A Critical Review of Andrea Owens’ “The Mortgage Bailout that Worked.”

While the Harvard Business Review (HBR) has yet to publish anything specifically on the Obama Mortgage Stimulus Plan as of yet, this recent blog entry might give an idea as to what the HBR’s point of view might be. This is a very interesting piece, as it is a historical lesson on mortgage bailout plans and how they might work. In the 1920s, real estate, like in the 1990s, was considered a very safe investment. In New York just prior to the great crash, several dozen real estate guaranty companies sprang up, offering what amounted to â€Å"mutual funds† for investing in mortgages.These funds were guaranteed by the insurance division of the state of New York. Needless to say, with a few years, these investments sprang out of control. In fact, the companies themselves began to invest in their own guaranty schemes. They charged a fee of roughly 1% of the annual interest on the paper (not the real value). As soon as a slowdown hit, the guaranty firms put their marketing sche mes into a higher gear, selling more and more of them, even waving their fee for a time. When the collapse came by 1932, the marketing went even higher, and more mortgages were sold at more and more advantageous rates.Some were noticing that these guaranty firms were â€Å"on the hook† for some very questionable loans. They sold discounted mortgages to attempt to pay off already inflated mortgage values. It was a scam based on a lie. In 1932, the firms held the tremendous sum of about $2. 7 billion in paper, that itself represented about $809 million in actual value. The final collapse came in the Spring of 1935, and finally, the state stepped in. The measures the state took is really the lesson here. First, the state of New York passed two laws. The first was the Mortgage Moratorium Act.This basically stated that the homeowner cannot lose his home through foreclosure so long as the taxes and interest were paid. Second, the state created an institution called the mortgage Com mission whose job it was to take over the mortgages and seek to reclaim their value. The point of this latter institution was to maintain real estate values as close to the numbers on the paper as possible. It is here where the state met with some success. This commission hired a large number of researchers and investigators to track down each and every property that was represented (distortions and all) on the now worthless paper.Each property, once identified and appraised, was to be disposed of either through sale or rental. Those properties with unfinished improvements were kept afloat until the improvements were finished. The state assisted in any improvements at all on the properties that may maintain their value. But what is impressive is that, at least according to the HBR, by 1935-1936, the state had reclaimed about 84% of the paper value of these properties, which is quite impressive given the nature of the scam.Now, that being said, what are the issues that derive from th is relative to Obama and the mortgage stimulus/bailout? There are two: first, that those who are involved in the bailout/stimulus need to, like the state of New York many moons ago, keep track of all the properties that are recorded on the paper. And second, that the bailout/stimulus money be used to maintain property values to the greatest extent possible given the available liquidity. What the authors of such articles always forget is that there are real people under all this paper.People who have been taken advantage of for the profit of a few. Here, criminal acts have been perpetrated for the sake of quick profits: as a matter of course, it is the homeowner, rather than the schemers, that is punished. Hence, the remainder of this paper will deal with several issues that derive from the stimulus and the historical take on it from our chosen author. 1. Regardless of the nature of the stimulus, all foreclosures must be stopped immediately. It is not the fault fo the homeowner that they have been taken advantage of.Like the New York situation, no foreclosures should proceed even if the taxes cannot be paid. This is a form of reimbursement for the homeowner of the encouragement of such speculation under the fraudulent banner of â€Å"the free market,† which is neither free nor a market: it is the state’s guarantee of personal privilege. 2. All real estate taxes should be suspended for a single year. This will act as a negative stimulus for homeowners. That is, families that own their own homes should be free of real estate taxes for a single year.Like the New York case in the 1930s, the fact is that the regulators and the state was asleep at the switch while all of this was going on. The state, largely captive by the major speculators, refused to take action. Hence, the state that acted as a facilitator to these schemers/speculators. As a result, the state does not deserve the reward of smooth tax collection. If there is to be a moratorium on fore closures, then there also needs to be a cancellation of taxes on real estate for families who own homes, as well as a cancellation of any back taxes on property, etc.3. If the bailout is to proceed, then in addition to the above, the checks (which represent their own money anyway) should be made out to the homeowner, and not to the schemers or â€Å"guaranty firms. † 4. While it might sound extreme, the schemers and their hangers on should be sentenced to work camps for their role in the scam. If these people view money as the result of scam, then they need to be taught that the origin of value is work, that is, labor. Labor, not fancy financial footwork, is the source of wealth.The middlemen and speculators merely shift it around. If the value of the paper in their hands does not match the actual value of the real estate, that missing value did not disappear, it merely changed hands. The above ideas in terms of the bailout/stimulus itself, therefore, should be involved in re couping that value and transferring it to the taxpayer and homeowner. The fact remains that the middle class homeowner does not have an interest group or lobby that protects them. The schemers do, and the poor do, but the middle class taxpayer does not. 5.If the stimulus is to continue, then it seems reasonable to hold tha a certain percentage of the money should go to bringing the poor into the ranks f the middle class by subsidizing their entry into home ownership and financial stability. By the same toke, the state of indebtedness of the middle class should also be alleviated with this same money. In such a case, it will be a bailout in the truest sense of the word: not a bailout fo the financial system, but of individual poor and middle class taxpayers whose surplus value has been shipped to overseas tax havens and â€Å"foundations.† The reality here is that this crisis is systemic, not aberrational. The HBR’s primary sin is that they insist that this scam is not built into the system, but the result of a handful of criminal minds. In this they are wrong. The system has this kind of scam built into its very concept of value. The issues that can â€Å"unpack† this statement can be summarized this way: 1. The question of value: the manipulation of the value of labor is separated from the actual act of labor and work. In other words, the value of labor is taken by the schemers and manipulated for their own profit.But the fact is that that value is not theirs, but the labor that has created it in the first place: this includes the actual physical labor of building a house, but also the intellectual labor that provides the plans, the geography, the blueprints, etc. The surplus value of their work is taken by the likes of Madoff, and then gambled against other similar feats of labor. The fact is that this surplus value belongs to no one but the labor that created it. Hence, the scam is built into the system, and not aberrational. 2.Hence, i f taxes and foreclosures are all eliminated by state fiat (for a certain amount of time) it is merely a matter of financial reparation, not some sort of a gift, or a kind of state benevolence. This money and the labor it represents belongs to the middle class. Hence it is their own money that is being returned to them. 3. The stress in financial circles is not creation. The entire point of labor is to create things out of their natural state that makes life easier for humanity. While this seems elementary, the Wall Street mentality has no concept of it.Speculation itself is a kind of mystification in that speculation is a matter of gambling paper (in fact, representing labor on the ground) against other pieces of paper representing the same thing. When the value of this paper is inflated due to skillful gambling, who is to pay? The very same people who created the real (i. e. non paper) value in the first place. Therefore, the question of the bailout stimulus is misplaced, unless it aims not at the mortgage industry or finance in general, but the middle class whose chronic state of indebtedness is being exacerbated by more and more taxes.While it remains the cases that the system itself is responsible for the crisis, the middle class, always n the lookout for a good deal, made certain they were easy targets for the scam. But this is not the fault of this class–the very backbone of home-ownership. Hence, the schemers need to be punished, and the scammed bailed out, not the other way around. Value must be rejoined to the actual function of labor, rather than the fictional value of paper.

Management and Planning Essay

Planning involves in every aspect of people’s life. If an individual wants to achieve success, he or she must have a proper preparation. It is also the same in business. † Organizations that fail to plan are planning to fail†, I do agree with this opinion. A plan demonstrates your intentions, mission, vision and method to carry it out. It is an important part of doing business. Without planning, an organization may not operate smoothly and may lead to failure. This essay will examine both the advantages and disadvantages of planning and show why planning is essential in business. In this era of hyper-competition, globalization and technological revolution, companies are forced to make speedy decisions in order to keep up with the market. Responding to the pressure of making quick and right choices, many firms have reduced or even emulated the time allocated to planning. Based on how rapid the market change in today business, cut down planning in doing business seems to be appropriated since the uncertainty and fast timing of entrepreneurial warrant quick action. (Matherne, 2004, p. 156) But should founders of new ventures plan or should they act immediately? Is planning still a useful activity in doing business? Let’s take a look at planning and what benefits it brings to business. Planning is an activity which consists of defining the organization’s goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals and developing a comprehensive set of goals to integrate and coordinate activities. It is the primary functions of management since it sets the basic path for managers in organizing, leading and controlling their cooperation. Planning can also be defined in terms of formal or informal. (Robbins, DeCenzo, Coulter & Woods, 2012, p. 6). Most managers do planning in their works whether it is informal like planning in their head or setting up a formal plan after carefully examined the situation and collect ideas from the staffs. Informal plans are rarely written down onto paper and publicly announced to other people. In contrast, formal planning always takes lots of time and effort of many people. The goals are specific and set with a period of time to achieve. Although it takes time, effort and not always guarantee success but formal planning is still remain as a priority thing to do for every manager. Planning establishes goals and direction for organizations. With a clear mission and vision, employees can coordinate their work together and managers can make sure that they are on the right track. Goals can also improve the performance of a firm. Latham (2004, p. 216) stated that â€Å"a goal is a standard of for assessing one’s satisfaction†. Achieving a goal will not only bring rewards and praises to individual but it can increase their satisfaction. When one’s morale is high, he or she will have a tendency to work better and expect a more difficult challenge. It is always a benefit for companies when staffs commit to their work and demand harder mission. Also, with a step by step direction, people will not be distracted from outside factors that affect performance. Wasteful, overlapping activities and uncertainty are reduced through planning. In the process of planning, managers have to anticipate changes, gather information and develop responses which help avoid mistakes. (Robbins et al. , 2012, p. 86). It allows people to make faster decisions since things have been predicted and unnecessary trials do not have to be conducted. Planning also helps people manage their resources, minimizing factors that can slow down their activities. By giving an idea about the availability of resources, the efficiency and effectiveness of works will be increased. (Delma & Shane, 2003, p. 1167). Furthermore, planning provides time for each mission so that each person can track their own process and organize the work to keep up with the whole company. One thing that contributes to the important of formal planning in business is strategic planning. It is proved that the relationship between strategic planning and organization performance is positive. The standard theory of strategic management surrounds planning of a mission and objectives, implementing a hierarchy of strategies to achieve and controlling to ensure the goals are achievable. The purpose of strategic planning is to make organization’s management become more effective. Combine these two things, indirect improvements of performance could occur. (Falshaw, Glaister & Tatoglu, 2006, p. 12). Moreover, making a strategic plan means manager have to go through the process of collecting data, forecasting, modeling and creating alternatives to respond to unexpected scenario. Strategic planning also promotes long term thinking, reduces uncertainty, identifies and evaluates alternatives strategies. By doing that organization with proper plans has already had an advantage to those that don’t. There is a link between company size and the use of strategic instruments. As smaller companies possess less time, resources and knowledge, they have a tendency to cut down on planning process and focus more on operational activities. The more the companies grow, the more formal the plan will be. Big enterprises have stable structure so it is more suitable to planning. Also with more resources in term of personnel, knowledge and time, it will be easier to have a good strategic plans. (Kraus, Reiche & Reschke, 2007, p. 11-12). However, new ventures should not skip the planning process since it is a guideline for long term success. Plans will remind managers about the goals and giving clues on responding to changes. If a new firm just focus on operational details, it might be hard for them to grow bigger. Therefore, a plan could be useful in maintaining as well as developing the company. Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana is an example of successful planning. The university was severe damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. By 2006, it was reopened thanks to the renewal plan created by its students. The plan is based on the current situation of the university at that time. After going through many processes and revisions, taken student affairs goals accordingly, the university could face the disaster’s aftermath in the best way. (Cherry & Clark, 2010). Having a plan does not guarantee success. There are criticisms about how formal planning were long and does not bring as many worthwhile suggestions as it should. As the business environment is often changed with a fast pace, a long process like making strategic plans may not give managers suitable choices at certain time. In order to respond to an uncertain environment, plans have to be flexible, but that is what formal planning lacks. A traditional strategic plan is created with specific goals and limited time to achieve those goals. It creates rigidity and may lead to failure if the managers follow the plan strictly without paying attention to changes. Strategic planning is useful when it drive decision making. Surprisingly, according to Mankins and Steele (2006, p. 77), the structure and timing of strategic planning make it hard to produce a good decision. In their survey which confirmed what they observed over many years, only 2. 5 major strategic decisions are made from companies with standard planning. It demonstrates the fact that, traditional planning model is out of sync from what executives and managers want or need. Therefore, organizations should change their approach in planning. Plans must be specific but also flexible so that managers can respond to changes better without going off track. A successful plan can also be a path leading to disaster. Since it is hard for people to leave their comfort zone and try something new. Success may breed success, but it can also breed failure, especially in an uncertain environment. (Robbins et al. , 2012, p. 87). Unfortunately, business environment is very unpredictable and with the development of new technology, a plan can be out of date in a short period of time. In order to remain successful, managers must face uncertainty and brave enough to make changes. Nowadays, in some organizations, planning just contributes a small part in their success. The decisions are made based on sparse information and rely upon shortcuts or heuristics to save time. (Kirsch, GoldFarb & Gera, 2008, p. 487). Another way is making decisions based on actual works. Some of those organizations do success with that method. The best example must be Google. It is a company well-known for freedom at workplace and the majority of its plans are informal. Employees can do whatever they want, work with whoever they like and they can spend 20% of time on their own project. A company with little structure like that is now very successful and consistently outperformed their competitors in stock market since 1998 (Gargiulo, 2011). Google’s success does not come from those long and unrealistic plans but come from the way they manage people. Motivation, giving benefits and making employees excited going to work are the keys to their success. Managers at Google make their staffs feel like family at workplace. Although there is downside of not having a plan. It could be difficult to figure out the responsibility of each person. Google had no legal representative for the company at a Belgian law suit. (Schjndel, 2012, p. 17). Still, the benefits are more than enough to make up for problems caused by unstructured way of operating. At the age of 18, I know the important of planning in a person’s life. Most of my failure in the past came from not having a suitable plan or having no plan at all. I used to do thing at the last minutes, therefore, the result was not as good as it should be, especially in study. I now pay more attention to planning and after practicing for a period of time, my planning skill has improved a lot. When making a plan, I analyze what I need to do, then arrange the task in order and give time to each task. Since the works have become structure, I not only save my time but the efficiency and effectiveness of my works have increased. However, I still have a lot to improve in my planning skill. The plans cannot make impact if you do not carry it out. Sometimes, I made plans and did not do it. Moreover, some of my goals were very hard to achieve. These kinds of goals need a lot of effort and you may not achieve it after all. In order to prepare for future management challenge, I will practice analyzing the situations, setting more realistic goals and arrange my work more logically. I also find some part time jobs that demand planning or management skills to have practical experience. Practicing in a business environment will help me have a better understanding of all the things I studied as well as give me an idea of how managers do their work. Spending more time research about management theory to expand my knowledge and finding a suitable style to manage people. By doing that my skill will theoretically and practically improved. I will make a plan to develop my skill in a short time so that I can be more confident in dealing with future challenges in my life. In conclusion, planning is still a useful process for any organization regardless of its size. Formal planning give companies a structure way of operating. Based on the plans managers can at least maintain a stable level of performance and avoid unnecessary mistake. It is also a stepping stone for developing organizations. Although it still remains some disadvantages but nothing is perfect. Planning is just a tool to help managers run the business comfortably. Whether an organization success or not depends on variety of factors: the environment, personnel and so on. It is up to the managers to make adjustment when unexpected things occurs and make the right decisions. In an era where changes happen at a fast paced, having a plan means better preparation and better chances to achieve success. That is why planning is essential and every business should take planning seriously even though it is a long as well as hard process. The benefits it brings worth the effort. If you fail to plan, there is a high chance that you are planning to fail.

Memory Management Essay

The difference between Windows and Linux memory management starts with understanding the requirements of memory management in today’s multiprogramming systems. Memory management requirements are relocation, protection, sharing, local organization, and physical organization. These requirements play a vital role in the processing speed response when using the computer. Windows and Linux have several similarities in regards to memory management but also differ especially with Windows being a sophisticate system and Linux being open sourced. â€Å"Linux shares UNIX characteristics but has its own features and is very complex† (Stallings, 2012, p. 384). Linux virtual memory uses a three- level page structure. The first part is the page structure which is an active process having the size of one page. The entry goes to the page directory and the page directory must be in the main memory to be active. Next is the page middle directory which can span multiple pages. Each entry will point to one page of the table. Last is the page table and refers to one virtual page of the process. A virtual address is used consisting of four fields which are the index into the page directory, index into the page middle directory, index into the page table, and the offset in the selected page of memory. The table structure was designed for 64-bit Alpha processor and is independent. Linux uses the buddy system for efficiency of reading in and writing out pages to and from memory. The buddy system splits and merges pages which are allocated and deallocated in the main memory. The page replacement algorithm in Linux deals with a simple clock which gives each page an age variable. The more times the page is accessed, the age variable is increased. A page that is old would be replaced since it has not been accessed in quite a long time. Linux kernel memory allocation manages the main memory page frames which allocates and deallocates frames for the virtual memory management. When the minimum amount of allocation is less than a page, Linux uses a slab allocation for these smaller chunks making the system more efficient. Windows memory manager is designed to use 4 to 64 Kbytes page sizes and controls how memory is allocated. On 32-bit systems, the Windows process  shows a 32-bit address which allows 4 Gbytes of virtual memory for each process which half is for the operating system and half is for the virtual address space when running in kernel-mode. With the introduction of 64-bit, systems can run more efficiently with larger memory intensive programs. Windows paging can make use of the entire space which can then be brought into the main memory. The operating system manages the address in three regions; available references the address not currently used, reserved for setting aside the process through the virtual memory manager, and committed address for processes to access virtual memory page. When virtual memory is high, the processes increase, and when they are low, older pages are swapped out. In conclusion, Windows and Linux have a few similarities. Both swaps out older pages that are no longer needed to improve the processes Window memory management is more secure and performance orientated, but is more complex. Linux is simpler and easier to maintain but is not secured due to being open sourced and need improvement. Linux was originated in a hacker’s environment while Windows is in a commercial environment. Windows has more effort through design and Linus was favored for simplicity. Each one has their own positives and negatives and the final decision is what system is he and she more comfortable with. References Stallings, W. (2012). Operating Systems: Internals and Design Principles (7th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Felt Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Felt Needs - Essay Example Target age group socio-demographic profile: Onkaparinga is located south of Adelaide CBD. The city of Onkaparinga covers an area of 518km2 with a population of 153,496 (2004). 22% of the city's population is aged 15 years or lower, hence the city's age structure can be classified as young when compared with Adelaide Statistics Division (ASD). In addition, according to the data available, the city of Onkaparinga's population aged 15-19 comprises 8 % of the city's total population, which, when numerically presented, is 11,500 . According to (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2001), there is no specific data targeting girls aged 12- 18 years as a separate group. At the 2001 Census, the city of Onkaparinga recorded 20,530 females aged between 5- 24 in total out of which 323 were Indigenous females. In addition, there were 369 non stated females belonging to the above - examined group. It has been noted that the adolescents living in the Onkaparinga have had a very high incidences of breast cancer. These have been more pronounced amongst the poor those earning less than $21,000 per annum. To gain the right insight of the issues and of the Onkaparinga community, the following methodology was used. Oral interviews with the key informants, and focused group discussions. Finally all available related literature was reviewed with an aim of coming up with the true situation. The researcher, toured the Local Government Area of Onkaparinga (Adelaide-South Australia) to acquire data for the study, two main approaches were used, that is: Involvement of local leaders also referred her as key informants and group discussion. In a study related to needs assessment, approaches, Warheit, (1984) described the "key informant approach" as an effective research method based on information secured from local residents in a position to understand the peoples' needs and consumption patterns. Therefore, selection of informants was based on the individual's understanding of the community, its people and the peoples' needs. This method was favored because of the nature of the Local Government Area of Onkaparinga (Adelaide-South Australia) whereby the illiteracy levels are very high. The methodology is useful in collecting information from key people such as professionals, who have worked very closely with them and therefore understand their needs better. The data collected from focused group discussions was used to assess needs and has been used by social workers with a great level of success (Warheit, et al. 1984). Warren (1984, p. 36) stated that "group discussions are a fine method of covering a big area in a shorter time" In this particular study, each group comprised of people who could provide diverse dimensions on the community needs. The felt problems discussed here are presented from the perspective community. Felt Needs Unemployment: Interestingly, until year 2001, the city of Onkaparinga consistently recorded

Education Platform and Learning Theory Assignment

Education Platform and Learning Theory - Assignment Example Often memory is fallible and hugely unreliable upon first encounter with information and the importance of continuous and repeated study and practice to enhance memory of content can never be over emphasized. This makes exercise a principle of learning, core in daily undertakings with students. In his book, Thorndike mentions the principle of exercise and states that, that which is often repeated and revised is remembered best and I strongly agree. Primacy also, as a law of learning insists that the state of being first creates a strong impression in that the first experience a learner has with a particular subject matter often sticks and has therefore to be positive and form basis of what is to follow. For example, unlearning and retracting a wrong first impression can be difficult and confusing to the students and may even put the teacher’s mastery of subject to question; a situation that must be avoided (Thorndike and Gates, 1929). ... Greater freedom on the other hand means greater advancement and often stimulates personal responsibility. An Ideal Educator As stated in Guthrie’s Encyclopedia of Education, an ideal educator, above all else, must have adequate, if not thorough, knowledge and command of content, subject and curriculum of study. This also involves diverse knowledge on related subjects and any questions that may arise from the students, relevant or not, should be handled with relative ease and competence. An ideal educator must be one who loves to read and remain ever abreast with the subject; constantly updating themselves (Guthrie, 2003). He/ she ought also to be patient as students have different abilities and the slow ones may have as much or even more desire to learn as the skilled. An ideal educator should have integrity and be a good role model for the students. This ranges from good, decent, and neat dressing to strong rapport with students and fellow educators, good tone, friendly and a n appropriate sense of humor. They should be fair and not appearing to favor anyone, engaging, interactive, listening and able to drive the students toward more creative and critical thinking. Good oral and writing skill together with self confidence as such from facial expressions and a positive attitude are critical too and are a major plus (Guthrie, 2003). Ideal Education Work Environment A suitable educational environment would be one that makes me, fellow employees as well as students feel good about coming to work and study and at ease and peace with the students, teachers and auxiliary staff across the board. This promotes a sense of community

Providing respite care to carers of people with dementia Research Proposal

Providing respite care to carers of people with dementia - Research Proposal Example There has been a significant change in the provision of healthcare services in the recent decades whereby the balance of care is being shifted from communities and institution based services to personalized care. This shift in care provision has caused great concern in the field of public health mainly due to the fact that the carers of people with chronic illnesses such as dementia are now burdened with the added responsibility leading to a gradual and consistent deterioration of their own physical and mental health. Various researches conducted in the past have highlighted the gravity of the issue and pressed for policy changes in favour of providing respite care to the carers of people with dementia and making such care more accessible.The term respite care refers to in generic terms refers to short-term care. However in the field of healthcare it refers to phased care, relief care, planned care, programmed care, holiday care, social admission, and shared care. Various types of re spite care are now available for both the patients as well as their carers. This includes community based day care, institutional care, and paid or voluntary care services offered by institutions or volunteers or friends of the caregivers. Such care services can broadly be categorized as in-home care services, adult day centres - including provision of transportation and meal services; and residential care facilities - which affords break or vacation for the carers which are not covered under the insurance or Medicare.

Brain Research Supports Differentiation Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Brain Supports Differentiation - Research Paper Example The learning atmosphere should appear friendly and safe to a student, since a disturbed child tends to release such chemicals that hamper learning. Likewise, if a student will fees overstressed due to arduous curriculum or any other factor, then his brain will release excessive neurotransmitters that will inhibit learning. As opposed to this, the brain would fail to generate chemicals required for optimal learning if a child is presented with an easy curriculum. After a series of quantitative and qualitative researches, patterns developed that reflected how differentiation variables constructively influenced student accomplishment (Subban, 2006). Not every student will achieve unless teachers themselves do not confidently believe that all students are achievers. Effective teaching should be explicit; the mind-set of teachers needs to be reformed. Practical qualitative researches demonstrated that learning style was synonymous with selection and preference. Moreover, it exposed that achievement escalated by utilizing choice charts; and a regression analysis showed that achievement accelerated by 0.007 by differentiation in reading in accordance with learning styles. Learning style is an integral aspect of qualitative analysis in studying differentiation. Pragmatic classroom observations and discussion with teachers led to the notion that learning styles comprised the elements of choice and preference. Tomlinson and Allan define differentiation as a reply to the needs of a leaner (Tomlinson & Allan, 2000). Teachers should use differentiation in subject matter, procedure, and outcome, in the light of a student’s interest, zeal, and learning profile. Several qualitative studies like Shaughnessy (chapter IV) have concluded that selection, curiosity, and learning styles have a bearing on the motivation and preference of a student. Another imperative question is whether student achievement is

The challenge of human resource management. Theories of motivation Essay

The challenge of human resource management. Theories of motivation - Essay Example The concept of motivation is often viewed as complicated and fascinating by different leaders but a closer analysis of the operations of any given organisation shows that this is an indispensable component which can ensure viability of any particular company in the face of competition. Thus, effective leaders ought to understand motivation and there are numerous theories of motivation that exist to try and help the managers as well as the leaders to understand the needs as well as goals of their employees in a bid to sustain certain actions while at the same time attempting to stop some unbecoming behaviour (Werner 2007). Against this background, this essay seeks to critically compare and contrast two theories of motivation. These are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which is a content theory as well as Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory which is a process theory. The essay starts by explaining the meaning of the key term which is motivation then followed by outlining th e similarities as well as the differences that may exist between the two. The last part will specifically focus on suggestions about how a team leader might use these theories to motivate their team. Basically, motivation is loosely defined as â€Å"a state arising in processes that are internal and external to the individual, in which the person perceives that it is appropriate to pursue a certain course of action aimed at achieving a specified outcome and in which the person chooses to pursue those outcomes with a degree of commitment and persistence (Robins, Odendaal & Roodt 2001). Thus, motivation is basically concerned with arousing, directing and sustaining our behaviour. Theories of motivation fall into two basic groups: content theories as well as process theories. According to Finchman & Rhodes (2005), content theories of motivation focus on what motivates an individual. They are typically concerned with determining the specific needs that motivate people. On the other han d, process theories attempt to describe and analyse how people are motivated, that is, how behaviour is aroused, directed and sustained. Process theories of motivation in this case posit to the effect that there is no individual who can give the other person satisfaction that is related with accomplishing especially a challenging job, but it is self derived (Carrell et al 1995). Overally, motivation is influenced by needs, goals, expectations, motives as well as drives and these play different roles in motivation as going to be explained briefly below. According to (Brewster et al 2003), a need is something that is basic to life such as food and shelter and once it is satisfied a person is motivated. A goal is a certain target that an individual wants to attain and once achieved, that person is motivated. An expectation is primarily concerned with promises to be fulfilled say after performing a task and if these are fulfilled the person is motivated. A motive is an intention of acti ng in a certain way or doing something and it also affects motivation. Lastly, a drive is a push factor that pushes someone to act in a particular manner and if there is promise of reward that person would be motivated to pursue that drive. These are some of the major factors that motivate people to act or behave in particular ways. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is perhaps the most appealing theory of motivation. Thus, according to Maslow, when a need occurs, motivational tension develops and is directed towards satisfaction of that need (Carrel 1995). The hierarchy comprises of five levels of needs namely physiological, security, social, self esteem and self actualisation needs. These needs build from grassroots levels up to the point where some skilled workers feel that they should be rewarded on the basis of their importance, coupled with their performance to the company. As far as company growth is concerned, there is need for the workers to feel that their needs are satisf ied. According to (Maslow 1970 as cited in Werner 2007), as each of these needs is satisfied, they cease to

14 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

14 - Coursework Example I personally think that this assumption is accurate that crimes can be controlled by monitoring the surroundings. it is different from the other techniques as it direct monitoring and controlling the surroundings. People are be watched and actions are taken immediately by the concerning authorities. Environmental manipulation occurs when the surroundings of an individual are used to prevent crimes. These include access control, surveillance, residential areas which include limiting the activities of pedestrians and other unrelated people, use of close-circuit cameras, activity support and motivation reinforcement. Observing all the methods and techniques of environmental manipulation to control crime; I personally think that use of close-circuit cameras would be much effective in crime controlling as such a technique would prevent from more crime and people would be aware of the fact that they are being watched by the official authorities who are monitoring their actions. It would help in controlling drug related crimes more

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Essay Example for Free

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Essay Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (ni e Godwin; 1797-1851), English novelist, daughter of the British philosopher and novelist William Godwin and the British author and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary was born in London. Her mother died ten days after her birth. Her father had many literary friends, and Marys childhood was populated by such figures as William Hazlitt, Charles Lamb, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. In 1812, Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Harriet joined their circle. Before Mary was 17, she and Shelley were meeting secretly by her mothers grave in St Pancras churchyard. After Shelleys separation from Harriet in 1814, he and Mary eloped to the Continent. In the eight years before the poets death, the couple lived an unconventional life, moving between Italy, England, and Switzerland, part of a bohemian set that included the poets John Keats and Lord Byron. Harriet Shelleys suicide in December 1816 allowed Mary and Percy to marry. They had four children together, but only one, Percy Florence, survived his parents. The loss of their first child affected Mary profoundly, and seems to have shaped the themes of her first novel, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus (1818). Mary Shelley conceived this story in 1816, while staying on Lake Geneva as the guest of Byron. According to her introduction to the novel, their host challenged his guests to write a ghost story, and Frankenstein was the product of its authors unusually vivid nightmare. In combining Gothic terrors with extreme physical realism and a basis in the sciences of biology and electricity, Shelley founded the genre of science fiction. The novel is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a medical student who constructs a living being from the remains of dissecting-room corpses. Victors experiments dramatize the morality of the act of creation itself. He explains: I collected bones from charnel- houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. Horrified by the result of his project, Frankenstein abandons the Creature, who wanders the countryside, tormented by his total isolation from humanity. The Creature persuades his creator to construct a second, female being, but Victor dismembers this before it can be brought to life. In revenge, the Creature murders Frankensteins bride. A chase across the world then ensues, Victor determining to pursue the di mon who caused this misery until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. The Creature, despite his monstrosity, is an intensely tragic figure, and Shelley effects an uncanny merging of its personality with that of Victor, who considers it my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave. A critical and popular success, the book was dedicated to William Godwin. After her husbands death in 1822, Shelley returned to England, where she settled with her son. She was granted a small allowance by her father-in-law, Sir Timothy Shelley, but this was temporarily withdrawn when she published Percy Bysshe Shelleys Posthumous Poems (1824). She spent much time editing and annotating her late husbands work, but, owing to Sir Timothys opposition, she was unable to publish the Poetical Works until 1839. Shelley published five other novels. Valperga (1823) is a romance of 14th-century Italy. The Last Man (1826) is an apocalyptic fantasy in which humanity is destroyed by plague. Set in a republican Britain of the year 2073, it traces the effects of global catastrophe on a small group of characters and their wider environment. The final section of the book sees its narrator, Lionel Verney, living in the ruins of a decimated Rome. The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830) is a historical drama much influenced by the novels of Sir Walter Scott. Lodore (1835) and Falkner (1837) are domestic stories with strongly autobiographical elements. Another novel, Mathilda (1819), which tells the story of an incestuous relationship between a father and daughter, remained unpublished until 1959. Financing her sons private education, Mary Shelley continued to write essays and short fiction for periodicals such as the Keepsake. Between 1835 and 1838 she produced a series of scholarly biographies for the Lardners Cabinet Cyclopi dia series. The death of Sir Timothy Shelley in 1844 brought a new-found security to her life, but her closing years were troubled by threats of blackmail from embittered members of the Shelley and Byron families. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Quality Improvement Project for Patient Prescription Record

Quality Improvement Project for Patient Prescription Record The aim of this quality improvement project is to ensure that nurses record in the designated box on patients Prescription and administration record (to be referred to as: Kardex) if High Dose Antipsychotics Monitoring is Applicable YES or NO (to be referred as: applicable Y/N) and subsequently if yes, that the High Dose Antipsychotic Therapy monitoring form (to be referred to as: Monitoring form and the Early Warning Signs (EWS) Form have been activated for completion. The purpose of this is to secure patient safety from the side effects of the medication. There is widespread evidence which clearly links antipsychotic medication contributing to physical health problems such as cardiovascular problems, weight gain, endocrine problems, metabolic syndrome and sudden death (Gumber et al, 2010; Churchword et al, 2009; Tyson et al, 1999). Many premature deaths of people with serious mental illness are due to poor medical care that fails to monitor risk factors which may be due to side effects of medication (Cohen Hove, 2001). A council report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2006) revealed that past audits of high dose antipsychotic prescribing for in- patients showed poor adherence to monitoring recommendations. All patients on high dose antipsychotic treatment must be monitored. These guidelines attempt to clarify the identification of patients on high dose antipsychotics, factors to be taken into account before such prescribing and the documentation required when antipsychotics are prescribed in high dose; furthermore it is a polic y requirement of Forth Valley that this documentation is completed for these patients (Forth Valley, 2011). The charge nurse highlighted a concern when evaluating the patients Kardex audit, it showed 100% non-compliance for the completion of the Yes/No response for high dose antipsychotics monitoring. Subsequently when the patients are receiving high dose antipsychotics, there was inconsistency of the completion of the Therapy monitoring form and EWS form. A recent audit of patient Kardexes confirmed the charges nurse finding (see Pareto chart, Appendix B). To begin the process of the quality improvement project, a general ward meeting was held and attended by all staff in the ward that was on shift. During the meeting the charge nurse highlighted the recent findings of the Kardex audit. Concerns were raised that many areas on the Kardex were not being completed, and reminded staff nurses that this is not acceptable and needs to be improved. As a nurse it is extremely important to keep accurate documentation, good record keeping is an fundamental part of nursing practice, and is necessary to the delivery of safe and effective care (Nursing and Midwifery Council, (NMC) 2010). As an attempt to focus the quality improvement project more specifically the results of the audit were presented using a Pareto chart (Appendix B). The data confirmed the areas on the Kardex which were not being completed however, high dose antipsychotic monitoring Yes/No was the highest at 100% non-completion, therefore it was agreed that a new strategy would be implemented to improve this. McLaughlin and Kaluzny (2006) state that the defect focused on does not necessarily need to be the greatest frequency to be improved first, but attention should be given to that defect that may have a devastating result, such as an adverse event or even death. However the defect in this instance was the highest and potentially could cause an adverse event. Following the meeting a questionnaire (Appendix C) was devised and completed anonymously by the pharmacists, consultants and staff nurses to identify the root causes of why this area on the Kardex was not completed. A fishbone diagram was used to illustrate the findings (Appendix D). When populating the fishbone diagram with the data, it was clear to see that there were many reasons that each member of the multidisciplinary team had not completed the applicable area on the Kardex. Role confusion was a common theme from each member of the team. Hill-Smith et al (2012) claims that this is not unusual within multi-disciplinary teams and that respectful communication and clear instructions is of high importance in the delivery of high quality clinical care. Therefore based on these findings PDSA one was developed (Appendix G1). This tested whether the nurse attending the MDT meeting completes the Applicable Y/N on the patients’ Kardex following an email reminder and a verbal promp t from charge nurse before attending the meeting. The test confirmed there was a breakdown in communication, the nurse did not receive the email or a verbal reminder from the charge nurse prior to attending the MDT meeting therefore they were not aware of the procedure that had been discussed and as a consequence the applicable area on the form was not completed, this was confirmed by an audit of the Kardex (Appendix H). This informed the decision for PDSA two (Appendix G2). The nurse coordinating the shift should use the visual prompt situated on the shift coordinating sheet to remind the nurse attending the MDT meeting, to update applicable Y/N on the patients Kardex. The small change of a visual reminder on the shift coordinating sheet proved to be success. It reminded the coordinating nurse to verbally prompt the nurse attending the MDT meeting to complete the patient’s Kardex in the applicable area, which was shown by the Kardex audit after the shift; all patientsâ€℠¢ Kardexes were completed and as a consequently the Therapy form and EWS from were also initiated for completion. These findings are consistent with Simpson (2007) research, where teams have clear operating procedures in place, care coordinating is enhanced. The assumption was that the email and verbally prompt from the charge nurse would result in nurses completing the Applicable Y/N on all patients Kardexes, following the MDT meeting by 23rd February 2014 by 100%. Furthermore, if yes the Therapy form and the EWS form activated for completion. Audits were carried out on the dates shown to give a snapshot of the completion of Applicable Y/N on all patients Kardexes in the IPCU ward at that time. Initial findings of the first audit by the charge nurse on 01/02/2014 revealed that Applicable Y/N was completed 0%. The second audit carried out to confirm the previous results on 08/02/2014 which confirmed the charge nurses findings of 0% compliance of Applicable Y/N. PDSA one was carried out on 10/2/2014 the change revealed 0% improvement in the completion of Applicable Y/N. PDSA two was implemented on 21/2/2014 the change was successful, the results of the audit revealed that Applicable Y/N was completed on all patients Kardexes by 100% this in turn activated the completion of the Therapy form and EWS Form. Comparison of questions, predictions, and analysis of data: Engaging with the quality improvement (QI) project has required me to learn and apply new skills in practice. The process of plan, do, study, act (PDSA) cycles were a new technical skill which I had to not only learn myself, but teach fellow staff nurses on the ward, as this was also, a new process to them. I learnt that PDSA cycles provisionally test an idea by testing a change and assessing its impact. After implementing the first cycle, I learnt that it does not always get the results expected when making changes to your process; it taught me that it was better, and more effective to trial a small change to see if it made a difference, before implementing the change permanently. This also gave staff the opportunity to be involved and offer suggestions and see if the proposed changes would work. I also learnt that communication is an essential and fundamental process during the course of the QI. According to Adams (1999), to persuade others to make an improvement or change, the negotiator must be influential. The Charge nurse in this instance was the influential position to lead change. Unfortunately they were not able to fulfil their obligation in PDSA one, but they carried out the ward meeting and used this as a platform to discuss the Kardex audits with the staff which informed them of the need to make an improvement in practice. Once the need for the new process was established and its principles by the email from the charge nurse, informing the reasoning for a change in practice, this was used as a base for PDSA two. I learnt that it is just as important to define the risk of not making a change (Plummer, 2000) and in this circumstance, changing practice would not only enhance quality of care to patients, but it would promote the involvement between staff nurses and the MDT, building trust and confidence to make the change, whereas the risk of not making the change, could potentially cause an adverse event A final learning point I would like to include was how staff nurses initially were resistant to change. In my opinion from observing, the nurses were quite defensive as though they were being blamed for not doing their job correctly. The questionnaire used was an effective communication tool and successful resource for managing this resistance. It give staff the opportunity to anonymously feedback their reasons for not completing the applicable area on the Kardex, it also let them express their opinion without being condemned. Also, I feel that during this time, they were able to adjust and prepare for the change which minimised resistance (Bernhard and Walsh, 1995). I felt it was essential to take note of all their views as individuals and as team members, which provided further explanation of their reasoning for non-completion. Accountability was a consistent reason used by nurses for their reason for non-completion, as they felt it was a doctor or the pharmacist role and they did not want to be accountable for making the decision. When it was clarified that it was a team decision, by email from the charge nurse, the nursing staff felt supported. Mitchell (2001) states that accountability in nursing is a complex issue and acknowledged the importance of team support in the identification of roles and responsibilities. Frequent ideas and conversations with staff were held over the ten days, in advance of the change in PDSA two which I feel made the improvement successful and run smoother as nursing staff were aware of the new change. I have learnt that within nursing it is important to continually improve the way we work. Working at every level developing the knowledge, technical skills, including leadership, are vital for long-term improvement. Continually learning may be important not only to ensure that we have the skills needed to improve the quality of healthcare, but also to enhance the motivation to do so. Discuss the project’s significance on the local system and any findings that may be generalizable to other systems: Relocation to a new site change what been good practice and now a gap had appeared in the process of monitoring patient. The outcome of this project was a success. It was predicted that by 23rd February 2014 applicable Y/N would be completed by 100%. By establishing the success of the visual prompt in PDSA two on the co-ordinating sheet, was a very small but effective change. As a consequence, at the following staff meeting it was decided that the visual prompt would be a permanent fixture on the coordinating sheet, as it was a sustainable reminder to future shift coordinators, thus improving the initiation of therapy monitoring and EWS forms, and overall patient safety outcomes. Discuss the factors that promoted the success of the project and that were barriers to success. What did you learn from doing this project? What are your reflections on the role of the team? The factors which promoted success in the project were support and leadership from the charge nurse at the beginning of my placement. They helped identify areas in the ward which they felt needed improvement. Furthermore, as a student who had never been in a mental health ward, I felt overwhelmed with the task and this support and guidance helped me through the project. The use of the tools were a great way to involve staff on the ward to feel part of the project and broke down the barriers of pointing blame and focussed their attention in a systematic way, and explored the potential causes of the non-completions. I was amazed as how such a small change help facilitate and test change in a manageable way. I now understand that Quality improvement as a way of approaching change in healthcare that focuses on self-reflection, assessing needs and gaps, and considering how to improve in a multifaceted manner. I feel I have gained an enormous understanding in about quality improvement in that it aims to create an ethos of continuous reflection and a commitment to ongoing improvement. It provides nurses to gain an the skills and knowledge needed to assess the performance of healthcare and individual and population needs, to understand the gaps between current activities and best practice and to have the tools and confidence to develop activities to reduce these gaps Thus, the scan did not focus only on narrowly defined quality improvement models such as ‘plan, do, study, act’ (PDSA) cycles.