Sunday, September 8, 2019
Quality and Cost (Unit 1 IP) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Quality and Cost (Unit 1 IP) - Research Paper Example Also, this means the Hotel might have to incur additional costs in terms of entertaining him during the waiting period. For example, they might have to serve a complementary meal depending upon situation or a seat in the customers lounge. This is an internal COQ. 5. No evidence of the clerk asking for room preference. This may lead to the guest being dissatisfied with the room he gets and may lead to bad word of mouth and loss of business. This is an example of internal COQ. Average check-in time exceeding the 4 minute standard, which in many cases might add to the customer dissatisfaction as well as the hotel is not getting the desired rating, and hence loss of business in terms of opportunity costs. This is an example of an external COQ. Usually in case of services, it is often difficult to differentiate costs as external or internal ones since the delivery of service is not detachable from the production of the service. Services being process based, the process cost can not usually be categorized as external. In order to achieve consistency in the behavioral aspect of the check-in process, for example, the standard three times the guest needs to be addressed by name, the staff needs to be trained accordingly. Sometimes, when the standards are not being met, the staff needs refresher trainings as well. This is a possible preventive cost of quality in the given scenario. Hotel Escargo might decide to hire an external agency to survey the process efficiencies for the check-in and check-out procedures which appear to be faulty for further investigation. This is an additional cost of quality and can be termed as an assessment cost. All the above identified costs shall be listed and then the data for the same shall be collected by quantifying the losses or costs incurred as costs of quality. They shall all be added (Pyzdek, 2000) to give an estimate of the cost of quality for
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1
Portfolio - Essay Example However, 40 percent of the people suggested that businesses perform better when the government is n control. Apparently, 52 percent of the population believes that a company that makes profits in all financial years satisfies the shareholders, customers and employees. However, 32 percent believe that a company making profits is a sign that it is exploiting its customers. Consequentially, issues have been looming over control of public utilities like energy and water. According to polls, 61 percent believed that the public sector was suited to control these public utilities as compared to 26 percent that supported private sector controlling these public utilities. Though the people have diverse opinions on a number of issues, when they were asked what the government should do, 49 percent stated that the government should help protect jobs, ensure there is full employment and increase spending power in the economy. However, 41 percent preferred the government to lower prices, lower inf lation and lower government borrowing. 2. Public Trust in Government MPs stated that the UK statistics authority has jeopardised the government statistics. A recent report stated that the UK statistics authority needed to work with utmost clarity and gain strict control measures while handling the data in departments. Andrew Dilnot was commended for highlighting the misinterpretation of official statistics and mentioned that the organisation should take an initiative of having greater control over the integrity and quality of the data. In addition to this, Dilnot stated that the concerned departments should limit pre-release of the data to ministers as it jeopardised the integrity and quality of the data. Apparently, it was explicitly expressed that the departments were â€Å"finding ways around†with the data, which was on the contrary according to the code of practice for government statistics. One of the recommendations from the report was that, the data should be presente d in a clearer and accessible manner. Secondly, the authority should improve its website as it had several concerns. In wrapping up the point, a respondent stated that there should be fine tuning of the current governance arrangement, which would be an appropriate manoeuvre. 3. Body Language Body language is a form of communications where nonverbal signs are used. Experts state that body language makes a larger part of communication, which includes facial expression and body movements. Apparently, most of the things that people do not say can be conveyed to the audience and pass volumes of information. Researchers have stated that body language accounts for a better part of communication which is between 50 to 70 percent. Therefore, the audience should understand body language to get the full information that is relayed. However, it is also important to remember focusing on other cues in the context. Similarly, there is a need to look at the signals as a group rather than focusing o n a single signal. This could lead to misinterpretation of the information that is relayed. 4. Current News In recent times, the Syria issue has been a news item in most of the media bulletins all over the globe. According to recent statistics, over 6,400 refugees have been recorded to have flocked to Jordan in fear of the unending violence. In recent time, Britain has provided a whooping ? 89.5
Friday, September 6, 2019
4 Actual Concepts In American Society Essay Example for Free
4 Actual Concepts In American Society Essay Explain at least 4 actual concepts that you see in our American Society today that were mentioned in 1984.            Orwell’s groundbreaking dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, may or may not have been composed as a futuristic novel, portending political and sociological phenomena. Whether or not Orwell intended his novel to predict future trends or simply illuminate existing realities, a number of the political concepts portrayed in the novel have real-life connotations even in a democratic society.            In Nineteen Eighty-Four, telescreens exist in every household and also in public areas. Additionally, hidden microphones and cameras are spread out through the public and private domains to catch any potential enemies of the state. In contemporary America, video cameras have been installed in public areas: notably in inner-cities and also in the suburbs.  An article by Lynn Marotta examines the ver-increasing number of public surveillance and the seemingly public ambivalence about such tactics: What started as a simple way to monitor security around the perimeter of public places has evolved to a point where anyone can install a hidden video camera and monitor that video from anywhere in the world directly over the Internet. In addition, the integration of traffic cameras, and face recognition software give law enforcement the ability to track and identify virtually anyone without us even knowing it. See more: Beowulf essay essay                                                                        (Marotta).            Orwell also posits the concept of â€Å"doublethink†in Nineteen Eighty-Four. â€Å"Doublethink†is the ability to hold contradictory beliefs simultaneously, to forget facts which contradict this ability. â€Å"Doublethink†is one of many examples in Nineteen Eighty-Four which demonstrate the power language has over thought and belief systems. American culture is rife with examples of â€Å"doublethink;†perhaps the most notable contemporary example is the widespread and contradictory beliefs in America’s military power, with the nation’s population able to â€Å"believe†simultaneously that America is the world’s greatest iltarty power, worthy of invading and occupying foreign countries and policing the world, and ye we are told again and again how vulnerable we are and how dangerous are our enemies: North korea, Iran, and radical Islam to name a few.            Another Orwellian concept: â€Å"the Two Minute Hate†showed the enemies of the Party on a huge video screen with all manner of perversion and aggression, set to inspire terror among the population of Oceania. The American counterpart to the â€Å"two Minute Hate†can witnessed on any channel’s nightly news when individuals such as the Iranian President or the â€Å"insurgent leader†Al Sadr are shown as menacing threats to the American way of life and also as the progenitors of the Iraqi war, when it was actually the U.S. who invaded and has brought terror and ruin to the Iraqi state and population. Nineteen Eighty-Four posits language as a key aspect of thought manipulation. Nowhere is this idea more explicit than in Orwell’s concept of â€Å"newspeak.†This is language reduced to remove any sense of liberation or specificity in speech or thought. An example of newspeak at work in contemporary America is the sue of the term â€Å"collateral; damage†to describe the killing of thousands of civilians during the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 2) Oedipus was doomed from birth. Trace backe this fate of Oedipus to the origin of the tragedy and arrive at the ulimate end to the family tragedy in Antigone. The fact the Oedipus was born illegitimately – that he was a bastard – forms the central theme for the ultimate tragedy in Oedipus Rex. When Oedipus begins his quest to the Oracle of English Delphi to confirm his parentage, the Oracle relates a same prophecy: that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. Later, when Oedipus kills an unarmed man who demands that Oedipus give way of the road, this man is in fact King Laius, Oedipus father.            After Oedipus dispatches the Sphinx he is given the throne of Thebes and weds Jocasta, a widow who is in fact his mother. Shortly afterward, Thebes falls into a state of pollution and degeneracy. A soothsayer tells oedipus that he is the cause of the city’s misfortunes. When oedipus finally realizes that origins of his birth: that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta, his world comes tumbling down. Jocasta, his mother and wife hangs herself in the closet, in the chamber where they had been sexually intimate. In response, Oedipus blinds himself by forcing her brooch pins into his eyes. The origin of the tragedy is in Oedipus seeking the truth of his birth; the origin of tragedy is in his illegitimacy. ((3) Macbeth was only as evil as his motivating forces. Explain fully the fate and the two most important motivating forces of Macbeth and his downfall            The most important motivating factors for Macbeth’s downfall emerge from his will to power and his attempt to twist fate into a direction he chooses. Specifically, the will to power is embodied by his wife, lady Macbeth, and fate is embodied by the three witches who prophesied both his rise and fall to and from the throne.            With his wife’s intrigue and cajoling, as well as the prophecy of the three witches, Macbeth believes himself fated to occupy the throne of Scotland. However, in order to embrace what he believes is his good-fate, Macbeth must commit murder.            When Lady Macbeth approaches Macbeth with her intent to kill King Duncan, Macbeth displays some trepidation about doing so; however his wife’s persuasiveness enables him to go through with what he realizes is an immoral act. After the murder, when Macbeth’s conscience plagues him, Lady Macbeth enjoins him to act normally and lay his conscience aside as she has done. Macbeth’s ultimate downfall rises from his own conscience and his ambivalent embracing of his newly stolen powers as King.                        As Macbeth’s sanity splinters, Lady Macbeth also begins to be haunted by her own conscience.. She hallucinates spots of blood on her hands and washes them, saying, out, out damn spot. Macbeth’s downfall is spurred by the deterioration of his wife’s sanity as it was Lady Macbeth’s hitherto resolve which empowered Macbeth to act so rashly in the first place. Macbeth’s fall is due directly to his pursuit of ambition and power, which are given birth by the witches’ prophecy and his wife’s explicit ambitions.            Only at the end does Macbeth realize his true mistake as he struts and frets his hour upon the stage.†Here, he acknowledges that he has been at best an actor of fate’s script, and at worse, a mere puppet to his wife’s ambitions or a kind of â€Å"prop†for fate itself to play out a never-ending lesson of morality.            Macbeth’s true life has bene put aside to enact this ‘role†which occasioned murder and insanity an the downfall of Kings. His ambitions and the commission of murder have caught up with and surpassed his original vision of fate; now, as the play reaches its tragic conclusion, the true purpose of his ambitions and crimes are shown, not as a will to power, but as a will toward learning the lessons of ambition and crime. Rather than a King, his life and ambitions are show to be a mere pawn in fate’s endless drama.  Work Cited Marotta, Lynn Surveillance cameras and privacy concerns is the invasion of public privacy worth it?    Video Surveillance Guide, 2006. http://www.video-surveillance-guide.com/surveillance-cameras-and-privacy.htm
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Styles of leadership and their effects on motivation
Styles of leadership and their effects on motivation Leadership style could influence the different level of motivation. However, throughout a lifetime, changing ambitions and leadership style influences a persons motivation. Leader does not always go first but a clearly definition would figure out of an idea of the one who will lead, ie. Who is the leader? It is very difficult to separate out theories and concepts of Leadership and Motivation. The leader has to know how to motivate people and must look for ways to do this so as to maintain their role as a good leader. There are many theories of motivation and the leader could choose their own style of leadership in order to give the best result. Motivation The term motivation theory is concerned with the operation that describes why and how human behavior is activated and directed. It is regarded as one of the most important areas of study in the field of organizational behavior. There are four writers who consider the functions performed by management, it enables us to define management and explore how thinking has changed through time. Frederick Taylor (1856 1917), he considered money to be the main motivator for workers therefore scientifically investigate how jobs are done through work study .By using piece rates to pay the workers and this kind of method was widely adopted as businesses saw the advantages of raising productivity levels and lower unit costs. The problems of using this scientific management are that it will have lack of skills required leading to loss of skills in the workforce and also power for the workers. As the duty is the same and the workers might start to found it is boring which will lead to a lower morale amongst the workforce. In addition, Taylor did not treat workers as people and he stated that money was highly important to them as many of them virtually lived on the breadline. Elton Mayo (1880 1949) believed that workers are not just concerned with money but could have been better motivated by their social needs whilst at work. He introduced the Human Relation School of thought, which focused on managers taking more of interest in the workers, treating them as people who have worthwhile judgment and realizing that worker are enjoy interacting together. He set out an experiment to investigate how changing light and working conditions would affect productivity. At the end of the experiment, his results proved that greater communications and improved the relations could lead to an increased of productivity. It has also stated that social needs in the workplace must be recognized and the communication is vital and understanding of the informal needs of the workers. Abraham Maslow (1908 1970) was a psychologist and he is tribute to motivation and management thinking was through the Hierarchy of Needs He suggests that we all have different needs but some needs are fairly central to us. The top of hierarchy of needs is Self Actualization and this means that the ability is to fulfill ones potential. The second place would be Self esteem Self respect and the third place is social needs (belonging). The fourth one in the hierarchy is Safety and Security (secure job) and the last one is Physiological (food water, shelter, etc) Maslow believed that as you began to satisfy one set of needs you would start to have higher needs and satisfying that level of need became your motivator. All the needs are structured into a hierarchy and once a lower level of need has been fully met, a worker would be motivated by the opportunity of having the next need up in the hierarchy to be satisfied. A business should therefore offer different incentives to workers in order to help them fulfill each need in turn and progressing up the hierarchy. Managers should also recognize that workers are not all motivated in the same way and does not all move up the hierarchy at the same time. They may therefore have to offer a slightly different set of rewards from worker to worker. Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000) argued that there were certain factors that a business could introduce which would directly motivate employees to work harder (Motivators). However there were also factors that would de-motivate an employee if not present but would not in themselves actually motivate employees to work harder (Hygiene factors). Motivators factor includes sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility and intrinsic rewards. Besides, Hygiene factor includes the company policy, supervision and working conditions. Therefore, motivators are to do with the job and Hygiene factors surround the job. Herzberg has also come up with a policy called job enrichment which making the job better, allowing workers to use their skills and abilities and also to plan and make decisions over their work. Job enrichment also included bringing variety into jobs through job rotation and job enlargement. Those that are critical of Herzberg felt it was just a way of making people do more in the cooperation. Tesco was voted Employer of the Year because its solutions were seen to be more holistic. To assure that they have this and keep maintain it, Tesco have invested  £12m this year in all training schemes which are pure Herzberg motivators. For example: They have open more lines of communication between managers and staff and a scheme whereby directors and senior managers spend a week on the shop floor listening ideas and suggestions from customers and staff. When goals are eventually accomplished or milestones are reached, many people like to be able to get a reward or benefit. Some goals create by personal satisfaction upon completion naturally such as learning, growth, and self-esteem. Additional rewards such as salary increases, bonuses, and celebrations are also good reminders that individual are delighted of what they are doing. Rewards work so well as the motivating tools that worker will goes out their way to make sure they use it and develop these kinds of things that they are rewarded. The work atmosphere in general has a lot to do with employee motivation. Typically managers that treat employees in a friendly manner are adopting to get more of a positive comment. You want to work at a company with individuals that enjoy their work and like their surroundings. Employees will compare themselves to others to make sure they are being treated in a way that they perceive as fair. If an employee thinks that they are not being treated fairly, they will have a lack of motivation to work hard. Everyone likes to have a little independence and to be useful while they are working. Certain control is always needed, but flexibility is appreciated. Employees and coworkers are also happy when they feel like they are fit it in a group and are able to be themselves. This would goes back to the basis needs that human strive to fulfill. Leadership In order to be a leader, it is important to understand what motivates the employees around you. It is necessary to discover the fundamental needs that employees, coworkers, and bosses have. All people have a need for a basic income and necessities. Additionally, they need a deep social connection and friendships. People want to fit in somewhere and feel as if they belong. Another large category of human need is the need for growth and challenges. A worker would get attract to a job by high salary and may find their job dissatisfying if they are unable to have friendships and connect with other people at work. It is much easier to lead and motivate if you understand what peoples undeniable needs are. Autocratic leadership style is the one in which the manager retains as much power and decision-making authority as possible. Employees are expected to obey orders without receiving any explanations. This motivation environment is produced by creating a structured set of rewards and punishments. This leadership style has been greatly criticized during the past 30 years. Some studies stated that organizations with many autocratic leaders would have higher turnover and absenteeism than other organizations. Autocratic leaders always rely on the threats and punishment to influence employee, they do not trust employee and not allowing them to make their own decision. Yet, autocratic leadership is not all bad. Sometimes it is the most effective style to use when there is an effective supervision can be provided only through detailed orders and instructions, only limited time in which to make a decision, and the area was poorly managed. The autocratic leadership style should not be used when employees expect to have their opinions heard and when there is low employee morale, high turnover and absenteeism and work stoppage. The democratic leadership style is to encourage employees to be a part of the decision making. The democratic manager keeps his or her employees informed about everything that would influence their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities. This style requires the manager to be a leader who has the final decision, but will gathers information from staff members before making the decision. Democratic leadership can always produce high quality and high quantity work for long periods of time. Many employees like the trust that they receive and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high morale. To be a democratic leader, it needs to have a develop plans to help employees evaluate their own performance, allow employees to establish goals and encourages employees to grow on the job and be promoted. However, democratic style is not always suitable to all organization. In order to have the most effective is when used with highly skilled or experienced employees or when implementing operational changes or resolving individual or group problems. This leadership style could be used when the leader wants employees to share their decision-making and problem-solving duties. Also, the leader might wants to provide some opportunities for employees to develop a high sense of personal growth and job satisfaction which would increase their morale at work. Yet democratic leadership should not be used when there is not enough time to get everyones input and sometimes it is easier and cost-effective for the manager to make the final decision. The laissez-faire leadership style is also known as the hands-off ¨ style. It is the one in which the manager provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authority or power is given to the workers and they must make decisions, determine goals, and resolve problems on their own. This is an effective style to use when employees have self-esteem in their work and it leads to a successfully done on their own. Furthermore, this leadership style should not be used when the manager cannot provide constant feedback to let employees know how successful they have done and also should not be used when the manager does not understand his or her responsibilities and is hoping the employees can cover for him or her. Bureaucratic leadership is where the manager manages by the book ¨ everything must be done according to procedure or policy. If it isnt covered by the book, the manager refers to the next level above him or her. This manager is more of a police officer than an employees leader. He or she executes the rules. This style will only be the most effective when employees need to understand certain policy or procedures, and when they are working with dangerous or fragile equipment that requires a definite set of procedures in order to get it operate. However, it is possibly to have a negative effect when employees lose their interest in their jobs and employees do only what is expected of them and no more after they done the duty. Being a staff member for Tesco is not about just getting good wages but offering great opportunities to retain the employees motivate. Tesco give free shares to everyone whos worked with the company for one year and these Tesco shares are held in trust for five years, and after that you can take them. Development programs specifically designed to help employees to gain the experience and skills that they need to move on to the next Tesco challenge. It aims to develop a combination of leadership, and operating skills through the job experiences and a clear process that is designed to provide clear comments. Motivation and leadership Leadership and motivational qualities are excellent to have not only amid management in a business, but among employees as well. Many individuals tend to have a propensity to be leaders, while some learn successful leadership behaviors and go on to be effective leaders. Leading is the ability to influence others in a group. Being a good leader, it got to takes a good understanding of what motivates others. Leaders want to influence things to continue or create some changes. Either way it will takes a person with certain skills to do the work. In my opinion, it is extremely important for a leader to recognize and understand the motivational process. This process is what inspires followers into desired actions. Without motivation followers would presumably not act and they would have no reason to act. Maslow in Kolb, Osland, Rubin Book (2001) discusses several common motivating factors. Some people are motivated by achievement and some by a need for power. If a follower is motivated by achievement needs such as the need for endorsement, then rewarding this follower with power might not be very effective. Maslow in Ott (1996) discusses that mans requirements is to meet needs in a hierarchical order. Physiological needs are first, then safety needs, followed by ego needs, growth needs and, finally by self actualization needs. Therefore, individual motivation comes from a wide variety of factors. If the leader does not recognize the motivational needs of followers, the leader may be ineffect ive.  An overly controlling style de-motivates and could results in poor delivery. Although intended to boost the performance level, but this style is perceived as lacking trust. Eventually individuals will lose their motivation to make decisions at one point, which leaders see as proof of poor performance and so the cycle is reinforced. Alternatively, leaders can treat individuals as good performers and use a more motivational style allowing greater deliberation. Praising outputs, asking opinions and giving interesting assignments, for example, in turn reinforce a motivational cycle. People are motivated when they feel they are at the centre of things rather than outside and so leaders are told to be participative, not directive. As a rule, experienced team members need less direction and in our energetic, networked organizations, and individuals must be self-manageable. The aim of this is to motivate people to become self-directing business participants. Conclusion Both leadership styles have their advantages and disadvantages for the organization as a whole. On one hand, democratic decisions may benefit the work morale of team members and have a positive effect on the climate within a hierarchical organization. On the other hand, democratic decisions may result in ignoring more efficient but less socially accepted options and have a negative influence on the team results. Sometimes autocratic decisions may undermine work morale. However, by making an unpopular decision, leaders might be able to reach team goals in the most efficient way which benefits both leaders themselves as well as their subordinates. In our experiment, we find that autocratic and democratic decisions appear to be equally profitable for both teams as a whole. Nevertheless, while leaders receive essentially the same payoff from autocratic and democratic decisions, ordinary players earn much more money from democratic style rather than from autocratic leadership decisions. Increasingly however, development programs and leadership training courses are putting motivation centre-stage. We are all motivated by the people surround us and motivation is increasingly important in these uncertain times to help people perform at their maximum level. Motivation theories, considered old hat by many leaders, have been around for more than 40 years. Recently these theories have slid off the leadership agenda through the belief that people should be totally self-motivating. Furthermore, the ability to increase peoples motivation is not always used in the right way. Leadership should not be based on lies, trickery, or manipulation. When leading other individuals it is important that they are all getting a benefit out of their own actions and it is very important to be honest and treating others well at all times.
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Reflection On Communication In Experiencing Mental Illness Nursing Essay
Reflection On Communication In Experiencing Mental Illness Nursing Essay The purpose of this assignment is to critically reflect upon on aspect of my professional practice and development that arose whilst out in clinical practice. The paper will show emphasise based on communication. This reflection has been chosen to highlight the need for nurses to have therapeutic communication skills in order to provide holistic care and encourage a good nurse-patient relationship. Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle has been chosen as a framework for this paper. To satisfy the requirements of the Data protection Act (1998) as well as the NMC (2007) code of professional conduct, all names have been changed to protect identity in concordance with confidentiality purposes. Reflection is a way of analysing a past incident in order to promote learning and development. Gibbs (1988) reflective cycle can be seen as cyclical in nature which incorporates six stages to enable me to continuously improve my learning from the event for better practice in the future. The six stages are: 1. Description 2. Feelings 3. Evaluation 4. Ananlysis 5. Conclusion 6. Action plan. Description Whilst out in placement I witnessed both positive and negative communication. During handover I was informed Maisey has dementia, deafness, aggression and short term memory loss. During handover Maisey approached the nurses int he office who appeared to look very anxious and upset. The staff nurse raised her voice and in a fixed tone told Maisey to return to her bedroom, shouting we are to busy now, go back to your room. The nurses and health care assistants present in handover giggled amongst themselves, exchanged knowing glances and mimicked Maiseys voice saying she can be such a nuisance. Having not previously met Maisey I offered to assist her with her personal hygiene needs and to make her bed. I knocked on her bedroom door to which I then entered. Maisey stood up defensively and appeared to be very agitated and irate. She shouted that she wanted answers. I explained that I came to help her and would do my best to help her. Maisey then explained that no one had explained to her why she was in hospital nor did she know the where abouts of her daughter (main care giver). Reviewing Maiseys care plan I found out she had a fall at her daughters (Barbara) house and her son informed me that Barbara was away on holiday for a week. After the discussion with Maisey I documented it in her notes so that other members of the Multi-disciplinary team would acknowledge that Maisey was uncertain about the situation she was in. After speaking to my mentor and being more knowledgeable on Maiseys situation, I returned to her with my mentor close by. I pulled up a chair next to her and in a calm, reassuring, comforting manner explained the reason why she was in hospital. However Maisey appeared to look confused and asked me to speak to her in her left ear as she was deaf. I patiently repeated what I had said, she looked brighter after I mentioned her daughters name. Maisey asked a few more questions and I tried to answer them accurately and confidently. Maisey smiled and confided she is aware that she can be forgetful but feels that she is being ignored and that no one cared to what she had to say. She also said she could not sleep as other patients were disturbing her. After the discussion I gave Maisey assistance with her personal hygiene needs to which she thanked me for taking the time and just talking. Maisey had said she felt a lot better that someone took the time to listen to her concers and explain wh at was going on instead of being ignored and left in the dark. Feelings I felt very angry and disappointed that the staff easily agreed as a team that Maisey was just confused and describing her a as nuisance, without investigating as to why she seemed upset. I was in complete shock that as nurses they could be so quick to dismiss Maisey the way the did. I was highly annoyed that they all felt it was alrite to mimic and laugh at a patient. I felt a bit disheartened how no one took the time to explain what was going on to Maisey. Once I helped Maisey I felt happy that I took the time to get to know her and in turn see a different side to things. I felt proud I was able to reassure and relax Maisey so she could rest properly. Evaluation I feel I have learnt a lot from this experience with Maisey and how the nurses responded to her when she was at a very vulnerable time. It was not a nice encounter as I feel things like this should not happen in practice, however in terms of a learning prospective it was good as it taught me that it is paramount to be sensitive towards a patient who is feeling distressed. It went well as I have learnt how important it is to be patient, to take the time to listen to a patient as this can have cumulative effects on that persons well being and the outcome as to how they are feeling. The way the staff nurses reacted was not in the best interests of the patient. I did not like their approach, as they did not make an effort to show support or any understanding as she was known as a difficult patient. Stockwell (1972) wrote the infamous book The Unpopular Patient where she explains that studies of communication in nursing demonstrate inadequacies in nursing practice. Stockwell (1972) de scribes the nurse-patient interaction, insisting that such interaction is not always satisfactory, especially when dealing with a difficult or unpopular patient. I feel the nursing team were ignorant to the fact that Maisey had difficulty in hearing which must have made it irritating for staff to keep repeating themselves. This could have been part of the reason as to why Maisey was considered an unpopular patient as she was seen as demanding. Analysis There was no interaction between nurse and patient as Maisey approached the nurses station, and to be mocked then dismissed must have been a terrible experience for her. Davis (2008) explains how hectic times of the day such as handover, mealtimes and ward rounds leave insufficient time to help patients who need it. However, if the nursing team had engaged in a little conversation with Maisey, she might have felt valued and understood, instead of upset and belittled. The NMC Code (2008) clearly states many standards of conduct which a registered nurse should be trusted to do, these including You must treat people kindly and considerately and You must listen to the people in your care and respond to their concerns and preferences. If as nurses we should comply with The Code (2008), a lot of work is required to raise the awareness of the importance of communication in the delivery of care. In 2007 the NMC introduced Essential Skills Clusters. These Essential Ski lls are to be delivered by all registered nurses, one of these clusters containing Care, Compassion and Communication. The NMC introducing these clusters show the importance of interpersonal skills in nursing care, and significance of communication in the nursing profession. On this occasion, the nursing team did not show care or compassion for Maisey, and certainly did not engage in therapeutic conversation.  As a student nurse I felt I had the knowledge and skills to approach the patient to appropriately calm and reassure her. Heyward and Ramsdale (2008) explain that a patient who thinks his nurse is not listening to them will lose faith in the service a nurse provides, and in the nurses willingness and ability to do as they have promised. They explain that sympathising with a patient shows willingness to understand their anxieties and make the patient feel more comfortable. As I entered the room the patient stood up with a defensive posture, which I assumed was using non-verbal communication to inform me that she was suspicious and distrustful of me. This was caused by the nursing teams disability to make the patient their first priority and to listen and respond to her concerns. Santamaria (1993) tells us that nurses must deal with the full range of human behaviour, and at the same time deliver the highest quality of care. I acknowledged that Maisey was upse t and gave her the opportunity to ask questions and voice her concerns, and in turn made her feel special by giving her my time. As Maisey asked me to speak loudly into her right ear I wondered if her history of deafness had been accurately assessed, as she was definitely not deaf but having communication difficulties. Eradicating this problem with help of a speech and language therapist or a hearing aid would have helped Maisey and the impatient staff enormously in this situation. Although I had been informed that the patient could be aggressive, I managed the situation by relating to her position and understanding her point of view. Leadbetter and Patterson (1995) explain the prevention and management of aggression should be dealt with by showing empathy and respect for the patients individuality and being genuine, utilising an open and honest manner. Finally, integrity, and being aware of ones own competence to handle the situation. Egan (1990) considers non-verbal communication to prevent violent situations such as considering body posture, nodding to show interest and making eye contact, but not as though to threaten the patient in any way. Fortunately, empathy and respect for Maisey helped her to trust and confide in me. The reason for analyzing this particular section of the scenario was to answer the question, Why did the nurse not feel efficiently equipped to approach the patient herself, instead leaving the potentially aggressive situation with an unsupervised student? In the NMC Code (2008), advice for a registered nurse is to recognise and work within the limits of your competence, but also to have the skills and knowledge for safe and effective practice. I believe communication skills within the nursing team must be rigorously developed and maintained as one professional alone cannot meet a patients requirements. We need to work collaboratively to provide maximum care delivery.  Maisey felt more relaxed, valued and safe, after we identified and resolved her concerns. Older people generally have more barriers to communicating effectively. These barriers are worth investigating, as the acquisition of a little understanding and basic skills is a simple and rewarding exercise. (Myerscough, 1992) The barriers Maisey faced, was the time the nurses had to spend with her, and the fact that she was deaf. Myerscough (1992) explains that this is overcome by speaking loudly and clearly, using clear lip movements to assist lip reading. Through actively listening to the patient and encouraging conversation we managed to focus on the problem that was causing unease. I do believe that Maisey was discriminated against because of her conditions and illness, as she was not given the time and energy that was given to other patients. The Human Rights Act (1998) Article 14 explains that every person should be treated equally without any discriminat ion on any ground. This section of the act was broken when the staff failed to treat Maisey as they would the other patients. Maisey was confused and upset that she had not been given time to adapt to her surroundings, and was in fear due to the separation from her main caregiver. Most patients do suffer a degree of anxiety and apprehension and admission to hospital is in particular a disturbing experience for anyone. (Lloyd and Bor, 1996) They offer explanations for these anxieties, such as being in an unfamiliar environment and separation from family and friends. Loss of personal space is a factor mentioned, as is loss of independence and privacy. One that closely relates to the scenario is uncertainty of diagnosis and management. Maisey was uncertain of what was going on. By providing her with the information she required, she could understand a purpose for her admission and the decisions being made. Conclusion The reason for Maisey being upset, and the nursing teams reluctance to help her, all stem from the same thing. As we have discovered communication and ones ability to reflect on practice have enormous effect on the capability to provide the highest possible quality of care. Additionally time and commitment to our patients is priceless as it can never be taken away from them. We also need to realise that ones own values have effects on interaction with our patients, so appreciating that our client has different values and beliefs to ourselves help us gain insight into the reasons they think and behave as they do. Some consider interacting with others as hard work, but we as nurses need to understand that communication is the gateway to successfully helping our patients and improving our skills. Action Plan On reflection I saw first-hand how easily communication can break down, if not between nurse and patient, then within the multi-disciplinary team. I will take the experience with me throughout my nursing education, remembering the importance of effective communication, and also the ability to look back at an experience and break it down to discover what really happened. Taylor (2000) defines how reflection on action occurs perfectly. He explains that only when details of events are recalled and analysed, unpicked and reconstructed considering all aspects of a situation, can one gain fresh insights and amend actions. He quotes Critical thinking is essential for safe practice. (Taylor, 2000) This should be an ongoing and extensive process for all nurses in practice. I will be more aware of my interaction with others and will constantly reflect on my experiences to see the whole package of care delivery. REFERENCES Becker, E.L. (1991) Churchills Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 3rd Edition. USA: Churchill Livingstone Data Protection Act 1998 London: HMSO Davis, C. (2008) Tea and Empathy: discussing a project focusing on patient centred care. Nursing Standard. Vol 22, no. 32,  p.18 Elliss, R.., Gates, B., Kenworthy, N. (2003)  Interpersonal communication in Nursing. 2nd Edition. London: Churchill Livingstone Egan, G. (1990) The Skilled Helper: A systematic approach to effective helping. 4th Edition. USA: Wadsworth Gibbs, G. (1988)  Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. London: Further Education Unit Human Rights Act 1998 London: HMSO Heyward, T. Ramsdale, S. (2008) Interpersonal Skills. Chapter 1 IN Richardson, R. (Editor) (2008) Clinical Skills for Student Nurses.  UK:  Reflect Press Lloyd, M. Bor, R. (1996)  Communication Skills for Medicine. New York: Churchill Livingstone Myerscough, P.R. (1992) Talking with Patients: A Basic Clinical Skill. 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2007) The Code: Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives. London: NMC Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2008) Essential Skills Clusters for pre-registration nursing programmes. London: NMC Santamaria, N. (1993) The Difficult Patient: An Important Educational Need of Registered Nurses. Unknown Stockwell, F. (1972) The Unpopular Patient. London: Royal College of Nursing Taylor, B.J (2000) Reflective Practice: A guide for nurses and midwives. Buckingham: Open University Press p.64 Timby, B.K (2009) Fundamental Nursing Skills and Concepts. 9th Edition.  London: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins Weller, B.F (2002) Baillieres Nurses Dictionary. 24th Edition. London: Elsevier
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
A Life Foolishly Lived :: Personal Narrative Essays
A Life Foolishly Lived I've never quite understood the whole racism thing. I grew up in suburbia, but in the part of town considered the black neighborhood. When I was younger black kids were no different from everyone else, and I was happy that way. It wasn't until middle school and my encounters with Joey that I became aware of a difference. I was young and impressionable, and totally bought into what anyone who would consider me "cool" was saying. Joey was a 30-something-year-old quadriplegic man who lived near me. I was considered a nerd and felt desperate for guidance of some sort. Joey became my mentor. Before the accident that left him in a wheelchair, he was a rocker, and I spent hours by his side listening to his stories. "I tell you, Owen, I had it all. And the girls loved me," he would tell me, while I emptied the bag of urine strapped to his leg. Even though he never graduated from high school, had no job, would get drunk and stoned all the time, and lived with his parents, I wanted to be just like the person he used to be. He'd had girlfriends and lived the rock-and-roll lifestyle, but that ended when he was pushed off a porch and snapped his neck. He attempted to continue his old life through kids in the neighborhood. Joey would tell us how he used to make pipe bombs, so naturally we had to make a bomb and blow up a chunk of the street. But we didn't have the know-how or the supplies to make a pipe bomb, so a gallon of gasoline would have to do the trick. Sadly, we picked a bad place and set a man's lawn on fire. The police and firemen were on my street that night, putting out seven-foot high flames and asking questions. Even though nobody knew exactly who blew off the gas bomb, most had an idea. I'm sure people in that neighborhood could think only of Wheelchair Joey and his gang of misled youth. Joey listened to heavy metal and sported Charles Manson and Confederate flag t-shirts. Before I knew it, I was doing the same. He convinced me to wear the flag shirt in school the day we watched "Roots" for Black History Month. We laughed when I told him about the reactions I got, and then he congratulated me with a beer and some vodka mixed with juice.
Sex in the Media Essay -- Papers
Sex plays a major role in today's society. From television, radio, music, and advertisements, to video games, the Internet, art and pictures, all forms of media use sex to help sell their products. With the public being exposed to so many different types of media, the overuse of sex is common. Is sex a useful tool, or a ploy to get the attention of the public? Before discussing sex in the media, one must understand why it has come to be that people use sex as a gimmick. "The writing of modern history has resulted in a viewpoint that is nothing short of a stag party. The history of women is ignored, hushed up, and censored in the most literal sense of the term. This method of eliminating the social and political destiny of half of humanity is the most effective form of supremacy." (Janssen-Jurreit 189) The world as it exists today, is still man-made, no less now then in the nineteenth century. Alice E. Courtney states, "Women's self-awareness as females has until very recently reflected the world's (mostly men's) image of them; how well their personal performance matched male expectations." These individual roles, as described by Oneill and Leone in Male/Female Roles: Opposing Viewpoints as the relationship of a man or woman to society on the basis of gender, became essential in shaping male and female attitudes towards one another. Over the past twenty years remarkable changes in these traditional male and female roles have been witnessed. The subsequent impact on men, women, and families due to these changes is believed to be, by many social historians, caused by the re-emergence of the women's movement. (Oneill and Leone 138) Though a positive alteration of roles has occurred, how is it that childr... ...New York. Thousand Oaks. 1994 Davis, Simone Weil. "Living up to the Ads: Gender Fictions of the 1920s." Conn. Durham Dike Press. 2000 Dines, Gail and Jean M. Humez. "Gender, Race, and Class in Media: a Text Reader." California. Thousand Oaks. 1995 Goffman, Erving. Gender Advertisements. Boston: University Press. 1974 Holtzman, Linda. "Media Messages: What Film, Television, and Popular Music Teach us about Race, Sex, and Gender Roles." New York. Sharp. 2000 Impoco, Jim. (1996 April). Tv's frisky family values. U.S. News & World Report 120 no 15, p. 58-62. Janssen-Jurreit, Marie Louise. (1982). Sexism: The Male Monopoly on History & Thought. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux Oneill, M. Teresa, Leone, Bruno. (1983). Male/Female Roles: Opposing Viewpoints. St. Paul. Greenhaven Press.
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