Workplace Violence and Harrassment Essay Example for Free

Workplace Violence and Harrassment Essay Whether you are an employer or an employee, everyone is responsible for workplace safety. Within Canada, each province, territory, and the federal government, have Occupational Health and Safety legislation establishing rights and responsibilities for employers and employees. However, this legislation has not made workplaces safe and healthy in general. Here are just a few examples of workplace violence, workplace harassment and domestic violence that employers and employees are facing today. 1.â€Å"Patrick Clayton a recipient of WCB benefits entered the Edmonton WCB office and held eight people hostage at gun point for 10 hours before surrendering to police† (Edmonton Journal, 2009). 2.â€Å"Pierre Lebrun, an Ottawa Transit worker, walked into work, shot four of his co-workers and injured two more before he took his own life. Mr. Lebrun alleged he was harassed because of his speech impediment† (Branswell, 1999). 3.â€Å"Lori Dupont, an OR nurse, was romantically involved with colleague Dr. Marc Daniel for 2 years. When the relationship ended, a disgruntled Dr. Daniel viciously stabbed Ms. Dupont 7 times in the chest at work. Minutes later, he self-administered a drug overdose and died 3 days later† (Schmidt, 2006). Almost 1 in 5 violent incidents in Canada occurs at work which amounts to approximately 356,000 incidents of violence each year in the workplace (Statistics Canada, 2007). â€Å"Customers, clients, patients, students, workers, intimate partners, or family members may hurt, threaten, or harass workers while they are on the job† (Labour, guide 3, 2010). Harassment has become a growing concern both in the workplace and in society. The norms and values in society have changed. Actions and words that were acceptable or tolerated before, are not anymore. Everyone needs to be aware of their rights and where they can turn for help and support. When a person is feeling victimized they can become withdrawn from their family and friends as well as not attending work. At the same time those doing the harassing need to know that there are consequences to face for their actions. All employees and management need to be made aware of how serious this issue has become and that harassment is not only from internal employees but can also come from customers, outside contractors and any member of the public, in all workplaces. To this end, the government has placed greater onus and responsibility on the employer to act not only on reported events, but also unreported known issues of harassment and violence in the workplace. Look more:  problem cause solution speech essay Relevant Theories and research On June 15, 2010, the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, specifically Bill 168 required all employers to examine the risks related to workplace violence, workplace harassment and domestic violence, in response to the increasing displays of harassment and violence affecting larger groups of people. Bill 168 required all employers to comply by ordering them to implement a policy and process to address these issues and ensure the health and safety of all their employees (Labour, workplace, 2010). But before companies can even provide support for their employees, there has to be policies and procedures developed and put into place to address the issue of workplace violence and harassment. To do this, employers need to educate themselves on what workplace harassment and violence is. The definitions and scope of what constitutes workplace harassment and violence have changed. Workplace Violence is defined as a physical force or an â€Å"attempt to exercise physical force against a worker in the workplace that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker† (Labour, key, 2010). This includes threatening behaviour, verbal or written threats, harassment, verbal abuse and physical attacks. Workplace violence extends beyond the traditional workplace and can include off site work related social or business functions or client homes. Workplace harassment means â€Å"a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. This includes sexual harassment, bullying, teasing and intimidation† (IAPA, 2009). Domestic violence is defined as a â€Å"behaviour used by one person to gain power and control over another with whom he or she has had an intimate relationship. This â€Å"may include physical violence, sexual, emotional, psychological, intimation, verbal abuse, stalking and using electronic devices to harass and control† ( Labour, guide 6, 2010) The sources of workplace violence or harassment can be divided into four categories (IAPA, 2009): 1.External Threat – incidents where an individual has no relationship with the workplace and threatens or commits an act or harassment in the workplace. 2.Clients, customers or visitor Acts – an incident resulting from a client, customer or visitor at the workplace who becomes violent, threatens or harasses an employee. 3.Employee to Employee – acts of violence or harassment resulting from employment relationship. 4.Domestic Violence incidents that occur in the workplace that arise from a personal or intimate relationship between two individuals. In a guide prepared by the Law Society of Upper Canada, for addressing harassment and discrimination (LSUC, 2009), the Ontario Human Rights Commission (2000) was quoted â€Å"the best defence against human rights complaints is to be fully informed and aware of the responsibilities and protections included in the Code†. It further establishes that the adoption of effective harassment and discrimination policies and procedures along with the design and delivery of the program assists in creating a respectful work environment for everyone and also reduces the risk of liability for employers. Significant harm can be caused by inappropriate response to claims of harassment and violence, not limited to compounding the victim’s experience, affecting the victim’s relations with peers, violating the privacy of the victim, negative repercussions on the business, high absenteeism, loss of business, and legal costs attributed to these claims. In a policy statement published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics, 2006), it said that, although the common belief is that sexual harassment is perpetrated only on women, in 2001, 13.5% of sexual harassment charges reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the United States, were reported by men. According to information gathered by the SASHA Sexual Assault Centre in Hamilton, ON (SASHA, n.d.), â€Å"one in four women and one in ten men have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace.† In addition, only â€Å"8% of those who are harassed at work report the harassment.â⠂¬  According to an article by Karen Hughes in Gender, Work Organization (2002), she found that women sexually harassed by customers were a significant problem. Her research focused on a study of 63 female retail service workers and 20 security workers and she found that while these women had been sexually harassed by customers, they were constrained in dealing with the behaviour due to the policies and procedures that the employer placed on customer satisfaction. The women were also reluctant to confront the harasser and instead resorted to avoidance or became less friendly, which affected their job performance. According to Queen’s University Human Rights Legislation Group (2010), employers can no longer rely on the â€Å"grey area† of workplace issues. Tribunals and courts have tackled these grey area excuses such as workplace culture of joking, promise of confidentiality, and complainant did not come forward, by tackling them head on, removing them from the grey area and rejecting the excuses. A Description of the Practical Implications Effects on the Employee Harassment is a relevant issue as it can create low productivity for an organization and the morale of employees can drop. The victim may feel shame from being controlled and humiliated. The silence of co-workers is easy to understand because they fear that if they say something, they might be next. Harassment and violence can cause a host of stress related health problems. The employee may suffer from anxiety, disrupted sleep, loss of concentration, post-traumatic stress disorder, clinical depression or panic attacks. Left untreated and with prolonged exposure, the person could experience migraines, develop ulcers or have cardiovascular stress-related diseases occur; causing the transformation of social factors into damaging biological consequences. These effects of stress related health problems on the employee lead to increased tardiness, absenteeism and sick leave. When they do make it too work they tend to be unproductive, as Jennifer McCarthy (2010) stated â€Å"Harassed employees waste between 10 to 52% of their time at work dealing with, or thinking about, their problem†. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars are lost in wages and reduced productivity. Additional negative effects of harassment and violence are reduced job satisfaction, job withdrawal and decreased career salience. Harassment can also affect the relationships the victim has with family and friends. When a person is harassed they can become depressed, vulnerable, and angry. This could include a loss of self esteem which affects them at work and home and could lead to the development of anti-social behaviour. Other negative effects include decreases in job involvement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and in organizational citizenship behaviours. The act of reporting workplace harassment and violence in itself may cause the employee distress; doubly impacting their health, behaviour and productivity. Employees may be reluctant to report customer harassment to employers. Instead they may resort to avoidance behaviours or be less friendly which potentially may impact their performance on the job. This could lead to poor performance reviews when the aggressive customer fills out a survey and expresses their disgruntled view point. In some cases, the employee will request a work transfer in order to get away from the situation. In extreme cases, employees will lose their jobs either voluntarily or through constructive discharge. Effects on the Organization So why should employers care? Effects on the Organization include harm to image and reputation that may lead to people mistrusting the enterprise. This evaluation could weaken the market value of the brand and social image. The organization could experience difficulty in employee recruitment, training and retention, because of the harm to the company image. These problems, if not corrected would reduce commitment, morale and productivity, because the negative emotional atmosphere of the company would have a mutual influence on all personnel. A persons mood will affect ones working attitude. This in turn leads to reduced productivity and increased team conflict. It could lead to strained management-employee relations, because distrust would manifest itself. When employees begin to question what is happening in the workplace and their concerns are not addressed due to reduced communication in the workplace, this would cause things to become even worse. Employee turnover causes the loss of talented people for an enterprise, increasing the negative effects and costs of trying to replace the lost worker. It increases the use of Employee Assistance Programs, thus increasing costs of healthcare or benefits paid by the organization. EAP is intended to help employees solve issues affecting their health, happiness, working performance and the problems of success. But, by not addressing the issues of workplace violence and harassment and eliminating them, EAP cannot improve employee productivity, nor reduce employee absences. Short term/long term disability and drug plan costs that should be used for external health issues affecting the employee are instead being spent on an internal issue that should be addressed. Prevention costs are infinitesimally small compared to the high cost of an incident of workplace violence or harassment. Without policies and procedures in place, there could be extreme consequences for the employer as well as the individuals involved, as shown in the examples at the beginning of this report. The company could also be held responsible for paying out on harassment and violence related lawsuit. Significant harm can be caused by inappropriate response to claims, therefore, it should be emphasised that the goal of an employer’s response should make the alleged harassment stop and to restore the desired workplace environment. Employers should also be mindful that if there is an investigation, remedial action will not protect it from litigation if the action taken was inadequate for either the complainant or his/her coworkers. The employer has the duty to respond when they have been alerted to issues of harassment in the workplace. Recommendations The first step for any organization is to put in place a strong harassment policy that is developed by managers and employees. This written policy should include a clear definition of harassment as well as clear expectations of expected employee behaviour. Management and employees should work on creating the policy as a joint effort. The policy should also include corrective actions and stipulate that violation of its terms may result in discipline, up to and including termination of employment. Corrective action could range from demanding an apology for the complainant, providing counselling and/or training to the harasser and other staff to disciplining or dismissing the harasser. Some other alternatives available to the employer and employee are changing the location, assignment or reporting relationship between the complainant and harasser. As well as creating a policy, contacts must be made available 24/7 so a person has somewhere to turn for help since in many cases, the employ ee is not going to respond immediately to the harassment. Instead they will do so at a time that they feel they are in a safe environment, such as home or after work hours. Lines of communication must be opened up for all management and employees with methods set up to protect everyone’s privacy who is involved in the complaint. All employees and management must be encouraged to speak up whether they are a victim or a witness. All employees should also be informed on how to file a complaint and to document each incident including place, time and any witnesses. This falls into play whether it occurs in or outside the workplace. Training and information sessions should be scheduled to educate all employees on the policy and procedures in dealing with harassment and include a discussion period to clear up questions. The employer can use workshops, orientation sessions, films, brochures, posters, e-mail, memos and other tools to educate current employees. A copy of the policy and contact information should also be distributed to each employee as well having the information posted in areas where everyone has access. To ensure that you have advised all employees, have employees sign a commitment pledge acknowledging receipt and understanding of the policy. This will also support the employer’s due diligence should an issue arise at a later date and they must reprimand an employee for harassment and/or violence. It would also reinforce for the employee that the employer has taken this issue seriously. The policy should reinforce the timeliness for reporting a complaint in order to maintain the integrity of the information and witnesses, though it should be understood that the act of reporting may also add to the individual’s distress. It should be stressed that everyone is responsible for due diligence in reporting and responding to harassment and violence in the workplace. Threat assessments should begin before an individual is hired through background, police and reference checks. In some industries, the background and police checks should be done annually. Exit Interviews would help employers identify harassment related exits. Hiring a third party to conduct the interviews would give an unbiased picture and recap of the interview. In addition, this education should not be a one-time occurrence. On-going information sessions, training and reminders should be done at regular intervals so that everyone knows what their rights and responsibilities are in a harassment-free workplace. Conclusion In our report, we described why we chose this topic and why it is relevant. Workplace harassment and violence is everyone’s responsibility. We provided relevant theories and research. To address the escalating problem of workplace harassment and violence, the government has introduced legislation that requires employers to create policies and procedures to increase the awareness and social responsibility of harassment and violence in and out of the workplace. We described the effects workplace violence, harassment and domestic violence have on the employee and the organization. We also provided recommendations for the workplace to eliminate harassment and violence including developing a policy and providing training to existing and new employees. Employers and employees need to understand and be aware of their rights and responsibilities. Victims need to know where they can turn for help and support. Harassers need to know that there will be repercussions for their actions and workplace harassment and violence will not be tolerated. Violence and harassment have no place in the workplace. References Branswell, B. (1999). Ottawa capital shocked-massacre leaves five dead, Maclean’s. Retrieved from http://business.highbeam.com/4341/article-1G1-54384942/death-ottawa-capital-shocked-massacre-leaves-five-dead Canadian Human Rights Commission. (2006). Anti-harassment policies for the workplace: an employer’s guide. Retrieved from http://www.chrcccdp.ca/publications/ anti_ harassment _toc-eng.aspx Committee on Pediatric Workforce. (2006). Prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace and educational settings. Pediatrics 118: 1752-1756. Retrieved from http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;118/4/1752 Hughes, Karen D. (2002). Something to deal with: customer sexual harassment and women’s retail service work in Canada. Gender, Work Organization. Volume 5, Issue 4 (pp. 207-219). Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0432.00058/abstract Journal Staff. (2009). WCB hostage-taking ends peacefully, The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved from http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/ Police+respond complaint+Edmonton+office/2128080/story.html IAPA. (2009). Workplace violence, Resource Article. Retrieved from http://www.iapa.ca/main articles/2009_worplace_violence.aspx Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Employment Standards – Health and Safety. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/wpvh/appendix_c.php Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Employment Standards – Health and Safety. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/wpvh/appendix_d.php Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Guide. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca./ english/hs/pubs/wvps_guide/guide_3.php Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Guide. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca./ english/hs/pubs/wvps_guide/guide_6.php Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Key terms concepts. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/wvph/concepts.php Labour Government Ontario. (2010). Workplace violence. Retrieved from http://www.labour.gov.on.ca./english/hs/pubs/wpvh/violence.php McCarthy, J. (2010). Harassment in the workplace. Solutions Newsletter, 35. Retrieved from http://www.familycounsellingcentrebrant.com/files/4085936294896818.pdf. McShane, S.L., Steen, L.S. (2009). Workplace emotion, attitudes, and stress. Canadian Organizational Behaviour. Mcgraw- Hill Ryerson (pp.77 -96) Namie, Gary. (2003). Workplace bullying: escalated incivility. Ivey Business Journal. November/December 2003. Retrieved from http://wpb-res.com/res/2003_Namie.pdf Queen’s University. (2010). Human rights legislation group – workplace harassment. Retrievedfrom http://www.queensu.ca/humanrights/legislationgroup/highlights/dutytorespond.html SACHA (n.d.). Statistics. Sascha sexual assault centre. Retrieved from http://www.sacha.ca/home.php?sec=17sub=43 Schmidt, D. (2006). A killing at hotel-dieu. Windsor Star. Retrieved from http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/features/dupont/news/story.html?id=0a88d4d2-18bb-4ef5-bab5-4073ef937d03p=2 Statistics Canada (2007). Study: criminal victimization in the workplace. The Daily. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/070216/dq070216a-eng.htm The Law Society of Upper Canada. (2009). Addressing harassment and discrimination: guide to developing a policy for law firms or legal organizations. Retrieved from http://rc.lsuc.on.ca/pdf/equity/modelHarassmentPolicy.pdf Thorup, P.J. Ceaser, R.L. (n.d.). Addressing workplace harassment in Canada. The Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved from http://canadian-lawyers.ca/Understand-Your-Legal-Issue/Labour-and-Employment/Addressing-Workplace-Harassment-in-Canada.html

Efforts to address the development of rural areas

Efforts to address the development of rural areas DEVELOPING RURAL AREAS Contents Introduction. Literature review Current efforts to address this problem locally Plan References Introduction. Rural social work is poised to face many challenges that make it difficult for a social worker to provide services to a needy person in the community. Oppression by the society and also other social classes in the society has caused the poor to be looked down upon in the society and thus becoming hard to get the best social services. In most of the cases that have been happening the women has seen a vast range of problems socially in the rural areas. Women and children have hence become the part of the population facing a lot of social problems. (Teasley, Archuleta Miller, 2014). The issue of a bad economy state has also been an obstacle to the providence of proper social services to the community. When inflation hits a country, it makes it hard and difficult for the rural community to survive with the raising prices of commodities. Lack of support from the authorities has also caused a lot of poor service development for the needy in the rural areas. Therefore it has been seen in many cases that the policies put into place do not really favor the rural communities. Taking for instance the policies to do with medical services, high medical services hit the poor in the society and hence lives get lost every now and then. For a good providence of social services to the rural community, resources have to be there. Lack of these resources render the social workers unable to access the areas with specific needs.an example of services that can be required is transport facilities for the social worker. If transport channels become a challenge for the social worker, it becomes hard for him/her to reach a good number of the rural population. (Witkin, 2014). Literature review Social working practice dates back to the ancient times where the church used to provide charity services to the community even before organizations dealing with social workers were formed. Social work was linked with the idea of charity work and by 580AD the church had already started charity work in the world and it was circulating food stuffs to the needy in the society.in the middle ages, the church become influential to the most parts of Europe and with time the practice of charity work become charity work in the 17th century. (Vanagas ÄŒiÃ…Â ¾ikienÄ-, 2015). Social work become a profession as well as people could now train to become social workers and serve the community.in the 19th century it became a profession in the united states as a movement began in the states and England. In this case a system was established in which the poor were sorted into different categories as idle poor, bodied poor and impotent poor.in this particular century, revolution especia lly in the industrial sector took place. (McPherson Cheatham, (2015). Therefore, technology and other scientific innovations came in to place and therefore a rural urban migration took place in those days in the western world. With this happening, social problems took course in the urban areas and therefore a missionary came into place to publicize and spread the Pentecost denominations ad therefore missioners attempted to come up with solutions for these problems in the urban areas because the cities were affected by prostitution, poverty and diseases. Therefore the church started activities like prayers and evangelism as it was releasing relief food to the poor in these areas. One of the people of steered up social work in the United States was Jane Adams who founded the US settlement house movement. Many schools to train people about social work came in to place at around 1915. This took place at the national conference of charities and corrections. After this, social work becam e a profession. (Parrish Oxhandler, 2015). Current efforts to address this problem locally Organizations have come up now days with different strategies to deal with the problem of social work degradation. Rural development is the first step that the authorities are working on to ensure that the rural community is reached through good roads and electrification. Infrastructure development is a key thing that the government and the authorities need to develop in the rural areas. Some of the rural areas have already seen some of these development. (Mazza, 2015). Another measure that is taken to address such problem is formation of organization to handle charity work and deal with the social work that is available in the rural areas. The organizations are governmental and some non-governmental organization. The non-governmental organizations dealing with social work are many in number and this has enabled the government to step up also and start other programs on the same. (Richards-Schuster, Ruffolo Nicoll, 2015). Social work organizations have been organizing visits to the rural areas where the elderly and those with special needs have seen help in many areas. Some of these areas include their health, financial assistance. This program has been carried mainly by the non-governmental organizations. Due to this, the government has also borrowed this idea and emerged with a strategy to start up a development fund for the elderly and the needy in the society as part of the social work development. With such efforts in place, the work of the so cial worker is boosted and he/she can gain the morale to do such work. The recognition that there are people in the society with special needs is what has been steering up charity work by companies and institutions through different sponsorships. (Suk bong, Ullah Won Jun, 2015). Plan Networking with other agencies is a consideration to take in order to be able to get sponsors for resources. This is because resources are an important factor to consider in order to be able to reach people from different parts of the society. Resources like enough money is a key factor to consider in order to be able to meet the people’s needs in the society.as social workers strive to meet the needs of the rural society, it’s better for necessary resources to be provided in order to have a good strategy for the development of the rural areas. The population census of a particular place can be taken and the number of people known. The population status should be taken and this knowledge should be made aware to the social workers because it will be at the end helpful to them. If the population of the rural society is known, the allocation of resources by the agencies will be easy and hence the needs of the people will be met. (Pitt-Catsouphes Cosner Berzin, 2015). Infrastructure development will always depend on the features of the place in which the target project is set to take place. The less the place is accessible the more it becomes difficult to channel transport pass ways and also electrification. The resources must be in line with the peoples preferences so that much money is not spend on trying to fund a project that is not feasible. The feasibility of the projects that help social work to gain an improvement is dependent on the adaptability of the place to welcome new ideas in the society which are helpful. Sometimes political issues can really hinder development of projects in the society and hence make potential investors and other helpful agencies to shun away from helping the society. When the needs of the people in the society have been accessed, a plan to meet these people periodically is put into place. For instance allocation of funds can be implemented in a way that every year at a particular period amount of money is allocated to these particular people maybe the elderly with particular needs. (Clarke Wydall, 2015). Apart from the providence of money, the agencies and the organizations can plan to give out other tangible commodities which can be helpful to the needy. Stuff like food and clothing can be an alternative to meet these people’s needs. At times we find some parts of the world affected and to be precise the rural society being struck by natural calamities. Places that are affected by calamities like earthquakes and flood get dented by misfortunes follow the people afterword. In this situation, social working can become very hard to conduct when there’s no proper channel to conduct them. Resources such as choppers to aid in the rescue of the survivors of such a calamity can be a challenge to acquire especially when the social workers are not registered with a particular organization to work as a team. Apart from all these, social workers can take their job with a passion and with this strive and get trainings which will be helpful to them as they provide services to the rural community. (Sullivan, Ryser Halseth, 2014). Training can be facilitated by the governing authority where the curriculum can be incorporated in the education system to make the present scholars equipped with these knowledge. Such training will be helpful for any social worker in the case of outbreaks of disasters like diseases and other calamities.in general terms the necessary thing to do in order to encourage the social work in the rural areas is to provide the social workers with the maximum corporation and support they need in order for them to gain that morale to serve the people. (Force-Emery Mackie, 2013). References Force-Emery Mackie, P. (2013). Hiring Social Work Faculty: An Analysis of Employment Announcements With Special Focus on Rural and Urban Differences and 2008 EPAS Implications. Journal Of Social Work Education, 49(4), 733-747. doi:10.1080/10437797.2013.812906 Sullivan, L., Ryser, L., Halseth, G. (2014). Recognizing Change, Recognizing Rural: The New Rural Economy and Towards a New Model of Rural Service. Journal Of Rural Community Development, 9(4), 219-245. Clarke, A., Wydall, S. (2015). From Rights to Action: practitioners perceptions of the needs of children experiencing domestic violence. Child Family Social Work, 20(2), 181-190. doi:10.1111/cfs.12066 Pitt-Catsouphes, M., Cosner Berzin, S. (2015). Teaching Note—Incorporating Social Innovation Content Into Macro Social Work Education. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 407-416. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012947 Suk bong, C., Ullah, S. E., Won Jun, K. (2015). Ethical leadership and followers attitudes toward corporate social responsibility: the role of perceived ethical work climate. Social Behavior Personality: An International Journal, 43(3), 353-365. doi:10.2224/sbp.2015.43.3.353 Richards-Schuster, K., Ruffolo, M. C., Nicoll, K. L. (2015). Integrating Social Work Into Undergraduate Education Through a Community Action and Social Change Multidisciplinary Minor. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 329-342. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.101293 Mazza, E. (2015). Experiences of Social Work Educators Working With Students With Psychiatric Disabilities or Emotional Problems. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 359-378. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012935 Parrish, D. E., Oxhandler, H. K. (2015). Social Work Field Instructors’ Views and Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(2), 270-286. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.1012943 Vanagas, R., ÄŒiÃ…Â ¾ikienÄ-, J. (2015). THE PECULIARITIES OF SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT. International Journal Of Academic Research, 7(1), 24-30. doi:10.7813/2075-4124.2015/7-1/B.4 McPherson, J., Cheatham, L. P. (2015). One Million Bones: Measuring the Effect of Human Rights Participation in the Social Work Classroom. Journal Of Social Work Education, 51(1), 47-57. doi:10.1080/10437797.2015.977130 Teasley, M. L., Archuleta, A., Miller, C. (2014). Perceived Levels of Cultural Competence for School Social Workers: A Follow-Up Study. Journal Of Social Work Education, 50(4), 694-711. doi:10.1080/10437797.2014.947903 Witkin, S. L. (2014). Change and Deeper Change: Transforming Social Work Education. Journal Of Social Work Education, 50(4), 587-598. doi:10.1080/10437797.2014.947897

Strategic Analysis Of Siemens Company Management Essay

Strategic Analysis Of Siemens Company Management Essay This essay will start with a brief description of Siemens, an introduction of its current mission statement and an evaluation of the key strategic issues/objectives which Siemens faced and are facing. The next part, two appropriate tools of analysis, PESTEL analysis of the external environment the organization faces, and Porters 5-Forces analysis of the competitive environment in which Siemens operates; a summary of its key strategic resources and competencies, and any resources that it lacks will follow these tow analysis. At last, SWOT analysis will be applied to describe and evaluate the strategic options for Siemens. Siemens is Europes largest engineering conglomerate.Siemens international headquarters are located in Berlin, Munich and Erlangen, Germany. Siemens is a diversified group, with business in information and communications, automation and control, power, transportation, medical and lighting businesses. The groups businesses have strong leadership in electronics and electrical engineering. Siemens has experienced significant restructuring in recent years, including divestments, acquisitions and reorganization of divisions. Siemens has three main business sectors: Industry, Energy and Healthcare and it has with a total of 15 divisions (Barclay, 2000). Worldwide Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 420,800 people in nearly 190 countries and reported global revenue of 76.651 billion Euros as of 2009. Siemens AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since March 12, 2001. Mission and vision Highest performance with highest ethics that is the standard demanded by Siemens present president and CEO Peter LÃ ¶scher. Its mission is to find the best way of combining and developing our know-how and expertise, so that Siemens can profitably channel them into outstanding value for customers. It has three core values- Responsible: Committed to ethical and responsible actions Excellent: Achieving high performance and excellent results; Innovative: Being innovative to create sustainable value. Siemens Strategic profile Keeping Profitable and long-term growth is the business strategy of Siemens, which is direct and simple. Specifically, according to the report of Siemens AG, there is several important components Siemens strategy, which is showed in the table below. 2.jpg Source: http://www.siemens.com In summary, there are several key management strategies as following. Making better use of sustainability as an opportunity Siemens view sustainability as an important success factor. Sustainability serves as the basis for Siemens future business success and is a key pillar of Siemens corporate strategy. Siemens is in a strong position to meet tomorrow business challenges, so sustainability is very important. By concentrating its activities in the three Sectors Industry, Energy and Healthcare, Siemens has a setup that enables it to profit from four key megatrends demographic change, urbanization, climate change and globalization. And with the Siemens Environmental Portfolio, it has an exceptionally broad spectrum of products and solutions for environmental and climate protection (Barney, 1986). Whats more, sustainability is thought by Siemens to be closely linked to its values. In all its complexity, Siemens view sustainability as a contribution to a more equitable world economy and the provision of energy-efficient, durable products and solutions for Siemens customers. In Siemens sustainability is also the expression of a responsible employee culture and a sign of uncompromising compliance with laws and regulations. Diversity as a factor of success Siemens is promoting diversity in the management ranks of the company to a greater degree than ever before. Up to nowadays, Siemens has given diversity a permanent place in the corporate level strategy. In Siemens culture, in view of the shortage of highly qualified people and demographic changes, diversity is a prerequisite for Siemens long-term success. The supply of qualified technical people and managers in the industrialized world is growing ever tighter. That makes it even more important for Siemens to acquire talented people and to create an environment that allows them to take on key functions in all units of Siemens- irrespective of factors such as nationality, age, gender, origin or religion. In the year 2008, Siemens applied the strategy of diversity into organizational structure. Siemens created the position of Chief Diversity Officer and appointed Jill Lee, previously the Chief Financial Officer of Siemens China, to the new position. Armed with a comprehensive package of measures, Jill Lee would work in the coming years to meet an ambitious target: By 2011 Siemens wants to have dramatically expanded diversity among the members of its top management. Siemens wants to become the leader in diversity. Delivering breakthrough innovations, Innovation has always been one of the most important elements in Siemens business strategy. In Siemens culture, Innovations are thought to be able to help cut costs, increase sales and achieve higher earnings, and, those who fail to launch the right new product on the market at the right time will be punished more severely than ever before. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Siemens intends to become a pioneer in diversity. While this is very important, Siemens to this day remains a very German and very centralized company. Competitors such as ABB are many years ahead in this respect as can be seen in various dimensions such as board structure, regional management or repartition of headquarter functions. Strategic analysis for Siemens Firstly, Porters five forces and PESTEL will be applied to evaluate the microenvironment of Siemens and a complete SWOT analysis will follow to assess he strategic options for Siemens. Porters five forces One of the most important division and product of Siemens is electrical equipment and so Porters five forces will be applied to assess electrical equipment industry together with Siemens. Porters five forces Degree of rivalry The degree of completion in this industry is pretty high and there are many big players in this market Bargaining power of customers The space for customers to bargain is limited as the products are highly specialized and buyers are always governments or big companies. Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers who supply raw materials or parts to manufactures have little bargaining power Threat of new entrants: As the equipment is of high technology, in the early stage of this industry, the entrant barrier of this industry is high. Siemens and GE have dominated this industry for decades. Threat of substitutes However, with the popularity of new energy technologies, some small companies also entered this market with lower-cost technology and energy, so it is getting more and easier to find a substituted in some limited field in a small scale. Degree of rivalry: In this industry, Siemens competes with big players such as General Electric (GE) of Fairfield, Conn., and ABB of Switzerland. GE has a strong market position in this industry, while ABB has great advantages in power generation and transmission. The number of market players in this field is big and the degree of rivalry is high (Barney, 1995). Bargaining power of customers: In other industries, companies are liable to cut their prices as they compete for jobs. This is less likely to happen with industrial electrical equipment. These products are highly specialized and technical, making it difficult for customers to find comparable products at lower prices. And because these products have relatively few buyers, their prices are less likely to be pushed down by free-market forces. Bargaining power of suppliers: Companies that provide parts and materials to these firms have little negotiating power. The components used in these complex electrical systems have little value until theyre part of the finished product. Suppliers of the raw components are a dime a dozen and can easily be replaced. The complicated nature of this equipment would also make it difficult for suppliers to cut out the middlemen and sell directly to end customers. These suppliers usually lack the skill and sophistication to build these products. Threat of new entrants: Siemens and GE have dominated this industry for decades. To run with the big players, a new company would need a great deal of investment. The company needs to have very good credibility and connections of both established firms and governments. So the entrant barrier for this industry is high. Threat of substitutes: some new technologies from smaller companies, which focus on green energy, have posted threat to big companies that lacks a competing product. In solar equipment, for example, some smaller companies are becoming more viable as their technology becomes cheaper, while solar companies may soon have the strength to compete with traditional power source on price and performance, the threat from substitutes post pressure to supplier like Siemens. In summary, although the completion in this industry is fierce, the entrant barrier for new entrants is high, whats more, both customer and supplier have limited bargaining power. The pressure from small companies which focus on green energy keep increasing as they have advantages on price and cost. PESTEL analysis of the macro-environment The external environment for international business is always complicated and dynamic. The PESTEL analysis of the maco-environment of Siemens is based from two perspectives: one is that Siemens run its business in German and the other condition is that it runs its business internationally or in other destination countries. PESTEL analysis for Siemens Germany GLOBAL Political Germany government policy on subsidies; subsiding policies for German firms Different countries has different policies; the relationship between the government of destination country and German; degree of local governments intervention in the economy; the quality of service that local government provide to foreign firms; subsiding policies for domestic firms; tariff barrier of non-tariff barrier from destination country; the education of the workforce, the health of the nation and Economic The economy in Germany; the growth rate of German economy; interest rate; inflation rate; domestic competitors. Global financial crisis; Overseas economic growth; the structure of local economy; the quality of the infrastructure of the economy such as the transportation and electrical system; level of national income; interest rate; exchange rate; inflation rate; Market demand and segments for Siemens products; local and international competitors. Social Structure and size of population; Structure and size of population; Availability of local human resources; Migration flows; culture differences; brand image of Siemens in destination country Technological New technologies related with Siemens business in German; any technology that could reduce cost, improve quality or service and help marketing such as on-line technology. International technological breakthroughs; New technologies related with Siemens business in German; advantages and disadvantages of Siemens technologies when compared with international competitors; any technology that could reduce cost, improve quality or service and help marketing such as on-line technology. Environmental Weather and climate in German; hardware such as land available for Siemens business Global climate change; weather and climate in destination country; natural environment ; Legal Environment regulation; related laws in German. Related international and local laws and regulations. Political Political factors always have great impact over the maco-environment in which the business runs, so muti-national companies need to do research on political environment before their international marketing planning. Siemens is doing well in evaluating political risk before it enters a new market. It is lucky for it that Germen government has steady relationship with lots of countries. Siemens often need to evaluate the historical relationship between countries that would benefit or do harm to its business. The influence of communities or unions for trading is also in its consideration. For example, trade barrier is also implemented in different firms of local laws. If necessary, a report regarding the political risks needs to be completed before its international marketing (Bell, 2001). Economic The economic situation in destination countries, the impact of currency fluctuations on exchange rates, the development of local market, the local market structure (Barney, 1996), the local human resources and the predisposition of local consumers are all very important issues for Siemens to consider (Bierly,1996). The global economy just experienced the financial crisis; Siemens business in most countries also experienced a downturn. Another problem is that, together with the financial crisis is the tightened credit system for Siemens, which brought a lot of trouble to its business. The highlight is that some new markets such as the China market are still growing fast and these new markets provide good opportunities for Siemens revenue generation. From economic perspective, Siemens has got steady financial performance in the recent years. Social The cultural difference is often a tough problem that all the muti-national companies have met with (Choi, 2000) . Culture, religion and society are of great importance to us. Will and how the local cultural differences affect Siemens business should also be evaluated. One of Siemens strategies is Diversity as a factor of success. Siemens is promoting diversity in the management ranks of the company to a greater degree than ever before. In the year 2008, Siemens applied the strategy of diversity into organizational structure. Siemens created the position of Chief Diversity Officer. Besides, the brand image of Siemens is very good and also means high quality by many purchasers (Davenport, et, 2000), which is one of Siemens advantages from the social perspective. Technological Siemens still have great technological advantages in its professional fields and it is still holding an advanced position in the international competition. However, in some countries where governments are not willing to afford high cost of new equipments, some smaller companies gained advantages over Siemens. For example, smaller companies like First Solar (FSLR) are more viable than Siemens as their technology becomes cheaper. Environmental With increasing attention from all countries in the world on global warming and with greater environmental awareness, environment is becoming a significant issue for muti-national firms to consider (Michael, 2003). The growing desire to protect the environment is having a great impact the industry. More environmentally friendly products and processes are in urgent demand. All of these external factors can bring good business opportunities for Siemens. Legal The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive of the European Union (EU) makes producers of electrical and electronic goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products. The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2006, which implement most aspects of the WEEE Directive, came into force in 2007 in most Europe countries. Several product divisions of Siemens are subject to the WEEE regulation (Hofee, 2003). SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Big company scale and market share; Strong brand image; It has a lot of divisions; Steady financial performance. Strong RD capabilities Good at diversity Less innovative in the low-cost new technology Low in credit rating Weak in internal control Depend upon third party service providers for majority of its operational activities Opportunities Threats Increasing demand for environment friendly products Bankrupt of some local companies in other countries Joint venture with other big playes New regulation; Completion from new and smaller competitors; Unclear trend of global economy Strengths Siemens is a German engineering conglomerate with considerable scale and market share; Siemens is a diversified group, with business in information and communications, automation and control, power, transportation, medical and lighting businesses. It have strong brand image. The brand of Siemens has good global market penetration. The brand is always connected with products of high quality in a lot of markets. It has steady financial performance in recent years (Dess, 2008). Over the years, Siemens has delivered steady financial results. Siemens net profits have a similar trend in recent years. Steady financial performance enables Siemens to manage its operations well and also improve the financial flexibility in the next a few years. Siemens is famous for its Strong RD capabilities, which is also an important factor for its business success. Its research and development (RD) investment keeps increasing in recent years; the average number of employees engaged in RD also keeps increasing (Grant, 2008). The groups focus in RD facilitates development of new products and enhancements to existing products help in maintaining its strong market position and serving a new segment of customers. The global economy needs diversity. Siemens has given diversity a permanent place in the corporate level strategy. In Siemens culture, in view of the shortage of highly qualified people and demographic changes, diversity is a prerequisite for Siemens long-term success. Weakness Siemens is less innovative in the low-cost new technology. For example, smaller companies like First Solar (FSLR) are more viable than Siemens as their technology becomes cheaper, so Siemens now face the pressure from smaller companies. Siemens is low in credit rating. Siemenss credit ratings were downgraded by some major global rating agencies in the recent years, which is partly due to its capital structure (Hungenberg, 2008). In November 2007, Moodys Investors Service downgraded Siemens long-term corporate credit rating from Aa3 to A1.Its finance is not good at generating cash flow, therefore, Siemens ability to obtain new funding and investment from external investors may be negatively affected by its low credit rating. Its internal controlling mode is not as effective as expected. Some reviewers said Siemens disclosure controls and procedures have been not effective due to material weakness in its internal control. In the area of anti-corruption and financial report, Siemens got a lot of trouble due to its weakness in internal control. Siemens relied on third party service organizations for most of its operational activities. It buys third party services for manufacturing, assembling and testing its products, while these third parties always have kinds of tie ups with multiple companies. Any problems from these third parties could adversely affect the groups operations. Heavy dependence on third party reduces the groups control over its operation and business costs. The consistence of the products could not be guaranteed, either. Opportunities During the financial crisis, a lot of small companies went bankrupt, some companies are of great value to enhance Siemens competency. It is a good time to buy these companies with low cost. Ally with a strong player is a good way to share the resource and enhance the competency of both companies. For example, joint venture is a good way. Nokia and Siemens established a 50-50 joint venture in 2007. The joint venture is called Nokia Siemens Networks, which combined Nokias networks business and Siemens carrier related operations for fixed and mobile networks. This joint venture is expected to provide significant long term returns to both groups. As all the countries are caring more about the environment, There is a increasing demand for environment friendly products, which is related to several products line of Siemens. Threats The new regulation of producers of electrical and electronic goods financially responsible for specified collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of past and future covered products post sizeable costs and liabilities to Siemens. Small companies are gaining market share by their products with lower price, which make the competition more intense. The global economy has not fully recovered from the financial crisis, so the market has not fully recovered, either. Besides, the credit is still tight, and it is very difficult for Siemens to get new funding from external capital market.

Ginseng :: Botany

Ginseng Ginseng has long been recognized as an herb possessing great value. The first written record of the use of ginseng can be found in a Chinese Herbal dated in the 1st Century B.C. This Chinese Herbal, Shen-nung pen ts'ao ching, was surely preceded by a long verbal history of ginseng for in ancient China, ginseng was always held in the highest esteem as a powerful drug (5). History shows that early Chinese emperors placed great value in ginseng. Early emperors proclaimed its roots as having many uses, primarily as a tonic or stimulant for both physical and mental disorders (9). In addition, it was used for increasing fertility and sexuality, and most importantly for strengthening the body. In fact, ginseng was so esteemed as a botanical drug that it was an important trade commodity, at times serving as payment for ransom and as payments of tribute to the Chinese government (3). As the demand for ginseng increased, cultivation of the plant was initiated to offset the dwindling supply of wild ginseng. The earliest plantations were in southeastern Manchuria and what is present day North Korea (5). Missionaries in China during the early 1700s became aware of ginseng and subsequently their knowledge of its commercial value spread to eastern North America. The export of wild ginseng root from America to the Orient began in the early 1700s. In 1773 the sloop "Hingham" sailed from Boston to China with 55 tons of ginseng on board. The first shipment of ginseng to China after the American Revolution is reported to have been made by John Jacob Astor from New York in 1782. The root from that shipment was said to have been sold for three dollars a pound. As in Asia, wild American ginseng became scarce. Its cultivation began in the 19th Century with much of the plant being grown in Wisconsin and Ohio. It has been reported that nearly 21,000 tons of American ginseng has been exported between 1821 and 1983 (1). Ginseng is the common name of two species of Panax of the family Araliaceae. Panax ginseng is the Asian species and Panax quinquefolius is the American species. Harding (1972) describes four varieties of P. ginseng and three varieties of P. quinquefolius (4). Shorter forms of the common name ginseng, "sang" and "seng", are used in the United States. Other common names include red-berry and five fingers. Ginseng is a perennial herb 60-80 cm tall.

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Essay -- Papers

Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskel Elizabeth Gaskell's Nineteenth Century novel, Mary Barton, is an example of social realism in its depiction of the inhumanities suffered by the impoverished weavers of Manchester, England. The main story in Mary Barton is that of the honest, proud and intelligent workingman so embittered by circumstances and lack of sympathy that he finally murders a mill owner's son as an act of representative vengeance. In growing embittered, he becomes as a natural consequence, more isolated in his community; both humanity and faith lose their power to guide him. Mary Barton, his daughter, really loves Jem Wilson, who is arrested after having threatened the murdered man for trying to seduce Mary, and it is her efforts that produce the melodramatic last minute evidence that saves him. Against the novelistic background of this murder and the central love stories, Mrs. Gaskell outlines her main themes of life in Manchester during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution and of the conditions that initiated the Chartist Movement. Thus, the historical background of Mary Barton is as much, if not more important than its strictly novelistic aspects. Manchester becomes a symbol of the outrageous conditions endured by the laborers, instead of a real city in itself. It is always grimy, oppressive, and ugly, just like the lives of its inhabitants. The only detail the author gives us is with the individual homes, not with the city itself. It is almost as if she were afraid of impairing the city's inherent symbolism by describing any actual streets or shops. Even when wealth is shown, as with the Carsons, the setting is still ugly and drab; the only difference is that the drabness has been made comfor... ... led up to the Chartist Movement. Despite the author's concentration on the social aspects of the situation, she has nonetheless succeeded in providing us with the main points of the new economy and its laws. Mary Barton tells the story from the laborer's point of view, but we are not without knowledge of the mill owner's side of it either, especially through the philosophical wisdom of Job Legh. In her attempts to present the plight of the laborer in Manchester, Elizabeth Gaskell has not neglected to make us understand the importance and significance of the industrial movement, as well as the great possibilities it possessed. It is, perhaps, a dated novel. However, it is important in its delineation of the social, political, and economic forces that were at work in England from 1835 -- 1850, and it is an attempt to bring them all into harmonious focus.

The Valley :: Andes Ecuador The Awakening Valley Papers

The Valley - Awake! In 1946, John Collier, Jr. and Anà ­bal Buitrà ³n wrote The Awakening Valley, telling the story of a social miracle happening in Ecuador - in the valley at the foot of Tiata Imbabura. (1, cover) In 1993, forty-three years later, I set foot in that same area and discovered a valley, not awakening, but awake! My son, Matt, and I were traveling by bus, north out of Quito, on our way to Colombia. (4) We had been advised to be in Otavalo on a weekend to experience the famous market. Little did we know that this trip would evolve into many more trips and to special relationships with the people living in this valley, high in the Andes. Ecuador, among the smallest and most unspoiled of South American nations, owes its name to its geographic location - astride the equator. (6, p. 59) The Andes divide into two parallel chains in Ecuador - the western and the eastern, which run like twin spinal columns from north to south. The valley in which most Ecuadorians live, and where most of the mountain areas agricultural produce is grown, runs for about four hundred kilometers in between. Some thirty volcanoes serve to fence in the valley from either side. The deep river valleys (hoyas) are home to agricultural communities whose way of life seems to have remained unchanged for centuries. (6, p. 64) A book written by Linda A. Newsom, Life and Death in Early Colonial Ecuador, and reviewed by Mary A. Y. Gallagher, (2) begins with a study at or just before the point when the Ecuadorian sierra began to be incorporated into the Inca Empire (ca. 1460). She describes in great detail what can be inferred about the preconquest population of Ecuador’s regions: sierra, coast and Oriente. She then describes the disastrous impact of Inca penetration and partial conquest of Ecuador, and of the prolonged wars still being fought there when Spanish brought Ecuador’s first colonial period to an abrupt end and began a new series of invasions which subdued and "reduced" the indigenous population over a number of years. This history, laced with the invasion of the Incas and the Spanish had a great impact on this small country.

How Cleanliness Can Influence Life of Kazi Zawad Badruddoza

Whereas the cleanliness is relate well to the aspects in our life. There is some reason why cleanliness is important to our life. Cleanliness influences our health, controlling our mood and then keeps the relationship with our friends. The clothes and the pants which we wear must be clean so that no more germs that can affect allergy like irritation. The food and the drink which we consume must be clean from microbes to prevent risk of illness like stomach ache, diarrhoea and many more.Then, the objects around us it should be clean from dust so we not experience the respiration illness. With kept our cleanliness so that our life must be healthy. Another reason we must watch cleanliness because the cleanliness can controlling our mood. Cleanliness makes us feel fresh and comfortable. A clean room makes us feel freshness because all of the objects are clean and free of dust so that the air is fresh. Its floor is clean so there are no bacteria or microbes and we can do the activities wi thout worried about hygiene problem.Cleanliness can be regarded as personal or environmental. These habits ensure that a person would stay fit and healthy for a long time so you will not be force to use those anti aging treatments or some sort of surgery. These habits help us in developing an ideal and healthy life style which makes our lives even more delightful and joyous. Lesser effort would result in more success if a person has healthy mind and a healthy mind can only exist in a healthyCleanliness is one of the good qualities. It is a part of our civilization. A man of dirty habits is far from civilization. So, with the progress of civilization man cleans himself more and more. He cleans his body. He cleans his mind and heart. He cleans all his action and manners. He cleans his soul. This will lead him to the highest form of civilization. But on the cleanliness of body, depend all other cleanings. Hence, cleanliness is considered so important.