Leadership in Early Education Care Servicesâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: How to the Leadership in Early Education Care Services? Answer: Introducation The need for leadership in early education and care services has always been the matter of high priority. Successful leaders in early care services achieve organizational goals by bringing the people together (The essay thus critically analyses the capabilities required of managers in providing leadership in the area of staffing to ensure quality service delivery. The essay discusses how leaders supervise the staff team, manage conflicts and grievances and support the staffs professional learning and development. In the child care setting the leaders struggle with the dual role that is as "a manager and a leader" (Hunt et al., 2013). According to R?ducan, (2016) the managers attend the details of how to run a program efficiently whereas the leader addresses the broader issues and future development. In short, a manager deals with administrative activities and his leadership involves having an interpersonal influence to ensure the accomplishment of the organizational goals. Thus both leaders and managers have same functions such as creating a vision, building a climate of trust and empowering environment for the staff. The early education and the care centers mostly have flat management structures. Therefore, in these organizations, the leadership and the management activities are intertwined. Therefore, it is difficult for the directors to separate the management and the leadership roles (Heikka et al., 2013). The term leader in the child care services is often the director, coordinator, service owner. However, a childcare professional may undertake the range of responsibilities that require leadership skills (Stamopoulos, 2012). Early child educators are also required to have some leadership skills in addition to setting the outdoor environment to manage the overall services by collaborating with others to be organized for decision-making, call upon their professional knowledge and sheer commitment to deliver the job well (Khoshhal Guraya, 2016). Irrespective of the task all the early educator or child care professionals are benefitted from effective leadership skills. The leadership and management skills required in the staffing areas include recruitment of appropriate staff, ensuring perfect records of children, medications, monitoring of children development, organising staff meetings, and conducting safety audits to assure that the staff is delivering the services appropriately and is complying with the legal and the ethical standards (Khoshhal Guraya, 2016). Recruitment of staff is the most important role. Leaders must abide by the regulations and policies related to the qualification of staff. In the area of staffing, it is the responsibility of the director to objectively assess the abilities of the potential staff members. A successful team shall contain mix of individuals with each having different roles (Ang, 2012). As a leader he must ensure that the staff is supervised, their performance is regularly evaluated, maintain the constructive relationship with the staff and provide opportunities for professional development (Garvey, 2017). T he leader must be efficient in retaining positively contributing staff and replace the staff not performing well. It depends on the ability of the director to keep the staff motivated and ensure that they perform to their highest standards (Heikka et al., 2013). Accounting to Khoshhal Guraya, (2016) effective leadership is essential to provide quality programs for child care. R?ducan, (2016) argued that the leadership style of the person is directly related to the "quality of relationships" at the service. An effective leader fosters "team work and joint decision making." They act as role model for the staff and to their colleagues to build trust. Mevawalla Hadley, (2012) discussed that involving the educators and other child care staff in decision making increases their motivation and dedication towards work. They will thus work harder for achieving the organizational goals and objectives. This is known as transformational leadership theory. According to Avolio Yammarino, (2013) transformational leadership is highly effective in providing quality service provision. Avolio Yammarino, (2013) studied effective leadership strategies for maintaining efficient staff in the organization and ensure their professional learning. Communication skills are vital for the leader irrespective of a task. A leader must clarify roles and responsibilities of each member of the staff. A transformational leader supports and encourages the staff by actively listening to their views and opinions. Communication skills are necessary for motivating employees. Developing people in the organization is more important than establishing or maintaining structures and systems (Heikka et al., 2013). The latter should be the second priority and not the first. It includes valuing the work of each member of the staff by recognitions and rewards for valuable contribution. A transformational leader takes the genuine interest in each member of the staff rather being biased to promote workplace equality (Munir et al., 2012). Therefore, it is the duty of the leader to address the issue s of staff in this process such as the difficulty of the staff in implementing the daily and weekly plans, inability to deliver age-appropriate activities by child observations. In this leadership style, the manager or the leader encourages professional growth and development so that the staff delivers child education using recommended techniques (Hoyle Megarry, 2012). A part of the leaders role is also to ensure that the staff is accountable for their actions. In this area of staffing, the director is successful if the staff is carefully selected, the newcomers are well oriented and offer continual support and training (Melhuish et al., 2016). If the staff performance is deteriorating or is not meeting the standards, it is important to take initiatives for their professional development to ensure quality of service delivery (Garvey, 2017). The five forms of professional development are credentialing, formal education, specialized on-the-job service training, collegial study group, and consultative interactions. It will effectively help the staff to build the appropriate skills through conferences, workshops, manual, and behavior rehearsals such that the staff delivers appropriate child interventions (Jones, 2014). Thus, implementing the practice of professional development improves the fidelity of the interventions provided to children. There is an increase in competition in the child care industry. Therefore, the staff need additional skills in early life sector else the organisation may be subjected to legal or ethical issues such as handover of the child to third person other than parents, breaching the norms of privacy and confidentiality by disseminating childs information to third party. It is the duty of the manager to ensure that the staff follows National Quality Standards under the National Quality Framework. A leader plays multifarious roles in addition to building teams, copious record keeping of the children, administration of government policies, meeting accreditation requirements. The main activity of the leader is to implement parent partnerships. Therefore, the leader must ensure that the staffs have adequate interpersonal skills to address the concerns of the parents. It is only possible if the staff is trained with ongoing learning in a job ( It is challenging for the leader to both maintain equal peer relationships as well as to guide them towards organizational directions (Heikka et al., 2013). For example, it is difficult for the leader to simultaneously encourage the educators to modify their teaching approach, program them and then work with them as colleagues. It is difficult as some of the staff members are resistant to change. On the other hand, when leaders provide genuine opportunities to the staff members for involving in the decision of teaching curriculum or any other child-related services, it increases their ease of working as unity and take leadership roles to take change initiatives (Huber, 2013). An efficient delegation of responsibilities is another important strategy of the manager which could be used to provide leadership in this area. It helps in breaking the barriers between the staff and the manager (Garvey, 2017). It is an effective tool with which leader can allocate the tasks equitably as well a s values the staff's skills and knowledge. Consequently, it allows the staff members to take responsibility for the specific practice areas and cultivate their experience as leaders. Through the process of delegation, the leaders can also streamline their management responsibilities (Green et al., 2013). For the service coordinator, it is more time efficient to assign the responsibility of developing policies for "occupational health and safety" or OHS to a small team rather than doing themselves. On the other hand, the team of OHS may also effective ensure that there is a consistent implementation of "safe and hygienic practices" across the services which are the main area of focus for the director. It is obvious to have workplace disputes among staff. Therefore, it is necessary for the leaders to resolve the issues faced by the staff. To overcome the staff grievances in the child care setting an effective leader applies friendly methods to promote team friendship (Jones, 2014). It can be done by involving staff members in decision-making and by facilitating the team input rather taking control. The collaborative relationship between staff ensures cooperation and implementation of child education practices and policies consistently while reducing the conflicts (Grarock Morrissey, 2013). The manager can avoid the workplace conflicts by giving regular feedback to the individual staff member after evaluating their work performance. Regular disputes among workplace would destroy and damage the team building process. It will break the tendency of child care professionals to value their group goals and directions. They will eventually tend to value personal and individual interests m ore than that of the organization which in turn increases the incidents of conflicts and turnover rate (Garvey, 2017). According to Heikka et al., (2013) a leader is known to be a "relationship builder." High staff turnover reduces the quality of care provided to children. Losing efficient early educators and recruiting new staff increases the organizational cost (Grarock Morrissey, 2013). When the leaders connect well with the care providers it has enormous consequences on the contributions made by them increasing their likelihood to stay in the organization (Jovanovic, 2013). Many times it is encountered that the child care professionals having minimum professional experience are placed into the leadership positions. It is challenging for them to deal with the staff when some of the members are more experienced than the new leader (Grarock Morrissey, 2013). Thus the leader during the initial period must engage with the employees an actively listen to their concerns and suggestions without being judgemental or else it increase the workplace conflicts. Lacking sensitivity towards the issues of the staff is counterproductive when they are involved in decision making process (Huber, 2013). Therefore, the leader must have the quality to be a "people's person" to relate well to the problems of the staff members and openly communicate the solutions. Interpersonal openness is a key skill required by an everyday leader (Stamopoulos, 2012). When team members are guided and inspired the feel more respected and participate in the collaborative approach thereby suppo rting the leaders. Since the child care professionals undertake a variety of leadership roles, they are motivated when they are acknowledged and valued by the staff which will eventually lead to the implementation of quality practice (Ang, 2012). It can be concluded from the above discussion that an efficient leader in early education services requires good team management, development and communication skills so as to involve all the members of the staff in achieving shared goals and objectives. They help all the early educators to develop the leadership skills in them by the efficient delegation of responsibilities. The field of early childhood education is growing rapidly. Therefore, it is required for the practitioners to remain abreast of new knowledge and utilize evidence-based practice. Effective collaboration between the leaders and the team members minimizes the barriers between them. The transformational leadership approach is effective in increasing the commitment of the child care professionals to provide high quality care services and give their best to the children and their families. Therefore, the future leaders need to be proactive rather than reactive to convert the problems into opportunities. References Ang, L. (2012). Leading and managing in the early years: A study of the impact of a NCSL programme on childrens centre leaders perceptions of leadership and practice.Educational Management Administration Leadership,40(3), 289-304. Aubrey, C., Godfrey, R., Harris, A. (2013). How do they manage? An investigation of early childhood leadership.Educational Management Administration Leadership,41(1), 5-29. Avolio, B. J., Yammarino, F. J. (Eds.). (2013). Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. InTransformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition(pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Garvey, D. (2017).Performance Management in Early Years Settings: A Practical Guide for Leaders and Managers. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Grarock, M., Morrissey, A. M. (2013). Teachers' perceptions of their abilities to be educational leaders in Victorian childcare settings.Australasian Journal of Early Childhood,38(2), 4. Green, A. E., Miller, E. A., Aarons, G. A. (2013). Transformational leadership moderates the relationship between emotional exhaustion and turnover intention among community mental health providers.Community mental health journal,49(4), 373-379. Heikka, J., Waniganayake, M., Hujala, E. (2013). Contextualizing distributed leadership within early childhood education: Current understandings, research evidence and future challenges.Educational Management Administration Leadership,41(1), 30-44. Hoyle, E., Megarry, J. (Eds.). (2012).World Yearbook of Education 1980: The Professional Development of Teachers. Routledge. Huber, D. (2013).Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Sciences. Hujala, E., Eskelinen, M., Keskinen, S., Chen, C., Inoue, C., Matsumoto, M., Kawase, M. (2016). Leadership Tasks in Early Childhood Education in Finland, Japan, and Singapore.Journal of Research in Childhood Education,30(3), 406-421. Hunt, J. G., Hosking, D. M., Schriesheim, C. A. (Eds.). (2013).Leaders and managers: International perspectives on managerial behavior and leadership. Elsevier. Jones, P. (2014). Training and workforce issues in the early years.Contemporary issues in the early years, 255-272. Jovanovic, J. (2013). Retaining early childcare educators.Gender, Work Organization,20(5), 528-544. Khoshhal, K. I., Guraya, S. Y. (2016). Leaders produce leaders and managers produce followers: A systematic review of the desired competencies and standard settings for physicians leadership.Saudi Medical Journal,37(10), 1061. Melhuish, E., Howard, S. J., Siraj, I., Neilsen-Hewett, C., Kingston, D., de Rosnay, M., ... Luu, B. (2016). Fostering Effective Early Learning (FEEL) through a professional development programme for early childhood educators to improve professional practice and child outcomes in the year before formal schooling: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.Trials,17(1), 602. Mevawalla, Z., Hadley, F. (2012). The advocacy of educators: Perspectives from early childhood.Australasian Journal of Early Childhood,37(1), 74. Munir, F., Nielsen, K., Garde, A. H., Albertsen, K., Carneiro, I. G. (2012). Mediating the effects of worklife conflict between transformational leadership and health?care workers job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing.Journal of Nursing Management,20(4), 512-521. R?ducan, R. (2016). Leaders and Managers.Theoretical and Applied in Psychology SICAP23, 149. Stamopoulos, E. (2012). Reframing early childhood leadership.Australasian Journal of Early Childhood,37(2), 42. Summarize important principles, issues, ideas and / or strategies to be considered in relation to the topic. These points are explained in detail in the essay. Strategies that the manager could use to provide leadership in that area to ensure quality service delivery. Strategies that he manager could use to provide leadership in that area to ensure quality service delivery. Strategies that the manager could use to provide leadership in that area to ensure quality service delivery. Strategies that the manager could use to provide leadership in that area to ensure quality service delivery.

Information Technology Acts

Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 Almost every home, library and school in the US has computers as well as access to the internet. These have become very important to children’s success in their academic work. However, the internet can expose them to online predators as well as inappropriate material. The increase in use of the internet by children especially teenagers brought in concerns about the need to prevent illegal activities over the internet.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The US Congress enacted the Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 to address access to offensive content through the internet. The Act requires schools as well as libraries to put content filters on their information systems to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate sites and contents (Reynolds, 2006). Content devices are placed to block o bscene and child pornography pictures, as well as, any other material deemed to cause harm to minors. The passing of this Act was prompted by the increase of global network which enabled minors to chart or communicate through email and chart rooms. This was deemed to pose risks to minors who can still be easily deceived by those who pretend to have good intent. Besides, software for hacking and spyware had become very common, meaning that anybody could easily illegally gain access to minors’ information if they wanted to for any reason. Hacking allows unauthorized access, disclosure as well as dissemination of personal identification information about children and teenagers. This posed great risks to minors who access the internet. There were concerns that some of these software companies develop software which enable them track minors’ web-surfing activities, and as a result sell the information to market research companies (Reynolds, 2006). This is illegitimate and a gainst the Privacy Act. Marketing companies and other firms use such information to send email advertisements by use of ardware through minors’ email addresses, regardless of their ages and the risks associated with the products or activities. Again, the internet allows those who develop pornography movies and pictures to distribute them online. Some of these contents are freely available online and always attract minors’ attention. Such inappropriate contents contribute to minors being involved in immoral activities which include sex when they are not yet mature. The internet also allows drug gangs to make attractive advertisements which allow them to easily recruit teenagers into their drug and gang activities. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 1986 The Act was passed to help reduce cracking of information systems as well as to deal with federal computer-related offenses. It governs cases where information systems are used to carry out crimes involving interstate as well as foreign commerce. It also covers the use of computers to commit crimes related to illegal access or use of computers of financial institutions or the federal government.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The act was passed as a result of the development of electronic funds transfer systems, hacking software, spyware, virus and the increase in adoption of information systems in institutions. The adoption of electronic funds transfers created real concerns about fraud or illegal transfer of funds from financial institutions. Fraudsters are able to maliciously access data and use various techniques to steal money from financial institutions or individual accounts. The development of credit cards, ATM cards and automated machines has increased the risks of fraud. Criminals skim credit card details by swiping them through card reader to copy the information contained in their magnetic strip, an d use them to generate cloned cards (Stamp Walker, 2007). Companies have developed handheld skimmers which can fit into pockets and hands, which allow fraudsters to secretly swipe cards without the knowledge of the owners. Some of these skimmers are attached to ATMs in the card slot. They are used in combination with pinhole cameras to record customers entering PIN. Fraudsters can also take advantage of their powerful encrypting software to encrypt passwords of employees in a financial institution to transfer funds from the institution to a financial institution in another country. The development of online financial transactions has also increased fraud risk. Hackers can hack financial details of an individual or institution through unauthorized leaks in the system and use it carry out fraud activities, which includes illegal transfer of funds and assets across countries. Software companies and individuals continuously develop password hacking software which hackers and crackers u se to view activities of other remotely connected computers. They are therefore able to spy activities of institutions of the federal government or monitor the financial activities of financial institutions. There also software which enables them to capture the activities of these institutions or damage vital data belonging to these institutions (Wienbar, 2004). These software enable them crack passwords since they are stronger than firewall and other filters. They can therefore illegally gain access to confidential information and use it to achieve their own personal interest. Spyware and viruses have been developed to cause damage and to gain unauthorized access to federal information. They can be used to hack, delete files or information stored in protected computers vital to the federal government or institutions. New technologies such as spyware can be used to collect information from corporate or public institutions without the knowledge of the computer users. They can be used to monitor computer users, collect personal information and take control of the computer of computer systems.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can install additional software which may include virus, and interfere with functionality of other computer programs. The development of webcams also poses great risks. Individuals remotely activate webcams embedded in computers used in institutions to secretly capture activities, and therefore illegally monitor activities of individuals and institutions. Reference List Reynolds, G. (2006). Ethics in information technology, 2nd Ed. St Peter Port: Course Technology Inc. Stamp, J., Walker, J. (2007). Money laundering in Australia, 2004: Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice. Australian Institute of Criminology, 342. Wienbar, S. (2004). The Spyware Inferno. News.com. Web. This essay on Information Technology Acts was written and submitted by user Inertia to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

SAT Test Dates 2018-2019

SAT Test Dates 2018-2019 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Here at PrepScholar, we use the best data to inform you about what the testing schedule, registration deadlines, and score release dates will look like in the future.When choosing your test date, you should consider a number of factors - knowing exactly when the test will happen is vital for your planning.(If you're looking for something more recent, here's the information for previous years and for this school year.) In this article, I’ll give you the 2018-2019 SAT test datesand go over somefactors to think about when picking your test date. SAT Test Dates for the 2018-2019 School Year The listed test dates have been released by the College Board, but they’re still subject to change. The registration and score release dates are our estimations from general patterns from previous years. Test Date Normal Registration Late Registration Score Release Aug 25, 2018 Jul 27, 2018 Aug 10, 2018 Sept 13, 2018 Oct 6, 2018 Sep 7, 2018 Sep 21, 2018 Oct 25, 2018 Nov 3, 2018 Oct 5, 2018 Oct 19, 2018 Nov 22, 2018 Dec 1, 2018 Nov 2, 2018 Nov 16, 2018 Dec 20, 2018 Mar 9, 2019 Feb 8, 2019 Feb 22, 2019 Mar 28, 2019 May 4, 2019 Apr 5, 2019 Apr 19, 2019 May 23, 2019 Jun 1, 2019 May 3, 2019 May 17, 2019 June 20, 2019 How Accurate Is the Table Above? The test dates are the anticipated dates provided by the College Board, and the registration and score release dates are our estimations. Even though all the dates are likely to be correct, the test dates dates may be somewhat more reliable because they are provided by the College Board. However, the test dates won’t be confirmed until the summer of 2018. If any of the dates change, they’ll probably be a week earlier or later than the anticipated date. You can use these dates to help determine when you'll take the SAT. If you know your available options, you can select the date that works best with your schedule and take into account the time you need to prepare for the test. How to Choose Your Test Date Here are some important factors to consider when selecting your SAT test date: Make Sure You Know Your Deadlines! Take your SAT early enough that your score can arrive before any deadlines. If you apply regular decision, the December test in your senior year will be the last test you can take for most colleges. If you apply early, the last test you can take may be in October or November of your senior year. Additonally, scholarships have deadlines. If you want to apply for any scholarships that consider your SAT score, you’ll need to have your test score before the scholarship deadlines. I recommend allowing two months to receive your scores. How Many Times Do You Want to Take the SAT? Most students improve when they retake the SAT, soyou want to give yourself an opportunity to take the test multiple times. We recommend first taking the SAT in the fall of your junior year. Then you can retake it in the spring of your junior year and the fall of your senior year if necessary. How Long Do You Plan to Study? When selecting your test date, you want to make sure to give yourself enough time to prepare. Get an estimate of how long you’ll need to study and make sure you’ll be able to fully prepare before you take the test. If you take both the November and December tests without doing any studying in between, your score probably won’t improve much. Do You Have Conflicts With Any Test Dates? Check to see if you have any potential conflicts on or around any of the SAT test dates. Maybe the December date is on the same day as your speech and debate competition. Perhaps you want to avoid the June test date because you’ll be focusing on preparing for finals. It may be difficult to find a time when you can fully devote yourself to the SAT, but you should try to pick the best test dates for you. What's Next? Not sure what your score goal should be? Find out what SAT score you need for college. Also, learn who uses SAT scoresso you can determine if you really need to take the test. (Unfortunately, you probably do.) Finally, read this article on how much the SAT costsso you can plan financially as well. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today!

Legality of Abortion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Legality of Abortion - Research Paper Example The key arguments in support of abortion are to counter unexpected pregnancy, to reduce over population, and finally as the expression of woman’s right to her own body. The last is a true and correct statement as all the people have the right to do what they wish to their own bodies. However, they should understand one thing that the unborn baby is a different individual. Even though it resides inside its mother, it is a separate entity and has got a separate existence from its mother. The DNA and other elements of the body are entirely its own. Since the moment of conception, it is completely a distinct genetic individual. Looking at this issue, it is clear that abortion for any cause is wrong. Therefore, the call in favor of abortion because of unexpected pregnancy or abortion for the sake of convenience or as an expression of woman’s right to her own body is not tenable. Arguments for and Against Admittedly, the first and most prominent argument against abortion is t hat if abortion has been deemed to be moral in any phase of human development, there would not have been a greater cry for the enactments of law banning abortions. Admittedly, most of the religions in the world oppose the legalization of abortion. Abortion is similar to murder where an unborn baby is chopped up for the mistakes of his parents or sometimes for the benefit of others. As there is an inception of life since the conception, abortion can be regarded as a crime against the sanctity of human life. No civilized society permits to harm an individual intentionally or take one’s life without punishment and so abortion also is not an exception. Hence, in a society where murder is considered to be immoral and a crime, abortion must also be considered as a punitive crime. Some others argue that abortion is an alternative for contraception on the ground that any method that is used to prevent a woman from being pregnant can be considered as contraception. However, it is fund amentally foolish to claim so because unlike contraception that prevents pregnancy from taking place, abortion is committed only after the woman becomes pregnant. Pregnancy is a result of the failure to use effective contraceptives. Equating abortion with contraceptives is a falsified idea. So, abortion cannot be given the meaning of contraception. Abortion of pregnancy as a result of rape is another kind of moral puzzle. In the case of a molested or raped girl, proper medical care can ensure that she will not become pregnant. Abortion in such cases means to punish an innocent human being who had no role in the committed crime. Instead of punishing the unborn baby, it is the rapist or molester who is to be trialed and punished. In addition, one has to give attention to the physical and mental impacts of such an abortion on the woman. An easy measure adopted for time being or momentary convenience may, thus, result in or pave way to serious problems in the future. However, most of th e abortions are taking place among teenagers who do not have sufficient life experiences. What they can do in this regard is to be prudent enough to use contraceptives before going into physical relations. A suitable philosophy at this juncture seems to come from Bartter (2001), who reminds such mothers of the fact that there are thousands who do not have a child to adopt. So, instead of throwing the unborn baby into the valley of death, those mothers can give such children to those who can bring them up as their own children. Thus, getting rid of the

National ( the U.S.) and Oklahoma medicaid Dissertation

National ( the U.S.) and Oklahoma medicaid - Dissertation Example Per-enrollee growth exceeded economy-wide inflation by nearly 11% (Klemm, p107). Amendments to the Social Security Act were passed in 1971 and 1972 creating Supplemental Social Security Income and nearly all beneficiaries also received Medicaid. Optional amendments began covering intermediate care services for the mentally retarded and psychiatric services for patients under 22. By 1976 enrollment reached 20.7 million with an average growth rate of 5% a year which did not vary greatly for the next ten years. Because of this considerable growth the Reagan administration began to consider ways to curve deficit. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act in 1981began a three year reduction in and also reduced some eligibility for Welfare benefits. States begin to attempt Health Maintenance Organizations and community based waiver programs and focus began to shift more towards managing services and controlling the costs of care. Enrollment rates remained stable though expenditures continued t o increase and rise. In 1984 congress decided to implement expansions that continued to increase throughout the eighties. ... Medicaid spending was approximately 275.5 billion dollars in 2003 (Holahan and Ghosh, p 26) and became a major target for the 2005 budget debate. Spending increased by 10 % between 2000 and 2003; thus being attributed to welfare reform. Growth was noted among the non-disabled and children; as the economy began to decline the population experienced job losses and loss in income. State Medicaid cutbacks were made, insurance premiums rose and employee sponsored coverage declined. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2011 was tailored with the expectation that sixteen million people would gain access to health care. Obama care has created two basic paths towards universal health care access (Reno, p 61). Obamacare has increased funding for the public side of the current health care system though many worry that private insurers will end up absorbing increased health care costs. Oklahoma Medicaid Program Medicaid provides acute health care and long term care services to over 600,000 low-income families and elderly individuals. The Oklahoma health care vision is ‘for Oklahoman’s to enjoy optimal health status through access to quality health care regardless of their ability to pay,’ (Connell, 2012). The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has administered and overseen the Oklahoma Medicaid program since 1995 and is responsible for rule making and policy development. The Oklahoma Medicaid State Plan includes coverage for the following services: Ambulance and ambulatory surgery center services Substance abuse and behavioral health services Case management services Radiation and chemotherapy services Renal dialysis services Certain dental services Durable

The Performance Appraisal: Advantages and Disadvantages

The Performance Appraisal: Advantages and Disadvantages Shari M. Kern   The performance assessment is the procedure through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed (Youssef, 2015, Section 6.2, What is Performance Appraisal and Why is it Important? para 1). Performance appraisal is deemed an important means for decision-making needs of todays businesses. The performance appraisal is the method by which businesses appraise job performance. Typically, a performance appraisal system involves a manager to assess each employees performance corresponding to performance benchmarks that have previously been set up over a period of time. Performance appraisal methods also present a foundation for forecasting improvement, as well as a means for determining merit, raises, new positions within the business and even dismissals. Strategic Advantage of Performance Appraisals One of the several advantages of performance appraisal is, in the hustle and hectic working life, it extends a valuable opportunity for a manager and subordinate to have break for a private conversation about matters positive or negative that otherwise may not be spoken about. Performance appraisal proposes a good effort to focus on job accomplishments and targets, to discern and improve current problems, and to inspire improved future performance. For example, performance appraisals can have a profound effect on motivation and morale, it offers an excellent opportunity for managers to recognize and reach an agreement on individual training and development necessities, and it can examine the success of a businesss recruitment and orientation procedures. The Potential Forms of Bias Within Appraisals Systems Bias can impact employee performance appraisals in extraordinarily damaging ways. A good manager must be impartial about the performance of their workers. A performance appraisal bias can misrepresent a managers and a businesss assessment of how a worker is doing. Some biases are stereotyping (inaccurate results against certain employees belonging to a group), halo effect (erroneous judgments about an employee based on a limited number of performance dimensions), self-fulling prophecies (We tend to see what we expect to see. Research shows that when other things are equal, if managers poorly judge employees to be failures and expect these employees to fail, then the employees are likely to fail. On the other hand, if a manager believes in an employee and expects him or her to succeed, then he or she will be likely to succeed), and the fundamental attribution error (Employee blames others for their failures but do not give them enough credit for their successes. If left unchecked, thi s common attributional bias can be detrimental to performance appraisal) (Youssef, 2015, Section 6.6, Opportunities, Challenges and Recent Developments in Performance Management, para 16). Performance Appraisals Contribute to the Achievement of Strategic Objectives The success of a performance appraisal can be assessed in how good it accomplishes its strategic objectives. Performance objectives determine how a business strategy will be attained. Performance objectives also perform a key function in distinguishing the final outcomes required because of employees intense work and commitment. Performance objectives are a requirement in aligning well-defined objectives for employees. Performance objectives challenge employees to attain the greatest outcomes to encourage business development and make constant progress to meet the challenges and shifting demands of the marketplace. Performance objectives should be well-defined and direct engagement. Knowing the strategic objectives in performance appraisals can support a business to modify performance appraisals to meet business desires. In conclusion, performance appraisal is deemed an important tool for decision-making needs of todays businesses. The performance appraisal is the method by which businesses appraise job performance. When done successfully, employee performance appraisals are incredibly advantageous to the efficiency of a business. Performance appraisals offer a business with the methods to gather data and share business and specific objectives to each employee. These appraisals are methods that can make all employees more beneficial and involved in their work and thus make the business more prosperous. References Youssef, C. (2015). Human resource management. (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.

Technology in Transportation Essay -- Computers Machines Papers

Technology in Transportation Throughout history, getting things (and people) where they need to go has been a pretty basic need. The Romans needed to move stone to build their aqueducts; the nobles wanted luxury spices and silks brought to them from far off lands; ancient cities needed to move vegetables and grains from the farms, to storage, and then to the cities to feed the populace. Transportation has always been one of the backbones of every great civilization, without the ability to move goods long distances, your 'culture' was only the distance you could go conveniently to get what was necessary for survival that you could not produce. The industry boomed during the railroading system and hasn't slowed since. First, there were ships and horse-drawn carriages, then cars, now huge 40 ton trucks and jumbo air-liners. In today's changing business environment, information technology plays an incredibly important role in almost every aspect of the day to day life of almost every industry. The transportation industry is, of course, no different. From the transport of goods from manufacture, to warehousing, to retail, to end-user, the industry relies on information technology to get things done. The transportation of people is the exact same; incredibly important to get done yet impossible without the impact of information technology. Technology in Moving People The transportation industry (airline, railway, bus transit, automobile rental agencies) has undergone enormous changes in the way its customers purchase tickets and place reservations. The continuing popularity in e-commerce combined with the widespread increase in the number of people with internet access has caused an explosion in the number of... ...t an amazing 10% per quarter. An example trend that is quickly developing in the freight cargo industry is the leasing of freight aircrafts to different airlines. The aircraft, crew, insurance and maintenance is included in the leasing. Works Cited http://www.aaafoundation.org. revised 15 March 2004. American Automobile Association. accessed 15 March 2004. http://www.airbus.com. revised 2004. Airbus Corporation. accessed 13 March 2004. http://www.e-travel.com. revised 2004. Amadaeus Global Travel Distribution. accessed 14 March 2004. http://www.msn.com. revised 2004. Microsoft Corporation. accessed 15 March 2004. http://www.redprairie.com/Knowledge/whitepapers.asp#WMCSchapt. revised 2004. Superior Logistix Results, Inc. accessed 16 March 2004. http://www.trucker.com revised 2004. Primedia Business Magazines and Media. Accessed 14 March 2004