Empowering Users of Health and Social care Services Essay

1.1.Influence of Organizational Policies and Practices by Current Legislation and Sector Skills Standards for Promoting and Maximizing the Rights of Users of Health and Social Care service3 1.2. Factors that May Affect the Achievement of promoting and maximizing the rights of users of health and social care service4 1.3 How communication between care workers and the individuals contribute to promoting and maximizing the rights of the users of health and social care service5 2.1. Factors that may contribute to Loss of Independence, non-participation and Social Exclusions for Vulnerable people6 2.2. Analyzing of organizational systems & processes which are managed to promote participation and independence of users of social and health care service6 2.3. Tension that Arise When Balancing the Rights of the Individual to independence and Choice against the Care provider’s Duty to Protect7 3.1. Use of Case Study 2 from a Health or Social care setting to identify the extent to which the individuals are at Risk of8 3.2. Effectiveness of Policies, Procedures and Managerial Approach within a Health and Social care setting for Promoting the Management of Risk8 4.1. Review of current Legislation, Codes of Practices that apply to the handling of medication8 4.2. Evaluation the Effectiveness of policies and Procedures within a Health and Social Care Setting for administering medication9 Introduction Empowerment has become one of the inseparable parts of the health and social care service. Zimmerman (1984) stated Empowerment as some of the multidimensional process that helps people gain control over their own lives. In order to practice and implementation empowerment, health and social care service personnel are required to work closely with the different service users of health and social care service. Different law and knowledge of the health and service can help the care staffs in empowering  the users of the service. For that reason the researcher will discuss about the different standards than can protect the rights of the users, factors that can influence these rights, impact of good communication between the care staffs and the users. In addition it will show a clear understanding about loss of independence and vulnerability, factors that can manage different vulnerability of the service users, different tensions in the health and social care, managerial approach which a re effective in health and social care service as well as different medication acts of UK which are practiced at present. 1.1. Influence of Organizational Policies and Practices by Current Legislation and Sector Skills Standards for Promoting and Maximizing the Rights of Users of Health and Social Care service Different service users are currently going in order to take different service provided by the personnel or care staffs of the health and social care service. For that reason the care staffs should provide better service for the physical and mental development of the different vulnerable users.They should be very careful to the users especially to the adults and the children aswell as to the disable people. Recently some changes have been made on Policies and Practices by Current Legislation and Sector Skills Standards which are very much useful for the users of the service. They have different influence on the users of the health and social care service for Promoting and maximizing their rights which are as follows: Under this amendment, Local Authorities (Las), Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG s), The National Health Service Commissioning Board (NHS CB) and The Commissioners of health services have some rights. Now The will be able to make some direct donation or sponsorship for the personal health budget under different policies which will create a good impact on the users. If any sudden death to any child occurs then it must be informed to the NHS CB and to the CCG,It is a good sign. According to the mental capacity act 2005, there are different scopes of developing the physical and mental condition of the users by the care personnel. This amendment will give some monetary support to the poor and the needy people for treatment. Under this amendment NHS will practice some rights to give effective health and social care information for the betterment of different users. Different social and health care programs,  strategy and act will be formed for ensuring better service to the different service users. Under this amendment there will be scope of protecting different confidential information of the service users. According to Welfare food amendment regulations 2005, the CCCGs, NHS CB have different rights to provide some medicines to the service users and they will provide effective prescriptions to different users if needed. If any patient goes UK for treatment of different viral diseases from another country then no extra payment will be taken from him This amendment will ensure the rights of the children and the adults. Under this amendment, better service will be ensured to the users and their rights will be protected successfully. Theseamendments,Policies and Practices by Current Legislation and Sector Skills Standards will be very useful mode for Promoting and maximizing the rights of users of health and social care service. These are very user friendly amendments, policies and procedure 1.2. Factors that May Affect the Achievement of promoting and maximizing the rights of users of health and social care service New amendment has been made to the policies and Practices by Current Legislation and Sector Skills Standards,The Law Commission (2014) claimed that, different factors can affect the Achievement of promoting and maximizing the rights of users of health and social care service which are as fol lows: The National Health Service (Charges to overseas visitors) regulations 2011: According to this regulation, if any individual goes UK for treatment of any viral diseases he or she will not need to pay extra money. It can motivate the overseas patients to do treatment in UK. The residential family centers regulations 2002: Under this regulation if any children die in a residential area then certainly NHS CB and CCG will be informed about it. It will also protect the rights of the children and ensure better health. The care quality commission (Registration) Regulations 2009: Under this regulation it is obligatory to ensure the better care to the service user and it is necessary to inform about the death of a user to the quality commission. Crime and disorder regulations (2007): It will give protection to the different service users if any danger or vulnerability occurs to them. The student support Regulations 2011: This regulation will provide some monetary help and mental support to the students so that they can easily continue their study. Healthy start schemes and welfare foods amendment regulations 2005: This  regulation will ensure better health to the service users. It will also provide vitamin supplements along with different medicines free of cost. The national health care service (direct payments) regulations 2010: Under this regulation it will be possible to donate or sponsor financial help to the service users which will promote and maximize the rights of the users of health and social care service. Protection of the confidential information act (2006): It will protect the private information of the service users. These factors will provide a deep impact on the achievement of promoting and maximizing the rights of users of health and social care service. 1.3 How communication between care workers and the individuals contribute to promoting and maximizing the rights of the users of health and social care service Rosenbaum and Rotor(2013), explained different types of communication between care workers and the individuals are required to promote and maximize the rights of the users of health and social care service which are as follows: Two way dialogue: The care staffs should communicate with the users to know different information, health condition and mental capacity of the users. It can build an interpersonal communication which is necessary for getting the useful information about different rights of the users. Partnership between provider and client: The care staffs should treat the users in a way so that they think the staffs as their best partner in case of treatment. Atmosphere of caring: There should be an effective atmosphere of caring in the social and health care service. This will help the users to express different information which are necessary for the protection of their different rights. Verbal communication: It includes spoken or written words for expressing ideas and thoughts. It can establish a good relationship between the care staffs and the individuals>If the users express their different ideas then it will be very effective for the care staffs to be sincere about the different rights of the users. Non-verbal communication: Different non-verbal communication such as messaging, descriptive phrases can also be used for communicating with the service users. It will develop the understanding of the users which will be easy for the care staffs to protect different rights of t he users. Demonstrations of interest: Demonstration of interest can also be very effective way in case of building a sound relationship with the users. Effective demonstrations can help understand different needs, wants and  habit of the users which can contribute to promote and maximize the rights of the users of health and social care service. 2.1. Factors that may contribute to Loss of Independence, non-participation and Social Exclusions for Vulnerable people Different people face different types of vulnerabilities which have different impact on them. Different vulnerabilities can cause loss of Independence, non -participation and Social exclusions. These should be removed by the care staff of the health and social care service.Smith (2000) claimed some factors that may contribute to loss of independence, non-participation and Social exclusions for vulnerable people are as follows: Lack of opportunities to work: There are not sufficient opportunities of work for different people in the society especially for the adult people. They may think this as a negative factor. Little working opportunities can cause loss of independence, non -participation and social exclusions. Fear: There are many people in the society who feel fear for a little cause in many things. They cannot cope up with the different vulnerability which can occur to them. They often wants friendly environment. Too much Fear for many things can cause non -participation and social exclusions. Lack of education and skills: All persons have no same level of education and skills for doing something. For that reason, they may feel them as incapable in case of any participation that accelerates social exclusions. Childhood deprivation: Many people are deprived of many things from their childhood. This deprivation can contribute too many exclusions and non-participation. Disrupted families: The persons who are disrupted from their families can develop a strong vulnerability among them. They feel ashamed in case of participating in a social matter that can cause loss of independence to them. Inequalities in health: All people are not capable of maintaining same level of health and mental conditions. These factors can promote their loss of independence and non-participation. 2.2. Analyzing of organizational systems & processes which are managed to promote participation and independence of users of social and health care service Carr (2004), Stated differentorganizational systems & processes which are managed to promote participation and independence of users of social and health care service which are as follows: Message for policy and  practice: The care personnel can provide the useful information of health and social care service, different rights of the users, effectiveness of the treatment etc., so that people can learn more about the health and social care service which will promote participation and independence of users of social and health care service. Extent of Current knowledge: The laws, rights and policies changes over time. For that reason the staffs should provide updated information regarding health and social care service to accelerate the participation in these sectors. Training: Effective training programs and seminars should be arr anged frequently in order to promote participation. Different training can develop the skills and mental abilities of the users which can lead to a huge participation. Organizational commitment and responsiveness: Organizational commitment and responsiveness regarding the assurance of better services and environment should be increased by the care staffs. Strong commitment of good service can increase participation and engagement. Minimization of costs: There should be strong commitment of minimizing of costs in case of the service of health and social care service. If the service users can get the opportunities of low cost in the organization then their participation will automatically increase. Removing Personal barriers: Personal barriers can cause lack of participation in an organization. Different personal barriers can be removed by two way communication and increasing different support. Increasing support and network: If the users can get effective support from the care staffs then there overall participation will increase. Support and care are very much needed to the isolated people to promote participation and independence of users of socia l and health care service 2.3. Tension that Arise When Balancing the Rights of the Individual to independence and Choice against the Care provider’s Duty to Protect Different types of tensions may arise in case of balancing the Rights of the Individual to independence and Choice against the care provider’s duty to protect. These tensions need to be removed by health care staffs. Carr, (2010) Explained that these tensions include different rights of the users, their private information and many other things which are as follows: In health and social care service, there are different types of rights and duties of the service users that should be understood by the care staffs and protect them sincerely. If they fail to protect these then different conflicts may occur.  The users of the health and social care service have different realities that express their overall behavioral dispositions. If these are not understood correctly then tensions will occur. In case of disclosing any private information of the users the care staff should be very strategic so that it can do no harm to the users. If asking any types of confidential information can create any conflict then the staffs should avoid it because unauthorized person will get benefit. Rights of the adult person as well as the children should consider very sincerely. If there is any scope that the care personnel are facing problem in case of protecting the rights and duties of the children and the adult people then severe conflict and tensions will occur. 3.1. Use of Case Study 2 from a Health or Social care setting to identify the extent to which the individuals are at Risk of By using case study 2 it is possible to identify different extent to which the individuals are at risk of. These extents are as follows: As Mr. H is a patient of a hyperactivity disorder and regularly meets a psychologist. The psychologist has some responsibilities toward him. Mr. H should express different private information to him that should be protected by him otherwise any third party will get benefit. As a nurse is taking care of him, the nurse should be very careful and sincere to Mr. H. The nurse should co-operate with him successfully otherwise Mr. H will feel lonely and feel social exclusion. The care staffs should ensure the choice of Mr. H to visit to local market, cooking etc. otherwise his mental condition will not improve. As Mr. H has little bit aggressiveness to many people, the care staffs should improve this condition otherwise Mr. H will develop the sense of non- participation and social exclusions. 3.2. Effectiveness of Policies, Procedures and Managerial Approach within a Health and Social care setting for Promoting the Management of Risk Mayberry and Nice wander (2006) claimed some effectiveness of policies, procedures and managerial approach within a health and social care setting for promoting the management of risk which are as follows: Safety: If the safety can be ensured tothe health and social care service users then users will take it as a safe approach which can promote the management of risk. Timeliness: It services can be ensured  timely then it will be very attractive way of managing the risk. Efficiency: Success of the health and social care service mostly depends on the efficiency and the effectiveness of the service. It can promote the management of risk and ensures efficiency. Proper adherence to different regulations: Ensuring the duties and protecting the rights of the users by effectively following different regulations can be very effective way of promoti ng the management of risk. 4.1. Review of current Legislation, Codes of Practices that apply to the handling of medication Care Quality Commission (2014) explained about current Legislation, Codes of Practices that apply to the handling of medication in UK which are as follows: The medicines for human use (marketing) regulations 1994: According to these regulations, no one can sell medicine until he gets authorization from UK licensing authority. The medicines (Homeopathic) regulations: It ensures the effective use of the homeopathic drugs. The veterinary Drugs order 1984: According to this law, selling of medicines can be occurred if a recognized physician supervises veterinary drugs. The Pharmacy regulations 2008: These regulations state that some energetic pharmacists are very useful for pharmacy business of Uk.so it focuses on creating some intelligent pharmacists. The prescriptions order 1997: This regulations claim that wholesalers or retailers can sell or market medicines if they take recognition from a recognized practitioner. 4.2. Evaluation the Effectiveness of policies and Procedures within a Health and Social Care Setting for administering medication The effectiveness of policies and procedures within a health and social care for administering medication can be evaluated by following ways: Under these policies and Procedures, no unauthorized person will be able to sell medicines until he gets authorization. It will protect drug abuse. Because of these regulations, people who feel comfort in homeopathic medicines will be encouraged to get them and these medicines will be available. These regulations will create some intelligent pharmacists so there will be specialization in pharmaceutical sector. These regulations will protect illegal trafficking of medicines. Under these regulations, people will learn to use prescribed medicine by recognized physicians. It will protect the use of harmful medicines and low quality drugs. Conclusions Empowerment in health and social care service has found a new form. Now the personnel in health and social service are very much careful about the empowerment of the users of the health and social care. This paper successfully described about different policies and regulations used in health and social care service,different factors that can maximize the rights of the users, different vulnerabilities and management of health and social care risks. Besides it gave a clear view about total empowerment process and critically analyzed the effectiveness of the empowerment by risk management and medication regulations of UK. References Bookman, A. and Morgan, S., (1984), Women and the politics of empowerment, Philadelphia: Temple University Press Care Quality Commission (2014), Legislation, www.cqc.org.uk, [available at http://www.cqc.org.uk/organisations-we-regulate/registered-services/legislation], [accessed at May 28, 2014] Carr, S., (2004), Has Service User Participation Made a Difference to Social Care Services? , UK: Social Care Institute for Excellence Carr, S., (2010), Enabling Risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal budgets, UK: Social Care Institute for Excellence Mayberry, R. M and Nice wander, D. A., (2006), Improving quality and reducing inequities: a challenge in achieving best care, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, [available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1426185/], [accessed at May 28, 2014] Rosenbaum, J and Rotor, D., (2013), Improving Interpersonal Communication between Health Care Providers and Clients, USA: Quality Assurance Project Smith, J. P., (2000), Policy Responses to Social Exclusion, UK: Open University Press The Law Commission (2014), Regulation of Health and Social Care Professionals, www.gov.uk, [available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulation-of-health-and-social-care-professionals], [accessed at May 28, 2014] Zimmerman (1984), Empowerment: What Is It? , www.joe.org, [available at http://www.joe.org/joe/1999october/comm1.php], [accessed at May 28, 2014]

Canterbury Tale(the Man of Law’s Tale)

THE CANTERBURY TALES (The Man of Law's Tale) The Man of Law's Tale (also called  The Lawyer's Tale) is the fifth of the  Canterbury Tales  by  Geoffrey Chaucer, written around 1387.   Summary The Man of Law, also known as The Sergeant at Law, tells a  Romance  tale of a Christian princess named Custance (the modern form would be Constance) who is betrothed to the  Syrian  Sultan on condition that he convert to  Christianity. The Sultan's mother connives to prevent this and has Constance set adrift on the sea.Her adventures and trials continue after she is shipwrecked on theNorthumberland  coast. Northumberland is a pagan country where the King, Alla (based on Chaucer's understanding of the historical  ? lla of Deira[1]) eventually converted to Christianity. Alla's evil mother intercepts and falsifies a letter between the couple, which results in Constance's being banished. Constance is forced to go to sea again and is found by a Senator of Rome. The Senator ta kes Constance (and her child) back to Italy to serve as a household servant.King Alla, still heartbroken over the loss of Constance, goes to Rome on a pilgrimage, and fortunately finds Constance. In the end the couple return to Northumberland. Alla dies a year later, and the baby boy becomes the King. ————————————————- ————————————————- Sources The tale is based on a story within the  Chronicles  of  Nicholas Trivet  but the major theme in the tale, of an exiled princess uncorrupted by her suffering, was common in the literature of the time. 2]  Her tale is also told in  John Gower's  Confessio Amantis, and both are similar to the verse  Romance  Emare, and the cycle is generally known as the â€Å"Constance† cycle. [2]  The oldest know n variant of this particular type is  Vitae duorum Offarum. [3]  More distantly related forms of the persecuted heroine include  Le Bone Florence of Rome, and  Griselda. [4] An incident where Constance is framed for murder by a bloody dagger appears to be a direct borrowing from  Crescentia. [5] ————————————————- ————————————————- Analysis Saints' lives genreThe tale is meant as a morally uplifting story and is similar to  hagiography, or stories of the saints' lives, which were common popular literature of the time. Custance, as her name suggests, is constant to her  Christian  religion despite the attacks and testing it receives from the  pagans  and  heathens  she meets on her travels. Rhetoric The Man of Law tells his story in a pompou s over-blown style as if he is defending Custance in a court of law. He also uses manyrhetorical figures, taken straight from the manuals of rhetoric of the day, to emphasize Custance's noble character—as well as the teller's lawyerly skills—and state her case.John Gower Although Chaucer receives some praise and also criticism from his own character with favourable mentions of  The Book of the Duchessand  The Legend of Good Women; in the Man of Law's prologue he seems to spare most of his opprobrium for  John Gower. [original research? ]  Two of the tales which he dislikes,  Canace  and  Apollonius of Tyre, involve  incest, as did the some versions of the story. Chaucer based this tale on the  Nicholas Trivet  story from his  Chronicle. Gower though had recorded all these stories. Chaucer is, perhaps, with friendly banter, trying to goad his friend and fellow writer into a storytelling challenge.But certeinly no word ne writeth he Of thilke wikke [wicked] ensample of Canacee, That loved hir owene brother synfully — Of swiche cursed stories I sey fy! — Or ellis of Tyro Appollonius, How that the cursed kyng Antiochus Birafte his doghter of hir maydenhede, That is so horrible a tale for to rede, Whan he hir threw upon the pavement. Sequence with other tales The various manuscripts of the tales differ on the structure of the tales with some containing the Man of Law's epilogue and others not. In the  epilogue, the host invites the  Parson  but he is interrupted before he can begin and a different speaker tells the next tale.TheSummoner, the  Squire  and the  Shipman  are listed as interrupters in the different manuscripts but it is the Shipman whose character best matches the rude remarks although the mention of his â€Å"joly body† sounds closer to something the  wife of Bath  may say. What it probably shows is that Chaucer had not fixed his overall plan. There are also hints, with his cla im he will talk in prose despite rhyming throughout, that the Man of Law originally told the  Tale of Melibee  before he was assigned Custance's tale late in the composition of the tales.

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Pollution - Essay Example â€Å"Total six percent of maritime transport of the world is done through and on the coasts of Red Sea. Red Sea is connected to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Sudan, Israel, Yemen, and Djibouti. Not only is the maritime trade, tourism also one of the most significant factors†. (Nasser, 2003). Red sea is one amazing body of water with high salinity and wonderful marine life which attracts hundreds and thousands of people from around the world every year. It is stuck among some of the most important countries of the world, hence all the Tourism. Despite all the beauty and utility, the security and survival of the sea is a major concern. Red Sea’s coral reef, eco system, and marine life is in danger because of the oil spill, waste dump by all the surrounding countries, mighty natural evaporation and lack of input by any rivers, and last but not the least is absence of awareness among the government and responsible people about the issue. Red Sea is no longer a scene of pure nature and complete harmony. Unnecessary buildings in the form of hotels and restaurants in order to accommodate tourists, has also diminished the natural and awe and beauty of the place. The concerns of the area not restricted. There are numerous problems affecting Red Sea. One of which is unrestricted fishery. The adjoining countries have been unable in bringing about effective rules and regulations for fishery and the consequence is disappearance of world’s precious species and marine life. Apart from unhindered developments of tourist resorts and unrestricted fishery, Oil spill in the area is also a huge concern. Since the sea is a major connection connecting Europe with Asia, it has numerous ships in waters at bays all the time and this causes mighty pollution. One of the factors to be understood is that the Countries that surround the sea are oil rich countries. They export oil and their oil rigs are almost constantly present in the sea and they

The Leadership Experience Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Leadership Experience - Term Paper Example A directive autocratic style is where managers make decisions unilaterally and closely monitors subordinates whereas a permissive autocratic is where managers make decision unilaterally but allows subordinates to have autonomy in performing their duties. Therefore, in this management style, all decisions made reflect the perceptions and personality of the manager. It is a directive leadership which alienates subordinates from participating in the decision making process. On the contrary, democratic style is where the manager engages subordinates and encourages them to participate in the decision making process. A democrat shares responsibility of making decisions with employees and this motivates them and makes them feel that their opinions are valued. This paper discusses and compares management styles based on Michael Hopkins and Marc Ballon’s articles focusing on the form of leadership of Bloomberg and Jack Hartnett respectively. Michael Bloomberg is the manager and founder of the News Service Bloomberg Inc, a company that casts global news and information. His major concern is company loyalty and so he does not freely or easily relate with those who quits the company. He definitely does not get disturbed if an employee approaches him and informs him about his resignation. However, Bloomberg will not even shake his workers’ hand if they quit and will never consider re-hiring a person after they quit. He does not rehire individuals. Bloomberg and Jack Hartnett respectively.

Computational fluid dynamics in filters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Computational fluid dynamics in filters - Essay Example Essentially, a CFD simulation protocol is so computationally intensive and involves such esoteric mathematical skills (because it involves the solution of non-linear partial differential equations) that individual efforts at completion of these Herculean tasks is next to impossible. So, recently many software companies have sprung up that provide requisite software tools for the same (most notably FLUENT). The operational protocol of such companies (e.g. FLUENT) is briefly outlined below.A virtual prototype of the fluid model to be examined is built within the ambit of a Computer Aided Design (CAD) package which is characterized by a unique and suitable computational mesh which in turn is created after accounting the boundary conditions and specific fluid material properties for the operation. Standard preprocessing software tools such as GAMBIT, TGrid and G/Turbo are supplied to the customers by these companies. The rest of the protocol is efficiently conveyed in the following state ment in the official fluent.com home page, "CAD geometries are easily imported and adapted for CFD solutions in GAMBIT, Fluent's own preprocessor. 3D solid modelingoptions in GAMBIT allow for straightforward geometry construction as well as high quality geometry translation. Among a wide range of geometry tools, Boolean operators provide a simple way of getting from a CAD solid to a fluid domain. A state-of-the-art set of cleanup and conditioning tools prepares the model for meshing. GAMBIT's unique curvature and proximity based "size function" produces a correct and smooth CFD-type mesh throughout the model. Together with our boundary layer technology, a number of volumetric meshing schemes produce the right mesh for your application. Parametric variations are also inherent to the process." For varied computational mesh requirements, other meshing tools as ANSA, Harpoon, Sculptor and YAMS are available. SOLVING [1] This step involves computer simulations of real world conditions by evaluating and assessing product functional efficiency in the specified boundary conditions. Several commercially available suites of softwares, most notable of them being FLUENT, FloWizard, FIDAP, and POLYFLOW (from FLUENT Corporation) boasts of intensive and flexible parallel computing capabilities that enables faster and accurate modeling by solving flow dynamics mathematics involving Navier-Stokes and Eulerian equations. An ideal software suite should have the following attributes- (a) An interactive platform that allows changes to be affected during analysis which saves time and enable more efficient refinement of designs thereby making the learning curve shorter and modeling process faster. (b) Physics and interface functions should be customizable according to design requirements. CFD FOR FILTERS 4 (c) Computational mesh capability should be dynamic and adaptive enough to be compatible with a wide range of physical prototypes which will enable modeling complex moving objects in relation to flow. POST-PROCESSING [1] It is the final step in CFD simulation where the data gathered in the previous computing step is harvested and analyzed in detail to provide a layman's interpretation of the same for broader comprehension and interpretation. Several layers of reporting of the same set of data can be done according to the audience,

Role of Cooperation in Controlling Anarchy Essay

Role of Cooperation in Controlling Anarchy - Essay Example Inayatullah (1997) provided a theoretical perspective on anarchy and cooperation suggesting that neo-realism tends to rely on a negative interpretation on the theory of spontaneous order. Inyataullah suggests that institutions which emerge spontaneously tend to show some form of design thus design and human reflexivity indicate an overlap of intentions and outcomes. But how would a theory of order or disorder relate to international relations and where in the discourse can we place anarchy and cooperation as necessary concepts to define IR? As Inayatullah suggests, the study of intended actions is an essential part of international relations theory and outcomes of IR focus on ‘values’ underlying theory and practice. Possibly this is where anarchy and cooperation become important within international relations. Weber points out that the institutional choices of different countries tend to focus on economic theories of organization emphasizing on cooperative security conce pts with elements of bindingness. He suggests that the hierarchical security structures in the international system remain unexplained and hierarchy is usually explained amidst anarchy. In a similar study, Malcolm (2002) took a different view on the concept of anarchy and its portrayal in international relations study. Hobbes’ theory of international relations, for instance, has been branded as realist considering that the international system is in complete anarchy where no law could be possibly applied and any acts of violence would remain justified.... In a similar study, Malcolm (2002) took a different view on the concept of anarchy and its portrayal in international relations study. Hobbes' theory on international relations for instance has been branded as realist considering that the international system is in complete anarchy where no law could be possibly applied and any acts of violence would remain justified. However Malcolm seems to go against the traditional interpretation of Hobbes' realistic viewpoints and suggests that Hobbes' theory does make provisions for international law showing why international cooperation is essential within the necessities of an international system. Malcolm's interpretations of Hobbes could be closer to Rationalist theories although he does point out that Hobbes' theory was a natural law theory that in more compatible with realism than rationalism. Fidler (2003) points out to the importance of public health in world politics and international relations and the role of health concepts to define anarchy and cooperation among nations and individuals. He suggests that issues of public health have become increasingly important in recent years due to the growing health problems in many developing countries and the rise of epidemics and HIV/AIDS. There are also heightened tensions between public health and international trade as associated with patents and access to essential medicines for incurable or fatal diseases. There has been recent discussion on placing public health higher on global diplomatic agendas although there are issues and speculations on how the pursuit of public health could be better at a global scale and could be successfully organised and implemented. Public health issues have triggered a level pf global

Core nursing competencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Core nursing competencies - Essay Example They are, providing patient focused care. The nurse should have the patient as the center of their attention in providing fully fledged care and attention. A patient is the main reason for the existence of the nursing occupation anyway. Therefore it is the role of the nurse to provide ultimate care to the patient without diverging interest. The second competency involves being able to work in interdisciplinary groups. This competency requires respect among workers which is one of the provisions in the ANA code of ethics. Interdisciplinary workers come from different departments in the health care system who work together to provide health care services. All the professionals in healthcare work together to attend to the patient’s needs and meet effective patient care results. The third competency is using evidence based practice. This requires knowledge of processes and procedures in handling patients well enough. Methods of handling patients should be established so as to iden tify the methods that suit patients most. The third competency involves utilizing quality improvement. Multiple strategies get used in order to maximize the use of resources in serving patients. This should aim at making quality improvement effective. The best research strategies get utilized, clinical expertise are not disregarded and patient values to make patient care decisions. The fifth competency is use of informatics. This involves error reduction, good management of information as well as knowledge, decision making and communication. Nursing from a health care perspective looks at the many challenges that nurse’s face in their work. Most nurses can relate to stories of victimization at their workplaces (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Form the interviews of nurses on their experiences as nurses, it is right to conclude that it is an occupation that contains a lot of challenges to face. Some of the challenges in the nursing profession include the media’s nega tive image, challenges in nursing recruitment as well as retention, workplace culture and education. There have claims that nursing education theory differs from the practical work. Nursing is also disconnected from other spheres of influence in other areas of study. There is poor communication with other disciplines as stated. This creates a gap between nursing and other disciplines that could contribute to the efficiency of nursing. These other disciplines offer unique perspectives that could offer interprofessionalism. Health care safety remains a key matter in the profession. Safe practice with all people the nurses come in contact with improves communication with them. It also involves the nurse’s ability to think critically and apply the knowledge they have gained (American Holistic Nursing Association, 2012). They put their skills best in use and use their general wisdom in providing their service. Victimization, powerlessness and the inability to achieve things in the nursing profession has been a hurdle needed to be overcome. This has resulted in the undermining of the nursing profession. Many get external information that nursing is a hard and challenging job that would not be as satisfying. Nurses in the profession already get leveled at a lower status than other professions. It would not be because health care is undermined but how people perceive nurses. As This results to fewer people having the interest to become nurses. Nurses in colleges do not get enough preparation on

Causes of the boom years in the 1920s Essay Example for Free

Causes of the boom years in the 1920s Essay Causes of the boom years Employers were working fewer hours however were being paid more. This therefore meant industrial goods produced were also increasing. American’s had more time for leisure and more money so electrical labour-saving devices were being introduced becoming affordable by many people. Motor cars eased travel to and from work as well as for leisure pursuits. It was the golden age for cinema and sport attracted vast crowds. Reasons for prosperity: government policies Calvin Coolidge stated ‘the chief business of the American people is business. ’ This was his government policy to let business operate as far as possible, free of regulation. Andrew Mellon and him believed wealth filtered down naturally to all classes and to ensure increased living standards for all was to allow the rich to continue make money to invest in industrial development which therefore meant more job opportunities, more wage earners, more consumption etc. this policy was laissez-faire but the government intervened to support business in 4 ways: High tariffs: Fordney-McCumber Act 1922 à ¯ raised tariffs to cover difference between domestic and foreign production costs Cheaper to buy goods from USA than abroad Tariff level à ¯ foreign goods more expensive than USA even though produced cheaper in USA Foreign trade reduced = domestic demand for goods high Tax reductions: Government reduced federal taxes – 1924, 1926 and 1928 (benefited wealthy) Mellon à ¯ handed out tax reductions Coolidge à ¯ operated on surplus Aim à ¯ reduced national debt, federal tax cuts = meant little to poor as not able to pay taxes Fewer regulations: Federal Trade Commission à ¯ unable and unwilling to operate effectively causing businesses unhindered Foreign policies: Coolidge à ¯ avoided involvement in foreign affairs due to budget cutting an recognition that Americans didn’t want to see troops getting caught up in foreign disputes. This meant that investors would favour profit ever over ethical concerns Technical advances: Technical advances in industrial production made increases in quantity and variety of products Motor vehicle industry: This industry grew dramatically in the 1920s. It was the largest for commodities. Previously cars had only been for the wealthy but Ford wanted the ordinary to be able to afford one Effects of growth in car ownership: Ford thought this would strengthen traditional American values but it led to: Road deaths à ¯ 20,000 per year By 1929, motor industry employed 7% of all workers and paid them 9% of all wages Closure of Ford à ¯ factor to recession of 1927 Loss of business by companies providing components to Ford real problems in economy Road building: Breaking of laissez-faire à ¯ federal government expend on road building in 1920s Federal Highway Act 1921 à ¯ responsibility for road building to central government and highways. Construction = 10,000 miles per year by 1929 Chief Designer in Bureau of Public Roads 1936 à ¯ roads built unfit for use because of amount of traffic Motor vehicles à ¯ new service industries e.g. garages, petrol stations etc. Improved transportation = new opportunities for industry Electrical consumer goods: New technology = large scale development of labour saving devices as cheaper to produce Serious over production = problems in economy New business methods: Growth of huge corporations Large corporations manufacturing business = could invest in and exploit raw materials of USA on vast scale Large corporations could dominate industry by: Operating cartel (group of companies agreeing to fix output and prices to reduce competition and maximise profits). Although illegal, government accepted which involved exploitation of raw materials, retail outlets etc. Some organisations were able to adapt to holding companies which resulted in firms competing against each other Management science: Increased size of businesses à ¯ complex to manage = different management roles by different people in administration Growth of business schools Management science, occupation for upper class = indication harder to start own company Increased production Advertising and salesmanship: Cinema Millions of cinema-goers to copy lifestyle of stars meant potential for advertising was enormous Radio: Began with KDKA station which announced results in 1920 elections Radio’s controlled by 2 companies with a vast audience Constant need to create demand: Growth in industrial production needed a continuous market in order to fuel the boom as people needed to be convinced to buy things frequently. An aspect of a campaign needed to be bought in which would differentiate between one’s product and that of the competitors to promote unique selling point. Advertising techniques worked for many consumers. Easy credit: Massive consumer boom was financed largely by easy credit facilities 1929 à ¯ $7 billion goods were sold on credit – 75% of cars and half of major household appliances Availability of credit meant borrowers took on debts which they could not repay Influence in foreign countries: High tariffs were used to protect US markets however the government also encouraged businessmen to develop extensive interests abroad in terms of raw materials that fuelled technological developments. US exported vast amounts of manufactured products. In the 1920s with almost full employment, low inflation, high tariffs keeping foreign goods out of USA, benevolent government policies and a consumer boom the prosperity would go on forever.

Like Water for Chocolate Essay Example for Free

Like Water for Chocolate Essay Suggests that the soup has made her feel like a baby again given that while she is still in her mom’s belly she cries very hard when onions are chopped and it suggest the impact of food to Tita. After drinking the soup Tita has miraculously recovered from the loss of pigeons which she kept as pet and that triggered her sense of loosing Pedro and R erself to cook she fell in love with it and got a part time job as an assistant to a cooking teacher. Even though she has a lack of precision she was hired because she wasn’t afraid to fail and has a passion to cook unlike the others and getting hired made her feel confident, hence gaining control of life through cooking. The protagonist, Tita in Like Water for Chocolate gains control through cooking as well. Cooking is the only thing Tita love to do because Mama Elena bans her from doing a lot of things; the kitchen is the area where she can retreat from Mama Elena’s demands. When she cooked quail in rose petal sauce she controlled and triggered a lot of peoples emotion. Her sister Gertrudis was the first on affected by the dish, it aroused her sexual desire. She fled naked from her burning shower and when on a horse, galloping away with a soldier. Another incident where she gained control is the Chabela wedding cake she made for her lover Pedro and Rosaura. Even though she couldn’t stop the wedding, she made everyone cry. She made people cry for her tragic experience not only the guests cried, Mama Elena cried as well. She lost control of her life but through cooking she gain control of people’s emotions. In Like Water for Chocolate, food is not just a nutrition it acts as a very important nurturing role. The ox-tail soup Dr. John gave Tita has recalled the best moments of her life and brought back memories of her and Nacha making ox-tail soup together, chopping onions. It suggests that the soup has made her feel like a baby again given that while she is still in her mom’s belly she cries very hard when onions are chopped and it suggest the impact of food to Tita.

Purchasing Power Parity Theory And Discuss Its Applicability Economics Essay

Purchasing Power Parity Theory And Discuss Its Applicability Economics Essay Purchasing Power Parity theory (PPP) is a basis for economic comparison. However, can this really be true for any product at any time? Is purchasing power parity (PPP) only valid in the long run, or is it also applicable in the short run, and what about the nature of the products, i.e. tradable and non-tradable goods? Which limitations are there to PPP? Purchasing power parity tries to explain why the real exchange rate between currencies is what it is. It is based on the law of one price which states that in different markets, identical goods should have the same price. For goods which are easily traded, such as steel and iron, prices should be identical within relevant range. The reason for this is that if  £100 could get you 10kg of iron in the domestic UK market, or 5kg in the foreign German market, one would expect people to buy iron in the UK and sell it in Germany for a profit, taken into consideration that shipping costs are negligible, and that the iron is of equivalent quality. Demand for UK iron would rise and demand for German iron would fall. In the long run this would result in prices for domestic UK iron to rise and for foreign German iron to fall. The equilibrium here would be that  £100 could buy you 7.5kg of UK iron, or 7.5kg German iron. As the currency used in the UK and Germany is different we need to know how many British pound we need in order to buy one Euro. If you need  £15 to get a haircut in the UK and you need à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬10,50 to buy the same quantity (one haircut) in Germany, then the real exchange rate would be  £1.43 per à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ found by the formula: which equals . This strength/purchasing power of one currency over another should be equal in the long run. Hence the name purchasing power parity. Rogoff argues that the difference between the actual currency exchange rate and the PPP exchange rate is.. PPP is only a theory as it cannot be proven to be correct, but until it is not disproved it is seen as a valid assumption. It is considered to be valid in the long run and not the short run, as people take time to realise and exploit profitable differences in markets which eventually leads to a long run market equilibrium. Michaely (1982) argues that the PPP, which originally came from Gustav Cassel, is indeed a monetary approach analysis; namely that it assigns the determination of the foreign-exchange rate to the money market alone, without allowing an explanatory role to the goods market and to goods prices. As the real exchange rates are affected by tradable goods as well as by services, different interest rates, speculators and investment, it is not the best method to compare the purchasing power of different currencies. Comparing GDP (gross domestic product) can be done if PPP is used to compare currencies on the bases on a basket of goods. We can differentiate goods and services in a basket of goods into two categories: tradable goods and non tradable/domestic goods. This is decided upon how easily transported/traded a good is as well as government policies such as bans, tariffs and quotas imposed on them. Tradable goods, (commodities) which are of equal quality no matter where they are produced, will be traded at a value close to the market exchange rate. Generally, any good that is easily transported belongs into this category. Highly tradable goods are raw materials such as gold, petrol, gas, oil and diamonds which have a high value. Non tradable goods that are produced and used by domestic consumers such as hairdressers, taxi costs, house rent, and books are hard to get exported, and as foreign people are unlikely to find a hairdresser whose price can compensate the costs of travelling, or move houses just because it is cheaper than the current one, the non tradable goods will be closer to the PPP exchange rate rat her than the actual market exchange rate. Whether a good is tradable or non-tradable does not only depend on how easily it can be transported. Books may be cheap in Germany and are easily transported, yet there is little demand in the UK for German books, as they are written in a different language. The same can be said about packaged food and laptops for certain countries that have different letters in their alphabet. Their PPP may be further away from the real exchange rate, as they would behave like non tradable goods. There are exceptions to this rule, such as expensive surgeries or medical care which is often much cheaper in east Europe than in west Europe. But are these of equal quality? The difference in price is due to different qualifications, less equipment and less experience. Eventually, in the long run, we would expect prices of east European doctors to rise, but there will still be a large enough price difference which is due to travel and quality difference. As PPP is based on a basket of goods and services, this already excludes ones that are not recorded. Many of these goods are not tradable, and hence are affected by the income level of these countries. However, there are goods in foreign countries that are purposely priced under international market price, in order to get a market share. For example, the German car manufacture Volkswagen produces cars in Germany and sells them in Poland for less than in Germany. Volkswagen does this because people in Poland earn less than in Germany, and they want to get a large market share. Some of these cars get re-imported into Germany to be sold under the domestic price. As Volkswagen cannot increase its price in Poland without losing customers and market share, car dealers in Germany will need to lower their prices in order to eventually get to equilibrium. Besides the obvious limitation to PPP that products are not always homogeneous, there is also the problem with apparent quality difference. A Product manufactured in England might be seen as of superior quality to the exact same product manufactured in China. Both products, even though they are equal, would have different equilibrium prices. PPP does not work in the short run, as people take time to take notice of opportunities to exploit differences in prices. It is only valid for highly tradable and valuable goods such as diamonds and gold, as these prices. Antweiler says that short run exchange rate movements are influenced by the news, such as announcements about interest rate changes, changes in the perception of the growth path of economic(2009). Pappell (1997) discusses that the difference between PPP and the real exchange rate can also depend on which countrys currency we base it on. This can happen because of regime changes or because governments are artificially interfering with the exchange rate in order to increase growth. Generally, the lower the income level of an economy is, the further away the PPP is from the real exchange rate, and the more an economy develops, the closer the PPP will be (RIETI 2003). An example of this would be China and its domestic currency Yuan whose exchange rate does not reflect the actual purchasing power of other currencies. This way they increase exports and have huge economic growth. With a common currency for multiple countries such as the Euro, it is easier to compare prices, as no calculations have to be made. The purchasing power of the euro is different across different Euro-countries (destatis, 2009). In theory, purchasing power parity theory is valid, yet its application has many limitations. It is an accurate explanation of why exchange rates change, but only for a certain basket of goods. Raw materials such as metals, diamonds and wood are easily traded and an international market equilibrium can be found fast. These goods are traded close to the real exchange rate. Non tradable goods such as packaged food are hard to trade and will be closer to the PPP exchange rate. Whether goods are of equal quality makes is a strong limitation to whether the chosen goods can really be compared. PPP is only a valid theory in the long run, as people take time to have to recognise and exploit the price differences. With a common currency across multiple countries such as the Euro, this reduces this greatly. Lastly government intervention with regulations, import taxes and tariffs affect the PPP as it makes buying foreign products more expensive.

Immigration :: essays research papers

For many immigration to the United States would be a new beginning during 19th to early 20th century. There were many acts and laws to limit the number immigrating to the United States. Many of these acts were due to prejudice and misunderstanding of a culture. One such act was the Chinese Exclusion Act. Form this one act many immigration laws and acts were made against foreigners. They hoped to control the number of immigrants arriving on the American shores. The Chinese Exclusion Act of May 6, 1882 was just the beginning. This act was the turning point of the U.S. immigration policies, although it only directly affected a small group of people. Prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act there was no significant number of free immigrants that had been barred from the country. Once the Chinese Exclusion Act had been in acted, further limitations on the immigration of ethnic groups became standard procedure for more than eight decades. Irish catholic, Mexican, and other races were not allowed the same freedoms that others were allowed. Even after a family had been here for generations there were not given the same freedoms. Since the arrival of the first Chinese Immigrants, racist hostility towards the Chinese always existed. They were predominantly male laborers, concentrated in California. They were vital to the development of western mining, transportation, and agriculture. Other races were also discriminated against, the Irish were not allowed to get jobs or live in certain areas of the cities. By 1880, the great fear of German-speaking and Irish-Catholic immigrants was over. Employers, who still sought worker-immigrants, and not just temporary workers, looked increasingly to southern and eastern Europe. When Italians, Greeks, Turks, Russians, Slavs, and Jews arrived in the United States in numbers, however, new anxieties arose about making Americans of so many different kinds of strangers. An 1880 this act gave the United States the one sided right to mandate to li mit or even stop the immigration of Chinese laborers. In effect canceling the right of the Chinese to enter the country. Congress quickly complied and made a ten-year bill that the President signed on May 6, 1882. While exempting teachers, students, merchants, and tourists the Act suspended immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years. The law was renewed for a second ten-year period in 1892 and then made "permanent" in 1902. Chinese Exclusion Act had set a pattern for many other immigration laws and acts to come.

Microbial Health of the Rhizosphere :: Biology Bacteria Science Essays Papers

Microbial Health of the Rhizosphere Works Cited Missing The importance of the interactions between microorganisms, plants and the rhizosphere was realized as early as 1904 by Soil Bacteriologist and Professor of Agronomy at the Technical College of Munich, Lorenz Hiltner. â€Å"The term rhizosphere was introduced by Hiltner in 1904.† (Gobran, 2001) Hiltner â€Å"emphasized the critical role of microbial activities in the ‘rhizosphere’ in the nutrition and general health of plants.† (Curl, 1986) The term rhizosphere was used to â€Å"describe specifically the interaction between bacteria and legume roots.† (Lynch, 1990) Today there is debate among microbiologists and plant scientists regarding the definition of rhizosphere (Curl, 1986). â€Å"Rhizo† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"rhiza,† meaing â€Å"root†. â€Å"Sphere† is â€Å"one’s field of action, influence, or existence: one’s natural surroundings.† (Lynch, 1990 â€Å"Rhizosphere is the zone where root activity significantly influences biological properties.† (Manthey, 1994) There are three main areas of research that are done on the rhizosphere. The first one is the â€Å"influence of roots on microorganisms.† The second is â€Å"influence of microorganisms on plant growth,† and the third is â€Å"rhizosphere influence on soil-borne pathogens and plant disease.† (Curl, 1986) When Hiltner first talked about the rhizosphere in 1904, he stated, â€Å"The nutrition of plant in general certainly depends upon the composition of the soil flora in the rhizosphere†¦If plants have the tendency to attract useful bacteria by their root excretions, it would not be surprising if they would also attract uninvited guests which, like the useful organisms, adapt to specific root excretions.† This speech identified two of the main topics of rhizosphere research: â€Å"(1) the relation of the rhizosphere to plant nutrition, growth, and development, and (2) the influence of rhizosphere phenomena on pathogens and pathogenesis.† (Curl, 1986) It was realized as early as 1904 that rhizosphere microorganisms can cause disease or transmit viruses as well as benefit the plant. There are microorganisms in the bulk soil as well as in the rhizosphere. The microorganisms in the soil include bacteria, fungi, protists, actinomycetes, and nematodes. These microorganisms are not distributed uniformly around the soil; they are congregated around nutrient sources. A nutrient source for these microorganisms is organic matter. (Curl, 1986) In the rhizosphere there are different amounts and types of microorganisms than there are in the bulk soil due to different substrate, or â€Å"the surface on which an organism grows or is attached.† Other factors that vary from rhizosphere to bulk soil are the acidity, moisture, nutrients, electrical conductivity, and redox potential (Lynch, 1990).

Relational Model :: essays research papers

The Relational Database Model A database can be understood as a collection of related files. How those files are related depends on the model used. Early models included the hierarchical model (where files are related in a parent/child manner, with each child file having at most one parent file), and the network model (where files are related as owners and members, similar to the network model except that each member file can have more than one owner). The relational database model was a huge step forward, as it allowed files to be related by means of a common field. In order to relate any two files, they simply need to have a common field, which makes the model extremely flexible. Poet Code First Name Surname Age 1 Mongane Afrika 62 2 Stephen Serote 58 3 Tatumkhulu Watson 29 Poem Title Poet Wakening Night 1 Thrones of Darkness 2 Once 3 These two tables relate through the code field in the poet table, and the poet field in the poem table. We can see who wrote the poem 'Once' by following the relationship, and see that it was poet 3, or Tatumkhulu Watson. In 1970, when E.F. Codd developed the model, it was thought to be hopelessly impractical, as the machines of the time could not cope with the overhead necessary to maintain the model. Of course, hardware since then has come on in huge strides, so that today even the most basic of PC's can run sophisticated relational database management systems. Together with this went the development of SQL. SQL is relatively easy to learn and allows people to quickly learn how to perform queries on a relational database. This simplicity is part of the reason that relational databases now form the majority of databases to be found. Basic Terms An understanding of relational databases requires an understanding of some of the basic terms. Data are the values stored in the database. On its own, data means very little. "43156" is an example. Information is data that is processed to have a meaning. For example, "43156" is the population of the town of Littlewood. A database is a collection of tables. Each table contains records, which are the horizontal rows in the table. These are also called tuples. Each record contains fields, which are the vertical columns of the table. These are also called attributes. An example would be a product record.

Global Forces of Change Essay

1. From the case facts, describe how globalization and technology have influenced the business directions of GE Medical Systems. Technology Since new requirements in healthcare business had been emerged, in the market it is required to implement personalized medicine to support specific client – not mass population. Moreover, trend on find the way to prevent sickness is more concerned than to heal. This is massive challenge to medical equipment manufacturers whether which company can find the best technology to support these requirements. GE believed that the best technology would always win in the marketplace so they responded to these requirements by investing more on R&D and also product design. As the result, corporate R&D invented some new products which replace need of existing product, for example, digital detectors for X-ray machines that would replace the need for X-ray film. Globalization Globalization increases connectivity and interdependence of the world’s markets and businesses. Emerging middle-classes of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America is also an opportunity for healthcare company like GE to expand their markets, increase sales and profits. Beside of sales side, GE can also reduce their manufacturing cost by shifting manufacturing from high-cost countries to low-cost countries. This would increase their competitive advantage. 2. Identify possible projects by which a company dealing in Healthcare and Medical Diagnosis like GEMS can profitably ride the waves of globalization, liberalization and technology. * Shifting manufacturing base from high-cost countries to low-cost countries in order to reduce production cost. * To develop healthcare IT system, this is to manage necessary data systematically such as patient data, treatment record etc. This is also helpful for diagnosis. * To apply Free Trade Agreement with emerging countries in order to facilitate access of healthcare products. * Even general needs of customers in healthcare in each country is same but there are some specific requirements which are required individually so GEMS should not neglect R&D in each local market. Hiring local staffs is an effective alternative since local people might understand needs in their society well. * R&D is vital since technology changes every day. GEMS should keep investing on find out the way to increase effective ness of their equipment and also invent new products which can replace existing one. 3. Describe the world do you envision in 2050, especially with China and India likely to take center-stage? Touch on the economic, political, social and cultural adaptation that you think can take place. According to many reports show that over the next 50 years China and then India’s economies will overtake US. Large and growing market opportunities in China and India are widely seen and understood as evidenced by the large flows of foreign direct investment to China, both for the domestic market, but also to use China as a low cost platform for exports to the rest of the World. China is communist. Due to their political characteristics, control in a repressive way substantial part of the economy, especially the financial sector that brought about massive imbalance. A centralized decision-making process, although discretionary would presumably ease political action by by-passing all types of necessary approvals from a parliament or congress in a democratic system. So changing of Chinese government would possibly change the world. About social and culture, as foreign companies would base their manufacturing in China, learning local culture would be very important in order to have smooth operation and avoid any conflict. China language will become as vital as English. On the other hands, due to growing of China economic dominance, Chinese people will also spread over the world. Their culture will unavoidably absorb to everywhere. We have no choice but adapt with it.

Development of Multinational Personnel Selection Essay

Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey. uwo. ca. Copyright  © 2007, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2007-12-11 On Monday morning at 8:30 a. m. , Dr. Thomas Koch was leaving his luxury condominium on the 28th floor of a building specifically constructed for expatriates and Hong Kong’s wealthier citizens. He was going down to Causeway Bay, towards his office in Hong Kong’s central business district. On the way, Koch listened to the voice mail messages on his cell phone, one of which was from the assistant of the firm’s owner, Peter Koenig. The message stated that Koch was expected to call back before his meeting with the human resources (HR) team that he was leading. The human resources team meeting was scheduled in order to bring together German and Chinese human resource experts to form a crossfunctional project team. In the context of global restructuring, the company, ComInTec AG & Co (ComInTec), had introduced a new regional management level. As a result, 25 middle management positions were expected to be filled in the Asian-Pacific-region (APAC) (e. g. regional head of purchasing, regional head of supply chain management, national chief executive officers (CEOs), national head of finance and accounting, and national head of operations). A new personnel selection system was expected to fill these positions with qualified employees. ComInTec’s own recruitment channels, as well as â€Å"head hunters,† would be hired for the recruitment process. The overall responsibility for implementing the new personnel selection process was the responsibility of the project team. According to the company’s inhouse global localization policy, 90 per cent of the new management positions were filled by individuals who originated from the country they would be working in. The affected areas included sales and marketing, purchasing, supply chain management, and finance and accounting, at locations in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney and Shanghai. The managers’ annual salary ranges between â‚ ¬40,000 and â‚ ¬150,000, depending on the location. The new personnel selection system for APAC was part of the company’s new objective to standardize all human resource instruments for selection purposes around the globe. This new personnel selection system had to be developed internally. Page 2 9B07C041 BACKGROUND For several years now, Koch had been finding faults in the design of the individual assessment centres. According to Koch’s opinion, there was only very limited opportunity to influence possible modifications because the individual assessment centres were conducted by external consulting firms. Additionally, Koch questioned the validity of the information obtained from the centres, as well as the personnel selection system as a whole. ComInTec had little interest in empirically evaluating the validity of the assessment centres and statistically analyzing the outcomes of such personnel selection procedures. Koch also felt the need to improve the contents of the structured interviews that were based on the candidate’s current situation, as opposed to the candidate’s previous work experience. Koch firmly believed that what happened in the past was likely to be repeated in the future, and therefore had very little appreciation for selective interviews that did not consider the candidate’s past. Overall, efforts to improve the current selection systems had only rarely been undertaken due to limited time and the budget allotted for personnel affairs — a memorable fact that Koch had already pointed out to the management several times. The development of a new multinational personnel selection system now posed a huge challenge for Koch and his project team. There was one fact, however, which he noticed with relief: there were no expatriates in the new selection system because the selected managers were required to be living in APAC. Currently, ComIncTec simply sent those candidates abroad that had the necessary technical skills and experience, regardless of intercultural competencies. Koch remembered how difficult it was at times to find someone willing to move his or her centre of life, including family, to a different country. He also knew from his own emigration experience that no training (e. g. language or cultural norms) was offered to prepare him. With this in mind, he hired staff for his project team that would globally represent the countries involved: a Chinese research assistant who completed a bachelor in HR management, another trainee from China, and a German intern who had completed four semesters in psychology. The team, which also included additional HR managers from the headquarters office, had already been working on the development of the new personnel selection system for four months. Over the past few weeks numerous meetings had been held, yet no significant progress had been made. One reason could be attributed to the fact that there was obvious heterogeneity between the German and Asian team members’ opinions regarding the new personnel selection system. This created an ambiance that was tense and dissent with respect to sharing the workload. For today’s meeting, the goal was to come to a consensus on several important issues: (1) what individual modules the new personnel selection system should contain, (2) whether country-specific adaptations were necessary and feasible for each module, and (3) the implementation process of the new personnel instrument at each APAC location. The APAC-situated plants were the company’s top-selling ones; therefore, any wrong decisions with respect to HR (e. g. personnel selection) were extremely cost- Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. When Koch first heard about the above changes, it immediately occurred to him that this would not be easy. He knew that personnel selection procedures currently varied significantly between countries. He also knew that the existing selection instruments were by no means flawless in any specific country. After the application documents were analyzed, structured interviews with the candidates were conducted by a department representative and an HR specialist. If both interviewers came to a positive conclusion on the candidates’ qualifications, the top candidate completed an individual assessment centre in order to point out his/her interpersonal competences rather than his/her professional competencies. The individual assessment centres consisted of biographical questions, case studies on leadership in an international context and participation in a leaderless group discussion. Ultimately, additional references were obtained for each candidate, although different procedures existed in different countries. For example, references gathered in Asia only confirmed a candidate’s previous function and duration of employment according to common employment law. After reference checks were completed, each candidate received written feedback and a report was generated and added to the successful candidate’s personnel file. Page 3 9B07C041 intense. The personnel selection system in APAC, as a whole, would have large-scale consequences affecting the entire company. As Koch was walking in the crowded Causeway Bay area he was not paying much attention. To Koch, who could not distinguish between Asians, it seemed as if they were crawling across the streets like ants, all busy on their phones. As usual, it was a very hot day. For Koch, now 48 years old, this was intolerable. He took off his light-coloured linen jacket and placed his tie, threatening to strangle him, in his brief case. He had returned from a business trip in Sydney the previous Saturday and was still feeling the effects of the lengthy flight. The next business trip was scheduled for the upcoming Thursday — off to Jakarta for a week, Shanghai, then Munich for a meeting of the Global Steering Committee Human Resources. He checked his schedule and remembered the phone call he received earlier from Koenig’s assistant. Koch would be arriving at his office within 10 minutes, which allowed him time to return Koenig’s phone call before the scheduled meeting. It had been 17 years now that Koch had been working in the HR department for ComInTec and three years in the regional headquarters in Hong Kong. After working many years for ComInTec he was currently the HR director, thanks to his determination, networking skills, ability to be highly adaptable to new situations, and his talent to be at the right place at the right time. He was in charge of all HR decisions within ComInTec in APAC. ComInTec was a worldwide leading industrial company with administration, plants, and sales offices in Central Europe, Eastern and Western Europe, APAC, Central and South America, and North America. Like many other companies, ComInTec was forced to establish downsizing procedures between 2003 and 2006. Worldwide, 900 jobs were cut. Koch was actively involved in the staff cutbacks that had taken place. He had visited the plants, equipped with PowerPoint presentations that had been verified by the executive board to be politically correct. He spoke to the workers and praised ComInTec’s ethics and corporate philosophy, despite the cutbacks. He communicated the cutbacks to the workers as a temporary crisis, pointing out that it was mainly due to natural fluctuations and that it was part-time employees who were cut, with the affected workers being offered fair compensation packages. In consequence of the general economic situation in the years of 2003 to 2006, ComInTec unfortunately had no other option. He additionally thanked the staff for their loyalty and appreciation with personal gifts and reports in the company’s internal newsletter. Since then, the company had recovered from the crisis. ComInTec employed 23,000 employees worldwide and made more than â‚ ¬5. 8 billion in sales. Koch arrived at the elevator to his office. He was surrounded by Asian colleagues in the best mood, all in uniformly grey suits, greeting each other as they waited for the elevator. When he got off the elevator, there were two of the three Chinese secretaries serving tea and fruits. His appearance always caused a general haste among the secretaries. They all confirmed his daily appointments, signifying that his work day had officially commenced. Koch called on a secretary, who came running on the double, accompanied by a â€Å"Yes, sir! † and a big smile, yet she avoided eye-contact by looking down to the floor. She reminded him that Koenig was waiting for him to return his call. Without being able to name a cause for it, this secretary’s behaviour triggered uncertainty in Koch. All her gestures appeared submissive as she perpetually nodded her head — regardless of praise or dispraise — always understanding and friendly. Koch picked up the telephone and Koenig instantly began speaking: Mr. Koch, you know how much I appreciate your dedication to the company, but I have concerns about the current international selection procedures. We need something that is going to work, and work immediately! And don’t you dare try to offer me this empirical or validity stuff. I don’t give a damn. You have a whole department with highly qualified people. I assume you are capable of filling these vacant management positions. We also need a selection system that works everywhere. We cannot afford to apply different Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 4 9B07C041 procedures in every country. What we need are consistent procedures, something applicable cross-nationally and cross-regionally. You, as a cosmopolitan, should know exactly what I mean. I also expect everything to be documented to a tee. Although Koch shared Koenig’s enthusiasm for an improved personnel selection system, there were many complications that could arise of which Koenig seemed obviously unaware. As sensitively as possible and with all due respect, Koch tried to inform Koenig about possible problems. First, Koch argued that although a multinational personnel selection system could have its advantages, these advantages may become costly when they are not easily implemented in each region. Each country had its own unique economic and education situations, which would undoubtedly become problematic when creating a universal personnel selection system. Koenig should only think of Thailand, for example, where it is more difficult than anywhere else to find qualified managers. With respect to cultural differences, Koch argued that a standardized personnel selection system would also most likely ignore cultural differences and culture-specific circumstances. This would not only affect the individual modules of the system, but also the basic job requirements, the adaptation of modules to specific countries, and the use of specific personnel selection methods. Koch also expressed his concern with Koenig’s lack of interest in testing the validity of the new selection procedures: Mr. Koenig, something that is expected to work should be tested thoroughly. This is the only way to be certain that it will actually work. We will need to test and then evaluate each and every single module in each country. This process will provide a basis on which we will be able to improve the original procedures. Due to all the possible problems that may arise with the new system, it is imperative that we invest in developing it properly. Of course, that wasn’t exactly what Koenig wanted to hear: Don’t tell me about problems, I want solutions, and you should not forget that this is what I pay you and your team to do. You have until the end of this week to deliver final and written conclusions of this matter. If not, I will reduce your team in Hong Kong by half, and I will delegate the development of this new system to global headquarters. â€Å"Mr. Koenig,† Koch replied, â€Å"please keep in mind that my team has been working on this assignment for months, including weekends. † Nevertheless, Koenig underlined Koch’s point of view with the commanding tone typical of him: â€Å"Either you will come up with something useful by the end of this week, or central headquarters will do the job. End of discussion. † Koch responded: Mr. Koenig, we have known each other for 17 years now and you know that I always do what’s best for this company. I strongly believe that as your HR manager, it is my responsibility and duty to inform you about possible risks and problems that may exist with an ad hoc-developed and unevaluated multinational personnel selection system. Koch advised Koenig again that his demands could lead to severe difficulties. Koch also added: Mr. Koenig, please remember the problems we experienced a few years ago with respect to staffing cutbacks. You wanted to send employees, who had been working for the Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 5 9B07C041 company for many years, home without any kind of termination pay. Everything was to be done by us, without any kind of external consulting. I assume you remember that I told you in advance how risky such a staff reduction can be. I am certain that you will also remember that I informed you that the legal process would create a high financial risk to the company with employees with legal action seeking claims for damages and compensation. At the time you had underestimated the situation, and as a result our legal department had to deal with all the consequences. We were lucky that our lawyers were able to win most of the cases. Koenig was listening to these remarks with irritation and responded: Dr. Koch, I am at the end of my tether with you. You need to stop focusing on the past. It’s all water under the bridge. We are now looking at 25 people we want to hire. This is my company and not yours. I will be participating in today’s meeting via video conference. I expect you to prepare everything at once so that the video conference will be working. And don’t forget that I have put you in charge of the entire new personnel selection system. Koch would need to accept the fact that all of his objections to Koenig’s instructions fell on deaf ears. He knew Koenig well enough to understand exactly what he wanted and that he would not change his mind. For Koenig, endless loyalty to the company, endurance, a hands-on mentality, and assertiveness were most important. He was known for his strong control orientation not only by the members of the global steering group, but also by the plants’ employees. Two weeks prior, he went to Malaysia unannounced and snuck into one of the plants in order to see the night shift’s work with his own eyes. In addition, every executive knew that Koenig had established staff employees, so called key functionaries, in every country. The task of these key functionaries, or spies as Koch liked to call them, was to report to Koenig about everything that was happening on site in detail, particularly any wrong doing of management. But Koenig did not trust these key functionaries either, with his motto being â€Å"Trust is good, control is better. † Only if there was 100 per cent agreement between headquarters and the key functionaries was he willing to attribute a certain degree of credibility to the situation. Koch could therefore understand the tactics of Koenig because they somewhat resembled his own tactics. Koch, nevertheless, had difficulties with Koenig’s control procedures because they directly affected him and his team. In response to these procedures, Koch had established in APAC that each meeting and each decision that was to be made must be recorded by three individuals. Piles of paper were accumulating in his office as a result, and even special storage rooms were needed to store the paper masses. Furthermore, Koch remembered the intention coming from the central HR department, to standardize all personnel selection procedures including all criteria and approaches around the globe. This matter ended in talk due to conflicts regarding this question. With all this in the back of his mind, and the increasing pressure on his shoulders, Koch remarked to Koenig at the end of the phone call that the meeting would possibly take several hours, and that he assumed Koenig would not like to spend his precious time listening to every single detail regarding APAC’s selection system. Koenig agreed that attending the meeting via video conference would not be in his best interest with respect to time, but instead insisted even more that he receive the final draft of their decisions and the meeting minutes by Friday. Koch was proud to have successfully appeased Koenig’s concerns for the moment, and he next turned his focus to the scheduled meeting. He was horrified when he glanced at his watch and realized that it was already 9:30 a. m. He jumped up abruptly from his desk and left for the conference room. When he arrived, his whole team and an unknown staff employee from global headquarters, probably a key functionary, Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 6 9B07C041 Well, I ask today that you all present results from the past few months of hard work. I am only interested in the results and would like to avoid any long discussions concerning details. Mr. Koenig expects our final decisions in writing this upcoming Friday. In the case that he does not approve our recommendations, this project will possibly be passed on to global headquarters. As a result, we will lose team members. You now know the importance of our meeting today. We need to legitimize our right to exist. The Chinese colleagues agreed by nodding their heads uniformly. Koch noticed that this behaviour was always to be expected when there was an order from a member with higher hierarchical status. From Koch’s perspective, this was a phenomenon reflecting cross-cultural differences (see Exhibits 1 and 2). He often asked himself why his Chinese colleagues seemed to forget all priorities regarding time and content as soon as there was an order coming from someone higher in the hierarchy. How often did he observe his Chinese colleagues change their work completely and without any objection according to the orders of someone with higher status? Koch quite often got the impression that his Asian colleagues and co-workers followed the principle â€Å"Seniority is king. † Yue Yu, a Chinese HR employee, rose to speak. In her concise way, she stated: One crucial question concerns the definition of the job requirements and their profiles. After several discussions we have come to the conclusion that the positions to be filled differ in their content. Hence, we plead to define the job requirements specifically for each position, and to allow flexibility of the job requirements for other positions. More precisely, we want to diagnose 15 dimensions: five components that test the candidate’s professional competencies, and 10 dimensions that evaluate social competencies. Andreas Mueller, the German economist who possessed extensive experience in HR management, countered Yue Yu: â€Å"You must be joking. The inclusion of 15 dimensions is not what our team has decided on. That is your opinion, which is not shared with anybody here. I told you many times that the acquisition of 15 dimensions is simply impossible. † â€Å"Yes, that’s what you said earlier,† answered Yue Yu, â€Å"but I find we should establish as many dimensions as possible. † â€Å"Well, I disagree,† Mueller continued, who could not stand being interrupted, â€Å"It is important to define clearly distinguishable job requirements that are measurable, describable, and that are equally relevant in all countries of APAC. Yue Yu, intimidated by her German colleague’s manner, blushed and looked down towards the floor, signaling that she did not dare to say anything further. Yue Yu often found it difficult to cope with negative feedback, particularly when it occurred in front of her colleagues. There had been several times already that she could not stand up to Mueller, which seemed t o affect her more and more each time. She had once spoken to Koch about her difficulties communicating with Mueller; however, Koch was quickly irritated by the complaint and asked her to wait and hope for an improvement of the situation. Koch assumed the confrontation between Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. were already waiting impatiently. In order to keep the meeting attendees occupied while they waited, the thoughtful secretary was serving coffee and snacks, resulting in a second breakfast for many of them. Koch welcomed everyone, apologized for being late, and began the meeting, â€Å"We are here today to decide about the future personnel selection system for APAC, which, when complete, will influence the complete international employee selection system within ComIntTec considerably. After these introductory words, he asked the German intern Sarah Goldmann and her Chinese HR assistant Dai Wei to record the meeting minutes. Koch continued, â€Å"I need everything we discuss here today to be recorded in detail. The records must happen with the precision of a surgeon! † The German team members threw disfavouring look s at each other; however, the Asian team members approved of the instructions by nodding their heads. Koch started: Page 7 9B07C041 he two colleagues was generally just a misinterpretation due to cultural differences (see Exhibits 1 and 2), and told her to bring the matter to his attention again only if it was absolutely necessary. Yue Yu never discussed the situation with Koch again. The German, in-house psychologist Sabine Weitmann, who was known for her differentiating thinking, decided to join the discussion: In my point of view, the question regarding the number of dimensions is only secondary. It is important that we first establish the contents of the job requirements. I suggest we replace the term job requirements with the more modern term competencies. In my opinion, a multinational requirement profile should contain competencies such as technical and vocational skills, social competencies, leadership competencies, communicative competencies, flexibility, and adaptability. â€Å"Why these skills and not others? † interjected Dai Wei, the Chinese HR assistant, who was not satisfied with Weitmann’s selection of skills. â€Å"Well, during my studies at the Strategic Human Resource Management Institute in Hong Kong, where I completed my MBA, I learned and experienced that a multitude of skills are inessential in personnel selection. I think we should therefore consider additional skills. For example, stress tolerance, resilience, cooperation skills, willingness to learn, ambiguity tolerance, goal-orientation, problem-solving skills, decision-making skills, and intercultural competencies. † â€Å"But Dai Wei,† contradicted Mueller, â€Å"It is totally obvious that this kind of proposition will encounter problems. That is simply not doable. Besides, the intention to establish more than six job requirements turned out to be problematic in the past. Did you ever think about the difference between intercultural competence and social competence? † Dai Wei was obviously irritated by the criticisms he received in front of the team and was in the process of losing his temper, which was easily detected by looking at his face, which had become flushed. These well-known signs alerted Weitmann, who tried to calm the situation with her objection and who cherished the illusion of having salvaged this precarious situation: â€Å"We should not waste anymore time debating this topic, which we’ve already discussed many times before. Let’s stay focused. † Clearing his throat, Mueller stated, â€Å"It is pointless to discuss the skills and job requirements. We are under time pressure and I therefore suggest that we bring about a majority vote with respect to the skills. † â€Å"No,† said the Chinese trainee, who participated in a communication training course last weekend and had been therefore sensitized to group dynamic processes, â€Å"A majority vote is not the solution. It may lead to good decisions not succeeding because certain team members follow the uniform opinion of the majority. We should try to reach a consensus on this issue. † While the Asian colleagues began to nod their heads in agreement, Mueller, who did not like to leave anything to chance, responded, â€Å"Well, I believe there should be six dimensions, namely planning/organization, initiative, adaptability, conflict management, decisionmaking/goal-orientation, and leadership. These dimensions are not only important for a manager’s success in APAC, but on a worldwide scale. † â€Å"Andreas,† countered Weitmann, â€Å"what are your conclusions based on? We need dimensions that have been empirically verified. Although it is great that you have your opinion, what we need are empirically validated dimensions. † â€Å"Well, I would like to settle this dispute,† replied Bettina Carter, a German lawyer who had lived in California for many years, and who was now ready to explore the world of APAC with her American husband. The always down-to-earth Carter opined, â€Å"Clearly, this is easy. We simply use the German dimensions and adapt them to the management positions in APAC. I am certain that everybody here knows that these are the dimensions mentioned by Mueller earlier. Koch, who was already feeling mentally exhausted from listening to the discussion, said: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 8 9B07C041 I neither have the time nor the energy to be debating these arguments. Our hands are full and even though we’re going in the right directi on, it is only a first step to come up with dimensions. I am in charge of everything here and I would like to avoid losing my head over these debates. Let’s vote. Who agrees with the dimensions suggested by Sabine? Silence took over the room. â€Å"Who will support the dimensions outlined by Andreas? † The vote was suddenly interrupted by a cellular phone ringing in the tone of an alarm system. â€Å"Sorry, sorry about that,† apologized the Chinese trainee, who was no longer writing the meeting minutes, but instead trying to control his cell phone. Koch concluded: There you go! It is official and we agree. I hereby announce that the job requirements for the selection of managers be assessed on six dimensions: planning/organizing, initiative, adaptability, conflict management, decision-making/goal-orientation, and leadership. These dimensions will be used for managers in all departments (e. g. sales and marketing, purchasing, supply chain management, finance, and accounting) and all locations (e. g. Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta, Melbourne, Sydney and Shanghai). We will also incorporate vocational competencies. All recorders please write down that statement. Eventually Goldmann, the German intern, remarked with satisfaction that she could finally score with her boss: â€Å"It appears to me that the definition of the job requirements should not be done separately from the new personnel selection system module definitions. I learned in university to define certain requirements for module X and the requirements that will then be tested in another module Y. † Everybody in the room was surprised at this, and even Weitmann and Mueller complimented Goldmann for her suggestion. â€Å"Yes, this is a very good proposition, indeed,† Weitmann said. Mueller, who saw his chance to get back to the topic, added, â€Å"We should continue with a systematic approach. Let’s decide on the modules, and then we can substantiate the job requirements per module. Sabine, surely you will agree with me on this. After the long-lasting debate, which still wasn’t very productive, Koch was now only following the discussion half-heartedly. Similarly, the Chinese trainee was on the verge of falling into a deep trance. Koch decided he would no longer intervene on the discussions, â€Å"Now I am just going to sit in on this meeting,† he thought to himself. These people are beating around the bush and are trying to profile themselves at my cost. I am under Mr. Koenig’s pressure, being spied on by the headquarters’ staff employees, in a city that is still strange to me, and without any hope for improvement. With a loud voice he blurted out, â€Å"What shall it be,† and everybody in the room looked at him in an alienated fashion. â€Å"Is everything OK? † the German intern Goldmann, who found this behaviour extremely strange, asked with worry. She remembered an introductory course of clinical psychology and believed that this behaviour could be an indication of a pathological disorder. However, Koch replied, â€Å"Yes, of course, everything is perfectly fine,† which temporarily reassured Goldmann. It was now Koch’s intention to fulfill his leading role by trying to motivate his team members to move on to the next important issue: the definition of the modules and the job requirements for each module. Dai Wei responded, We have been working on this question for a very long time, and after several modifications and discussions, we finally agreed. We think as a team that a multinational Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 9 9B07C041 Yes, Dai Wei,† replied Yue Yu, who was always intent to maintain harmony. Weitmann, who was still a bit annoyed because her suggestion regarding the competencies was rejected, stated: Dai Wei, you forgot an important module. When I attended an international conference in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to meet an internationally-known scientist. Like me, the professor considers it essential to use standa rdized testing procedures. The professor has shown empirical evidence that validity of personnel selection increases if psychometric testing procedures are used in addition to other modules. For that reason, I advocate for intelligence tests and personality tests to be added to the personnel selection system. We have discussed this before and my suggestion was received positively. Replied Mueller: Sabine, your test knowledge is impressive, but unfortunately such procedures will lead us into a dead-end street. As you know, standardized tests have several disadvantages. They are not generally highly accepted and cultural problems exist. Are you aware of any intelligence or personality tests that can be applied equally worldwide and for which there are test theoretical indices available? Weitmann, getting worked up about the topic, responded, â€Å"Well, these are minor problems, and if we need to we can ask our interns, trainees or HR assistants to develop such standardized tests. Or we could assign an external consulting firm to the task. † Carter, who in the meantime was scrolling through her voluminous labour law book, jumped into the conversation: I don’t think we should debate this issue any further. We have already decided several weeks ago to include testing procedures in the selection process. Just to be sure, I will confirm that the testing procedures coincide with the labour laws. We should now concentrate on how the individual modules will look and what skills should be covered in which module. â€Å"That is a good suggestion,† agreed Dai Wei. Increasingly gripped by this trend-setting suggestion, Mueller now cleared his throat and offered to summarize the contents of the modules: After due consideration, we have come to the conclusion that the first step of this multinational personnel selection system will be conducted in a similar manner at all Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. election system for APAC should be two-tiered. The first tier consists of three modules: a viewing of the candidates’ application documents, a telephone conference with the applicants that should be conducted in an unstructured manner, and the obtaining of three references from former employers. Unlike the current procedures, references shou ld not only be used to verify past employment and the duration of employment, but also include a statement regarding the candidate’s personality. Four modules will follow in the second tier. Specifically, a panel interview, a biography-oriented in-depth interview, a simulated group exercise, and testing procedures. Does everybody still agree on these modules and the two-tiered system? Page 10 9B07C041 Koch stepped in, â€Å"Thanks, Andreas for your summary. Dai, could you please illustrate the second tier modules in an equally precise fashion? † â€Å"I will try,† taking a deep breath, Dai Wei said: The second level of the selection process will consist of — as already mentioned — a panel interview, a biography-oriented in-depth interview, a simulated group exercise, and a test. The purpose of the panel interview is to obtain detailed information about the candidate with respect to the required skills Andreas just summarized. That means that the competencies will be evaluated in this module of the selection process. The panel interview is a standardized exercise based on the critical-incident-technique. The candidate describes one critical situation and his or her behaviour in each situation for each of the six job requirements. Instructions and questions for the candidates have already been prepared. I will give you an example for the dimension â€Å"planning/organization. † The instructions will read: â€Å"An efficient manager has to be capable of organizing his or her agenda well in order to achieve specific goals. This includes, but is not limited to, prioritizing competing tasks well and delegating tasks to other employees in a timely fashion. Discuss a time last year when you had to keep a tight and challenging schedule. Also include methods you usually apply for time management. This introductory instruction will be followed by five open-ended questions that have to be answered by each candidate. An example for the dimension â€Å"planning/organization† is as follows: â€Å"Think about an event in which you showed previously discussed skills. Explain the circumstances. Describe precisely what you have done in order to manage this situation. What was the outcome? Who will be able to verify what you have described here? † The candidate will receive simi lar questions for the remaining five dimensions. Each candidate will be given an hour to prepare his or her answers. Afterwards, they will be given 30 minutes to present the results, with panel members given the opportunity for queries. Each candidate will then receive a score for each dimension (e. g. 5 being outstanding, 3 being acceptable, and 1 being unacceptable). The scores will then be Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. locations. Module one, a viewing of the candidates’ application documents, shall be conducted by applying the â€Å"6-eye-method. That is, three persons will be analyzing the applicant’s documents regarding his or her suitability for the targeted position. The result of this analysis is a preliminary selection of candidates. Individual telephone conferences with the remaining candidates will follow. The conferences will be attended by the candidate and two members of our team: the supervisor at the site in APAC and one person from the German headquarters. The conference shall be conducted in an unstructured manner with everyone having the opportunity to ask the candidate questions. The goal of the conference will be to verify the candidate’s suitability for the position, his or her motivation for the position, and to obtain a general, overall impression of the candidate. If a consensus is reached that the candidate is suitable for the considered position three references from former employers or colleagues will next be obtained. As you all know, the reference system has paid off well in Europe, especially because it enabled us to identify all those cheaters and impostors. This will likely be doable in Asia as well. In the case that the references are predominantly positive, the first level of the selection process is completed. Subsequently, the candidate will have to pass the modules of the second tier. Dai Wei, would you like to illustrate the modules of the second tier in detail? Page 11 9B07C041 â€Å"Let’s move forward to the second module in the second tier: the in-depth biography-oriented interview. † Dai Wei continued: At this stage we verify a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, but the primary objective is to gain insights into the candidate’s private and professional past. The in-depth biography-oriented interview shall be conducted by a psychologist. We are especially interested in the candidate’s expectations, how parents and other family members have influenced him or her, how cultural background affects his or her decisions, and possible untreated conflicts the candidate may have to face. The interview shall not be oriented towards job requirements, but instead consider the candidate’s complete life span and be of a general nature. Following this in-depth biography-oriented interview, a psychological opinion shall be furnished. This opinion will be filed in our documents, without the candidate having the right to view it. It is important that the interviewer and the candidate have the same cultural background in order to prevent any possible misunderstanding during the interview (e. g. a candidate for a position in China shall be interviewed by a Chinese psychologist). Although this requirement may create additional expenses, we find it justifiable and needed to ensure an accurate expert opinion on the candidate’s qualifications is obtained. â€Å"Dr. Koch,† Dai Wei said, â€Å"What do you think about this approach? â€Å"I am not quite sure at the moment,† Koch responded, â€Å"I think it is very likely that a few of the suggestions just are not feasible given the high costs involved. For now, I am not able to say anything definite. We will have to wait. † Exhausted by the long-lasting discussions, it was becoming more and more difficult for Koch to stay focused and absorb the arguments. He noticed that Yue Yu had not spoken out on anything, including the rivalry between Weitmann and Mueller Koch was convinced, as he could see in many different situations that a leader should stay out of these issues. One could not change things anyway. Change,† it crossed Koch’s mind, â€Å"Can one change a situation, in one’s life? No, people never change. Neither do circumstances in life. You get thrown in and there is no way out, and it would be a hopeless undertaking to try it. † Koch tried to take control over the situation again: â€Å"Well, let’s move on to the two last modules of the selection system. Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. summarized, forming the basis for the decision as to the panel’s level of recommendation. We discussed for a lengthy time whether we should inform the candidates in advance about the dimensions (e. g. the meaning of each). In order to guarantee transparency for the candidate, we decided to inform them of all dimensions a priori. It is our hope that this will increase a candidate’s acceptance and understanding of the module’s purpose. Furthermore, we discussed whether the critical incidents should be presented in English, or whether they should also be available in other languages. We discussed the pros and cons thoroughly. From my own experience, it is difficult at times to communicate to someone in a second language. We decided it would be best to give the candidates the option of answering the questions in their language of choice. The instructions and questions will therefore be translated by professional translators from English into the particular language. In order to guarantee accuracy in the translation, the instructions and questions will be translated into English again (i. e. the back translation technique). Although this extra translation step may appear as more work, it is warranted to ensure the translation is indeed reflective of its original content. These extra expenses can offer a tremendous advantage, especially for the Shanghai location. We are certain that we can effectively cover relevant dimensions that are cross-culturally important with this method. A separate pre-test is not designated. Page 12 9B07C041 Sabine, please explain modules three and four. How do they look? What competencies do they include? Are there any culture-specific adaptations that need to be dealt with? † Weitmann eagerly began to inform her colleagues about the modules: I can certainly do that. We are looking at a simulated group exercise and the adoption of standardized test procedures. The group exercise has been integrated in order to acquire typical dimensions, which are usually diagnosed in assessment centres, in a similar way. The assignment of an assessment centre for one or two days and the culture-specific adaptations would mean increased expenses. For these reasons, we have excluded this option, and alternatively will be using simulated group discussions. The candidate and three professional role players will participate in the leaderless group discussions. The role layers have to complete a two-day-long training session, after which they will receive an internal certificate stating that they can act as professional role players. Prior to the group discussions, the role players will receive specific instructions containing standardized roles. The role players include the â€Å"devil’s advocate,† whose task is to contradict the candidate’s opin ion, the â€Å"supporter,† who is always on the candidate’s side, and the â€Å"viewless one,† who does not participate in the argument, but who will propose opinions that don’t have anything to do with the topic at all. Prior to the discussion, each participant will be informed about the topic. The chosen topic should deal with issues that contribute to the development of the employees in their own department. The topic shall be identical APAC-wide. We have deliberately chosen a topic away from specific skills in order to allow each candidate equal chances for the completion of this task. Naturally, candidates with strong leadership skills will have advantages over those who have only been in a leading position for a short time. The candidate will not be informed that the discussants are role players with specific assignments. The dimensions that will be evaluated in the group discussions include communication, cooperation, stress tolerance/resilience, assertiveness, and ambiguity tolerance. The roles and individual instructions will only be available in English in order to standardize the exercises cross-nationally. The group discussions shall also be carried out in English. The candidate will be given 15 minutes to prepare for the discussion after the topic has been revealed. The whole discussion will be video-taped. This recording will then be made available to three independent observers, who will ideally come from different countries. It is their task to observe the candidates’ behaviour during the discussion, and to assess the candidates’ behaviour with respect to all relevant dimensions and in compliance to the behavioural scale available to the observers. Additionally, each observer has the opportunity to write down his observations qualitatively. The observations of all observers will then be collected and statistically converted into a final score for each candidate. It is important to mention that every observer, who can be recruited from any hierarchical level, must pass an observer training course that teaches the basics of behavioural observation, the meaning and importance of such exercises, the dimensions, behavioural indicators for each dimension, as well as the role players’ assignments of their specific roles. That concludes all the information we have gathered on the simulated group discussion. Goldmann, interrupted: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 13 9B07C041 I don’t want to be rude, but isn’t it important to take the candidate’s perspective into consideration, as well? I mean, if the candidate has no clue about the situation in which he or she is in, he or she deserves clarification as well as extensive feedback once the group discussion is completed. I think that extensive feedback, in both oral and written form, must absolutely follow the module. It is nice that you think that,† Mueller countered: Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. But unfortunately nobody cares about the candidate’s perspective. We are interested in choosing the right person, certainly not in satisfying the applicants. What horseplay — these never-ending discussions on fairness and acceptance. Reality differs significantly from the ideal procedures we are taught in university, my dear. It is really annoying the kind of stuff that is being taught at our renowned universities, and most likely by professors that have not seen much outside of their institutes, let alone in a company. Goldmann, who only wanted to contribute with a suggestion, was obviously upset about the comment. She could barely hold back her tears as she marched out of the conference room. The Chinese trainee followed her with the intention of calming her down, losing the handouts he had prepared for the meeting and that he was supposed to distribute beforehand. Finally, Yue Yu ran out of the room and into the female washroom, where she found Goldmann looking miserable, in tears and close to a nervous breakdown. â€Å"Dr. Koch,† Carter, who saw herself responsible to demonstrate her judicial knowledge, advised: I think that this argument has merit to it. Candidate feedback is important. Just imagine the consequences and damaging results of not providing feedback. Feedback should not be underestimated. I am particularly thinking about rejected candidates. ComInTec cannot afford these kinds of mistakes. † Koch agreed only partly and replied: Mrs. Carter, now you have subscribed to this view, too. Do you have any precedent? As you know, all candidates receive feedback in writing regarding their overall impression. As you should know further, this feedback does not cover any specific dimension or module, but it offers a very good general conclusion. Should candidates be interested in the impression they made, they simply need to read the report. That should be sufficient. I do not agree that we should focus on unpleasant feedback, or would you like to conduct all of those conversations yourself, Mrs. Carter? Now the psychologist jumped into the discussion, acting as a mediator. She pointed out the following: The question regarding the feedback should not be our priority. We still need to discuss module four. I am talking about the testing procedures that have to be included in the selection system. As I have mentioned before, it is essential to use psychometric testing procedures. Insofar, module four consists of an intelligence test and a personality test that every candidate has to complete. That gives us indicators for â€Å"general intelligence† as well as for the â€Å"big five. The specific test procedures will be used still have to be specified for each country of course. But I am convinced that we will be able to manage that. Page 14 9B07C041 With the Goldmann still in the bathroom crying, there was only one recorder left, which resulted in much of the meeting no longer being documented. Dai Wei, who had returned to the meeting and was trained in presentation techniques, felt obligated to conclude the points that were most important with the use of a flip chart: If I may conclude, we have decided that the ersonnel selection system consists of two tiers that include several modules. We have specified these modules in content and procedures. Hence, we have achieved the first step of our meeting. We intended furthermore to specify the adaptations for each target country and how to implement those modules. We need to next reach a consensus on the second and third goal of this meeting. Koch commented: Dai Wei, what are you thinking? It is already 1:30 p. m. and that means that the time for our meeting is more than up. We won’t be able to decide on the remaining points today. I expect that the recorders will make a flawless and written report available by 9:00 Wednesday morning. Please pass this on to Sarah and Yue Yu. This will give me time to review all the meeting minutes and finalize any unresolved issues. You should expect a final copy of the resolutions on the multinational selection system to be available by Friday at 9 a. m. With respect to the issues that were not resolved today, I will make the decisions myself and include them in the report. This resolution shall also deal with the questions that we could not look into, due to the lack of time today. I don’t care how you will do it – just do it. Thank you for your attendance at this meeting, Dai Wei, Sabine, Mrs. Carter, Andreas, and honourable sir of staff. † With these words, Koch terminated the meeting. Due to the lengthy meeting, there was no lunch break. This particularly bothered the Chinese team members, but it was not voiced. Koch believed that Asians set a high value on lunch breaks because they highly value food and money. Unfortunately, Koch could not be bothered to worry about it — according to him, food and money were the lower motivators on the Maslow Pyramid of needs. He muttered under his breath: Those Asians, it’s always just about food, money, and shopping, and they are continuously on the phone — what do they have to tell each other all the time? How often do I see them yelling at each other in Chinese, hard and ruthlessly, whereas they always show me a smile? You never know what they really think, and when I ask them they tell me something positive anyways. Negative remarks in front of the boss are obviously a big taboo, and the word ‘no’ does not seem to exist in their vocabulary. Right after the meeting, Koch went straight to his office and did not come out again for the rest of the afternoon. Koch received the meeting minutes on Wednesday and wrote his final report for Koenig. Koch later received a short notice sent by Koenig via e-mail on Friday afternoon. Koenig informed him that important basic conditions and necessary adaptations had not been taken into consideration sufficiently in the new multinational personnel selection system; therefore, he had handed the case over to global headquarters. In addition, the e-mail stated that there would be staff-related consequences for his department in Hong Kong. In response, Koch sat down to write a long letter to Koenig’s attention. Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 15 9B07C041 Exhibit 1 DIMENSIONS AND INDICATORS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES (HOFSTEDE) Power Distance: Degree to which society members accept an unequal distribution of power. Characteristics of large power distance: Inequalities among people are expected and desired. Less powerful people should depend on the more powerful authoritarian values Organizational hierarchy reflects inequality between higher-ups and lower-downs Centralization is popular Subordinates expect to be told what to do Wide salary range between top and bottom of organization The ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat or good father Privileges and status symbols are popular Uncertainty Avoidance: Degree to which society members feel uncomfortable by uncertain or unknown situations. Characteristics of strong uncertainty avoidance: Uncertainty is felt as threat, feeling of anxiety Fear of ambiguous situations What is different, is dangerous Suppression of deviant ideas Resistance to innovation Motivation by security Masculinity/Femininity: Masculinity pertains to societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct (i. e. men are supposed to be assertive, tough, and focused on material success whereas women are supposed to be more modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life); femininity pertains to societies in which social gender roles overlap (i. e. both men and women are supposed to be modest, ender, and concerned with the quality of life). (pp. 82-83). Characteristics of masculine societies: Dominant values are material objects and success Money and things are important Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Men are sup posed to be assertive, ambitious, and tough Women are supposed to be tender and take care of relationships Girls cry, boys don’t Live in order to work Stress on equity, competition among colleagues, and performance Resolution of conflicts by fighting them out Page 16 9B07C041 Exhibit 1 (continued) Characteristics of feminine societies: Dominant values are caring for others and maintenance of relationships People and warm relationships are important Men and women are both supposed to be tender and take care of relationships Work in order to live Stress on equality, solidarity and quality of work life Resolution of conflicts by compromise and negotiation Individualism/Collectivism: â€Å"Individualism pertains to societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth on are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyality. † (p. 51). Characteristics of individualist societies: Individual interests prevail over collective interests Identity is based on the individual Employer-employee relationship is a contract that is supposed to be based on mutual advantages Hiring and promotion decisions are supposed to be based on skills and rules only Management is management of individuals Task prevails over relationship Characterisitcs of collectivist societies: Loyalty for the ingroup (family) Identity is based on the social network to which one elongs Harmony should always be maintained and direct confrontations should be avoided Employer-employee relationship is perceived in moral terms, like a family link Hiring and promotion decisions take employees’ ingroups into account Management is management of groups Relationship prevails over task Source: Geert Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, London, 1991. Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13. Page 17 9B07C041 Exhibit 2 ASPECTS OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: ANGLO VERSUS ASIAN Asian Collectivism: â€Å"related self† Group identity, group achievement & rewards, group loyalty, â€Å"guanxi† High power distance (hierarchy) Low power distance (equality) – Work allocation based on competence, rather – Age/seniority is King! Formal interactions than age – Do without asking – Partnership is encouraged – Empowerment regarded as a threat – Informal interactions – Empowerment is the key to growth Control Harmony – Individuals take control – Be in harmony with others rather than show – Free expressions initiative or take charge – Disagreements and differences are not a threat – Emphasis on politeness, respect and emotional restraint – Difference maintains harmony; equality upsets harmony Secular Religious/spiritual – Keep your religion to yourself – In Muslim countries, workplace, ethics, codes of behavior and dress are guided by Muslim religious teachings – Time off during working hours for prayers for Muslims Circular thinking (high context) Linear thinking (low context) – Circling around the topic – Speech and argument patterns are linear – Colorful and flowery language in India – Ideas backed by explanations and examples – Concise – Hate waffling Shame/Lose Face Guilt – Governed by own conscience and internal – â€Å"What will others say? – Group pressure to maintain group reputation sense of right and wrong – â€Å"Give face† — don’t question your leader – â€Å"Lose face† — look bad when publicly challenged – â€Å"Save face† — don’t own up your own mistakes – â€Å"Gain face† — look good when praised in public – â€Å"Thick face† — no shame, don’t care – â€Å"Show face† — manager visits your home – â€Å"Got face† — speech, behavior, dress reflect status in a family, business, or community – Anglo Individualism: â€Å"separated self† Unique, personal space, goals, achievements Licensed to the University of Regina for use by Professor Sandra Steen in the course â€Å"MBA/GBUS 843 Strategic HR Management,† from 01/07/13 to 04/30/13.