Author: chris

Self-Reflective Report—Leadership Portfolio

Wednesday 23 July 2013 remains one of the darkest days in my life.  I was one of the people who never thought that I could keep a journal entry. I perceived this as nonsense and something that does not really hold water. I could tell myself that I was not the only one.  This justification was to short lived before I came to realize that I was doing a disfavor to myself.  My aspirations in life were to be a leader who would be respected and cherished but what I did not know is that I needed to do something.  Let me first admit that I have gained a lot in developing my skills in keeping journals.  I can now say that I have learned a lot in my endeavors to keep journals on various issues that affect our day-to-day lives. As a people,   we face challenges; some of the challenges are better dealt with through our experiences. This has been one of my benefits and my experiences since I began keeping journals. I remember I could not answer simple questions pertaining qualities of a good leader and a mentor. My thinking scope that was restricted now it has widened and I believe that my dream of becoming a future leader is underway. I will never forget this Wednesday. I wake up with the news that hundreds of people have been massacred in our neighboring village.  An unknown group of young men who were yet to be identified butchered these innocent people.  Among those dead was my closest colleague in school. The previous evening was to be my last time to see him again. I could not withstand this as tears rolled on my cheeks without restraint.  This was too much for me and I felt the world was not fair at all. Many questions lingered in my mind and I asked myself what I could do to help the society. Such killings demonstrate lapse in the leadership system. One thing I did know is that individuals who planned the attack had vested interests. The problem turned into a journey to seek for justice and leadership. Even though I am young, I defied all challenges, yes I was on the top of the game engaging with the local leaders to find amicable solutions to the problem.  I only came to realize what one believes in is what he achieves. Mentoring young people proved to be a success to me. I only realized that it was a vision that I aspired to achieve when I realized that I was dreaming.  This dream actually taught me that leadership and mentorship are instrumental to cohesion in our society. Lapses in societal norms and values emanates from failed leadership.

The last entry relates to a topic that we discussed in classroom.  During my free time as I perused through one of the popular newsletters, I came across an interesting cartoon, which reminded me about the things that we experienced through during our youth.  During those times, we could in-group go swimming and in the process ended up losing our clothes to thieves. The episode was humiliating, as we had to look for other alternatives to cover our bodies to avoid the shame. Going back home was also very difficult decision because of the remedy that awaited us. Having been raised by authoritative parents, it was a very tough moment for us.   The carton compares the changing lifestyles and the ways children are treated.   Things have changed and the way children are raised up today is different from the previous years.  Parents’ way of solving problem was harsher and the mostly used approach was corporal punishment. This has changed nowadays as most parents use negotiation in problem solving.  These styles of raising children have elicited debate among various stakeholders as some agitate for authoritativeness while others agitate for democratic means.  In my view, I feel both styles are important if only are used well with the intention of shaping and enabling the child to grow up upholding to ethical values.

Last week, I was privileged to be part of the delegation that was convened to discus on various issues of leadership and governance. This convention enlightened me and allowed me to experience and to understand different leaders and their leadership styles. Prior to this seminar, I had faulted many of the leaders for the styles and their approach of leadership, which I felt, was abysmal.   A leader is someone who is able to provide direction and guidance to the rest of the people (Bandura, 1990). Therefore, one aspect or attribute of a leader is decision making. At the conference we attended, attributes and characteristics of world famous leaders crossed my mind. The world has heard many different kinds of leaders each exhibiting specific characteristics. The one famous leader was Adolf Hitler. Hitler exhibited characteristics of a dictator or authoritative leader. His leadership style went well with those who valued status quo and was as well hated by many. Another leader is Barack Obama. His leadership qualities are manifested in his eloquence in expressing ideas in prioritizing respect of humanity.  He has given every person freedom of expression and space to engage in activities they do wish so long as they conform to spirit of democracy and respect to humanity. Consequently, the aspect of whether leadership in inborn or nurtured and whether power really corrupts came into limelight.  With leaders such as Hitler it is true that indeed power can corrupt. Furthermore, leadership is something that in nurtured even though some aspects of inheritance may be involved. The environment and exposure opens an individual mind and this contributes to his or her transformation into a leader.

As manifested from the previous entry,   leadership and mentorship is something that happens in our lives at different levels. At family level, there must be proper leadership to help children to grow up appreciating other people and holding to certain values that the society expects them.  Parents have the responsibility of ensuring that this happens. Furthermore, evils and the positive things that happen in our society have connection with the way the leadership is structured and organized. As the central, decision-making organ, a leader must be able to exhibit attributes that are acceptable and bring transformation in the society. People like Hitler and other prominent leaders of the past-portrayed different leadership styles that destroyed and buit the society (Nikolova, 2010). It is therefore, prudent that every person who aspires to be  leader on any level to  understand that people that are led are more important than him or her and his or her role is to champion their agenda to ensure that they live well and achieve their goals and aims in  their lives.

References

Bandura, A. (1990). Selective Activation and Disengagement of Moral Control, Journal of           Social Issues, 46(1: 27-46.

Nikolova, N. (2010). Leadership theory, University of Technology Sydney.

 

 

Operations management

Thesis statement

Selection of a production process has impacts in the product to be produced by any company.  Production planning is necessary for any company so as to ensure a smooth flow in the process.  Space Age Furniture Company, a company that deals with the manufacture of tables and cabinets will be studied in this paper.  This paper also exposes the implications of holding inventories in the company and compares it with the costs incurred by overtime.  It also gives solutions that the operation manager may take to solve cases of overtime in the company.  Finally the paper gives approaches that can be employed by the company so as to improve the image of the company as well as attracting more customers to the company.

 Space Age Furniture Company

Introduction

Space Age Furniture Company manufactures tables and cabinets that are required to hold the microwave ovens and portable televisions.  The products are made in different sizes and features but follow the same operations and production methods.  The subassemblies used in making the Saturn and Gemini stand have a part of number 3079 that is made by a special lathe machine that is wholly dedicated for the production of this part.  This part is produced by a renowned specialist, Ed Szewczak who has been forced to work overtime due to the increasing demand for the part.  The company aims to avoid holding an inventory due to the costs involved in the storage.  The company has therefore adopted a zero finished goods inventory.  The company now faces a challenge because Ed Szewczak, the machinist feels totally uncomfortable with the extra overtime on his side due to great demand of part 3079.

Options available to address Coral’s problems

The problem facing Coral is the worry of losing his experienced machinist due to overtime allegations in producing part 3079.  This has been caused by the increase in the production of the part 3079 that is then used in the manufacture of the subassemblies for the Gemini and Saturn stands.  The company needs to act very fast on this case because getting another skilled employee is not an easy task (Potamianos, 2006).

The first strategy that can be employed in this scenario is the development of a sound production planning.  A comprehensive plan clearly stipulates the quantity demanded in the market and the resources available to make a give number of units.

This will enable the company to work on an economical order quantity that comes with a proper allocation of resources and human labour (Hill, 2003).  This approach will ensure that cases of overtime are eliminated as the company will only be working on a given quantity demanded hence ensuring that Ed Szewczak works within his required time limit.  This step will also include proper forecasting of the demand for the product so as to come up with an appropriate production schedule for the different products produced by the company.

The company should also conduct a total product maintenance that is aimed at reducing downtimes and breakdowns of equipment during the production process which later on escalates to overtime on the part of Ed Szewczak.  In order to perform this, the company needs to carry out efficient preventive maintenance of all the conveyors, machines and any other equipment that is involved in the production process.  This will always ensure smooth flow of operations throughout the production process (Vieira, 2006).   This reduces the cases of delays and avoids the risk of substandard products being released from the production line.

In order to minimize the overtime costs associated with the production, the company needs to look for tools and technologies that make the process flow faster and increasing the level of automation so that the employees can work faster. This will make the employees active at the regular hours, therefore avoiding cases of an over time (Kabir, 2005).  Overtime costs are very high and lead to a lot of expenses during production.

According to Crawler (2009), it will be prudent for the company employ additional staff or subcontractors during the seasons when the production of Part 3079 is at it’s peak so as to save the specialized employees like Ed Szewczak from for overtime hours.  The company will only source them during the peak seasons of production hence making the whole production process to be economical.  This will also boost the morale of the permanent employees to work better in their areas of specialization.   This will enable the company to remain competitive by capitalizing on the high demand.

Reducing the minimum quantities of subassemblies

Developing the minimum quantities for a given stock in production process is one of the stock control methods that can be used to control the amount of stock in a given process.  Minimum quantities of subassemblies are kept by the company so as to ensure that a certain amount of stock is kept and that the company does not run short of the subassemblies.  When the quantities of this stock reach the minimum quantity, a reorder level is attained such that the company can again produce another batch of stock.  Part 3079 is a crucial component of the two subassemblies.   If the minimum quantities of these subassemblies are reduced, the quantity of this part 3079 will automatically reduce in the same margin.  This will mean that the company will reduce the production of this part to be able to meet the reduced level of the minimum quantities (Potamianos, 2006).

The extent of the minimum quantities of the subassemblies to be kept by the company will depend on the master schedule for the week.  The development of these master schedules is helpful in forecasting the demand of the two products, Saturn and Gemini TV stands.    It is essential that the company keeps some minimum quantities of the subassemblies below which production cannot take place.  The effects of reducing the quantities of the subassemblies will lower the overall costs and in case of any problem in the production of the two products, there will be no buffer stock to use for production (Crawler, 2009).

The cost implications of excess items in inventory at each stage

In the event that the company produces excess items in inventory at each stage, then costs of holding this inventory will automatically increase.  In this case the holding costs include the housing costs, materials handling costs, labour costs and the investment costs.  In the production of Gemini and Saturn TV stands, keeping excess inventories of the subassemblies and the part 3079 will require storage space for these intermediate products.  It will lead to other costs like movement costs and additional equipment and staff will have to be employed to do this task (Hill, 2003).  During storage of these products, the storage conditions have to be maintained so as to ensure that the quality of the product is not affected by the storage conditions.  When summed up together, the costs of these operations will escalate the cost of production.

The cost of holding each of the subassembly in the inventory is $0.25 per week and each part 3079 costs $0.75 per unit per week.  The storage of each Gemini cost $1.25 per week and Saturn costs $1.50 per week if the products were not shipped immediately to their destination.  The total cost per week if all the inventories were held per week is obtained is obtained by multiplying the units of the products held with the cost of storage for each product.  From the above data, we can see that the cost of storing the finished product per unit is higher than the holding costs for each of the subassembly parts and part 3079.  This shows that the finished products should be transported as soon as the production process ends (Kabir, 2005).

Trade off between overtime and inventory costs

Overtime costs are deemed to be very expensive to the production process of the company.  In this scenario, these costs amount up to 50% premium for any overtime worked.  Production is seen to diminish with the increase in the overtime.  Overtime that is within the reasonable limit is a way to meet the variable and seasonal demand in the company.  On the other hand inventory costs are associated with the storage of intermittent products or finished products.  This is applicable in the situation that the company desires to hold enough stock before distribution.  In as much this step is good, the products attract the storage costs for the company, hence increasing the overall expenses (Potamianos, 2006).

If the company experiences a seasonal and a flexible demand and are not sure of the high and low seasons the overtime costs will increase during the peak periods.  If the company tries to minimize the overtime costs with the high levels of flexible demand, it can always look forward to saving a lot of costs.  In the case of Space Age Furniture Company, the company attracts $0.75 per unit per week for holding each of the three subassemblies in inventory (Vieira, 2006).

Type of production processing

There are different types of production processes that can be used by companies to make their products.  They include job shop, batch, repetitive and continuous.  Job shop is used for high varieties of products with low volume with the largest production in work in progress.  Batch production involves division of the operation into parts or operations.  Each operation is first completed before another operation is commenced.  Continuous production involves those processes that can be used to manufacture large quantities of the same product.  In repetitive manufacturing, the same scenario of continuous production applies but work in progress is very low and the items move very quickly within the plant (Crawler, 2009).

The production process involved in Space Age Furniture Company is batch production.  In this process, a specific group of components are involved which go through a production process together such that after one batch is completed, another one then starts.  The batches are therefore processed continuously processed through each machine before advancing to the next operation (Hill, 2003).  Batch productions are normally in the range of 10 to 1000 units.  In this scenario, the subassemblies 257 and 435 are produced using the same equipment which has the capacity of producing 1000 at any given time.  The part 3079 is produced continuously using the lathe machine at any given time.   One part of 3079 is then used in each subassembly and one of each subassembly is used in each of the final products.

This is a typical batch production process.  The typical advantages of a batch operation are that it is suitable for a wide range of similar products which can use the same machinery on different settings.  It also economizes on the range of machinery required and cuts the requirements of a flexible workforce.

The units can also respond very fast to the customer orders by moving work in progress through the final stages of production. There are also economies of scale associated with this kind of production.  It also makes the costing process easy and gives good information service for management (Kabir, 2005).

How the management can keep track of job status and location during production.

In such a type of a production process, it is a absolute necessity for the company to continuously monitor the job status and location during the production process.  The job status can be monitored by the operators whereby they can be mandated to be filling out production tracking forms that indicate the volume of production per unit time (Potamianos, 2006).  This approach will enable the company to estimate the time that will be required in achieving the set targets of the final products per day.

According to Crawler (2009), the management of the company can also use the time and attendance software to help in managing and tracking employees.  They help in monitoring the employee work hours and payment policies.  These softwares automate the collection, calculation and reporting of the transactions between the employees and the work.  These powerful softwares can track any work environment using stipulated labour laws and policies.

The company should also have keep traceability records for all the products produced within the day and their dispatch.  This will help the company to know the movement of the products within the company until the time of release.   Each machine should have appropriate number of staff so as to fulfill the operations within the shortest time possible.  CCTV camera’s can also be installed at various positions in the company so as to monitor the company’s activities from one central place (Potamianos, 2006).

Changes that may be beneficial to the company

In order to smoothen operations in the company, the company can adopt the following strategies. First, the company should ensure frequent and reliable deliveries to avoid stock buildup in the company (Vieira, 2006).  To assist in implementing this strategy, the company should set delivery dates for their raw materials and impose penalties in case these suppliers do not meet these regulations.  An online system should also be used to inform the customers when the products are ready for sale.  This will greatly enhance business as it will ensure that no finished product incurs any other costs.

Secondly the company should critically analyze whether it has the location advantage of being near to both the suppliers and customers.  Sometimes the company delivers the finished product to the final consumer.  It is therefore important to establish the production site in a centrally placed site that will make all the transactions easy to manage (Crawler, 2003).

Thirdly, both the suppliers and customers should be involved in the design aspects of the product so as to minimize the non conforming products that may lead to unnecessary inventory costs.  The customers should participate in giving the production department relevant information that will assist then in coming up with the appropriate products that meet their specifications, tastes and preferences.  This approach will foster the relationships between the customers and the company hence improving the rate of sales of a given company (Hill, 2003).  The production will be tailor made in such a manner that the customer has the greatest power and the sales of the products will be stimulated with no material held in the company’s premises awaiting for sales.

Fourthly, the company should also adhere to a strict quality control procedure during the production process.  Quality control is an essential aspect of any given product.  It usually comes during the production period or later on after the production is over (Kabir, 2005).  The product is subjected to some known tests and its properties compared to the standards.  If the product does not meet the set standards then it is returned back to the process for more modifications.   If the product meets the required standards, it is released.

Fifthly, the company may need to design an efficient material handling systems so as to ensure an effective delivery of the production subassemblies to the respective assembly point.  The design should be done in such a manner that these parts are delivered at the right place in the right time.  This will involve the selection of the right conveyors, lifts, cranes and trucks so as to deliver these products to the right place at the right time (Potamianos, 2006).

Finally, it will also be prudent for the company to hire competent employees with the right skills so that all the employees are well conversant with the operations in the company.  The management should also be always updated on the current trends of demand and act accordingly to the same.  It is also appropriate for the company to ensure appropriate allocation of resources to the production process so as to ensure appropriate returns to the company (Hill, 2003).

Conclusion

Production planning is a very critical step in today’s production environment.  Every production manager should be very conversant with the production procedures involved as well as factors that influence the performance of a given plant.  The selection of a given type of production lies heavily on the nature of the desired product.

Inventory control is another critical aspect of the production environment that any operational manager must be well versed with.  The nature of a given product tells a lot about the handling of the product.  The operations manager should always ensure that the costs associated with holding of the inventories are minimized so that the expenses associated with it are also minimized. Today’s competitive world requires that production is sales driven and not production oriented.  In this approach, the orders from different customers are obtained and a master schedule established so as help in the production planning process.  It can be concluded that targeting zero inventory is a very profitable venture for any given company.

Overtime allocation is also very critical in any given production.  Any operations manager should ensure that over time is planned and allocated appropriately.  If overtime is not allocated appropriately it may lead to severe losses and complaints from the employees.  Sometimes the demand for any given product at any given time can vary with seasons leading to unpredictable fluctuations.  These fluctuations pose a serious threat to the planning of the company.  In spite of this the operations manager should always be in a position to plan appropriately for the labour supply during the peak seasons.

References

Crawler, S. (2009). Management Insights. Production and Operations Management, 219-234.

Hill, J. A. (2003). “Revising the Master Production Schedule in Sequence Dependent Processes.” . International Journal of Production Research, 2021-2035.

Kabir, M. A. (2005). “Batch-model Assembly Line Balancing: A Multiattribute Decision Making Approach. International Journal of Production Economics, 193-201.

Potamianos, J. a. (2006). An Interactive Dynamic Inventory-Production Control System. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 1017-1028.

Vieira, G. E. (2006). A New and Practical Heuristic for Master Production Scheduling Creation. International Journal of Production Research, 3607-3625.

 

Venezuela is a perfect country that has attractive benefits to attract good investment. This is because the country has a good supply of natural resources, favourable geographical location, labour, and trade agreements that foster investment. The country is suitable for investment because it offers the most profitable opportunities for the employers and national economy. The manufacturing industry has the highest weight of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the ability to create jobs opportunities and a strong purchasing power. Considering the case of goods production, opening a manufacturing company in this region would be the best deal for investment. Past researches reveal that, the extraction of oil and gas account for a large percentage of the country’s gross domestic product (Winter & Baguley, 2012). The country is also very rich in minerals such as gold, coal, bauxite, iron, and diamond. Venezuela has a large interest in the minerals and oil sector because the two industries enhance a strategic importance to the nation. The country has a strong legal system that attracts Foreign Direct Investment. Therefore, this country is suitable for investment since it keeps a strong and favourable tendency of trading. For instance, the government observes the Article 301 of its constitution, which prohibits discrimination between foreign and local investors. Investing in this country will not only be an opportunity to make huge profit, but also a humanitarian effort to improve the standard of those living in Venezuela. The country is located in the northern parts of South America. The country has diverse climates ranging from temperate to tropical. However, the average temperature of the country is warm. As per 2012 statistics, the total population of the country recorded was 29.7 million (Maddicks, 2012). The findings indicated a tremendous increase from 1960 to 2012 when the population approximated 7 million in the former. For the past years, no national census has categorized the country to ethnicity, since the national composition roughly estimates to different races. The country has different racial combinations of Indian, black, and white. Typically, the country has a strong political, social, and cultural environment that makes it suitable to open a manufacturing facility. The official language spoken is Spanish, although English is widely spoken in the business and tourism industry. The country has a strong culture, which is a mixture of African, European, and Local native roots greatly influence from Spain. Venezuelans are friendly, easy-going, and loving. Thus, there is no discrimination or cultural influence in the way businesses are conducted (Maddicks, 2012). The country’s economy development is largely based on the manufacturing and petroleum sector. For the past decades, revenues from the mentioned sectors accounts for more than 50% GDP (Brushaber & Greenberg, 2010). The country has a superb reputation of oil production. For the past years, there has been a tremendous economic growth from 1950s to date, and this has attracted many immigrants. Compared to other countries, the economic position of Venezuela is middle income. Most people are living in the upper middle class income. The GDP per capital in Venezuela as recorded from 1960 to 2011 was $5671.91 billion, which is equivalent to 46% of the world’s average as shown in the following appendix. As per Trading Economics (2013) retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/venezuela/gdp-per-capita According to the report conducted by the United Nations of Human Development, the country improved its ranking from 62nd to 58th (Human Development Reports, 2012). The improvement in education sector increased literacy level and school enrolment and this improved the human development of the country. Still, the reduction of infant mortality rate and access to health care played a crucial role in improving the ranking. Overall, the high rate of ranking reveals an important story of how the country is developing gradually. The ranking trends reveal that the country is suitable for investment on a national and regional level (International Human Development Indicators, 2012). According to the Freedom House (2012), the country does not have an electoral democracy. Although the government encourages citizens to vote, the political field favours the chosen candidates by the government. The government plays a crucial role in the boosting the economy and has diligently work hard to deter corruption, remove excessive regulatory restrictions. The constitution has also provided freedom of the media and press. The 2004 regulation on social responsibility on television and radio gives the government the authority to control the media content. With this, the government ensures that any content in the media align with the laws and regulations set in the constitution. As previously mentioned, the constitution prohibits discrimination in the Foreign Direct Investment. When the government has the chance to regulate what is put in the media, it becomes an added advantage for any company intending to invest there. For instance, the freedom of media and press provides better opportunities for advertising and marketing the new company (Maddicks, 2012). The Venezuelan government play a major role in the decision making. The president is the head of the government, and is usually elected after every six years. The state comprises the Executive, Judiciary, Legislative, Electoral, and Citizens. The Executive consists of the president, vice-president, and a cabinet made of 26 ministers. The Legislature consists of the National Assembly comprising of 167 representatives. According to the constitution enacted in 1999, Venezuela is a country governed by laws with a participative and democratic government (Schuetz, 2012). As per the constitution, the president is elected by the majority and the process of bvoting occurs after every 6 years. The turnout for election is free and fair where every citizen is given the right to vote for his or her preferred candidate. The next election will be held in 2018 (Schuetz, 2012). Since 1945, the courts of the country have been under the federal system. In essence, the highest body of the judicial system is the 18 members of the Supreme Court, which is further divided into three chambers namely civil, penal, and politico administrative. In accordance with the legal system, Venezuela is a social and democratic state of justice and law where policies are set as per constitution principles. The constitution gives people and countries the right to engage in commercial and lucrative activities. The constitution emphasizes that the government should conduct its legal systems base on the principles set. The country’s legal system attracts foreign direct investment. As per the constitution, there should be no discrimination between foreign and local investors. The country provides better opportunities of foreign direct investment derived from the principle of equitable and fair treatment clause. The principle promotes foreign direct investment in the Venezuelan. Another significant incentive for investing in this country is that its government provides a legal stability contracts that guarantee effective trading, national taxation, and foreign direct investment system. Currently, the country is in the period of economic growth, and it would be profitable to invest there (Maddicks, 2012). Born in 1954 and died on 5 March 2013, Hugo Chaves left a vivid legacy in leadership as the president from 1999 until his death. Chaves greatly influenced the political history and development of the system of government. During his leadership, Chaves increased the government funding of education and health care and this contributed to massive improvement on human development. The president made significant improvement in poverty reduction and constructed free medical clinics for the poor. To-date, many remember him for enhancing a tremendous improvement in the manufacturing sector. He created job opportunities and as a result, this improved the standard living of people. The president emphasized on the importance of education, social justice, national sovereignty, and creation of peace and unity (Houser, 2012). The government exercise the economy through taxation. Every business must be found in the legal requirement of trading. The government also implement some business consideration. For instance, citizens and companies, publicly or privately owned are expected to execute their business activities as per the plans established in the law. Businesses should protect the environment and biological diversity. Finally, every business conducted by individuals or companies should safeguard the well being of people, environmental, and economical stability. When investing in this country, it is important to consider the laws that govern the country in terms of economic and political system (Coutsoukis, 2004). The main strength of political parties in Venezuela is that it has been the center of the country’s democracy. The political parties have enhanced massive social changes brought by oil and petroleum. The political parties manage the consolidation and survival of the democracy. Political parties play a crucial role in strengthening economic and political power. They dictate how the country functions both locally and internationally in the business world. The development of democratic and a stable system create better opportunities for foreign direct investment. Political freedom has created a favourable environment for business, which in turn, boost the country’s economical growth. Despite the political strength that the country has, there have been a number of conflicts between parties. To some extent, conflicts have emerged in regard to lands where some race such as Indians believes that they have the right to possess some parts of the country (Coutsoukis, 2004). Currently, there are no recent political changes in terms of decision-making process, policy making, government representatives, and voting process. However, there has been a slight change on political power for instance, when distributing economic resources. The government has worked to deter greed and corruption in politics, which was a major problem in the 1950s (Houser, 2012). Based on the above facts about the country, it is evident that the country is suitable for foreign investment. There are important reasons that would attract any country or multinational company. For instance, the country has a good supply of natural resources, labor, favourable trade agreements and geographical location, and infrastructure that allow better trading activities beyond the borders. In addition, the manufacturing industry posses the highest weight in the GDP and this has the ability to create jobs and boost the purchasing and marketing power. The extraction of gas and oil indicates how the country’s economy is growing tremendously. The country is also rich in minerals and has a strong fishing industry that is crucial in boosting the economy. The country’s legal system is open to foreign investment because there is no discrimination allowed between foreign and local investors. As a result, the country becomes the perfect destinations for foreign investors. The main challenge of investing in this country is that there strict and heavy policies governing foreign investments. Although the constitution provides rights to engage in any commercial activity, the company must abide and follow certain policies to classify as foreign agency. The current human rights affecting the country include police abuse and prison harsh conditions. Violent crime is major issue in the country and killings by security agents have been a major problem affecting the country. Still, the Venezuelan prisons are the most violent, weak security, poorly and insufficient trained guards, deteriorating infrastructure, and corruption makes gangs to control prisons (Houser, 2012). To sum up, it is important to consider Venezuela for foreign investment because of its strengths in politics and economic power. Investing in this country will be a good deal to boost its economic growth because for the past years, its government has implemented laws and regulations that govern and promote foreign investment. The country has not been in conflict with its neighbours or other countries. In relation with major global powers, the country has traded with different countries such as Iran. The two countries developed a successful partnership to boost cooperation in the military, energy, and finance sectors. The country has also exported oil and petroleum products to various countries such as China, United States, and Europe. With these facts in mind, this report would appeal that Venezuela is the best country suitable for investment. References Trading Economics. (2013). Venezuela Population. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/venezuela/population Human Development Reports. (2012). International Human Development Indicators. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ Coutsoukis, P. (2004). Venezuela Ethnic Groups. Retrieved from http://www.photius.com/countries/venezuela/society/venezuela_society_ethnic_groups.html International Human Development Indicators. (2012). Venezuela. Retrieved from http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/VEN.html Freedom House. (2013). Venezuela. Retrieved from http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2012/venezuela-0 Winter, J. K., & Baguley, K. (2012). Venezuela. New York: Marshall Cavendish. Schuetz, K. (2012). Venezuela. Minneapolis: Bellwether Media Houser, A. (2012). Venezuela. Edina, Minn: ABDO. Brushaber, S., & Greenberg, A. (2010). Venezuela alive. Edison, NJ: Hunter Publishing. Maddicks, R. (2012). Venezuela. London: Kuperard.

Assessing central tendency and descriptive statistics

Researchers adopt to different research designs in carrying out their studies. Some of the designs and concepts are central tendency and descriptive statistics. The paper discuses the application of central tendency and descriptive statistics in the article, “Putting brands into play: How game difficulty and player experiences influence the effectiveness of in-game advertising” by Herrewijn and Poels, (2013).

Descriptive or statistical research does not fall under either qualitative or quantitative research methodologies. It only provides data of a population under study and it helps to describe the “what, who, when” where and how of a situation and not what caused it (Internet, 2001). This kind of research is used in situations where the objective is to provide a systematic description that is accurate and factual and it provides the frequency or number of times something happens. Most instances statistical calculations therefore determine the average number of occurrence of something or central tendencies are incorporated to ensure that it is achieved. Descriptive research report data summary  such as measures of tendencies which includes mode, median, mean, deviance from the mean, variation,  percentages and correlations between variables (Patricia & Nandhini,  2013). This kind of research may involve multiple variables for analysis. In this discussion, the measures of central tendency that will be discussed are the mean and standard deviation.

Mean (arithmetic) is one of the popular and commonly known measures of central tendency that is used in various studies (Ghahramani, 2000).  This is used in both discreet and continuous data but is mostly popularly used in continuous data.  The mean is the sum of all the values in the data set divided by the number values of the data set. For instance, if there are n values in a database, mean is usually pronounced as x bar (Ghahramani, 2000). Mean is helpful in the sense that it minimizes the number of errors in the prediction of any one value in a data set. On the other hand, standard deviation is used to indicate the variation or the dispersion that exists from the mean or the average or the expected value. When standard deviation is low, it means that the data points are closer to the mean and when it is high, it implies that the data points are spread over a large range of values(Walker, 1931).. It is the square root of variance (Walker, 1931). One of the properties of standard deviation that is used to express the variability of a population and therefore is effective in measuring the confidence in statistical conclusions.

This article focuses on the relationship that exists between the effectiveness of in-game advertising and on specific context characteristics: player experiences, or the emotional experiences people encounter while playing digital games. Playing digital games evokes different or rather numerous general player specific experiences that affect how the players respond to in game advertising. The study findings reveled that easier levels of games led to higher amounts of dominance, pleasure and competent and low amount of tension arousal, flow and challenge and vice versa. When it comes to impacts of the game on recognition and brand likeability, the findings indicated that easier levels led to a more positive recognition and brand likeability and vice versa.

This study used measures of tendency in various instances. For instance, mean was used to calculate the average number of the respondents’ age that was used in the study. It is also was used in evaluating the effectiveness of the in the game advertising. Therefore, it helps in enhancing understanding of the relationships that existed between various variables or objectives that was in the study and helped to provide summary of information about the various responses from the respondents. Standard deviation is another important measure of central tendency that was adopted in the study. This measure was important in helping to establish the variations or the variability of the scores of the respondents in the study. Therefore, it was helpful in enhancing understanding of the relationships that existed between different variables.

How assumption of measures of tendency were met

In using these measures, the researcher relied on a hypothesis that would come to be substantiated after carrying out the study and coming up with results.  These assumptions helped in achieving the objectives or the goals of the researcher. Some of the assumptions in the study were that in- game advertising impacted on the emotions of the players.   Assuming that the results would be in either way was assumed by coming up with a given number of respondents that were representation of the entire population. This average number and age was averaged to find a rough estimate. When it comes to standard deviations, its assumption of measuring the variability of the data compared to the mean was also met through prior calculation of the statistics.

Identification of the levels of measurement of variables in the study

Different variables that formed part of the study were measured with these two measures of central tendency. For instance to check whether there was manipulation, tables of  means and ANOVAs  were conducted  with the players’ experiences as the dependent variable while the difficulty of the game was taken as independent variable. There were three levels of difficulty measured and this included easy, medium and hard. The analysis, indicated that variations in terms of pleasure, arousal dominance, competence, challenges and tension were consistent or in line with the researcher expectations.  The levels that scored higher means were when the game was made easy. Compared to the medium and hard levels, it was illustrated that the easy level   recorded higher levels of pleasure followed by dominance.

Description of the appropriateness of the levels of measurement of the study variables

In this study, three levels were used in measuring the effectiveness of every variable used to ensure that the study objective is attained. The levels used in the study included easy, medium and hard.  The games was  made easy, medium or it was made harder and assessed on the level of players  reactions in terms of pleasure, arousal, dominance, competence  among other attributes.  The  three levels are  appropriate in ensuring that the objective of the research  is obtained by   measuring these  levels, the researcher wanted to understand the effectiveness of the  variables in different circumstances to facilitate understanding or making of the  judgment or in determination their effectiveness. For instance, easy which was used in terms of the  games  helped the players or increased their pleasure, while when the game was made hard it reduced their level of pleasure in the game advertisings therefore, these difference helps in reaching a  tangible an objective conclusion.

Discussion of how the data was displayed (i.e. graphs, tables)

One of the ways information or data is presented in through graphs, data, and figure. This method of presenting data enhances understanding of the information and it also makes the presentation better in this article, the researcher used diagrams and tables to display various means and standards deviation figures on various levels about different variables that met the study.  The tables were clear and they helped in enhancing understanding of the information. They also made the presentation simple and easily to understand. A figure or a diagram on how some of the PC games looked like also helped to enhance understanding of the concept (Van Reekum et al 2004).  This therefore, helped to make the article professionals and easily to understand.

Examining the appropriateness of the data displays

In research, information display is essential as it indicates the level of organization and input by the researcher in its compilation.  One of the strengths in this study is that information is well organized and is incorporated with diagrams and tables that help to make the article understandable. The sections of the study are well written and covered and this enhances the level of understanding the article. Furthermore, the author has indicated the depth of study. Various literary works from different researchers were included in the study making it objective and credible.  One of the weaknesses of the study is that it failed to provide formulas use in calculating the means and standard deviations. Therefore, it becomes a little bit complex for an audience to understand this figures and how they were arrived at. This will affect people that are not familiar with such measures of central tendency.

Therefore, in conclusion, I can state that the study achieved its objectives. It used mean and standard deviations as measure of central tendency together with statistical research method which made the researcher to reach conclusive findings on effectiveness in the in-game advertising on the players. They are well applied and this has made the conclusion and the findings credible, with less error margins.

 

 

 

References

Ghahramani, S. (2000). Fundamentals of Probability (2nd Edition). Prentice Hall: New Jersey. p.             438.

Herrewijn, L., Poels, K. (2013). Putting brands into play: How game difficulty and player             experiences influence the effectiveness of in-game advertising, International Journal of             Advertising, 32(1): 17-44.

Internet, (2001). What is descriptive research? The Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Retrieved from:           http://learngen.org/~aust/EdTecheBooks/AECT_HANDBOOK96/41/41-01.html

Patricia, M., & Nandhini, R.  (2013). A Playbook for Research Methods: Integrating Conceptual Frameworks and Project Management. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press. Note – Shields     & Rangarajan devote a chapter to descriptive research (4). pp. 109-158

Van Reekum, C et al. (2004). Physiological responses to appraisal dimensions in a computer          game, Cognition and Emotion, 18(5), 663–88.

Walker, H. (1931). Studies in the History of the Statistical Method. Baltimore, MD: Williams &      Wilkins Co. pp. 24–25.

 

 Code Blue Emergent Care

 Introduction

For over twenty years, the Mediheal clinic and research facility has served the residents of Houston Texas efficiently by providing adequate medical services and treatment. In the last five years of its service, however, the emergency department wing has been marred with a lot of difficulties. This has led to a general declension in the levels of services offered by the emergency wing of the clinic. The problems have been noted majorly by the increased number of complaints registered daily by the patients visiting the emergency room for treatment purposes. The complaints have cited reduced emergency room management, long wait hours, inadequate patient care, and patients being sent away because of lack of space, staff and physicians to provide appropriate care as some of the challenges facing the emergency room. After a thorough investigation of the complaints, it has been noted with serious concern that they truly are genuine. The emergency department, therefore, seeks to diagnose the root causes of the problem, and find amicable ways of mitigating them. This will ensure the development in the level of service offered by the Mediheal clinic (Kronenfeld, 2002).

Reasons for the complaints leveled against the emergency wing.

After a thorough investigation, the following are the causes leading to the complaints leveled against the emergency room:

There is an increased influx in the number of uninsured Americans and public program employees who visit the hospital. The effect of this is overcrowding in the emergency rooms. This, in turn, leads to an increased number of patients who need to be attended to yet the bed space is minimal. Most of the patients are thus placed on the waiting list as others are treated. The federal law also stipulates that emergency room services are supposed to be given 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This also results to a high record of patients visiting the hospital.

The emergency room mostly operates at its peak capacity of 15 daily. The result is an overwhelming of the emergency medical system. Therefore, it cannot handle the high demand for emergency medical assistance. Trying to manage a high demand can result into an outbreak of natural disaster like pandemic flu(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

There are a considerable number of patients having non urgent medical problems who go seeking for treatment in the emergency room. They, therefore, affect the quality of treatment offered in the emergency room. In comparison, the patients having private health plans record the lowest numbers in the emergency room care(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

The emergency room is under federal law required to provide treatment and care to all patients that come for treatment, whether they are able to pay or not. This clause has led to an increased number of patients in the emergency room. For example, Medicaid and State Children’s Health insurance enrollees use the emergency department approximately four times the rate of privately insured patients and twice the rate of uninsured patients and the Medicare beneficiaries(Garson, 2007).

The current conditions in the emergency rooms degrade the quality of patient care. The patients are put on hold for long periods of time, even amounting to days. When the emergency room is overly crowded, the ambulances are diverted elsewhere, thus losing precious time. In addition to this, there is a worrying shortage, of doctors and physicians to provide on-call emergency services whenever they are needed(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

The clinic’s current state of affairs also contributes to the uncompensated care burden on physicians. Most of the doctors working in the emergency room complain of debts owed to them due to their delivery of medical services as outlined by federal law. Because of this, most of the physicians become negligent. Negligence is a theory of liability as pertains to medical malpractices. In negligence, the physician owes the duty of care to the patient. Instead, the physicians violate the applicable standards of care. The patient, on the other hand, suffers a compensable injury which is blamed upon the physician’s substandard conduct(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

The emergency room deals with the care of patients that have traumatic injuries and severe signs and symptoms of illness. Patients are, therefore, treated on an elective basis where those with life threatening ailments are given preference over the rest.

Apart from an increased number of non-urgent patients, the increased number of patients and trauma and critical illnesses has also led to inadequate services offered by the Mediheal emergency room due to a limited number of medical supplies. The increase in the number of patients requiring emergency services were noted to be mainly due to lack of necessary first aid treatment. For instance, [patients involved in accidents are not assisted with bystanders mainly due to the Good Samaritan law. For the state of Texas, the good Samaritan law has  jurisdiction that protects only those who have completed basic first aid training and are certified by health organizations, such as the American Heart Association. This jurisdiction, therefore, prevents bystanders who lack essential first aid training from assisting accident victims, and they, therefore, lose a lot of blood by the time they are brought to the hospital. The bystanders mainly have a fear of assisting the injured because if they die in their hands, for which they can be sued or prosecuted for unintentional injury or wrongful death. This means that most patients die upon arrival at the hospital, or they develop complications even after treatment(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

All these reasons are intertwined in the complaints cited against the Mediheal emergency room. Negligence contributes to inadequate patient care as much as the increased number of non- urgent patients.

Approach to curb the problems in the emergency room

The most efficient way to curb the problems that occur in the emergency room involves the application of a better health care policy. The problems that face the emergency rooms are as a result of outdated state and national policies. The first step, therefore, will involve the amendment of the state laws and regulations on the clauses pertaining to health matters.

The Mediheal emergency department also plans to bring in the health care policymakers to support the hospital officials in re-organizing and restructuring the emergency care economic incentives. The health care policymakers are also required to clarify the roles that should be carried out by the emergency department of Mediheal(W. B. Rouse, 2010).

The emergency department also plans to take a federalist approach as a means of defining the difference between public and private responsibility as related to health matters. The physicians are required to  identify their roles and responsibilities. The same goes for the patients. The department plans to sensitize the patients on their roles and conduct as relates to the general procedures to be followed in order to get treated (Harry A. Sultz, 2010).

The emergency department plans to expand the health insurance coverage fast. The expansion of the health insurance cover has been organized in such a way as to attend to the needs of all classes of people, whether they are rich or poor, old or young, literate and illiterate.

The non-urgent patients are going to be moved out of the emergency room and directed to the central wing of the clinic to get treated. This will expand the emergency room space so as to provide for patients with true emergencies that include trauma and rapidly infectious diseases. The reasons for inadequate emergency room management and inadequate patient care are because the expansion of the emergency rooms; to provide for public services and non-urgent treatments only worsen the conditions. There is [poor service delivery whenever there are few resources to attend to many people. The emergency department, therefore, also seeks to increase the emergency wing in terms of volume by expanding the emergency room. It also plans to increase the bed capacity to cater for more emergency patients. The number of medical kits and drugs will also be increased(Kronenfeld, 2002).

The emergency department plans to treat the delivery of emergency medicine as a public safety function, especially in cases of outbreaks such as pandemic flu. In addition to this, the department seeks to amend laws and regulations that hinder the private expansion of the emergency room(W. B. Rouse, 2010).

A crucial strategy that the department plans to initiate involves amending laws and regulations hindering the urgent care for individuals and families seeking treatment, especially in scenarios where physicians are unavailable or negligent towards the needs of the patients. The department also plans to sensitize the physicians on the Good Samaritan laws. These laws are acts that serve and protect those who attend to the ill and injured. The laws are essential as the help reduce bystanders’ hesitation to assist. The department plans to liaise with the state government so as to remove the clause barring unprofessional personnel from aiding victims in medical distress. Those responding to medical distress calls will be defended by the department and be provided with immunity in case there is a liability in the emergency situation(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

The department believes this will help the emergency room to minimize the number of emergency patients; as the people in the state of Texas will be encouraged to perform first aid on accident and disease victims. The Good Samaritan laws should also apply to medical practitioners and career emergency responders. The department, therefore, seeks to encourage the physicians to adopt the laws regardless of whether they are compensated or not(Harry A. Sultz, 2010).

With the expansion of the emergency room and bed capacity, the department also plans to recruit more medical practitioners to attend to the emergency patients. In addition to the medical practitioners, the department plans to increase the number of subordinate staff to attend to matters related to meals, hygiene and management of the emergency room(Kronenfeld, 2002).

All these initiatives will improve the care of patients and the administration of the emergency room. The redirection of non-urgent patients to the central wing of the hospital together with an increased number of physicians and medical staff will curb the complaint of long wait lines. The expansion of health insurance covers will ensure patients are not sent away for lack of finances to be treated and will also ensure the physicians are not negligent but liable to attend to the patients(Kronenfeld, 2002).

Prioritization of emergency services

For the strategy to be carried out efficiently, the department plans to prioritize the levels of emergency services. This not only ensures adequate patient treatment, but also helps to ensure improvement in the overall levels of services offered by the emergency department. The department plans to  apply pre-institutional care through the use of the nationwide 911 emergency system. Before a medical condition is treated as an emergency, those calling for assistance will be required to describe the nature of their situation. Traumas, strokes and myocardial infarctions will be given the first priority. Trauma cases shall be handled only by certified emergency physicians. Those that require transfers to bigger medical institutions will be given the second priority. This means that Mediheal ambulances will be warranted to carry only those with severe injuries or ailments that require transfers to better health institutions. Those with intermediate medical conditions will be redirected from the emergency room to the central wing of the hospital where they will be attended to by certified medical technicians. The one having basic medical emergencies will be treated mostly from home by first aiders rather than coming to crowd the emergency rooms(Charlene Harrington, 2004).

The factors that will be considered before diagnosing and administering treatment will depend on the circumstances, the patient involved, and the availability of resources to support them. The emergency service offered will also depend on the medical care service offered, whether it is at the clinic or at home(Kronenfeld, 2002).

The strategy applies mostly to adults as they are conscious of the methods involved in administering treatment. For minors, through the consent of their parents, all treatments will be conducted at the emergency room, without biasness. The treatment will be administered by the emergency medical technicians or emergency physicians, depending on the seriousness of the medical condition.  This is, however, conditional as preference shall be given to the adults having life threatening medical conditions like cardiac arrest(W. B. Rouse, 2010).

The emancipated minors will be treated as adults. The methods used for the treatment of adults is the same that will be used for the emancipated minors with the exception that the regulations applied to them will be like those used for minors. They will be attended to by specialists in medical fields related to minors(W. B. Rouse, 2010).

Incompetent adults will be placed under special care of nurses and staff to attend to them, whether they are at home care or in the emergency room. This shall be done under the special observance of a certified medical practitioner(Harry A. Sultz, 2010).

There are instances of those who refuse to consent to treatment. The main reason for their refusal is due to high medical liability premiums and a broken down medical liability system in the emergency department. Besides this, the patients refuse to consent to treatment due to medical malpractices by unqualified physicians. The department, therefore, plans to use traditional medical liability reforms and implementing alternative health reform practices to encourage more people who refuse to consent to treatment to do so.  The medical liability reforms will also go a long way to ensure that patients do not lose access to qualified medical practitioners and an advanced and efficient system of health care services (Kronenfeld, 2002).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the adoption of a well-defined health care policy has been recognized as the most effective way of curbing the problems that arise in Mediheal health clinic. An overhaul of the old clinic policies also has been recognized to be an efficient tool to sort out the problem in Mediheal clinic. Finally, the encouragement of patients to adopt the strategies put in place by the emergency department will also go a long way in ensuring proper doctor-patient relationship and offering better health services.

References

Charlene Harrington, C. L. (2004). Health Policy: Crisis and Reform in the U.S. Health Care Delivery System. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Garson, A. (2007). Health Care Half-truths: Too Many Myths, Not Enough Reality. Rowman & Littlefield.

Harry , A & Sultz, K. Y. (2010). Health Care USA. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Kronenfeld, J. J. (2002). Health Care Policy: Issues and Trends, Volume 759. Greenwood Publishing Group.

1. B. Rouse, D. A. (2010). Engineering the System of Healthcare Delivery. IOS Press.

 

 

 

 

Using Action Research in Counseling Practice

Action Research is initiated in problem solving, surveys argues that the problem in most cases is immediate or progressive. Counseling calls for practical action research and participatory action research depending on different situations. Action research is more of an active process geared towards changes, while at the same time carrying out a research (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011). Result of an action is determined through planning, action research and finally on fact finding. There are a number of theories explaining action research, among them being ‘Chris Argyris’ Action Science’, ‘Jack Whitehead’s living Theory approach on action research’, ‘John Heron and Peter Reason’s Cooperative Inquiry’, ‘William Torbert’s Development Action Inquiry’ and ‘Paulo Freire’s Participatory Action Research (PAR)’ among others. Action research was first forwarded by Kurt Lewin.

Counseling psychology has a lot to do with action research, it has been noted that counseling psychology has borrowed significant information from applied work and research in a number of domains (Mearns et al, 2013). The common domains include counseling outcome and process; counseling and career development; training and supervision; and in health and prevention. Psychologists involved in counseling argue along a number of unifying themes that strongly focus on strengths and assets, interactions of the person with the environment, career development and education, intact personalities and contact with brief interactions. In United States, The Counseling Psychologist Journal and the Journal of Counseling Psychology provide critical information on the relationship between action research and counseling (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011).

Action research in counseling is relevant in the provision of ideal framework that challenge, document and review the changes observed in an individual. Discussion and activity plays a centered path in defining new processes that are out to solve a problem existing in an individual. Action research in counseling has a similar approach as to class room lessons (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011). It has been noted that counseling is integral to processes of action research. A counselor always gears towards constant improvement of the person being counseled, meaning that counseling is more oriented at obtaining the desired results.

Recommendations done by a psychological counselor are conducted in one to one discussion. Although twenty first century is presenting different technology applications that are encouraging a one to one communication mainly through internet (Mearns et al, 2013). Counselor in such scenario is in a position to discuss and observe what is happening with the target patient, a model that is critical in delivering the desired solution to the problem.

Action research in counseling focuses on improving the outcomes of the target patients, and in the immediate time possible. In some circumstances, action research in counseling is conducted in teams or groups depending on situations. It can be argued that action research in counseling is geared towards improved flexibility depending on how the relevant information is developed, gathered and presented (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011). The counselor has the rights of choosing the best model of gathering the relevant information depending on the problems being solved. Action research needs critical thinking which is influential in problem solving and sound decision making. Counselors are trained to interpret information, and if things are complex, they can share the information with more experienced colleagues in order to make informed decisions (Mearns et al, 2013).

Counseling is defined by processes and outcomes, which are shaped by the therapist variables, client variables, counseling relationship, cultural variables, counseling ethics, outcome measurement and research methods used in the process and outcomes. There are a number of issues addressed by counseling therapists that are designed in form of research questions. Counseling process is more concerned on why and on how the counseling process progresses and happens, which is directly proportional to action research. Counseling outcomes are concerned on whether or whether not the counseling processes are effective; in the same way, the outcomes are measured depending on the response of the target patient (Mearns et al, 2013). Effectiveness in counseling is measured through behavior changes, symptom reduction and the life improvement quality.

The main players in counseling are the therapist variables and the client variables that take different angles depending on situations. Therapist variables that are related to action research identifies with behaviors, therapists techniques, characteristics of the therapist, training of the therapist and the theoretical orientation of the therapist (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011). Research and close follow up to therapy models offers detrimental, helpful and neutral results in reference to outcome and impacts to the client. Experienced therapists deliver accurate counseling judgments, although it is pegged to minimized anxiety and less focus to the processes.

Client variables are signaled by the ability of the client to seek professional help, which is shaped by the attitudes of the clients. The client has preset expectations as well as outcomes. The counselors have the responsibility of maintaining confidentiality, and cultivate trust, which encourages high levels of attachment between the therapist and the client (Mearns et al, 2013). Educating the target client first encourage client treatment, satisfaction and sound intervention.

Discussions between counselors and researchers are tailor made to improve the future, in dealing with similar circumstances. Counselors have the ability to focus at the future in designing future oriented models. Counseling processes are cyclonical, in a way that encourage deeper research in the exploration of practices, ideas and concepts. It can be argued that action research in counseling is influential in providing easily integrated and effective processes (Kayano & Nishimura, 2011).

 

References

Kayano, J. & Nishimura, K. (2011). Action Research in Career Counseling. JILPT Research Report No. 107 , 2-14.

Mearns, D.  et al. (2013). Person-Centred Counselling in Action . Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications Ltd.

 

 

Singapore Code of Corporate Governance

Singapore Code of Corporate Governance Is the main aim of the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance to make managers less selfish? How does it attempt to do this? Introduction Singapore is an open market working on attracting international investment through high standards of corporate governance. Singapore has evolved from a regulatory structure to a more market-driven system whose focus is on achieving greater transparency. Investors highly depend on the managers of listed companies in running the company and timely disclosing material information. The Code of Corporate Governance provides guidelines for corporate disclosure and governance (Kaur et al, 2013). Characteristics of Corporate Governance in Singapore Singapore is underdeveloped in corporate governance compared to the United States and the United Kingdom standards (Young et al, 2008). Underdevelopment is attributable to the disclosure regime, ownership structure, use of share option schemes, structure of the board of directors, and government corporate ownership. A study by Hong-Kong based research firm CLSA and Asian Corporate Governance Association in 2007 found that Singapore ranked second after Hong Kong in eleven markets (CLSA, 2007). According to the study, Singapore’s strengths included: timeliness of financial reporting, audit standards, regulatory deterrence against insider trading and organized retail shareholder body. The weaknesses included: limited legal remedies for investors, limited disclosure of individual director remuneration and permission of discounted stock options Chen et al, (2009) also highlights some of the legal challenges that face corporate investors in Singapore’s economy. Another study in 2007 by the Securities Investors Association of Singapore found that the percentage of listed companies with whistle blowing policy had increased from 5% in 2006 to 36% in 2007. Companies were also providing more details about the directors such as educational qualifications. However, 87% of companies did not have independent chairman, while 58% separated the responsibilities of the chairman and the chief executive officer and only 5% disclosed the exact remuneration of directors (Kaur et al, 2013). Corporate governance in Singapore is also characterized by rarity of takeovers as a result of the way of business undertakings and concern by banks in sponsoring such undertakings. Companies also lack external mechanisms of takeovers to control managerial behavior. In addition, the government significantly owns the private sector to an extent that it is difficult to launch takeover attempts in the country (Kaur et al, 2013). In practice, the high concentration of ownership and poor disclosure, in addition to ambiguous rules-of-the-game in the takeover market operate in favor of owner-managers who are capable of exploiting the weak bargaining power of minority shareholders (Eng and Mark, 2003; Lemmon and Lins, 2003). Institutional monitoring is limited to the Monetary Authority where financial institutions are involved, and the Stock Exchange for other organizations. The Singapore Code of Corporate Governance 2012 The Singapore Code of Corporate Governance was introduced in 2001 in line with the standards promulgated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2000 (Leong et al, 2011). It was first revised in 2005 and then in 2012. The Code contains 15 principles, supplemented by Guidelines and Commentaries, which are associated with board matters, remuneration matters, audit and accountability, communication with shareholders, and disclosure of corporate governance arrangements (Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2012). 1. Board Matters (Principles 1 to 6) These consist of six aspects: a. Board’s Conduct of Affairs: Every company must be headed by an effective board. The role of the board includes monitoring, strategy, resource, and service provision. b. Board Composition: The board should consist of at least 1/3 independent members and ½ independent directors. The Chairman of the board and the chief executive members are immediate family members, or the same person. The chairman is part of the management, but not an independent director. In such companies, an independent director is appointed to be the lead independent director. The lead independent director plays a role of resolving problems concerning shareholders where contact through the normal channels of the Chairman, the chief executive officer or equivalent has failed to resolve or is inappropriate. The independent directors are supposed to meet on a periodical basis in the absence of other directors, after which the lead independent director should provide feedback to the Chairman. The Singapore Code of Corporate Governance 2012 defines an independent director as “one who has no relationship with the company, its related corporations, its 10% shareholders or its officers that could interfere, or be reasonably perceived to interfere, with the exercise of the director’s independent business with a view to the best interests of the company”. c. There is a clear separation of responsibilities between the Chairman and the chief executive officer. d. New directors are appointed through a formal and transparent process by the Nomination Committee. The Nomination Committee comprises of a minimum of three directors, half of whom, including the chairman of the committee, are independent. e. The overall board and individual directors should be formally assessed to gauge the performance of the board. f. All members should be provided with timely and adequate information prior to board meetings and on-going basis. 2. Remuneration Matters (Principles 7 to 9) Remuneration follows formal and transparent procedures. The remuneration committee consists of non-executive directors, most of whom, including the chairman of the committee, are independent. The level of remuneration should be appropriate for attraction, retention and motivation of directors. Companies are required to ensure disclosure of each individual director and the chief executive officer on a named basis. In addition, remuneration should be broken down in percentage terms of base/fixed salary, variable salary, benefits in kind, stock option and other long-term benefits. 3. Accountability (Principles 10 to 13) The audit committee consists of a minimum of three directors, who are non-executive members and majority of them, including the chairman of the committee are independent. The board is charged with ensuring that management maintains a sound system of internal controls. In addition, companies have internal audits which include in-house, outsourced, major shareholder, or controlling enterprise. 4. Communication with Shareholders (Principles 14 to 15) Companies should ensure that information is disclosed on a timely basis. Shareholders should be given the opportunity for effective participation and voting in annual general meetings. The shareholders can vote in person or in absentia. 5. Disclosure of Corporate Governance Arrangements Although compliance with the Code is not compulsory, listed companies are required by the SGX Listing Manual to describe their corporate governance arrangements with specific reference to the Code in their annual report. In addition, they must disclose any deviations from any guidelines and give appropriate explanations for such deviations in their annual report. How the Code attempts to make managers less selfish The aim of the Code is to encourage companies (particularly listed companies) employ practices which focus on providing accountability while creating long-term shareholder value, and securing adequate disclosure in order to give stakeholders the opportunity to assess the governance practices of the company and thus respond in an informed manner. By making the management accountable and transparent, the Code helps in making sure that managers do not behave in a selfish manner which can shun away investors and other stakeholders (Oh et al, 2011; Low, 2012). Given that most companies in Singapore are family-owned, it is in order to argue that most management decisions and actions would be more tailored towards family interests and conflicts are bound to arise. The code encourages various key practices, which if adopted can help in reducing selfishness in management and making it more objective-oriented. The practices include: 1) Having an effective board that understands its roles and responsibilities and which is furnished with relevant information to effectively perform its functions. The board is responsible for the company’s overall strategic plans and performance objectives, major operational initiatives, financial plans and annual budget and major funding and investment proposals, corporate governance practices, compliance and accountability systems and financial performance reviews. In the Singtel Company, the Board is responsible for appointing the company’s chief executive officer, approving the policies and guidelines for Board and Executive Management remuneration, and approving the appointment of directors. in addition, the Board is also responsible for overseeing long-term succession planning for Executive Management (SingTel, 2012). Though the chairman is part of the management, he or she cannot be an independent director. As a result, the management is kept away from influencing the decisions of the independent directors to meet its own interests. 2) Having a strong independent element on the board with equal concentration of power among all the members. The lead independent director is responsible for leading the activities of non-executive directors in situations where it is deemed inappropriate for the chairman to serve in such circumstance (SingTel, 2012). Independent directors are not comprised of the chairman. They are able to make sound judgments, basing on their qualifications and expertise, without the influence of managers. 3) Having formal and transparent processes for board appointments, performance and board and executive remuneration. This is facilitated by the appointment of nomination and remuneration committees for purposes of overseeing these matters (SingTel, 2012). Transparency ensures that every decision and every action is subjected to scrutiny by the employees and other stakeholders. The SingTel remuneration structure is designed such that the percent of the variable component of the remuneration of the Executive Management increases as they move up the organization. The variable component is also based on the tangible achievement of individual performance objectives and corporate targets. The value and cost of the components of remuneration are regarded as a whole and are structured to ensure balance between long-term and short-term objectives, as well as maintain competitiveness with market practice. 4) Putting emphasis on the relevance of accountability and audit, and requiring the creation of internal audit function and audit committees. When the internal control function and the audit committee are aware that their work will be reported externally and scrutinized by investors, they become more rigorous (SingTel, 2012). The management will generally become conscious about its activities and avoid some practices that can lead to a bad public image. Internal audit function and audit committees ensure that there are effective checks and balances on the decisions and actions of each and every member of the management team. 5) Establishing and maintaining of strong internal control processes. Through this, investors are able to prevent possible losses resulting from internal control failures and business probity risks. The code provides an opportunity for investors to replace the existing directors is they foresee future dangers through disclosure. Furthermore, the need to produce an annual report on internal controls promotes scrutiny from shareholders and other stakeholders. It is possible to achieve effective scrutiny when things are made more transparent. 6) Promoting more disclosure for, and communication with, with shareholders. More disclosure promotes the confidence and satisfaction of shareholders. It is important that investors have confidence in internal controls of the firms in which they make their investments, and increased knowledge will encourage this. In addition, mandatory external reporting on internal controls will ensure that good practices inside the firm are encouraged (SingTel, 2012). Conclusion The main goal of the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance 2012 is to ensure transparency and accountability in corporate governance of listed companies (Rashid and Yoshikawa, 2012). Through transparent processes, the managers are subjected to scrutiny by all stakeholders. There are effective checks and balances which keep managers on their toes and ensure that they do not engage in practices which reflect their own interests rather than the interests of the company (Tsui-Auch., 2012). The Compulsory disclosure of relevant information to all stakeholders and provision of explanation in the case of deviance are effective mechanisms of ensuring that managers do not pursue conflicting interests. The separation of roles and responsibilities between the chairman and the chief executive officer promotes transparency and accountability. Independent directors also promote transparency since they will not be influenced by company managers in their decisions and actions. In addition, the audits committees and strong internal functions will ensure that all relevant information is made available to the stakeholders for scrutiny. Remuneration procedures have also been formalized and made transparent and this promotes fairness and accountability, thus eliminating chances of fraud. References Chen, K. C., Chen, Z., & Wei, K. C. 2009. Legal protection of investors, corporate governance, and the cost of equity capital. Journal of Corporate Finance, 15(3), 273-289. CLSA 2007 CLSA Launches Corporate Governance Watch 2007, CLSA-Asia’s Independent Voice. Retrieved from https://www.clsa.com/about-clsa/media-centre/2007-media-releases/20070925_en.php on August 19, 2013 Eng, L. L., & Mak, Y. T. 2003. Corporate governance and voluntary disclosure. Journal of accounting and public policy, 22(4), 325-345. Kaur, N., Huat, O. N., Fong, R., Lee. J., & Hu, G. 2013. Ethics and Governance. Lecture 10. Lemmon, M. L., & Lins, K. V. 2003. Ownership structure, corporate governance, and firm value: Evidence from the East Asian financial crisis. The journal of finance, 58(4), 1445-1468. Leong, C. H., Teo, Y. T., & Lin, S. 2011. A study of revised code of corporate governance in Singapore. Low, P. 2012. The Classic Leadership Sins And the Way Forward Through the Confucian Visor. Business Journal for Entrepreneurs, 2012(1), 119-136. Monetary Authority of Singapore. (2012). Code of Corporate Governance. Retrieved from: http://www.mas.gov.sg/regulations-and-financial-stability/regulatory-and-supervisory-framework/corporate-governance/corporate-governance-of-listed-companies/code-of-corporate-governance.aspx on August 19, 2013 Oh, H. L., See, S. T., & Tang, C. W. 2011. An empirical study on corporate governance and its impact on investors’ confidence. Rasheed, A., & Yoshikawa, T. (Eds.). 2012. The Convergence of Corporate Governance: Promise and Prospects. Palgrave Macmillan. SingTel 2012 Annual Report on Corporate Governance.Retrieved from: http://info.singtel.com/annualreport/2012/corporate-governance.html on August 19, 2013 Tsui-Auch, L. S. 2012. Converging Divergence in Corporate Governance in Singapore. The Convergence of Corporate Governance: Promise and Prospects, 169. Young, M. N., Peng, M. W., Ahlstrom, D., Bruton, G. D., & Jiang, Y. 2008. Corporate governance in emerging economies: A review of the principal–principal perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 45(1), 196-220.

Psychiatric Emergencies in Medical Settings

Detecting a psychiatric situation in a non-psychiatric setting has become a challenge in many healthcare provision settings. First, the nurses are setback by unfamiliar situations, thus leading them to the next challenge where they are unable to act or react to such settings. The FOCUS-PDCA models can be used in order to improve such cases as evident in Mr. X’s situation.

Part A FOCUS and PDCA

FOCUS

In order to improve the performance of nurses in non-psychiatric units when faced with psychiatric related situations, the first step is to find a process that will support improvement. This should be accompanied by first finding “what” needs improvement (Risal & Sharma, 2013). According to the scenario in Mr. X’s situation, nurses do not know how to handle patients who present other symptoms than what is considered as “normal” in the given unit. For example, these nurses do not know how to handle patients who present symptoms that make them to react violently or make verbal expressions that are not connected to pain. In this scenario, the nurses do not know how to handle patients presenting psychiatric symptoms as made evident by Mr.X’s case.

Finding the solution to this challenge can only be made possible by organizing a team. Since this situation relates to cases. The team should include as many personnel in the psychiatric unit as possible. However, it should not be exclusive to such. Other personnel from non-psychiatric unit should be included. It would even be better if the person with experience in both units was included (Risal & Sharma, 2013). A general doctor or a senior nurse would be appropriate. Such personnel would guide the nurses in differentiating between normal expressions and those expressions that need psychiatric attention. There leader should be a senior nurse as he/she commands authority. A physician may also take this position as he/she also has such authority. The facilitator can be a regular nurse who is experienced. The recording position may also be given to a regular nurse. This is to ensure that the data gathered is properly posted for further analysis. There should be additional team members who should act as “extra eyes” or observers.

Nurses are mainly considered as general. However, like any other specialty, diverse nurses are better in specific areas. In majority of the cases, nurses who have a specialty in the psychiatric cases are mainly found in the psychiatric unit. Furthermore, many people (including nurses unfortunately) mainly believe that psychiatric cases are obvious even to the normal person. They therefore assume that these patients will be obviously directed to the psychiatric wing just as the laboring woman is directed to the labor unit. Due to such assumption, they hardly expect and prepare for psychiatric cases in non-psychiatric units. As a result, such nurses are confused and unable to act when such cases finally appear. Additionally, the training workshops or refresher courses mainly focus on what is frequently encountered. They do not direct the needed resources to the rare scenarios (Gilbert, 2012).

The cause and effect diagram:

People

Equipment

 

The above diagram shows that the main challenge or effect is the nurses’ challenge in dealing with psychiatric cases in non-psychiatric units. People, equipment, procedures, and policies contribute to the existence of this challenge. The sub causes leading to the main effect include ignorance, lack of training, the confinement of the necessary equipment to a specific unit, lack of defined and exclusive policies and procedures.

Developing an improvement plan is the most effective may of dealing with such a situation. The first step in the plan is to appreciate that the problem is in existence. This will be done by raising awareness of the problem within and among the nurses. The next step is to familiarize the nurses with such cases as much as possible. This can be done by shuffling the nurses between the units. This is mainly between the psychiatric and non-psychiatric units (Gilber, 2012). In-patient X’s situation, the nurses drifted back when they saw Mr. X behave the way he did. They looked at him as though he was a ghost. By placing such nurses in the psychiatric unit, they will be able to view such scenarios as “normal’ even when they come across them in non-psychiatric units. This shuffling action should be accompanied by training and workshops. Evaluations should also be done in order to assess the number of nurses who are actually familiar with psychiatric related signs and symptoms. The other step will be to place specific procedures and policies relating to such circumstances (Olshaker et al., 1997). Equipment should not only be present, but it should also be made available to all units in the hospital in case of such scenarios. In the near future, the nurses will be equipped both physically and mentally for the emergence of such scenarios.

PDCA

The improvement plan is to train and equip the staff, and develop procedures and policies relating to such circumstances. The recording member of the team should be very active during this part. The drafting of the procedures and policy or policies will also take place during this part. The training of the nurses will take place in various steps. As indicated above, they will be shuffled between the psychiatric and non-psychiatric units. However, this will take place after the physical assessment and training has taken place. The special team will be set for the drafting of the policies and procedures (Oshaker et al, 1997). This will include an expert in making of policies and their implementation, an administrator, a surveyor and an observer. The leader of the initial team will also act as the leader in this team. The facilitator will mainly deal with the training of the nurses. Constant evaluations and rectifications will work together to avoid future risks.

The assessment, training and evaluation will take two weeks. Here, the nurses will be given some refresher courses on how to handle such cases. They will also be physically placed in the psychiatric unit and the non-psychiatric unit in order to familiarize them to such scenarios. An arrangement will be made for them to encounter such scenarios in the non-psychiatric unit in order to push for more practices. However, a distinction should be made between the practice period and the normal running of work. During the third week, the nurses will be trained on the policy and procedures that have been fashioned. In this same week, they will put into practice these procedures and policies so that the policy makers and implementers can detect any shortcomings and challenges relating to the policies. After the full approval of the policy and procedures, the fifth week should start the grace period. This grace period provides room for mistakes and corrections before the official policy statement.

There are certain steps that can be used in order to check whether the plan worked. Collection of data during the practice period is quite relevant. This will present the action and reaction relating to the patients’ actions, nurses reactions in relation to the policies and procedures and the outcomes (Gilbert, 2012). This information can be filled in a data sheet or at the back of the patients’ medical chart/information sheet. The time date and unit should be recorded. The data should be frequently analyzed in order to gather as much information as possible for the decision making process.

Unit Protocol

• If the symptoms of the patient do not result in the “normal” ailments dominant in the unit, do not panic. Better, do not show the patient that you are panicking.
• Calm the patient by use of words before administering any drug. This should be done by reassuring the patient that he/she is in a safe place especially is he/she is panicky. This should be accompanied by calling for assistance. A physician should also be called at this point.
• If the patient is violent, and cannot be handled by one or two persons, he should be held to the bed before administering any drug, in case of any negative reactions.
• A physician should authorize the patient’s transfer to the psychiatric unit.
• If the physician fails to come in the recommended time, the nurse should take the patient to the psychiatric unit or call a psychiatric doctor.

NOTE: The patient should not be drugged to sleep before he/she is attended by a physician no matter the violence or physical reactions of the patient. The nurse should remain as calm as possible during the whole process (Risal & Sharma, 2013; Gilbert, 2012).

 

References

Gilbert, S. B. (January 01, 2012). Beyond acting out: managing pediatric psychiatric emergencies in the emergency department. Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, 34, 2.)

Olshaker, J. S., Browne, B., Jerrard, D. A., Prendergast, H., & Stair, T. O. (1997). Medical clearance and screening of psychiatric patients in the emergency department. Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 4, 2, 124-8.

Risal, A., & Sharma, P. P. (January 01, 2013). Psychiatric morbidity patterns in referred inpatients of other specialties. Jnma; Journal of the Nepal Medical Association, 52, 189.)

 

 

 

Factual Scenario for Authentic Assessment Project: Gumdrop Northern

Carrying out business activities in an ethical way in the contemporary environment has become critical, as increasing failures of initially sound firms have resulted from unethical practices. For instance, the failure of Lehman brothers and failures of many financial institutions during the recent financial crisis have reinforced the role of ethical corporate governance in contemporary environment. In this respect, entities need to adopt ethical codes and entrench a culture of ethics to sustain their growth. In this paper, the case of Gumdrop northern company is analyzed to highlight the ethical challenges that organizations in the modern day face.

Facts of the Case

Gumdrop northern company had contractual obligations to manufacture armored vehicles for United States military to meet agreed-upon quality standards. However, the entity’s products, including those illegally sold to Iran and Afghanistan, were faulty as evidenced by massive casualties in the United States military. This was a blatant violation of contractual provisions as was envisioned by the two contracting parties. Equally, being an international business entity, Gumdrop northern had legal obligation to comply with provisions of international law concerning production and distribution of vetoed military hardware to Iran and Afghanistan. However, in contrast to provisions in such laws and international treaties, Gumdrop Northern exported landmines to Iran and Afghanistan. Further, wrongful dismissal of workers violated worker adjustment and retraining act that stipulated that workers were to be given 60 days notice before termination of contract.

Additionally, Gumdrop Northern failed to meet the ethical threshold provided by the moral fabric that guides business operations and management practices. Although the US military paid Gumdrop Northern handsomely to manufacture high quality armored vehicles, it used substandard materials to manufacture its products. Essentially, the board of Gumdrop Northern failed to employ ethical consideration in decision-making. Moreover, they were under moral obligation to manufacture quality armors; instead, they resulted into deception and production of inferior quality products. Furthermore, Gumdrop management fired five workers for no cause to ease their legal liability to employees. Perhaps, for gumdrop northern, the end justified the means. Nevertheless, in Gumdrop’s scenario, fiduciary obligation of managers to the shareholders conflicted with the ethical requirements. The fiduciary principle dictates absolute loyalty to the one who entrusts an agent with one’s interests (Cooper, 1997); as such, managers had a responsibility to protect shareholders’ interests. However, fiduciary duty does not supplant ethicality in managerial practices; instead, ethical decision-making should complement fiduciary duty by safeguarding shareholder’s interests in the long term.

Legal and Ethical Issues Raised In the Scenario

Gumdrop Northern scenario created legal issues especially when the US military discovered the armored vehicles that Gumdrop supplied were substandard; they sought legal recourse through the department of justice. Gumdrop faced serious legal liabilities since all its products had quality issues and had caused extensive damages to the US military personnel, occasioning large number of legal suits against the company. Moreover, board members faced criminal liability following the entity’s breach of contract. Violating international laws and arms treaty also amounted to a criminal offence adding to the legal woes of Gumdrop Northern management. Further, the entity contravened Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notifications act that stipulates that “you must receive a written notice 60 days before mass lay off or plant closing…failure to which you may be able to seek damages for back pay for up to 60 days” (WARN Act, 2003). Contrary to these provisions and UAW collective bargain agreement, Gumdrop management decided to terminate employees contracts abruptly rather than giving adequate notice. This was a complete violation of American labor and employment laws. In their view, this would have warned department of justice, and deceased and injured plaintiffs that Gumdrop northern was exiting the American market.

To avoid the growing classes of plaintiffs and significant back pay liabilities, Gumdrop corporate leaders resulted into gimmick and unethical practices. For instance, they formulated a plan to dismiss five workers without any cause and give them enticing retirement packages to lower the number of unionizable employees to 95, which would expunge the company from the jurisdiction of the WARN Act. Furthermore, managers acted unethically by filing for bankruptcy to protect shareholders’ wealth from creditors and significantly high legal liabilities, even though they could afford to meet their monetary obligations. Filing for bankruptcy qualifies as an ethical issue because Gumdrop Northern was not in a liquidity crisis; in fact, it was making more than $500 billion in annual revenues. This was a plan to seek bankruptcy protection, which it would use to reject the collective bargaining agreement and WARN notices. Following a successful bankruptcy application, Gumdrop northern was relieved all its contractual obligations, which eliminated requirements imposed by WARN Act and severance liability under the breached collective agreement.

Fiduciary Duties Impact on Ethical Issues

Gumdrop case scenario exposes a tricky balance between ethicality in business operations and fiduciary obligations of corporate managers. Gumdrop managers faced the overriding duties of a fiduciary such as an obligation of undivided loyalty to shareholders (Pridgen, 2007). Gumdrop managers upheld the economic principle of maximizing shareholders wealth. Perhaps the argument may be their fiduciary duty was to the shareholders and not to employees. Gumdrop management chose the strategy that would have guaranteed protection of shareholders interest out of the perception that they were primarily liable to the shareholders. Comparatively, Ethicality advances a decision-making approach that follows a moral or virtue framework compared to fiduciary duty, which have a basis in legislation. Therefore, Gumdrop managers had to apply ethical considerations at their discretion. Following the growing legal liabilities, Gumdrop managers chose to uphold their fiduciary responsibility of protecting shareholders from massive financial losses hence applied for bankruptcy protection.

However, filing for bankruptcy under false pretence and subsequent investment in Colombia and Argentina violated the basic rules of justice, despite the directors’ requirement as trustees for the shareholders holds to make informed decisions that best protects shareholder’s interests. Corporate managers essentially encounter a challenge of navigating between fiduciary duty and ethical requirements. However, the bedrock of the manager’s decision is to pursue profitability and take action in line with shareholders’ interests. Nevertheless, ethical culture and moral obligations prevail on business leaders to make right choices that guarantee biggest benefits to the greatest number of people (Pridgen, 2007). Collaboration with Colombian and Argentina contractors, countries that never allowed unions, and subsequent environment pollution portrays Gumdrop as ethically inconsiderate.

Discussion and Solutions to Ethical Issues Raised In the Scenario

Although, Gumdrop northern directors were under fiduciary duty to protect shareholders’ interests, they should have considered the ethical implication of their decisions. Instead of using substandard materials to manufacture armored vehicles, they should have invested in research and development to invent cost effective designs thus maximize their profits. This would be possible and feasible since they had received handsome payment from the US military. By investing in research and development, they would have produced quality, armored vehicles that would have protected servicemen at a reasonable cost. Ncube and Wasburn (2006) observe that ethics is a central component of business sustainability. Had they embedded ethical practice in their organization culture, they would have considered the repercussions of their actions.

Further, instead of firing five employees without any cause and using undue influence to occasion the employees’ retirement, Gumdrop northern should have followed principles of fair negotiations to reach an amicable solution. Justice based on virtues requires an employee to be paid for the work done. Gumdrop should have introduced an acceptable worker compensation program to settle employees’ grievances. Perhaps, giving them advance salary and wages would have compensated for the 60 days benefits as indicated in WARN Act. This would have mitigated the severity of the legal implications that arose from the employees’ dismissal.

Equally, rather than of laying false claims to warrant bankruptcy protection, Gumdrop Northern would have explored strategies such as restructuring to relieve vulnerable directors off their duties. Since the shareholders’ knew the unethical operations of the company, they should have negotiated with the victims to reach an amicable agreement. In contrast, although Gumdrop Northern could afford to pay class-action plaintiffs and change executives in the event they were imprisoned, it chose the easiest alternative of filing a false bankruptcy claim to the detriment of creditors and employees.

Recommendations

Following the analysis of the Gumdrop northern scenario, various ethical interventions are required in the entity’s operations. The following recommendations are advised:

• The corporate executives should develop a workable ethical framework aligned to company’s fiduciary obligations to shareholders. This will provide managers with a guide to advise their actions when they face an ethical dilemma where fiduciary and ethical duties conflict.
• Management should redefine their business practices to take care of their duty to different stakeholders of the organization including employees, customers and public. Such an approach will help institute a culture of ethical business practices as a central pillar of firms overall performance. The approach also enables managers to identify ethical deficiencies that may lead to potential legal implications early enough to take corrective measures.
• Managers should view fiduciary duty as a responsibility towards all of the entity’s stakeholders, since such a perspective will be the sure way to sustainable development. In this respect, fiduciary obligation need not be a reason for unfair treatment of one group of stakeholders such as the unfair dismissal and forced retirement of employees at Gumdrop.
• Gumdrop northern should have considered ethical and legal implications of using substandard materials in manufacturing armored vehicles as well as exporting landmines to Iran and Afghanistan. Instead of engaging in such unethical practices, the entity could have renegotiated the contract to cater for increasing costs associated with high-quality raw materials. Moreover, respecting international laws and treaties would build the other players’ trust in Gumdrop, thus enabling it to get more clients in future.

 

 

 

 

References

Cooper, D. (1997). Fiduciary government: Decentring property and taxpayer’s interests. Social and Legal Studies, 6, (2), 235-257. DOI: 10.1177/096466399700600204.

Ncube, L. G. & Wasburn, H. M. (2006). Strategic collaboration for ethical leadership: A mentoring framework for business and organizational decision-making. Journal of Organizational and Leadership Studies, 13(1), 77-92. DOI:10.1177/10717919070130011001.

Pridgen, N. B. (2007). The duty to monitor appointed fiduciaries under ERISA. Compensation and Benefit Review, 39(5), 46-52. 17. DOI: 10.1177/0886368707306948.

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (1988). Retrieved from <http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/pdf/WorkerWARN2003.pdf>

Toward Leadership in a Global Society

Introduction

Leadership is the social influence in attaining a desired vision. The leader must have the ability of communicating the vision in attaining a common goal. It is not necessarily that leaders have formal authority, there are theories explaining the traits, charisma, power, behavior, function, situation interaction, values, vision and intelligence among other attributes (Northouse, 2012). Leaders in particularly are people that follow and provide direction or guides. This paper focuses on Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. as the exemplars leaders.  Eight common leadership theories identify with Great Man theories, Trait Theories, Contingency Theories, Situational Theories, Behavioral Theories, Participative Theories, Management Theories and Relationship Theories. Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. exhibited a number of leadership theories. This paper identifies with Situational theories, Participative Theories and Relationship Theories in analyzing the leadership attributes in Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and in me.

Main Body

Fredrick Augustus Washington Bailey is the initial name of Frederick Douglass prior to changing of names. He lived from 1818 to 1895 having been an orator, social reformer, statesman and a writer among the African Americans in the United States (Daley, 2006). Surveys indicated that Douglass escaped from slavery and immediately took the leadership in abolitionist movement basing on his exemplary skills in antislavery writing and oratory attributes (Archer, 2006).

Douglass had intelligence that was believed to lack in African American communities in the United States. Some of the exemplary work by Douglass is ‘An American Slave’, ‘Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass’ and ‘Life and Times of Fredrick’ (Daley, 2006). Douglass was influential in equality among the American people, supported suffrage of women, member of Equal Rights Party Tickets and he contributed significantly in a number of public offices. Douglass supported equality of women and people of all races in doing what is right (Archer, 2006).

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 and passed away in 1968. He was an activist, American clergyman and an influential leader in African American Civil Rights Movement. Leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered reflecting on the civil rights advancements by the use of civil disobedience in models that were not violent (Daley, 2006). American progressivism history has borrowed much from the live and times of Martin Luther King Jr. Some of the influential movements identify with Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) in 1957, Birmingham Alabama segregation struggles, March on Washington in 1963 in which he made the speech stating that he had a dream (Archer, 2006).

Martin Luther King Jr. proved to be a great Orator and also a radical, in which it became subject to FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations). Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in dealing with racial inequality; he planned a national campaign dubbed Poor people’s Campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, a move that led to riots in all cities of the United States. After his death, a number of American streets were named after his name, and he was also accorded Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom. A holiday was set aside for his honor and in 2011; a public memorial statue was erected in his favor at the National Mall (Daley, 2006).

Situational theories

Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. were leaders among the African Americans at a time when racisms were an issue. Situational theories argue that leaders are greatly influenced by the situational variables in setting the course of actions deemed the best (Costanzo, 2005). Analysis on Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. leadership indicated that different leadership styles are used in different situations. At times, both Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. used authoritarian leadership styles after the followers of the leaders acknowledge the two leaders as experienced and with a great vision for the minority groups among the American community (Northouse, 2012). At times Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. used democratic leadership style while dealing with experts in different areas.

In the same way,   I have noted that leadership has no single approach, different situations needs different leadership styles. Reflecting at leadership in the twenty first century, leadership in the ninetieth century and leadership in the twentieth century is different depending on situations, but in all, the fundamental of leadership is directing and motivating the group with the main intention of attaining a common target (Northouse, 2012). Societal values and ethics have been changing with socialization and globalization.

Situational leadership is relevant in macro and micro scales, and at the same time solving complex and simple tasks which are common to followers present in different development levels (Costanzo, 2005). Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and I in one situation or another value the contributions of situational theories of leadership; Situational leadership addresses changes in learning setting and in many other situations.

Participative Theories

Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. in a number of circumstances used Participative leadership theories in gaining the necessary supports.  Fredrick Douglass showed exemplary leadership skills while in abolitionist movement among other platforms while Martin Luther King Jr. showed exemplarily leadership skills in African American Civil Rights Movement among other platforms. In the same way Participative theories are influential in a learning setting, where the students come together with the tutors in realizing the best results (Northouse, 2012).

Participative theories argue that ideal leadership styles takes into consideration the inputs of other people in the teams. Such leaders in participative theories support contributions and participation from all the stakeholders as they collectively design an all inclusive decision making processes (Northouse, 2012). The input of other people is valued by the leaders in participative theories of leadership, as noted with Fredrick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and also in a learning setting.

Relationship Theories

Relationship theories were part of the leadership displayed Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. Surveys have shown that relationship theories are also preferred to as the transformational theories (Costanzo, 2005). Relationships theories of leadership concentrate on the connections build between the followers and the leaders. It has been noted that Relationship oriented leaders inspire and motivate people in attaining a common goal, this is made possible by focusing on the importance of the tasks of the members of the group, where each and every member is encouraged to look at issues from the same context. Fredrick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged each and every member to fulfill personal potentials depending on the moral and ethical standards. Relationship theories are also active in the learning contexts.

Own Leadership

Leadership to me have different meanings both on the positive and to the negative, there is good leadership and bad leadership depending on how the followers interpret leadership. I tend to fall in the authoritative or autocratic leader’s category, although this type of leadership fails in some situations. I value the notion that there is no perfect leadership theory or leadership style that fits in all situations, an indication that leaders have the responsibility engaging critical thinking in making sound decisions and in problem solving. I value communicating what is to be done, in a way that I heavily rely on my own knowledge and ideas; I pay less attention to the inputs of other people. I find myself controlling and regulating policies. Similarly to the approach done by the dictators, of late I’m learning to value the input of teamwork in people working together in realizing the common vision of the group. Teams are made up of members from multicultural societies, an indication that I have to adopt the changes cultivated by socialization and globalization, in developing a competitive edge, as proposed by participative theories and relationship theories in becoming a global leader.

Conclusion

Leadership took a different shape in the twentieth century; surveys have indicated that earlier theories in leadership basically shed light on qualities differentiating followers and leaders, while a number of theories focused on skill levels and situational factors. Leadership means different to different people, and in the same way, leadership can be applied differently in different situations (Northouse, 2012).

References

Archer, J. (2006). They Had a Dream: The Civil Rights Struggle from Frederick Douglass…MalcolmX. London: Puffin.

Costanzo, T. (2005). My ‘Situational’ Leadership Style. CSA 553 , 2-7.

Daley, J. (2006). Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications.

Northouse, P. G. (2012). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.