Student’s Name:
Tutor’s Name:
Course Title:
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Making Decision under Conflict
History of the Case Study
The 25th mission of NASA’s shuttle program to lift the Space Shuttle Challenger experienced considerable problems during the takeoff day on January 28, 1968. The voyage was fatally cut short by an explosion that went off only 73 seconds into the flight killing all the 7 occupants on board (Wright et al. 27). President Ronald Reagan set up a Presidential Commission in an attempt to follow up on the cause of the tragic incident that shocked not only the involved parties into the takeoff, but the entire nation (Challenger Case 1). Even though to the outsiders the tragedy seemed to have come from nowhere the truth is the accident was waiting to take place. The relationship between NASA and Morton Thiokol (MTI) seemed to a taken a new turn when the latter won from NASA the rights to create the rockets that would push the rockets into the earth’s orbit where it would acquire the momentum to move by itself (Challenger Case 1). The Solid Rocket Boosters that comprise of four interrelated cylindrical components are filled with solid propellant and moved to Kennedy Space Center where they are put together (Wright et al. 30). The fuel solid in the rocket burns with much pressure, and the primary and secondary O-rings play vital roles in sealing the four joint sections of the rocket. About a year before the Challenger crisis, NASA and Morton Thiokol oversaw the lifting-off of space shuttle Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida (Challenger Case 1). The lift-off was ranked the coldest launch at 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Roger Boisjoly who served as an engineer at Morton Thiokol later discovered some blackened substance on the joints, an evident that hot gas had passed through the primary O-ring and some effects were noted on the secondary O-ring.
The incident informed MTI that the O-rings do not function appropriately under low temperatures. The decision came in 1985 following adequate research on the O-rings, and this was affirmed in 1985 when another serious incident was witnessed due to O-ring failure (Challenger Case 2). Boisjoly wrote to the management at MTI about the O-ring erosion issue, and an unofficial taskforce was assigned to look into the matter, a move that did not satisfy Boisjoly. Nonetheless, the plans to launch the Challenger in January 26, 1986 even as the issue of O-rings remained unsolved (Challenger Case 3). The weather, however, was not friendly, which forced the planners to push the launch to January 28 although the media sources saw this as a failure by the organizers. The issue of low temperature, however, still created some threat, which compelled representatives from MTI, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to hold a meeting on January 27, 1986 to look into the matter (Challenger Case 3). A three-way teleconference was held at the KSC at around 7:00 PM to find the way forward regarding the issues facing the Challenger where George Hardy from MSFC introduced Boisjoly, the Solid Rocket Motor Seals Expert, and his team to present why the low temperature on the launch day will greatly harm the entire price. The participants of the meeting knew it was going to be a tough evening, but they had to iron out the issue.
At the meeting, the team from MTI has a difficult time convincing the representatives from KSC and MSFC. Whereas Boisjoly, Bob Lund (V.P. Engineering), Jerry Mason (Senior V.P.), Joe Kilminster (V.P. Space Boosters), and Arnie Thompson (Solid Rocket Motor Cases Expert) – all from MTI, tried to explain while it will be away from goodness to launch the shuttle at 29 degrees as projected by the Air Force, Larry Mulloy (MSFC Solid Rocket Booster Manager) and Stanley Reinartz (MSFC Shuttle Projects Manager) – the representatives of KSC could not find the charts and the claim convincing (Challenger Case 6). The counteraction between the participants of the teleconference heats up so much, especially due to the fact that Mulloy and Reinartz do not want to hear of any further postponement. Further, Thompson accepts that the charts and data MTI presents may not be conclusive, and from their view, Mulloy and Reinartz do not see any reason why the takeoff should not succeed (Challenger Case 7). Kilminster, following a five-minute consultation among the MTI representatives behind the camera, makes the pronouncement on behalf of MTI that after reviewing the charts and assessing the data, and even though the team has concerns with the low temperatures, it will recommend the launch takes place as scheduled (Challenger Case 7). It is the unwise and quick decision that caused the accident that claimed the lives of the vehicle’s occupants besides blowing into pieces.
Problems and Decision-Making Challenges
Reading the case, one clearly gets the image of the problem as well as of the challenges decision-makers experienced back then. Looking at the issue on MTI’s side, the major problem appears to be the launching of the shuttle at such low temperatures. All the major players from MTI relied on their finding from Mission 51-C when inspecting the boosters from the shuttle the coldest launch ever at 53 degrees Fahrenheit, learned of blackened grease between the primary and secondary O-rings (Challenger Case 2). The indication showed that hot gas found its way around the primary O-ring, and had obstructed the joint, and for the initial time the secondary ring had also been harmed by the heat. Boisjoly even thought while making the discovery that NASA was close to a fatal incidence (Challenger Case 2). The other problem MTI experiences is the pressure it has from KSC’s representatives to launch the shuttle within the designated time. NASA, on the other side, does not only see the low temperature to be a major problem, but also the reputation it is developing on media sources. The delay, for instance, pushed ABC’s World News Tonight to broadcast a sarcastic statement regarding the prolonged delays. It appears NASA does not want to dash the expectation of the entire nation that looks forward to see how Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher set to enter space, will fit with the astronauts (Challenger Case 2). The management does not also want any hitches on the day that coincides with the yearly State of the Union Address stipulated for January 28. Overall, the decision-making challenge as seen by the decision makers at the time was coming up with the right choice within a very short time. The pressure from various stakeholders pushed the key players into making decisions that turned out to be fatal.
Going through the Challenger Case now, the problem today, it would appear that the problem is as it was back then, although the decision-making challenges could be termed to be as a result of inadequate application of the decision-making strategy. The decision makers do not appear to chart a way forward based on long-term objectives and a longer term vision. The decision makers do not appear to clarify the bigger objectives, which deny them the opportunity to align their shorter term strategies with the broader mission, which is giving the operations consistency and clarity (Schwenk 486). A thinker in the contemporary time knows that making decisions can be hard when in a leadership position because they are expected to make the best decision (Schwenk 486). A current thinker knows the importance of using objective reasoning to overcome any biased or emotional influences that might compromise or alter the decision. Nonetheless, the issue remains, now and in the past that the application of poor decision-making strategies and the intense pressure caused the Challenger to fail in its mission.
Whether the Problems were accurately Perceived and Defined
Even though the team from MTI might have identified the problems, overall the problems were not correctly perceived and defined by the decision makers. Boisjoly and his team tried their best to define the problem to the NASA representatives, but it seems Mulloy and Reinartz did not perceive the issue in the correct manner. Right from the start, Mulloy proves to be adamant and does not want to accept what MTI presents. Mulloy, for instance, responds when Boisjoly says serious recommendations are needed by blaming MTI for wanting to change the launching criteria a day prior to the take off. Mulloy further responds as if he does not really care by saying that the rockets have always operated under very specific directives and NASA would not be swayed by the 53 degree benchmark.
The Goals and Criteria for Decision Making
It is apparent based on the analysis that the goals for decision making was to beat the deadline of the launch that was fast approaching, and to satisfy the public that paid attention to the whole event. Boisjoly and the rest of the team from MTI tried to achieve goals that would yield goodness, but the representatives of NASA on the other hand were destined to beat the deadline. It is also clear that the decision makers did not follow the correct criteria for decision making because even after knowing that allowing the vehicle to take off would cause fatal consequences MTI proceeded with permitting the launch. The decision makers do not seem to acknowledge that they need to make a decision on a serious matter, and this might be the reason behind the lack of composure to address the issue. The decision makers, especially those from NASA do not appear to employ the correct mechanism because they do not spare time to gather the appropriate information regarding the whole issue, particularly how the venture puts the lives of some people at risk. The criteria for decision making applied in this instance also appears to be faulty because the decision makers do not appear to spare more time to identify and weigh the options before making the final decision. The representatives from NASA do not weigh the evidence MTI presents, and instead claim that they data and charts depict the opposite. The inappropriate criteria the decision makers use, does not make it possible to choose between any possible alternatives, and to take action after reviewing the choice and its consequences. Unfortunately, the unstated goals and the poor criteria adopted for decision making serve as the cause for the devastating outcome of the entire process.
Assumptions made in the Initial Phase of the Problem
Evaluating the case shows that Mulloy and Reinartz made some assumptions in the initial phase of the problem that ended up affecting the entire plan. Mulloy, for example, assumed that if the worst erosion witnessed on flight 2 occurred when the temperature outside was 70 degrees the 53 degrees MTI claims would not be a major threat (Challenger Case 2). The experts representing NASA also thought that because the charts and the data MTI presents appear to be inconclusive their claim was not genuine. Unfortunately, it is the baseless assumptions made in the initial phase of the problem that led to the catastrophic outcome.
Biases, Heuristics, and Misconceptions
It is clear from reading the case that the key players have some biases, heuristics, and misconceptions that end up affecting the decision-making. MTI’s management displayed high level of bias against the taskforce assigned to work on the effects of low temperature on the functioning of the O-ring. The leadership thinks the issue is not as important as the Solid Rocket Motor Seals Expert puts it. The team representing NASA in the teleconference to find a way forward also displays bias against MTI’s presentation in the way Mulloy and Reinartz cannot spare much time to listen to what might cause a fatal accident. Heuristics forms are evident in the way MTI’s management does not provide enough support to the team working on the O-rings (Evans 73). It instead lets them struggle with overcoming the erosion without offering the right resources. Heuristics forms are also evident when the representatives from NASA leave the entire task to MTI knowing very well that the decision required concerted effort to arrive at the best decision. Regarding misconception, it appears that NASA believed if past flights were executed at lower temperatures it is always possible to run such tests despite warnings. It is the reason why Mulloy and Reinartz are so adamant to accept the presentation by MIT (Evans 74). The other misconception by NASA is MIT could work on all the defects without consultation and necessary support. The representatives from NASA believed that MIT was competent enough to determine a launch under such straining measures, but this only turned out to be a misconception when the rule turned fatal only a few seconds after Challenger set out to its mission.
How the Biases, Heuristics, and Misconceptions could be mitigated
The key players could mitigate the biases, heuristics, and misconceptions that turned out to be harmful in the decision-making process through the adoption of proper mechanisms and measures. The teams could embrace employee voice, which refers to infusing the decisions members of the staff give to arrive at a conclusion that everyone regards as appropriate. MIT’s management, however, fails to show commitment and instead focused on sealing the deal with NASA. Showing commitment on the sides of MIT’s leadership and NASA could mitigate the heuristics forms that prevented the acquisition of more knowledge and direction on how to handle the crucial issue. The representatives of NASA could prevent misconception by not giving in to the pressure set by the deadline and other political events that attracted the country’s attention. Furthermore, being less arrogant could help mitigate on the side of the leaders from both groups could help suppress the misconception that appeared to affect the entire plan. Current operators, however, acquire valuable lessons from the incidence that they can use to avoid such mishaps in their current and future activities.
Antecedents that Signaled the Outcome and whether they were properly evaluated
Several antecedents are noted in the case that predicted the outcome, but the stakeholders failed to take proper and fast approaches to work on the signals. The launching of space shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center is a good scenario that could provide valuable lessons to the stakeholders. It is during after the takeoff that Boisjoly discovered of the erosions on both O-rings, and concluded that rocketing below 53 degrees Fahrenheit could be harmful. Boisjoly shared his discovery with the rest of the specialists at MTI who after performing a series of tests concluded that O-rings do not function effectively under low temperatures (Challenger Case 2). Unfortunately, MTI did not disclose the revelation to some of their leading partners such as NASA, which hindered further evaluation. Just a month after Boisjoly’s discovery, the most fatal O-ring failure to date was witnessed on Challenger’s seventh takeoff, but luckily the failure did not affect a major joint despite flying at 70 degrees Fahrenheit (Challenger Case 2). The incident drew NASA’s attention and asked MTI to perform an in-depth analysis of the field joints. MTI again showed its incapacity to treat the matter as serious when it assigned an unofficial task force to look into the matter. MTI’s management could not treat the matter as one that requires the attention of an official task force even after Boisjoly forwarded a message to the leadership stressing on the need to dispatch a more qualified team on the assignment. MTI’s management even failed to paint the true image of the issue to NASA, which recommended that things proceed as they fix areas that need more attention (Challenger Case 2). Some engineers from MTI including Boisjoly felt that the management was not acting in good faith in denying the taskforce the much attention it deserved, a scenario that further show how the antecedents were not adequately addressed and evaluated.
Instrumental Factors for Making the Decision Ineffective
Several factors as already hinted in the previous sections were responsible for making the decision in this case ineffective. One of the major blunders is the team from MTI only brought the issue into the attention of other major stakeholders when it was almost very late to rectify anything. NASA had scheduled the launch that had actually delayed due to lifting of the space shuttle Columbia that was successful. Ahmed et al. (83) assert that a good way to achieve the best results when having to make a decision is to have as much time as possible to consider all aspects in the most appropriate manner. The other factor that contributed to the making of an ineffective decision was the adamancy by the team representing NASA to accept that the low temperatures could affect the launch. It is highly likely the error would be avoided if the KSC representatives would heed to what MTI tells them and accept to wait for the right time. Even though it could take some time before the appropriate time for launching the vehicle arrives, and even though the ridicule by the media and members of the public would increase, that would not be worth the lives and investment lost during the catastrophe that still haunts America. Above all, the failure to stick to the right decision by MTI, which finally permitted the launch, maybe due to pressure or other compelling factors, contributed to the adoption of the inappropriate choice that led to a blow up. Once MTI knew that allowing the shuttle to take off at such freezing temperatures could cause adverse effects, it could have held to its stand even if it means hurting NASA with whom it has worked with closely since 1973 when it acquired the exclusive rights to build reusable rockets which would push the space vehicle into orbit. Unfortunately, maybe due to the fear of losing the economic ties, Kilminster made clear MTI’s decision.
Interventions that could have improved the Outcome
It is apparent employing certain intervention mechanisms could have resulted in a better outcome, but several factors prevented them from occurring. It is highly likely that employing decision theory could improve the outcome witnessed during the teleconference between MTI and NASA representatives. It would be easier to arrive at a suitable decision if the participants were conversant with the provisions of descriptive, prescriptive, and normative decision theories that offer valuable guide concerning how to make decisions in different contexts. The descriptive decision theory, for example, looks at how people without much information could end up with a decision, while the prescriptive theory tries to offer guidance for agents to arrive at the best possible outcomes considering a doubtful decision-making structure. Finally, knowing the guidelines of normative decision theory that offers guidance for making decisions provided with a set of options could also help improve the outcome. Such theories, however, were not applied maybe because the people involved in making decisions in this case were not conversant with the guidelines or were overshadowed by other pressing things that left no time to consider such helpful decision-making tools.
The fatal accident could also not have occurred if the decision makers employed ethical theories in making the decision. Both teams involved in making the decision in the Challenger Case ought to have adhered to the provisions of the ethical theory of deontology, which holds that people should adhere to their responsibilities and obligations when having to make decisions when ethical concerns are at play. Deontological theory implies that someone will act or fulfill her obligations to another society or person because upholding one’s responsibility is what is deemed ethically upright (Chonko 2). The team from MTI in this case would not have to proceed with the recommendation if it were certain the launch could cause such devastating effects. Based on the provisions of deontology, the group from NASA would also ease the pressure to launch because their duty calls them to do what is right and not likely to cause harm. Adhering to the directives of utilitarianism could also prevent the fatalities from happening. Utilitarianism that terms the act that yields the greatest benefit to most of the people as being ethically correct (Chonko 2), could be of importance in this scenario because NASA would learn that whereas the launch could save them from media criticism that would not save the people would become victims. The experts from MTI acquire similar lesson that even as the permission could ease the pressure they face from Mulloy and Reinartz, the decision may not be the best for everyone. Nevertheless, the decision makers were in haste and there was little time to consider such helpful theories, which resulted in their non-usage.
Conclusions from the Case Study that could be transferred to other Domains
The Challenger Case presents influential conclusions that could help facilitate decision-making in other fields and erase the hurdles associated with settling on the most suitable choice. A vital lesson that could be used in other areas is the importance of not allowing personal emotions to interfere with decision making. It appears in the Challenger Case that high emotion prevent Mulloy and his counterpart from allowing more time for the temperature normalize before proceeding with the launch. The study reveals that acknowledging and compensating for one’s biases requires one to appreciate the contribution of other players, as well as to pay considerable attention to the assumptions they make (Lehrer 34). The conclusions from the case informs players in other domains to employ the pro and con approach that is a traditional approach for settling on the most suitable choices, but still serves effectively. The decision makers need to look at the merits and demerits of each option, and settle on the one that seems to yield the most benefits (Lehrer 36). The case also informs on the need to break down the deciding factors into ones that really matter. Such an approach is more useful when making a choice that is particularly difficult as it appears in the Challenger Case. The team making the decision should only focus on the issues that really matter to avoid causing confusion by looking into many things. The study also informs on the need to try by reversing the way one thinks and find out if that would provide more insight. The decision makers, for example, should not only think of what will happen when the plan turns out to be successful, but should also consider the possible effects of failing to achieve the stated goals and objectives (Lehrer 37). Finally, the team or leaders should make a decision and stick with it because regardless of how much one tries to find the best answer or option, a decision will have to be taken. It may not be necessary to delay the decision-making because one cannot find what is the most appropriate, instead take a stand and stick by it.
How the Course had changed how I would analyze the Case Study before taking the Course
The insight I have acquired from the course has played instrumental roles in shaping the way I analyze the case study as opposed to how I would do before taking the course. I find the information on principles of legal forecasting to be vital when having to make a decision as a leader, or in other capacities. One of these guides that I now know is essential when having to make a decision is adhering to cumulative knowledge, which involves acquiring information from as many sources as possible, and knowing what needs to happen, or how one ought to make a decision in the correct the manner. I also learn the importance of defining the problem and understanding all the aspects before taking positions that would lead to the attainment of the desired interests. The course informs on the need to specify the paths to the goals because litigation may not be the only way to arrive at the right decision. I learn that the team vested with the task of making may use negotiation where all the sides agree on the best approach, or may involve other qualified or competent persons to arrive at the most suitable decision. I learn from the Challenger Case that rushing over the decision making as it happens with the teams representing NASA and MTI could affect the outcome and lead to severe consequences as it happened with the Challenger. I learn from the course how to identify and specify multiple hypotheses to measure the effectiveness of the decisions I or others take. I now know that creating multiple hypotheses presents the chance to know whether some decisions are likely to yield better or poorer outcomes compared to others. More, importantly, I learn the importance of incorporating the decisions of everyone rather than paying attention to the opinions of experts alone. Sometimes, the view of individuals in lower position could play instrumental roles in shaping the outcome, and this is evident in the case where Mulloy and Reinartz who stood in for NASA appeared to belittle the view by MTI’s representatives that the launch would not work at freezing temperatures.
Works Cited
Ahmed, Anwar et al. “Strategic Decision Making: Process, Models, and Theories.” Business Management and Strategy, vol. 5, no. 1, 2014, pp. 78-104.
Challenger Case. The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: An Accident Waiting to Happen.
Chonko, Larry. Ethical Theories. DSOF, 2013.
Evans, Ben. Space Shuttle Challenger: Ten Journeys into the Unknown. Springer Science & Business Media, 2007.
Lehrer, Jonah. How we Decide. Mariner Books, 2010.
Schwenk, Robert. “Decision Making.” Journal of Management, vol. 21, no. 3, 2005, pp. 471-493.
Wright, John et al. “How Children Reacted to Televised Coverage of the Space Shuttle Disaster.” Journal of Communication, vol. 39, no. 2, 1989, 27-34.
Leadership and Professional Image
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Leadership and Professional Image
ProposalIdentify the Problem or Issue
The problem pertains to maintaining a low incidence rate of pressure ulcers and associated infections within the clinical setting.
Explanation of the Issue
Pressure ulcers are among the leading causes of infection in the healthcare setting, primarily in the long-term care unit. The organization has various policies and guidelines designed to maintain skin integrity and prevent the development of pressure ulcers. The current prevention care bundle outlines vital concepts and procedures that nurses and care providers need to follow to reduce the incidence of bedsores. This care bundle comprises of repositioning, pressure relief, bed elevation, and incontinence care. However, this approach is not comprehensive enough, making it a challenge to reduce the incidence rate of bedsores to improve the overall healthcare quality.
Investigation
Failure to adhere to the pressure ulcer prevention care bundle is the primary factor contributing to increased incidence within the facility. The student’s research focused on incorporating evidence-based practice to develop a more sustainable and comprehensive care bundle. To this extent, the investigation was conducted using previous studies and healthcare reports from other countries. Pressure ulcers have garnered significant attention as they compromise the facility’s quality of care and the patient’s standards of living.
Evidence
Over the past year, the long-term care facility has experienced a relative increase in the number of pressure ulcer cases. The rise in these cases is problematic as it highlights an underlying issue either in complying with the regulations or in the care bundle. As a nurse, it is obligatory to represent the patients’ needs and to account for meeting them. The nurse should create an environment that effectively caters to the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health of the patient. Pressure ulcers are detrimental as it increases the length of patient stay and leaves patients susceptible to developing infections. Additionally, they increase treatment costs and the hospital’s readmission rates. If the patient contracts a drug-resistant infection, the consequences could be fatal. Mervis and Phillips (2019) note that a comprehensive care bundle should consist of diverse components targeting the provision of holistic care. The practices should aim to determine the patient’s susceptibility to pressure ulcers and incorporating effective measures to maintain skin integrity. From an observational perspective, many nurses often overlook specific steps of the care bundle when interacting with patients. For example, the student observed one patient who was not repositioned or turned for more than six hours. The current policy dictates the frequency of turning and repositioning every two hours.
Analysis of the State of the Situation
According to Boyko, Longaker, and Yang (2018), pressure ulcers are among the leading causes of infection within the long-term care unit. Patients spend most of their time in a fixed position, often depending on nurses for their most uncomplicated basic needs. To maintain sustainable and high-quality care facilities, the organization has enforced specific policies along with allocating critical resources. For one, nurses receive training on how to apply the care bundle. The facility has also installed proper equipment for patient mobility, including rails, to aid in their movements around their rooms. More recently, bedrails were eliminated due to their restrictive nature. Mervis and Phillips (2019) note that bedrails limit a patient’s mobility, making them more dependent on the care provider. When meeting with the patient, the nurse should carefully observe the patient’s skin every day to identify potential sites of infection and their vulnerability. Another critical factor to consider is the length of patient stay. Patients who may have stayed longer have a higher probability of developing pressure ulcers and consequential infection.
Contributing factors
A primary contributing factor to the increased incidence of pressure ulcers in the facility is the ineffectiveness of the current care bundle. While this procedural approach provides a suitable guideline for the management of patient care, several aspects have been overlooked. For example, the student identified that the nurses did not conduct a nutritional assessment of each patient. Patients were also turned after every six hours, and they could exert significant pressure on vulnerable skin. Another contributing factor was that the nurses were not willing to follow the care bundle. The student observed that, on more than one occasion, the nurses ignored various steps, including skin assessment and repositioning. Many of them considered turning the patient to be sufficient in relieving pressure. They also accounted for the movement of the patient to the washroom as part of repositioning.
Proposed Solution
The highlighted analysis presents various problems within the workforce and the current prevention protocol. The proposed solution targets to address both issues while reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers. The student would recommend an amendment of the existing prevention care bundle to include skin integrity evaluation, nutritional assessment, and training for nurses. Integrating these factors would help in creating a holistic and comprehensive bundle that would ultimately improve the patients’ standards of living within the clinical setting.
Justification of the Proposed Solution
As noted, the current prevention protocol is not as effective in mitigating the prevalence of pressure ulcers. The organization, therefore, needs to incorporate new measures to improve the provision of care. The proposed new care bundle aims to integrate new steps into the existing practice with the anticipation of creating a more holistic approach. Upon entry into the facility, the nurses will inspect the patient’s skin integrity to determine their risk of developing pressure ulcers. This assessment will also focus on other contributing factors, including the patient’s nutrition, liquid intake, and catheter use.
The frequency of turning and repositioning the patient should also be amended. Currently, patients are turned after every six hours or if they request the nurse. The new protocol will require repositioning after every three hours. Nurses will also be required to make hourly rounding to monitor patients and ensure that they have all their needs. Boyko, Longaker, and Yang (2018) also indicate that hourly rounding has been effective in reducing fall prevalence in facilities when patients try to reposition themselves or to use lavatory services.
In terms of nutritional assessment, medical professionals will require understanding the patient’s diet and how it could impact their mobility. They also need to document each aspect about the patient to guarantee that other nurses in the facility can easily access patient information. Catheter use also limits patient mobility since many patients feel discomfort when they try to turn or reposition themselves. A clear comprehension of these facts can help the nurse to develop a suitable treatment plan for the patient. In line with these aspects, nurses should receive training every quarter. This training should comprise the activities that they should perform and how to provide adequate care to long-term care patients. It will also enable them to learn and incorporate new research and evidence-based practice in the provision of care.
Recommended Resources
Several resources could prove useful in implementing this solution. The first resource is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The organization outlines specific guidelines and tools that healthcare providers can use to assess patients and provide efficient care for the prevention of pressure ulcers. The other resource would be evidence-based practice. There are several studies conducted over the years relating to pressure ulcer prevention. Going through peer-reviewed studies could prove insightful in developing a protocol that best suits the organization’s needs. Finally, the organization must establish a monitoring and evaluation committee charged with the responsibility of upholding the ethics and principles of care provision in the facility.
Financially, the new protocol would help to reduce healthcare costs by more than $20,000 per patient. According to Mervis and Phillips (2019), treatment for each pressure ulcer could cost from approximately $20,000 to $151,700 per patient. As such, the new protocol could help in reducing these costs significantly.
Timeline
The implementation of the new protocol should take approximately three to five months. The first two weeks will be allocated to the evaluation of resources and determining the best way forward. The following two weeks will be used to train nurses on the new protocol. Nurses should be able to execute each task in the new protocol independently. The management should also ensure that the training does not interfere with daily activities. To this extent, the nurses will be trained in their free time, and the practice should not take more than an hour every day. The monitoring and evaluation team will collect data on the incidence of pressure ulcers and the application of the new protocol every month. This data will be useful in determining if the new care bundle is active.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders involved in this project include the nurses, organizational leaders, primary physicians, patients, and the educator. The nurses have a central role in implementing the recommended protocol, and as such, their insight is critical in the success of the project. Organizational leaders are responsible for the allocation of resources and overseeing that the personnel have a suitable working environment. It is also essential to involve the primary physicians and other medical staff as they work closely with nurses. As such, training them would help to create synchrony in operations. The educator will be responsible for overseeing how the personnel are taught and identifying if any adjustments should be made to the curriculum.
Engagement of Stakeholders
For the new protocol to be successful, it is vital that all stakeholders feel actively involved and invested in the final results. Therefore, the student will work to engage them before, during, and after the implementation of the protocol. Before its implementation, the student will communicate with the nurses to highlight how this care bundle would be beneficial to them. Essential aspects to point out include reducing the nurses’ workload and giving them more time to focus on their career and personal development. For the management, the best way to engage them will be to indicate the cost benefits of the protocol. During the implementation process, the student will use statistics and data to show the success or failure of the new protocol. The stakeholders will also be encouraged to actively participate in developing suitable solutions or making adjustments for the success of the project.
Working with Stakeholders
The effectiveness of the new care bundle will be dependent on the medical personnel. As such, a multidisciplinary approach will be encouraged in implementing the new strategy. The organizational managers will work with the student to determine the resources required for the project and their acquisition. They will also allocate time for training. The student will also work with the trainer to highlight the most essential aspects and to determine how they will be presented to the nurses. In developing the curriculum, the student will seek the input of all involved personnel to identify areas of concern and how to address them. The nurses will also work closely with the student to acquire feedback on the efficiency of the new protocol and the challenges that they might encounter in their daily activities.
Implementation
Implementing the new protocol will begin by an assessment of the existing research and resources by a team of the involved stakeholders. This evaluation will highlight essential aspects to include in the training and how the training will be conducted. Afterward, personnel will undergo the necessary tutoring within two weeks. This will also include the new protocol changes and the evolving role of the nurse. The student will focus on collecting data and feedback regarding the training sessions and how future teachings should be conducted. In its function, the management will focus on availing resources and creating a functional duty roster that guarantees free time for further education. After implementation, the student will monitor compliance with the new policies and areas where nurses might be encountering potential challenges. The student will then work with the nurse leader to determine the most effective solutions and how they can be incorporated in practice.
RolesScientist
As a scientist, the role of the nurse is to collect, analyze, and interpret data for presentation. The student collected data on the incidence of pressure ulcers in the facility and explained its implications on the provision of care. This also involved an assessment of existing research on pressure ulcers and using suitable resources to guide the development of the new protocol for the organization.
Detective
The primary role of the detective is investigation. The student executed this role by observing how nurses carried out their responsibilities in the long-term care facility and identifying potential failures. Through this approach, the student noted how the current protocol failed in achieving its intended goal and how nurses overlooked certain aspects. The detective also interacted with nurses and the organizational leaders to determine how potential changes can be incorporated. This provided insight into the development of the new protocol.
Manager of the Healing Environment
Nurses have an integral responsibility of providing high-quality and holistic care to their patients. The student aimed to fulfill this role by overseeing how procedures and policies are followed within the organization and factors that might inhibit their incorporation. The nurse also participated in training to ensure that the personnel was aware of their responsibilities and how to execute their roles effectively.
References
Boyko, T. V., Longaker, M. T., & Yang, G. P. (2018). Review of the current management of pressure ulcers. Advances in wound care, 7(2), 57-67.
Mervis, J. S., & Phillips, T. J. (2019). Pressure ulcers: prevention and management. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Supply Chain Risk Management
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Table of Content
Introduction………………………………………………………3
Describing SCRM…………………………………………………3
Possible Risks in Supply Chain…………………………………..4
Ways of Applying SCRM………………………………………..6
The Four-Step Process……………………………………………6
Other Approaches………………………………………………..8
Conclusion……………………………………………………….9
References………………………………………………………11
Supply Chain Risk Management
Introduction
Companies that run an extensive supply chain need to adopt a supply chain risk management (SCRM) approach that is more than a helpful addition to the firm. The chief purpose of SCRM is to prevent constraints and to offer loss mitigation if risks interfere with the supply chain practices. Business leaders and the teams in charge of the supply chain should first understand the meaning of SCRM and its critical facets before proceeding to understand the risks that could affect operations. Companies should be conversant with the various approaches of managing supply chain risks such as applying a four-phased approach that offers guidance on how to mitigate threats, using the time to recover (TTR) technique, and applying the potential risk treatments. The designs require considerable resources to implement, which makes it necessary to choose the ones the company can execute without much difficulty. Implementing the risk mitigation approaches makes it possible for the company to achieve efficiency in the supply chain process and allows the firm to enjoy a competitive advantage.
Describing SCRM
SCRM entails implementing strategies to handle both exceptional and everyday risks along the supply chain, depending on continuous risk evaluation to lower vulnerability and encourage continuity. SCRM applies risk management processes and tools and could bring together other partners or could happen at the company level (Ho, 2015). SCRM tries to lower vulnerabilities in the supply chain through a coordinated, holistic approach while including all stakeholders of the supply chain to identify and analyze the risks of weak areas within the supply chain (Ho, 2015). Furthermore, more organizations realize than SCRM forms a strategic competitive advantage and encourages a lively supply chain that functions effectively than ever before (Ho, 2015). The risk management approaches permit the firm to outperform the competitors and improve market share when a common threat surfaces. It is also possible to build a relationship and trust and to lower uncertainty with the firm’s prospects.
SCRM benefits the supply chain and the business in several considerable ways. The approach ensures deliveries and production function well and prevents profit losses by identifying risks early enough. The method offers a fast ability to react to unexpected scenarios and events and promotes the company’s image (Shahbaz et al., 2017). Applying SCRM provides the chance to protect the corporation’s image, and maintains and boosts buyers’ satisfaction. More fundamentally, SCRM offers essential technology that permits live updates and helps to achieve and surpass rules and regulations regarding safety standards (Shahbaz et al., 2017). SCRM has other benefits that should encourage corporations to employ the strategy, such as maintaining business activities and stimulation of more supply chain best operations (Shahbaz et al., 2017). The advantages of applying SCRM should encourage corporations to use the approach that is increasingly becoming applicable.
Possible Risks in Supply Chain
Managing or running a supply chain exposes a company to several risks associated with the process. Corporations need to change their ways of managing risks because considering that change is inevitable and risks transform and become more prevalent as times vary (Davarzani et al., 2016). Risks in a supply chain can exist anywhere, which makes it almost unavoidable and inevitable to deal with threats. Inadequate handling of hazards and risks in the supply chain could diminish the brand value, and cause so much loss to the company (Davarzani et al., 2016). Shippers can mitigate the possibility of occurrence and lower their effects. Furthermore, shippers can minimize the likelihood of existence and lower disruptions considerably (Davarzani et al., 2016). Corporations should watch out for risks that could occur due to political and government alterations because significant instability forms could significantly influence global trade.
Identifying and dealing with the risks is of significant importance in managing the issues that could interfere with the supply chain. The government, for example, may choose to increase taxation for exported or imported commodities as it happens now between the U.S. and China, where the trade war is taking a heavy toll on companies (Jain & Saraswat, 2019; Kashyap & Bothra, 2019). Another factor that could cause considerable harm to the supply chain is economic instability. The declaration of the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, which is the seventh-largest logistics firms in South Korea, for example, prompted a significant drop in international supply chain shipping capacity. Experts estimate that the economic disruption caused the ability to drop by 3%, and nearly $14 billion in cargo was not able to dock (Quang & Hara, 2017). Adverse weather patterns and events present one of the most severe risks to ocean and road freight in the world. Floods and tropical storms can hinder transportation on land and water, which sometimes force transporters to identify and follow alternative routes. Natural and human-made catastrophes may also affect the supply chain, which requires the company to embrace suitable SCRM approaches (Davarzani et al., 2016). Some of the disasters that could disrupt the supply chain include earthquakes, violence, and even disease outbreak, such as the case of the Coronavirus in China. It is also essential to consider other possible risks such as cyber-attacks, data quality and integrity, and supplier inconsistency, among other factors (Davarzani et al., 2016). Identifying and addressing the issues using the appropriate methods allows for secure handling of the problems, and increases the possibilities of achieving successful supply chain practices.
Ways of Applying SCRM
The Four-Step Process
Corporations need to consider suitable ways of carrying out SCRM to prevent losses that could harm the company’s bottom line. Companies can utilize a combination of structured digital and problem-solving tools to appropriately handle the high-risk areas through four significant steps. The initial phase is to recognize and document the risks (Marija et al., 2015). The team in charge of the process can begin by mapping out and assessing the value chains of all leading products. The operators, in this case, should proceed to evaluate each aspect of the supply chain such as plants, transport routes, warehouses, and suppliers to understand the risks that could affect their functionality (Marija et al., 2015). The officers should proceed to enter the risks on a register and track them keenly daily. The second step would be to formulate a supply-chain risk management structure to achieve a scenario where each risk in the record is evaluated depending on three aspects to develop an integrated risk-management structure (Marija et al., 2015). The three dimensions include the possibility of the risks materializing, the company’s preparedness to handle specific risks, and effects on the company if the uncertainties materialize (Marija et al., 2015). The SRM team, in this case, should design and apply a consistent scoring approach to evaluate all risks to allow for aggregation and prioritizing threats to recognize the value-chain features and high-risk products with the highest failure possibility.
Addressing the third and fourth aspects of SCRM is equally essential in addressing the risks that could affect the process. Monitoring the risks is necessary, and once the group establishes a risk-management approach, it is vital to proceed with the persistent monitoring of all features. The growth of technology offers companies an excellent opportunity to track the leading indicators of risk (Olveora et al., 2018). Practical monitoring approaches are customized to meet the company’s needs. Hence, while one company could track disruptions in the manufacturing lines to identify quality problems, another may keep update with real-time weather reports to know how climatic conditions could disrupt its activities. It is essential, nevertheless, to have a warning system that offers timely warnings and to follow up significant risks to widen the chances of evading or limiting the effects from their emergence (Olveora et al., 2018). The fourth step would be to enforce proper governance and perform a regular review to eradicate any instance of the recurrence. The intervening team, in this case, can establish a robust governance structure to regularly evaluate the supply chain risks and define intervention processes, advancing the resilience and responsiveness of the supply chain (Olveora et al., 2018). Companies should know that an appropriate supply-chain risk management leadership structure is a functional risk board with personnel representing all aspects of the supply chain. The risk board may get more support from a fundamental risk management body, staffed with experts to offer additional guidance on recognizing and evading risks (Olveora et al., 2018). The board should convene quite often to assess the leading chances in the supply chain and suggest mitigating strategies. The participants will then take over the implementation of intervening actions for their respective operational areas (Olveora et al., 2018). Additionally, the board in many organizations shall make recommendations to advance the resilience and agility of the supply chain, ranging from restructuring the supply chain, working closely with suppliers to improve their practices, and identifying new ways of regulating lead times. The team in charge of implementing the four-phased approach should consider all facets keenly to avoid hiccups that could tamper with proper application and magnify risks.
Other Approaches
Companies can further deal with the risks that may affect the supply chain process by applying different approaches that are equally effective. A suitable method is a time to recover (TTR) that helps a company to understand the time it requires a corporation to restore all of its activities and output following a significant disruption of the supply chain. The leaders should strive to improve the efficiency of the people required for production as well as focus on replenishing the inventory. The document by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (2019) informs that the critical feature of TTR that often receives little attention or is underestimated is the machinery and equipment utilized on the manufacturing plant. It is essential to focus on this area because replacing some equipment could have lead-times that extend more than a year. The risk management team should put so much effort into recovering as fast as possible following a disruption to avoid further harming operations.
Companies can deal with the risks associated with embracing the potential risk treatment technique that is applicable in many organizations. Once the identification and the assessment processes are through, it may be essential to consider four critical aspects that serve crucial roles in mitigating further risks (Yu et al., 2015). The company may embrace risk avoidance approaches, which entail not engaging in activities that could worsen the risks. The company, for example, may avoid interacting or working with suppliers who are not reliable, or who offer substandard goods as a way of avoiding the possible risks associated with working with such people (Yu et al., 2015). The company may also practice risk avoidance by avoiding some forms of transportation if they present considerable risks. The firm, for example, may avoid transporting goods by road during a flood or by airplane when the weather is not favorable.
Applying the potential threat treatment approach requires companies to consider other essential components that would help to evade supply chain risks. Using risk reduction may serve vital functions in lowering the severity of the loss or the probability of the damage from emerging (Yu et al., 2015). The organization, for example, may install water sprinklers inside the warehouse to minimize the risk of loss by fire. Growth in technology offers the chance to employ suitable software to reduce risks and helps to break away from the traditional approaches that were less reliable and ineffective (Yu et al., 2015). The company may also mitigate threats by embracing risk-sharing strategies, which entail sharing with other groups or parties the effects of loss from risk. Risk-sharing, also called risk transfer, may include sharing loss between the supplier and the company in case of any breakages or damage during transportation (Yu et al., 2015). Organizations can also mitigate supply chain risks by practicing risk retention, where the company accepts the benefit of gain or loss from a recent risk (Yu et al., 2015). Companies that use the strategy may acquire insurance for some of the valuable assets that facilitate supply chain processes such as trucks, ships, buildings, airplanes, and other costly infrastructure. The body in charge of SCRM should be keen while implementing the potential threat treatment technique to incorporate all essential aspects.
Conclusion
The study illustrates how embracing proper SCRM approaches help to identify and address some of the s risks that could affect the supply chain process. Companies, while conducting their supply chain operations, should remember that risks can occur from any area, thereby calling for vigilance and preparedness. The SCM leaders should know how political factors, economic downturns, severe weather events, catastrophes, cyber attacks, data quality and integrity, and supplier inconsistency could affect the process. Corporations that desire to improve their SCRM should consider employing a four-phased framework that entails identifying and documenting the risks, creating a supply-chain risk management structure, monitoring the risks, and instituting governance and regular reviews. Companies may also apply the TTR strategy that calls for quick recovery after a significant disruption in the supply chain. Correctly using SCRM is likely to yield many benefits to the company, including gaining the ability to respond to unforeseen scenarios, protecting the company’s image, gaining new insight, and achieving competitive advantage. Implementers should be cautious while applying the various techniques to avoid errors that could prevent the realization of the desired objectives in mitigating risks.
References
Davarzani, H., Farahani, R. Z., & Rahmandad, H. (2016). Understanding econo-political risks: impact of sanctions on an automotive supply chain. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 35(11), 1567- 1591.
Ho, W. (2015). Supply chain risk management: A literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 53(16), doi: 10.1080/00207543.2015.1030467
Jain, M., & Saraswat, S. (2019). U.S.-China trade war: Chinese perspective. Management and Economics Research Journal, 5(4), 1-8.
Kashyap, U., & Bothra, N. (2019). Sino-U.S. trade and trade war. Management and Economics Research Journal, 5(1), 1-12.
Marija, M., Ivan, B., & Dusan, R. (2015). Supply chain risk management using software tool historical perspective of risk management. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 12(4), 167-182.
National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2019). Best practices in cyber supply chain risk management. Washington, D.C.: Cisco.
Olveora, U., Espindola, L., & Marins, F. (2018). Analysis of supply chain risk management researchers. Gestao Producao, 25(4), 671-695.
Quang, H., & Hara, Y. (2017). Risks and performance in supply chain: The push effect. International Journal of Production Research, 56(4), 1369-1388.
Shahbaz, M., et al., (2017). What is supply chain risk management? A review. Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience, 23(9, 9233-9238.
Yu, Y., Xiong, W., & Cao, Y. (2015). A conceptual model of Supply Chain Risk Mitigation: The role of supply chain integration and organizational risk propensity. Journal of Coastal Research, 73, 95-98.
Professional Development Program Proposal
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Professional Development Program Proposal
Amazon is already doing well in the global market but stands a chance of generating more revenue by improving on some areas that experience considerable constraints. The company adopts a customer-centered culture as a way of providing its customers with what they require and showing appreciation but still the firm cannot achieve all its aspirations because the level of innovation is not very much progressive, worker dissatisfaction, and the ever-transforming customer wants. Finding suitable solutions to the problems may entail applying the key concepts of EI, forming effective teams, and developing proper reward systems.
Amazon’s management should consider applying motivation as one of the influential building blocks of emotional intelligence (EI) to improve employee performance and job satisfaction. The aspect requires organizational leaders to be self motivated individuals who work relentlessly towards attaining their goals and to exhibit high standards for the nature of their work (Gayathri & Meenakshi, 2013). The leaders can improve their motivation by reevaluating why they are doing their job, particularly at the managerial position. The leaders should determine how they are motivated to lead because the personal assessment can help them see their likelihood to motivate others while dispensing leadership roles. The managers at Amazon can improve their applicability of motivation by being hopeful and finding something positive. Gayathri and Meenakshi (2013) inform that a motivated leader is optimistic, no matter what issues they experience. The leaders should be in such a way that they identify something good about every failure or challenge because even such situations may offer insight that cause long-term effects through proper application and adjustment. Applying motivation will further enhance employee performance and job satisfaction the approach mainly permits the management to realize the firm’s goals (Robescu & Lancu, 2016). Motivated workers can work towards increasing productivity, which allows the company to attain higher levels of output (Gayathri & Meenakshi, 2013). Employees put their best effort in their duties and obligations through motivation, and become gain more satisfaction, which is essential in leading towards a positive growth (Gayathri & Meenakshi, 2013). Additionally, motivation improves employee efficiency by forming a balance between their ability to perform the tasks and the readiness and willingness to carry out the duties. The benefits that come with motivation should encourage the leaders at Amazon to apply the crucial element of EI to overcome the issues that hinder excellent outcome.
The Maslow hierarchy of needs offers a suitable structure for Amazon leaders on how to motivate employees. The approach requires the leadership to first consider facilitating how the workers achieve their physiological needs such as food, shelter, and clothing (Cianci & Gambrel, 2003). The leaders can achieve this level by paying the workers well to enable them acquire these basic requirements. The approach then requires the leader to consider meeting the workers’ safety needs by enforcing mechanisms that make them feel secure and protected against threats or any harm (Cianci & Gambrel, 2003). The organizational leaders in this case employ watchful security personnel as well as install CCTV cameras to monitor activities and possibly any threats. The leaders can then transit towards achieving the workers’ love needs by making them feel part of the institution regardless of their differences. The managers at this level can promote diversity and make everyone feel equal despite their dissimilar cultures, religions, sex, and ideologies (Cianci & Gambrel, 2003). The leaders can also restructure the code of conduct by emphasizing on loving each other. The team in charge of motivation should afterwards strive towards meeting the employees’ esteem needs by building their status and ego. It may be essential to appreciate and recognize workers at this stage, as well as give them the chance to contribute towards decision-making. The last step while applying Maslow hierarchy of needs is to help workers attain their self-actualization desires by offering them the chance to lead and offer guidance, and by offering them the chance to accomplish everything that they can do (Cianci & Gambrel, 2003). Applying the motivational theory will influence the organizational members to work hard to overcome the issues that impede growth.
EI and its core concepts allow individuals to identify their own emotions and those of other people, and to differentiate between various feelings and label them correctly, thereby enhancing the decision-making efficacy of the management body. The management is likely to make sound decisions when they practice self-awareness such that they recognize their emotions and how they influence personal thoughts and behavior. Self-awareness further allows the management to understand their strengths and weaknesses, which is helpful when pronouncing judgment. Self-regulation is one of the major concepts in EI that may enhance decision-making at the company. Self-regulation helps to restrain leaders from making judgments that could harm others, and prevents managers from making emotional or rushed decisions, and forbids causing any form of stereotype (Yuksekbilgili et al. 2015). Leaders who practice self-regulation understand their values, hold their selves accountable, and are calm, which immensely impact on how they make decisions (Yuksekbilgili et al. 2015). Self-motivated leaders as noted in the previous section make good decisions because they are consistent toward attaining organizational objectives, and value quality. Empathy is another crucial concept in EI that can improve efficacy in decision-making because the leaders consider how the judgment could affect others. Empathetic leaders respond to the employees’ feelings while making decisions, thus increasing the chances of making sound proclamations (Yuksekbilgili et al. 2015). Otherwise, inadequate application of the main concepts of EI could affect the efficacy in making decisions at Amazon, and the problems could become unbearable.
Amazon could overcome the issues it faces by choosing and working with effective teams that know how to drive change and achieve the goals and objectives. The recruiters and the HRM leaders should select workers who communicate well with each other in the way they share their opinions, ideas, and thoughts (Ahiauzu et al., 2010). The team members should focus on the main objectives and the outcomes rather than paying attention to the amount of work assigned to them. Other crucial factors to consider when selecting effective teams are their ability to support each other, and diversity (Ahiauzu et al., 2010). Assigning qualified leaders who are honest and give clear direction further helps to create team dynamics that will help the company overcome its tribulations.
A suitable reward system for Amazon would be to increase the employees’ wages and remuneration because the approach is one of the most effective ways of increasing satisfaction and performance. Offering adequate payment is essential in building team collaboration. The workers are likely to serve as a team that works towards meeting the business goals when they receive payment and bonuses that allow them meet their needs (Assari et al., 2019). The leaders should understand that whereas intrinsic motivation may push some workers to perform their duties well, extrinsic motivation such as offering high remuneration and bonuses acts as the major drive for many employees who serve in anticipation for something in return (Assari et al., 2019). Externally motivating the workers by offering enough payment and bonuses further builds a high level of output, which is essential for Amazon. The team while offering high payment to employees should consider some of the demerits that come with such an approach of motivation such as high possibility of becoming reluctant when the workers feel they generate enough money from their payment (Assari et al., 2019). The organization is also likely to experience financial hurdles without proper planning or when the payment demands surpasses the company’s ability to sustain. A suitable way to implement the high remuneration package would be to formulate a program that brings together the HRM and financial departments to find a suitable way of structuring the motivational approach.
Amazon can deal with low innovation levels and employee dissatisfaction by employing the concepts of EI that require leaders to consider how they perform their duties. The study recognizes the importance of motivating employees to improve performance and satisfaction. The Amazon leaders can apply the Maslow hierarchy of needs model that informs on how to meet the employees’ wants starting from the most basic ones. Leaders while seeking to improve their decision-making approach should practice self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and empathy that are the main concepts of EI. The company may also overcome the constraints it faces by selecting and working with effective teams, and by embracing a reward system that encourages all workers to put more effort.
References
Ahiauzu, A., et al. (2010). Marketing in governance: Emotional intelligence leadership for effective corporate governance. Corporate Governance, 10(2), 150-162.
Assari, M., Desa, N., & Subramaniam, L. (2019). Influence of salary, promotion, and recognition toward work motivation among government trade agency employees. International Journal of Business and Management, 14(4), 48-52.
Cianci, R., & Gambrel, A. (2003). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Does it apply in a collectivist culture. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 8(2), 143-161.
Gayathri, N., & Meenakshi, K. (2013). A literature review of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Intervention, 2(3), 42-51.
Robescu, O., & Lancu, A. (2016). The effects of motivation on employees performance in organizations. Valahian Journal of Economic Studies, doi: 10.1515/vjes-2016-0006
Yuksekbilgili, Z., Akduman, G., & Hatipoglu, Z. (2015). A research about emotional intelligence on generations. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Review, 3(4), 124-133.
Slide Notes on Ethical and Policy Factors of Care Coordination
Introduction
Good morning everyone! I am a nurse at the local clinic, and I came here today to talk about the ethical and policy factors surrounding care coordination in the community. I selected the Salvation Army as the community organization that I would work with primarily because of their significance in providing services for the homeless. The homeless population is relatively high within the community, and it is important to understand the role of the Salvation Army, its values, and its contribution to the overall betterment of the affected population. I will begin this presentation by outlining some aspects of the Salvation Army followed by the ethical and policy factors. I will also highlight the concept of coordination of care. Through this presentation, please feel open to ask questions, and you can also share your input at the end.
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a protestant Christian church established in 1865 in East London, United Kingdom. Through time, the church expanded to become a charitable organization operating in more than 100 countries where it provides disaster relief, homeless shelters, charity shops, and humanitarian aid.
Its core values are:
Compassion: The church reaches out to the community and provides care wherever necessaryRespect: It emphasizes the dignity of all individuals regardless of social differencesIntegrity: The organization prides itself in promoting accountability, trustworthiness, and honesty.Excellence: The Salvation Army strives to be a model that others can emulate by being the best at what they do.
Salvation Army Homeless Services
The organization caters to the society’s needs through donations and volunteer programs. People can give their donations in form of food, money, clothes, or other basic needs that they can share.
Through its thrift stores, the Salvation Army also sells clothes, with the finances being redirected towards catering for the needy.
Care Coordination
In care coordination, all medical personnel involved in a patient’s care understand their responsibilities and they work together to share critical clinical information.
They also outline their expectations in the treatment plan, thereby succeeding in providing comprehensive care. According to Faraj and Sayegh (2018), the care providers also collaborate in keeping the patient informed and actively involved in their treatment. This measure ensures efficiency in transitions and referrals.
The primary goal of care coordination is to ensure that the patient’s needs are met through the provision of high-value and high-quality care. This goal is achieved through two main measures: using specialized care coordination activities; and incorporating broad approaches typically designed to improve the delivery of healthcare.
Significance of Healthcare Accessibility
Access to healthcare is the timely and efficient use of health services for the improvement of health outcomes (Winetrobe, Rice, Rhoades, and Milburn, 2016). If every individual had access to holistic, quality healthcare services, there would be a decline in health disparities in addition to more affordable care. Healthcare accessibility is also important as it promotes and maintains positive health through the management and prevention of disease.
It also reduces the prevalence of premature death or unanticipated disability, ultimately achieving equity in healthcare across to the country. The three main components of healthcare access include the timeliness of care, types of health services provided, and insurance coverage.
Factors Inhibiting Access to Healthcare
Homeless people in the community encounter significant challenges regarding access to healthcare. For one, there is a limited number of healthcare facilities around them. Additionally, they cannot afford insurance coverage, an aspect that marginalizes them from receiving the necessary quality care. Wadhera et al. (2019) also notes that the costs of care are significantly high, particularly for a population living below the poverty line. Interactions between care providers and homeless populations is also limited, and the two groups end up stereotyping each other. Many homeless people believe care providers to be hostile and this makes it difficult for them to seek medical attention. On the other hand, care providers may carry the assumption that homeless people may be criminals or beyond help.
Ethical Principles of Healthcare
The principle of beneficence emphasizes taking the best course of action for the patient. In terms of homeless populations, the nurse should focus on conducting a comprehensive patient assessment, identifying the potential risk factors and finding ways of mitigating them.
The principle of autonomy encourages nurses to respect human dignity and the ability of the patient to make their own decision. In this sense, the nurse should avoid making decisions for the patient although they can offer advice on the best course of action.
The principle of justice emphasizes equality in the provision of care. The nurse should not discriminate any patient based on their social factors during care delivery. Homeless populations are often skeptical about visiting care facilities as they feel stigmatized.
The principle of nonmaleficence is the essential core of healthcare which requires medical professionals to “do no harm”. To this extent, nurses should work towards selecting the right course of action without compromising on care based on other external factors such as cost.
Policy Factors in Care Coordination
Care coordination for the homeless is relatively challenging as there are limited policies to this extent. However, the government has succeeded in protecting the rights of homeless people in terms of the Affordable Care Act and the HIPAA. It has also introduced various community programs such as the Continuum of Care Program, which focuses on providing efficient care to the homeless. The program’s man goal is to end homelessness through the support of the community, and allocating funds for efforts towards meeting the needs of this population.
HIPAA
HIPAA has been critical in protecting the rights of homeless people in terms of protecting their personal health information. Healthcare providers have the responsibility of training their personnel on client privacy for all individuals regardless of their status. Under the Privacy Rule, all identifiable health information in the possession of a covered entity is protected. Covered information includes:
The patient’s current, previous, or future mental or physical conditionThe type of care provided to the individual, andThe financial cost of care incurred by the patient.
PPACA
The PPACA is potentially the most significant policy pertaining to the provision of care to the homeless. The Act advocates for the provision of quality care to all individuals regardless of any discriminatory factors. It also provides subsidies for people of low socioeconomic status, guaranteeing that they are able to access healthcare.
However, for the homeless, these subsidies might not present a significant change since many of them still would not be able to afford the necessary care.Nevertheless, the ACA seeks to address this challenge. Prior to its introduction, many homeless adults failed to qualify for Medicaid since it only provided coverage for the elderly, the pregnant, or people with disabilities. The ACA saw to the expansion of this coverage to include individuals living below the poverty line.
Healthy People 2020: Social Determinants
The main social determinant affecting the homeless is lack of their basic needs (including food, shelter, and clothing). The Salvation Army works towards mitigating this problem through the provision of homeless shelters, running mobile kitchens, and donating clothes. It is also important to incorporate patient education aimed towards reducing the stigmatization of homeless people and changing the narrative to one that supports positive outcomes.
References
American Academy of Family Physicians. (n.d.). Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). (2019). Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/advocacy/informed/coverage/aca.html
Faraj, S., & Sayegh, K. (2018, July). Shaping the Buildings that Shape Us: The Entanglement of Space and Care Coordination. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 12991). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Access to Health Services. Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/Access-to-Health-Services.
Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Social Determinants. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-lhi-topics/Social-Determinants
McDermott-Levy, R., Leffers, J., & Mayaka, J. (2018). Ethical principles and guidelines of global health nursing practice. Nursing outlook, 66(5), 473-481.
Salvation Army. (n.d.). Provide Shelter. Salvation Army. Retrieved from: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/provide-shelter/
Wadhera, R. K., Choi, E., Shen, C., Yeh, R. W., & Joynt Maddox, K. E. (2019). Trends, Causes, and Outcomes of Hospitalizations for Homeless Individuals. Medical care, 57(1), 21-27.
Winetrobe, H., Rice, E., Rhoades, H., & Milburn, N. (2016). Health insurance coverage and healthcare utilization among homeless young adults in Venice, CA. Journal of Public Health, 38(1), 147-155.
Ambiguity in the Use of the Pronouns
Student’s Name:
Course:
Institutional Affiliation:
Ambiguity in the Use of the Pronouns
Chapter One: Introduction
A pronoun is defined as a word used as a substitution or a replacement for a noun or another pronoun. The commonly used pronouns are we, I, they, it, he, she, those, these, what, and who [1]. Pronoun makes a writer’s or a reader’s lives easier by enabling them to simplify their sentences while at the same time avoiding repetition. An example of a repetitive sentence that lacks a pronoun would be “The father told the father’s daughter that the father wanted the father’s daughter to clean the house.” The sentence sounds repetitive and awkward. Here is how using a pronoun can change the sentence, “The father told his daughter that he wanted her to clean the house.” From the above example, it is clear that the use of a pronoun makes a sentence easier to read and understand. A pronoun, for example, “she” tends to be a more generic word than the represented noun (for instance, Sarah). As a result, one should ensure that the pronoun they choose maps onto just one noun. This means that they should see to it that every pronoun used has a clear antecedent, which is a key to clear writing. The failure to pair a pronoun with its antecedent can cause trouble in writing, hence leading to a misunderstanding [2]. To understand ambiguity in pronouns, however, it is essential first to understand the concept of ambiguity.
Ambiguity
As explained by Athertone [3], ambiguity refers to a type of meaning whereby a resolution, statement, or phrase is inexplicitly clarified, thus making specific explanations believable. Uncertainty is one of the common elements of ambiguity. To simplify the meaning of ambiguity, the author states that it is an aspect of any statement or idea whose projected meaning is hard to resolve using a particular rule or specific steps [3]. The ambi- in ambiguous means two, in this case, two meanings. It is important to note that context plays a role in ambiguity since an idea or a statement can be ambiguous in one context, but clear in another. An example of an ambiguous sentence is, “I rode a white polo horse in blue pajamas”. In this sentence, it is easy to think that the polo horse had worn blue pajamas. The sentence is unambiguous when written, “Wearing pajamas, I rode a white polo horse.” In addition, similar words that hold different meanings can be a source of ambiguity in a sentence, but in this case, the context in which the term is used can resolve the ambiguity.
Ambiguity in Semantics
Semantics in a language lay emphasis on how meaning is studied. One challenge that linguists face when trying to explain ‘meaning’ is ambiguity. Hoffman, Lambon, and Rogers [4] point out that defining ‘meaning’ gives more than twenty definitions, which reflect the confusion caused by such a basic term, hence ambiguity.
Ambiguity in semantics usually occurs in a language, for example, a word like organ has two English meaning, meaning a musical instrument and a body part. However, a word can also cross language boundaries in a way that two different languages can share that word but with different meanings. An example of a shared word in English and Dutch is “angel.” “Angel” in Dutch means “Sting.” People who speak different languages encounter ambiguity in their communications and across languages as well. According to Beekhuizen, Cui, and Stevenson [5], when words have two or more meanings, then they are referred to as polysemous words. Almost all English words have multiple meanings, implying that nearly all sentences have semantic ambiguity. Semantic ambiguity is resolved using context, although this may not be a solution in all cases. A word like “play” is a polysemy. One can play a game, a guitar, play a role, or play the victim.
As posited by Haro and Ferré [6], there are semantic concepts and terms which represent the basis of semantics theory like vagueness, entailment, connotation and denotation, utterance, paraphrase, and entailment among others. However, most of these concepts have the least connection with ambiguity. Semantic ambiguity can be understood from two perspectives: sentence ambiguity and word ambiguity. The Netbase Staff [7] argue that ambiguous words in a particular sentence can make it congruently unclear. For example, the word “spring” can have different meanings when used in a sentence based on non-verbal and verbal cues in the context in which it is used.
Concept of the ambiguity
Ambiguity is, in most cases, compared with vagueness. However, distinct and specific interpretations are allowed in ambiguity, while with vague information, it is hard to achieve any interpretation of the required specificity level. According to The Netbase Staff [7], ambiguity in language processing extends beyond the lexical type, which will further be explained in the types of ambiguity. This implies that ambiguity affects even morphemes, which are smaller units than words. Morphemes tend to show a particular kind of uncertainty in meaning, which is referred to as syncretism. Ambiguity in morphemes happens in cases where more than two morphological elements have a similar form. Other kinds of ambiguity exist, which are made of bigger units, and these are syntactic and semantic ambiguity.
Theorists have found the importance of distinguishing the ambiguity phenomenon from other phenomena such as context-sensitivity, vagueness, and underspecification. Philosophers are interested in understanding ambiguity for a number of reasons, one being that it clarifies the existing differences between natural and formal languages [8]. The second reason is that uncertainty may have a damaging impact on individuals’ capacity to examine the rationality of ideas based on conceivable equivocation. Third, ambiguity is a significant feature of a person’s interpretative ability and cognitive understanding. Fourth, it can deliberately heighten one’s interest in artwork by not allowing easy interpretation or categorization. Lastly, ambiguity can weaken the applicability of laws and peoples’ willingness to follow them. Understanding the concept of uncertainty and how it is resolved can provide an insight into both interpretations and thoughts.
Types of Ambiguity
The following are the types of ambiguity-:
Semantic ambiguity
This type of ambiguity happens when sentences have more than just one way of reading them within their contexts [6]. This can occur when some quantifiers appear in the same sentence. For example, “all people have medical covers in Malaysia.” The sentence can be interpreted in two ways- one which is “every person in the country has an individual medical insurance coverage” or “all people have the same medical cover.”
Structural/Syntactic ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity is noted when particular words sequences have different grammatical structures but hold different meanings. An example of these words is “a big Toyota factory” to mean both “big (Toyota factory” and (big Toyota) factory.
Lexical ambiguity
This type of ambiguity is noted when a word contains several meanings. For example, a word like “green” could mean “immature” or “green color.” Lexical ambiguity also occurs when words of diverse origin have similar pronunciation or spelling like “bank” for a building and “bank” for “riverbank”. As Levison [9] notes, homophonous entries are contained in a unit called lexicon. Homophones can be co-spelled but have different syntactic categories or meanings. For example, “duck” is both a noun and a verb. A noun like “bat” has two different meanings and is also a verb that has more than one meaning.
Lexical ambiguity is easily detectible, particularly if the meanings are very different. However, it can prove difficult if a word has closely related meanings. A simple example of such a word is “in” whose meaning is ambiguous and appears to rotate around containments, which can seem to be different if looked from a more fine-grained point of view. A person can be “in the hospital, in California, or in therapy.” The examples show that “in” is an ambiguous word.
Pragmatic ambiguity
This type of ambiguity is notable in sentences that have several meanings, given the context in which an individual speaks it. An example of pragmatic ambiguity in a sentence is, “The doctors can treat the patients before they leave.” The word “they” in the sentence could refer to both the doctors and the patients.
Vagueness is another type of ambiguity that is identified when a phrase in a sentence has one meaning from an analytical perspective but can be interpreted differently when required.
Language error; This type of ambiguity represents grammatically incorrect constructions.
One of the challenging issues in accounting for ambiguity in sentences or language is figuring out the objects that people say are ambiguous. For instance, propositions are not ambiguous, given that their meanings cannot be subjected to more deliberations of meaning. This then leaves a number of prospective objects such as inscriptions, utterances, or sentences or utterances that are relative to a context, among other potential objects.
The differences, as Kurniasari [10] believes, are not inconsequential, meaning that a sentence that is written down can correspond to in several ways of being spoken whereby characteristics like prosody can hinder several meanings being enjoyed by that specific sentence.
An important factor regarding the concept of ambiguity is how people should denote ambiguities. It can be tempting to view this as a factor that can be easily analyzed in several ways. For instance, one may decide to disjunctively represent the meaning of a word like “bank” or may opt to individuate the word as numerous lexical objects that look or sound alike, maybe by using subscripts. The problem, however, is that disjunctively represented meanings do not uniquely explain ambiguity, and using subscripts just covers the issue of what those subscripts denote. The problem is more than just a trivial choice or a nuisance and can have severe consequences on how conditional semantics can be pursued.
Chapter Two: Literature Review about the Ambiguity and Especially on the Ambiguity of the Pronouns
Ambiguity, according to Jha [8], has, over the years, been a source of amusement, perplexity, and frustration for poets, linguists, literary critics and theorists, authors, orators, philosophers, lexicographers and any other individual interested in interpreting linguistic signs. The interest of philosophers in the concept highly emanates from concerns based on natural language regulation in formal reasoning. Opinions, which may appear good in regards to their linguistic form, can appear wrong if the phrases or words used are ambiguous. It is important to understand ambiguity and examine how it relates and differs from similar concepts like vagueness, polysemy, and indexicality.
Sometimes, ambiguity may rely on the context meaning a word or an object can be unambiguous in a certain situation and ambiguous in another. For instance, if one considers are short phrase like “Ellah read the letter.” The phrase alone could either refer to a past or present action as the word “read” is pronounced the same way both in the past and present tenses. Yet, if the sentence is changed to “Ellah read the letter last year,” then that clears the ambiguity in the sentence and places the time of the action in the past tense.
Ambiguity in grammar is experienced on a day-to-day basis, whether in conversations or ordinary language or when watching news or comedies [10]. Below are some examples of ambiguous sentences, which have more than two meanings or interpretations. Often, sentences are written in a way that they end up having pronouns that could have more than one different antecedent.
An example of an ambiguous sentence is, “Sarah asked Lucy if she had seen her brother.” In this example, the pronoun “her” does not clearly tell whether it was Lucy’s or Sarah’s brother. The ambiguity in the sentence would be resolved if it was written Sarah specifies if it was her brother or Lucy’s brother she was looking for.
Another ambiguous sentence is, “Leah and Olivia visited the mall after she cleaned her room.” The problem with this sentence is that it has many antecedents, and it is not clear the one that matches a specific pronoun. It is ambiguous if “she” refers to Leah or Olivia. To resolve the ambiguity in this sentence and make it clear who “she” refers to, one should replace the pronoun “she’ with the lady’s name being referred to. The sentence could be reworded to read “Leahand Olivia visited the mall after Olivia cleaned her room.”
Note the following example of how unclear the use of pronouns might refer to two or more antecedents, leaving readers unsure of the meaning that the writer intended to pass. “Sarah told her aunt that her skirt had a stain in it.” In this sentence, it is not clear whether it is Sarah’s skirt that is stained or her aunt’s. The sentence might get a reader confused. According to Ezzati and Farahian [11], the rule of the thumb states that the pronoun should refer to the closest antecedent, which in the above sentence is the word “aunt.” Suppose the writer meant that Sarah’s skirt is stained, then one might consider rewriting the sentence. If revised, the sentence should read; Sarah told her aunt, “My skirt has a stain in it.” Or, in case the writer means the opposite, then the sentence can be rewritten to read; Sarah told her aunt, “Your skirt has a stain in it.”
Another sentence would be, “Leah did not believe that she had been selected class captain by her roommates who lacked much self-confidence.” The sentence is ambiguous as it leaves the reader questioning whether Leah was shocked that her roommates all chose her as class captain because she herself lacked self-confidence or whether Leah was amazed that her roommates chose her as a class captain, although they lack much self-confidence. The resolution, in this case, is that such types of pronouns refer to the closest pronoun or noun. A way in which the problem can be solved is to move the “who” clause closer to its modifier. The sentence can be rewritten with Leah in this manner; “Leah, who lacked much self-confidence, did not believe that she had been selected as a class captain by her roommates.” Or if the writer wants to create an emphasis that the roommates are the ones that lack self-confidence, then the sentence could be written as follows, “Leah did not believe she had been selected as class captain by her roommates since they lacked much self-confidence.”
Although sometimes the pattern used to write a sentence is the same, the purposes that the sentence constituents perform are not the same. An example of an ambiguous sentence that belongs in this category is “they served her the cat biscuits.” The sentence can be reworded in two ways “Her cat was served the biscuits” or “She was served the cat biscuits.” The ambiguity in the sentence can be explained in this manner. In the first sentence, the pronoun “her” is considered a constituent that is carrying out the indirect object’s function, while the cat’s biscuits, which is the noun phrase is performing the function of the direct object.
Other than the suggested solution given in each case or sentence scenario, there is a specific way proposed by linguists in which ambiguity in sentences can be resolved [18]. Linguists recommend on the use of diagrams known as trees, which effortlessly embody word groupings with sentences. An example is shown in the diagram below:
To understand what was stated in the sentence cases that the pronoun should refer to the closest antecedent, it is clear from the tree that “these” is the pronoun that closely relates to the dogs, while “those” relates closely to the cats. The abbreviations in the above tree stand for the different groups or types of words. “S” stands for sentence, “P” for pronoun or preposition, “VP” for noun phrase, “V” for the verb, “C” for conjunction, “N” for a noun, “PP” stands for a prepositional phrase and “NP” for noun phrase.
In ambiguity, linguistic units such as sentences, phrases, lexical units, or clauses can have two different meanings or can serve more than one function. The possibility of ambiguity in syntactic and linguistic units happens as a result of the basis that the number of ideas that the two units should cover are high. Lexical units should have more than one meaning for them to carry out the syntactic roles in a limitless number of sentences. This is the same for clauses and phrases.
In as much as ambiguity in grammar writing is concerned, two alternatives exist and which should be used to deal with ambiguity. The first one is to write a sentence in a way that limits the capacity of its interpretations to only one meaning. The second one is to write a sentence in a way that can have more than one meaning, but a reader can understand it based on the context. Note that the second option offers an ambiguous solution. However, it must fulfill two conditions: syntactic and semantic. An example of a sentence is “she touched the boy with cold arms.” The semantic content of the PP “with cold arms” refers to both the NP “the boy” and the V-for verb, “touched.” The same PP is both a modifier for the NP “the boy” and the verb “touched.” In trying to understand syntactic ambiguity in sentences, MacGregor et al. [20] explain that while ambiguity is a natural and a normal phenomenon, it is seen as an uncertainty, an enemy, or a grammatical disorder that can lead to more harm than good.
Ambiguity in Pronouns
A pronoun is defined as a word that is used in place of a noun. Pronouns are used in grammatical writing to avoid the repetition of the same nouns in a sentence. The common types of pronouns as aforementioned are I, we, us, me, he, she, mine, and us. However, there are several types of pronouns, which are subjective, objective, reflexive, intensive, relative, indefinite, interrogative, demonstrative, and possessive pronouns.
Subjective pronouns are words that perform the action of a verb. These pronouns include I, we, they, you, she, he, and it [12]. Objective pronouns, as defined by Yao [12] acts receive the verb’s action. They include us, them, him, her, me, you, and it. Demonstrative pronouns are those that point out a noun. These include those, that, this, and these. Possessive pronouns tell the person who owns something. They are yours, ours, his, hers, its, mine, and theirs. Interrogative pronouns are used in questions to help question about something. These pronouns include whom, who, which, and compound words that end with “ever” like whomever, whoever, whichever , and whatever. Although interrogative pronouns may appear like interrogative adjectives, however, they are differently used in a sentence and act as pronouns.
The other type of pronouns is indefinite pronouns, which mean a general thing or a person. Some of these indefinite pronouns are few, both, all, many, somebody, nothing, everyone, some, neither, any, none, each, and several. Other pronoun type are relative pronouns which are used in a sentence to introduce a sentence part or a clause, describing a noun [12]. They include whom, who, which, and that. Intensive pronouns is another type that emphasizes their antecedent. They are yourselves, himself, herself, themselves, itself, ourselves, and myself. The last type of pronouns are reflexive pronouns, which refer back to a sentence subject. Such pronouns include ourselves, himself, herself, itself, yourselves, themselves, and myself.
Readers experience many pronoun errors in writing. Some of these common errors and which show ambiguity in the sentences include the use of pronouns without an antecedent [13]. An example of a sentence that lacks an antecedent is, “Even though Leila is very rich, she does not make good use of it.” The sentence is ambiguous because it lacks an antecedent, which in this case is “wealth or money.” The second error encountered in the use of pronouns is matching pronouns to their antecedent in gender and number [13]. An example of such a sentence is “pick the unused pieces, and save it for the next student.” The ambiguity in the sentence is seen where the antecedent “it” is used to refer to the “unused pieces,” which is plural. The third error is the use of objective or nominative pronoun case when using a possessive antecedent. An example of a sentence is “the lawyer called the client’s office, but he failed to answer.” The ambiguity, in this case, is seen where “he” is referring to the client, but has been used only in the possessive case.
In other cases, a sentence can be written in a way that they end up with pronouns that have more than two antecedents [19]. It is crucial for a writer to revise their writing to revise such ambiguous cases. An example of an unclear sentence is, “Linda told Lillian that her classmate is stubborn.” In this sentence, it is not easy to tell whether it is Linda’s or Lillian’s classmate being talked about. Linda could be telling Lillian that Linda’s classmate is stubborn, or she could be telling Lillian that her classmate is stubborn. The sentence can be revised to remove the ambiguity. Linda told Lillian, “Your classmate is stubborn.”
Another case where the use of pronouns can be ambiguous is when there are introductory aspects in a sentence. An example of such a sentence is, “ When I hit my leg on the glass window, I broke it.” In this case, it is impossible to tell whether it is the leg or the window that broke. A revised version would be, “ I broke my leg when I hit into the glass window.”
Writers should, however, note that the rules that govern the ambiguity in pronouns are lenient compared to the guidelines. Ambiguity in pronouns should not be the first decision point for rejecting an option but should come after the modifiers, subject-verb agreements, parallelism, and tense have been taken care of. According to King et al. [14], one should understand that not every sentence containing two nouns before a pronoun falls under ambiguity errors in the use of pronouns. Suppose there is a pronoun agreement with those two nouns in gender and number, whereby the nouns are antecedents of the pronoun, then there may be ambiguity. However, in several cases, logic dictates the noun that performs the action, hence it is reasonably clear the noun that the pronoun denotes.
Pronoun Ambiguity In Semantic With Examples
Pronouns are among the sources of ambiguity in sentences. This means that a pronoun’s antecedent is not easily determined by the use of semantic information only, but a combination of contextual, semantic, and syntactic information [9]. Pronouns consist of most one-word terms, whose semantic contents are limited to basic factors like people, gender, or numbers. Usually, such factors do not contribute to the at-issue or assertive utterance content. In several cases, the given factors in bound pronouns semantics may be ignored. For example, “Only I brought my fruits”- in bound reading, the sentence would read: no other person other than me brought the fruits. In this sentence, the features) number, gender, and person) have been ignored. In the sentence, the variable “my” is not limited to the speaker.
Pronoun ambiguity in semantic occurs when a sentence, phrase, or word that is taken out of context is interpreted in more than one manner. An example in a sentence is “We saw her car,” the words “her car” can be interpreted to mean either i) to the individual’s car (the noun “car” is modified by “her” which is the possessive pronoun or ii) to a movement the person made (the verb “car,” the objective pronoun here is “her,” which an object “saw”-the verb in the sentence.
Another sentence example is “I saw Theresa and Karen sited on the gazebo; she was watching the stars.” In this sentence, the pronoun “she” is ambiguous because its identity is not clearly defined, given both the antecedents “Theresa” and “Karen” are possible subjects of co-reference. In this case, there are two possibilities in the way a reader can opt to resolve the issue of semantic ambiguity in the pronoun. One, maybe one single antecedent, is directly acknowledged as a coreferent, irrespective of the linguistic challenges [15]. For example, an individual could immediately assign the pronoun “she” to “Theresa” because she is the first antecedent. Another alternative would be for both “Theresa” and “Karen” to be activated equally, and the selection of the candidate to be assigned the pronoun to wait until a later stage, where there will be more contextual evidence.
The previous perspective accentuates an instant processing of the pronoun based on the readily available semantic cues [16]. In the given sentence, the prompt is the order in which the antecedents appear. The latter outlook considers the role that delayed contextual factors play in determining where the pronoun will be placed.
Semantic ambiguity in pronouns could also occur when a sentence has two or more distinct meanings as a result of its structure. This is caused by a modifying expression like a prepositional statement whose application is ambiguous [9]. An example of a sentence is, “she sipped the juice on the bed.” One of the meanings is “ she sipped the juice that was on the bed,” as opposed to the one that was in the kitchen. Another meaning is, she was sleeping on the bed while she sipped the juice.
Steinach [17] suggests that a way in which interpretations about pronoun ambiguity in semantics can be understood would be to isolate the antecedents for a no or yes recognition after the sentence is read. Differential accuracy or speeds acknowledgment should reveal different activation levels based on those antecedents and how they are related to the pronoun. The coreferent identified by the reader is closely linked to the pronoun, and therefore, reading it would mean a reactivation of its representation [16]. Such action allows recognition as evaluated by both accuracy and speed, particularly when the coreferent is presented later as a probe, compared to an antecedent that is not identified. An example of a sentence to explain this ambiguity is “Rose and Joy went to the market” with “Rose” being the most critical name, as it would recur as the test probe. Recognizing the critical name, in this case, “Rose” after reading the entire statement is faster when the second clause contains a gender-appropriate pronoun ( that is, the critical pronoun; for instance, “ …and she bought a yellow dress.” Reading the non-critical name is slower in this case. To better understand the ambiguity in pronouns, it is important to note that such a facilitatory impact is specific to the identification of the first or critical name analysis. Therefore, noting the idea that the understanding of the pronoun reboots only the semantic illustration of its distinctive coreferent [18]. The use of this method demonstrates that the processing of ambiguous pronouns in semantic does not lead to instant understanding of specific coreferents, hence resolving the issue of ambiguity can be delayed for later contextual cues.
Conclusion
Pronouns are important words that help in simplifying sentences by avoiding repetition and using shorter words. However, the failure to pair pronouns with their antecedents can lead to ambiguity in analytical writing. This does not mean that they should not be used in sentences or writing but implies that one should be able to recognize and fix any pronouns, which show ambiguity. Phrases, sentences, and words become unclear when they represent more than one meaning. From the discussion, it is evident that ambiguity is a complex issue, which, if not resolved, can create a misunderstanding. In understanding ambiguity in sentences, semantics, as well as the syntax, play a similar role. The two are also useful in helping disambiguate unclear phrases, sentences, or statements. The paper aimed at understanding the concept of ambiguity and how it occurs in pronouns. The document outlined the ways in which ambiguity in pronouns and grammatical writing can be resolved. This was done by giving examples of ambiguous sentences and how each can be rewritten or reworded to avoid ambiguity. Conclusively, ambiguity is a vital feature of language, which is found in words, sentences, and phrases, especially in cases where there is more than one represented meaning.
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Analyze some of the Primary Features of the Old System of American Politics
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Analyze some of the Primary Features of the Old System of American Politics
Introduction
One is likely to identify some differences by comparing the old and new systems of American politics. The old system was not massive as it appears now; often spent a lot of time debating issues, and usually dealt with so many problems. The evident inefficiencies in the old system of American politics indicate that the country’s political processes have come a long way to be what it appears today.
One of the original features of the old system of American politics is the structure had a small agenda. Wilson et al. (2016) write that though many people voted, and usually participated in mass political events and torchlight parades, political leadership took a professional turn in the way the leadership cycle was not large enough, and access to it was not as easy. Furthermore, the activists who participated in social movements were generally locked out, and only a few main issues were discussed at any given time (Wilson et al., 2016). Another factor illustrating the smallness of the old political system is members of Congress worked with a small staff if necessary and interacted with his or her fellows on a personal basis. Members of Congress also deferred to the prestige of the Senate and House leaders and sought to be part of some influential coalition such as the Southern bloc, the labor bloc, and the farm bloc that intervened in many issues.
Often when a person suggested adding a new matter to the public agenda, a significant contest usually followed over whether it was proper for the federal government to any action on the subject. A leading issue in these debates often emanated over whether it was correct for the federal government to take any measures at all on the issue (Amer, 2008). A prominent theme in these debates was whether states should enjoy exclusive rights. Further, the policy debates focused on domestic matters except during instances when the nation showed interest in gaining colonies or during wartime. Members of Congress mostly saw the internal issues regarding their effects on local constituents (Amer, 2008). The Presidency, on the other hand, was quite small and somewhat personal, and only a rudimentary White House staff was in charge of internal operations.
For the state to embrace bold actions under the old system, the country often had to be under a severe crisis. War usually propagated such turmoil, and so the federal government during the Civil War and the World Wars I and II gained more authority to recruit military personnel, regulate industrial production, control the passing of information to members of the public, and restrained the limits of personal liberty (Wilson et al., 2016). Each occurring crisis left the state’s bureaucracy quite more extensive than it appeared before, but when the problems came to an end, the practice of extraordinary authority came to a halt (Wilson et al., 2016). Once more, the issue of political matters became smaller, and legislators wondered whether it was right for the state to allow new policies such as industrial regulation or civil rights.
Conclusion
The analysis presents the core features of the old system of American politics. It illustrates how the old system had a small agenda, and legislators interacted with their colleagues on a personal basis. The study further shows how the system debated so much on issues that came to the floor of the Senate and the House, and how the government dealt with one crisis after the other.
References
Amer, M. (2008). Secret sessions of congress: A brief historical overview. Washington D.C.: Congressional Research Service.
Wilson, J., Dilulio, J., & Bose, M. (2016). American government institutions and politics. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.