Methods of Professional Growth for Teachers

A Detailed Leader Profile From My Placement - 1597 Words

Introduction: In this essay, public service leadership will be defined and analyzed. A detailed leader profile from my placement will be developed and described using Competing Values Framework, as this is the most effective model that helps leaders think differently about value creation and shows them how to clarify purpose, integrate practices, and lead people in an organisation. Competing Values Framework can be used to assess core competencies, decision-making, human resources practices, and leadership capabilities of a leader and organization as well. This study used a 360 Degree Feedback model, which provides a holistic view of the leader by gathering feedback from a leader’s manager, peers, and direct reports. Competing Values†¦show more content†¦Inside each quadrant, there are two roles with a total of eight competing roles that leaders play in their organization: Mentor, Facilitator, Monitor, Coordinator, Director, Producer, Broker, and Innovator. Public service leadership: Even before we assume our full-time careers, we all encounter numerous leaders in different contexts, whether parents, teachers, non-profit or organizational leaders, who hold in their hands the power to inspire us. One such leader I came across, through my fellowship program, is Nathaalie N. Carey. Nathaalie is the first woman, first African-American and youngest person to be the director of Budget and Research for Broome County Government in New York. At 29, the native of Guyana managed Broome County’s combined $450 million operating capital and grant budgets. The Network Journal s 40 Under-Forty Achievement Award recipient, Nathaalie is currently New York State Department of Labor Deputy Commissioner Of Administration And Chief Financial Officer. The reason I chose her for Competing Values Framework study is because she brings together knowledge, values, skills, and behaviors, and most importantly recognizes value in others and encourages them as well. For example, Nathaal ie encourages me to think about work-related problems in new ways, provides opportunities for me to develop and grow, and prepares me for my next position in the organization. Competencies from

Change and Cultural Case Study Free Essays

Six months after the merger of Mercy Medical Hospitals and the Promedica Health Systems, the new administration initiated a significant reduction in workforce. The decision was made to redesign patient care delivery. The administration’s first job redesign recommendation was that of a universal worker. We will write a custom essay sample on Change and Cultural Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now The universal worker would deliver many support services. Although this is not a fail proof system, the administration wanted other options to be considered as well. The term universal worker is used when a person is cross trained in many departments, and therefore has a little more assignment flexibility. They are often used in call centers and hospitals to alleviate staff shortages and provide better service without the difficulties of processing so many referrals or dealing with call transfers (webAnswers. com2010). Depending upon the setting, universal worker may be more beneficial. One area that would fall within this area would be assisted living facilities; some of which have been affected since the merger. While some assisted living facilities still operate within this model, the industry as a whole is moving toward a more holistic approach to care in which the universal worker attends to all the daily living needs of their residents: assistance with ADLs, meal service, light housekeeping, laundry, programming, etc. Rather than dealing with four or five different people to have their needs met, residents are able to relate to one or two staff members who actually know them and are familiar with their needs, their routines, their likes and dislikes. The result is care that is more personal, customized and consistent (Widdes, 1996). An additional benefit is increased efficiency in staffing, i. e. , while the caregiver is assisting a resident with his bathing, dressing and so on, he or she may also be able to perform other duties, rather than having to call someone to dust off a countertop or clean a bathroom. Ultimately, this approach can result in increased staffing efficiencies. . The universal worker approach also seems to enhance job satisfaction. Feedback from the staff indicates that they enjoy being responsible for the resident as a whole rather than only one aspect of their care. It is a feeling that undoubtedly enhances the caregiver’s sense of job importance (Widdes, 1996). Training staff to assume responsibilities across departments and even more challenging, reshaping their attitudes and approach to care is an undertaking that requires a commitment to training, retraining and diligent follow up. It is imperative that management be very much in tune with this philosophy. Because this model often fails when implemented, there are only certain departments such as assisted living that the universal worker would actually be implemented in. For the majority of the facility, we would look at job redesign. In order for objectives to be achieved, thought needs to be given to other areas that will be impacted and may require changes to be implemented (An Organization Redesign Process). Other organizational systems that may be impacted by the introduction of a performance based reward system include: †¢The Information System How much information is given to team members, the speed at which they receive it and their ability to us the information to improve results. †¢The Training System- New skills training for employees may need to be implemented in order for them to be able to understand how to interpret information, training in new skills in order for the employees to do their jobs for effectively. †¢The Organization Structure- Departments may need to be integrated or roles significant changed. Decision-making Systems – Consider changing the way decisions are made and the level at which they are made. Authority to decide might need to be taken down to lower levels so that employees are able to make decisions the enable them to more quickly influence or improve the results. †¢Tasks and Technologies – Need to be improved in order fo r the bonus system to achieve its objectives†¦reward people for improved business performance. Changing an organization through an organization redesign process is a journey and generally a rather long journey. That is why the following three principles must be understood by anyone who is about to undertake any type of organization redesign: †¢The entire system has an effect on each element within the system †¢Every element in the system has an effect on the entire system and on each other †¢No matter what you do, the two points above always hold true. When an organization goes through redesign, 1. People need to be identified as being responsible for driving the organization through the process. Those individuals include: †¢Organization Leader: Who is generally the most senior person in the organization. This person will set the direction that the process will go in and names the Steering Committee †¢Steering Team: Consists of key leaders from the organization and other stakeholders. This teams’ responsibilities include naming and commissioning the Design Team, establishing boundaries and guidelines for the Design Team, approving Design Team recommendation and ensuring the Design Team have the resources (time and money included) they require to get the job done †¢Design Team: Generally consists of employees, half are lower level employees and the other half are upper management. Are responsible for reporting back to their functional teams on design choices being recommended and getting the input of the Implementation Team †¢Implementation Team: Basically, the entire organization, who implement the design choices recommended by the Design Team (and approved by the Steering Team). †¢Renewal Team: This team is set up after the Implementation Team. It monitors and assesses to what degree the organization design has done, what it has intended to do and make recommendations for further changes as required. †¢Consultant: Recommends and teaches the design model, the use of tools and methodology. Provides guidance to ensure the design effort stays on track. Provides expertise regarding best practice design choices and independent advice (An Organization Redesign Process). 2. Train the Strategic, Steering and Design Teams. All teams must have a commitment to the process and be able to understand the process in order to go ahead. 3. Environmental Scan: Become aware of the needs and expectations of the external environment: Customers (current and potential), Stakeholders (shareowners and their representatives), Influencers (regulators, suppliers, government, etc. , Competitors and Best in class organizations. 4. Develop Vision Mission Statements: These statements describe why the organization was created, why it exists and its distinctive competence. 5. Success Criteria: Nominate the outcomes desired in these four categories: Customers, Stakeholder, People, Community 6. Culture: Identify the behaviors, skills and characteristics that the people working in the organization must have, along with the guiding principles that encourage people to use these behaviors and skills, in order to achieve the vision and mission. . Strategies to Influence: Determine the strategies needed to manage and reduce variability and demands from the external environment. This enables you to meet both the requirements of the external environment as well as achieve your desired performance outcomes. 8. Key Performance Indicators: Choose which ones will deliver the business performance required along with inspiring the behaviors and characteristics articulated in the culture. 9. Technical System: Analyze and redesign in terms of how tasks are performed, technologies required and the layout of buildings/facilities so that the people and the technical system are integrated for high performance. 10. Structural System: Design the structure for each of the three teams: Front Line, Resource (known in traditional organizations as Management) and Strategic so that they foster the culture required delivering high performance. 11. Decision Making Information System: Review: what, where, how decisions are made, what information is needed to make those decisions and how it is stored and captured. 2. People System: Review: Competencies, Job Design, Selection, Induction/Orientation, Learning, and Performance Contracting, Career Development. 13. Reward System: Review how employee’s contributions are recognized and rewarded. Does the system encourage people to focus on organizational goals? 14. Renewal System: Decide how you will regularly review your business and make any design changes needed to ensure continuing optimum performance. 15. Develop an Implementation Plan: This plan identifies who is responsible for implementation, time lines, resources requires, potential bottlenecks, and contingency plans 6. Execute the plan: When the Implementation Team is kept involved in the process and has input to the Design Team, implementation happens much more quickly and seamlessly. Peter Senge (1990) suggests that team learning is the process of aligning and developing the capacities of a team to create the results its members truly desire. It builds on personal mastery and shared vision. When teams learn together, not only can there be good results for the organization, members will grow more rapidly than could have occu rred otherwise. Virtually all important decisions occur in groups. Teams, not individuals, are the fundamental learning units. Unless a team can learn, the organization cannot learn. Team learning focuses on the learning ability of the group. Adults learn best from each other, by reflecting on how they are addressing problems, questioning assumptions, and receiving feedback from their team and from their results. With team learning, the learning ability of the group becomes greater than the learning ability of any individual in the group (Learning Organisations). In order to make the work teams function at its optimal performance, there are nine key activities or work functions that must be present. Those functions include: †¢Advising – gathering and giving information †¢Innovating – creating new ideas or brainstorming new ways to tackle old problem †¢Promoting – selling the idea to management and gathering all the resources †¢Developing – once the idea has been sold to management, it then needs to go to the analytical process and be developed. †¢Organizing – setting up a structure and resources so that the product, scheme, or service can work. Producing – putting the product or service together. †¢Inspecting – watching out for details. Inspection of the high quality must be maintained and accurate records must be kept. †¢Maintaining – it is associated with the support services offered in an organization and the general background work done in a team to ensure that its requirements can be met quickly and efficiently. †¢Linking – is central to the success of all teams. It is the difference between an effective and an ineffective team. Someone coordinating all the team members to ensure that there is maximum cooperation and interchange of ideas, reports and experiences (Margerison, C. McCann D. , 2000). Being able to plan, and control the intra-organizational and inter-organizational communication that must occur to implement the job design changes will be difficult but not impossible. The information that needs to be given out during the job redesign would have to be given to top managers right before it is given out. Then the staff can be in-serviced on the changes that would be going into effect and a question, answer type forum be done. Once the changes have been implemented, a committee of staff and managers can be appointed to look at the changes and see if there are any additional changes that may need to be implemented because of the initial changes. This is also a way to ensure job satisfaction. If the employee feels that their feedback is worth something and is being listened to, they are more willing to make the changes that need to be made. If individuals enjoy doing a job, they perform at their very best. Giving them the opportunity to be a part of the job redesign, makes them feel as though they have contributed to something and it is worthwhile to the employee. How to cite Change and Cultural Case Study, Free Case study samples

Crash Directed by Paul Haggis Essay Example For Students

Crash Directed by Paul Haggis Essay Crash, directed by Paul Haggis, is a movie that not only contained tons of racism, but a lot of communication and miscommunication. This movie is different from other movies with racism, because the film is very impartial about the issue. Rather then separating the characters into victims and offenders, victims of racism are often racist themselves in different situations and contexts. Everyone came from a different scenario, but they were all linked together by stories of race, loss, and redemption. There were many different instances in which there was a miscommunication between two or more people. One instance, was towards the end of the movie. Officer Hansen was diving in his own car down the road, and saw a black man. He picked him up because he needed a ride. They talked for awhile, but Officer Hansen thought the man was making fun of him. He told the man to get out of the car, and the black man wasnt happy. The man went to show what he was laughing at, so he went into his pocket. The officer thought he was pulling out a gun, so he quickly pulled out his and shot the man to death. The officer thought just because the man was black, that he was going to pull out a gun in anger and shoot. In reality, all the man was really going to do is show the officer what he was laughing at, which was that he and the officer both had the same statue. The officer felt really guilty and scared, so he left the man behind and took off. Another instance, was when Officer John Ryan needed help for his dad so his dad can get his urinary track infection fixed. The officer spoke to Shaniqua Johnson about getting insurance to cover his dad in case his dad had a problem with his prostate. Officer John Ryan was very racist towards Shaniqua, saying that there were five other good white doctors that could of done a better job then her. Shaniqua denied the Officers request because his racism got in the way of what he really wanted for his dad. The miscommunication was that the officer didnt know how to express what he really wanted without being racist and angry and this in turn, made him get turned away from getting help for his dad. If the officer calmed down a little in the beginning, or wasnt as mean to the doctor about her race, the doctor might of considered helping the officer out with what his dad needed. In conclusion, there were many instances of communication and miscommunication throughout this movie, even though Ive only listed two of them. The movie seemed to have taken place when it was made, but its possible it could have been in the 90s. This movie was very confusing for me and might have been a little over my head. I didnt seem to understand the ending, or why certain things happened and didnt happen. Overall, I still liked the movie, and would recommend it to all most anyone my age or higher, because of the language that was used in the movie. I might re-watch it again in the future.