Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Example for Free

Assessing Organizational Culture Essay Almost every organization, whether public or private, on paper or in practice, has a culture that fairly dictates its everyday functioning. The term culture has many definitions but in this discussion it is defined as shared beliefs, values, symbols, and behaviors. Culture binds a workforce together and is its control mechanism, or purpose, to facilitate its functioning. These items are powerful driving forces in the success of an organization and their value to the community they serve whether it is a public or private entity will affect the success of any organization. While cultures are found in some organizations more prominently than in others, there are those organizations where the culture of that specific organization’s ideal stands out above others. Police departments, military units and religious organizations all have a strong, centralized culture that forms its base and permeates its entire existence. Many times people outside of those professions do not understand the mentality or job commitment a person from one of these career fields shares with his/her co-workers. An example would be the duty and honor commitment of a United State Marine, especially when considered by a person who was anti-military; the Marines belief or core value system is not understood. The medical profession and more specifically hospitals, demonstrate a common goal that simply stated, is the care and healing of the sick or injured. For the most part, the medical staff employed at a hospital is there for that specific purpose. The medical field brings together a vast array of individuals from different backgrounds and cultures. But once they become a doctor, hospital nurse, surgical technician, etc. they take on a new life and thereby absorb a new culture into their lives. Subcultures, as defined by organizational theorists John van Maanen and Stephen Barley, are â€Å"a subset of an organization’s members who interact regularly with one another, identify themselves as a distinct group†¦and routinely take action on the basis of collective understandings unique to the group† (Cheney, 2011, 78-79) The organizational culture in a hospital is based on the premise that the hospital is there to provide a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Organizational theorist Mary Jo Hatch puts forth that there are five (5) â€Å"Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation† (Cheney, 77) identified as follows: Unitary, Diverse (Integrated), Diverse (Differentiated), Diverse (Fragmented) and Disorganized (Multi-cephalous) (Hatch, 1997, 210). A hospital in its purest form would be well represented as a Unitary culture because the staff as a whole all have the same values or beliefs. But individual staff or even medical units may fall into any of the other cultures identified as well. A particular unit, i. e. cardiac telemetry floor, may be a Diverse (Fragmented) unit due to a group of nurses who do not view their critical task requirements in the same way and as a result the level of patient infections or deaths rises, causing unrest among the staff, supervisors, patient families and resulting in legal ramifications thereby fragmenting the staff’s solidarity. Social psychologist Edgar Schein formulated a theoretical model that shows an organization’s culture is built on three levels: artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs. Artifacts are usually the most common and visible sign of a specific culture. Schein puts forth that things such as nursing uniforms, terminology, surgical protocols and more, actually and accurately represent the basic aspects of organization’s culture. The values and norms aspect of his theory, while not always visible, can be seen through behavior of the individual or group; it reveals what is important to the group and how they treat each other within their organization. Each aspect of the profession may have an operating procedure or environment nique to that area of specialization, but still have the same values and norms for their actions. In a surgical room, sterilization of the environment is much more important than it would be in a patient’s room on a medical/surgical floor, but they still have the same belief in keeping an open wound as clean as possible. While values in the medical profession do not vary as a whole, values do define accepted behavior and action. Genuine assumptions and beliefs are nurtured by a persons or organizations values and norms. Values vary only slightly in the various medical professions and facilities. Depending on the medical specialty area, operational norms and methods may differ according to training priorities, equipment and environment unique to that specialty. For instance, the hospital in-patient wound care team may have the same desire to treat a patient’s wounds as a home health nursing team, but the methods of treatment or medications used may be different. Differences begin to surface when a patient is sent home on a negative pressure wound therapy system, i. e. a wound V. A. C.  ®, that aids in the healing of wounds via suction (http://www. kci1. com/KCI1/vactherapy). Many home health nurses does not know how to properly change the intricate dressing or fully understand this equipment or the damaging results that can occur if not changed properly. Faulty assumptions are therefore made based on the beliefs of the home health nurse of what should be done for the patient. When that happens, problems arise in this particular scenario that could result in the patient being brought back to the hospital for a further period of hospitalization due to a breakdown of their wounds or even the creation of new wounds as a result of improper V. A. C.  ® placement. The overriding culture of the medical field is based on the Physician’s Creed of â€Å"First, do no harm† (author uncertain but it is based on the Hippocratic Oath which states to abstain from doing harm). This belief echoes throughout the medical field all over the world. And while there are individual exceptions or exceptions in areas such as animal research for the betterment of mankind or the ethical issue of abortion, the creed has gone unchanged since the time of the ancient Greeks and before. Schein’s three (3) levels of artifacts, values and norms, and assumptions and beliefs, are evident in every clinical setting. With further exploration, Hatch’s five (5) Degrees of Cultural Integration and Differentiation will also be found, albeit not everyone will be seen on every hospital floor or unit. Medical facilities are a kaleidoscope or a microcosm of many subcultures under the roof of the main culture of being a place for the care and healing of the sick or injured. Without that organizational culture giving guidance to all of the subcultures involved in this humanitarian career field, the death rate for minor injuries and diseases would compound exponentially.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service :: essays research papers

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service For the past few months, I have been focusing on the events and the principles behind the founding of our nation. During these studies, I often wondered how some of the ideas we cling to became entrenched in our paradigms of perception. For instance, there are words that have become taboo because of the ways they have been used. They are so taboo, in fact, that it has become nearly impossible to use the words constructively, because using them either shuts off the mechanism in the brain that controls attention span, or their mentioning automatically invites a defensive posture. Two of the unwitting victims are the words "politics" and "discrimination." The demise of valid uses of these words is sadly apparent when we discuss the issue of "free trade" with China. First, since negotiations with foreign governments can only justly and efficiently be done through representation of our own government, the issue inherently involves politics. There is no way of getting around it. Second, the decision is really whether or not to discriminate against the Chinese government fundamentally on the basis that we do not agree with their methods of controlling internal civil affairs. Are we right to presume we have the authority to judge the actions of a foreign government when our own government has, in fact, from time to time, been guilty of many of the same things we accuse the Chinese government of doing? One might be inclined to profess that we have no authority to judge, lest we open up the possibility of allowing ourselves to be judged. However, if we are just and consistent, is that Dickens 2 such a terrible proposition? While America is proud of its diversity, that diversity should not be used to steal our attention from the common, unifying principles, which sets America apart from the rest of the world. They are the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence. Without those principles, we have no claim to freedom, so I'm not certain why there is an effort to categorically reject them. Retail establishments are apt to decide with whom they will do business based on criteria that is not necessarily relevant to a person's quality or depth of character. Patrons must be wearing certain articles of clothing, or they are not admitted. No shirt, no shoes, no service. Many of the more highly rated restaurants even require a coat and tie for their customers.

Family Delinquency Essay

There are several factors that might lead to inept parenting in single parent households. Among these factors are the available economic and parental resources to children and the stressful conditions that characterize such families. Majority of single parents are economically disadvantaged. As such, they often lack the material resources that they can offer their children. The result is that their children remain uncompetitive especially in school. Their children thus lack status among their peers owing to the inability of the parent to provide things that they may need. Due to the fact that majority of single parents suffer from various economic difficulties, they are likely to live in run down neighborhoods characterized by high crime rates, low quality schools and few community services. The majority of single parents also find it difficult to function effectively as parents. They are in most cases less emotionally supportive of their children, are less restrictive, dispense harsher discipline, are more inconsistent in dispensing discipline, offer less supervision and engage in more conflict with their children (Simmons and Simmons, 2005). These deficits in parenting emanate from the struggle to provide for the family with limited financial resources and attempting to raise children in the absence of the other biological parent. Various studies associate inept parenting by resident single parents with a variety of negative consequences among children. Relationship between informal and formal labeling to adolescent delinquency According to labeling theory, perceived negative reactions result in the development of negative self conceptions and greater delinquent involvement (Glueck, 1962). The proponents of this theory emphasize on the importance of both formal and informal labeling. Formal labels are those acquired through contact with social control agencies while informal labeling are those that parents, peers and teachers generate. Juveniles become stigmatized through contact with social control agencies. Involvement in delinquent behavior is one of the possible responses to being negatively labeled or stigmatized. Negative parental reactions may also lead to a juvenile becoming delinquent. In their routine activities, juveniles encounter different cues and clues on how members of the community they live perceive them. Juveniles can interpret accurately the meaning of symbols and gestures employed to project labels upon them through role taking and defining situations. Human beings cannot be said to be passive receptors of negative labels since they possess the capacity to take part in cooperative interaction through significant symbols. Some juveniles negotiate labels and at times attempt to repudiate their deviant imputations (Simmons and Simmons, 2005). Naming or defining something is never an idealistic procedure but rather a consequence of an action. As such, social groups establish deviance by their response to known acts. A label therefore designates something that is a consequence of successful conversation of gestures. It is this successful conversation of gestures that makes the process of labeling the self possible. Labeling theorists assume that individuals project themselves into the role of significant others during real or imagined interactions and make assessments or self appraisals. The self becomes an object for which the person attaches labels which can either be positive or negative. This assumption is guided by the conception that human have the capacity to choose among competing labels for their self conception. Discuss the factors relating to the possibilities of the family structure being a major contribution to a juvenile becoming involved in delinquent behaviors. Family structure influences to a large extent the behavior of children. Research findings indicate that children growing up with single parents have an increased risk of becoming delinquents (Glueck, 1962). The structure of the family influences economic and parental resources that are available to children. Single parents, being financially constrained, are less likely to take care of their children’s need. The result is that the children experience low self esteem as they lack the majority of things that other children possess. Children who are growing up in a family where both parents are present are unlikely to experience behavioral problems. Research also indicates that children from single parent families that receive support from non-resident fathers also exhibit fewer behavioral problems than those without support. With this regard, economic factors influence the possibilities of a child becoming deviant and this mainly depends on the structure of the family. If both the parents are present, the economic conditions are likely to be better as both parents may take the responsibility in providing for the children. As such, the children may not feel deprived thereby reducing the possibilities of becoming deviant. Children become conformists when their parents possess cooperative co-parental relationship. When parents support each others decisions and agree on the rules of the family, the children learn that the parent’s authority is not arbitrary. Parental agreement therefore means that the children are not exposed to inconsistent discipline when they misbehave. This consistency between parents encourages children to learn and internalize moral values and social norms. Causes of marital violence Social theories see marital violence to be the product of the society. As such, they see marital violence as emanating from the social structures and the cultural values and norms that accommodate the use of violence among partners. Furthermore, the causes of marital violence have been attributed by some sociologists to be rooted in the structure of the family; the interaction between the members of the family and their social interactions. For instance, family systems theory relates the cause of marital violence to communication flaws and conflict in intimate relationships. Psychological theories on the other hand attribute the causes to individual experiences and predispositions. Marital violence may be linked to biological inclination to violence and personality disorder, or as suggested by social learning theories, to the offender’s social environment during his early stages of development. Attachment theory emphasizes on the relationship between parents or caregivers with their children and the consequences of such attachments on the ability of an individual to develop safe and healthy relationships later in life. Psychological perspectives hold that individuals may be predisposed to violence by personality disorders or early experiences of trauma. As such, being abusive physically is seen as a manifestation of an underlying emotional problem. Childhood experiences such as parental abuse, rejection and the inability to satisfy the dependence needs of a child may provide a source of later violence. Double Jeopardy Statistics show that women are at a higher risk of being victims of marital violence than males. Quite a number of reasons have been postulated to explain this phenomenon. Among the widely held theories is that women are inherently weak. With regard to physical strength, it is widely known that males far much out-weigh females in strength. Many female victims often find themselves in difficult situation when they are taking the decision to report their partner for abusing them physically. This is because they are likely to do something worse when they come out. As such, female victims of marital violence are always at the risk of double jeopardy. Even though violation of protection order may lead to federal criminal prosecution, advocates may develop procedures to avert double jeopardy. Population heterogeneity theory These theories postulate that there is an initial proneness to commit violent offenses and that this early difference in the development of an individual remains quite stable over time (Glueck, 1962)). People with numerous risk factors before birth, during toddler hood and during childhood are more likely to develop violent tendencies during adolescence and adulthood. In other words, there is a correlation between past and current criminal behavior. Population heterogeneity process attributes stability in offending over time to differences in anti-social characteristics across individuals that is established early in life. One of the implications of a population heterogeneity explanation for continuity in crime over time is that the antisocial feature is likely to have reverberations throughout life, adopting many manifestations later in life. Any observed correspondence between later life events and criminality is spurious due to the fact that they are all the consequence of a common cause. Concepts and principles of social learning theory The fundamental assumption of social learning theory is that the same learning process that operates within the context of social structure, interaction and situation produces both conforming and deviant behavior. The direction of the process in which these mechanisms operate is the basis of their difference. What is involved is the balance of influences on behavior. In most cases, that balance exudes some form of stability over time but it can also become unstable and change with circumstances and time. Conformity and deviant behavior is learned by the mechanisms in this process even though the theory proposes that the principle mechanism are part of the process in which differential reinforcement and imitation produce both overt behavior and cognitive definitions that function as discriminative stimuli for the behavior. Parenting skills The success of any family is dependent upon effective parenting. As such, it is important for every parent to establish healthy methods of raising their children. New parents should know that the future of their children lie in their hands. The first step to parenting is developing clear expectations of what both parents want. Depending on the background of what is being considered right or wrong, parents should plan and communicate their expectation to each other. Establishing a list of social, academic, religious and family oriented expectations for different settings and activities will enable parents to be very particular and concrete in teaching their children. They must however take into consideration the ability and age of the child, developmental status and the available resources. After setting the appropriate rules and expectations, the second most important thing is to unambiguously communicate these expectations in word and in deed. References Glueck, E. (1962). Family environment and delinquency. Houghton Mifflin Simmons, R. & Simmons L. (2005). Families, delinquency, and crime: Linking Society’s Most   Ã‚  Ã‚   Basic Institution to Antisocial Behavior. Oxford University Press

What Is the Longest Word in Spanish

The answer depends on what you mean by the longest word, but regardless of your definition the longest word isnt superextraordinarà ­simo, the 22-letter word once listed in a famous recordbook and the word that was usually cited as the longest in the language. (It means most superextraordinary.) The designation of superextraordinarà ­simo seems arbitrary at best. For one thing, the word isnt in real use. When I first researched this article in 2006, a Google search showed not a single instance where the word was used on a Spanish-language website — except on pages listing what they called the longest Spanish words. (Since I write the original version of this article, claims of superextraordinarà ­simoit being the longest word have mostly disappeared.) And superextraordinarà ­simo has two other strikes against it: If one is going to create words by adding prefixes and suffixes, one could just as well make a 27-letter word by using the adverbial form, superextraordinarà ­simamente. Or one could just as easily use longer root words, ending up with words such as superespectacularà ­simamente (most superspectacularly). But again theyre hypothetical words rather than ones that get legitimate use. A better choice for a 22-letter word is esternocleidomastoideo, the name of a certain neck muscle. It can be found in Spanish-language medical texts. But we can do better without coining words. The longest words to be found in general publications appear to be two 23-letter beauties: anticonstitucionalmente (unconstitutionally) and electroencefalografista (electroencephalograph technician), the latter also appearing in the Spanish Royal Academys dictionary. Since the latter is a noun, it can be made a 24-letter plural, electroencefalografistas, my designation as the longest legitimate Spanish word. Although its not an everyday word, you can find it in encylocopedias and some phone directories. Of course, theres always the 32-letter nonsense word supercalifragilisticoexpialidoso, the Spanish transliteration of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which appears in Spanish versions of the Walt Disney musical Mary Poppins. However, that words use is essentially limited to the film and play. By coining cognates of some especially long English words, it would be possible to come up with longer words still. For example, some medical words and names of some chemicals in English top 30 letters, and the longest English word listed in an accepted dictionary is reported to be pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis, a type of lung disease. Conversion of the word to Spanish, made easy by the fact that all the roots have Spanish cognates, presumably would be neumonoultramicroscopicosiliciovolcanconiosis at 45 letters, or something similar. But such words are best spurious rather than legitimate Spanish.