Week DQ

To be sure we are caring for the entire needs of the attain, we must include a spiritual assessment to make sure the wishes and desires of the patient and family are being met in order for the patient to heal from their illness. To address our own spiritual needs we must be honest and open with ourselves as to what is important to us spiritually. Exploring your own spiritual side may be helpful to deliver the care necessary to your patients and leave room so you can be open to whatever it is that your patient's spiritual needs may be.This may also be important so you can understand what your own beliefs and preferences are so you don't impose Hess on your patients. You may find that there are certain things you choose to do for your faith in order to stay spiritual. My family chooses to worship together on Sunday mornings in church. We have always done so and now that we are all married, we meet on Sundays and worship together. It brings us all together and I feel at peace when my fa mily is together.When taking care of your patients it is necessary to have an understanding of what it is that they believe and what will help them in their healing process. Many patients become stressed when hospitalized and seek comfort in having their virtual needs addressed. This is when it is important to ask those questions and have the knowledge of what you can do to make your patients as comfortable as possible. Many times patients will ask to see their pastor or want to make a trip to the chapel. Some may just want a quiet place to worship or will find comfort in having a Bible at the bedside.It may be important for your patient to be involved in prayer or meditation in which you may wish to include yourself or not depending on how comfortable you are. Patients like to include their health care providers in their prayer as they live it helps to bring peace to their healing. When a person becomes ill, it often affects the family as well (GUCCI lecture notes, 2011). By asking the patient and family of their spiritual wishes, this allows us to gain a better understanding of who are patient is and what they need while under our care. Addressing and supporting patients' spirituality can not only make their health care experiences more positive, but in many cases can promote health, decrease depression, help patients cope with a difficult illness, and even improve outcomes for some patients† (The Joint Commission, 2005). A Emily may have certain ceremonies or ways in which they pray together so it is up to the health care provider to allow this and accommodate them to the best of our ability.

Night Terrors

An article by Ph. D John Cline has help me to come to believe otherwise. There was a situation In which a woman woke up to her sleeping husband's fists. Indeed the husband was sleep but far away from peace. The husband was experiencing a night terror. A night terror is far worse than a bad dream, a night terror is when someone wakes up screaming and in some cases they act out their dream.In this case the husband acted out his dream; however, his actions occurred unknowingly. His wife screamed his name for him to stop, this of hich woke him up. These events didn't stop there so the husband decided to seek professional help. upon being appointed to a sleep specialist he learned about Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder. He quickly learned that he was suffering from a very rare disorder. About 0. 38 percent of the general population and about . 50 percent face this disorder.This disorder is also known as RBD his class of which is known as parasomnias. Parasomnias are unwanted phy sical events dealing with sleep. RBD happens to blend with Rapid eye movement. In the sense of this disorder the person's body is paralyzed and intense and colorful dreams occur. This sleep disorder is most common to men over the age of fifty years of age; however, Its possible for anyone to have this disorder but theyre not as Ilkely. Many sleep dfferent disorders associate with each other such as this one and sleep apnea in relation to rapid eye movement.R8N happens to also be associate to Parkinson's disease. There are Whitehead 2 many sleep disorders that can effect our sleep. This of which happens to be important because sleep Is Important to use as humans. Sleep can determine how health one can be mentally and physically. The Importance of sleep speaks for itself n fact, we do spend one-third of our life sleeping. I chose this article because everyone sleeps but, who says that we have to be at peace while doing it? I couldnt possible picture life without sleep.Honestly, I thin k life would be entirely too long and tiring without it. I also wanted to know more about this disorder for future references. Psychologically this article covers REM which happens to be the movement of the eye as someone dreams. In addition, I believe that our society would be pleased to know this disorder Is not a common one. This article was great in terms of knowledge of the disorder. I would have maybe even njoyed reading this article on my free and not Just for class purposes.In reading this article Ive learned that I am at a greater risk in having this disorder than the general population. To sum things up, never take your recommended six-eight hours for granted, because you never know when things could start to go bump in the night for you. Night Terrors By tiequeisha Jones me to come to believe otherwise. There was a situation in which a woman woke up to Upon being appointed to a sleep specialist he learned about Rapid Eye Movement however, its possible for anyone to have t his disorder but theyre not as likely.Many sleep different disorders associate with each other such as this one and sleep apnea in relation to rapid eye movement. RBN happens to also be associate to Parkinson's important because sleep is important to use as humans. Sleep can determine how health one can be mentally and physically. The importance of sleep speaks for itself peace while doing it? I couldn't possible picture life without sleep. Honestly, I think that our society would be pleased to know this disorder is not a common one. This this article IVe learned that I am at a greater risk in having this disorder than the

Socrates Defense of Athenian Law and C.S. Lewis' critique of Research Paper

Socrates Defense of Athenian Law and C.S. Lewis' critique of subjectivism - Research Paper Example Why would Lewis insist that we interpret Plato’s Socrates in this way? Socrates was an Athenian who firmly believed that the system of the law under which the jury was acting was fair. The city of Athen’s tribunal sat to bestow justice in accordance with the city’s regulations. From the outset of his trial, Socrates declared that, â€Å"I must observe the law and make my defense† (Plato 35c). Owing to the fact that he openly admitted the purpose and nature of his lifetime activities, Socrates' case would appear to be based on a matter of interpretation instead of fact. Socrates stated that his teaching, contrary to corrupting the morals of the youth, had actually made Athens become a better state. He would assert in the faces of his accusers that, â€Å"My teaching is the bidding of the gods; and I believe that the city has actually benefitted from my service to the gods† (Plato 30a). Even after being pronounced guilty, Socrates made it clear that h e respected the views of the legitimate city authorities and would obey their sentence. He said this even though he was aware that he had been unjustly accused. This shows just how much he believed that the Athenian legal system was the foundation of the Athenian city state and had to be valued. The Athenian legal system had a distinct method of trying accused persons. ... The Euthyphro provides evidence that Meletus was a young Athenian who did not know Socrates on a personal level (Euthyphr 2b). After hearing both the defense and the charges, it was decided that there was need for an initial hearing. In Athenian trials, citizen volunteers would function as the jurors. They were usually paid for their services after being chosen by lot. To ensure that there was no possibility of bribery or jury tampering, the juries were usually quite large. Socrates’ case, for example, was presented before 500 jurors. Socrates felt that if he had actually been found guilty of crossing the laws, then he deserved the sentence that would be meted out. Socrates' greatest argument against ignoring the court’s decision and fleeing Athens lay in the fact that his existence in the jurisdiction of Athens was an admission of a contract between Athenian authorities and him to observe its laws. Owing to this fact, fleeing from Athens without permission or notificat ion to the authorities would actually be violating the laws of the land and participating in ‘wrong’ actions- which was the direct opposite of the ‘goodness’ that he believed in. Socrates had always been a forthright advocate for the Athenian political and legal system. Owing to the agreement between him and the city authorities, he was also the beneficiary of an unknown quantity of benefits. Moreover, for him to fully enjoy the benefits of what was provided to him by the city of Athens, he had to in return give up something. In this case, it was his freedom of choice and action where there was a clash between his personal views and the stipulations of Athenian law. The Athenian legal system had a modicum of fairness in its dealings with citizens. Given that the

The Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure Investigation Board Report Term Paper

The Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure Investigation Board Report - Term Paper Example After launch and successful insertion into orbit, the spacecraft lost contact with the ground station and later became a total loss. An Investigation Board inquired into the loss and determined that a problem with the Attitude Control System led to the loss (NRC & NASA 54). They also identified several factors that may have contributed to the catastrophic loss in the management and engineering rigor applied in the project. This paper relates to the shortcoming and the lesson that a systems engineer in charge of a similar project can learn from it. The Lewis Spacecraft Mission Failure Investigation Board (LSMFIB) identified two direct factors, and several indirect factors contributing to the mission failure. The first direct factor identified was flawed design and simulation of the Attitude Control System (ACS). The design of the ACS was such that in safe mode, the spacecraft would be in a â€Å"power positive orientation† (LSMFIB 9). However, an imbalance in the thrusters caus ed the spacecraft to face away from the sun in such a way that the sun’s rays hit the edges of the solar panels powering the spacecraft. This led to draining of the batteries at a quick rate because of the â€Å"power subsystem and thermal subsystem Safe Mode design† (LSMFIB 9). ... The first reason was that there was pressure on the spacecraft development team to cut costs hence they implemented a single shift. This made the discovery of anomalies very difficult. In fact, the actual problems occurred when no one was on duty. The second reason is that the ground crew failed to declare an emergency even after noting problems that would have justified such a declaration. These problems included the fact that the spacecraft was using the B-side processor when it reached orbit instead of the A-side processor. The second anomaly was that the â€Å"solid state recorder would not play back the data previously recorded†, which included the flight data that would have shown the anomalies that affected simulation (LSMFIB 11). The third anomaly was that the ground crew failed to get the space telemetry signal only for the spacecraft to reappear with an â€Å"uncontrolled attitude† (LSMFIB 11). The fourth anomaly was that after leaving the spacecraft in safe m ode for duration, it took on spinning with the edges of the solar panels facing the sun. Any of these anomalies warranted the declaration of an emergency, which did not happen. The indirect causes of the mishap were actions taken that did not conform to industry standards. If the development teams stuck to the standards, then it is likely that the catastrophic failure would not have occurred. These include project scope creep, cost and schedule pressure, inadequately planned relocation of some production units that affected technical review and testing, frequent changes to the personnel working on the program, and insufficient engineering and management discipline (LSMFIB 12-14). The reasons

New Developments in Radiology and Medical Imaging Essay

New Developments in Radiology and Medical Imaging - Essay Example The use of PACS to import images has the support of physicians at UCSF but old technology dies hard thus the continued usage of viewing images on CD still standard (Phillips Medical Imaging Blog: Radiology PACS Reduces Repeat Procedures Per Recent AJR Study). 4 Implementation Cost of PACS 4 Table  1 5 Advantages of Implementing PACS 6 Disadvantages of Implementing PACS 7 Summary 7 Works Cited 8 New Developments in Radiology and Medical Imaging Introduction Medical imaging is an evolving industry with increasing technical advancements in the profession. The ever changing technology requires that with cost effective architecture and technology the health business should lead to better patient care. Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) is one such new development in radiology. Other new advancements include CT scans, Ultrasound, Virtual Intraluminal Endoscopy, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), MRI, Radio Surgery and High Intensity focused Ultrasound (McKesson Medical I maging Blog: Recent Advancements in Radiology). This paper focuses on PACS. About Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) PACS are communication systems that allow physicians to read radiology images without leaving their computers. On McKesson website they reveal about McKesson Radiology 12.0 which introduces a new web-based platform with the ultimate PACS experience. The new release is made up of McKesson Radiology station, and the client side application for PACS solution which provide superior image display, work flow efficiency and system integration capabilities. The platform reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) of users through providing a scalable and flexible architecture for handling organization’s growing data. The technology provided improved access to images and clinical reports thus enabling physicians to deliver optimal patient care. The McKesson Radiology 12.0 has five deployment alternatives where one can choose from according to his flavor (M cKesson All about PACS: the Picture of Better Health). These alternatives include: i. McKesson Radiology station provided for the performance-focused, diagnostic end-user. ii. McKesson Radiology station Lite provided for those who work outside the health care facilities and require streamlined solutions on standard windows-based PCs, laptops or Macitonsh Platforms. iii. McKesson Radiology station eJacket for referring physicians, patients and report-centric end- users. iv. McKesson Radiology station Disc provided for those who need to send CDs or DVDs to others i.e. referring physicians, consultation purposes from other specialists, and to patients for their own records. v. McKesson Enterprise Image Clinical Reference Viewer which addresses emerging mobile-workflow requirements for radiologists, referring physicians and other specialists. Application Communication systems are a lifeline of any hospital and mostly within Radiology departments. Using PACS to import radiology images pl ay an important role in reducing repeated tasks. At the McKesson Medical imaging blog David Philips explain an incident concerning a report concluding that patients who had undergone CT or MRI before transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) had more repeat imaging than when the images were imported into the PACS.

Story analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Story analysis - Assignment Example He has come to know that, if he truly loves his brother, he should respect his desire for freedom and individuality and to appreciate how music frees all of them from their inner struggles. The story has the theme of brotherly love. The narrator cannot seem to show his love for his brother whom he has harshly judged, when the latter chose to be a jazz player instead of finishing college and especially when he became addicted to heroin. This short story includes their mother’s narration of what happened to their father’s brother. Their father lost his brother due to racism and injustice. His mother reminds the narrator to take care of his brother: â€Å"You may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you’s there† (Baldwin par. 112). She tells his son to love his brother whatever happens because the world is already cruel, and the only way to make it less cruel is to ensure that they have each other’s back whatever happens. If they suffer, and they will, they must suffer

Assessing Autism Article Critique Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessing Autism Article Critique - Term Paper Example The usual way of measuring behavior such as limited eye contact, lack of reciprocal social interaction, fewer greetings and failure to initiate interactions such as offering comfort to someone who is hurt, for example, is to observe how children react in certain contrived situations. This study hypothesizes that children with autism will behave differently from children with mental retardation and children with typical development during natural situations. It proposes that that a standardized way of observing children in the everyday context of school recess would be a helpful assessment tool. The playground observation checklist is just such an observation tool, and the article describes how it was used and the results it produced. These results were then checked for accuracy against other information obtained by the usual autism assessment methods. There were ten items on the behavior checklist, which is a very small amount, and for each child in the sample of 81 a score of yes/no was recorded against each item during a 15 minute observation period. Two observers recorded the sessions simultaneously, and any instance where a child interacted with an adult during the 15 minutes was discounted, and the observation was repeated until a session with only peer to peer interaction took place.... n educator this is an interesting article which recommends an intervention that is relatively inexpensive, easy to administer and suitable for operation in a school context in a way that does not place any undue pressure on the child. This article was an exploration of the method itself, and more needs to be done on that to ensure that the criteria are worded well, for example avoiding gender bias in the way interactions are described and scored. Assuming these details could be ironed out, this observation checklist does appear to be a good method for making initial assessments to indicate what kind of specialist referral, if any, would be appropriate for a particular child. So long as the observation is conducted by trained observers it could be introduced in an elementary school. There are ethical issues about the method, of course, since parents would need to give permission for such observations to take place, whether for research purposes, or for the benefit of the children them selves. There could be a danger of over-diagnosis, or of inappropriate referrals if too much weight is placed on a single fifteen minute observation, and so any use of this tool would be best placed within a school policy on autism, to be called upon under specific circumstances and regulated by school protocols that protect everyone’s rights. The article by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) takes a wider perspective than the article by Ingram et al. (2007) and is aimed at school psychologists, rather than educators. The definition of autism used by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) is that of the Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) which is broader than the DSM criteria. From the start there is an emphasis on â€Å"verifying eligibility for special services for autism† which betrays an

AFTER THE FACT ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AFTER THE FACT - Assignment Example The prologue of the account, however, narrated Deane’s close connection with his personal aide, Edward Bancroft and Deane’s partnership with Bancroft in their sort of gambling escapades when he was exiled. Deane was alleged to have known of Bancroft being a double spy to both Britain and the U.S., and so, when Deane decided to come back to his country, he died aboard a ship. Though a conjecture, some evidences gathered by historians can link Bancroft’s fear of being revealed as a traitor and his thorough knowledge in poisons. With this account, truth is defined as a product of careful analysis of evidences, and the apparent connections of them in order to make a logical and coherent conclusion. Top rail bias means that writing history is mired by prejudices and bias of affluent history authors who are the producers of most history books. Bottom rail means citing, for instance, a slave as a source of a historical research. It is difficult to be used as a reliable source of information knowing the biases present in every slave’s dependence to their lords (Davidson and Lytle 206). Good sources are diverse, meaning they come from two different people, and must be first-hand. Moreover, any freedman’s point-of-view should not be taken by face-value. Sack’s method of investigation could have worked better because it did not employ any form of deceit, and it is an accuracy-driven method. An outside factor, such as race and inherent prejudices, plays a crucial role in a historical researching. Sack’s approach that entails thorough research and comparison of accounts works best. Meanwhile, the case of the colorblind painter depicted a historical approach in finding a solution to blindness problem. This is equally true with historical research. Treating every reader as blind from history and the historian as well could make a history research free from biases and prejudices and will be even more

Global Perspective on Health Policy Essay Example for Free

Global Perspective on Health Policy Essay Introduction A macro perspective on health policy issues can be helpful to identify how problems become policy issues and how these issues result in the creation of health care policy. The neglected epidemic of Chronic Disease also known as non- communicable diseases are a controversial issue that needs to be addressed in the world. In this paper, the writer will provide an explanation of how this issue has resulted from a policy’s creation. Identify the steps in the state and federal policy development process. Furthermore, differentiate between policy development and implementation. Also, explain how stakeholders become involved in the process and why their voices often become a driver for change in health policy. What is Chronic Disease? Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases are not transferred from person to person. They are slowly progressed over time. The four main kinds of non-communicable diseases are cardiovascular diseases such as strokes or heart attacks, any type cancer, chronic respiratory diseases like chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and diabetes. Other Chronic Diseases that affect many Americans are, Obesity and Overweight, Asthma, Epilepsy, Food Allergies, Glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, and Heart Disease (Non-communicable diseases. 2014). A Chronic Disease is a long-term illness that can be controlled, but not healed. The worldwide population is affected by chronic diseases. In the United States, chronic disease is the leading cause of disability and death that accounts for 70% of all deaths. Out of these premature deaths, 90% effect low- income and middle-class population. The World Health Organization shows that chronic illnesses are also the main reason for untimely deaths everywhere, even in places where communicable ailments are widespread (What is Chronic Disease?. 2011). According to the article, chronic disease is the most preventable and can be successfully controlled, and they are also very costly health issues and the most common. With the proper care and treatment, these long-term diseases can be controlled (What is Chronic Disease?. 2011). The Epidemic of Chronic Disease In today’s society, Chronic Disease is responsible for an enormous percentage of diseases in people. Non-communicable diseases affect all regions of the  world and age groups. People before the age of 60 attribute to 9 million of the deaths associated with chronic disease. Even though Chronic Disease are a huge problem in low-income areas, these diseases and risk are not exclusive to more wealthy Americans (Horton, R. 2005). The most vulnerable to the risk factors that contribute to chronic diseases are adults, elderly and children. Studies prove that it comes from unhealthy diets, exposure and use of tobacco products, not regularly exercising and harmfully using alcohol. Non-communicable disease are driven by aging and the globalization of unhealthiness in our lives (Non-communicable diseases. 2014). The globalization of unhealthiness like eating unhealthy can result in high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, high blood glucose levels, and higher blood lipids. Many of these risk factors can be lead to cardiovascular disease, which is a common NCD (Non-communicable diseases. 2014). The Center for Managing Chronic Disease (CMCD) aims help in the effectiveness with management and prevention in chronic disease. The main goal of CMCD is to help people at risk, or that are most vulnerable. Conducting advanced research and publicizing the results to aid in policy change and practices (What is Chronic Disease? 2011). On September 2011, a meeting with the UN High Level on Non-Communicable Diseases was an exceptional chance to produce a sustained global drive contrary to preventable disease and disability, premature death for chronic diseases, like stroke, cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease and diabetes. This is an increasing global threat in NCDs that is a barrier to developmental goals. These development goals include health equity, poverty reduction, human security and economic stability (The Lancet. 2011). Policy Making Process. In healthcare, Chronic Disease epidemics cause many threats to the world. In response to the crisis, The Lancet NCD Action Group and the NCD Alliance has proposed five priority actions. Which are: â€Å"Leadership, prevention, treatment, international cooperation, and monitoring and accountability—and the delivery of five priority interventions—tobacco control, salt reduction, improved diets and physical activity, reduction in hazardous alcohol intake, and essential drugs and technologies (The Lancet. 2011).† The import involvements were chosen for their health paraphernalia, cost-value, small costs of implementation, and political and financial achievability. Tobacco control  is the most urgent and immediate priority. They have propose a goal for 2040 that in essence the world would be free from tobacco where fewer than 5% of people engaged in tobacco use (The Lancet. 2011). Policy problems are identified by many factors that include methods that include getting issues on the political agendas and removing them. The first step in the Policymaking Process is agenda setting. Agenda setting is all about decision-making in the first phase of the policymaking process. To be considered on the agenda, difficulties must arise to policymakers’ attention. Healthcare problems are highly visible, because the affect the nation, whereas major problems no relating to health are considered invisible to make the agenda (The Lancet. 2011). The Policymaking process discusses the precise decisions and procedures that are required for a policy to be considered, proposed and implemented. This process is an interactive progression with various points of access that provides opportunities to impact the many decisions (Politics and the Policymaking Process. n.d.).Policymaking process is an interactive process with several points of entree that provides chances to influence the decision-making processes involved in each of the stages. Furthermore, there are three phases of policymaking: the implementation phase, the formulation phase, and formulation phase (Politics and the Policymaking Process. n.d.). Policy development and implementation. During Policy Development, policies may be developed and applied at several stages and may vary from formal reg ulations and legislation to the informal procedures by which governments function (Policy Development. n.d.). An example of policy development would be in government policy that is related to youth, children and health developed at national and federal; territorial and provincial; community, local and district; or international levels by elected executives transversely with a quantity sectors that includes education, health, social services, finance, recreation and labor. Additionally, policy development time frame is determined by various factors that include government agendas and media attention. (Policy Development. n.d.). On the contrary, Policy implementation involves putting implemented policies into play. Success from implementation is depends on three essential elements. First element is the state or president and government officials locally, must pass down polices to the proper agency with the government bureaucracy (Policy Implementation   Boundless Open Textbook. n.d.). The second element that is essential to policy implementation is strong interpretation. Meaning that legislative intent need be deciphered into functioning guidelines and agendas. The concluding element necessary in operative policy implementation is also challenging to achieve. Dedication of assets to implement policy beneath the primarily element must be combined with organization of the policy with enduring processes (Policy Implementation Boundless Open Textbook. n.d.). Stakeholders in Healthcare. A Stakeholder involvement in planning, management policymaking has be brought on by new general development models. These models seek a different role for each state based on consensus, pluralistic structures and political legitimacy. Stakeholder contribution can be categorized into three forms: cooperative, instructive and consultative (Involving Stakeholders in Aquaculture Policy-making, Planning and Management. n.d.). In Cooperative involvement primary stakeholder act as companions with government in the decision processing. Consultative involvement is where government makes the primary decisions and stakeholders still have influence in the outcome and processes. Last, in Instructive involvement the government makes the choices but apparatuses occur during information interchange (Involving Stakeholders in Aquaculture Policy-making, Planning and Management. n.d.). Conclusion. The macro perspective on health policy issues can be helpful to identify how problems become policy issues and how these issues result in the creation of health care policy. Chronic diseases impact the healthcare industry in many ways. This controversial issue impacts all age groups. The Center for Managing Chronic Disease (CMCD) helps with management and prevention in chronic disease. This paper, provided an explanation of how the epidemic of Chronic Disease has resulted from a policy’s creation. Moreover, identified the steps in the policy development process. Furthermore, differentiated between policy development and implementation. Also, explained how stakeholders become involved in the process and why their voices often become a driver for change in health policy. References What is Chronic Disease?. (2011). The Center for Managing Chronic Disease. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from  http://cmcd.sph.umich.edu/what-is-chronic-disease.html Horton, R. (2005). The Lancet. The neglected epidemic of chronic disease : The Lancet. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2805%2967454-5/fulltext#bib4 Non-communicable diseases. (2014). WHO. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs355/en/ The Lancet. (2011). Priority actions for the non-communicable disease crisis: The Lancet. Retrieved October 14, 2014, from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2811%2960393-0/abstract Policy Development. (n.d.). A Brief Guide to Understanding Policy Development. Retrieved October 10, 2014, from http://www.ruralnovascotia.ca/documents/policy/understanding%20policy.pd Politics and the Policymaking Process. (n.d.). The Policymaking Process. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0205011616.pdf Policy Implementation Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Boundless. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from https://www.boundless.com/political-science/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/domestic-policy-15/policy-making-process-95/policy-implementation-516-6175/ Involving Stakeholders in Aquaculture Policy-making, Planning and Management. (n.d.). Involving Stakeholders in Aquaculture Policy-making, Planning and Management. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/AB412E/ab412e32.htm

Recruitment and Selection in Effective Human Resources

Recruitment and Selection in Effective Human Resources The human resources are the most important assets of an organization. The success or failure of an organization is largely dependent on the caliber of the people working therein. Without positive and creative contributions from people, organizations cannot progress and prosper. In order to achieve the goals or the activities of an organization, therefore, they need to recruit people with requisite skills, qualifications and experience. While doing so, they have to keep the present as well as the future requirements of the organization in mind. Recruitment and selection, as a part of effective Human Resource Management is the key to achieving a competitive advantage for an organization. Nowadays, one of the most important concerns for all the business is that of people. The emphasis is on having the right people in the right place at the right time (Lanz, 1988). Seeking new employees is an essential element for each employer, not only in organisations where particular emphasis is placed on the companys human resources policy. Each employer wants to hire the most appropriate candidate for the job who not only has the right qualifications but whose personality will blend in well with the companys structure. The choice of the right people to form a team in organization is one of the most important factors leading to its success. Hence, to achieve this, a company has to pay a huge attention on the recruitment and selection process. Effective recruitment and selection procedures are vital in attracting and retaining high quality staff so every company should take them deeply into consideration. Moreover, human errors are much more expensive in comparison to such assets as land and capital, and often result in serious irreversible consequences. Here I need to add what are the goals of this dissertation I thinkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.and what Ive included in a first chapter, secondà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION Definitions of recruitment and selection Conducting business activities and competition between companies in developing international markets show, that Human Resource Management is the source of permanent competitiveness in contemporary business. This domain is not a single, simplified function, but a group of plans, systems, tools, processes and services. Each of these elements provides huge possibilities for profit, provided that one can use effective solutions in exploiting them. As the field of Human Resource Management has strongly changed in recent years, organizations were obligated to become more dynamics and complex. John Storey (2001, p.6) says that It is human capability and commitment, which in the find analysis distinguish successful organization from the rest. This sentence is essential to understand the fundamental tensions and ambiguities associated with Human Resource Management. People are non-material assets of a company and due to their importance have a strategic function. For that reason, recruitment and selection process should be permanent implicated and developed in company structures. According to Pilbeam Corbridge (2006) recruitment and selection process is based on action between applicant and job, which is dependent on stating a need by an organization, using the most appropriate recruitment and selection techniques and on reviewing, evaluating and modifying the recruitment and selection system in the light of experience. Bratton Gold (2003) defined recruitment like a process of generating a pool of capable people to apply for employment to an organization. Furthermore recruitment is a process of attracting individuals on a timely basis, in sufficient numbers and with appropriate qualifications, developing their interest in an organization and encouraging them to apply for jobs within it (Mondy Noe, 1993; Crawford, 2004). During this process, efforts are made to inform the applicants fully about the selection criteria of the required competencies that will lead to effective performance, as well as career opportunities the organization can provide the employee. Whether or not a particular job vacancy will be filled by someone from within, or outside, the organization depends on the organizations human resource policies, the requirements of the job to be filled, the talent to be found and, often, the organizational politics surrounding the decision (Nankervis et al., 2002). Beardwell (1994, p.192) als o indicates that the process of recruitment has two important purposes. Firstly, recruitment should focus on both attraction and retention of the interest of applicants suitable for a given job. Secondly, it should create a positive image of the organization in the eyes of people who come in contact with it. Newell and Shackleton (2000, p.113) define recruitment as the process of attracting people who might make a contribution to the particular organization. The importance of the recruitment function is clear when one realizes that by hiring the most competent applicants the firms performance can be significantly enhanced. In the course of this stage, it is the employer who must encourage the best candidates to apply for a position in the company. Selection is the process of selecting candidates who have relevant qualifications to fill jobs in a company (Mathis, R., 1991, p. 209). For the employer it is a stage during which decisions are made on who is the most appropriate of all the job applicants. The key point of selection is how to make fair and relevant assessment, which indicates strengths and weaknesses of applicant (Boxall P., Purcell J., 2003, p.141). Conversely, the quotation by Townley (1999, p.97) defines the notion of selection in that (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) by definition, it involves a process of discrimination, and the opportunity for managers to emphasize employee acceptability or the good bloke syndrome, rather than suitability residing in task-based criteria. It is a much diversified process: it may be short and simply boil down to reviewing and closely reading job application documents, and hiring a person. Or it may be a longer process also including a job interview and other techniques aimed at finding the best people. Pilbeam Cordbridge (2006) assert that good recruitment and selection is important element of the HR strategy, its forecasting requirements and a key to getting the appropriate people to attain a business goals. Moreover, recruitment and selection is a necessary element of people resourcing strategy, due to communicated policies, procedures and practices can considerably play a part in effective organizational performance, (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) to good employee relations and to a positive public image (Pilbeam Corbridge, 2002). Both the activities are directed towards obtaining suitably qualified employees. Recruitment activities lay the groundwork for the selection process by providing the pool of applicants from whom the selectors may choose. Although, the two activities are closely connected, each requires a separate range of skills and expertise, and may in practice be fulfilled by different staff members. Recruitment and selection are the most important activities in an ongoing cir cle (shown in Fig.1.1) of an organisation as a whole. Figure 1. Recruitment and selection in an organization (Pilbeam Corbridge 2006, p.143) Inappropriate selection and recruitment decisions can have a range of undesirable consequences for the organization and the recruit, including: reduced organizational effectiveness, invalidate reward and development strategies, unfair for the person applying for job and higher rates of turnover. Recruitment and selection are one of the most fundamental elements of the strategy of human resources managing. A wise choice of employees plays a key role in the functioning of an organization. Framework: Recruitment Selection Recruitment and selection are works of the same system and they are so closely connected, although as Foot Hook (cited in Rayner Smith, 2005 p.121) suggest that each requires a separate range of skills and expertise, and each function may in practice be fulfilled by different staff members, or indeed the recruitment function, but not normally the selection decision, may be outsourced to an agency, so it makes sense to treat each function separately, but Pilbeam Corbridge (2006) note that they are not mutually exclusive functions. Hence is many approaches to recruitment and selection tend, however they distinguish that a system has inputs, which are the candidates, a processing unit, which consists of various methods and techniques and outputs, which are also effective employees or candidates, who go back to the labour market and are or eliminate by the recruiters or choose to exit from the process. As Figure 1.2 shows, the recruitment and selection process and techniques are influ enced by the external factors like legal framework, economic situation, social and demographic changes, competitor activity, labour market characteristics and has some sub-systems to it which are interdependent to each other, changes in one will effects the others and also the quality of output. According to Pilbeam Corbridge (2006) theory the systems approach gives an analytical skeleton and allow diffusion through the selection and recruitment sub systems, which are: attraction, reduction, selection and transition. Whereas Kochan Barocci model (cited in Beardwell, Holden Claydon, 2004) point out that organizations have life cycles, and that recruitment, selection and staffing policies vary according to an organizations perceived stage in the cycle. While Goold and Campbell conclude that human resource strategies depend on management profile, whether is it strategic planning, financial control or strategic control (ibid.). Furthermore Anderson and Shackleton (1998, p.15) notice that recruitment and selection as a system is (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) comprised of a series of inter-related components. Important observation about the maxim of chronological dependency, says that it can only be as accurate as decision made in early stage to pre-screen down number of applicants. They emphasize that assessment techniques should predict and also affect on the future performance of employee. It is important here, to say that Human Resource Planning (HRP) is connection between strategic business planning and strategic Human Resource Management. This connection is the most visible in the recruitment and selection of specific numbers of employees with particular abilities, which match to companys requirements. This view made by Paul Iles (2001, p.139) shows why employees, as the most valuable assets in company, should be align to strategic business plan. Nowadays is a lot of variations in recruitment and selection practices, reflecting an organizations strategy and philosophy towards the management of people. That is why many organizations developed frameworks, which allowed them approve a variety of selection and recruitment techniques in order to identify and confess the right people (Bratton, J. Gold, J., 2003, p. 223). Figure 2. The System Approach to recruitment and selection (Pilbeam Corbridge, 2002), p. 115. Process of recruitment and selection Recruiting is an extremely complicated process consisting of many phases. Before recruiting, the company needs to proceed with planning phase. Each organization thus must consider a number of important steps in the planning phase. Firstly it should forecast human resource needs, than specifies job requirements as well as identifies and uses appropriate recruitment channels (Beaumont, P., 1994, p. 57). When planning to recruit one should also include: discussions with clients to predict future hiring needs; maintenance of a contacts network (candidates, employees, competitors); development and maintenance of a strong employee referral program; investment in recruiter training and development; cooperation with management to ensure adequate budget (American Management Association International, Aug 2006, p.10). The command to start the recruitment process comes from senior managers and should be based on a review of the situation to determine that recruitment actually exists. It means, that it should be made recognition of the needs for new human resource. To minimize the risk of wasted money, job analysis should be well done. For the first, job description should be written very carefully. A job description makes it possible for the recruiter to outline what duties, responsibilities and the reason behind the vacancy i.e. expansion, member of staff retires, and the position within th e structure of the organization (Beardwell, I., 1994, p. 195). The first step in the development of a job description is to establish the purpose and general objectives of the post, and then to analyse the requirements of the job. This process is called job analysis, and is particularly important in circumstances where you are preparing a job description for a new or significantly changed post. Job analysis helps to clarify the duties, responsibilities and other job demands. It also helps to identify the skills, abilities and experiences that someone would need to possess to be able to perform satisfactorily in the role (UCD Staff Manual, August 2005, p. II). The process of writing a job description can be very time consuming, especially if company dont provide any system for job analysis. This involves other co-worker from department in context to collect essential information about business nature and actual duties. To accurately recruit candidates, the second part of job analysis personnel specification is required (Beardwell J., 1994, p.195). Person specification is amongst one of the important factor of recruitment and selection that comes after the job analysis and job description as it relates to the person doing the job. Job analysis is the first stage of the whole recruitment and selection process and everything else is built upon it. It aims at finding out what is involved in the job that is now vacant. The effects of a mistake at this point are likely ricochet throughout all subsequent stages whereas job description involves the task and the scope of the job. The person specification profile is the people characteristics required to do the job effectively. The fact that an employer draws up a person specification demonstrates an attempt to introduce some objectivity into what can otherwise be very subjective process. Rather than relying on personal judgements about the knowledge, skills and qualities the successful candidate should possess, the emp loyer with a person specification is following much more methodical and reasoned process. The person specification can be included with the information sent to the candidates to give them more detail about the requirements. It is a good practice to design and send to candidates a form showing each requirement and how it will get assessed (Foot Hook, 2005). Two well-established systems of person specification frameworks discussed by Beardwell and Claydon (2004, p. 205) are (Roger, 1952) seven-point plan and (Munro Fraser, 1954) similar five point plan, illustrated in Table.1.1 and 1.2. It is important to be as precise as possible about the skills, knowledge, qualifications and attributes that are required for the job and about the experience and personal characteristics that are needed. It is good practice to specify what is essential or the minimum required to perform the job, as well as what is desirable. It is also necessary to think about the context of the job and the wider org anisational requirements to specify any elements of person-organisation fit that are important. Munro Fraser (1954) Impact on others: physical make up, appearance, speech, and manner Acquired qualifications: education, vocational training, work experience Innate abilities: quickness of comprehension and aptitude for learning Motivation: individual goals, consistency and determination in following them up, success rate Adjustment: emotional stability, ability to stand up to stress and ability to get on with people Table 1. Person specification framework (ACAS cited in Beardwell Claydon, 2004). Rodger (1952) Physical make-up: health, appearance, bearing and speech Attainments: education, qualification, experience General Intelligence: Intellectual capacity Special Aptitudes mechanical, manual dexterity, facility in use of words and figures Disposition: acceptability, influence over others, steadiness, dependability, self-reliance Circumstances: any special demand of the job, such as ability to work unsocial hours, travel abroad Table 2. Person specification framework (ACAS cited in Beardwell Claydon, 2004). When the process of job analysis has been completed and clearly identified, the next step in recruitment process is to attract quantity of suitable applicants with desired features. Company should consider some factors, like companys budget, level of vacancy, time and selection technique in order to choose the right way in recruitment process. Larger companies generally have a larger budget and are more able to find the best candidates for the job. Effective use of recruitment tools depends on the available budget. This due to the fact that recruiting is expensive and the more selection techniques used the higher the cost to the company, but in doing this the company has a better chance of finding the best candidate. The cost of recruitment and selection is not the only cost the company has to include in its calculation searching new candidates. The other costs the organization should take into consideration are costs of training selected candidates to undertake contributing role to the organization as well as the costs of recruiting and selecting the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾wrong person (Cornelius, N., 1999, p. 29). Every company should adapt recruitment and selection costs to its policy, capabilities and vacancy and on this basis consider if to recruit internally or externally. Furthermore the level of vacancy is another one of the factors a company should consider before choosing a specific method of recruitment and selection. The decision making process is stipulated by individual needs of a company. In order to start the process of recruitment a company should have free vacancies. In fact, managers should decide if a free capacity either proves to be a job opportunity for a potential employee or whether there is an alternative option to resolve the situation. Hence, recruitment and selection processes should not be taken, when there is another opportunity, like reassigning the task to other employees or automated task, so than human resource are no longer required. We need to notice, that the higher level of vacancy provides more sophisticated methods of recruitment (Newell, S., Shackleton V. 2001, p. 25). Another concerning question a company should frankly answer is what kind of selection technique they need to apply, i.e. the one which may facilitate effective employment. A company should frankly answer the question concerning the kind of selection technique they may need to apply, i.e. the one which may facilitate effective employment. Bratton (2003, p.227) notes that appropriate selection technique should recognize the way in which people differ and must be extended to a prediction of performance in the workplace. The twenty-first century organization of work has lost a variety of available methods which give credibility to techniques that attempt to measure peoples attitudes and overall personality. The literature on the subject of organization differentiates between many selection techniques. The basic methods like application form or curriculum vitae are rudimentary to employment interviews. This phase of recruitment process is called pre-screening candidates, which will help t o reduce the numbers of unsuitable candidates and to apply more detailed methods of assessment. After pre-screening is time for candidate assessment. An extensive range of assessment methods is currently available to the recruiter like : biodata, assessment centre, work sample, references are very useful and reliable. Nevertheless the use of interviews is still the most popular selection method in the world. Branine (2008) founds interviews to be the main part of the selection process and that there had been awareness of the danger of subjectivity in the conduct of interviews. To avoid such danger, Gabb (1997, p. 64) argued that companies often prefer an interview panel of two or sequential interviews with different people. A recent comparative study of six countries found that the interview was one of the most popular selection methods. Despite, interviews being reported very often to be subjective and unreliable. It seems that the face-to-face contact with the applicant and the po ssibility of assessing the candidates social and communication skills are the main advantages of the interview, and hence the main reason for using it. While the trio of application form, interview and references is still popular, there have been further developments in incorporating those with the use of assessment centers which has been reported to be in the increase (Branine, M., 2008). Assessment centers are described by Pilbeam Corbridge (2006, p. 157) as useful in penetrating behaviors relating to interpersonal relationships, leadership, influencing ability, sociability, competitiveness, self-motivation, tolerance, persuasiveness, and decisiveness. Assessment centers have become popular venues for the selection of candidates, the identification of their potentials and the assessment of their training and development needs. The number of multinational companies from the USA has increased, more and more large companies are using a variety of tests ranging from ability to aptitude, personality and intelligence, especially those companies who receive a large number of applications and those needing more skilled employees. But as Marchington Wilkinson (cited in Beardwell, I., Holden, L. Claydon, T., 2004) quote none of the techniques, irrespective of how well they are designed and administered, is capable of producing perfect selection decisions that predict with c ertainty who is or who is not bound to be a good performer in a particular role. Figure 1.3 shows the accuracy of selection methods. According to Beardwell et al. (2004) the enlargement in using assessment centers and selection testing like a more accurate methods, can help to improve the effectiveness of the selection process. Though, assessment centers are believed to be the most influential selection method in organizations, but still the higher percentage of the firms considering interviews to be the most important selection method. However, doubts about accuracy push employers to approve the interview formats or supplement the interview with the other selection methods such as tests or work simulation (Beardwell et al., 2004). Data about accuracy of various types of selection techniques covers large differences within each technique. It needs to be considered in that point reliability and validity, but the detailed aspects of these two key criteria, which are already mentioned, are going to be explained in the following part of this dissertation. Table1.3 The predictive accuracy of selection methods Source: Anderson and Shackleton cited in Beardwell et al. (2004, p. 216)) Selection methods concept of validity reliability Reliability and validity, as statistical concepts, are very important for selection methods. Reliability is a link to the extent to which a selection technique achieves consistency in measuring. The statistical analysis normally provides a coefficient reliability. In summary of results, the higher will be coefficient (that is, the closer it is to 1.0) the more dependable the technique (Bratton J., 2003, p.235). Figure 3 shows the validity, estimated by meta analyses, of many selection methods. Good selection methods must meet four basic requirements: practicality, sensitivity, reliability and validity (Price, A., 2000, pp. 148-149). Practicality of the selection method means that it should meet the constraints of cost and time, whereas sensitivity focuses on distinguishing one candidate from another. Reliability of the method can be considered in three aspects: test-retest reliability the duration should not have an impact on the score when doing the same tests; inter-rater reliability the same scores should be given by different interviewers; internal consistency different questions measuring the same competence should give comparable results. Equally, validity has also three aspects: face validity tests are more acceptable when candidates find relevant questions; construct validity and predictive validity how well the suitability of candidates for the position is predicted (Price A., 2000, p. 149). It is possible to make a credible selection decision when the requir ed criteria are clearly marked out. If the criteria are not made clear it will be difficult to make an appropriate decision and will also be difficult to validate the selection process (Torrington, D., 2005, p.142). According to the study of Levy-Leboyer mentioned in the Cornelius book (1999, p. 39), the validity of many selection methods is debatable and that is why they should be used with care. As the high validity the following selection methods are thought: work sample, aptitude test, assessment centre and cognitive test. Medium validity has bio data, and the low validity: references, interviews, personality tests, whereas graphology and astrology do not have any validity (Cornelius N., 1999, pp. 39-40). Moreover validity studies carried out by Taylor (1998) and referred to by Armstrong (2006) found conventional interview methods to be questionable and suggested that alternative selection methods such as biographical data, assessment centres and work tests are more accurate methods of selection. While many studies in recent years have raised concern about selection and validity, the most widely used methods remain the classic trio application form, interview, and references (Taylor 2001). Early research showed that unstructured interview did not have high validity, so as to improve its validity interview should be more structured. It means that all applicants are asked the same questions and the same dimensions are used to assess applicants. Structured interviews should potentially increase the quality of decisions made (Newell, S., 2001, p. 33). However, according to Heffcutt Arthur (1994, pp. 184-190) improving the structure of interview does not increase validity. The question remains therefore, that if these methods are among the least valid, why are they still so popular? Armstrong (2006) suggests it is the comfort factor and that recognition needs to be given to the fact that both interviewers and interviewees like them and have grown to expect them. This is also known as mentioned before face validity. He also suggests that most interviewers / organisations may not be aware of what the research suggests. When compared with other selection methods, the classic trio is relatively low-cost and provides the opportunity to have a face to face meeting. In examining selection methods, Armstrong (2006) further suggests that too much innovation in selection methods may turn prospective candidates off. While some organisations may see this as a form of de-selection, the danger is that potentially high calibre and not just the less suitable candidates may be turned off by lengthier and more drawn out selection processes; even if they are more valid. However, Cornelius argues that using different methods of selection can increase the certainty of selecting the right applicant in a fair way (1999, p. 40) Figure 3 is based on Schmidt and Hunters (1998) review and shows the validity, estimated by meta analyses, of many selection methods. Source: Schmidt, F. L., Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research .Findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 262-274.