Management and Leadership

For this report I will describe how Effective Communication is key within management. Effective communication between a manager and team is important as a manager’s job is 90% communication. Effective communication is really important within a team as it plays a part in the everyday running of a setting; effective communication helps to establish clear expectations for employees and with parents.Effective communication also gives staff members clear expectations which will convey how their performance will impact the setting, for example when a manager is briefing a team they need to be prepared, be clear, they should keep it simple and be vivid and natural. Effective communication helps managers build strong relationships within the team and parents. Effective organizational communication skills will help with team work and the ability for the employees at all levels to work together to achieve goals within the setting and also to help to achieve company goals, Effective comm unication is essential to the success of any organization.There are various skills needed for good management, some skills are learned others are instilled as part of that’s persons nature; employees respond more enthusiastically to a leader they feel confident in. On a more basic level an effective manager in an early years setting needs to ensure good lines of communication are open between themselves and the members of their team, is capable of creating an atmosphere that is comfortable, i. e. a family atmosphere’ builds trust in the team, maintains confidentiality, represent the views of the team, find out what motivates the team and be supportive. An effective manager in an early years setting also needs to be approachable, involve staff so they can arrive at joint decisions in the welfare of the children in their care, delegate tasks to staff and allow them to decide how to achieve them which in turn will give the team members a feeling of empowerment, enabling t hem to set their own objectives and achieve them.Teamwork within any setting is paramount; within in my own setting I find that communication is key , myself and the manager will meet and discuss the team on a daily basis as each member of staff are at different development stages within the setting. As a deputy manager my ability to manage the team to achieve organisational goals and objectives is analysed by being reflective as a manager as well as being supportive of the individuals, I consider myself to be a positive role model in encouraging the individuals of my team to continue their professional evelopment in a bid to keep them motivated and keep their knowledge up to date. As I myself continually embark on further education this in turn gives my team the incentive to do so themselves. Everyone in my setting is undertaking some form of professional development for example level 2’s are training towards level 3 and level 3’s towards a degree. As stated by June S ullivan (2003) ‘it is important for a manger to develop a trusting relationship with all members of the team.Successful teams will thrive on mutual trust, so it is vital to establish this early on by delegation, open conduct and communication and a free exchange of ideas’ page 11 Developing individuals as well as the team is an important fact to consider as the setting achieves effectiveness with the individuals that are part of a team where the setting is aware of the individual’s different learning styles and personalities.The team is empowered to effectively manage quality in our setting to meet the children’s and their family needs which is ultimately the settings goals and objectives. This is done through giving the team responsibility for certain aspects of the day to day running of the setting for example each member of the team has a specific area within the setting which they own and develop and each team member is a key person for a number of ind ividual children which gives them the opportunity to develop relationships with children and their families children to meet their needs.Teamwork is also essential within in the setting as we have children that have different level of needs these needs range from speech and language, dietary requirements and we also meet with external agencies to help families that need extra support. Finding out what motivates the team is a useful tool to acquire a manger needs to beware of what makes individual staff members tick.The opportunities for on-going training of themselves and staff is also a motivator if the team members see the manager embarking on professional development this in turn will encourage and enthuse the individuals to embark on future professional development for themselves. A good manager and leader willin still their own values within the team and introduce newcomers to these values, however a manager should be open to new and innovated ideas that a new team member could bring into the setting.Everyone should be encouraged to participate in contributing their ideas, values and opinions within staff meetings and informal discussions to ensure the element of management power is removed, which in turn will make parents feel comfortable about their children’s welfare as good lines of communication will open from all angles.The difference between a leader and a manager is defined in the following text ‘managers do things right’ whilst leaders do the right thing’ there is a fine line between the kind of approach that is necessary in an early years environment and in my opinion, leadership is the approach we need to adopt as managers in an early years setting as managers require the co-operation of their team members.Leadership involves getting the best out of people and remembering everyone has something to offer, strong leaders should be in a position of inspiring people, building confidence and supporting colleagues to achiev e their full potential. Managers should also be aware that’s individuals have different learning styles; cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner (1985) identified seven styles of learning which apply to adults as well as children, the main ways in which we learn as individuals are visually, kinesthetically and through auditory means.Leadership in an a early years setting requires the manager to have personal qualities such as being kind, warm and friendly, patient, sympathetic and nurturing, knowledgeable, logical and assertive and be prepared to become a mentor who guides the staff. There is clear evidence of the relationship between how staff are managed and how they perform, the deeper the commitment of the staff to their organisations, the better their performance will be, it is essential that a manger leads by example. The manager must be able to build and lead the team and cope with the day to day management issues.The manager must also act as the public face of the nurse ry (Jameson and Watson, 1988) Team development requires both strong leadership from the manager and commitment from team members; a good team is made up from individuals who are valued, managers need to analyse how they can involve their teams in the process and look and find ways to motivate them, as a manger you need to be open to ideas but should also look at the strengths and weakness off individual team members and what works best for them as each member has different strengths and weakness and as a manger you should work on this with them and get the team involved in helping each other develop by offering support and guidance as it helps to build effective teams.Also a good relationship with your team will ensure that they form good relationships with the children and their parents and are enthusiastic about new challenges, have confidence to make improvements to the practice when needed. The team is developed with in house training, staff meetings, appraisals to name a few ex amples, however in my opinion emotional intelligence and communication is key to achieving these goals, by focussing on the needs of the team and giving direction which supports and challenges, we will be developing a culture of openness, mutual respect and honesty within the team working towards achieving the goals and objectives of the setting.Teams are encouraged in staff meetings to be reflective and build on their reflections, by being reflective they can observe how they could handle situations more effectively to promote even more effective practice and feel empowered as a team because they are making their own decisions alongside each other as well as individually. Developing teams is key to achieving tasks in the workplace and an essential skill for a manager to possess as a manager I endeavour to ensure I have a clear purpose and display a positive image to engage in mutual trust and respect between my team and myself to achieve the settings goals and objectives. Also a le vel of commitment is important to a team, it is also essential that there is good communication with in the team in order that it can be effective.The team is aware of their roles and responsibilities and are encouraged to communicate effectively, make decisions, manage change and be reflective in practice and engage in sustained shared thinking within the setting. As a deputy manager my management style is slightly autocratic where I make the decisions myself and I find I take on all the responsibly of trying to do everything myself, I only ask my colleagues to do a task for me when I find I don’t have the time to do it, it has taken me a while to realize that this not good for me or my team and I have decided to change my approach and involve my team more in the decision making and delegating tasks so I hope this will instil a sense of responsibility within the team.While writing this report I did an exercise set out for based on Belbin team roles inventory where you score yourself and see what type of team worker you are, my highest score was in team worker where it describes that a team worker is sociable, rather mild, sensitive, co-operative. My second highest score was shaper where it describes that a shaper can be highly strung, thrives on pressure and challenging and my third was completer finisher where it describes that a completer finisher is orderly, conscientious and anxious. After doing this task I took time to reflect and I am all of the above and more, I do get anxious and can be highly strung and am rather sensitive, these are things I need to work on when I am leading my team.I also found that to be an effective manager in an early years setting it requires a leadership style that is collaborative and to be supportive of colleagues. For this report I had to make an action plan for myself to develop my own management skills and how I would action these I took in to account the Belbin task and I reflected on how I manage my team on a day to day basis and how I could work better with my own manager to improve my skills. (See Appendix A) I hope this will be a positive move and am hoping it will make the working environment a better place for all. Being a leader involves getting the best out of people and seeing what strengths that they possess and supporting them in their development needs. Management and Leadership Management is defined and built on constructive theories by well known Management Gurus such as Peter F.Drucker, and many other emerging or contemporary management writers.   Management theory is always researched, tested and after successful results, is implemented in organizations which is why,   management is also called management science.   Leadership carries a separate identity that works beyond the capacity of management,   whereas management carries leadership qualities. Leadership is somewhat authoritative having followers to its side, whereas management maintains subordinates who listen to management by virtue of being holding a higher position either in job or in some other capacity belonging to an organisation. Managers think in soft skills whereas leaders are at time prove radical and even dictatorial, who believe firmly and ratify whether or not pre-emptive to be true.  Ã‚   Managers possess all kind of potential abilities, skills, academic theories of management, work experience which shapes managers into a diplomatic,   situation-oriented individuals to act according to the breeze of atmosphere in an organization and to that effect, manager takes swing to that side. This does not mean that managers are very clever or uncomfortable individuals, whereas the position of manager is such that it requires certain to-be-dealt-with situations and this does not necessarily lower the image of a manager to act unethically as the matters are to be resolved in an apt manner.   A manager takes a short-term decision whereas a leader takes a long-term decision.   Well known quote â€Å"Managers do things right, while leaders do the right things†Ã‚   which gives a fact that managers are required to follow company’s policy, while leaders form policies. Manager   paves the way for creation of goodwill, loyalty, ethics, motivation, skill development, training for subordinates to learn, get trained and adhere to the company rules. Manager exercises almost every management tool to bring a situation to the order whereas leader has followers whether it is a hardship or an easy way, people easily get carried away by the intentions of a leader which may hold good or bad according to the scenario, time and period.   Many a times leaders too have to face contradictions, criticisms, negative results until the realities are proved and for checking veracity,   essential ingredient is time and investigation. Leader is always chosen among a few whereas a manager is selected among many and both the positions carry diversified activities. Leaders always expect to listen and obey whereas managers explain both the negative and positive impact to the people, and instruct to undertake the necessary step for producing positive results to the benefit of organization.   Manager never acts on personal interest, whereas a leader has no limitations either in personal conduct or in view of others, a complete detailed discussion is made about the total issue,   and stay committed to the demands that are to be met with. Manager keeps an account of every step of system of working which means, every move in an organization is known to a manager in an organization. This provides another fact that a manager knows how to handle people, organization behavior, culture and systems of working areas. If both the positions of manager or leader are compared at a greater length,   manager always practice certain limitations and may not possess adequate courage to take initiative step in decision making whereas once a leader identifies a situation, with the motive of solving a situation, takes a bold step and brings the entire organisation to order in spite of knowing the fact that organization does not permit to act beyond certain limitations and in such occasions, the role of a leader is identified who acts with wisdom and knowledge. Manager may not fit to be a leader, whereas a leader can always fit into the role of manager with the fact that, leader in the disguise of manager can get on and manage people in an efficient manner and it is here important for the organization to check whether a leader is producing positive results or negative results.   This is because, managers are expected to produce positive results only whereas leaders may or may not prove to fit in every organization and this has to be verified.   Building or gaining faith among people is one of the important aspect either for management or for leadership. A manager is always transactional whereas a leader is transformational.   Manager works for attractive pay package whereas for a leader   monetary benefit is only a means to a make living. Managers,   when subordinates act in a dominant manner to much disliking,   may find some unethical way to terminate subordinates from organization by eavesdropping or by spreading rumors or any other kind of uncivilized elements of management. A good manager is very difficult to find when most of the companies are looking for good managers.   Managers in all sectors take things for granted and never bother to care for people until some kind of benefit in return is made. Managers are very calculative although the position of a manager is quite appealing and rewarding to an organization, organizations commit mistakes by being unfair to good managers which must be reinstated here that good managers can never be replaced and experienced good mangers who hold a considerable tenure in an organization may prove beneficial to organizations. For any reason, manager or a leader, it is good to continuously keep progress in all aspects of an organization, i.e. relationship with subordinates and senior management, organizational clients, customers in order to keep a transparency of all the matters that come to the desk of manager or leader, as transparency removes all disputes, conflicts and solves many hurdles in an organization. Learning to say NO is one of best principles in an organization, with the fact that every individual carries certain limited strength beyond which one cannot act and if a manager or leader learns to say YES for every issue, the work cannot be delegated to others and in this manner, completion of tasks or projects are completed in a slow process.   Delegation of authority, responsibility, trust in other people’s work, a belief in the work of efficient employees,   are some of the essential elements for organizational growth to expand in terms of work and organizational culture.   Providing adequate training,   motivation, performance evaluation, rewards, incentives are some of the best techniques to retain employees which are very understood by a good manager. Conclusion Dale Carnegie in â€Å"How to make friends and influence people† quotes â€Å"when you have a lemon, make a lemonade†Ã‚   which states that understand that one can never change the world and it is good to change oneself according to the environment or atmosphere one is put up with.   If a manager runs a hare race, tortoise wins like a leader and this must be remembered always in every principle that acting in an apt manner is essential irrespective of the situation one is in while adhering to all the principalities of an organization. Conclusively, management and leadership can never be contradicted with and must go interdependently applying the qualities of manager or leader wherever required and this must be verified with. References The difference between management and leadership Leadership vs management Accessed 31 October, 2007 http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm    Management and Leadership For this report I will describe how Effective Communication is key within management. Effective communication between a manager and team is important as a manager’s job is 90% communication. Effective communication is really important within a team as it plays a part in the everyday running of a setting; effective communication helps to establish clear expectations for employees and with parents.Effective communication also gives staff members clear expectations which will convey how their performance will impact the setting, for example when a manager is briefing a team they need to be prepared, be clear, they should keep it simple and be vivid and natural. Effective communication helps managers build strong relationships within the team and parents. Effective organizational communication skills will help with team work and the ability for the employees at all levels to work together to achieve goals within the setting and also to help to achieve company goals, Effective comm unication is essential to the success of any organization.There are various skills needed for good management, some skills are learned others are instilled as part of that’s persons nature; employees respond more enthusiastically to a leader they feel confident in. On a more basic level an effective manager in an early years setting needs to ensure good lines of communication are open between themselves and the members of their team, is capable of creating an atmosphere that is comfortable, i. e. a family atmosphere’ builds trust in the team, maintains confidentiality, represent the views of the team, find out what motivates the team and be supportive. An effective manager in an early years setting also needs to be approachable, involve staff so they can arrive at joint decisions in the welfare of the children in their care, delegate tasks to staff and allow them to decide how to achieve them which in turn will give the team members a feeling of empowerment, enabling t hem to set their own objectives and achieve them.Teamwork within any setting is paramount; within in my own setting I find that communication is key , myself and the manager will meet and discuss the team on a daily basis as each member of staff are at different development stages within the setting. As a deputy manager my ability to manage the team to achieve organisational goals and objectives is analysed by being reflective as a manager as well as being supportive of the individuals, I consider myself to be a positive role model in encouraging the individuals of my team to continue their professional evelopment in a bid to keep them motivated and keep their knowledge up to date. As I myself continually embark on further education this in turn gives my team the incentive to do so themselves. Everyone in my setting is undertaking some form of professional development for example level 2’s are training towards level 3 and level 3’s towards a degree. As stated by June S ullivan (2003) ‘it is important for a manger to develop a trusting relationship with all members of the team.Successful teams will thrive on mutual trust, so it is vital to establish this early on by delegation, open conduct and communication and a free exchange of ideas’ page 11 Developing individuals as well as the team is an important fact to consider as the setting achieves effectiveness with the individuals that are part of a team where the setting is aware of the individual’s different learning styles and personalities.The team is empowered to effectively manage quality in our setting to meet the children’s and their family needs which is ultimately the settings goals and objectives. This is done through giving the team responsibility for certain aspects of the day to day running of the setting for example each member of the team has a specific area within the setting which they own and develop and each team member is a key person for a number of ind ividual children which gives them the opportunity to develop relationships with children and their families children to meet their needs.Teamwork is also essential within in the setting as we have children that have different level of needs these needs range from speech and language, dietary requirements and we also meet with external agencies to help families that need extra support. Finding out what motivates the team is a useful tool to acquire a manger needs to beware of what makes individual staff members tick.The opportunities for on-going training of themselves and staff is also a motivator if the team members see the manager embarking on professional development this in turn will encourage and enthuse the individuals to embark on future professional development for themselves. A good manager and leader willin still their own values within the team and introduce newcomers to these values, however a manager should be open to new and innovated ideas that a new team member could bring into the setting.Everyone should be encouraged to participate in contributing their ideas, values and opinions within staff meetings and informal discussions to ensure the element of management power is removed, which in turn will make parents feel comfortable about their children’s welfare as good lines of communication will open from all angles.The difference between a leader and a manager is defined in the following text ‘managers do things right’ whilst leaders do the right thing’ there is a fine line between the kind of approach that is necessary in an early years environment and in my opinion, leadership is the approach we need to adopt as managers in an early years setting as managers require the co-operation of their team members.Leadership involves getting the best out of people and remembering everyone has something to offer, strong leaders should be in a position of inspiring people, building confidence and supporting colleagues to achiev e their full potential. Managers should also be aware that’s individuals have different learning styles; cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner (1985) identified seven styles of learning which apply to adults as well as children, the main ways in which we learn as individuals are visually, kinesthetically and through auditory means.Leadership in an a early years setting requires the manager to have personal qualities such as being kind, warm and friendly, patient, sympathetic and nurturing, knowledgeable, logical and assertive and be prepared to become a mentor who guides the staff. There is clear evidence of the relationship between how staff are managed and how they perform, the deeper the commitment of the staff to their organisations, the better their performance will be, it is essential that a manger leads by example. The manager must be able to build and lead the team and cope with the day to day management issues.The manager must also act as the public face of the nurse ry (Jameson and Watson, 1988) Team development requires both strong leadership from the manager and commitment from team members; a good team is made up from individuals who are valued, managers need to analyse how they can involve their teams in the process and look and find ways to motivate them, as a manger you need to be open to ideas but should also look at the strengths and weakness off individual team members and what works best for them as each member has different strengths and weakness and as a manger you should work on this with them and get the team involved in helping each other develop by offering support and guidance as it helps to build effective teams.Also a good relationship with your team will ensure that they form good relationships with the children and their parents and are enthusiastic about new challenges, have confidence to make improvements to the practice when needed. The team is developed with in house training, staff meetings, appraisals to name a few ex amples, however in my opinion emotional intelligence and communication is key to achieving these goals, by focussing on the needs of the team and giving direction which supports and challenges, we will be developing a culture of openness, mutual respect and honesty within the team working towards achieving the goals and objectives of the setting.Teams are encouraged in staff meetings to be reflective and build on their reflections, by being reflective they can observe how they could handle situations more effectively to promote even more effective practice and feel empowered as a team because they are making their own decisions alongside each other as well as individually. Developing teams is key to achieving tasks in the workplace and an essential skill for a manager to possess as a manager I endeavour to ensure I have a clear purpose and display a positive image to engage in mutual trust and respect between my team and myself to achieve the settings goals and objectives. Also a le vel of commitment is important to a team, it is also essential that there is good communication with in the team in order that it can be effective.The team is aware of their roles and responsibilities and are encouraged to communicate effectively, make decisions, manage change and be reflective in practice and engage in sustained shared thinking within the setting. As a deputy manager my management style is slightly autocratic where I make the decisions myself and I find I take on all the responsibly of trying to do everything myself, I only ask my colleagues to do a task for me when I find I don’t have the time to do it, it has taken me a while to realize that this not good for me or my team and I have decided to change my approach and involve my team more in the decision making and delegating tasks so I hope this will instil a sense of responsibility within the team.While writing this report I did an exercise set out for based on Belbin team roles inventory where you score yourself and see what type of team worker you are, my highest score was in team worker where it describes that a team worker is sociable, rather mild, sensitive, co-operative. My second highest score was shaper where it describes that a shaper can be highly strung, thrives on pressure and challenging and my third was completer finisher where it describes that a completer finisher is orderly, conscientious and anxious. After doing this task I took time to reflect and I am all of the above and more, I do get anxious and can be highly strung and am rather sensitive, these are things I need to work on when I am leading my team.I also found that to be an effective manager in an early years setting it requires a leadership style that is collaborative and to be supportive of colleagues. For this report I had to make an action plan for myself to develop my own management skills and how I would action these I took in to account the Belbin task and I reflected on how I manage my team on a day to day basis and how I could work better with my own manager to improve my skills. (See Appendix A) I hope this will be a positive move and am hoping it will make the working environment a better place for all. Being a leader involves getting the best out of people and seeing what strengths that they possess and supporting them in their development needs. Management and Leadership Management is defined and built on constructive theories by well known Management Gurus such as Peter F.Drucker, and many other emerging or contemporary management writers.   Management theory is always researched, tested and after successful results, is implemented in organizations which is why,   management is also called management science.   Leadership carries a separate identity that works beyond the capacity of management,   whereas management carries leadership qualities. Leadership is somewhat authoritative having followers to its side, whereas management maintains subordinates who listen to management by virtue of being holding a higher position either in job or in some other capacity belonging to an organisation. Managers think in soft skills whereas leaders are at time prove radical and even dictatorial, who believe firmly and ratify whether or not pre-emptive to be true.  Ã‚   Managers possess all kind of potential abilities, skills, academic theories of management, work experience which shapes managers into a diplomatic,   situation-oriented individuals to act according to the breeze of atmosphere in an organization and to that effect, manager takes swing to that side. This does not mean that managers are very clever or uncomfortable individuals, whereas the position of manager is such that it requires certain to-be-dealt-with situations and this does not necessarily lower the image of a manager to act unethically as the matters are to be resolved in an apt manner.   A manager takes a short-term decision whereas a leader takes a long-term decision.   Well known quote â€Å"Managers do things right, while leaders do the right things†Ã‚   which gives a fact that managers are required to follow company’s policy, while leaders form policies. Manager   paves the way for creation of goodwill, loyalty, ethics, motivation, skill development, training for subordinates to learn, get trained and adhere to the company rules. Manager exercises almost every management tool to bring a situation to the order whereas leader has followers whether it is a hardship or an easy way, people easily get carried away by the intentions of a leader which may hold good or bad according to the scenario, time and period.   Many a times leaders too have to face contradictions, criticisms, negative results until the realities are proved and for checking veracity,   essential ingredient is time and investigation. Leader is always chosen among a few whereas a manager is selected among many and both the positions carry diversified activities. Leaders always expect to listen and obey whereas managers explain both the negative and positive impact to the people, and instruct to undertake the necessary step for producing positive results to the benefit of organization.   Manager never acts on personal interest, whereas a leader has no limitations either in personal conduct or in view of others, a complete detailed discussion is made about the total issue,   and stay committed to the demands that are to be met with. Manager keeps an account of every step of system of working which means, every move in an organization is known to a manager in an organization. This provides another fact that a manager knows how to handle people, organization behavior, culture and systems of working areas. If both the positions of manager or leader are compared at a greater length,   manager always practice certain limitations and may not possess adequate courage to take initiative step in decision making whereas once a leader identifies a situation, with the motive of solving a situation, takes a bold step and brings the entire organisation to order in spite of knowing the fact that organization does not permit to act beyond certain limitations and in such occasions, the role of a leader is identified who acts with wisdom and knowledge. Manager may not fit to be a leader, whereas a leader can always fit into the role of manager with the fact that, leader in the disguise of manager can get on and manage people in an efficient manner and it is here important for the organization to check whether a leader is producing positive results or negative results.   This is because, managers are expected to produce positive results only whereas leaders may or may not prove to fit in every organization and this has to be verified.   Building or gaining faith among people is one of the important aspect either for management or for leadership. A manager is always transactional whereas a leader is transformational.   Manager works for attractive pay package whereas for a leader   monetary benefit is only a means to a make living. Managers,   when subordinates act in a dominant manner to much disliking,   may find some unethical way to terminate subordinates from organization by eavesdropping or by spreading rumors or any other kind of uncivilized elements of management. A good manager is very difficult to find when most of the companies are looking for good managers.   Managers in all sectors take things for granted and never bother to care for people until some kind of benefit in return is made. Managers are very calculative although the position of a manager is quite appealing and rewarding to an organization, organizations commit mistakes by being unfair to good managers which must be reinstated here that good managers can never be replaced and experienced good mangers who hold a considerable tenure in an organization may prove beneficial to organizations. For any reason, manager or a leader, it is good to continuously keep progress in all aspects of an organization, i.e. relationship with subordinates and senior management, organizational clients, customers in order to keep a transparency of all the matters that come to the desk of manager or leader, as transparency removes all disputes, conflicts and solves many hurdles in an organization. Learning to say NO is one of best principles in an organization, with the fact that every individual carries certain limited strength beyond which one cannot act and if a manager or leader learns to say YES for every issue, the work cannot be delegated to others and in this manner, completion of tasks or projects are completed in a slow process.   Delegation of authority, responsibility, trust in other people’s work, a belief in the work of efficient employees,   are some of the essential elements for organizational growth to expand in terms of work and organizational culture.   Providing adequate training,   motivation, performance evaluation, rewards, incentives are some of the best techniques to retain employees which are very understood by a good manager. Conclusion Dale Carnegie in â€Å"How to make friends and influence people† quotes â€Å"when you have a lemon, make a lemonade†Ã‚   which states that understand that one can never change the world and it is good to change oneself according to the environment or atmosphere one is put up with.   If a manager runs a hare race, tortoise wins like a leader and this must be remembered always in every principle that acting in an apt manner is essential irrespective of the situation one is in while adhering to all the principalities of an organization. Conclusively, management and leadership can never be contradicted with and must go interdependently applying the qualities of manager or leader wherever required and this must be verified with. References The difference between management and leadership Leadership vs management Accessed 31 October, 2007 http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/articles/manager_leader.htm    Management and Leadership For this report I will describe how Effective Communication is key within management. Effective communication between a manager and team is important as a manager’s job is 90% communication. Effective communication is really important within a team as it plays a part in the everyday running of a setting; effective communication helps to establish clear expectations for employees and with parents.Effective communication also gives staff members clear expectations which will convey how their performance will impact the setting, for example when a manager is briefing a team they need to be prepared, be clear, they should keep it simple and be vivid and natural. Effective communication helps managers build strong relationships within the team and parents. Effective organizational communication skills will help with team work and the ability for the employees at all levels to work together to achieve goals within the setting and also to help to achieve company goals, Effective comm unication is essential to the success of any organization.There are various skills needed for good management, some skills are learned others are instilled as part of that’s persons nature; employees respond more enthusiastically to a leader they feel confident in. On a more basic level an effective manager in an early years setting needs to ensure good lines of communication are open between themselves and the members of their team, is capable of creating an atmosphere that is comfortable, i. e. a family atmosphere’ builds trust in the team, maintains confidentiality, represent the views of the team, find out what motivates the team and be supportive. An effective manager in an early years setting also needs to be approachable, involve staff so they can arrive at joint decisions in the welfare of the children in their care, delegate tasks to staff and allow them to decide how to achieve them which in turn will give the team members a feeling of empowerment, enabling t hem to set their own objectives and achieve them.Teamwork within any setting is paramount; within in my own setting I find that communication is key , myself and the manager will meet and discuss the team on a daily basis as each member of staff are at different development stages within the setting. As a deputy manager my ability to manage the team to achieve organisational goals and objectives is analysed by being reflective as a manager as well as being supportive of the individuals, I consider myself to be a positive role model in encouraging the individuals of my team to continue their professional evelopment in a bid to keep them motivated and keep their knowledge up to date. As I myself continually embark on further education this in turn gives my team the incentive to do so themselves. Everyone in my setting is undertaking some form of professional development for example level 2’s are training towards level 3 and level 3’s towards a degree. As stated by June S ullivan (2003) ‘it is important for a manger to develop a trusting relationship with all members of the team.Successful teams will thrive on mutual trust, so it is vital to establish this early on by delegation, open conduct and communication and a free exchange of ideas’ page 11 Developing individuals as well as the team is an important fact to consider as the setting achieves effectiveness with the individuals that are part of a team where the setting is aware of the individual’s different learning styles and personalities.The team is empowered to effectively manage quality in our setting to meet the children’s and their family needs which is ultimately the settings goals and objectives. This is done through giving the team responsibility for certain aspects of the day to day running of the setting for example each member of the team has a specific area within the setting which they own and develop and each team member is a key person for a number of ind ividual children which gives them the opportunity to develop relationships with children and their families children to meet their needs.Teamwork is also essential within in the setting as we have children that have different level of needs these needs range from speech and language, dietary requirements and we also meet with external agencies to help families that need extra support. Finding out what motivates the team is a useful tool to acquire a manger needs to beware of what makes individual staff members tick.The opportunities for on-going training of themselves and staff is also a motivator if the team members see the manager embarking on professional development this in turn will encourage and enthuse the individuals to embark on future professional development for themselves. A good manager and leader willin still their own values within the team and introduce newcomers to these values, however a manager should be open to new and innovated ideas that a new team member could bring into the setting.Everyone should be encouraged to participate in contributing their ideas, values and opinions within staff meetings and informal discussions to ensure the element of management power is removed, which in turn will make parents feel comfortable about their children’s welfare as good lines of communication will open from all angles.The difference between a leader and a manager is defined in the following text ‘managers do things right’ whilst leaders do the right thing’ there is a fine line between the kind of approach that is necessary in an early years environment and in my opinion, leadership is the approach we need to adopt as managers in an early years setting as managers require the co-operation of their team members.Leadership involves getting the best out of people and remembering everyone has something to offer, strong leaders should be in a position of inspiring people, building confidence and supporting colleagues to achiev e their full potential. Managers should also be aware that’s individuals have different learning styles; cognitive psychologist Howard Gardner (1985) identified seven styles of learning which apply to adults as well as children, the main ways in which we learn as individuals are visually, kinesthetically and through auditory means.Leadership in an a early years setting requires the manager to have personal qualities such as being kind, warm and friendly, patient, sympathetic and nurturing, knowledgeable, logical and assertive and be prepared to become a mentor who guides the staff. There is clear evidence of the relationship between how staff are managed and how they perform, the deeper the commitment of the staff to their organisations, the better their performance will be, it is essential that a manger leads by example. The manager must be able to build and lead the team and cope with the day to day management issues.The manager must also act as the public face of the nurse ry (Jameson and Watson, 1988) Team development requires both strong leadership from the manager and commitment from team members; a good team is made up from individuals who are valued, managers need to analyse how they can involve their teams in the process and look and find ways to motivate them, as a manger you need to be open to ideas but should also look at the strengths and weakness off individual team members and what works best for them as each member has different strengths and weakness and as a manger you should work on this with them and get the team involved in helping each other develop by offering support and guidance as it helps to build effective teams.Also a good relationship with your team will ensure that they form good relationships with the children and their parents and are enthusiastic about new challenges, have confidence to make improvements to the practice when needed. The team is developed with in house training, staff meetings, appraisals to name a few ex amples, however in my opinion emotional intelligence and communication is key to achieving these goals, by focussing on the needs of the team and giving direction which supports and challenges, we will be developing a culture of openness, mutual respect and honesty within the team working towards achieving the goals and objectives of the setting.Teams are encouraged in staff meetings to be reflective and build on their reflections, by being reflective they can observe how they could handle situations more effectively to promote even more effective practice and feel empowered as a team because they are making their own decisions alongside each other as well as individually. Developing teams is key to achieving tasks in the workplace and an essential skill for a manager to possess as a manager I endeavour to ensure I have a clear purpose and display a positive image to engage in mutual trust and respect between my team and myself to achieve the settings goals and objectives. Also a le vel of commitment is important to a team, it is also essential that there is good communication with in the team in order that it can be effective.The team is aware of their roles and responsibilities and are encouraged to communicate effectively, make decisions, manage change and be reflective in practice and engage in sustained shared thinking within the setting. As a deputy manager my management style is slightly autocratic where I make the decisions myself and I find I take on all the responsibly of trying to do everything myself, I only ask my colleagues to do a task for me when I find I don’t have the time to do it, it has taken me a while to realize that this not good for me or my team and I have decided to change my approach and involve my team more in the decision making and delegating tasks so I hope this will instil a sense of responsibility within the team.While writing this report I did an exercise set out for based on Belbin team roles inventory where you score yourself and see what type of team worker you are, my highest score was in team worker where it describes that a team worker is sociable, rather mild, sensitive, co-operative. My second highest score was shaper where it describes that a shaper can be highly strung, thrives on pressure and challenging and my third was completer finisher where it describes that a completer finisher is orderly, conscientious and anxious. After doing this task I took time to reflect and I am all of the above and more, I do get anxious and can be highly strung and am rather sensitive, these are things I need to work on when I am leading my team.I also found that to be an effective manager in an early years setting it requires a leadership style that is collaborative and to be supportive of colleagues. For this report I had to make an action plan for myself to develop my own management skills and how I would action these I took in to account the Belbin task and I reflected on how I manage my team on a day to day basis and how I could work better with my own manager to improve my skills. (See Appendix A) I hope this will be a positive move and am hoping it will make the working environment a better place for all. Being a leader involves getting the best out of people and seeing what strengths that they possess and supporting them in their development needs.

A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management

A Strategic Framework for Customer Relationship Management Introduction: This article explores the plethora of literature available on CRM and relationship marketing and emphasizes the need for a single, process-based framework that helps in making a comprehensive CRM strategy followed by its successful implementation. The objective is to highlight CRM’s role in enhancing customer value and, in turn the shareholder value.Various CRM and marketing experts, who provide their views in the article, emphasize the need for a cross-functional, process-oriented approach which identifies three alternative perspectives of CRM within a holistic organizational context. They try to identify five key cross-functional CRM processes starting from a strategy development process, followed by value creation process, multichannel integration process, an information management process, and in the end performance assessment process.Based on these 5 pillars, they put forward a new conceptual framewo rk specifying the roles and functions associated with each element in the framework. Summary: CRM is a strategic approach that is concerned with creating improved shareholder value through the development of appropriate relationships with key customers and customer segments. There is a need to develop relationship marketing strategies and IT architecture to create profitable, long-term relationships with customers and other key stakeholders.The article is organized mainly in three parts. Firstly, it explores the three alternative perspectives of CRM. Secondly, it considers the need for a cross-functional process-based approach to CRM where the strategists develop criteria for process selection and identify the five key CRM processes. Next, they propose a strategic conceptual framework that is constructed of these five processes followed by the examination of the components of each process. Hence, CRM can be defined with three perspectives forming a continuum.At one corner is the nar rowly and tactically defined particular technology solution, followed by wide-ranging technology (customer oriented IT and Internet), and customer centric approach (holistic approach emphasizing creation of shareholder value) as we move towards right at the other end of the continuum. Processes are the backbone of any initiative or a framework. Absence of a strategic framework for CRM is one reason for the disappointing results associated with many CRM initiatives.The strategic perspective starts with reviewing the following four process selection criteria for marketing and business processes which are now augmented by 2 new additional suggestions. 1)The processes should comprise a small set that addresses tasks critical to the achievement of an organization’s goals. 2)Each process should contribute to the value creation process. 3) Each process should be at a strategic or macro level. 4)The processes need to manifest clear interrelationships. 5) New: Each process should be c ross functional in nature. 6)New.Each process would be considered by experienced practitioners as being both logical. The refining of CRM strategy can start with the interaction research as interaction and communication play a crucial role in the various stages of research. It consists of interaction with various executives, meetings and group discussion with emphasis on testing concepts, new ideas, and results. On the other hand, the process identification and CRM framework creation begins with identification of generic CRM processes which are used by an expert panel of experienced CRM executives.The resultant five generic processes are: the strategy development process, the value creation process, the multichannel integration process, the information management process, and finally the performance assessment process. These five key generic CRM processes help form a preliminary conceptual framework which is continuously improved for better business results and increased share value . Next are the business/customer strategy and the value creation processes.The business strategy process can commence with a review of a company’s vision and its relation to the CRM model. It is followed by the review of the industrial and competitive environment. Here the traditional industry analysis is augmented by more contemporary approaches for deeper environmental analysis and the understanding the impact of disruptive technologies. Customer strategy on the other hand, deals with CRM perspective which requires a cross functional approach, especially when different departments are involved in strategy development.Other important facets are information management process and performance assessment. Information management is concerned with the collection, integration and use of customer data and information from all processes. It involves managing assets like the data repository, IT systems and analysis tools. Data repository provides a corporate memory of all customers. Systems include the organization’s computer hardware, software, middleware IT, front office and back office applications like SFA and call center management.Lastly, analysis tools support many activities involved in interfacing directly with customers with technologies like data mining. The article also talks about Multichannel Integration process, which takes into account the combinations of different channels with customer interaction perspective. It takes the outputs of the business strategy and value creation processes and translates them into value-adding activities with customers. It ensures that the customer experiences remains highly positive within those channels. Analysis:Even though, there has been enough emphasis on the cross-functional, process-based CRM strategy framework that aims to help companies, it is mostly based on large industrial companies and not the small and medium sized companies. I agree with the views that the size and complexity of such enterpris es are most likely to post big CRM challenges, but small scale initiatives should be considered as well. I concur with objective of the article which deals with a process-based conceptual framework and cross functional approach for strategic CRM model.Also, I agree with argument which has been put forward again and again in the article for the need of an acceptable definition that encompasses all facets. The framework proposed in the article is just a beginner’s model, yet a potentially useful starting point for the development of improved insight into these aspects of CRM theory. But according to me, because of the changing scenarios and fickle nature of market there is still a need for delimiting the domain, agreeing on a definition for CRM, and building a research agenda. I would like to add that certainly there is a need for measure and control the CRM performance.But, at the same time traditional approach for performance measurement systems will not be suitable for cross functional CRM. There have been new initiatives like balanced scorecard which enables a wide range of metrics designs. It consists of shareholder results and performance monitoring. Ideally, it should reflect the performance standards necessary across the five major processes to ensure that CRM activities are planned and practiced effectively and that a feedback loop exists to maximize performance improvement and organizational learning.The article also explores the multiple channels, such as field sales forces, Internet, direct mail, telephony, traditional television, e-commerce and m-commerce, including e-mail to interact with its customers. For example, making use of e-commerce opportunities and the fundamental economic characteristics of the Internet can enable a much deeper level of segmentation granularity than is affordable in most other channels. With the advent of Internet, interactive digital television, mobile telephony and text messaging, wireless application protocol, and 3G mobile services can be utilized in this field.The challenge lies in the ability of strategy to uphold the same high standards across different channels enhancing customer experiences. As far as associated value goes, I believe that outputs of the strategy development process leads to programs that both extract and deliver value and maximizes the lifetime value of desirable customer segments. It includes determining what value the company can provide to its customer along with what value the company can receives from its customers.These value propositions include the relationship among the performance of the product, the fulfillment of the customer’s needs, and the total cost to the customer over the customer relationship life cycle. Like any other initiative, measurement is an integral part through the use of the metrics. The performance assessment sees that the organization’s strategic aims in terms of CRM are in alignment with the acceptable standard and that a basis for future improvement is established. Conclusion:Often, the organizations are plagued by the lack of a widely accepted and appropriate definition of CRM along with the failure to recognize its constitution. This can lead to the failure of a CRM project as this way the organization views CRM from a limited technology perspective or undertakes CRM on a fragmented basis. The plethora of information requires a cross-functional integration of processes, people, operations, and marketing capabilities that is enabled through information, technology and applications.The options provided in the article explore the opportunities like cross-selling and up-selling to acquire or strengthen customer database. To ensure that technology solutions support CRM, it is important to conduct IT planning from the perspective of providing a seamless customer service rather than planning for functional or product-centered departments and activities. On the organization’s front, the focus is on increasing customer lifetime value by determining the variation in potential customer profitability across different customer segments along with the prepositions like customer acquisition and customer retention.

Youth Involvement in Disaster Management

Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 1 The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Youth Involvement in Disaster Management Presentation Paper for the Youth Session at The 5th Annual Caribbean Conference on Comprehensive Disaster Management At the Rose Hall Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, Jamaica By Stephen O. Akeyo, MA, MSA, Ph. D. Student Indiana University, Indiana- USA December 9, 2010. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Outline I. II. III.IV. V. Abstract Introduction Current Issues Analysis How I look at the Necessity of Youth Involvement Justification for Involving Youth People a. Fostering a sense of local ownership b. Promoting Individual’s right c. Hand-on Experiences VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement b. What is being done to address Youth Involvement VII. Recommendations for Good Practices 1. Education and Information sharing 2. Tabletop and Drills Exercises 3. Supporting Youth Programs 4.Youth Direct Research Involvement a. Service-Learning Experience i. Being Disaster Ready ii. Community Service 5. Ongoing Research Study VIII. IX. Conclusion References Akeyo, S. 2 Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster I. Abstract Akeyo, S. 3 Can young people perform well when they are involved in disaster preparedness and planning roles? Social norms have often failed to incorporate youth in leadership roles and decision making process even during emergency situations.Sadly, when a disaster strikes in any given community, youth and children are found to represent more than a third of disaster victims, yet their response role in a disaster is generally restricted to that of passive victims. The tremendous contributions that young people can make to disaster management are largely untapped. Involving young people in disaster management can help them learn topics that affect their lives while at the same time gaining hands-on experience designed to equip them become tomorrow better leaders.A ny comprehensive disaster management that is designed to incorporate youth in its programs, not only benefits creativity and energy of young people but also in the process strengthens partnerships for resilience. This paper will address current issues affecting disaster management, the role of youth in disaster management, experience and lessons learned from organizations â€Å"such as; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; the 2004 Tsunami disaster that impacted the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia; the 2006 Katrina disaster in New Orleans – U. S.A; and Plan International case study in El-Salvador. This paper will recommend youth involvement in their own community disaster management activities such as table-top exercise tailored into identifying risks; designing community emergency plans as well as their own; exercising a plan; setting up early warning systems; and implementing response; mitigation; and risk reduction plans. Conference participant will be challenged to adopt best practices and be encouraged to conduct further research study and platforms designed to foster youth-adult partnerships for resilience.Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster II. Introduction Akeyo, S. 4 Disasters and emergencies such as fires; severe weather; tornadoes; earthquakes; floods; pandemic event; life threatening situation; equipment failure; a cyber-attack or a terrorist attack can strike anywhere at any time with little or no warning. Such disasters and emergencies come with no respect of geographical or national boarders and never occur at convenient times. All emergencies are â€Å"local† phenomenon of which young people and children are a part of.Young people and children must therefore be prepared and trained in all matters pertaining to disaster response. They can use this knowledge to save their own lives and even defend their communities’ livelihood. The world population statistic projection given on World Youth Report in 2002 indicated that youth alone without including children and adult at that time comprised nearly 30 percent of the world's population as it shows in the diagram bellow (UN-New York, 2003): In any disaster, young people and children represents more than a third of disaster victims.Most humanitarian sector restricts these minors involvement to more of being in a Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 5 â€Å"passive victim† role. Providing youth and children the opportunity to be directly involved in disaster preparedness activities enables them to develop skills that prepared them for any threat that may come. There is evidences of spontaneous rescue efforts done by youth and children which were direct result of prior involvement in rescue missions conducted by youth clubs and organizations such as the Boy’s and Girl’s scouts; Pathfinders Club; and many others alike.Involving young people and children in emergency preparedness activities valid ates their capacity to be responsible members of their community who thus are entitled to more respect than what is typically extended to them in these types of situations. Youth involvement in planning, decision making and in the implementation of emergency preparedness programs is critical to the long? term success of sustainable disaster management initiatives and community resilience (UN- DSD, 2009).In the past there have been a number of barriers that hinder youth involvement in disaster management; which includes attitudes concerning the abilities of youth compared to experienced adults, and the up-down mode of societal norms. This paper will suggest that involving young people in emergency preparedness activities will promote an increase in the net community resources in confronting emergencies and enhancing community resilience.Furthermore, involving youth in disaster management process would enable disaster responders, managers, community leader, government agencies as well as humanitarian entities to draw on the full range of community resources when disaster strikes. Therefore, there must be a forum that will allow such collaboration to take place. III. Current Issue Analysis We live in communities that are increasingly becoming vulnerable to natural as well as manmade disasters that cause substantial loss of life, economic damage.Disaster = Natural or Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 6 manmade hazard + vulnerability. Risk = (hazard x vulnerability)/capacity. Unfortunately, our communities are not well prepared to deal with such disasters when they come as a result of inadequate knowledge or an ability to mitigate and respond to the disaster in due time. As a result, many people lose their lives and properties or find themselves trapped in disaster high spots which they cannot escape without external intervention.Frequently when a disaster strikes, it forces vulnerable communities to temporarily or permanently evacuate the comfo rt of their homes, neighborhoods, workplace and institutions or confine themselves to their home, leaving them without basic services such as water, gas, electricity, telephones or emergency help. Community vulnerability to disaster can be elaborated better with the bellow (Khan, 2008): Figure – 2. What is Disaster? Vulnerability Disaster Hazard Underlying Causes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.Limited access to resources Illness and disability Age/Sex Poverty Other Dynamic Pressure Lack of: 1. Institutional training 2. Education/Skills 3. Population growth 4. Urbanization 5. Uncontrolled development 6. Environmental Degradation Unsafe Conditions 1. 2. 3. 4. Dangerous location Dangerous building Low income level Dangerous jobs (police, mines etc. ) Trigger Events 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Earthquake Tsunamis Floods Cyclones Volcanic -eruptions Drought Landslide War/ Terrorism Technological Accident (Car/Plane etc. Environmental Pollution Disasters accounts for 98 percent of the cu mulative number of people affected by natural disasters and 77 percent of total reported economic damage (WMO, 2007). In the least developing countries (LDC) in particular, climate-related disasters accounted for 89 percent of Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 7 the total economic damages (WMO, 2007). Most people in developing countries have limited capacity to assess climate risks and lack available weather information required to plan adaptive responses.These people are more likely to be severely affected by climate-related diseases, such as influenza, diarrhea, cholera, meningitis, dengue, and malaria. Weak infrastructure, poor communication networks, shortage in electricity supply, low public awareness, and insufficient resources in many communities and neighborhoods hinders the provision of timely climate and early warning advice, which can delays response efforts causing an impact to become of significant amount (EM-DAT, 2009). IV.How I look at The Necessit y of Youth Involvement Though disasters are local phenomenon, in these modern days their devastating impact can be felt beyond borders of impacted nations in terms of human, material losses or the flow of refugees. It is therefore important that the disaster reduction efforts be addressed in a multilateral and comprehensive way. These unforeseen disasters require immediate, coordinated and effective response by multiple government agencies, volunteers, relief agencies and private sector in order to meet human needs and speed recovery efforts.Comprehensive disaster management and emergency preparedness should be based on the concept of active young people’s participation in all phases of the disaster cycle. Rather than seeing disaster-affected youth as victims or passive recipients of outside assistance, good disaster management must recognize the value of including them in the planning process. There is no better resource in a community than young people. It may be easier to obtain funding for projects and related disaster preparedness programs, but without sufficient community resources in place, disaster preparedness and risk reduction are not possible.Resource building enhances Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 8 community capability and provides positive response to various emergencies; reduce disaster risks, and helps foster confidence, dignity, and resilience. It is a fact that when a disaster strikes, local people are the first to respond, before any other outside agencies arrives to and assist in recovery efforts. Many of these first responders who struggle to save lives with limited resources at their disposal before more help arrives to take assist are energetic young people.Sometimes local elders may know which members of their community are hardest hit, and what kind assistance is appropriate for them, but they will ask young people to give them help. Young people must therefore be included, trained and empowered to carry out disaster prevention, preparation, and planning and response efforts. V. Justification for Involving Young People a. Fostering a Sense of Local Ownership Traditionally disaster management has been dominated by top-down relief efforts that assume children and youth are passive victims with no role in disaster preparedness.Involving youth in disaster preparedness process not only benefits them, their families, and communities, but also contributes to grassroots empowerment which boosts levels of ownership within their overall disaster preparedness plan. Research has indicated that when young people receive preparedness training they are more likely to act wisely and protect themselves against abuse; exploitation and illegal drug trafficking (UNICEF, 2007). b.Fostering Youth’s Ability to Act In life it is very hard to maintain a positive mindset when people have no faith in you. Youth are an enormous pool of energy, talent, and enthusiasm eager to contribute to society. The t ime has come whereby young people’s ability as agents of change must be recognized. There some unique abilities and skills that young people alone can bring to the table, such as Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 9 intercultural communication and innovative use of technology (ICRC, 2010).Many have made a difference in their neighborhoods, schools and even at the national level by address safety issues and seek solution for the existing problems (NCPC, 2001). Youth possess unique strengths, which are enhanced by community support and collaboration. Given opportunity to as participants and not observers will to introduce them and get to be part disaster management agencies within their local communities, across their borders and around the world. Compared to adult, many youth are trained in public speaking, ournalism, intercultural music and dance, communication, cultural harmony. Young people already have power; of being united through social networks such as MySpace, twitters, Facebook and they will use it interact in a very short time. Youth can influence easily their peers to be disaster ready. Adult mentors should work closely with youth in an effort to incorporate their ability and talent in disaster management process. c. Promoting Individual’s Rights Although our social norms have such often portrayed young people as dependent and helpless victims in emergencies.In practice, however, the reverse often applies and youth commonly have far more options open to them than do adults. The notion that excluding young people from direct involvement in calamities helps protects their well-being and trauma that adult face is undermining their resilience and coping in the context of adversity. Around the globe young people have proven to be faster in responding and volunteering in relief efforts when disaster strikes (Perren-Klingler, 1996). Young people want to be part of the big picture in making contribution that makes a differen ce and changing lives.It is the right of young people and children to be recognized and be interacted with as dignified humans rather than treating them just as vulnerable and helpless disaster victims who are only objects of charity. They Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 10 should be encouraged to use their potential to become agents of change globally. Their ideas and energies can be put into good use. The idea of involving youth and encouraging their participation in risk reduction measures is in line with international commitments which legally bind the signatory states to observe the rights of children and youth (Silbernagl, 2010).Like adults, young people also have a right to participate in decisions and efforts to address disaster management and risk reduction within their communities. Their rights include being trained and supported in understanding and making positive contributions to matter that affect their livelihood. This is in line with articles 6, 12 and 13 of the international legal framework set under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which upholds children’s rights to (Plan, 2005). d. Hands-on Experience Involving young people in disaster planning provides opportunities to reach beyond our traditional â€Å"top-down relief efforts. This becomes a link that equips young people to take on new roles and become active agents of change. Most jobs nowadays require applicants to have some experiences which are technically not taught theoretically in college class rooms. There must an employer who will be willing to offer an opportunity to on the job training. The inexperienced young people likewise need mentors in disaster preparedness process who are willing to work closely with them by involving them in active roles that gives them hands-on experience to eventually fill-in the shoes of their adult mentors when they are no longer available for duty.Adult and youth can learn from each other. Blending experien ces of adult to young people new ideas and innovations works better as playing flat (white) and sharp (black) keys on the piano. There will be always unquestionable wisdom, experience and knowledge which can Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 11 only be found from the adult (Old School). However, young people may also have skills such as foreign languages, technology that adults do not have, or are challenged in mastering.Adult mentors must therefore pass-on the touch of qualities in their young mentee. If they can let go of their tight control, be patient, and trust the process, mentoring will become more effortless and enjoyable, and will be responding to recommendations from the research on resilience and on nurturing success stories. It is important that mentors must realize they are making a difference in the lives of young people by creating inside-out social change. This is preparing future leaders, who are disaster resilient, compassionate, and job ready a nd good citizens.Thus, the united effort of young and old will result in strength, while diversity may only hinder the effort of the desired community resilience when disaster strikes. VI. Lesson Learned a. Previous Account of Youth Involvement The contributions young people have made in emergency response within their own communities are easily traced to such incidents as the Indonesia Tsunami of December 26, 2004. Consider the incredible story of Tilly Smith, an 11 year-old from England, vacationing with family when tsunami occurred. This proves how prior lesson she learned about tsunamis in geography class was used to save lives of many.When she noticed strange behavior of the sea on the morning of the tsunami, she convinced over 100 people to leave the beach before the struck minutes later (Randall, 2005). Another example involves a number of young people who actively participated in saving the lives of others, often times putting their own lives in jeopardy, until the internati onal relief workers and emergency responders could arrive. â€Å"These young people all over the affected region took action, helping to distribute aid, assisting with clean-up and rebuilding efforts, looking after those younger than them, and using their creativity to letRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 12 others know about the devastation (ISDR, 2005). During this stressful disaster, a call went out in the Maldives – â€Å"Whoever can help, please come. † Each volunteer was given an age-appropriate task. Many adults stayed away but the young people came forward. When a psychosocial counselor was sent to concentrate on possible problems with young people, she couldn’t find anyone. â€Å"They were all working,† she said (UNICEF, 2007). Another example of youth involvement in a disaster comes from hurricane Katrina.Hurricane Katrina which made landfall on August 29, 2005 and resulted in death of over 1,000 citizens and caused approxim ately 80 percent of flooding to the city of New Orleans within 18 hours (U. S. White House, 2006). Shortly after the disaster occurred, a group of young people for the Vietnamese American Association of Louisiana took an active role in assisting the Vietnamese community with evacuation, relief and recovery efforts (Leong, 2006). They were also able to translate information from formal English sources (i. e. FEMA and American Red Cross) to their non-English speaking family members in order to pass on important messages such as the location of evacuation safe places, relief supplies and food distribution centers, and registration for FEMA assistance. During the recovery period, these young people were instrumental in boosting morale among the younger children and bringing attention to other risks affecting their community. Plan International has mobilized children and youth in El Salvador, Central America, to play a significant role in environmental resources management and disaster r isk reduction.The children and youth have worked with their communities in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation and risk reduction plans, among other activities. Plan International's experience in El Salvador has already been replicated in other Central American countries (UNISDR, 2007). Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster b. What has been done to Address Youth Involvement? Akeyo, S. 13 There some few steps done by various disaster management organizations that are significant initiatives in addressing youth involvement in disaster management.One agency that involves youth in local community disaster and emergency preparedness is the U. S. Federal Emergency Management agency (FEMA) which is tasked with planning. This agency provides an in-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness course on its website (FEMA, 2009). Another major provider of disaster management worldwide is the Internation al Red Cross- Red Crescent Society. This agency is active in mobilizing youth to take active part in disaster situation to help their neighbors across their own streets, across the country, and across the world each year.In developing countries, evidence of youth platforms that address disaster management is taking place. On October 27-29, 2010 in the eastern African country of Kenya, youth held a national wide youth convention to campaign for disaster management initiatives. This conference held in the city of Nairobi was an example active platform that were held to mobilize and build capacity of youth and prepared them to respond to climate change and environmental degradation.Conference participants attest that it was a perfect opportunity that was used well by the organizers to include youth in disaster management and decision making process in the effort to address climate change at local, national, regional, and continental level (Tuwei, 2010). In country of Uganda, youths hav e appealed to decision makers to involve them, at all levels, in the effort to address the climate change under the theme, â€Å"Time for Action†. Director and Head of the Youth Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Dr.Fatiha Serour said, â€Å"International Youth Day gives the world an opportunity to recognize the potential of youth and celebrate their achievements† (Kigonya, 2010). In the Caribbean, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 14 must be commended for introducing and involving 16 member countries for youth disaster management activities during their annual Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Conference in 2009.This initiative of CDEMA will promote youth involvement in various communities they represent and the overall disaster management development in that region. Likewise, Pan International mobilized youth in El-Salvador to play a significant role in environmental r esources management and disaster risk reduction (DRR). This initiative is currently benefiting their community through a joint taskforce of youth-adult in developing risk maps, designing community emergency plans, setting up early warning systems, and implementing response, mitigation, and risk reduction plans, among other activities (Plan International, 2007).In 2010, Plan International facilitated 54 focus groups across Haiti, where young people had the opportunity to discuss the impact of the earthquake on their individual lives, and what they needed most in the recovery process; and to share their hopes and dreams for the future of their country. It is reported that the youth were enthusiastic to be involved in the rebuilding of their country, and wanted to take part in the work being set out towards a prosperous future for Haiti (PLAN, 2010).Lastly, the 2007 national meeting on â€Å"Policy Advocacy for Enhancing Community Resilience to Natural Disasters Focusing on Children a nd Youth† held in Jakarta, Indonesia was held to address the importance of involving young people in the disaster management process (UN-ESCAP, 2007). VII. Recommendation for Good Practices A study done by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) suggested that social capital was the predictor of more effective human functioning, stronger institutions and community resilience (Diaz, 2008).Furthermore, strengthening individual, community and private sectors in disaster preparedness has both and strategic value (Flynn, 2010). Therefore, Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 15 good practices that can help include young people in the emergency management process can be successfully achieved by following these recommendations: 1. Education and Information Sharing Generally, young people are not aware of what emergency response leaders and relief agencies may expect them to do or know when a disaster occurs. Such information is critical to successful emerg ency preparation and disaster response and recovery efforts.Information sharing is a principal component of an effective emergency management strategy to help a community improve its level of preparedness, response capabilities, and resilience. Youth forums, conferences and workshop are the best example of information sharing. Participants can pass relevant information to their peers, by sharing of knowledge or information and training obtained. Relevant information shared with young people on disaster risks will unify communities and promote a culture of disaster readiness and collaboration at all levels that include disaster experts, responders and other stakeholders (ISDR, 2005).However, all information collected must be analyzed for accuracy, authenticity and urgency before incriminated to the targeted individuals. Local communities should provide disaster and emergency preparation and response training programs to all citizens; especially youth designed community training progr ams promote citizens to take personal responsibility in preparing for and responding to a disaster. Sufficient staff should be trained in working with youth and children so that they may understand and recognize the importance of their participation in disaster response, relief and recovery efforts.Disaster training for children and youth should include age-appropriate lessons in preparing for emergencies, response behaviors, CPR and basic first aid, water safety, and basic child care. Educational leaders can develop school-based curriculums that address these topics. Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 16 Furthermore, NGOs and church-based organizations can also be used to help provide disaster preparedness training to young people as well. Training youth and children in disaster preparedness activities before an emergency occurs helps them to survive and provide assistance to others. . Tabletop and Drill Exercises Planning is the key! Necessity of planning can be illustrated by the famous a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. â€Å"There was an important job to be done and Everybody was invited to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Infact, Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that. Everybody wouldn't do it.It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done† (Unknown Author). The tabletop exercise is essentially a group brainstorming session centered on a scenario narrative and problem statements or messages that are presented to key players in emergency response. Tabletop exercise can be utilized to increase youth awareness of risks that surround them, (Strength, weaknesses and Opportunity and Threats) and how they can better prepared to deal with them before disaster happens.This will help not only the young people bu t also the emergency coordinators in examining response capabilities, and evaluate coordination with other agencies e. g. Law enforcement, emergency responders, establish closer working relationships and within local and outside coordination. Tabletop exercise can also be used to acquaint the young people on the policies, procedures, roles, communication and responsibilities before, during, or after the simulated event. Youth mentors must work with the youth to decide whether do a full-scale exercise that involves local first responders and professional moderators or just aRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 17 simple affair conducted by in-house disaster planners and youth in training. The scenario can also be discussed on how much gloom and doom you want your tabletop exercise should look like (i. e. Involving injured people, property destruction etc. ). This will help both the adult and their mentee to test how quickly they can pull together key players. This ex ercise process will provide a less stressful, more time effective method when the actual emergency happens. 3.Supporting Youth Programs Every community, emergency managers and responders should work with new as well as existing youth organizations to address the local issues, concerns and proposal for success. If community has several youth groups, it can be helpful to assign each on with specific roles and responsibilities which will make them expert in their trained response role. Emergency personnel must develop such caring relationships not only between adultyoung people but also between youth-youth, emergency responder-emergency responder, and emergency personnel-community.Teachers and mentor should reflect personally on their beliefs about resilience, and also, as a staff, exchange experiences-both personal and literary- about overcoming the odds (Resiliency In Action, Inc. , 2007). Such relationship and opportunities for active youth involvement: small group process, cooperat ive learning, peer helping, cross-age mentoring, and community service makes participants feel to belong to â€Å"a family,† â€Å"a home,† â€Å"a community. 4. Youth Direct Involvement a. Service-learning Experience i. Being Disaster ReadyIt is very important to know that, if one cannot take care of them self, it will be impossible to take care of others. Youth can be given individual training that will help them be Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 18 mentally and emotionally prepared to act promptly and to develop in them the ability to take care for themselves, and applying practical survival skills as needed. Individual training must include being informed of disasters that are most likely to occur in their community, be helped to develop and practice their response plan and get survival kits.In most situations, disasters impact is felt by the whole family. Youth can be trained on how to they can be involved in their own family’s emerg ency plan. Youth must know how to work as a team of their respective families in learning basic emergency skills and how to react when faced with fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, explosions, warning signals, fallout protection, terrorism attacks, and other emergency situations. ii. Community Service Youth can be trained according to their capabilities to take active role in the community response plan.Such activities as, volunteering to provide health care and first aid services in reception centers, homeless shelters, food bank, care for elderly in nursing homes, helping at respite centers or child care facilities, can be good experiences for the youth. They can also be involved in evacuation of casualty from the scene of the event, transportation of ill, injured, infirm to reception or medical facilities. Service-learning experiences engage young responders in the educational process, using what they learn in the classroom to solve real-disaster scenarios.Such a practice will promote confidence and experience in their over role performances and in adherence procedures and policy. By rendering disaster management services to the community, youth will eventually improve skills necessary for civic action: leadership, communication, decision-making, problem solving, teamwork, relationship building, planning and organizing, concern for others. They also increase their knowledge about their communities and gain confidence, interest andRunning Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 19 motivation and in working for their communities. Moreover, young people engaged in disaster management activities gain skills in leadership, problem solving. b. Ongoing Research Study Disaster management is an applied science that needs constant scientific research, theory testing and updates. Young research should be identified and be involved in meaningful research design and implementation of research roles especially in issues that affect their lives.They should be emp owered to collect data and report on information to raise awareness of a problem and/or advocate for change in the condition underlying the community need (for example, youth analyze a community’s emergency preparedness plan and offer suggestions for how to improve the plan). This learning opportunity will enable young researcher to provide their insights, talents and perspectives in their own environment, appropriate to their level of development and expertise. For better results, emergency managers must therefore partner ith these young researchers, students as well as other professionals worldwide across multiple disciplinary perspectives of emergency management to develop and promote solutions that bridge the theoretical and practical applications of comprehensive emergency management. A wellintegrated youth-adult research study will lead to innovative tools and applications that empower the local, national and international communities, create a context for partnerships, and generate research findings that can be used for future disaster management interventions and improvements in ongoing practices. VIII. ConclusionThis initiative to involve youth and to promote youth engagement is not an easy task. While youth have historically been recipients of basic personal safety education in emergency preparedness, they have not been included in community wide preparedness activities. However, that may be changing. Ever rising emergencies and disasters are a reality that all must face Running Head: Youth Involvement in Disaster Akeyo, S. 20 together. It is important to recognize that youth engagement initiatives, collaboration and partnerships in disaster management have multiple payoffs that save lives and promotes resilience in difficult times.Moreover, involving young people who are involved in disaster preparedness will bring a revolutionary change in society. The youth of today will become leaders and parents of tomorrow, which will ensure that they pa ss this knowledge to their children. Making disaster preparedness a societal practice can as a result be passed on from generation to generation. Youth involvement in disaster management will therefore succeed only if they are given. Adult mentor may run up against complex, messy, and difficult problems while molding the youth. Sometimes they may even be discouraged and give up the task.Likewise, the young may think the older mentors’ ideas or approaches are not proper and primitive which may result into conflicts. The truth is, every good outcome requires hard work, a sustained commitment to working as a team, and a willingness to listen and learn from each other. Developing trusting relationships between young people and adults does not happen overnight; but with sustained engagement and guidance, young and old can work shoulder by shoulder to prepare and respond to disaster when it happens (Pearson, 2010). R

Basseri Tribe of Iran Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Basseri Tribe of Iran - Term Paper Example This is the purpose of this thesis. This analysis also enhance familiarity on how the environment greatly influenced the cultural behavior of a group of people, and how the people in turn adjust their way of life according to what the environment dictates for them. But even some environmental factors will tend to influence people’s way of life, more often, the inherent virtues and molded values are predominantly influencing the decisions of some individuals or even a group of people as a whole. Therefore, through anthropological study of the impact of mode of subsistence of Basseri tribe in their cultural way of life, we will acquire full discernment on how and why mode of subsistence largely effect people’s behavior and way of living. Cultural Anthropology of Basseri Tribe of Iran Curiosity on ethnographic significance of Basseri tribe, a tribal group of pastoral nomads of Iran’s past cultural civilization, opens a way to discernment of the interesting relationship of a society’s mode of subsistence to its unique cultural features which contributes largely on anthropological study. The Basseri are known to be as traditional pastoralists. Pastoralists is defined as people whose livelihood largely rests on raising domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and donkeys for milk, meat, wool production and even for transport use (Ikeya & Fratkin, 2005). As nomads, they are a wandering people who led a pastoral life while dwelling in tents as they migrated customarily in a strip of land which measures approximately 300 miles long and 20-50 miles wide in the parched prairies and mountains south, east and north of Shiraz in Fars province of South Persia. Thereby, the Basseri tribe is one among the delineated groups in Fars province of South Persia, now known as Iran, and considered as a unit for administrative purposes by the Iranian authorities. This tribe speaks the Persian dialect that is very close to the urban Persian of Shiraz town. They are more defined in political terms rather than in ethnicity nor in geographical criteria. However, in our recent y ears, Basseri lost most of its political and social meaning as its population started to decline depending on the changes on fate of its political leaders and probably on the circumstances of nomadism in South Persia (Barth, 1961). But then, as pastoral nomads, their primary mode of subsistence has important connections in their kinship, economic, social and political organization, and in their religious beliefs. Awareness in such relations contributes understanding on some cultural backgrounds and enhances understanding on anthropological knowledge of the past. Kinship The tribal kinship pattern of Basseri is ‘patrilineal’ wherein descent is traced through the male line. The son of a Basseri, even though his mother is from another ethnic tribe or village, is considered to be a Basseri. While a Basseri woman cannot transmits her rights in the tribe to her offspring if she marries outside the tribe. But although patrilineal in pattern, the matrilateral and affinal relati ons were regarded as contributors of solidarity and kinship, a strong bond between mother and child that largely influenced the effectiveness in establishing their political bonds between tents. In marriage, the transaction is not limited between the two contracting spouses, but it also includes the whole kin groups that constitute the whole households. The head of the household, which is also the head of the tent, has the authority over the marriage contracts of his household members. A nontribal ritual specialist or holy man issues the marriage cont

An Analysis of employee involvement on American Water Company Essay

An Analysis of employee involvement on American Water Company - Essay Example An Analysis of employee involvement on American Water Company Staw & Ross stated that employees know better what is expected of them, and they commit better on the organization’s decision (1978). [Employee]Participation may lower the disutility of effort, by providing intrinsic motivation (Staw, 1980). Also, participation may suit non-financial needs such as achievement, creativity and the longing for respect. This may also develop cooperation and communication; employees discuss with each other instead of allowing all discussions only to the management, saving management time. When employees are participative, they tend to supervise themselves, therefore reducing the need for a lot of managerial positions and lessening costs of labor. Involvement teaches employees new skills and helps identify and train leaders. Strauss emphasized that â€Å"participation increases loyalty and identification with the organization†. He also argued that â€Å"If participation and rewards take place in a group setting, the group may pressure indivi duals to conform to decisions† (1977).When management leaders and union participate cooperatively to resolve problems on a non adversarial basis; it improves union management relationship. Involvement often results in the setting of goals and according to Latham, Gary â€Å"goal setting is often an effective motivational technique, particularly when workers set their own goals (1988). Disadvantages of Employee Involvement However, employee involvement had been evaluated as disadvantageous in some ways. Among the disadvantages cited are: Employees may be less knowledgeable than managers, and the understanding upon the decisions they made may be different. Aside from this, Jensen and William stated that "the rewards motivating workers to share their ideas may be larger than the value of the ideas themselves" (1979). Employees may be unenthusiastic to change, once they commit to a decision. Employee Involvement is time consuming, and if the groups decided, response to changing environments may be mainly slow. Another concern is the possibility that when a precedent of employee involvement is established, it is difficult to withdraw this right to participate. Organized, participative groups may unite against the management to limit production and avoid change. Sharing information with unions raises their bargaining power, so companies may lose. If the management and union are unified, working together wit h management may lower unions' legitimacy with members. Goals employees set for themselves may be low. In order to better understand employee involvement, it is better if we take a closer look on an organization that allows/promotes employee involvement. One of these organizations is "American Water". Employee Involvement in American Water Company As cited in the World Wide Web American Water Works & Guarantee Company was founded in 1886 and was restructured in 1947 as American Water Works Company, Inc., and locally operates in New Jersey. Its major mission is to become a trusted water resource company dedicated to