Operations Management Case Study Essays

Operations Management Case Study Essays Operations Management Case Study Essay Operations Management Case Study Essay Operations Management Case Study Questions Maria Yee, Inc. Read the case study and then spend time browsing mariayee. com. You will also need to research additional material related to Maria Yee, Inc. , as well as Ikea, the Forest Stewardship Council, etc. Answer the following questions: 1. Research and attempt to assess the corporate culture at Ikea. Does the culture at Maria Yee, Inc. appear to be different than the culture at Ikea, or are the two cultures similar? 1.Which aspects of Maria Yee’s personal background do you think instilled in her the passion that she has for environmental issues in general, and for building furniture in a way that is less impactful to the environment? 2. Research some ways in which other furniture companies have organized their supply chain operations. Provide some examples of companies that still produce furniture within the U. S. (including cutting, millwork, assembly, etc. ). Does it appear to be common for furniture companies to OWN offshore factories? Do you think that owning and running its own factories gives Maria Yee Inc. competitive advantage, or is this vertically-integrated approach inefficient? 3. Ikea’s business model relies heavily on assembly by consumers (i. e. , minimal case goods are carried by Ikea). Does Ikea promote any green products or processes? Are Ikea and Maria Yee Inc. targeting the same market segments? Explain. What other international companies specialize in producing furniture requiring assembly by the consumer? For example, most of the furniture sold in Wal-Mart comes in this manner, but who actually makes it? 4. How would you characterize the personal management style of Ms. Maria Yee?Is this management style beneficial or detrimental when it comes to running and improving operations at her two Chinese factories? 5. On page 7, in the second paragraph, the statement is made, The company used a made-to-order’ model in which nothing was pre-made and it essentially held no inventory. What are the pros and cons of this approach? Do you think Maria Yee Inc. still uses this practice today? See if you can get an estimate of the lead time for a typical Maria Yee product. For example, check the Crate Barrel website, etc. 6. Do any other furniture companies tout certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)?List a few, if any are found. 7. In the case, Maria Yee stated, We don’t think going green has to be premium-priced. Do you agree with this statement? How does Maria Yee Inc. manage to keep prices on its furniture within the upper-middle price point? Do you feel that green products generally cost more money? 8. Bamboo has steadily moved up the value chain (as stated on page 10), thanks in part to the efforts of Maria Yee Inc. Is there any supply chain risk associated with creating furniture using higher-quality bamboo and eco-friendly glue and finishes?

Definition and Examples of Theme-Writing

Definition and Examples of Theme-Writing Theme-writing refers to the conventional writing assignments (including five-paragraph essays) required in many composition classes since the late-19th century. Also called school writing. In his book The Plural I: The Teaching of Writing (1978), William E. Coles, Jr., used the term themewriting  (one word) to characterize empty, formulaic writing that is not meant to be read but corrected. Textbook authors, he said, present writing as a trick that can be played, a device that can be put into operation . . . just as one can be taught or learn to run an adding machine, or pour concrete. Examples and Observations: The use of themes has been maligned and vilified in the history of writing instruction. They have come to represent what was bad about the Harvard model, including an obsession with correcting the themes in red ink, but the womens colleges typically used themes to get students writing regular essays based on common topics. . . . Theme writing, as David Russell notes in Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870-1990, continued to be a model for required composition courses at small liberal arts colleges much longer than it did in the larger universities, in large part because the universities could no longer keep up with the labor-intensive practice of having students write multiple essays over the course of a semester or year.(Lisa Mastrangelo and Barbara LEplattenier, Is It the Pleasure of This Conference to Have Another?: Womens Colleges Meeting and Talking About Writing in the Progressive Era. Historical Studies of Writing Program Administration, ed. by B. LEplattenier and L. Mast rangelo. Parlor Press, 2004) Camille Paglia on Essay Writing as a Form of Repression[T]he present concentration on essay writing at the heart of the humanities curriculum is actually discriminatory against people of other cultures and classes. I think its a game. Its very, very obvious to me, having been teaching for so many years as a part-timer, teaching factory workers and teaching auto mechanics and so on, the folly of this approach. You teach them how to write an essay. Its a game. Its a structure. Speak of social constructionism! Its a form of repression. I do not regard the essay as its presently constituted as in any way something that came down from Mount Sinai brought by Moses.(Camille Paglia, The M.I.T. Lecture.  Sex, Art, and American Culture. Vintage, 1992)English A at HarvardHarvards standard, required composition course was English A, first given in sophomore year and then, after 1885, moved to the first year. . . . In 1900-01 writing assignments included a mix of daily themes, which were brief two- or three-paragraph sketches, and more extended fortnightly themes; topics were up to the student and thus varied widely, but the dailies usually asked for personal experience while the longer ones covered a mix of general knowledge.(John C. Brereton, Introduction. The Origins of Composition Studies in the American College, 1875-1925. Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, 1995) Theme Writing at Harvard (Late 19th Century)When I was an undergraduate at Harvard our instructors in English composition endeavored to cultivate in us a something they termed The daily theme eye. . . .Daily themes in my day had to be short, not over a page of handwriting. They had to be deposited in a box at the professors door not later than ten-five in the morning. . . . And because of this brevity, and the necessity of writing one every day whether the mood was on you or not, it was not always easyto be quite modestto make these themes literature, which, we were told by our instructors, is the transmission through the written word, from writer to reader, of a mood, an emotion, a picture, an idea.(Walter Prichard Eaton, Daily Theme Eye. The Atlantic Monthly, March 1907)The Chief Benefit of Theme-Writing (1909)The chief benefit derived from theme-writing lies probably in the instructors indication of errors in the themes and his showing how these errors are to be corrected; for by these means the student may learn the rules that he is inclined to violate, and thus may be helped to eliminate the defects from his writing. Hence it is important that the errors and the way to correct them be shown to the student as completely and clearly as possible. For instance, suppose that a theme contains the sentence I have always chosen for my companions people whom I thought had high ideals. Suppose the instructor points out the grammatical fault and gives the student information to this effect: An expression such as he says, he thinks, or he hears interpolated in a relative clause does not affect the case of the subject of the clause. For example, The man who I thought was my friend deceived me is correct; who is the subject of was my friend; I thought is a parenthesis which does not affect the case of who. In your sentence, whom is not the object of thought, but the subject of had high ideals; it should therefore be in the nominative case. From this information the stud ent is likely to get more than the mere knowledge that the whom in this particular case should be changed to who; he is likely to learn a principle, the knowledge of whichif he will remember itwill keep him from committing similar errors in future.But the theme from which one sentence is quoted above contains fourteen other errors; and the forty-nine other themes which the instructor is to hand back to-morrow morning contain among them about seven hundred and eighty-five more. How shall the instructor, as he indicates these eight hundred errors, furnish the information called for by each one? Obviously he must use some kind of shorthand.(Edwin Campbell Woolley, The Mechanics of Writing. D.C. Heath, 1909)

Real Estate Price Volatility Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Real Estate Price Volatility - Research Paper Example In this context, the present paper attempts to discuss about one of the early developed models that is still prevalent in the present economic scenario. The model was developed by R. Engle in 1982, which came to be known as Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH). The paper also attempts to through lights on how effective is the model in the present real estate climate in the United States of America with particular reference to California. The paper takes an analytical approach wherein the model is suggested with a brief explanation of its application, merits and demerits. The various stakeholders (participants) in the real estate market comprising of real estate investors, banks, non-bank financial institutions, portfolio managers have always been curious to predict the local housing prices. Naturally, they have always encouraged the attempts to evolve mathematical models that can prevent the losses and chaos from the volatility of real estate prices. Parties who are also interested in housing prices estimating models include managers of banks, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), and homebuilding companies. Prior models have tried to incorporate many of the macroeconomic variables including the bubbles and crashes in the stock market. Experts such as Alan Stockman and Tesar Linda, Lane Philip and Girouard N and Bl'ndal have described the housing price behavior from a dynamic general equilibrium point of view (Stockman and Tesar, 1995, Girouard and Bl'ndal, 2001 and Lane, 2001). Studies undertaken by Driffill John and Sola Martin explored the model in the context of market bubbles (Driffill and Sola 1998). Attempts have also been done to evolve a model that incorporate the interaction of an array of variables such as transactions in the real estate sector, changes in the demography of participants, and macro factors comprising of diversity in the income distribution and changes in the economic activity as a whole. For example, Francois Ortalo-Magne and Rady Sven have studied these aspects through a significant research (Ortalo-Magne and Rady 1998, 1999, 2003a and 2003b). Economic Analysis The model developed by R. Engle in 1982 is found relevant in the present scenario where traditional models that describe variables such as location factors, structural variables and floor area and income are no longer valid (Engle 1982). This model was coined as Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH). The basic contention of this model is that housing price prediction should take care of time-varying volatility and studied through time series analysis. The Model The ARCH model was developed using mathematical and statistical notations and theories. For a better understanding of the model, the ARCH process consisting of conditional mean process and a conditional variance process will have to be known. The conditional mean process is developed in conformity to the standard Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA) equation (Engle 1982). Where, Rt is the return on average home prices on a monthly basis, e, and s2 are constants. Through this model, Engle try to analyze and incorporate the pricing behavior with two

The Privatization of Intelligence Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

The Privatization of Intelligence - Term Paper Example The conventional intelligence cycle is characterized as fragmented and Clark argues for a more conjoined intelligence cycle under what is described as a target-centric approach to intelligence collection and sharing. However, one of the significant post-9/11 changes made to the intelligence cycle was the outsourcing of intelligence to the private sector. The Department of Homeland Security explained that since 9/11 the DHS has enhanced private sector involvement for â€Å"facilitating more effective and rapid communication with key organizations† and as a means of â€Å"bolstering regionally-focused information sharing efforts†. Russell argues however, that the intelligence community remains fragmented in that a number of agencies are responsible for collecting intelligence. For example, the National Security Agency is responsible for intercepting and decoding â€Å"communications†; the National Geospatial-Intelligence is responsible for analysing satellite images; the Defense Intelligence Agency is responsible for running â€Å"military defense attachà © collection abroad;and the Department of State oversees the collection of information from diplomats abroad. Moreover, the CIA has its own collection functions and also recruits spies for the benefit of US security. Complicating matters,the different agencies within the intelligence community have a tendency to jealously guard their information. While putting a tight lid on information can be justified on the grounds that it is too sensitive to risk unauthorised leaks, often times, information â€Å"hoarding† is cultivated by â€Å"petty bureaucratic rivalries†.8 This is problematic since analysts are required to make informed assumptions on the basis of information received from all the various sources of intelligence.9 Intelligence that merely informs decision-makers of what is taking place abroad or at home has less intrinsic value than intelligence that informs of what might be happening.10 The outsourcing of intelligence functions to the private sector can only serve to further fragment the collection and

Mental Health Service User Case Study

Mental Health Service User Case Study 1.1 Decision making by nurses is now firmly established in practice, policy and educational agendas. New constantly evolving, roles, and a policy context that is challenging traditional professional boundaries mean that, more than ever, nurses are being given autonomy and power to be able to exercise their decision choices (Thompson, 2001). 1.2 Clinical decision making may be defined as having a variety of options and choices and a process that nurses undertake during their everyday activities whilst caring for service users. It usually involves nurses making judgements about the care that they provide to service users (Thompson et al, 2002). Similarly ONeill et al (2005) argues that clinical decision making is a complex activity that requires nurses and other health professionals to be knowledgeable in relevant aspects of nursing, to have access to reliable sources of information and to work in a supportive environment. 1.3 Shared decision-making on the other hand is an interactive collaborative process that occurs between the nurse and the service user that is used to make health care decisions. Adams and Drake (2006) note that in shared decision-making the nurse becomes a consultant to the service user, helping to provide information, to discuss options, to clarify values and preferences and to support the service users autonomy (p.88). 1.4 Policy changes and trends in professional development within the last decade have reiterated the importance that nurses and other relevant health professionals need to recognise that the decisions they make have a direct impact on health care outcomes and service users experiences (DH, 2000). 1.5 Decisions can be easily examined in the form of decision trees which provide a highly effective structure within which many different options can be explored (Goetz, 2010). Goetz (2010) further argues that the decision tree encourages people to think through their options, to act consciously and with consideration. It has also been suggested by Corcoran (1986, cited in Bonner, 2001, p.350) that the decision tree is able to provide a clear structure which helps to assess a range of actions that health professionals may choose when making decisions regarding the care and treatment of a service user. 1.6 In contrast, Bonner (2001) argues that the decision tree is under researched within the scope of mental health practice. He does acknowledge that the use of the decision tree in practice allows nurses to examine the options available to them in more detail, whilst also considering the complex variables that influence the decision-making process. 1.7 It would be expected that the decision tree is hierarchically structured and spans a specific period of time which will be determined within the Justifications section of this report. 2. Methodology 2.1 The purpose of this report is to identify a service user with whom one was currently working with in practice. Using a decision tree, the service users journey will be detailed from their current health needs from the point of referral to mental health services to the current point in time. Once the decision tree is formed, it will then be essential to identify up to three critical decision points and analyse the decision making process for each decision chosen. 2.2 The information required to form the decision tree is to be gathered during a 60-minute unstructured interview with the service user, which can be thought of as a guided conversation. The reason that this type of methodology will be utilised is because unstructured interviews allow a particular focus on specific areas through asking open-ended questions but also allow for probes and follow-up questions to be used in order to effectively obtain more information to construct the decision tree as accurately as possible (Streubert Carpenter, 1999). 2.3 In order to ensure that the information gathered is accurate, it will be beneficial to form a lifeline with the service user, looking at major life events and decisions that have been made. This lifeline can be found in Appendix 1. 2.4 It will also be essential to explore the service users medical notes (with their consent) in order to gain a clearer idea of events that have occurred, the vital decision points and whether service user involvement was evident throughout. 2.5 The decision tree that was formed can be found in Appendix 2. 3. Justification 3.1 The service user that will provide the focus of this report will be referred to as Sarah (a false name in order to maintain confidentiality). 3.2 Sarah is a 43-year old lady who has a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. She has had multiple admissions to psychiatric units including admissions under the Mental Health Act (See Appendix 3 for supporting information). 3.3 Sarah was chosen because it was felt that the she would be able to provide a good history and account of events that have occurred in her past in relation to the care and treatment that she has received. Sarah was also deemed to have capacity and was therefore suitable to take part within this piece of work. 3.4 The timescale that the decision tree covers will focus upon a 6-year history whereby Sarah began her first contact with adult acute mental health services. This will be explored up to the current point in time. 3.5 During the gathering of information, both primary and secondary sources were used. Primary sources refer to first-hand accounts of events that have occurred (i.e. interview with service user). In comparison, secondary sources refer to information that has already been documented from the past (i.e. medical/nursing notes). It was decided to use both sources as they would provide information richer in validity and ensure the reliability of the findings. 3.6 The report will cross the boundaries between in-patient care and community services within the North of England. The key decision points that have been chosen for analysis within this report were chosen because it was evident that some decisions had a certain degree of service user involvement in comparison with others whereby service user involvement did not seem to be present. This does however introduce a debate in regards to service user involvement because those decisions that did not involve Sarah and that were made on her behalf, can be argued were made in the best interests of the individual i.e. admission to hospital to ensure Sarahs safety and well-being. 3.7 Each of the decisions will now be individually analysed with a specific focus upon the decision itself, the issues that they may involve and the concepts that they may introduce. 4. Referred and taken onto caseload with a Community Mental Health Team following gate-keeping assessment (See Appendix 4) 4.1 Sarah was referred to her local community mental health team following a visit to her General Practitioner (GP) whom was worried about the self-harming thoughts that Sarah was currently experiencing. The General Practitioner was very concerned about Sarahs apparent deterioration in her mental health, therefore he felt that it was necessary to refer her to the community mental health team who would then be able to offer assessment and work from that point onwards. The GP discussed this with Sarah who did admit to being a little apprehensive beforehand however after a short period whereby she was able to reflect on her current circumstances, Sarah was agreeable to this. 4.2 Borg et al (2009) argues that service user involvement has a crucial significance especially for individuals that work within a community mental health setting as this involves accessing patients in their own homes (p.285). Sarah did feel that she had developed a good rapport with her community psychiatric nurse because Sarah was always offered choices in terms of her care and treatment and she felt actively involved in the decisions that were made. The therapeutic relationship that was developed between Sarah and her community psychiatric nurse also played a vital role in Sarahs care as Reynolds and Scott (2000) argue that it is through this therapeutic relationship that we can assess the needs of the patients that we work with and then plan future care to assist in their recovery. 4.3 An important consideration is the potential risk involved in maintaining Sarahs mental health in the community. This was clearly documented within Sarahs treatment plan with specific actions outlined and crisis contact numbers provided to both Sarah and her Husband. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2009) provides guidance on risk assessment in patients with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. It informs that the risk assessment should take place as part of a full assessment of the patients needs and this is exactly what occurred due to the high level of risk involved and potential self-harm of Sarah within the community. 4.4 The main influences behind the decision to make a referral to the local community mental health team was Sarahs safety and how able she was to maintain this. Also if the GP felt that Sarah required a hospital admission and there were no hospital beds available, then a referral to the community mental health team or crisis resolution would be necessary. This therefore would indicate that care and treatment is dependent upon what resources are available at that specific time. 4.5 In order to ensure that the correct decisions are made, the specific team must have an effective leadership style and a variety of skills amongst team members. The New Ways of Working practice implementation guide (DH, 2007) outlines how a team can effectively achieve their maximum potential. In order for this to be achieved, a number of measures must be addressed which include; Focusing upon skills and matching these to the needs of service users; Distributing responsibility fairly amongst the team rather than delegating; Focusing on ability and competence of team members rather than role. 4.6 The policy discussed in section 4.5 appears to be utilised well within this team because Sarah was allocated to a senior care coordinator that had a large amount of experience of working with individuals with a diagnosis of personality disorder. The health professional was also able to engage and was competent in carrying out Dialectical Behavioural Therapy with Sarah which is a specialised treatment suitable for those with a diagnosis of personality disorder (Comtois et al, 2007). 4.7 There are many alternate decisions that the General Practitioner could have made in order to ensure that Sarah received the treatment that she required to meet her needs. A referral to the local crisis resolution home treatment team could have been made who would offer assessment and then decide a plan of action. Brimblecombe (2001) argues that a team such as this could have the potential to reduce the number of hospital admissions, therefore utilising resources and funding more effectively but at a cheaper cost. 4.8 Another possible course of action could have been to make a referral to the acute community day services (day hospital) who would be able to provide care throughout the day for Sarah if she required support. This would be a less restrictive alternative than hospital admission and Sarah may be more likely to engage with this service based in the community. 4.9 Alternatively, the GP could have chose to not do anything except review Sarah after a few weeks to assess whether her mental health was still deteriorating however this may be seen as unethical especially if Sarah was suffering due to her experiences and self harming thoughts, which ideally should be resolved as soon as possible. 5. Voluntary (informal) admission to acute psychiatric hospital following presentation in Emergency Department (See Appendix 5) 5.1 When Sarah becomes acutely unwell, the most common course of action is to admit her to hospital for her own safety and well-being but also the safety of others. This particular hospital admission was informal which therefore indicates that Sarah was willing and agreed to go into hospital, having been assessed by a team which specialises in self-harming behaviour. 5.2 The Mental Health Act (2007) refers to informal patients as those that accept and agree to go to hospital without the use of compulsory powers. Sarah was not detained therefore she was permitted to have leave from the ward to spend at home with family. This was Sarahs choice and was discussed in collaboration with the Consultant Psychiatrist until an agreement was made. 5.3 The decisions to admit Sarah to hospital was made by a health professional that assessed Sarah in the Emergency Department following an incident of self-harm. Sarah did feel that she was fully involved within the decision because alternatives to hospital admission were discussed with Sarah however she felt that hospital admission was the most appropriate action to ensure her safety at that specific time. Furthermore the Nursing and Midwifery Council code states that as a professional, nurses are personally accountable for actions and omissions in their practice and must always be able to justify their decisions (NMC, 2008). 5.4 The main influences behind this decision were the levels of risk involved due to an escalation in Sarahs self harming behaviours within the community. The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities (DH, 2004) aimed to set out the shared capabilities that all staff working in mental health services should achieve. Promoting safety and positive risk taking is one of the major points within the document with the hope of empowering individuals to determine the level of risk that they are prepared to take with their health and safety. Ideally this includes working with the tension between promoting the individuals safety and positive risk taking which should be detailed within the individuals care plan. 5.5 Positive risk taking and risk management has been largely debated within the scope of mental health nursing. Parsons (2008) argues that people learn through a process known as trial and error. This therefore suggests that if Sarah self-harmed so significantly that her life was endangered then she would not carry out this behaviour again. This theory however can be largely critiqued in regards to Sarahs case because the self-harming behaviour is a regular occurrence with Sarah in full knowledge of the consequences that this may have. 5.6 A study carried out by Bowers et al (2005) examined the purpose of acute psychiatric hospital wards and they concluded that in most circumstances, patients are admitted because the possibility of harming themselves or others had increased significantly. They also found that when an individual is experiencing a severe mental illness whereby their behaviour is unmanageable in the community, this provides the requirements for a hospital admission. 5.7 In contrast, the quality of care on acute psychiatric hospital wards has largely been questioned in regards to the usefulness that hospital admission can actually have upon a person (Quirk Lelliott, 2004). In some circumstances, many individuals will receive high-quality care whilst in hospital however recent studies have suggested that for some individuals, the experience of hospital admission was rather negative (Baker, 2000; Glasby Lester 2005). 5.8 The Royal College of Nursing (2008) acknowledges that every nursing decision made has an ethical dimension and furthermore that ethics and ethical decision making abilities are applicable to every aspect of nursing practice. The decision to admit Sarah to an acute psychiatric hospital ward does introduce ethical dilemmas because it can be argued that it is unethical to admit a person to a locked ward and therefore restricting their freedom. 5.9 Beauchamp and Childress (2001) developed a framework which consists of four main principles. The first principle outlines the respect for an individuals autonomy i.e. respecting the decisions that they make and the reasons for making a particular decision. Sarah was given a choice in regards to hospital admission because she could have been detained under the Mental Health Act (2007) however she agreed to hospital admission and was therefore admitted as an informal patient. 5.10 The second principle is that of Beneficence which examines the benefits of having a particular treatment against the risks involved. This was discussed with Sarah and the reasons for hospital admission were fully explained which were to ensure Sarahs safety. Sarah understood the health professionals concerns and worries and did accept hospital admission therefore the health professional was acting upon beneficence. 5.11 The third principle is Non-Maleficence which refers to the avoidance of causing harm to an individual. It can be argued that any treatment can have to potential to cause harm however the benefits of the treatment must exceed this which in this case, the benefit plays much more of a vital role. 5.12 The final principle within the framework is Justice which examines the distribution of benefits, risks and costs equally. It therefore indicates that individuals should be treated fairly in similar circumstances and offered the same intervention/ treatment. In terms of hospital admission, the choice would be to go in as an informal patient or be detained under the Mental Health Act using compulsory powers. This decision would be given to most individuals however when capacity becomes a concern then detention may be required. 5.13 There are many alternate decisions to a psychiatric hospital admission which may have been decided. Sarah may have been referred to an acute community day service (day hospital) which offers assessment and treatment for working age adults that are experiencing acute mental health difficulties. A systematic review of randomised controlled trials of day hospitals within the United Kingdom, concluded that day hospital treatment is generally cheaper, the outcomes are greater and that there was greater satisfaction with treatment compared with in-patient care (Marshall et al, 2001). 5.14 Another alternative decision to hospital admission may be a referral to a crisis resolution home treatment team that would be able to provide 24-hour care. The Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide (DH, 2001) informs that the crisis resolution team is for adults between the ages of 16-65 with a severe mental illness or experiencing an acute crisis that without the involvement of a crisis resolution home treatment team, hospital admission would be necessary to ensure the safety of the individual. This however had been attempted in the past and Sarah did not feel that she benefitted greatly from the service because although they provide a 24-hour service, they cannot offer the same kind of interventions that a hospital ward could offer. 6. Diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (See Appendix 6) 6.1 Sarah was diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder whilst an in-patient on an acute psychiatric ward. The decision to change Sarahs primary diagnosis of deep depression with psychotic episodes was made by the Consultant Psychiatrist that was involved in Sarahs care and treatment. 6.2 The National Institute of Mental Health (2001) describes emotionally unstable personality disorder as a serious mental health illness that is characterised by a pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image and behaviour. The symptoms of emotionally unstable personality disorder are maladaptive behaviour learnt to make sense of the world and to manage the constant negative messages experienced (Eastwick Grant, 2005). It is important to note that Sarah did experience sexual and psychological abuse from an outsider of the family during her childhood which she did not disclose to her family until she was an adult. Sarah recognised that this was a major factor in the way that she perceived the world and was directly linked to her self-harming tendencies. 6.3 During this period of time, Sarahs behaviour became increasingly unsafe to manage in the community therefore warranting a hospital admission. Her self-harming tendencies had increased and there was a great concern for her safety mainly expressed by her family who were worried about Sarahs deterioration in her mental health. 6.4 When Sarah was given the diagnosis, she was unhappy due to the non-apparent involvement within the decision as she was not consulted in regards to the diagnosis or asked about her thoughts and feelings. Bray (2003) argues that decision making and service user involvement cannot always occur with individuals that have a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder due to the varying symptoms that they may experience i.e. impulsive behaviour which can diminish responsibility. 6.5 Once the diagnosis was made, Sarah felt that peoples opinions and attitudes had changed towards her including ward staff. According to Nehls (1999) individuals with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder have described health professionals as being unhelpful, displaying negativity and generally being unhelpful. 6.6 A consultation document known as New Horizons (DH, 2009) outlines a cross Government vision in the hope of eradicating the stigma that surrounds mental health and improving the quality and accessibility of services, ensuring that services are service user friendly. The document stresses the importance of mental health and encourages individuals to understand that mental health problems should be equally as important as physical health conditions. 6.7 Services that are provided by the National Health Service (NHS) are commonly built upon effective partnerships between those providing care and those accessing care. The Department of Health (2004) informs that better healthcare outcomes are achieved when the partnership between health professional and service user is at its strongest. Within this particular decision, there was no partnership as Sarah was not involved in the decision making process in regards to her care and treatment and decision to make a diagnosis without consultation with Sarah. 6.8 An important consideration is that of power because the Consultant Psychiatrist that made the decision, created a position of power over the service user through expertise and knowledge. Pyne (1994) argues that knowledge is a form of power, therefore if we share this knowledge with the patients that we work alongside, then this can promote the process of empowerment in patients. The author then progresses to a stage whereby he questions why nurses do not always demonstrate this behaviour in practice. In comparison, McQueen (2000, cited in Henderson, 2002, p. 502) argues that power associated with special knowledge, that created a barrier between health professionals and patients is slowly diminishing. Furthermore, McQueen believes that both nurses and patients need to be seen as respected autonomous individuals with something to contribute towards an agreed goal. 6.9 There are alternate decisions that could have been undertaken rather than making a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. The Consultant Psychiatrist may have decided to not make a formal diagnosis however this could therefore have an effect on Sarahs care and treatment as she would not receive the correct care and treatment to meet her needs. Sarahs previous diagnosis of deep depression with psychotic episodes may have remained the same however it cannot be determined how long this would have lasted due to the frequency of self-harming behaviours and multiple hospitals admissions due to an increased concern for Sarahs safety. 7. Comparisons 7.1 It has become evident that the three chosen decisions for analysis had common themes running through each decision. Power has become an important consideration because although Sarah had a degree of power within each decision, the overall decision was made by those within higher positions i.e. hospital managers and leaders. This can therefore provide the service user with a false misinterpretation of the power that they actually withhold as it is clear that the final decision is not made by the service user and instead it is those with more power i.e. the GP making the referral to the community mental health team and the Consultant Psychiatrist changing Sarahs diagnosis to emotionally unstable personality disorder without consulting Sarah beforehand. 7.2 Leadership has been defined many ways in the literature reviewed, however several features are common to most definitions of leadership and the forms that it can take. Faugier Woolnough (2002) argue that leadership is a process which usually involves a certain degree of influence, but also with a focus upon the attainment of goals .The leadership style mostly present within each of the key decisions is that of a democratic style because there was a degree of consultation with staff on proposed actions before an actual decision was made. 7.3 The care and treatment provided to Sarah was driven by resource availability and this was clearly evident within each decision. If resources are not available, this would impact on the decision whether to allow Sarah to have the treatment. The admission to an acute psychiatric hospital for example would be dependent upon the capacity of that specific organisation because if there was not a bed available for Sarah then other alternatives would have been considered. Fortunately there were resources available for Sarah, however the outcomes may have been different if this was not the case. 7.4 Sarah had also had a large amount of input from a number of services and there was a large amount of movement through mental health services. It can be argued that this is not beneficial towards service users as they are not able to sustain good therapeutic relationships with health professionals which can often be a reason as to why an individual may relapse. 8. Conclusion 8.1 Decision-making within practice takes place in many ways i.e. often the service user is consulted throughout their care and treatment however in some circumstances the service user can be made a recipient of their care and treatment which is not good practice. This report has identified a patient that one is currently working with and using a decision tree, their journey through mental health service was detailed. Three decisions were chosen for analysis and provided the basis of this report, considering factors that influence the decision-making process and also the alternatives that could have occurred. 8.2 Barker et al (2000) argues that the experience of being mentally unwell can be a disempowering period of time because choices can be taken away due to a number of reasons and the patient may feel a recipient of their care and treatment, rather than actively involved in the decision making process. 8.3 Defining decisions as good or bad is problematic, mainly because nurses operate in an environment that is characterised by uncertainty (Buckingham et al, 2000). Baron (2000) further suggests that the best decisions are those that produce the best outcomes for achieving a patients goals and wishes. 8.4 Sarah did feel the majority of time that she was involved in her care and treatment, including reviews and meetings held about her care and treatment whilst an in-patient and within the community. There were times however when Sarah did not feel involved in the decision making process i.e. when her diagnosis was changed without any consultation or discussion. 8.5 Clancy (2003) argues that there is a great tendency in decision-making to bypass a thorough analysis and jump too quickly into solutions. This seems to be evident at times within the chosen decisions for analysis because some decisions were made on behalf of Sarah and there was no consultation or service user involvement. 8.6 Throughout this report, the main aim was to analyse the decision-making process of three key decisions, taking into consideration concepts such as; autonomy, power, leadership and empowerment. It became apparent that they key to successful decision-making was to involve the service user and carers within the decision-making process, listening to their thoughts and opinions and respecting their right to choose between different alternatives. 8.7 It has also become apparent that those within higher positions and those that uphold a certain degree of power were leading the decision-making in Sarahs care. This is obviously not the way that things should work as the service user should be actively involved in all aspects of their care and treatment including decisions that are made. 8.8 Overall I feel that the whole process was an enjoyable one and I feel that I worked well in collaboration with the service user throughout. Collating the decision tree was a rather time-consuming activity, however I understand the importance that they hold and the benefits they possess. I have also become more aware and gained a greater understanding of how the decision-making process can impact on the lives of service user and carers, especially when service user involvement is not evident. 9. Recommendations 9.1 There should be a greater focus upon the decision-making process and how it can affect the service user. Decisions should be decided in collaboration with the service user to promote the nurse-patient relationship and allow good rapports to establish. Service user and carers should be actively involved in the decision making process. Decision making should be an identified topic for pre-registration nursing students to equip them with the desired skills. Decisions are to be based on the best available evidence and regularly discussed with users and carers ensuring that an understanding has been reached. Service users thoughts, feelings and opinions to be clearly documented to inform future nursing practice in regards to decision-making.

Feminism

â€Å"Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength† ( G.D. Anderson).Challenges that women face like domestic violence, gender equality in the business world, unfair maternity and reproductive issues, women require that both government and corporate America take notice and provide equality. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and every nine seconds a woman gets sexually assaulted or beaten. Domestic violence is an utmost issue in the world and affects around 9 million couples. Domestic violence can be characterized as any type of abuse or harm inflicted on a person by their spouse or partner. Anyone can be a victim. Victims can be of different cultures, sex, race, and religion. The abuse can range from intimidation and name-calling to threats and physical/ sexual harm. It is not a new epidemic, it has been ongoing in history throughout all cultures. The Common Law of England permitted a man to beat his wife, provided the diameter of the stick so used was not wider than the diameter of his thumb, hence, the term â€Å"Rule of Thumb† ( Burnett). In the 15th century, the Catholic Church ruled the husband was the judge of his wife, and had all power over her. After centuries of domestic violence, in today's society there are athletes beating their wives in elevators, in homes, and publicly abusing woman on social media. What part of famous athletes beating their wives in elevators is okay? The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488, the number of American women who were murdered by their current or ex male partners during that time was 11,766 (Vagianos). The number of women killed is almost double of the amount of casualties lost at war. The world has been inundated with millions of stories, but the stories don't go away and the problem will not stop quietly. The numbers involving domestic violence continue to rise every day. As stated previously, in every nine seconds a woman is getting beaten or sexually assaulted. On an average that is roughly twenty people per minute which also means 28,800, people a day are getting abused or sexually assaulted. The list could go on with continuously high numbers. Around 70% of these cases go unreported and of the ones that are reported, the victim has been assaulted or beaten by their intimate partner around 35 times before contacting the police. The main reason is because victims are terrified of coming forward. Women should not have to be so afraid to confide in authorities, but they hide it away because they believe it is a personal matter. While it might be true that women experience domestic violence more than men, still all in all, men can be victims of domestic violence as well. About one in seven men have been subject to sexual/ physical abuse by their intimate partners, and two in five gay/ bisexual men are subject to it (Vagianos). Society only hears what's on the news, about 85% of women being victimized, but nothing regarding the 15% of men being victimized. The only talk concerning men being assaulted are ones coming from the comedians about prison rape jokes. Society strongly stereotypes it as men as the abusers, and women as the victims which sometimes isn't always necessarily the case. In fact 46%, of male victims have a female perpetrator (Rosin). According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, maternity leave is time off from a job given a mother to take care of a newborn child. The first couple months of a newborn's life can be very crucial for both mother and baby as both of them need this time for bonding and adapting. The average maternity leave is around six weeks if a mother has a normal birth, or eight weeks if the mother has a c-section. With some companies offering a paid maternity leave, but most offering an unpaid maternity leave. Some companies offer a longer twelve week period, but the catch, it is unpaid. For a new mother, a twelve week maternity leave is sort of arbitrary because companies don't understand the difficulties of having a newborn. The major problem is that it is unpaid. Workplaces look at motherhood as a choice, meaning they refuse a paid maternity leave. This makes it harder for the families with low incomes who want to procreate, because this puts mothers in the spot of either working full time or staying home and having more children resulting in a financial strain for the family. The infant mortality rate can be impacted by paid maternity leave. Most countries have a lower rate, however, the United States has a rate of 6.1. A baby born in the U.S. is nearly three times as likely to die during her first year of life as one born in Finland or Japan. That same American baby is about twice as likely to die in her first year as a Spanish or Korean one (Ingraham).For each additional month of paid maternity leave offered in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), infant mortality is reduced by 13%, according to a new study by researchers from McGill University and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (Science Daily McGill University). That means for every 1,000 births, eight of them die. That seems like a little amount, but in the United States babies arrive every eight seconds, but worldwide there are at least 251 babies born per minute. Over the years women have overcome numerous obstacles in the workplace, but a never ending obstacle is gender inequality. At every corporate level women are continuing to still be unrepresented and make up a little less than half the workforce. That means four out of ten families have a female as the â€Å"breadwinner† compared to their male counterparts. Given in today's society there is a strong emphasis on women being the stay at home moms/caregivers while the men are earning the family income. If women are in the workforce they are less likely to have any type of â€Å"S.T.E.M.† occupations and more likely to have a job pertaining to caregiving like a nurse. According to the report, only 4.6% of women work in STEM occupations, compared to 10.3% of men (Van Kampen Law, PC). On average, women working full-time earn just seventy nine cents for every dollar men earn (Van Kampen Law, PC). This is because of the gender wage gap, the ratio of a male to females earnings. It can affect all types of women in different ways. For example, a black women would have to work for eighteen months to make the earnings of a white male in one year. They are paid sixty seven cents for every dollar that a man would earn. A hispanic woman would earn fifty nine cents. Colored women are being targeted with gender and discrimination in the workplace.

John Locke s Theory Of Nativism - 1629 Words

John Locke, an empiricist belonging to seventeenth century philosophy, is well-known today for his An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In chapter ii of Book I of this work, Locke firmly rejects the theory of nativism that proposes innate ideas in humans. An important disclaimer to be noted before continuing is that Locke makes his case by first interpreting nativism in its simplest form (occurrent nativism) -- as opposed to the dispositional nativism that requires a sophisticated process of discovering the content of one’s mind. This distinction is significant since it is the latter definition of nativism that most of Locke’s opponents use to weaken An Essay. In any case, however, the nativist individual would claim that innate ideas are present in man from birth, with senses beginning in the womb, and that these primary ideas meet the soul as soon as they come into existence in the world. It is possible that Locke could accept the presence of innate capacities tha t make it possible to acquire knowledge, but he could not agree that the innate principles exist in an imprinted manner independent of sensory experience. He arrives at the hypothesis that the human mind is a tabula rasa upon which true knowledge can only be formed from empirical experience. The most convincing defense that Locke makes against the doctrine of innate ideas is a rebuttal to the argument that stems from universal consent. If Locke’s criticizers wanted to best dispute Book I of An Essay, theyShow MoreRelatedJohn Locke And The Enlightenment Era2187 Words   |  9 Pagesthe best philosopher of the said time, John Locke. A philosopher and a physician, John Locke was introducing ideas that to others, seemed ridiculous; however, these ideas and beliefs are the ideas that have led our society to the current state we live in. 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A stage is a period in development in which people exhibit typical behavior patterns and establish particular capacities† (Kowalski, amp; Westen, 2002). â€Å"The various stage theories share three assumptions: First people pass through stages in a specific order, with each stage building on capacities developed in the previous stage, second stages most related to one’s age, third development is discontinuous, with qualitativelyRead MoreCognitive psychology  . Essay5542 Words   |  23 Pages1928; Chomsky, 1959). These issue led to the decline of behaviorism as the domin ant branch of scientific psychology and to the â€Å"Cognitive Revolution†. The Cognitive Revolution began in the mid-1950s when researchers in several fields began to develop theories of  mind  based on complex representations and computational procedures (Miller, 1956; Broadbent, 1958; Chomsky, 1959; Newell, Shaw, amp; Simon, 1958). Cognitive psychology became predominant in the 1960s (Tulving, 1962; Sperling, 1960). 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What are the basic positions of persons on each side of the debate? Why is the debate today seen as based on a false dichotomy, so that instead of nurture vs. nurture, the term â€Å"gene-environment interaction@ is