An analysis of the Culture of an organisation Essay

An analysis of the Culture of an organisation - Essay Example Organisations are increasingly focusing on developing the ‘right culture’, or ‘culture with quality’ or a ‘culture of customer service’ with a view to inculcate certain values and norms in their organisational settings. It is widely assumed that better, stronger and more importantly the right culture can largely influence the effectiveness and success factors of the organisation (Schein, 2004, p. 7). Southwest Airlines is an outstanding example for best cultural practices within the organization as its dedicated employees do more than delivering the friendly and high-quality customer services for which the company is widely known and this is the way its people and culture bring result. This paper presents a brief description about organisational culture and describes the theoretical framework in relation to Schein model of organisational culture based on the empirical evidences from the application of organisational culture in Southwest Airlines. This paper mainly focuses on the unique culture of Southwest Airlines to deliver highest quality customer service and its impact on organisational performance. Southwest Airlines, the Dallas-based airline carrier, continues to differentiate itself from other carriers with exemplary customer service delivered by more than 45,000 employees to more than 100 million customers every year (Investor relations, 2013). The company was founded by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King in 1971 as a low cost airline service in busy markets of less than 500 miles. In 1980, the company adopted its mission as â€Å"dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and company spirit† (Smith, 2004, p. 27). Even after 32 years, Southwest Airlines perceives its people to be the highest valued assets and asks them to be highly dedicated to continually providing highest quality

GASTROESOPHAGEAL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

GASTROESOPHAGEAL - Essay Example The high prevalence GERD in combination with the relatively high cost of medication of acid lowering medication leads to a significant socioeconomic burden to the patient. The symptoms are classified into typical, atypical, and esophageal symptoms. The typical symptoms are the heartburns and regurgitation of acid which have low sensitivity but high specificity for GERD. The atypical symptoms are epigastric pain, nausea, dyspepsia, belching and bloating though they may overlap with other diagnosis of other diseases such as peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, achalasia, gastroparesis and dyspepsia. Lastly, there are the extraesophageal symptoms which include chronic cough, laryngitis, asthma, and dental erosion. It is important for the physician to take into consideration of behavioral and physical factors when making decision about the management of the disease for the patient with symptoms of persistent reflux (Kahrilas, 2012). The following lifestyle habits may lead to GERD and increase its risk. Theses includes obesity, smoking, exercising or strenuous activities immediately after eating, Lying down staring or bending over after eating. In addition, the consumption of the following beverages may lead to the increased risk of GERD; namely, excessive consumption of alcohol, products that are caffeinated, citrus fruits, chocolate, fried foods, foods made with tomatoes such as chili, spaghetti sauce, and pizza and finally the spicy foods. Eating a heavy meal and then lie on the back or bend over from the waist. The respiratory disease may also be a risk factor of GERD. Finally, the hormone replacement therapy may lead to high risk of GERD as it may occur in the postmenopausal women. The risk increases with the larger doses of estrogen and longer duration of the therapy. Pregnant women are also vulnerable to GERD in their third trimesteras the growing uterus exerts

Foreign policy analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Foreign policy analysis - Essay Example Allison suggests that using this model may be too simplistic to explain accurately the full dynamics of the crisis. One of his reasons in promoting the â€Å"organizational actor† theory in contrast to this interpretation is that the State is not a single entity but rather a practical assemblage of people, processes, and institutions that often act with conflicting rates of efficiency and motivation. As Sundaram (2011) writes, â€Å"An ‘organizational process’ model in which the decision maker operates under time and information constraints, and does not seek an optimal solution. Instead, the decision maker engages in ‘satisficing’ behavior and attempts to find a solution which achieves a set (minimum) goal, and minimizes risk of failure.† (Sundaram, 2011, p.22) Allison finally modified this thesis to a â€Å"bureaucratic politics† which took into consideration the full complexity of the government in action. (Sundaram, 2011, p.25) These distinctions show why the decision-making aspects of government may proceed differently in a crisis vs. during normal times. A crisis presents a critical situation that can spiral out of control at any moment. This is seen in the nuclear escalation between the USA and USSR in the Cuban Missile Crisis. ... Practically, when the Cuban Blockade was implemented by Kenendy, the policy would be implemented not by JFK himself but by a wide range of instruments of the US bureaucracy, military, and innumerable soldiers or staff. If any one of these individuals made a mistake in the crisis, it could have spiraled out of control in a way that would have changed the way Kennedy or Khrushchev could make further decisions. Compare the negotiations between Gorbachev and Reagan that took place at Reykjavik and other locations during the end of the Cold War. In one to one negotiations at the highest level, the rational actor theory seems like a plausible way to explain history. Yet, in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the American Navy and Russian Navy could have exchanged fire at any time, creating a Gulf of Tonkin or Lusitania moment that could have led to further escalation in MAD. Allison states he expected that Kennedy made a personal and private offer to Khrushchev that defused the situation, and histo rically he was proven correct. (Marks, 1991, Web) This offer allowed Khrushchev to remove bases from Cuba with the personal assurance from Kennedy that the US nuclear weapons would also be removed from Turkey. (Marks, 1991, Web) Question 2: assess the effectiveness of military force as a tool for foreign policy In an article written just after the 9/11 attacks, MIT professor Noam Chomsky cited the US Army manual which define terrorism as "the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature...through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear." (Chomsky, 2002) What Chomsky and others have noted throughout history is the fundamental relationship of military force and the violence of war to terrorism. For example,

How does the quality of mentors reflect on student nurses grade on Essay

How does the quality of mentors reflect on student nurses grade on placement - Essay Example A mentee can even make the decision to work on an ability, during placement, that his or her mentor has identified as a personal strength even though the mentee may not completely believe this; thus improving his or her overall marketability. Research Question: How does the quality of Mentors reflect on nursing students grades on placement? Introduction In nursing, mentoring can be said to be a part of the ‘helping process’ that allows student nurses to benefit from the experience of the more practiced nurses. Mentoring allows the structural, insightful, and intentional learning which takes place in different stages. The mentor is expected to account for his or her own as well as the mentee’s experience. The professional student nurse mentor will help the student nurse to realize her potential and demonstrate how best to put theoretical issues into practice. The professional student nurse also plays a big part in determining their placements. They can establish le arning contracts for their mentees which help the student nurses to learn about how to participate in projects. Rationale Mentoring is the prime example of self-directed learning. It basically calls for a mentor and mentee to take responsibility for all the learning processes that are necessary (Carter, Hudyma, and Horrigan 2010). In most professions, including nursing, the recognized codes of ethics stress the tradition and professional requirement of passing to new learners the skills and abilities that they require in order to be competent. In a mentoring relationship between a student nurse and a certified medical practitioner is mutually defined and shared (Kenyon and Peckover 2008). Moreover, the mentor’s character plays an important part in influencing the student nurse’s selection of placement choice as well as future career. Through the study of the importance of mentorship qualities, mentors will be able to recognize the effect that their behaviors have on th eir mentees (Young and Curzio 2007). This study will also give suggestions on how mentors can alter their approaches towards student nurses so as to avail intervention strategies that will help the mentees to make more informed decisions in future. For many students to benefit the most from mentoring relationships, mentors must be able to understand when they do not make the best decisions for the situations they are in (Harwood, Reimer-Kirkham, Sawatzky, Terblanche, and Van Hofwegen 2009). They must also be able to recognize what other options they have in terms of their dealing with difficult situations, and the effects that will materialize in mentees if their behavior impacts on student nurses in a negative way (Sedgwick and Yonge 2009). Background Research studies conducted by specialists have shown that mentors play a significant role in the lives of student nurses. In addition, the individual qualities of the mentor can greatly affect how a student nurse responds to his or he r placement. For example, mentors who hold the view that supervising a student nurse’s placement is a privilege for them tend to have more influence on their mentees (Jokelainen, Jamookeeah, Tossavainen and Turunen, 2013). Understanding mentors will also seek to make sure that their student nurses acquire the required clinical skills that are required

Video Analysis 3 Socio cultural Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video Analysis 3 Socio cultural Theory - Essay Example They gain increased responsibility and become fully participative in the activities under consideration. It is worth pointing that when learners are engaged in playful environments, their cognitive abilities are enhanced. This enables them to perform challenging tasks with assistance (Mitchell and Myles, 2004, p. 262). The video outlines the reasons behind fostering interaction in the classroom. Interaction accommodates learning differences and styles from different students while providing students with an excellent environment for getting involved in different cognitive abilities. Further, interaction motivates students to learn through improving on task engagement while enabling students to get involved in engaging activities. The video uses two examples to elaborate on the aforementioned reasons of fostering student interaction. According to Foster and Ohta (2005), assistance enables a learner to do something that he/she would not have otherwise done (p. 414). This is exemplified in the video, where students are seen assisting one another in the various tasks. For instance, in the second example in the video, we see the students assisting each other to write a correct sentence. The teacher finally assists them to develop correct sentences. Interaction is another crucial aspect, which is exemplified in the video. Establishment and management of an interactive environment is essential in facilitating learning (Zuengler and Miller, 2006). In the video, students are seen interacting with others and with their teacher in completing the tasks given. Further, playing and attempting challenging tasks (in assistance) help students to enhance their cognitive abilities. In the video, specifically in the first example, students are seen engaging in a competitive situation. This is tantamount to playing, which enables students to think fast (whether the sentence given is true or false). In the second example in the video,

Sankofa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sankofa - Essay Example However, white man preferred the strong men who were able to work in the fields for long hours. After their capture they were tied together with chains to prevent them from escaping, those who tried to escape were either killed or whipped ruthlessly in front of others, this act helped to instill fear to others who had thought of either being resistant or either escaping. Caravans which consisted of long distance traders and a white man riding on a horse travelled to the coast and the latter to where there were big holding places for the staves. These slaves stayed in this holding place and waited for a merchant who would select them for travel. Women were mainly house slaves while men were field slave. The character of Nunu who was an African native with freedom experience though later sold to slavery is used to represent a true African character. As depicted by the character of noble Ali, Africans themselves were against the slave trade and the ruthless treatment the white men who used on Africans. Additionally, Africans were used against each other, when Master Lafayette who is the plantation owner instructs Noble Ali to whip a fellow slave Ali defy on the claim that he cannot be able to handle whipping and counting at the same time. The story in the film creates a huge reality of what happened during the Trans Saharan and Trans African slave trade. We are shown how Africans were subjected to untold mistreatment, when they were captured, dragged all the way to the coast tied with metallic chains. On arrival at the coast, they were placed in the dungeons tied up, upon arrival to the new world they were forced to leave their way of life and adapt the Christianity this created a religious conflict between the white man’s and the black man’s god. Women on the other hand, were mistreated through rape, which was done on public. During Mona’s transition into shoal, she claims that she dint know

Health and Illness Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health and Illness - Assignment Example I think World Health Organization did not include the definition of illness as such because illness is actually an aspect of health, since it is not merely and absence of disease. For me though, health is a general condition of the mind, body and spirit – it could be well or unwell. A person with a healthy outlook in life is usually physically healthy as well. Sickness can be a disease or an illness. Disease, for me, is physical damage to one’s body – a deficiency, maybe, or a wound or trauma. Illness, on the other hand, refers to the sociocultural context of having a disease, and this includes the experience and perception of a disease. It may also include religious and spiritual infirmities and disbeliefs. What I mean about the sociocultural context is that the patient and his community define, classify the episode of sickness in a way that it is meaningful to them and the society in general. It does not have to be a technical â€Å"malfunction of the body†, and can accommodate meaning defined by how a person is feeling and thinking. Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April