAP General Ledger gives Pantaloon a higher level of transparency into individual operations and helps it continually drive productivity improvements across the enterprise. For example, Pantaloon can now automatically split accounting line items per document for each company profit center. These transactions are handled by the software,and the company no longer needs to make period adjustments to balance sheet and profit and loss statements. With the document splitting tool, Pantaloon now has a real-time, complete picture of its accounts receivables and payables across all operational levels, which has enabled it to reduce receivables by up to 10%. In addition, it is now able to close the monthly books 20% faster, due to tight integration between financials and controlling components and real-time reconciliation capabilities. The application is currently being used by around 1,200 employees across the organization. For maintaining this implementation and its related applications, Pantaloon has an in-house team and it has outsourced ABAP resources. ERP system relied greatly on this in-house team for training its employees (at every level) and extracting benefits from ERP. The system runs on a HP Superdome server on HP UNIX 11 and the database is from Oracle. The cost of this project was about $ 10 million. Future projects After the successful implementation of SAP for its retail chain, Pantaloon plans to go ahead with IT projects such as implementation of WMS with RFID, Customer Intelligence and CRM. Inventory and Promotions Optimization are being pursued. Case Study II Ace Designers Ltd. ERP reduces manufacturing costs by 20% for Industrial Equipment manufacturer Overview Since 1987, Ace Designers Limited, Indias manufacturer of CNC lathes and auto lathes, has been exporting machines around the world, including Brazil, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States. With growth, their largely manual systems started breaking down. They had no centralized purchasing department and means of sharing information, so company groups were paying different amounts for the same parts from the same vendor. Delivery dates were missed because of a lack of inventory control, and top management had little visibility to manufacturing process. The Challenge Ace needed a complete information system built around an ERP solution that would help manage every aspect of their manufacturing process-from purchasing and inventory to manufacturing, planning and preparing for ISO certification. The Solution Ace commissioned a comprehensive survey of the ERP market and Intuitive was selected for four major reasons: A 100 percent Microsoft platform, an easy-to-use graphical interface, excellent support, and scalable open architecture features that permitted the addition of users at any time. The consultants who evaluated Intuitive ERP and its competitors for ACE Designers concluded: Intuitive ERP is easy to install, interface, customize and maintain. It can be integrated seamlessly into any manufacturing environment and has a good scheduling flexibility and versatile options. It also has a definite ISO 9000 facilitation orientation. Ace Designers Results Ace started module wise implementation of Intuitive ERP in four phases, which were completed in four months. Intuitive ERPs graphical interface and integration with Microsoft Office and Access made it easy for Aces staff, which prior to this had virtually no computer experience, to learn and use the new system. And using Microsoft SQL Server as the database engine delivered speed and robustness necessary for their mission critical applications. Hence, employees support was a crucial factor that added to achievement of success in ERP implementation in the organization. We transformed the company from a practically nil computer culture to a total computerized system, said V. Chandra, General Manager of Ace. The learning curve for Intuitive ERP is reduced to well below that of other manufacturing systems because of graphical and interactive flow charts and complete context sensitive online help. Implementing Intuitive ERP led to dramatic improvements in every operational area: Managers now have the most current inventory and costing models available to them at all times, and they can set competitive pricing that ensures profitability. They are able to monitor online status of work orders for components, sub-assemblies and final assemblies. Improved Planning: With the previous manual planning system, it was difficult to coordinate customer requirements and design changes with production and assembly functions to meet the manufacturing schedule. Now there is seamless coordination between all departments while significantly reducing planning headcount. Prior to Intuitive ERP, there had been virtually no inventory management at Ace; information on non-moving or slow-moving items and stock values was not available. With new tools in place, manufacturing inventory has been reduced by 20 percent. With reports such as Purchase Price Variance, there is visibility of the cost of every purchased item. This has resulted in better price negotiation with suppliers resulting in a 20 percent price reduction. Intuitive ERP provides accurate data for making manufacturing decisions through reports that include online machine utilization, online work order status monitoring, online WIP components costing, online WIP sub-assembly costing and online labor utilization. Case Study III ERP Implementation Failure at HP Stanford engineers Bill Hewlett and David Packard started HP in California in 1938 as an electronic instruments company. Its first product was a resistance-capacity audio oscillator, an electronic instrument used to test sound equipment. During the 1940s, HPs products rapidly gained acceptance among engineers and scientists. HPs growth was aided by heavy purchases made by US government during the Second World War. In the 1980s, HP emerged as a major player in the computer industry, offering a full range of computers from desktop machines to powerful minicomputers. This decade saw the development of successful products like the Inkjet and LaserJet printers. HP introduced its first personal computer (PC) in 1981, followed by an electronic mail system in1982. This was first major wide-area commercial network that was based on a minicomputer. HP introduced its HP 9000 computer with 32-bit super chip. HP became leader in workstations with the purchase of market leader, Apollo Computers, in 1989. In August 2004, HP announced that its revenues for the third quarter and it was identified that its Enterprise Servers and Storage (ESS) segment had gone down by 5% (amounting $ 3.4 billion) as compared to the same quarter the previous year. The company attributed this revenue shortfall mainly to the problems faced because of migration to a centralized ERP system at one of its North American divisions. The total financial impact of the failure including backlogs and lost revenue was pegged at $ 16

The Dawn Of A New Beginning :: Free Essays Online

The Dawn Of A New Beginning Many mornings during my childhood, my father would take me to watch the sunrise over the water. The place he took me was discovered several years prior and was the ideal place to watch the sunrise. It was comprised of a hill that was surrounded with only the purity of nature. The hill was encompassed by trees, and it slowly sloped down until the foot of the hill waded into the water’s edge. At the top of the hill stood a massive Wye Oak tree, that to a child eyes seemed as though it was a skyscraper. This tree was as wide as a house and was full of green leaves. It was strategically placed in the center of the hill, which also happened to be the optimum point to see the sunrise. On one side of this hill was a field of swaying flowers. The flowers formed a rainbow of color, like the ones that were in the field by the Emerald City in Wizard of Oz. On another side was a crystal blue lake whose top seemed to be like a sheet of ice. This place was the â€Å"ideal place† for the sunrise because no matter what was wrong in life, this tranquil area, which was like the Garden of Eden, was a means of escape. No matter, where someone stood on the hill the sun and nature was always gorgeous. One of my first visits to this place I remember very vividly. We got up early and my father drove us to the hill. We laid down our blanket under the tree and leaned up against its massive trunk. After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity (which was really only a matter of minutes) the sun began to peer over the trees almost like a child looking over the sofa to see if anyone has discovered them in a game of hide and seek. As the sun slowly rose over the trees, and with it my excitement level. It seemed like I was almost in tune with nature. My eyes followed the sun from the point when it was a red-orange ball, and was not even over the trees, to when it became whitish yellow ball in the middle of the sky. As the sun rose and I began to awaken a little more and I headed closer to the water’s edge.

Quality Control :: essays research papers fc

Topics in Liberal Arts Math. Quality Control Quality control, as described through the Encarta Dictionary, is a system used in many companies, departments, and businesses for achieving or maintaining a desired level of quality in a manufactured product by inspecting samples and assessing what changes may be needed in the manufacturing process. To do this inspectors are hired and made to look over every step of the manufacturing process to make sure the product is as the company’s standards want it to be. There are many businesses that use this technique, but one in particular which hinges its success on the quality of its product is the food industry. In no other industry is quality control more important than in this field. If the quality is not checked in all products it can spell disaster for a food processing company. Not only can poorly processed food taste bad, but, in some instances it can lead to sickness, leaving the industry in a very difficult and possibly legally responsible situation. So, to prevent this, th e food industry, as well as many others, chose to use quality control in the form of sampling, to make sure their products go on the market not only tasting good, but being safe as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the food industry, quality control is used to make sure that only the tastiest product goes on the market, and in order to do this, only the best ingredients must be chosen for a company’s product. Take for example tomato paste. The most vital ingredient in tomato paste is just that, tomato. Therefore, a company specializing in tomato paste must first check and guarantee that all the tomato’s meet there specifications. The first step in this process would then have to be creating quality specifications. The most popular method amongst the food industry for creating this is checking the food product through what they call â€Å"food attributes†. In the case of a tomato this can be anything from color, size, shape, any damage on the tomato, and the hardness of the fruit. Once this is completed and agreed upon, inspectors are hired to overview and test a representative sample of the food, in this case tomatoes, to make sure the batch meets the specifications set out by the company.

The Arguments Surrounding Media Bias Essay -- Communication, Fairness

Whether it is through a newspaper, television, magazines or talk radio, people will always communicate through some type of medium. Now, whether or not the mediums are tainted with bias is a question of beliefs. Some people argue that journalism today is rather fair and balanced, while others would vehemently oppose that view by saying that bias is definitely prevalent in news media and other mediums today. In some instances, there lies the belief that the fairness doctrine should be reestablished in order to mend the problem of bias; however, many would strenuously fight that by arguing that such an act would destroy the freedom of the press guaranteed under the first amendment. Another argument surrounding this issue is the expectation of journalists to be as objective to each issue as possible. Contrary to this, people argue that it isn’t possible to be completely objective. Many arguments surround the issue of media bias. Today, many argue for the return and enforcement of the Fairness Doctrine. The doctrine was established in 1934. It required that anyone who had a broadcasting license had to present both sides of an issue. Broadcasters, however, had the opportunity to decide how long they would cover the â€Å"other side† (â€Å"The Broadcasting Fairness Doctrine† 3). Dave Johnson, a columnist for the Huffington Post, argued back in 2009, for the revival of the fairness doctrine. In his column, he writes that the fairness doctrine would reintroduce the idea that the public owns the resources of the country, the laws, and has the power to tell corporations what to do instead of them telling the public what to do (Johnson Par. 4). Alan Sears, a former federal prosecutor for the Reagan administration and current president and CEO ... ...n nearly enough. Media Bias may be considered either a serious problem or no problem at all. Some may feel that it is the Journalists responsibility to assure that no bias makes it into the news and that they should be as objective as possible. However, there are those who argue that journalists should not be expected to be as objective as possible because it is not realistic to believe that it can be accomplished. Then there is the argument to revive the Fairness Doctrine, or to keep it abolished forever for fear that the freedom of speech will be threatened if it is brought back to life. The media is an entity of its own. It is controlled and operated by a few people. The journalists under them willingly reflect the beliefs of their bosses into their works in order to keep their jobs. The harm in all of this depends on the influence it has on each individual.

Key Principles of Management and Leadership

Unit 1 – Key principles of management and leadership Activity 1 a) Though the two terms seem similar on the surface, in reality they are quite different. A great manager does not necessarily make a great leader, and a great leader does not necessarily make a great manager. Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established. Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i. e. : a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.The manager uses a formal, rational method whilst the leader uses passion and stirs emotions. People naturally and willingly follow leaders due to their charisma and personality traits, whereas a manager is obeyed due to the formal authority vested in him/her. As a result, people tend to be more loyal towards leaders rather than managers. Managers supervise employees. They make plans, delegate responsibilities, and coordinate activities. Their goal is to create something that is definable and repeatable. Leaders are focused on bringing about innovation and change for the company.Their primary role is to inspire people and to motivate employees. They are focused on change. They create a sense of vision, hope, and alignment among employees. An organisation cannot thrive without a manager, and it cannot thrive without a leader. Leadership and management must go hand in hand to be successful – both in corporate and casual settings. They are linked, and complimentary to one another. Managers will:Leaders will: AdministrateInnovate MaintainDevelop Focus on systems and/or structuresFocus on people Rely on their controlInspire trust in people Hold short range viewsHave a longer range perspectiveAsk ‘how’ and ‘when’Ask ‘what’ and ‘why’ Keep an eye on the bottom lineKeep an eye on the horizon ImitateOriginate Accept the status quoChallenge it Be a classic good soldierBe his/her own person Accept realityInvestigate it b) Management encompasses 5 functions which are planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling. Planning – Planning gives management the ability to logically come up with different strategies to make sure that the project ends in success. The term for generating plans of action can be for immediate, short term, medium term and long term periods.If management does not implement a plan the only plan that he can guarantee is a poor performance. Organising – In order to make sure that the plan is a success management have to make sure things within the company and the plan are properly organised. This is where management can divide, coordinate and control the task and information within the organisation. Assigning work and granting authority are 2 important elements of organising. Staffing – Now that the structure is properly put together, management needs to have employee's to carry out the plan. This is also known as human resource management.In this concept management will be devoted to properly acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating their employee's. Employees are what give a company a competitive edge. Management must ensure that the right number of and kind of employees are placed at the right places and at the right time when the organisation is in need of them. Directing – This is the ability to get employee's to achieve the goals of the company in the most effective and optimal way. Leading, motivating, communication and coordination are the elements that come under directing.Directing is about guiding and leading the people in an organisation. Controlling – This is the process that ensures whether the resources are obtained and used efficiently in achieving the organisational objectives. This function will be the last task that management will do. This will allow the ability to check the performance of the employee's to make sure it correlates with the input (plan) and output (performance). For this reason, that is why controlling function of management is closely linked with the planning function. ) It is the requirement of a team leader to achieve objectives set by management for a team. However, since the team leader cannot meet these objectives on their own, it will be required for the team leader to lead or manage a team to achieve success using the skills of the team. The team’s objectives will be those of the team leader. The team will consist of a number of individuals each working to achieve their own objectives, based on each individual’s particular skills, knowledge and expertise. This breaking down into specific tasks will contribute to the overall achievement of the objectives of the team.With this in mind a team leader must know their staff, but it is equally important that the staff know the team leader. A leader must know how to build and nurture such a team. A good leader knows when to be a leader and when to be a follower. Good leaders are good followers when that's what is needed. Other skills that the team leader will need to possess are: Integrity. Having strong internal guiding principles that one does not compromise. It means treating others as you would wish to be treated. Integrity promotes trust, and not much is accomplished without trust.Leading by example. Innovation and vision. Welcoming new tasks and new ways of doing things. Having a clear idea where his or her organisation and/or unit are going in the long term. Communication. Leaders need to learn to be proficient in both the communication that informs and seeks out information and the communication that connects interpersonally with others. Being able to listen well, explain things clearly, ask questions and be aware of what people really think and feel (not what they may say). Relationships.A leader who likes dealing with people issues, who can initiate and deepen relationships with others, has a great leadership ad vantage. This is a leader who can build a team and achieve impressive results. This can help with the ability to motivate others. Getting people to do things because they want to and not because they are told to. Persuasion. The ability to influence others and cause them to move in a particular direction is a highly important skill in leadership. A leaders ability to be persuasive is directly related to how much people trust you and how good your communication and relationships are.Adaptability. Adaptability and flexibility in not being bound by a plan are important success factors. A leader must move easily from one set of circumstances (the plan) to the next (the plan is not going as expected) and take them all in stride, even when the circumstances are unexpected. A good leader has to embrace change and see it as opportunity. Coaching and self-development. Developing others is an important role for a leader. Encouraging others to expand their capabilities and take on additional a ssignments is part of a leader’s responsibility.Leaders who feel threatened by the capabilities of others are generally challenged in this area. This coincides with being interested in what people think and feel. Self-development and expanding one’s own capabilities inspires trust and respect from the team which also goes hand in hand in developing others. Decision-making. A leader must be able to wade through information, comprehend what’s relevant, make a well-considered decision, and take action based on that decision. Making decisions too quickly or too slowly will impede leadership effectiveness. Planning.Planning involves making certain assumptions about the future and taking actions in the present to positively influence that future. Planning means to focus more strategically. Although important for guidance and focus, plans are rarely rigid. d) My job as a Senior Support Worker is to provide support to the Registered Manager and lead a small team of supp ort staff in the day to day running of the unit in line with the company’s objectives. I am responsible for ensuring all Service Users who reside at the unit receive high quality, person centred support. I provide support, coaching and mentoring to team members.I am responsible for preparing, maintaining and supporting team members in the updating of care plans. I ensure good working practices are established and maintained. I have to observe a proactive approach to achieving a positive, engaging, promotional and relationship building role with Local Authorities and all other stakeholders. e) * I give support, educate and manage the staff team on a day to day basis and through bi-monthly supervision. * I am responsible for the deployment and control of appointments on a day to day basis, plus the allocation of certain appointments to specific team members. I support the running of the home to achieve real, individualised care packages for the Service Users. * I promote effect ive team working, to maintain good communications systems, including hand over’s, log books, supervision and staff meetings. * I assist the manager in identifying training and development needs for the staff team and to help facilitate these needs. * I review, monitor and fulfil health and safety responsibilities to ensure a safe working environment for yourself, colleagues and the Service Users. I support and maintain effective working relationships with all other staff and to promote good relationships with local residents and the general community. * I have a positive, hardworking attitude and remain committed to the ethos of Reed Care Homes Ltd. * I provide a positive working role model for other colleagues and Service Users, with reference at all times to the company’s equal opportunities policy and the recognition of each person unique racial, cultural and religious needs. * I assist the Registered Manager in the recruitment of new team members and complete induc tions. I provide cover for the Registered Manager in their absence. * I maintain professional knowledge and skills through training and a commitment to continuous professional development. f) In 1997 John Adair developed a model of leadership training based on three overlapping circles that are involved in any leadership situation. If you look closely at matters involving leadership, there are always three elements or variables: * the leader – qualities of personality and character * the situation – partly constant, partly varying the group – the followers: their needs and values. There are three areas of overlapping need which are centrally important which are related to task, group maintenance and the individual. Task – The reason a group of people come together to perform a task is because the task is too big for one person. A range of knowledge and skills are required and these will not be found in one person. Group maintenance – Many of the fo rmal or informal rules and procedures of the group are designed to promote unity and to maintain cohesiveness at all costs.There is a feeling that good relationships are essential towards a shared goal. This need to create and promote group cohesiveness is called group maintenance. Individual – Individuals bring into groups their own needs, for eg, recognition; a sense of fulfilment, status, and what Adair terms as the deeper needs to give to and receive from other people in a working situation. Adair believes that these individual needs are more profound than we sometimes realise. These needs may attract us or repel us from any given group.The three areas of need overlap and influence one another. If the common task is achieved, then that tends to build the team and to satisfy personal human needs in the individual. If there is a lack of cohesiveness in the team circle, a failure of team maintenance, then clearly performance in the task area will be impaired and the satisfac tion of individual members reduced. In order to achieve the common task and to maintain teamwork, certain functions have to be performed. Adair's three circles model emphasises the importance of distinguishing the individual from the group.It is fundamental that each of the circles must always be seen in relation to the other two. A leader must always be aware of what is happening in relation to the team in terms of the three circles. In 1993 Charles Handy pointed out that it is unlikely that there will ever be a situation where there is a perfect match between the need of the individual, the group and the task. The leader's job is to be aware of the tension and to manage it. A leader must maintain some distance, as they are responsible and accountable for: * Achievement of the common task Ensuring the group work as a team * Facilitating the development of the individuals Leaders need to interact with others whose support they need in order to accomplish goals. To gain their support , leaders must be able to understand and motivate them. To understand and motivate people, leaders must know human nature. Human nature is the common qualities of all human beings. People behave according to certain principles of human nature. Human needs are an important part of human nature and leaders must understand these needs because they can be powerful motivators.In 1970 Maslow felt that human needs were arranged in a hierarchical order and that the basic needs must be met before the higher order needs in the form of 5 levels: 5. Self-actualization — knows exactly who you are, where you are going, and what you want to accomplish. A state of well-being. 4. Esteem — feeling of moving up in world, recognition, few doubts about self. 3. Belongingness and love — belong to a group, close friends to confide with. 2. Safety — feels free from immediate danger. 1. Physiological — food, water, shelter, sex.Maslow deemed that people want and are foreve r striving to meet various goals. Because the lower level needs are more immediate and urgent, then they come into play as the source and direction of a person's goal if they are not satisfied. A need higher in the hierarchy will become a motive of behaviour as long as the needs below it have been satisfied. Unsatisfied lower needs will dominate unsatisfied higher needs and must be satisfied before the person can climb up the hierarchy. Leaders knowing where a person is located on the pyramid will aid in determining effective motivators.Almost no one stays in one particular hierarchy for an extended period. We constantly strive to move up, while at the same time various forces outside our control try to push us down. The goal as a leader is to help people obtain the skills and knowledge that will push them up the hierarchy on a more permanent basis. People who have their basic needs met become much better workers as they are able to concentrate on fulfilling the visions put forth to them, rather than consistently struggling to make ends meet.