MANAGING CONFLICT IN A DIVERSE WORKPLACE REPORT Case Study

MANAGING CONFLICT IN A DIVERSE WORKPLACE REPORT - Case Study Example According to the research conducted by Kirchmayer (1993 cited in Syed & Ãâ€"zbilgin, 2010) it has been found that conflict in the workplace is likely to arise when people belong to different cultural background. In a culturally diverse workplace each player has different attitudes towards conflict management and decision-making approach. Complications and misunderstandings are integral parts of culturally different workplace. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cases of various types of conflicts in the workplace that have arisen from differences that ranges from gender to nationality and from sexual orientation to issues of pregnancy. The underlying reasons behind the problems and their implications have been discussed. The given case can be treated as a classic example of a misreading of signals. The approach taken by Strong was not outright wrong and the reaction of Mayer was not fully unjustified. It is difficult to point out the culprit per se. However, it can be argued that Mr. Strong should have â€Å"known better† by considering the reaction he had from Ms. Mayer for the first time they had interacted in the parking lot. Ms. Mayer had shown initial signs of irritation in the first meeting which should have provided the hint for Mr. Strong. In the research conducted by Corr and Jackson (2001) had shown that the perception of males of females of what constitutes sexual harassment are quite different. In the research that has been conducted in relation to sexual harassment it has been found that sexually-oriented behavior in non-work relationship is more acceptable than the same behavior in work relationships (Browne, 1997). This situation is more likely in the present case. The reaction of Miss. Bliss to the behavior of Mr. Law should have been more formal and stern. Miss. Bliss should have confronted about the situation

Cultural Differences Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Differences - Research Paper Example   According to Royce (1982), there exist differences among all cultures of the world; these differences emanate from the fact that each group has its own norms, belief system, and values. The cultural differences prevalent in most parts of the world mean that people behave in accordance with their culture. Moreover, people tend to hold dear their values, morals, and ways of life. As a result, the traditions of any group of people are held sacred and should be adhered to by the members of the ethnic group. Those who violate the laid down norms may face punishment from the entire society. Therefore, a society may apply some sanctions for undesirable behavior; for example, wrongdoers may be ostracized or alienated from the other members of the society. However, the amount of punishment differs from society to society due to the varying cultural beliefs. Ethnic Identity Ethnic identity is a diverse term which has no universally accepted meaning. However, scholars have advanced the defi nition of ethnic identity to mean the relationship of a person as he or she relates to his or her society. Specifically, ethnic identity refers to a construct that affiliates the individual to the rest of the group. Ethnic identity refers to the view of a person by themselves and others as belonging to a certain group. A person chooses to identify with a group that tends to be available for him or her whenever he or she needs the group or a group, which acknowledges him. For example, a person can choose to affiliate with a group that has the same ethnic heritage (Banks, 1996). According to Banks (1996), in ethnic identity, the affiliation with a group can be in terms of cultural, natal, racial, and symbolic factors. Natal factors can be regarded as the ancestral attributes of a person; for example, the homeland of a person, origin of parents, and the origin of kin. Racial factors entail the use of physical characteristics as well as physiognomic attributes. On the other hand, symbol ic factors refer to the characteristics that tend to be typical of a certain ethnic group. Examples of symbolic factors include clothing, foods, holidays, artifacts, among other attributes shared by a group of persons. Cultural factors involve the behavior patterns exemplified by the group; it may also include the shared values and customs of a group. For most people in the world, ethnic identity forms the basis of national identity; as such, people tend to identify themselves with their ethnic groups. People belonging to the same ethnic group tend to share some attributes which are distinct from other ethnic groups. Moreover, ethnicity signals some form of physical traits, cultural similarities, an enduring descent, and a blood relationship. Apart from these similarities, people belonging to the same ethnic group tend to have some commonalities which include a common language, similar traditions, common religion, and a history that they can share (Royce, 1982). To a large extent, e thnic identity forms the basis for understanding the diverse differences among cultures. People tend to strongly identify with their respective ethnic groups. By belonging to an ethnic group, a person declares a certain ethnic identity and continues to demonstrate acceptable behavior which is characteristic of that group.  Ã‚  

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 24

Management - Essay Example odel, which has since long dominated the people management strategies adopted by managers in workplaces to constantly keep their employees motivated in order to derive better performances. However, during the past couple of years organizational management has undergone significant transformation in the manner in which it seeks to motivate its employees. The traditional methods of offering extrinsic rewards or economic benefits to the employees in order to keep them motivated and garner higher productivity and hence revenues, has become obsolete ever since the introduction of the concept of intrinsic motivation, which is required in today’s workplace. One of the most commonly discussed economic ideologies is the fact that it emphasizes on the aspect of personal economic gain as a key motivating factor within an organizational environment. Various eminent theorists and authors such as Ed Schein, Abe Maslow and the likes have stated that employees have a higher-order personal needs which govern their behavior. There is a wide amount of literature which claims economic rewards as a key motivator however the evidence on higher employee productivity on account of intrinsic rewards has been mounting in the past couple of decades (Thomas, 20022). Extrinsic benefits or rewards commonly include monetary compensation as a primary tool of enhancing employee performance. However, despite its widespread acceptance, especially among the managers who view it as a most effective means of improving worker productivity, this method has attracted severe criticisms recently. A significant proportion of these criticisms are mainly on account of wide spread research, which offers empirical evidence regarding the failure of extrinsic motivation to ensure and sustain, long term organizational performance (Perry et al. 20093; Ingraham 19934; Kellough and Lu 19935; Milkovich and Wigdor 19916). Furthemore, it has also been observed in past researches that debates concerning employee

Business Management Techniques (Manage work activities) Essay

Business Management Techniques (Manage work activities) - Essay Example ining an organizations objectives, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those objectives, and developing a comprehensive chain of command of plans to integrate and coordinate activities. The plan of action is, at one and the same time, the result predicted, the line of action to be followed, the stages to go through and the methods to be used. Organizing is the translation of goals and objectives into a structure of responsibilities and authority. To organize a business is to provide it with everything useful to its functioning- raw material, tools, capital, personnel’ (Fayol, 53). In other words it includes the determination of what tasks are to be done, which has to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom, and where decisions are to be made. The engineering organization, having been formed, must be set going and this is the mission of command. This insures a successful process of the organization. A manager in command - knows his people, understands all agreements binding the firm, sets a good example, uses a meeting to focus efforts in a single direction, does not become occupied in minute details, and instills unity, energy, initiative and loyalty in the employees. Harmonizing is to integrate the actions of all aspects of the firm in order to increase the efficiency of the organization. To harmonize is to co-ordinate all the activities of concern so as to facilitate its working, and its success. Control consists in confirming everything takes place in conformity with the plan implemented, the directions issued and principles established. It also points out weakness and errors in order to rectify then and prevent recurrence. Typical operations that could be subjected to control, measured in order to monitor progress, included: Business Engineering Organization usually use flat organizational structure where their is hierarchy of authority and becomes easy for supervision, their is segregation of duties and every

Diabetes Management Education for a Hispanic female patient Term Paper

Diabetes Management Education for a Hispanic female patient - Term Paper Example Evaluation Tool- Collected Data 8 B. On Whether the Goal Was Achieved or Not, and Why 8 C. How Nurse and Client Will Know Whether Learning Occurred or Not 8 D. Encountered Barriers 9 E. On Whether Methods Choice Address Learning Need 9 F. What Went Well, What to Do Differently Next Time 9 References 10 PART ONE A. Learning Needs Identification The patient is a Hispanic female with diabetes. Given the nature of the disease, a large part of any intervention protocol needs the knowledge and active participation of the patent in order to succeed. Nutrition and the management of the patient pharmacology ate important aspects of that protocol, and form part of the learning needs. There is a good rationale for this one-on-one learning intervention in the literature, given the findings on the ability of conventional individual education or IE to improve patient outcomes for those with diabetes. At the same time, findings on the non-sustainability of those outcomes indicate that there is a ne ed for continuous education, follow-up and monitoring (Sperl-Hillen et al., 2013, p. 104). There is also an identified need for health education among the Hispanic populations in the United States due to the growing prevalence of the disease among this group, in greater numbers than in the rest of the population and greater than the national average, indicating the need for educational intervention (Chukwueke and Cordero-MacIntyre, 2010). Meanwhile the value of culture-specific education on a sustained short-term basis in improving health outcomes among Hispanics with diabetics has also been proven in the literature, indicating that there is hope in a learning program such as this one (Ojo et al., 2010). The perspective on a teaching protocol or intervention that is sensitive to the unique cultural perspectives of Hispanics is also presented in the literature as being of great value in treating Hispanics with diabetes and in radically increasing the effectiveness of such teaching in terventions and protocols (Cutillli, 2006). In this latter regard a study on the use of a culturally relevant presentation form, a fotonovela, in the relaying and effective education of diabetes care and management among Hispanics with diabetes has indeed proven the value of culturally sensitive educational interventions for managing the disease (Unger et al. 2009, pp. 145-147). B. Needs Identification- Assessment Information Employed The diabetes knowledge scale employed in Unger et al. (2009) is used for this program for educating the Hispanic female patient on self-care and management of diabetes. This is appropriate given that even for high school students, the knowledge scale was effective in assessment. As an aside the intentions on behavior consisting of four key questions on behavior are also kept as potential assessment questions for intent in behavior (Unger et al., 2009, pp. 146-147). C. Learning Needs Assessment There is an assessed readiness on the part of the patient t o learn and to improve with regard to being able to treat the disease and keep the consequences under check. The motivation level is high, and given this there is hope that the health outcomes for the patient will be better than in the studies over time. Moreover, with the positive attitude established, there is hope that the educational interventions will yield the effective transfer of knowledge to the patient, resulting in the increase in the

History of education Essay Example for Free

History of education Essay As a student, I have read â€Å"On the Use of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students† written by Mark Edmundson many times. Edmundson’s article is now published in textbook (for example: from Inquiry to Academic writing) and taught in English university education. Edmundson argues that nowadays liberal education is as lite entertainment for bored college students; education is product and universities are suppliers that satisfy the expectation of consumer students. In any aspect, I agree with him. The education now is changing in bad way. The students do no longer care about what they need to learn in the school except for their point. But why does this happen? This article just show one side of students. What about teacher? School? Family? Or society? Generally, there are some points I consider make me not believe or agree with this article absolutely. First, he wrote this article after many-year teaching. This is based on his be-teacher experience. He is in the point of view of teacher. But despite teaching many years, how many student he taught? What percentage in the total number of students in USA or the world does it hold? It is unfair and unbelievable when he draws the conclusion about all students with only students he has taught. Maybe he is right but he is also possible to be wrong. Because that number of student may be very high, maybe hold 70%, 80%, even 90% but also just 20%. There are no researches given in the article. No one knows the exact number so can’t give that conclusion. But the only thing we can believe is that many is not total; that many students are as consumers. Secondly, he says education is as lite entertainment for bored students. What is meant by bored students? How bored? A teacher comments that students are bored so what did he/she do to improve them. I know learning is responsibility of own student but school or teacher is instructor leading them to what they need to explore themselves. They now are just in the wrong way, so it doesn’t mean they will be so forever. They now need a person to lead them in the right way. Besides, he just shows their present that they are bored but not shows the reasons. Why doesn’t he/she ask the question about himself, about his lessons. To each student, their ability to take lessons is very different so with a lesson, just some student feel interested. In his essay, Edmundson claim that most student today consume their education than interact with it. He says he wanted his student connect with him, but it doesn’t mean they have to like or dislike him. He says that â€Å" I don’t teach to amuse, to divert, or even, for that matter, to be merely interesting. He also says â€Å" I think many of my student have imbibed their sense of self from consumer culture and in general from the tube in particular†. That not only shows his lack of native passion of a teacher but also that he become accept education’s business. Next, when he assume that teacher do anything to make them satisfied, interested, I wonder just only students feel that. That time, did teachers feel satisfied? The answer is, of course, YES. Both teachers and students feel comfortable and facile. So why don’t make lesson colorful, instead, boring and not effective. Each teacher has different ways of teaching to help students understand lessons. One of them is that make it interesting. That means both create interesting atmosphere and help student easy to understand. Students are young people, no experience; they just learn what they care. If schooling is bored, they can’t both study and find the right way to go in the future. But if the school is an interesting thing that they take everyday, they feel life to open, to explore and persue. The second view is clearly better that the first and why does he consider all such lesson as product standard for consumer students. The last thing I wonder is the reason why education is changing. Nowadays, society is developing with high technology and opening economy. Society requires people that are excellent or really good. How does society realize such people? In general, it is evaluated based on the point of student at school. So, that students are always care about their point because they are worried about their future is grossly. Moreover, education system always evaluate their performance and achievement. Because of that, they always worry that they can lose, they can in the bottom at school and hope they are in the top. Some can make effort to reach it, but not all is the same. To some student, it is motive power to be better themselves but to the rest, it is pressure make them in stress. Besides, not all teachers is good. Some requires presents and they â€Å"sell the mark†. To students, this is a good way to improve their mark not trying to study. That is small gap in education system. In the end, Edmundson’s article is not researched and have a few logical fallacies but warn us the status of education as product. Although there are something I disagree with him, evidence of his argument is not denied; it is difficult for anyone to argue that consumerism has not poured in the university to some degree. [That is my personal point of view. Maybe it is not right absolutely. ]

Fiscal Policies: Relationships between Housing and Economy

Fiscal Policies: Relationships between Housing and Economy The government uses two types of policies to evaluate economic activity and set interest rates in balance with inflation and deficiencies. It is a governmental orthodox that housing market play a significant role in the structuring the economic stability and causes inflation consequent of low prices. According to an economic research, rise in construction costs and uncertainty in housing investment is the real cause of two-third decrease in house construction cycles since 1970. Fiscal policy is used in evaluation of economic activity, to assess the level of taxation requirement, and establishing what fraction of taxation will be spent on public expenditure. There are two types of fiscal policy: expansionary and deflationary fiscal policy. Under the expansionary fiscal policy, the government aim is to encourage greater spending to boost the economy. Conversely, deflationary fiscal policy aim to assist in the reduction of inflation through decease in the level of economic demand. Fiscal policy is used by government as an instrument to control economics and to support monetary policy. Conversely, fiscal policy aims to preserve the growing of the economy along with the perseverance of low level of unemployment. In the event of excessive debt or deficiency, fiscal policy will face difficulty to operate accurately. Whereas, monetary police is used for assessing the supply of money and interest rates to achieve desired economic policy objectives. If the economy is in recession, the government would aim to boost economic activity, through expansionary monetary policy by reducing interest rates whereby growth of money supply will increase. Adversely, if there is a need for reduction in economic activity, due to fast growth causing inflation, the government will put in operation deflationary monetary policy to increase interest rates and reduce rate of growth in money supply. In broad terms, most of the problems adversely effecting the economy of Britain, over the last fifty years, have been led or influenced by housing market. To particular degree, there has been an unacceptable imbalances in the large demand for housing along with the limited supply of housing, consequent to the fluctuating housing market. In the contrary, the housing market remains strong, as alertness for economic recovery continues to be at the core of alleviation of the housing market, in parallel with the economy. A sudden increase in house prices came to a screaming peak in 19894. Subsequently, the economy halted and the interest rates increased dramatically to 15% to compensate for the rise in inflation and to shield the British currency. Escalation in net savings was triggered by the dramatic stagnation in house prices. In the event of continuous decline in house prices, the economy inevitably faces growth in recession in parallel with the anticipated decrease in lending. Substantially, this will result in a collapse of the economy, giving rise to increased levels of unemployment and economic diminution. Government is proposing new measures to increase the supply of housing, promote flexibility in the housing market, and streamline and simplify the planning regime. The interaction between housing and the economy is pervasive. Fluctuation of house prices, contribute significantly on consumersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ expenditure. The responsiveness of new housing construction to demand changes is weak. Fall in house prices attract construction then rise in prices; this is the factor which resulted in recent recession in construction. National Income is the total annual income of a state, consisting of employee wages and the profits of companies. Conversely, national income equates to the value of the output of all goods and services during the same period8. In wider terms, national income is valued by gross national product (GNP) which is the amount of a countrys total output subtracted by an allowance for replacement of ageing capital stock. The primary factors effecting the construction industry have been the rise in building materials, profitability of development, interest rates and the economic growth as opposed to land prices which had little effect on the number of new houses being built10. The evidence from a recent research of the house building cycle, have proved that private building activity such as building of offices, warehouses and shops operate relatively different and move in opposite direction to a house building cycles. Hence, this indicates the adverse reflection on new levels of housing caused by other private sector building crowding out house building. Inevitably, depreciation in one sector is inadvertently means withdrawal of supply from the other sector. Furthermore, the impulsiveness of construction costs renders it more competitive for house builders to challenge with other sectors, in parallel lines. The current situation is that overall national economic fluctuations appear to synchronise with the fluctuations in housing investments. Whereas, in early 1970s, the economy stabilised as the fluctuation in national economy did not coincide with the changes in housing investment. Adversely, there are other problems facing house building as we are running out of land suitable for new housing12 (Kelvin Hopkins the UK Parliament). Nevertheless, government is planning to tackle this recession in the economy caused by downturn in house building cycle. In effect, increase in housing investment effectively improves national income. Since the housing market is in the era of recession, the government got its hands full as it faces the reality of decline in national income. National income has faced a large decline as the house prices rise along with interest rates decreasing demand for house building market. According to relevant figures, since 1960, the UK has invested a lower proportion of its national income in housing than any other EU country. On the one hand of the spectrum, the governments goal to set high interest rates as a means of controlling inflation. On the other hand, this is clearly exposing prospective house investors to high interest rates which contributes to making the UK housing market much more volatile, which itself adds a potential volatility to the wider economy. In conclusion, it is the time of volatility for the house building market as the government stretch its legs to establish the exact fiscal and monetary policy for the development and stability of our economy. However, it is the house building cycle, which is paying a high price for the increased interest rates in mortgages, as public demand in the housing market is threaten by increased house prices. In Fact, there is no easy solution for this, expect from anticipation of interest cuts and reduction in cost of construction materials.