The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay

The Strengths Based Approach In Human Resources Commerce Essay Human resource has become a source of core competence a unique capability in the organization that creates high value and that differentiates the organization from its competition. Therefore it is paramount to add a strategic touch in sourcing, selecting and managing this unique capability to gain competitive advantage. Linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility bring about the strategic touch, otherwise known as Strategic Human Resource Management. Strengths Based approach in SHRM terms and Models Critically analysing BAE Systems scenario, it is possible analyse its operations which reveals SHRM terms and models that helps in understanding the context in which the strength based approach has been used. SHRM Terms BAE has been recruiting and hiring personnel to match their competence with the organizations goal. Its tradition model, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.clients going to the businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ has since changed to a more customer-oriented approach. In the process it has meant designing and implementing a set of internally consistent policies and practices that ensure the human capital of the firm contributes to the achievement of its business objectives (Schuler MacMillan 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Jackson Schuler 1995) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organization that does maintenance and support. This change is in response to BAE external business environment that demands a customer-orientated approach and as such the need for better deployment of human resource an emphasis of SHRM à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦We are putting significant numbers of people into RAF bases, working alongside the RAF our people managing RAF people in the process (pg 2, paragraph 3) Since a firms strategy (BAE strategy rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients) is a reflection of its response to the external changes, human-capital, with a broad array of skills compatible with the corporate strategy, is a catalyst for fulfilling the strategic goals. This calls for melding of HR function (selection and hiring) with a firms strategy congruence between HR practice and business strategy (Miles Snow 1984, Baird Meshoulam 1988, Wright McMahan 1992), a practice known as best-fit an approach on the idea that human resource strategy flow from business strategy; matching the human strength (talent, Skills, knowledgeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc) toward the achievement of the organisation goal. In modern competitive times success is achieved by adapting enlightened, progressive, people first, high performance or high commitment employment practices. This seems to the same idea BAE is banking on, otherwise known as best practice a bundle of HR policies that lead to highly motivated and committed employees who are the key to an organizations competitive advantage. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) Further, the above statement highlights one aspect BAE is focusing on, the people to achieve it strategic goals. So as to achieve high performance and / or high commitment, it is worldly accepted that people work better while doing what they are best at doing (Huselid, 1995; Becker and Gerhart, 1996; Guest, 1997.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they had been givenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦things they would have naturally been drawn to, that they enjoyed and found energising (pg 4, paragraph 2) Change indeed is inevitable at BAE. The business model it has been relying on is changing, calling for a more customer-orientated approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients The mere fact of implement a strength base approach, in itself is change. It can be concluded that the change is fostered towards remaining competitive in the changing environment, thus BAE is seeking to match its human resource with business strategy, a concept in SHRM known as contingency approach which brings about two orientations, the internal labour orientation that seeks a long-term relationship with its employees and external labour orientation that seeks flexibility and does not make long-term commitments employees. SHRM Model From BAEs case, certain key features emerge that helps in identifying the SHRM model it is using to recruit and select its personnel. BAE business goal is to change its earlier approach of customer going to the business, to BAE going in such of the client. Adams à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦what were trying to move to is much more customer-oriented organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The strength based approach as used in BAE scenario can be referred to as the Human Resource Strategy (HRS) and is being mended with BAE Business Strategy (BS) rather than clients going to the business, it was to the clients to achieve a fit to achieve its goal, in response to its changing business environment. This leads to a conclusion that the relationship between BS and HRS is that of Fit. Environment Analysis, another SHRM model feature, emerges; business transformation led to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦working with an industrial artist to produce a poster that illustrated for staff and leaders alike the challenges ahead. (pg 3, paragraph 3) This analysis helps BAE understand the environment which it operates in and be able to adopt as it evolves. Also the analysis prompt BAE to carry out a situation analysis to determine it current status, especially in terms of human resource to ascertain its capability to achieve its in response to the change in the business environment. This goal, I can say by analysis of BAE case, has been occasioned by BAE customers seeking value-add service on top of just the designing and build of aircraft services, an issue of stakeholder interest the customer. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a much more customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support (pg 3, paragraph 2) From the case, strength-base approach has resulted in high performance by employees doing more than they used to do even though nothing had change in terms of the job roles an issue to do with work systems and HR flow, key attributes of a HR policy. Also, for BAE employees to do things they would have been drawn to and found energising is a catalyst for achieving competence and commitment among the employees, the desired result (outcomes) of the HR policy being used by an organisation, in this case BAE. The above paints a picture of the kind of SHRM model BAE that is skewed toward the Harvard Model; an approach seen to enhance high level of trust and mutuality. A representation of the model in light of the BAE case is as follows. HR Outcomes: High performance Commitment Competence Stakeholder Interests: Employee job satisfaction Organisation/Mgt Performance and competitiveness Customer quality, value for money HR Policies Long-term Consequences: Organisational Effectiveness Situation Analysis: Skill Availability 1.2) From a Human Resource Development (HRD) perspective the value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Introduction The Link between HRD, Learning, Development and change HRD refers to activities geared to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual perspective (in terms of skills and knowledge) and from an organisation perspective (in terms of business performance through the people) resulting in an organisation gaining competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future. HRD has therefore become critical (reason for a strategic approach to human resource) in nurturing human-capital talent, bringing to the fore the need for organisations to provide opportunities to attract, retain and offer growth opportunity to individual, especially in todays knowledge economy, thus the recognition of the criticality of learning and development in the context of human-capital the development and organisation capability. An organisations business environment keeps changing hence the needs to have the capacity to embrace and manage changes as they evolve. Through people organisation achieve their goals. Likewise through people an organisation is able to adapt / change to the new way of doing business. The value of this Strength based approach from the perspective of learning, development and change Learning and Strength-based approach Learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦has acquired visibility and saliency because it sits at the juncture of new thinking concerning the nature of learning about new forms of knowledge, the transformation of the nature of work and the modern enterprise in a globalized economy (Stern and Sommerlad, 1999). From BAE perspective, the implementation of the strength-based approach can be construed to be a learning experience for the organization. Also the strength-based approach can be viewed from Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle that focuses on an integrated and planned approach based on experience Fig 2: Kolb et als (1974) learning cycle Reflection on experience involve looking back on experience and assessing the results. In relation to BAE, this is highlighted by the change in the way it used to do business. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the traditional centralised business model.was changing rather than clients going to the business, it was going to the clients. (Paragraph 2, page 3) Conceptualise involves seek to understand why things turned out as they did, draw conclusions and make some hypotheses. The strength based approach from the case is defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals weaknessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ you should focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (Paragraph 3, page 2) Implementing the approach at the board level was hypothetical in the sense that the approach had been around for a while without much success any surety it would work. Apply -testing the hypotheses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The board was allocated several key business tasksà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ allocated according to strengths. (Paragraph 1, page 4) Act Do something. In BAEs case à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The extent to which a strength-based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review. (Paragraph 6, page 4) The fact that BAE board à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦want to take this forward underscore the nature of learning, that of a continuous process. The value of Strength-based approach is that, employees are able to identify their strengths helping individuals understand their talents and how they can consciously apply these at work through developing knowledge and skills (which can be learned) to turn natural talents into world-class strengths. This approach has contributed to a high-performance work environment. (Organisational) Development and Strength-based approach As defined by Richard Beckhard (1969), Organization development (OD) is a planned, top-down, organization-wide effort to increase the organizations effectiveness and health. OD is undertaken to achieve a flexible (not only enabling organizations to embrace change, but exploit change in the external environment to organizational advantage) and creative organization that constantly seeks to improve and reinvent the way it carries out its business, and serves its customers. How rapidly an organization adapts to changing business circumstance is what delivers competitive advantage in todays global marketplace. Example, today, customers can be located anywhere in the world, customers demand near-instantaneous responsiveness and solutions. Such factors have impinged on organizational development. As a resulted there is a growing trend around the world to introduce skill-specific forms of training, as well as the growing recognition of individual learning contribution to organisation learning, both of which emphasise the link between competitive advantage and, training and development specifically around role and tasks. This seems to be the perspective BAE is borrowing by implementing a strength-based approach. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Rather than being shared out according to job functionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦tasks were now allocated according to strengths (skills) (paragraph 1, pg 4) A broader approach could be placed on identifying the skills and experience (BAE: through strength-based approach), which broad business direction (BAE: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦customer-orientated organisation that does maintenance and support) suggests will be required in the future together with planning around developing talent at different levels in the organisation (BAE: The extent to which a strength based approach will be integrated into BAE is under review). Change and Strength-based Approach An organisation can only perform effectively through interaction with the broader external environment of which it is part. Therefore the structure and functioning of the organisation must reflect the nature of the environment in which it is operation. For its survival and future success the organisation must be readily adaptable to the external demands upon it it must be responsive to change. From BAE perspective The traditionally centralised business modelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was changingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 2, page 3) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to move toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦much more customer-orientated organisationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 3, page 4) The above reflects a change and BAE needs to adapt to the new way of doing business. Implementing the Strength-based approach comes in handy in identify the set of skills required to undertake such a move. 1.3 From an organisational and employee perspective the weakness ofstrength based approach The direction an organisation takes is always governed by goals that it wants to achieve and the strategies thereof applied to achieve them. Since the only way to achieve such goals is through people, there has to be a link between the strategies and the people. From BAEs perspective, the strength-based approach may be viewed as a best-practise approach a bundle of HR policies. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Instead of focusing on an individuals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦focus on their strong points and allow them to use those to their full potential (pg 2, paragraph 3) According to Purcell (1999, p. 27) the best practice model does not discuss on company strategy. The underlying premise of this view is that organizations adopting a set of best practices attract super human resources, talent and competencies. These superior human resources will, in turn, influence the strategy the organization adopts and is the source of its competitive advantage. (Milkovich Newman, 2002, p. 30) .Therefore, for this approach, policy precedes strategy. This brings out the first weakness of the strength-based approach there is no direct link with the overall organization strategy. The strength-based approach primary focus is the skills of a person thereby limiting people to their area of interest. This leads to specialization and in as much as it make an organization / individual competent in the area of interest, to an extent this may prove very expensive to the organization since specialized skills are scarce and may come at a cost and should an organization be pursuing a cost leadership strategy this may undermine its intended goal cost reduction, which indeed is a competitive advantage virtue. This by analysis can be presumed true of the BAE scenario. Furthermore, it is prudent to focus also on the weakest points. For example a manager, using the WH Smith competence model used to underpin graduate recruitment and development, needs the following competencies: written communication ( communicate on paper) Oral communication (clearly speak and with ease) leadership (directing, command authority) team membership (team player) Planning and organizing Decision Making Motivation Personal Strength Analytical It may not be possible to be good at all the above competencies, albeit those being key requirements from a managerial focus, hence their weakness. But due to performance demands this may be sacrificed for performance. Watts agrees: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦its all about business performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if someone was the greatest strategist in the world but terrible at people management, we wouldnt be able to tolerate that, no matter how strong they were in the other areas. So its playing to people strength where possibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Human Resource development (HRD) emphasizes the need to cause employees to improve, make better, to increase from an individual skills and knowledge perspective, and from an organisation performance through the people perspective. As a result an organisation gains competitive edge and ability to succeed in the future From the above nature of HRD, the strength-based approach lucks a clear way of improving skills in the sense that it is impossible to pinpoint areas of improvement from a skilled resource perspective performing tasks he/she is attracted to and good at doing. ..How do you help someone who has risen to the top by being strong in most areas? (Paragraph 6, page 3) Complacency, egoism could result if a strength-based approach was implemented. An employee would feel superior since his skills is unmatched and as such would take things for granted while not putting enough effort and thereby affecting performance. Linleyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦people often take things they are good at for granted, because it feels natural and doesnt require a lot of effortà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Paragraph 7, page 3) SECTION B Question 2: 2.1: The main features of a performance management system Driven by market imperatives to develop more efficient organizational structures and practices, within an organization, there is an increasing emphasis on behavioural competitive strategies that rely on core competencies and capabilities among employees, not only because they provide the most effective response to market demands, but also because they are not easily copied by competitors. Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Its the identification, evaluation and developing the work performance of employees so that an organizations goals and objectives are more effectively achieved. Ensuring a productive and successful performance management system (PMS) is hard work and requires rigor and discipline to which an organization must be willing to commit. Key features of PMS include: Making the business case the objective The path (strategy) an organization will take goals to be achieved and role of each employee need to be communicated to achieve oneness, coherence and understanding throughout the organization. A PMS, likewise, need to be communicated pre-launch, (re)launch and post launch. There is need to cultivate enthusiasm, understanding and commitment through continual explanation of using the system to the entire organization In itself, PMS is an accountability system, showing the business results everyone (from senior managers to front-line employees) is accountable for and setting expectations for achieving the desire results. There should be a continual review of the objective in with the organization strategy. This is especially so taking into account the market dynamics keep changing and the organization need to align itself to be able to coup with change. Skill development It is critical to develop confidence and the competence of all employees around fulfilling their roles when implementing a process intended to change behavior. Actively involving the employees throughout the performance cycle will result in the effectiveness of the PMS. Both the leaders and employees need to know their responsibilities in the process; how to create measurable objectives and observable competencies; how to track; how to seek, give, and receive feedback; how to evaluate performance; and how to conduct effective performance discussions. All this require skills development in the form of training to be provided for both the leaders and employees. Aligned systems and Processes The alignment process begins with the PMS supporting the business strategic priorities and goals. It is critical to determine the relationship between other systems (for example team working) and the performance management system and how data from it will be used to support other HR systems, such as training and development, succession planning, selection and promotion, rewards and recognition, and compensation. For success in a specific position, competencies need to be identified and incorporate into the selection process for hiring people into the position which late be included into performance plans to track and evaluate. This provides an immediate link between the competencies used for selection and the competencies used to evaluate performance in the new job. The two systems are aligned and reinforce each other. Providing clear measures What are the outcomes envisaged from the system (PMS) and how do we measure? Before implementation, it is paramount to decide upon the criteria for evaluating the systems effectiveness. Landmarks for evaluation would include compliance ( for example, are performance plans, interim reviews, and final reviews, being completed on time?) and quality and effectiveness of the system (quality audits of performance plans and reviews, questions on employee satisfaction surveys and exit interviews, and so on) 2.2: Critical evaluation of the relationship and contribution of performance management systems with strategic human resource management principles Concept of Human Resource Today, all organizations (private business, academics and governments) throughout the world appreciate that the human resources can be a source of competitive advantage, provided that the policies for managing people are integrated with strategic business planning and organizational culture (Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Quinn, Mills, Walton, 1985) an important emphasis of congruence between human resource policies and organization objectives. This brings about the aspect of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) the linking of human resources with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational culture that foster innovation and flexibility. SHRM can be seen as a three-dimensional model (Gratton and Truss, 2003): it is based on vertical alignment between people strategy and operational strategy; on horizontal alignment between individual HRM functions; and on an action and implementation dimension. Further in HRM, there are two strands of thinking: hard approach to HRM that focuses on cost reduction and containment, links with strategy and the role of HRM in furthering the competitive advantage of the organization and; the soft HRM that builds on human relations traditions and stresses the importance of the subjects as a means of furthering employee satisfaction and a range of related humane objectives that are achievable from the insights of systematic studies within HRM. Strategic human resource management and performance In the 21st century, organizations are so keen and are striving to achieve competitive advantage and profits through effective knowledge management (generating knowledge through collective learning). When human resource strategies are based on competence (ability requiring skills and knowledge which are acquired), the competency point of view is relevant to all functions. The key functions of HRM include personnel recruitment, development, and career planning and performance evaluation. In an organization there is a combination of material and immaterial resources that are expected to provide competitive edge to the organization (Kamoche, 1999). Resources and capabilities can be defined as skills, collective learning (core capabilities embedded in the organizations structures and processes) or as core competence. The capabilities include human capital (Individual competence is a good example), Structural capital (consists of intellectual property and infrastructure; systems of performance evaluation and management). The relationship capital refers to those distinct features that mark the organizations relationship with customers, personnel and interest groups. From this viewpoint, HRM is seen as a promoter of strategic capability, as a driver or as the organizations core competence. The latter consider that HRM functions of an organization can create unique competence that makes the organization stand out from the rest. This in turn increases its competitive advanta ge. Competence can be viewed from two levels: organizations core competence that incorporates collective learning and individual competence is usually based on the relationship between individual skills and work demands. The latter is often linked to good work performance. The prerequisites for competency depend on circumstances and are related to the facilitators of and barriers to reaching organizational goals, created by the organization and by social relations. Individual competency potential and the characteristics of the organization influence work competency i.e. effective response to work demands. Here, it is a question of reconciling desired behaviors and outcomes with actual behaviors and outcomes. Performance evaluation at the level of an organization and performance evaluation at the level of an individual constitute the basic functions of SHRM and can be used to co-ordinate strategies and personnel strategies and HRM functions. This mechanism is expected to establish a link between HRM and performance by increasing the motivation and building performance capability of personnel However, Panayotopoulou, Bourantas and Papalexandris (2003, p. 682) state research has failed to consistently support the efficacy of fit and its link to performance. Key citation is that most research on HRM and performance are based on the assumption that an organization pursues an integrated set of objectives and human resource that is in contrast with three recent developments: move towards more flexible internal structures associated with different forms of cooperation and collaboration among organizations and some of these include strategic alliances, business networks, joint ventures and linkages Outsourcing and inter-organizational contracting trend. These approaches do not consider the influence of multi employers and customers in the shaping of the employment relationship (Rubery, Earnshaw, Marchington, Cooke and Vincent 2002.) Much of organizational performance discussion is as though organizations are homogenous entities with clearly defined boundaries and similar contexts and characteristics. Recent developments suggest the need to understand the boundaries and how these might impact on organizations and the employment relationship. Hutchinson, Kinnie and Purcell (2001) report, in relation to the notions of people management and performance a number of aspects demonstrating the difficulty of evaluating performance impact are identified. The relationship between HR practices and business performance can be identified at different levels ranging from the plant/establishment level through to the corporation level. Lack of consensus on what constitutes a HR package and no agreement on the level of specificity or HR practices. There is a different way of measuring HR practices and a limited use of performance measures. in some cases sophisticated measurement techniques are used and these are hard to understand Few studies take account of the reaction of employees so that it is difficult to understand how the HR practices feed through to improved levels of performance and thus causality is an issue. Guest (1997) concur that there is a need for a basis of comparison and also a need to understand the relationship between types of performance data. 5 The main features of Human Resource Development (HRD) strategies and how they influence organisation change Definition of HRD By definition, HRD strategies are plans defining how human resources would be utilized through the use of an integrated array of training, organisational development and career development efforts to achieve individual, organisational objectives. The increasingly competitive business environment organization have become increasingly interested in and appreciate their employees who are seen as key players contributing to the core competencies of the organization (Hamel and Prahalad, 1994). As a result, it has become paramount for the organization (the management) to harness and nurture the talents and capabilities of the employees for good performance and competitive edge. This has given rise to the need of human resource development. Features and their influences: Skill Gap People are our greatest asset, is on the lips of many senior managers. During selection and hiring of an employee, at that time the employees competencies (ability- requiring skills and knowledge) were deemed as fitting with the organisation objectives. As a result of changes taking place in the business environment (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) most like the organisation will have changed in the way it used to work so as to encompass/embraces these changes resulting in skills deficit. In response to the need to meet the skill gaps and increase productivity, organisations are keen to encourage a series of initiatives, and which recognise the importance of developing the skills, for example multi-skilling and learning to achieve flexibility. However, in as much as people are our greatest asset philosophy goes, there is poor investment in training and development in most of the organisation (Redman and Wilkinson, 2001; Harrison, 2002). Furthermore the development budget is often the first target when economies are needed. Creating learning Environments Changes in the business environment are leading to flexible and creative organisations that are constantly seeking to improve and reinvent the way business is carried out and how customers are severed an organisation development (OD) perspective. French and Bell (1999) describes OD as a long-term effort to improve the organisations visioning, empowerment, learning and problem-solving processes through collaborative management of organisation culture this description high-lights a key aspect, learning. The organisation is not the only arena for people to learn. There is need for organisations and its employees, and to a greater extent the community within which the organisation is operating to understand the importance of life-long-learning the need to have high quality. This calls for a cross-sector partnership to provide opportunities for organisation (public, private and non-profit) to work together to enhance the skill base in the labour market which will in turn increase in human and social capital. Developing a learning organisation is not easy since it necessitates culture change. To successfully implement a learning culture, there is need to align performance evaluation and reward processes with organisational learning goals, a means of fostering a common corporate learning culture. Encouraging a greater uptake of learning an

Dominos Case Analysis

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Dominoes was found in 1960 and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Domino’s Pizza Inc. is the market leader in the United States pizza delivery and second largest pizza company in the world based on number of units. The company offers a wide variety of pizza products as well as pasta, bread sticks, boneless chicken and wings, desserts and soft drinks. As of the beginning of this year, 2012, Domino’s had 394 company-owned stores and 4,513 franchised Domino’s units in the U. S. and 4,835 franchised stores internationally.Domino’s strategy is to use its superior supply-chain to provide its franchises with lost cost inputs so the franchises may focus on sales and service. Through the online world, Domino’s customers began to share their dissatisfaction with Domino’s products, such as pizza lacked taste and quality and poor quality delivery pizzas. Over the past 3-5 years Domino’s has made an ef fort to improve the palatability of their core products, and in 2009 introduced a new and redesigned crust recipe, fresh ingredients, a new sauce, and real shredded cheese.This effort, along the successive marketing campaigns has increased brand loyalty and customer preferences which has had a profound effect on increases in revenue and number of franchise openings. I believe that this strategy that is currently implemented is working, but for Domino’s to remain an industry leader and prolong the current trend of success, Domino’s needs to focus on the demographic and technological changes in the market. Focusing on the changes and reevaluating their current strategy will help Domino’s remain a leader within the industry. Situational AnalysisGeneral Environment Analysis: Demographic | -Pizza remains a very popular product appealing to a wide demographic of Americans that consider restaurants an essential part of their lifestyle. -According to Rasmussen Reports 4 0% of American eat pizza at least once per month w/adults ranging 30-49 yrs. of age; 21% of young adults (18-24) purchase pizza more than three times a week. Pizza is an integral part of American culture and shows no sign of exciting the market. | Economic | Domino’s is not immune to market trends; its revenues are directly affected by how the economy is doing.As the labor force progresses closer to full employment, consumer spending will increase and real GDP will be boosted. As a result, Domino’s Pizza will benefit from the increase of consumer spending as more consumers will likely spend more money at quick-service restaurants than dinging at home. To retain consumer’s quick-service restaurants should not worry as much about pricing but about expanding their menus. | Political/Legal| The political and legal conditions that could affect the business of Domino’s Pizza are the policies of the local and national government towards business.If the governmen t is more open to the establishment of numerous restaurants, then more restaurants will be established. Laws in favor of employees will be a factor for Domino’s. In each state/country they operate in they will have to provide proper employee training, as well as the minimum wage that are in compliance with state and federal regulations. Wages increasing can have a negative impact on revenues. | Sociocultural| Households are more likely to have a double income these days, resulting in families going out to eat more often. No time to cook at home) Media is growing at a fast pace means that Domino’s need to be part of this trend and keep up with the technological changes when comes to their online and app. options. Providing healthier options can be a potential competitive advantage for Domino’s. More people are concerned with their health and are becoming more aware of nutritional facts. Organic and gluten free products are gaining popularity. | Technological| The fast changes in technology nowadays have far-reaching effects.The factors that have a huge impact are: research and development, internet and e-commerce, and new technologies. The research and development has effects on Domino’s Pizza because through R&D new products are developed for the business, the internet and e-commerce also contributes to the technological factors because through them customers can give feedback regarding the products. Technology will assist in developing the firms’ strategies and strategic competiveness. | Global| More and more industrialized countries are emerging.Current and potential political events can affect the potential growth of Domino’s. | Physical| Creating and using products that are bio-gradable and promoting recycling can save Domino’s money, and differentiate themselves from their competitors. | Industry analysis: The restaurant industry was projected to have $604 Billion sales in 2011, which is approximately 4 per cent of the projected total GDP of the United States according to the estimate from National Restaurant Association. The industry has been expanding since the 1960s, mainly due to the boom of quick service restaurants such as Yum!Brands Inc. and McDonald’s. The long term expansion of the restaurant industry is expected to continue as the major players in this industry are focusing on providing healthier and less expensive food for both Americans and customers’ abroad. The restaurant industry provides two categories of services: fast food and full-service restaurant. The fast food restaurants mainly serve products including sandwiches, and pizza. Those restaurants attract customers by offering convenient, inexpensive and appealing foods.Fast food restaurants will still perform comparatively well during financial downturn (see graphs below) because customers will switch from full-service restaurant to the cheaper fast food restaurants. Threat of new entrants| ? Economies of Scale: The saturation of the pizza industry is a huge limiter of how much an advantage can be attained by economies of scale.? Product Differentiation: Differentiation is a necessary expense in the pizza industry but it is not difficult to overcome so we can say it is not a significant barrier to market entry.?Capital requirements will dominate the formation of new, national competitors, but is not a significant barrier to private startups.? Cost Disadvantages: The extreme saturation and similarity in product offering make convenient locations essential for quick service restaurants large and small. This is a significant barrier to entry.? Distribution Channels: Speedy and reliable channels are essential among all firms in the industry, they are not necessarily difficult for new comers to attain. Due to the lack of any of the barriers to entry being so significant, we feel the threat of new entrants is high. Power of suppliers| The bargaining power of suppliers shapes the restau rant industry by determining the food commodity costs. Restaurant operators usually negotiate on their purchases through future contracts; however instability in food goods costs can constrain the power to price their products. Suppliers for Domino’s pizza have low bargaining power, due to the high volume of products and the low differentiation level. There are also many substitutes for any particular input. | Power of buyers| Price is a key factor for customers in choosing restaurants.Consumers compare the values of food and what they pay for the food. Domino’s Pizza customers bargaining power and switching costs are low since a costumer can find a second option easily (frozen pizza or other pizza restaurants and chains). Differentiation levels are created by the consumers and include style of pizza, atmosphere, and location. | Threat of product substitutes| One reason for high competition in the restaurant industry is similar menus among the companies in the restaura nt industry. Few restaurants have successfully differentiated menus from others.The threat this poses on the industry’s’ profitability depend on the price-to-performance ratio, it is also affected by switching costs. Since there are so many firms offer the same basic need the consumer is looking for it results in low switching costs and a high threat of substitution. | Intensity of rivalry among competitors| The rivalry in the restaurant industry is high and gives firms more incentive to differentiate themselves form its competitors and meet customers’ needs. Firms in this industry are competing for the same market share.Since the customer base is not growing as fast the industry, the growth is slow. | Competitor analysis: With Domino’s Pizza competing in the domestic and global market, its main competitors globally are YUM! Brands, McDonalds, and Wendy’s. Many of these fast service chain restaurants are expanding internationally at a rapid rate. E ach competitor offers wide array of products to its consumers, so Domino’s has had to make many menu changes to help keep their loyal customers satisfied. Domino’s main U. S. competitors in the pizza delivery service market are Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars.Domino’s is in an industry where it must use its valued brand name as a way of competing with its competitors around the globe. Locally, Domino’s uses its trademark â€Å"Domino's Pizza: You Got 30 Minutes†20 to remind consumers that they are the number one pizza delivery company in the U. S. and use this as a competitive edge against its aggressive competitors. Pizza Hut The number one competitor for Domino’s is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut operates under Yum! Brands, which also includes four other restaurant chains. Pizza Hut is only two years older than Domino’s and has over 13,000 store locations in 95 different countries.The main focus of Pizza Hut is letting their customers customize their pizzas; each location is designed to tailor to local tastes and culture. They serve a variety of products ranging from specialty pizzas to pasta, sandwiches and chicken wings. In 2010 the brand reported a 4. 7 percent increase in revenues and sales for Pizza Hut increased by 8. 8 percent in the US. Though Domino’s remains the leader in the US delivery segment, Pizza Hut maintains the top spot in the US pizza segment with a 13. 78 market share as of late 2009.Pizza Hut’s goal is moving forward, they want to be known not as a pizza restaurant, but as a â€Å"pizza, pasta, and wings† brand. To complete their transformation Pizza Hut is working to make its menu items more competitively priced and improve their service times as well as focus on great customer service. Lastly, to help gain market share throughout the world, Pizza Hut is focusing its expansion plans on China, one of the world’s rapidly growing marketplaces. Papa Johnâ €™s Papa John’s is considered the world’s third ranked pizza delivery and carryout restaurant behind Pizza Hut and Domino’s.Currently it owns and franchises 3,646 restaurants in which 612 are company owned and 3,034 franchised in all of US and 32 countries worldwide. Papa John’s was founded on the premise that if you make the best pizza and price it competitively, you can sell it. Some of their major products include pizza, bread/cheese sticks, chicken strips, winds, dessert, and beverages. Papa John’s operates through six segments: domestic restaurants, domestic franchising, international operations, variable interest entities, and â€Å"all other† business units.In 1999 Papa John’s took over the number three spot in the US market from Little Caesars. But in the early 2000s, Papa Johns hit the wall and put a break on its expansions plans. The economic recession caused a dip in revenues for year-end 2009, and 2010. In effort to re -energize its brand during this period, Papa invested heavily in advertising, becoming the official sponsor for the NFL and the next three super bowls. In addition, Papa John’s launched a highly successfully promotion for consumers, these efforts helped Papa John’s maintain its market share.Little Caesars Family-owned Little Caesars Enterprises, Inc a subsidiary of Illitich Holdings owns and franchises over 2,600 units in the US and 11 other countries. As of 2010, it owned 4 percent of the US pizza locations and was a major competitor of Domino’s despite its lack of delivery service. It’s considered by Technomic Inc to be the fastest growing pizza restaurant chain in the US. Approximately 80 percent of Little Caesars locations are franchises with many stores located in strip malls or other popular shopping areas.Little Caesars offers pizzas, crazy bread and sauce, cheese bread, Caesar dips and churros as well as it offers party catering service. Littler C aesars has been following the same marketing campaign since the 70s and is known for its two-for-one â€Å"Pizza! Pizza! † Little Caesars has topped a host of â€Å"Best Pizza Value in America† lists for years and years in a row and, despite some setbacks in the 90s as Papa John’s climbed the ladder, continues to offer some hard- to- beat competition. Internal analysis Tangible resources:Domino’s low cost deliver-oriented store design is a tangible resource. Domino’s franchises approximately 90 percent of their 5,155 stores in the US. The stores are decided small with a focus on delivery, which allows them to cut the cost of having the typical large pizzeria type restaurant. Domino’s also uses their company owned stores as testing facilities for new products and technologies, this allows them to cut cost on having to rent out additional stores. Domino’s has its own supply chain for domestic and internationally franchised stores.This o peration consists 17 domestic facilities/6 international facilities that distribute food, equipment and supplies to the franchised stores nation and worldwide. Having their own supply chain gives Domino’s an advantage, it means automatic delivery of ingredients to stores which eliminates wait time and adds freshness, allowing the store team to focus on its sales and customer service. The vertically integrated supply chain allows Domino’s to leverage the purchasing power of thousands of privately owned and franchised stores nationwide to help food costs low.Domino’s new smart-phone â€Å"pizza tracker† application that is also available on their website, shows customers where the pizza is in the process, and how long it will take for the pizza to be ready and/or delivered. This allows customers be more involved in the process and allows instant communication between the two. In result this will help decrease the number of employees that Domino’s nee ds to hire, which will increase revenues as well as focus more on the food making process. Intangible resources: Domino’s has multiple intangible resources.Firstly, Domino’s focuses as a company on two core strengths: high quality pizzas at a competitive price and a fast delivery time, both that are intangible. Secondly, Domino’s strong brand image results in many loyal customers even with the new introductions made to the menu. Lastly, Domino’s has a worldwide presence and have pioneered the pizza delivery industry giving them a strong reputation. Capabilities: Domino’s has five capabilities that were discussed in the analysis. The first is their vertically integrated supply chain. Domino’s is able to drive sales up and costs down.Secondly, Domino’s focuses on adapting each location to its surrounding environment, such as changing menu options in other countries to adapt to the taste preferences of the population. Thirdly, the new sm art phone application, which allows customers order as they go and have more of a connection during the process. Having a strong brand image is another capability of Domino’s, its what allows them to be a direct competitor in the restaurant industry. Lastly, Domino’s is very cost effective, they pre-cut and pre-package all the ingredients, which allow them to be competitive in the market, and in the price they charge their customers.Core competencies: The last four decades Dominos has proven to be a top leader in the pizza industry, and has created several core competencies. Strong brand presence is what created brand loyalty with their customers and lead them to be one of the major competitors in the industry. Their focus on fast delivery is the foundation of their daily profit margins. Expanding internationally and incorporating online services as well as smart device application is another factor for them staying competitive. Also, Domino’s has a cost leaders hip business model which allows them to sell their products at a competitive rice. Sustainable competitive advantage: Domino’s has expanded their opportunities for more profit by opening over 3,000 locations internationally. They have built a strong brand image; by incorporating online technology they were able to stay competitive and ahead of some of their competitors. They have sustained their competitive advantage with the incorporation of Internet services as well as their strong brand image, as well as their expansion to over 70 countries. Since 2009, Domino’s stock has grown a remarkable 233 percent by 2011.SWOT Analysis Strengths| Weaknesses| -Delivery leader in the industry. -Has a strong and diversified franchising network around the world-Massive growth in its expansion across the globe; Dominos international network grew 48% from 2,987 stores to 4,442 stores-Strong brand equity. Known as the â€Å"Mega Brand† as defined by advertising brand magazine. Its positive brand image leads to dependable and trustworthy customers -Technology savvy: Online menus, as well as a Domino’s application for the iPhone and iPod.Helps customers order quickly and choose to have food delivered; pizza tracker allows the customer to the progress of their food being delivered. | -Compared to competitors it lacks menu options -Weak international presence as compared to peers-Lacks significant amount of profit it earns outs the US compared to its competitors-Weakening bottom line| Opportunities| Threats| -Expand its product outside of its stores and into the frozen food market can be quite profitable and beneficial (good for top line growth)-Introduce new healthier options: organic toppings, gluten free, etc. Entry into expanding markets will like boost revenue growth-Sales growth from online orders and smartphone application| -Faces high competition among other pizza companies domestically and globally. Constantly dealing with new product innovati on techniques and pricing pressure among the pizza delivery industry. -Strict govt. regulations poses threat to company’s development plans-Social media can result in a threat due to more people sharing their experiences-bad experiences can influence a prospect client to go elsewhere -Consumers growing more heath conscious| Strategy FormationDomino’s prides itself on its consistency and logistical operations that keep overhead costs down and provide less expensive pizza. Due to the current demographic changes and methods of communication changing, Dominoes must make changes to it s current cost leaderships strategy in order to gain more market share and stay a top competitor in the industry. Strategic alternatives: A strategic alternative for Domino’s to pursue would be a differentiation strategy. Domino’s could gain more customers from segments of the market that had not considered Domino’s as an adequate meal choice.If Domino’s chooses to focus on even a lower cost leadership strategy it would help them maintain its current customer base and possible gain more bargain shopper customers by exploiting its already known capabilities and core competencies, resulting in even more market share form this market segment. Pursuing an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy, Domino’s will still be able to maintain its competitive pricing while creating new products that will attract new segments of the market. Alternative evaluation: The first strategy that Domino’s could pursue is the differentiation strategy.Pursing this strategy would mean that Dominos would need to look for new suppliers to obtain higher quality ingredients. The finance support in the value chain would have to examine to see where capital could be found and allocated to make this strategy work. For Domino’s to change to the differentiation strategy, they would need to gain new tangible and intangible resources to achiev e this strategy as well as to create new capabilities that would lead to new core competencies, resulting in a competitive advantage in the market. Secondly, Domino’s could purse a even lower cost leadership strategy.To pursue an even lower cost leadership strategy, Domino’s would have to cut mores cost in areas such as food quality and choice of supplier. This could lead to fewer costs for them but may result going back to their â€Å"tastes like cardboard† negative image. Due to the taste aspect of their product, it would be safest for Domino’s to look to make cuts else where such as marketing and advertising in order to keep their even lower cost leadership strategy. Lastly, Domino’s could pursue the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy.This strategy would be the strongest strategy for Domino’s, it could allow them to be the first mover in the industry to use healthier, organic ingredients which would attract a new segme nt of the market as well as those who might have decided to go else where. Alternative choice: I would choose the integrated cost leadership and differentiated strategy from the three options I listed above. I believe that this strategy allows Domino’s to use its current core competencies and helps develop new capabilities that could lead to even stronger core competencies and a higher competitive advantage in the industry.Strategic Alternative Implementation Action items: In order for Domino’s to implement an integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy and gain a competitive advantage in the industry it will need: suppliers that will sell quality ingredients at a reasonable cost, a new structure that is supported by the company, and lastly having the current leader initiate and encourage these changes, or put a new leader that will help implement these changes.Actions plan: In order for Domino’s to take on an integrated cost leadership and different iation strategy, they should use their existing connections with suppliers that will help them find new suppliers who can deliver organic, high quality ingredients at a reasonable price. This will assist with Domino’s becoming the first mover in the industry towards healthier, high quality pizzas.Though this may lead to an increase of price, I believe that because of the current organic foods sector recent growth sprit in our society, there won’t be much of a negative reaction to the price. The current hybrid functional/multidivisional structure may be able to hand the strategy change, but modifications to the value chain would need to take place. Less focus on cutting costs, more of a focus on differentiating the product.Last of all, the current leader or a new leader would need to me a transformational leader, that would implement and encourage the strategy switch from cost leadership to integrated cost leadership and differentiation. Pursuing this new strategy would lead to numerous opportunities, and benefits for Domino’s now and the future. It would allow Domino’s become a first mover in the industry, and create a new market for other fast food restaurants.

Policy Analysis on Dementia Care

Abstract The policy ‘Improving Care for People with Dementia’ aims to increase diagnosis of dementia, improve health and care services in hospitals, care homes and communities, create dementia-friendly communities and widen research on dementia care. This brief aims to analyse only the aspect of improving health and care services in communities and the patients’ homes and relate this to the district nurse’s role of bringing care to the patient’s home and community. With an ageing population, the London Borough of Hackney, and the rest of the UK, is experiencing increased incidence of dementia. The costs associated with dementia care are approximately ?23bn annually in the UK. As a district nurse, this policy is important since it seeks to improve the care received by patients in community settings or their own homes. My caseload demonstrates a disproportionate number of patients suffering from dementia and the resources channelled to their care. Dementia is a chronic and complex condition and requires interventions from different health and social care professionals. However, informal carers bear most of the burden of caring. As a district nurse, I have to address the patients and the carers’ needs. Patients need to receive interventions to improve their nutrition, health and wellbeing. Carers need to receive training on how to feed their patients, ease their anxiety, regulate their sleeping habits or improve their mobility and independence. Meeting all these needs require additional training and collaboration between the district nurses and other health and social care professionals. The Department of Health and the Royal College of Nursing have a cknowledged the district nurses’ role in meeting the needs of patients with dementia in hospital settings. These nurses are tasked to prevent admission of patients and promote positive experiences for families during end of life care. However, the politics and economic context of this policy could all influence the care received by the patients. Ethics also play a role in delivery of care. The state’s apparent withdrawal of minimum service and delegating most of the task to home care could have ethical implications. Safeguards to quality care most commonly seen in wards or hospitals are missing in home care. This might do more harm for the patient than good. However, district nurses still have to weigh if choosing to provide care at home would be more beneficial for the patient or otherwise. Finally, this brief shows that community care for patients with dementia is possible if district nurse teams are dedicated and the workforce increased to respond to the increasing workload. Introduction The Department of Health Public Health Nursing (2013) has recognised that care for patients with long-term conditions often continue in their own communities and in the people’s homes. This type of care would require sustained relationships with district nurses (DN), who are responsible for managing the patient’s healthcare conditions. This brief aims to critically analyse the policy Improving Care for People with Dementia (Department of Health, 2013) and will relate this with the Department of Health Public Health Nursing’s (2013) Care in Local communities- District Nurse Vision and Model. The Department of Health Public Health Nursing (2013) has acknowledged that this new vision is a response to the growing needs of the ageing population in the UK. Specifically, it has recognised the growing incidence of dementia amongst the elderly population and this vision sets out the contribution of DNs and other healthcare teams in meeting the challenge of dementia. The first part of this brief justifies the choice of this policy and the focus on dementia care. A community in Hackney is chosen in this brief to represent my nursing caseloads of dementia. The second part discusses political, economic and philosophical context of the policy. The third part critically appraises the ethical and moral implications of this policy for practice. Policy on Dementia Care and the Community of Hackney With an ageing population, the London Borough of Hackney, like the rest of the UK, is faced with a rising incidence of the long-term conditions associated with old age (Office for National Statistics, 2013). According to the Alzheimer’s Research UK (2013), more than 820,000 elderly individuals are affected by dementia. The rate of dementia in Hackney is four times higher than that of the general population’s rate (Public Health England, 2013). In 2010, approximately 1,350 elderly people were living with dementia in Hackney (NHS, 2012). This policy aims to increase diagnosis rate, improve health and care services in hospitals, care homes, communities and homes, create dementia-friendly communities and widen research on dementia care. This brief will only focus on improving health and care services in communities and homes and relate these to the DNs role in providing care to patients in their own communities and homes. Implications of the Policy on Current Practice The policy on dementia care has an important implication in my practice as a district nurse. Providing holistic interventions to improve the quality of care in community settings require collaborative efforts of health and social care professionals (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2007). As a district nurse, I take the lead in provision of healthcare in community settings. On reflection, patients with dementia have complex needs that require collaborative care from nurses, physical and occupational therapists, dieticians, social care workers and other healthcare professionals. My role extends from planning care to coordinating care with other professionals. The King’s Fund (2012) explains that multidisciplinary teams are needed to provide quality care to patients. However, the quality of care could be affected if there are fewer nurses caring for patients. I observed that the number of registered nurses in my practice is declining. This observation is similar in a survey conducted by the Royal College of Nursing (2011), which reported that almost 70% of district nurse respondents claimed that registered nurses in their staff have dropped out. In my current caseload, a third of my patients in our team suffer from dementia. The incidence of dementia in Hackney is four times higher compared to the UK’s average (Public Health England, 2013). However, due to the nature of the condition, the care of this group of patients requires a disproportionate amount of time and resources. One of the duties of DNs in addressing the policy on dementia care is to ensure that carers also receive appropriate support. Carers have the right to h ave their needs assessed under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 (UK Legislation, 2000). In my experience, CBT has been show to be effective not only in reducing anxiety in my patients but also depression in the carers. It has been shown that joining support groups has been associated with reduced incidence of depression (NICE, 2006). Implications of the Policy on Future Practice With the increasing focus on community care, there is a need to strengthen the district nurse workforce. Based on my experiences and observation, the quality of care could be compromised due to the decreasing number of DNs (Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2010). There is increased pressure to provide quality care at the least cost and with reduced number of nurses (Queen’s Nursing Institute, 2010). Establishing a therapeutic relationship is difficult when the continuous decline of healthcare workforce in the community is not addressed. Sheehan et al. (2009) argue that a positive relationship between healthcare professionals and the patient is needed in order to make healthcare decisions that would dictate the future of the patient. Based on these observations, the policy on dementia care would require additional workforce of registered nurses who would be willing to work in community settings. At present, the issue of sustainability of the DN workforce in meeting the present and future demands of elderly patients has been raised (Royal College of Nursing, 2013, 2011). Unless the issue of reduced workforce is not addressed, meeting the demands of the dementia policy would continue to be difficult. The policy would also require additional education and training for nurses. The Royal College of Nursing (2013) has acknowledged that the present DN workforce is highly qualified. Many have met the qualifications of nurse prescriber or district nurse while the rest of the staff either have completed qualifications for nursing first or second level registration or at least hold a nursing degree. However, the Royal College of Nursing (2013) also notes that the workforce number is still low. A small workforce could not adequately meet these needs. Further, the ageing population in the UK would mean that the NHS would continue to see a rise in the incidence of dementia in the succeeding years. The issue of recording performance data is also raised with the recent policy on dementia care. This would be a challenge since a community or a home does not present any safeguards commonly found in a controlled environment such as wards in hospital settings (Royal College of Nursing, 2013). There is also a need for DNs to be trained on how to give education and training to caregivers. In a systematic review conducted by Zabalegui et al. (2014), suggest that the quality of care of patients with dementia living at home could be improved if caregivers receive sufficient education and training from healthcare providers. Political, Economic and Philosophical Context The Alzheimer’s society (2014) states that in the UK, approximately ?23 billion is spent annually to manage patients with dementia. However, the same organisation is quick to observe that a large portion of this cost is borne by carers of the patient rather than social care services or the NHS. To date, there is only one study (Alzheimer’s UK, 2007) that investigated the cost of managing patients with dementia in community settings. The report shows that in 2007, the cost of managing one patient with mild dementia within one year in a community setting amounts to ?14, 540. For an individual with moderate dementia, the annual cost is ?20,355. This increases to ?28,527 for a patient with severe dementia. If a patient is sent to a care home, the annual cost of managing the condition amounts to ?31,263. It should be noted that all these costs were calculated almost 7 years ago. The individual cost of treatment is now higher. The same survey also shows that majority of the costs of dementia care is channelled to the carers. However, these costs do not account for the informal carers. Alzheimer’s UK (2007) estimates that the number of hours informal carers devote to caring run up to 1.5bn hours each year. This translates to ?12bn in cost, which is higher than the combined health and social care cost for dementia. Patients with severe dementia living in their homes or communities need at least 46 hours of paid carer support within a week (Alzheimer’s UK, 2007). However, the changing dynamics of families, with children living far from their parents or loss of spouse due to divorce or death could limit the pool of family carers. This issue could all influence the impact of the service provided by informal carers of dementia. The ageing population of the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2013) could further drive up the cost of caring for patients with dementia. The policy on dementia care increasingly depends on homes and communities to support the care of patients with dementia. Since many informal carers manage patients with dementia, the burden of caring is now channelled to the patient’s family. The main stakeholders then for this policy include informal carers, patients, DN staff and multidisciplinary team. This increasing reliance on home care and management could even be viewed as a strategy of the NHS to reduce the cost of caring for patients with dementia. There is also a concern on whether the quality of care is maintained at home, especially with fewer DNs supervising the care at home. Apart from the economic cost, politics could also influence DN practice. As with other policies, the policy on dementia (Department of Health, 2013) bring care close to home and care at home. These gradual changes are projected to empower patients, lower costs of healthcare while empowering communities to take care of their own health (Department of Health, 2013). The withdrawal of the state in providing minimum services for patients with dementia in favour of care at home should be evaluated on whether this would cause harm to the patient. If care at home would be possible with supportive carers, my role as a DN would focus on coordinating care with other healthcare professionals. However, if the patient does not receive sufficient support, the Mental Health Act 2007 (UK Legislation, 2007) mandates the appointment of a carer for the patient. The consequences of the political context of moving care closer to home for patients with dementia would be felt in the succeeding years. On re flection, making this policy work would require DNs to provide adequate support to the informal carers. The philosophical underpinning of this policy focuses on tackling health inequalities. Social determinants of health (NHS, 2012) have long known to influence the health outcomes of many individuals. In the London Borough of Hackney, incidence of dementia is higher amongst the older black elderly compared to the general white population (Office for National Statistics, 2013; Public Health England, 2013). Yaffe et al. (2013) argue that genetics do not account entirely on the disparity of incidence between black and white older populations in the UK. Instead, Yaffe et al. (2013) maintain that socioeconomic differences appear to have a greater influence on the higher incidence of dementia amongst black older people. Related risk factors for dementia such as poorer health, less education and literacy are higher in the black elderly and might account for the variation in dementia incidence. A number of earlier studies (Haas et al., 2012; Thorpe et al., 2011) have pointed out the relationsh ip between socioeconomic status and cognitive outcomes. The dementia policy not only brings care closer to home but also addresses socio-economic disparities of patients with dementia by allowing DNs to provide care in home settings. However, this is still challenging since carers and family members would provide care on a daily basis. The limited financial capacities of families with lower socio-economic status could have an effect on the nutritional status and physical health of the patients (Adelman et al., 2009). It has been stressed that poor nutrition and health could increase the risk of cognitive decline (Adelman et al., 2011). Ethical and Moral Implications of the Dementia Policy for Practice Approaches to ethics include the Deontological approach, Justice, Virtue and Consequentialism. Fry (2010) explain that in deontology, individuals should perform an action because it is their duty to do so regardless of the consequences of the action. The Dementia Policy in the UK is underpinned by ethical approaches. Using deontology, it is moral for nurses and carers to provide care for patients with dementia. In rule-deontology, decisions regarding the care of patients become moral when these follow the rules. Fry (2010) emphasise that the actions of individuals following deontology is usually predictable since it follows set of rules. A second approach to ethics called the Results of Actions (Fry, 2010) is opposite to deontology. In this ethics approach, an action becomes moral when its consequences produce more advantages for the patient than disadvantages. The third approach to ethics or the virtue approach states that there is an ideal that should be pursued by individuals in order to develop their full potential (Jackson, 2013). This approach is more encompassing than the deontological approach since it seeks to make a person moral by acquiring virtues. A review of the policy reveals that the virtue approach is followed since it seeks to provide holistic care to the patients. The policy emphasises providing psychological, social and emotional support not only to patients but also to their carers. Meanwhile, Beauchamp and Childress (2001) have set out four principles of ethics. These are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC, 2008) code of conduct has stressed that patient autonomy should always be observed in all healthcare settings. A review of the dementia policy reveals that allowing patient’s to be cared in their home settings would likely increase patient autonomy. Patients in the early stages of dementia or those with moderate forms of the condition could experience cognitive impairments but still have the capacity to decide for themselves (Department of Health, 2009). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (UK Legislation, 2005) states that only when patients suffer significant cognitive impairments should representatives of the patients be allowed to make decisions in behalf of the patient. Since the policy focuses on patient-centred care even in home settings, patients or their family members are allowed to decide on the best treatment or management for the patients. District nurses are encouraged in the policy to always seek for the patient’s interest. The emphasis of the policy on allowing patients to decide about their care is consistent with the ethical principle of autonomy. It is also important that nurses should first do no harm to the patients as embodied in the ethics principle of non-maleficence (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). The policy supports this principle since DNs are available to provide support and lead the care of patients in home settings. However, there are several barriers in implementing the full policy. Although the policy specifies that DNs should rally the support of patients in home settings, there is the growing concern that the standards of care seen in hospital settings might not be transferred in home settings (King’s Fund, 2012). For instance, DNs could not regularly supervise carers on a daily basis on how they provide care to individuals with dementia. These patients need to receive sufficient nutrition, engage in exercises that increase their mobility or regularly receive pharmacologic medications for their conditions (Casartelli et al., 2013; Hopper et al., 2013; Cole, 2012; Bryon et al., 2012). It would be difficu lt to determine on a regular basis if all these tasks are carried out according to standards if patients are cared in their own homes. In a recent King’s Fund (2013) report, the quality of care received by patients from their nurses is highlighted. This report observes that not all nurses are compassionate to their patients and often, basic care such as feeding or giving water to the patients are often neglected. While this report was based on a study in only one hospital setting, the results are important since it showed that basic care might not be observed. In contrast, DNs would only visit the patients in their homes and would not be around to provide long hours of care. If patients receive poor quality care, this could result to poorer health outcomes and faster deterioration of the patient. The ethics principle of non-maleficence might not be observed if the volume of DN staff in the community remains low. There has been an association of high volume of work and low staffing amongst nurses with poor quality care (King’s Fund, 2013, 2012). The policy also observes the principle of beneficence since its primary outcome is to improve the quality of care received by older patients with dementia in their own homes. Although providing care in home settings would drastically reduce healthcare costs for dementia care, it is still unclear if this would benefit the family more. The cost of informal carers remains to be high, and yet is often discounted when approximating the cost of care for dementia (Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). This policy might put undue burden on families who lack the capacity to provide care for patients in advanced stages of dementia on a 24 hours basis (Alzheimer’s Society, 2014). Despite this observation, the policy is beneficial to patients with moderate dementia. A home setting might provide them with the stability and familiarity that is absent in hospital settings (Sheehan et al., 2009). It has been shown that when patients are admitted in hospital settings, they often manifest aggressi ve behaviour that is suggested to be a response to the changes in environment (Sheehan et al., 2009). The ethics principle of justice is also observed since the policy requires all patients, regardless of race or gender and socio-economic status, to receive equitable healthcare (Department of Health, 2013). On reflection, the moral implications of the policy might come into conflict with the state’s increasing reliance on informal carers or family members to provide care for patients with dementia. The issue lies on whether it is moral to delegate most of the care to informal carers who might also need additional support when caring for patients with progressive chronic conditions. The National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (2007) stress that informal carers also need support to help them manage depression, stress or burnout from providing care to patients who would never recover from their condition. While the NHS continue to practice innovation in delivering care, an evaluation on whether there are enough resources to implement the innovation should be made. Conclusion In conclusion, the recent policy on dementia in the UK sets the direction of care in community or home settings. District nurses are in the position of following this direction since they lead patient care at home and in the community. However, this brief highlights some issues that should be addressed. These include the decreasing workforce of DN and their staff and their need for additional training and education. The political and economic context influencing the dementia policy should also be taken into account. Finally, this brief illustrates the role of DNs in providing quality care to patients in community and home settings. They could lobby for the patient’s rights and coordinate collaborative care between healthcare professionals and those involved in social care. References Adelman, S., Blanchard, M., Rait, G., Leavey, G. & Livingston, G. (2011). ‘Prevalence of dementia in African-Carribean compared with UK-born white older people: two-stage cross-sectional study’, British Journal of Psychiatry, 199, pp. 119-125. Adelman, S., Blanchard, M. & Livingston, G. (2009). ‘A systematic review of the prevalence and covariates of dementia or relative cognitive impairment in the older African-Carribean population in Britain’, International Journal of Geriatric and Psychiatry, 24, pp. 657-665. Alzheimer’s Society (2014). Financial cost of Dementia [Online]. Available from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=418 (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Alzheimer’s Research UK (2013) Dementia Statistics [Online]. Available from: http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/dementia-statistics/ (Accessed: 19th February, 2014). Alzheimer’s UK (2007). Dementia UK: The Full Report. [Online]. Available from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/download_info.php?fileID=2 (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Beauchamp, T. & Childress, J. (2001). Principles of biomedical ethics. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bryon, E., Gastmans, C. & de Casterle, D. (2012). ‘Nurse-physician communication concerning artificial nutrition or hydration (ANH) in patients with dementia: a qualitative study’. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 21, pp. 2975-2984. Casartelli, N., Item-Glatthorn, J., Bizzini, ., Leunig, M. & Maffiuletti, N. (2013). ‘Differences in gait characteristics between total hip, knee, and ankle arthroplasty patients: a six-moth postoperative comparison’. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorder, 14:176 doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-14-176. Cole, D. (2012). ‘Optimising nutrition for older people with dementia’. Nursing Standard, 26(20), pp. 41-48. Department of Health (2013). Improving care for people with dementia [Online]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/improving-care-for-people-with-dementia (Accessed: 19th February, 2014). Department of Health Public Health Nursing (2013). Care in local communities- district nurse vision and model. London: Department of Health. Department of Health (2009). Living Well with dementia: A National Dementia Strategy. London: Department of Health. Fry, S., Veatch, R. & Taylor, C. (2010) Case studies in nursing ethics, London: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Haas, S., Krueger, P. & Rohlfsen, L. (2012). ‘Race/ethnic and nativity disparities in later physical performance: the role of health and socioeconomic status over the life course’, Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67, pp. 238-248. Hopper, T., bourgeois, M., Pimentel, J., Qualls, C., Hickey, E., Frymark, T. & Schooling, T. (2013). ‘An evidence-based systematic review on cognitive interventions for individuals with dementia’. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, 22(1), pp. 126-145. Jackson, E. (2013) Medical law: Text, cases, and materials, Oxford: Oxford University Press. King’s Fund (2013). Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation trust Public Inquiry by Robert Francis QC. London: The King’s Fund. King’s Fund (2012). Integrated care for patients and populations: improving outcomes by working together. A report to the Department of Health and the NHS Future Forum, London: King’s Fund [Online]. Available from: www.kingsfund.org/uk/publications (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (2007). Dementia: The NICE-SCIE Guideline on supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care. London: The British Psychological Society and Gaskell and Social Care Institute for Excellence and NICE. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2006). Dementia: Supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care. London: NICE. National Health Service (NHS) (2012). Health and Wellbeing Profile 2011/12. London: City and Hackney and NHS East London and the City. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2008). The Code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London: NMC. Office for National Statistics (2013). Ageing in the UK Datasets [Online]. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/population/ageing/older-people (Accessed: 19th February, 2014). Public Health England (2013). Hackney: Health Profile 2013. London: Public Health England [Online]. Available from: www.healthprofile.info (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Queen’s Nursing Institute (2010). District nurse is becoming an endangered species (press release, issued 26 March 2010), London: QNI [Online]. Available from: www.qni.org.uk (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Royal College of Nursing (2013). District Nursing- harnessing the potential: The RCN’s UK Position on district nursing. London: RCN [Online]. Available from: www.rcn.org.uk/publications (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Royal College of Nursing (2011). The Community nursing workforce in England, London: RCN [Online]. Available from: www.rcn.org.uk/publications (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Sheehan, B., Stinton, C. & Mitchell, K. (2009) ‘The care of people with dementia in general hospital’, The Journal of Quality Research in Dementia, Issue 8 [Online]. Available from: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1094&pageNumber=5 (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Thorpe, R., Koster, A., Kritchevsky, S., Newman, A., Harris, T., Ayonayon, H., Perry, S., Rooks, R. & Simonsick, E. (2011). ‘Race, socioeconomic resources, and late-life mobility and decline: findings from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study’, Journal of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 66(10), pp. 1114-11123. UK Legislation (2007). Mental Health Act 2007 [Online]. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/12/contents (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). UK Legislation (2005). Mental Capacity Act 2005 [Online]. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). UK Legislation (2000). Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000. [Online]. Available from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/16/notes/contents (Accessed: 12th March, 2014). Yaffe, K., Falvey, C., Harris, T., Newman, A., Satterfield, S., Koster, A., Ayonayon, H. & Simonsick, E. (2013). ‘Effect of socioeconomic disparities on incidence of dementia among biracial older adults: prospective study’, British Medical Journal, 347: f7051 [Online]. 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The Heroin Drug Market - 984 Words

These two drugs bleed the world more than any other for very different reasons.It is a slow painful death robbing individuals of choice and diverting billions of dollars to drug suppliers. There are plenty of drugs available in every neighborhood. They are all around us, ranging in addictiveness, deadliness, and availability. The two most damaging to society and the individual are readily available despite decades of the best efforts by the U.S. and every other nation around the world. A 16 year old can get heroin or crack easier than alcohol or cigarettes because dealers don’t I.D and often deliver (Drug Crazy, Mike Grey ) Heroin and most opiates derive from the poppy plant Papaver somniferum. Which displays a beautiful flower when in†¦show more content†¦Mother’s burying their children and children burying their mothers. It’s everywhere and the police can’t do anything about it. They’ve done their best for 40 years with zero results excep t thousands in prison and more and purer heroin on the streets. It’s too much money and as soon as someone is locked up someone else takes their place. There is no shortage of immoral people and we’re talking billions. A zero tolerance policy may be useful in a society that has no drugs in it yet, but in a society that has drug use so deeply rooted it only serves to scare addicts into hiding instead of looking for help. Locking someone up does nothing. Jail is not rehabilitation and jail/prison does not cure the addiction of disease anymore than it does any other disease. Heroin spreads disease. HIV infections rise as the use of heroin does, for example in Spain 64% of all aids cases have intravenous drug use as the principal factor. (Maccoun, Reuter) HIV is a greater threat to public and individual health than drug misuse. It is a lifelong addiction. In a remarkable 24 year follow up of a California sample Hser Anglin and powers 1993) found 8% had died after 24 years and that only 25% of the remainder tested negative for opiates at that point (MacCoun, Reuter) that means those who lived after 24 years 75% of them were still using opiates! Heroin is not going anywhere. We need to admit we are powerless to stop it and concentrate on HarmShow MoreRelatedHeroin Is The Most Dangerous Addictive Drugs On The Black Market Today1108 Words   |  5 PagesStudent Name: Suong Nguyen Class: SHS 235 Instructor: Irene Hauzinger Date: 7/23/2015 Heroin Research Paper Heroin is one of the most dangerous highly addictive drugs on the black market today. A board member of the National Institute of Health estimated that there are currently about 600,000 heroin addicts in the U.S. alone. Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. During World War II, a German chemist, Aschenbrenner, synthesized methadone and named it Dolophine, after Adolph Hitler (FieldsRead MoreOpen Air Drug Markets936 Words   |  4 PagesOpen air drug markets will surely increase the crime rate in New York City. Although open-air markets represent the lowest level of drug distribution, it can still be extremely harmful to the communities that are affected by it. The selling and distribution of drugs, such as heroin should continue to remain illegal. Many other factors will also contribute to the dangers of an open drug market. There are a variety of number of solutions to each of the potential dangers that an open drug market has. Read MoreConspiracy Theories Are An Integral Part Of Society1332 Words   |  6 Pagesthat was used from 1804 to now. In 1972 Contin was put on the market at a controlled drug-release system (Purdue Pharma L.P.). In 1984 MS Contin was put on the market as an extended-release formula of morphine, and in 1996 OxyContin was put on the market as an extended-release formula of Oxycodone (Van Zee). These drugs were released in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. According to the Center for Addiction and Mental Health these drugs are commonly used for pain and recreational use (__). PurdueRead MoreHeroin, Then Versus Now1169 Words   |  5 PagesAmanda Deane ENG 111-L03 Lauren Foster 9/29/2015 Heroin, Then Versus Now Heroin or H has always been significant in human life. Early on opiates were used as health treatments as well as sacred medications but as time has gone on it has taken a wrong turn by becoming so deadly. The evolution and usage of heroin has drastically changed from the 1980’s to today by alterations, distribution, and influences. Heroin is made from morphine from the opium poppy plant. The plant has continued to grow mostlyRead MoreIt Is Through Complex And Dynamic Social Processes And983 Words   |  4 Pagescultural understandings that illicit drug markets are produced and reproduced (Dwyer, R. 2011). Robyn Dwyer explores the social life of smokers and the complex social processes which govern the functioning of the drug marketplace through an ethnographic examination of the everyday lives of Vietnamese heroin user/dealers in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. Dwyer focuses generally on the social meaning brought upon the exchanging of in this case smokes and heroin and how this affirms social relationshipsRead MoreDrugs: The Production of Heroin Essay1671 Words   |  7 Pagessubstitute was heroin (The Truth about Heroin). Heroin was first synthesized from morphine in 1874 by C.R Alder Wright whom was part of a German pharmaceutical company called Bayer. From 1898 through to 1910, Bayer marketed it u nder the trademark name Heroin as a cough suppressant claiming that it was a non-addictive morphine substitute that is until it was discovered that it rapidly metabolizes into morphine. One year after beginning sales, Bayer exported heroin to 23 countries. Since then, heroin was spreadRead MoreIn ‘The Social Life Of Smokes: Processes Of Exchange In1031 Words   |  5 Pagessocial life of smokes: Processes of exchange in a heroin marketplace’, Robyn Dwyer concludes that there are specific complex social processes involved in drug markets (Dwyer 2011). Her ethnographic research on the Footscray street based heroin marketplace in Melbourne, Australia indicates that drug research should be applied to relevant and effective policy making. In addition, this ethnographic research challenges society’s hostile perceptions towards drug exchange and main theoretical concepts throughRead MoreHeroin And Its Effects On Heroin1101 Words   |  5 Pagesnothing about heroin an d those who use it. Many people have been associated with friends or families who have used some kind of drug. There are many people who have not had any contact with heroin users or if they have, don’t understand much about it. Using various sources about heroin to explain where it came from, how it is used, who uses it and how a person starts on the path towards heroin, preventing addiction, and global issues surrounding this drug. Although the topic of heroin is inexhaustibleRead MoreNational Intelligence Analysis1531 Words   |  7 Pagesin the early 2000s, Canadas heroin market was controlled by South and Southwest Asia, and these regions took Southeast Asias place. Since 2004, heroin seizures have been increasing even though heroin is allegedly one of the least commonly used illicit drugs in Canada (NIA et al., 2010). Asian, Latin American, and West African organized crime groups, functioning in Canada as well as in foreign countries, remained to be participants in s muggling and transporting heroin in Canada (NIA et al., 2010)Read MoreThe Heroin Epidemic Of America1565 Words   |  7 PagesThe heroin epidemic in America has been an issue for decades. According to narconon.org, the heroin epidemic truly began in the Wild West during the 1800’s. Many scholars believe that Chinese immigrants brought the drug to America. Morphine is a derivative of heroin, and during the civil war, many soldiers, both northern and confederate, was injured and became addicted to the drug after being treated with it. It was from opium that morphine, a derivative, was developed as a pain killer in approximately