Housekeeping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Housekeeping - Essay Example ablishments and organizations where there is a domestic steward; the housekeeper ought to consider themselves as the immediate representatives of their mistress. Good housekeeping entail a number of practical measures based on the common sense of the enterprise to undertake in order to improve their productivity, obtain savings in their costs as well as reducing the environmental impact of their operations. Good housekeeping needs to relate to voluntary actions that are aimed at rationalizing the utilization of raw materials, water and energy inputs. It also aims at reduction of the toxicity and volume of the wastes and the emission of harmful products, reusing and recycling maximum amounts of primary inputs and packaging of materials as well as the enhancing of conditions of working and occupational safety in the household. The paper analyses on the importance of the housekeeping manual and it is significant in enhancing the employees’ performance as well as the housekeeping department. It also describes Avenue hotel in Copenhagen one of the biggest hotels in Denmark. It seeks to provide areas of the manual delivery system needing improvement to enhance the hotel in achieving its target goals. Housekeeping entails the use and implementation of the housekeeping manual to enhance the effectiveness in the hotels operations. The major objective of housekeeping manual is enabled enterprises identify simple and practical, common sense measures of appropriate housekeeping that ought to be undertaken in reduction of the cost involved in the production as well as enhance the overall productivity and mitigate environmental impact. Good housekeeping practices ought to relate to a number of measures dealing with the prevention of the loss of materials, minimization of waste in the enterprise, conservation of energy as well as improving the operational and organizational procedures. The implementation of the housekeeping manual ensures that the practices are relatively easy

Project Evaluation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project Evaluation - Assignment Example In other words, project evaluation offers a step-by-step procedure of recording, gathering and organizing data and information regarding project outcomes, comprising short-term results of tasks, or project deliverables, and instant and longer-term project results like transformations in behavior, processes or policy outcome from the project (GoogleDocs, 2011; Hughes & Cotterell, 2002; Government of Ontario, 2006). This report discusses some of the important aspects of the project evaluation and its application in technology-intensive enterprises. This report discusses the use and application of the project evaluation processes and various quantitative or qualitative approaches to project evaluation and selection. Usually, project assessment or evaluation is the last stage in the project lifecycle. In this stage analysis is done systematically at the fundamentals of accomplishments as well as failure in the project practice to discover how to plan more effectively for the future. The fundamental aim and objective of this study is to determine the actual value of a program or project as much as probable. In more simple words, project evaluation can be described as "a procedure that tries to find out as methodically as well as objectively as probable the significance, efficiency and influence of actions in the light of the fundamental aims and objectives†. It is, therefore an important examination of the accurate accomplishments and outcomes of a program, project or policy in comparison with the planned tasks, fundamental suppositions, and policy and resource assurance. In addition, it formulates an effort to evaluate impartially the following given main aspects: (Planning Commission, 201 1; Hughes & Cotterell, 2002; Government of Ontario, 2006) The significance and strength of the project aims and objectives and design of the project/program in scenario of wider problems of project development policy, project priorities as well as strategies with

Operation Management in Hard Rock Cafe

Operation Management in Hard Rock Cafe 39 years has passed, which creates a fascinating history for one of 100 greatest brand in the world Hard Rock Cafe. Since its establishment in 1971, Hard Rock Cafe has expanded in over 51 countries with 133 Hard Rock Cafes and 15 Hotels / Casinos. The great success relies on many many factors but the core one we can not deny is its changing strategy. Hard Rock Cafe took a shift of serving, from serving food with entertainment to serving food with experience. Based on its direction, its operation strategy is defined to providing experience. Regarding to 10 operation management strategy decisions like Design of Goods and Services, Managing Quality, Process strategy, Location Strategies, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, Scheduling and Maintenance, in the long road of development, Hard Rock Cafe has obtained respected achievements in all fields. The world recoginses its reputation and most of us heartly admize it. I myself can not ignore the stories of Hard Rock Cafe eventhough it has not opened in HaNoi where I am living. The story of its changing strategy from times, the story: of its living museum, of its greatest brands, of its employees.step by step take me to the places of Hard Rock Cafe. Sometimes the place is too far and sometimes the place is too near me. It is that those places and stories there help me get different views of Hard Rock Cafe. Based on my knowledge, understanding and research that I am having now, I take some good points and some not good points to give my own views of Hard Rock Cafe. There will be opposite points that is viewed in the concept of analyzing one operation management decision not only in theory but also in reality. The following operation management decisions take my interests and my thoughts. The design of Goods and Services. The outstanding point of designing goods and services in Hard Rock Cafe is DIFFERENTATION. According to Anthony Henry (Understanding Strategic Management 2008), A differentiation strategy is based on an organization producing products or services which are perceived by customers as unique or different, Hard Rock Cafe has built Living museums of Rock experienced by its customers who are in love of Rock. One cafe with its differentiation mainly is that Rocks collection including customes, instruments, piece of music, CDs, souvernirs of the greatest artists like Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen The E Street Band, Pearl Jam, Neil Young, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrixà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.That living museums are always updated and becoming more and more fascinating to customers with its memorabilia (more than 70, 000 pieces) from the hottest musical artists of the last 50 years. Besides its differentiation, it is recognized that Hard Rock Cafe is a typical symbol of Product concept method a new tool of marketing. Hard Rock Cafe is a combination of experiences, styles, entertainment, awareness of sharing and memories. All products mentioned above are defined in specific, which creates unforgettable experience for its customers. Hard Rock Cafes customers, in fact it is so hard to call them customers as they are members in Hard Rock family, create the style for Hard Rock. Once they come to Hard Rock, a truly deep impression would leave on them. Love all Serve all A guilding service philosophy creates a special place where you or anyone would be respected, regardless of age, sex or class. The place where all express their love for music one international language. The language which gives us more understanding and narrows the gap among strangers. Not only love for music but also love for humans, love for serving humans. In service industry, Hard Rock Cafe created the high connection point between its employees and its customers. Lay out strategy Before discussing Lay out strategy of Hard Rock Cafe, we should look at some pictures of Hard Rock Shop in Ho Chi Minh City. About 48% of a typical cafes sales are from merchandise quoted in Page 83 Principles of Operations Management 2008 by Jay Heizer and Barry Render, this number has shown the success of Hard Rock shops. It has changed its strategy from times, which adapts to the movements of the global. The world has witnessed great achievement of Wal Mart, McDonalds, HSBCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.in retail field. Here it gained 48% of revenue through merchandise, which reveals the growth of retail in Hard Rock. What creates the success? One part of the answer you will find in Layout Strategy of Hard Rock Cafe. Each Hard Rock Cafe has its own Rock shop designed in Retail layout an approach that addresses flow, allocates space and responds to customer behavior quoted in Page 83 Principles of Operations Management 2008 by Jay Heizer and Barry Render. Looking at some pictures above, you can see that one small space display numerous of items like hats, T-shirts, shoes, gifts, picturesthat attract customers. Customers not only are fascinated by items in the shop but also are impressed by the light, the color Black and Red. The combination between Black and Red or the symbol of luxury and attraction calls for purchasing action of customers. Quality Management Hard Rock Cafe establishes its quality standards and takes controls to meet these standards. We will look at some points of quality management in Hard Rock Cafe. Responding to customers needs, taste and expectations, Hard Rock Cafe menus are continuously upgraded and service has been changed. To assess the quality of food and service, it regularly conducts surveys. In the survey, scoring method is used to classify the quality. If the evaluating score of food and service is not up to 7, it will fails. In my opinion, quality management following the method shows strictness, clearness and fair. Hard Rock Cafe also takes advantages of technology to ensure the quality of products and services. Chris Tomasso Vice President of Hard Rock updates monthly Microsoft Project. In a real case, to ensure the performance of the rock concert on time, Chris Tomasso gave customers anticipated surprise. The helicopter was used to take the band in, which overcome an unexpected traffic jam. It was the back-up plan that Microsoft Project had put Chris Tomassos ideas into reality. Moreover, techniques and software support Hard Rock s managers to maintain efficient schedule, to estimate budget performance, to estimate time service, to daily forecast sales, to allocate workforce and to give bonusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.All the things have been done in professional way to meet the standard of the quality management. Regarding to quality management, whenever and wherever, Hard Rock Cafe opens a new cafe, all of us take opportunity to enjoy live musical performances. In opening celebrations in Las Vegas and in Ho Chi Minh City, the shows of Chris Cornell and DMC respectively created a high energy atmosphere and overspread the excitement not only for rock lovers but also for the youth, for the people working in entertainment industry. Through it, we deeply understand how great and strong Hard Rock is. Human Resources In a company, especially in a big corporate like Hard Rock Cafe, there is a lot of tasks for Human Resources Department. Besides the job of recruitment, maintaining, training, creating career development and personal growth, the challenging task Human Resources takes is to providing a nice working environment for employees. According to Hard Rock careers, This place is revolutionaryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Why? Because you can be who you are because who you are defines you, the employees are highly respected. Beyond on my understanding, Hard Rock Cafe is creating a working environment in which each of us takes opportunity to prove ourselves and to promote our career path. It is so wise to do that, to attract job-seekers and to create a competitive advantage for Hard Rock Cafe. In October 2010, according to BBC News dated on 13 October 2010 50 jobs at risk as Cardiff Hard Rock Cafe closes. If I were one employee of Hard Rock Cafe Cardiff, clearly, I would be in an unexpected situation as it has closed suddenly as staff prepared to celebrate its seventh birthday. One question here is that whether Hard Rock Cafes employees in Cardiff location are trully informed timely or not? Some employees may find another jobs, some employees may transfer to other Hard Rock cafe in London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester, some employees may be unemployeed. I myself wonder the real case would get any support from Human Resources of Hard Rock Cafe. Furthermore, in Human Resource strategy of Hard Rock, outstanding pay and benefits are a start quoted in Principles of Operations Management 2008 of Jay Heizer and Barry Render Page 445, is an attracting invitation to employees. Honestly, you and I try our best to work for high income, and it is the same for the others or for the employees of Hard Rock. However, in one article posted on BBC News Hard Rock wages below minimum by Martin Shankleman Business correspondent dated on 18 July, 2008, we should seriously consider Human Resources Strategy and its implementation. In this article, the unnamed waiter of Hard Rock said Its an abuse of customers they are being misled in that they believe they are giving a tip when they are subsiding the actual wage. One question raises in my mind, in fact, there is a big gap between outstanding pay and the wage? In the article mentioned above, Its almost insulting, no wonder people leave said the waiter. In my understanding, people leave it means the employees of Hard Rock had given up their jobs. The reason for them to leave is unreasonable pay? I wonder where the point of outstanding pay is. If I read one article in one book, If I saw only things written on Hard Rock website, I would take only one side of the coin or I would see one thing in one direction without arguments, without feedback, without consideration. In general, regarding to 4 operation management decisions (Product and Services Design, Lay out Strategy, Quality Management and Human Resources) I am taking in consideration, the different views are discussed and analyzed in some aspects. Some give us a perfect model of Hard Rock Cafe in operation management. That we highly respect and admire the achievement, the improvement and the innovation of the world leading Corporate. In the other side, we still see some not good points of Hard Rock. In fact, those points may be in argument, may be unresolved, which leads us researching and discovering in reality through our own experience. Only taking a real experience gives us the whole picture with light and shade, with color of black and white, with ideas and the real life. HARD ROCK CAFE HANOI 16 Dec 2009 was one day marking the step of Hard Rock Cafe in VietNam, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City. Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minh is run by Viet Thai International (VTI) the owner of Highland Cafe. Based on its statement The Best of Both Worlds, VTI develops Hard Rock brand following VietNamese tradition. Based on the information I have got throung internet (www.toursvietnam.net), articles, Hard Rock Cafe is not populated. There are so many people asking for raising Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minhs quality standard. Customers there concern too much its price. The problems may face Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minh in developing its business. Those are some views of Hard Rock Cafe Ho Chi Minh. And what about the future of Hard Rock Cafe coming to HaNoi? The youth and rock lovers in HaNoi keep their ears to the ground as it is coming in HaNoi in 2011? What are waiting for Hard Rock Cafe HaNoi? What are the opportunities and challenges for it? OPPORTUNITIES are regarded as an attractive call for Hard Rock Cafe expanding in HaNoi. Hard Rock Cafe will take opportunity to meet the demand of the young population in HaNoi. In 2010, according to General Statistic Office of VietNam, the population in HaNoi is 6.5 million and the number will increase to 7.7 million in 2015. Moreover, most of the population is in the age of working and average personal income is estimated up to USD 4,300 / year. All the numbers creates the great demand for entertainment in HaNoi today and tomorrow. Another point we shoud not miss is that from times, HaNoi youth changes their lifestyle and consumer behavior. The night of 12th November witnessed the youth HaNoi burn themselves with rock. At the night, Tiger Translate Metropolis 2010 gave an impressive show to fan rock in HaNoi. It was a sleepless night of HaNoi youth. We can imagine how expectable and excited the youth welcome Hard Rock Cafe in HaNoi. Due to young population of VietNam and particularly in HaNoi, Hard Rock Cafe may take the advantage of labor cost. The average personal income in HaNoi is around USD 2,000 2,500 / year, which is a big gap comparing to personal income in London or other cities. The income shows how cheap the labor is in HaNoi. Simply, Hard Rock Cafe can balance the cost the benefit. Locally, in comparison with labor in Ho Chi Minh, labor cost in HaNoi is lower than in Ho Chi Minh. Regarding labor cost, HaNoi offers Hard Rock Cafe a very favorable condition. According to Smart Travel Aisa A travel magazine, HaNoi is voted one of 10 attractive tourist destinations in Asia. In 2010, HaNoi has welcomed 1.4 million tourists and the number will go up more, especially in the hope of the worlds economy recovery. During 39 years, Hard Rock Cafes winning strategy is to expand to destination cities. Hard Rock Cafe would not miss the chance of doing business in HaNoi one destination cities in Aisa. In fact, HaNoi residents expect more new kinds of entertainment to attract domestic tourists from other provinces in the North of VietNam. Hard Rock Cafe will gain much benefit with new one in HaNoi from its foreign and domestic toursists. In 2013, according to the report of PriceWaterhouseCoopers about the Prospect for Entertainment and Communications Industry, VietNam will achieve USD 2.3 billion of market value. The report estimate the growth of Entertainment and Communication Industry: 16.7% the highest level. The growth create chances for Hard Rock Cafe and service industry in VietNam. Based on its software and computered programs, it is not difficult for Hard Rock Cafe to estimate potential earnings.Both entertainment industry in VietNam and service of Hard Rock Cafe take benefits of each other and support themselves for development and growth. VietNam has strengths of exporting cafe, textile and agriculture foods. All the things create a strong supply chain for Hard Rock Cafe to choose. One of supply chain strategies Hard Rock Cafe may define is negotiating with many suppliers quoted in Page 457 of Principles of Operations Management by Jay Heizer and Barry Render. Opening a new one in HaNoi, Hard Rock Cafe has in hand numerous of ingredient suppliers. It is so clear that Hard Rock Cafe takes a lot of advantages from them. Cheap and diversified ingredient is one advantage. Another is the long-term commitment of those suppliers because of fierce competition among them. One another is updating menus that satisfy customerstastes and local culture. Opportunities and challenges play as two sides of the coin. One side we should look at to take chances just in time for creating advantage of doing business. In business, we try to search for opportunities of increasing profit, opportunities of expanding market share, opportuinities of remaining our power, our positionComplying with them, challenges continuously occur and force us to be awared of and to overcome. What CHALLENGES are for Hard Rock Cafe with a new one in HaNoi? There is a clear difference between culture of the North and the South, between personality of the Northerners and the Southerners, between life style in HaNoi and lifestyle in Ho Chi Minh. People in HaNoi is more conservative than those in Ho Chi Minh. For a new one, it takes a little longer time to accept, experience and like it. It can be said that conservativeness typifies personality of the Northerners. Because of conservativeness, the life style of HaNoi is not so exciting as it in Ho Chi Minh. Most of people enjoy their lives with family or in a small cafes without much noises. They lead a life in a less quiet and less exciting way than those in the South. From times, they have changed but the tradition have much influence on their changes. The people in the North prefer saving money to spending it. Whenever earning money, their habit of putting money in savings becomes too popular. Unlike the people in the South, overspending is usually avoided. Due to low personally income, when taking any service, they put too much concern on the price. The price may limit their spending on entertainment. This challenge Hard Rock Cafe should take in consideration. The price of real estate in HaNoi is evaluated too high eventhough comparing to Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, LondonLocation plays as vital factor of determining the success of one business, especially the business of Hard Rock Cafe in which location is on the top of concern, research and investment. It is estimated that about 50% operating expenses belongs to location investment. The price of location in destination cities like HaNoi causes headache for investors. This challenge is facing Hard Rock Cafe for a long period as real estate market in HaNoi will be hotter and hotter when the economy recovers, when the finance activities flow strongly and smoothly. From 2010, VietNam Food Administration focuses on the Safety goods. VietNam Food Administration gives Regulations for evaluating the quality of food. Firstly, the main product of Hard Rock Cafe is food and the food quality needs to meet international standards and vietnamese standards. The problem may arise if those standards are defined in different ways and evaluated based on different criteria. Secondly, for suppliers of Hard Rock Cafe in Viet Nam and in the world, what adjustment can be made not to violate the Regulations of VietNam Food Administration. Some suppliers may meet the requirements and adapt to the changes. Some may not meet the requirements and change their own kind of business or stop doing business. There will be a shortage of suppliers, which results in price increase. This challenge sometimes cause problems in quality management. Doing business means searching and capturing opportunities timely. Besides it, facing challenges and overcoming them plays as motivating factor for growth and success. It is so important for us to take business opportunities in developing markets. HaNoi attracts investment due to its development, its undiscovered potential, especially in service and entertainment industry. If I were one of marketing managers taking the task of opening a new Hard Rock Cafe HaNoi, I would recommend one idea as follows. Based on the theory of Differing Marketing Tasks. Even if globally sold product varities are similar, the marketing task can vary geographically quoted in Page 285 Competitive Strategy 1998 by Michael E.Porter, I would carry out one promotional campaign called Love Rock Shop Rock. Why do not I build a connection music network of High schools, Universities and Rock lover clubs in HaNoi? A greeting card valued one souvernir or one small gift of Rock Shop should be presented to the youth in HaNoi before the coming of Hard Rock Cafe. By this way, I would send one message to the youth, encourage them to change their consumer behaviors and excite themselves with Rock, shopping and gift. HaNoi is looking forward to welcoming a high energy of Hard Rock Cafe for tourists, the youth, rock lovers and for the people who have not know Hard Rock yet.

The Politics of Poverty Exposed in There are No Children Here :: There are No Children Here Essays

The Politics of Poverty Exposed in There are No Children Here At a young age Lajoe, her parents and other siblings were the first family to move into the newly built Henry Horner Homes, a public housing high-rise project, on Chicago’s south side. Lajoe recalls how clean and spacious their apartment was then. As the years passed the city became less and less able to allocate funds to keep up with the repairs the buildings needed and the city seemed not to care. The projects became ran down, dank and to condense to support a large family. Lajoe became pregnant at the young age of fourteen and was unable finish her high school education. Eventually, she married Paul Rivers, the father of her child and had they had six more children. Lajoe’s husband Paul was estranged from them more often than not and rarely offered any support for their children. This story is centered on the lives of the two middle children, Lafayette and Pharaoh, in the family. The older of the two boys, Lafayette, takes on the role of co-parent and support system for his mother by worrying about his younger siblings’ well being, who their friends are and to if they ducking bullets properly in the hallway. He has four younger siblings a brother a few years young than he is and a set of triples. He especially kept a watchful eye on his brother Pharaoh who was weaker and easily intimidated. At one point in the story Lajoe realized that because of her husband absence and lack close adult relationships she had placed an enormous amount of responsibility on Lafayette’s shoulders. Lajoe said, â€Å"The things I should be telling Paul about I was talking to Lafie, I put him in a bad place. But I didn’t have anyone to talk to. Lafie, became a twelve year old man that day.†(101) Lafayette had lost his childhood somewhere in the projects. He lived in constant fear for his life and the lives of those he cared about. He tried to stay out of trouble and to avoid dealing with the gangs. But when you come from the projects it was hard to stay out of trouble. There were many occasions when the police wrongly accused Lafayette and his older brother, Terrence. As Lafayette got older found it harder to avoid the older boys and not get caught up in the fast crowd.

Marketing research proposal of Lion Ice Beer

Lion ice is a beer brewed in New Zealand by lion breweries. It has been one of the leading brands in premium beers in New Zealand but over the recent past there has been a substantial decline in sales volumes. The beer is specifically brewed for a certain social class (urban New Zealand males aged 26-39) who have incomes ranging from $35,000-$65,000. According the lion ice brand manager, the beer is within its latter stages of the brands product cycle and he feels there is need to re-engineer the brand afresh. Thus this research proposal aims at looking at some of the root causes for the products loss of market share as well as looking at ways that could restore the brands market share. The brand manager assumes that the reason for the decline in popularity is due to the introduction in the market of new brands of imported premium beers. Background: Lion Breweries Company launched the lion ice brand in 1993. The aim of its introduction was to compete with other brands in the ice-brewed segment of the market such as Carlton cold from Carlton breweries. This was in addition to the fact that ice-brewed beers were presumed to be a premium style of beer. Literature review: Marketing research proposals, just like many other types of research proposals need to be undertaken carefully. In writing this research proposal I have tried to emulate the laid down procedures for research proposals. Thus, I have used ideas from such scholars as Paul T. P. Wong, as well as David S. Walonick. These scholars have carefully described the art of proposal writing to its fullest both in qualitative and quantitative analysis. Methodology: In carrying out this research I have taken much emphasis in examining the best methodologies to use and I have come up with the following methodology. Firstly I have chosen the use of questionnaires that will supposedly be filled in by wholesalers and distributors. This is because these middle men have first hand information on what types and quantities of beer that retailers ask for. The questionnaires will help to determine the present demand as well as the supply available for the lion ice brand. In addition to this the questionnaires will also address the issue of pricing since it could also be a reason why people are avoiding the lion ice brand. In addition to these questionnaires there will be another set of questionnaires that retailers will be given by their distributors for them to be filled in by the consumers. This second set of questionnaires will target people’s tastes and preferences. This set will be geared towards the attainment of necessary information that will help to re brand the lion ice brand. This information will include issues of the alcoholic content, poster or logo image, bottle type amongst other factors. Since the New Zealand market is very large and given the time limitation I have decided to use snowball sampling technique. In so doing I will interview one major distributor of premium beers of selected cities. Once I have interviewed the distributor I will leave the questionnaires with him for them to be circulated by retailers. Once the forms are filled they will be returned back to the distributor as retailers replenish their stocks. The study will involve a lot of travelling as well as the use of telephone conversations from time to time. Due to time limitation I have chosen snowball sampling technique since it is easier under the circumstances. Since the research is supposed to take at most two months I have planned to spend the first three weeks randomly selecting distributors nationally who will be my primary subjects or participants. Within this period I will also issue the questionnaires for distribution. Once this is done I am hoping to use the fourth week contacting the distributors and knowing the degree of feedback. If this goes as planned I hope to spend the fifth and sixth week collecting the questionnaires as well as clarifying any disparities in the feedbacks. The seventh and eighth weeks I hope to analyze and compile my research findings and come up with the final recommendations. Results: After conducting the research and administering the questionnaires I will be looking forward to getting answers to the following questions. Firstly I will be able to know the current levels of demand and supply, I will also be able to know the best pricing strategy, the current tastes and preferences will also be known among others. Discussion: By undertaking this research I am positive that I will be able to come up with concrete answers necessary for the re-introduction of the brand into the market. However, due to time limitations the research will not be as conclusive as I would have wanted it to be. This may cause the results to deviate slightly from the actual case but the deviation will be minimal and negligible I believe. References: Edward F. McQuarrie. 2005. The Market Research Toolbox: A Concise Guide for Beginners. London: Sage Publications. Ian, Chaston; 1999. New Marketing Strategies: Evolving Flexible Processes to Fit Market Circumstance. London: Sage Publications The official lion brand website: www.lion-nathan.co.nz. Sunny, Crouch; &Matthew, Housden.2003. Marketing Research for Managers. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Â  

Critical thinking Essay

I value individual balance when I am seeking to satisfy my duties. This is known, as temperance; meaning moderation or self-restraint. As you continue to read, I will be discussing a little on critical thinking, responsibility and I will also point out a couple down falls. You will discover briefly, how I feel about responsibility and my work ethics. Critical thinking is something I do every day both at work and at home. When I take on a new job or project, I use critical thinking to analyze a problem and learn how to solve it. I find myself at my best when I am aware of my duties on a project, learning new information and becoming familiar with the rules and guidelines necessary to complete a project. Critical thinking helps me to understand my reasons for acting and believing that the motive justifies the method. This self-knowledge helps me to see all aspects of the project so I can see the big picture rather than focus on a small piece of the whole. If I find myself not paying attention, I can be tempted to excuse myself from following the rules. I often find myself revisiting how a project needs to be completed in a certain way so I do not overstep any boundaries. I try not to obsess over minute details because they can at times consume me and leave me feeling as though I do not have enough self-knowledge. I do not want to get exhausted, so I make a point to practice mindfulness and take time to reflect. Temperance, fulfilling duties, and self-knowledge are the main three points that I value as an individual. Completing all the duties that I am given to the fullest extent with the guidelines that protect the project, gives me the satisfaction I need for a â€Å"job well done.† An ethical person is one who fulfills his or her duties and does the right thing.

Are Moral Values Absolute or Relative Essay Example

Are Moral Values Absolute or Relative Essay Example Are Moral Values Absolute or Relative Essay Are Moral Values Absolute or Relative Essay Essay Topic: Claim Of Value I will first Cover Mà ªlà ©es area of expertise followed by Taylor Ethical Relativism opinions. Mary Mingled: Moral Isolationism When discussing moral isolationism a name that is sure to pop up is Mary Mingled. Mingled was a professor at the university of Newcastle and has written many books, some of which deal with moral Isolationism. Melody believes that moral isolationism makes no sense at all. After reading Mà ªlà ©es piece on moral Isolationism In the book, I concluded that, I too, see many flaws in the idea of moral isolationism and cannot quite support all the concepts behind it. Many people think that taking a moral isolationist stance on other cultures and people is respectful because they are not making crude Judgments. Mingled says that nobody can respect what is entirely unintelligible to them. I find this statement a little contradicting because If you are ENTIRELY unintelligible about something doesnt this mean that you are completely Ignorant of the subject and therefore know nothing of the topic or that this culture or person even exists. So yes of course you cannot respect something that is entirely unintelligible to you. One of many questions that Mingled brings up is, if we cannot Judge other ultras are we really in a situation to be Judging our own culture? After all if we knew nothing of other cultures and didnt have opinions about these other cultures, how are we going to Judge our own culture? I believe we must form opinions about other cultures and Judge them so that we can do the same with our culture and actually compare our culture with others. To me, this is the only way in which we can come up with an accurate description and Judgment about our own personal cultures. Mingled says that outsiders should form opinions on other cultures and that these outsiders even have an advantage in forming an opinion of a specific ultra. I think this is somewhat true because I can see how an outsider who does not know much of the culture can form a decent opinion on that culture because they see it from a different perspective, an outsider prospective. This insight can help the culture and can maybe even change their views on what is morally right or wrong. For example, lets say an outsider is hurt on a vacation to a third world country and must go to the hospital. While at this third world hospital the outsider notices how some of the practices at the hospital are out-of-date and obsolete. The outsider may even think these practices are ethically Incorrect, while the doctors at the hospital Delve teen are teen Test way to Nell a patient. Well teen outsider may ell t teen doctor of new technologies and practices that have advanced medicine and medical procedures. This doctor than could very easily decide that what they are doing is a little bit wrong and therefore take the outsiders opinion in a positive way and use that outsiders perspective to help his own culture. Another excellent question Mingled brings up is if moral isolationism applies to judgments and opinions does it also apply to praises and compliments of a culture. I think many people are fine with other people praising or complimenting there culture but are not k with people Judging or forming negative opinions about the culture. When really in both situations the persons giving the compliment or judgment may very well have similar understandings about the topic. Mingled says that in order to praise someone or a culture you must first criticize and compare that culture to one you are more familiar with, like your own culture. Moral isolationist would probably say that we should not make Judgments or praises about other cultures that we know very little about. Well then my question is should we be allowed to Judge our own cultures and cultures similar to ours? Since there are many things we do not know about our own culture, moral isolationist should, in principal, say that we should not Judge our own culture. If we are not allowed then to make judgments and form opinions about our culture or any other culture it is impossible to improve our knowledge and the overall knowledge of the world as a whole. Mingled says that it would be a waste of our best evolutionary asset, our brain. This statement hits me pretty hard and helps me believe even more that moral isolationism is impractical and Just flat out impossible to do. Mingled also states that, the power of moral Judgment is, in fact, not a luxury, or a perverse indulgence of the self-righteous. It is a necessity. I really like this quote because I believe that moral judgment is a huge part of our daily lives and an even bigger part of who each of us are as individual people. Mingled believes that moral isolationism makes no sense at all and that if moral isolationism existed we would all loose interest in moral questions and issues. I think this is very true and goes to prove Just how important oral Judgment is to individual people as well as a culture as a whole. Paul Taylor: Ethical Relativism Paul Taylor, a professor at Brooklyn College, is author to many books and speaks in many of them about Ethical Relativism. Taylor answers the question of Are moral values relative or absolute? Taylor says Ethical relativism is, in general, the idea that all ethical values and ideas are relative to the cultural norms that exist and differ from time and place. Taylor says that What is right is what my society approves of, what is wrong is what my society disapproves of. I translate this as there are no such arms that can be considered absolute -or apply to everyone no matter when they were on earth or where they lived or even how they lived. Taylor splits Ethical Relativism into three different categories: Descriptive Relativism, Normative Ethics Relativism and Mathematical Relativism. I will discuss Descriptive and Normative Ethics Relativism only. Descriptive Relativism I can see how many people can accept the idea of Ethical Relativism and in many ways I agree with it too. A good example is how even inside of religions, cultural norms of that time period can alter values between people who base their religion an Deletes on principals Tanat are so very scalar. As I nave tongue Ana eater to Tina a moral norm that applies to all generations and time periods I Just become more and more convinced that there are none. For instance, there was a time when polygamy was widely accepted in religions that now scorn polygamy, the reason having to do with how girls and women were treated in society of that specific time period. I think Taylor really sums this idea up when he says Our own contemporary world reveals a tremendous variety of ways of living. I think that another thing that has to be considered about as much, if not more, Han anything else is the situation and circumstances of the act. For example many would argue that killing someone is always bad. I think that many would even say that killing is bad in all time periods. I would say that killing someone is a moral norm that depends more on how it happened rather than when it happened or in what time period. What Im trying to say is if you kill somebody because they were going to kill you or someone else, I would say that Justifies killing more than any ethical or moral norm does. Taylor also talks about the origins of moral beliefs and moral values. I think this epic is very interesting and helps back the idea of ethical relativism very well. Taylor argues that Even our deepest convictions about Justice and the rights of man are originally nothing but the interjected or internalized views of our culture, transmitted to us through our parents and teachers. Taylor argues that acculturation occurs from the approvals and disapproval of our parents while we were young. He goes on to say that these approvals were reflective of the cultural norms of that specific time period. Taylor says that it is from this process in which our moral values come from. I do agree with Taylor, however, I also believe that our values continue to change and develop as we gain more experiences and learn more about life. Normative Ethical Relativism Taylor talks about normative Ethical Relativism and why this point should be consider when speaking of ethical relativism. He talks of how the statement, What is right in one society may be wrong in another, is often thought of as a factual assertion rather than a normative claim. Taylor argues that how this phrase or statement is taken can vary greatly and that it is important how it is taken. He says that according o the normative ethical view of this statement, norms are not to be considered valid outside of the society where they originated. This then concludes that it is not legitimate to Judge or apply norms, in any way, to somebody elses culture. In conclusion, I would like to discuss the similarities between Moral Isolationism and Ethical Relativism. I think they are pretty much the same thing. Mingled defines Moral Isolationism as an ethical principal (one that she disagrees with) that says you cannot judge a culture or society outside of your own because they have different norms that o do not understand fully. Taylor says Ethical Relativism is the idea that all moral values are relative to the time and place of the culture in which the cultural norms come from. Ethical Relativism is the opposite of absolute relativism. I think that Ethical Relativism is a more correct idea than Moral isolationism because we must be able to Judge other cultures even if we know very little about them; however, these judgments should not be crude and we should be open minded when thinking of other cultures. Also I think there are no true absolute morals so therefore they all must De relative.

Streets of London (by Frank Mc Tell) essays

Streets of London (by Frank Mc Tell) essays Streets of London (by Ralph Mc Tell) How to explain the songs popularity Ralph Mc Tells song Streets of London is about the everyday poverty which we, the healthy and wealthy part of our society, dont seem to recognize. The song tells the story of an old, impecunious man who used to be a successful seaman, a hero. In the past, the old man was respected and admired by the society, but in the same way his medal ribbons fade, the societys memory of the former hero fades. Ralph Mc Tell is able to make us feel guilty and responsible when listening to his song as he sings about a man who was once a decent, hard working person like most of us are. We can see ourselves in the old mans wretched position and that makes us feel frightened and pensive. Most people think that poverty only exists in Third World Countries, where there is not enough to eat and the water is polluted but Ralph Mc Tell doesnt sing about the enormous poverty of millions of people in Africa or Asia, he sings about the (individual) poverty we can find in our neighbourhood and in our own family. He makes us aware of the seriousness of poverty and due to the fact that each one of us could end like the old man in the song, we suddenly worry about the poverty described by Ralph Mc Tell. The song blames us for ignoring the lonely and poverty- stricken persons who live in our city, village or vicinity (let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London). An other reason for the songs immense popularity is, in my eyes, that Ralph Mc Tell uses many symbols in his song (yesterdays papers telling yesterdays news, looking at the world over the rim of his teacup). Only by analysing the song very carefully, we can really understand what it tries to tell us. We realise that the persons mentioned in the song do not have any responsibility for thei...

A Study On Agile Software Development Business Essay

A Study On Agile Software Development Business Essay Agile software development is a group of methodologies whose basis is iterative development. The requirements and solutions in this develop through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams. Agile methods usually endorse a well-organized project management process that promotes many inspection and adaptation. It endorses a leadership philosophy that encourages teamwork, self-organization and accountability, a set of engineering best practices intended to allow for rapid delivery of high-quality software, and a business approach that aligns development with customer needs and company goals. Agile methods promote an iterative mechanism for producing software. They further enhance the iterative nature of the software lifecycle by tightening design-code-test loop to at least once a day (if not much more frequently) as opposed to once per iteration. The theoretical foundations of this framework are found in modern approaches to operations management and analysis, such as lean manufacturing, soft systems methodology, speech act theory (network of conversations approach), and Six Sigma. Agile Vs Waterfall Waterfall Model: The Adoption of waterfall has helped to drive down the failure rate of software development projects, but even with rigorous project management and processes, a full 70 percent of software projects using this methodology fail to meet their objectives. To put this in perspective, waterfall software projects have less than half the success rate (66 percent) of going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Figure: The waterfall process for software development Agile approach differs from Waterfall in more than one ways, however the major point of difference is that in the waterfall process there are several checks carried out in phases and the team is expected to deliver a particular part in each phase, however in agile the team is expected to carry out their project in iterations instead of phases. At the end of each iteration, the deliver able expected is a working code that can be continuously improved in order to cope up with the ever changing needs of the demanding client. However, in case of Waterfall, it is assumed that all the needs and requirements of the client are known precisely right at the beginning of the project. Alibi the software development industry is such that , it is often very difficult to understand the exact requirements of the customer at the beginning of the project. This is the major shortcoming of waterfall, where the development team is seldom able to meet the expectations of the customer. Agile methodologies embrace iterations. Small teams work together with stakeholders to define quick prototypes, proof of concepts, or other visual means to describe the problem to be solved. The team defines the requirements for the iteration, develops the code, and defines and runs integrated test scripts, and the users verify the results. Verification occurs much earlier in the development process than it would with waterfall, allowing stakeholders to fine-tune requirements while they’re still relatively easy to change. 1. XP Extreme programming mainly focuses on the development; it does not lay too much emphasis on the management perspective of the software projects. The main purpose with which XP was designed was that all organizations could adopt it for free in its entirety or partly.

Role Of The Public Sphere Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Role Of The Public Sphere - Essay Example While there are people who argue that there has been widespread commodification of leisure thus leading to an extension of the same phenomena to media considering it is a medium used by majority of the people to escape from the drudgery of daily lives, there is a strong consensus that with many early surveys used to study people's patterns, there have been empirical problems in distinguishing the opinion leading to consumer and political behaviour. The question of opinion in the public sphere arises due to the fact that many changes are based on the degree of personal contact which is more often than not, dependant on the mass media. These changes have been widely distributed among people ready to change their opinion. In this way, the public sphere and the media have a mutually strong hold over each other where ushering an era of modernity are concerned. It may be added that the public sphere is a dimension where space and geography are conceptualised to signify the factors that lead to modernism. Without the support of the media, transporting such changes to the public sphere would be next to impossible. In a similar fashion, it may be seen that the recent explosion of the information age has transported our lives to that place in time where keeping abreast with the latest on goings has become a matter of utmost and unparalleled importance. With the development of capitalism, a new kind of public sphere consisting of enhanced institutional forms of political power has emergedFurther, a new bourgeois public sphere grew simultaneously to negotiate between these two, consisting of groups of individuals who would debate and discuss and regulate the civil society through constructive criticism. (Hamilton et al, 2002. p 12 to 16) 1 Chapter 2: Features of Public Sphere and its Importance To find fitting answers to the question posed in the above chapter, one will have to delve deeper into the concept itself apart from to the general consensus as far as its meaning is concerned. A public sphere seems to be characterized by three main features where the first has to do with communication in a broad sense. Thus coffee shops, public hearings, town meetings, and other places where people interact with one another face-to-face are included under this criterion. Newer forms such as newspapers, broadcast media, and new venues on the Internet can also be a part of the same where the spread of awareness to garner consensus on an issue is involved. It was in the year 1962 that the philosopher Jrgen Habermas of the renowned "Frankfurt School" in Germany, coined the expression Offentlichkeit, or "public sphere" in English. As explained by Habermans (1989)2, this concept has existed in its true sense in the UK since the 18th century where London society's coffee houses had become the centres of art and literary criticism. This had led to a gradual inclusion of the economic and the political disputes as matters of discussion. In French

House of sand and fog Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

House of sand and fog - Movie Review Example As a consequence she tries to do what she can to get the house back including starting a relationship with a local police officer (Lester). The novel goes on to explain the background about the officer how he had an emotional upbringing and one of the reasons why he is reluctant towards the woman. The Iranian after marrying his daughter off, remember he is in the USA, spends the rest of his saved money which includes his sons future education funds into the house which he considers a good investment. His intention's is to eventually make a house like the villa he had in Iran. He thinks like the average Muslim man struggling to make a better future for his family. The woman whose house it was tries to plea with him but resorts to threatening him that he will be deported if he doesn't give her the house, the police officer aids her. The film finish's differently to the novel as the son (Esmail) who has an opportunity to shoot the police officer dies in a shootout by authorities as he is taken by the officer. And as a consequence his father the Colonel poison's his wife and then commits suicide. As the Colonel has rescued the woman twice from committing suicide when she walks in to see him in a plastic bag she tries to resuscitate him. But is too late; There is a mystery as to w hether she is arrested in her part of the events leading up to his death and family breakdown of the family in the novel. In the film When the Colonel finds out about the death of his son, he returns to the house to find the woman waiting there and then strangles her to death. He then suffocates himself and his wife. The woman and the police officer await trial after being imprisoned. The woman mimes a request for a fag as she is in a state after seeing the Colonel. Culture: The daughter's marriage in all cultures amongst the different sects in Islam re very important. They have to be done in a quality way so that the in laws accept the bride just as much as the husband does. It is the most important responsibility for a father. After this the next important thing is education. And for men in Islam education is of high importance. A father would correctly first support his daughter's needs to secure her future and then the son, just as has been shown and written about in the film. The Father did everything possible to achieve the dream he wanted for his family. Regardless of him being a political refugee from Iran he managed to do what any Muslim man would do for his family. It is a cultural fact. In comparison to the woman who was living in a house brought to her by her father and who became in a similar situation as if exiled from the house due to not paying taxes, her approach of revenge was more based on emotion and fear rather then practical and le gal. As the film does not reveal the history of the officer the fact is it is perceived as a racist American man who misuses the law. Film portrayal: If we look at the situation of the Iranian man who was working, had a family had money, he was in a stable situation and wanted to progress and he was within law Islamically and Country law to purchase the house. The woman was wronged by the law of the country for failing her by wrongly accusing her of not paying taxes and causing her to use the means she could to

MODULE 4 DISSCUSSION Full Government Control in an Emergency Coursework

MODULE 4 DISSCUSSION Full Government Control in an Emergency - Coursework Example Thus, it is possible for the government to assume a major role in disaster control, but it does so within the law as provided by the Stafford Act. The government takes control of disaster control, not to limit the agencies or groups, but to ensure that the appropriate resources and are effected fast enough, and in an effective way. Through the Homeland security secretariat, the government takes control of disaster control management, while the agencies and groups respond within this overarching structure (Homeland Security, 2013) â€Å"Partnerships are an integral part of strengthening resilience, because they can help to increase efficiency and effectiveness in disaster management† (Busch, 2013, p. 2). Hence, in partnerships between the government and assisting agencies and groups, it is necessary that the government maintains full control during disasters. Doing so ensures that there is a hierarchical plan in the control of disasters. It also ensures that there the issue of accountability rests squarely on the government and not a large array of assisting groups and agencies (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2006). Homeland Security. (2013, May). National Response Framework. Retrieved from Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1914-25045-1246/final_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared : Special Report of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, Together with Additional Views. Washington, DC: Government Printing

The Flourishing Villain Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Flourishing Villain - Coursework Example (Brown, 2001) For example, braver person can be considered virtuous, however, an excess of bravery bounds with the tendency to make thoughtless and purposeless actions, such as jumping from the roof. In contrast, lack of bravery makes a person coward. Subsequently, flourishing is about living a life of excellent functioning. Due to the fact that evil actions are not virtues, they cannot be constituents of happiness in Aristotles interpretation and cannot make a person flourish. Moreover, it is not possible to say that a person, who enjoys pleasure is flourishing as far as only the highest good, which is good intrinsically, is a component of flourishing. (Kraut, 2007) At the same time, the highest good requires from persons to act rationally. In contrast, a pleasure can be of different nature, it can be both good and bad, and without goal. Therefore, pleasure is not the same as happiness. Happiness and flourishing are final, they are the goal, and remain self sufficient. To my mind, the discussed ideas reflect the generally accepted rules of living as the essentials of living in a society persuade that a person who lives the righteous and moral life can achieve the highest happiness while those who mistreat others end in misery. Apart from that, it often happens that those, who conduct evil deeds are, in fact, unhappy and have issues that prevent them from living a life as all the rest. Numerous studies of psychologists serve as a good proof of this fact. If a someone who is deceitful, selfish, or self-indulge could be named flourishing than it would be justified to call murders flourishing as well. Obviously, this is not the case as such people simply does not suit the definition, they do not show sympathy and pity where it is appropriate. Kraut, R. (2007). Blackwell guide to aristotle\. (pp. 342-343). Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from

Gibbs Reflective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gibbs Reflective - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that looking at the situation, the nurse thought it wise first to open a door. She assumed the driver might have forgotten to close their door and so begun with that door. The easiest way to get to the children was to open their doors next, and so she unlocked all doors and flung the back door open. The nurse was afraid of a misunderstanding between the parents or passers-by, she, however, could not limit her thought to the consequences and, therefore, swing both doors open. After the circulation of air was solved the next step was to look for the nearest authoritative agent. The nurse called a security guard, and it is at this point that she was able to seek help from a second party. They then both waited for the parent to return as they each took a child to their hands.Thid essay stresses that all caregivers are trained to handle all situations from a point of compassion and love. The nurse first took the situation from the children’s perspective. She thought that for an infant to try and understand, such heat and to look and find no help around was a painful situation. She, therefore, felt the need to address the situation in an immediate sense. There are quite a number of laws that govern how children are to be given care. It can   be mistaken as a kidnapper in such a situation. It was, therefore, her first instinct to relieve the children of the immediate threat and then the nurse would look seek help from a person in authority.

MODULE 4 DISSCUSSION Full Government Control in an Emergency Coursework

MODULE 4 DISSCUSSION Full Government Control in an Emergency - Coursework Example Thus, it is possible for the government to assume a major role in disaster control, but it does so within the law as provided by the Stafford Act. The government takes control of disaster control, not to limit the agencies or groups, but to ensure that the appropriate resources and are effected fast enough, and in an effective way. Through the Homeland security secretariat, the government takes control of disaster control management, while the agencies and groups respond within this overarching structure (Homeland Security, 2013) â€Å"Partnerships are an integral part of strengthening resilience, because they can help to increase efficiency and effectiveness in disaster management† (Busch, 2013, p. 2). Hence, in partnerships between the government and assisting agencies and groups, it is necessary that the government maintains full control during disasters. Doing so ensures that there is a hierarchical plan in the control of disasters. It also ensures that there the issue of accountability rests squarely on the government and not a large array of assisting groups and agencies (United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2006). Homeland Security. (2013, May). National Response Framework. Retrieved from Federal Emergency Management Agency: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1914-25045-1246/final_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared : Special Report of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, Together with Additional Views. Washington, DC: Government Printing

Gibbs Reflective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gibbs Reflective - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that looking at the situation, the nurse thought it wise first to open a door. She assumed the driver might have forgotten to close their door and so begun with that door. The easiest way to get to the children was to open their doors next, and so she unlocked all doors and flung the back door open. The nurse was afraid of a misunderstanding between the parents or passers-by, she, however, could not limit her thought to the consequences and, therefore, swing both doors open. After the circulation of air was solved the next step was to look for the nearest authoritative agent. The nurse called a security guard, and it is at this point that she was able to seek help from a second party. They then both waited for the parent to return as they each took a child to their hands.Thid essay stresses that all caregivers are trained to handle all situations from a point of compassion and love. The nurse first took the situation from the children’s perspective. She thought that for an infant to try and understand, such heat and to look and find no help around was a painful situation. She, therefore, felt the need to address the situation in an immediate sense. There are quite a number of laws that govern how children are to be given care. It can   be mistaken as a kidnapper in such a situation. It was, therefore, her first instinct to relieve the children of the immediate threat and then the nurse would look seek help from a person in authority.

A religious or moral issue Essay Example for Free

A religious or moral issue Essay Analyse and explain the way in which a religious or moral issue of concern to Christians has been dealt with in a television soap opera The moral issue that I have chosen to follow is adultery, which is when a married person has voluntary sexual intercourse with other married or not married people, rather than his or her spouse. The reason I have chosen this moral issue is because it is part of everyday life, many people are doing it and are not taking notice of the hurt and pain they are causing. I have chosen Eastenders for my soap opera, because it is a popular soap and the moral issue adultery is shown, through Natalie and Rickys affair. Christians have a strong view on adultery, they believe that you should keep sexual intercourse for marriage because it makes it part of a religious or spiritual contact and it makes it dependant on a commitment to spend the rest of your life with someone, also Do not commit adultery is one of the ten commandments, so Christians are totally against adultery. The main characters involved were Ricky, Natalie, Pat and Barry. The storyline begins with, Ricky and his son Liam coming back to the square after a few years away. After a few weeks Ricky is starting to settle down and he is renting a flat with Sam Mitchell his ex-wife, Natalie and Ricky are friends at this point. After a while Natalie realizes she still loves Ricky, her first love, and starts meeting up with him secretly and has sexual intercourse with him. Natalie makes up excuses saying that shes working overtime and during her lunch breaks when shes really meeting up with Ricky. One night Pat sees Ricky picking up Natalie from round the corner from their house. The next morning Pat confronts Natalie about what she saw and tells her to end it but Natalie starts crying and says that she still loves Ricky, but Pat tells Natalie about her own love life and that she would be making a big mistake by seeing Ricky. Natalie is still confused and not sure whom she wants to be with. On Rickys birthday Natalie stays home and looks after Jack and Liam, Rickys son. So Barry, Pat and Roy can go to Rickys party soon after they arrive Barry persuades Roy and Pat to go home and baby-sit so Natalie can come to the party. When Natalie arrives she gives Ricky his card and on the back of the envelope Natalie wrote meet me outside the back where she tells him that she is going to leave Barry. Pat and Natalie talk again and Pat shows Natalie the secret tape, which Barry has recorded for Natalies birthday it is a really special tape because Barry says how much he loves her, how important she is to him and how happy she makes him feel, after seeing the video Natalie realises that she is doing wrong and tells Ricky its over. Natalie realises she cant forget Ricky and soon their affair is back on and they plan to move away from the square and start afresh. They plan to leave on Natalies birthday, Natalie doesnt even care about the preparations that Barry made for her birthday party in the Vic. They are ready to head off but Rickys car has broken down so they have to take the car that Barry bought for Natalie. Barry is still in the Vic waiting for the guest of honour to arrive but Janine knows about Ricky and Natalie and tells Barry. Barry runs outside and sees Natalie driving off but he stops them. Natalie then tells Barry shes leaving him, Barry takes her into the Vic and shows her what he has organised for her, Natalie runs off to the toilets Barry runs after her and tries o make her change her mind but her minds already made up. Natalie is ready to leave but then Janine tells Natalie that Ricky slept with Sam, Natalie leaves the square only taking her son with her. Barry is left heartbroken, he then finds out that Pat knew about Ricky and Natalie, Pat and Roy end up having an argument about it, Roy has a heart attack and dies. The issue seen was dealt sensitively because the different characters feelings were expressed, although it was Natalie who was having the affair, you could see that not only was it the innocent partner that was confused but the partner which was committing adultery was even more confused, Natalie wasnt sure who she wanted to be with at some points and was getting very upset over it. Pat tried to help her make the right decision but Natalie didnt care. This soap opera made the moral issue less appealing, I think that it made people think more about what they are doing is totally wrong. The reason it did not make it more appealing is because it showed all the different circumstances people were left in, Natalie ended it with Ricky because he slept with Sam, Barry was left with no son and no wife, the baby was left with no father, Pat was left as the enemy and homeless because Roy dies and leaves the house to Barry, so the issue was shown well balanced because all the main characters feelings and circumstances were shown, many of the characters were feeling hurt. Overall I think this soap opera has shown adultery to be unpleasant because it shows just how many peoples lives are ruined not just the adultery committers, but people who try to help them understand what they are doing is wrong, but are then given the evil for not telling the truthful partner. So this teaches most viewers that adultery is not a good thing. I dont think that soap operas might affect peoples behaviour because mostly they deal with issues to express the circumstances of good and bad. This issue would not cause offence because although it is an issue, which is happening in everyday life it is not based on particular people.

Report on the need for Inter Professional Collaboration

Report on the need for Inter Professional Collaboration The following report will consist of two parts. Part one will firstly define, and then address some of the issues that have highlighted the need for inter-professional collaboration. Secondly it will look at some of the policy initiatives that advocate inter-professional collaboration and attempt to identify opportunities and benefits, whilst also examining some of the difficulties, barriers and challenges to effective collaborative working, between both professionals and e.g. professionals and service-users. Finally, part two of the report will attempt to illustrate my personal experience of collaboration in the form of a three reflections based on assessment, implementing and learning experiences on placement. Critically analysing the skills used in working collaboratively with a client and the multi-disciplinary team (MDT), within the context of mental health care. It should be noted therefore that the names of all individuals within this part of the assignment will be fictionalised in order to protect their confidentiality, in accordance with the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) Code of Conduct guidelines. The reflections will be based in Gibbs 1988 model of reflection. Part 1: Definition of collaboration The literal translation of collaboration from the Latin is together in labour, whilst the dictionary definition of to collaborate is to work with another or others on a project (Chambers 1999). However, Clifford (2000) in re-iterating Henneman et als. (1995) earlier argument stated that, in practice, the process of defining collaboration remained a complex, sophisticated, vague and highly variable phenomenon (pp103). This often resulted in the term being used inappropriately, as issues relating to collaboration were (and still are) referred to using a range of terms, all intended to indicate broadly similar processes e.g.: teamwork, co-operation, inter/multidisciplinary, multi-agency, intersectional and inter-professional, although, Barrett et al. (2005) concluded that In practice these refer to similar ideas of collaborative effort, even if the composition of the team(s) or group(s) varies. Hall Weaver (2001) stated that inter-agency partnerships are created at a formal organisational level when two or more agencies agree to work together to share information or to jointly plan services, whilst multi/inter-professional collaboration involves two or more people from different professions communicating cooperatively to achieve a common goal, passing the client to the next practitioner in a chain of care. They also stressed the importance of co-ordination in inter-professional working in order to ensure that each professionals effort is acted upon and that each practitioner is aware of what the others are doing. The move towards interagency collaboration began with the shift in emphasis from institutional to community-based care, when it was felt that the demarcations and hierarchical relations between professions were neither sustainable nor appropriate (Barr et al. 1999 Sibbald, 2000). New ways of working that crossed professional boundaries, had to be found, in order to allow a more flexible approach to care delivery (Malin et al., 2002), the promotion of inter-professional working in the delivery of healthcare has long been regarded by practitioners as of great importance, in providing a better quality of service, as highlighted by e.g. the NMC (2008) and in UK government policy over the last two decades, at least.   However Whitehead (2000), also highlighted the fact that one example of team working that was surprisingly neglected in the nursing literature of the time, was the partnership between client and nurse, which she argued should be regarded as part of the collaborative framework as well as in a team context. However, this factor was not ignored by the NMC who in the Code of Conduct have consistently specified that nurses should not only work with their peers, but also with other professionals and importantly with clients in developing their care-package (2008). Similarly, as indicated, the DOH (1999) with the up-date of the CPA via Effective Care-coordination (ECC) specified the need for all service providers, including all members of MDTs, too work with their clients, highlighting the belief that such collaboration, increased, client satisfaction and improved client engagement with their planned care package, when implementing the National Service Framework for Mental Health (NSFMH: DOH 1999a) as highlighted by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) Keys to Engagement (1998a, 2002 see appendix 1 for further information). It was recognised by the government in 1997 that there was a clear boundary between health and social care, and so they called upon the NHS and local authorities to build partnerships and break down organizational barriers (DOH 1997). This was important as many people had complex needs spanning both services, but found themselves receiving inadequate care due to sterile arguments about boundaries.  Thus the government introduced incentives to encourage joint working and improve all aspects of health and social care through e.g. integrated care/service provision (DOH 1998).   Modernising Mental health Services (DOH, 1998a), set out the way in which mental health services would deliver care in the future, whilst Safe, Sound and Supportive (DOH, 1998b), emphasized the involvement of service users in the planning and the delivery of care, offering choices and promoting independence for individuals. To implement such changes in relation to mental health, the NSF for Mental Health (DOH, 1999), represented the first set of national standards for mental health, frameworks (e.g. ECC) and how these standards, based in up-to-date evidence, would be achieved for the best possible care. One role that was introduced through the NSF and ECC guidelines was that of the care-coordinator, and although the role is not attributed to any one profession. In order to be an effective co-ordinator the nurse must appreciate the roles of the other members of the MDT, and possess excellent communication skills (Bonney. in Davis OConnor 1999). Demonstrating competence in communication and collaborative working is now a prerequisite of qualifying as a nurse (DOH 2006b) and of all mental health workers (DOH 2004) as based in the SCMHs (2001) Capable Practitioner However, a variety of barriers to interdisciplinary working exist that hinder the developments of close collaborative relationships, Hudson (2002) outlined several barriers to effective inter-professional working relating to relationships between members of different professions. These include the fact that where members of a certain profession have similar or shared values, perceptions and experiences, there will be more agreement between members of that profession than between members of different professions. This is partly because each discipline has very different levels of training, education and legal restrictions on their role. McCray (2002) supports this view stating that social workers, may be more concerned with achieving outcomes for service-users based on recognition of oppression and inequality in society, mental health nurses, may be focused more on psychological factors in their work with clients and psychiatrists who see the illness of the patient as their top priori ty. However, changes that had been proposed to implement across professional common foundation programme of training of all healthcare workers to enhance inter-disciplinary communication (NHS Plan: in Lilley. 2001), have been introduced (to varying degrees) within approved educational institutions. Returning to the role of the nurse as a care-coordinator, it should be noted that s/he is not one who simply follows an established pathway but someone who challenges existing practice and leads the way in developing new evidence based clinically effective care (Seaman in Smith M: 1999:198).  However by 2015 (SCMH 2005) not only should every patient have a comprehensive, tailored care plan, they should have taken the lead in determining how they want their needs to be met according to the NHS plan (1998). As long ago as 1984 Benner considered that, nurses played an essential role in the management of care of patients and as coordinators and educators they must keep up-to-date with the latest developments in care and local and National policies, to ensure their practice conform to the standards of clinical governance and that they must be central to the MDT to ensure that the patient is the focus of that care. As the DOH (1999, 1999a) indicated they are best placed to encourage inte rdisciplinary working and provide a channel for communication, with characteristics essential to a nurses role in collaborative practice. Part 2: The following will provide three reflections summarising my involvement in the collaborative assessment, planning implementation of the treatment/care provided for a selected client, who will be known as Jane, within an acute forensic inpatient psychiatric unit. Before conducting the initial assessment with Jane, under the supervision of my mentor, I was conscious of the requirements under the NSFMH ECC (DOH 1999a 1999b) guidelines that the assessment must be comprehensive in order for the MDT to develop an appropriate care package. I was also conscious that this required not only my use of effective communication skills with Jane, but also with the nursing and multidisciplinary team members (SCMH 2001, DOH 2004, 2006b). in order for the assessment data to be used as a basis for Janes initial care-plan, which would allow for further assessment data to be gathered prior to her MDT review. While Stuart (2005) stated that psychiatric care requires the completion of an assessment of the clients bio-psycho-social status, Barker (2003), asserted that the way in which an assessment is carried out and the methods used in the process make it a worthwhile exercise or largely a waste of time. Therefore I was conscious of the need to not only adhere to the ECC framework but also to the Best practice competencies guidelines for pre-registration mental health nurses (DOH 2006) and those of the NMC (2008). Reflective Essay 1 (Assessment) Introduction Critical incidents are snapshots of something that happens to a patient, their family or nurse. It may be something positive, or it could be a situation where someone has suffered in some way (Alphonso, 2007). The incident to be discussed took place at my current placement a medium secure psychiatric hospital. Any names mentioned are fictitious in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Counsel (NMC) Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2007).For the purpose of this reflection I will be using The Gibbs model (1988), cited in Burns and Bulman (2000) as it gives an opportunity to produce a structured account of the discussion, and clearly shows that true reflection in practice has occurred during its research. During my management placement my mentor Alan assigned me as named nurse to a recently admitted patient (Jane), with the purpose of co-ordinating her care. I found this service user to be very difficult to engage with as she could become extremely paranoid and believed people could read her thoughts and interfere with her mind. Therefore she was very hard to engage with and very reluctant to disclose any information, this gave me limited information regarding her background at the start of the assessment process. Jane was also presenting with challenging behaviour and could become very verbally hostile. I did find her to be challenging overall and I pursued a different method of working with her whereby I made conversation and talked about other things not relating to her problems, to get to know her, it didnt take too long before I began to begin to build a therapeutic relationship with Jane. However when it came to undertaking the assessment Jane became quite withdrawn and guarded and did not fully engage with myself or my mentor. When we had completed the assessment and was back in the ward day area Jane became very hostile and began to shout at myself stating that I had stolen her thoughts and replaced them with files, Jane continued to shout and swear so staff intervened. However, we did complete the assessment but I felt disappointed that Jane did not interact well as I felt we had begun to communicate well with each other and had started to build a therapeutic relationship prior to undertaking the assessment.Using the information ascertained during the assessment and information I had gathered from Janes clinical file, I also contacted Janes social worker (Lynn) for any additional information, she assured me that she would make contact with Janes family and feed back her finding at the MDT meeting. I also contacted Janes consultant and informed her that I was leading Janes care package and the plan that I had put into place in order to maximise the effic iency of the up and coming MDT review. conclusion. I learnt a lot from this experience, by analysing the critical situation; it is plain to see how bureaucratic style was effective in handling the situation. The following of procedures by staff was effective in dealing with the possibility of further hazards and ensured the safety of the patient and nurses (Palombara, 2006). Utilising individual members of the multi- disciplinary team taught me the importance of inter disciplinary team working. The assessment, gave me the ability to gather information from Jane although the information was very limited.   It would appear that an assessment of this description would not benefit from having a structured format, because the patient leads as much as the nurse. The support I received from my mentor, gave me the independence to organise the assessment in my own way, and I feel proud to be able to have achieved all the relevant information despite the difficult situation.   I was able to obtain information which gave me great satisfaction.   I feel I have the ability to fulfil the role of care co-ordinator and do things independently as well as collaboratively. I learnt from taking a leadership role that I was able to, think logically and will hopefully carry this attitude forward throughout my future nursing career. I learnt for the future to expect the unexpected and handle situations as they arise. I have learnt the importance of collaboration and support/supervision is paramount for one to achieve. Reflective Essay 2 (Implementation) Introduction This reflection will be based on attending the MDT meeting and the outcome. For the purpose of this reflection I have chosen Gibbs (1988), as the model to help guide this process. This is an iterative model with stopping points, using these stopping points as headings; I will be able to reflect fully on the incident. As indicated the NMC 2008 requires nurses to work with clients as partners, which involves identifying their preferences regarding care, and respecting these within the limits of professional practice, existing legislation, resources and goals of the therapeutic relationship. To facilitate this I had encouraged Jane to identify her needs, and to point out which were of greatest importance in her life. These were:- To build a good relationship with her parents To get out of hospital To stop smoking All information gathered from the initial assessment could now be discussed at Janes (MDT) meeting. Also in attendance was Janes consultant psychiatrist, social worker, psychologist my mentor and myself. I explained to the team that Jane had wished to attend the meeting but due to the location of the meeting, security and hospital policies this was not possible. I discussed the aforementioned to the team, along with Janes presentation over the past week. The consultant was quite happy for the nursing team to continue with their assessment work, and made no alterations to her medication regime. The social worker had managed to make contact with Janes family, she reported that Janes family have expressed that they would very much like to build up a loving and positive relationship with Jane and would be quite happy to look after her when she has been released from hospital until suitable accommodation can be found for her close to the family home. Once the meeting was completed I took the opportunity to thank the team for their support and help I also thanked my mentor for all the advise, help, guidance and support he had given to me. I felt that as a team we had developed a good package of care for Jane and also had helped to set in motion the chance for Jane to build a relationship with her family. However I was disappointed that Jane could not attend the meeting due to risk. I did speak to my mentor regarding this and he agreed with my thoughts. On returning to the ward, my mentor gave me the opportunity to reflect on the situation before handing over the outcome of the ward round to the on duty staff and Jane herself, it was understandable that Jane was unable to attend due to security policy, and hospital protocol and this was something that I would have to explain to Jane and make her aware of. Conclusion Writing this reflection made me aware about how members of a team can provide support and how this can help to provide a much better duty of care to service users. Communication played an important part in this learning experience. I believe that in nursing the ability to work in a team is one of the key elements. Furthermore, Sully and Dallas (2005) go on to say the reasons that enhance effective inter- professional team work is the clear goals that are set by the team to make the significant differences for the patient. When the members are competent, committed and know the expected standards of excellence that also enhance inter-professional team work. Team work between nurses and multidisciplinary team is important. Reflection 3 (learning within placement) This reflection will be on the nature of teaching and learning process within my practice placement. Some of the factors influencing a learning experience will be discussed and linked to known teaching and learning theories. Physical and psychosocial factors that affect the learning process will also be explored. To help facilitate this assignment, a reflective model (Gibbs model 1988) will be incorporated to discuss how I have achieved the necessary level of competence during the placement. To assist in the development of learning for future students, an action plan will be formulated from the issues recognised throughout this paper. Any names mentioned are fictitious in accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Counsel Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2008). During the initial discussion with my mentor (Alan), I was able to express what learning needs I wanted to develop throughout my time on this placement. we agreed to be in close contact for the initial four weeks and also that I would work with Alan to ensure I had as much one-to-one mentoring as possible. This was extremely beneficial as he could track my progress and provide me with guidance during the weeks (Chow Seun, 2001). At this point my learning was being promoted because he was skilled in student-led strategies. For example, he consistently explored my understanding of a task whilst providing support (Heron, 2001). I also felt positive about having the opportunity to develop a good relationship with him which is recognised as being beneficial to the learning process (Dix Hughes, 2004). According to Maslow (1971) the humanist theory of learning is concerned with feelings and experiences. My learning was definitely influenced by his positive attitude and manner, which, as suggested by Maslow leads to personal growth and individual fulfilment. During my time on placement it was clear that Alan was creating learning opportunities, such as attending MDT meetings, taking the lead role as care co-ordinator and offering resources at all times. I also found he was able to explain tasks clearly and to answer any questions that I had. This is something typically favoured by nurse educators (Li, 1997). My mentor was extremely approachable and would often demonstrate tasks with which I was unfamiliar, such as new assessments such as the START. Also if I was unclear on something he had asked me or if I did not know the answer to a question he had asked he would ask me to find out the information and then feed back to him. I found this an excellent way of building my knowledge. Alan would consistently enquire about my existing knowledge on a subject or task which helped me to perform thorough self-assessment, and to re-examine what I had already learnt, Neary (2000) states that revisiting areas that have already been studied can enhance cognitive learning. This is associated with a major theme in the theoretical framework of Bruner (1996), who explains that learners are able to construct new concepts and ideas based upon their current or past knowledge. Feedback sessions were typically planned but were sometimes spontaneous. This was due to time restrictions and nurse workload. These unprompted sessions could perhaps be improved if they were more structured (Hinchliff, 1999). This is also supported by Quinn (2000) who believes that lesson planning is vital for learning because it ensures that all areas of learning are addressed, which results in higher productivity in terms of learning (ENB/DOH 2001). Morgan (2002) states that it is vital that qualified nurses ensure students become part of the team, because this can be beneficial to their learning. In addition, the NMC requires that nurses support the development of student nurses. This was evident because each member of staff readily contributed to my learning experience through their willingness to share their professional knowledge with me (NMC, 2007).   Conclusion. My placement has been a positive and memorable learning experience. Primarily I learnt by observation and role modelling whilst utilising cognitive processes.  Regular discussion is vital to ensure the learner is provided with some form of direction, as well as provide the opportunity to express any needs.   Planned and structured teaching sessions are particularly beneficial to the learner because they enable the mentor to teach a session logically, and to maximise learning efficiency by utilising time effectively. Multidisciplinary team members with the same level of knowledge as the main mentor are also preferable.   Additionally, factors influencing learning with regards to the physical learning environment are significant in the enhancement of learning for students, as stated in the action plan. Collaboration On-Going Assessment, Care Planning Skills Used. In-depth assessment tools like the START (see appendix 1) only offer a guide to areas requiring further discussion and any assessment of risk should include risk to others as well as to the individual and an individuals social, family, and environmental circumstance, also need considering, as well as the need for positive risk taking as part of the risk assessment process (DOH 1999, 1999a). However to make assessment, including risk assessment and management as valid and reliable as possible it is essential that care planning within mental health is collaborative (DOH 1991,1999, 1999a) and more recently the (DOH 2008), have published Refocusing the Care Programme Approach: Policy and Positive Practice Guidance to facilitate this. This need for collaboration is further supported by specific National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on care provision /or treatment for a variety of client groups specific disorders including: Schizophrenia (2002) which applies to Jane. As indicated, the (NMC 2008) also requires nurses to work with clients as partners; and there is widespread agreement that mental health service-users and their carers should be fully involved in care planning (Warner 2005) as this increases their satisfaction and engagement with services (Rose 2003). This involves identifying their preference regarding care; the START facilitated this by identifying Janes needs, as Janes key co-ordinator it was my (supervised) role to ensure that all due procedure was carried out regarding recording of the outcomes which also included the planning of therapeutic engagement. However, although I was aware of Janes paranoia, I also realised that to work with her effectively that I needed to put my personal feelings aside (Stuart 2005b) and on further reflection, I feel that I was eventually able to therapeutically work with Jane in her on-going assessment, which also needed me to utilize my observation skills (Barker, 2003, Ryrie Norman 2004, Stuart 2005b). This I feel also facilitated my engagement with Jane in the process of deciding together and with the team the best potential strategies to facilitate development of her on-going care-package. Theoretical knowledge and experience are required to make informed decisions in deciding a plan of action for patients (Stuart 2005a, NMC 2007/8, DOH 2004, 2006). This is supported by Wilkinson (2007) who argues that the nursing process promotes collaboration, for when team members have an organised approach, communication is good, and patient problems are prevented. Further the ability to transfer/adapt knowledge and skills, especially communication skills, based in self-awareness, mutual trust and understanding of each others roles facilitates effective collaboration with different people (staff, clients and carers) in different situations (Hadland 2004, NMC 2008, Onyett 2004, Stuart 2005a/b) and are required as one of the competencies identified by the DOH (2004) for mental health practitioners and for nurses (DOH 2006). The (NMC, 2008) also make it clear that nurses must always act on what they believe to be the service-users best interests, and the Healthcare Commissions (2005b) core standards emphasise the need for employers to ensure that employees follow their professional codes. As indicated MDT collaboration regarding Jane, began before the formal review meeting, however when I formally presented my initial and on-going assessment findings to the team, using guidelines from The New Ways of Working programme (DOH, 2005b), I came across barriers to collaboration with Jane. The fact that, due to legal and safety requirements of the environment (Mersey Care Risk Management Policy and Strategy, 2007; Best Practice Guidance for Risk, DOH, 2007) Jane was prevented from attending because the review was held in a non-secure area of the hospital. This lack of patient involvement by services was identified by the SCMHs (1998) Acute Problems report, which criticised in-patients services for lack of collaboration with patients and although the hospital provides an advocacy service for patients to overcome this to an extent, non was present for Jane. Conclusion As evidenced by my reflections I feel that I was effective in utilising the skills outlined above in respect of gaining Janes positive and collaborative engagement with me and the strategies agreed by the MDT. To help me develop my self-awareness and skills in relation to such issues, and those outlined above I found that keeping a reflective diary at this placement, was a crucial way of ensuring critical events that needed further review, to benefit my practice, would not be forgotten. Throughout my experience my mentor has proven to be a valuable resource and without his support I feel collaboration with both Jane and the MDT would have been significantly more difficult. In addition to my personal reflections and supervised experiences, which gave me the opportunity to better understand the roles of the other team members and helped create a collaborative partnership between people with varying knowledge, skills and perspectives (Hornby Atkins 2000; Nancarrow 2004), I feel that the opportunity for clinical supervision with my mentor has played an important part in my role development. Finally one specific criticism I have concerns the lack of collaboration with families and carers, as their involvement I feel was actively discouraged, unless clients gave their permission for this. The only information they were giving were visiting arrangements and telephone numbers. Although confidentiality has to be considered, the family were never invited to the MDT meeting. To work effectively in partnership with service-users and carers, it is essential that we are able to form and sustain relationships and offer meaningful choice (Care Services Improvement Partnership/National Institute for Mental Health in England, DOH, 2005). If true collaboration is to be achieved family and carer involvement must be advocated as far possible and their needs must be considered in line with the 1990 Carer (Recognition and Services) Act. Appendix one There is a small but significant group of severely mentally ill people who have multiple, long-term needs and who cannot or do not wish to engage with services. Unless engagement is achieved and people in the group are provided with safe and effective services, they will continue to face social exclusion. Public confidence in services is determined partly by the adequacy of services for this group. Staff must be able to provide a range of services within the team and access other services across a wide group of agencies. In order to achieve this it will be necessary for the relevant agencies locally to come together to prepare and implement a specific plan for the group. The task for the staff and agencies involved is to tackle the social exclusion of this client group. Unless this is done it will be difficult to achieve positive outcomes in either health or social functioning. The Review underpins this analysis with six key findings supporting 15 recommendations. The six key findings: 1 There must be a strategic approach to the needs of the client group both nationally and locally Each Health Authority should set up an inter-agency strategy group to plan and monitor provision for the group (Recommendation 1). Its first tasks will be to establish a local definition of the group, to commission a needs assessment, to benchmark local services, and to develop a plan for services. 2 Assertive outreach is the core function required from mental health services in relation to the client group All Health Authorities with a sufficient client-base (i.e. 100-150 people) should create one or more assertive outreach teams to take the lead in engaging with the client group (Recommendation 2). Where the client-base is too small to justify this, other appropriate arrangements should be made to deliver the assertive outreach function. 3 A human resource plan is required to enable the implementation of assertive outreach The lead agencies should agree a set of core criteria for the selection of staff to work with the client group (Recommendation 3) based on those suggested by this Review. Teams will require a range of expertise so that individual team members can act as resources for the team as a whole (Recommendation 4). Training strategies must also be developed and implemented (Recommendation 5). 4 Teams must be effectively managed Managers of front-line staff must be visible to staff and accountable for service delivery (Recommendation 6). Team members must have protected caseloads of around 10-15 clients (Recommendation 7). 5 Teams must develop a style of working which matches the n