Understanding Business Organisations

Understanding Business Organisations TASK 1 The government has an important role to play in providing easy, low-cost access to information. Numerous studies and reports call for a more coordinated access for businesses to information on markets, industries and regional economies. In this case, most SME’s want better information about the local and regional economy to help position their businesses and raise competitiveness. Therefore, there is an urgent need for these government funded organizations to play the role of considering a more formal mechanism to listen to the needs of businesses, improve access to information and ensure they provide partial electronic services to people and small businesses through Government portals. The stimulation of the SME’s by these funded organizations can reduce the level of unemployment and contribute to a more equal distribution of economic powers. The development of the SME’s is important for the social and economic development of the country, since they increase competitiveness and mobilize idle funds to productive aims. The business community (the SME’s) has unique information needs that need to be addressed with a specifically designed information system integrated in the National Treasury, Kenya Revenue Authority, Home Affairs State Department and Immigration Office. A multi-faceted approach to information provision is necessary because of the variation in needs, literacy and business prospects. Training needs of both the business managers of the SME’s and information specialists should be identified and recommended as part of the business information system design. TASK 2 UNIT: Understanding Business Organizations TITLE: Technology Advisory Group Task 3 Organization chart for T.A.G ORGANISATION STRUCTURE The structure adopted is functional organizational structure which will involve organizing the activities of the advisory group around areas of specialization. This approach involves a considerable amount of process standardization within the organization, with the real decision-making authority centered at the top of the organization. EFFICIENCY INTO OPERATION BY THE STRUCTURE the organization will achieve significant efficiencies in terms of process flow and management methods as the staff will be allowed to focus on one specific functional area to the exclusion of all else. It is ideal for the organization because it is easier to monitor and update the training of employees when they are focused on narrow functional areas. The organization will also use this approach to cultivate a group of extraordinary specialists who can strongly impact the functions of the company. KEY MANAGEMENT PROFILE Administration and Finance Their role is to provide a general oversight of the operations of the organization.The team will consist of a General Manager, Finance Manager with 1 administrator and ICT Manager with 1 administrator. This team will be responsible for effective planning, delegating, coordinating, staffing, organizing, and decision making to attain desirable profit making results for the organization (Sayles 1979). Marketing and PR   Their function is mainly to increase sales for the organization. Assigned here will be the Head of Marketing, two(2) executives inMarketingand two (2) executives in PR. As the teams begin to work together they need to come up withconcrete and up-to-date plans to maximize profits while creating long-term customers as well as adding value to the product and our services. IT Consultants  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ They play the role of advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives.Two(2) Senior Consultants will be in charge. In addition to delivering advice, four(4) Middle-Level Consultants and four (4) Junior Consultants will oversee the workshops that will look at the technologies that can be underpinned by Superfast Broadband. They will work hand in hand with five(5) IT Trainers, two(2) website administrators and two(2) graphicdesigners to manage, implement, deploy, and administer IT systems of the organization. TASK 5 BUSINESS PLAN FOR T.A.G The intentions of Technology Advisory Group is to offer clients with an all-inclusive assistance through free consultancy and specialist advice on business prospects offered by Superfast Broadband In the form of articles and blogs written by IT specialists.The three year goals for Technology Advisory Group are the following: Achieve break-even by Year 2. Establish along-term contract with the Central Government. Establish a minimum of95% customer satisfaction rate to establish long-term relationships with our clients and create word-of-mouth marketing. T.A.G has established a status for quality work and plans to continue to heighten its image in the trade. The organization endeavors to become a well-known benefactor of IT related guidance to SMB’s through the following: Increasing service backings by consolidating specialist workshops which will look at the technologies that can be fortified by Superfast Broadband, including Cloud Computing, collaboration and interactive websites. Increasing obtainability and accessibility to present and future customers through a range of pamphlets and case studies that give hands-on insights into the enactment of Superfast Broadband by small businesses Crafting innovative, unique, and cost-effective interpretations to hitches currently met by customers. Technology Advisory Group has established community calendaring and groupware applications for use by the organization. This will support in providing a modest, convenient tool for the organization and staff to consolidate, plan, track projects and workshops. T.A.G will leverage its profile-raising services to help offer secondary income streams as the organization will inaugurate induction of free email services, business directories, and other related services which will entice current and prospective customers to our offices and workshops. These will be used to generate advertising proceeds, as well as increase publicity of our range of services. To generate sales, T.A.G has incorporated the use of direct marketing which will focus on Trade Shows. T.A.G will partake in selected local and national shows that will provide an opportunity to develop exposure. This is a very effective tool in creating responsiveness and stimulating lead activity.And also Contact Campaigns as this initiative will encompass various methods of reaching potential customers to generate interest, followed by direct mail to the potential customer. The organization has a well-articulated human resources strategy which ensures that labor regulations are stringently followed and that all pamphlets relating to labor law are upheld hence confirms that the employees are exceedingly inspired to ensure that they are industrious. T.A.G has articulated human resources scheme that is in line with those that directly deal with intensifying through attainment. Strategies that should be put to ensure that the company achieves further growth Marketing strategy The organization has to put more exertion in having access to the global market. It should put more effort in advertising of its services to other parts of the ecosphere that it has not accessed the market. It should discover probable market such as other African republics. T.A.G should upturn the number of workshops and virtual assistance services and through this; the company will offer its customers with a choice of service to pick from. The organization should guarantee that its branding and packaging are of high standard and should change with customers change in taste and fashion. The company should contemplate using publicizing tools such as S.W.O.T analysis in guaranteeing that it retains its control of limited market and as a means to subsist in an atmosphere that has stiff competition. Information system strategy Technology Advisory Group should deliberate on using more than one software when executing a given assignment. The administration should concoct a way in which the systems are incorporated. This is to warrant that proficiency is upheld and the work done is precise and can also certify that fraud activities are curtailed. Human resources strategy The organization should also upturn the number of university fresh alumni who are undertaking management drills. This is decisive in that it will advance new skills and different concepts from these graduates and this will support the Technology Advisory Group in development. It is persons who make an organization to grow therefore, to ensure that T.A.G has a stout pool of human resources, it should contemplate efficient in training for employees to keep them informed on new skills so that the enterprise can keep pace with other major conglomerate corporations in relations to human resources. Competitive Edge The Technology Advisory Group should emphasis precisely on facilitating small and emergent businesses exploit their potential for accomplishment by distinguishing itself in the following means: Cost-effective personal interaction with IT consultant presence: T.A.G should target new expanses with local consultants, permitting it to personally cooperate with small businesses without needing to bring consultants to the region. A diverse network of consultants and alliance partners: By relying on a nationally circulated talent base harmonized to work together tenuously, the organization should be able to bring together an assortment of skills to encounter the needs of its clients. Positioning Statement The Technology Advisory Group delivers much needed skills and experience to small to medium business initiators to help their businesses embrace the Superfast Broadband. Our services are bespoke specifically to the distinctive needs of small to medium businesses and focuses on up-to-date citations of specialist suppliers of Superfast Broadband and allied services that can advance overall business performance. With a scarcity of available talent plus the usual budget pressure usually associated with small businesses, our services provide a cost-effective substitute to attaining faster communications inorder to advance the ways in which they do business. The Technology Advisory Group will position itself as the prominent marketing and management consulting firm focusing solely on small businesses. Projected Profit and Loss Key expenses will comprise the cost of payroll for the growing staff, marketing to endorse the Superfast Broadband in the community, and the organizations rent and devaluation. The organization will show a revenue in the first year which will continue to propagate. This is anticipated due to the high gross margins of marketing internet broadband to small and medium businesses Annual sales projection Annual sales projection Task 6 Formal communication Communication is the process through which one person conveys information to another person through applicable medium. These are the major communication systems implemented as these terms are used recurrently in organizations. Upward communication Is the process of information travels from lower to higher ranks in the hierarchy.Various mechanisms can be implemented by T.A.G to facilitate upward communication. Examples, Suggestion boxes, group meetings and participating in decision-making. This is maintained to get feedback to managers from employees. Downward communication Is the process of information flowing from superior to subordinate – from managers to operating staff.Itis related to the hierarchical structure of the organization as messages seem to get large as they travel downward through successive levels of the organization. Example, annual reports, notices and employee performance feedback. Horizontal communication Flow of messages across functional areas shared among people on the same hierarchical level of an organization. This form of communication facilitates for problem solving, task coordination between departments and project teams. How can intranets and groupware help improve communication? Intranets Organization information can be warehoused centrally and retrieved at any time due to superior internal communications. sharing of resources and best practice as virtual groups can be deliberated to expedite information sharing and collaborative working improved customer service better access to accurate and reliable information by your staff leads to heightened levels of customer service forms can be accessed and completed on the computer, then forwarded as appropriate for approval, without ever having to be printed out, and with the benefit of an audit trail Groupware It facilitates users to post ideas, questions or suggestions on given themes of discussion as it allows users to engage with other members of the group thus enhancing business alliances. It permits users to send messages to other members of the organization and outside of the organization. It ensures that users can retain online calendars viewed by other colleagues to assist with the arranging of meetings and project planning as users are able to identify when members are available or times when they are consumed with other tasks. Task 7 Managing virtual teams Virtual teams are defined as â€Å"affiliated individuals using computer-mediated telecommunications to share information electronically† (Kirkman, Rosen, Tesluk, Gibson, 2009, p. 54). Challenges posed by virtual teams in managing individual teams Physical Observation Limitations managers are physically limited to observe their employees’ performance and efforts, and how to implement effective methods for going about measuring productivity, building trust, and managing teams given their particular constraints (Kirkman, Rosen, Gibson,Tesluk, McPherson, 2002). This renders the manager unable to provide constructive performance feedback and harness the full potential of the team. As a result, monitoring and measuring performance remain problematic and sources of concern (Kurkland Bailey, 1999). Overemphasis on Output Evaluation Evaluation of virtual team performance is a challenge when managers directly focus on outcomes rather than process especially when those results prove difficult to measure and observe.Therefore, Managers cannot accuratelyascertain performance due to reduced capability toobserve and monitor the process. Employee Equity and Organizational Justice Issues Virtual team members may feel organizational injustice when compared to those who are present in the actual workplace. Professionally, employees fear that being â€Å"out of sight† infers being â€Å"out of mind† fororganizational rewards thus becomes a significant challenge whenevaluating members of virtual teams against those at the physical office (Kurkland Egan, 1999). Recommendation on how T.A.G will address this challenges Increasing Information Flow–the virtual team project manager should institute mutual knowledge among team members through team building activities and grant members access to evocative project documentation, which lists acronyms and other project specifics important for team members to understand (Davis Khazanchi, 2007). The â€Å"Balanced Scorecard† – the virtual team manager should create an all-inclusive balanced scorecard based on T.A.G’s priorities when evaluating performance. This may consist of the organization’s values in the fields of growth, profitability and customer satisfaction. This enables managers to have a far more transparent understanding of the effectiveness of their virtual team and create more standardized methods of evaluating future virtual team performance. References: Boddy, D. (2005). Management: An introduction. 3rd edition.England, Pearson education, Prentice Hall. Campbell, D Craig, T. (2005).Organizations and the business environment.2nd edition.Oxford, UK, Butterworth-Heinemann. Davis, A., Khazanchi, D. (2007). Does mutual knowledge affect virtual team performance? Theoretical analysis and anecdotal evidence. American Journal of Business, 22(2), 57-65. Kirkman, B.L., Rosen, B., Gibson, C.B., Tesluk, P.E., McPherson, S.O. (2002). Five challenges to virtual team success: lessons from sabre, Inc. Academy of Management Executive, 16(3), 67-69. Kurkland, N.B., Bailey, D.E. (1999). Telework: The advantages of working here, there anywhere,and anytime. Organizational Dynamics, 28(2), 53-68. Mullins, L.J. (2010). Management and Organizational behavior. 9th  Edition. England, prentice hall financial times.

Manage finance within own area of responsibility in health and social care Essay

When I was happy that the strategy was ready to roll out I explained the strategy to the staff within a staff meeting. I asked their thoughts on it as they were the ones that would be implementing it and using it on a day to day basis with the children and young people. I explained to the staff why we needed to use the strategy as it had been mentioned by Ofsted and that it was now a requirement that we work in this way. The staff were all enthusiastic and keen to work with the new strategy. To further gain the support of the staff each member of the Participation Team would have an instrumental role in the strategy being successful and it would also mean that they would spend more time individually with the children and young people so that they got a better understanding of the child/young person and their different levels of communication and how they learnt. The team would also learn a new skill of setting and working towards target setting and measuring outcomes. This would be a learning process not only for the children/young people but myself and all of the team. Explain the features of effective team performance Following on from managing and Leadership should you get the mix right this then will lead to an effective staff team. A staff team is made up of a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. An effective team has certain characteristics that allow the team members to function more efficiently and productively. An effective staff team develops ways to share leadership roles and ways to share accountability for their work products, shifting the emphasis from the individual to several individuals within the team. A team also develops a specific team purpose and concrete work products that the members produce together. Effective staff teams will have open-ended meetings and develop active problem-solving strategies that go beyond discussing, deciding, and delegating what to do; they do real work together. When necessary, individuals in a staff team will set aside their own work to assist other members of the team. In a well-functioning staff team, performance is based not on an individual member’s ability to influence other staff members, but rather is assessed directly by measuring the work products of the whole team. Rewards based on the whole team’s effort help underscore the importance of team responsibility. Characteristics of an Effective Team †¢Staff members share leadership roles †¢Staff team schedules work to be done and commits to taking time allotted to do work †¢Team develops tangible results †¢Team members are mutually accountable for evidencing results †¢Performance is based on achieving team results Problems are discussed and resolved by the team Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves. Leadership styles should be adapted to the demands of the situation, the requirements of the people involved and the challenges facing the organisation. As manager’s we must identify appropriate forums which will provide opportunities to our team members which will help to make their own recommendations on how they should allocate work fairly within the team. These forums could include:- Informal supervisionteam meetings Formal supervisionweekly case allocation meetings At Granville Lodge I have informal supervision this encompasses sitting down over lunch some days or a coffee another and having an informal chat about work, their home lives, the children and young people at Granville Lodge. During these informal chats, the staff will generally open up more as they don’t acknowledge that this is an informal supervision but just a chat so they don’t tend to hold back were as in formal supervision they tend to not say as much as perhaps they want to because it is formal and notes are taken. So for me those informal chats are where I get most of my knowledge and information about the team members and more important to me to gain a greater understanding of that individual. During our team meetings we discuss events that have happened over the previous month, we also discuss any changes that are being made to the business not just at Granville Lodge but the organisation as a whole. I feel it is important to let the team know what is happening in the organisation so that they understand my role also, in that some of the strategic decisions I make, but they don’t necessarily agree with are not optional for me but is a decision I am making for the good of the organisation if not  particularly right for Granville Lodge at that specific time. We also discuss internal matters such as annual leave, health and safety matters the children and young people, and any other matters that the team want to raise. We discuss the matters and generally try to come to a mutual agreement so that all or at least a majority of the team are happy with. If not all staff are happy with a particular suggestion made at these meetings we do try to reach a compromise, if a compromise cannot be met then the decision in the end is mine I will take the decision that I believe is correct for the children/young people, the unit and the team. 1.2 Identify the challenges experienced by developing teams 1.3 Identify the challenges experienced by established teams It is hard coming into a team which is already established and have worked together over a long time period. This was the case in Granville Lodge. The team were well established and had for a lengthy period had to manage with no permanent manager. They worked extremely well but at the same time were lack lustre about their jobs. When you first come into a team like this it is hard to break down barriers, they have a pre disposed idea of who you are and what you want to do to ‘their’ home, they automatically think you are coming in and immediately want to change things or even worse get rid of them. For me the way to deal with this was to get to the know the team on an individual basis, get to know them on a work level, find out what they think of the organisation, how they see the business in its current form and find out if they are open to change. Once I got to know each member of the team individually, I sat back for a few weeks and watched the team work together, I needed to understand the team dynamics, learn who was who and where they sat in the hierarchy of the team. Although you may have Team Leaders this does not necessarily indicate the true dynamics of who ‘is’ actually leading the team. Once I learned who was who, and were they stood in the ‘pecking order’ I could start to work with them to let them know that I was part of their team and wanted what was best for the children and young people who resided and stayed at Granville Lodge. I had to gain their trust, as a Manager I believe that you should understand the business from the ground up. I needed to have a true understanding of the roles of each  member of the team and if the need arose would fulfil that role if required. I wouldn’t expect any member of my team to undertake a role or task that I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself. 1.1Analyse how different management styles may influence outcomes of team performance There are a number of factors which can influence the staff performance in the home, the staff may feel negatively influenced because of micromanaging by their senior or shift patterns. Conversely, the staff will most likely feel inspired and otherwise positively influenced by having a larger input into the running of the home and a supervisor’s approachable management style. Regardless of the field or industry in which you work, the factors influencing staff performance and morale are very much the same. There are several different types of management styles when it comes to managing in the workplace and choosing the right type of style to lead with will have a big impact in terms of how the staff performs. But knowing the different leadership styles in management does not mean that I can simply pick one and then that is going to work because I would then in essence be trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. In most cases, the traits of the staff I am managing help me t o define the management styles I will use, blending a combination of the different categories. Different types of management styles and the situations when each of them may need to be used. A manager’s leadership style may seem to be set in concrete, hard and unchanging. Or it may be fluid, changing to adapt to the given situation. No matter what a manager’s individual leadership style, it is important to remember that not every style is suited to every occasion. Managers who are able to adapt their personal style to obtain desired results are generally more successful leaders than those who try to impose the same style of management on every employee. http://www.ehow.com/info_7772758_management-leadership-styles.html#ixzz2jCXbk8h3 Directive Democrat †¢A democratic leader welcomes and encourages input from employees throughout the decision making process. A directive leader micromanages workers, telling them exactly how to complete their day-to-day work processes. When combined, these two styles create a directive democratic style of leadership in which the leader obtains input from workers when making decisions but then closely oversees the work to ensure it is completed appropriately. Directive Autocrat †¢An autocratic leader is one who makes all important decisions within the organization with little or no input from employees. This is often combined with the directive style to create a manager who accepts no input from employees in the decision making process and also micromanages every aspect of work. This is perhaps one of the least effective management leadership styles, especially if it is the only style a manager knows how to utilise. However, it is essential in a working environment where workers are either unable or unwilling to do the work without absolute supervision. Permissive Democrat †¢A permissive leader is one who gives workers a great deal of flexibility in the workplace, allowing them the opportunity to determine how best to approach their day-to-day work processes. Combined with the democratic style, this is perhaps best suited when managing highly motivated employees who are capable of monitoring their own work processes. The permissive democrat elicits input from highly skilled workers, usually obtaining the most innovative ideas and solutions. This type of manager is often able to confidently delegate many high level duties to capable employees. Permissive Autocrat †¢A permissive autocrat is a manager who makes all important decisions within the organization but then allows workers flexibility in determining how to complete their day-to-day work processes. This is a useful leadership style for a highly motivated yet unskilled workforce who are willing to do the work but do not have the training or education to make important decisions for the organisation. I believe that my management style depends on what is required at that particular moment. I am a mix of many management styles, but mainly a Permissive Democrat. I believe that allowing staff to be flexible in their approach to work and encouraging them to bring forward their ideas gives them a sense of purpose and ownership of our business. As I mentioned earlier it was difficult coming into a team that was already established and had worked together for a long time. They already had formed a working relationship with each other they knew how they all worked individually and already had gone through the five stages of development as a team. These are traditionally known as:- †¢Forming: a group of people come together to accomplish a shared purpose. †¢Storming: Disagreement about mission, vision, and approaches combined with the fact that team members are getting to know each other can cause strained relationships and conflict. †¢Norming: The team has consciously or unconsciously formed working relationships that are enabling progress on the team’s objectives. †¢Performing: Relationships, team processes, and the team’s effectiveness in working on its objectives are synching to bring about a successfully functioning team. †¢Transforming: The team is performing so well that members be lieve it is the most successful team they have experienced; or Ending: The team has completed its mission or purpose and it is time for team members to pursue other goals or projects. The model used was first developed by Dr. Bruce Tuckman who published his four stages of team development: the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing model, in 1965. Dr. Tuckman seems to have added a fifth stage, Adjourning, during the 1970s. Each stage of team development presents its own special challenges to a group of people striving to work together successfully by forming a cohesive team. The team and the organisation can take specific actions at each stage of  team development to support the team’s success in accomplishing the team mission. At each stage, the behavior of the leader must be adapted to the changing and developing needs of the group. As I was a new team member but also the leader we had to go through these stages again as I had a new vision and goals for the unit, so where the team had already reached the transforming stage we had to go back to the forming stage. I feel that at the present time we are between the norming and performing stages we are all now forming working relationships and working well together but not yet at the stage of transforming, but this will come with hard work on both sides. To achieve this we have to work in a team-oriented environment, where we all contribute to t he overall success of the organisation. We work with fellow members of the organisation to produce great results. Even though we all have a specific job function and belong to a specific departments, we are unified with other organisation members to accomplish the overall objectives. The bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger picture. The process that results in employees who clearly understand and execute their performance expectations contains these components: †¢A company strategic planning process that defines overall direction and objectives. †¢A communication strategy that tells every employee where their job and needed outcomes fit within the bigger company strategy. †¢A process for goal setting, evaluation, feedback, and accountability that lets employees know how they are doing. This process must provide opportunities for continuing employee professional and personal development. †¢Overall organisational support for the importance of clear performance expectations communicated through cultural expectations, executive planning and communication, managerial responsibility and accountability, rewards and recognition, and company stories (folklore) about heroic accomplishments that define the workplac e. †¢To lead them I had to get them to understand why they are participating on the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organsation attain its communicated business goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization’s goals, principles, vision and values? Employee recognition is one of the keys to successful employee motivation. Employee recognition follows trust as a factor in employee satisfaction with their supervisor and their work place. I do feel that saying thank you to staff members is very important, it makes them feel valued and that you appreciate the effort they have made is ensuring that their business is running well and efficiently. I say thank you on a daily basis if I feel that the staff have performed their job well or have done that little bit extra. Informal recognition, as simple sometimes as saying thank you and please, should be on every employee’s mind every day. Supervisors and coworkers, especially, have the opportunity to praise and encourage best efforts daily. These tips will help you successfully provide more formal recognition that is valued, valuable, and motivational. Effective, fair, employee recognition is motivational for both the employees receiving recognition and their coworkers – d one correctly. Conflict is pretty much inevitable when you work with others. People have different viewpoints and under the right set of circumstances, those differences escalate to conflict. How you handle that conflict determines whether it works to the team’s advantage, or contributes to its demise.   Conflict isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. Healthy and constructive conflict is a component of high functioning teams. Conflict arises from differences between people; the same differences that often make diverse teams more effective than those made up of people with similar experience. When people with varying viewpoints, experiences, skills, and opinions are tasked with a project or challenge, the combined effort can far surpass what any group of similar individual could achieve. Team members must be open to these differences and not let them rise into full-blown disputes.   Allen C. Amason, of Mississippi State University, has studied conflict and its role in decision-making. He suggests there are two types of conflict: Cognitive – conflict aimed at issues, ideas, principles, or process Affective – conflict aimed at people, emotions, or values His studies showed the presence of both types in any group setting; but he’s clear to explain that cognitive conflict is constructive, while affective is  destructive (Brockmann, 1996). Another researcher, Thomas K. Capozzoli (1995), reinforces this by describing the outcomes of constructive and destructive conflict: Constructive conflicts exists when†¦ 1.People change and grow personally from the conflict 2.The conflict results in a solution to a problem 3.It increase involvement of everyone affected by the conflict 4.It builds cohesiveness among the members of the team Destructive conflicts exists when†¦ 1.No decision is reached and problem still exists 2.It diverts energy away from more value-add activities 3.It destroys the morale of the team members 4.It polarizes or divides the team Trust is one of the most important elements of an efficient work environment. Organisations that have trust among employees are usually successful, those that don’t frequently are not. How can I build trust in the staff team, and how can I avoid losing it?† Well, it all starts with me as the manager, since trustfulness – and trustworthiness – can exist only if the management sets the example, and then builds that example into every member of staff. From doing research and through personal experience I’ve found four excellent ways to build trust into staff teams. †¢Establish and maintain integrity. It is the foundation of trust in any organisation. Integrity must begin at the top and then move down. This means, among other things, keeping promises and always telling the truth, no matter how difficult it might be. If its people have integrity, an organisation can be believed. †¢Communicate vision and values. Communication is important, since it provides the artery for information and truth. By communicating the organization’s vision, management defines where it’s going. By communicating its values, the methods for getting there are established. †¢Consider all employees as equal partners. Trust is established when even the newest staff member, a part-timer, or the lowest paid employee feels important and part of the team. This begins with management not being aloof, as well as getting out and meeting the staff. This should be followed by the manager seeking opinions and ideas (and giving credit for them), knowing the names of staff and their families and treating one and all with genuine respect. †¢Focus  on shared, rather than personal goals. When staff feel everyone is pulling together to accomplish a shared vision, rather than a series of personal agendas, trust results. This is the essence of teamwork. When a team really works, they trust one another. Accountability As the home manager I need to hold staff accountable for meeting commitments. This sounds simple, but in the messy world it can be a conundrum. Reason: People have a tendency to justify their actions based on their personal rationalisation. It may seem a lame excuse, but to the staff member, there was no way the commitment could have been made. The technology for holding people accountable begins with the notion that it is expected behaviour. There is a fine art to holding people accountable and still maintaining trust with not only the staff in question but also their colleagues. What techniques do I use to manage accountability without losing trust? Holding people accountable is a fundamental premise of good management. Establishing solid goals and providing feedback along the way helps staff recognise the importance of performing up to expectations. Unfortunately, some staff do not meet their goals for a variety of reasons. When this happens, I need to hold them accountable, but t here are often problems in executing this closure step. If goals were not met due to employee laziness, lack of initiative, poor attitudes, or any other negative personal trait, then the accountability step is appropriate and will be done along with the appropriate documentation. When staff fail to meet expectations due to things that are truly out of their control, then holding them accountable seems punitive beyond reason. I believe there is a direct link between holding people accountable in an appropriate way and the level of trust in the home. Unfortunately, many situations are in a gray area in between extremes. A staff member will usually have some sort of excuse that justifies not being able to perform up to expectations. That is, he or she has rationalised the lapse based on some mental process that exonerates the employee from toeing the line. When I attempt to hold the individual accountable for the failure, it seems unfairly harsh to the individual employee and trust plummets. The conundrum is that staff who witness their  colleagues not performing up to expectations, yet not being held fully accountable, leads to a lowering of trust in the home as well. For me, it is a kind of â€Å"darned if you do, darned if you don’t† situation . It is important for me to explain that I hold people accountable for their actions, and I do not condone a string of excuses or reasons why the goals were missed. Yet I will still need to all allow some latitude for truly uncontrolled situations where it was impossible for the staff to perform up to expectations. There is a direct relationship between how I handle the issue of accountability and the level of trust achieved at any point in time. I need to recognise this sensitive area and navigate the choppy waters with great care. Using the golden rule is a great way to apply the right amount of personal sensitivity to a situation, but still get the message across that people are expected to meet commitments. Properly reinforced, this attitude will maintain trust within the home even though some difficult or unhappy discussions need to happen with certain individuals. How the accountability is communicated to the employee has everything to do with how it is perceived and received. I need to be consistent with following through on commitments, and then staff cannot expect to be called out if goals are not met. Having a firm but kind conversatio n with the staff member, in private, about a performance lapse is far superior to catching the employee off guard and rubbing his or her nose in the problem. If I were to berate the staff member publicly and with a mean spirit, significant damage to the relationship would result. 3.1 Identify the factors that influence the vision and strategic direction of the team As a registered care home, Granville Lodge works with government legislation, National minimum standards and the Ofsted essential standards to help shape our policy and strategic thinking, this gives all employees a shared vision of better services. When there is a significant change in legislation, we have to assess the service support currently offered. This will have an impact on the team and the direction of our previous vision. At present any influence on the team direction is from our vision (statement of purpose) is a society where people with Profound and Multiple and Learning Disabilities  and Complex Health Needs are equal citizens and have access to the support and services they need. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of people with a disability. We work in partnership with people with a disability and family carers and all of our stakeholders to make sure that good practice in delivering high quality person centred support is developed, shared and evaluated. We believe that people with disabilities should be supported to live fulfilling lives as equal citizens who are involved and contribute to their communities. We will ensure that we are involved in making the disability policy agendas of equal citizenships, rights, choice, inclusion and independence happen throughout Great Britain. We will work in partnership with people with learning disabilities and family carers, recognising that they are the real experts and that their stories and life experiences should be central to developing and sharing good practice. We will listen and identify how to provide quality person centred support focusing on those groups that have often been excluded including. We are open to changing the way we work if this means that more people can have better lives through what we do. Bibliography Amason, Allen C (2011). Strategic Management. Taylor and Francis Brockmann, Erich. (1996, May). Removing the paradox of conflict from group decisions. Academy of Management Executive. v10n2, p. 61-62. Cappozzoli, Thomas K. (1995, Dec). Resolving conflict within teams. Journal for Quality and Participation. v18n7, p. 28-30 Covey, Stephen R, (1989), The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character. Ethic. Simon and Schuster, 11/09/2013 – http://humanresources.about.com/od/teambuilding/f/team_stages.htm 16/09/2013 http://www.rpi.edu/dept/advising/free_enterprise/business_structures/management_styles.htm 16/09/201 – 3 http://www.preservearticles.com/2012021323091/short-essay-on-leadership.html 30/10/13 – http://www.peelerassociates.com/blog/leading-versus-managing-eight-key-differences/ 30/10/13 – http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_79.htm#sthash.4LOPeQ9r.dpuf

Successful Online Distance Learning

Successful Online Distance Learning The advent of technology has enabled most universities to provide distance learning capabilities. California Intercontinental University provides technology enabled distance education in a convenient manner. I made a decision to enroll in an online program to achieve my Doctor of Business Administration degree to advance my career forward. I am fully aware that, pursuing my education in an open distance learning environment is not going to be easy.First and foremost, balancing my online learning endeavor together with maintaining my regular life commitments involving family matters, my job and social interactions is expected to be challenging. In order to overcome these challenges, I intend to create appropriate enabling environment for my online learning experience without too much disruptions affecting my way of life. To achieve my objectives, I may have to compromise on some of my social interactions, weekend retreats and hobbies.Establishing ap propriate time and place for reading, comprehensions and conducting my regular assignments to stay on truck are critical success factors that enrich my new online learning experience. While I possess extensive experience using technology (computers and the Internet), acquiring reliable and sustainable communication bandwidth for Internet access is essential. This can be achieved by upgrading my current communication link to a reasonable but robust speed. Furthermore, working in a mobile environment will allow to use the Internet from anywhere at any time.To excel in all of my online courses, I realize that making enough preparation to work in technology environment is critical. Accomplishing weekly assignments alone may not be enough to learn more and retain knowledge. I intend to widen my online learning experience with some extra work in order to retain extra knowledge to achieve my goals. Furthermore, establishing good communication and interaction with my instructors, advisors a nd peers is vital to learn more and share knowledge.

Beringian Standstill Hypothesis of the First Americans

The Beringian Standstill Hypothesis, also known as the Beringian Incubation Model (BIM), proposes that the people who would eventually colonize the Americas spent between ten to twenty thousand years stranded on the Bering Land Bridge (BLB), the now-submerged plain beneath the Bering Sea called Beringia. Key Takeaways: Beringian Standstill The Beringian Standstill Hypothesis (or Beringian Incubation Model, BIM) is a widely-supported model of the human colonization of the Americas.  The theory suggests that the original colonizers of the Americas were Asians, who were isolated by climate change on the now-underwater island of Beringea for several thousand years.  They left Beringea after melting glaciers permitted movement east- and south-ward, about 15,000 years ago.  Originally proposed in the 1930s, the BIM has since been supported by genetic, archaeological, and physical evidence.   Processes of the Beringian Standstill The BIM argues that during the turbulent times of the Last Glacial Maximum about 30,000 years ago, people from what is today Siberia in northeastern Asia arrived in Beringia. Because of local climate changes, they became trapped there, cut off from Siberia by glaciers in the Verkhoyansk Range in Siberia and in the Mackenzie River valley in Alaska. There they remained in the tundra environment of Beringia until retreating glaciers and rising sea levels allowed—and eventually forced—their migration into the remainder of the Americas beginning about 15,000 years ago. If true, the BIM explains the long-recognized, deeply puzzling discrepancy of the late dates for the colonization of the Americas (Preclovis sites such as Upward Sun River Mouth in Alaska) and the similarly stubbornly early dates of the antecedent Siberian sites, such as the Yana Rhinoceros Horn site in Siberia. The BIM also disputes the notions of three waves of migration. Up until recently, scholars explained a perceived variation in mitochondrial DNA among modern (indigenous) Americans by postulating multiple waves of migration from Siberia, or even, for a while, Europe. But, recent macro-studies of mtDNA identified a series of pan-American genome profiles, shared by modern Americans from both continents, decreasing the perception of widely varying DNA. Scholars still think that there was a post-glacial migration from northeast Asia of the ancestors of the Aleut and Inuit—but that side-issue is not addressed here. Evolution of the Beringian Standstill Hypothesis The environmental aspects of the BIM were proposed by Eric Hultà ©n in the 1930s, who argued that the now-submerged plain beneath the Bering Strait was a refuge for people, animals and plants during the coldest parts of the Last Glacial Maximum, between 28,000 and 18,000 calendar years ago (cal BP). Dated pollen studies from the floor of the Bering Sea and from adjacent lands to the east and west support Hultà ©ns hypothesis, indicating that the region was a mesic tundra habitat, similar to that of tundra in the foothills of the Alaska range today. Several tree species, including spruce, birch, and alder, were present in the region, providing fuel for fires. Mitochondrial DNA is the strongest support for the BIM hypothesis. That was published in 2007 by Estonian geneticist Erika Tamm and colleagues, who identified evidence for the genetic isolation of ancestral Native Americans from Asia. Tamm and colleagues identified a set of genetic haplogroups common to most living Native American groups (A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d*, C1d1, D1, and D4h3a), haplogroups that had to have arisen after their ancestors left Asia, but before they dispersed into the Americas. Suggested physical traits supporting the isolation of the Beringians are comparatively wide bodies, a trait shared by Native American communities today and which is associated with adaptations to cold climates; and a dental configuration which researchers G. Richard Scott and colleagues call super-Sinodont. Genomes and Beringia A 2015 study by geneticist Maanasa Raghavan and colleagues compared genomes of modern people from all over the world and found support for the Beringian Standstill Hypothesis, albeit reconfiguring the time depth. This study argues that the ancestors of all Native Americans were genetically isolated from East Asians no earlier than 23,000 years ago. They hypothesize that a single migration into the Americas occurred between 14,000 and 16,000 years ago, following the open routes within the interior Ice Free corridors or along the Pacific coast. By the Clovis period (~12,600-14,000 years ago), isolation caused a split among the Americans into northern Athabascans and northern Amerindian groups, and southern communities from southern North America and Central and South America. Raghavan and colleagues also found what they termed a distant Old World signal related to Australo-Melanesians and East Asians in some Native American groups, ranging from a strong signal in the Suruà ­Ã‚  of Brazils Amazon forest to a much weaker signal in northern Amerindians such as Ojibwa. The group hypothesizes that the Australo-Melanesian gene flow may have arrived from Aleutian Islanders traveling along the Pacific rim about 9,000 years ago. More recent studies (such as that of Brazilian geneticist Thomaz Pinotti 2019) continue to support this scenario. Archaeological Sites Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site, Russia, 28,000 cal BP, six sites above the Arctic Circle and east of the Verkhoyansk Range.Malta, Russia, 15,000-24,000 cal BP: DNA of a child burial at this upper Paleolithic site shares genomes with modern western Eurasians and Native Americans bothFunadomari, Japan, 22,000 cal BP: Jomon culture burials share mtDNA in common with Eskimo (haplogroup D1)Blue Fish Caves, Yukon Territory, Canada, 19,650 cal BPOn Your Knees Cave, Alaska, 10,300 cal BP Paisley Caves, Oregon 14,000 cal BP, coprolites containing mtDNAMonte Verde, Chile, 15,000 cal BP, first confirmed preclovis site in the AmericasUpward Sun River, Alaska, 11,500 ka.Kennewick  and Spirit Cave, USA, both 9,000 years cal BP Charlie Lake Cave, British Columbia, CanadaDaisy Cave, California, USAyer Pond, Washington, USUpward Sun River Mouth, Alaska, US Selected Sources Bourgeon, Lauriane, Ariane Burke, and Thomas Higham. Earliest Human Presence in North America Dated to the Last Glacial Maximum: New Radiocarbon Dates from Bluefish Caves, Canada. PLoS ONE 12.1 (2017): e0169486. Print.Moreno-Mayar, J. Và ­ctor, et al. Terminal Pleistocene Alaskan Genome Reveals First Founding Population of Native Americans. Nature 553 (2018): 203–08. Print.Pinotti, Thomaz, et al. Y Chromosome Sequences Reveal a Short Beringian Standstill, Rapid Expansion, and Early Population Structure of Native American Founders. Current Biology 29.1 (2019): 149-57.e3. Print.Raghavan, Maanasa, et al. Genomic Evidence for the Pleistocene and Recent Population History of Native Americans. Science 349.6250 (2015). Print.Scott, G. Richard, et al. Sinodonty, Sundadonty, and the Beringian Standstill Model: Issues of Timing and Migrations into the New World. Quaternary International 466 (2018): 233–46. Print.Tamm, Erika, et al. Beringian Standstill and Spread of Native Ameri can Founders. PLoS ONE 2.9 (2007): e829. Print.Vachula, Richard S., et al. Evidence of Ice Age Humans in Eastern Beringia Suggests Early Migration to North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 205 (2019): 35–44. Print.Wei, Lan-Hai, et al. Paternal Origin of Paleo-Indians in Siberia: Insights from Y-Chromosome Sequences. European Journal of Human Genetics 26.11 (2018): 1687–96. Print.