Critical Studies Of Management And Organizational Theory Essay

Critical Studies Of Management And Organizational Theory - Essay Example Today’s organizations and work places are a melting pot of ethnic and multi-culturally diverse set of individuals. More foreigners are employed in western businesses than ever before; young and old work together. People form a diverse backgrounds and skill sets now coordinate their work in order to arrive at the best solution for complicated problems. The merger of companies, threat of downsizing, and rapidly changing work environments have tended to create a sense of unease about job security. Even then, employees demand more from the organization they’re employed in, high expectations in terms of workplace treatment, greater respect for their individuality irrespective of their ethic, gender, racial or family background or sexual orientation. The challenge then for companies is to develop more inclusive policies and procedures to embrace a wide variety of people while respecting their individuality. This model has largely been ignored by organizations which use their employees mechanically, expecting them to only produce.

Political philosophy Essay Example for Free

Political philosophy Essay An English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work had a great impact upon the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence. Lockes theory of mind is often cited as the origin of modern conceptions of identity and the self, figuring prominently in the work of later philosophers such as Hume, Rousseau and Kant. Locke was the first to define the self through a continuity of consciousness. He postulated that the mind was a blank slate or tabula rasa. Contrary to pre-existing Cartesian philosophy, he maintained that we are born without innate ideas, and that knowledge is instead determined only by experience derived from sense perception. THOMAS HOBBES Hobbes was a champion of absolutism for the sovereign but he also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state); the view that all legitimate political power must be representative and based on the consent of the people; and a liberal interpretation of law which leaves people free to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid. He was one of the founders of modern political philosophy. His understanding of humans as being matter and motion, obeying the same physical laws as other matter and motion, remains influential; and his account of human nature as self-interested cooperation, and of political communities as being based upon a social contract remains one of the major topics of political philosophy. In addition to political philosophy, Hobbes also contributed to a diverse array of other fields, including history, geometry, the physics of gases, theology, ethics, and general philosophy.

Reflection on Principles in Nursing

Reflection on Principles in Nursing This essay will discuss and reflect on two principles of nursing practice and relate these to practice experience. The principles of nursing practice tell us what all people can expect from nursing practice, whether they are colleagues, patients, or the families or carers of patients. Nursing is provided by nursing staff, including ward managers (in hospitals) or team members (in the community), specialist nurses, community nurses, health visitors, health care assistants or student nurses. To put it simply, the Principles of Nursing Practice describe what everyone can expect from nursing. Due to many financial challenges facing the UK which is putting all health care and social care sectors under great financial pressure which indirectly is leading to staff shortage and nurses are working tirelessly under undue pressure to deliver the best care for patients. It is therefore a necessity for all nursing staff to be supported wherever possible. The Principles of Nursing Practice allow that purpose to be achieved and make clear exactly what quality nursing care looks like and provide a framework for supporting the evaluation of care through the development of useful measures. There are 8 principles labelled A to H. This essay will focus on Principle D which is where Nurses and nursing staff provide and promote care that puts people at the centre, involves patients, service users, their families and their carers in decisions and helps them make informed choices about their treatment and care and Principle E is where nurses and staff are at the heart of the communication process: they assess ,record and report to treatment and care, handle information sensitively and confidentially, deal with complaints effectively, and are conscientious in reporting the things they are concerned about(RCN ,2010). Consent was obtained from service users and confidentiality maintained regarding patients name and trust details as per NMC, 2008 Principle D will now be discussed. The Nature of healthcare provision is such that decisions made and the treatment and care provided, or withheld may alter the duration and quality of lives of the individuals who experience it (Brooker and Waugh, 2007). RCN (2010) definition of person- centred approach: Understand the individual, their aims and expectations in life Develop a frame of reference to understand their context (family, community, social and cultural dimensions in their attitudes, values and beliefs) Understand their concepts of health and issues My placement at the community hospital was working in partnership in a collaborative way with patients, healthcare professionals, families and other multidisciplinary team members in the delivery of a person centred care. Goodman and Clemow (2008) defined interprofessional working as that of professionals collaborating to work together more effectively to improve the quality of patient care. The original framework for Person centred Nursing developed by McCormack and McCance (2010) comprised of 4 constructs: Prerequisites: which focus on the attribute of nurse and include being professional, competent and committed to the job Care environment: which focuses on the context in which cares is delivered and include organizational systems that are supportive and effective staff relationships Person-centred process: which focuses on delivery of care through a range of activities and include sharing decision and providing physical needs? Outcomes: The central components of the framework are the results of effective personal-centred nursing and it includes satisfaction with care, involvement with care, feeling of well-being and creating a therapeutic environment. At my placement I was personally involved with a patient who had leg ulcer. This patient was unable to move out of bed hence bed bound. I was involved in her personal care, serving, and performing aseptic wound dressing. At the point where the expected discharge date was due, it was then necessary to hold a family meeting with the patient, her daughter and her partner who has a learning disability as well as with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) members involved in her care. The MDT members were social services, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and I as the student nurse with my mentor. The essence of the meeting was to determine the discharge location for the patient. The social services carried out MCA on the patient’s partner who had a learning disability to check if he could cope with the responsibility of supporting his partner after discharge. The partner’s capability to handle finances was also assessed. The physiotherapist assessed the ability of the pati ent to weight bear and what kind of equipment could be used for different transfers a home. The occupational therapist had already assessed the property of the patient and felt it needs to be adjusted to suit the needs of her current immobility status. However, setting up with necessary equipment would take some time and patient would need to be in a temporary accommodation till the house is resolved. Patient was also given the choice of moving to a nursing home where she could have a better quality of life in terms of care but paient refused and insisted on going to her own home even though she had been advised of the limitations of care that would be received as she had to manage by herself most times and partner is not allowed to carry out any manual lifting. My mentor and I‘s role at the meeting was to give an overview of the personal care requirements and other emotional, clinical and physiological needs. Throughout the meting the patient was involved in the decision proc ess to ensure that all her needs were met and tailored to her specific requirements. She was satisfied with the final decision and was finally discharged and happy to go back to her newly tailored home with her partner. It is believed that many nurses experience ‘person centred moments’ that is, particular times in practice when everything seemed to come together and the outcome felt satisfying and rewarding. We all have memories of those moments and stories to tell of their significance to us as nurses- be it a significant event with a patient, an expression of thanks from a family member that made the everydayness of practice seem all worthwhile. Such person centred moments may have trigged the question,’ why can’t it be like this all the time’? Whilst acknowledging that we do not work in a state of utopia and that everyday practice is challenging, often stressful, sometimes chaotic and largely unpredictable.it is important to consider how these person-centred moments can be transformed into ‘person centred cultures of practice where satisfaction, involvement and feeling of well-being are common place. To do this requires a commitment to the on-going develop ment of practice, the attention to rigorous process, the continuous evaluation of person-centred effectiveness and the celebration of successes (McCormack and McCance ,2010) Principle E will now be discussed. This is the fifth principle of nursing practice and it hinges on subjects of communication, the safety of patients, confidentiality, complaints management and conscientious reporting of concerns. Communication is a part of activities that humans engage in and it is recognised by everyone but only few people can define it satisfactorily (Fiske 2011:1)Human communication is defined as the process of establishing meaning via interactions that are symbolic(Adler and Rodman,2009) Communication emphasises on the process by which information is exchanged between two people or more(Bach Grant, 2011)The important aim for a nursing staff or any health care practitioner is to ensure that patients are engaged in effective communication (DOH, 2010) Any healthcare practitioner working in any healthcare setting must be able to utilise different types of communication skills in a variety of relationships. Considering the culturally diverse population that we have to deal with as health care professionals it is imperative for communication to be effective and appropriate to the needs of the services users (Koutoukidis, Stainton and Hughso, 2013) Cross cultural communication poses a lot of problem in the healthcare setting and language barrier is a major issue. I had an instant at my placement where a Chinese lady had problem communicating her needs to us and we had to get her husband in to interpret and he himself was not that fluent but we had to use culturally appropriate methods to obtain and pass on information to deliver person-centred care to the patient. Just recently at placement a group of nursing staff were recruited from Spain to come and work in the UK and trained by my hospital, language barrier was such a big issue as they could not easily express themselves and this posed a problem when they were trying to communicate with patients as well. Fortunately, we were very understanding and so were the patients. The national point of reference for communication makes it mandatory that communication needs be analysed and appropriate methods are used to help patients to communicate effectively. Staffs are also expected to communicate effectively with one another to make sure there is continuity of healthcare for everyone (DOH, 2010a) The formal aspect of communication involves the documentation, sharing of information during handover, managing complaints and reporting of incidents and concerns. These are the main thrust of Principle E and this becomes important when anything goes wrong The National Patient Safety Agency (2007) raised concerns about nurses in terms of unclear documentation and lack of confidence in their reporting. I have seen instances at placement where fluid and food charts are not updated and makes it difficult to assess the actual health status of the patient. The most common one that is easily missed out is the stool chart or Bristol stool chart and most patients based on the record are given laxatives to address the issue of constipation when in actual fact they were alright. In some instances, the patients have had to speak for themselves and verbally give an account of their flow which is sometimes contrary to what is documented but for dementia patients, it is unlikely to get any confirmation or information from them hence they can only be treated on what is documented. Excellent record keeping is an important aspect of nursing that is relevant to the delivery of effective safe and effective care and it should not be seen as optional or a form of duty that should be fitted in when time permits. It is a compulsory responsibility (NMC, 2010). Instead of writing notes at the end of a shift and to ensure accurate records were documented, nurses were encouraged to abide by the principle of ‘Do it and Document it’ (Tucker et al2009). Personally on placement, I have found this Do it and Document it helpful as the day goes so quickly with a lot of responsibilities throughout the day and there is the tendency to forget essential information and task done if one needs to wait till the end of the day to document. I have made it a principle to document immediately as I finish a task or a short series of task and not leave it to pile up. At all times I have my jotter with me to document whatever I do at every point of the way and this has proved to be workable and successful. The use of Vitalpac just introduced at my placement where information of patients in terms of ,personal identification details,routine observat ions and risk assessment data can be recorded in real time,stored immediately and automatically transferred to the hospital server where it can be accessed by relevant professionals in real time has proven to be successful ,cost effective and time saving. It is important that everyone working as part of a team in the delivery of care for a patient must appreciate the contribution made by each person so that appropriate skills are applied. For any teamwork to be the effective, one of the major tools is unambiguous communication which usually takes place via records than face to face. During placement, whilst working within a multidisciplinary team, it was important to us to make sure that information received from other professional are treated as confidential and only used for the purposes they were given and the patients also understood that some of their information may be accessed by other relevant professional members of the team engaged the in the delivery of person-centred-care. (Chapman and Burnard, 2003) In 2009, a safety alert report admonishing all healthcare settings to encourage an atmosphere of openness and accountability in reporting safety incidents and having a disposition of apologising and giving an count of what happened was published by NPSA. This theme was also iterated by parliamentary and health Service Ombudsman’s (2010) report on how complaints are handled in NHS in England. The act of apologising and giving full account of what went wrong helps to create distress relief and reassures those complaining that mistakes will not reoccur. I happened to have being informed by a patient’s husband that he was not satisfied that his dementia wife’s bed was lowered to the ground as he felt that could have increased her confusion. Even though the night staff lowered the bed in order to prevent the patient from climbing out of the bed overnight as she made few attempts, the patient’s risk had to be reassessed and later admitted that the patient Ã¢â‚¬Ë œs bed could have been raised back up. We tried to explain to the husband the basis of actions taken, apologised and adjusted the bed back up. He also noticed that her food chart was not updated at breakfast on her chart; this was immediately updated as patient was not alert enough to eat. As soon as I noticed this series of complaints I took it upon myself to pay extra attention to this patient while on my early shift and this paid off in the end as I supported the husband in encouraging the wife to eat, assisted with personal care and undertook her hourly observations to restore her blood sugar level as it was very low. I informed the nurse in charge of the patients decline in health status and intervention was initiated and her blood level was regularised. The husband left for home that day happier than he came in and was very thankful for my assistance.

Essay --

A. Specific Aims West Nile virus (WNV) was first identified in New York City in 1999 and quickly spread across the US to become the dominant mosquito-borne viral infection in humans in the country. Since its introduction to the US, WNV has been estimated to cause more than 3 million infections resulting in 37,000 confirmed cases of WNV disease in humans, 43% of which resulted in neuroinvasive diseases, and 1,100 deaths3. WNV has also been responsible for declines in certain US avian populations affecting over 100 different species. Avian species that are highly susceptible to severe WNV disease belong to the Corvidae family, including American crows (AMCRs) in which WNV infection is 100% lethal. This high mortality rate has led to the creation of a national surveillance program based on AMCRs in order to forecast WNV transmission to humans4. The genetic and pathological mechanisms to explain the interspecies variability in WNV susceptibility that have caused such large-scale declines in North American bird populations have not been determined. The objective of this proposal is to investigate: a) the antiviral response elicited in three avian species which contribute differentially to the amplification of WNV and have different disease outcomes following WNV infection, b) the differential antiviral induction potential in host cells and the sensitivity to antiviral host responses of three strains of WNV displaying a range of virulence capacities, and c) the role of cellular tropism in the elicitation of the host antiviral response and on WNV replication within host cells. I hypothesize that avian hosts susceptible to severe WNV disease do not mount an effective innate antiviral response that could control viral replication and diss... ...ent bird species. Based on data generated in Aim 1.1 genes identified to contribute to either susceptibility or resistant phenotypes in the type I interferon pathway will also be examined in this subaim. To identify the cell types critical for WNV amplification in each avian species, viral load will be quantified by qRT-PCR for each of the 8 time points. The mosquito cell targeted virus will serve as a control since replication will be unrestricted. Expected outcomes and potential pitfalls. It is anticipated that gene expression within the type I IFN pathway will be differentially expressed between the different inoculation groups and bird species. By limiting viral replication, we might also negatively impact the antiviral response in cell types that are major contributors to the type I IFN pathway thereby altering dissemination and viral replication potential.

Gender Issues in Sri Lanka Essay

Gender issues In general, when considering third world countries, most would say that they have some very similar characteristics. Third world countries are often thought of as places that are impoverished, have significantly high birthrates, are economically dependent on advanced countries, and have not evolved socially in regards to equal rights issues. Although many of these characteristics do apply to Sri Lanka, the latter has definitely evoked some discussion on the topic of gender issues in underdeveloped countries. Issues such as decision making in the household, educated women and their role in society, and attitudes towards women in employment will be discussed. As stated earlier, most would agree that from a distant perspective Sri Lanka would seem to be socially underdeveloped in regards to equal rights. One way that this misconception is debunked is by looking at the roles of male and female in the household. There are many variables to take into consideration when looking at roles of family members and who has the balance of power; for instance, if the wife is working or not could be considered at both ends of the scale. If she is working than her husband may feel that because she is making a financial contribution she has more of a right to make important economic decisions that may effect the family. On the other hand he may feel as though her being away from the children is a detriment to their upbringing, and in turn is placing a burden upon the family leaving the wife with few domestic decisions. Another variable that has to be considered is if the residence is with the husband’s family or if it is with the wife’s family. In this case one would assume that whichever house was being resided in would have the balance of the say towards family decisions. The last variable that will be considered is that of marital duration. Does a longer marriage necessarily mean that the financial and domestic decisions of the household will become split evenly between the husband and wife? The answers to these questions were the focus of a study conducted by Anju Malhotra and Mark Mather in 1992. The study showed that when the wives were working, regardless of whether or not they shared their wages or kept them, they had an increase say on financial matters. However, the domestic decisions were not nearly as great, especially if the wages earned by the wife were kept for herself (Malhotra et al. 1997: 620). When looking at the balance of power in regards to household arrangement, the study found that the wife had almost no say on financial matters when living at the husband’s parents house but did have some say on domestic issues. The opposite it true for when the family resided at the wife’s parents house. The wife typically had a significant say on financial and domestic matters with the latter outweighing the two (Malhotra et al. 1997: 620). As far as marital duration is concerned, it seems as though as the family grows together there is somewhat of a role reversal. The husband becomes more concerned with domestic matters and the wife takes some responsibility for the financial decisions (Malhotra et al. 1997:620). These findings led my research group to believe that the people of Sri Lanka are generally very similar to those of western societies in regards to household decisions. Education is not something we think about when speaking about developing countries, many assume that it is just not an option for underprivileged people. Although that is the unfortunate truth that effects many third world countries, it does seem that Sri Lanka is on its way to recovering itself. For many years the gender gap between male and female scholars needed to be decreased. In the early 1980’s the percentage of the total amount of people with university degrees that were women was barely above 40%. A more alarming fact might be that the percentage with post-graduate degrees was barely above 25% (Ahooja-Patel K. 1979: 217). The majority of women pursuing a degree usually did so in the fine arts category or the education and teacher training fields, many staying away from disciplines such as business or engineering. Although these numbers may seem staggering Sri Lanka has shown some promise in terms of social welfare. Programs are now in place to encourage female education and to decrease the inequalities women face today. In the early 1990’s the gender gap between literate males and females was only a 5% difference (Malhotra et al. 1997: 602). Many believe that the more westernized Sri Lanka becomes the more independent the thoughts and wills of women will expand, creating a country of little inequality. Women in the work force today in western society face many barriers; this is after years of trying to refine the social economic status of women. In Sri Lanka, because of its poor economy, employers may have actual complaints that may affect the profitability of their business. In general in Sri Lanka, men are usually preferred over women as employees. Some employers complain that because of the possibility of the need for time off to bear children that it may disrupt the flow of the work force. Many men could feel as though women were being treated with undeserved favoritism, which could cause conflict. Others feel that the financial burden of having to install proper facilities to accommodate women could create too much of a loss that they would not be able to overcome it. The topic of most discussions seems to revolve around the Maternity Amendment Act of 1978, which states that women workers are entitled to six weeks maternity leave with pay. It also states that they are allowed two nursing breaks of one hour each or two breaks of one half hour each when a day care center is available (Ahooja-Patel K. 1979: 219). Women cannot, under the law, be fired for any reason that stems from them being pregnant. An unfortunate fact that is slowly being eradicated is that many women are just not qualified for the jobs that are available in Sri Lanka. Because of the gender gap in education and training that has plagued Sri Lanka for years this trend will surely continue until the inequality has subsided. In many ways Sri Lanka has come very far in terms of gender equality when discussing kinship and education. However, women’s economic situation has shown to be less favourable. The people of Sri Lanka acknowledge that women have a place in the work force but financially cannot accommodate them. Until the economic growth of Sri Lanka can develop further, people will continue to have the ‘survival of the fittest’ kind of attitude, which will continue to alienate and repress the women or Sri Lanka.

A Clockwork Orange: A Psychological Analysis Essay

The major theme of the movie can be interpreted as a major revulsion of psychological behaviorism as developed by B. F. Skinner and John Watson. Behaviorism states that behavior is a continuous learning process reinforced by reward systems. It also states that personality is nothing but a reflection of behavior, since the latter defines the former. In the movie, there were several attempts to reject the idea of behaviorism. Here are as follows: 1) At some point in the movie, Alex and his friends attempted to use â€Å"narcotic mixed milk† in order to improve their â€Å"violence instinct; 2) Alex sexual violence in the movie was deliberate and out of consciousness. It was the case when Alex wounded the â€Å"cat lady† after a sexual orgasm; 3) When Alex was in jail, he developed the so-called â€Å"Ludovico technique†, a method of rehabilitating criminals. When the minister of the interior requested the jail for potential candidates for the treatment, Alex volunteered. During the treatment, he consciously attempted to stop it by showing that the treatment already cured him (in fact, he knew the loopholes of the treatment); 4) And, after some psychological tests in the prison, he realized that he was never criminally repulsive. He began to like Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Alex realized that he has no aversion with the music. In fact, he realized that the treatment itself never changed his behavioral outlook, since it was deliberate. The Ludovico technique is a method which uses operant conditioning (which was implied in the movie) (reinforcer). The purpose of the technique was to put the â€Å"patient† in a condition to which he/she has aversion. In this way, the â€Å"patient† would avoid such circumstance. A repeated application of the technique to the same patient would therefore be therapeutic. The main character though has a means to reinforce his violent behavior (reinforcement). Alex knew the problems of his technique and constructed loopholes to avoid it. In a sense, Alex became the primary reinforcer. He controlled the patterns of his own behavior by systematic analysis of the consequences of his behavior. Moreover, Alex knew that the Ludovico technique would never alter his actions precisely because he reinforced his own behavior. Now, what is the probability that Alex criminal behavior may occur again after reinforcement? The answer lies on the concept of operant response. In the case of Alex, the probability is close to 1. Alex knew that the technique would never change his behavior. In fact, he created the technique in order to â€Å"retain† his behavior. Moreover, because the technique proved ineffective in Alex’s case, then one may assume that Alex’s behavior did not really change. His response to the technique was deliberate and orchestrated. It is possible to say that the Ludovico technique failed to change Alex’s behavior because of faulty interval schedules. Interval schedules require a minimum period of time that must pass between consecutive reinforced responses. The interval should neither be too short nor too long. If the interval is short, then the â€Å"patient† may become entrenched with his/her behavior (nothing will change). If the interval is long, then the â€Å"patient† will be used to the technique (and therefore can possibly resist the technique). In the case of Alex, the interval schedule is close to short. It is possible that Alex may have been entrenched in his violent behavior because of the short interval schedule. Reference A Clockwork Orange. 1971. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.