Racial Discrimination in US Employment

The United States has been long considered as a nation defined by diversity. An article from the website Mesriani Law Group mentioned that this country is a point where in culture and faces meet. It is the union of languages into one word, and images of many people into one name. However, it cannot be helped that cultures would clash, and the array of disagreements could be far and wide. It cannot be helped that some minds could remain closed even after all the decades different people co-existed. There remains biases and stereotypes, which label so many people with negative names.Although there has been actions and campaigns to counter this unjust behavior in society, it cannot be helped that the ideal one nation is still under construction. Racial discrimination is also most evident in the workplace, where the battle for the better color continues. It could be the pressure from the norms constructed then construed by society. It could be the tradition they never outgrew. It could b e the close-mindedness of people developed by years of inclusion from the many realities of life.Whatever caused this unjust treatment in the workplace, it persists to be a problem in an individuals professional life. This paper aimed to give light to the basic laws that protect the employees from the different forms of discrimination in the workplace. Finding the basic information one should know about this unjust activities is essential in finding conclusions regarding the matter. Furthermore, this paper aims to relate cases into the deliberation to have a firmer grasp about the issue at hand. This is to re-establish the reality of this issue in the country.Discussion Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 With the rise in statistics regarding racial discrimination in the country, laws were also raised and deliberated upon to protect those who experience this kind of injustice. According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there is a law that aimed to protect the individuals who are discriminated against due to their race and place of origin, as well as their sexual orientation and religion. The law also aimed to protect those who are discriminated due to the color of their hair and eyes.This category also includes individuals who are in anyway associated with any particular culture that is different from the host country. This law is the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employment cannot be denied of any person due to the color of their skins. This law also mentioned that it is applicable to any organization. The local and state government organizations are not exempted from this law and should abide by it. Under this law, it is also prohibited to make organizational decisions based on the stereotypes and general assumptions of different cultures.They cannot point specifically the different races, even those multi-racial individuals, when regarding the total functioning of the organization. In this light, it is considered unlawfu l to evaluate an individual for recruitment, hiring promotion and termination based on the color of their skin. Their wages and other privileges in their employment should not be affected by this factor as well. Organizations should be very particular that they do not have policies that may spite or render a culture discriminated against. Instead, they should be able to adapt a one culture that discourages racial slurs and prejudices.Kinds of Racial Discrimination in the Workplace According to the aforementioned website Mesriani, there are two kinds of situations wherein racial discrimination occurs. This needs to be re-established so find certain solutions to remedy the predicament. The first kind of racial discrimination is the Disparate Treatment. This is the basic form of racial discrimination where the individual is judged by his or her ethnic background and other similar characteristics that may bring about a similar impact on the individual. The second kind is called Disparat e Impact.This, on the other hand, is discrimination brought about by the policies rendered by management, which had a negative effect on an individual based on the color of his or her skin. Website Making Sense also mentioned these kinds of racial discrimination. But they called these as Direct and Indirect discrimination respectively. Those Who Need Protection These people who are being discriminated against need all the protection they could get. They are the people of color, and there exists a certain spite in between. As much as anyone would need, an individual needs to make a living to survive this fast paced society.If they would be discriminated against in employment, then these individuals are only offered the kind of jobs that were stereotyped to fit them. They will not be able to grow, not have any professional advancement, regardless of their capabilities and educational attainment. Furthermore, a lot of individuals of color have superior knowledge and skills. But because of discrimination, they cannot surpass judgmental eyes and their own aspirations. They are unable to make a career and a life because certain people think that they are not capable of doing anything except for menial and routine jobs.Should not one look far beyond, and go deeper than the color of one's skin? Those Who are Liable On the other hand, who are liable for this kind of unjust treatment in the workplace? Website the New Black Magazine wrote that those who ultimately are liable in such situations are the employers. They are in charge and are responsible for the welfare of every employee, regardless of race and certain physical features of an individual. When an employee is involved in the case of discrimination, both he and the employers are taken during the deliberation.It is a rare case though, as the magazine mentioned, for the employer to win against a case of racial discrimination in their office. In the cases when they do, the case continues against the employee invol ved. Race Relations Act of 1976 Simultaneously, there is another act that aims to protect different races. This is called the Race Relations Act of 1976. This, on the other hand, also aims to protect individuals not only in employment but also in housing, education, and the availing of other products and services.On top of daunting discrimination, as the earlier law entailed, this law is aimed to encourage race equality. It takes the issue of equal rights across cultures to a higher level. A Council under this Act is conjured for three reasons. They should eradicate discrimination against different racial groups, promote opportunities across the culture, as well as to reinforce the importance of having good relations between racial groups. Growing Statistics Despite the Improvements According to USA Today, there is a 24% increase in the number of cases about racial discrimination in the workplace.This was reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. There are 6, 977 case s reported in the year 2007, in comparison to the 5, 646 of the previous year. The article also mentioned that the number of reported unjust activities to the commission was raised to more than half since the year 1991. It was also written that the Commission is yet to study the sudden rise in numbers. However, their speculations are that the spike began with the case about six black teenagers and their white classmate. This injustice also stretched to the offices no one would have found unethical in this sense.On the other hand, an article from the New York Times also mentioned that there is an obvious increase in the number of racial discrimination cases in the workplace. Author Linda Greenhouse mentioned that the Supreme Court has been rather active regarding this kind of cases. One of the cases newly reported then is concerned about the protection of one employee who retaliated against a discriminating supervisor. The other was based on age. Although Title VII also included prot ection individuals against retaliation, the article mentioned that certain courts do not take this as serious as they should.Moreover, this kind of protection was only given to those employees who instigated the complaint against their employers, or those who formally approached the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In this regard, an article from the website Human Rights Watch implied that despite the growing number of cases about racial discrimination in the US workplace, those in government still failed to find an answer to completely annihilate the problem. They have been battling with the issue for so many years, and yet the statistics continue to rise. They have signed and implemented many of these laws, but there are more unhappy employees.The laws they created looked very promising. Actually, it promised a lot of things. It promised protection and be on equal footing in regards to employment. Yet the stereotypes remain to be eradicated. The color of the individual's s kin is assumed to be tied with a certain kind of job, despite the achievement and credibility he or she carries. The above mentioned article said that there was little progress, even during the time of Clinton. The public officials each have an obligation to the advancement regarding the human rights of each individual in their country. Yet many did not fulfill them, or chose to ignore the rising issue.The article mentioned that thousand of workers are discriminated against, harassed and threatened each year because these individuals persisted that they practice their rights to employment. Moreover, in certain states, there were campaigns against migrant workers. The research studies done my many organizations about the issue should be a signal loud enough for the politicians to move. Unfortunately, little effort was made on their part. Small Scale Beginning With this problem, the solution should start at a small scale. That is for the individual to have the initiative to make that change.By beginning from where the case occurred, the government might be further called that the people are doing something about it, and that they need the full support of the people the citizens voted into those positions. The victim should first know his or her rights as an employee. He should be educated about the laws by the government and the policies and regulations of the company regarding their welfare in the workplace. Being educated is their biggest defense. With this knowledge, they would know when employers are being discriminatory of their employment. They could be discriminated against for many reasons.However, it is racial discrimination in the workplace that is most prominent in the a diverse country such as the United States. Backed with this basic tool, an individual will be able to recognize when an employer or co-employee is being discriminative of his person as a man of color. When this situation rise, he or she should immediately report this to the authoritie s. In the recent years, authorities have been more strict about these situations, and protection can definitely be attained. In this light, there remains the question why, despite the laws for protection, these kinds of problems continue to rise.They have become more strict, yet there were no significant changes. Responsibility of the Employer On the other hand, the employers should also do something about this kind of injustice in the organizations they own or manage. The Race Relations Act gave suggestions to what employers should do especially when they are held liable to every name listed in their payrolls. According to the act, the employer should take charge in monitoring their staff, including the applicants for hiring and candidates for promotion and further training. On top of this, they should be able to monitor the grievances by these employees.It should be well documented. No matter how minimal the complaint is, they should always give just attention to it. In line with this, they should also monitor the cases wherein disciplinary actions were implemented. This is also to see if their part as an employer is doing what they can in their level. They should also be able to monitor the outcomes of performance assessment of the employees. While they are taking care of the welfare of each employee, they should still be able to keep the performance of the employees in line with the objectives of the company.This is to keep the employee's end of the bargain intact and active. As the nature of business is, it is a give and take relationship. It is also important for the employers to monitor the type of training they have for their employees, and who are taking these trainings. Training has a huge effect on the kind of work life existing in the workplace. If their training have any effect on the behavior of their employees, then there are also effects on the output of each employee. Lastly, the Race Relations Act also suggests that employers should take note of the people who were dismissed or have resigned from the organization.The statistics from these numbers could lead to how the organization should change, if necessary, or if there are some improvements that could utilize for both their benefit as well as that of the employees. Conclusion Racial discrimination in the US work environment is a reality one will eventually have to face. When one thought that this kind of prejudice only happens in the the community, it also stretch in the offices both small and broad across the country. Many are affected as there are a wide array of cultures that clash against each other. It cannot be helped that there are cultures that will ultimately contradict the next.However, when dealing with professionalism, these biases and prejudices should be put aside for the progress of both the individual and the organization. There is progress on the laws being implemented for the protection of these individuals. Unfortunately, it is not yet enough to cov er all grounds. There is politics where there should not be. There is already injustice to those who are in charge of doing justice. In the end, the people help themselves until they are given full support. Racial discrimination should not exist in the office or the community. It should not exist at all.

Newell Company †Corporate Strategy Essay

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Baz Luhrmann’s appropriation “Romeo and Juliet” Essay

Baz Luhrmann’s film, Romeo and Juliet, is very successful as an appropriation of the original play by Shakespeare. Transforming the pre-16th century play into a contemporary popular culture film was done creatively by keeping the same values and language, but changing the context. This is illustrated by the use of anachronisms. For instance, daggers and swords are replaced by guns as well as cars stand in for horses. The disputes between members of the two families (the Capulets and the Montagues) evoke associations with multi-ethnic gang warfare. Their feud reflects the behaviour of mafia families. Using these modernising elements, he achieves an appeal to the contemporary teenage audience and the changes in the film create a more comprehensible meaning to the audience because people can relate to it better and this is why the film is so engaging. The film is set in a modern day city where violence occurs regularly. In the opening scene, a television screen is in view and a news reporter is talking. This immediately allows people to realise the time period which the film is set in. Then there is a sequence of scenes which includes shots of scenery, people fighting, newspaper articles and loud string music is played in the background. There is a lot of editing and cutting in this sequence which makes it move very fast. The next scene is where the Montague gang is at the petrol station. Loud upbeat music is played in the background. The loud music and bright coloured costumes represent the life of this city. The use of guns and convertible cars contribute to the contemporary atmosphere. The film techniques include using a handheld camera which creates a â€Å"realistic† effect. This is used in the sequence of different shots where there is fire and helicopters and guns. The reason why it is so realistic is because the quality of the shot and the way it is presented make it seem like something that would be seen on the news. But the words that appear between the shots, for example, â€Å"In fair Verona† and â€Å"a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life† is taken from the play so it is Shakespearean language. The text is placed with contemporary visual graphics, yet they do not clash together. The effect of this is that people do not take their attention away when they are presented with language that they may not completely understand. Instead, they can connect the text and the sequence together. Also, the characterisation used in the film is done well to add to the contemporary atmosphere. For example, the Montague gang is not presented as â€Å"well-behaved servants†. Instead, they are loud, extrovert, and outrageous. Paris is â€Å"bachelor of the year† instead of being a â€Å"kinsman of a prince† type figure. No one in the film is presented as a model of a â€Å"perfect citizen†. The Capulet gang wears Hawaiian shirts, one even unbuttoned to reveal their bare chest. They have more rebellious styles of hair; pink, shaved and bleached. Luhrmann uses the images of the families to make one appear submissive and docile while the other is unscrupulous and aggressive. The Capulet’s have quite clearly been portrayed as the ‘baddies’ of the story. The reason why Luhrmann have done this is to portray the typical â€Å"villain† role, which is given to the Capulet gang. In Shakespeare’s time, homosexual men were not accep ted in the society and different ethnic groups did not mix together. In the film, Mercutio is a homosexual and also black, and in today’s society the different sexuality and race are accepted. Even the master of the household, Mr. Capulet, is not perceived as an archetypal â€Å"wealthy and noble† character. The priest is also not a typical Christian and he would have been a controversial character if he was presented during Shakespeare’s time. Also, Baz Luhrmann has chosen two beautiful, â€Å"blonde hair and blue eyed† actors to play the part of Romeo and Juliet. This makes their role idealistic. All of the characters in the film are not â€Å"refined†, as they would have been in the play. This is a reflection of today’s culture and the audience can relate to the film better. And because of this, the dialogue will not affect the audience too much and they would still be able to follow along with the storyline. Although the characterisation of the film is quite different from the characterisation of the play, Baz Luhrmann has kept the original values and issues and has presented them well in the film. The issue of â€Å"peace and order† is presented with the police captain talking to the Capulets and the Montagues in a conference room. Once again, Luhrmann has used elements of today’s culture in the film to replace the existing culture in the play. The police are used to deal with justice and punishment instead of the prince. The character’s religion is very important in the film and the crucifix is a  symbol that is used. Romeo and Juliet get married in the church where they are accompanied by the priest and a chorus. The large statue that reoccurs in many scenes is a religious figure and inside the building, where Juliet lays on her deathbed, is filled with crosses and candles. All of these elements make up a very observable fact that religion is, to a great extent, acknowledged in the film. Luhrmann has made the values and issues raised in the play more distinctive in the film by using these modernized elements. A change in the context of the play also add to the modern atmosphere. A creative interpretation of the original text is used, when Luhrmann turns the Queen Mab speech, which Romeo gets from Mercutio before they go to the Capulet’s party, into an Ecstasy pill. Furthermore he leaves a few text-passages out by presenting it visually. In a few cases he even changes Shakespeare’s plot. This becomes obvious when Juliet awakes before Romeo has died. This differs from Shakespeare’s original text. With the use of special film-techniques, Luhrmann achieves a dramatisation of the scene. In the scene when Juliet awakes before Romeo has drank the poison, the change of the plotline results to a more astonished reaction from the audience, as they would be expecting the clichà ©d ending, which is the one in the original play. Baz Luhrmann’s film is very successful as an appropriation of the original play not only because of his creative ways in modernizing the play, but because the film itself can make one understand the extremeness of the situation in the storyline. That is, in the original play, horses and swords were used in the battles and when people read the play, they may not realise how severe and dangerous the circumstances are because there are too many historical references to swords and horses that it has lost its effectiveness. But in the film, Luhrmann has used fire, guns, cars, and explosions to emphasise the seriousness of the situation. People are more familiar with this sort of violence because it is seen in the media and therefore it will appear more realistic to them. And the sentiment that people may obtain will be more practical and dynamic. This is why the film is so successful, it compels people to understand the original play a lot better.

Emma hiring a professional consultant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Global warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Global warming - Research Paper Example This document will examine how human beings are contributing to global warming. There have been many studies on the topic of global warming, but experts say that humans are the cause for the drastic climate changed going on around the world due to resource consumption, resource disposal, and population growth. According to Watts (2007), human activities have influenced the atmospheric temperatures across the globe. The rising global temperatures have become an issue of concern due to the impact it has on animal and plant lives across the globe. Increasing human population has resulted to increase in consumption and generation of materials and all contribute to global warming (Casper, 2009). The climate change has affected the activities of human by changing the land use and human struggle to reverse the situation. The understanding of how man has contributed to global warming can be gained by considering the impact of the human population, consumption and disposal of waste influence the atmospheric temperatures (Watts, 2007). Also, the knowledge is essential because it can direct organizations and the states to design policies that can regulate human activities hence reducing global warming. According to Casper (2009), there is an increasing global demand for energy and other commodities both processed and unprocessed goods. Developed nations are the major consumers of fossil fuels hence they are leading in greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the United States has about five percent of the world population but contributes about twenty five percent of carbon emissions in the globe (Murtaugh & Schlax, 2009). Murtaugh and Schlax (2009) further argues that the United Nations Population Fund suggested that, by the year 2050, the world growing economies such as India and china will contribute more than fifty percent of the carbon emissions. The level of emission of greenhouse gas

Black & Deker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative Case Study

Black & Deker-Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative - Case Study Example In October 1995, Bill Lancaster was appointed as the President of Black & Decker Eastern Hemisphere. Within a few months of working there he was faced with a critical decision of selecting a new system of functioning within the organization. On one hand manager HR Anita Lin proposed a new performance appraisal and management development system and on the other hand should he introduce Appraisal Development Plan (ADP) throughout the eastern hemisphere. Before being position as the President of Black & Decker Eastern Hemisphere , Lancaster had seen the level of success ADP brought to the U.S and was quite impressed by its performance in terms of management development. But will the ADP be suitable choice for the Asian organization culture or not? The main problem existed over the question of 360Â ° feedback element. Lancaster was bothered that whether the employees will be comfortable working in an environment where your performance gets feedback from your managers, coworkers, subordi nates & peers. Another concern that Lancaster had about the Eastern Hemisphere headquarter was that Black & Decker had either spent or committed to spend $80 million for the setup of Singapore headquarters and new factories in India, China and Singapore itself. But the main problem laid in that in the early 90’s Black & Decker ranked 5th in Asia and had a very weak share. From the case its evident that this also bothered Lancaster that even after investing so much what if the position did not improve much or didn’t improve at all. Lancaster also found out that there was no specific system in place and various managers operated in styles which they were comfortable with; some preferred empowerment of there subordinates, while others believed in the traditional authoritarian styles. The Gap between the bosses and their subordinates in this part of the globe has always existed. People were very reluctant and cautious while talking about people higher than their ranks beca use of the fear of developing negative opinion and grudges in the minds of the people they commented on. 1b. will ADP address those weaknesses? how? After getting promoted as the President of Eastern Hemisphere Lancaster started off to analyze the weaknesses in the system there by talking with the employees throughout the organization. Firstly interviewing MAC of Eastern Hemisphere which was composed of the directly reporting members to the Headquarters of Black & Decker. Next he also gave time listening to the people other than officers and leaders of the organization. A traditional MBO(management by objective) - type system was being used which had been replaced in the US some time back. Although half of the fortune 500 companies had MBO system but they were not completely happy with it and when ADP system came they quickly shifted to it. ADP will resolve the weaknesses in the following manner: By implementing the ADP system in the Eastern Hemisphere the Boss-Subordinate gap can b e bridged and the employees can feel relaxed while working increasing the much needed productivity to step up the ranks. ADP system would make managers interact with their subordinates more often hence making them keep a track of individual employee performance and can guide them in one way or other. A calm and peaceful working environment will be formed as everyone will take care of their attitude and behavior with each other while at work as they know they’ll be evaluated on this basis apart from their work performance. It

Racism and the African Condition in America Research Paper

Racism and the African Condition in America - Research Paper Example The African Americans, who during the early times of the American civil war were not part of the recognized American society, were used as sources of labor. As such, they were treated as no more than animals that provided labor for the benefit of the slave owners and drivers, who reaped the benefits of free labor and controlled how much output they wanted from the slaves. This was one of the highest levels of racism, where non-blacks would not work, and if they did, they would do the least amount of work. The above case was also demonstrated by the use of African Americans being used to take part in and complete tasks that were deemed degrading to the prestigious and elite white race. Due to this, African-Americans had their role in the society reserved as per predisposition that they were inferior to the whites, which allowed African-Americans to be used for heavy manual labor in the farms and plantations. Following their predisposition in society, they were referred to as Negroes a nd were entitled to all forms of slavery-affiliated activities concerning forced labor. This was by all means, against traditional convention found in ancient civilizations, in which slavery was not based on skin color, but rather on the superiority of character and ability of the person I question. This is because ancient slaves were often the spoils of war or people that were captured from wars and raids, but the African American slaves were only picked to work based on the color of their skins. The above was a blatant portrayal of racism that existed in the period prior to the American civil war from the time of their capture from their native homes in different parts of West Africa. In addition to slavery, due to the color of the skin African-Americans bore the title of slaves from as early as the 18th century. With this in mind, they did not hold any form of human dignity as they were viewed and perceived as being less than human, but better than animals considering that they u nderstood the directions given to them. Under the treatment as slaves, they did not enjoy equal rights with the rest of the human population in America, as they were not human to the American slave drivers and owners; a direct translation of this statement indicates that as slaves they lived under very dilapidated conditions with no necessities except those that sustain life. However, they had to work for the same food they fed on in spite of working on plantations and fields for hours on end. They were forced into sugar factories and tobacco farms, with no form of protective gear, as they were as disposable as the next animal of no value despite raking in plenty of fortunes for their owners. As such, no other races were involved in work as slaves except African-Americans who were denied their rights as individuals and humans through collective treatment and misconceptions of inferiority in a white-dominated continent or land of Americans.1 In addition, for African-Americans to be d enied their rights there must have been a form of recognition of them being humans in order to decide that they were not equal to the rest. Religiously from the moment that the African-Americans were allowed to practice their own religious practices, they were faced with numerous racial challenges.

Article Resposne Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Resposne - Essay Example At the beginning, such people are in denial of cultural difference hence believed that their own culture is the only real one. The second stage is defense, at people at this stage have some knowledge to understand cultural difference and hence see it to be real. Finally, the last stage is minimization in which an individual begins to realize certain elements in his/her culture are universal. People at this stage see similarities. The next level is ethnorelative where a person experiences his/her culture recognizing other cultures as well. Here, there are also three stages of development. The first is acceptance, and this refers to the ability of an individual to understand and appreciate differences in culture. Such people are able to make cultural contrasts. The second stage is adaptation, and people at this stage develop habits and behaviors that are appropriate to that other culture. They not only recognize alternative cultural experiences but develop behavior that is line with th e other culture. The final stage is integration, and this is a state in which a person’s understanding of self includes his/her movement in and out of other cultures. Therefore, their identities generally lie between multiple cultures or world views. Based on this article, I believe I am at the minimization stage under the ethnocentric development. For the time I have been in London, there are two major elements/practices in this culture common to my American culture. First, there is a similarity in religious beliefs and practices. In my culture, the dominant religion is Christianity, and many believe in God and Jesus Christ. This is also the case here in London, and this is illustrated by the many churches around. Secondly, in America, education is one of the pillars of our society. Similarly, this appears to be the case here. There are similarities when it comes

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

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Nanotechnology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example According to the authors, the need is to establish a strong link between theory and practice in order to improve the supervision of students’ activities within the classroom. This article also relates to the subject of supervisory principles in education in a sense that it provides an effective framework for supervisors’ training which teachers can use to improve their supervision skills. The purpose of this article as mentioned by the authors is to identify the key empirical and theoretical considerations that should be able to support the need of effective training for educators and supervisors. The authors have explored the content of different training courses to know whether an appropriate model of supervision exists in the field of medicine or not. In this article, the authors argue that if there is no explanatory model in place for training, the training of supervisors should be based on relevant existing information about models of supervision and learning processes. This article is based primarily on the need to improve teacher efficacy and supervision in the education resource-room context. The objectives of the research were to prove the validity of the Gibson and Dembo Teacher Efficacy Scale in the special education context, as well as to examine the association between the use of instructional supervision and teacher efficacy. The authors of this article examined the relationship in order come up with the judgment about the strength of the relationship and its role in improving students’ learning. The article contains a good amount of information on the relationship between teacher efficacy and instructional supervision. In this article, the author discusses the importance of translating the principles of managing human behaviors and organizational activities into successful business practices. The main idea presented by the author is that the

Choosing the best method Essay Example for Free

Choosing the best method Essay Two approaches to the development of automation for organization that are moving from a manual system have been adopted. An organization moving from an old system may choose to either develop their own or buy an already made system. There are several issue involved in deciding on whether to buy or to build a system and thus every organization must look at these factors keenly before making a decision as it has a great bearing on the effectiveness of the organization in meeting the needs of its customers and their expectation at the time of implementation and in future. Furthermore, such strategic decisions that affect an organizations future invariably have an effect on almost all aspects of the organization including the stakeholders. Development of in-house software requires long term commitment in terms of resources and time from developers who often have too much to do and not enough time (Jenny, 2004). On the other hand, if a company decides to purchase the software it effectively enters a long term business relation with a vendor who not only charge high amounts for the purchase of the license but a considerable chunk of the organizations finances will be directed towards the customization and installation of the software. The organization which is medium sized and in its active growth period faces a tough decision on the implementation of the software especially in consideration of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The advantages of building an automated help desk support system may include the reduction of the cost involved, moreover the organizations labor force are presented with a chance to understand the in details with regards to the working of the automated support system. Furthermore, the need for training of supports staff for information technology is eliminated as they are responsible for the systems existence and are thus well conversant on its operations. On the other hand, the disadvantage may include the need for IT labor can be significant in the organizations budget, furthermore the approach does not have any form of guarantee that will help the organization in recovery in case the system crashes as they are solely responsible for the existence and maintenance of the system. In addition, the approach is associated with a considerable amount of pain experienced by the customers and the end users of the system in case of system malfunction or lapse in performance. Lastly the building process can be so demanding on an in-house IT department or team that is not well conversed with the application that the organization intends to come up with. A decision to buy the office help support system involves a thorough survey and the calculation of the total cost involved in ownership, determination of the best software company and product and the actual purchase of the automated office support system (Coldwell, 1999). The determination of what the company needs is a very critical part in the decision making process as most individuals and executive often fail at this phase and instead state what the organizations wants. Moreover, the considerations on the financial stability of the software company and their level of experience all come in handy in the decision making process. After the determination of all these, the focus hen shifts to what the organization needs after which a purchase is made. Some of the benefits associated with this approach include increase in user satisfaction, well developed user support, reduced need for internal help support and easy access to support any time of the day. The disadvantages may include increased cost associated with training of staff on the use of the new software, furthermore the process of buying which is quite length may ignore some aspects leading to the purchase of a poor help support system. Lastly, customization of the systems to meet the needs of the customers is done by an outsider which often lead to conflict of interest.

The Glaxosmithkline Merger: Analysis

The Glaxosmithkline Merger: Analysis Introduction Mergers are not new in pharmaceutical industry in the recent years and the same for both Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham throughout each others history. Considering the political, social and economic resistance, the general driving forces for these mergers in this industry are, more firms showed interest in using strategic partnerships and joint ventures to develop and market new products. Though pharmaceutical holds a global market, the US market decided the growth of the industry as it holds 45% of the global market. So not surprisingly the US political, social and economic resisted and delivered a strong impact on the growth of the whole pharmaceutical industry. However Pfizers merger pushed Glaxo SmithKline to 2nd rank in the industry, they were number one immediately after their merger. So the business changes of the organisation had a heavy impact on the whole pharmaceutical industry. So this paper had assessed the reason for the merger and extend the aims of the merger is achieved. Background of SmithKline Beecham: SmithKline Beecham resulted from the merger of SmithKline Beckman (SKB) and Beecham. Beecham was well known for its traditional research strength whereas SKB was known for its aggressive sales force in US. Though the process of merger was lengthy, the change from more laid British approach of Beecham to process oriented working was success. The new company tried to keep up with critical mass but they lacked in budgeting RD, which was the real constrain for companys growth. Background of Glaxo Wellcome: Glaxo Wellcomes birth was from Glaxos takeover of Wellcome in 1995. Glaxo was well known for its strong marketing approach, commercial success of its RD efforts and blockbuster product Zantac whereas Wellcome is non-profit medical institution well known for its academic approach to pharmaceuticals. Though there were several clashes between Wellcomes laid back management style and Glaxos hard-nosed, commercial and control driven culture, with the help of economic of scale in RD activities, Glaxo reduced the conflicts and resistance. However the companys growths in producing blockbuster products were lacking. 1. Reasons for the Glaxo SmithKline Merger: Merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham was a global one. The merger was a unique all over the world and various divisions of both the companies merged in around 170 countries in 2000, expect Pakistan. The merger came through after UK court order in January 2000; however it happened in Pakistan only on 23rd October 2002. So the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham in Pakistan was the off shoot of the global merger of the companies. There were six reasons which compelled both the legendary companies to go for the merge and to build a leading company in the entire pharmaceutical industry. The reasons for merging up together were: To reduce the Research Development pipeline. To reduce the Research Development cost. Drug reimbursement issues. Political pressures and growing concerns over drug prices. Patent expirations / Generic competition. Recent developments in biotechnology and the mapping of the human genome. The right theme and idea backing the merger was, to improve quality of human life for enabling people to do more, feel better, live longer. As both the companies holds the strength in more similar kind of field that is, developing drugs for infectious respiratory neurological gastrointestinal and metabolic disease, they want to lead the way in providing treatment for the same. Apart from the above field, the join company appeared to be the worlds leading producers of prescription medicine, vaccine and consumer health care products. So they planned for delivering innovative medicines and products that help billions of people round the world live longer, healthier and happier life. The whole pharmaceutical industry was focusing and investing in RD as it delivers modern ways to handle prolonging problems and helps in the long term growth of the industry. The hunger to deliver medicines for new diseases made the join group (GlaxoSmithKline) to pay more attention in RD and wished to reduce the number of products in the pipeline of RD. Though both companies produced similar kind of drugs and so integrating their products line was very obvious, the process demanded more time and efforts. This was mainly because; both had more number of products in the pipeline and hardly had blockbuster products in market. Still the management believed that the time for working on new diseases will be reduces by working together on lesser products. And in general all research and development evolves a risk of failure. Not that each compounds and all research towards developing new drugs for a targeted diseases comes out as success but in turn consumes high time, efforts and money. B ut the RD is the only answer for the long term growth of both the joint company and the industry. So sticking to mission and vision of the new company, GSK has decided to focus of RD but in a different way of approach .i.e. cost saving, economics of scale and licensing from other firms. Apart from these, a PEST analysis on the pharmaceutical industry will give a clear picture and highlight the hidden reason for the recent merger activities in industry and in particular GSK. PEST Analysis on Pharmaceutical Industry: Political: Considering the Medicare in USA and UKs National Health Service, the level of political interest developed in this industry can be determined. In addition USA and European market hold the first and second place of industrys global market respectively. So its very clear that the industry has gained a massive political attention because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare and safety. In the increased political attention on the industry, has kept the industry low to live up the expectation and their interference on most moves of the industry was a really worrying the giants of the industry. Also the pressure of civil in rapid delivery of products has kept their quality and the industry finds hard in delivering effective products. Economic: The economic growth of the industry was rapid in recent years and next to IT industry with nine geographic markets account for over 80% of global pharmaceutical sales these are US, Japan, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Canada, Brazil and Spain. Of the above listed markets, US market holds a major one and fastest too however there is down fall in 2009. The US Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the mainstays of the Economy of America. It has been observed that the US Pharmaceutical Industry is growing at a rapid pace and is showing no signs of slowing down. The US Pharmaceutical Industry Growth is also considered as a very significant part in the world pharmaceutical industry as well. Source: http://www.economywatch.com/world-industries/pharmaceutical/us.html According to analysis, in 2009, global pharmaceutical sales increased by only 2.5% ~ 3.5%, reaching a total of about 750 billion-760 billion U.S. dollars, which is lower than in October last year the growth rate of 4.5% to 5.5%, a total of 8200 the forecast 100 million U.S. dollars. This growth rate is the lowest in the past 25 years. Source: http://www.sourcejuice.com/1169843/2009/05/08/Growth-rate-global-pharmaceutical-industry-lower/ Social: Every industry tries to have a good social relation. But this industry is many steps forward than the other industries because; good health is an important personal and social requirement. All the companies of this industry hold and play a vital and unique role fulfilling societys need for good health. And threat of some killing diseases like, AIDS, SWINE FLU, SARS etc. had not only attracted the attention of public and media but developed a more depending and demanding situation on the industry. This immense situation has made the industry to maintain direct relation with the society (consumers) with the help of media and government care. Technological: The advance scientific technologies have increased the need for high spending in research and development in regards to encourage the innovation. The growth of technology drives the industry to responds faster to the expectation of the environment. This technology advancement evolves both risks and rewards. Legal Environment: However in current situation, government involves the industry in the proposal for regulatory outflows to encourage the innovation, these legal and regulatory affairs of US in special was a speed beaker for the development of the industry. European pharmaceutical giants really struggled in this situation. Sykess statement summarized how Europes pharmaceutical companies have been locked in a high stakes multibillion dollar struggle with their US rivals to stay in business in the 21st century. This struggle is associated with increased takeover activity and pharmaceutical companies seeking economies of scale to finance escalating research and development budgets. Source: Case study GSK a merger too far? Exploring Corporate Strategy by Johnson, Scholes Whittington. 2. To what extent have the aims of Glaxo SmithKline merger been achieved? Some of the aims of the newly formed Glaxo SmithKline were, Not to protect future earnings growth but actually to increase critical mass to really outperform the industry. To become the indisputable leader in the industry in terms of conquering the challenges that the industry faces. To deliver innovative products that helps millions of people in the world to live longer, healthier and happier. To achieve the aims, the management formed a new structure for RD, highlighting the cost reductions and breaking of pipeline. However, the lack of focus on general organisational structure and internal management structure resulted in low returns compared to the estimate one. To handle the situation, the all the long terms aims has left unfocused and the management tried to recover the company from the sudden-death syndrome. This clearly gives an evidence for Glaxo SmithKlines downfall form the anticipated growth. The inability of GSK in producing blockbuster products, joint hand with the above described situation made things worse. Focusing on employees and other internal management issues in the later part helped the company to handle the global resisting issues and focus on their long term goals. Analysing GSKs stock market performance (1998 2003), tells that GSK failed to touch the anticipated heights and were only able to sail along with the industry growth. Based on the Lewins force field model, the driving forces of GSK were not too enough to overcome the resistance for change and thus failed to achieve the fixed target. Evidence for GSK loses record: In the first year of post-merger, GSK claimed 12% increase in pharama industry, with the help of cost savings and disposal of assets. The firm anticipated double the level of saving in the next year. The health care grew only 3%. They fail to record returns in RD in spite of combined RD budget and investment. It also failed to deliver blockbuster product to enhance the revenue. Instead to maintain the tempo, the management kept buying 40 licenses from other companies. GSK has shed more than 15,000 jobs; Managers were unable to retain the talent that resides on the firms. Instead of creating a powerhouse, research was split into smaller, autonomous units. (Abrahams, 1992 p.22) GSKs new radical structure was a response to a series of failures in research at the two merger partners. (Dyer, G., 2002 p.3). The new radical structure resulted James Palmer (Head Development) resignation in October 2002. At the AGM on 19 May 2003, GSK shareholders rejected a motion regarding a  £22 million pay and benefits package for CEO, JP Garnier. This was the first time such a rebellion by shareholders against a major British company has occurred, but was regarded as a possible turning point against other so-called fat cat deals within executive pay structure. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline In November 2005, AIDS Healthcare Foundation accused the company of boosting its short-term monopoly profit by not increasing production of the anti-AIDS drug AZT despite a surge in demand, hence creating a shortage that affected many AIDS patients in Africa. GSK announced that it had halted clinical trials of the CCR5 entry inhibitor, aplaviroc (GW873140), in HIV-infected, treatment-naive patients because of concerns about severe hepatotoxicity.[27] In June 2006 GSK said it was further cutting, by about 30%, the not-for-profit prices it charges for some of these medicines in the worlds poorest countries. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline To analyse, extend the aims of the merger have been achieved; SWOT analysis is done on the joint company, Glaxo SmithKline. Remuneration lenient explicitly SWOT Analysis Glaxo SmithKline: Strengths High potential staffs and experienced managers. Wide-ranging set of documents in health sector. Strong platform in health care division. Strong market position Focus to concentrate and develop leadership in Public relations i.e. to strengthen the social context of the environment. Modern hospital system, Clear public health and health care service purchasing Balanced finance in the health sector Strong IT development Product development track record. Weaknesses Lack of clear and wide perspective .goals to achieve the aims Weak bond among health care, public health and social care. Inability to cope with the cost increases. Low brand value for its products. Inefficiency in motivating the experienced leader and thus failing to make maximum use of the potential staffs. Lack of viable training and management skills. Not an efficient HR strategy in retaining key professionals. Lack of right proposition of various competences. Co-marketing agreements can limit GSKs global presence. With mass RD, inability to produce blockbuster products. Opportunities Technological development Social changes and challenges. Economic growth of the industry (immediately next to IT industry). Free movement of goods, services, labour. Developing vaccines for persistent diseases chance to have craic. Empowerment of citizens and their greater engagement Threats Patent expiry on drugs that generate strong income Ageing and demographic change. Safety issues surrounding the products. Ecological and public health threats. Expectations of the raising population As the RD of global rivals work on similar products in most of the cases, the competition is high and much demanding. Emerging of potential regional market like China and India. Political pressure in fixing the price for new drugs, which fails to fulfil even the research cost. Ever increasing cost of drug trials and ever higher standards imposed by national drug approvals bodies (Aspirin would not get approval if invented today!) Conclusion: Thought there are several giants in the industry, similar to the current situation, there was an uncertain situation during the period of early 90s. And to overcome that uncertain situation, most of the firms in the industry move themselves towards the strategy Mergers and acquisition. But, as there is always a saying that not all mergers works, most of the mergers in the industry fail to achieve the anticipated growth and I feel Glaxo SmithKline is the right example for the scenario. GSK believed that bigger the size, bigger the growth and bigger earning. But it failed to realise bigger the size, bigger the expectation, bigger pressure and failing to handle the pressure and keep the expectation will reflect badly. Various merger analyse debated, though GSK claim some success through cost saving and pipeline synergies, the aimed and announced growth was not received in terms of market. So I conclude that, the merger served the company only in short term success and failed to achieve the aims of the merger. Reference and Source: http://www.ucc.ie/quality/INTERNET/PESTAnalysis.pdf www.gsk.com Johnson G, Scholes K and Whittington R (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy, (Prentice Hall) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GlaxoSmithKline#cite_note-43 http://www.wikiswot.com/SWOT/4_User_Generated/GlaxoSmithKline.html http://www.allfreeessays.com/essays/Gsk-Swot-Analysis/114901.html Mullins L.J. (2007), Management and Organisational Behaviour, Eighth Edition, Great Britain, Pearson education limited. http://www.pwc.com/us/en/issues/business-combinations/publications/snapshot-mergers-acquisitions-business-combinations.jhtml http://www.startupbizhub.com/company-mergers-and-acquisitions.htm

Caring for Children: Roles, Regulations and Practices

Caring for Children: Roles, Regulations and Practices Describing the role of the practitioner in caring for children The role and responsibilities of an early years practitioner follow a number of codes of practice which clearly state how practitioners and other staff must conduct themselves. Chief amongst the codes presently in operation are those that govern special needs, safeguarding children, childrens learning, behaviour, working with parents, and data protection (Nutbrown and Clough, 2014). As Spodek and Saracho (2014) note, the early years practitioner has a clear set of designated responsibilities including: working to the principles of the sector and its codes of confidentiality; meeting the learning needs of each individual child by ensuring that issues of differentiation are met; providing and sustaining an environment that is warm, welcoming and stimulating; working with parents and partners; and working as part of a team that provides a quality service for both children and parents. In addition, the practitioner may also, especially in cases of suspected abuse, have to work with an array of outside agencies and conform to issues of child safety (Daniel, Gilligan and Wassell, 2011). In fulfilling their statutory duties, it follows that the practitioner must put the needs of children first because, as Bradshaw (2011) comments, this helps to keep children out of harm, and by keeping them safe, a productive environment can be created in which they can maximise their potential. It is imperative that practitioners respect others’ choices because failure to do so can cause friction between staff members and can negatively reflect on the setting and upset the children (Sylva et al., 2010). Further, there is a pressing need, as Willow (2014) suggests, to ensure that one always respects issues pertaining to confidentiality. This is because it can help a child stay out of trouble, keep them safe, and help them to develop into responsible adults. Seemingly of secondary importance, because it is removed from direct interaction with the child, but actually of just as much importance, is planning, recording and reviewing the child’s progress (Bradbury, 2014). This is important for two major reasons. First, the formal keeping of records allows the progress of children to be monitored and evaluated against national criteria (Bradbury, 2014). Secondly, it can help practitioners to be reflective upon their own strengths and weaknesses (Paige-Smith and Craft, 2011). This is not, however, merely an issue of internalisation, for such a process also helps when one is undertaking activities because one can evaluate how well the event went well, and from that, make improvements to ensure that in future events are even better planned. Indeed, such reflection is, as Paige- Smith and Craft (2011) contend, an essential function of effective practice. It is also important, as Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons (2014) recommend, to demonstrate responsibility in the way that one conducts oneself at work, as it helps the children to learn right from wrong. This is an important consideration because it is partly the responsibility of the professional (in co-operation with the parents) to teach the children and in this way one acts as a role model. The creation of a meaningful partnership with parents is also of pivotal importance as the latter can learn from the former as to what the child likes and dislikes – it also allows the parents to take a proactive interest and role in the raising of their children and may help them to ensure that the child’s development is in line with national curricular expectations (Read, 2014). Continuing professional development (CPD) is, as Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons (2014) explain, critical as it enables the practitioner to enhance their existent skill set and further learn from best practice. It also shows others that the practitioner is interested in helping the children to be the best they can be and that they are dedicated to their role – which may also be useful when seeking promotion or a change of professional employer. Observing children as a form of CPD also helps one to recognise the distinctive stages of a child’s development and this can help with the prioritising of a childs needs, particularly with regard to where they may need additional support (Carroll and McCullough, 2014). Lastly, within this section it can be commented that working as part of a wider team helps to create a positive environment for everyone to work within; by making people feel valued, this may increase self-confidence and productivity (Pugh and Duffy, 2013). Comparing the differing roles of statutory, private, voluntary and independent settings Many parents successfully adapt to changes in their lives and in so doing have the benefit of support from their family and friends to provide assistance if it is required. A significant number of families, however, face issues that affect family life in such a manner that they require professional assistance, or may be hampered by a lack of ‘family and friend’ support or a lack of internal ability to deal with change. Such factors, as Daniel, Gilligan and Wassell (2011) observe, include: financial difficulties, unemployment, divorce and separation, caring for others, bereavement, and social isolation. If one looks at each of these in turn it is possible to comment further on the individual problems that each factor may entail. Thus, with regard to financial difficulties it can be noted that problems faced are likely to be exacerbated where there is a low income family that cannot afford food or clothes or proper rent (Burchinal et al., 2010). Indeed, the rise in food banks within the UK gives a graphic illustration of this problem, as Sylva et al. (2010) note. Poor housing may also lead to feels of depression and declining health as a result of factors such as damp. With reference to unemployment, the loss of a job, and the resultant lack of income can, in addition to depression, lead to stress within relationships and may also result in other family members, such as young mothers, having to go out to work (Shonkoff and Bales, 2011). Unemployment may also lead to a loss of child care as parents cannot afford support whilst a mother is forced to work, possibly culminating in a separation of child from mother at a crucial stage of infant development (Read, 2014). Divorce and separation can also cause several problems which need addressing and assistance from trained professionals. The three major problems are loss of income, smaller housing and cramped conditions, and a sense of guilt on the part of the child for a parent leaving (Bradshaw, 2011). Such issues can create tension and stress that can impact upon development and behavioural issues. In a similar manner, caring for other family members or caring for someone with a long-term illness (such as elderly relatives) can result in additional costs and a perceived ‘rationing’ of care towards children which can cause emotional disturbance (Pugh and Duffy, 2014). Bereavement brings with it, as Read (2014) explains, emotional strain, and issues pertaining to dealing with grief – which may also affect the internal dynamics of a family’s daily life and routines. Finally, social isolation, with its associated lack of communication, may cause health concerns to worsen which need additional support. In such scenarios, it becomes clear, from the comments made above, that children and families may need additional support at certain times in their lives (Burks and Kobus, 2012). There are many organisations and self-help groups that can provide this support. These include, the National Childbirth Trust, the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries, the Child Poverty Action group, Home Start, Parentline Plus, Gingerbread, various elements of local authorities’ services, and the National Health Service. In addition, as Shonkoff (2010) has commented, there are many different settings where children can be cared for, including, but not limited to, respite care, holiday play schemes, parent and toddler groups, schools, workplace nurseries, child-minders, pre-schools, after school clubs, residential care, day nurseries and crà ¨ches. The suitability of the option chosen is likely to be influenced both by the specific issue that the family faces and their financial circumstances. There are three different sectors that provide care and education for children. They are: the statutory (or state) sector, voluntary sector, and private sector. The statutory sector is a sector that has to be there by law, such as local state-funded schools and hospitals. The age range that primary schools cover is from five years to eleven years old and they follow a set curriculum (Nutbrown and Clough, 2014). The aim of a state sector school or similar facility is to provide opportunities for the education of every child and to support their learning (Pugh and Duffy, 2014). In so doing, they provide a safe and secure environment for children, which keeps them free from harm. Such schools also provide social opportunities for a child, which include learning to make friends, learning to socialise with people, learning the difference between adults and children, and learning to respect others. It may also provide opportunities for the families of children. This may be achieved by, for instance, new parents’ evenings and sports afternoons, as well as the Parent and Teacher Association. In contrast to the state sector, the voluntary sector is a sector in which people volunteer to organise and run specific facilities. A mother and toddler group (that is not aided by the state) or the Brownies and Girl Guides are examples of such organisations (Pugh and Duffy, 2013). Mother and toddler groups are usually aimed at children who are aged between two and four. Often these kinds of organisations are to be found placed in a church or community hall. Such buildings have not been designed specifically for children and thus may contain hidden dangers (Bradshaw, 2011). Nevertheless, the staff are usually parents themselves and the person in charge of the organisation must have at least a Level Three childcare qualification (or an equivalent). It would also be expected that people who are in positions of trust in such organisations will have been police checked so as to ensure that the children and parents are safe. The organisation, in this case a mother and toddler group, may ask for a small donation each week, and this may range from 50p in some deprived areas of northern Scotland, to approximately  £5.00 a week in Surrey (Burchinal et al., 2010). This money is used to cover the basic cost of booking the hall and associated costs such as lighting and water bills. The area in which the organisation is situated may not have an outdoor area for the children to play in and this can be seen as a disadvantage as keeping fit is an important consideration in the development of children (Marmot and Bell, 2012). It is also to be expected that toddler groups should follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum so as to ensure that children may be taught appropriately and their progress monitored from the earliest possible age (Shankoff, 2010). It is also likely that such groups will be Ofsted-inspected, which is important as it gives the parents confidence as to the quality of education and opportunity being afforded to their offspring in voluntary toddler play groups (Willow, 2014). Whilst the main aim of a mother and toddler group is to provide short-term care to young children, it should also be remembered that such groups also need to prepare the toddler for primary school by equipping him or her with the basic skills that he or she will need to excel in school. In addition such groups also provide social opportunities for the parent or carer (as well as the child) to meet new people and this can help to integrate marginalised groups within society (Barnett, 2011). The private sector is one in which people pay extra to get the best available opportunities for their childs education or health, as well as their own. When a parent uses a private day nursery he or she is charged for using it, with specific charges depending upon the service delivered and the area of the country in which the client resides. Though this may not be true in all such facilities, it is suggested by Burchinal et al. (2010) that the private sector usually provides hot meals for all children who use their services, as well as indoor and outdoor play areas for children to play in. The staff in such centres are likely to be highly motivated and to receive better remuneration packages that their state sector counterparts (Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons, 2014). Though it may be the case that private day nurseries are not housed in purpose-built buildings, many are – and the private sector tends to pride itself on the quality of the resources that it provides (Walker et al., 2011). As with the state sector, Ofsted may inspect the facilities provided. It is notable that in the last few years a greater proportion of such facilities within the private sector have been rated as more consistently excellent than those in the state sector. The main regulations that govern the care of children in different types of settings The following is a list of the primary legislation that relates to working with children in a childrens centre: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Race Relations Act 1976 Human Rights Act 1998 Data Protection Act 1998 Disability and Discrimination Act 2004 Within their day to day working, children’s centres must, at all times, comply with the Data Protection Act, 1998. This can affect daily working practices as it places a duty of care on practitioners to ensure that records are kept in a safe and secure environment and not shared with third parties (Willow, 2014). In addition, through the provisions of the Disability and Discrimination Act 2004, it is assured that there will be, within such centres, no discrimination against any person with respect to their opportunity for employment, the conditions of their employment or the delivery of services as a consequence of their sex, marital status, race, or disability. Cumulatively, therefore, the laws noted above require children’s centres to make sure that they perform their responsibilities in a timely and professional manner and, through so doing eliminate unlawful racial discrimination. The centre should be responsible for and take all such precautions that are necessary to protect the health and safety of all persons employed by it and should comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other Acts or Regulations relating to the health and safety of employed persons (Human Rights Act 1998). It gives further effect in the UK to rights contained in the European Convention of Human Rights. The Care Standards Act 2000 and the Regulations and National Minimum Standards set out the responsibilities of agencies and carers in promoting the health of children who are looked after (Davis et al., 2012). The Education Act 2002 regulates that local authorities and schools are required to protect, safeguard, and promote the welfare of children. This includes health and safety, child protection and the overall well-being of children. The Every Child Matters guidance and the Children Act 2004 introduced a new duty (Section 10) to co-operate at a strategic level on local authorities, Primary Care Trusts and other relevant childrens services partners. The focus of these Acts and the ECM guidance is to protect children and promote the welfare and well-being of children. This encompasses elements such as: being healthy – enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle; staying safe – being protected from harm and neglect; enjoying and achieving – getting the most out of learning and life, and developing skills for adulthood; making a positive contribution – being involved in community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour; and economic well-being – not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their potential. Other legislation that helps the health and well-being of children includes the Children Act 1989, which provides care and protection of all children and young people in need, including those living away from home. Local authorities have a specific duty under Section 22 of the Act to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of each child they look after. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 amends the Children Act 1989 and supports the care system, putting in place the structures necessary to enable children and young people to receive high quality care and support. Daily care of children There are many different daily routines for children that can help them develop, such as hygiene, including toileting, washing hands, bed time and teeth cleaning; meal time routines, involving sitting at the table, using knives, forks and spoons; and sleep routines, to ensure that children acquire healthy sleeping habits that will stand them in good stead not only through childhood but in adulthood (Barnett, 2011). Daily routines vary depending where the child is being cared for. Promoting and supporting a child’s independence and self-care is important and a child’s self-image and self-esteem are vital to their overall well-being (Marmot and Bell, 2012). For the purposes of this essay, a focus is given on two particular learning activities: tying shoelaces, and dressing appropriately for the weather. Activity One: Shoelaces The activity involves teaching children to tie their laces by making a personalised shoe that the children decorate themselves, with laces for them to practice at home and at day-care. In this, there are two primary roles: the adult role, helping children learn to tie their laces, and the child’s role, which not only covers learning to tie shoelaces, but practising doing so at home. This promotes independence because the children feel a sense of accomplishment in achieving a daily activity that previously adults fulfilled for them. They are able to tie and re-tie their shoes at their convenience and it reduces the need for adult intervention in dressing. The activity promotes intellectual, physical and emotional well-being (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). The decoration of the ‘practice shoe’ is fun and develops their artistic abilities. Targeted at the four- to five-year old, it is within their technical capability (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). Activity Two: Dressing appropriately for the weather This activity involves dressing up a doll in appropriate clothes for going outside to play, which will keep them warm and dry, or cool, depending on the weather. The adult fulfils a teaching role by helping the children learn how to dress first a doll, and then themselves, appropriately. The objective for the child is to understand how clothes are related to temperature, comfort, and the planned activity (such as playing outside, going to the beach, or walking to school in the rain) (Carroll and McCulloch, 2014). This learning opportunity promotes independence by helping them to dress themselves for appropriate situations and weather. Ultimately, they will develop the ability to choose the clothes that they want to wear within a range of acceptable options. The children learn to stay healthy by avoiding becoming drenched, cold, or sunburnt, and their reliance on adults is decreased (Moyles, Georgeson and Payler, 2011). This builds on their intellectual, physical, emotional, and health-related skills (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). The use of the doll can help the activity be fun. The activity can be extended by considering holiday clothing, seasonal variations, and so on. Key issues which enable multi-professional teams to work together A multi-professional team approach allows professionals to share knowledge about a familys needs so that the parents do not have to answer the same questions over and over again (David, 2013). The professionals are aware of each other’s roles in supporting the family so that conflicting advice can be minimised. It is essential that each agency communicates well and understands not only their role and responsibilities but those of the other agencies as well. Parents/guardians are the most important people in a childs life, and carers recognise the importance of this. They have a responsible role that involves sharing care of the child with parents/guardians; listen to parents/guardians, as they are the ‘expert on their child (Sylva et al., 2010). Respect must always be shown for family traditions and childcare practices and when, for instance, there has been a bereavement, it may be important to engage the assistance of an educational psychologist to assess behavioural needs and bring about positive behaviour. Indeed, by adopting a multi-professional approach to working with children and parents the chances of the child being allowed to slip through the net of negligence or abuse is minimised. An understanding of diversity and inclusive practices Recognising diversity is about recognising that children can come from lots of different backgrounds and family structures (Burchinal et al., 2010). Diversity means responding in a positive manner to differences, and valuing all people. The following, though not an exclusive list, can be seen as a solid foundation of ‘checks’ upon which professionals should base their approaches to both children and parents. All children are citizens and have rights and entitlements. Children should be treated fairly regardless of race, religion or abilities. This applies no matter: What they think or say What type of family they come from What language(s) they speak What their parents do Whether they are girls or boys Whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor All children have an equal right to be listened to and valued in the setting. It follows that practitioners should aim to improve the physical environment when such improvements are needed. This might include the increased use of physical aids to access education such as ICT equipment and portable aids for children with motor co-ordination and poor hand/eye skills. New buildings should also be physically accessible to disabled pupils by making sure that they have access to existing buildings through the use of ramps and wider doors. Such improvements must be ongoing within organisations to ensure that no section of society is marginalised (Marmot and Bell, 2012). Improving the delivery of information to disabled children at nurseries or schools is a very important objective. The information given (and the manner in which it is given) should take account of pupils disabilities and parents preferred formats. It follows that all children should be treated fairly regardless of race, religion or abilities. This applies no matter what they think or say, what type of family they come from, what language(s) they speak, what their parents do, whether they are girls or boys or whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. Bradshaw (2011) stresses the importance of treating all people equally and with respect. All children have an equal right to be listened to and valued in the setting and all children have a need to develop. These are natural parts of their life and they must be supported at all times within a given setting. This is especially true if there is a scenario in which childrens development may be at risk. For example, children who are disabled and those with special educational needs, those from socially excluded families, the homeless or those who live with a parent who is disabled or has a mental illness, children from traveller communities, refugees or asylum seekers and those from diverse linguistic backgrounds may all faces especial challenges in their individual development. These must be assessed and catered for in an holistic manner to ensure that every child reaches their own maximum potential. This is because, as Wall (2010) notes, all children are entitled to enjoy a full life in which conditions are established by which they may take part in society and develop as individuals, Practitioners must therefore ensure that their own knowledge about different cultural groups is up-to-date and that they consider their own attitudes to people who are different from themselves. Children in the UK are raised in a society with many sources of cultural diversity (Carroll and McCulloch, 2014). Good early years practice needs to support this from the earliest months of babyhood. Practitioners need to work to create a positive learning environment. Play materials, books and other resources can be offered in a helpful way by reflecting on how young children learn about culture and cultural identity. Such diversity and inclusion is also linked to legislation such the Children Act 1989, Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, Rights of Children 1989 and the Race Relations Act 1976. Children like experiencing food, music or dance forms that reflect their own family and neighbourhood experiences, as Gray (2014) elaborates. Early childhood is a good time to offer opportunities that enable children to stretch themselves beyond that with which they are already familiar. Children can learn to appreciate cultural diversity in styles of art, craft, music and dance and all opportunities need to be well grounded in positive pride for styles common to every childs own background. Meeting childrens diverse learning needs means identifying needs, developing individual goals and objectives, selecting or designing appropriate supports and services, and then choosing the best learning setting in which those goals can be realised, and ideally, exceeded. It logically follows, therefore, that the role and responsibilities of an early years practitioner should be cater to the individual childs needs, and to teach them what they need to know and to find out the right way to teach them. Thus, the practitioner must be well-versed in a range of different teaching pedagogies and apply the most appropriate one to the given child at all times (Spodek and Sarancho, 2014). Indeed, it is particularly important, in this regard, to understand different planning stages when planning activities for children and to understand a childs age and stage of development when planning tasks for them (Sylva et al., 2010). It is imperative, that the activities planned are stage-appropriate for them to increase knowledge. Setting appropriate tasks and initiatives helps practitioners meet the individual needs of children (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). A discussion of two strategies for improving learning and performance There are many ways in which a person can improve their own learning and performance. Two are discussed in this section. The first is being under observation. A member of staff could observe you and give you feedback on where you are doing well, and where you need to improve. This could be a colleague, or it could be a formal inspection. The person observing can give you tailored feedback and ideally there should be plenty of time to discuss their observation. This should lead to personal reflection and the setting of career development goals – whereby you can spend time working on improving those areas (observed) where you displayed weakness. The importance of this form of observation and subsequent career development is noted by David (2013). The second commonly used approach is to reflect on one’s own practice and to use this reflection to inform further improvement (Paige-Smith and Craft, 2011). This may involve a reflective practice model, such as Kolb’s theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984). I have frequently used his reflective cycle – and by noting what has gone well and what areas need further improvement, I have been able to learn how to handle situations more smoothly and to apply knowledge effectively. Through combining both approaches I have gone through official ‘professional development’ sessions and have held protracted discussions with my line manager and other practitioners. Through so doing we have all shared best practice and perceived improvements in our daily working lives with each other and the way in which we plan activities for the children (David, 2013). A brief overview of how regulations can influence care provision Legislation plays a significant role in working practices within an early years setting but the primary aim is to safeguard and protect children and their families. Legislation, policies and procedures involve those relating to medicines, staffing and employment laws, child protection policies, health and safety, equal opportunities, behaviour management, special educational needs and working with parents (Shonkoff and Bales, 2011). Children and young people should feel happy, safe, respected and included in the school or early years setting environment and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive behaviour in the classroom, playground and the wider community (Willow, 2014). Policies and practice help to make sure the safety and wellbeing of children is in place and it is this legislation, developed through many years and experiences, and even mistakes, that underpin the working practices that are used today (Shonkoff, 2010). The owner of the workplace as a practitioner is t

Following Martin Luther King, Jr :: essays research papers fc

Following Martin Luther King, Jr "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (King, Jr.) Following Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speech in the United States capital, many laws, including the Civil Rights Act and the Affirmative Action Act, were amended into the constitution. Despite these laws enforcing the equality of race, the US still faces the same dilemma of 1963: racism. Racism, or the discrimination of a distinguished group of people, remains a problem in businesses, government, universities, in relationships, and in many other situations. Although current laws prohibit the people of the United States to discriminate and harass people of other races, racial incidents continue to remain across the country, and even, around the world. For many years, humanitarians have been trying desperately to eliminate racism. The problem is the attempt to correct the effects of racism, without eliminating the cause of racism itself. In order to eliminate racism and achieve the ultimate dream of justice and equality of all people, Americans must start with teaching children the fallacies of racism and value of diversity. A new curriculum especially for race equality, should be introduced to young students all over the United States, providing all the facts and false stereotypical assumptions about races and racism surrounding them. Racism can be eliminated by creating a curriculum for understanding races. Providing a required racial understanding program for young students, will help them to understand different backgrounds and identities that surround them. Understanding the many identities that distinguish each and every person, will break down stereotypes that identify groups. Understanding creates knowledge and empathy towards people of different backgrounds. Racism can be eliminated by understanding the history of racism. By understanding the history of racism, students can learn how racism started, where it started, how racism is adopted, why it was adopted into our concept, and how its made its way to America, etc. If everybody understands that racism is, and always was, irrelevant to a person’s character, then racism will be eliminated. Racism can be eliminated by confronting the issue. Confronting the issues and being aware of racism’s destruction to society, will allow students, starting at a younger age, to be conscious of racism and its negative effects on life. Being conscious of racism will

Poverty In the Philippines Essay example -- Poverty Essays

Poverty In the Philippines The rich, the middle class, and the poor; are described by the way we live and the amount of money one has. There are many different ways of describing what poverty is, whether it is by how you live or how much money you have. What is poverty and what does it mean to be poor? Not many of us know the true meaning of these terms. Poverty is an issue dealt with throughout the world, but we are not all aware if its conditions. Poverty is a very serious problem around the world. Poverty is defined as the equality to poorness and impoverishment -- (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions). A question to ask ourselves is: â€Å"Should poverty be defined strictly in terms of monetary income, as opposed to some qualitative formula which takes into consideration styles of life as well as material possessions?† (Sheppard 13) Because there are so many different ways we can express the term poverty, maybe there should be a certain way we ca n determine poverty world wide? A person might look like they are poor or think that they are, but by definition they really are not even close. Every country has poverty levels that decide if they are poor or not. The Philippines is a country that deals with this issue on a daily basis. The Philippine islands are located in Southeastern Asia, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. The country is made up of about 7000 islands, only 2000 of those islands are inhabited. The population of the country includes about 84,619,974 people. The people of this country are all very close to their families. They work together to make the income that their family needs to survive. Sometimes th... ... rest of my life. Works Cited American Poverty and Welfare Reform. 2002. Women's Policy Research. . Cruz, Maria C., et al. Population Growth, Poverty, and Environmental Stress: Frontier Migration in the Philippines and Costa Rica. N.p: World Resources Institute, 1992. 1-92. Sheppard, Harold L. Poverty and Wealth in America. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970. 3-279. Davis, Leonard. The Philippines People, Poverty and Politics. New York: St. Martins's P, 1987. 1-225. Philip M. Finnegan. Philippine Islands 2000. Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12010a.htm The Real World Fact Book.Map. 1 August 2003. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html Poverty In the Philippines Essay example -- Poverty Essays Poverty In the Philippines The rich, the middle class, and the poor; are described by the way we live and the amount of money one has. There are many different ways of describing what poverty is, whether it is by how you live or how much money you have. What is poverty and what does it mean to be poor? Not many of us know the true meaning of these terms. Poverty is an issue dealt with throughout the world, but we are not all aware if its conditions. Poverty is a very serious problem around the world. Poverty is defined as the equality to poorness and impoverishment -- (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions). A question to ask ourselves is: â€Å"Should poverty be defined strictly in terms of monetary income, as opposed to some qualitative formula which takes into consideration styles of life as well as material possessions?† (Sheppard 13) Because there are so many different ways we can express the term poverty, maybe there should be a certain way we ca n determine poverty world wide? A person might look like they are poor or think that they are, but by definition they really are not even close. Every country has poverty levels that decide if they are poor or not. The Philippines is a country that deals with this issue on a daily basis. The Philippine islands are located in Southeastern Asia, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. The country is made up of about 7000 islands, only 2000 of those islands are inhabited. The population of the country includes about 84,619,974 people. The people of this country are all very close to their families. They work together to make the income that their family needs to survive. Sometimes th... ... rest of my life. Works Cited American Poverty and Welfare Reform. 2002. Women's Policy Research. . Cruz, Maria C., et al. Population Growth, Poverty, and Environmental Stress: Frontier Migration in the Philippines and Costa Rica. N.p: World Resources Institute, 1992. 1-92. Sheppard, Harold L. Poverty and Wealth in America. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1970. 3-279. Davis, Leonard. The Philippines People, Poverty and Politics. New York: St. Martins's P, 1987. 1-225. Philip M. Finnegan. Philippine Islands 2000. Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12010a.htm The Real World Fact Book.Map. 1 August 2003. http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html