Chapter 4, Effective Training  focuses on different types of analysis and job descriptions. I would like to touch briefly on some of the potential problems with creating job descriptions because everything always has its opposites. The biggest problem is interpretation! Some people can become confused with a job description and its duties, which can lead to misinterpretation. Let me put this into perspective…We hired a person at my family company to be a low-level manager for the parts department at one of our dealerships. The job description clearly defined this person’s daily duties as well as overall job expectations. This person came from another dealership where he essentially held the same title; however, we found out that the job duties were very different. This person was essentially responsible for administration duties such as controlling a portion of the inventory, communicating with some of the vendors for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and after market parts, etc. This person interpreted that he was also in charge of the staff members in inventory, parts, and even service. This person took what he was doing at his former job and interpreted his new responsibilities to be the same, which was not the case. We eventually let this person go because he convinced himself that he was acting more like a mid to upper-level manager instead of his real position, which caused some additional issues. The moral of this experience is that job descriptions may be effective and written with clarity; however, the person may not interpret the duties and responsibilities correctly. This can cause issues at times.

What can we do better to ensure that job descriptions are not misinterpreted? What kind of training or education can HR professionals give so this type of thing does not happen? 

Reference

Blanchard, N., & Thacker, J. (2013). Effective training (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

It is incredibly difficult for a person to know ahead of time what measures they might want taken in the case that they are unable to communicate their wishes for what actions to be taken.  There are so many situations that would need to be taken into consideration.  It is even more difficult to make that decision for a loved one that you want to survive but you also do not want them to live in a way they would not want to.

As a healthcare administrator, I feel that securing advance directives at the time of inpatient registration or emergency care may not be the best time to get that information.  In those instances, people are not completely focused on what their actual wants are and are possibly under a lot of stress.  I feel that in that moment many people are scared and this is not a decision that should be taken lightly.  I feel that people need time to  think about these decisions and decide what they would really want.

In both the Quinlan and Shiavo cases an advance directive would have been really good things to have.  This would take the decision off of the family and if they wish was to terminate life at that point, it may not have put them through the turmoil and pain of court hearings and watching their loved ones being kept alive in such a capacity.  The wants and wishes of both of them would have been facilitated.  The problem that may have come about is the advance directive may not have given the family time to come to terms with it and decide that it is what the patient wanted.  So this could have also caused much turmoil and pain if the family decided to fight it.  But in both cases, the patients were not able to fill them out upon arrival. They were also both very young and this tends to not be something that someone that age thinks about seriously.  

I believe the reasons why patients don’t create such documents include some of the following:

• being young and healthy and believing that nothing will happen to them
• fear of making the wrong decision
• avoidance due to not having all of the facts of what the situation may be

I feel that the immediate family should be involved in the decisions, unless there is reason to believe they do not have the patients best interests at heart.  I do feel that therapy for those involved should be included as well as the use of the ethics committee.  Once all evidence is looked at, and it is decided it is in the patients best interest, then proceed.  Self determination is very important.  I feel that if there is a point that the patient has expressed his/her wants that it should be recognized and taken into consideration. 

Open Heart Surgery

For this Dropbox assignment, please read Case 19: The Case for Open Heart Surgery at Cabarrus Memorial Hospital.  Create a 3- to 5-page report in Microsoft Word document that answers the following questions.

• Why is the hospital considering this additional service?
• Does the hospital and community really need this service? Why or why not?
• What should be the most important characteristics of a hospital in which one would want to have an open heart surgery?
• Is it financially viable for a hospital to offer this service? What costs and revenues would you predict to know the viability? Would any revenues cover the costs of offering this service?

In addition to the above, state any three instances that could go wrong if this service is offered.

Support your responses with examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

Submission Details

Name your document SU_HCM4025_W2_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc.

Submit your document to the W2 Assignment 2 Dropbox by Tuesday, July 25, 2017.

The Zoo 

>> Donna came up with some innovative ways to use her staff’s knowledge and drive to help contribute to the zoo’s goals, while at the same time building a sense of teamwork, increased skill variety, and autonomy.

>> [Background noise] What’s the [inaudible] program [inaudible]?

>> It’s to share new ideas with each other or if people see something at another zoo, different ideas that different people have for enrichment. [Inaudible] move on.

>>What does that mean, [inaudible]?

>> It’s so they don’t get board. A lot of times zoos have somewhat sterile environments, so to give the animals something to do. A foraging animal is able to forage, a primate is able to think and work and do different things. Even training is enrichment because it gives them something to do, it makes them learn. The more you teach them to do, the better off they are so they don’t get bored. It keeps them mentally stimulated. Are you ready? [Background noise].

>> [Inaudible].

>> [Background noise] They’re also coming up with some really good ideas to raise money. You met our elephant keeper, Darryl. He came up with an idea to sell art that’s designed by all the animals, not just elephants, we called it Art Gone Wild, and it made quite a bit of money, and it was a totally keeper driven idea. And I also let them keep the money. If they come up with an idea, that — we have this deal where the house splits — 50% goes to the house because they’re doing it during work hours and work time, but any money — their 50%, they can choose on how it gets spent. And so, they can’t exactly send themselves to Hawaii on a vacation, but they do get to determine if they want a scale or if they want a certain thing to make their job easier, or for conference travel they get that. So that’s really helped motivate them, is there’s an incentive. If you come up with a way — a creative way to make money, you get to keep part of the proceeds and spend it they way you want, and that’s been really empowering to them.

The zoo featured in the video focuses on empowering workers to make them feel that they are an integral part of the organization and enabling them to reap the benefits as a result.

Discussion Questions:

1. The zookeepers train animals and provide alternative activities for them.  How could this analogy apply to increased autonomy and self-esteem for employees in a company?

2. How does the zoo empower and motivate employees to be autonomous, creative, and innovative?

Instructions:  Your initial post should be at least 250 words.  Please respond to at least two (2) other students (see forum grading rubric).  Responses must be a minimum of 100 words each, and include direct questions.  A minimum of one (1) outside reference is required to support your findings, in addition to your textbook. You may find appropriate articles at the end of each chapter, and/or identify articles through the APUS online Library. Finally, be sure that all forum discussions are answered in full, in order to ensure the best possible grade based on the work submitted.

 The article of Crucibles of Leadership in HBR’s Must Read talks about the success of certain types of leaders who inspire confidence, loyalty, and hard work despite the fact others with the same level of intelligence and vision stumble. The authors believe that the various ways of dealing with adversity that is what make those leaders successful. The authors also found that there are reliable signs of individual’s true leadership it is the ability to find a meaning in negative events and to learn from it. The authors interviewed many young and old leaders in the private and public sectors and claimed most of the leaders describe the unplanned experiences are often traumatic and changed them beside it is the source of their distinctive leadership skills. The article emphasizes, the shapes of crucibles some are violent and life threatening while others are positive and challenging, for example, Vernon Jordan who avoid the repeated racial behavior from the mayor Robert F. Maddox. Jordan’s reaction to the crucible allowed him to turn into a lawyer and presidential consultant. The article also provided an example of crucibles that helped Sidney Harman to become a true leader. When the workers in one of his factories resist the authority after a manager postponed a coffee break. Harman considered this resistance as a surprising link between student-driven education and business. Therefore, Harman malformed his factory into a campus, offering classes, and encouraging workers to run the factory.

   Authors of The Leadership Challenge talks about leaders setting the example regarding their aligning actions and shared values. Setting the Example is an important aspect of being an effective leader because people always watch the actions to test the leader’s integrity. The authors also state the importance of spending time wisely because leader doing this sends clear message to others on what is important and what is not. For instance, if a leader value service and work performance, then he should spend time with clients and attend all trade meetings. A leader should seek feedback from others to improve his skills, engross in new behaviors based on the feedback. In other words, the feedback sends signal to others about the leader’s frankness of doing what is right. A leader can teach constituents important lessons by confronting critical incidents, telling memorable stories and reinforcing the behaviors through the organizational system to be repeated. The second practice of Exemplary Leadership is Inspire a Shared Vision. To apply the second practice leaders have to envision the future for themselves and others. In other words, they have to master two important concepts. One concept is imagining the possibilities. The other concept is verdict a common purpose.

In The Leader’s Companion, the authors confirm that the evidence shows traits actually matter. People can distinguish leaders from non-leaders by six traits. These traits are drive, the desire to lead, honesty, integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business. These traits are also similar to the essential leadership skills mentioned in the HBR’s Must Read. Visionary Leadership by Marshall Sashkin describes the theory of visionary leadership and the three factors relate to it, which include the leader traits, behavior, and the current situation.  The authors believe that effective leadership depends on developing effective communication skills. There are some points of the article share the same idea of The Leadership Challenge. For instance, the article asserts that people in organizations carefully watch the CEO actions and behavior, to gain information about the CEO character, organizational priorities, values and future directions. Another common idea is that an effective leader will mostly use communication as a tool to match his or her behavior with the goals. For example, to improve cooperation, leaders will downplay authority and emphasize listening.