Nickel and Dimed Analysis

Looking at whether or not individuals living in poverty are considered to be a minority group by our contemporary culture is an interesting scenario. I’m a social work major so of course I want to think, yes, individuals living poverty are most definitely an oppressed group in society. Minimum wage is nowhere near to what could be classified as a living wage, and these positions often have little room for career advancement within the company. But I assume that what the question was getting at was whether or not those living in poverty are viewed as a minority group by America’s contemporary culture. The answer to that I believe is a â€Å"no.†People who belong to the upper and middle classes often don’t consider the fact that you can have a job yet still be living in poverty. A single parent may hold down two minimum-wage paying jobs, but still need a little help to make ends meet. And because they receive government assistance their hard work is ignored and they are simply viewed as lazy nuisances who are mooching off the middle classes’ tax dollars, not an oppressed minority group. The American government has taken steps to show that it is more aware about the minority status of those living in poverty, and has taken some steps help people in that group.Beginning with the civil right’s act in 1964, discrimination based on race, religion, or sex was 2 made illegal on a federal level and thereby beginning the first steps meeting the needs of poor individuals by combatting poverty through getting rid of housing codes, and racial redlining laws throughout the U. S. After the civil rights act a plethora of social justice programs were put into action. The Economic Opportunity act and The Economic Development act began to earnestly work a provided more jobs to both rural and urban communities.Medicare and Medicaid were developed to provide aid to the aging and poverty stricken communities, and multiple food programs were p ut into place for different types of people needing assistance. Special attention was paid to developing programs for America’s children and youth. The Special Milk and the National School Lunch Programs were developed feed children through their early childhoods as well as their school years. Grants and services were given to low-income and inner city schools and research was being put into how to deal with the social causes of delinquency and stop the emerging problems of youth gangs.Many of these programs started in the 1960’s have evolved into services we hear a lot about in social work today, such as AmeriCorps, TANF, and WIC. Although many of the programs above have helped to alleviate some of the pressures faced by those living in poverty, in our ever changing country new problems are always coming up. In modern day America, Homelessness, and the stereotypes associated with being homeless, is one of the larger problems social workers are working to help with. On e of the bigger issues with being homeless is finding a stable job and source of income.I remember in class when Dave talked about giving out cell phones to the people at his shelter so that if they had a job interview, they wouldn’t have to put down the shelter’s telephone number. The stereotypes that 3 come with being homeless often discourage employers to consider hiring someone who is living in that condition. When I had my field placement my sophomore year at Refuge of Hope, I remember one of the first things the director of the shelter would do during an intake, was to give the new client a bus pass, so that when the client was job hunting he could say that he had a reliable source of transportation.I think that a lot of these government programs are helpful in meeting some of the daily needs of those living in poverty, but I also think that one of the biggest needs that needs to be met is to stop the negative stereotypes and prejudices we have about those who ar e living in poverty, and I’m not sure I believe that’s something a government run program can do In our American Minorities course this semester we have defined prejudice and discrimination in the following ways; Prejudice is a negative attitude that rejects and entire group and discriminations is a behavior that deprives a  group of certain rights or opportunities.In other words, prejudice is how you feel towards a certain people group, and discrimination is the way you act towards that certain people group. One example of prejudice and discrimination that especially stood out to me in Nickel and Dimed was the way the hotel management in Key West would automatically have their Black and Hispanic job applicants sent to work as housekeeping staff or busboys in the hotel restaurant. Similarly the white applicants were pressed to work as front desk staff or as waitresses in the hotel restaurant.Obviously the Hotel management had conceived the idea that their Caucasian w orkers needed to be the ones interacting with the customers and guests, meanwhile the Black and Hispanic workers where supposed to have jobs that were more â€Å"behind the scenes. Why was this happening? Well perhaps it is because the hotel 4 managers held the stereotype that people of color are lazy, and wanted them out of sight from their customers and guests and in positions where management could easily keep an eye on them and hold them accountable for any â€Å"time theft.†Perhaps the reason is management viewed there Black and Hispanic workers as less educated and sophisticated, and therefore didn’t want them directly interacting with the hotel’s middle and upper class clientele. Either way it’s obvious that in this book the management held negative views of their Black and Hispanic workers, and acted upon them by denying people of color certain jobs. Another example of prejudice in noted while I was reading Nickel and Dimed was how the owners of the houses Barb cleaned while working as a maid in Portland seemed to always be on their guard from the maids.As evidenced by Eh Erenreich later in her book, you can see through the way hidden cameras are being sold to owners so they can spy on their maids or babysitters at home, there is a genuine distrust experienced by these home owners. It seemed like these homeowners are just waiting for one of their priceless heirlooms to disappear. I think that the main belief that Barbara Ehrenreich tried to explore in Nickel and Dimed is that, if anyone is living in poverty, than they can work their way out if they would only get a job.Basically, it’s the concept of the â€Å"American Dream,† where you can be a homeless orphan, but if you work hard enough you can make your way up the ladder until you become the president, or anything else you desire to be. Throughout Ehrenreich’s book, she proves this belief to essentially be a myth. If you are a healthy individual how can find at least two entry-level job positions run by companies who are willing to work around your schedule, and you’re also able to find affordable housing and transportation close to these job sites, then maybe it’s possible to make a better life for yourself.But finding and maintaining everything on this checklist is an 5 extreme rarity in life. If even one of the things on this list doesn’t come through for you, then you’re probably using any extra money you’re making to cover up the gap that this missing thing costs. Ehrenreich combatted many myths about poverty in her book, and I think the first and biggest myth she debunked is the common belief that poor people are lazy. After reading her description about what it was like when she worked as a maid, cleaning houses top to bottom every day, I know I couldn’t do the same.I used to throw a fit when my mom made me dust and vacuum my room once every Saturday. Housekeeping, retail work, e ven waitressing are some of the most tiresome jobs In America, and the fact that you’re paid minimum wage for these things is astounding. A myth I hear most commonly from my own friend’s and family, is that they are pouring so much of their tax dollars into people in poverty, that their basically getting a free ride through life.In the book however, we saw Barb practically chasing her tail to try and get some food assistance, and after hours of phone calls she eventually ended up with a basket of what sounded like expired leftovers from Sam’s Club, not anything the government actually paid for, or anything of real nutritional value. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, she showed her readers that â€Å"minimum wage,† is not equal to a â€Å"living wage. † Even when Ehrenreich was successfully holding down two jobs in Maine, the money she was making wasn’t enough to account for the small unexpected expenses she ran up against, let alone som ething like health insurance.In Nickel and Dimed, the concept of meritocracy is challenged in several ways by Ehrenreich. First we see that gaining employment at many of these entry-level jobs is in no way 6 associated with intelligence. We see Barb take several â€Å"personality† tests that are in reality actually designed to see how well you’ll be able to comply with the company’s standards and employee ethics. It’s also required several times for Barb to let the company test her for illegal drug use. These are the only two things every required before Barb is accepted into a job.I think this sadly only goes to show that companies are not at all interested in having employees that will rise through the store ranks to eventually become managers, in fact, Barb’s employers were often surprised to find that she hadn’t quit after the first week. In sort of an odd way, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Barb met some i ndividuals who had gone through or were going through truly horrible things, and while I didn’t enjoy reading about those situations, I did enjoy the breath of honesty that was brought into this book through those people.I think that perhaps the most stunning revelation I received while reading this book, was when Barb acknowledges that while she was struggling with the physical part of being a maid, she was a healthy person who had grown up exercising and getting three square meals a day. What could it possibly be like then, for someone who can only afford a bag of Doritos for lunch, and doesn’t have the vitamins provided by fresh fruits and vegetables to help get them through the day?It’s unbelievable how much the system works against you when you’re trying to make a living for yourself. If the government could start a program that could force everyone in America to read this book, that would be great, but I don’t see that happening. I suppose th at’s why Advocacy is such an important part of social work. We’re the ones who have the opportunity to help others see that a person living in poverty is oppressed by society, and we need to change the way we think about him or her.

Motives: Philippines

The Philippines is currently one of the best performing economies in the ASEAN region with a GDP of 6.9% in 2007 (The Economist, 2008). This may be attributed to the presidency’s approach towards economic and fiscal reforms such as the implementation of higher Value Added Taxes (The Economist, 2008). However, peace and order may still be on the process of getting a resolution due to slow progress of arrangements with the MILF together with the problems about terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Still, the Philippine economy holds as one of the best investment climates in the region in light of the government’s cutting of interest rates. Primarily, the country is very strong in consumer and services sector followed by manufacturing (The Economist, 2008). In terms of the economic conditions of the neighboring countries, Thailand still experiences a strong economic stability in terms of foreign investment measures. The inflation rate is still manageable but the country is faced with problems on political uncertainties (The Economist, 2008). The country however is very strong in sectors like tourism and manufacturing. Singapore also has a very good investment climate because of stabilized government policies just like before. Foreign investors are still keen on entering the market which is especially strong in manufacturing, IT and domestic consuming (The Economist, 2008). Comparatively, the three countries do not actually compete with each other since they all belong in the ASEAN economic block. Although each nation has its own economic strengths, all of them follow the agreed procedures of sharing investment structures as part of the ASEAN’s organization policy. In investing in the Philippines, an investor’s main possible issue is with regards to the current strengthening of the Peso. Primarily, this reflects a weakened US dollar which can make it hard for a foreign investor to maximize the investment values. Add to that the increasing dollar remittances from the country’s overseas workers which devaluates the US dollar more. In terms of business management, there are no actual foreseen problems since the government does not interfere in privately segmented investments (The Economist, 2008) References The Economist. 2008. Country Briefings: Profiles, Forecasts, Statistics. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from http://www.economist.com/countries/.

African American Oral Tradition Essay

Modern African American Literature was formed under a stressful time for Africans, slavery. The only way the stories of the indigenous people of Africa were passed down was through oral recollections, or stories of the events. In America this was especially difficult for the slaves because of laws preventing them from learning English. By not being allowed to learn English, the slaves had to learn English solely on auditory purposes. This essentially made the slaves illiterate. When the slaves transferred the language that they heard to paper, a new style of language was formed which was referred to as dialect. Dialect is what the slaves thought they heard and the correct spelling of those words, not standard English. Dunbar, who wrote fluently in both standard English and dialect was praised by white critics only for his dialect poems, and not praised for his poems in standard English. His literacy works are still alive today, however the dialect works were attached with a stigma. Usually whites despised the African’s dialect. Therefore, the slaves would not try to publish any type of work with dialect because the slaves did not want to be associated with the stigma. In all, by creating a unique dialect gave the slaves a bilingual type of style. By not being able to write, slaves also made Genres such as, spiritual, folk songs and gospels. Songs such as these were ways of passing down stories to the next generation. These songs also contained secret messages. These messages may have contained information about escape routes or even the underground- railroad. However most of the songs were spiritual in nature. The songs also progressed through the years. The originals slave folk songs, spirituals, and gospels are now prevalent in modern day jazz and the blues. Martin even gives the example of Hayden, who mixes his song ideas with the ideas of Bessie Smith. Even though African are allowed to read and write, this is a form how their culture is still expressed today. Martin made the emphasis that the oral tradition is part of the African Americans distinct culture.

Recommendation to the President of the United States Assignment

Recommendation to the President of the United States - Assignment Example Alternatively, this recommendation report tries to convince the President of United States to acknowledge training and development as profitable strategy of saving companies (Moskowitz, 2008). Furthermore, this recommendation is meant to appeal to the President in assisting small and medium companies without enough finances to train their workers. Finally, the recommendation report attempts to convince the American President on influencing companies to embrace training and development as technique of not only increasing the GDP of corporations but saving jobs. This will helps families weighed down by effects of recession to afford their essential needs despite hard times. The training and development field is comprised of a number of issues that this paper will attempt to explore. For instance, in other terms, it is referred to as human resource development or learning development and it pertains to activities of the organization that target at improving the performance of the worker . Additionally, the performance may include those of groups within the company through the use of varying methods of training. On that note, training and development comprises of three major activities and they entail training, education, and development. Therefore, when we consider training it means an evaluation conducted upon and against the current job that a person holds in a given company. On the other hand, education suggests an activity based the job that a person may have a chance of attaining in the future and the analysis is conducted against those opportunities. Similarly, the two activities may not function without development. This involves critical analysis conducted by the company that employs the person concerning his activities and the activities that may be taken by person in future. On that note, most Human Resource Managers concur that it is an aspect of training and development that is hard to analyze. Furthermore, in training and development, there are stakeho lders who have equally crucial roles in the progress of an organization in terms of its employees. These people include senior managers who act as the sponsors of training and development. On the other hand, business planners involve clients or customers of training and development. In addition, those who experience the process of training and development are called participants. Others include facilitators who are key in nay firm include the staff of HRM and specialists in the field called providers. On that perspective, these mentioned groups always have varying views concerning their motivations and agendas hence creating divergence with group with opposing views. Furthermore, in the training and development field there have been both traditional and modern approaches. In the traditional approach, many companies did not encourage training for its workers and managers. On that account, the belief held that managers are not naturally born and not made. Other critics opposed to trai ning claim the high expense is worth for a company. Alternatively, companies would apply the technique of executive pinching. However, when it comes to modern approach, organizations are encouraging corporate training and development to save cost and retain its workforce. Furthermore, training and developing the workforce enables the organization to have a smart workforce that is able to

Wk5(22) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wk5(22) - Essay Example 168) until he can come to terms with what happened. One indication for this weakness is that he is more involved with alcoholism and feeling hopeless. A therapist would need to practice unconditional positive regard with him and set the intention that they would be able to relate to Patrick in a positive way. I would think it might be difficult for him to get into his deepest feelings and explore them--these feelings may be difficult for this approach which would also make this situation a weakness. One strength of using this approach may be that Patrick would need a counselor who was empathetic and not directive in their approach. This may be the way for him to start talking about his grief. Patrick would be allowed to discover what he needed as he progressed which could be both a strength and a weakness. As a strength, it may help him gain confidence in himself again. As a weakness, this could have him trying to figure things out a lot longer because he may feel so undirected. It is my opinion that Gestalt Therapy would be the best choice to use with Patrick. He is so far down in his feelings that he may need a redirection to something more pleasant. Patrick seems to be presenting a host of problems that are happening because of his experience in 9/11. He is not functioning at a place where he can self-regulate himself just yet and this would be an important goal of therapy for him. Patrick is currently living in the past. He may be drinking to stay in his bad memories or to try and forget; this would be something that needs to be explored. He could be experiencing PTSD and he has pulled away from other friends or potential friends because he does not want to get close again just to lose them. It is time for him to move into the present and put the past behind. I would begin by listening to him and asking questions. I would want to know why he is drinking and what it is doing for him. I would

History The representations of Death in Medieval European Art Essay

History The representations of Death in Medieval European Art - Essay Example (Cartwright, 1972) It is popularly known as the Plague, Black Death or Black Plague although the medical term for it is Bubonic Plague. Throughout history, plague has riddled many civilizations, causing remarkable changes in the social construction, economic disposition and religious beliefs, resulting in the change of their representation in art and architecture. There have been recording of massive health epidemics striking Asia, Africa, and Europe where it is believed that at one point there were not enough alive to bury the victims of the Black Death. (www.cdc.gov, 3/12/2007) In such civilizations, the progress of medical studies was not near enough to study the outbreaks and analyze them in a scientific manor; in reaction, the people usually assumed they were divine punishment brought down from god or the gods for whatever reason the leading religious figure of the region and time would provide. This caused even further panic and chaos. In many cases, innocent groups of people would be blamed for the disaster and massive witch hunt like behavior would take place where the group would be hunted down and tortured or even killed in the belief that it would end the ordeal. Plagues have been repetitive in history and sometimes with no specific pattern. The Bubonic Plague of 1347 made appearances repeatedly afterwards throughout Europe and the Middle East, though not on as much of a large scale, the last of which ended in 1844. (Watts, 1997) Even in modern society the fear of people resides; at the hint of an outbreak, such as the bird flue of 2004, global economies have been affected and many industries have suffered. The Black Death holds the greatest number of victims in such a short time span than any other plague in history and this resulted in economic, social and political affects that have lasted for centuries and played a major role in the art and painting to follow. 14th Century: The Century of Changing European civilization and Fine Arts Medieval Europe was under an extreme burden at the turn of the century. The demographics of medieval Europe grew to an unprecedented scale. The population had grown to the brink of starvation. Only under the best conditions would the fields' yield enough to feed the population. The Black Death struck in 1347 and decimated the European population. The Black Death was a necessity to prevent overpopulation and economic decline. The economy of the fourteenth century was in a state of decline. The population boom along with the shortage of food was leading Europe down a road to starvation. The climate in Western Europe also was beginning to change at the turn of the fourteenth century. This caused a very wet climate and greatly adversely

Racial Tensions in Elderly-Care Home Setting Essay

Racial Tensions in Elderly-Care Home Setting - Essay Example The most evident query at this point is likely to question why racism is still rampant in the elderly care home setting whereas the rest of the United Kingdom seems to have seen the light. Why is it that racism has been forced out of the society and seemed to have entertained in these homes? There are correct responses to this query but only a handful are aware of them. In fact, most residents of the nation are not aware that racism is a common practice in these homes. Although many people are not open to the idea of taking their relatives to these homes, circumstances have forced many to do so as they are not in a position to offer the much needed care (Macrae 2012).As an effort to realise the reason behind the practice of racism in the elderly homes, it is initially appropriate to comprehend the factors that sets these home apart from society. Doing so allows one to be in a position to establish the precise factors that may to blame. These homes are meant to provide care to the eld erly in the society, a population that had to live in another generation that is very separate from the one that is in force today. The elderly is society are not very vibrant and the fact that they are few as compared to other age gaps means that their influence in society is minimal (Macrae 2012).However, bringing them together nurtures a very distinctive atmosphere that is far from the one that is in the rest of the UK society. Even though many elderly individuals may feel uncomfortable in these homes.

Employment Law for Human Resource Practice Article

Employment Law for Human Resource Practice - Article Example As an accountant, she has minimal influence on the activities of the human resource department and her actions in the case are therefore faulted and misplaced. As an employee of the organization, she may recommend employees but the right of appointment rests with the human resource department. Her actions while at the human resource department further portray lack of respect and should thus attract stringent and punitive measures with the view of instilling discipline in the rest of the employees. The organization reserves the right to hire and fire the employees. However, in doing this the organization must adhere to specific laws as entrenched in the constitutions and laws governing the country. There are different mechanisms through which an employee can obtain the human resource each reliant on a specific set of laws. One of such is a contract; a contract refers to an agreement between different parties to undertake a particular job for a duration. Most employers prefer contracts as a method since it safeguards the interest of the organization. The parties consent to the contract only after accepting the terms and conditions of the employment, the terms and conditions of a contract vary depending on the organization and the nature of the job. The right to hire employees from the applicants permits the department thus the organization to carry out any action to ensure that they obtain the best employee for the organization. Contracts give the organizations the authority to manipulate the terms of engagement and whoever accepts such thus becomes bound to the terms of the contract document. Despite the freedom organizations enjoy because of the contract mechanism, they are equally bound to respect different virtues of humanity and such include the contract termination procedure, the hiring process and remunerations. Contracts are always a temporary feature that demands that organizations enumerate their contractors effective for their services. The human resou rce department thus carries out extensive interviews on every applicant regardless of their background thus validating the action by the human resource department at Ironside for not considering Max an applicant recommended by Mrs. Connors. The termination of a contract is liberal to the employee but may not be to the employer. The contract term should always elapse before an organization lets off its employees. Just as stated in the definition, a contract runs for a specific duration, a time within which both the employer and the employees agree to work together. In the event of a termination therefore, both the parties must meet with the view of protecting their personal interests. Both parties may instigate the termination of the contract only that in each case, the two parties must accept the ramifications of such an act. The employer may terminate the contract at any time depending on the interest of the company. However, in doing this they must provide written statements that explain the reasons for such an act and remunerate the employee for the remaining time. The employer may also initiate the termination of the contract. In such a case, the employee must provide the employer with a written document explaining such a move and in this case expect no remuneration for the remaining time to the elapse of the contract. The other employment type is the permanent and pensionable. The mechanism is more demanding for both the employer

Broca's Aphasia Treatment - Response Elaboration Training (RET) Research Paper

Broca's Aphasia Treatment - Response Elaboration Training (RET) - Research Paper Example Damage to the Broca’s area can cause severe aphasia or difficulty in speech. An element through which Broca’s aphasia can be treated is a technique known as the Response elaboration training. This essay would further discuss the etiology of Broca’s aphasia along with its option of treatment in adult patients (Guyton & Hall 2011; Fazio et al 2009). Aphasia generally describes a condition in which an individual has impaired language skills. It can occur due to damage to the regions of the brain which are responsible for language. Broca’s area is a non fluent type of aphasia which occurs in the frontal lobe of the brain. In this type of aphasia the individuals are not able to speak whole words or they have difficulty speaking them. In this type of aphasia some motor movements of the individual are also affected because the frontal lobe is also affected. Commonly aphasia occurs due to accidents which harm the structures in the brain, a tumor in the brain, infection of the brain and dementia. It is because of these problems that the sensory pathways do not transmit the signals properly and hence aphasia occurs (Guyton & Hall 2011; LaPointe 2005). Broca’s aphasia is characterized by problems in speaking or writing language. It is also called motor aphasia, expressive aphasia or non-fluent aphasia. The individuals are not able to speak fluently and hence have difficulties in making up sentences. The individuals face difficulties when speaking up full words. The individuals are not able to make up sense with their sentences. For example individuals would just use two words such as ‘glass, table, where the individual tries to say that the glass is on the table. (Fazio, 2009). At first it was believed that Broca’s aphasia was only associated with language comprehension but recent research suggests that it also affects other portions of cognition through which individuals cannot perform and understand actions properly (Grafton et al 1996;

Network Architecture Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Network Architecture Selection - Essay Example However, it must be noted that there is no one type of architecture that may be considered the correct choice. Such choice relies on the consideration of several factors as well as on weighing such factors. Network architecture selection, according to Palley, should take into consideration the following factors: Frequency of use of global data entails considering whether the use or sharing of data is localized. Basically, if data is to be shared by elements on a wider geographical area, much consideration must be given to the choice of architecture (i.e. ring/hierarchical). However, if the use of data is primarily localized, then such factor should not be much of an issue. Secondly, if global data is dynamic or heavily updated, considerations need to be made since the redundancy of data may lead to combinatorial update problems and data integrity problems. However, if data is static, redundancy of data would not be a problem; and "replicated" global data would be appropriate. Also, one needs to consider whether quick responses are needed when exchange of data occurs. In cases when response times are significant, the discussion of network efficiency becomes vital to the development and planning of the network. Undoubtedly, the size of the network should also be considered together with the o ther factors cited. Also, the budget given for the planning of the network is likewise vital since certain types of network architectures are more expensive than others. Lastly, one must anticipate future changes to the network as there are updates that need to be made every so often. The case of Blue Skies Inc. is to be discussed in this paper. Blue Skies Inc. is an organization that is currently considering expanding its services throughout the United States. Based in Des Moines, the company plans to open at least two reservation counters in every U.S. city with a population over 800,000, and create a Web site where customers can make reservations online. In such an environment, Blue Skies expects that they will handle 200,000 transactions on a daily basis. As such, the company requires the setting up of a network that can efficiently handle the aforementioned volume of transactions. Specifically, the appropriate choice of network architecture that will meet the needs of the organization must be determined. The choice of network architecture entails choosing either a terminal services or a mainframe based network. Before selecting the appropriate network architecture, the distinction between the two options must first be identified. Also, the known advantages of each of the two types of architectures must likewise be stated. According to Software Diversified Services (SDS), "Mainframes used to be defined by their size, and they can still fill a room, cost millions, and support thousands of users. But now a mainframe can also run on a laptop and support two users. So today's mainframes are best defined by their operating systems: Unix and Linux, and IBM's z/OS, OS/390, MVS, VM, and VSE." Also, John Campbell identifies three features that a mainframe based

The Media Exposure of Children and Youths Essay

The Media Exposure of Children and Youths - Essay Example By spending this time watching the TV, video, and films, I got loads of information that connected with my life experiences, and more importantly, the experiences influenced my life in different ways. Through this paper, I will review two films: Adams Rib (1949) and Real Women Have Curves (2002), to show how the two have influenced and shaped my life. In particular, these two movies have highlighted the themes of gender, ethnicity and the role of parents, and have been instrumental in the development of my personal life. Â  As a Muslim, I had grown to the age of fifteen years, knowing and believing that men were superior to women in all ways, including the way they could succeed in education and career. However, during one evening, I watched a movie that would change my view of women and their potential within the society. Previously, I had watched my mother taking her roles as a housewife very confidently and proudly, until it was almost unusual for me to imagine the place of a woman in reputable roles like national administration, law or medicine (Rideout, Roberts and Foehr 6). The place that I had associated with women is commonly the reality among Muslims, as their culture and way of life, limit the entry of women into positions of leadership (Mernissi 34). The common socialized outlook, among Muslims especially those living in Muslim societies, is that men are stronger than women intellectually, physically and socially, therefore allow men to dominate women (Mernissi 34). Â  However, this outlook towards the roles and the positions of the two genders changed drastically, and the change has continued to change, since that time. The film showcases the lives of a married couple, Adam and Amanda Bonner (wife).

Contemporary Religious Issues in Christianity Essay Example for Free

Contemporary Religious Issues in Christianity Essay Over time in various religions, there has been conflict. If not within one particular religion then there would be conflicting with each other. Christianity is a religion that most certainly has this issue. With many struggles in religion that people are face with today that would assists in the division of our human population, some religions still share some of the same beliefs. Though all religions are vastly different, the overall belief is geared to praise and worship God. Two religions that will be discussed in this paper that conflict with Christianity are Judaism and Islam. In Judaism, besides cultural division within, most of their conflict is with modern society. In Islam, the Muslim community has a great political outlook that has been coupled with their religious beliefs and stereotyping has been more recently a trigger for conflict. In this paper we will discuss the contemporary issues within Christianity. We will review the historical connections and theological similarities with other religions such as Judaism and Islam. We will also take a look at Christian denominations and how they interact with Buddhism. Contemporary Issues within Christianity Christians have struggles between their own religion, and with other religions beliefs. Christian’s belief in One God, God of Love. We can find a message in the passages of the Bible; in Genesis, a foundation about God’s creation. The concepts: stewardship and creativity, God blessed them; and God gave them this message, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Bible) 2012 â€Å". The Love of God gets lost in our daily living style because the temptation, we sin and man abused God’s stewardship, and we don’t follow what God is teaching us to do. Christianity and other religions in this new way of living, we all are challenge to face an inevitable change. Social and new technology is responsible for new changes. We ask ourselves, what about religion in the future. Influences, crisis, economy are slowly changing the conservative religion to their surrounding of cultures. This changes are giving new choices to each one of us, and some choices are giving us ethical and cultural choices that force us to examine ourselves in our most basic philosophical believes. Christians and other religions are facing some areas that may raise ethical and religion beliefs. How Christian must respond to such conditions? How can we live with this society and culture that surrounds us? Christ of Culture perspective is exactly the opposite of Christ against Culture This way of living brings culture and Christianity together. God is giving us life – Why humans want to decide to take away our own lives or others. Where is our belief and trust, or mainly where is our Faith in God. Why we want to take control. If God give us life; we must belief and have trust that he has a plan in our lives. Ethical termination of adult life. Do individuals have the right to end their own lives or the lives or their loved ones? Even with major circumstances, do we get the control; where is our faith and believe that God does the impossible. Christianity questions about today is questioning about euthanasia. Passive or Active). Passive allowing the person to die by discontinuing their treatments and active is taking some positive step to terminate the person life by toxic substance or the injection of an air bubble into the blood stream. Euthanasia is the act of putting the death of a person which their illness in not curable but is violating the six commandment† Thou shalt not kill (Murder). Such consent does not relieve the killer of guilt for the sin of murder. Euthanasia is an instance of murder, which is a categorically forbidden in scripture.  Exodus 20:13 (Bakers, 1973), pp. 222 F. This society is giving us the opportunity to take control in our own hands; new technology is changing tremendously our beliefs and if we don’t wake up. This society will be out of control. Historical Connections and Theological Similarities with Other Religions The main historical connection between Judaism and Christianity is the fact that Christianity is a product of Judaism. This happened around the first century C. E. when Christianity was spreading rapidly throughout Europe. Besides Christianity forming out of Judaism, it has a connection through Jesus Christ, as we all know Jesus was a Jew. In fact for most of his life Jesus practice the Judaist faith and even celebrated Jewish holidays. Some of these holidays even became the basis for some of Christianity’s holidays, such as Easter which is based on the Jewish holiday â€Å"Passover†. Despite the fact that Christianity was a result of Judaism, Christians tended to have more freedom than Jews, while the latter was often persecuted for practicing their religion. Christianity has a connection to Israel that is almost as strong as Judaism. Nazareth which is based in Israel is considered the birthplace of Jesus, as well the birthplace of the Jewish Christian Church, however after the destruction of the church’s temple in 70C. E it seems that the church gradually faded into existence. While there may be some differences in how each religion worships and celebrates their religions. They both emphasize people being kind towards one another, believing in one God, and just being an overall good human being. The Christian and Islamic faith do share some of the same beliefs though their religions are vastly different. They both believe that there is one God and that God created the planet and mankind. They to both agree that God is the way of morality and the way or path of justice. It is also believed between the two religions that overall judgment of life is decided after life by heaven or hell. The fundamentalists Muslims and Christians also believe in pollutants such as porn and licentious helps destroy a community or society. There is a huge negative emotion in the western civilization in Islamic countries which explains the reasons of influences that evolve from out west. Of course there are obvious differences between both Christianity and Islam that will forever be unsettled. In these religions, pivotal doctrines are the points in which Christianity and Islam disagree. The overall tone of both beliefs are peaceful, caring, and loving human beings. The Muslim religion has points of emphasis on being peaceful, for instance; In Islam, the Muslims look to Sura 22:56 who say when speaking of religion there’s no compulsion. Though many in the world of Islam would believe that no compulsion means inside their religious world there is no competition amongst religion. Sura 29:46 says do not have a quarrel with outside religions but only if there is wrong doing. However, Sura 41:34 say to be make nice with the person doing wrong by doing good things for that person. Almost similar is the bible which has its parts of conflict with violence mostly from the Old Testament. It contests that a Canaanite society is infested with evil doings especially child sacrifice. God sent Israelites to enforce against the particular injustice and further on did the same against the Israelites. Situations like this within the scriptures of the bible are specifically minimal in circumstances during this time all implemented by God. But as the Quran would suggest, their religion puts this type of command in any time, place, and against any people or religion. Christian Denominations In religion, there is a power struggle to keep itself together. The ten commandments were clear on this issue. â€Å" Thou shall not worship false idols†, (Ten Commandments, 2002-2011). But there are seven billion people on this planet. Chances are that at least one of those seven billion people would want to worship another idol. From this idea, they would separate from their original church and form their own church. Worshiping whomever they found fit to be the one who deserved to be worshiped. As a matter of fact, this has happened many times in the history of Christianity and Judaism. Why are there so many Christian denominations? Well first we would have to differentiate between the non-Christian cults, and the false religions. Christian denominations are Lutherans, as well as Presbyterians. Then there are Jehovah’s witnesses and the Mormon religion, are examples of such cults. But islam and buddism are separate religions all together. Trials such as the protestant reformation gave rise within the Christian church to denominations. A movement to reform the roman catholic church that took place during the 16th century. Out of this event, four major division of traditional Protestantism emerged. These four were Lutheran, reformed, Anglican, and Anabaptist. But many more denominations would grow over the coming centuries. The denomination Lutheran was named after Martin Luther. This is based off of his teachings. Methodist was named from its founder, John Wesley. John Wesley was famous for coming up with methods for spiritual growth. Presbyterianism is named from their view on the churches leadership, and finally, Baptists. They got the name from the importants of the baptism ceremony. But not all the other denominations believe in baptism. So each one has a slightly different doctrine. Another is the availability of the lords supper to all. Or at least those who’s testimonies could be verified by the church leaders. Looking at why they have divisions, it seems clear that its not about Christ as the lord and savior. But it seems rather the differences of opinion by godly, flawed evidence, people seeking god. Seeking to retain doctrinal purity of what is their understanding of his word. Looking at today, denominations are many and vary wildly. The denominations have spawned numerous styles such as Nazarenes, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Free, Assemblies of God, ect. Some styles of denomination, emphasizes very little doctrinal differences. But more often, they simply offer different styles of worship. Fitting the differences of Christians. This is the cause for so many forms of Christianity. Conclusion In this paper we have gone over the contemporary issues within Christianity. We have reviewed the historical connections and theological similarities with other religions such as Judaism and Islam. We have also taken a look at Christian denominations and how they interact with Buddhism. In our research we have found that Christianity and other religions in this new way of living, we all are challenge to face an inevitable change. Social and new technology is responsible for new changes. In these religions, pivotal doctrines are the points in which Christianity and Islam disagree. Christianity has a connection to Israel that is almost as strong as Judaism. Some styles of denomination, emphasizes very little doctrinal differences. But more often, they simply offer different styles of worship.

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler Chrysler

The Leadership Processes Of Daimler Chrysler Since its establishment in 1924, Chrysler has been the leading automobile company manufacturing various motor vehicles such as the Chrysler Six; which was the one of the first modern cars to be built. Chrysler Six was claimed to be the first car scoring several firsts, for instance, oil filter, air cleaner, high compression engine, four wheeled hydraulic brakes and other such tech parts. Chrysler took over its competitor, American Motors Corporations in 1987. This was one of its initial mergers and acquisitions that placed Chrysler on the third position of United States auto manufacturers. On the 12th of January 1998, Chrysler Corporation merged with the German company, Daimler. In the period leading up to the merger, both companies were experiencing high profit growths. Daimler admired Chryslers entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking while Chrysler respected the methodological engineering and technical capabilities of Daimler. The two companies were interested in a merger as it would complement their capabilities and resources which would produce greater profits. The merger was touted as a corporate merger of equals and held high expectations among all stakeholders of the organizations (Darling, Seristo, Gabrielsson, 2005). Soon after the merger, both subgroups experienced various conflicts due to different national and corporate cultures, business practices, management and leadership styles and inefficient communication networks. Negotiations between senior leaders frizzled and led to the lay-off of then Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton. Due to the lack of management support, communication and the eventual domination of Daimlers culture over Chryslers, key executives who had been credited with Chryslers success in the 1990s left the organization. This resulted in a management brain drain which evolved into a crisis situation for DaimlerChrysler. Subsequently, an organizational restructuring, production cutbacks and cost cutting measures were announced. However, it was unable to resolve the crisis and thus faced huge losses which eventually resulted in a merger failure. Chrysler dropped from its third position in the United States automobiles chart when it went through a merger with Daimler-Benz. Although it was a merger of equals, it was soon overridden by Daimler-Benz due to Globalization, Classical Approaches, Systems Approaches, Management Styles, Leadership Processes as well as Culture. Soon it was realised that Daimler and Chrysler could not function successfully, and thus in 2009 DaimlerChrysler filed for bankruptcy which left a mark on the history of United States automobiles. The main focus of our report will centre on Chrysler, throughout the period before and during its merger with Daimler, and how internal and external factors affected its operations. GLOBALIZATION When Chrysler first started out, it scored several firsts in the industry such as an oil filter, air cleaner, high compression engine, four-wheel hydraulic brakes, and other advanced Chrysler parts. As the company progressed on, it went through several disturbances in its environment continuing into its merger with Daimler. Globalization started taking its toll on Chrysler.Globalization, according to Miller, K. (2009), is the improvement of transportation and telecommunications system making our world, both on a personal and organizational level ever more connected, efficient and interconnected towards a more global economy (p. 2). Chrysler embarked on its journey of manufacturing efficient automobiles through various improvements such as significantly expanding the electronics and computer content on vehicles, with applications ranging from power train controls for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions, to enhanced safety systems and chassis controls and to on-board communication systems. Moving on in the years, Chrysler developed vehicles using outdated and expensive structures even as its sales and resources shrinked. Since Chryslers business was heavily weighted to North America, this made the organisation more vulnerable to local economic fluctuations and less able to take advantage of developing markets, as stated by the New York Times. Climate change also made an impact on Chrysler. As Stephen J. G. said, The decision to drive cars long distances to work was common among people in North America and Europe in the past 60 years. Cities grew larger. The development of suburbs often placed homes far from work places; massive road construction encouraged extravagant car useà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Driving a car is the most air polluting act an average citizen commits. Chrysler produced auto vehicles that were manufactured without any consideration to its environment. Stephen J. G. (2008), said that Chrysler faced criticisms for their larger vehicles as they were exploiting the innate human tendency to seek domination over othersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Bigger is better. However, in 2009, due to climate change, Chrysler changed their tactics, targeting buyers with their higher fuel efficiency and smaller automobiles. Soon after, Chrysler came up with a Hybrid car which boasted fuel efficiency. Chrysler is further expanding on this idea by following it through till 2011 by making new models of the car but using the same technology, for instance, the electric vehicle Dodge Ev. We can view Chrysler in two different views, namely the Utopian view and the Dystopian view. For the Utopian view, we know that Chrysler will continue to change along with globalization and expand its horizons further than North America. It can also adapt with other cultures and societies by learning from its past and bringing it forward to use it in its future. Despite several downfalls, Chrysler always manages to pick itself up and survive through mergers, with Daimler in 1998 and Fiat in 2009. In terms of the dystopian view, clearly, due to its several changes, Chrysler is losing its original organizational structure. Chrysler is maintaining its image by retaining the Chrysler logo for its automobiles despite merging with various other organizations. Nevertheless, even though Chrysler has worked hard to preserve its external image, it has undeniably lost its charm to potential buyers and its customer base. SYSTEMS APPROACHES During the period of cultural change in the 1990s, Chrysler made some improvements to its organizational system. It increased the involvement of people in its operations which improved the permeability of its operations with its suppliers and customers. Before the merger with Daimler, Chryslers management had allowed permeability in its operations in which there was a two way communication between Chrysler and its customers through feedback and information flows. Recognizing the importance of receiving information from customers for improving their focus on development, Chryslers system processes utilized positive, growth and deviation amplifying feedback. In which, customers were requested to provide feedback about their products. Through processing these inputs from customers and workers, Chrysler modified its products to achieve higher profits (Zatz, 1994). In addition, Chrysler improved its system properties namely, holism and negative entropy. The CEO, designers and assembly line workers held meetings together to create and gather information and ideas. This resulted in the creation of successful products by the company (Zatz, 1994). This shows the property of holism where the end product achieved was greater in value than what the employees could have created individually. Chrysler also practiced negative entropy as it valued customers feedback and provided information of its operations to the public. However, after the merger with Daimler, Chryslers existing organizational system processes and properties were replaced by the dominant Daimlers system. This resulted in organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs. The loss of Chryslers successful system resulted in high losses for DaimlerChrysler (Darling et al, 2005). The merger also brought about a high level of uncertainty among employees of Chrysler. According to Cervone, T (2009), communication was an area where DaimlerChrysler fell apart, because there were differences about what needed to be communicated and how to communicate. Daimlers style of communication was solely top-down management communication. However, Chrysler used a more in-depth and extensive communication network with its employees. Therefore as employees were unable to receive important information after the merger, equivocality was high among employees of Chrysler. This was due to the different enactments by employees which created multiple informational environments due to the limited information received in the communication networks. Karl Weicks Theory of Organizing states that reducing equivocality is central to the process of organizing in an organization. It also states that through the use of assembly rules and communication cycles, equivocality should be resolved. In the case of DaimlerChrysler, no effort was made to reduce equivocality and this eventually resulted in the departure of key executives of the organization, creating huge losses for the merger (Darling et al, 2005). The period of merger was a time of uncertainty, disorder and constant conflicts among employees of Daimler and Chrysler. There were various conflicts that stemmed from a vast difference in national and corporate cultures, conflicts on compensation as well as travel expenses. Failure to integrate or assimilate the organizational practices and cultures of both companies created disorder in the merger. Furthermore, the period after Chryslers CEO was fired by Daimler due to differences and the subsequent domination of Daimlers management, pulled Chryslers employees further into disorder (Darling et al, 2005). The New Science Systems Theory states that when systems are at the edge of chaos, order can emerge from disorder. It emphasizes the importance of relationships and being open to information to create new and innovative organizational processes. The high level of disorder present in the merger could have been advantageously used by the management of DaimlerChrysler to create a sustainable and innovative new system. However, as there were problems in the management itself and a lack of information flow and disharmony among employees in the organization, this opportunity was lost to DaimlerChrysler. CLASSICAL APPROACHES As with most German companies, Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality. There was a high emphasis placed on the respect that junior workers had to show those higher up in the hierarchy, and it was expected of workers to take extreme care not to make mistakes when names and titles were concerned. Chrysler, being an American company, was practically the complete opposite of this. There was very little emphasis placed on hierarchies within the company, and the management encouraged a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. Many a time, mid-level executives could make decisions without fear of negative repercussions from higher-ups. In fact, it was this spontaneity and risk-taking attitude that Chryslers success was partially attributed to. (Vance Paik, 2006.) Upon the merger of the two companies, the actions of Daimler-side co-chairman Schrempp made it clear that despite touting the merge as a marriage of equals, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. The Chrysler executives were used to ensuring that their opinions were heard by the rest of the board, no matter what their level was in the corporate hierarchy. This style of communication was unheard of in German companies, and Schrempp felt so threatened by this openness that he removed them from the company to preserve his position and power. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.) Schrempp also axed some individuals from the post-merger management board, and a large majority of those fired hailed from the Chrysler division. Communications-wise, we can see that Daimler favored a top-down, formal style of communication within the company as seen from their strict hierarchy and style of decision-making. Chrysler, on the other hand, preferred to encourage an open floor of discussion, allowing as many employees as possible to participate and took their input into consideration. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was that of being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company. (Vance Paik, 2006.) In Daimler-Benz, all decisions were made by a board of management executives in the main headquarters in Germany. Those in the lower levels of management had no power in making decisions, as everything would first have to be put past those at the very top of the corporate hierarchy. This cost the company their stability in the time period immediately after the merger, where many problems had the tendency to occur. Despite Chryslers executives being those who were used to making decisions on their own, without having to go through higher levels of authority, they were unable to make any quick decisions which might have saved the company due to Daimlers insistence on forcing them to adopt German style of decision making, which was an arduous, intricate process, and thus took a very long time. Although Frederick Taylors theory of Scientific Management offers that there is only one best way to accomplish any task, the case of DaimlerChryslers failed merger shows that this is not necessarily so there are situations which call for spontaneous, quick thinking as well. (Badrtalei Bates, 2007.) The reason for Chryslers apparent assimilation into Daimler, as opposed to there being a stabilized platform of equals between the two, was made clear by the remark passed by Schrempp in an interview conducted in October 2000. In it, it was insinuated that the German co-chairman had intended for it to be an acquisition of Chrysler instead of a merger of equals from the very beginning. This was ironically the exact same view that Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton had rejected so vehemently. It is then easy to see exactly why such a large majority of the Chrysler executives (about two thirds) had been either fired or left the company and replaced by managers from the Daimler corporate grid (Darling et al., 2005). DaimlerChryslers Hierarchy MANAGEMENT STYLE Despite many labelling the merger of DaimlerChrysler as the deal of the century (Keegan, 2005) where the merger of equals would bring out the best of both organisations, DaimlerChrysler went under major crisis after their merger. According to Darling, Seristo and Gabrielsson (2005), crisis is defined to be situations that interrupt an organisations usual activity and process (pp. 346-347). Crisis occurred within the newly merged company due to a few reasons; Firstly, the merger of Daimler and Chrysler resulted in irreconcilable differences in its managerial and leaderships styles. Managerial-leadership, or the lack of it, makes or breaks an organisation in times of crisis. According to Blake and Moutons Managerial Grid, Chryslers management belonged to the Country club style of management, where organisational leaders exhibited a high concern for its people as compared to the low concern for production. Chrysler, being an American based company, had its managers concentrating efforts on the establishment of a pleasant workplace with friendly and comfortable human relations. On the other hand, Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management. As quoted from Daimlers Chairman Dieter Zetsche, Daimler systematically train [their] employees so that every one of them clearly understands that compliance is not optional its an integral element of [their] corporate culture (2009), which is characterised as high concern for production and low concern for people. The organisations main objective would be to ensure that its managers focus on arrangements of components in the workplace to maximize efficiency and attain goals. Hence, unlike the American based Chrysler, German Daimler management had little concern for human needs. According to Darling et al. (2005), The DaimlerChrysler merger à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ was not an ordinary merger. This merger had embedded within it the existence of two very strong yet different organizational cultures that were expected to become integrated to facilitate achievement of the goals and objectives of the merged cross-cultural global enterprise. Failure to successfully integrate the two cultures gave rise to a crisis that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ threaten[ed] the existence of DaimlerChrysler. As there was no clear distinction of a culture after the merger, employees from both companies encountered various intergroup conflicts. These conflicts escalated during the interactions of these now interdependent sub bodies of an organisation that lived in mistrust and continued to perceive opposition of goals, aims, and values, each perceiving the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of these goals. Both companies failed to drop their existing organizational culture and find a shared direction or vision. The merger was thus marked by deep distrust between the two subgroups, as could be seen from how Daimler and Chrysler both openly showed their conflict. They failed to reach a compromise, much less a collaboration to solve the differences to resolve the conflict. Many later commented that the DaimlerChrysler merger was nothing more than an outright acquisition of Chrysler by the German automaker (Keegan, 2005). American President of Chrysler group Jim Holden, together with the management, was eventually replaced by Zetsche and the German management from Daimler, who tries to instil the German practice on the American organisation, hence causing the organisational culture of Chrysler to be dominated by the Daimler management. As the merged organisation fought to survive in the highly competitive manufacturing sector, they adopted the Likerts System I due to the Blake and Moutons Authority-Compliance leadership style, the exploitative authoritative organisation, which is characterised by motivation through downward communication, top-level decision making, the giving of orders, and top level control. Although the strict hierarchical regime might have worked with the German Daimler, it only served as a harsh culture shock to American based Chrysler. Chrysler and Daimler succeeded on their own because of their unique features. Merging without collaboration simply meant that their uniqueness had to be sacrificed, hence causing them to lose their edge in the market. LEADERSHIP PROCESSES After the merger of DaimlerChrysler both subgroups experienced a high level of change. Many problems surfaced during the organizational change process. Firstly there was a lack of management support by Daimler and Chryslers management. According to Darling et al. (2005), Chryslers CEO, Robert Eaton who was in charge of the integration of the two companies, lacked the leadership skills or political savvy needed to help the new entity develop a unique culture that represented the best of both worlds. Secondly there was inconsistent action on the part of the management on both sides. Daimler-Benz and Chrysler both had extremely different styles of management and corporate culture. As a result, both companies experienced clashes in operational practices during and after the merger, which quickly escalated in intensity and frequency to the point where the merged company found itself entering a state of crisis (Darling et al, 2005). The leaders of DaimlerChrysler were thus unable to form a clear management vision to be shared with others in the organization. Ownership tension, characterized in this case by these two issues, hampered the successful implementation change efforts and subsequently resulted in a failed merger. In addition, communication between the two subgroups was poor. Daimler practiced an autocratic top down communication style, while Chrysler used an in depth and extensive communication style (Cervone, 2010). As the cultures and communication networks of the two subgroups were not assimilated, there was no clear communication network to both subgroups. Also there were differences about what needed to be communicated. This resulted in uncertainty and anxiety among all organizational members. Despite the multitude of problems experienced by DaimlerChrysler, during the change process, there was no clear effort by the leaders to successfully implement the change process by providing effective management support and reducing uncertainty for organizational members. These problems escalated and subsequently became one of the main factors that caused the merger failure. CULTURE In the early 1990s, Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Its relationships with its customers and various stakeholders deteriorated. These problems adversely affected the companys profits (Zatz, 1994). In order to boost its falling profits, Chrysler made efforts to create a strong organizational culture that increased individual and organizational performance to greater levels. Chrysler began by revamping its core assumption of innovation with a multitude of effective values. These values supported individual participation, growth and improvement in processes which resulted in an overall increase in organizational performance. They are also described as themes for excellent cultures by Peter and Waterman. The values Chrysler incorporated are; the involvement of people in which ideas were solicited from suppliers, customers wants and needs were collated via customer feedback, assembly line workers were included in the planning process and mechanics were consulted early in the process. The value of learning or the Hands-on, value driven theme in which members actively took part in the analysis of past mistakes and achievements in order to improve their overall processes was implemented. In addition the value of quality was created. Chrysler had in place a product quality improvement partnership program to improve quality by increasing teamwork. This is similar to the theme of Simultaneous loose-tight properties as employees exhibited a unity of purpose of achieving quality through diversity in the form of teamwork. The program was a success as it produced the 1966 Grand Cherokee and Chrysler PT cruiser which consistently appeared at the top of the quality charts (Zatz, 1994). These values were encouraged by top management and in time, supported by all employees. This form of synergy was represented in the organizations behaviours and artefacts. Chrysler adopted a participative decision making style, practised wide communication on all networks, implemented low power distance which resulted in a freewheeling open culture that was indifferent to positions or hierarchy. Chryslers Onion Model in the 1990s In 1998, Chrysler merged with Daimler. The merger was touted as the merger of equals. However, Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures during merger negotiations. This led to conflicting corporate cultures, unresolved problems and ultimately a failed merger (Darling et al, 2005). The German culture of Daimler-Benz was generally less individualistic then Americans. They were uncomfortable with anxiety and ambiguity, practised indirectness in communication and gave respect for title, age and background. While, Daimlers culture consisted of an autocratic leadership style, top- down management and limited involvement of employees. Daimler was characterized as being conservative, efficient and safe. This collided with Chryslers values and opposed its American values of a free-wheeling and open culture. They were characterized as being risk-taking and innovative. Therefore, misunderstandings soon occurred due to the differences in their communication styles, planning and decision-making processes and leadership styles (Darling et al, 2005). During the merger, there were long heated discussions between the CEOs of Daimler and Chrysler about the differences in their corporate cultures and behavioural traits. They recognized the differences but were unsure of how to assimilate the cultures. Finally, they decided that if the differences were far apart, they would pick a spot in the middle and they would merge (Cervone, 2010). By doing so, the CEOs failed to recognize that organizational cultures are often ambiguous. There are potentially multiple manifestations to a corporate culture which are diverse and dynamic. Thus, picking a spot in the middle of two different cultures will not create an effective culture for DaimlerChrysler. Also, organizational cultures are not unitary. It is impossible to characterize an organization as having a single culture as there are multitudes of subcultures existing in conflict or harmony with one another. As such, the CEOs decision to pick a culture that is midway between their cultures will not result in success. This would fail to recognize the subcultures within the organization that largely impacts its behaviours and decisions. In addition, organizational cultures are complicated. Integrating two independent companies with divergent cultures into one cohesive organization is a major undertaking (Zatz, 1994). Simply picking a culture will not create a sustainable culture for DaimlerChrysler. This objectifies culture by simplifying it and de-emphasizing the complex processes via which organizational culture is created and sustained. Culture is in actuality pervasive and it affects the everyday business of the firm (Weber, Camerer, 2003). Thus, more effort is needed to collaborate both cultures. The leaders should create joint basic assumptions and related values for the organization. This would create a shared meaning among all employees and subcultures which would in turn create similar behavioural traits. This level of synergy in cultures will result in success for DaimlerChrysler. Furthermore, organizational cultures are emergent. It is a product of constant interrelationships between organizational members in different contexts and settings. After the merger, cultural workshops were put in place to integrate both subgroups of the company. These workshops were not supported by both members and thus failed. Subsequently, no other efforts were made by the management to integrate the members. As no clear distinction of a culture was made, Daimlers culture grew to be more dominant and oppressing to employees of Chrysler. Employees became increasingly dissatisfied and there were constant cultural collisions in the interrelationships between Daimler and Chryslers employees. This led to the departure of key Chrysler executives who had led the company to success in its domestic and international markets for creativity, efficiency and profitability. As a result, the companies faced huge losses (Zatz, 1994). This situation could have been avoided by integrating employees of both corporations. By creating opportunities for employees to interact in settings such as orientation of members to the newly merged company, company events, department dinners or joint work teams, would have increased familiarity and created cohesive relationships between employees. Also, communication networks should be expanded and fully utilized to disseminate information during the merger in order to reduce uncertainty and increase support of the merger. These methods would have allowed a cohesive culture among members of both companies to emerge over time. CONCLUSION Why was Chrysler a success? Chrysler initially pioneered several automobile parts, making it more accepted in the automobile market. After being criticised for not being environmentally friendly, Chrysler replied to the criticisms by introducing a new line of automobiles such as Hybrid cars and electric cars in the Dodge EV series and brought the brand back into demand. Why was DaimlerChrysler a failure? The merger of Daimler and Chrysler did not thrive as many people had predicted. It would have became the collaboration of the century if only they had managed to solve the problems that occurred within the newly formed DaimlerChrysler. The issues they faced were: There were problems with the organizational system processes of the newly merged organization. Chrysler, on its own, constantly strived to improve its system properties, for instance, holism and negative entropy. However after it was merged with Daimler, they went under organizational restructuring, production cutbacks, cost cutting measures and numerous worker layoffs resulting in a high level of uncertainty among employees due to limited information received in communication network. Daimler embodied the concept of absolute formality, while Chrysler placed very little emphasis on hierarchies within the company. Furthermore, Daimler was still fighting to retain dominance in the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. The main mistake committed by the DaimlerChryslers managerial board was them being far too rigid when it came to the issue of communications within the company. The lack of a suitable managerial-leadership also caused a crisis. Daimler exercised the authority compliance style of management over Chryslers style of management of the Country club. The merger was thus marked by deep distrust when they failed to even reach a compromise to resolve their conflict. Chrysler experienced several problems that stemmed from a lack of a strong culture in the organization. Chrysler was historically known for its innovation but along the years, lost its core value by producing outdated products. Daimler and Chrysler failed to consider the vast differences in their national cultures and assimilate them during merger negotiations, thus causing DaimlerChrysler to lose its edge in the market, which ultimately led to a failed merger. What they should have done to solve the problems? During the negotiations prior to the merger, leaders of Daimler and Chrysler should have identified the vast differences in the national and corporate cultures of both companies. As both of the companies merged to complement their capabilities and resources, the domination and oppression of Daimlers culture over Chrysler adversely affected the merger. Chrysler experienced a loss of culture and an erosion of its successful values which reduced its overall capability. Therefore, the leaders of DaimlerChrysler should have exhibited cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence to facilitate the growth of a cohesive culture. Through the collaboration of shared meanings and values, DaimlerChrysler would have created a successful merger. What happened to Chrysler in the end? Chryslers sales tumbled 30 percent in 2008 and it ended the year with only $2 billion in cash and reliant on a government bailout to keep it afloat. After which Fiat took an interest in Chrysler after thorough research of whether it will have minimal downside and be profitable. As JP Morgans analyst Himanshu Patel said, the merger for both Fiat and Chrysler could help the U.S. automaker secure another round of bailout funds. This is a strategic alliance, said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management in New York By Gilles Castonguay and Poornima Gupta We hope that Chrys

Health Improvement And Innovation Health And Social Care Essay

Health Improvement And Innovation Health And Social Care Essay In the past the health service has been overly focused on commissioning for price and volume rather than quality and outcome. There was too much emphasis on treating illness rather than its prevention. Health inequalities have also been worsening and in England the rich can still expect to live for longer than the poor. Now is a new era for public health. The government is committed to closing the gap between the most advantaged and the least advantaged parts of society (GBDH, 2010a; GBDH, 2010b; GBDH 2010c; GBDH, 2010d). Health needs assessment (HNA) is a vital tool in this process because it targets services and support towards the most disadvantaged. It is a method for examining the health needs of a population leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation in order to improve public health (Hooper and Longworth, 1998). The purpose of this assignment is to undertake an HNA for the community that I currently work in as part of my Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) qualification in health visiting. In fact HNA is a standard of proficiency in order to gain professional registration (NMC, 2004). Recent evidence has increasingly demonstrated that the first few years of life greatly influence future health, wealth and happiness (Tickle, 2011; Field, 2010; Marmot, 2010). The involvement of health visitors during this period is vital as they are experts in public health. The Health Visitor Implementation Plan (2011) aims to expand the health visiting service with an extra 4,200 health visitors to be in post by 2015. This will support the Governments commitment to improve health outcomes by developing an understanding of the health needs of children, families and communities enabling the commission of services that are based on need. The five-step approach to HNA developed by Cavanagh and Chadwick (HDA, 2005) will be used as a framework for this assignment because it is simple, robust, flexible, and has been tested over several years. This five step process is based on the model outlined by Hooper and Longworth (2002). Due to time constraints and lack of resources only steps one to three of the five steps of HNA will be undertaken: step 1 (my community), step 2 (identifying health priorities) and step 3 (assessing a health priority for action). All of the data used within this assignment is within the public domain however effort has been made to protect identity. Step 1 My Community According to Cavanagh and Chadwick (2005) the community for HNA can be identified as those sharing: a geographic location like a housing estate; a setting such as a school, prison or workplace; a social experience like ethnicity or sexuality; or an experience of a particular condition for example mental illness or diabetes. The community has also been defined as a group of people who share an interest, a neighbourhood, or a common set of circumstances. They may or may not acknowledge membership of a particular community (Smithies and Adams, 1990). It is the common interest of people that is particularly significant for public health. This is because even though people operate as individuals, they may share characteristics or needs that can be assessed at a community level (Brocklehurst, 2004). However Naidoo and Wills (2000) state that individuals may be a part of different communities at various points in their lives rather than belonging to a single community. The community which i s the focus of this HNA is a geographical area. It has been chosen because it is attached to a GP practice from which a team of health visitors are based and most work is with clients within this community. It consists of two wards in the borough of North Tyneside. They will be referred to as ward A and ward B and will be compared to regional and national data available. Step 2 Identifying Health Priorities This section will focus on the identification of the health priorities of my community by considering the factors which may affect health conditions. These factors can be grouped into five categories: biological, social, economic, environmental and lifestyle. Biological The population of wards A and B are shown in appendix 1.1 using data from the census of 2001. Census data can be extremely useful however it has significant limitations. Its data rapidly goes out of date and only provides a picture of the UK population decennially. For example, wards A and B have experienced population change within the past ten years due to new housing developments therefore the 2001 census data may now be unrepresentative. For this reason a population estimate (appendix 1.2) based on expected births and deaths is often a valuable tool but must be used with caution as it is only a guide to what may happen if past trends continue. From the data it is clear that this borough has an ageing population but it is also notable that the percentage of the population under 5 years in both wards A and B is significantly higher than the regional and national percentages. This perhaps underlines the importance of the role of the health visitor in these wards. Appendix 1.3 illustrates that the combined male and female life expectancy for wards A and B are significantly lower than the North Tyneside and national figures. It is particularly alarming to note that some of those in ward A could potentially expect to live for seven years less than some living merely a few miles away in other parts of North Tyneside. The poor life expectancy of wards A and B may be due to the condition of their general health. These wards have worse general health than North Tyneside and England (appendix 1.4). That is, a greater percentage of those in wards A and B report poor health compared with locally and nationally. However Sen (2002) argues that there are complications in the self assessment of health because a persons own understanding of their health may differ from that of the healthcare professional. Therefore additional statistics should be used to assess health status. The prevalence of long-term health conditions in wards A and B as reported by the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) is also shown in appendix 1.5. Ward A has a higher prevalence of conditions such as coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer all of which contribute to lower life expectancy. Indeed CHD is the biggest cause of preventable death in England (British Heart Foundation, 2010). In contrast ward B has a similar prevalence of long-term conditions to that of the national. However data from within the QOF has several limitations. For example QOF was not originally designed as a research tool and its data is not externally validated. It has also been suggested that QOF data may be more favourably presented with the aim of maximising practice income (Ashworth et al., 2008) yet Doran et al. (2011) found that financial incentives had little impact upon the data. Further limitations include that prevalence data is not standardised for age and sex and that many patients appear simultaneously on more than one disease register (Ashworth et al., 2008). Mental health was seen as having equal importance to physical health for the first time in 2010 (GBDH 2010c). It was recognised that inequality contributes to mental health and in turn mental health can cause further inequality. Consequently tackling mental health is now a key priority for the Government (GBDH, 2011b). It is difficult to determine the exact prevalence of mental health disorders but there are indicators to reflect the situation in North Tyneside (appendix 1.6). For example benefit claims for mental health disorders along with hospital admissions due to self harm and mortality rates due to suicide are significantly greater in North Tyneside than England. Social The Marmot Review (2010) emphasised the correlation between lower social position and poor health. The social grade of those living in wards A and B is shown in appendix 2.1. Almost a quarter of those living in these wards are of lowest social grade compared with just 16% of people nationally. Marmot called for action to reduce social gradients in order to improve the health of communities like those living in wards A and B. Appendix 2.2 shows the measure of deprivation for wards A and B from the 2001 census. It is clear that both wards rank as some of most deprived in the country but as discussed earlier the census data is extremely out of date. After the 2001 census local super output areas (LSOAs) were created to improve reporting of small area statistics as it was thought that wards vary too much in size (ONS, 2011). The English Indices of Deprivation 2010 ranked LSOAs according to their deprivation level. It has undergone a range of procedures to assure its quality as well as being externally validated. According to the index North Tyneside is ranked as 113 out of 326 boroughs in England and is one of the least deprived areas in the North East. However within the borough there are pockets of extreme deprivation which fall into the 10% most deprived areas in England (ONS, 2011). It is difficult to determine ward level deprivation using LSOAs because they do not fit exactly into ward boundaries. Never theless appendix 2.3 shows estimates of the deprivation levels of wards A and B using a best fit geographical alignment combined with averaging the LSOA scores. It shows that these wards have been ranked as the most deprived wards in North Tyneside (North Tyneside Council, 2011). It has long been known that there is a relationship between deprivation and poor health (Marmot, 2010). In a social context this may be because a more deprived community is more likely to offer health risks such as higher crime rates (appendix 2.4) and poor housing. Research has shown that poor housing is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and mental health conditions. The poorest communities are often made up from estates of mostly socially rented housing (Marmot, 2010). Indeed appendix 2.5 shows that wards A and B have a significantly higher percentage of people living in socially rented accommodation than regionally and nationally. Those who live in social housing have been found to have increased unemployment rates, poor health and disability than the rest of the population (Clarke et al., 2008). There is also evidence to suggest that children living in social housing have a greater risk of disadvantage in adult life (Feinstein et al., 2008, Harker, 2006). Further, poor housing conditions like overcrowding can influence health. Appendix 2.6 illustrates the increased problem of overcrowding in wards A and B relative to North Tyneside and England. Economic Social gradient in communities is also affected by patterns of employment. Appendix 3.1 shows employment levels in wards A and B and it is clear that the percentage unemployed is significantly higher in these wards than in the rest of North Tyneside and England. Evidence suggests that the unemployed have considerably increased health risks including higher incidence of limiting long term conditions and mental health problems (Thomas et al., 2005; Gallo et al., 2006). In addition Jin et al. (1997) demonstrated a relationship between unemployment and decreased life expectancy although this research is dated. Perhaps it could be said that the poorer health and decreased life expectancy of wards A and B previously discussed may be linked to their high levels of unemployment. Physical and mental health is also affected by low paid, poor quality employment. Appendix 3.2 illustrates that the percentage of those in elementary, low level employment is greater in wards A and B than regionally and nationally. There are also less people working in managerial and professional roles in these wards. Further, those with few or no qualifications have the highest rates of unemployment and poor quality employment (Marmot, 2010). Appendix 3.3 clearly shows that wards A and B have a significantly greater proportion of people with no formal qualifications than figures for North Tyneside, North East and England. There is a well established link between income and poor health because those with lower incomes cannot buy items that maintain health and have to buy cheaper goods that could elevate health risks (Marmot, 2010). Appendix 3.4 shows that the average weekly income is less in wards A and B than the average for the North East. Unfortunately there is no data available for North Tyneside or England to enable comparison. The data discussed above forms a picture of the economic factors that influence health in my community. The data is from the census 2001 and as previously stated it is ten years out of date. Consequently a greatly significant limitation of the data is that it will not reflect changes caused by the recent economic downturn. Therefore wards A and B could currently have worsened levels of unemployment and income however this cannot be confirmed until the results of the 2011 census are published. Environmental An important factor in reducing health inequality is creating an environment where people can live healthily. Those who live near areas of green space such as parks can have improved health and wellbeing (Croucher et al., 2007). Green space may also encourage social integration, physical activity and improve quality of air. Appendix 4.1 shows a decreased percentage of green space areas in wards A and B compared to the borough. Another contributing factor to the creation of a healthy living environment is reducing cold housing. The cold is thought to be the main cause of extra deaths each year during the winter (Marmot, 2010). It is clear that the ability to afford to keep a warm home is crucial in the prevention of these deaths. Appendix 4.2 shows the percentage of households with central heating in wards A and B. Ward B has a significantly lower percentage of households with central heating than regionally and nationally. This data is again out of date and will not reflect recent rises in fuel costs. In November 2008 the increased price of fuel caused fuel poverty in more than half of single pensioners and two thirds of workless households (Bradshaw et al., 2008). This is important to note considering the ageing population of North Tyneside and the high unemployment levels of wards A and B. Finally appendix 4.3 shows information regarding car ownership. Wards A and B have a lower percentage of households without a car than North Tyneside and England. In fact the percentage of those with no car in these wards is double that of England. Transport is vital because it enables access to employment, education, services and social networks (GBDT, 2004). Transport also has an impact on health inequalities when considering deaths from road traffic accidents (RTAs). RTAs are thought to be particularly high among children who live in the most deprived areas in England (GBDT, 2009). However appendix 4.4 shows that the rate of injuries and deaths from RTAs is much lower in North Tyneside compared with England although data at ward level is unavailable. Lifestyle Lifestyle choices have a huge impact on health. England has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe (WHO, 2012). It is linked with increased risk of conditions such as diabetes, cancer and mental health problems (GBDH 2011c). The percentage of obese adults in North Tyneside is significantly higher than the national average and there are less healthy eating adults locally than nationally (appendix 5.1). This data is from the Health Survey for England (HSE) and is based on a sample of the population therefore estimates are subject to sampling error. In contrast to the findings above the Active People Survey found that the percentage of physically active adults in North Tyneside is greater than that of England (appendix 5.1) but this data also has several limitations. Firstly it is not age standardised and it is likely that those who are younger undertake the recommended levels of physical activity. Secondly the survey is self reported so may be subject to responder bias. Finally the data does not include active recreation such as housework or active transport. There is great concern over the trends for childhood obesity in England and more than 20% of children are overweight or obese by the age of 3 (Rudolph, 2009). Appendix 5.2 contains data from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) which shows that wards A and B have higher percentages of obese children in year 6 than nationally. But the NCMP has a considerably low participation level therefore it is likely that some prevalence of childhood obesity figures are underestimated. Indeed there were a much lower number of children measured in the North East than any other region. There may also be an element of selection bias particularly with the year 6s where those who do not participate are those most likely to be obese. These limitations must be addressed in order to improve accuracy of the data. Smoking is the single greatest preventable cause of illness and premature death in England (GBDH 2011) but 1 in 5 adults remain smokers (Robinson and Bugler 2010). Appendix 5.3 shows that the prevalence of smokers is greater in North Tyneside than England. This data could be affected by responder bias as it is self reported and therefore lead to underestimation of the prevalence of smoking. Regular heavy drinking has caused a huge increase in liver disease and is currently the fifth biggest cause of death in England (GBDH 2011). Appendix 5.4 illustrates that the rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in North Tyneside is much higher than the national average. It also shows that the rate of alcohol specific hospital stays for those under 18 in the borough is double that of England. In addition 33% of people were found to binge drink in North Tyneside compared with just 20% in England. Clearly harm from alcohol is a huge concern for the borough. Appendix 5.5 demonstrates the higher rate of under 18 conceptions in North Tyneside than England. Teenage pregnancy is a major social concern as teenage mothers are at increased risk of poverty, poor health and lower educational attainment. They are also considerably less likely to breastfeed and access services (DfE, 2006). The evidence also shows that children born to teenagers have greater chance of experiencing a range of negative outcomes later in life (GBDH, 2008). Breastfeeding has a huge positive impact on the health of both mother and baby (Wilson et al., 1998; Horta et al., 2007; Quigley et al., 2012). But for the past fifty years the UK has had some of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world (WHO, 2010) even though UK policy clearly promotes breastfeeding (GBDH, 2003; NICE, 2008; GBDH, 2012). Breastfeeding is a huge factor in promoting public health and reducing health inequalities as there is increasing recognition that women from lower socio-economic groups have decreased rates of breastfeeding. Indeed appendix 5.6 shows breastfeeding statistics for North Tyneside and it is evident that both breastfeeding initiation and prevalence at 6-8 weeks are significantly decreased in the borough compared with nationally. It would be interesting to compare with ward level data however this is currently unavailable. The data is considered accurate however there remain some limitations. For example the initiation data is susceptible to observe r and measurement bias because it based on observation by the midwives or nurses who record the data and interpret whether or not breastfeeding has been initiated. Similarly the number of infants who are totally or partially breastfed at the 6-8 week check is also based on observation so the same bias may arise. The method of data collection also assumes that all infants whose breastfeeding status is unknown are not breastfed resulting in underestimation of its prevalence. Even so it is obvious that low breastfeeding rates are of significant concern for the borough. Step 3 This section will focus on the identification of a health need for action. The concept of need in relation to HNA can be discussed using the frequently quoted taxonomy of need by Bradshaw (1972) which considers: Normative need perceptions of what professionals, experts or commissioners define as need based on available data. Felt need perceptions of what the profiled population feel that they need. Expressed need demand of the profiled population or felt need turned into action. Comparative need the need found by those who receive a service. When selecting a priority for action HNA should balance these different needs (Thurtle, 2008; Cavanagh and Chadwick 2005). Therefore a significant limitation of this HNA is that only normative need is taken into account as only quantitative research is used. The incorporation of qualitative research would address felt, expressed and comparative need and greatly strengthen this HNA. It is evident from step 2 that North Tyneside has many health needs. Those of highest priority appear to be mental health, adult and childhood obesity, smoking, alcohol intake, teenage conceptions and breastfeeding. As an aspiring health visitor the priority that if addressed could have the greatest impact and changeability in my community is breastfeeding. As discussed previously breastfeeding is supported by much evidence for the short and long term health benefits for both mother and baby (UNICEF, 2012). The government recognises the importance of improving initiation and prevalence of breastfeeding and it has been included in the Public Health Outcomes Framework 2013-2015 to encourage the prioritisation of local breastfeeding support. Yet as illustrated in step 2 North Tyneside has extremely poor rates of breastfeeding. There are also more teenage mothers in the borough and wards A and B are areas of extreme deprivation. Research has found that females under 20 demonstrate the lowest incidence of breastfeeding (Infant Feeding Survey, 2010) and that there is a relationship between low rates of breastfeeding and socioeconomic deprivation (Dyson et al., 2010). Current services to promote breastfeeding in North Tyneside include breastfeeding support groups and a breastfeeding coordinator who visits the homes of breastfeeding mothers to provide one on one support. However the support groups are based mainly in more affluent areas and the coordinator has a massive caseload often failing to see many struggling mothers. Perhaps the supporting and influencing of disadvantaged younger mothers would be easier if the NHS embraced the technology that these people use on a daily basis. The proposed action of this HNA is to use social media to engage with hard to reach mothers to provide breastfeeding information and support. Social media is a modern, convenient and cost effective method of communication. Research from OFCOM (2012) showed that in the past year 50% of adults used the internet to access social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. In addition social networking has now overtaken text messaging as the most used method of communication among 16-24 year olds in the last two years. A study for the NHS Confederation (2012) recommended that health organisations should act immediately to avoid falling behind and to use social media to become communitarians that is, to engage, listen, respond and support communities. There is a significant lack of literature concerning social media and the N HS but Hawker (2010) suggests that some health organisations are starting to become more digitally connected. Still it is clear that a vast amount of further research in this area must be undertaken. In conclusion this HNA has identified breastfeeding as an urgent priority for intervention in my community. The proposed action is to take advantage of social media opportunities in order to engage with young or disadvantaged mothers who require breastfeeding support and advice. Indeed the Health Visitor Implementation Plan (2011) called for more innovative approaches to the profession. Incorporating such a change into health visiting practice would of course be a huge challenge that would require planning, funding and training of staff. But now is the time to develop a new service vision and to embrace these opportunities. This will establish health visiting as a central part of community health, working with families to improve health equity and life chances.