Specific Competency and Skill-building Explo Essay

Specific Competency and Skill-building Explo - Essay Example The qualities and practices that enabled him to reach this pinnacle position are the subject matter of this article. In its broadest sense, leadership is the ability to motivate people to work towards a set of objectives (Unknown, Leadership, about.com, 2008). This implies that personal goals do not interfere with the higher goals of a business on the one hand, and that the goals themselves are in tune with the corporate and ethical policies of that business. As Narayana Murthy says, â€Å"A leader is an agent of change, and progress is about change† (Murthy NR N, 2005, Essence of leadership, The Smart Manager). Corporate goals and policies are continuously upgraded by a change-agent, who if successful becomes identified with that business and assumes its leadership. This periodic up-gradation happens in the context of industry-wide changing environment, and expectations of the stakeholders. Moving through various management positions in American Express (AmEx) since joining in 1981, Kenneth Chenault is now its Chairman and CEO. AmEx is a 154 years old institution that is instantly recognized worldwide for its travel and financial services. Like Mr. Barack Obama is the first African American President-elect with ‘change’ as his main theme, Kenneth Chenault is the first African American to head one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average corporations (Mara D H, 2004, Strategy: Power plays, Business Week, p.153) and is a quintessential change-agent himself. The goals that he set, the policies that he inspired, the changes that he brought about from time to time, and his ability to motivate people across cultural barriers both within the USA and across the globe – all testify the leadership skills of Kenneth Chenault. Hence it is but natural that he is heading AmEx today. When he joined as in-charge of the strategic planning division, AmEx’s main business was premium

Measuring Customer Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Measuring Customer Satisfaction - Essay Example led to improved sales but has also led to increased customer satisfaction that intern leads to customer retention hence giving such businesses competitive advantage over others. On this basis, this essay will discuss the best practices used to measure customer satisfaction and further evaluate the current practices adopted by Union Pay Organization. To start with, measurement of customer satisfaction has several benefits to businesses. Measurement of customer satisfaction can be defined as a process in which businesses are able to gauge the quality of their processes as well as that of their products and services from customer feedback or other indirect means (Hayes, 2008). As a result of these measurements, businesses can be able to implement and evaluate various processes in their main objectives. For instance, through the customer feedback, businesses are able to gauge themselves against competitors and identify effective strategies that can place give them competitive advantage in the market (Grigoroudis & Siskos, 2010). Further, measurement of customer satisfaction helps to reveal changes in tastes and preferences by customers that can be used in developing products and services in order to retain existing customers and also attract new section of customers by factoring their preferences in business products or services. On the other hand, several customer measurement practices have been identified to work in various business sectors. To start with, transactional surveys have been widely used to gather information about customer satisfaction. This kind of approach is simple because it provides immediate feedback shortly after customer encounter (California Employers Association, n.d). Data collected through transactional survey may be regarded as qualitative because the kinds of responses obtained mainly include impressions of customers to general services and products relating to a particular business. Transactional surveys have advantages that can help

Child Friendly Schools In Kenya Education Essay

Child Friendly Schools In Kenya Education Essay The purpose of this essay is to explore the contribution of Comparative and International Research in the successful implementation of Child Friendly Schools (CFSs) in Kenya. Emphasis will be placed on the background of CFSs, current practices and emerging critics, success stories, problems and pitfalls and what CIR can do to subjugate some of these challenges. I will start by examining the rationale for exploring CFSs, based on literature and my professional experience. Following this background will be literature surrounding the concepts of CIR and CFS in relation to global agendas, exploring how CFS came into existence and the driving forces behind it. I then go on to focus on a case study of CFS in Kenya, discussing the role of CIR in the Kenyas CFS, arguing that CIR is used as a political tool in creating educational policy, rather than a research method or an intellectual inquiry. I will further critically analyze challenges facing CFS and how knowledge on CIR can contribute mo re effectively to successful implementation of CFS. A conclusion based on the literature and authors experience will then be drawn. Throughout the essay, I build a case in favour of CIR arguing that CIR stimulates critical reflections about our educational systems by investigating commonalities and differences across national borders. Background and Rationale Perhaps, one of the growing fields in education in the modern age is comparative and international education, judged by the volume of studies reported in the literature. Central to this is that many countries around the world have formulated some of their educational policies based on scholarship in CIR. With the current wave of globalization, researchers and experts, especially in the field of education, are always trying to find ways of streamlining their educational policies with the global trends. According to Giddens (1990:64), globalization is the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distance localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. Global forces therefore have an impact on shaping local practices at grass root levels. In order to do this tactically and critically, comparative and internal research remains cutting edge in informing people about the realities, the challenges and the possible effects of uncritical transfer of ideas. Interestingly, global agendas in matters related to education are prioritized towards basic education as opposed to adult education or higher education. In Africa, this would be probably because, as Oketch (2004) points out, basic education yields higher rates of returns compared to higher education. This has subsequently caused government and non-governmental organizations to focus more on improving the quality of basic education. Child-friendly schools (CFSs) in Kenya is an example of a initiative sponsored by UNICEF with the aim of not just providing children right to education but the right to the right education. In other words, CFSs are more concerned with the quality of basic education in addition to its access. The emergence of CFSs in Kenya was catapulted by the forces of agendas 1 and 2 of Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) which emphasizes on the provision of basic education. The World Education Forum (2000) agreed on six Education For All (EFA) goals. The sixth goal conce rned Education quality, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognised and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. The term quality in education is dynamic because of the social, political and economic context at which it is used. Because of differences in contexts, it is imperative that knowledge of comparative and international research be used in designing policies and pedagogy in CFS that fit that particular context. Furthermore, with the fear that some countries may lag behind as others move forward, sub-Sahara countries are now engaging in various practices in order to achieve this goal, a race against the 2015 set deadline for attainment of EFA goals. As the clock ticks towards the year 2015, priority goals in education may change for post-2015 and the worry is further elevated. One of the efforts the government of Kenya is doing to improve the quality of education is by integrating CFS model into the basic education system. Two major questions arise here: First, how is CFS realistic considering myriad challenges facing the FPE policy in Kenya? Secondly, if CFS model is the best practice to go by, what is the role of CIR in successful implementation of the CFSs? It is against this background that the purpose of the essay hinges. Literature Review In this section, I will look at the concepts of Comparative and International Research (CIR) and Child Friendly School (CFS) based on the literature and merge them with the global forces that catapulted the emergence of CFS with an attempt to unveil the voices behind the introduction of CFS in Kenya. In addition, I will use an example of PRISM experience in Kenya to reinforce the understanding as to the role of international bodies in promoting quality through well strategized and executed projects, arguing that lessons from PRISM experience can be used as insights to successful implantation of CFSs. Concepts of Comparative and International Research (CIR) and Child Friendly School (CFS) CIR is a fusion of two broad areas of research: Comparative Research and International Research. To understand its full meaning, it is important we define the two areas of research separately. In his definition of comparative research, Mills et al (year) argue that: Comparative research is a broad term that includes both quantitative and qualitative comparison of social entities. Social entities may be based on many lines, such as geographical or political ones in the form of cross-national or regional comparisons. (p. 621) A similar perception was echoed by Noah and Eckstein (1969: 127), who described comparative education as an intersection of the social sciences, education and cross-national study [which] attempts to use cross-national data to test propositions about the relationship between education and society and between teaching practices and learning outcomes. In light of this definition, comparative research in the context of education can be defined as a study of two or more entities or events (Crossley Watson 2003) with the underlying goal of searching for similarity and variance. Cross-national or regional comparisons may include comparing educational policies, pedagogy, educational leadership and so on. According to Mills et al (2006: 621), the search for variance places more emphasis on context and difference in order to understand specificities. International education, on the other hand, can be defined as the application of descriptions, analyses and insights learned in one or more nations to the problems of developing educational systems and institutions in other countries (Wilson 2000a: 116). Thus, international research is concerned with research carried out across two or more countries, often with the purpose of comparing responses between them. This might be done in order to devise strategies that work well across both or all these cultures or to suggest local adjustments to a global strategy There is a close relationship between comparative and international education. Epstein (1994: 918) points out, that international educators use findings derived from comparative education to understand better the processes they examine, and thus, to enhance their ability to make policy. We can therefore draw from the above two definitions that CIR in education as a method of comparing both qualitative and quantitative entities in education across different countries, societies or cultures with the aim of identifying similarities and differences. It is however important to note that not all international research is comparative, and not all comparative research is international or cross-national. According to UNICEF, a child-friendly school is both a child seeking school and a child-centred school: It is child seeking because it actively identifying excluded children to get them enrolled in school. It is a child-centred school because it acts in the best interests of the child leading to the realization of the childs full potential, is concerned about the whole child: her health, nutritional status, and well-being and concerned about what happens to children before they enter school and after they leave school. A CFS system recognizes and respects childrens right and responsibilities; it provides the enabling environment to realize childrens right not only in schools, but also in childrens home and their communities. These include children from conflict zones, street children and children with disabilities. The Child-Friendly Schools model (see fig 1) is based on simple, rights-based concepts that would have all schools be: Rights Based School: CFS proactively seeks out-of-school children and encourages them to enrol, irrespective of gender, race, ability, social status, etc. Gender Sensitive School: CFS promotes equality and equity in enrolment and achievement among girls and boys. Safe and Protective School: CFS ensures that all children can learn in a safe and inclusive environment. Community Engaged School: CFS encourages partnership among schools, communities, parents and children in all aspects of the education process. Academically Effective School: CFS provides children with relevant knowledge and skills for surviving and thriving in life. Health Promoting School: CFS promotes the physical and emotional health of children by meeting key nutritional and health care needs within schools. (UNICEF, 2007) Fig 1: Model of the Child-Friendly School Source: UNICEF( 2007. The CFS model provides a framework for planning (and monitoring the effectiveness of) strategies for increasing access to quality basic education with the specific focus on the development of strategies to include those children hitherto excluded from education (UNICEF, Global Education Strategy, 2007). It is important to note that there is no one-way to make a school child-friendly. The model may differ from country to country depending on the context. International and Local Pressures and their influences to formation of CFS in Kenya Education in sub-Sahara Africa, and indeed in Kenya, is crafted from both influences by global trends in education and the legacies of colonialism. Chisholm and Leyenderker (2008) observe that: Since 1990, the goals and purpose of education in sub-Sahara Africa has been reshaped by four interconnected developments: globalisation, the changed focus of international aid agencies towards development assistance, the adaptation of sub-Sahara African countries to the new world order with its new political emphases, and the spilling over of new pedagogical ideas from the USA and Europe into sub-Sahara Africa. (p 198) Kenya is a signatory to a number of conventions in education, including the Convention to the Rights of the Child (1989), the World Declaration on Education for All (Jomtien, 1990), the Dakar accord and the Millenium Development Goals (2000). In achievement of education development goals, Kenya is bound to, among other things, quality education by MDGs. The Jomtien call for access for access, equity, quality and democracy in education appeared to promise both social and economic development (Chisholm and Leyenderker, 2008). Social and economic development, and continues to be believed, requires educational change and educational change is necessary for social and economic development (ibid:). Educational change, in turn, is perceived to depend on, amongst other things, the input from relevant development assistance projects. These projects, in the arena of education, are typically formulated with reference to internationally negotiated development agendas (like the MDGs) and priority (Crossley Watson, 2003). An example of these projects in Kenya is CFSs which are supported by United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). The Education Section of UNICEFs Programme Division introduced the Child Friendly Schools (CFS) framework for schools that serve the whole child in 1999 (Chabbott, 2004). Rationale for introducing CFS framework in Kenya The increased reliance of foreign aid to support education reform in Kenya has been accompanied by a transition, from understanding education as a human right and the general good to viewing it primarily in terms of its contribution to national growth and well-being through the development of the knowledge and skills societies are deemed to need. (Arnove Torres 2007:359). Occasional voices continue insisting that education is liberating, that learning is inherently developmental (ibid: 359). With the global concern that Sub-sahara Africa countries may not achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015 unless the progress is accelerated (Carceles et al., 2001; Bennel, 2002), Kenya responded by introducing Free Primary Education (FPE) policy in 2003 with both local and global pressure. The rationale behind introducing FPE was (apart from the pressure from global and international agendas) to alleviate poverty attributed to lack of literacy skills. The success story behind implementation of FPE policy is the increased enrolment at primary schools by nearly 50%, from 5.9 million in 2003 to 9.38 million pupils according to the Kenya Economic Survey 2011. However, there are myriad challenges facing the implantation of FPE policy: there are not enough textbooks, classrooms are overcrowded and the infrastructure in many schools is inadequate for the numbers of pupils attending. Many of the schools do not have sanitation facilities. The teacher-pupil ratio is quite high: accor ding to UNESCO there are more than 40 pupils per teacher, on average. All of these factors militate against the provision of quality teaching. There is no magic wand for fixing this problem of quality in education. In response to this CFS were introduced in Kenya by UNICEF. According to UNICEF (2006:1): The challenge in education is not simply to get children into school, but also to improve the overall quality of schooling and address threats to participation. If both quality and access are tackled, children who are enrolled in primary school are likely to continue, complete the full cycle, and achieve expected learning outcomes and successfully transition to secondary school. The CFS framework (see appendix 3) aims at promoting child-seeking, child-centred, gender-sensitive, inclusive, community-involved, protective and healthy approaches to schooling and out-of-school education with a general goal of improving the quality of learning. Since CFSs are concerned with the quality of learning, it is important we look at the meaning of quality. The national examinations to obtain the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at the end of primary cycle and the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) at the end of secondary cycle are designed to evaluate the extent to which the primary and secondary graduates master the curriculum content. In other words, the national test scores are used as the indicators of quality. The limitation of this indicator is that it does not take into account the context at which learning takes place i.e. the learning environment, learners unique characteristics etc. There are many definitions of quality but one of the descriptions of quality which emphasizes on the context was by Tikly (2011:10) who argued that: A good quality education is one that enables all learners to realise the capabilities they require to become economically productive, develop sustainable livelihoods, contribute to peaceful and democratic societies and enhance wellbeing. The learning outcomes that are required vary according to context but at the end of the basic education cycle must include threshold levels of literacy and numeracy and life skills including awareness and prevention of disease. In his description, Tikly believes that a good quality education arises from interactions between three overlapping environments, namely the policy, the school and the home/community environments. In his perception of quality education, Tikly puts context into consideration i.e. needs of the learner, cultural and political contexts. In addition, he emphasizes on the relevance of what is taught and learned and how it fits the nature of particular learners in question. This encourages policy makers to take cognisance of changing national development needs, the kinds of schools that different learners attend and the forms of educational disadvantage faced by different groups of learners when considering policy options'(ibid:11). The fact that CFS emphasizes on learner-centered pedagogy and puts the child at the centre or focal point in the learning process raises the idea of what is regarded as valuable knowledge and how this knowledge is acquired in this particular context. This leads us to the inquiry on the school of thought or paradigm behind introducing a contextualized CFS framework. CFS as an approach to education is premised on constructivism, a theory of knowledge arguing that humans generate knowledge and meaning from interaction between ideas and real experiences. According to constructivists, the notions of reality and truth are socially constructed and in different context with the understanding that knowledge is subjective and embedded in multiple realities. Thus, quality of learning should be viewed in the context in which it is occurs. Towards Quality Basic Education In Kenya: Developing Research Capacity and Evaluation Before we acknowledge the contribution of CFS in providing quality education to the children at Primary school level, it will be prudent to review some of other contributions that has been made by international organizations in collaborations with the local governmet in promoting quality of education at grassroot levels by building research capacity. Kenya has had a history of benefiting from international assistance in its education sector. One of the programmes is the Primary Schools Management (PRISM), an initiative of DfID through the Ministry of Education, which places a lot of emphasis on participatory approaches and emphasis on mobilising community support, resource management and utilisation, supporting learning of pupils and developing action plans. It targeted teacher training and management and the impact of this is overall effectiveness of an education system which has a direct bearing on quality of education. According to Otieno Colclough (2009:26), PRISM is regarded as one of donor-funded programmes which had most positive impact on quality of basic education and CFS can learn from it. As Crossley et al notes, the main objective of PRISM was to improve the quality of primary education through the training and support of head teachers in practical management skills. Borrowing from the PRISM experience it is worthy l earning that well planned and organized CFSs projects involving community participation at grass root level could help tap local voices and lead to successful implementation of educational policies not only in Kenya but also other parts of African contexts. Challenges in implementing CFS in Kenya In this section I will explore common challenges associated with the CFSs concept with an aim of illuminating and critiquing the gap between policy and practice in CFSs. Access and Quality Dilemma: Which one should be first priority? As I mentioned earlier, one of the role of CFS in Kenya is to improve the quality of learning. But the access to education is still a challenge in Kenya and there is fear that Kenya will not have achieved EFA goals 1 and 2 by the year 2015. As we near the 2015 set deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, at a time when hopes should be high, universal access to primary education in Kenya seems to be slipping away. Many comparative researchers argue that different countries have different educational problems and it is the countrys obligation to identify what should be the priority and why. Aksoy (2008: 218) observes that: While developed countries are mainly engaged in activities to increase the quality of education, or they practice and seek new techniques and methods of learning and teaching, developing countries struggle to provide equal opportunities for education, trying to increase the rate of participation of all citizens in basic education, which is actually compulsory. To deal with its educational problems, each country works out countrywide or local solutions, depending on the nature of the problem. The tone of such statement is more closely allied to the question of priority. Priority in one country may not be a priority in another. In Kenya, the major problem basic education is facing is of access while higher education is facing the problem of quality. CFS focus more on quality, but in the Kenyan context, access to education is still a problem in basic education even after the introduction of FPE. The CFS concept of quality can however suit very well in small state commonwealth countries which have almost universal access to basic education. It has been noted that small sates have now shifted education priorities towards focus in school effectiveness, quality and inclusion (Crossley Watson 2003) and CFS in Kenya should learn from small states that the priority should now be on access to basic education before shifting to quality. Atomizing the child: is child-centred the solution to quality CFS? A key feature of a right-based, CFS system is that it is linked tightly to the child-centred learning process. CFS advocates for child-centred learning where a child is treated as a single entity or an atom in learning processes. The idea of atomizing a child has its drawbacks derived from child-centred learning. First, there is an oversight on early year development behaviour of the child. Psychologists believe children undergo various levels of development and their learning behaviours are different at each level. For instant, Vygotskys (1978) concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) implies that a child cannot ordinary create ZPD by himself; he needs the more expert individual to bridge the gap between his current development level and his proximal level of development. Secondly, a child-friendly, democratic learning environment may not work successful in overcrowded classrooms and school with limited resources like it is the case in Kenya. Thirdly, child-centred learning weakens the role of the teacher. The idea that a child must be active in construction of knowledge is often understood to imply a diminishing role for the teacher in learning process who now becomes a coach or a facilitator. A call for paradigm renovation, from an exclusively child-centred learning to a combination of both child-centred learning and teacher-centred learning approach is important so that the weakness of one method is complemented by the other method. What Lessons can Kenya learn from other Countries in Implementing CFS? A Review on the Contribution of Comparative Research Kings (2007) emphasizes the need to explore the tension between the national and the international policy agendas in Kenya in order to make informed decisions when crafting educational policies. Clearly, this is a view that underscores the contribution of CIR researchers in bridging theories, policies and practices with both local and global minds (Crossley, 2000) in trying to identify betters grounds to critically reflect and determine appropriate course of action. Apparently, the term that is commonly used in Kenya and indeed many Africa countries in the initial processes of designing an educational policy is benchmarking. Essentially, this is usually a comparative study which is carried out either locally and/or internationally in trying to compare different models of policy framework with the aim of critical adaption or adoption. Lessons are well learnt when a comparisons are made, and this underscores the strength and significance of comparative research. Moreover, since problems transcend national borders, it is prudent to seek possible solutions from a similar experience in another country, and this explains why international research is important. Kenya can learn from other countries that are either progressing or failing to implement CFS because lessons can either identify opportunities or gaps, based on comparative analysis. In these respect therefore, I have identified two key elements of CIR which could help implementation of CFS. The first element is on identification of the gap between policy and practice. Documenting the emerging good practices and lessons learned within the regions is useful in informing evidence based programming and advocacy to enable us to achieve better results. For example, a Global Evaluation Report published by UNICEF in 2009 on comparative studies of how to six countries (Guyana, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand) with different experiences implementing CFS, demonstrated the following: CFSs in varying contexts successfully apply the three key principles of CFS models-inclusiveness, child-centredness and democratic participation. Schools operating in very different national contexts, with different levels of resources and serving populations with different needs have succeeded in being child-centred, promoting democratic participation, and being inclusive. Schools that had high levels of family and community participation and use of child-centred pedagogical approaches had stronger conditions for learning, that is, students felt safer, supported and engaged, and believed that the adults in the school supported the inclusion and success of each student. (UNESCO, 2009) Kenya can use this success report to assist in providing a broader perspective on the ways in which CFSs can contribute to quality in the countrys unique context. The caution should however be that any steps taken should have hindsight of the current context in the country to avoid uncritical transfer of practice which may end up opening a Pandoras box. Secondly, through CIR, studies of educational systems that share similar problems can provide information for learning possible consequences. A recent comparative evaluation research conducted by UNESCO in Nigeria, Gunaya, Thailand and the Philippines on CFS pedagogy gave different findings. While teachers in Nigeria and Guyana mainly focused on meeting basic instructional material needs (textbooks, paper), many teachers in Thailand and the Philippines focused on having greater access to information and communication technology (UNESCO 2009). Kenya experiences the same challenge as Nigeria and Gunaya, and data from these countries can be used to learn how they coping with inadequate basic instructional material. The caution here should be, that common problems may prevail in different countries, but common model cannot be applied because each country has different culture/context (Crossley Watson, 2003:39). This provides invaluable information of what to adopt, modify or avoid. Conclusion It is worthy reiterating Crossley'(2003) emphasis that context matters and different countries have different needs and priorities even if they are faced with the same challenges. The value of CIR is studying foreign systems of education in order to become better fitted to study and understand our own (Sadler 1900, reprinted 1964:310) and CIR can be used as a lense to focus on adaptable or adoptable practices. UNICEF repeatedly emphasises that CFS is a pathway to educational quality rather than a blueprint and that it is counterproductive to regard the CFS model as rigid, with a present number of defining characteristics or key components (2009c, Ch. 1, p. 9). Thus, the essay sought to present an overview in favour of the contribution of CIR in improving successful implementation of CFSs in the Kenyan context. As such, the essay acknowledges the role of CIR in stimulating critical thinking and reflections about CFSs system by evaluating its success and failures, strengths and weaknes ses. This critical reflection facilitates self evaluation in our own context and the basis for determining appropriate courses of action. The article also hints that CIR helps us understand global agendas and how they shape educational development projects from organizations and development agencies.

The Negative Impact of Narcotic Regulations on Long Term Care Patients

A family sits by their loved one in the last hours of his life, supporting him in his time of need. He has resided in a long-term care facility for the past two years. As his organs slowly shut down, his body succumbs to immense pain. He is sweaty, his brow is furrowed, and each time he is touched to be cared for he moans. The morphine doses prescribed to handle his pain are no longer effective. In order to provide this patient with the best care possible, his nurse tries to contact the physician. It is the weekend and the nurse is only able to page the on-call doctor. She anxiously awaits a return phone call, while explaining this situation to his distressed family. The pain appears to be increasing. Twenty minutes later the physician calls her, and issues orders to increase the morphine doses. The nurse then contacts the pharmacy answering service and waits for the on-call pharmacist to return a call. In twenty more minutes the on-call pharmacist responds and informs the nurse that he needs to directly speak with the physician before she can legally give the medication and that he will contact her after this has occurred. In the interim, the patient dies in immense pain and the family is distraught that his last hour was spent in agony. This situation is playing out time and time again in long-term care facilities all over the United States as a result of regulation DEA-337N that was reinterpreted by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in January, 2010. The regulation states that a nurse has to be an agent of the prescribing physician to call in a narcotics prescription to a pharmacy (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010). In theory, this new regulation makes sense to prevent illegal acquisition of narcotics, but it is potential... ...dents, DEA-337N requires immediate revision. Patients in the long-term care setting can experience inordinate amounts of pain while waiting for physicians to arrange the dispensing of narcotic medications necessary for pain control. References United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration. (2010). Title 21 code of federal regulations Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/cfr/index.html Nursing's social policy statement. (2010). Sliver Spring, MD: American Nursing Association. Guido, G. (2010). Legal and ethical issues in nursing. Upper Sadle River, NJ: Pearson. Yukari, T, Noriko, M., & Okamoto, Y. (2010). Literature review of pain prevalence among older residents of nursing homes. Pain Management Nursing, 4(11), Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/734065

Motivation in the Workplace at SAS Institute Essay

When it comes to motivation in the workplace, SAS Institute seems to have it masters. No one wants to come to work every day and spend time away from their families all the time on a daily basis, but something makes us do this each and every day that we go to work. Work motivation is the factor that makes behave the way we do in order to get up and go to work every day. It determines the level of effort we are going to put into our work and our behavior about work (George & Jones, 2012). A company’s most valuable asset is its creative capital and it takes a unique company to think outside the box to find creative ways to motivate those creative employees. SAS Institute has developed a solid employee management plan that has sustained their work force and has continued to make it grow stronger. The company has been ranked the 6th in the â€Å"Best Companies to Work For† by Fortune Magazine for several years in a row and calling SAS Institute â€Å"the closest thing to a worker’s utopia in America† (Harvey, 2000). So what makes this company so great with their employee management? SAS Institute creates an environment where employees can development new and innovative products, they have a performance based reward system that includes not only financial benefits but overall benefits to health as well, and they establishing their strong core values to their employees. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION According to the text, intrinsic motivation is the kind of behavior that people have when they enjoy what they do and put in the extra time and effort on their own without any incentive other than the sense of accomplish and achievement (George & Jones, 2012). SAS Institute prides itself on the many ways that it inspires employees to want to work hard and make those kinds of achievements. The company’s values are employee-centered and from all the research over the years, that philosophy has believed to have worked  for them and others who are starting to copy their methods. They make the work interesting by provides ways for their programmers to create their own products. Instead of acquiring other companies that might have a particular product already created, they invest in the research and development that it would take for their employees to create those products. This keeps the employees interested in their work and keeps things challenging for them. SAS invests twenty percent of their revenue each year into research and development (George & Jones, 2012). By using this investment, SAS believes and has proven they can diminish the possibly of economic downturns that most technology companies experience (George & Jones, 2012). It is up to the managers to keep the employees motivated in their creativity. SAS has created ways of motivation that exceed money or fear of being reprimanded (Hall, 2014). Everyone that works at SAS is treated the same no matter what. From the head of the company to the person that takes out the trash, all employees get the same benefits. They also eliminate the need for a hierarchy structure in order to make things work within an organization. Because of this level of motivation, SAS Institute’s turnover rate is one of the lowest in the country. This creates a cost savings of an â€Å"estimated $85 million a year† (Hall, 2014). The company believes in an open door policy that gives their employees the freedom to give management feedback and have the company response in a positive way to that feedback. Basically, SAS allows their work force to manage their selves. They realize that allowing people to create their own schedule opens up the doors for their creativity to flow. SAS’s theory of performance is about giving the people the tools they need to get the job done and then get out of the way. SAS also encourages employees to change jobs within the company to broaden their horizons by providing different types of training and positive reinforcement from management. EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION Extrinsic motivation is motivation that is performed by providing material or social rewards or a reason to avoid being punished (George & Jones, 2012). SAS Institute goes to great lengths to offer their employees the best there  is in benefits. Their vision is the more a company can maximize their employees’ creative ability, the more those employees will produce not just good work but great work. SAS provides their work force with a flexible work program that allows them to be able to come up with creative and innovative ideas any time whether it is on their 9 to 5 schedule or any other time. This allows employees to feel free to be more creative because they are not confined to a conventional way of thinking of ideas only happen during work hours. The company understands that employees need time for their families and time to relax. So, SAS provides their campuses with individual private offices, child care centers, summer camps, health care physicians on site, fitness an d recreation center, and access to all kinds of services that the employee would have to go to outside of work (George & Jones, 2012). The company is rich with resources for their work force. Employees are not hassled about needing specific tools in order to make their job more conductive. They also provide free food in their cafeterias. SAS even stocks all their break rooms with large canisters of M&Ms for everyone (Harvey, 2000). So, why does SAS do so much for their employees? A major of an average employee’s life is spent at work, so wouldn’t it be a better environment that would make you want to come to day in and day out if it was centered on combining home life with office life. This is what SAS has create, a work environment that surrounds their work force with the comforts of home at work. They discourage working more than 35 hours a week (Harvey, 2000). People want to work for a company that cares about them and where they want to go in their careers. SAS doesn’t just say they are going to do these things they show people and in return their work force performs to their peak potential which in turn creates huge profit for the company. CONCLUSION SAS Institute is one of those companies that embrace the new age of workers and understands that sometimes that conventional ways of doing things might not be a good fit for today’s technology saavy workers. In order to get the most out of their creative work force, they try to nurture as many of their needs as possible and have been very successful at it.  By providing their employees with their physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem  motivators, and self actualization, they have created a â€Å"workplace utopia† (Harvey, 2000).  They SAS uses intrinsic motivation more than extrinsic motivation which is a different way of getting the most performance out of a work force and in turn create maximum productivity and loyalty to the company. Employees are more satisfied with their contributions and want to work hard at their jobs. REFERENCES Harvey, F. (2000, Jul 26). Of chocolates and profit sharing: MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE PERKS: In an industry where staff loyalty is a rare commodity, SAS institute holds on to its programmers. fiona harvey. _Financial Times_ Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/248916235?accountid=458. Hall, T. (2014, Jun 09). Managing and Motivating Creative Employees. _Workplace 101: A Profiles Global Business Blog._ Retrieved from http://info.profilesinternational.com/profiles-employee-assessment-blog/bid/206603/Managing-and-Motivating-Creative-Employees

The Troubled American Education System

In an enlightening article by writer April Shenandoah, on March 20, 2002, the reality that Americas' education system is in real trouble becomes clearly evident. The writer feels that when a child in America attends school, he is, in fact, more at risk than if he did not attempt to attend. This is because, of late, it has become obvious that most negative influences that children are faced with are being increasingly found in the public schools that they attend, and it is during the past few decades that the situation has worsened even further. In a simple comparison between the situation in public schools today and that during the 1940's, it is indeed amazing that punishments were given for ‘offences' such as, for example, running in the corridor, chewing gum, talking in the class, and at times, unfinished homework, whereas today the top offences are drunkenness, drug abuse, assault, rape, and many other similar crimes, including murder. (Shenandoah, 2002) What has made the system even worse is that not only does the child have to cope with drugs and the immorality that is generally associated with them, but he would also be forced to study in the ‘second rate' education system of today. This is evident in the fact that from the year 1963 onwards, the scores for the ‘Scholastic Aptitude Tests' have been constantly dropping. This has developed into yet another problem, and this is that since the grade have been dropping, students are not able to cope with the existing syllabus, and today, newer textbooks have to be written for students at a lower grade level, so that they may cope better. It is the truth that today's newspapers and magazines are written for people at about a sixth grade level, and this is the standard of the average American citizen. What is even worse is the fact that many students are not at all aware of how little they are actually learning, and when they apply for University education elsewhere, it is then that they are forced to accept the fact that they have not received a good and solid education. (Shenandoah, 2002) An extract from a speech made in the Senate on January 23, 1990, shows that the author believes that the American education system is in deep trouble. One reason for this may be that everyone, politicians, educators, and numerous others who are involved in the system seem to have forgotten one important aspect of public education: the child. No one really seems to care for the child; more concern is being shown towards racial balance, effective teaching methods, an improvement of the curriculum, and so on and so forth, but the student, the child has become lost is all this. For example, in a school in North Carolina, importance is given to ‘racial balance', wherein school children belonging to all types of races are put into the bus two hours before the start of school, and dropped off an hour before school is supposed to begin, and the children are quite worn out and tired even before school has started. (American Education in Trouble) In a similar manner, teachers are being trained into becoming more ‘effective' teachers, and this would entail that they follow a set pattern of behaviors within the classroom so that they may be able to secure a better score with the administration. What about the children? Who cares about them? They are not allowed to interrupt, or even to become involved with the lesson being taught, because this may interfere with the ‘mandated' behaviors that the effective teacher is set to follow, and lower his rating. Today, most states are becoming aware of the fact that this system is doing absolutely no good for the children, and are therefore trying to eliminate it. Another is the ‘merit pay' system. This may be a credible concept and linked to the evaluation of teachers, but the problem here is that even today, the evaluation is carried out under the ‘effective teacher' plan and not under the merit pay system, and therefore, this is not at all valid. The textbook system in public education in America today has, in fact, become more of an ‘absurdity' than anything else. Textbooks today are not only becoming more and more expensive, but the content of the textbooks is also going down in its standard. Today, it is a fact that more and more textbooks are being written by the so called ‘experts' in the field, and the curriculum as such is dictated by either the current educational ‘fad' of the time, or by the special interests that the expert may have in the entire episode. It must be remembered that almost all educational fads last for a maximum period of ten years, and it is a sad fact indeed that by the time the teacher becomes accustomed to the content and the information contained within the textbooks, they have already become obsolete, and it is time to change them yet again. In addition, it is a fact that the textbook industry is a huge and lucrative one, and all the smaller schools and the smaller states find that they are completely at the mercy of the textbook selectors in the states, where they are the largest spenders. One example is the influence that a large state like California has had on the textbook industry. In recent times, California had rejected all the science textbooks because it felt that the subject matter of evolution had not been given enough importance and the information was much too scanty, and today, all science textbooks are full of assertions that want to prove that the unproven theory of evolution is indeed a fact. At the same time, religion was banished from textbooks, especially during the 1980's, because of the separation of the church and the state and the controversy surrounding the issue. Teachers are also scapegoats in the education system in America, for who really cares for them? At the outset, they are extremely overworked, in fact, more than any other worker. They are forgotten too, just like their students, in the long run. At the same time, they are expected to care for the forgotten students, and they are also expected to teach more and more, despite the fact that they are not given more and more time in which to teach. Neither extra time nor money would be able to solve all these problems. And teachers may be asked to teach the basics of mathematics, English, science, a foreign language, and social studies instead. They must also be asked to teach those children who are well rested and well fed, and not exhausted after long bus rides and longer waits in the cafeteria. They may be evaluated by those persons who have a valid teaching certificate in their possession, and who have been active in the classroom for at least a minimum period of one year. In addition, if they were not given any extra duties, and if the administration was willing to share in any extra duties, then the teacher would be able to fare much better in the classroom, and care for her children in a way never done before. It is the opinion of Michael L Berger in his book entitled ‘The Public Education System' that there are six important controversies that generally appear in American public education systems, and these are: the budget that has been allocated for the educational system, the various auxiliary services that are needed, the facilities and the equipment needed in schools, the basic curriculum of education, the various personnel involved in teaching, and finally, the administrative rules and regulations that have to be followed by the schools. In the book ‘Critical Social Issues in American Education: Democracy and Meaning in a Globalizing World', the authors feel that it is the various interrelationships between different educational institutions, public education in particular, that is very important in the American public education system. Public education is in general, subject to a vast number of influences, like for example, community pressure, and community concerns. Schools also tend to interact with other schools, and therefore, leave an impact on each other; in other words, it can be said that there is a wide interaction between various aspects of the educational system, and when cultural and religious and other beliefs interact with budgetary concerns, and demographic concerns as well as politics and ideological debates come into the picture, the educational system has to keep all these considerations in mind so that it may be a good and an effective one. It is when it does not happen that the educational system suffers a setback. (Purpel; Shapiro, 2004) It must be remembered, however, that teachers are a very important part of the public education system anywhere in the world, and especially in the United States of America, and when taken from an economic point of view, it is the so-called ‘teacher unions' that are not only producers of representative services, but are also consumers of such representative services in the educational system. From the time when unionization took place for teachers, during the 1960's, the National Educational Association' and the ‘American Federation of Teachers' have been monopolizing the market in terms of representative services. This type of monopoly does indeed have its adverse effects, and these are that the costs have skyrocketed, and at the same time, the service has become vastly inferior to what it was before. (Leiberman, 2003). Finding the best possible schooling for a child in the present circumstances has indeed become an uphill task today, especially for minorities, like African- American children. Perhaps this may be because of the large number of options available to children today, what with the educational system being bombarded by ‘magnet programs', charter schools', and manifold other public school options. Parents today have to be choosier than ever before, and at times, this can very well be overwhelming. (Lord, 2005) Recently, when two important economists were asked the question about what was America's greatest challenge today, the reply was that it was the education system. The problems can be seen as being from both outside and also from within the school and perhaps one of the most important reasons is the breakdown of the ‘family unit'. As parents today find less time to spend with their children, the school is expected to compensate. In addition, the decline of values in society is a major contributing factor, and this leads to a lack of basic discipline, a lack of attention, and so on. Another important factor is the worsening health of American children, and while some are exhausted and tired, some more are hungry, and some others are diagnosed with learning disabilities of some kind. The teaching system is also at fault, because children are forced to learn according to the teacher's convenience and not to theirs'. The lack of emphasis on spiritual development can also be taken as a major factor contributing to the lackluster American public education system, and along with various other factors, this can become a major drawback. What can be done to change the educational system? Redesigning the public education system is a daunting task, but it must be undertaken for the betterment of American children and eventually the society. Long standing practices have to be reconsidered, high quality learning opportunities must be provided to American children even before kindergarten, and perhaps the existing method of promoting a child from one class to the next can be eliminated so that children may be allowed to learn and to progress at their own pace. More teachers must be brought in, and the quality of teaching must be improved. If at least some of these measures were to be adopted for a start, then changes can indeed be brought in to the declining public education system in the United States of America (Guillory, 2001).