Hathaway and Scottish Power Essay Example for Free

Hathaway and Scottish Power Essay 1.What is the possible meaning of the changes in stock price for Berkshire Hathaway and Scottish Power plc on the day of the acquisition announcement? Specifically, what does the $2.55 billion gain in Berkshire’s market value of equity imply about the intrinsic value of PacifiCorp? 2.Based on the multiples for comparable regulated utilities, what is the range of possible values for PacifiCorp? What questions might you have about this range? 3.Assess the bid for PacifiCorp. How does it compare with the firm’s intrinsic value? As an alternative, the instructor could suggest that students perform a simple discounted cash-flow (DCF) analysis. 4.How well has Berkshire Hathaway performed? How well has it performed in the aggregate? What about its investment in MidAmerican Energy Holdings? 5.What is your assessment of Berkshire’s investments in Buffett’s Big Four: American Express, Coca-Cola, Gillette, and Wells Fargo? 6.From Warren Buffett’s perspective, what is the intrinsic value? Why is it accorded such importance? How is it estimated? What are the alternatives to intrinsic value? Why does Buffett reject them? 7.Critically assess Buffett’s investment philosophy. Be prepared to identify points where you agree and disagree with him. 8.Should Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders endorse the acquisition of PacifiCorp? 1.What does the stock market seem to be saying about the acquisition of PacifiCorp by Berkshire Hathaway? 2.Based on your own analysis, what do you think PacifiCorp was worth on its own before its acquisition by Berkshire? 3.Do you think Buffett is overpaying? 4.Here are the major elements of Buffett’s philosophy. What do those elements mean? Do you agree with them? 5.Let’s return to the basic issue. Is the PacifiCorp acquisition a good or bad deal? Why?

If Slavery were Considered Moral :: Slavery

Describe the differences of this time period if slavery was considered "right". ISSUES TO UNDERSTAND CH. 14 1) The Compromise of 1850 was a dispute on whether or not Mexico (gained by US) would become a slave or free state. The northerners didn't want the 36'30' line to be moved to the Pacific and the southerners didn't want "free soilism" which would make Mexico a free state. Northerners gained from the Compromise California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah as likely future slave states, a favorable settlement of the New Mexico-Texas boundary, and the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Colombia. Southerners gained the burial of the Wilmot Proviso's persistence of new territories being free states, but the position of the free-soilers remained viable, for the compromise left open the question of whether Congress could prohibit slavery in territories outside the Mexican cession. Ââ€"How did the Compromise of 180 affect Southerners? 2) The Fugitive Slave Act affected the relationship between the two sides because often when a slave would leave and escape to the North, northerners wouldn't do anything to help get the slave back, in fact, in most incidents northerners tried to help keep slaves away from southerners if they escaped. South began to realize that opposition to slavery in the North was a threat to what they believed.-What was the Fugitive Slave Act and how did it hurt Southerners? 3) Uncle Tom's Cabin made many people convert to the belief that slavery was wrong and evil. It caused many people to view southerners as evil people. It also made northerners have sympathy for black slaves.-How did this book affect people's view of slavery? 4) The second party system collapsed because Whigs began to split into two groups: the American (know-nothing) Party and the Republican Party. Whigs also began to fall apart because of immigration. They thought immigration would not be important because they wouldn't be a big enough force for voting. So when the Whigs tried to get immigrant votes it just backfired and caused them to lose some ground with Protestant Whigs because the party had a hard anti-immigrant stand. Ââ€"What was the second party system? 5) The Nebraska-Kansas Act made many people angry because they thought that it was another territory that would be a slave state and not free. The idea of making it a state was to benefit Northerners because they were going to put a railroad system going through the Midwest to the pacific.

Distinction of Sex and Gender

1. The sex/gender distinction. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ mean different things to different feminist theorists and neither are easy or straightforward to characterize. Sketching out some feminist history of the terms provides a helpful starting point. 1. 1 Biological determinism Most people ordinarily seem to think that sex and gender are coextensive: women are human females, men are human males. Many feminists have historically disagreed and have endorsed the sex/ gender distinction.Provisionally: ‘sex’ denotes human females and males depending on biological features (chromosomes, sex organs, hormones and other physical features);‘gender’ denotes women and men depending on social factors (social role, position, behaviour or identity). The main feminist motivation for making this distinction was to counter biological determinism or the view that biology is destiny. A typical example of a biological determinist view is that of Ged des and Thompson who, in 1889, argued that social, psychological and behavioural traits were caused by metabolic state.Women supposedly conserve energy (being ‘anabolic’) and this makes them passive, conservative, sluggish, stable and uninterested in politics. Men expend their surplus energy (being ‘katabolic’) and this makes them eager, energetic, passionate, variable and, thereby, interested in political and social matters. These biological ‘facts’ about metabolic states were used not only to explain behavioural differences between women and men but also to justify what our social and political arrangements have to be.It would be inappropriate to grant women political rights, as they are simply not suited to have those rights; it would also be futile since women (due to their biology) would simply not be interested in exercising their political rights. To counter this kind of biological determinism, feminists have argued that behavioural and psychological differences have social, rather than biological, causes. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir famously claimed that one is not born, but rather becomes a woman, and that â€Å"social discrimination produces in women moral and intellectual effects so profound that they appear to be caused by nature†.Commonly observed behavioural traits associated with women and men, then, are not caused by anatomy or chromosomes. Rather, they are culturally learned or acquired. Although biological determinism of the kind endorsed by Geddes and Thompson is nowadays uncommon, the idea that behavioural and psychological differences between women and men have biological causes has not disappeared. In the 1970s, sex differences were used to argue that women should not become airline pilots since they will be hormonally unstable once a month and, therefore, unable to perform their duties as well as men (Rogers 1999, 11).More recently, differences in male and female brains have been said to explain behavioural differences; in particular, the anatomy of corpus callosum, a bundle of nerves that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres, is thought to be responsible for various psychological and behavioural differences. 1. 2 Gender terminology In order to distinguish biological differences from social/psychological ones and to talk about the latter, feminists appropriated the term ‘gender’.Psychologists writing on trans sexuality were the first to employ gender terminology in this sense. However, in order to explain why some people felt that they were ‘trapped in the wrong bodies’, the psychologist Robert Stoller (1968) began using the terms ‘sex’ to pick out biological traits and ‘gender’ to pick out the amount of femininity and masculinity a person showed. Along with psychologists like Stoller, feminists found it useful to distinguish sex and gender.This enabled them to argue that many differences between women and men were socially produced and, therefore, changeable. For instance Gayle Rubin's thought was that although biological differences are fixed, gender differences are the oppressive results of social interventions that dictate how women and men should behave. Women are oppressed as women and â€Å"by having to be women† (Rubin 1975, 204). However, since gender is social, it is thought to be changeable and adjustable by political and social reform that would ultimately bring an end to women's subordination.Feminism should aim to create a â€Å"genderless (though not sexless) society, in which one's sexual anatomy is irrelevant to who one is, what one does, and with whom one makes love† (Rubin 1975, 204). In some earlier interpretations, like Rubin's, sex and gender were thought to complement one another. The slogan ‘Gender is the social interpretation of sex’ captures this view. Nicholson calls this ‘the coat-rack view’ of gender: our sexed bodies are like coat racks and â€Å"provide the site upon which gender [is] constructed† (1994, 81).Gender conceived of as masculinity and femininity is superimposed upon the ‘coat-rack’ of sex as each society imposes on sexed bodies their cultural conceptions of how males and females should behave. This socially constructs gender differences – or the amount of femininity/masculinity of a person– upon our sexed bodies. That is, according to this interpretation, all humans are either male or female; their sex is fixed. But cultures interpret sexed bodies differently and project different norms on those bodies thereby creating feminine and masculine persons.So, this group of feminist arguments against biological determinism suggested that gender differences result from cultural practices and social expectations. Nowadays it is more common to denote this by saying that gender is socially constructed. This means that genders (women and men) and gendere d traits (like being nurturing or ambitious) are the â€Å"intended or unintended product[s] of a social practice† (Haslanger 1995, 97). But which social practices construct gender, what social construction is and what being of a certain gender amounts to are major feminist controversies.There is no consensus on these issues. (See the entry on Intersections between Analytic and Continental Feminism for more on different ways to understand gender. ) 5. Conclusion This entry first looked at feminist arguments against biological determinism and the claim that gender is socially constructed. Next, it examined feminist critiques of prevalent understandings of gender and sex, and the distinction itself. In response to these concerns, the final section looked at how a unified women's category could be articulated for feminist political purposes and illustrated (at least) two things.First, that gender — or what it is to be a woman or a man — is still very much a live is sue. Second, that feminists have not entirely given up the view that gender is about social factors and that it is (in some sense) distinct from biological sex. The jury is still out on what the best, the most useful or (even) the correct definition of gender is. And some contemporary feminists still find there to be value in the original 1960s sex/gender distinction.

The Global Issue Of Population Growth - 960 Words

Beyond a doubt we urgently need to address the devastating global issue of population growth in the United States America before we destroy our planet. We are facing many devastating economic problems, such as pollution, global warming, education, but the most critical is overconsumption. Overpopulation is a huge problem in the United States of America, which is causing us to run out of natural resources. The human race is already too large and is destroying the natural systems that support us. There are many solutions to this problem, but the common factor is controlling the human race. What can we do as a society to help contribute to controlling the population growth? â€Å"The United States is the most overpopulated country in the world†. (Ehrlich) Let’s first discuss what is considered to be overpopulated? Overpopulation is â€Å"The condition of having a population so dense as to cause environmental deterioration, an impaired quality of life, or a population crash†. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary.com, 2011). The growing rate of population in America is becoming exceeding extreme and dangerous. â€Å"The rate of population increase, now approximately 1.7 percent a year will decline to a little less than 1 percent sometime between the years 2020-2025†. (Ehrlich) The more people added on to this earth the more resources we will have to use to maintain. Arije 2 The more people increase on this earth, the more we consume resources, causing more damage to the earth that generates moreShow MoreRelatedThe Global Issue Of Population Growth979 Words   |  4 PagesBeyond a doubt we urgently need to address the devastating global issue of population growth in the United States America before we destroy our planet. We are facing many devastating economic problems, such as pollution, global warming, education, but the most critical is overconsumption. Overpopulation is a huge problem in the United States of America, which is causing us to run out of natural resources. The human race is already too large and is destroying the natural systems that support us. ThereRead MoreEnvironmental Sustainability And Environmental Management Strategies Essay1425 Words   |  6 Pagescenturies there has been countless researches into environmental issues that pose threat to the population, but remains unresolved due to the increasing global population. It can be argued that certain environmental management strategies have been adopted to minimise the environmental risk on the population growth which possibly could become a threat to the global village. Although, there are strategies to manage the environmental issues, a sector-wide approach is required from developed and developingRead MoreThe Growth Of Population Growth Essay1422 Words   |  6 Pagespresent rate of population growth is one of the most significant environmental issues we as humans are facing. The exponential growth at which the population is moving is having direct impacts on climate, energy, poverty, food, the global economy, and politics (Why Population Matters). The world population is currently 7.3 billion people and there is growing doubt that the planet is able to sustain human needs and resource consumption (Population Concern). The expansion of human population is impactingRead MoreThe Problem Of A World Problem1281 Words   |  6 PagesAdditionally, global prob lems can be so significant that they affect the ability of the planet itself to support life. There are many world problems that are evident around the globe today, however the most significant problem is population growth. According to the UN News Centre, in 2015 the world population was 7.3 billion. In 1990, the population was only 5.3 billion, meaning in 25 years, there was a dramatic increase in population by 2 billion. It is projected that by 2100, the population will exceedRead MoreHuman Overpopulation Essay1109 Words   |  5 Pagesbiggest global issues addressed in the 21st century. This concept negatively affects almost every aspect of society: extinction of plants/animals or habitats, over use of natural resources, climate change, and other environmental problems (â€Å"As World’s Human†). This continual predicament needs to be corrected by intensified human productive abilities and a global law that will stimulate positive outcomes across the world. The problem that heightens or causes virtually every dire global problemRead MoreA Solution to the Population Problem:1724 Words   |  7 PagesIncreasing importance has been placed upon population and population growth over the course of the past few centuries. Scientists are frenetically searching for the solution to this issue, and their outcomes are bleak. They are telling the world that if population growth does not slow, the earth will swell to a capacity too large to sustain itself and the conclusion will be apocalyptic. Explanations are numerous, however viable solutions are difficult to find. Adherents to the Malthusian theoryRead MoreGlobal Expansion And Background Information994 Words   |  4 PagesWhat geographical location should be a target to global expansion and background information to support the decision (expansion to China). Over the past quarter-of- a century, China has experienced big changes as the economy has transformed from just limited private sector into manufacturing base of the world, these rapid development and transformation become the gateway to vast opportunities for all industries of the world (Dyer Singh, 1998); China regional cities offer diverse of business opportunitiesRead MoreEssay on The Concept of Economic Growth Development 1299 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment that humans are depends on it for living. This essay will look into the concept of economic growth and the effects of economic growth on the environment. Then, by analyzing the current situation, this essay will attempt to answer the question how and how much can humans reduce environmental degradation?† The concept of economic growth development Economists evaluate development as â€Å"economic growth† and measuring it by calculating the gross domestic product (GDP) to find and compare the levelRead MoreOverpopulation Is A Catastrophe?841 Words   |  4 Pagesconverted to overpopulation. Currently, the global population is 7 billion, and the increase rate is 1.3% annually that means by the end of the twenty-first century the population will reach twelve billion (Keenan, 2013). Therefore, there is a huge debate going on right now regarding overpopulation. For some people, explosion in population has no detrimental impacts in the future, and it will be bearable. In contrast, others believe rapid growing population can cause disaster; this concept is the mostRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Warming On The World1235 Words   |  5 PagesThey may not be feeling the effects of global warming at the moment, but in time it will become a more widespread issue. The effects of global warming are hard to refute, and there is end less evidence of this growing problem in our world today. The continuation of global warming is a serious threat to everyone and everything on Earth. Global warming has been a problem for over a hundred years, and it continues to grow every day. The first evidence of global warming was discovered in 1859 by John

Managing organisational change The case of Omega Industries - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2759 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Section-1 Doggett (2005) believes that there is always a cause behind any problem and this cause must be identified and addressed to solve the problem or else the problem may continue. So, a consultant must use the diagnostic process as the initial step to identify the actual cause of the problem (Cope, 1999). This approach of continuous probing helps a consultant to differentiate symptoms from root causes. The symptoms of problems face by OI along with the root cause(s) can be: . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Managing organisational change: The case of Omega Industries" essay for you Create order Low moral of the management and the work force. The root causes identified here are the policies of redundancy and cost cutting and also the low confidence of workforce in the newly appointed management. Poor communication between managers. This is possibly due to the conflict of interests and lack of trust among the general mangers. Low productivity. This is due to the lack of coordination between the departments and the poor warranty handling and client handling policies. Others causes include lack of innovation in designing product(s) and poor marketing strategy. Overstocking of products. This is due to the inaccurate demand forecasting, inadequate insufficient information about customer needs and the lack of understanding about the customer needs. Fischer, which made a cascading impact on the OI and thus resulted into most of the above mentioned symptoms and their respective root causes. Much of the chaos in Business Services is because of the complex departmental structure within it. One way of handling this structure is to integrate the Sales and the Marketing departments into one department under the director of the Sales as he has got the better client contacts and who can understand and address the customer needs better. Similarly, the Parts services department can also be brought under the GM Engineering support services by which overspending budget can be controlled and the demands of the parts can be met on time. This particular integration will handle the overstocking problem as well. Another structural approach for improving the salesmarketing interface or parts-engineering support is to form cross-functional teams composed of people from the two functional areas along by rotating managers and other workforce within the dependent departments. This approach can serve two purposes; first, through job rotation, employees develop a larger network of people with in the firm that can be called on when opportunities or challenges arise and second, through immersion in different functional areas, managers can develop a better understanding of their counterparts culture, activities, constraints, and objectives. The next piece of advice would be to implement Information System such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application software across OI or especially across Business Services, where information about customers, customer interactions, procurements, inventory etc can be entered, stored and accessed by employees across departments. The data thus maintained can be analyzed to determine the customer needs and forecast demand thus helping OI to improve its services, inventory management and products. Besides improving communication and coordination across different departments within Business Services, this application software will also help in attaining better customer satisfaction and retaining existing customers. The last advice would be to stop the redundancy program, as it builds fear and insecurity and can lead to lack of coordination and individualistic approach of departments. So, to encourage cooperation and coordination the HR department needs to strengthen the rela tionships between the inter-departments, by means of Appreciative Inquiry and thus encourage people to share the best practices in the organisation (Hayes, 2007). The above mentioned advices when implemented can face some serious resistances like the resistance from affected key stakeholders; the GM Marketing and the GM Part services, who would definitely resist this change as their positions would be affected directly. This resistance can be handled by making the GM Marketing redundant as this post is not directly in touch base with customers and always depends on sales and support department to make marketing forecasts. Similar approach can be taken for the post of GM Part services, which can be handled by the GM Support services. Other key stakeholders that may also resist the change can either be made redundant or can be given roles with better incentives or roles with more responsibilities within OI or in other companies under the same parent company. According to Clampitt et. al. (2000), the most effective way of communicating change is to underscore and explore, where the individuals are empowered to generate creative ideas and alternatively listen to potential misunderstanding and unrecognized obstacles rather than being forced to adopt the ideas of management. So, for this presentations or seminars can be organised where employees can be made aware of the change and its associated benefits and can be asked about their opinions. Cross department training and development programs can also be organised by the HR department to develop the necessary skills and minimize the resistance towards the change and to make a department such as sales or marketing, aware of the functioning of other departments such as engineering support services so that each of the departments communicate with one another on a longer run. Another problem can be in the implementation of the Information system where employees such as the sales personnel w ould be least interested and have the minimum scope of using computers to access the information system. In this case these employees need to be convinced about the potential benefits of using this IS and can be given gradual training to know more about the information system. The basic idea is to involve more people in the change process by making them understand their responsibilities in contributing to the transition process and thus minimising the resistances faced by the top management. Here the need of the hour is the strong leadership and commitment from the CEO and senior management, where they should ensure that the whole change process is in line with the new strategies of the company. Section-2 Management Consulting is defined as delivering skills from outside an organisation (Markham, 2004). It is important for an external consultant like Timothy to choose an appropriate model that delivers the real value for the client organization. A good consulting model should also allow a consultant to deliver his knowledge, skills and experience in an efficient way in improving the consultancy practice. Now, in the context of the case, the initial steps towards addressing the problems are by using consultancy and therefore calls for understanding of client-consultant relationship in depth using the below models and theories. Edward Scheins (1987) three models for consulting are commonly viewed as a starting point from which client expectations can be understood and consultant roles can be defined (Wickham Wickham, 2008). These are; purchase-of-expertise, doctor-patient, and process consultation. The Purchase-of-Expertise model is one in which the client hires the consultant to bring a separate and autonomous perspective to existing issues. The client communicates the problem to the consultant and he executes a solution by using specialist knowledge (Wichkham Wickham, 2008). This model may meet immediate needs or the efforts to put structural changes into place, but will do little to sustain development or the organisation over the time. The Purchase-of-Expertise model is one in which the client hires the consultant to bring a separate and autonomous perspective to existing issues. The client communicates the problem to the consultant and he executes a solution by using specialist knowledge (Wichkham Wickham, 2008). This model may meet immediate needs or the efforts to put structural changes into place, but will do little to sustain development or the organisation over the time. The Process Consultation model is a client centred approach in which the consultant acts as a facilitator and brings his own expertise to methods for directing potenti al organisational behaviours. The consultant works with the organisation to find internal methods for resolving the issues and for implementing change, and utilising existing resources within the organisation. This process is based primarily in the ability of the organisation to sort through its needs, discover its own resources and the best methods for change, and implement changes using its own internal resources. The consultant simply acts as a catalyst directing and redirecting activities to help the organisation achieve the best outcomes based on its needs and thus making the change happen (Schein, 1987). The consultant does not push a solution to the client and it is the client who makes the ultimate choice of implementing the solution (Wickham Wickham, 2008). Reason for selecting Process consultation model: In this case study, the initial attention is paid to the client-consultant relationship where, Timothy is hired for his expertise and for guiding OI, which has less clarity about its specific issues and concerns. Timothy works with the OI management through the diagnostic and intervention stages (Czander Eisold, 2003). In the diagnostic stage Timothy gathers the data required to understand the problem by meeting and interviewing managers and finally evaluates it to understand the root cause of the problem (Cope, 1999). The consultant then uses his expertise to plan an intervention model to address the root causes of the issues faced by the OI. As there is high risk involved, OI would look for solution which involves intensive analysis and is exclusively customized to its needs and for this the process consultation model provides OI the power and flexibility to decide and take action on implementing the intervention proposed by the consultant (Whittle, 2006). Five phase Model of Management Consulting Over the years researchers suggested various models and approaches to consulting, but they all seem to be built around the five phase consulting process or cycle model (Kubr, 2002). For instance, Markham (2004) also suggested model the CONSULT delivery process with five stages; Entry, Contracting, Diagnostic, Intervention and Closure. The five phase consulting model provides a systematic phase by phase framework to consultants about how to plan their approach to a particular assignment and for the same reason this model can be associated with the case of OI. This consulting model consists of five phases; Entry, Diagnosis, Action Planning, Implementation and Termination. Entry: It is the initial phase of consulting process cycle that involves the initial meeting of the consultant with the client and the discussion about the purpose of bringing in the consultant. The consultant prepares for the first meeting by gathering information about the client, their business, history and organizational culture and structure. The client tries to apprise the consultant of the problems it is facing and the consultant does a preliminary diagnosis of the problems. According to Kubr (2002), both the client and the consultant, together decide the scope of the assignment and the client ensures that it has approached the right consultant and the consultant has the necessary expertise to deliver the results as per the clients needs. In the case study, it is evident that the consultant Timothy Edwards has been appointed and apprised of the problems of the OI. He has a fair idea regarding what the firm is trying to achieve by taking his services. Diagnosis: This phase involves an in depth analysis of the root causes of the problems and collection of information to develop solutions to those problems. This phase is regarded as most value addition from consultants side as it involves understanding the issues further by establishing timelines, processes and the information needed to be gathered to work out solution. The main idea is to discover more about the issues faced by the client and what could be helpful in addressing them. More importantly, the client has to be involved actively. Kubr (2002) considers this phase as an important one as there is a need to maintain a positive client consultant relationship, where the client must be provided feedback about the consultants progress and investigation approach to prevent any confrontation from the clients side. The diagnosis phase ends with submission of report regarding the progress on the assignment and signing off the consulting contract. The case study indicates that Timothy has gathered information about the issues by interviewing the senior management and has provided the feedback to the CEO, who has given his consent to the consultant to further analyse and design a new structure for the Business Services. Action Planning: The action planning phase is the stage where the actual solutions are prepared and proposed by the consultant. The consultant generally finds more than one solution which he proposes to the client and helps the client understand and choose the one best ones suited to their need. The consultant makes sure that any factor that might be a risk to the change implementation is recognised and addressed in advance. He also explains about the conditions that might be necessary for the solution to be implemented and about the future plans/strategies of the organisation that might be affected by the change. The consultant also puts together a plan for implementation with details of key people involved and the way the solution will be implemented. The action plans identified in this case study include the change in the management structure of the Business services where merging of departments like the marketing and the sales will address the customer needs better and reduce the conflict of interests within those departments; the implementation of CRM application will result in better demand forecasting and customer service. Implementation: It is final phase of the collaborative approach between the client and the consultant, where the actual implementation of the agreed solutions takes place. The consultant may also be actively involved in guiding the client about the continuous improvements in a case where the client feels that the action plan requires a major change in the structure and the culture of the organization; and it cannot handle the change without proper expertise or guidance of the consultant. It is evident from the action plan phase that the Business Services would require a restructuring and an introduction of a new CRM technology. This type of change could evoke resistance from the key stakeholders such as the general managers or the employees of the company. Hence, the implementation phase may require guidance of the consultant to manage the key stakeholders and align their interest with the business strategy of the OI. The crucial thing here can be the change implemented with roles and expectati ons may require proper communication to the employees and for this consultant can play important role along with the HR department for designing a proper training program to enhance employees skills to fit them in the new organizational culture. Termination: This is the final phase which marks the end of the assignment, provided the project has served its purpose as per the satisfaction of the client and the consultant, which can be evaluated at the end of the implementation phase. There can also be a room for extension of the project if the client feels there is a need for revising some part of the implementation or for expanding the scope of the project to other parts of the organisation. In this phase, the client and consultant can take a call whether the implementation has been a failure, success or something in between (Kubr, 2002). The circumstances and situation under which the client consultant relationship terminates will determine the repeat business for the consultant. In the context of the case study of the OI, it is difficult to anticipate how the current assignment of the consultant, Timothy Edwards, ended. Conclusion: The above analysis has been drawn based on the information available from the case study and the models used should not be considered one that fit all solutions as these provide a framework that can be adapted depending on the situation. References: Clampitt, P.G., DeKoch, R.J., and Cashman, T., (2000) A Strategy for Communicating About Uncertainty, Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), pp. 41-57. Cope, M. (1999). The Seven Cs of Consulting: The Definitive Guide to the Consulting Process. London: Prentice Hall. Czander, W. Eisold, K. (2003). Pyschoanalytic perspectives on organisational consulting: Transference and counter-transference. Human relations. 56(4), pp. 475-490. Doggett, A.M., (2005) Root Cause Analysis: A Framework for Tool Selection. The Quality Management Journal, 12, pp. 34-45. Hayes, J. (2007). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. Second Edition. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Kubr, M. (2002). Management Consulting: A Guide to the Profession, 4th edition, Geneva: International Labour Office. Markham, C. (2004). The Top Consultant: Developing Your Skills for Greater Effectiveness, London: Kogan Page Schein, Edgar H. (1987). Process consultation Volume II: Lessons for managers and c onsultants. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Whittle, A. (2006). The paradoxical repertoires of management consultancy. Journal of Organisational Change Management. 19(4), pp. 424-436. Wickham, P and Wickham, L. (2008). Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project. Third Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Managing organisational change The case of Omega Industries - Free Essay Example Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2759 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Section-1 Doggett (2005) believes that there is always a cause behind any problem and this cause must be identified and addressed to solve the problem or else the problem may continue. So, a consultant must use the diagnostic process as the initial step to identify the actual cause of the problem (Cope, 1999). This approach of continuous probing helps a consultant to differentiate symptoms from root causes. The symptoms of problems face by OI along with the root cause(s) can be: . Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Managing organisational change: The case of Omega Industries" essay for you Create order Low moral of the management and the work force. The root causes identified here are the policies of redundancy and cost cutting and also the low confidence of workforce in the newly appointed management. Poor communication between managers. This is possibly due to the conflict of interests and lack of trust among the general mangers. Low productivity. This is due to the lack of coordination between the departments and the poor warranty handling and client handling policies. Others causes include lack of innovation in designing product(s) and poor marketing strategy. Overstocking of products. This is due to the inaccurate demand forecasting, inadequate insufficient information about customer needs and the lack of understanding about the customer needs. Fischer, which made a cascading impact on the OI and thus resulted into most of the above mentioned symptoms and their respective root causes. Much of the chaos in Business Services is because of the complex departmental structure within it. One way of handling this structure is to integrate the Sales and the Marketing departments into one department under the director of the Sales as he has got the better client contacts and who can understand and address the customer needs better. Similarly, the Parts services department can also be brought under the GM Engineering support services by which overspending budget can be controlled and the demands of the parts can be met on time. This particular integration will handle the overstocking problem as well. Another structural approach for improving the salesmarketing interface or parts-engineering support is to form cross-functional teams composed of people from the two functional areas along by rotating managers and other workforce within the dependent departments. This approach can serve two purposes; first, through job rotation, employees develop a larger network of people with in the firm that can be called on when opportunities or challenges arise and second, through immersion in different functional areas, managers can develop a better understanding of their counterparts culture, activities, constraints, and objectives. The next piece of advice would be to implement Information System such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application software across OI or especially across Business Services, where information about customers, customer interactions, procurements, inventory etc can be entered, stored and accessed by employees across departments. The data thus maintained can be analyzed to determine the customer needs and forecast demand thus helping OI to improve its services, inventory management and products. Besides improving communication and coordination across different departments within Business Services, this application software will also help in attaining better customer satisfaction and retaining existing customers. The last advice would be to stop the redundancy program, as it builds fear and insecurity and can lead to lack of coordination and individualistic approach of departments. So, to encourage cooperation and coordination the HR department needs to strengthen the rela tionships between the inter-departments, by means of Appreciative Inquiry and thus encourage people to share the best practices in the organisation (Hayes, 2007). The above mentioned advices when implemented can face some serious resistances like the resistance from affected key stakeholders; the GM Marketing and the GM Part services, who would definitely resist this change as their positions would be affected directly. This resistance can be handled by making the GM Marketing redundant as this post is not directly in touch base with customers and always depends on sales and support department to make marketing forecasts. Similar approach can be taken for the post of GM Part services, which can be handled by the GM Support services. Other key stakeholders that may also resist the change can either be made redundant or can be given roles with better incentives or roles with more responsibilities within OI or in other companies under the same parent company. According to Clampitt et. al. (2000), the most effective way of communicating change is to underscore and explore, where the individuals are empowered to generate creative ideas and alternatively listen to potential misunderstanding and unrecognized obstacles rather than being forced to adopt the ideas of management. So, for this presentations or seminars can be organised where employees can be made aware of the change and its associated benefits and can be asked about their opinions. Cross department training and development programs can also be organised by the HR department to develop the necessary skills and minimize the resistance towards the change and to make a department such as sales or marketing, aware of the functioning of other departments such as engineering support services so that each of the departments communicate with one another on a longer run. Another problem can be in the implementation of the Information system where employees such as the sales personnel w ould be least interested and have the minimum scope of using computers to access the information system. In this case these employees need to be convinced about the potential benefits of using this IS and can be given gradual training to know more about the information system. The basic idea is to involve more people in the change process by making them understand their responsibilities in contributing to the transition process and thus minimising the resistances faced by the top management. Here the need of the hour is the strong leadership and commitment from the CEO and senior management, where they should ensure that the whole change process is in line with the new strategies of the company. Section-2 Management Consulting is defined as delivering skills from outside an organisation (Markham, 2004). It is important for an external consultant like Timothy to choose an appropriate model that delivers the real value for the client organization. A good consulting model should also allow a consultant to deliver his knowledge, skills and experience in an efficient way in improving the consultancy practice. Now, in the context of the case, the initial steps towards addressing the problems are by using consultancy and therefore calls for understanding of client-consultant relationship in depth using the below models and theories. Edward Scheins (1987) three models for consulting are commonly viewed as a starting point from which client expectations can be understood and consultant roles can be defined (Wickham Wickham, 2008). These are; purchase-of-expertise, doctor-patient, and process consultation. The Purchase-of-Expertise model is one in which the client hires the consultant to bring a separate and autonomous perspective to existing issues. The client communicates the problem to the consultant and he executes a solution by using specialist knowledge (Wichkham Wickham, 2008). This model may meet immediate needs or the efforts to put structural changes into place, but will do little to sustain development or the organisation over the time. The Purchase-of-Expertise model is one in which the client hires the consultant to bring a separate and autonomous perspective to existing issues. The client communicates the problem to the consultant and he executes a solution by using specialist knowledge (Wichkham Wickham, 2008). This model may meet immediate needs or the efforts to put structural changes into place, but will do little to sustain development or the organisation over the time. The Process Consultation model is a client centred approach in which the consultant acts as a facilitator and brings his own expertise to methods for directing potenti al organisational behaviours. The consultant works with the organisation to find internal methods for resolving the issues and for implementing change, and utilising existing resources within the organisation. This process is based primarily in the ability of the organisation to sort through its needs, discover its own resources and the best methods for change, and implement changes using its own internal resources. The consultant simply acts as a catalyst directing and redirecting activities to help the organisation achieve the best outcomes based on its needs and thus making the change happen (Schein, 1987). The consultant does not push a solution to the client and it is the client who makes the ultimate choice of implementing the solution (Wickham Wickham, 2008). Reason for selecting Process consultation model: In this case study, the initial attention is paid to the client-consultant relationship where, Timothy is hired for his expertise and for guiding OI, which has less clarity about its specific issues and concerns. Timothy works with the OI management through the diagnostic and intervention stages (Czander Eisold, 2003). In the diagnostic stage Timothy gathers the data required to understand the problem by meeting and interviewing managers and finally evaluates it to understand the root cause of the problem (Cope, 1999). The consultant then uses his expertise to plan an intervention model to address the root causes of the issues faced by the OI. As there is high risk involved, OI would look for solution which involves intensive analysis and is exclusively customized to its needs and for this the process consultation model provides OI the power and flexibility to decide and take action on implementing the intervention proposed by the consultant (Whittle, 2006). Five phase Model of Management Consulting Over the years researchers suggested various models and approaches to consulting, but they all seem to be built around the five phase consulting process or cycle model (Kubr, 2002). For instance, Markham (2004) also suggested model the CONSULT delivery process with five stages; Entry, Contracting, Diagnostic, Intervention and Closure. The five phase consulting model provides a systematic phase by phase framework to consultants about how to plan their approach to a particular assignment and for the same reason this model can be associated with the case of OI. This consulting model consists of five phases; Entry, Diagnosis, Action Planning, Implementation and Termination. Entry: It is the initial phase of consulting process cycle that involves the initial meeting of the consultant with the client and the discussion about the purpose of bringing in the consultant. The consultant prepares for the first meeting by gathering information about the client, their business, history and organizational culture and structure. The client tries to apprise the consultant of the problems it is facing and the consultant does a preliminary diagnosis of the problems. According to Kubr (2002), both the client and the consultant, together decide the scope of the assignment and the client ensures that it has approached the right consultant and the consultant has the necessary expertise to deliver the results as per the clients needs. In the case study, it is evident that the consultant Timothy Edwards has been appointed and apprised of the problems of the OI. He has a fair idea regarding what the firm is trying to achieve by taking his services. Diagnosis: This phase involves an in depth analysis of the root causes of the problems and collection of information to develop solutions to those problems. This phase is regarded as most value addition from consultants side as it involves understanding the issues further by establishing timelines, processes and the information needed to be gathered to work out solution. The main idea is to discover more about the issues faced by the client and what could be helpful in addressing them. More importantly, the client has to be involved actively. Kubr (2002) considers this phase as an important one as there is a need to maintain a positive client consultant relationship, where the client must be provided feedback about the consultants progress and investigation approach to prevent any confrontation from the clients side. The diagnosis phase ends with submission of report regarding the progress on the assignment and signing off the consulting contract. The case study indicates that Timothy has gathered information about the issues by interviewing the senior management and has provided the feedback to the CEO, who has given his consent to the consultant to further analyse and design a new structure for the Business Services. Action Planning: The action planning phase is the stage where the actual solutions are prepared and proposed by the consultant. The consultant generally finds more than one solution which he proposes to the client and helps the client understand and choose the one best ones suited to their need. The consultant makes sure that any factor that might be a risk to the change implementation is recognised and addressed in advance. He also explains about the conditions that might be necessary for the solution to be implemented and about the future plans/strategies of the organisation that might be affected by the change. The consultant also puts together a plan for implementation with details of key people involved and the way the solution will be implemented. The action plans identified in this case study include the change in the management structure of the Business services where merging of departments like the marketing and the sales will address the customer needs better and reduce the conflict of interests within those departments; the implementation of CRM application will result in better demand forecasting and customer service. Implementation: It is final phase of the collaborative approach between the client and the consultant, where the actual implementation of the agreed solutions takes place. The consultant may also be actively involved in guiding the client about the continuous improvements in a case where the client feels that the action plan requires a major change in the structure and the culture of the organization; and it cannot handle the change without proper expertise or guidance of the consultant. It is evident from the action plan phase that the Business Services would require a restructuring and an introduction of a new CRM technology. This type of change could evoke resistance from the key stakeholders such as the general managers or the employees of the company. Hence, the implementation phase may require guidance of the consultant to manage the key stakeholders and align their interest with the business strategy of the OI. The crucial thing here can be the change implemented with roles and expectati ons may require proper communication to the employees and for this consultant can play important role along with the HR department for designing a proper training program to enhance employees skills to fit them in the new organizational culture. Termination: This is the final phase which marks the end of the assignment, provided the project has served its purpose as per the satisfaction of the client and the consultant, which can be evaluated at the end of the implementation phase. There can also be a room for extension of the project if the client feels there is a need for revising some part of the implementation or for expanding the scope of the project to other parts of the organisation. In this phase, the client and consultant can take a call whether the implementation has been a failure, success or something in between (Kubr, 2002). The circumstances and situation under which the client consultant relationship terminates will determine the repeat business for the consultant. In the context of the case study of the OI, it is difficult to anticipate how the current assignment of the consultant, Timothy Edwards, ended. Conclusion: The above analysis has been drawn based on the information available from the case study and the models used should not be considered one that fit all solutions as these provide a framework that can be adapted depending on the situation. References: Clampitt, P.G., DeKoch, R.J., and Cashman, T., (2000) A Strategy for Communicating About Uncertainty, Academy of Management Executive, 14(4), pp. 41-57. Cope, M. (1999). The Seven Cs of Consulting: The Definitive Guide to the Consulting Process. London: Prentice Hall. Czander, W. Eisold, K. (2003). Pyschoanalytic perspectives on organisational consulting: Transference and counter-transference. Human relations. 56(4), pp. 475-490. Doggett, A.M., (2005) Root Cause Analysis: A Framework for Tool Selection. The Quality Management Journal, 12, pp. 34-45. Hayes, J. (2007). The Theory and Practice of Change Management. Second Edition. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Kubr, M. (2002). Management Consulting: A Guide to the Profession, 4th edition, Geneva: International Labour Office. Markham, C. (2004). The Top Consultant: Developing Your Skills for Greater Effectiveness, London: Kogan Page Schein, Edgar H. (1987). Process consultation Volume II: Lessons for managers and c onsultants. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Whittle, A. (2006). The paradoxical repertoires of management consultancy. Journal of Organisational Change Management. 19(4), pp. 424-436. Wickham, P and Wickham, L. (2008). Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project. Third Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Discrimination And Oppression An Individual - 1710 Words

Discrimination and Oppression: When discussed what, it means to be a discriminated or oppressed as an individual, especially a person with an intellectual disability, we must first look at the terminology and how it will be relatable for their circumstances. For discrimination, it is described as people or groups of people, which include race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, who are and continued to be defined as â€Å"other,† when they are perceived through â€Å"dominant† group values. These groups are treated in exclusionary ways, and subjected to all kinds of social injustice and economic inequality, (Anderson Collins, 2013). In other words, persons with intellectual disabilities tend to be treated less favorable, or not given†¦show more content†¦Racism, is the prejudicial, or antagonistic way someone of a different race, holds on to the belief that they are superior over others. Often equated with â€Å"hatred,† defining it as a hating of people, because of their race or color. Classism, are those classes of people belonging to one social class of people, noting that their class of people is better than all others. Ableism, a prejudice of a people due to their disabilities to move, work, or even comprehend like other â€Å"normal† people. Sexism, is the oppression of women, (this can include the LGBTQ community), where there is an enforced belief in male dominance and control. Where women â€Å"exist for men or not at all† type theory. Ageism, is just as the word suggests, a prejudice against the aging population. Then there is religious imperialism, the active suppression of other religions, or forced conversions, (Andersen Collins, 2013). According to the statement in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, â€Å"that [a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,† contained no footnote that stated, â€Å"except for persons with an intellectual disability.à ¢â‚¬  In fact, in 1971, The U.N. General Assembly had adopted without a dissenting vote a Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons that stated, in seven articles, â€Å"that persons with mental retardation (formally termed), deserve the same rights as other human beings, including the right to a decent standard of living,Show MoreRelatedInstitutionalized Discrimination : The Unearned And Discriminatory Oppression Of An Individual1155 Words   |  5 PagesInstitutionalized discrimination refers to the unearned and discriminatory oppression of an individual or group of individuals by society and its institutions as a whole, through imbalanced selection or bias, intentional or unintentional; as opposed to individuals making s conscious choice to discriminate. Institutionalized discrimination refers to the unjust and discriminatory mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals by society and its institutions making a conscious choice to discriminateRead MoreLib eration Ideology Essay1235 Words   |  5 PagesEquality for All Oppression and discrimination has existed and continues to exist in the past, present, and future history of the United States. The mistreatment of particular groups infringe on the idea that all individuals are free and equal. Liberation ideology strives to eliminate external and internal oppression of particular groups in both a formal and informal method in our legal system and society. This ideology believes in the freedom and equality of the individual. Similar to welfareRead MoreA Woman s Experience With The Law Essay1416 Words   |  6 Pagesa tool, a tool of resistance, power, or even oppression. A woman’s experience with the law can potentially see the law as a tool of oppression. Internationally, across many states like Ohio itself, a husband can legally rape his wife if his wife is subdued by drugs, or any substance that lessens her chances of resistance and encourages consent (Allen, 2015). Across many legal institutions, and systems a woman suffers from discr imination or oppression due to her ‘multiple identities’ (Lockhart MitchellRead MoreGender Is A Complex And Controversial Phenomenon1415 Words   |  6 Pagessystem. Some individuals do not find it difficult being socialized and identifying with a societies’ definition of â€Å"femaleness† and â€Å"maleness†. Others, however, have a more difficult time. The term â€Å"transgender† refers to particular individuals whose gender identification does not align with what society would rather regard them as, and are based on the conventional norms and standards of what it means to be â€Å"female/woman† or â€Å"male/man†. There is a distinctive experience for individuals casted as â€Å"trans†Read MoreThe Legal Framework Within The Area Of Equal Opportunities1399 Words   |  6 Pagesform of discrimination and its causes, it supports and puts in place progressive awareness of equality in the community. The law requires peo ple to be given equal opportunities regardless of their personal characteristics and backgrounds. The Equal Opportunities Act 2010, brought together some anti discriminatory laws to make it simple for people to understand their rights and duty to society as well as the enforcement of fair treatment for all including targeting and fighting discrimination againstRead MoreThe Causes And Traits Of Oppression1614 Words   |  7 Pagesand traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions onRead MorePrimary Roles Of A Grade 7 And 8 Teacher1519 Words   |  7 Pagesultimately, our actions† (Brooks and Brooks, 1999). The seeds of racism, sex ism and oppression, I believe are planted at an early age of childhood. The parents of grade 7 and 8 students, of an elite private school of a higher social economic status, presented an objection to their children learning about social inequalities. Parents of the students feel their adolescent children are not ready to tackle these issues of oppression, rather continue to focus on learning skills they feel will lead to future successesRead MoreDiscrimination And Discrimination977 Words   |  4 PagesDistinction between prejudice and discrimination is attitude versus action. Prejudice refers to negative attitudes or feelings toward or about an entire category of people (Mooney p. 289). Whereas discrimination refers to the actions or practices that result in the differential treatment of categories of individuals (Mooney, p. 292); individuals act on their prejudices which result in discrimination. It is critical to analyze the relationship between prejudices and discrimination as to they affect societyRead MoreDo Professional Athletes, Today s Society, Deal With Racial Inequalities And Oppression? Essay1555 Words   |  7 Pagesfocused on in this paper is â€Å"Do professional athletes, in today’s society, deal with racial inequalities and oppression?†. Specifically, three peer articles were reviewed while assessing this question and helped to determine the detrimental affects that these racial discriminations can have on athletes and, individuals in general. Articles reviewed include examples of direct discrimination of athletes through physical altercations as well as society’s internal beliefs. These internal beliefs steamRead MoreWhat Is Meant by the Term Equality Essay1054 Words   |  5 Pagesorientation, religious belief or cultural differences. What is meant by the term discrimination? Discrimination is often seen as a negative attribute when actually it can be a positive. Being able to identify the difference for example when the milk has gone off is seen as positive discrimination. It is only when there is a degrading comment attached against a person, group, or race that it turns into negative discrimination. This often happens when there is seen to be one stronger person, group,

Interprofessional Education Free Essays

This assignment will be about my thoughts and feelings relating to the Interview that I have conducted with a healthcare professional. According to Bud, Gogh Walker (1985), they defined reflection as â€Å"the context of learning as a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciations,† (as cited in Androgynous Davie, 1997, Para. 4). We will write a custom essay sample on Interprofessional Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Through this reflection, I hope to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the Interview and how I could make It a learning experience for future application, 2. Reflection of the Interview 2. 1. Description My group, consisting of 4 pharmacy and 2 nursing students, was assigned to Professor Bad. He researches on the ethical issues concerning biomedicine, combining his past specialization in philosophy to formulate his thoughts and writings. He was part of an advisory committee in many notable International organizations such as UNESCO and WHO to name a few. In addition, he Is an editor- in-chief for his own Journal publication, called Salsa Bioethics Review. My group managed to get some help from his assistant to secure a meeting room for the interview. The interview questions were aimed at finding out about his roles and responsibilities, a clearer insight into bioethics with case examples and his inter- professional communication experiences. During the interview, I was tasked with note-taking alongside another pharmacy student, while there were 2 audio-visual crew manning 3 digital cameras and 1 photo camera. We delegated a nursing and a pharmacy student to conduct the Interview with the Intention of providing 2 different viewpoints from the questions asked as well as to provide a more focused and centered conversation. 2. 2. Feelings Before the interview started, we realized that 2 out of the 3 digital cameras had roughly 30-40 minutes worth of video recording capacity which might not be enough. My feelings then were that of disappointment because I had planned to combine different angles of the Interview Into our video-making. However, my Initial apprehension was short-lived as the interviewee was amiable and enthusiastic, and I felt relaxed and warmed up to him quickly. During the interview, I was tensed because I was typing rapidly but my group members’ poise and confidence in their roles made me reassured. Overall, the interview was a success as everyone executed heir roles expertly and I felt a sense of accomplishment for our efforts in planning and executing the interview. 2. 3. Evaluation The Interview was an eye-opening experience as have never done an informational interview before. After reviewing the video recording, I noted down the strengths and weaknesses of the interview. Firstly, using Jean’s ‘SOLES’ model, the interviewers were sitting squarely, had an open posture, leaned forward, maintained eye contact, but were a little tensed. One of the interviewers, Celia, kept twirling his pen and even dropped It at one point. Arc, on the other hand, kept spinning in her Secondly, the content of the interview covered multiple areas and it helped us to understand the health professional better. However, the questions did not transit well from the preparation to the exploration stage. An example was the quick transition of understanding the interviewee’s roles and responsibility to finding out about abortion. Lastly, the interviewers displayed sufficient communication skills. They responded to the interviewee’s answers with nods and verbal cues such as â€Å"uh- huh† and â€Å"yes†. The questions asked utilized the social penetration theory to explore and create self-awareness through self-disclosure. Alton and Taylor (1987) highlighted that self-disclosure and social penetration was co-related: Self-disclosing and learning about others is the process of penetrating deeper into the selves of those people?and enabling others to penetrate ourselves and gain a deeper understanding of us. This process of penetration is a gradual one, in which each communicator reveals layers of personal depth. (as cited in Doyle, 2004, Para. 6) However, the interviewers could have slowly crafted out the phrasing of the question in their head before asking the question, especially if it was impromptu. This would low the interviewer to understand the main intention of the question without multiple questions asked. 2. 4. Analysis After evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the interview, I decided to explore how these factors might have affected the interview. Firstly, prior to the interview, we did our research into the interviewee’s background and tried to understand his roles and responsibilities as well as the concept of bioethics. This enabled us to craft our questions according to how the interviewee responded to show that we had listened and understood his perspective. According to Minnie 2005), he described it as â€Å"active learning† and added that â€Å"it involves using the communication cycle and the ability to demonstrate what you have understood when you listen to another person† (peg. 86). This concept is further supported by Egan (1986) who theorized that â€Å"the goal of listening is understanding† (as cited in Minnie, 2005, peg. 86). Hence, this was an area of communication skills which we executed well, albeit some minor fidgety body language which I had highlighted earlier that could have been misinterpreted as being inattentive. Fortunately, the interviewee did not Jump to conclusions and continued to speak enthusiastically. Secondly, the usage of the social penetration theory to encourage self-disclosure was a good way to explore and create self-awareness in the interviewee. Skunk, Meadows, Interring, Tooth Sooner (2011) defined self-disclosure as â€Å"the act of opening one’s self up and revealing information not available otherwise† (slide. 3). Levine, Marshall, Wood, Elliott Wright (n. D. ) illustrated the stages of the theory as â€Å"an orderly process which goes through different stages over time. As interpersonal exchange gradually progresses from the superficial to the more intimate our real selves are revealed† (Para. 3). The four stages to this process are Orientation Stage, Exploratory Affective Stage, Affective Stage and Stable Stage. As we moved from stage to stage, our questions became more personal. For example, in the exploratory affective stage, he revealed how he was a cradle Catholic. When we reached the affective stage where questions were more personal, we asked him if there were any conflicts between his religion and his bioethics research, such as abortion. Finally, at degree of trust and understanding was established, he revealed his personal relationships with his wife, who is a Catholic too, over his line of work. In addition, he as not afraid to display his emotions such as frustration. In the end, he showed self- awareness as he could distinguish between the ethical issues of work and his religion. I felt that this was proof that we had managed to fulfill the intended objectives of this model which was to â€Å"escalate a relationship, and moving it from one stage to another. † (West Turner, 2009, peg. 81) Lastly, the initiation stage to the exploration stage could have transited better. West Turner (2009) highlighted that â€Å"self-disclosures occur in the context of time- that is, self-disclosures get more intimate as a relationship progresses, and time effect the meaning of disclosure. (peg. 289) Hence, questions related to the interviewee’s present life could be asked first before delving into the past. 2. 5. Implication/Conclusion Although I was not conducting the interview, however, I imagined myself to be in the shoes of the interviewer and thought out what could been done differently. With the insight I have gathered after evaluating and analyzing, I felt that asking multiple questions could have been avoided as it confused the interviewer hence some of his reply did not address the question. Snow (2012) revealed that â€Å"when people are reverse, they tend to ramble, and their questions tend to trail off into series of possible answers† (Para. 8). Thus, the interviewer could have avoided this by taking some time to craft out the question before asking it. Rattail (n. D. ) highlighted that â€Å"stopping a conversation to ask the right questions is far superior to nodding along in ignorance,† (as cited in Snow, 2012, Para. 8). Hence the interviewers could have used linking sentences to steer the interviewee back to the right direction. 2. 6. Action plan After reflecting on the interview, I thought of an action plan to integrate my experiences into future interviews, especially with a patient, since I will become a nurse. Firstly, I will continue to use Jean’s â€Å"SOLES† model to show attentiveness to the interviewee and in the case of the patient, display that I am able to empathic with him/her. Secondly, preparation is crucial. Prior to any interview, I will ensure that if equipments are needed, I will check for its usability. The questions planned will be formatted correctly to ensure proper transition and if the reply does not answer the question, I would not hesitate to rephrase and repeat the questions again to get a more definite answer. More importantly, I will give the interviewee time to process and answer the question without bombarding him/her with multiple questions. Lastly, Multiprogramming’s (2012) highlighted some criticisms of the social penetration theory, â€Å"gender, age, religion, social experience (maturity), and ethnic background could greatly influence resistance to certain self-disclosures† (Para. 2). In that situation, I will utilities other exploration skills such as the Shari Window model, which consists of 4 stages; open, hidden to others, blind to oneself, and unknown to oneself and others. 3. Conclusion of the reflection This assignment is a reflection of my inter-professional experience with a healthcare professional and the communication skills that I have appl ied to ensure an effective communication. I was exposed to various methods to enhance exploration skills, such as social penetration theory and Shari Window model. In addition, I learnt about the understanding. It is with this insight knowledge acquired that I hope to apply to patients in future to show empathy and improve the nurse-patient relationship. How to cite Interprofessional Education, Papers