Finance and Accounting Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Finance and Accounting - Term Paper Example SwissChoc SA (owned by a family friend) is prepared to give him exclusive rights to sell their products in the USA for a ten year period in return for an upfront payment. â€Å"The distributor is an independent selling agent who has a contract to sell the products of a manufacturer. The distributor cannot represent him- or herself as the producer but may display the producer's trade name in signage and in the sales situation† (US Legal, 2012). Since the information provided is not adequate, we have to make certain reasonable assumptions while working out the statements required in this respect. However, the lack of details in these areas is not materially going to affect the reliability of the statements. The assumptions made in this connection have been stated in the report to enable the user to bring in additional details, if it is felt necessary to have a more detailed report on the project. There is uncertainty in the price front as the details given with regard to prices at which the product could be sold are not specific. Instead George has given a price range with minimum and maximum prices for the products to be marketed. There are difficulties in predicting the correct prices due to interplay of the brands, price levels (cheap and costly with various price levels in between), market segments, tastes and flavors. Therefore, sensitivity analysis has been undertaken to highlight impacts due to variations in price realization with justifications for adopting a particular method for working out the reasonable upfront fee payable to the manufacturer – supplier SwissChoc SA and the return on investment that could be expected from the business venture of George. Cash flow statement for the first year of operations In The Statement – I, â€Å"Cash flow statement for the first year of the operations of Mr. George†, while considering various factors contributing to the cash flow, both in flow and out flow we have made certain assumptio ns after carefully considering various implications related to the business. Sale Price: The sale price is considered at $ 135 per kilogram of the chocolate. This is the mean price as per the price range given by George adopted for the purpose of our calculations. The mean price is worked out as below. Highest price = $ 150 Lowest price = $ 120 Average price adopted for calculation = (Highest price + Lowest price)/2 or (150 + 120) / 2 = 135. The chocolates are consumed mostly by the college and school going students. If the tastes and flavors are acceptable to them pricing is not going to be a prohibiting factor in taking a buying decision by them. Since George is an experienced person with business school background along with his wife, his price estimates should be realistic. Moreover, the Swiss made chocolates are reputed for their taste and quality. Therefore, there will not be any resistance from the parents for their children eating these chocolates. The price comparison for t his product would be very difficult as in the case of other fast moving consumer goods with different brands and varieties. The George’s internet business model by marketing completely through credit cards means that the people targeted are high end and sophisticated customers, where the quality and service are more important rather than the price. Therefore, adopting the average price, if not the highest price would be very reasonable. Capital account of George: The amount shown under capital

Davis vs. the Board of County Commissioners of Doa Ana County Essay

Davis vs. the Board of County Commissioners of Doa Ana County - Essay Example The court concludes that Dona Ana Country deserves to be accountable for negligent referral (misinterpretation) due to positive references. When Herrera got a position as the mental health technician, he was allegedly accused of sex assault by the plaintiff and physically abused female patients. In case an organization provides misleading references that can contribute to the harm of employees in the new job, the jurisdictions have the right to sue that organization for the negligent referral. According to Kohn, Kohn and Colapinto, the court of appeal has the right to judge Steele and Mochen for not taking into considerations the harm caused to the third party and the risk that may be encountered in the end. The government has the laws that protect all employees and the third parties in an organization from any harm imposed upon them. The US departments of Labor and its divisions have varied laws, which can shield third parties or employees in the workplace. Cases of negligent or a m isinterpretation of any information provided regarding employees that may pose risks to other employees is illegal. Therefore, the court made it very clear that Herrera was not supposed to provide employment reference since he was a former employee at MVH. Therefore, Herrera could have remained silent, but in case he chose to present the reference, the MVH has a duty to present factual information about him. However, since Sleeve and Mochen made a decision of presenting signed written misinterpreted information by omitting Herrera’s references, they were liable for this action. This is because Herrera could not be trusted as an employee who could deliver effective services as his behaviors could bear worse results; thus portraying a bad image to the company. Should it have mattered that the former employer’s investigation was not able to confirm all of the allegations against Herrera? Explain your answer. It should have mattered that the former employer’s invest igation was not able to confirm all the allegations against Herrera because the decision relied upon legal issues. This legal issue places an individual who either deliberately or negligently offers false information to another party for the physical assault,

Exploring Business, v. 2.0 book Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exploring Business, v. 2.0 book - Article Example Trade is also measured through the concepts of trade surplus and trade deficit (134). There are tremendous opportunities for a business entity to enter the global markets, such as licensing agreements, contract manufacturing and outsourcing, alliances and joint ventures, FDIs and subsidiaries (140). This provides the business to grow extensively and create a market share on the international market. However, companies must be cautious and carefully consider the global business environment which would be vital for the success of the globalization plan. Companies should be sensitive on factors such as cultural environment, language, sociability, and intercultural communication (152). Trade controls will also play a critical role in engaging in globalization. Tariffs and quotas are present in every country which protects its vital and developing local industries (167). The reduction of trade barriers, such free trade agreements, also helps strengthen the regional trading market by bolstering the import and export between the member countries (171). International business is truly a lucrative field to develop a career, and preparing for such would require early strategic planning (179). Choosing an undergraduate degree specializing of a core business concept would be a strong foundation to prosper in an international business career. Studying international politics, economics, and culture, covering the concepts discussed above, will provide indispensible tools in doing international trades and business. Lastly, is developing the know-how of communicating in foreign languages (179). Being able to communicate with clients in their mother-tongue would definitely increase the changes of successful business

Work Unemployment And Poverty Essay Example for Free

Work Unemployment And Poverty Essay Introduction The decline of the traditional industries and the emerging of new industries brought changes which resulted in unemployment and poverty. The world wide slump also contributed to the problems of unemployment to the working class individuals. The national government responded to unemployment in positive and negative ways. The growth of poverty had social and political impacts on the individuals. The essay will conclude on the government’s attempts, churches, organisations and other individual’s ways to alleviate the problems associated with poverty. Analyse the occupations and industries of the 1930’s in Britain The occupation and industries of Britain in the 1930’s was heavily industrialised and traditional industries that were available in the 1930s were iron, coal and steel industries. These industries were the most important source of employment for the individual especially in South Wales and Northern England. These industries provided jobs for individuals( individuals were employed as coal miners, peddlers’, iron workers, labours, ship builders etc,) and created the working class and this enabled them to earn incomes to buy goods and pay bills like rent , and a better standard of living. (Tiratsoo, 1997) Upper class and middle class people also invested money and started new businesses and this boosted the economy and increase the number of working class people. At the end of the 19th century the industries started to decline for a number of reasons. Ross 1995 points that the worldwide slump was one of the reason industries closed, wages were cut and millions of individuals were made redundant. Minchton (1969) points that the welsh economy suffered because of the lack of demand for iron and coal because the wars had ended and there was less demand for coal to smelt iron and iron to make iron ammunitions. This resulted in industries getting less orders for exports, making less profit and in addition, coal miners, puddlers, iron workers were made redundant and their wages were reduced . The coal fields and iron ore deposits of South Wales and Northern England were no longer the main source of employment for the individuals. According to Williams (1988), Wales overspecialised and heavily relied with the manufacture of primary industry and this lead to the welsh economy to its decline. Baber and Williams (1986) supports that  the regions primary industry had over –concentrated on coal, steel tin plate and iron and has lead to the downturn of the business cycle. The closure of Dowlais Company in 1931 and the collapse of Palmer’s shipyard in 1931 and the emerging of public services or( white –collar jobs) and electric industries saw the beginning of structural unemployment. (Smith, 1998, 31) Evaluate the changes in industry and their effects upon the individual. However this had negative effects to the individual s during the decline period workers were made redundant and this resulted in high employment rates, their wages were lowered and all this resulted in workers struggling and unable to pay their bills and buying other commodities especially food. Since most of the people had no wage and could not afford to buy things, this resulted in most businesses to go bankrupt and creation of continuous unemployment. (Egan 1987: 15, 20, 26) The emerging of new industries meant that the workforce no longer possessed the skills needed to work in these new industries. The new industries The coal miners from the declined industries were faced with an effect of being unable to get employment in the new industries because their skills were not matching with the new technology skills needed in the new industries e.g. as electric technicians , nursing , teaching and administration. Smith 1998 supports this by pointing out that there was a problem in matching the new jobs to the jobless in the consumer industries and public services . The changes of the old industries to new industries came with more unemployment because the majority of the workforce jobless and could not easily transfer skills, e.g coal miner could not easily adapt to the work of an electrical engineer. Summarise the problems of unemployment and implications for the individual(Lower class, middle class and upper class) In summary the problems of unemployment and implications it had on individuals they were problems associated with unemployment and implications it had on the individuals. The problems of unemployment during the 1930’s were that individuals or the working class were not earning a wage to be able to maintain a good standard of living. This resulted in the unemployed not able to pay their rent and a a result they were evicted from their homes leading homelessness The working class fell on the lower class category . According to Ross 1995, the lower class was 68 per cent of the population  and had to do manual labouring jobs a nd earned between  £50 to  £150 a year and did not own their own homes and they lived in homes that were small poorly built , crowded no bathrooms or electricity. The problems the working class was that there were unemployed and could not get jobs in the new industries because they were unskilled. (Smith 1998) The working class was not able to buy food and this resulted in them eating unhealthy diets and leading to malnutrition. ) . The other problem was that the unemployed the new industries were not located in areas where there was high unemployment for example in old traditional industries, industries like in Methyr Tydfil were located close to raw materials whereas the new industries were located in London, south east and West midlands and they were powered by electricity not coal and goods were transported by road not rail. (Rowe 2004) But however Smith 1998 pointed that most unemployed individuals found themselves better off on the dole than earning a wage. Because, the dole was given , taking the family size into consideration whereas, the wage did not consider the size of the family. The upper and middle classes did not have the same p roblems and implications compared to the working class (lower class). According to Ross 1995, the upper class did not have to work to earn a living they had enough money to live on and were about seven percent of population. The middle classes were about twenty-five percent in population and were the individuals who got employed and had the skills to work in the new industries and they were educated and did not have to manual labouring work. The types of jobs they worked were doctors, lawyers , nurses electricians, brigadier general shop assistants’ administrators and teachers just to mention a few the jobs that the lower class were unskilled in. The middle classes, owned homes, bought cars, new technological goods, such as washing machines, irons and had some savings. However even though some of them lost their jobs during the slump but they were able to survive. (Rowe, 2004) (Ced , 1985) points a good comparison between the lower class and upper class that . A retired Brigadier general who had inherited an ancestral home five years before had already sold half his land , he was also earning  £800 per annum in pension . he owned properties which he collected rent from even though he had lost half of his land he lost  £6000 on Haltry crash and his wife had an income as well. Whereas there was lower class individual who lost his job as a labourer and  with twenty children living in a three bed rented house. This two scenario’s points that it was an unjust society and there was a huge difference between the middle classes and the poor. Even though the rich lost some of their wealth during the slump but they were able to continue with their normal life ate well and lived in a good home and even had extra but for the labourer he lost his job , had twenty children a a wife to feed. He also needed money for rent otherwise him and his family face eviction and homelessness. Explain the impact of unemployment and briefly evaluate the national Government‘s response to unemployment Unemployment caused further implications; the more the workers stayed at home unemployed the more they lost their skills. Also the fact that most women continued in employment after men came back from war meant that some of the jobs that were available to men before war were taken by women. (Smith, 1998) This increase in unemployment led The National Government to respond to unemployment by introducing The Unemployment Act of 1934 which gave family means tested benefits for unemployed individuals. It also helped the unemployed workers to retrain this was good because the individuals however had a basic standard of living however some of the unemployed coal miners and steel workers were no longer interested in looking for work to relying on benefits this resulted in government spending more on benefits . (Smith, 1998) The National Government also introduced the Industrial Transference scheme which meant to that workers were being moved from areas without employment to areas where there was employment. This left older people and young children in areas where there was no employment leaving the areas under populated and areas of employment populated Minchiton (1969) The government also introduced the Special areas act of 1935 which attracted new industries to invest in areas where there was no employment. This was beneficial to South Wales and parts of Scotland (Rowe 2004) The national government also came off the gold standard and the effect of this was that it devalued the pound against the US dollar and resulted in boosting the British economy. The National Government did cut unemployment benefits by ten percent and this lasted till 1934 had an impact on the individual it meant that they had to cut back on things including food.( Rowe 2004) However , Rowe (2004), points that the unemployed benefited during this  period the managed to earn a suburban life, managed to buy car , the new technological gadgets including washing machines, electric cookers irons etc. Explain the growth of poverty and assess its social and political impact. The growth of poverty during this period had social and political impacts. The poverty was caused by unemployment and low wages due to the closure of the old traditional industries, the world wide slump (great Depression), and benefit cuts. The working class (lower class) suffer poverty because the Socially the unemployed were not able to earn a good standard of living. They had no money to pay rent and they lived in appalling conditions, and they were not able to buy the new technological gadgets that had just entered the market. This resulted in some of the unemployed being evicted from their homes or having to rely on family means tested benefits. It also resulted in some of them being opting to relocate to areas where there was employment leaving their families and children behind. According to Tiratsoo (1997), the growth of poverty socially had an impact to the unemployed that were unable to eat a healthy diet and they lacked food and this resulted in malnutrition and physical stresses. Smith 1998 points that, The wives of the unemployed men fund themselves constantly cutting their own diets, medical needs, and clothing in order to keep men in the family ‘ready for work’ Source: Democracy in a depression According to Tiratsoo (1997), the middle classes had bags of disposable incomes; they had private health care, pensions, private education for their children, and lots of leisure time. Whereas the lower classes had no disposable incomes instead there were on benefits. The impact of poverty was that the working classes organised a general strikes of 1926 and it was unsuccessful the government said it was illegal and the middle classes opposed it saying that violence frightened them .The Jarrow crusade of 1936 was sparked by mass unemployment and poverty the march was not successful the government dismissed the marchers and there was no success on this march. (Ross , 1995) Evaluate the attempts at solving the problems associated with poverty The government, charities, churches and other individual tried to solve the problems associated with poverty. The government introduced benefits the mean tested to the unemployed. Charities  like Joseph Rowntree Trust they helped with their writing and research with the wage increases and a pension scheme for the poor. (Ross, 1995) , According to Smith ( 1998) other individuals helped with food parcels and clothes for the poor . The government’s welfare system during the 1930’s was helpful because it brought a relief to the unemployed and reduced poverty even though it was not enough. This essay concludes that the disappearance of the traditional industries and the emerging of new industries brought changes which resulted in unemployment and poverty. The world wide slump also contributed to the problems of unemployment to the working class individuals. The national government responded to unemployment in positive and negative ways. The growth of poverty had social and political impacts on the individuals. The government, churches, organisations and other individuals attempted to alleviate the problems associated with poverty. References, Baber, Colin Williams L, J , ( 1986)- modern South Wales, Cardiff University of Wales Press. Ced , N Gray (1985) ,The worst times: An oral History of the Great Depression in Britain, Scholar Press. Egan, David, ( 1987)- People Protest and Politics: Case Studies in Nineteenth Century Wales (Paperback) , Gomer press Minchinton, W, E (1969), – Industrial south Wales 1750 -1914, Frank Cass and Company Limited, London. Rowe, C, (2004), Britain 1929- 1998, Harcourt Education, Oxford. Ross, S (1995), Britain through the Ages. Britain Since 1930, Evans Brothers limited, London Smith , M, (1998) Democracy and Depression , University of Wales press. Tiratsoo,N (1997),Blitz to Blair , A new History of Britain since 1939, London .

Critical Evaluation of Change Managed in Practice

Critical Evaluation of Change Managed in Practice The Government has clearly outlined the need for nurses to develop leadership skills at all levels within the workforce in order to deliver the NHS modernisation programme (DH  [1]  1998; DH 1999). The leadership role expected of community practitioners is evident in Shifting the Balance of Power (DH 2001a) and Liberating the Talents (DH 2002) with the expectation that health visitors will lead teams which will deliver family-centred public health within the communities they work (DH 2001b). The change I was to lead however was not initiated primarily to support clients, but instead to protect staff working in the community to ensure they were safe and supported in their public health work as a large proportion of the time is spent working alone. The issue of lone worker safety is particularly topical after the recent murder of a mental health support worker during a home visit (BBC News 2006). To support this proposal, Baulcomb (2003) asserts that any change management initiative should not only yield benefits for patients but also for staff and the wider organisation. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE 2005) reports that nurses and other health care workers are 2.8 times more at risk of an injury  [2]  than clerical workers and the vulnerability of health care workers increases significantly if they are working alone  [3]  (Chappell and Di Martino 2000). It was a particularly pertinent time to examine mechanisms for risk reduction as they had still not been reviewed despite a member of staff being off sick  [4]  due to an adverse incident involving lone work. As health visiting frequently requires lone work, it was clear that lone working practices needed reviewing to reduce the likelihood of a similar or more serious incident recurring. Further drivers for change were identified as a result of observations of workers in practice. I noted the following areas of concern: up-to-date whereabouts of staff not always provided (or out of date) and a lack of a reporting-in system which would identify whether staff had finished work safely for the day. I discussed these issues with the community nursing manager who wholly supported any attempts to introduce mechanisms that would improve lone worker safety. A further driver for change was the obligation to implement health and safety legislation. Due to limitations in report length, this information has been provided in Appendix One. If changes are to be implemented which lead to increased worker safety, this will have a positive (although indirect) effect on clients because if staff feel safer and more supported in their roles, they will be less likely to be off sick with stress or injuries (Mahony 2006) which would impact on the teams ability to deliver the public health agenda. As workers who contribute to the implementation of health and safety measures are known to be healthier and safer than those who do not (HSE 2005), it was felt that this would be an appropriate area for the team to examine and implement change. It was after consideration of these anteceding factors that the need for change was established and a vision created: To improve the safety of lone workers within the health visiting team. Implementing the change was a dynamic and multidimensional process with many facets too abundant to detail fully here, however pertinent examples will be selected and analysed. The following study will detail a reflective evaluation of my application of leadership and management theory to effect a change in practice. The successes and difficulties encountered will be given throughout with reference to the literature. Change management requires well-developed leadership and management skills (Marquis and Huston 2000). A combination of these skills is necessary to ensure that the job is done not only efficiently, i.e. new mechanisms are put in place and embedded into the teams practice (the management dimension) (Stewart 1996) but that it is achieved in such a way that motivates and inspires staff to change their practice- the leadership dimension (Stewart 1996). To guide the changes, a change management model was selected. Deegan et al (2004) report that such models provide a theoretical sequence, which will be instrumental in helping the change manager to choose, develop, and order activities which are required during planned change episodes. As the change was planned (as opposed to emergent), a suitable model was Lewins three-stage model of planned change (Lewin 1951)  [5]  . The use of this model in the National Health Service (NHS) is widely documented and has underpinned the successful changes in many of the research papers read  [6]  . It is also a simple model which is not overly prescriptive and so does not restrict individual practitioner creativity (Cameron and Green 2005). The three stages of planned change according to this model are: unfreezing the existing equilibrium (Unfreezing); moving to a new point (Movement) and refreezing the changes into practice so that they become embedded in practice (Refreezing). My change management project is currently part way through the Movement stage as the change has not been fully implemented or evaluated yet I continue to lead this project  [7]  . Lewin (1951) suggests that in the changes preliminary stage, factors which will drive or resist the change should be identified. This process is known as Force Field Analysis (FFA) and will identify the change enthusiasts, the potential objectors and the undecided (Turner, 2001) (see Appendix Three for the FFA carried out at this stage). Lewin (1951) asserted that change occurs as a result of a shift in the equilibrium between the opposing forces (those which resist change) and the driving forces and is thought to be more likely to occur successfully if restraining forces are removed rather than by simply increasing the driving forces. Hussey (1998) exercises a word of caution at this juncture warning that an increase in the driving forces may lead to an increase in the restraining forces, however if the driving forces outweigh the restraining forces, there is a positive climate for change (Cameron and Green 2005). After analysing the force field I could see that the driving forces o utweighed the resisting forces and so confirmed that the change was needed and realistic. Leaders motivate their staff by inspiring vision and encouraging followers to share in that vision (Bennis 1997, Davidhizar 1993) and like in Kassean Jagoos study (2005), the unfreezing stage was initiated by facilitating peoples thoughts on the current situation (Greaves 1999)- stimulating ideas for how to change the current situation  [8]  . As people can only be empowered by a vision that they understand (Sheldon and Parker 1997), it is paramount that strategies are used to foster inclusion and participation so that all team members are fully aware of the impetus for change. For change to be successful and enduring, Kouzes and Posner (1987) say that it is imperative that the leader encourages team ownership of the vision by encouraging their participation in the project. Without participation failure is likely to result due to resistance from team members. It is vital to the success of the change that it is perceived to be needed by those that will be affected by the change ( Marquis and Huston 2000) and so to raise awareness of the issue and create dissatisfaction with the current state (Lewin 1951), I introduced my ideas at a team meeting. On reflection, I can identify aspects of transformational and situational leadership in how I shared my ideas and interacted with the team. Most team members agreed that risks to lone working needed to be reduced and willingly offered their ideas (see Appendix Four). Encouraging team input and facilitating problem solving are key features of the supportive behaviours exhibited by the situational leader (Northouse 2004). Situational leadership was developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1977) and assumes the leader adapts their style according to a given situation  [9]  . This style has two main types of intervention: those which are supportive and those which are directive. The effective situational leader is one that adjusts the directive and supportive dimensions of their leadership according to the needs of their subordinates (Northouse 2004). As most team members were highly motivated in the project, freely offering suggestions and ideas, a directive role was not needed. The supportive behaviours I employed encouraged a participative approach characterised by the use of finely tuned interpersonal skills such as active listening, giving feedback and praising (Marquis and Huston 2000) which can be likened to a Skinnerian approach of positive reinforcement. In retrospect I can identify my correct use of this leadership style by looking at a later development of this model which introduced a further dimension to the leadership style: the developmental level of the participants. This is ascertained by assessing workers competence and commitment to completing the task. The member of staff that appeared to take little interest and was not able to offer ideas displayed a lower developmental level compared to other team members and hence I directed her more using the coaching behaviours advocated by Hersey and Blanchard (1977). This coaching promoted inclusion and participation by: giving encouragement, soliciting input and questioning the participant on what they thought of the proposals and the changes they would like to see. This was done to increase levels of commitment and motivation (Northouse 2004) and thus integrate that team member into the change process. On reflection this can also be identified as an example of reducing the resist ing factors to the change within the force field as by adapting to the needs of that team member, she was encouraged to take part and share ideas rather than hinder progress and potentially thwart the change. A model which places great importance on the needs, values and morals of others is transformational leadership (Northouse 2004; RCN 2005) and elements of this could be identified in my leadership. The needs of staff could be regarded as the need to stay safe, and values may be their desire to get home to their families at the end of the day. I was aware that on face value, looking at improving safety for lone workers would perhaps not appear to be an issue that would provoke much excitement, or according to Kotter (1999) light a fire. However, I articulated my vision in terms of getting people to consider the impact of what the consequences could be if we were to be a victim of an adverse incident. When discussing the impact of this with staff and getting them to consider the impact of not changing practice, of how their lives and their families lives could potentially be affected, I created motivation within the team to examine working practices. This was confirmed to me as many of the staff showed their interest by their offering of ideas to meet this challenge. By tapping into the moral dimension of a proposed change i.e. promoting the need to contribute in order to protect the safety of not just themselves but also the wider team, the transformational leader further inspires staff to change by motivating followers to transcend their own self-interest for the sake of the team and organization (Bass 1985). Once the vision had been shared and accepted by the team, several strategies were discussed that could contribute to risk reduction (Appendix Four). At this stage it was realistic to focus on a single change. A reason for this was because McIntosh (2000) highlights that many changes focus on the needs of the organisation (e.g. to provide certain services or to implement Government policy) and often overlook the needs of the employees. Applied to this case, there was an organisational need to manage risk but this had to be balanced with not overwhelming the team with too many changes at once  [10]  . At the meeting it was decided by the team members present  [11]  that the simplest intervention to implement would be to phone into the clinic base administrators when finishing their shift to notify that they had finished work for the day and were safe  [12]  . Although the proposed change would not eliminate the risk of an adverse incident occurring, it would ensure that should an incident occur, it would be identified and acted upon as swiftly as possible and thus the risk would be managed more effectively. Vroom and Yetton (1973) propose five types of considered decision-making ranging from that which may be expected of an autocratic manager i.e. a decision is made by the leader entirely alone, through to a democratic approach whereby the matter is discussed with the whole team and a consensus decision is made. When analysing my own management stance it was clear that my style had been distinctly democratic as I had sought to include everyone and promote consensus decision-making. I demonstrated sensitivity and appreciation of the pressures that others were under by ensuring that those not present at the meeting were included in the decision-making process as open consultation with key stake holders often leads to the successful introduction and adoption of change (Phair and Good 1998, cited in Deegan et al 2004). This contributed to creating a climate of a learning organisation. A learning organisation is one where all members are encouraged to increase their capacity to produce resul ts they care about (Karesh 1994) and one which promotes the exchange of information between members in order to create a knowledgeable workforce. I was determined that those who could not attend the meetings still be part of the decision making process. However there were difficulties with this as due to being in practice just two days a week meant that it was unrealistic to consult each absent worker individually and so I emailed out meeting minutes from the meeting and invited feedback  [13]  . Although the use of email to communicate ideas is one of the least popular ways to receive information, it was one of only a few methods available to me and hence justified its use. Without using this medium, communication with the team would have been compromised and could have led to some team members feeling they had been excluded from the decision-making process. Further analysis of this point reveals my own concern that all the follow up and meetings needed to be done by myself whe n perhaps this could have been delegated to someone else. With regard to situational leadership, if team members are motivated and committed to the change, the leader can assume a more passive role where they let team members take responsibility for doing the job and refrain from giving unnecessary support (Northouse 2004). This perhaps reveals Theory X management style traits (McGregor 1960) whereby the manager feels the need to keep a tight grip on staff perceiving them to need coercion to achieve tasks, deeming them to possess little capacity to explore and solve problems spontaneously without direction. This approach may convey distrust of the team (McGregor 1960) and was therefore not an ideal management style in the actual situation I was in. Rather than viewing this as a weakness however, it must be viewed as an opportunity to explore my assumptions of the team, assessing whether my assumptions had any grounding in reality or whether this style was assumed due to my inexperie nce leading and hence insecurities about the role. Reaching a consensus on the change to implement was an example of how in situational leadership, decision-making can be shared between the leader and motivated followers (Hersey and Blanchard 1977). From a management point of view, this participative approach facilitates the process of completing the task but it is also an example of how leaders empower their teams by transferring some of their power to the follower to enable them to be active participants in the decision-making process. After confirming the change intervention, the safety plan was devised (see Appendix Six). This was a contingency plan detailing the steps to take should a team member fail to report in. The team agreed that I should draw this up due to my previous experience of using one. As the manager is responsible for ensuring a task is completed on time and is done efficiently (Stewart 1996) there was no reason for this task to be delegated elsewhere as this would have taken up time and hence been an inappropria te use of resources. During the movement stage, I positively reinforced the importance of the change by acting as a role model. Role modelling is a key feature of transformational leadership whereby the leader demonstrates specific types of behaviours that they want their followers to adopt (Northouse 2004). Stewart (1996) also reports that the greatest power as a leader is the example that you set (p.25) and so I did this by ensuring that I implemented the proposed changes i.e. I always reported into base on finishing work even before the agreed implementation date. The change is currently in the latter stages of the Movement phase with implementation and evaluation still required to complete the phase  [14]  . Refreezing is the final stage of Lewins model and involves the change agent (myself) supporting staff to integrate the change into practice so that it becomes part of the status quo (Marquis and Huston 2000) ensuring that over a period of time everyones practice changes and there is no chance of reversion to former ways. A strategy for the future development of the change and to conclude the refreezing stage would be to carry out an evaluation to determine the changes effectiveness. A summative (or outcome evaluation) could be conducted to investigate: whether the intervention is effective in reaching planned goals; what happens to the participants as a result of the change and whether it is worth continuing with the change intervention (Robson 2003). The first question could be assessed by carrying out a risk assessment of the hazards faced by lone workers including strategies in place to reduce risk. The HSE (2005) detail a five-step risk assessment guide that can be carried out to assess the extent of risk post-intervention. Ideally a risk assessment should have been carried out in the unfreezing stage and thus provide a baseline to compare against. Another strategy to obtain objective data would be to keep a copy of all reporting-in records which should identify those failing to report in  [15]  . Although this appears to be a policing measure which may imply distrust for staff (typical of a Theory X manager, McGregor 1960), it may be the only way of conclusively being able to tell if people are actually putting the new change into practice. If an audit of these records revealed certain team members were not engaging in the process and were having to be chased by administrators to ascertain whether they had finished work safely, I would use responsive leadership skills incorporating effective interpersonal communication to work with these staff members to identify what the problems and issues were. It is vital that this is done as if ignored these resisting factors could impede the change and failure could result (Hussey 1998). A key goal of refreezing is supporting those involved so that the change remains in place (Marqui s and Huston 2000) and so this audit may reveal those who need further support  [16]  . The change detailed in this case study has first and foremost considered the needs of the employees (i.e. to be safe in their lone work) yet has many benefits for the wider organisation and staff: potentially decreased litigation due to decreased adverse incidences affecting staff, increased recruitment and retention due to the organisations increasing attractiveness as a supportive employer and many more. This highlights effective use of a combination of leadership skills to inspire and motivate staff coupled with the ability to function in a management capacity by directing changes necessary in order to meet the organisations requirements (Marquis and Huston 2000). Change management requires well-developed leadership and managerial skills (Marquis and Huston 2000). However as a student health visitor many of these skills were far from being well developed and rather than use and manipulate models as I went along, elements of models such as transformational and situational were recognised retrospectively. However in doing so my knowledge of the theoretical underpinning has been developed and consolidated arming me with a plethora of skills to draw on in future. Northouse (2004) states that leadership style refers to the behaviours shown by an individual who attempts to influence others. I felt this was a daunting task as in my student role I felt very much the subordinate as opposed to the leader. However, Government papers such as Making a Difference (DH 1999) stress for the need to develop leadership at all levels meaning it is not an activity reserved for the upper echelons of an organisation (Garvin 1996). I found it hard at times to reconcile the requirement to develop leadership skills with the need to embrace evidence-based practice as the two often clashed due to the fact that there is little empirical evidence of the effectiveness of many leadership models (Northouse 2004) including those I used. To further illustrate this point Wright and Doyle (2005) conclude it is impossible to say how effective transformational leadership is with any degree of certainty and it is not possible to say here that another approach would have been more effective without trying it. Northouse (2004) also criticises other models of leadership including situational leadership, and questions their validity commenting that they are under-researched and with few published research findings. I had not viewed myself as a born leader and coupled with my student status, I felt nervous embracing a leadership role. Marriner-Tomey (1996) however asserts that leadership skills can be developed over time, indicating that skills can indeed be learnt, dispelling the myth that leaders are born not made. This provides me with reassurance that with further experience of leading in practice, along with a deeper knowledge of leadership theory, I may become a more effective and inspiring leader. References Bass, B. M. (1985) Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation. New York, Free Press. Baulcomb, J. (2003) Management of change through force field analysis. Journal of Nursing Management. 11. pp. 275-80. BBC News (2006) Man held as charity worker killed. News item [Internet], BBC. Available from: [Accessed 20th May 2006]. Bennis, W. (1994) On becoming a leader. NY, Perseus Press. Burns, J.M. (1978) Leadership. New York, Harper Row. Cameron, E. and Green, M. (2005) Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools and techniques or organisational change. London, Kogan Page. Chappell, D. and Di Martino, V. (2000) Violence at work. 2nd ed. Geneva, ILO. Davidhizar, R. (1993) Leading with charisma. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 18. pp. 675-9. Deegan, C., Watson, A., Nestor, G., Conlon, C. and Connaughton, F. (2004) Managing change initiatives in clinical areas. Nursing Management. 12 (4), pp. 24-29. Department of Health (1999) Making a Difference: strengthening the contribution of nursing, midwifery and health visiting. London, HMSO. Department of Health (2001a) Shifting the balance of power: securing delivery. London, HMSO. Department of Health (2001b) Health visitor practice development resource pack. London, DH. Department of Health (2002) Liberating the talents: helping PCTs and nurses deliver the NHS Plan. London, HMSO. Elkan, R., Kendrick, D., Hewitt, M., Robinson, JJA., Tolley, K. and Blair, M. (2000) The effectiveness of domiciliary health visiting: a systematic review of international studies and a selective review of the British literature. Health Technology Assessment. 4(13). Garvin, J. (1996) Leadership and nursing: traditional attitudes and socialisation. Nursing Management. 3 (3). pp. 20-22. Greaves, C. (1999) Patients perceptions of bedside handover. Nursing Standard. 14 (12). pp. 32-5. Health and Safety Executive (1974) The Health and Safety at Work Act. London, HMSO. Health and Safety Executive (2005) Work related violence: lone workers. [Internet], HSE. Available from: [Accessed 26th April 2006]. Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1977) The Management of Organizational Behaviour. 3rd ed. New Jersey, Prentice Hall. Hussey, D. (1998) How to be better at managing change. London, Kogan Page. Karash, R. (1994) Learning-Org Dialog on Learning Organizations. [Internet]. Available from [Accessed 22nd May 2006] Kassean, H. and Jagoo, Z. (2005) Managing change in the nursing handover from traditional to bedside handover- a case study from Mauritius. [Internet], BMC Nursing. Available from: [Accessed on 2nd April 2006]. Kotter, J. (1999) John P. Kotter on what leaders really do. Boston, Harvard Business School. Lewin, K. (1951) Field Theory in Social Science. New York, Harper Row. Mahony, C. (2006) Risk reduction. [Internet], Nursing Times. Available from: [Accessed 14th May 2006]. Marquis, B. and Huston, C. (2000) Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: theory and application. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Lippincott. McGregor, D. (1960) The human side of enterprise. New York, McGraw-Hill. McIntosh, N.D. (2000) Implementing clinical education for phlebotomists.Nursing Standard. 15 (1). pp. 43-6 National Audit Office (2003) A safer place to work: Improving the management of health and safety risks to staff in NHS Trusts. [Internet], NAO. Available from: [Accessed 26th April 2006.] NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (2005) Working with groups: improvement leaders guide. Coventry, NHS. Northouse, P.G. (2004) Leadership theory and practice. 3rd ed. London, Sage. Peters, T and Waterman, R. (1998) Re: planned change. [Internet], Shropshire and Staffordshire Workforce Development Confederation. Available from: [Accessed 15th April 2006.] RCN (2005) Transformational leadership processes. [Internet], RCN Practice Development Institute. Available from: [Accessed 1st May 2006]. Robson, C. (2003) Real world research. 2nd ed. Oxford, Blackwell. Selby York Primary Care Trust. (2004) Lone worker policy. York, SYPCT. Sheldon, L and Parker, P. (1997) Leadership and team building. Nursing Management. 4 (2). pp. 24-5 Stewart, R. (1996) Leading in the NHS: a practical guide. 2nd ed. Wiltshire, Macmillan Business. The Suzy Lamplugh Trust. (2005) Personal safety at work: guidance for all employees in the workplace, working off-site and travelling for work. UK, SLT. Turner, L. (2001) Introducing a medical emergency team. [Internet], Nursing Times 97 (40). Available from: [Accessed 14th May 2006.] Vroom, V. and Yetton, P. (1973) Leadership and decision-making. Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Press. Wright, M and Doyle, M (2005) Classical leadership. [Internet]. Available from: [Accessed 26th April 2006]. Bibliography: Alexis, O. (2005) Managing change: cultural diversity in the NHS workforce. Nursing Management. 11 (10), pp. 28-30. Handy, C. (1999) Understanding organizations. 4th ed. London, Penguin. Home Office. (2005) Research development statistics: violence at work. [Internet], Home Office. Available from: [Accessed 26th April 2006]. Maslow, A.H. (1954) Motivation and personality. New York, Harper Row. Mayhew, C. (2003) Occupational violence: a neglected occupational safety and health issue? Policy and Practice in Health and Safety. 1 (1) pp. 31-58. NMC (2004) Standards of Proficiency for Specialist Community Public Health Nurses. London, NMC. Percival, J. (2005) Inspire the team. Nursing Standard. 19 (34), p. 71. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulation (RIDDOR) website. [Internet]. Available from: Appendices APPENDIX ONE Health and Safety Legislation in Practice. The Lone Worker Policy (SYPCT 2006) in my practice area is heavily influenced by the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSE 1974) and the Health and Safety at Work Regulations Act (HSE 1999 cited in SYPCT 2006) which stipulate the duties of the employer  [17]  and the employee  [18]  . The more recent legislation requires employers to assess the nature and scale of any workplace risks to health and ensure there are proper control measures to reduce or eliminate risk. Although the policy encompasses the relevant legislation and raises awareness, its aims are particularly broad and apart from indicating particular training, there are few suggestions of good practice to help staff understand exactly how they can take reasonable care. It was also evident that although Lone Worker safety training was mandatory, fewer than half of the members of the team had accessed this within the l

Essay on The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel    Brian Moore, and Margaret Laurence’s concern for the plight of the individual and their position in society is clearly self-evident in their novels The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel. Finding one’s place in society is a major dilemma many people face every day. Once people find their place in society they understand who they are, what is expected by them and what their roles are. Once a person has found their place in society they understand their life and which direction it is going.   The main characters are portrayed as two different individuals with very different lives who have only one thing in common- their inability to find their proper place in society. Brian Moore, and Margaret Laurence’s concern for the plight of the individual and their position in society is clearly self-evident in their novels The Luck of Ginger Coffey and The Stone Angel . The main characters Ginger Coffey and Hagar Shipley both struggle to survive with dignity even though their overwhelming pride often obscures reality. Throughout the novel it becomes evident that both Ginger Coffey and Hagar Shipley’s overwhelming sense of pride obscures their reality and therefore causing problems for them. Coffey the main character in Brian Moore’s novel The Luck of Ginger Coffey is portrayed as a comic hero who has endless limitations that he does not see. Ginger Coffey believes he is his own man, which is why he leaves his homeland Ireland and moves to Canada . Coffey be lieves Ireland would not allow him to become the person he thought he could be, " What was his aim in life ? Well...he supposed it was to be his own master, to provide for Vera and Paulie, to...to what ?...To make something of himself, he supposed." (Moore, pg.21) Coffey’s values do not seem to be unrealistic or selfish in themselves, but because he sets unobtainable and unrealistic goals he encounters numerous failures. Coffey cannot content himself with a simple job and provide for his family in this way; he wants to become someon! e important, and achieve personal status. Not realizing that these very ideas bind him to a life of repetitive failures. Because of his pride Coffey sees himself not as the middle aged man that he is, but as an attractive young boy out for new adventures.

Course Project †Privacy, Security & Confidentiality Training Essay

As we are all aware the Medical Records department has changed by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (ARRA/HITECH) Act 2009 the face of HIT is forever changed. Told we as Health Information Professionals have a plethora of individual patients’ private information at our fingertip and it is paramount that we handle this information with the utmost care. During this training session we are going to go over some of the most important privacy and security components to insure that everyone knows what the rules are, and how to protect the not only the patients information, but also the HIT department and you as the HIT professional. Today we will cover the high points on: * Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality * Regulations that have impacted privacy and security * The Privacy Rule The Security Rule * HITECH Privacy and Security * HIM Role in Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality It is our jobs as health information management (HIM) professionals to ensure the privacy, security and confidentiality of our patients’ personal health information. This has been the fundamental principle for the health information profession throughout its eighty year history. Today the HIM professional must continue to face the challenges of maintaining the privacy and security of the patient information. Although this might sound like a simple task, it grows in complexity as information becomes more and more technical and is distributed through electronic systems. The challenge of this responsibility has also increased due to the constantly changing legislative and regulatory environment. Regulations that have impacted privacy and security  The two regulatory acts that have impacted the health information department the most are: * The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) * The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) * Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act; Proposed Rule According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) â€Å"the major goal of the HIPAA privacy rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information, while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing. Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the Rule is designed to be flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures that need to be addressed. † (Summary, 2003) Where HIPAA was written in an attempt to protect the patients’ medical records by imposing regulation to address the patient confidentiality the HITECH Act added the necessary requirements concerning the privacy and security for the health information that is so frequently being passed through technology in more diverse ways through third party administrators, businesses and individuals. With the rapidly growing use of technology it became necessary to write rules that would also address the information being sent to all business associates as well. The Privacy Rule The privacy rule set the floor in the necessary safeguards to be implemented in protected health information (PHI) across all media. It protects individuals’ medical records and other individually identifiable health information created or received by individuals or others. It protects the individuals’ health information by regulating the circumstances under which covered entities may use and disclose protected health information and by requiring that everyone have safeguards in place to protect the privacy of the information. In addition it states that covered entities are required to have contracts or other arrangements in place with business associates that perform functions for or provide services to the covered entity, and that required access to protected health information to ensure that these business associates likewise protect the privacy of the health information. Lastly it gives individuals rights with respect to their protected health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records and to request corrections. The Security Rule The security rule applies only to protected health information in electronic form. It requires covered entities to implement certain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect this electronic information. And also that covered entities have contracts in place with their business associates that the business associates will appropriately safeguard the electronic protected health information they receive, create, maintain, or transmit on behalf of the covered entities. HITECH Privacy and Security The purpose of the HITECH act was to strengthen the privacy and security protections through * Extending privacy and security protections to business associates of covered entities * Establishing new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes * Prohibiting the sale of protected health information Requiring the consideration of a limited data set as the minimum necessary amount of information * Expanding individual’s rights to access of their protected health information * Expanding individual’s rights to receive an accounting of disclosures of their protected health information * Expanding individual’s rights to obtain restrictions on certain disclosures of protected health information to health plans HIM Role in Privacy, Security and Confidentiality As the demands for health information become more diverse, health information management (HIM) professionals use their expertise to protect health information and ensure the right information is available to the right people at the right time. Successful privacy, security, and confidentiality programs depend on HIM professionals, the experts on the applicable rules and regulations who are skilled in managing healthcare data. For example, HIM professionals ensure privacy and security programs meet regulatory requirements. Once a program is in place, HIM professionals use their expertise to monitor and audit the program to ensure compliance. HIM professionals hold diverse roles such as organizational and corporate privacy officers, compliance officers, and are change agents in policy development. Sample job descriptions include: Privacy Officer and Security Officer. HIM professionals advocate for strong privacy and security programs as electronic health record (EHR) systems are implemented and upgraded. HIM professionals provide the functional requirements for electronic health information, taking into account federal and state laws, including e-discovery, to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure of health information. HIM professionals also impact privacy, security, and confidentiality standards, laws, and regulations outside of their organization. Volunteering on state HIT and HIE initiatives, responding to public comments periods, and looking for ways to participate on standards development groups such as HL7 and HIEs are a few ways HIM professionals may influence and affect change. Organizations count on HIM professionals’ skill sets. The convergence of people, processes, regulations, structure, standards and system design is vital to the organization. Sound privacy, security, and confidentiality practices lead to more effective management of health information, contributing to safe, high-quality patient care. (AHIMA, 2011) Conclusion: We as health information professionals are given the task of protecting thousands of individuals’ private health information every year. We have taken an oath to protect this information and to show the patient respect and reverence when relaying any amount of information to other individuals, be it an inside entity or a business associate. It is up to each of us to do our duty and insure that we follow the guidelines to the letter. We must be vigilant in our daily tasks as well as seeing that we are constantly learning new things to help us do our job better. The Code of Ethics each HIM professional must adhere to states that â€Å"The HIM professional has an obligation to demonstrate actions that reflect values, ethical principles, and ethical guidelines. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Code of Ethics sets forth these values and principles to guide conduct. The code is relevant to all regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve. These purposes strengthen the HIM professional’s efforts to improve overall quality of healthcare. † (American Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics, 2011)