Communication Process

Hypothesis The following hypothesis is used as a logical approach for completion of the essay. A hypothesis is used in order to identify all the key elements of the essay in a logical and a systematic order. The hypothesis is as follows; â€Å"Is effective communication more about identifying and overcoming barriers to communication? What is the nature of effective communication? † Based on the above hypothesis, I have listed the following key elements. 1. Communication 1. Communication process 2. Types of communication 3. Importance of communication 2.How communication can influence an organization? 3. Effective & ineffective communication 1. What is effective communication? 2. Importance of effective communication 3. What is ineffective communication? 4. How both effective and ineffective communication affects an organization? 4. Identifying & overcoming communication barriers 1. Barriers to effective communication 2. How to overcome barriers to communication? 1. Introductio n â€Å"Communication is the use of verbal and non-verbal communication between people trying to create shared meaning. † (Yoder, Hugenberg & Wallace 1996)Throughout the history of mankind, their uniqueness in communication has become the key element in their success to become the most developed and well organized living beings among thousands of others. It is no different when comes to the corporate world, better the communication process that an organization posses, better the performances they achieve in today’s competitive world. So it has become vital for an organization to keep its communication process as effectively as possible in order achieve its organizational goals in a both effective and efficient manner.So the following essay was prepared with the intention of giving the readers a better understanding and a clear view of what is effective communication and what makes the communication a process an effective one. 2. 0 What is communication? Communication i s where two or more people will transfer information, feelings, ideas and opinions between or among each others. 2. 1 The communication process This is the standard model of a communication process. This process always takes place between two parties.Sender – The starting point of the communication process, sender will encode the message Message – The information which is sent to the receiver. Channel – Is the medium which transfers the message from the sender to the receiver. Barriers – Barriers are the distortions which make the message not to be conveyed as intended. Receiver – The person who’s at the end of the process and who’ll decode the message Feedback – It will be the final step of the communication process where receiver sends a message as reply to the sender. 2.Types of communication Different forms of communication media like televisions, radios are used by people in order to communicate information,opinions, etc, among each others. The most primitive ways of communication are by body language,speaking,sign language and eye contact. All of those communication methods can be broadly divided in to two main types. Those two types of communication are as follows. †¢ Verbal communication †¢ Non verbal communication 1. Verbal communication Verbal communication includes sounds, words, language and speaking.When it comes to business,  verbal communication  is very important for the reason being that you are dealing with a variety of people through out the day. In some cases you may deal with people who have different culture, ages and with different levels of experience. Fluent verbal communication is essential to deal with people in business meetings. Business communication  self-confidence  plays a vital role which when matched with fluent  communication skills. 2. Non verbal communicationNon-verbal communication  involves physical ways of communication, like, tone of the voic e, touch, smell and body motion. Symbols and sign language are also included in non-verbal communication. Body language is a non-verbal way of communication. Body posture and physical contact convey a lot of information. Body posture matters a lot when you are communicating verbally to someone. Folded arms and crossed legs are some of the signals conveyed by a body posture. Physical contact, like, shaking hands, pushing, patting and touching expresses the feeling of intimacy.Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact are all different ways of communication. 3. Importance of communication Every action a person or an organization takes is mostly based on the information available; to perform that specific action as intended, relevant information will be required. Even after performing the act, the party which performed it will need a feedback to identify whether the performed act bore the intended results. So it is clear that, without communication, none of those would be possible. 3. 0 Involvement of communication in an organization.For an organization to run smoothly, it has to have a well structured communication process inside its own. According to Kondrat (2009), Communication is the â€Å"lifeblood† of every organization. A vital means of attending to company concerns is through effective internal communication. Decision making is the most vital activity in an organization, to make decisions, to implement them and to reassess those decisions, organizational management will require relevant information. As discussed previously to have better information, better communication among all layers is required.So it is evident that, better the communication inside the organization, better the decision it makes and also better the results. 3. 1 Formal communication channels Formal channels are used within an organization in order to make the flow of information smoother among all levels in the chain of command. In the general aspect, there are three main c ommunication flows within an organization. Those are downward, upward and horizontal communication. 3. 1. 1 Downward communication It is the communication flow which is used by managers in an organization mainly to give orders and instructions.In a downward communication, the information flow will be from top to bottom, where managers will send messages to their subordinates. Those messages will include implementation of managerial decisions such as goals, plans and strategies, job instructions, rationale, procedures, practices, performance feedbacks, etc. 3. 1. 2 Upward communication Under this channel, information flow will be from the lower levels to the higher levels. Upward communication is more popular in learning organizations, where the lower levels of employees do get involved in the decision making process by giving their suggestions.Upward communication can be helpful in problem solving as the parties who are actually involved in the problem can give their point of view t o the higher management. 3. 1. 3 Horizontal communication In horizontal communication, parties which are in the same level will communicate with each others. (e. g. inter departmental) This can be helpful to coordinate activities and request support. 3. 2 Informal communication channel These are the communication channels which are not authorized as formal communication channels and it doesn’t have a clear pattern of the hierarchical levels included.Literally an informal communication channel is a channel which can connect anyone in the organization. Examples for informal communication channels †¢ Management by walking around (MBWA) †¢ Grapevine 4. 0 Effective and Ineffective communication As the topic of this essay relates, achieving effective communication is vital. So before discussing about methods of achieving effective communication, it is more sensible to discuss what is meant by effective communication and what is meant by ineffective communication. 4. 1 Wha t is effective communication?The communication process can be recognized as an effective one, when the receiver decodes and understand the message as intended by the sender. Furthermore, a proper feedback from the receiver to the sender will also facilitate effective communication. 4. 2 Importance of effective communication Effective communication skills is most likely to prevent conflicts and solve current conflicts it is learnt that through effective means of communication people can negotiate and arrive at possible solutions. The benefits of effective communication are many as they enhance all aspects of personal and professional lives. . 3 What is ineffective communication? This is a process by which the meaning the receiver attaches to a message may be completely different to the message intended by the sender. So it is evident that the basic concept of communication, which is sharing ideas and information among each other will be broken down if ineffective communication takes place. 4. 4 Importance of effective communication to an organization According to Panse (2009), Most companies and organizations have people working in small teams.This has been found to be more effective and productive than a single individual toiling away at a project. When you have three or four more people working on an issue, you have the advantage of having access to more ideas and solutions for the project, of having more checking safeguards against any flaws in the plan, and of being able to establish more network connections. A group is also more likely to take on and complete large-scale, complex projects. For the team to operate smoothly there must be open and efficient communication between the members of the teamTeam communication is important for the following reasons – †¢ Project-related information needs to be shared. †¢ Each member of the team needs to be acquainted with the team goal and his/her role in the team. †¢ Effective and open communic ation lines create feelings of trust and of belonging to the team. The more the members feel valued the more dedicated they are likely to be, and this in turn makes it easier for the team as a whole to achieve its goals. 4. 5 Affects of ineffective communication on an organization Ineffective communication hampers organizational success.This can also be seen as miscommunication. In an organization ineffective communication can occur due to many reasons. So it is important as a manager to curb these issues and create an effective communication channel. Ineffective communication leads to conflict within the organization and lead to distortion of information and this misunderstanding between department and individuals. Lack of effective communication may lead to a breakdown in interactions between employees in the organization. 5. Identifying and overcoming communication barriers.As discussed under the communication process, communication barriers are universal for any type of communic ation. In the perspective of an organization, barriers to communication can be divided into two main categories as individual barriers and organizational barriers. 5. 1 Individual barriers – Individual barriers are fatigue, poor listening skills, attitude toward the sender or the information, lack of interest in the message, fear, mistrust, past experiences, negative attitude, problems at home, lack of common experiences, and emotions. . 2 Organizational barriers – One of the major organizational barriers is the high power distance between low and high level employees. Due to this subordinates will not share sensitive information with their superiors as a result of the fear of facing negative reactions from the top management towards them. Poorly structured organizational channels will also active as an organizational barrier towards communication. 5. 3 Methods of overcoming barriers †¢ Using constructive feedback Training employees to involve active listening whe n they communicate †¢ Training employees to constraint their emotions †¢ Eliminating differences in perception †¢ Proper communication channel selection By using some or all of the methods mentioned above, an organization can reduce the impact done by communication barriers. 6. Conclusion In conclusion under the current situation, effective communication has universally become mandatory in order to achieve success. According to Kondrat (2009), Communication is the â€Å"lifeblood† of every organization.A vital means of attending to company concerns is through effective internal communication. If a manager is able to communicate their ideas clearly, so that employees definitely know what is asked of them, the subordinates will, consequently, perform their jobs correspondingly. On contrast, an aggressive way of managing reports results in employees’ getting more and more frustrated often guessing what their real faults are To achieve effective communicatio n, one must have a clear understanding about the communication process and how it functions.On the other hand, having a thorough understanding about the communication process will not help to build up effective communication. So it is wiser to find out what factors make communication effective. As discussed above, what make a communication process ineffective are the communication barriers. When those barriers are in place, they can disrupt the communication process in a huge manner. Those barriers will make, encoding and decoding the message hard. If it happens, the message will not be sent and received as intended.So then the whole communication process will become ineffective, as the sole reason for the process’ existence relies on conveying the intended message properly. This proves that identifying and overcoming communication barriers are important to have effective communication. Understanding the communication process will definitely help to make communication effecti ve, but it will not eradicate the main obstacles for effective communication, which are the communication barriers.So it is now very clear that identifying and overcoming the communication barriers are far more important for effective communication than understanding the communication process. 7. References Communication Skills-Start Here, (1995). Retrieved on April 30, 2010 from http://www. mindtools. com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro. html Management Skills Resources, (2009). Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. bizmove. com/skills/m8g. htm Maya Pillai, (n. d). Barriers to effective Communication, Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. buzzle. om/articles/barriers-to-effective-communication. html Mortensen (1998) Communication Models, Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://www. shkaminski. com/Classes/Handouts/Communication%20Models. htm Overcoming Communication Barriers, (n. d) , Retrieved on May 1, 2010 from http://managementstudyguide. com/overcoming-communication-barriers. htm Sonal Panse, (2009). Effective team communication. Retrieved on May 1, 2010, from http://www. buzzle. com/articles/small-group-communication-effective-team-communication. html ———————– Feedback Barriers Receiver Message Sender

Abuse: How It Effects Cognitive Development Essay

Abstract Research indicates that traumatic childhood experiences, such as abuse, increase the risk for different cognitive development disorders that effect learning, memory, and consciousness. Statistics show that no one age, gender, or ethnic group is excluded. Cognitive development that is affected includes depression, learning disorders, developmental disorders, attachment disorders and PTSD. Patterns of attachment affect the quality of information processing throughout the individual’s life. With this evidence, it is imperative to have programs available that focus on prevention for parents and children. There are outside management courses, substance abuse classes, school based educational programs, required registration of offenders, and background checks. Treatment strategies for children are also important and should include establishing safety, dealing with the trauma, and positive self-assessment therapy, and counseling for functional impairment. Introduction Abuse increases the risk for suppressed cognitive development. Maltreatment comes in many forms: physical, sexual, psychological, neglect, and even abuse from peers. Current studies only focus on abuse from guardians. However, peer abuse exists as and does have a psychological effect on cognitive development (Ambert, 1994). Young children, still â€Å"embedded† in the present do not have the ability to see themselves a part of the bigger picture. The se themselves as the center of the universe and everything that happens is directly related to their own sensation. Development consists of learning to master those experiences and to learn to encounter the present as part of one’s personal experience over time. Piaget called this †decentration†: moving from being one’s reflexes, movements and sensations to having them. The age at which the abuse occurs can impact the learning and development leading to mental disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PT SD), and attachment issues. Because of the results, help programs and education need to be in place for parents, abusers and children of abuse. For example, van Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhoven, Penninx, and Elzinga (2010) did a study on how childhood abuse affects cognitive disorders. The Implicit Association Test was used to evaluate depression and anxiety, although it has been shown to also impact learning and development and PTSD. Participants were asked questions in order to obtain self-reports in this study of depression and anxiety. It was found that childhood abuse leads to a higher self-depression ad self-anxiety view. From this study it is clear that abuse affects cognitive function. According to Feldman (2011), cognitive development is the way that an individual grows and changes and the change in their intellectual capabilities can influence one’s behavior and learning abilities. Different cognitive development happens in different stages throughout an individual’s life. These stages include: Infancy and toddlerhood (age birth to three years) children learning to sit, crawl, and walk, memory functions begin, visual recognition, and language development are present. During the preschool period (age three to six years) growth and muscular development carry on, neural interconnects grow and develop, memory functions grows, fine and gross motor skills become more refined so preschoolers can catch, throw, run, use silverware, and tie their shoes. During middle childhood (age six to twelve years) growth of body and brain function continues still. Gross motor functions develop to include biking, swimming, and skating. Increased fine motor skills include writing, typing, zipping, and buttoning. During adolescence (twelve years to twenty years), growth of body and neurological functioning continue and sexual characteristics develop. During young adult (age twenty to forty years) there is a peak in physical capabilities (strength, coordination, and reaction time), brain function continues to grow, stress can be a health threat (Feldman, 2011). Depending on the age the abuse occurs can affect each individual’s cognitive development to include but not limited to disorders like depression, anxiety, learning and memory disorders, PTSD, and attachment disorders. According to the definition given by Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley, depression is the emotional state that is characterized by extraordinary sadness. Since 1967, Aaron Beck has provided us with a model of his theory on depression. Beck’s diathesis-stress theory suggests that depression leads back to a dysfunctional formation early on, which left the individual vulnerable to depression if encountered with stress ors (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2010). Butcher, Mineka, and Hooly (2010) discuss that according to Beck the parent or guardian are responsible for providing the child or adolescent’s schema. These may lie dormant until activated by a critical incident. It then triggers automatic negative thoughts that lead to depression. Reports of child abuse have suggested an increase in negative self-worth, negative self-attitudes, and negative self-associations. They tend to get caught up in a negative mood, which leads to depression (van Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhover, Penninx, and Elzing, 2010). A learning disorder is a term that refers to a delayed development. It may be with speech, mathematics, reading, memory, or motor skills. Poor motor function and memory are associated with the ability to learn and functioning a school setting. Contributions to exploring the relationship of cognitive development and learning are growing. According to the studies done by Giesbrecht and Merckelbach (2012) some victims of abuse tend to compartmentalize their trauma. While research shows that some learning disabilities are hereditary, other studies have shown the impact that abuse has on the ability to learn and retain information. Learning disabilities are the products of delicate central nervous system impairments. These learning disabilities are the consequence of immaturity, deficiency, or dysregulation partial to those cognitive skills that are in normal brain functions (Legano, McHough, and Palusci, 2009). In addition, there is a positive correlation between abuse and cognitive failures from Broadbent, Cooper, Fitzgerald, and Parkes’s Cognitive Failures Questionnaire that measures everyday lapses and errors. There has been a major change in the way one is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a severe and chronic condition, which is no longer conceptualized as a normal response to and abnormal stressor but rather a pathological response to an extreme form of stress (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2010). There may be a bidirectional and temporal relationship between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the hippocampus and neuropsychological functioning in the structural and functional part of the brain. These may either precede the development of PTSD or emerge after the onset of PTSD (Gould, Clarke, Heim, Harver, Majer, and Nemeroff, 2012). Those that have been sexually abused have long-term mental and emotional suffering that lingers. They are likely to have feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, and low self-esteem and are more likely to suffer PTSD (Milner and William, 1995). These can impact marriages and other close relationships. Research by DeBellis, Hooper, Woolley, and Shenk (2009) pediatric PTSD symptoms are associated with lower visual memory, developmental trauma, anxiety and can lead to problems with adult PTSD. A cognitive treatment for PTSD is to vividly recount the traumatic event over and over until there is a decrease in the emotional responses. One other important aspect of a child’s development is their form of attachment. This begins within the home and with the guardian. According to Ainsworth, there are four classifications of infant attachment that can have an impact on the child’s future. A secure attachment is where the mother is a confident base when she is in attendance. As soon as she leaves the child is obviously upset and immediately goes to her upon return. The avoidant attachment is a style in which the child does not seek closeness to the mother and seems to avoid her upon arrival. The ambivalent attachment is an attachment in which the child shows varied reactions. They cry when she leaves but upon return they kick and hit her. Last is the disorganized-disoriented attachment. This style shows contradictory behavior. They will not look at the mother upon arrival. These seem to be the most negatively attached children (Feldman, 2011). Infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents are more likely to develop negative attachments if abused. Separation anxiety seems to be the biggest problem of individuals that have been abused (Barth, 2009). According to Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley (2010), early victims of rejection and abuse have damaging effects on a person†™s worldview. They also suggest that a parent-child relationship is bidirectional. Some children are easier to love than others based on their temperaments while the guardian’s mental stability affects the attachment relationship. The type of attachment formed correlates to the type of parenting style. The different parenting styles are authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, or neglectful. According to Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley (2010), the authoritative parent is high on warmth and moderate on control. Research shows that children of authoritative parents tend to be friendly and confident. The Authoritarian parent is low on warmth and high on control Research shows that children of the authoritarian parent can be conflicted and moody. These adolescents usually have more negative outcomes especially with social anc cognitive skills. Next, the permissive parent is high on warmth but low on discipline. Studies indicate that children of permissive parents are impulsive and aggressive. They are often. selfish and demanding. Last, the neglectful parent is low on warmth and low on control. Children of neglectful parents are moody with a low self esteem. They have conduct and peer problems. They also reflect poor academics. Researchers have shown that providing structure and guidance while allowing a sense of control and freedom gives the child a more positive attachment (Butcher, Mineka, and Hooley, 2010). Thus negative parenting styles can have an overwhelming effect on an individual’s ability to cope with later challenges. Method Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhoven, Pennix, and Elzinga (2010) explored the negative cognitive scars of abuse. The study dated from 2004-2007, which consisted of participants in the regular general population and those of mental care institutes at different stages of psychopathology. The ethical review board of the University Medical Center in Amsterdam approved it. Adults were between ages 18 and 65, had a past or present depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and/or social disorder. There were a total of 2981 participants (age M=41.9, SD=13.0). The DSM-IV was used as the diagnostic measure and past childhood abuse was measured by self-report and with the Beck Anxiety Inventory. Childhood abuse was assed by utilizing the Nemesis trauma interview which asks participants whether they and experienced emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse prior to the age of sixteen. Answers were recorded. Computation came from subtraction of the mean rating of anxiousness from the mean rating of calm on the IAT-stimuli. A written consent was obtained after reviewing the study to the participants. Results The findings in the study of Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhoven, Pennix, and Elzinga (2010) explain that, when compared to the no abused group, abused individuals have a stronger depression, higher anxiety, and a lower self-esteem when compared to non-abused individuals. There was not a difference in age or education. However, females showed a higher effect of negative self-associations although both genders are affected by maltreatment. The study also showed a higher significance in correlation to sexually abused participants versus physically abused participants. Cognitive emotional maltreatment is related to the negative self-associations and development that individuals face. The study suggests that the longer that children are exposed to any form of maltreatment, the more likely they are to develop damaging cognitive schemas which lead to cognitive disorders (Harmelen, deJong, Glashouwer, Spinhoven, Pennix, and Elzinga, 2010. Discussion According to a recent study (Child Maltreatment, 2010) over 3 million children are abused or neglected in the United States each year. 8.7 million of the nations children or 1 in 7 have been maltreated. This could be mentally, physically, or sexually. Seventy five percent of all perpetrators are between the ages twenty and thirty nine. Studies have also shown that abused children are more likely to abuse substances (Wulczyn, 2009). There are certain reasons that increase the likelihood of abuse. These include family that bring in an annual income of under $15,000, presence of drug or alcohol addiction, the cycle of past abuse or cycle of violence hypothesis, stressful environments, high marital conflict, single parent families, and families that have more than four children. Incest happens in more wealthy families (Feldman, 2011). In addition, children that already have certain risk factors such as learning disabilities, behavior problems, visual or hearing impairments, or other medi cal problems can increase the possibility of abuse (Child Maltreatment, 2010). The consequence of early abuse may carry on into adolescence and even the early stages of adulthood. The results of this study make it clear that the United State needs to make sure that there are prevention programs, community management programs, and counseling programs all with the correct education and proper training. Wulczyn (2009) shows how prevention programs offer a chance to minimize the effects of maltreatment on the developing child, but many, if not most, jurisdictions lack the infrastructure to do so within the traditional child welfare system. Home visiting programs aim to prevent child abuse by providing knowledge, belief in abusing parenting, empathy, sensitive, responsive parenting, and the ability to provide a safe and stimulating home environments (Wulczyn, 2009). Barth (2009) describes a triple P-Positive parenting program to help parents deal with issues. This includes five levels of intervention 1. A media campaign that informs parents about issues and gets them involved 2. Targets an individual topic at a time such as toilet training or bedtime. Parents would be in direct contact with a trainer. 3. Helps parents concerned with their child’s development and attend brief programs to learn how to manage certain behaviors. 4. This is for parents of children with more severe problems like aggression or behavior issues. They are given certain skills along with contact with a primary care physician. Last is level 5. This is for parents of dysfunctional families with behavior problems. They attend eleven 1-hour sessions and practitioners conduct home visits to ensure the skill being thought are being used. The biggest question of how to prevent sexual abuse remains unanswered. There are numerous signs and prior efforts have been useful but new methods still need to be further explored and researched. Finklehor (2009) suggest that offender management and school-based programs should be necessary to help regulate sexual abuse. Registering sex offenders, notifying communities about their presence, background checks, controlling where they can live, and longer prison terms. Finklehor (2009) continues to say that one third of the offenders are juveniles which is why there is such a need for school based programs as well. This will help to teach students the skills necessary to identify dangerous situations. Abused children will demonstrate different behaviors once removed temporarily from the home and placed in a therapeutic environment (Ambert, 1994). In addition to providing services, sometimes a temporary removal needs to be entertained until the family dynamics can be evaluated. Until recently, no study actually showed that participation in a prevention program resulted in reduced rates of sexual abuse for participants (Legano, McHugh, Palusci). It is important for counselors or facilitators of programs to have an understanding of screenings, treatment evaluations, and treatment planning (Milner and Murphy, 1995). There needs to be sufficient legal and clinical instruction and training about child abuse before any assessment is conductive. The American Counseling Association has put into place a Code of Ethics for professionals to follow. Individuals need to be careful not to obtain a false positive based on bias in their findings. Working with children of abuse requires special training in order to achieve the desired outcome. It is the counselor’s responsibility to practice in the boundaries for which they are qualified to work. In addition, they have a responsibility to read and understand their ethics code (ACA Code of Ethics, 2005). References ACA Code of Ethics (2005) American Counseling Association. Retrieved September 22, 2012 from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeOfEthics/TP/Home Ambert, A. (1994). A qualitative study of peer abuse and its effects: Theoretical and empirical implications. Journal of Marriage and Family, 56 (1), 119-130. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/352708 Barth, R. (2009). Preventing child abuse and neglect with parent training: Evidence and opportunities. The future of children, 19 (2), 95-118. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27795049 Butcher, J., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. (2010). Abnormal psychology. (14 ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc Child Maltreatment (2010). Retrieved November 2, 2012 from http://archive.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm10/cm10.pdf DeBellis, M., Hooper, S., Woolley, D., & Shenk, C. (2009). Demographic, maltreatment, and neurobiological correlates of ptsd symptoms in children and adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35 (5), 570-577. Retrieved from http://www.jpepsy.oxfordjournals.org Feldman, R. (2011). Development across the life span. (6 ed., pp. 178-251). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc Finkelhor, D. (2009). The prevention of childhood sexual abuse. The future of children 19(2), 169-194. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27795052 Giesbrecht, T., & Merckelbach, H. (2009). Betrayal trauma theory of dissociative experiences: Stroop and directed forgetting findings. The Americal Journal of Psychology, 122(3), 337-348. Gould, F., Clarke, J., Heim, C., Harvey, P., Majer, M., & Nemeroff, C. (2012). The effects of child abuse and neglect on cognitive functioning in adulthood. Journal of psychiatric research, 46 (4), 500-506. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.01.005 Legano, L., McHugh, M., & Palusci, V. (2009). Child abuse and neglect. Current problems of pediatric and adolescent health care,doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2008.11.00 Milner, J., & William, W. (1995). Assessment of child physical and sexual abuse offenders. Family Relations, 44 (4), 478-488. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/585002 van Harmelen, A., deJong, P., Glashouwer, K., Spinhoven, P., Penninx, B., & Elzing B. (2010). Child abuse and negative explicit and automatic self-associations: T cognitive scars of emotional maltreatment. Behavior research and therapy, 48 (4), 486-494. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.02.003 Wulczyn, F. (2009). Epidemiological perspectives on maltreatment prevention. The future of children, 19 (2), 39-66. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27795047

History, Lyndon Johnsons Great Society Research Paper

History, Lyndon Johnsons Great Society - Research Paper Example Banes only had 11 months to prove himself to Americans that he was a true leader that America wanted. Johnson used his persuasion skill to have the civil rights bill which prohibited unfairness based on race and gender employment and further ended public facilities segregation passed. Johnson used the name â€Å"Great Society† to describe his reform program when after he declared war on poverty and this further intensified when he won a decisive victory over Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Economically, he pushed for the economic activity of 1964, which was aimed at fighting poverty, cutting tax, training for the poor and use of federal funds to attack unemployment and illiteracy.2 Indeed, Lyndon’s three years in power proved his sheer determination and hard work which he undoubtedly surprised liberals. Johnson successfully provided support for elementary and secondary schooling by allowing funds to be used in helping both public and private schools. Furthermore, an Omnibus housing act gave rent supplements for the less privileged in the society and provided funds to construct low-income housing. He additionally addressed transportation safety matters by signing two important transportation bills.3 During Johnson’s reign, American liberalism was at high tide due to a number of signed acts that greatly empowered the citizen. Some of the additional signed acts are wilderness protection act that saved almost 9.1 million acres of forestland from industrial development as well as the immigration act that ended discriminatory quotas based on ethnic origin. Besides, there was the national endowment for the arts and humanities, which allowed the use of public money to fund artists and galleries thus promoting art and creativity among the talented populace that could not afford to sponsor themselves.

Link Between Biology and Criminology Research Paper

Link Between Biology and Criminology - Research Paper Example This does not imply that criminologist should not rely on biology as a tool for explaining criminal behavior. Biology is a science that explains human physiology and therefore, it has a chance in human behavior, which incorporates criminology. Nature vs. Nature Most biological theories of criminology rely on hereditary factors as the main source of criminal behavior. Such theories associate social changes and human behavior on genes, which define the relationship between parents and their children. According to Earnest, there is a clear difference between evolution and genetics (2007). Genetics deals with hereditary traits that characterize an individual while evolution focus on the wider scope of changes taking place in the society due to interaction with the societal environment. On the other hand, criminologists focus on criminal behavior or factors that make people to have criminal minds. Evolution and genetic theories are critical elements that link biology and criminology. Acco rding to evolution theories, criminal behavior can be viewed as a form of adaptation. On the other hand, genetic theories associate the presence of an extra Y chromosome among male with crime and criminal activities. Biologists also rely on the formation of the skull to explain criminal behavior among people. The mental state of an individual is also another factor that biologist use to explain criminal behavior. ... Most serial killers have been found to be quiet and introverted types of individuals. Mental abnormality or insanity that is responsible for criminal behavior cannot be detected through ordinary sanity tests such as the Durham and Brawner rules. There is concrete evidence that genes, which are encoded or defined by the DNA, determine certain traits such as skin color. Biologists have extended hereditary factors to include other abstract human traits such as aggression, sexual orientation, and personality. Nature vs. nature debate considers the existence of behavior genes, which influences people’s behaviors including criminality. Nature vs. nature debate is been ruled out as a source of criminal behavior for fear that people will use the theories to justify their criminality. The other controversial phenomenon related to the nature vs. nature debate is the dilemma of fraternal twins. According to the nature vs. nature debate, fraternal twins would have similar characteristics if environment does not play a role in shaping their behavior (Walsh, 2002). Thus, any pair of fraternal twins should have striking similarities in their behavior including their level of criminality. The hypothesis also suggests that twins would have similar behaviors despite having been brought up in different environmental and social conditions. However, this does not necessarily hold true since twins develop individual or personal behavior despite having closely related genetic factors. The fraternal twin phenomenon disqualifies the overall assumption of genes as the main factor that influences criminal behavior. This phenomenon forms the fundamental aspect of the nature vs. nature theory, which considers the environment as the main aspect that influences criminal behavior. According to

Strategic Sourcing and E-Procurement currently is at King Faisal Essay

Strategic Sourcing and E-Procurement currently is at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center - Essay Example Thus, this study was initiated to investigate the application of sourcing and procurement management strategy in Boeing Company. The choice of Boeing is based on its strategic position in the aircraft manufacturing sector and the series of problems it faces of late. Using, appropriate theoretical framework, deduced from the work of previous researchers, the company was diagnosed, and the supply chain and suppliers relationship mapped out. Porters value chain framework also help us develop some feedback and the way forward where some value drivers, core competences and competitive advantage were identified. Our recommendation is for KFSHRC to have suppliers dotted all over the areas and the need to link them through a common data base was emphasized. The report of calls on top management to successfully adjust Porters value chain to suit its need. Our recommendation is for customers and suppliers to be effectively integrated into the value chain, where consumers become Pro-sumers and suppliers are turned into consumers. The existing relationship with partners, suppliers, and customers should be turned in to a long term collaboration relationship. KFSHRC should integrate its logistics, procurement, operations, and marketing functions with other supply chain members so that materials, information, component parts, and finished product flow seamlessly from point of origin to final customer at low unit cost and at high levels of service (Christopher 1992). 1.0 Introduction Sourcing and e-procurement is a strategic tool employed by present day business to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and customers so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying service-level requirements ( Cheng, Lai & Gunasekaran 2006). In the 90s, Sourcing and e-procurement gained momentum and received due attention from practitioners and researchers. It has become present day managerial competitive weapon for improving performance (Ramsay 2000). To minimize wastages and meet up with customers demand. Today, to reduced lead time, goods must be stored in a warehouse at the right quantity and within the right time. Customers and suppliers are important stakeholders. "Stakeholders are those individual or groups who depend on the organisation to fulfill their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organisation depends" (Johnson

Team Project Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Project Experience - Essay Example This role offered me an opportunity to explore and exercise my leadership skills. The role gave me a chance to take part in the project from the time the project was set up to the end. Usually, these duties begin in the second stage of the project but I got an opportunity to participate from the beginning as a member of the team that floated the first ideas for the project. Through this, I understood the project in full. The advantage that came with taking this responsibility is that as a member of the team I got the chance to participate in the project from start to finish. A holder of this position drove the project from the implementation stage to completion. My duties during project implementation included among others preparation of the project management plan that began with stage three (Chermack 2011). Risk assessment in addition to planning the mitigation aspects were my roles that I performed well during the process. These functions fell under my overall jurisdiction of lead ing the project team to achieve set objectives following through set targets at every stage. The responsibility was also enthusiastic, as I made sure that team members comprehended their assigned responsibilities. As an evaluation aspect, the manager monitored performance against the original plan. This helped in eliminating leakages and shielding the project from slipping out of the original plan. ... Good communication skills supplemented this strength. This happened in an honest and clear manner while maintaining respect among all team members. A good team player is a good listener, this aided in the effective functioning of the team (Tuckman and Jensen 1977). Coordination was product of good communication that included open and clear communication channels. I injected this personality into the team and it effectively helped the efficiency of working as a team. Among other strengths, I was flexible and this was important for a team member as the team often worked under changing conditions. Personal professional qualities Team projects run on deliverables and deadlines. Professional qualities that I brought into the team for the role-played included the element of cohesiveness that augmented the skills and other qualities possessed by other members. I acquired these skills in extra weekend classes offered at the extra mural studies centre. As a member of the team who preferred th e role of a project manager, I demonstrated leadership qualities in the team and this was crucial in underlying the essence of cohesiveness. Experience showed that the effectiveness of this quality served well for the team as members enjoyed good communication and sound conflict resolution mechanisms. As a project manager, I initiated the strength deployment inventory (SDI) that raised the need for the team to work together cohesively. It also offered opportunities for team members to draft successful working relationships (Nagarajan 2005). Through this, members of the project team learnt motivational areas of their colleagues. This knowledge enhanced the alignment of the members to the project goals. Clear understanding of project roles and awareness of skills of team

Describe the importance of having a sound business continuity plan Assignment

Describe the importance of having a sound business continuity plan - Assignment Example Key areas that present challenges include commitment and involvement levels of senior management, incorrect assumptions in the stages of designing BCPs, and approaching the execution of BCPs inappropriately (BSI, 2012). The senior management may be too busy in other undertakings and, therefore, delegate their duties and responsibilities. From the organizational perspective, a project’s visibility is compromised by such delegation. To overcome this challenge, a steering committee should be formed and have membership from across the stakeholders, which will serve a cross-functional role in solving issues. In terms of incorrect assumptions, most limiting factors are usually not considered. For example, organizations presume that its activities in different locations will be supported by employees. However, disruptions that cause injuries or fatalities also lead to reluctance from the employees. However, when the BCP procedure is understood at the developing stage, it will elimina te the need of having to be amended when a disruption strikes the organization. The third challenge, from inappropriate approach, may be characterized by outsourced services from multiple providers (BSI, 2012). For instance, organizations operating from multiple locations my use services from different agencies in different locations, as much as the organization focuses on centralized management. This can be avoided by working with approaches based on services and products while assessing risks. Failure to implement these strategies means an organization will not be able to restore its critical services seamlessly following a disruption and may result in closure of

Higher Education Refom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Higher Education Refom - Essay Example For those that are lucky enough to enter college, many will be faced with poor academic skills, and hours of remedial courses just to catch up. In addition, preparation needs to include the cultural and social aspects, as well as the academic aspects of college. I propose reforming higher education to begin the college education in the 10th grade through a series of programs that prepares students both culturally and academically for a college education. While a college education in the US costs twice as much as the same education costs in other industrialized nations, the US has fallen well behind these same nations in the rate of college attainment. Many students will drop out of high school, as they see no hope of ever realizing a higher degree. For the ones that do graduate, many will not have the cultural capital required to enroll in college. Students in high school have a significant need to be groomed for college admission. They may have a language deficit, poor study habits, or grades that do not meet the requirements for admission. Many of these students "are unlikely to have participated in campus visits, spoken with college representatives, leafed through college catalogs, or participated in other activities that create college readiness" (Hagedorn and Fogel, 2002, p.171).

Archeological Features, Artifacts and Ecofacts Essay - 40

Archeological Features, Artifacts and Ecofacts - Essay Example Analysis of the archeological site is done through key stages. The archeological sites entail the places where proof of past human presence can be collected. The evidence includes skeleton remains of the human ancestors, artifacts objects, and ecofacts elements. Sites are developed through formation processes. For example, dead bodies can be ceremonially buried, and tools can be lost. Site preservation is done by the natural process. The ash from a volcano or the silt from flood water can cover objects, and thus preserve them for several years. Sites can also be found by the natural process of erosion. The Olduvai Gorge located in Tanzania was exposed through erosion (Gilman, 2012). Archaeologists apply several techniques. The archeologists apply experimental replication to analyze tool artifacts. The process aims at authentically redeveloping the ancient artifacts, and hence determines the process of making the tool. The date of the specimen or archaeological site is done through ra dioactive decay technique. The technique analyses the radioactive isotopes of common elements like carbon, uranium and potassium. Identifying the sex skeleton is done by the sex dimorphism technique. For instance, the male human skeleton is always larger, rougher and denser than the female skeletal bones. The Upper Paleolithic period is illustrated through drastic changes in the human culture, especially in the Europe, Asia and African regions. Greatly, the changes are developmental as illustrated by the anatomically modern man of Africa. Superior tools were identified in Africa. One example involves the stone blade tools aged 90,000 years, which were found in Katanga, Zaire. Polished bone tools aged 77,000 years were found inside the Blombos Cave, South Africa (Robert & Wendy 2011). The tools illustrate technology explosion in the area of stone and bone tool  development.

Hospitality Management Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hospitality Management - Movie Review Example The show is currently on its thirteenth (13th) season. The communication pattern in this show is basically that of a mature audience but the show is meant for a general audience and as such is bleeped out. In the thirteenth season episode one there is a number of contestants all fresh with hope and fire in their veins ready to take on the competition. As stated by the narrator the trash talking too is not spared for a show later. Ashley, Frank. Katie, Jr, Sterling, Latasha, Jennifer, Bryant, Santos, Denine, Kalen, Fernando, Aaron, JP, Roe, Sade and Janai. The show is to happen in Chef Ramsey’s famous kitchen and hotel in Caesars’ place which is in Las Vegas. The show’s location begins at a Cinerama in which Chef Ramsey proposes that the competitors watch an inspirational movie before they start the competition. While in the movies the Chef surprises them with a number of viewers and two other chefs who are their guide for a 45 minute challenge that happens in the culinary school of arts. They are then told to prepare a signature dish of their own with just under 30 minutes under Chef Ramsey’s strict supervision. Jp is the first contestant to win in under 15 minutes. While his confidence is present and huge, Chef Ramsey has doubt in his voice about the food that has been made before his eyes. Chef Ramsey in this episode is direct to the point with brief punctuations of profanity in the beginning when he meets the contestants. However in the communication between Ramsey and his contestants he is able to drive home his points in what sometimes comes out in a whimsical and brutally honest way. The first contest saw men lag behind the women in what was a contest that ended up with brutally honest answers to prepared dishes. Some of the contestants were unable to deliver good dishes while others presented really good dishes that scored them a rare 4 out of 5 score. The reason for some of this was due to poor

Managerial Accounting Essay Example for Free

Managerial Accounting Essay Accountants and auditors help to ensure that firms are run efficiently, public records kept accurately, and taxes paid properly and on time. They analyze and communicate financial information for various entities such as companies, individual clients, and Federal, State, and local governments. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation— providing information to clients by preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents—many accountants also offer budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services. Managerial Accounting: Managerial accounting is concerned with providing information to managers that is, people inside an organization who direct and control its operation. Managerial accounting provides the essential data with which the organizations are actually run. Managerial accounting is also termed as management accounting or cost accounting. Standard costing is an important subtopic of cost accounting. Standard costs are usually associated with a manufacturing companys costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead. Rather than assigning the actual costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead to a product, many manufacturers assign the expected or standard cost. This means that a manufacturers inventories and cost of goods sold will begin with amounts reflecting the standard costs, not the actual costs, of a product. Manufacturers, of course, still have to pay the actual costs. As a result there are almost always differences between the actual costs and the standard costs, and those differences are known as variances. Standard costing and the related variances is a valuable management tool. If a variance arises, management becomes aware that manufacturing costs have differed from the standard (planned, expected) costs. * If actual costs are greater than standard costs the variance is unfavorable. An unfavorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the companys actual profit will be less than planned. * If actual costs are less than standard costs the variance is favorable. A favorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the actual profit will likely exceed the planned profit. Use in Business: Managers rely on cost accounting to provide an idea of the actual expenses of processes, departments, operations or product which is the foundation of their budget, allowing them to analyze fluctuation and the way funds are used socially for profit. It is used in management accounting, where managers justify the ability to cut expenses for a company in order to increase that company? s profit. As a tool for internal use, versus a tool for external users like financial accounting, cost accounting does not need to follow the GAAP standards (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) because its use is more pragmatic. It is a very important part of the management accounting process. In order for managers to determine the best methods to increase a companys profitability, as well as saving a company money in the future, cost accounting is a necessary system in the management of a companys budget, providing important data to analyze fluctuation in company production expense.

Bullwhip Effect In Healthcare Sector

Bullwhip Effect In Healthcare Sector In Supply Chain management, Bullwhip effect has attracted some considerable importance in the FMCG sector in the last 20 years. The phenomenon Bullwhip Effect shows how small changes at the customers end have tremendous impact on the operations back there in the chain. The cause behind this effect is mainly attributed to the increasing demand variability in the supply chain. We consider the number of companies taking part in a single supply chain. Each of the company gets the order from its immediate downstream company to be fulfilled. In Bullwhip effect the orders to the suppliers tend to have a larger variance than sales to the buyer. This demand distortion then gets amplified while propagating upstream. The paper mainly focuses on how the Bullwhip effect the matching of the demand and supply and the main causes leading to this. It also focuses on the PG case study to understand the Bullwhip effect and the steps taken to dampen the bullwhip effect. Further it aims at quantifying the bullwhip effect and reducing its impact on the supply chain. Acknowledgement I am thankful to Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering (MPSTME) for giving me this opportunity to understand the Bullwhip Effect and the major causes and the PG case. Furthermore helping us understand the various techniques and procedures for writing a research project. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to my college mentor Prof. Jinu Kurian for her continuous guidance and support and being available at all times whenever the need may arise. I would also like to thank Prof. Prasad Chakrabarty for his help and support in the project. Table of Contents Introduction The bullwhip effect occurs when the demand order variability in the supply chain is amplified as they moved upstream in a supply chain. Distorted information from single end of a supply chain to the other may lead to tremendous inefficiencies. Companies can effectively deal with the bullwhip effect by thoroughly understanding its underlying causes. Organizational leaders are implementing various innovative strategies that pose new challenges: integrating new information systems defining new organizational inter relationships implementing new incentive and measurement systems. At macroscopic level, Bullwhip Effect generates inefficiencies in production scheduling, sourcing, capacity utilization, distribution and the profit generation. While if we take a look at the operating level it induces additional inventory which is placed inappropriately to maintain the service levels. It also reduces the performance level by decreasing the incoming cash and the potential revenue. It can even dilute any companys competitive strategies. 2 factors have changed the landscape of supply chain management in the last few years significantly. Availability and use of the technology and software applications to allow capture and sharing of information across a supply chain mostly through extranets Increasing indulgence of members of the supply chain in order to move towards to put aside the traditional arms-length relationships amongst each other and in its place move towards closer, partnership-type arrangements. Again, the networks over which these collaborations take place must include the necessary levels of performance, scalability, security and reliability to realise these benefits to their maximum potential. Problem Statement To analyse the Bullwhip Effect in healthcare sector and to find out its causes, consequences and cures. Significance Global competition in the world market today contains many challenges to achieve a degree of predictability in the supply chain and remove the impact of Bullwhip Effect. Researchers have examined the bullwhip effect and some models to reduce it, however a very few research has been done on analysing the Bullwhip Effect in healthcare sector and to find out its causes, consequences and cures quantifying the effect of bullwhip and its Measurement still remains an exigent research path. Research Methods A case-study based approach was employed to conduct the research. Data were gathered primarily through interviews, observations and archival sources. At the hospitals, Interviews were conducted, in person, with doctors, nurses, administrators, and other hospital staff. At the diagnostic laboratory, personal interviews were conducted with the CEO, pathologists and other lab technicians. As far as data gathering is concerned, we decided to employ an informal, minimally structured, non-directive interview approach, enabling to minimize the influence of the assumptions. . Literature Review Fluctuations in demand have a varying graph when we compare from industry to industry. Driven by seasonal demand and business cycles, apparel industry faces major demand adjustments, while the diaper market is subjected to constant demand in the market arena. Due to misjudgement of demands, the big players in the retail market can be subjected to inventory shortages or surpluses. But given the consistency of demand in the diaper market the diaper supply chain should be more efficient and accurate. But it isnt the case. The diaper market even with the reliable demand patterns isnt able to match the demand-production matching. The major cause to this supply chain inefficiency can be subjected to Bullwhip Effect. The term was coined by Procter Gamble who noticed amplification in the information distortion as the information of the order travelled upstream in the supply chain. Bullwhip effect or Whiplash effect can be majorly seen in the forecast driven distribution channels. It indicates a lack of synchronization among the members across the supply chain. Even if there is a small fluctuation in the customer sales, it reflected upstream in an amplified form. Because of this supply patterns does not match the demand patterns resulting in inventory surplus at various stages of the supply chain.C:UsersIndiaDesktopblwhp.jpg As the customer demand would be rarely perfectly stable, businesses should forecast demand in order to match the demands with the production and managing their inventory levels. Some of the major reasons behind bullwhip effect are:- Forecast Errors Overreaction to backlogs Lead time variability No communication and no coordination along the supply chain members Delay in information and material flow Price fluctuations Product promotions Order batching raw material orders from ProcterGamble to its suppliers fluctuated over time. On further noticing it was found that farther down the chain, when sales at retail stores were studied, it was found that the fluctuation which was present, were small. It is reasonable to assume that the consumers of the diapers at the last stage of the supply chain used them at a steady rate. Although consumption at the end product was stable, orders for raw material were highly variable, increasing costs and making it difficult for supply to match demands. Lack of coordination between supply chain members also results if information distortion occurs within the supply chain. Considering the Bullwhip effect PG observed in the diaper supply chain. As a result of the bullwhip effect, orders PG receives from its distributors are much more variable than the demand for the diapers at retailers. The lack of the supply chain coordination between members has an adverse effect on manufacturing cost. It increases the manufacturing cost in the supply chain. PG and its suppliers must satisfy a stream of orders that is even more variable than customer demand. ProcterGamble responded to the increased change by either building excess capacity or by holding excess inventory, both of which increase the manufacturing cost per unit produced. It even increases the replenishment lead time in the supply chain. The increased variability due to bullwhip effect makes scheduling at PG and supplier plants much more difficult as compared to a situation with level demand. There are times when the capacity which is available and inventory cannot supply the orders coming in. This results in higher replenishment lead times in the supply chain from both PG and its suppliers. It even hurts the level of product availability and results in more stock outs in the supply chain. Very high fluctuations in orders make it difficult for PG to supply all distributor and retailer orders on time. This increases the likelihood that retailers will run out of stock, resulting in lost sales for the supply chain. It also leads to an increase in the inventory costs. To handle the increased variability in demand PG has to carry a higher level of inventory than would be required if the supply chain was coordinated. As a result, inventory costs in the supply chain increase. The high levels of inventory also increase the warehousing space required and thus the warehousing cost incurred. It impacts the transportation cost in the supply chain. The transportation requirements over time at PG and its suppliers fluctuate with the orders being filled. As a result of bullwhip effect, transportation requirements fluctuate significantly over time. This raises transportation cost because surplus transportation capacity needs to be maintained to cover high demand periods. It also leads to the increase in labour costs associated with shipping and receiving in the supply chain. Labour requirements for shipping at PG and its suppliers fluctuate with orders. A similar fluctuation occurs for the labour requirements for receiving at distributors and retailers. The various stages have the option of carrying excess labour capacity in response to the fluctuation in orders. Either option increases total labour cost. PG estimated that due to the manual interventions required in their process of ordering, billing and shipment systems, each deal to its customers cost between $35 to $75 to process. Sharing point-of-sale (POS) data across the supply chain can help reduce the bullwhip effect. A primary cause for information distortion is the fact that each level of the supply chain uses orders to forecast the future demand. Given that orders received by different levels vary, forecasts at different levels also vary. If retailers share POS data with other supply chain stages, all supply chain stages can forecast future demand based on customer demand. Sharing of POS data helps reduce information distortion because all stages now respond to the same change in the customer demand. Sharing aggregate Point Of Sale data is sufficient to reduceinformation distortion. PG has convinced many retailers to share demand data. PG in turn shares the data with its suppliers, improving coordination in the supply chain. In a continuous replenishment programs (CRS), the wholesaler or the manufacturer replenishes the inventorey regularly based on Point of sale data. In its simplest form, CRS seeks to allow more accurate production planning of inventories and also matching of supply and demand. Success with continuous replenishment programs is achieved when production planning has become demand-driven on an end-to-end basis throughout the supply chain. . Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) is a family of business models in which the buyer of a product provides certain information to a supplier of that product and the supplier takes full responsibility for maintaining an agreed inventory of the material, usually at the buyers consumption location (usually a store). A third-party logistics provider can also be involved to make sure that the buyer has the required level of inventory by adjusting the demand and supply gaps. PG now employs vendor-managed inventory (VMI) in its supply chain, starting with its supplier, 3M, and its customer, Wal-Mart In VMI, packaged-goods behemoth Procter Gamble (PG) initiated a value pricing scheme for sales to retailers. Value pricing was PG label for everyday low pricing (EDLP), a pricing strategy under which retailers are charged a consistent price rather than a high baseline price punctuated by sporadic, deep discounts. PG had many reasons for converting to EDLP. Its sales force had grown to rely on discounting to drive sales and the use of deep discounts had spiralled out of control, cutting into earnings. Background SMS Hospital, operating in Jaipur, is one of the largest government healthcare providers in Rajasthan. It consists of more than 500 beds and offers healthcare services ranging from a 24 hour accident and emergency service, to acute medical and surgical care, operating theatre suites, intensive care, ocus on cardiac and orthopedics areas and head injury and orthopaedic related trauma and community care. The hospital services more than 40,000 patient admissions and an average length of stay of 3.62 days for all patients. There are10 operating rooms (OR) with state of the art equipment, in-patients have hospital wards, acute cases beyond normal post-operative hospital care have rehabilitation unit for recovery and related ancillary services in the hospital facilities. These rooms are being used for major inpatient procedures. On an average of about 27,000 operations are performed in these rooms in a year. Specialty and staffed with suitably qualified nurses and technicians organizes 500+ beds in the hospital. The Operating Room Management Department (ORMD) is the central division, which faces daily challenges of managing and allocating the staff and equipment so that surgeries can be performed in an efficient, cost effective, and safe manner. The equipment that is owned by the hospital may either be dedicated to a theatre or be shared across theatres. The Operating Room staff is comprised of registered nurses, nursing assistants, scrub technicians and unit secretaries and an Operating Room nurse super vises all these. Equipment to be used for Operating Rooms may either be owned by the hospital or be procured from outside on a loan/hire basis. The Operating Room Management Department is responsible for assignment of theatre suitable for the scheduled surgery and ensuring the availability of staff and equipment when needed. Quality and cost of patient care implications are on overstaffed, undermanned, and unbalanced nursing teams. The hospital has adopted a hybrid strategy to meet its nurse requirements in both wards and Operating Rooms. The hospital has employed a group of permanent, full time nurse staff, which is also, complemented by a bank of casual, part time nurses which are available at short notice. Also, the hospital also has made some arrangements with several private agencies, which are known for providing qualified nurses for short periods to hospitals, on a temporary basis. Fifty % of the hospitals requirements) in the terms of nurse requirements are usually been met by permanent staff, thirty% by part time nurses and twenty% from agency staff. The hospital havent employ any specialist/surgeon, but only has a small group of physicians for overall supervision of the wards. Instead, it has arrangement with a large group of consultant surgeons who hold privileges to avail of the hospital facilities for treatment of their patients. The hospital derives its revenues from the fees charged for the use of its facilities ORs, hospital beds and other services from the patients. In most cases hospital charges are borne by patients medical insurance providers and the hospitals revenue is based on negotiated rates with these firms. Value Chain Figure 1 illustrates a schematic description of SMSs service value chain. As shown in the figure, the multi-stage process begins with the patients consultation with his or her primary care physician. Upon receiving a referral from the general practitioner to visit a medical specialist, the patient will then be assessed by a specialist. This stage does not involve the hospital and may consist of several visits to the doctors office and diagnostic laboratories, deals with the assessment of patients condition and treatment options. A determination of the need for surgery results in the addition of the patient to the doctors list of patients requiring surgery/hospitalization. Typically, specialist doctors have privileges at several hospitals in the area, and the choice of hospital for surgery is determined by a number of factors that include cost, patient preference, case complexity, wait involved, facilities and other services provided by the hospital. Following the choice of hospital, the patient is scheduled for surgery by assigning a slot in one of the doctors theatre sessions at the hospital. It is not uncommon for elective surgeries to be scheduled several weeks to a few months in advance. The schedule for each session along with patient and surgery details is expected to be communicated by the doctors office to the hospital well in advance to enable the hospital to make adequate arrangements. The surgeons operating list is not frozen and is dynamic with additions possible at a later stage (in some cases a few hours in advance) and the hospital is expected to be responsive and be able to provide the requisite support of staff, equipment and supplies. Surgery represents the third stage of the value chain and Saint Marys hospital is responsible for providing required support services. These include staffing the theatres with qualified nurses and technicians, and making available all equipment and supplies needed. The hospital is also responsible for pre-operative care of the patient and getting the patient ready for surgery and for post-operative care. Insufficient capacity and delays in these phases can result in blockage and starving of theatre resulting in underutilization of ORs with consequent adverse impact on hospital costs and efficiency. Post-operative care in hospital wards and in subsequent rehabilitation areas, if necessary represent the fourth and fifth stages before the patient is discharged and exits the hospital system. Constraints on bed capacity in wards can lead to fewer surgeries being scheduled resulting in lower theatre utilization. This is in contrast to the rehabilitation services, where capacity shortage may only lead to patients being off-loaded to other facilities owned by competitors, thereby resulting in loss of potential revenue. Planning and Scheduling at SMS Hospital Planning and scheduling at Saint Marys hospital is similar to other hospitals in Australia with annual theatre plans forming the basis for hospitals activities. The theatre plan involves assignment of theatre sessions to consultant surgeons and essentially defines the demand for hospitals services. A half-day slot is considered the basic unit for this purpose and thus each theatre has a capacity of 10 sessions per week, based on a five day week. As described earlier, surgeons expect hospitals to provide complete flexibility in organizing the activities within their sessions and hence assignment of a theatre session to a surgeon commits the hospital for providing the necessary staff and equipment for operation and post-operative care, and hence the hospital workload is a direct consequence of the theatre plan. In practice, theatre planning at Saint Marys begins three to four months in advance, in September/October for the following year. The plan is developed in consultation with the surgeons and varies little from year to year, except for changes to accommodate vacation periods of surgeons and other planned absences. The plan can be characterized as cyclic with effort to evenly spread out sessions assigned to individual surgeons. Further, to the extent feasible, weekly schedules are adopted. For example, a surgeon with 50 sessions would be assigned one session per week, usually in the same time slot every week (say, Monday morning). One feature of session plan at Saint Marys Hospital that merits special mention relates to the practice of concentration of sessions assigned to particular specialty. As a result, we find, sessions corresponding to different specialties peaking on different days of the week. Such practices are not unique to Saint Marys and are quite common at other hospitals i n Australia. The annual session plan forms the basis for nurse and technician staffing in the hospital. The labor cost of nurses and technicians is perhaps the most significant controllable operating cost at Saint Marys and directly impacts the hospitals financial viability. Staffing plan for nurses in the OR theatres is prepared for each calendar month on a monthly basis, two weeks in advance to conform to regulatory requirements. The initial plan is developed on the basis of the session plan. The nurse schedule is revised and frozen only a day in advance, at which time the requirements are assessed based on surgery lists available in the hospital. Besides adjustments for providing the required number of qualified nurses, the final schedule takes into account deviations from the initial plan (for example, absence due to sickness, or inability to schedule the nurse due to excess overtime on the previous day etc.) At this stage there is only very limited flexibility in respect of permanent, full t ime staff and the nurse scheduler relies on part time staff, supplemented by supply from external agency to meet the requirements. As mentioned earlier, current practices at Saint Marys hospital result in 20-25% of nursing needs being met with agency sources. In monetary terms, the proportion is higher due to higher rates paid for the temporary staff. Nurse staffing in wards is similar and schedules are frozen only a day in advance. Observations Our interviews with doctors/surgeons indicated that in a majority of specialties there is no discernable pattern in the demand for elective surgeries. This is in contrast to illnesses such as flu, hay fever that exhibit pronounced seasonality. Thus, daily demand for elective surgery end customer demand can be reasonably be described as fairly uniform with no seasonality (day of the week, month etc.) and low to moderate variability. Figure 2 describes the pattern of admissions (which corresponds to demand) for orthopaedic surgeries at Saint Marys hospital by day of the week. The figure is based on data for one year and excludes the holiday period (mid-December to mid-January) in Australia during which most doctors avoid scheduling elective surgeries. The data in Figure 2 shows mild seasonality by month (admissions range from a low of 332 to a peak of 512 with mean of 470) and high variability by day of the week. Excluding the weekends, the average daily admissions range from a low of 58 on Fridays to a peak of 123 on Wednesdays. The pattern is similar for other specialties, except for the location of the peak. While in Figure 2 the peak occurs on Wednesdays and Thursdays, for other specialties it might occur on other days of the week. Taken in conjunction with our premise that end customer demand is fairly constant, Figure 2 suggests strongly presence of phenomena similar to the bullwhip effect. In the remainder of this section we discuss briefly the impact of this pattern on hospital performance operational and financial. First, increased variability in the number of surgeries performed directly impacts the demand for post-operative services in the wards. Consequently, on peak days, shortage of beds makes the wards the bottleneck, thereby restricting the number of surgeries and reducing the theatre utilization and hospital throughput, which in turn leads to lower revenues and lower operating profits. While the hospital is a not-for-profit organization, operating profits represent one of the key funding sources for financing investments in equipment and facilities, and lower levels or absence of operating profit can severely restrict the hospitals ability to provide state-of-the-art high quality service. Second, the demand for nursing services both in theatres and wards is directly affected by higher variability and results in higher labor costs. With Saint Marys strategy of meeting the nursing demand with a mix of full time, part time and agency staff, higher variability of demand translates to the need for higher levels of flexibility and larger proportion of casual and agency staff. Higher wage rates for these categories increases operating costs and leads to lower profits. Third, SMSs reliance on flexible (part time and agency) staff affects the hospitals operating performance in more subtle, but significant manner. Higher levels of temporary staff leads to frequent changes in the composition of support staff assigned to each theatre, thereby inhibiting development of cohesive support teams. Consultant surgeons in our interviews mentioned this factor repeatedly as the primary cause of inefficiencies in theatre, requiring more operating time and reduction in efficient use of theatre capacity. The role of cohesive support teams in improving OR efficiencies is well known and has been noted in many other hospital environments. In the absence of such a support team, the surgery list scheduled for each session tends to be shorter (thus reducing hospital revenues). Alternately, with normal list the theatre time will be higher than planned, resulting in overtime and increasing operating costs. In either case, this practice adversely affects hospitals profits. Furthermore, this factor influences the doctors choice of hospital, prompting use of Saint Marys for more complex cases requiring its facilities. For simpler cases, the doctors tend to choose other hospitals with more efficiently organized OR theatres, perhaps with more limited range of services. As the more complex cases typically involve higher costs, this behavior has an adverse impact on Saint Marys finances. Under the Australian system the fees payable (to the hospital and doctor) are based on predetermined rates for each class and do not depend on the case complexity within each class. To summarize, increased variability in the demand for elective surgeries at Saint Marys hospital results in lower efficiencies, higher operating costs and lower revenues leading to lower profits. Thus, the presence of bullwhip effect leads to degradation of performance as in the case of manufactured goods reported in the literature. While this is intuitive and not surprising, it is interesting to note the dynamics are different from those observed in manufacturing higher levels of inventories and shortages. Macintosh HD:Users:vasvigakkhar:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-12-29 at 2.09.56 AM.png Macintosh HD:Users:vasvigakkhar:Desktop:Screen Shot 2012-12-29 at 2.13.36 AM.png Methods for coping with the Bullwhip Effect The preceding section highlighted the different causes of the bullwhip effect in the healthcare sector and identified strategies to mitigate the detrimental impact of the effect. We briefly summarize the strategies (see Table for a summary): (i) Reducing uncertainty In order to minimize or eliminate bullwhip effect, it is important to reduce uncertainty throughout the service value chain. If information about customer can be centrally managed and if each stage of the service value chain can be provided with latest information in a timely manner, it will help eliminate duplication of effort at different stages and also ensure data consistency across all groups that require that data. It is also critical that dynamic updating of information is performed which will greatly help reduce uncertainty. (ii) Reducing variability There is inherent variability in the customer demand process and any effort that can be taken to minimize this variability will help reduce the overall bullwhip effect. Also, localized practices that lead to increased variability in demand at any of the stages should be eliminated with better coordination. Use of good forecasting methods will also assist the reduction of variability. (iii) Developing strategic partnerships The bullwhip effect can be minimized by developing key strategic partnerships with different links in the service value chain. For example, in case of hospitals, the hospital administration has to forge strategic alliances with medical specialists. These partnerships will change the way in which the information is shared and will help foster better coordination between the two parties. Although this may not fully eliminate bullwhip effect, it will go a long way in reducing the effect. (iv) Realignment of incentives One prime reason for the lack of coordination and meaningful information sharing is that the different entities are evaluated on the basis of different criteria and receive rewards for different activities. The evaluation and reward system should be modified to stress cooperation across stages and so that the planning is performed on system-level objectives and not on division/local level objectives. (v) Improving coordination across stages of service value chain To reduce the bullwhip effect, it is also important to ensure coordination across stages that are facilitated and improved. Summary and Future Research In this paper we have identified and described a phenomenon in healthcare industry that is similar to the bullwhip effect observed in the manufacturing sector which results in amplification of demand variability upstream in the service chain. Not surprisingly, this distortion likewise leads to performance degradation. However, the similarity with the manufacturing sector does not extend much further since the causes and the impact are somewhat different. For example, while bullwhip effect in manufactured goods results in higher levels of inventory and shortages, in hospitals it leads to lower levels of throughput, higher operating costs and longer patient waits. Hence, initiatives and strategies for minimizing the bullwhip effect and its impact require a different approach that addresses directly the root causes. Our study also indicates that the potential for performance improvements is quite significant. While our study focused on hospitals and other allied institutions in the health sector, we conjecture that a similar phenomenon may be present in other service industries. For example, billing practices in consumer utilities (electricity, gas etc) and credit card services with monthly cycles leads to variable unbalanced loads in certain segments. Similarly, scheduling practices in auto repair industry result in some variability amplification. Together this suggests that a more detailed study of the bullwhip phenomenon in services is warranted and may lead to order-of-magnitude performance improvements similar to those realized during the past two decades in the manufactured goods industries.

Social Stratification And Inequality Sociology Essay

Social Stratification And Inequality Sociology Essay Social stratification is a sociological phenomenon in which people in the society are placed in different ranks with reference to same economic conditions. Normally, there are those of a high standard and others of a low standard. Social stratification borrows classification from earth sciences and thus it refers to its classes as strata. The difference in economic characteristics of persons leads to domination of power by one group to another. Social Stratification is characterized by four core principles namely; Social stratification has been said to be transferable from generation to another. Every generation adopts the classifications that had been set by a generation that proceeded. Social stratification is a societal characteristic and not an individual view. The society forms a uniform way of grading persons which is not a sole persons objective. Social stratification is said to be universal and also variable. Though this statement seems contradictory, it means that classification is uniform in a certain society but will vary when compared with other societies. Lastly, social stratification is not all about equality of persons, but also the beliefs that they hold. This means that social classes in the society are also based on common beliefs. The classification of the society into various ranks brings about inequality. In the western communities, social stratification adopts three key; the upper, middle and lower class. It is due to these classes that inequality is developed. Those of upper class view themselves as superior and having more prestige compared to their counterparts in lower ranks. Therefore, sharing of common resources in the society is based on the stratification ranks. Inequality is a social evil that emanates from social stratification (Bottero 3-8). Origins of the Social Stratification Theory The above theory is said to have emanated from the Judaeo-Christian Bible which presents the social idea of the Greeks. Though the idea was not extremely straightforward at the beginning, it has gone through various transformations to the present day where it presents itself clearly. The Sociological View of Social Stratification and Inequality Various sociologists have had different views and interpretations on social stratification. For instance, Talcott Parsons who was an American sociologist emphasized that stability of social stratus is partly influenced by universal values. On a different note, Marxism identifies unequal distribution of resources and limited mobility to be factors of stratified societies. However, numerous sociologists have had a uniform view with reference to the fact that the wealthy in the society control the political power. In such a case, the poor ought to submit to orders from the rich. Several sociologists had diverse views on the origin and form of the social stratification theory. Below are some of these sociologists and various discussions regarding each one of them. Karl Marx In his theory of Marxism, Karl asserted that social stratification in the society is based on the way people are related to the factors of production. In such, there exist two different categories of persons; those that own the factors of production and those who labor for the owner of the factors of production. The classification by Karl Marx seems to be inadequate especially in the current view of economics. This is because there exist various aspects of the present economy that have been left unsolved by the Marxism theory. For instance; it does not provide accurate categorization as to productive, occupational and economic aspects of society. Modern scholars of economics have said that the issue of social stratifications requires in depth classifications other than the generalized one provided for by the Marxism theory. In fact, theories behind social stratification need to draw a clear cut between the economic aspects of skilled and unskilled labor, owning and managing a business and also between business and professional occupational roles. Secondly, the Marxism theory appears to be so generalized to the extent that it overlooks various vital social-structural phenomena that are of a great influence in the society. These include ethnic affiliations, kinship and lineage affiliations. Modern sociologists have however not ignored these crucial aspects the way Marx did. Thirdly, the theory of Marx on social stratification seems to be so limited in defining the role of cultural factors in social classification. Cultural factors include legal practices, religious norms and scientific ideas among others. It is crucial to note that science has played a key role in maintaining social classes. In summary, Marx defined the relationship between people and property as the key aspect behind social stratification (Jackson chapter 2). Max Weber Weber was thrilled by the propositions of his predecessor, Marx, and hence he thought of making corrections to Marxs theory. Weber designed a model based on status, class and a more explicit and systematic differentiation with reference to social stratification. Unlike Marx who identified property to be the sole determining factor in social stratification, Weber identified status and class as additional factors. Weber built an interconnected model that would define the relationship between these three factors. Any one of factors can affect the other two, and in any case any of these factors can be replaced with another. In his model, Weber also did not cover several key influencing factors like education, ethnic and kinship factors. Below are the definitions that Weber gave to his three factors of influence; He defined class as an individuals economic position in the society with reference to birth and their personal achievement. Secondly, he defined status as the position occupied by an individual in the society as a result of their social honor, popularity and prestige. Weber also defined power as the ability of an individual to progress despite various factors offering resistance in the society (Rossides, 186). Wright Mills Wright sought to advance Webers thoughts on social stratification with no discrimination whatsoever. Similar to Weber, he identified power to be economic oriented but in addition to be influenced by political and military domains. Through his famous book titled The Power Elite, Mills brings out a clear connection between political power and social status in the society. He asserted that the very power embodied persons occupy a certain class in the society. In order to keep themselves relevant in the society, the power elite tend to develop close ties in ideas, work and marital issues. To him, the power elite are clearly defined in education institutions whereby the persons of the high status group attend prominent schools thus preparing them for high class tertiary schools. Conceptual Model to Social Stratification A conceptual model for the current nature of social stratification ought to be multidimensional. It should have considerable measurement techniques and be flexible to accommodate various ideological biases. There appears to be two factors that have led to the resistance of such a conceptual model. These are ideological and methodological oriented. Looking at ideological issues, we find sociologists who still hold on to the traditional ways of classifying people. They want to maintain definitions that are straightforward, clear and self explanatory. However, straightforward definitions have proved to be incompetent in the current nature of society that presents changing and complex situations. With reference to methodology aspects, scientists have had fear of exploring a multidimensional concept because they fear the complex resources and methods that could be involved. The more differentiated a model is the more involving it will be in terms of equipments needed to analyze and the processes that will be involved. Researchers have committed themselves in exploring models that are multidimensional however significant success has not been realized. Studies by the Hindu caste society show that a multidimensional model is necessary. Various dimensions of stratification are closely related to one another, but this does not mean that they are not exclusively autonomous. For instance, such dimensions as power, prestige, income and education are in a way related to one another. However, in some cases, it can be noted that power is independent of the other factors. In fact, in certain circumstances, power may be attained irrespective of occupational prestige. Again, a certain level of education grounds may not be strong enough if not accompanied by money. The key role of a multidimensional model is to address issues of interdependence and independence of social stratification factors. Key Dimensions of Social Stratification Power As defined earlier in this paper and with reference to Karl Marx, power refers to the ability to pursue goals despite resisting factors. Power will be addressed with reference to size and various natures of societies. The degree of division of labor in the society is related to the way typical social classes will be formed. Power exists in two diverse forms; legitimate and illegitimate and hence there cannot be established a direct relation between power and social stratification. Occupational Prestige The various productive roles in the society are accorded different level of prestige. It has been evident that though societies may be different, there will always exist a similarity in the way they accord prestige to various occupations. For instance; some professions like law, medicine and pilot, are given a high level of prestige because they are associated with good amounts of money. The variability of the way occupations are valued is dependent on the way the society values those occupations. Therefore, it is vital to note that prestige accorded to various occupations will differ with reference to the values of the societal setting. Income/Wealth Wealth plays an extremely significant role in social stratification. Whether earned or inherited, wealth will impact the class that a person will occupy in the society. Various profession and business roles in the society offer diverse opportunities in accumulating wealth. Sometimes, the so high ranked roles have proven to accumulate low wealth when compared to low prestige roles. Looking at the example of a professional doctor who uses intellect and professionalism to accumulate his wealth yet he may not gather a lot like a bandit. The latter can accumulate in one night, money equal to that a professional doctor earns in an entire month. When money is used as the determining factor in social stratification, business and professional roles lack relevance. Social stratification on the basis of income influences to a significant extent other dimensions of societal classification. For instance; the level of education gained by a person may be determined by the relative amount of income they have. Disposable income has also not been left out in studying how it influences social stratification. Family and Ethnicity The status of kinship groups and family lineage plays a vital role in determining the social classes in the society. Not once and not twice have persons being seen as wealthy and hence prestigious because their fore fathers were wealthy. The role played by a family in the society in terms of monetary contribution and influence holds a significant support as to why it holds a certain class in the society. The class occupied by a certain family in the society determines the social class it occupies and hence the treatment they will be accorded by the entire society. Family and ethnic position do not however hold a one to one relationship in far as social stratification is concerned. Local Community Status Individuals and families do not live in isolations or islands in the society. Their day to day activities are influenced by norms set by the nature of the community. Families and individuals by extension are given placed under certain social classes due to the way the society operates. The position of the local community in the society is determined by the nature of influence it has on the entire community (Andersen 216-220). Modern Stratification Systems In the contemporary world, there exists three key systems of stratification which are; slavery, the caste system and the class system. Despite various laws disregarding slavery, many people in the world today live in conditions that can be classified as slavery. Slavery Slavery is still eminent in nations such as Ghana, Benin and Mauritania among others. Also, Asia has been mentioned numerously for prevalent cases in sex slavery. Caste System The above is a social system that is based on characteristics and traits those persons posses by virtue of their birth. These traits include body type, race, gender and age among others. The caste system is said to be a rigid one. This means that it assigns various unchangeable castes to persons which cannot be varied. However, persons have in various situations tried to change their ascribed statuses by lying about their age, changing nationality or performing plastic surgery, but not at all times do these attempts yield positive results. Class System Class system classifies individuals in reference to statuses earned and not those individuals were born with. Persons born in a certain social class can choose their careers, education level and spouses. The class system is characterized by social mobility nature. Social mobility refers to the act of moving either up or down the various social strata (Levine) Conclusion Every society has various classes that are assumed by members of the society based on various factors. Common held belief in the society model the way a society sets up these classes. Most common factors that determine classification are education and knowledge, power, prestige, and religion among other factors. Sociologists have formed various theories to address the determining factors of social stratification though no one theory seems to have provided comprehensive coverage. Every society exhibits unique factors and believes, but there exists a close relationship between the way these diverse factors influence social stratification.