Workplace Citizenship Skills for Organization Function

Workplace Citizenship Skills for Organization Function Workplace citizenship is the perspective that the employees of an institution have where they extend their behaviours beyond the normal duties. Workplace citizenship behaviour in other words means working further than the minimum expected from the individual. The behaviour showcased by the employee can have huge impact on the workplace environment and whole organisation. Good practices at the workplace keeps the workplace positive and it also helps in raising the satisfaction and happiness level in employees. When there is a positive work environment the employees will be more optimistic and less stressed, which in turn helps in better efficiency. This paper discusses about the relevance of social responsibility, communication and team work in nursing framework. It also highlights how nurses display social responsibility and discusses about the significance of communication and teamwork in nursing. This paper establishes the importance of mutually interrelated communication and teamw ork to work with the multidisciplinary team members. The American Nurses Association (ANA, 2010) defines nursing as a healthcare profession where the health of the individual, families and the whole population is optimized, protected and promoted. Nursing is a divine profession where care is given from birth to the last breath of an individual. In addition to the advanced clinical skills and technical knowledge, nurses should integrate workplace attributes to achieve their title role in society and work field. In nursing development of constructive citizenship values and its application in work field enables to achieve a rewarding career. In work field, a professionally competent registered nurse must showcase high degree of social responsibility, work efficiently with teams by communicating effectively. These values produce and empower professionally competent nurses who perform efficiently in their related discipline. Communication is basically the transfer of ideas from sender to the receiver even though, globalization brought great advancements which changed communication channels (Dwyer, 2012). Nurses’ everyday communicate with patients, families, other allied health professionals and administrators. Communication is very important as it promote efficient, safe and high quality care. There are three main components in a successful communication: sender, receiver and message (Dwyer, 2012). In nursing profession there is a great amount of information to be shared in limited time span. There are many factors which influence how the message is interpreted. This include the location where the communication occurred, past experience and personal perceptions of both sender and receiver. Miscommunication refers to lack of clarity in transferring the required information which leads to misinterpretation of the situation. Miscommunication can have drastic effects, even to the death of the patient. Best example will be importance of the patient report at the shift change. The nurse who is relieving the shift have to communicate about the condition of the patient including treatments, medications and anything which happened during the shift to the nurse who is commencing the next shift. Honesty is very important for effective communication in nursing. ()Do not offer anything to a patient unless the nurse can deliver it, if nurse cannot follow it, explain why nurse cannot deliver to the patient. Nurses have to be responsive and available. The patient and the family will be agitated if they feel they are ignored. Sometimes this might be due to faults in the communication process. Implement corrective measures so that, communication process goes though faultlessly and in a timely manner. Verbal component in the communication process is very minute compared to the nonverbal part. ()Study conducted by University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) found that spoken words contributes only seven percent in a communication process. () Facial expression comprised of fifty five percentage and thirty eight percent is from the tone of voice. () The study also claims that, one way or another we are communicating always, even if we are not speaking. ()Nurses have to pay attention to the body language, eye contact and tone of voice when talking to patients, families, co-workers, superiors and virtually everyone. Effective communication plays a pivotal role in promoting integrated flow of information, collaboration between team members and results in immediate patient recovery. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Like any other professions, nursing is an essential part of the society and it continues to grow and evolve. Cambridge dictionary defines social responsibility as a practice of producing goods and services in a way that is not harmful to the society or the environment. (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/social-responsibility). Social responsibility refers to obligation of a person which is measured by the thoughts and beliefs of an individual. Social responsibility of a nurse refers to the ethical and moral obligations permeating the profession (). Main components of social responsibility are defined in the professional guidelines laid by Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. (NMBA). These standards cover patient care, integrity, morals, responsibility and collaboration with the other allied healthcare professionals. These code of ethics are very important and these must be abided by each professional. Ethical violations could result on suspension or per manent loss of the professional license. Nurses have integrated roles to play individually and collectively in the society which is rooted in code of ethics and professional guidelines in terms of human dignity, social justice, integrity and altruism(Riley, Beal, 2010). The most important responsibility of a nurse is to abide the interest of a patient above any other concern or bias. Nurse has to support and respect patient’s self-determination regardless of the patient’s sex, age, nationality, race and medical condition. The nurse has to ensure patient safety and protect professional integrity. Nurse has to collaborate fully with other nurses, doctors and multidisciplinary team members. Another important responsibility to be showcased by the nurses is being an advocate for the patients. Nurses should work for the patient’s rights, privacy protection and their choice for being part of a medical research. Nurses are accountable for their judgement and action. Accountability still exists when a duty is delegated to colleague or subordinate. The nurses also have the duty of respect and morality to themselves and others around them including patients. Nurses must maintain lifelong learning commitment and professional growth. They must be moral, express wisdom, courage and honesty. Nurses who have the leadership roles must nurture ethical nursing practices and retain an environment where subordinates can raise complaints. Nurses have a social responsibility for community education. They have to share the knowledge about the health, wellness and ways to resist diseases. Nurses should take part in the community outreach programs and activities related to healthcare. Nurses also must have knowledge about national and global health concerns, outbreaks, epidemics and infectious diseases and vaccines. Nurses should be able to provide equally accessible nursing care. They have to provide accountable, equitable, culturally and socially responsive high quality health care to all the sections of the population. Nurses are responsible for the actions and accountable to the duties they undertake. They must ensure to practice the duty of care through every aspect of work they undertake. A professionally competent registered nurse not only completes the professional registration requirements, but they actively participate in the community settings to provide the best care to the community members. Social responsibility is a skill which must be expanded from the experiences gained in professional life through continuous practice. TEAMWORK In any line of work, effective team work enables to achieve common goal by working together with the group members. Organ defines (as cited in Yun et al., 2007) organizational citizenship behaviour as individual quality which cannot be recognized directly but plays a vital role in the effective functioning of the organization. The leadership typology determines and influences team organizational citizenship behaviour. The roles and responsibilities are allocated to team members by leaders. Aversive, directive, transactional leaderships force the members to work for team so they results in team anti-citizenship behaviour (TACB). On the other hand, transformational and empowering leaderships motivates the members to work with the team which causes team organizational citizenship behaviour (TOCB). TOCB increases job satisfaction and overall productivity. Positive organizational citizenship outcomes are achieved through assertive and efficient communication between the team members. Nurs es must work with people and not for them. This feeling of togetherness and cooperation between team members improve job satisfaction and enhances productivity by immediate patient recovery. CONCLUSION This paper talks about the workplace citizenship skills necessary for the effective functioning of organization. The workplace citizenship skills make a professional part of the organization which increases job satisfaction and hence, the overall productivity of organization. The aspect of public health cannot be separated from care provided by a nurse. Therefore, social service is the integral component of a nurse. Effective communication and team work are both inter related. In a multidisciplinary team, effective communication, collaboration, good team spirit and flexibility between team members improves job satisfaction. In all professional fields, communication is necessary for transferring ideas. Similarly, in nursing verbal as well nonverbal communication has a vital role to play. Miscommunication can interrupt the flow of information and can result in medical errors caused by misinterpretation of the situation. Development and display high degree of social responsibility, tran sfer of effective communication and good spirit of teamwork has profound influence on achieving the organizational citizenship skills. References hanging indent ANA- see American Nurses Association American Nurses Association. (2010). Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. Washington, USA: Author. http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/ethicsstandards/codeofethicsfornurses/code-of-ethics.pdf Dwyer, J. (2012). Communication in today’s workplace. (9th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia. Riley, J., Beal, J. (2010). Public service: Experienced nurses views on social and civic responsibility.Nursing Outlook, 58(3), 142-147.Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au/10.1016/j.outlook.2010.02.158 Wray-Lake, L., Syvertsen, A.K. (2011). The developmental roots of social responsibility in childhood and adolescence. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 134(1), 11-25. doi: 10.1002/cd.308 Yun, S., Cox, J., Sims, H.P., Salam, S. (2007). Leadership and Teamwork: The effects of leadership and job satisfaction on team citizenship. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 2(3), 171-193. Retrieved from http://www.regentuniversity.org/acad/global/publications/ijls/new/vol2iss3/yun/YunCoxSimsSalam_Vol2Iss3.pdf Mehrabian, A 2012,Nonverbal communication,UCLA, Aldine Atherton, Chicago. References http://www.nursetogether.com/why-communication-in-the-nursing-profession-is-important

dress code Essay -- essays research papers

I disagree with the school dress code because it doesn't allow people to express themselves, people can't dress for the weather, and it doesn't let people choose how they want to look because it's supposedly a distraction. The dress code is "The bottom of your shirt must at least meet the top of your pants or shorts, and undergarments should not be exposed. There must be a substantial covering over both shoulders. See-through clothing or clothing that is so very tight that it draws attention to oneself are also unacceptable. Shorts/skirts must have at least a 4" inseam." The dress code doesn't allow people to express themselves through what they wear. What people wear is what makes them different from everybody else. Most girls like to wear skimpier clothes that show their shoulders and stomachs, but this rule doesn't let them. Just because a shirt has profanity, vulgar suggestions, sexual connotations, drugs or alcohol on it, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be worn. People try expressing themselves through the slogans on their clothes. I don't feel anything is wrong with these shirts and I'm not offended by them, nor should anybody else be. Dressing for the weather is really important to do, especially when it's extremely hot out and there aren't air conditioners in the school that work properly. When it's hot people don't like to wear a lot of clothes. Seeing the shoulders of guys and girls in school...

Essays --

Throwing a ball over the net is not all there is to volleyball. It might seem like an easy physical activity, but it has its complications like any other sport. The beginnings of volleyball go down in history. For being one of the youngest and widely known sports in the world it still thrives today. It all started with the creation of the sport, what it came to be, and how it grew into what it is today. As always, the inventor of the sport comes first. William G. Morgan created volleyball in the Holyoke, Massachusetts’s gymnasium in 1895 (Jenson 8). He wanted to combine some skills of baseball, basketball, handball, and tennis into a whole different sport (History). He believed that taking aspects of multiple sports and putting them into one, would have a good affect in the sport’s world. In addition, Morgan originally gave the sport the name of â€Å"Mintonette† after badminton (history-of-volleyball). Although; he later realized that in the game, players volley the ball back and forth, so he created the name â€Å"Volleyball.† The ball used in volleyball is the same name as the sport and the first special designed ball was created in 1900. Furthermore, because basketball had already been invented he chose to create a less violent and intense game for older students. Even though volleyball isn’t a fierce game, a lot of your energy is used. In fact, average volleyball players jump about 300 times in a match. Within volleyball, contact is not permitted between teams, because players are divided by a net anyways. Together with playing the game, there are rules and pointers that need to be followed. As well as any other sport, volleyball has its basic rules and way to play. Volleyball is played by two teams of six players on a court divided by... ...held in 1949 and 1952 for woman. Moreover, in most high schools around the world, there is most likely to be a girl’s volleyball team than a boy’s. In addition, volleyball is the second most played and popular sport in the world. An interesting factoid is that the sport was 100 years old in 1995 (history-of-volleyball)! In final consideration, I believe that volleyball is a phenomenal sport. It creates team work, skills, and the confidence to win the game! It has a long history, but it has created something great today. Surely, volleyball will just get better and better as the years go by. The inventor, its basic rules, a different type, and the growth of the sport have all contributed to its beginnings. A volleyball quote says, â€Å"Either it is in your heart, or in your face.† So if I were you, I would head out to the court, and enjoy a game of this fascinating sport!

Are Hybrid Cars Really More Cost Effective? Essay

If you listen to the car companies, hybrid cars are the best invention since sliced bread. While there are many reasons to buy a hybrid car, including a new tax incentive for US owners, it doesn’t hurt to have a good understanding of how they work. This article explores the myths, benefits and drawbacks of owning one of these new â€Å"green† vehicles. Are hybrid cars really more cost effective? What is a hybrid car? Basically, it’s a normal, fuel efficient car that has two motors ? an electric motor and a gasoline powered motor. It also uses a special system to store braking energy in an onboard battery. But why buy a hybrid? Why not buy a traditional gas or electric powered car? Keep in mind, one of the basic rules of science is the more complex the system, two motors instead on one, the more often it will break down. This is a hard question and, in the minds of some experts, not fully answered. The reason for two motors is in the strengths and weaknesses of both types. The electric motors use no energy during idle, they turn off. At low speeds, electric use less than gas motors. Gas motors do better at high speeds and can deliver more power for a given motor weight. That means during rush hour stop and go driving, the electric motor works great and, as an added benefit, does not produce any exhaust thus reducing smog levels. At higher speeds above 40 mph, the gas motor kicks in and gives that peppy feel so many car owners look for when driving on the highway. Another benefit of having the gas motor is it charges the batteries while it’s running. Many an electric car owner has been stranded just out extension cord range of an outlet. Hybrid owners can forget about this annoyance; the gas motors starts automatically when the battery gets low and proceeds to charge the battery. A hybrid no longer needs to be plugged into an outlet. All this new technology comes at a price: a hybrid car is not cheap. With two motors and all the ancillary systems to manage them plus a large battery and a regeneration system used to produce electricity during breaking. All of these systems must work together, adding complexity. While cars and, just as importantly, the computers that control them, have become more reliable, they still fail. Meaning owners of hybrids can expect more time in the shop and more expensive repair bills. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars; they usually get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). Not bad, but only 20% to 35% better than a fuel efficient gasoline powered vehicle like the Honda Civic that gets 36 mpg. But, when comparing prices, hybrids cost about $19,000 to $25,000 and hybrid cars cost anywhere from $14,000 to $17,000 ? now the justification to buy one is becoming less clear. Indeed, the difference in average annual fuel bills, $405 for a Honda Insight versus $635 for a Honda Civic, means you may never make back the added initial cost of the more expensive hybrid. Over a ten year period of owning a hybrid will save you only $2,300, less than the cost difference for comparably equipped cars. Much of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, reduction of weight and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. In reality, any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size. The biggest reason this is not done has to do with the customer, they simply want the extra power. But hybrid cars can offer more than just great gas mileage, they offer many other advantages as well. Even a small increase in fuel economy makes a large difference in emissions over the life of the car. Additionally, in large cities where pollution is at its worst, they make an even larger difference since they produce very little emissions during slow city driving and the unavoidable traffic jams. While the US has just started producing hybrids, the Japanese are already a step ahead. Honda and Toyota are the two largest producers with their hybrids, the Insight and Prius. US car makers are actually far behind. In fact, during recent introduction of a new hybrid by GM ?the Mercury Mariner, they admitted they had to license over 20 separate technologies from the Japanese. US car makers still are known for SUVs and trucks ? Ford has even introduced a hybrid version of its popular Escape SUV. Industry analysts say US hybrids are just token models, not a legitimate attempt to get into the market. The reason for hybrid introduction has to do with Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. Current standards say that average mileage of the fleet of cars sold by an automaker should be 27. 5 mpg. This means that if an automaker sells one hybrid car that gets 60 mpg, it can then sell four less efficient cars, like SUVs and trucks that only get a poor 20 mpg. To offset perceived reliability problems, companies are offering strong guarantees: The Honda Insight has an eight-year/80,000-mile warranty on most of the power train, including batteries, and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on the rest of the car. The Toyota Prius has an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on the battery and hybrid systems and a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on everything else. The motors and batteries in these cars do not require maintenance over the life of the vehicle. The engine in a hybrid doesn’t even need any more maintenance than in any other car. Due to the fact that hybrids have regenerative braking, brake pads may also last longer than those of a normal car. So what’s a smart car buyer to do? Are the savings in gas worth the extra headaches and substantially higher cost? Maybe, it depends on how you drive. If you drive majority of your time in the city, you may save enough to warrant the extra cost. Remember the gas motor turns on to charge the batteries if you use the electric motor all the time. Long-distance commuters and people with lead feet will see fewer savings. Then, there is always the environment ? something that’s always worth thinking about. A hybrid cuts emissions by 25% to 35% over even the most fuel efficient gas powered cars. The tax incentive is another big motive ? it can reduce your cost up to $3,400 depending on the cost of the vehicle. However, the tax break only applies to the first 60,000 vehicles produced yearly by each manufacturer. Toyota’s Prius, for example, will quickly reach that number of sales before year-end. Experts think in the end, hybrids are only a transition technology. The real cars of the future are Hydrogen or methane fuel cell powered cars. As for the environment, there are many ways to reduce emissions including using public transport, car pooling, riding a bicycle or even walking. Even just buying a smaller, fuel efficient car makes a big difference. So, think about what you’re really trying to accomplish before buying a hybrid ? don’t just throw your hard earned dollars at new technology for its own sake because it may be fashionably â€Å"green†.

Professional Growth Essay

Developing Ethical Practice Part I   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In any industry, business or work, morality is a sensitive issue that needs to be personally and professionally addressed. Individuals have moral convictions as much as companies have their moral values where usually their corporate culture is based. Thus, t is important for companies to look at their moral background as this will influence the moral values of their employees. Equally, employees should share the right moral values for their company and colleagues.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet where before professional development revolved around trainings and educational achievements for a person to be able to propel forward in his career, today professional development embodies different aspects of growth. Apart from training, professional development now requires goal setting, research, action plans, improvements, and a never-ending learning process. Each one is a pre-requisite of the other to qualify that a person is really growing professionally and developing in his chosen industry. Moral values are integral aspects of this. (Litke, 1996) Before, planning is a job for firm administrators. They dictate where the company is going, and where the people in it go as well. This exemplifies how the values of a company help shape the individual values of the employees. This has widely changed. Effective planning is now a personal decision of the employees. It is now their prerogative. Thus, moral values have now become an individual choice as well. In effect, these individual ethics make up the ethics in which the company dwells in. (Rennekamp, nd) Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My educations influenced my ethical upbringing in a variety of ways. Throughout my school years, I had my share of challenges on my moral and ethical values. Specifically, interaction with other students tested my ability to uphold my ethical beliefs. While other students indulge in what can be considered forms of cheating, speaking ill about others, and the likes, I tried my best to avoid doing such. It is undeniable that it is not only once when I experienced such occurrences. There were also times when I failed fighting these temptations. Yet most importantly, those experiences taught me the value of friendship and camaraderie—when it is right and wrong, honesty, dignity, and strength of values.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education has been a big part of my ethical development. My formal education and training where starting points on the way I performed and moved through my career. I received my professional certification upon passing the licensure examination of Canada in 1991, the same year after receiving my diploma in Associate Arts in Nursing. Also in the same year I was employed as a clinical nurse for the medical respiratory-cardiac unit of a hospital until 1994.   After this assignment I received a position as a critical care nurse in an intensive care unit. Until now, I have been handling this type of job for intensive care units while also holding a position as an e-Nurse. All these roles challenge my morality every day. All of these also create new ethical principles to live by. Yet school was also the one who started on building the foundation for good moral values. Teachers and instructors as well as inspiring mentors who exhibit impressive values and proper ethics in their work and in their classes are the forefront ways in which students like me learned good values. I believe that if students did not learn, then the teachers did not teach. If teachers are able to encourage their students to do and say the right things through deliberate didactic teaching and through practice and good example, then students will have a good moral foundation that they will carry on at work. Luckily, my educational experience provided me this. Work environment At work, moral values are continually put to a test as well. Colleagues who are practicing unethical decisions at work are rampant. Patients and clients may also encourage unethical practices if its end favors them. At these times, the ethics I learned from school, from mentors, and from my colleagues during the times that I was still in school teaches the right thing to do. It takes analysis to decide how to go about the situation, but the bedrock values one learns will always reign. In the few instances when temptation to do the immoral and unethical was too strong, the inspiration of ethical people at work also helps. When there are people in my side approving of the right action that I want to take, it is easier to choose what is right from wrong. In the same way, when more people choose what is wrong, it is harder to indulge on what is right. It takes rooted values to fight these temptations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a nurse, though, it is easy to choose the ethical. Varcoe et al. explains that because nurses are moral agents, their practice of ethics and values become more important than with other professions. (Module 4A, page 7) When a nurse knows this, it is harder for him to choose things that are contrary to what values dictate. Being ethical is always the thing to do. This expectation on me as a nurse created a culture of moral, ethical, and virtue-driven focus. Thus, I have instilled in me a deep understanding of the values I have to undertake in my role as a nurse and in setting my priorities in and out of my profession. This created an identity that is unique to me, brought about by the many influences that I receive in my practice. Doane proves this. He states that identity emerges from a series of social relations. Thus, people learn their values by listening or telling stories on how one has been moral or immoral in his actions. (Module 4A, page 8, 10) Doanne states that nurses are relational and narrative beings. Thus, nurses often learn from other people and from outside sources such as literature. He suggests that nurses should pay attention to the relationships that they maintain, the conflicts that they encounter, the feelings that they develop towards every event that they go into, and the values that they engage or disengage in. In their way they develop their role as nurses and become ready for bigger challenges in their practice. They are also encouraged to narrate their experiences to others as it will bring them forward as moral agents. (Module 4A, page 12) I have proven these true. In fact, many of my values which I learned from work were based on the ethical principles of other people. They were mentors, colleagues, and patients who have shared their stories on how they fought the unethical and upheld their principles. As much as they inspired me and my other colleagues, they also strengthened the values that we already learned in school. They gave the reassurance that doing the right thing is the right thing. Self-reflection Maintaining good values was also brought about by reflection. Just the same, self-awareness and self-definition became possible through reflection. Reflecting on everyday activities at work are good indications of one’s work values and attitudes. It will also help if a person will be able to watch or listen to recordings of own work performance which will harness an identification of faults—of strong and weak points—where improvements will be available. This is also how I was able to gauge my performance at work and how I enhanced my skills. (Continuous assessment and professional growth, nd) According to Rennekamp (nd), professional development has several stages. In all these stages there are values inherent to an employee. There is the entry stage, the period when the employee is new to his industry and is still developing the faculties that he needs to sharpen and use in his job. Much of the ethics in this stage come from the school and the family. The second stage is the colleague stage. This is the point when the entry-level employee has mastered his surroundings and the scope of his job. At this stage the employee is an active part of the problem-solving team and no longer the passive listener or follower. He has also found his way around several ethical standards in the company which he may have adapted. (Rennekamp, nd)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After the colleague stage is the counselor role. Here, the employee takes on a new role as a mentor to others. Leadership roles are prevalent at this stage. Apart from their regular assignments, employees in the counselor stage may take on additional tasks in leading others. They are now sharing their values to others. (Rennekamp, nd)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, there is the advisor stage. In this stage the employee is no longer just an employee but an essential part in strategic planning of organizations. The employee in the advisor stage is more influential and is now a holder of more responsibilities. He also sets standards of practice rather than just encouraging others to do them. (Rennekamp, nd).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, I would presume that I am in the counselor role. I have mastered my job as a critical care nurse and have created networks. I have also established myself as a nurse and have been helping others achieve as well. However, I am in the colleague stage of my e-Nursing and nursing informatics career. I have just entered this role, but I now have taken leadership roles. Despite this difference in my stages in the two job matrices that I am in, I am in the counsellor stage of my moral and ethical life at work. I learn principles every day and teach them as much to others. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many factors in which ones moral values are founded. Doane claims that moral identity comes from layers of influences, including the self, others, and the culture or environment in which one is in. Socialization empowers morals and ethics as much as they may disempower them. It is important for a person to have the freedom to choose how he wants to decide about a situation. Ethics cannot be practiced by mechanically teaching employees how to act, speak, or think. It takes proper integration of ethical principles and living by example to enable ethical values to be learned. (Module 4A, page 10)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, ethics is an important part of work in any industry. Where there is no ethics, proper social relations is impossible. It is inevitable to be in situations calling for the unethical practices to be made. However, if the ethical is feasible, then it shall be made. Part II   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethics is often tested at work. There was a time when a patient who was terminally ill and was diagnosed to have just several days more to live consulted me if she should seek medical intervention for giving her earlier death. She was not in any pain only because she was practically living on pain killers. Despite her medical insurance, she also cannot sustain the monetary requirements of her illness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The family feels otherwise. They know that every centavo that they are spending is worth it. They are confident that she will survive. She has not told them about her thoughts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I am personally against euthanasia. Even though there are instances and occasions when it is needed, I prefer the natural way for death. It was painful to hear a patient decide that way. It was not surprising, though. Before the conversation, she has always been complaining about her medicines, her family, her illness, her life, and her finances. She was sharing that her family wants her gone. She wanted to end the pain and the pain killers. I was not able to help but share this conviction with my patient. I told her that first, she is not in real pain and that even though her pain is only subsided because of pain killers, it should give her hopes of living; secondly, I shared her several things about life that can encourage her to go on. I told her, despite the onset of her disbelief, that there is a right time for everything. I left her room, and I know that she is dismayed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The patient lived for almost another year. She even managed to be discharged from the hospital. After our conversation, the topic was never raised again. The family never knew about that conversation, nor did the other nurses I was working with. Yet I felt that the attending physician had to know, and so I told him, and to my relief he shared my convictions. He likewise helped the patient recover from the psychological turmoil that was pushing her to the edge. In the end, the patient proved herself wrong. Becoming a moral agent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The patient’s story impacted my values a lot. When I heard that she died, I felt sad but victorious that I did what I and the physician thought was the right thing. I became a catalyst of her change of mind and heart. I knew I did the right thing because she outlived the deadline that was given to her life by the doctors. Whether she realized that we made the right thing or not did not matter anymore. The heart of the matter is that I was able to win over this morally distressing situation and get out of it the right way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I was a moral agent, and my moral agency stressed on me that the right thing to do is allow her to live some more. It was my duty to prolong others’ life as much as I could. It would have been an exactly different feeling if I decided otherwise, against my moral principles. Nursing, I subscribe, is a job that entails moral responsibilities. Lessons learned After this situation, I became extra sensitive to the psychological and emotional needs of the patients especially those with terminal cases. I read about positive psychology and shared my learning to other nurses. I was also able to magnify cues that may lead to the same situation as well. When I identify them, such as when the patient is verbalizing thoughts that the family wants her gone or that she should not be living anymore, I try to console her and share my thoughts on life and her health. There are times when the patient will lash out on me with disagreement, but this does not make me bend my convictions. I stayed on believing, because of that patient who survived, that when I make the right choices the right things will happen. In the process, my ethics and morality is also nurtured. Raines assert that there are four antecedents to the occurrence of a moral agency. First is the modeling. In the situation, the patient showed signs of discontent and giving up. She was practically moving away from all other choices but death. Secondly there is the coming of the ethical dilemma. This was when the patient verbalized what she really wanted, which was to cheat on death by ending it earlier. The third stage, the alternatives, caught me in the situation. I was torn between the choice of the patient and my personal ethics; my beliefs or the patient’s beliefs. (Module 4A, page 15) Lastly, my decision was based on information. I gathered all the facts that I have instilled in me to be able to encourage the patient to live longer and have hope. I believe that all these four antecedents take integral roles in accomplishing an act of moral agency. A moral agent cannot be so if there is no ethical dilemma at hand, posed by modeling of the impending dilemma. Alternatives and information, likewise enabled the solution of the dilemma, thus were equally important. (Module 4A, page 15) It is likewise important to have alternatives. Raines assert that nurses should consider that there are always alternatives to a situation. This will put them off the pressure to being gullible followers of a single choice which may not be right. In doing so, ethical values may be put in jeopardy. Gathering and giving information, as well, is important. (Module 4A, page 15) Other factors Communication is another important skill in this. I should still try to learn more about communication processes and skills. Growth can be enhanced by being updated with new policies and guidelines in the skills being developed and the work itself. (Continuous assessment and professional growth, nd) I can do this by attending trainings about effective communication skills, effective listening, and customer support. This does not only benefit my communication with patients and their caregivers, it will also give me the ability to communicate with the other members of my team more effectively which in effect will give me more chances to deliver better and ethics-based patient care in behalf of the company, my team, and myself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethics and values should be part of the highly complex goal-setting strategy of a person. They are as important as any other aims. Interestingly, Cooper (nd) states that 87% of people do not have goals. These people were found to have difficulties coping with the demands of their jobs. They also found it difficult to excel in their fields. In the contrary, 3% of people have clearly defined goals which are written down. These people were found to be achievers, accomplishing their goals and developing in their careers at 50 to 100 percent of the time. While it is not a requirement, employees should write down their ethical and moral resolutions and read them a couple of times periodically. This will instill in them these resolutions. Through all this process of planning, Rennekamp (nd) instills that flexibility is an important element. While being focused on goals and achievements is important, preparations for unexpected events should be considered. In my personal practice, for instance, I usually encounter many dilemmas that challenge my values. It is hard to please everybody, and the moral thing is not always the good thing to do. There will be times when the unethical may bring the good for the more number of people, and it can be sometimes the right choice. References BCIT Document, Specialty Nursing. 2007. Developing ethical practice. Module 4A.    BCIT Document, Specialty Nursing. 2007. Developing ethical practice. Module 5.    Continuous assessment and professional growth. nd. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/Chapter6.Carlson-Final-Pdf-4.pdf Cooper, T. nd. An action plan for growth and success. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://teachersnetwork.org/NTNY/nychelp/Professional_Development/growth.htm Litke, C. 1996. Professional growth in changing times: challenges and choices. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.ucalgary.ca/~cll/resources/litke.html Rennekamp, R. nd. Professional growth: a guide for professional development. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from http://www.ca.uky.edu/agpsd/stages.htm

Avon Products or GE Money America Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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The Origins of Islamic Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Origins of Islamic Culture - Essay Example The current study revolves around one of the groups of people who pose their specific significance with respect to their religious affiliation. The human perceptions, understandings and acts are affected greatly by religious influence in great amounts. This eventually affects every level of the human being’s lives whether they may personal, financial or corporate in nature. Thus organizational decision making and the performance of individuals all come under the influence of the religion to which they belong. Islam is one of the most widely followed religions in the history of mankind. Being the second largest religion of the human society it has millions of followers. Thus the Islamic culture is quite prevalent in the world. Islam is the religion that believes upon the sovereignty of one God. The name that God is termed with in the religion Islam is Allah. The belief that the religion establishes is that Islam is the religion of Allah for the Entire Humanity. It is the religi on that preaches kindness and equality with mercy and tolerance. Evidence to this is the following teachings of Islam that are quoted in the Holy Book of Allah i.e. the Holy Quran as follows: â€Å"Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned† . The religion preaches utmost simplicity and piety. It does not want any individual to bear any load that he may not think of himself to be capable of. Allah- The Lord, with respect to the teaching of Islam, has spared His followers of any hardships or difficulties. At another place the Almighty Lord says (interpretation of the meaning) : â€Å"He has chosen you (to convey His Message of Islamic Monotheism to mankind by inviting them to His religion of Islam), and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship†Ã‚   [al-Hajj 22:78 - Quran]   The above lines are directly addressed to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) and then via him to the rest of the mankind. The Quran, the boom of Allah that contains all the codes of conduct and commandments is the final word for Mankind from the Almighty Lord. The Divine books that precede this last and final word are the Psalms, the Bible, and the Testament. THE HISTORY OF ISLAM Islam is a global religion. The birth of the foremost and final Prophet of Islam Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) in the year 570 A.D led to the beginning of an Era that was eventually to lead to the formal birth of the religion of Islam. He was born to an Arabian family named the family of â€Å"Quraishâ⠂¬  which was the then ruling tribe of the Holy city of Mecca. Mecca was the center of trade of the entire Arab and was later trademarked as the Holy Mecca that housed the house of the Lord, Allah swt. After the era of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) Islam spread out from Arab into various other regions. Fellows from the most trusted companions of the Prophet were appointed as caliphs. The kingdom of Islam was henceforth termed as Caliphate that revolved around nothing but the religion itself. Caliphs were the rulers of