Change Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Change Management - Coursework Example cause of the aspect that changes in necessary in business on a continuous basis in order to move in parallel with the ever changing demands of the customers, stakeholders and the overall external environment. It provides competitive advantage for business units in the marketplace allowing the business to develop itself effectively and quickly (DeBruijn, 2011). As in the provided case, it is evident that Know Inform (KI) is a particular organization that is integrally associated with change management towards proper execution of the business functioning. In order to ensure successful change management proper planning, efficient workforce, strict governance, and committed leadership is deemed to be quite crucial. Correspondingly, in this particular study, focus would be levied on understanding the concept of change management prevalent in the company presented within the case example. The essay is also intended towards discussing the characteristics of the company with regard to change situation and how their leadership skill contributed towards managing this workplace change (Creasey, 2007). In order to deal with the prevailing problems with regard to acceptance to change, the management of the business has emerged with several key measures that would be crucial to discuss. In this regard, several change management models can be taken into consideration to have a better comprehension at large. The model to be implemented within the organisation has mentioned about the strategy of changes that can be regarded as applicable by the organisation with regard to the scenario of change management. The management has been quite clear with regard to the criteria of change that has taken place in the organisation. In this regard, the Kurt Lewin Change Management model can be taken into consideration. According to the model, change in location is quite crucial in the present day business and it influences the business in any industry sector. However, there might develop

Poverty in America Essay Example for Free

Poverty in America Essay Poverty in America seems to stare at us in every town and major city. Being a culture of materialism and economic success, you would imagine that we would have enough prosperity to see that everyone has a fair share of housing, healthcare and money to fulfill their basic needs. However, as collection plates and fundraisers of our churches continue to ask more and more of us, it sometimes feels as if the need for charity will never cease. In fact, in Deuteronomy 15:11 we read that, â€Å"The needy will never be lacking in the land; that is why I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy kinsman in your country. † With this is in mind, we as Christians can remember that charity is a work of God, not an obligation put upon us by our own personal community. Later in the New Testament we read of Jesus saying, â€Å"The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. † This statement again affirms the need for charity will always continue. And logically, as our population grows while our resources become more limited, this statement clearly makes sense. Yet, with all of the poverty we see, we also view just as much corporate greed and needless spending. If you’ve ever watched MTV Cribs, you wonder how one movie or sports star can justify sleeping at night in a bed that cost more than a half a years rent for some families. Granted, we might not always have the celebrities here on earth, but should we give them as much reverence as Jesus, and justify their increasing expenditures? The gap existing between the financial extremes seems to be forever growing rather than diminishing. Though the Bible admonishes that we should be giving of charity; in today’s culture this may mean taking a further step and turning away from our reverence for entertainment. Instead of buying a ticket to the football game for several hundred dollars, we may consider buying two months worth the food for the local food pantry to accomplish this goal. We may not eliminate poverty, but perhaps stop the growth of the gap between the two extremes. Works Cited The New American Bible For Catholics. (1986). South Bend: Greenlawn Press.

The sociological theory of social constructionism

The sociological theory of social constructionism Social Constructionism essentially represents a sociological theory of knowledge that studies the development of various sociological phenomena in social contexts. A social construct, the anchor of this theory, refers to a concept that is the artefact of a specific group. Social constructs, to elaborate, dispense with take away from commonly accepted inherent qualities of items, concepts, or issues, and instead focus on their dependence upon, and the contingent and conditional rationale of, our social sense. They describe such issues and things are more easily described as the result of numerous human choices, rather than of natural laws or divine intention. The origins of present day social constructionist theories go back to the writings of Immanuel Kant. Kant argued for the existence of a world that was independent of human minds, thus implying that humans should not assert that they created the world. This world, he said, is without structure and is not divided into things and facts. Structure is imposed on the world by perceiving it and thinking of it in specific ways, as also and by the adoption of particular sets of beliefs, (rather than instead of others) about it. Vivine Burr (2003, p 2) argues that social constructionism enables individuals to adopt critical attitudes towards their conventional and traditional methods of perceiving and understanding the world and their own selves. It provides humans us with fresh ways on perceiving ideas and things that are considered to be commonplace and are unquestioningly accepted. Numerous things like for example money, newspapers or citizenship are socially constructed and. All of these t hings would not obviously have existed in the absence of society. Each of them furthermore could have well been constructed differently. Social constructionism encourages people to question the widely held perception that conventional and accepted knowledge has sprung has come about from objective and impartial examination of the world. It is as such opposed to the positivist epistemology of traditional science and spurs thinking individuals to constantly question their assumptions about the appearance of their environment and its various components. This short study deals with the implications of social constructionism for social workers and how its use can help them social workers to understand human behaviour. Specific emphasis has been given to the use of social constructionism in understanding commonly held perceptions and attitudes towards mental disorders. The Use of Social Constructionism by Social Workers to Understand Human Behaviour Social workers have two fundamental objectives, namely the strengthening of the ability of individuals and groups to cope with and overcome the many difficulties and challenges they confront in life, and the bringing about of improvements in various social and environmental circumstances areas, in order to improve the satisfaction of human needs; especially of people from underprivileged and oppressed social segments. Social workers plan and attempt their various interventions through their understanding of environmental circumstances, the various reasons for such these conditions, and the client system. Such understanding and knowledge and the consequent adoption of theoretic approaches significantly influence the point, the tool, and the nature of social work intervention. It becomes evident that adoption of theoretic preferences, based upon an understanding of the reality of the client environment, is crucial, both to social work theory and its practice. Theories of classical empiricism assert that the truth about the world is established and is independent of the individual. Social constructionism conversely puts forth argues that such truth is certainly not independent of individuals but is actually depends upon their thoughts, perceptions and beliefs. Social workers, by using social constructionism, will be able to understand the various dimensions of reality within such individual thoughts, perceptions and beliefs. Constructionists state that reality cannot be known separately from our elucidation of it. Social constructionism works on the principle that reality is constructed socially and places emphasis on language as a critical route for interpretation of experience. Whilst objectivists state that individuals make discoveries and find out about the reality of the world through the construction and testing of hypotheses via the actions of neutral observers, constructionists debunk such assumptions arguing that the interests and values of observers can never be separated from their observations and are thus bound to influence the final construction of common perceptions about world realities. Gergen (1985, p 270), states that generation of ideas of reality is initiated by social, rather than individual, processes and that the touted objective reality of the positivist approach is actually the result of various social construction processes that are influenced by historical, political, cultural and economic conditions. With such knowledge being essentially constructed, it can change over time and diverge across cultural groups that embrace different perceptions and beliefs about human nature and development. Considering that the norms, beliefs, valu es, traditions, attitudes and practices of different cultural groups vary from each other, the social construction of their knowledge is also likely to differ significantly. An understanding of this fundamental principle can help social workers in their realisation of the different perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of different individuals towards similar social phenomena or stimuli. Social constructionism helps social workers in adopting critical stances towards established assumptions on regarding the social world that reinforce the interests of powerful and dominant social groups and assists them in realising that the world has come about because of historical processes of communication and negotiation between groups and individuals. Gergen (1985, p 266), states that people see the world through the eyes of their particular communities and cultures and respond accordingly. Established assumptions, understandings and behaviours of people are sustained by social, political, economic and moral institutions. Payne (1997), states that reality, according to social constructionism, can be stated to be the guidance of behaviour by individual perceptions of knowledge and reality. Individuals arrive at shared perceptions of reality through the sharing of their knowledge via different social processes that first organise such knowledge and thereafter establish it by making it objective. Social and individual activity thus becomes habitual with individuals sharing their assumptions about their perceptions of reality. People behave in line with social conventions that are based on such shared knowledge. These conventions are furthermore institutionalised because of the agreement of many people on such understandings on different aspects of society. Such realisations and accords become legitimised by processes that integrate these ideas about reality into ordered and believable systems. Social workers need to realise that social understanding is finally the combined result of various human understandings through the operation of circular processes, wherein individuals contribute to the construction of social meaning within social structures of societies through processes of institutionalisation and legitimisation. Societies consequently create conventions through the participation of individuals in their structures, which, in turn influences the behaviours of people. Spirals of constantly moving influences build and rebuild the conventions that people adopt and by which they live. Berger and Luckmann, (1966), state that individuals experience the world to be an objective reality, comprising of persons and events that exist separately of individuals perceptions. Language provides the means through which individuals make sense of their environment, classify persons and events, and interpret new experiences. The shared reality of everyday life by different individuals distinguishes it from individual realities, (like dreams). Language helps individuals in sharing their experiences and making it available to others. Such sharing of reality leads to institutionalisation and thereafter to habitual ways of working. Habitualism makes the behaviour of different individuals predictable, facilitates joint activity and perpetuates social control mechanisms. Knowledge is as such institutionalised within sub-groups, or at social levels, and significantly influences the behaviour of people. Social constructionism allows social workers to question dominant structures of knowledge and understand the impact of culture and history. Social workers by and large understand the requirements of humans through the interplay of different ideological, ethical, political and economic factors. An understanding of social constructionism can help them in understanding the responses behind the actions of both dominant and vulnerable groups of society and decide upon the adoption of the best suited routes for bringing about social change. Social Constructionism and Mental Illness Much of modern day societys perceptions about mental ailments are influenced by the medical and psychological models, which state that medical illnesses are real; they concern disturbances in thoughts, experiences, and emotions and can be serious enough to cause functional impairment in individuals. Such ailments make it difficult for individuals to sustain interpersonal relationships and conduct their jobs. They can also sometimes result in self destructive actions, including suicides. The more serious of such illnesses, like extreme depression and schizophrenia, can often be chronic and lead to serious disability. The social constructionist approach states that such much of modern day perceptions about mental ailments are caused by the specifically constructed vocabularies of medical and psychological models, replete with their elaborate terminologies for mental disorders and focused their focus on deficits. Social constructionism can help social workers in understanding the socially constructive and destructive illusions that have been created put up by existing medical and psychological models and deficit based language. Walker (2006), states that vocabularies of medical and psychological models, including the concept of mental illness itself, are essentially social constructions. They are made up of vocabularies that describe deficits and diseases and perceive human beings as things that can be examined, diagnosed and treated, much in the manner of machines. Such perceptions (a) lead to obsessions with compliance, (b) distinguish between normal and pathological states, and (c) position prac titioners as experts, even as clients are represented built up determined as passive and obedient recipients of treatment. Recommended treatments focus on elimination of symptoms, support established paternalistic roles, and are not focused on actual client needs. Examined from the perspective of linguistics, reified categories like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia appear to be defined by clusters termed as symptoms; schizophrenia for example is concerned with the occurrence of audio hallucinations. Such terms, it is evident exists only because of the creation of consensus among the dominant groups of doctors and psychologists and persist because of convention. Mental illnesses are often described akin to physical ailments like diabetes, where individuals are required to manage their lives with specific medications. Such comparisons are used to explain the working of medications and to make the diagnosis and recommended treatment for mental ailments acceptable to clients. Such analogies however breakdown completely considering if it is realised that discussions about thoughts and feelings of individuals concern their identities and not their bodies. Social workers need to understand that the vocabularies of medical and psychological models essentially position clinicians as the most suitable interpreters of client experiences. Even apparently harmless terms like clinical or treatment plans establish contexts where clients are perceived to be abnormal or having pathologies, even as clinicians are established as authorities with abilities to perform interventions for assisting clients in overcoming their pathologies. With the power of definition lying with clinicians, the labelling of people as mentally ill pushes them to the borders of society and takes away from them their intrinsic rights and privileges. Social constructionism helps social workers in understanding that whilst political and human pressure has helped in eliminating the incarceration of the mentally ill in mental hospitals, the distinction created by vocabulary on mental illness leads to the movement of centres of power to clinicians and undermines efforts for self determination and community integration. Such medical and psychological vocabularies constitute obstacles to more inclusive mental health programmes and undermine social understanding of people with mental disorders.

Germany under Bismarck :: essays research papers

Germany under Bismarck The Historical Debate The view of Bismarck over the years has changed and it is the historical debate surrounding our perception of him and his intentions that often shapes our interpretation of the German unification. No 19th century figure has attracted the attention and controversy that surround the achievement of Otto von Bismarck, with the exception perhaps of Napoleon Bonaparte. The success of Bismarck’s work in unifying Germany has shifted from a determinist to a dialectic approach. Early historiography had portrayed him as a master statesman, leading Germany to her rightful destiny. However, dissent from this thesis was at first from non-German historians who re-interpreted later events to conclude that there were more sinister implications to the work of the ‘Iron Chancellor’, making him a more Machiavellian and immoral politician. Later historians, after the Second World War adopted a teleological interpretation of Bismarck accusing him of leading the way for the disastrous era of Nazism by crippling the development of democratic institutions in Germany, he laid the country open to future dictatorships however, some historians have argued that Bismarck could not be held for all future developments. They cite his semi-feudal brand of conservatism, arguing that along with his religion and his limited Pan-German view, these factors all distanced him greatly from the principles of Nazism. Recent developments have tended to move away from the study of ‘Grand Policy’, to diminish the role played by great men such as Bismarck, but to stress the wider context in which they operated. Themes and Problems of 19th century Europe The collapse of the Napoleonic empire in 1814-15 brought the statesmen of Europe to provide for he political future of France and those territories conquered by France. In addition they had to reestablish the balance of power shattered by the Napoleonic campaigns, and to ensure against any similar disruption. France was forced to accept a restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, and a large war indemnity and an army of occupation was imposed. The justifications were manifold however, few do come to mind. Firstly, the Allies sought to prevent future French expansion by the creation of a cordon of relatively strong states around her borders. To this end, a new United Kingdom of the Netherlands was created, consisting of the old Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium). Secondly, this cordon was backed and supported by a loose confederation of 38 states known as the German confederation which was established to compensate for the collapse of the old Holy Roman Empire which would ensure that a mass of small German states would be less easy prey for a future expansionist power.

Introduction to Working with Children Essay

E1 Describe three different types of setting which provide care and education for children in your area. This must include one example from the list: statutory sector, voluntary sector and private sector. The statutory sector involves all the organisations that are set up, controlled and funded by the government or local authority for example: St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School. This type of sector is funded by people who pay tax or national insurance. Another type of setting which provides care and education for children in my area is sure start children’s centre. This is a voluntary sector and they are run by organizations. This type of sector is not designed to make a profit. ‘’Money for voluntary organisations comes from a variety of sources that include donations, fund-raising, grants from central or local government, lottery grants and fees for the services they provide.’’ (Thornes 2008 pg4) The private sector is owned by an individual or company and aim to make a profit which people will pay for their child to attend such as: Burnham Montessori School. E2 Describe how each of the types of settings indented in E1 aims to support children and their families. St. Anthony’s Catholic Primary School is a statutory sector that aims to support children and their families by involving parents fully in their children’s learning. They also support children and their families by providing them a safe positive environment. Every child is entitled to 15 hours a week of free education and they must follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum in their day plan and etc†¦ to support children and their families. Sure start is a voluntary sector that aims to support children and their families in many different ways. The first way they aim support children and their families is by providing good quality play, learning and childcare. The second way is by giving ‘’support for children and parents with special needs.’’ (Thornes 2008 pg9) Burnham Montessori School is a private sector that aims to support children  and their families by giving them registered care facilities which offer full or part time care for children. They also support them by offering them good quality play where they can learn from it. Another thing they do to support children and their families is by offering 15 hours a week of education which is delivered by the early year’s foundation for 36 weeks a year. It also provides a solid routine with long and flexible hours. E3 Describe the main legislation in your country that supports the rights of children. E4 Describe the recognised principles and values that underpin working with children. When working with children it is important to recognise the principles and values that underpin and guide professional standards and good practice. The cash statement of value states that equal opportunities help to respect the child individually. It would therefore be important to value and respect the children you work with as I have seen the stuff do in my work placement. It also states that health and safety should be having safety from crime and anti-social behaviour in and out childcare settings. This happens in my work placement by having policies and procedures that insure children stay safe. The cash statement of values states that partnership with parents; respecting parents and other cares. Admissions policy; respecting all children and giving them their rights at the setting. The stuff will carry this out in my work placement by taking all their view and opinions into account throughout the day. E5 Explain the importance of valuing and respecting all children in the setting. E7 Describe how study skills can support your learning during your training. Recognizing my own study skills is a way that can help support my learning during my training. This will help me to complete my training successfully because I can put what I have learnt into practice. In order for me to  complete my training, I will need to manage my time effectively and be organized. By doing this I will then be able to carry on the rest of my learning during the training. I will therefore use my listening skills and any other skills that I have learnt, into practice at work placement and apply them throughout the day activities. I can then also reflect on them and take on board and act upon the feedback from my assignments and non-assessed and assessed work, to ensure that the strategies are really helping me to succeed in my training. D1 Explain why the practitioner should develop and maintain appropriate relationships with parents and other professionals. Practitioners should develop and maintain an appropriate relationship with parents and other professionals. It is important to build a relationship with parents; an easy way to do this is to make sure you have good communication with them. For example make sure that you talk to them in the appropriate language such as using manners. Other way’s that you can build relationships with parent’s are that you would have regular contact with them for the best interests of the child. It is also important when building a relationship with parents that you understand what they think is best for the child. For example if the parents wanted the child to sit at a table all day and do work. It is also as important to build a relationship with the children in order to be able to work well with the children in the setting. For example if a child is not feeling well at nursery you would know in their best interest that they may want to be left alone. The last and also important relationship they should have is with colleagues; to work well with them to ensure the needs and safety of a child are put first and it would be easier for this to happen if there is a relationship. D2 Discuss the characteristics of working in a multi-agency team. There are many different services that work in a multi-agency team such as social services. They all have many characteristics that allow and help them to work with children and their families. One characteristic that helps and allows them to work with children and their families is cooperation because  it makes everyone in the setting feel needed and engaged by working together. Every person involved in the multi-agency team should feel belonged and this is a characteristic as it will make sharing information and problems easier. Having good listening skills will also help and make everyone in the team feel respected and valued that their point is being heard. C Explain why the early year’s practitioner should listen to children’s views and value their opinions. It is important to listen to children’s views and value their opinion. This is because it builds on the child’s self-esteem and well-being. They should be listened to by valuing their needs and accepting that every child has the right to be heard. The emotions and opinions that a child expresses during play can guide practitioners to identify their likes, dislikes and activity preferences. This will then help the practitioner to plan and implement activities of varied interests and learning needs. It will also make the child feel a sense of belonging in the setting. Hannah Mortimer, 2000, author of various early years’ books and education psychologist believed that young children should be having a say and be included in decisions making when planning and the practitioner can ensure the children have equal opportunities and feel involved in their daily routine. B Explain why it is important that practitioners understand the limits and boundaries of their role when working with children. Children are very sensitive and easily influenced. Practitioners need to know their boundaries so that their actions are not misconstrued as inappropriate. Having these limits will allow children and practitioners to know what the rules are or the expectations. The boundaries give the children and practitioners the freedom they have to work within any limits. When allowing a child to have freedom within the boundaries, they can then learn to choose for themselves and have the consequences. Practitioners teaching and giving the children opportunities to make choices in early life, and allowing them to make mistakes along the way will be helping them  develop into adult life. A Reflex on the importance of child centred approach in early years settings. I used a child centred approach to teach the child about the number 6. She likes to play with Peppa Pig, so I had 6 pictures of Peppa Pig on the paper and made her count them. When she was counting the 6 pictures of Peppa Pig she was able to count all of them and repeat the number after me. This theory and research shows the idea of using children current ability to support more advanced skills where the child follows the adult. In my current setting practitioners have a child centred approach many different ways. One way I have seen this happen is when staff see children interested in certain things or activities and they then plan around these interest for next weeks work and activities in the setting. Another way practitioners do this is by doing an observation on a child and learning about them to meet their needs through various task or activities. This show that in my setting practitioners work well with the children and help improve the quality of every child interest and needs in the setting to the principles of a child-centred approach. In placement I also saw a boy was pretending to put fires out with a hose, the practitioner helped him make. Within a few minutes I had helped him set up a load of chairs (a fire engine) and set up a phone on a chair for them to receive emergency calls. By listening to his interests and observing them I was able to extend what may have lasted a few minutes into half an hours child initiated play. Reference: * Beaver. M, et al (2008) Childcare and education Cache level 3 Cheltenham: Nelson Thorns * Hyacinth .M, et al (1998) A practical guide to equal opportunities Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes * www.workingwithkids.co.uk/childrens-act.html 12th October 2011 * http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky 14th October 2011 Bibliography: * Hannah Mortimer, 2000, author of various early years’ books and education psychologist

Kudler Fine Food Compensation Plan Essays

Kudler Fine Food Compensation Plan Essays Kudler Fine Food Compensation Plan Essay Kudler Fine Food Compensation Plan Essay Kudler Fine Foods (KFF) is an upscale specialty food store that stocks the very best domestic and imported foods products. Kudler is divided into five departments; fresh bakery and pastries, fresh produce, fresh meat/seafood, condiments, packaged foods, cheeses, and specialty dairy products. As an upscale specialty food store, KFF has provided its customers with the finest selection of gourmet products imported from around the world. The organization has had enormous success because of the products they sell as well as the service they provide. The organization has developed new strategies and objectives that will help promote growth and profitability. Kathy Kudler, founder of KFF now wants to focus on expanding their services, improving the efficiency of its operation, and increasing the consumer purchase cycle as a means to increasing the loyalty and profitability of its consumers (UOP, 2009). Kudlers strategic objectives are to increase customer loyalty through a frequent shopper program and expanding services. The new strategy is very customer service oriented and requires the organization also to develop and implement a new compensation strategy. This paper will develop compensation for the six critical positions within the KFF organization, provide a job analysis along with a job description, explain the skill-based job-design preference, examine competitive compensation rates within the market, describe the message that compensation strategies covey to employees, provide a recommendation and implementation of the new compensation plan and illustrate a performance appraisal that will be used by KFF for each level within the organization. This paper will ultimately propose a compensation plan with strategies that will help KFF obtain their long-term profitability and human resource objectives. Job Analysis Job analysis is in essence is the combination of job descriptions and job specifications or skills necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of a job. Job analysis involves the determination of the skills require to perform a particular job. It details the tasks, procedures, skills, and attitude needed for successful performance of the job or position. Many companies and managers use job descriptions and job analysis to set employee goals and objectives, so they are tied into the needs of the work unit or company (Bhushan, 2000, p. 2). Job analysis plays an important role in developing a compensation strategy. Job analysis should be used when developing a compensation package, the job requirements and skills listed in a job analysis should be used to help determine salary. Organizations use information obtained by job analysis for recruitment, selection, placement, organization planning, job design, training, grievance settlement, as well as job evaluation and other compensation programs (Bhushan, 2000, p. 2). The following is a Job Analysis Table that will help KFF in determining the proper compensation structure for their six critical positions; Store Manager, Assistant Store Manager, Department Manager, Cashier, Stock Person, and Bagger. Job design is an integral part of the job analysis process. Job design is made up of two approaches; job-based approach and skill-based approach. It helps to decide the content of the job in terms of responsibilities. Job-based approach deals with the responsibilities of a job or position. With this approach employees are hired to fill open positions, trained to perform the tasks, and rewarded based on performance levels (Lawler, 1994). Job-based approach relies heavily on the contents of the job and the duties and tasks related to completing the job, this approach is strictly concerned with the job itself and human capital or skills. A job-based plan pays employee for the job to which they are assigned, regardless of the skills they possess (Milkovich, 2005). Job-based pay structure is based on job performed and job market and pay increases are through promotion. Skill-based approach deals with the skills it takes to complete the responsibilities and duties of a position. This approach has a major focus on the skills employees possess as oppose to the job. Skill-based approach is most effective in work situations where knowledge work is involved and where individuals can add significant value to the product or service (Lawler Ledford, 1992, p. 384). The skill-based approach pay structure is based on skills certification and the market and pay increases are provided through on skill acquisition. Structures based on skill pay individuals for all the skills for which they have been certified regardless of whether the work they are doing requires all or just a few of those particular skills (Milkovich, 2005). Both approaches offer valid advantages and disadvantages however I strongly prefer the use of skills-based approach. This approach will be the approach for Kudler Foods as it is in the growth stage of business. As organizations grow their business needs change and the jobs they offer change as well. The skill sets for the organization evolve and become more important and valuable.