Group Communication Essay

In my opinion, group work is a type of cooperative learning that helps people to accomplish a certain task in a faster and more effective manner. Team working also helps to achieve the tasks that are impossible to finish by one individual. However, if people in a group have a lot of conflicts, group work will not be able to achieve as much as we expected. There are many reasons which lead to dissatisfaction in group work such as individualism as well as conflicts in opinion and time. Initially, I had a negative view on group working because of the challenges that I had. When I was in high school, my five other friends and I used to work together in a music competition. Although we were supposed to get together to practice for the event, we were only able to meet up once a week. In addition to having a hard time with time scheduling, we often did not have a consensus of opinion. Whenever we had a discussion, we usually ended up with no results. So it always took a long time for us to make a decision. Consequently, the performance did not turn out as well as we expected. Because of this initial failure, I thought group work was time consuming and ineffective. However, I have changed my opinion lately because of the successful results in some of my laboratory classes. In each laboratory assignment, it is nearly impossible to work by myself because there are a lot of steps and each step needs to be very precise and accurate. Therefore, a group of two or three students will work more effectively compared to an individual because they can help to remind each other and finish the assignment faster. Based on those experiences, one more time I give myself a chance to work in a group and figured out how work effectively. Finally, thank to the Small group communication class, I found out that group work can become very productive if all the members in the group cooperate and follow the principles of small group communication. In this paper, I want to talk about my recent success in my current group regarding the effectiveness of our group communication as well as my communication competence during the last four months of working together. First, I want to discuss about how we follow the principles of small group communication. Fortunately, our group usually does not have a lot of conflicts because our opinions often support each others’. While other groups need thirty minutes to make a decision, our group can make it in half of that time. I think it is one of our group biggest strength. Besides, we always favor majority viewpoints, but we also listen and analyze the idea which is different from others. For example, when we were working together in the winter survival exercise, most of the members agreed that compass is the second importance. However, Phong thought that in a heavy snow, compass was useless. After discussion, we decided to make it the sixth importance. Thanks to Phong’s opinion, we lost fewer points because compass turned out to be the most useless one. Phong is an expert with cold weather because he used to visit his friend in Alaska where the temperature usually drops under zero degrees Fahrenheit. Phong is also the most quiet group member. He only shares his opinions in the topic which he is expert of. The others group members can be considered as verbal group members because they always contribute their ideas and experiences to all discussions in the group. Regarding leadership, we only have one leader throughout because we want the leader to get used to her role. Thus, she and the group can work more effectively. Finally, I have to admit that our group is not a creative group, but we have one member who is such a creative person. Again, in the winter survival activity, I thought the old newspapers were totally useless, but Lan came up with a creative idea that it could be used to keep warm. She said she often see people who are homeless use old news papers as their blankets. At last, it turned out that the newspaper worked even better than clothes. Because of following well those principles, our group has gradually worked more effectively. Secondly, I want to mention our group climate. In my opinion, our group has a supportive climate. Each member is willing to help other members in the group to complete their tasks. Our group favors description compared to evaluation. Instead of criticizing others’ behaviors and ideas, we often tell our feelings about problems. All the group members always encourage each other to share their opinions and feelings with the group. Even though some opinions are too conflicting, the main purpose is trying to give all the members equal opportunities to talk about their ideas. Thus, the success of the group is the consequence from the equal contributions of all the members. Besides, in most of the discussions of our group, we are oriented toward problem solving; therefore, we look for the consensus of the ideas in order to solve the problems effectively and quickly. Because our group has many members who have senses of humor, we always maintain an interesting and comfortable atmosphere to gain assertiveness in the group. Sometimes, Ngoc and Phong share their experiences of how they solve their families’ problems. Through perceiving more deeply about each member’s own life, we have gradually gotten closer together; therefore, we are always honest and open to each other. Also, we do not criticize when a group member cannot finish his or her task as expected because there are always personal issues out of the class. In addition to empathy, I think that provisionalism is one of the factors that helps the group to do well. In life, there is nothing certain, so we do not expect everything to be absolutely perfect. We only try our best and hope for a deserved result. To sum up, with a supportive climate, our group can take advantage of group work regardless of difficulties that people usually have when working in a group. Also, our group does not have a difficult group member because we are cooperative and responsible for our tasks. Moreover, all the members are always willing to cover the missing roles to get the work done. I think that the supportive climate in our group really helps us to work better. In addition to the success of the group communication, I think that my communication competence is one of the most important factors. In most of the Vietnamese family, parents often attempt to have their children follow some particular rules especially being polite and respecting elders. Because I am not an exception from those Vietnamese children, I always follow those rules whenever I communicate to others in the family and in the society as well. For example, when I work in my present group whose members are different ages, I usually listen to the opinions of the older members before sharing mine. I feel that they have more experiences than I do about life. Also, I truly respect others ideas even though sometimes they are really opposed to mine such as the idea about the importance of the rope in the moon survival. I thought the rope was useless but it was thought to be the most important tool which was used to connect people together by another member. I thought it was actually reasonable in some way. Another rule in my communication is that I try to keep myself from being different. Therefore, if my opinion is opposed to the others, I hardly argue with them because I think it is best to keep a friendly and peaceful environment in a group. Accordingly, my present group always has less conflict. Thus, I think that the way I work and communicate in the group also helps the group to perform better. In the last part of his paper, I want to mention the roles and leadership in our group. Each member in the group has their own roles and tasks. First, Trang, our leader, is an energizer and a tension reliever. She loves to joke around her group members. In addition, she always gives funny ideas to make other members laugh and relieve tension. Next, Lan is a summarizer and a process observer who often listens to the ideas of all the members in her group. Then, she collects information and summarizes the group’s opinions. Besides, She usually laughs and makes jokes which helps to release the tense atmosphere in the group. Ngoc is an information and opinion giver and a communication facilitator who often shares her ideas and speaks clearly to help other members in the group easily understand her. Also, when an idea of a group member sounds too complicated and confusing, she is the one who makes it simpler to understand. I am also an information and opinion giver and an encourager of participation. I love to give my opinions of the group activities. Also, I often ask questions to have other members participate in the group. Finally, Phong and Chau are information and opinion seekers. While Phong researches information online, Chau often represents our group to communicate with other groups for more information and ideas. Lan and Trang are considered themselves as clowns because they are the funniest members in our group. Every one of us kept laughing with their interesting ideas. Because all the members have specific tasks to focus on, whenever the group is assigned, each member tries their best to accomplish their tasks; therefore, this increases cohesiveness in the group. Working this way, we ask for the responsibilities of each member in the group. Therefore, we always encourage and help each other to do things better. Finally, I want to mention the leadership role in our group. Initially, Lan was assigned to be our leader in the ball tossing activity. However, Trang emerged as a leader in the winter survival activity. She always encourages the group members to work harder, and she gives interesting and funny opinions to relieve our tension. At the end, she is the one who summarizes the group opinion and makes the final decision. We as a group think that Trang is a democratic model with participating style. When the group members are willing to share their ideas, Trang becomes a listener. She respects the others’ ideas, and her decisions always fit most of the members. Therefore, with a good leader and a specific role for each member, all the assignments have become easier when we work together. Through four months working together, I finally realized that if we all cooperate and follow the principles of small group communication, group work will be an excellent approach to solve any problem. I have experienced and learned many things from my present group. At the beginning, I was considered as a quiet group member because I rarely shared my ideas with others. However, there were some cases that my ideas might have helped if I had shared. I kept thinking about it and I had been trying to communicate more often; and eventually, I am the one who gives most of the ideas to the group. Also, I have learned that we need to be responsible for our tasks. If a person in the group does not finish his or her task, it will affect everyone in the group and the initial task cannot be accomplished. If I have a chance to work in a group in the future, I will try to follow all the factors that help my current group to perform really well.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn

In 1861 the US government introduced the reservation solution. Plains Indians were to be moved to designated areas known as reservations. There they would receive payments from the government and be taught the ways of the white men. However the Indians who refused to surrender their lives and the Grace land that they and their brothers had lived upon, long before the white men's unexpected arrival, soon disrupted this plan. The breaking of the treaty, which prevented white settlers to settle upon their land, and also them passing through it, angered Red Cloud. There were many Sioux attacks on travellers. These attacks went on for many years, until 1866. The US army ignored their accusations and set up forts along the reservation, to prevent further attacks. Red Cloud in disgust attacked the army. The forts, which had been built upon the Bozeman trail, were soon under siege. The Sioux alone were not strong enough to capture the forts, which were equipped with weaponry the Plains Indians had rarely see before, Rifles. Red Cloud kept a force of several Sioux Bands and had also allied with the Arapaho and the Cheyenne. The incentive, of their livelihoods spurred them on. They fort for many months. Red Cloud also had the vision to try and persuade the Crow, traditional enemies of the Sioux, to fight with his people. Although this did not happen, Red Cloud and his people fought on. In 1868 the government admitted that the Indians could not be defeated militarily. So the Us government signed the treaty of Fort Laramie, which saw the creation of the great Sioux Reservation. No non-Indians were to set foot inside this reservation. As soon as the army had left, the forts were burnt to the Ground. It was the start of many years of peace for Red Cloud. However not all of his people agreed with the life that they had been hand fed. Red Clouds power decreased and the Sioux now looked towards the more militant leaders such as Sitting Bull and Red Cloud. However there were worse times to come for the people of the Sioux. The Peace Treaty could not be maintained forever, could it? In 1874 a man by the name of George Armstrong Custer led the seventh Cavalry to the Black Hills, to see whether the area held, the shiny stone that the White Men craved. In doing this he broke the Peace Treaty of Fort Laramie, which had been signed 6 years earlier. Custer had found Gold, hills full of it, ‘From the grassroots down'. This enticed thousands of miners, in search of happiness to the area. The army could not prevent this, and the government did not want to. The Sioux did. The inhabitants attacked many miners. The Government of the United States offered huge sums of money, per year, to the Sioux, in return for the rights to the Gold that they were obviously not using! But the Indians were not interested in round pieces of metal, that the white men exchanged and they were bot willing to give up the Birthplace of their people up easily. In December 1875 all Sioux were ordered to return to their disturbed reservation. The Indian numbers made this hard. There were reported to be 7000 Indians, amongst them Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull refused to agree to reservation life, and so many Sioux looked upon him as their new leader. February 1876 saw the army been ordered that any Indians that was not inside the reservation were to be treated as Hostile. This led to a three- pronged campaign, ordered by General Philip Sheridan. The campaign that followed led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Bighorn being the mountain ranges where the battle was to take place. And so George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry set out along with two other parties to force the Indians back to their reservations. Custer rode along the Rosebud River with the men he had been allocated by General Terry. Whilst riding into position, Custer spotted the Sioux village about 15 miles ahead. Custer contemplated attacking, ignoring the conversation he had had with General Terry earlier, Terry: â€Å"Don't be greedy, wait for us† Custer: â€Å"No, I won't Little did any of them know, that this would be one of the most controversial and misinterpreted conversations, ever made? Custer ignored Terry's orders and prepared to fight. He split his battalion up in three, and planned to send troops under Captain Frederick Benteen, who was ordered to prevent the Indian's usual tactic or escaping. Another group of men were given to Major Marcus Reno, who was to pursue the group. Custer hoped to attack the camp from the North and South Simultaneously. By looking at the tactics he pre-prepared, you would come to the conclusion that he was a very intelligent man, with a lot of experience and will power. However, he was soon to realise that these tactics were not properly thought out, in fact they were soon to be the biggest mistake of his life. A life that, would not see another battle, or another day. Custer had not used his Scouts well; he had barely used them at all. He had Indian Scouts from the enemy tribe of the Sioux, who could of told him a great deal about the strength of the Indian Camp he was preparing to attack, about the firepower of the Indians and the terrain that surrounded the camp. Custer sidelined the scouts, he was the man that ran the show, he knew everything, and he was the noble and brave war veteran. Well, at least this is what he had thought, and if truth were told, so did his men. They had not lost under Custer; he was a respected and experienced Indian fighter. He had never needed scouts before, why was this battle going to be any different? He needed Scouts, especially ones who could blend in, and this would be different. Little did George Armstrong Custer know that the Indian camp he was about to attack with only his battalion was three times his strength, containing not only Sioux, but also Cheyenne warriors. Custer' s plan was put into action: Reno's squadron of 175 soldiers attacked the northern end of the camp. Quickly finding themselves in a desperate battle with little hope of surviving, Reno halted his charging men before they could be trapped and killed, they fought for ten minutes in un-orderly state, hoping that it wasn't going to be their scalps upon the mass of tee-pees they saw before them. Reno withdrew his men into the woods that lined the river. When that position proved indefensible, they retreated uphill to the bluffs east of the river, pursued hotly by f Cheyenne and Sioux Warriors. Just as they finished driving the soldiers out, the Indians sighted roughly 200 of Custer's men coming towards them, through the tough terrain at the other end of the village. This then took the pressure off of Reno's men. Cheyenne and Hunk papa Sioux together crossed the river and locked horns with the advancing soldiers, forcing them back to a high ridge to the north. Meanwhile, another force, largely Oglala Sioux under the command of Crazy Horse, swiftly moved downstream and doubled back in a sweeping arc. This boxed the un-defeated men of the 7th cavalry enveloping Custer and his men in a pincer move. The Indians began pouring in gunfire and arrows. Gunfire came from Winchester repeating Rifles. Rifles that they traded with white men for fur. The exact rifle that Custer had ordered to be left behind, as this would hold his men up, in a battle where, he thought, guns were not necessary. Custer thought a lot of things would weigh him down. The gattling Guns, Sabres and extra troops for example. All because he thought they'd slow him down. But how much he would of wanted them despite their ‘weight', whilst surrounded by the ‘savages' he had promised to leave in peace. The peace was broken, and so was Custer's plan. As the Indians closed in, Custer ordered his men to shoot their horses and stack the carcasses to form a wall, but they provided little protection against bullets. In under an hour, Custer and his men were killed in the worst American military disaster ever. Proving that Custer was greedy and Custer didn't wait. There were many factors that led to the defeat of Custer. However by reading the facts about the war, above, you can see that Custer eyes were clouded over. An urgency to go down in American history as the noblest man, the greatest Indian slayer and most of all The President of the United States. A great Indian slayer should be able defeat a camp of Indians on his own? This was why George Custer did not use Scouts. Therefore he ran into a camp that was 3 or 4 times larger than he had first anticipated. So the men he obtained, of which he thought he had sufficient were out numbered 3 to 1. This obviously was a huge factor to why he and his men were slain. He did not expect to come across a camp of this size, let alone a camp that were equipped with a greater fire power than his squadron. This was another factor. Custer had not expected the Indians to have Guns as well as the knifes and bows and arrows they were expected to own. This meant Custer's men were facing 3 times as many warriors as he had, who were more equipped in the white mans fire arms than them. Having known this a war veteran would have surely come up with alternative tactics. So you see, lack of and misinterpreted information led to unsuitable tactics. It was like a chain of events. Lack of knowledge meant lack of weapons and firepower, which meant poor tactics. This lack of knowledge could have so easily been avoided, by sending out some of their many Indian Scouts. Who could have quite easily got an insight into the size and firepower that the rival Indians had. But Custer' eyes were clouded with greed, he needed no scouts. Custer definitely went down in history. He went down as the General who led his men into worst military disaster in American History. What happened to the Sioux after the battle? Although the Indians won the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it was not a major event in Sioux history. Knowing that there would be severe punishment for their victory, the Indians immediately split up and traveled on so that the U. S. Cavalry would have a difficult time trying to find them. Eventually, they would be forced to live on reservations as their land went into the hands of the U. S. government for mining and farming. Something the Indians did not do or intend on doing. They had fought hard in a losing battle. They had success in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but had lost their way of life. Their victory attracted even more discrimination and racism and gave the white men an extra incentive to wipe out the Plains Indians altogether. They would now be forced to live as the white men, be taught to farm crops and live in captivity. Some Indians killed themselves rather than live a false life with their humiliated and half annihilated brothers. So the Battle of the Little Bighorn was not really a victory for the Indians. They had fought with their lives, and what had they won, a life of shame, cruelty and eventually death. The reward for their victory was nothing.

Cultural Diversity in the Healthcare Field

Cultural Diversity in the Healthcare field The Many Faces of Healthcare Cultural Diversity in the Healthcare Field Carl Hooks Rasmussen College Author Note This research is being submitted on September 16, 2010, for Vicky Philips English class at Rasmussen College by Carl Hooks Cultural diversity in the medical field is, at times, greatly hindered because of religious beliefs, language barriers, and the hierarchies of diverse cultures and these have the propensity to affect the continuity of care for the patients. â€Å"Every person has different aspects that constitute their identities, according to how they see themselves†¦.This means that seeing an individual in terms of their identity can be unproductive. † (Weaver, 2009). Nursing personnel, in particular, have to take into consideration any and all cultural differences between the patient and the nursing staff. These differences vary in as many ways as there are different ethnic groups in any particular area. Religio us beliefs can hinder the nursing care of patients. There are many different religious beliefs in as many different religions. The religious belief most common in the United States, of course, is the Jehovah Witness who refuses transfusions.This religion has a strong belief in preserving the soul before the body. Other religions have other beliefs that we may not understand, but need to respect and try to work around to care for the patient. â€Å"If people believe it is God who confers both health and illness, it may be very difficult to get them to take their medication or change their behavior†¦. they would see no point worrying about high blood pressure or bacteria when moral behavior is the key to good health. † (Galanti, 2001). This kind of belief will impede the medical staff and their approach to a medical cure.Whenever possible, staff should attempt of incorporate both religious beliefs and medicine to care for the patient. For the most part (miracles do happen) , religious beliefs can delay the care and health of the patient, and leaves the health professionals with a huge dilemma about what to do, and greatly delays the healing process. To understand how religion plays a role in the care given to the patient is to give better care for our patients. Consequently, the vast majority of people do believe in some sort of religion, whether it is God or some other higher power. Cultural factors stemming from religious beliefs and practices can have an intense impact on health. † (Abdoul and Abdoul, 2010). There may come a time when the medical staff has to provide a towel (prayer matt) and a quiet place to pray to a culture that does not consider the common hospital chapel an appropriate place to pray.In some religious, â€Å"It is commonly believed that illness is sent from God as retribution for sins since God is viewed as the afflicter as well as healer. † (Abdoul and Abloul,2010). Food also plays a big part in some religions whi ch go beyond the traditional Jewish mother’s chicken soup. †¦. it is important to know that religious beliefs and practices can influence food choice, as there may be individuals within a group that observe strict dietary requirements. † (Black, 2010). All religious back grounds should be taken into consideration and, whenever possible, be provided for, and this will aid in promoting effective health care. Language barriers pose great difficulties when communicating with patients. It is imperative that both patient and nursing staff understand exactly what is being said. For this reason an appropriate trained or certified interpreter should be utilized whenever possible.Health care workers are experiencing more language difficulties than ever before. â€Å"Fully 54 million Americans†¦. roughly 20 percent of the population†¦. do not speak English at home. † (Armand and Hubbard,2010). With the exception of California, Texas, and Florida, which have o ver 43 percent of the population, that are classified LEP (limited English proficient). The interpreter should be trained to interpret on the patients behalf. Family members, at times, can be of great assistance, but then HIPPA comes into play.The patient may not want a particular family member to know about their health problems. The language barrier does inhibit sufficient care, and this should be addressed with the utmost of care and consideration for both the medical staff and patient. Insuring that the patient fully understands what is being done to them is of great importance. As patients, they have the right to understand what is being done and why. Informed consent must be given; the patient should be able to repeat what they have been informed of before the procedure is done. Currently â€Å"only 33 percent of U.S. hospitals have quality improvement efforts underway to improve the quality of their language access programs. † (Armand and Hubbard, 2010). The goal of th e interpreter is to assure that the LEP patient has no doubts or concerns and totally understands what is going to happen, why, and any options they may have. Understanding the hierarchy of the family is imperative in understanding the functions of the family unit. With some familiarity with the different cultures in a given community, a medical professional will be able to ascertain who the head of the household is.The head of the household differs from culture to culture, as such, â€Å"misunderstandings which include but are not limited to the involvement of the male in all aspects of health care for his wife and children; the assimilation of children into all aspects of life; female humility; the subordinate status of women; and the strong emphasis on traditional female role. (Abdoul and Abdoul, 2010). By defining who the head of the household is and giving them the respect they deserve will be paramount in a speedy recovery for the patient.As the head of the household is ident ified, it is very important that they are included in all of the decisions made on behalf of the patient. If and when the controlling person is not readily available, all efforts should be exercised to contact that person. In rare life threatening conditions should medical personnel proceed without that persons consent, the head of the household should be given adequate time to discuss procedures with the patient should they require this. His/her decision should be respected when they decide what is appropriate for their family member.Given the most pertinent information and options, the family can then make an informed decision and the respect of the hierarchy of the family has not been compromised. All diversities should be taken into consideration when caring for a patient. By understanding what importance the patient puts on their culture, the medical staff can better serve the patient. â€Å"Hospitals can be a source of stress and frustration for patients and their families, s ince they are most vulnerable when they are there and are placed at the mercy of values and beliefs not of their own. † (Galanti, 2001).Making a patient aware that medical staff understands and will do all that is possible to adhere to their cultural differences can only aid in providing the best health care possible. A care plan is always done for patients when they are admitted to the hospital. While formulating a care plan, the nurse should always consider and provide for the cultural differences of the individual. The care plan should be reviewed by all staff that participates in the care of the patient. The care plan should be discussed with the patient and family to assure that all aspects of their cultural practices have been addressed.If this is not done, then the patient’s outcome can be greatly hampered. Cultural diversity in the medical field, at times, can be greatly hindered because of religious beliefs, language barriers, and the hierarchy of diverse cultu res, and these have the propensity to affect the continuity of care for the patient. All aspects need to be considered to assure that the most efficient care be given on behalf of the patient.References ABOUL-ENEIN, B. , & AHOUL-ENEIN, F. (2010). THE CULTURAL GAP DELIVERING HEALTH CARE SERVICES TO ARAB AMERICAN POPULATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 17(1), 20-23. Retrieved from Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition database Armada, A. , & Hubbard, M. (2010). Diversity in Healthcare: Time to Get REAL!. Frontiers of Health Services Management, 26(3), 3-17. Retrieved from EBSCO MegaFILE database. Black, P. (2010). Cultural and religious beliefs in stoma care nursing. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 4(4), 184-188. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database. Weaver, D. (2009). Respect the diversity and difference of individuals. Nursing & Residential Care, 11(12), 590-593. Retrieved from CINAHL Plus with Full Text database.

Columbine Attack and its Results Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 27

Columbine Attack and its Results - Case Study Example Most importantly, it shows that outer appearances can be deceptive and hide cruelty, twisted mindset and general tendency to vandalism. Parents and authorities should have got alert with the first offense, howsoever minor, and consulted a good psychiatrist to unravel the psychology of young students, who were otherwise intelligent and seemingly well mannered. Parents had never tried to go into the depth of the things when they had come across their children’s criminal behavior, including the making of homemade bombs. The authorities should also have investigated the activities, including cyber activities of the students and studied the characteristics of a psychopath, before letting them get into the program and allowed early release. The evildoers are always people who use covert behavior to hide their true intentions. The evil activities and criminal behavior are never an isolated act but are characterized by a trend or pattern of criminal acts. Thus, if the person has committed a criminal activity, it is important to investigate his past actions and take the help of psychologists to assess deviant personality. No, Harris and Klebold should not be forgiven for their assault on Columbine High School. They are a strong example of abnormal personality with a devious mindset and violent tendencies. The attack was deliberately carried out in an educational institute, targeting innocent children and faculty members. The basic objective was to create an environment of terror for the sole purpose of personal satisfaction. Moreover, it was also an expression of hatred against people at large. Thus, their acts must be condemned publicly and not forgiven. The parents had taken lightly the criminal activities of their children and shown scarce concern for discipline or punishment to improve them. Such type of parental neglect gives the wrong signal to children and encourages them towards unsocial activities and acts of violence. Hence, parents should also have been held responsible for the acts of their children and served as an early alarm for those parents who ignore minor and not so minor evil or criminal activities of their children within and outside the home.

Slavery in Post-Civil War America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Slavery in Post-Civil War America - Essay Example Authorities would arrest Blacks for minor crimes, and since most of them were unemployed, they had no money to pay court fees their sentences would be extended. The authorities would then sell the slaves to white firms for a small fee and here they were subject to deplorable conditions. After being sold to the white firms, the manager5s of these firms had the authority to make the black men work as they wished. The black slaves would be given huge amounts of jobs to do and failure to complete the assigned tasks would mean being punished by being beaten up. The poor working conditions, poverty and lack of reimbursement meant that the Blacks would not afford taking care of the health. Diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis were abundant in the population, and they were not given treatment or taken care of in any way. Many African Americans died because of slavery implicated on them by the Whites, and they were buried in crude graveyards that came to be discovered many years later. Most of the Whites saw nothing wrong with slavery, and argued that it was good for the economy and only a few disregarded it. Many Whites saw slavery as important, but did not see it as white racism since it boosted the economy. Blacks on the other hand saw slavery as racism, and most of them expressed fears of why there were many black slaves. However, it is evident that Blacks were oppressed by the Whites and authorities played a big role in advancing racism by passing laws to intimidate Blacks. Mapping Human History Steve Olson describes how genetics have contributed to the understanding of humans in terms of race, ethnicity and nationality. He explains that people can discover their past using biological explanations and uses genes to elaborate how people can be able to trace back their ancestral origins. Human beings share the same ancestors, which are in regards to genes, and this shows that all human beings are related in one way or another. The book Mapping Human History by Olson elaborates that every individual has relatives such as parents, grandparents, great grand parents and many more, and in trying to pin down the common ancestor, it relates that more lived thousands of years ago hence implying a universal ancestry background. Despite the fact that these people may have never met, it is evident that there is a universal origin of the human race. Genetics links the human race to the original ancestors, and this brings out the argument that the human race has similar origins, but has changed over time to produce the various races that are in the world today. The genetic explanation of this is that when the sperm meets with the female egg, their pair up their DNA’s and this way people are able to detect their maternal associations because they will have the similarities in their DNA makeup (Olson 20). The Y-chromosomes can found in males can also be used to explain the common ancestry background because males inherit this from their fathers, and biological analysis proves that the modern DNA is from many individuals living in Africa, but got extinct and only the Adam and Eve lineage survived (Olson 23). Olson explains that all

High mortality rate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

High mortality rate - Essay Example It`s between Democratic Republic of the Congo who is 2,511 km to the east and Namibia who is also 1,376 km to the south. Zambia is also 1,110 km away to the east of Angola (James, 2004). Population Angola population has grown for the past fifty years with a total population of 20.6 million people recorded by the year 2012. It hit an all time high of 20.60 Million by the 2012 which was a record low of 5.01 Million people in December of 1960. The population of this African country represents 0.28 percent of world?s total population. This may statistically imply that at least a person in every 355 people in the world is an Angolan. Angola experiences a population growth rate of 2.7 percent as revealed in 2012. It`s worth noting that Angola has numerous indigenous ethnic groups. However, there exist only three prominent ethnic groups who make up majority of the Angola population. The highest ethnic group is Ovimbundu tribe who make up 37 percent of the Angola population. Second in the ra nk is the Mbundu tribe who has also been existence for quite a long time. They represent about 22 percent of the population. Finally, the third largest ethnic group in Angola is the Bakongo. This group makes up to 13 percent to 15 percent of the country`s total population (James, 2004). Government The Republic of Angola administers the multiparty presidential regime type of government. There are a total of eighteen provinces in Angola which form part of administrative divisions in the country. Angola has never had any judicial review of the legislation. Their civil legal system is still based on the Portuguese civil law. The government is divided into three arms: 1. The executive arm. The president and his vice head the executive arm of government. The president is both the head of state and government. The country has ministries that are run by cabinet councils. The council of ministers is appointed by the president himself. The national assembly indirectly elects the president for a five year term but the president is still eligible for another consecutive term or discontinuous term. The 2010 constitution stipulates that votes are cast for parties not individuals but the leader of the party which will have more votes becomes the president. 2. Legislative arm. There is a unicameral National Assembly with 220 seats. Members are elected by a proportional vote to be in office for five year term. Elections are held every five years in Angola. 3. Judicial arm. There is a supreme court with Supreme Court judges but headed by the chief justice. This court has 11 judges who serve a seven term and are appointed by the president upon the Supreme Court judicial council recommendation. Out of this judges, the president and national assembly elect four judges each with two elected by the supreme national council and one judge elected by submission of curricula (James, 2004). Economy The economic growth rate in Angola in recent years was occasioned by high international pr ices for oil. Currently Angola is producing more than 1.5 million barrels a day for international market. Production of oil together with its supporting activities forms about 86% of gross domestic product, GDP, besides diamond exports which forms an additional 4%. Most of the people here depend on

Capstone Course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capstone Course - Essay Example Looking back, much of my time as a student was spent deciphering theories and philosophies with little or no effort in comprehending the practicality and application of these concepts, perspectives, and beliefs. Like many others, I too questioned the relevance of my learning with what I aimed to do in my professional life. Thus, the senior capstone course has acted as a bridge between theory and application, which is an outcome that I value the most. While an integration of subject-specific and cross-disciplinary knowledge and the assimilation of theory and application are the outcomes of my course experience that I greatly value. The learning outcome that I believe will be most helpful in my professional career is that of an enhanced level of self-efficacy, which is one of the characteristics internalized in a student during capstone courses (Dunlap 65). The systematic design of the course included class participation, interdisciplinary project, e-portfolio, research presentation an d a course reflective essay. The effort undertaken for the completion of these tasks allowed me to assume a larger share of the responsibility for my education and also played an integral role in acting as a means of socialization with my classmates and course instructor (Collier 285-299). The fact that the capstone project was planned as an independent endeavor meant that each student had to embark upon the task of using his/her individual learning, distinct perspectives on a range of topics and issues and cross-disciplinary knowledge to produce an independent study. My course project on insurance fraud was reflective of a range of understandings and comprehensions on the subject matter. The most critical factor which shaped the course of my independent study on insurance fraud was being on the ground. I also noted in my reflective essay on insurance fraud, how my interactions with the victims of this menace helped in the establishment of a relationship of trust.

Ethical Business Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethical Business Model - Essay Example The import of this is that not only is business ethics model an indispensible aspect of organizational management, but it is also imperative of an organization to define and designate its model of business ethics. A Proposal on a Business-Based Ethics Model to Guide Decision Making In the Workplace According to Ashcroft, Dawson and Draper (2007), one of the best business-based ethics models that can be used to guide decision making in the workplace is the organizational or company culture. Organizational or company culture refers to the intangible business environment that leaders and executive managers as major decision makers dispense. In this model, these policy makers use the organization’s culture to perpetuate the mission, objectives and goals on how employees are to approach their work or duties, in the course of helping the organization attain its goals. In this regard, virtues that are to help further positive and stronger organizational culture are to be emphasized, with these virtues being trust, integrity, professional behavior, diligence, leadership and flexibility. It is imperative that the healthcare organization in this instance seek, determine and use the most appropriate way of inculcating these virtues upon the staff. On the part of the executive managers and leaders, there will be a need to weave these very virtues into the healthcare organization’s culture, so as to ensure that employees comprehend and adhere to ethical organizational or business principles (Weber, 2001). The task above can be achieved by employing different approaches. The company can for instance use organizational manuals and informal meetings to teach employees on organizational culture. The merit that consistently characterizes the use of intra-organizational manuals and meetings is the opportunity they give the management to explain the significance of ethical business behavior and to evaluate the gains that have been realized from the steps made. In lin e with this proposal is the need to open up workshops and training programs which will go a long way in helping the personnel understand the essence of business ethics. It is only through this understanding that the personnel can grasp the entire picture on the importance of incorporating organizational ethics into decision-making and work performance. Likewise, it is only when the personnel understand the import of business ethics that the restructuring of organizational can run smoothly, from an intrapersonal volition and without the risk of sabotage. The Anticipated Impact of Putting Company or Organizational Culture into Place to Be In a Healthcare Organization It is a fact that the proposed business ethics model is likely to bring with it, positive values in the organization. One of the most anticipated changes that the organizational/company ethics model will bring about is the shifting of the hospital or the healthcare organization’s from focusing on quantity and mere profit making, to being driven by the dictates of, and cause for patient-based care. This is because, globally, healthcare organizations place patient-satisfaction and the accordance of quality, ethical and patient-friendly care as the center-most point of concern and efforts. Organizational/ company ethics model comes in handy in ensuring that this remains a reality, given that organizational ethics demand the fusing of organizatio

Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Literature - Essay Example This passage is from Devora Baron’s â€Å"Bill of Divorcement† on page 55. The language is a translation of a Jewish author’s work. The length of sentences varies to slowly build up the action. The first sentence has 37 words and active voice shows the woman’s sense of control over her life. The second sentence has twelve words. It signifies how much she loves and adores her husband. The word â€Å"boil† seems to be a metaphor for her â€Å"boiling.† It foreshadows her fate as the one who will be cooked. The last sentence has sixty words and reads like a death sentence. Indeed, the word â€Å"sentence† is mentioned. Furthermore, the â€Å"hardness† or harshness of what happens to her can be summarized in how Isser Ber cannot look at her. He is guilty for what he will deliver to the woman who loved him too much. This passage is significant to the story, because it shows the hardships of women as wives in any patriarchal society, where they are supposed to play specific traditional gender roles. They must fit certain social expectations, or else, they will get sacked and get the Bill of Divorcement. The home that they painfully and patiently built will be gone in an instant that society decrees them unfit as a wife. This passage summarizes how society treats women who cannot be exactly what men want them to be. No matter how much a woman loves or sacrifices for her man, she will get no mercy for not being the woman that society wants her to be. ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. H. On the day I became thirteen years old and a member of the congregation, my mother, peace be with her, bound her kerchief around my neck. Blessed be God, who has given His world to guardians. There was not a spot of dirt to be found on the kerchief. But sentence has already been passed on the kerchief, that it was to be lost through me. This kerchief, which I had observed so much and so long, would vanish because of me. This passage is from Agnon’s story, â€Å"The Kerchief† at page 64. The language comes from the viewpoint of a deeply religious person. The sentences vary in length. The first sentence talks about the rite of passage of a Jewish adolescent. His mother must be proud of him to use her best kerchief for him. Agnon believes that God gives His world to His people. The kerchief is also described as spotless, a sign of purity. It is a metaphor for goodness. However, the last two sentences show guilt for losing the kerchief. This passage is significant to the story, because it stands for the meaning of purity. Purity is not something people wear like a kerchief during Sabbath. It is not like an accessory that people can choose to wear or not to wear as they please. Agnon depicts that purity is about following God’s words every day of one’s life, even if it means giving a precious kerchief to a beggar. Through his action of com passion, he shows that indeed, God has â€Å"given His world to guardians,† if these guardians know how to show love and mercy to those who need it the most (Agnon 64). ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. J. The rabbi’s son needs only a single moment to pass silent judgment on the woman who was intended to be his bride: Her dress hangs from her like a sack, her eyes are large, black, and pretty, but she flutters her eyelids

Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Healthcare - Essay Example These are integrated in medical bylaws of hospitals, where they are used in assessing professional and ethical qualifications of medical applicants. The process is common in public hospitals, while modifications are seen in private ones--the latter are given discretion in executing their institutional regulations, provided that these do not clash with statutory constitutional rights of medical professionals, in general. 2) The concept of confidentiality is a protective regulation that safeguards the right of medical practitioners subjected to peer-review evaluations. In the absence of the confidential value in peer review functions, disruptions and inaccurate evaluation of professional performance can result. Another significant concept surrounding peer reviews is involvement of potential breach in liability principle. Medical colleagues to be evaluated are accountable to protect the sets of information revealed during such review. The revealed information can be carried out not from good faith, but for selfish purposes.

Prostitution - Analysis of Positivism and Classicism within Assignment

Prostitution - Analysis of Positivism and Classicism within Criminology via the Lens of Article - Assignment Example A discussion and analysis of the principle tenets of both positivism and classicism with regards to criminology will be engaged with.   Although it is not the purpose of this analysis to state that one approach is better than the other, the underlying goal is merely to state which one is the most effective in helping the reader to come to an appreciation of the causal and motivating factors that might have driven the individual to commit crime the first place. As a means of briefly describing the article to the reader prior seeking to define in terms of either positivism or classicism, the following serve as something of a brief summary. The article details the results of the plea bargain that was entered into by Ms Alexis Wright. Rather than facing a jury trial with over the charges, Ms Wright instead opted for a plea bargain that would see her serve 10 months in jail and pay a fine of just less than $60,000. Investigators case, the article reveals, had been gathering information upon Miss Wright as well as others involved, including client, for the space of nearly 2  ½ years. As with most high profile prostitution stings, Ms Wright’s enterprise made headline news in one of the nation’s most prominent newspapers due to two main factors (Seelye 1). The first of these is with regards to the high profile nature of her client list; referenced in the article is merely mayors, ministers, and high school coaches. The second deter minant that makes this high profile news is the fact that the actual place of prostitution served as both a Zumba studio and was located a mere stone’s throw from the vacation home of former Pres. George Bush. One of the hallmarks of the positivist’s school of thought with relation to criminology is the underlying belief that the individual/criminal is not always spurred on crime based solely upon free will. Rather, precipitating factors such as economic hardship, developmental impairment, or an otherwise incomplete worldview and/or understanding can just as easily lead an individual to commit a crime as can free will.  

Managing Culture and Change Essay Example for Free

Managing Culture and Change Essay The present scenario has made the future of organizations uncertain. Companies that are excelling in their relevant industries right now may be pushed out in the near future by upstarts with better ideas and more versatility than them. It has happened so often in the past that the only certainty is that it will keep on happening in the future. The only long term sustainable competitive advantage that organizations can hope to create is through their people, and the behaviour of these people is largely determined by the corporate culture in which they are immersed. A successful corporate culture will see the organization through the near future, but unless the organization is proactive in its bid to keep on adapting to the changing business environment, that same corporate culture may sound the death knell for the organization in the future. CORPORATE CULTURE AND PERFORMANCE The question on every entrepreneur, every CEO, and on every member of the Board of Directors’ mind since before the inception of the concept of an organization as an institution has been: how to make more money? Once this fundamental urge has been recognized one can comprehend the reason behind the actions of the above-mentioned in ensuring the success of their respective organizations, as the evidence of past decades have proved that organizational success is the key determinant of greater financial reward for them; hence stemmed the need to identify the factors that would translate into success for an organization. The idea that an organizations culture would influence its performance is hardly new. ‘Search of Excellence’, published in 1982 and authored by Waterman and Peters made the concept famous, and in 1992 in ‘Corporate Culture and Performance’, Hesket and Kotter compared various organizations and the relation of their performance within a time period with their cultures. But with increasing research being conducted on the correlation between an organizations vision and the employees’ actions, doubt is cast on the efficacy of expecting that an organizations culture will determine its performance. Instead, consensus is being established that a few core values largely determine the success or failure of organizations. SUCCESS Success of an organization can be defined differently depending on the industry in which the organization operates. An organization in a high risk industry can view success as the ability to survive all these years. Another organization may view continuing growth over and above competitors as success, while still another might seek to become the market leader in its particular industry in order for it to be considered a success. Pyramid of Organizational Development Whatever the perception an organization has, in order to be successful an organization needs to follow six steps or tasks at each level of its growth in order for it to succeed at all of those stages. It needs to determine its market niche in which it will operate, develop the product/service accordingly, acquire the relevant resources be they land labour or capital, develops a system of standardized procedures for operations, and then the same for management, and finally, develop a corporate culture that management perceives as being important to lead the firm. Before any further discussion can be carried out, corporate culture must be defined as, a structure of collective values and beliefs that work together with the systems, the organizational structure, and the employees to produce norms, which then turn into what is necessary to the organization, and the processes of getting things done – the how and the why. It is an intangible aspect of an organization that cannot be seen, touched, heard or smelt, but is present nonetheless and which ultimately determines whether that organization will succeed or not. It is the core values that were mentioned earlier, to produce the norms that determine the behaviour of the employees, which ultimately determines the productivity and thus success of the firm. The steps taken together are framed as a hierarchical model into a pyramid of organizational development that emphasizes the importance of each step for the organizations development depending on the stage of growth the organization is in at that point. The last three of the steps form the structure that will be the sustainable competitive advantage of the firm, inimitable by competitors, thus ensuring long term success for the firm. ROLES OF CORPORATE CULTURE Corporate culture by itself plays several roles in the organization. It develops a cultural identity in an employee by establishing a commitment of the employee to achieving the organizations goals and objectives. That identity serves to increase the devotion and involvement of the employee by making him/her reconcile the organizations success as his/her own. Corporate culture also uses a deductive approach to align an employee’s behaviour with acceptable norms that have been already determined by the organization so that it need not worry about policing the employee to do what is right according to the organization. Instead of the management having to interfere now the employee’s peers can bring a maverick back in line with acceptable behaviour as determined by the values of the organization. In addition to these, an organizations culture acts as a motivational tool that is more effective than managerial insistence. However, if the organization’s stated values are out of sync with the culture that is being promoted the employees will become disillusioned with the organization and its stated commitment to quality of work life as the rewards will be based on the stated values as opposed to what the prevailing organizational culture promotes. TYPES OF CORPORATE CULTURE Strong The desired roles that the culture of the organization is to play and reality may starkly differ depending on the type of culture that is prevalent in the organization. A Strong Culture is reminiscent of an organization that spends a significant amount of time and resources in communication and reinforcement by management of the values of the organization to the various employees. This is facilitated by having well-defined vision and mission statements that have been established with the help of both the top and bottom rung of the organization. In addition, these statements and their espoused values are adopted by top management and thus succeed in their task of influencing the employees by convincing them of their commitment to the organization and its value system. Weak On the other hand a Weak Culture is quite the opposite, in its lack of cultural identity and the divergence of employee behaviour and organizational goals. A weak culture also involuntarily imparts an image of punishing those employees that might be working towards organizational success, through the actions of their peers who have this weak corporate value system ingrained into them. Thus there is little allegiance to the organization and little unity inside it. Unhealthy An Unhealthy corporate culture rests on the basis that change is undesirable. In such an environment risk-taking and experimentation for the sake of innovation is frowned upon, and so the organization has to seek ideas outside the firm for better practices and approaches. This is a costly result of the politicized environment that prevails in such an organization, where decisions are made based on the power wielded by the participants and not on the value of their respective input. Adaptive The fourth type of culture in an organization is an Adaptive one which is contrary to the unhealthy culture in its regard for entrepreneurial activities. Such an organization is a proactive entity that actively seeks out innovative and experimental solutions to any issues that might have to be faced. Risk taking is encouraged to the extent that employees might be funded to bring their ideas to life, in the recognition that successful adaption to the environment through risky enterprises enable the organization to prosper over its competitors. CONFLICT IN CORPORATE CULTURE An organizations culture is influenced by the social power of relationships, more specifically, the potential loss of those relationships. This invokes cognitive dissonance in a person more than does any other action, and thus motivates us the most to make sure that such a situation does not arise. From this motivation an organizations culture is developed as a means to protect these relationships, leading to the theory of conflict resolution and culture development. Social influences in the form of formal and informal networks, family networks, relationships with leaders, and legal regulations are what determine the behaviour of a person in an organization with regards to conflict resolution. Although conflict invariably leads to closer bond in relationships than before, it can also lead to rejection or coercion by one or both party. The conflict can only be resolved when both parties either cooperate in or reject the relationship. The eventual conflict resolution results in a differing viewpoint held by the onlookers as either a matter of public discourse or of private thought, which viewpoints are shared with others depending on the closeness of their relationship. And while cooperative conflict resolutions foster greater trust and unity, competitive conflict resolution in hierarchically dominated organizations, where management often passes judgement rather than mediates, results in a chasm between formal and informal cultures that causes a drop in organizational performance. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS Human Resource Management has become an increasingly important function in organizations with the findings of several researches supporting the relation between high-performance and HR practices. The recognition through these researches that the only long term sustainable competitive advantage that an organization enjoys is the capabilities of its human resource has further caused organizations to reinvent this previously neglected function as well as resulted in an increase in the perceived advantages of a strategically-focused Human Resource Department. Amongst these, cultural management is an important benefit that pertains to the development, communication, reinforcement, and change of the corporate culture to the employees. SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE CULTURE An organization’s corporate culture can either hinder or contribute to the success of a firm by influencing the behaviours and attitudes of employees with respect to the overall organizational strategy. A corporate culture that promotes behaviours that are aligned with the company’s values provides guidance to the employees with respect to the accepted norms of the organization and reinforces those peer actions that support the desired culture. The HR as the manager of the corporate culture aligns its own practices in an effort to increase commitment amongst employees towards achieving the desired vision of the organization by reaching their performance targets, and by engaging in adaptive and innovative entrepreneurial activities. A successful corporate culture is one which supports the organizations execution of its strategy, with the help of HR managers, who align the desired values of the organization with the values that are actually prevalent. While some organizations seek to prescribe specific corporate values that will lead to greater performance, it has been discovered that instead it is the fit of these values to the internal and external realities of the organization – the employees’ behaviour and the business environment – that the HR must focus on as a culturally compatible management system. To do so, the practices of the HR Management, more specifically, the staffing, training and development, incentive and payment packages, performance appraisals and job design, all become areas where HR can influence the cultural communication strategy. As a company that dedicated its existence to the production and sale of coffee, Starbucks has experience phenomenal growth to reach its current market leadership position. From generating sales of $122 million in 1993, Starbuck’s has grown to such an extent that its competitors have less outlets in all of the United States than Starbucks has in California. And the stated reason by its CEO, Howard Schultz, for this success is its people. â€Å"The way we treat our people affects the way they treat our customers and, in turn, our financial performance. † In lieu of this statement Starbucks offers good quality of work life to its employees, adopts diversity as an integral part of doing business, maintains a high standard in its production processes, develops its customers, engages in Corporate Social Responsibility, and recognizes the importance of maintaining profitability as a means of continued success. NOT-SO-SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE CULTURE Unfortunately, discovering the right fit of values that an organization can use as a component of its successful corporate strategy can become ‘the winner’s curse’ if left unmonitored, for while it is difficult to change any culture in any organization, changing a seemingly successful culture is next to impossible. No one wants to mess with a winning formula, whether due to superstition, the belief that it will weather any competition, or due to inability to accept that the environment has changed. Whatever the reason, history is replete with examples of how successful companies were brought to their knees by a more versatile competitor. The US automobile industry was indifferent of the lower-costing, higher-quality Japanese cars until it was too late, believing that the Japanese cars were just a momentary novelty. In the same way, until sales started decreasing fast Sears remained ignorant of the changes brought to the organizations environment by Wal-Mart. The McDonnell Douglas Corporation is another example of a company that failed to adapt to the changing environment, and was acquired by Boeing. Core Rigidities Inducting the use of Standard Operating Procedures as a means to increase production by cutting down on wastage of time and resources, while beneficial in producing economies of scale can be harmful to the future success of the firm as well. These procedures and routines can serve as a source of suitable solutions to any problems that might be faced, but in doing so negate the possibility of searching for knowledge and innovation outside the organization. Consequently the core competency of the firm is transformed into the core rigidity as exploration is shelved for exploitation. In addition to which, the feedback from the use of SOPs is ignored due to selective filter of already existing procedures which siphon out any corrective measures that the feedback might have been trying to highlight. This is largely due to the fact that no firm can keep changing forever. There is an absorptive capacity for every organization beyond which it is incapable of adapting to any more change. Crisis The only way to break out of such a potentially hazardous ‘advantage’ is for there to be an existence of a crisis that jolts the organization out of its routine. Some companies even try to introduce the perception of a crisis in the organization in order to stimulate innovation, such as Hewlett Packard, following the story by Sturgeon, ‘Microcosmic God’ in which Sturgeon talks of a miniature world which is introduced to numerous difficulties such as earthquakes, and droughts, and whose inhabitants are forced to either evolve or die out. While such practices might seem unethical it is disputed whether it is more advisable to let a firm fail because the leader of the organization could not bring it upon himself/herself to fool the employees for their future benefit. CONCLUSION If an organization’s successful culture eventually ends up costing the organization in the future, can it really be deemed a ‘successful’ corporate culture? Up to the limit of an organization’s absorptive capacity, a successful corporate culture should be redefined as a culture that while maintains all the characteristics as mentioned previously, is also a culture that can recognize that no matter what the fit of the organization’s culture is at present, that fit can change, and the possibility of that change should not be ignored, rather it should be actively sought out. And while it is a difficult thing to change a culture at any point, the organization should be ready to do so if it is to maintain its competitive advantage and not be replaced by a more nimble and recent competitor like Sears was by Wal-Mart. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cummings, T. G. Worley, C. G. (2005) Organization Development and Change. USA. Thomson South-Western. Davenport, T. H. Prusak, L. (2000) Working Knowledge. Harvard Business Press Hassard, J. Pym, D.(1993) The Theory and Philosophy of Organizations. Routledge Hitt, M. A. , Hoskisson, R. E. Ireland, R. D. (1998) Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization. Cengage Learning Kono, T. Clegg, S. (1998) Transformations of Corporate Culture. Walter de Gruyter Kotter, J. (1992) Corporate Culture and Performance. Free Press. Thompson, A. A. Jr. , Strickland III, A. J. Gamble, J. E. (2006) Crafting and Executing Strategy. United States. McGraw-Hill Balkaran, L. (1995) Corporate Culture. Find Articles [Internet]. Available from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m4153/is_/ai_17365781 [December 19, 2008] Denison, D. How your corporate culture can impact your business performance. IMD Webletter [Internet]. Available from http://www01. imd. ch/webletter/pdf/LinkingCorporateCulture. pdf [December 19, 2008] Flamholtz, E. Hua, W. (2002) Strategic Organizational Development and the Bottom

Factors leading to building of good working environment

Factors leading to building of good working environment As HR professionals, we know that the real strength of an organization is its people. It is the only asset which cannot be easily copied but management tend to forget that people are not robots. The management is only concern about bring down the cost rather than focusing on improving the work environment in which their employees work in. Lately especially in Mauritius with the new regulations, employees are more willing to invest in their infrastructure so as to create a safe place to work. However, just investing in infrastructure and increasing pay is not the magic elixir towards the promoting of a good working environment. There are other factors which are important and they are discussed below. Culture The culture of an organization is the typical way of doing things in the organization. It particularly relates to behavioural patterns and relationships. The culture of an organization develops over time. It is created by the people that work for the organization, that is, its workforce and managers. What the organization stands for (its values) and the dreams that it seeks to turn into reality (its vision) are fundamental in creating a dynamic culture. A high performance culture exists when everyone in the organization shares the same vision and where they trust and value each others contribution. This shared belief and behaviors will ensure that the working environment at the firm is stable and consistent. Schein gives a more precise analysis of organizational Culture based on organizational psychology Organizational Culture is: A pattern of basic assumptions Invented, discovered, or developed by a given group As it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation an integral integration That has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, Is to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to these problem According to Schein, there are four dimensions of culture should be present in a firm namely, company practices, company communication, physical Cultural forms and common language. According to Armstrong .M(1996), Culture management is concerned with: Culture change: the development of attitudes, benefits and values which will be congruent with the organizations mission, mission, strategies, environment and technologies. Culture reinforcement: which aims to preserve and reinforce what is good or functional about the present culture Change management: This is concerned with enabling the culture to adapt successfully to change and gaining acceptance to changes in organization, systems procedures ad methods of work. Commitment gain: commitment of members of the organization to the mission, strategies and values The aims of culture Management are to: Develop an ideology which guides management on the formulation and implementation of coherent HRM strategies and policies Create and maintain a positive climate within the organization which indicates the behavior which is expected of members of that organization in the course of their work The management of the organizations culture is a central activity for senior management with the advice and help of personnel and HR specialists in their increasingly important role as internal consultants. Culture provides a sense of direction and is an unwritten form of norms which guides the employees in their everydays work at the workplace. It is this shared belief which guides and binds each individual at the workplace so that they form part of a family. Moreover, it is this shared belief which helps to form and maintain a good working environment. Each individual is unique in his or her way. It is the employers role to provide and sustain a culture which will be beneficial for each of the firms strategic partners. An employee spends most of his time at the workplace consequently the latter should feel at ease. He should feel that he is valued and not neglected by the company. Leadership Alan keith of Genentech states that, Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen. According to ken SKC Ogbonnia, effective Leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or societal goals. Good management brings about order and consistency by drawing formal plans, designing organizational structures and monitoring results against the plans. In other words, the role of management is in the area of planning, implementation and control. In contrast, leadership involves developing a vision and inspiring people to achieve that vision. This leads to Shackletons definition (1995) Leadership is the process in which an individual influences other group members towards the attainment of group or organizational goals. The modern Leaders should be more of an employee oriented rather than production oriented. The statement You manage things, you lead people from Grace Murray Hopper demonstrates the importance of the behavioural dimensions of leadership . It involves the concern that the leader has for the feelings, needs, personal interest, problems and well being of followers. This is such as employees are the human capital which contributes to the success and development of a company to a great extent. Thus, these days, companies do not see them only as factors of production from the classical perspective, but have started to value them as stakeholders and strategic partners with who long term goals are achieved together. A positive working environment is critical no matter how many employees the firm have. It is management that fosters the work atmosphere so they are responsible for conducting things in a way that helps raise peoples spirits. The statement from David J. Schawartz which states big thinkers are specialist in creating positive, forward looking, optimistic pictures in their own minds and in the minds of others is significant because people generally need some sort of challenge to motivate themselves. Effective leadership means offering people the chance to grow. The management should recognize their contribution through positive feedback and advancement to more challenging positions. Norman Allan statement Skill in the art of communication is crucial to a leaders success. He can accomplish nothing unless he can communicate effectively is indeed true since an organization will experience a good working environment only if the management and the employees are engaged in a collaborative and participation relationship. This reminds us of the statement from Mary D. Poole Leadership should be more participative than directiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.If the employees do not trust the management then this will create conflicting relationship between both parties and this is a major barrier towards the promotion of a good working environment. Thus communication is indeed a powerful tool which can align both partners towards the same goal. The leaders should do their best to create an atmosphere that is conducive to trust and provide the necessary infrastructure for the personal growth of its workforce. The leaders should do their best to create an environment where the workforce will feel at ease and can thus be more productive. The management should not forget that by creating a good working environment it will be a win situation for both the workers and the employers as this will enable the firm to be more competitive and productive. 2.3 Organisational justice Distributive justice This type of justice refers to outcomes being distributed proportional to inputs like the so-called equity principle (Adams, 1965). Outcomes in a work context might take the form of wages, social approval, job security, promotion and career opportunities, while inputs would include education, training, experience and effort. As it can be difficult to determine what constitutes an appropriate level of reward for a particular degree of input, people tend to make this judgement in relative terms, looking for a contribution-outcome ratio that is similar to that of their peers. For instance, if two employees have the same qualifications and experience but only one of them gets a promotion, the one who did not get promoted might feel that he was the victim of an unfair decision from the management. Consequently, such injustice might create a havoc in the firms working environment. Procedural justice Procedural justice is concerned with the fairness of the decision process leading to a particular outcome. It can outweigh distributive justice, in the sense that individuals might be willing to accept an unwanted outcome if they believe the decision process leading up to it was conducted according to organizational justice principles. For example, Greenberg (1994) found that smokers more strongly accepted a smoking ban at their workplace when they felt they had been given thorough information about the change of policy, in a socially sensitive manner. The same principles might apply to the hypothetical promotion scenario given above. An unpromoted worker may be placated if he is convinced that the system used to decide promotions is transparent and free from bias. Thus, if the employees trust the procedures adopted by their managers, they will readily accept them and the good working environment will be sustained at the workplace Interactional justice A third type of justice has been proposed by Bies and Moang(1986), which they call Interactional justice: the communication of fairness. This perceptive argues that people are sensitive to the quality of interpersonal treatment they receive during the enactments of organisational procedures. Researchers treated this as a third type of justice but recently researchers now treat it as one component of procedural justice. Colquitt (2001) divides interactional justice into two components: interpersonal which compasses respect and propriety and informational, which encompasses truthfulness and justification. Positive effects of organisational justice Well-designed systems that promote distributive, procedural and interactional justice profit both the individual, who will be satisfied that they have been fairly treated, and the organisation, which will maintain control over potential challenges and threats from its staff while reaping the benefits of being an employer of choice. Numerous gains can be observed. For example, Sheppard et al . (1992) state that equitable pay improves individual performance, equal treatment raises group spirit, voice creates commitment to a decision, and access creates a loyal ally (p. 102). Justice promotes positive attitudes of job satisfaction, commitment and trust, in turn breeding healthy and constructive professional and interpersonal behaviour. In particular, perceptions of procedural justice have been associated with the termed organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) that is, informal, prosocial acts that go beyond the immediate remit of the job description and encompass such outputs as cour tesy, conscientiousness, altruism and sportsmanship (Organ, 1988; Skarlicki and Latham, 1996). If employees feel that there exist organizational justice at their workplace, they will feel more secure and the wok environment will be more friendly between the management and the employees and this will drive the company towards achievement of its goals and objective. Psychological contract (PC) The long term economic health of most organization depends on the efforts of employee with the appropriate knowledge, skills and abilities. One concept that has been useful in discussing employees relationship with the organization is that of a psychological contract. Which refers to the unwritten expectation that employees and employers have about the nature of their work relationship because of the PC is individual and subjective in nature, it focuses on expectations about fairness that may be defined clearly by employees. The transformation in the PC mirrors on evolution in which organization have moved from employing individual who perform tasks. To employing individuals expected to produce results. Rather than just paying them to follow orders and put in time, increasingly employers are expecting employees to use their skills and capabilities to accomplish organizational results. Studies suggest that employees do believe in these unwritten agreement or PC and hope their employers will keep their side of the agreement. When employers do not, employees feel a minimal need to contribute to organizational productivity because they no longer trust employers. Thus, employers loyalty is necessary and it can be successfully based on a new PC with the following expectation: Employers provide employee provide Competitive compensation Contribute to performance improvement Benefits tailored to the workforce Reasonable tenure with the organization Flexibility to balance work Extra effort when needed and home life balance 2.4 Personality, Health, Work Environment, and Performance According to Schneider (1987), the people make the place, and people are attracted differentially to, differentially selected, and differentially leave organizations. Costa, McCrae, and Holland (1984) emphasized on the fact that people begin this procedure by choosing into vocations that match their behaviors. Similarity between an interviewee values and the values of interviewers and employees in organizations has been shown to result in enhanced work attitudes and improved performance after organizational entry (Judge and Cable, 1997; Chatman, 1991). Research by Cable and Judge (1994) and Judge and Cable (1997) highlighted that interviewee pro-actively prefer such organizational environments based on individual preferences, as they think that job candidates look for organizations with recognize their efforts and reward them and cultures that fit their behaviors. Of even greater significance is the prospect that the link between personality characteristics and good work environments may have an influence on performance (Hurtz and Donovan, 2000). . Training and development programs Employee training programs are an integral part of the HR vision and long term strategic objectives of an organization. Through timely and planned training programs, employees are able to develop their knowledge, skills and capabilities so as to perform assigned jobs consistently and successfully. Ultimately, carefully devised and implemented employee training programs should impact organizational competiveness, long term performance and overall productivity. (By Pallab Dutta, ehow contributor). Nowadays, when we talk of training, employees want to form part of the planning process à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.preparation and agreement with the individual of a development plan including formal training and various development activitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦'(Baron and Armstrong,2005,p.25). This collaboration ensures that efficient training occurs and everyone is capable of learning more and doing better in their job ( Baron and Armstrong,2005,p.25). All employees want to work for an organization that will satisfy their need for development as all employees want to develop and acquire new skills so that they are not only efficient but also more employable. Herzberg (1973) stresses opportunities for learning as a motivation factor in a good working environment when employees are properly trained, they become empowered with the knowledge and skills to perform their job functions with confidence. In turn, they will develop a stronger sense of accomplishment, usefulness and loyalty to the organisation (Peterson). Consequently, if the management caters this need of its workforce then they will be motivated and committed. This will eventually create a good working environment since both parties will respect their promise towards each other. 2.7 Staff Empowerment Creating an environment and culture where employees feel comfortable and capable of accomplishing their finest work, is the only means that ensures these organizations are experiencing their employees peak potentials. People are empowered when they are given the authority and responsibility to make decisions affecting their work with a minimum of interference and second guessing (Maurer, 2000, p.5). Empowerment has received increased attention among scholars and practitioners at the workplace (Donovan, 1994), and an opinion regarding the numerous advantages of empowering employees is shared by both managers and employees. Empowerment has proved to influence both organizational and managerial effectiveness (Spreitzer,1995) and is recognized as a method by which managers can efficiently manage an organization in todays work environment. 2.8 Trust Respect Trust is seen as an important attribute of effective leadership and has been referred to as the glue which keeps an organization together as a functioning unit (Strasser, 1994, p.181). In a study, Mishra (1990) concludes that there exist four factors that breed trust within an organization namely: Communication at all level Shared decision making Sharing critical information Honest sharing of perceptions and feelings This study also concluded that trust is an element which starts at the top of any organization, then filter sits way down due to the upper managements hierarchical advantage and greater access to key information. In a team-based environment, trust is an essential ingredient to the overall success and ensures that there exist a collaborative working environment where all party can cohabit and work together. Grundy (1998, p. 180) concludes that organizations where there are determined levels of trust, employees experience empowerment, satisfaction, and competitive advantage, stating; For a team to work effectively, its members must trust one another. We must be able to assume that we can trust each other, that is we can operate with the same values and purpose, count on each other during tough times, be bone straight with each other and work together with mutual respect and care (Harari,1999, p. 29) 2.9 Office layout and working environment Over the years, many organizations have been trying new designs and techniques to construct office buildings, which can increase productivity, and attract more employees. Many authors have noted that, the physical layout of the workspace, along with efficient management processes, is playing a major role in boosting employees productivity and improving organizational performance (Uzee, 1999; Leaman and Bordass, 1993; Williams et al. 1985). The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID, 1999) carried out an independent study and revealed that the physical workplace design is one of the top three factors, which affect performance and job satisfaction. The study results showed that 31 percent of people were satisfied with their jobs and had pleasing workplace environments. 50 percent of people were seeking jobs and said that they would prefer a job in a company where the physical environment is good. Ergonomics of office furniture is important because an employee has to work with them for the entire time that he is on office, and if they are uncomfortable and not user friendly, their working style and efficiency gets hampered considerably, in turn affecting the overall organizations. Non-ergonomic office furniture can also lead to health problems of employees, which again has an adverse effect on the productivity. Ergonomic office furniture ensures that each employee gels well with the things around him, like desks, chairs, computer alignment and even environmental factors. If the employee is uncomfortable due to any reason, his work is bound to get affected. If all factors surrounding the employee are ergonomically correct, then the employee will be comfortable and remain motivated to give his best. Nowier Mohammed (2009) Barriers towards building a good working environment The promotion of a good working environment has numerous advantages namely the firm will have a motivated workforce which will work to their maximum level so as to make the organization become more competitive. Moreover, the firms reputation will not be affected negatively since it will not suffer from problem like strikes and other major problems. As a result, the organization will be more productive and efficient. However, in spite of these advantages, there exist barriers towards the creation of a great place to work namely: Resistant from both parties At the workplace, there are often conflicts between the management team and the employees and this is due to the simple fact that no one party wants to listen to the other. For instance, the management usually implements decisions first and then they expect employees to follow. The management tends to use the authoritarian leadership style but employees are against that since they want to have a say. Resistance can be constructive if it forces managers to interact more frequently with subordinate, to review the decision to introduce change, and perhaps to explore alternative ways to meet desired objective. Six approaches have been put forward as ways of controlling resistance to change (kotter Schlesinger, 1979): Education and communication Participation Facilitation Negotiating and agreement Manipulation and co-option Coercion If the management uses the above approaches then issues like disagreement can be resolved. For instance, with a proper communication channel, there will be clarification of information and thus both parties will be on the same length. Moreover, by educating the employees, they will be able to see change as an opportunity rather than a threat. Thus, such policies can ensure that the organization will experience a harmonious working environment with very little or no conflict at the workplace.

Rate of Diffusion of Potassium permanganate, Potassium dichromate, and Methylene blue1

Rate of Diffusion of Potassium permanganate, Potassium dichromate, and Methylene blue1 1 The Effect of Molecular Weight and Time on the Rate of Diffusion of Potassium permanganate, Potassium dichromate, and Methylene blue1 scientific paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in General Biology I laboratory under Prof. Diana Rose Gonzales, 1st sem., 2013 2014 _ 2 ABSTRACT The effect of molecular weight and time on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate, and methylene blue was tested using a petri dish of agar water gel with three wells. The three substances were dropped simultaneously in the petri dish. Potassium permanganate (MW 158g/mole) increased rapidly (14.50 mm) while Methylene blue (MW 374 g/mole) gradually increased (9.50 mm) only. Thus, molecular weight and time affects the rate of diffusion. INTRODUCTION Diffusion is a movement of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration. The particles will fuse when they are evenly distributed and have reached equilibrium. Potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate, and methylene blue are substances used as indicators and oxidizing agents. Potassium permanganate is used in organic compounds and used commercially to purify water and sanitizer. It is chemically used to regulate certain reducing compounds. Potassium dichromate is used to determine ethanol concentrations in solutions and determine the presence and purity of silver. Researches also suggest that potassium dichromate functions as an agent that cause genetic mutation against DNA repair deficient strains of Escherichia coli. Lastly, methylene blue is used as dye to identify bacteria and nucleic acids. The dye will have the deepest shade of blue when in contact with acids. As indicators and oxidizing agents, the substances stated above must prove that their diffusion must be fast in order to do their functions. Due to their difference in molecular weight, a test was conducted to prove what substance is more recommendable _ 3 to be used in getting the rate of diffusion. To further verify the experiment rate of diffusion was also tested with time. To test this, agar water gel is one of the materials was used. Agar water gel is a substance that functions as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier since it do not melt at room temperature until it is heated to 85oC and more. Also, with a stopwatch the substances were measured (mm) at a regular three minute interval for thirty minutes. The study aims to determine the effect of molecular weight and time on the rate diffusion of potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate, and methylene blue. The specific objectives are 1. to prove that molecular weight affects the rate of diffusion; and 2. to explain why molecular weight must also be observed with time MATERIALS AND METHODS In testing the effect of molecular weight and time on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate, and methylene blue, agar water gel was used. Three bottles with dropper containing the substances and a petri dish with agar water gel were given to each group. As three members of the group dropped all substances together in the wells of the agar water gel, the stopwatch started simultaneously with it. One member measured each wells of the agar water gel with a ruler to get the initial measurement (mm) of the wells. The group then drew the initial appearance of the experiment (Figure 4.1.). One member was assigned to signal the group if three minutes have passed and the member of the group who is assigned to _ 4 measure the wells will immediately but carefully measure the area with the ruler. There was a regular three minute interval for thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, the group then drew the final appearance of the experiment Figure 4.2. Also, the group computed for the average of the substances by adding all the data that were gathered divided by number of time intervals. To test the effect of time on the rate of diffusion the data gathered were computed by partial rate. Partial rate is computed by subtracting the diameter of colored area immediately (di-1) before the diameter of colored area at a given time (d1) divided by the time when d1 was measured (t1) minus the time immediately before t1 (ti 1). Again, the average of each substances were computed by adding all the date divided by the number of time intervals. A graph comparing the average rate of diffusion of each substance was plotted against its molecular weight in Figure 4.3. Also, a graph comparing the partial rate of diffusion of each substance was plotted against the time elapsed in Figure 4.4 _ 5 Potassium dichromate Methylene blue Potassium permanganate Figure 4.1. Initial appearance of the substances in the agar water gel wells. Potassium dichromate Methylene blue Potassium permanganate Figure 4.2. Final appearance of the substances in the agar water gel wells. _ 6 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS As seen in Table 4.2, potassium permanganate (MW 158 g/mole) has the highest average rate of diffusion with 11.32 mm/min, followed by potassium dichromate (MW 294 g/mole) with 10.86 mm/min, and methylene blue (MW 374 g/mole) with 7.95 mm/min. In Table 4.3, potassium permanganate has the highest partial rates of diffusion with 0.35 mm/min, followed by potassium dichromate with 0.32 mm/min, and methylene blue with 0.19 mm/min. This results shows that molecular weight has an effect in the rate of diffusion. When the molecular weight is lower then the rate of diffusion will be higher meaning they have an indirect relationship. Also, with time the rate of diffusion of the substances decreased, meaning time and the rate of diffusion has an indirect relationship. _ 7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The effect of molecular weight and time on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate, and methylene blue was determined. Each substance was dropped simultaneously with each other into the petri dish with agar water gel. With a stopwatch the time was observed with an interval of three minuets in thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, the average of the circumference and the partial rates of diffusion were computed. Results showed that potassium permanganate (MW 158 g/mole) which has the least molecular weight had the highest average rate of diffusion compared to methylene blue (MW 374 g/mole), which has the greatest molecular weight among the three. In time, the circumference (mm/min) of each substance increased since there was diffusion in the agar water gel wells. Hence, molecular weight and time has an effect in the increase, decrease, slowness, and fastness of the diffusion of substances. Nevertheless, further experimentation must be done to improve the results of the experiment. It is recommended to use other substances, a different medium other than the agar water gel, a longer time period to test the diffusion, a more stable environment, and have more trials to observe better results. _ 11 LITERATURE CITED Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 12th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1979; p 9:4-9:94. Ebbing, Darrell D. General Chemistry 3rd ed.; Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA, 1990; p 137. Andrew Mills, David Hazafy, John A. Parkinson, Tell Tuttle and Michael G. Hutchings The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2009, 113 (34), 9575-9576 Chongmok Lee, Yoo Wha Sung, and Joon Woo ParkThe Journal of Physical Chemistry B1999, 103 (5), 893-898 _