ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The Six Sigma has had a great impact on many sectors including the health sector. If implemented properly, the Six Sigma can enhance efficiency in most organizations and ultimately lead to high profits (Pyzdek & Keller, 2009). As a consultant, I would seek some information from Colin before designing the Six Sigma implementation for Southwest Louisiana Regional Medical Centre (SLRMC). The first thing I would ask Colin is why he thinks that the medical center needs this process-improvement strategy. I would also like to know what he hopes for SLRMC to achieve by adopting the Six Sigma strategy. In this way, I will have a clear understanding of how the continuous improvement methodology will benefit the organization both in the short-term and long-term. Based on this information, I will undertake steps to ensure that the Six Sigma framework is implemented successfully. The first step would involve identifying key departmental directors who will oversee the implementation. Already, Colin has identified four departments that would benefit from the Six Sigma framework, viz. patient services, finance, human resources, and quality assessment. The leaders will keep the implementation of the projects on track. The next step will involve educating the staff at all levels regarding the Six Sigma framework and what role they will play in the implementation. An informed staff will ensure the effective implementation of projects. As such, I would establish a system that updates all employees on the project’s progress as well as reward good employees. This approach will motivate team members and encourage their participation at the start of the program and during the implementation stag
Introduction In 1965, Elliot Aronson and Darwyn Linder developed the gain-loss theory of attraction. It does not contradict other research that I have read. This theory holds that Person A will like Person B if the latter’s negative views towards the former gradually change into positives (Cramer, 2009). The liking will be more pronounced in this case as compared to a scenario where Person A has constant positive views about Person B. Similarly, Person A will dislike Person B if the latter’s positive attitudes change into negatives. However, the experiment that led to the development of this theory failed to consider some important factors. For instance, Aronson and Linder did not consider the participants’ personal feelings towards themselves. In other words, the participants’ level of self-esteem was not factored. People with low self-esteem are likely to think lowly about themselves are probably dislike the interviewer. Similarly, individuals with high self-esteem may not be affected by the interviewer’s negative comments, and their feelings may be unchanged. Additionally, the theory has some testing limitations. Interviewees could be biased when giving self-reports on how they feel towards the interviewer. It could also be difficult to measure other confounding factors and determine whether they relate to the results by causation or correlation. For instance, some interviewees could be attracted to the interviewer’s physical attributes, and this aspect may affect the ultimate judgment on liking or disliking someone. In this case, it could be difficult to establish whether the liking is associated with the interviewer’s positive comments about the interviewee or physical attractiveness. In addition, some participants may like the interviewer’s positive views based on how he or she says it as o
Introduction The individuals, who are engaged in the sphere of law enforcement, are professional, which is disclosed in their attire and positioning. The slides show the specialists from diverse divisions of the sphere, which emphasizes the idea that the criminal justice carrier is suitable for citizens with different interests and social positions. Moreover, the slides reveal that the profession may be embraced by both women and men. Analysis The professionalism of the pictured workers is expressed by their attires. Thus, the first slide shows the employees of the police service and the worker of fire safety service. Three professionals wear the uniforms, which are certified by the standards of law enforcement specializations. Furthermore, they carry the obligatory attributes, which serve as the signs of their professions. Thus, it is evident that policemen have their weapon while the specialist from the fire safety division possesses fire-resistant clothes and masque. The second slide pictures a laboratory employee, who deals with criminal justice evidence. The professionalism of the worker is elaborated by the presentation of his attire, which, traditionally, includes a white coat, a masque, and the gloves. Finally, the last slide presents an agent of the security service, who stays on guard of community safety, which is shown with the help of the main attribute – a gun. The possible flaws, which might have hindered the w
Introduction Changes in strategy are not deliberate, they state, but emerge from a pattern of consistent decisions. Companies are influenced by internal and external environments and have to adapt to new demands and requirements stipulated by the industry. The case of the German-based company, Continental AG, demonstrates that a company has to adapt to new environment and foreshadow changes and new industrial demands. Inability to do so will result in profit loss and low productivity, increase competition and dissatisfaction of staff. Managers who believe that their firms are immune to the turbulent forces of global change do use strategic approach, especially at the implementation stage. Often, however, the use of incautious incrementalism in strategy formulation or design generates failure archetypes. Upon close analysis, the rationale underlying incautious incrementalism may turn out to be as undiscriminating and impractical as a halfway compromise between contradictory opposites. The paper aims to single out the main causes of failure and the effectiveness of the solutions developed by Continental. Also, recommendations will be given on how to improve and introduce change management. Background Information During 1990s, Continental AG was faced with fierce price wars caused by a strategic attempt to achieve fast growth through economy of scale. “Continental slipped into the red in just two years” (Wit & Meyer 2004, p. 739). Takeovers had a negative impact on Continental and threaten its further growth and profitability. Also, poor profits among some divisions and acquisition activity threatened the existence of Continental and its future. Some changes in variables were within a firm’s control, a consequence of prevailing operating policies and managerial decisions. Pulling and pushing on these internal levers could also affect the firm’s performance (Mintzberg et al 2004). To evaluate a change in strategy, its results had to be anticipated and considered, along with changes in the business environment, with respect to matching resource capabilities, stakeholder concerns, and organizational goals. These tasks were difficult to chive because Continental relied on “bureaucratic and centralistic structure and culture” (Wit & Meyer 2004, p. 740). Depending on the sales volume that a firm anticipates, it adjusted its sales force, supplies and distribution, equipment, and facilities to match the scale of its production. Thus, coherent and consistent actions were not taken by its production, marketing, personnel, distribution, and procurement managers in order to create a shared vision of the intended production scale. Internal problems involved “lack of awareness of the sources, poor ma
Introduction Teams are effectively working groups, which share similar ambitions and strive to accomplish definite goals. The finest technique, which aids in achieving business and team success, is developing a solid plan. A team utilizes a plan as a chart for reference thud determining the desired levels of success. Establishing and heading results-oriented team starts with creating a collective team mindset. Discussions of a team’s nature and mindset are thus vital components in the start-up process ( Diamond & Diamond 2007). A team is composed of parts, which form a support system and function towards a familiar goal. Unity defines the level of success in teamwork. Noticeably, setting plans is dependent on a defined timeline. Evidently, individuals have varied attributes, culture, personal orientations, and practices that a team ought to appreciate. Before initiating plans, there must be an understanding between groups and individual dynamics. Mission and Vision Statement It is fundamental for all group members to take part in the establishment of crucial statements. These comprise the benchmarks of operations of the group, which must be in line with the intended team activity. For team members’ best performance and contentment, their involvement in drafting of service charter is necessary. This also allows the stimulation and provision of a motivating environment because each member has a collective responsibility to attain the set goals. This stage encompasses outlining of goals or objectives, procedures, core values, and general codes. Having a collective clarity and dedication to planned objectives is a major indicator to team success ( Diamond & Diamond 2007). The outlined objectives herein are set in the implementation plan with specific duty description for each member over a particular period. Team Leaders, Roles, and Delegation A satisfactory formula for selecting team leaders is effectual. Team leaders are recruited through interviews to match qualifications with job descriptions or work delegation; voluntary membership may require democratic elections of leaders, application of a capability and interpersonal skills matrix may be necessary for some teams. Considering the Belbin’s model, behavior and motivation in teams have close attachments to personality, familiarity in the given locale’s intellectual capabilities, present ideals, motivations, role knowledge, and field constraints. Since the team is composed of persons of varied personalities and character, team’s values and perfo
Introduction Wal-Mart is the leading retail chain in the US and the global retail industry. It is also the largest employer in the US private sector. Despite its financial success over the years, the company has been accused on several occasions of engaging in unethical practices in order to achieve its business targets. It has been particularly accused of engaging in unethical labor practices some of which violates the rights of its employees (Fishman, 2006, pp. 6-25). The government through the labor laws expects all employers to focus on ethical labor practices in order to enhance the welfare of the employees. This paper analyzes the labor practices at Wal-Mart. The analysis will be done with the aid of three “ethical principles of global business standard codex namely, the principle of fairness, reliability principle and the transparency principle” (Carol and Buchholty, 2008, p. 45). Employment Practices at Wal-Mart Low Wages Research conducted on wage rate in the retail industry indicates that Wal-Mart pays the least wage rate. Compared to the national average wage rate for the same job categories in the retail industry, Wal-Mart’s wage rate is less by between 26%-37% (Rao and Cynthia, 2007, pp. 27-33). The company’s average wage rate per hour is $ 10.84. Thus a fulltime employee working for 34 hours in a week will be entitled to an annual income of about $ 19,200 (Rao and Cynthia, 2007, pp. 27-33). However, according to the federal government’s definition of poverty, this amount is not sufficient for a family of four in the US. The amount is considered to be less by at least $ 10,000 for a family of two (Christopherson and Lillie, 2005, pp. 1919-1938). This means that the workers of the company are not able to support themselves financially and live decent lives. This is support by the fact that most of Wal-Mart’s associates partly depend on state welfare support programs. Wal-Mart assesses the performance of its store managers based on their ability to reduce costs associated with labor. The employees who are paid more are expected to be highly productive. The company’s management on the other hand defends its wage rate and claims that it is comparable to the industry rate (Hemphill, 2008, pp. 26-29). The management further claims that its investment in employee training and automation provides more opportunities to the employees and this account for the low wages. Paying low wages is considered an unethical practice since it is against the welfare of the employees (Heineman, 2008, p. 78). This is also against the ethical principle of fairness which advocates of fair compensation for employees’ services (Heineman, 2008, p. 78). According to the fairness principle, a company is considered to enga
In the field of psychology, doctors are more concerned with the therapy of their clients. Studies indicate that Rogers, who was one of the psychologists, came up with seven stages that he observed when dealing with his clients who were in the process of therapy. The process is considered to be unpredictable even though clients tend to move from one stage to the next (Trull, 2013). This essay seeks to explain one of the seven stages of Rogers that the client is at after analyzing the Rogerian technique video. In the Rogerian technique video, the client was identified to be in the second last stage of the seven stages of Rogers’s therapeutic growth. The sixth stage is described as being distinctive and dramatic since it reveals the previously suppressed feelings of the client in the present moment. At this stage, the client fully accepts what he or she is undergoing meaning that what was somehow fragmented becomes fully accepted by the body, mind, intellect, and emotions of the client as the patient is facing the moments of full congruence (Trull, 2013). It is clear from the case that the patient fully accepted her feelings and was even willing to reveal them. She shared her feelings with the doctor on how she had felt when her men had broken up with her. She openly told the doctor what troubled her for many years concerning the issues that contributed to her breakdown. She admitted that she did not use make-up to care for herself and she was unable to lose her weight, a major factor that resulted in her break-ups with men since they claimed that she was not good looking (Rogers, 2013). At this stage, feelings flow freely, and the client was no longer fearful of the potential destructions of the negative feelings since the fear had already gone, and therefore, she was ready to share her emotions comfortably (Trull, 2013). The client freely shared her emotions with the doctor so that she even admitted that her figure and size could have been the major issue as to why men broke up with her. This is evident when she said that she had tried to lose weight as well as use the make-ups but all in vain. She told, “… those were the conditions, but I never met them… I kept trying ….” This is an indication that the client had accepted the feeling since they could not be changed or avoided (Rogers, 2013). The sixth stage, according to the Ro
Falling asleep is one of the major sleep problems commonly encountered in children and adolescents. The age may vary between 5 and 17.It can be better explained keeping in view of some factors. They are environmental, genetic and biochemical. Liu et al. (2005) reported that the reason for this problem would be short sleep duration and snoring. Children who spent less time at bed are susceptible to early fatigue that makes them fall asleep during day time or in a class room. Neurotransmitters acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin may also contribute to this behavior. Acetylcholine that functions in impulse transport might get weakened in its cerebral circulation leading to a poor conduct of the neural transmission. This might result in poor attention accompanied by a feeling of tiredness and finally leading to sleep problem. Here, it can also be assumed that the function of acetylcholine receptors might have altered in recognizing the acetylcholine on the neural membranes. Other factors could be dopamine or serotonin secretions below threshold levels that maintain sleep awakening cycle. An alteration in the series of events in the sleep cycle could also lead to sleep disturbance. School children are prone to stress of any kind either at home or at school. As such, some stress response genes could be activated leading to the production of any gene product or secretion that might be interfering with the function of normal brain secretions. Similarly, the enzyme levels of vital biochemical pathways may get altered causing sleep defects. The problem of falling asleep could also be attributed to hereditary factors. Specific genes inherited from the parents who might have faced sleep problems during childhood, could be contributing to the problem. The problem of falling asleep could also be assigned to mental cognition that might vary depending upon the situation. For ex., when the class lecture or teaching appears difficult to perceive, the student might get bored and prone to sleep in the class room. Very often the topic may appear interesting, but the student fails to be attentive and falls asleep. This behavior may be time related. If it is a fresh morning, the chances of falling asleep would be remote. If it is a mid afternoon, the chances will be close. Children suffering from sleeping problems may prone to asleep in the class room. This problem may also originate due to other disorders ch
Introduction The ‘Waiting Room’ is a documentary film based on the daily experiences of doctors working in American public hospitals. The film was directed by Peter Nicks, who is a producer, cinematographer, and editor. Linda Davis, an Emmy nominee filmmaker, was the producer of the film. Lawrence Lerew, Bill Hirsch, and Scott Verges, among others, were part of the filmmakers. The film is set in a hospital, Highland Hospital, located in Oakland, California. The film reflects on the daily life at American public hospitals, especially for uninsured patients. The documentary focuses on about ten patients who attend the Highland Hospital amid desperation and poor medical care offered at the hospital. Through the film, the audience can learn about the challenges patients face, visiting American public hospitals, who are in dire need of medical attention. Individuals featured in the film The film closely features the experiences of four patients moving from the waiting room through their admission to Emergency Rooms, discharge, and their exit at the billing desks. Highland Hospital provides services to about two hundred and forty people every twenty-four hours and has a population of about 250 000 in Oakland (“Highland Hospital”). The patients are multi-raced and come from different cultures with different medical histories. The nurses in the film seem disorganized, and some patients’ Medicare is canceled without valid reasons. The film features an uninsured student and a family member who had a testicular tumor and had an appointment for surgery. However, t
Reflective skills revealed through the process of self-analysis are essential for a person-centered development of a professional. According to Kolb’s learning cycle model, a reflective observation that implies reviewing the task and the role of the person in it is one of the four critical elements of the process. As Driessen (2017, p. 223) defines it, a portfolio is “a reflection on an aspect that is considered important to learning or profession.” Rowley, Mundy, and Polly (2017) see reflective portfolios as methods to enhance the development of professional identity. Overall, writing a reflective portfolio contributes to professional development due to constant self-monitoring and transformation. The process of introspection helps to reveal a personal perception of the self, identify strengths, and set developmental goals. Moreover, this method helps to assess self-efficacy, which is essential for the completion of the tasks and reaching the goals. Although the majority of scholars agree on the necessity of reflective skills, there is still a discussion regarding the efficiency of portfolios in pursuit of this goal. Many believe that conducting a multi-faceted evaluation of personal and professional development in this format can enhance self-efficacy and promote person-centered practice (Martin, Slade, and Jacoby, 2019). This way of self-knowledge is especially significant for the development of leadership skills due to the person-centered approach to leadership. Scholars claim that “knowing ‘self’ represents a key prerequisite of being an effective person-centered facilitator” (Middleton, 2017, p. 1). Schedlitzki (2019) also believes that leadership learning benefits from the portfolio as a form of self-evaluation. Faculty and educators’ perspectives should also be taken into account while assessing the efficiency of portfolios. According to Pandya, Slemming, and Saloojee (2017, p. 78), they assist in “monitoring students ‘ growth over time, identifying learning gaps, and helping to establish if expected learning outcomes were being attained.” From the point of view of interprofessional cooperation, portfolios are essential to demonstrate self-assessed skills and knowledge to engage in collaboration with other professionals (Domac, Anderson, and Smith, 2016). Driessen (2017) argues that students often face this task with resistance due to the imperfect application of the method. According to Driessen (2017, p. 221), the ethics and efficiency of these reflections are often questioned. To avoid bureaucracy resulting from the completion of the portfolio, the scholar suggests that the process should be carefully guided by a mentor (Driessen, 2017). The idea is reasonable as it helps to reinforce the potential of portfolios to boost the development of reflective skills. Portfolios are potentially robust educating and developmental tools used to increase the reflective skills of professionals. To maximize the contribution of a portfolio, a comprehensive, mentor-led approach should be taken. Ove