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Advantages and Disadvantages of Increased Citizen Participation

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Increased Citizen Participation

Introduction

Citizen participation is the involvement of citizens in decision-making. In essence, participation pertains to power or observation, while citizens may either be organized groups or specific individuals. The term citizen participation emerged and denoted the remedial efforts of inactive citizens in government activity. Citizen involvement entails autonomous initiatives within larger society such as social action, social planning, or community development. Although citizen participation has significant effects on democracy, it also has its downside. This text discusses the advantages and disadvantages associated with increased citizen participation.

Advantages of Increased Citizen Participation

The first benefit of increased citizen participation is improved governance. Citizen participation breeds democratic legitimacy for various institutions due to its close association with citizens. It leads to more opportunities and a better reputation for public bodies. It also breeds increased accountability for public institutions as a result of better dialogue and effective information dissemination. Secondly, increased citizen participation is an opportunity for greater learning and capacity development. This is because it is an opportunity to raise awareness about and increase the citizens’ understanding of public institutions and how they function. This ensures that citizens have better access to the required services and understand the limitations and boundaries of various public bodies. This builds the citizens’ confidence and optimism, who in turn attend learning or civic activities. This way, members of the public are better placed to support community and voluntary sectors. Another advantage of increased citizen participation is increased social cohesion. Participation brings hostile and diverse communities together, which is beneficial as it reaches groups that are disadvantaged and hard to reach. These groups contribute the discussions and build relationships with different social groups and communities. These disadvantaged people become strengthened and enable them to create a diverse network. This way, various interest groups work together and build positive working relationships.

Disadvantages of Increased Citizen Participation

One of the downsides of increased citizen participation is that it tends to be cumbersome and can make the process of public policy unnecessarily lengthy. Important to note officials must gain the support of the community members early in the public participation process. Including community support too late in the process can cause strong opposition on a particular subject matter and once this takes place, there is no trust in the process which causes the damage of existing relationships and alienation by the public. Another disadvantage of increased citizen participation is that it leaves a possibility of one single faction or individual dominating the entire group. Making plans for the group is only as good as the entire group. Any recommendation must be a group decision and not the voice of one single individual or the loudest person in the group. Other disadvantages of increased citizen participation have to do with the monetary costs associated with the process. Public participation can be costly as it requires lots of resources to make it a success. This includes paid and unpaid staff time, participants’ fees, staff expenditures, external consultants, venue hire, administration and staff training, and other event expenditures such as leaflets, monitoring, evaluation fees, equipment, and refreshment fees.

Conclusion

In closing, citizen participation has to do with the increased involvement of citizens in decision-making, social action, and community development activities. Increased citizen participation has benefits such as greater social cohesion, better governance, and better learning and capacity building. Disadvantages have to do with increased monetary costs, domination by one group and lengthy and cumbersome public policy process.

Bibliography

Ianniello, Mario, Silvia Iacuzzi, Paolo Fedele, and Luca Brusati. “Obstacles and solutions on the ladder of citizen participation: a systematic review.” Public management review 21, no. 1 (2019): 21-46.

Movie Reaction Paper to include: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment Plan

Select a movie from the below list and write a reaction and create a clinical assessment with diagnosis and treatment plan for the character with a substance use disorder.

The first page: Your impressions of the movie related to addictions, interventions, stigmas, and/or recovery.

The remaining pages: Have one of the movie characters be your client and demonstrate that you can screen for substance abuse, aggression, danger to self/others & co-occurring; identify the stage of dependence, change, and or recovery; determine an initial treatment plan, and identify the initial counseling strategies you will use. You will write this as you would in your case file to demonstrate you can apply current record-keeping standards when working with client with addiction and co-occurring challenges (or a family member affected).

Evaluation Criteria for this assignment includes demonstrating an ability and willingness to critically evaluate how the media presents addictions and how a media experience might influence theory, attitude and/or interventions in addictions in the general public.

This paper should include information regarding screening and assessment inventories,

-a bio-psycho-social assessment of the client, including spirituality and multicultural issues

-a complete mental status exam,

-a DSM diagnosis

-ASAM assessment criteria used to determine level of care (can be found online),

-and a treatment plan addressing co-occurring disorders, with attention to the role of spirituality, family, social networks, and community systems in the treatment and recovery process, including appropriate individual, group,

self-help, and family intervention strategies.

Movie Ideas

The Fighter

Leaving Las Vegas

When a Man Loves a Woman

Crazy Heart

Country Strong

Less

Than Zero

Thirteen

28 Days

Flight

Traffic

Requiem for a Dream

Spun

Limitless

Walk the Line

Ray

Compile your reactions into a 4-6 page paper.

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Changes in the Attitudes and Treatment of the Elderly

The key changes that I anticipate will occur in attitudes towards the elderly between now and the time when I am 80 years old are positive interaction between younger and older people, improved understanding of the elderly people, and the development of technology that enables older people to live independently (Richardson 903).

The first change I anticipate is that interaction between younger and older people will be more positive. This is because young people will choose to work with older people as an option instead of only choosing to work with each other. The second change I anticipate is an improved understanding of the elderly by young people, which can result in better interactions, much greater compassion for those who are marginalized (elderly), and a more empathetic approach when working together on projects or tasks (Richardson 904).

Moreover, the development of technology will make older people more independent. This is because technology will allow older people to communicate with each other through messaging and communication devices such as smartphones, making it much easier to communicate with others. This means that matters such as money and living arrangements can be easily discussed and plans made. Also, technology makes it possible for individuals to locate their loved ones anywhere in the world, which means that they can visit their family and friends more easily. There are also other possibilities that could come about in the future (e.g. a robot that helps older people become independent or a time machine) that could make these changes more likely to occur (Gnambs 55).

In terms of what I anticipate will still be important when I turn 80, my own independence is something I value greatly and would like to continue to do so during this period of time. Also, it is a topic of interest for me to find ways to communicate with non-English speaking people so that they can better communicate not only with me but also with each other in their native language.

On the other hand, the key change that will occur in the treatment of the elderly between now and the time when I am 80 years old is that there will be an improvement in the fulfillment of the psychological needs of the elderly (Simonetti 11). This improvement will be realized when young people are able to understand the elderly better, through improved communication between them.

Today, older people are often neglected by younger generations and by society in general and often face discrimination when getting jobs or going to the database. By understanding their situation, we can create the conditions for them to have fairer treatment (Simonetti 11). As a society, we should be more aware of what is going on in this sector and ask ourselves: why are there so many questions about the aging population? There is a lack of information on older people ourselves that could explain this phenomenon. In my opinion, it’s not because by default there is no interest; it’s because society does not know how to deal with it.

Works Cited

Gnambs, Timo, and Markus Appel. “Are robots becoming unpopular? Changes in attitudes towards autonomous robotic systems in Europe.” Computers in Human Behavior 93 (2019): 53-61.

Richardson, Sarah J., et al. “Research with older people in a world with COVID-19: identification of current and future priorities, challenges and opportunities.” Age and ageing 49.6 (2020): 901-906.

Simonetti, Alessio, et al. “Neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly with dementia during COVID-19 pandemic: definition, treatment, and future directions.” Frontiers in psychiatry 11 (2020): 579842.

Safe Patient Staffing Ratio

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Change Model.

In the previous paper, it highlighted the proposed organizational structure change that will include the chief executive officer, a member of hospital management, doctor, nurse manager, and a nurse. Information was to flow from high cadre to the lower cadre. Change cannot just happen; it only occurs in the proper procedure; thus, in the system changes, Lewin’s Change Model will be considered. Kaminski (2011) notes that Lewin proposed three stages that can be used to achieve the desired change. The unfreezing, changing, and refreezing are the three change stages that should be followed to establish the new order. All factors in the three steps should be taken into consideration for change to be effective.

To begin with, unfreezing is necessary for any change to occur. In the hospital setting, just like any other organization, employees and employers have a norm that has become part of their culture. To institute management and information flow change, both the employees and employers should be enlightened on the need for change. In most cases, change is rejected since it threatens the existing order and norms, which is uncomfortable with nurses and hospital management. Therefore, there is a need that the hospital management and the nurses should be informed on the need to change as well as the flaws of the current order. The benefits of the new change should as well be told to them. In this first stage, the proposed changes may have not occurred, but the nurses and the hospital management are aware of impending changes. Thus they psychologically become ready. Change is needed as hospitals are profit-making organizations; therefore, they need to reinvent to keep up with market demands to offer better health care services and safety to the patients. By knowing about change, the nurses and hospital management become aware and feel the need for change.

Secondly, changing is the stage that the new order is to be established. In the transition stage, the new reality dawns on the hospital staff, and they struggle to adapt to the original order. This stage is characterized by a fear of unknown and uncertainty of what the new reality holds upon them. The nurses and hospital management begin to learn new behaviors, mannerisms, and ways of operation. For instance, in the proposed management changes, the dissemination of information will follow a different order that is systematic. Thus the nurse(s) will have to learn new ways of channelling their communications. The hospital management will as well hire enough nurses given they had prepared. This may affect the nurses positively since their workload will be minimized, and in turn, they will offer safety and better health care according to Koren (2010). In order for the change to be realized, the hospital management can organize for proper communication by expertise, education on the move in progress, give ample time that the hospital staff can process change, and support the team to embrace the new order. The hospital staff should be well versed with reasons for change and the benefits once implementation is concluded.

Furthermore, refreezing cement the new order after the change. This stage should be carefully handled so that the hospital staff may not go back to their old order. The unique culture should be supported and maintained by the hospital staff wholesomely. The hospital staff should be reinforced whenever they try to keep the new status quo since a positively reinforced behavior is likely to be repeated. This stage determines the success of the change process due to how it is handled. The nurses will have to be motivated through monetary gifts and humane treatment so that the management can help maintain the new order. The administration should as well recognized for its efforts to increase nurse to patient ratio.

The understaffing in the hospital, especially in the med/ surgical ward, has reduced the efficiency of better and safe healthcare. This issue should be looked into so that hospitals can ensure patients’ needs are well taken care of and nurses to be given a manageable workload. The hospital management should look to employ more nurses and improve the way of communication by centralizing it. Through centralization, the nurses will know the center of the command and the origin of the information. The nursing literatures exposed some of the fatalities the hospital is likely to experience in the event of understaffing—issues such as medical errors, overworking by nurses, and high mortality rate when the hospital is understaffed. Lewin’s change model will be instrumental in instigating changes. For instance, the hospital management should be prepared to allocate funds to hire more nurses and also change the structure of communication in the hospital.

Change is never easily accepted. However, it should occur in order for safer and better health care for patients. The nurse being used to the already existing plan may be adamant to accept the new changes. The hospital management as well may not want to employ more nurses as it may wish to keep the profits as it exploits the existing nursing staff. To sustain the changes, the hospital may reward those who embrace and try to conform to the new changes. The management should educate its staff on the need to change, and this should be done either after two weeks so that the team is constantly reminded. The administration should endeavor to set aside funds each financial year to employ more nurses so that they can meet the recommended nurse-patient ratio.

References.

Kaminski, J. (2011). Theory applied to informatics-Lewin’s change theory. Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 6(1).

Koren, M. J. (2010). Person-centered care for nursing home residents: The culture-change movement. Health Affairs, 29(2), 312-317.

Movie Reflection Paper

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ASL and Deaf culture

In America, almost 200 years of Deaf life have been explored in ‘Through Deaf Eyes.’ the American history experiences have been presented by the film from the deaf citizens’ perspective. I believe that this movie was a very eye opening movie for me and it assisted me in seeing more of the way life was like for deaf individual at that time. A number of things I noticed in the movie and was not aware that the deaf individuals experience those things, for example, the segregation, the classes for enforced speech, and the protest that resulted in making the Gallaudet university’s first deaf president.

The movie was full of information, and I believe that it is my pleasure to distinguish more regarding the deaf people’s history along with the events experienced by them. The fact that the classes for speech were mandatory at one point for every deaf student was one major thing that surprised me. I comprehend that individuals who came in this world hearing only to later turn out to be deaf have more edge for the reason that a number of individuals were capable of experiencing some speech form; the entirely deaf individuals had nothing, and they are being forced for forgoing sign language for learning English must have been distress. Though the technology utilized for helping deaf individuals in learning the way for speaking advanced, it didn’t change the point that either they are not willing to learn, or simply that they could not pick up how the schools expect them to (Baynton, Gannon, & Bergey, 2007).

One more surprising thing was the discrimination within the community of deaf people. It is understood that there was segregation at the time; nonetheless one can never actually thought regarding the way it would have impacted the deaf society until this movie has shown me. Both Whites and Blacks had their individual language of signs. The black students kept feeling disaffected when both White and Black races were integrated. It is for the reason of the dissimilarities in the middle of their languages of signs (Baynton, Gannon, & Bergey, 2007).

The final surprising thing for me was the weeklong protest that resulted in making the Gallaudet University’s first deaf president. The support received by this movement from around the nation was surprising for me. Also, it was astonishing that the school’s board was inflexible regarding their original decision and kept on to pushing the students for accepting the hearing President until she resigned. For deaf individuals, this type of thing was never considered possible for the reason that they generally are considered as inferior because of their incapability for speaking and hearing; though, it has been proved by them that they can certainly struggle for what they have faith in. On the whole, the movie was very interesting and surprising for me.

I was very fascinated by seeing the way the dissimilar culture of deaf people was from a culture of individuals who can listen, but there is not really dissimilarity from what was shown in the movie. Deaf individuals have found their individual manners for enjoying the things that are enjoyed by the individuals who can listen. The deaf individuals produced their particular art and theater that is exceptional in the world where all other people can listen. Even, they have their individual universities with the intention that higher education could be pursued by them similar to the individuals who can listen. Deaf individuals do not allow their absence of listening to stop them from anything, and I greatly admire this thing. I am obliged to have been capable of view this movie. Otherwise, I would not be able to learn all of this.

References

Baynton, D. C., Gannon, J. R., & Bergey, J. L. (2007). Through deaf eyes: A photographic history of an American community (p. 41). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Advantages and disadvantages of freedom

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Advantages and disadvantages of freedom

Freedom is the liberty to think, converse or act without restriction. Freedom according to Isaiah Berlins article ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’ can be viewed and comprehended from two political perspectives. First is ‘negative’ sense that deliberates over the extent and limits of freedom (Berlin, 1958). The negative sense aims to show the impossibility of absolute freedom due to the possibility of liberty abuse. From this abuse arise the disadvantages of freedom. This perspective argues the extent which persons or groups should be left to act talk or think without external interference (Berlin, 1958).

Second is the ‘positive’ perspective from which the importance and advantages of freedom emerge. Here, freedom eliminates barriers and enhance personal decision making and choice and creativity (Berlin, 1958). When people are free to think, creativity is not restricted promoting new innovations. For example, government manipulation of the market system in China was abolished in 1980 raising the standards of the citizens (Staff, 2004). However, freedom in the United States has thrived for ages heightening its prosperity dramatically (Staff, 2004). In other words, freedom has placed United States industrial evolution ahead of China’s.

Freedom is important because it provides individuals with a sense of independence (Berlin, 1958). In addition, freedom creates the ‘real’ and ‘dominant’ self .freedom offers human beings the ability to choose and make decisions they can claim are theirs alone. Freedom makes an individual the subject and not the object making them the boss of their world. In other words, freedom defines an individual. Individual freedom of choice carves ones identity and their sense of being creating the ‘dominant’ self (Berlin, 1958). Groupings are a part of the US society structure. Freedom is important to the collective state of being in that if a group is granted freedom, it members enjoy it collectively but if freedom is denied, the group individuals will equally not have freedom. This collective freedom creates the ‘real’ or ‘whole’ freedom (Berlin, 1958). The ‘real’ self is identified in societal grouping like a race.

The freedom achieved from collective liberty is termed ‘higher freedom’ because it is controlled by the goals and objectives of a certain group (Berlin, 1958). For example, nations have to restrict freedoms in order to reach their objectives using documents like constitutions. Freedoms in the United State Bill of Rights include freedom of press, speech, religion, peaceable congress, and beseeching the government. Isaiah argues that this level of freedom claims to be more aware of what a person needs better than the person does (Berlin, 1958). This view disregards the wishes of individuals and the society and may be used to bully, subjugate, violate and torture. This type of freedom denies men with the individuals to make their own choices as a sacrifice for the prosperity of the particular group they belong (Berlin, 1958).

The writer’s positive concept of freedom depicts man as torn into two characters; the dominant manipulator, and the ones whose desires and wishes are controlled by objectives of a group (Berlin, 1958). For example, the United Nation embraces the republican and democratic parties. On the contrary, Chinese governing system consists of one political party which embraces socialism and capitalism painting China as a communist or dictatorship nation (Staff, 2004).

In conclusion, freedom is the meaning of life. It gives people choice and niche for personal growth, creativity and self expression. In addition it allows people to express their thoughts, actions and speech without external limitation. Moreover, collective freedom is abused and individual freedom must be curtailed to protect the sovereignty of others. In comparing the freedom of China and the United States, using their development history and their government structures, USA depicts more freedom and consequently more industrial development (Staff, 2004).

References

Staff, C (2004) Congressional Record, V. 146, Pt. 7, May 24, 2000 to June 12 2000.Washington: Government Printing Office

Berlin, I (1958) ‘Two Concepts of Liberty’. Retrieved on January 2nd, 2013 from http://www.cas.umt.edu/phil/faculty/walton/Berlin2Concepts.pdf

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Change VS Tradition in Things Fall Apart

Change is often resisted, especially when the person who is to be changed has had in their current status. This is the same thing that happened with Okonkwo and the communities mentioned in the things fall apart by Chinua Achebe. With the change that the white people wanted to introduce, there was a lot of repulsion from the communities since they already had their firm beliefs about what they believed to be accurate. They felt that it was an insult to leave what was authentic and close to them. This paper discusses colonialism and its effect on cultures where it was present, especially in the African context. It also looks into the story of family relationships and how the zeal to be perfect makes Okonkwo a less liked person along with male chauvinism, which contributed to this and the disproportionate influence of the whites and how this affected him.

Firstly, the remaking of any nation has its tragedies, and it never comes along quickly. However, at the same time, the remaking can be a negative remaking or a positive remaking. Even though the whites had a significant influence in the remaking of African nations, the debate goes on about their negative impact and actions. Whether then can be compared to the positivity they brought (Achebe, 200). The other question which can be asked related to that is whether if Africans were left on their own to find enlightenment if Africa could be better off now in terms of economy and other aspects, or will it be still left behind? There is also the question of how Africans would have integrated what the white people called enlightenment with their culture and whether the cultural degradation presence now would still be the same. By answering these questions, it becomes easier to ease the ongoing debate about the role colonialism played in the education and destruction of Africa. Even though it is not entirely possible to answer these questions, it is possible to hypothesize what Africa could be and discuss the colonialism effect on culture, social organization and education of the Africans, and virtues and taboos.

Chinua Achebe is one of the greatest writers of African origin, and his book things fall apart is one of the most-read books. Its main character is Okonkwo, and this character trait is used in many different writings of the same author, including the arrow of God, whereby Okonkwo is embodied by Ezeulu (Achebe, 94). Okonkwo is a true identity of what an African man should be even in the face of problems even though he fails his village severally. His masculinity falls out of place due to him never wishing to show weakness and being haunted by his emotions which he could not control. In his story, we see how the whites came into Africa and how they made it almost impossible to continue with culture since it was regarded as untrue and idolatrous, among other harmful aspects attributed to them. Achebe presents his beliefs about African culture through the book and leaves the readers to question if it was fair for the white man to take control of something he never invented or fully understood and regard it bad.

One of the essential parts of the change that the colonists did was the remaking of religion. Catholicism was using more restraint in most places and did not outrightly ban everything about culture as Margaret Ogola in her book the river and the source states how Catholicism accepted Akoko and her daughter. They did not throw them away or proclaim ‘loudly’ that the practices of their community were unpleasant and ungodly (Ogola, 112). In contrast, in things that fall apart, Reverend James Smith is very charismatic and very much against the culture and desire of the surrounding community.

The remaking of religion is seen as torture and being lost by the other villagers for those who get to join Christianity. However, the same is true for Christians who have converted as they see those left un-converted as not enlightened and kind of left behind. Therefore, there is a lot of misunderstanding as the two religions try to prove that what they are doing is right. This is all caused by colonialism, as colonists brought religion as a way to infiltrate Africans. Even though colonialism is seen in a completely different manner from the Christianity spread and activities to some extent, it is related in that colonists, and Christian missionaries did the same thing, to change the African person and remake them in the face of the European ideals (Achebe, 120). Christianity and the missionaries, in general, are the ones who did most of the work as the government and other parts of the colonization did very little and were against the Africans due to their skin color.

The whites highly disregarded the values and culture held dear by the African people, which caused a lot of pain to the African person. At some point, they burned the church enacted on their land when Enoch dared to unmask egwugwu, which is a taboo equal to killing an ancestral spirit (Achebe, 140). The church was burnt down, which caused the leaders of the village of Umuofia to be jailed by the district commissioner. Therefore this can be explained as one of the tragedies which arise when people’s culture is being changed, and one of the critics or fanatics of Christianity tries to disrespect the other culture where he came from. It is a clear example of how culture change can be violent, humiliating, and unfair.

Change and tradition are one challenging question to answer regarding whether change is good or bad to a culture. Peoples cultures have been changed from time immemorial; for example, in the united states, the original Indians had their own culture, which was changed similarly by missionaries who saw it unfitting to them when great Britain had colonized the 13 original states of what later became a union (Native American Cuisine Returns to Its Roots, 2016). It was a painful experience, and some Indians have tried to return to their culture and practice what they valued very much. This is a clear depiction of how a person’s origin is essential. To think that a person wants to destroy what holds life together could not be fathomable to Umuofia individuals.

However, even though it was an unfair practice by the whites to try and change the ways of the Umuofia people, the question of whether it was utterly aimless or un-beneficial arises. For example, education is introduced to the community, and the western way of life is brought into the community. This kind of life is utterly unknown to the African man, and to some extent, they admire and like it; however, it is not who they are and they are trying to copy other people’s way of life, which is most of the time seen as wrong. This issue raises many questions not only after reading Chinua Achebe’s work but even in real life after observing what kind of life Africans live in the present and what they had before (Achebe, 40). There is the question of whether it was necessary and reasonable for the people to understand English and Christianity when they had their language like Igbo and had their kind of worship. These kinds of questions lead anyone analyzing to question the intention of the whites and whether it was really for the betterment of Africa or they just wanted to take possessions within the African countries that were not highly regarded due to the lack of knowledge about their value.

After the release of the prisoners, the Umuofia people decide to resist the whites. Okonkwo, filled with bitterness, kills the white people’s leader messengers hoping that the rest of the village would join him in the uprising. However, this does not happen, and he realizes that he has done something horrible. After being banished out of the village for killing Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s 16-year-old son, he faces many tragedies in the desire to be a better man (Achebe, 150). The killing of the white people messenger’s leader makes him regret the most, which ends up killing himself. The struggles Okonkwo goes through can be compared to the works missionaries and whites go through in their journey to enlighten the African man who is utterly uneducated from their perspective. The same can apply to the African people who go through a lot to protect their culture, religion, and values against the invention of the white, which they are so much against.

In conclusion, the debate between change and culture is not easy for a specific answer to be brought forward. However, culture held so dearly to its people should not be banished and done away with, especially if it is a good one that brings people together and advances social connectedness. However, a culture that separates people and hurts others has to be done away since it is not beneficial to society. The most important question to ask in the change versus culture issue is how the Europeans would, and mainly the British at that time, respond to a colonizer more potent than them who would have wanted to change their culture and beliefs they held dear?

Works Cited

“Native American Cuisine Returns to Its Roots.” Culture, 23 Nov. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/native-american-cuisine-returns-to-its-roots.

Achebe, Chinua. “Things fall apart. 1958.” New York: Anchor 178 (1994).

Achebe, Chinua. The African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart; No Longer at Ease,[and] Arrow of God. Vol. 327. Everyman’s Library, 2010.

Ogola, Margaret A. The river and the source. Nairobi: Focus Books, 1994.

Change Management and Innovation: A Review of Qantas Airways Ltd.

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AbstractThe aim of this report is to present the issue of change management and innovation at Qantas Airways Ltd. Qantas Airways is a flag carrier in Australia and the nation’s largest airline company by size of fleet, international destinations, and flights. It faces a challenge when it comes to management of change and innovation. John Kotter’s change management theory is a model that best fits the organizations to facilitate successful change and innovation in its efforts to stay relevant. The report recommends that Qantas Airways makes use of a change management model that pays attention to the changes, its effect on both external and internal stakeholders, the vision, the consequences in the market, and device ways to retain the momentum to ensure that change and innovation go hand in hand to ensure success. It is also recommended that the company adapts the eight stages including urgency creating as a way to alert and motivate employees, establishing need for innovation and change, building a change team, defining the vision, communicating with stakeholders, identification of roadblocks, establishment of goals, and retaining momentum to ensure change is managed.

Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc84158027 h 2Introduction PAGEREF _Toc84158028 h 4Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc84158029 h 4Discussion PAGEREF _Toc84158030 h 4Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc84158031 h 5Self-Reflection PAGEREF _Toc84158032 h 5Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc84158033 h 6Reference List PAGEREF _Toc84158034 h 7

Introduction 

Qantas Airways is a flag carrier in Australia and the nation’s largest airline company by size of fleet, international destinations, and flights. An important landmark for the company is its status in the world as the third oldest airline in operation having begun operations in 1920 (Qantas.com, 2021). In the year ending June 2020, Qantas Airways made an underlying profit of $124 million before tax, a 91% reduction from the previous period, and a statutory loss of $2.7 billion before tax including non-cash and aircraft write downs according to IBISWorld (2021). The ASX (2021) recorded its 2021 revenue to be $5,934 million, a 58.4% drop from June 2020. The current share price as per Market Index (2021) is at $5.71, a 0.71% increase from July 2021 where share prices averaged at $4.5. This report will present the issue of employee retention at the organization and provide recommendations for future engagement.

Literature Review

To ensure that changes are present in organizational processes, policies, and strategies, organizations must innovate constantly. Change management relates to implementation of different visions (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015), while innovation detects and develops new areas in organizational objectives in regards to vision and strategy development (Michaelis, Stegmaier, & Sonntag, 2009). Innovations are disruptive changes that challenge the core capabilities and core rigidness of an organization (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015). John Kotter’s change management theory is presented by Rajan and Ganesan (2017) as a model that can be used by organizations to facilitate successful change and innovation in organizations. It can be used by Qantas Airways to implement change as the organization intends to readjust and realign its business model to fit to the need to conduct its business more internally as opposed to having international flights. The market demands at the moment call for restructuring in an effort to occupy the domestic market that has grown due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

DiscussionThe issue of change management and innovation at Qantas Airways highlights the need for organizations to identify and develop strategies, policies, and new innovations that will enable them to stand out and lead in their respective markets and industries. The issue of change management and innovation at Qantas Airways highlights the need for organizations to identify and develop strategies to manage shifts in the market including reduced or increased demand. The Kotter’s change management theory presents several steps where urgency is created as a way to alert and motivate employees, establishing need for innovation and change, building a change team, defining the vision, communicating with stakeholders, identification of roadblocks, establishment of goals, and retaining momentum to ensure change is managed (Teixeira, Gregory, & Austin, 2017). Qantas Airways is going through changes to its business structure and business strategies, requiring change management theories to be applied in an effort to enable change. This means that management of change and innovation will have to bea conscious decision made by the organization to increase effectiveness.

RecommendationsWithout a doubt, the discussion points out to the important role that change management and innovation play in ensuring the success of an organization. In terms of change management and innovation, Qantas Airways must make use of a change management model that pays attention to the changes, its effect on both external and internal stakeholders, the vision, the consequences in the market, and device ways to retain the momentum to ensure that change and innovation go hand in hand to ensure success. As mentioned by Rajan and Ganesan (2017), the company must adapt the eight stages including urgency creating as a way to alert and motivate employees, establishing need for innovation and change, building a change team, defining the vision, communicating with stakeholders, identification of roadblocks, establishment of goals, and retaining momentum to ensure change is managed.

Self-ReflectionThe learning exercise required me to work as a consultant tackling real business issues for real companies. In the increasingly competitive business environment, it is important to stay aware of what is happening both internally and externally. This exercise has enabled me to appreciate this need for business to stay on top of issues and challenges and to constantly device means to combat these issues using evidence-based best practices in the industry and in theory.

In regard to change management and innovation, I have gained a lot of knowledge on how businesses go about identifying a need for change, then proceeding to innovate new ways to implement the change in line with organizational goals. I realized that there was a lot of gaps in my experience and knowledge relating to how organizations see and interpret change or innovation. I also realized that change and innovation are two independent yet intertwined concepts in business where one calls for the need to use the other and vice versa. I found out that realizing change requires the use of theoretical and as well as practical concepts that are aligned to the structure and needs of an organization.

Lastly, the change in perspective on management of innovation and change has enabled me to see the bigger picture in terms of organizational goals and objectives. I now realize that change is more than a singular event in an organization, but a complex process that has a lot of pieces that must fit for it to be effective in attaining its goal. The theoretical analysis performed has also changed the way I view successful organizations, especially companies like Qantas Airways that have operated since the 1920s. these companies have had to implement a lot of changes in a successful manner, creating a culture of adapting to their environment to stay relevant. I am more aware of the process of change management and innovation.

Conclusion

Change management and innovation are important elements of an organization. They allow a firm to develop and grow relative to the competition in the industry. Employing effective change management models would help an organization to effectively implement and manage change and disruptive strategies through innovation. Qantas Airways has a number of structural and business-related changes and innovation made relevant by a changing work environment. In order to ensure efficiency in implementing the said changes, Kotter’s change management model can be effectively applied to ensure success.

Reference ListASX (2021). Qantas Airways Limited and its Controlled Entities: Preliminary Final Report for FY Ended 30 June 2021. ASX. Available at https://investor.qantas.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20210826/02412248.pdfHao, M. J., & Yazdanifard, R. (2015). How effective leadership can facilitate change in organizations through improvement and innovation. Global journal of management and business research.

IBISWorld (2021). Qantas Airways Limited – Premium Company Report Australia. IBISWorld. Available at https://www.ibisworld.com/au/company/qantas-airways-limited/32/

Market Index. (20201). Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN). Available at https://www.marketindex.com.au/asx/qan?__cf_chl_captcha_tk__=pmd_Zg5FJiTtwNfQ2GKR7ILuaGsOiykRMwLSOXxDcqYz9ds-1633250011-0-gqNtZGzNAvujcnBszQzR

Michaelis, B., Stegmaier, R., & Sonntag, K. (2009). Affective commitment to change and innovation implementation behavior: The role of charismatic leadership and employees’ trust in top management. Journal of Change Management, 9(4), 399-417.

Qantas.com (2021). About Us. Available at https://www.qantas.com/au/en/about-us.html

Rajan, R., & Ganesan, R. (2017). A critical analysis of John P. Kotter’s change management framework. Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management, 7(7), 181-203.

Teixeira, B., Gregory, P. A., & Austin, Z. (2017). How are pharmacists in Ontario adapting to practice change? Results of a qualitative analysis using Kotter’s change management model. Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 150(3), 198-205.

Movie Critique: 13th Amendment

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African Americans have never been absolutely free even after the emancipation. The ratification of the 13th Amendment was a chance for slave owners and supporters to draft a law that had loopholes to keep African Americans in chains, literally and figuratively. It was a clause that shifted the definition of slavery from a ‘legitimate” business to a legal method of punishment for lawbreakers. African Americans are suffering from the legacy of slavery a century almost two centuries after 1867. The institutionalization of slavery and the wide racial and partisan disparities and the position of African Americans in American society has been nothing short of slavery. America boasts of these lofty ideals, but on the other hand, it has subjected Negroes to a second class status with the political elite selecting the nobility of their civic creed at the expense of social arrangements that have been in existence for many years.

The black race in America is subjected to extreme stereotyping, economic inequality, and stigmatization for their way of life and isolated by the society. Their purported criminality has resulted in racial profiling by law enforcement to the extent that black people are arrested, and many of their rights are violated in the process. There have been documented and undocumented cases of black people being physically beaten by the police during arrest and held at police stations beyond the requirements of the law.

The 13th is a documentary by Ava DuVernay, which focuses on the Thirteenth Amendment very significant legislation that resulted in mass incarceration in the United States. Besides covering this epic event in history, the film is gorgeous, reminiscent, and infuriating exploration powers, roots, and permanence. The film showcases the account of those wielded power and those made to kneel by this power, their roots, and their permanence. From history, the economy of the Southern state was decimated. The primary sources of income for the South, slaves, were no longer obliged up and serve as free labor for their fields. There was, however, an exception was made for criminals who, according to the law, were eligible for enlistment as slaves as part of their punishment. In the first restatement of a strategy by the South, hundreds of slaves who had started enjoying their freedom were enslaved again courtesy of trivial mistakes and minor charges. This informed the beginning of Duvernay’s examination of the evolving iterations.

The cycle was such that when one method of subservience-based injustice and terror subsided, another rose in its place. The list used by Duvernay in this documentary included the Jim Crow era, lynching if black people, Nixon’s race for the presidency, Reagans War on Drugs, President Clinton’s three strikes, and the compulsory sentencing rulings and the cash-for-prisoners in effect today. The cash for prisoners is a model that bail and incarceration firms use to generate millions of dollars.

The 13th, however, concentrates a bit more on the cash-for-prisoners model and even portrays the tally of the prisoners to go through the system on-screen. The use of context, in this case, is very important because although history still has significance, it is necessary to create awareness of the situation of black people today. The other does a perfect job to remind the world and black people that they are still not considered nothing more than just that, African Americans. America does not see beyond their color. The use of the 13th Amendment as the thesis for this film is appropriate and creates a path that allows the film director to exhaust the evolution of prejudice against black people over the years.

Bibliography

Harris-Perry, Melissa V. Sister citizen: Shame, stereotypes, and Black women in America. Yale University Press, 2011.

Luxe. “Thirteenth Amendment Documentary.” YouTube. Video file. October 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WU608Z2678.

Pope, James Gray. “Mass Incarceration, Convict Leasing, and the Thirteenth Amendment: A Revisionist Account.” New York University Law Review 94, no. 6 (2019): 1465-1554.

Critical Thinking Questions

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Critical Thinking Questions

Advantages and disadvantages of a computer ERIC and other databases, as compared to other search methods

ERIC (Education Resources Information Centre) is the world’s largest educational database used by researchers, educational professionals and policy makers around the world.

Due to the automated databases they are convenient and time saving. ERIC and other databases are comprehensive in nature in the sense that they allow comprehensive information gathering in all disciplines dealing with education because it contains many viewpoints which may not be contained in a single publication or one author’s perspective. ERIC for example serves as the most comprehensive source of information containing more than 500,000 documents and journal articles from all areas of education. Ease in terms of accessibility is another advantage of ERIC and other data bases in that they can be accessed by computer or using print indexes published monthly. It provides life-long resources that can be used as access materials to term papers, bibliographies and other research assignments. Career development can also be accomplished through comprehensive information on career development. Such information may include international education opportunities, staff development programs and innovative products and techniques. Despite the many advantages of ERIC and under databases there are shortcomings associated with their use in the sense that though researchers can access academic materials online for free, some costs is incurred through the use of databases to acquire information. Research conducted using ERIC and other databases can be compromising especially in the case where the secondary sources used contain information that has been incorrectly copied from the original source. Also not all disciplines are covered by online or CD-ROM databases not forgetting the picky nature of computers when it comes to spellings whereby ones search may not match exactly what is in the database.

The Importance of reading original articles or papers as opposed to relying on the information in the abstracts.

An abstract is an electronic database that indexes books, journals and other information. It is a short summary of the material indexed. Relying on abstracts as opposed to the original article or paper is of discouraged since they give little actual information. For example an abstract can have the sentence,” The relationship between academic performance and delinquency was determined” without telling what the relationship was.

The advantages, valuable traits and limitations of secondary sources of information

Secondary data is information collected for various reasons, the main one being the completion of a research project. It enlightens the researcher on the research problem. Acquisition of information from secondary data sources is fast thus saves time. The secondary research process can be fast since the data can be obtained quickly by a skilful analyst. All that is required of the researcher is identification of the data source after which extracting of information is done. According CITATION Emm08 l 1033 (Smith, 2008) secondary data allows researchers to access data in a scale they could not hope to replicate first hand. Compared to primary research secondary research is less expensive in that it does not employ the use of highly trained and expensive personnel. The founder of the information is the one who incurs the research expenses in secondary research. Nonetheless secondary sources have their own limitations. Secondary information that is related to the topic of study is sometimes not available or if available then it is in insufficient quantities. The reliability and accuracy of secondary data may be questionable since the information can be misleading not to mention that the data can be in different in terms of formatting which may be contrary to that needed by the researcher. Much of the secondary data may be old and thus doesn’t bring out the true picture of the current market trends.

Library holdings constituting primary sources of information

The library holds a considerable amount of unique materials consisting of primary and secondary sources of information. Primary sources that are included in library holdings include diaries, letters, journals, autobiographies, articles containing original research ,data or findings never shared ,Government and public documents and manuscripts both original and hand written.

Strategy for assessing large number of reports

There are many methods used in higher learning education for the purpose of report assessing. Choice is based on the method that best assesses the objective of the unit study. The strategy employed includes assessing and managing of information. This is achieved through researching, investigation, interpreting, organizing of information, reviewing and paraphrasing information, collecting data, searching and managing information sources and observing and interpreting of the report CITATION Nig96 l 1033 (Nightingale, 1996).

Importance of statistical knowledge and concepts in accurate report interpretation

Interpretation is inference drawing based on collected facts after an experimental or analytical study. Knowledge of statistical terms and concepts is of much help to research report interpretation since it enables the researcher to give sound explanations regarding the relations found. The researcher is able to make an interpretation of the lines of relationships based on the underlying processes and find out the sequence of uniformity that lies beneath the surface layer of the research. An understanding of the information collected is vital in interpreting the final results of the research study since it is a key factor to understanding the problem under consideration. Statistical knowledge also helps identify omissions and errors in logical documentation. This results in correct interpretation of research reports and ensures accuracy (Kothari, 2005).

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY C R Kothari, D. (2005). Research methodology : methods & techniques. New Delhi: New

Age International (P) Ltd.Print.

Nightingale, P. T. (1996). Assessing Learning in Universities Professional Development

Centre. University of New South Wales, Australia.Print.

Smith, E. (2008). Using secondary data in educational and social research. Maidenhead ;

New York, NY: Open University Press.Print.