Prolix Initiative - Care workers case study Essay Example for Free

Prolix Initiative Care workers case study Essay Kevin Pudney and Malcolm Rose have worked in the care sector for over 20 years. Their most recent job is part of a European project aimed at improving training and development in business and speeding the time to competency. More information on the research project is available on the Prolix website (www.prolixproject.org). The project was conducted in partnership with Social Care Institute of Excellence. The social care sector in UK was chosen to test the new systems developed as part of the project. The researcher spent 3 years in Suffolk working with 6 care homes owned by The Partnership In Care (TPIC) group. The Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) [1] is responsible for this social care test-bed and will assess the impact of the project. Whats the problem? Statistics from the Labour Force Survey show that Care Assistants and Home Carers report higher than average levels of stress related illness caused or made worse by the work they do. The PROLIX project aimed to develop systems that would help improve working lives of managers and staff at the homes. The project was not about work related stress, but the researchers recognised that there were factors present that can be associated with cases of work related stress. Staff turnover was about average for a sector that has a generally high turn over rate at around 25%. However, it was particularly high in one home after management problems, where analysis showed turnover in the previous two years of 57%. As skilled staff are replaced by unskilled staff, it increases the training demands on management. It is well established that people who need help with social care want the same carer to care for them consistently; especially those who need help with washing, dressing etc. Where homes have a high turn over rate or rely on temporary or ‘bank’ staff they struggle to offer this consistency of care to the people who live at the home. Other issues identified as part of the testing included; low pay, high job demands, low staffing levels, IT issues and needs of residents as being key issues for staff. Job demands included: 1. The care needs of residents 2. Requirements to record information on care given 3. Required skills and knowledge in over a dozen mandatory areas of competence. Control issues included: 1. The care needs of residents 2. Lack of control over how work is carried out 3. Lack of control over when work is carried out What did they do about it? The initiative focused on improving the management of training and development in order to give staff the skills they need to do the job and satisfy the legal requirements set by Care Quality Commission (CQC). The aim of the work was to help managers understand the issues faced by staff and for Care Assistants to get the training they need so that they could be more skilled and perform better, stay in the role longer and give residents the care that the are looking for. The general study involved all staff and managers at The Partnership in Care homes, and subsets of staff for particular areas of research. One area involved asking care staff to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10 for a set of 17 areas of competency. These areas were based on the requirements set out by CQC and other areas identified as important by the local training manager. Managers were then asked to rate each of their staff in the same competency areas. They had not seen the results from their staff when they did their assessment. This exercise helped staff identify their own Areas For Improvement (AFI) and managers to identify AFIs for staff. It also allowed comparison between staff and managers. This enabled the training manager to identify areas where members of staff did not feel confident in their role or where managers did not feel confident that staff had the necessary skills. It also allowed the training manager to look for trends within teams, for example where there were differences between the ratings given by staff and a manager. It could also identify where people may be over-confident or where they needed more support. The general findings from this competency exercise were shared with staff and managers in a supported environment to help them identify issues and properly interpret data, where training was needed and where staff felt there could be an improvement in the services offered to residents. The detailed individual results were treated as confidential and discussed further in supervision. The final results of the project research were delivered to staff and managers at each home in a day-long session at the end of the project. This enabled the consultant to explain the exercises and the results and spend time with staff and managers to give them support in receiving and delivering the results. It also enabled them to explain how these results would be fed into the development needs of the people who had taken part. There are some 600-800 person training units to be delivered per home to skill all staff to a basic level, with a significant proportion repeated annually as ‘refreshers’ and for new unskilled staff. The organisation owns 6 homes, making this a huge and time consuming activity. The Partnership in Care group has a full time training manager who is responsible for arranging and delivering these training units. Kevin and Malcolm worked with the training manager to help develop a spreadsheet that would enable trainers and managers to see at a glance who had the training they needed, what training was outstanding and when refresher training was due. The training system has helped us see at a glance what training is outstanding and made sure that we can get people trained when they need it and nobody is missed out. Care home manager What else could have been done? They feel that one of the things they would do differently is to help the organisation try to identify suitable people at interview stage. This would help The Partnership In Care group to identify staff development needs at an early stage and invest in those people who have the desire to forge a career or vocation in social care from the beginning of their employment. This would help keep them with the organisation. How can it prevent stress related ill health? It must be made clear that this exercise was not put in place with work related stress in mind. The objective was to help improve the organisation and delivery of training and development within the company. However, demands and control issues were identified as part of this study. By improving the levels of competence of staff and managers and in helping them think about the skills they need to be successful in their work and improve the lives of the people who rely upon them, the work has helped address some of these demand and control issues.

The Victims Essay -- Analysis, Sharon Olds

The process of addressing memories of private suffering within â€Å"The Victims† by Sharon Olds is implied through contradictive perspectives. In the poem there is a shift in focus and tone during line 17. The poem addresses issues of suffering from two distinct perspectives, the first coming from a little girl and the second a grown woman. The narrative, imagery and diction are different in the two contrasting parts of the poem, and the second half carefully qualifies the first, as if to illustrate the more mature and established attitudes of the narrator in her older years – a stipulation of the easy imitation of the earlier years, when the mother’s views dominated and set the tone. Change has governed the poems structure here; differences in age and attitude are supported by an entirely different point of view and frame of reference. The change in the tone of the stylistic elements used by Sharon Olds implicitly portrays the impact that suffering has on the f amily sphere; the complex emotions that arise because of divorce are conveyed through past and present perspectives, comparative imagery and a significant shift in tone. The change in perspective of the narrative, from past to present, portrays the father in two different lights. The poem is told from the point of view of the daughter of a couple who experience marriage problems. The beginning of â€Å"The Victims† illustrates the memories that the woman is recalling nostalgically of her childhood. From lines 1 to 17 the narrator evokes her father, with the repetition of â€Å"you†, (1, 3) who had acted terribly during the narrator’s youth and who was abruptly kicked out and divorced by the mother. The narrator describes her father who, to his daughter, lived a luxurious and insensitive... ...Olds to portray to the reader, through diction, the image of a drowning person. This image, after being taken, analyzed and dissected, reveals deeper connections with the narrator, the narrator’s father and society as a whole. In conclusion, â€Å"The Victims† concerns real purposes and themes that enhance the overall text. When perceiving the term victim many people immediately think of a target of violence or abuse. In the poem â€Å"The Victims†, Olds portrays the sufferers as victims of an experience, rather than a physical scar. As a child, Sharon Olds’ parents divorced. So who is the victim in â€Å"The Victims†? As the narrative, imagery and diction evolve, from the first half to the second half of the poem, so does the classification of victim. Throughout the poem the mother, children and father are all victimized, but also made out to be the culprits.

Financial Accounting 504 Final Project Essay

As noted in Wikipedia Oracle is headquartered in Redwood, California. It was founded in 1977 and is the world’s third largest soft wear developer in sales. According to Yahoo Finance Oracle is a multi-faceted operation. Oracle provides a vast amount of services for the internet and computer. It provides cloud applications, IT consulting services, licenses middleware software which includes database and database management. It has 115,000 full time employees and is run by co-founder, CEO Larry Ellison who has been the only CEO of the company since it’s inception. Also noted in Wikipedia he is the top paid CEO in the world. In 2013 Oracle currently has an operating cash flow of 13.72B with revenues of 37.15B which can be found in Yahoo Finance. Microsoft is a leading software company started by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. The company’s headquarters is located in Redmond, Washington where like Oracle it develops, licenses, manufactures and support a wide range of computing sources, as documented in Wikipedia. Yahoo finance reports that in addition to licensing and manufacturing software over the globe it also designs hardware and has recently entered into the hardware industry with it’s new tablet. It also has a entertainment division which is responsible for the manufacturing of Xbox360 gaming and consoles, Kinect for Xbox and video games among other products. It has a total of 94,000 full time employees and can be credited for creating 3 billionaires and 12 millionaires from the company’s operations. Microsoft currently has a cash flow of 73.79B with revenues of 76.01B for 2013. Interpretation and Comparison between the two companies’ ratios (Reading the Appendix of Chapter 13 will help you prepare the commentary) Oracle Corporation Microsoft Corporation Earnings per share As given in the income statement $1.69 Basic Common $2.73 Microsoft has shown to have a higher EPS than Oracle. Current ratio Current assets Current liabilities $39,174 $14,192 = 2.76 $74,918 $28,774 2.60 Oracle is showing more favorable current ratio than Microsoft. This ratio depicts for every dollar of current liabilites it has the respective amount in current assets. Gross Profit Ratio Gross profit Net Sales Gross Profit = net sales – COGS Oracle: 35,622 – 8,398 = 27,224 Microsoft: 69,943 15,577 = 54,366 $27,224 $35,622 = 76.4% $54,366 $69,943 77.7% Microsoft’s Gross Profit Ratio is slightly better than Oracle. Profit margin ratio Net Income Net Sales $8,547 $35,622 = 24.0% $23,150 $69,943 33.1% Microsoft has a better Profit Margin Ratio than Oracle. Inventory Turnover Cost of Goods Sold Average Inventory Average Inventory: 2011 + 2010/2 Oracle: 303 + 259/2 = 281 Microsoft: 1,372 + 740/2 = 1056 $8,398 $281 29.9 times $15,577 $1,056 14.8 times Oracle shows a significantly higher turnover than Microsoft. Days in Inventory 365 days Inventory turnover 365 29.9 = 12 days 365 14.8 25 days Oracle has better result than Microsoft Receivable Turnover Ratio Net credit sales Average Net Receivables Average Net Receivables: 2011 +2010/2 Oracle: 6628 + 5585/2 = 6107 Avg NR Microsoft:14987 + 13014/2 = 14001 Avg N $35,622 $6,107 = 5.8 $69,943 $14,001 5.0 Microsofts Receivable Turnover is faster than Oracle. Average Collection Period 365 Receivable Turnover Ratio 365 5.8 = 62.6 days 365 5.0 73.1 Oracle has a better result on the collection period. Assets Turnover Ratio Net Sales Average Total Assets Average Total Assets = 2011+2010/2 Oracle: 73535 + 61578/2 = 67557 Microsoft: 108704 + 86113 = 97409 $35,622 $67,557 = 0.53 $69,943 $97,409 0.72 Microsoft shows a better ratio. Return on Assets Ratio Net Income Average Total Assets $8,547 $67,557 = 12.7% $23,150 $97,409 23.8% Microsoft has a better return on their assets. Debt to Total Assets Ratio Total Liabilities Total Assets $33,290 $73,535 = 45.3% $51,621 $108,704 47.5% Microsoft is slightly higher so Oracle has a better ratio. Times Interest Earned Ratio Net Income + Int Expense + Tax Expense Interest Expense $12,219 $808 = 15.1 28,366 295 96.2 Microsoft has a much healthier ratio than Oracle. Payout ratio Cash dividend declared on common stock Net income $1,061 $8,547 = 12.4% $5,180 $23,150 22.4% Microsoft has a higher rate of dividend pay outs Return on Common Stockholders’ Equity Net income – Preferred stock dividend Average common stockholders’ equity Oracle Avg SE: 40245 + 31199/2 Microsoft Avg SE: 57083 + 46175/2 8,547 35,722.00 = 23.9% $23,150 $51,629 44.8% Microsoft earned more on the dollar of their net income for each dollar of the stockholder’s equity. Free cash flow Cash provided by operations minus capital expenditures minus cash dividends paid $9,703 = $9,703 $19,459 $ Microsoft has a considerable amount more Free cash 19,459 flow than Oracle Current cash debt coverage ratio Cash provided by operations Average current liabilities $11,214 $14,442 = 0.78 $26,994 $27,461 0.98 Microsoft has a better ratio of paying debt within the year. Cash debt coverage ratio Cash provided by operations Average total liabilities $11,214 $31,835 = 0.35 $26,994 $45,780 0.59 Microsoft has a better ratio. Price/Earnings ratio Market price as of 06/30/2011 EPS as of 06/30/2011 $34.22 $1.69 = 20 $26.87 $2.73 10 Oracle fairs better than Microsoft with the investor’s projection of the strength of future earnings Liquidity: Overall Oracle has shown to a better liquidity ratio than Microsoft. Some areas the two companies are relatively close in liquidity performance as depicted in the current ratio. In other areas Oracle proves to have much better performance than Microsoft as depicted in the inventory and days in inventory ratios however and current ratio. Oracle also has a faster collection period than Microsoft as reflected in the average collection period ratio. I would declare Oracle as having a better liquidity standing than Microsoft. Solvency: Microsoft is superior to Oracle in this ratio category. Although Microsoft has a little more risk than Oracle in the debt to current assest ratio which means that if necessary Oracle has a better opportunity to convert assets in to cash with a 45.3% while Microsoft is at 47.5% however; this is the only ratio that Oracle is more favorable than Microsoft. With Microsoft’s free cash flow of $19,459 billion versus Oracle’s $9,703, Microsoft is least likely to have the need to liquidate their assets. Free cash flow ratio gives insight to a company’s acquisition power, ability to eliminate or minimize debt and allows for a higher dividend payout. Microsoft has a better current cash debt to current liability ratio as well. For evey $1 in liability Microsoft as .98 cash from operating activities while Oracle has .78 from operating activities for every $1 of current liability. Given these analysis Microsoft has a better overall solvency status than Oracle. Profitability: This category of ratios is the more focused one by investors  because it gives the most accurate prognosis of a company’s most gain out of investmens from investors. Beginning with Gross Profit ratio the two companies are very close with Microsoft showing a 77.7% and Oracle showing a 76.4% they both fair pretty well in gross profits. Microsoft has an advantage over Oracle in all ratios in this category except for Price earning sharing ratio. The payout ratio and the return on common stockholder’s equity ratio are significantly higher than Oracle’s but Oracle has a higer price earnings per share ratio as stated earlier which signifies that investors believe that Oracle’s stock is going to increase over a period of time. Conclusion: Although based on the ratios Oracle seems to be a safer investment and deemed by investors for the fiscal year of 2011 to have higher potential in the market and as noted by Eddie Beverage in an online article on Five Capital website Oracle has shown consistency over the past decade than Microsoft with trending increases. However; given that Microsoft has a substantially higher payout and higher return on stockholder’s equity I would take the risk and go with Microsoft. Beverage, E. (2011, Oct 21). Microsoft V Oracle: You know you want one. Retrieved from Seeking Alpha. Oracle Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Corporation Weygandt, J., Kimmel, & Kleso, D. (2011). Financial Accounting. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Yahoo Finance. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Yahoo: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ORCL Yahoo Finance. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Yahoo: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MSFT Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Microsoft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft Wikipedia Oracle Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2013, from Wikipedia:

Essay Decision In Paradise - 1604 Words

Decisions in Paradise As stated in Decisions in Paradise I, Kava has struggled with many obstacles that have prevented this country from becoming a beautiful and a well- known paradise attraction. At this portion of the project, AJA Consulting Firm would like to continue our vision by establishing a greater presence in Kava. Critical thinking is an important part of the decision making process which is essential to ensure decisions are well thought out and possibly prevent individuals from making bad decisions or mistakes that could be costly and in some instances, deadly. No matter what kind of decision an individual makes critical thinking is a very useful tool. Our proposal will display critical thinking skills learned and present†¦show more content†¦The most important goal is to have a majority, if not all, of the stakeholders in agreement with the final assessment. From reviewing the stakeholders analysis, the project stakeholders are considered important players whom are supporters of the project. The stakeholders are predicted as being unbiased but if they see that the risks are too high, perhaps the opponents may be influenced to change their decisions. AJA Consulting Firm is not only working for the island of Kava, but for the stakeholders as well. The United States is a country that provides more freedom. Individuals have to be careful not to act like they are boasting about how much better US citizens are because this may disrespect the people. If this happens then the stakeholders may end up losing the project and a large amount of money; which could mean our vision would be lost. Our research must provide the stakeholders answers to these issues to help reduce the level of concern for the project. From a stakeholders perspective this is a huge chance for growth of the company. If AJA Consulting Firm succeeds then many other chances like this may take place and in turn become more of an international company than just a company based in the United States. Research has been used to acknowledge the large amounts of disasters which appear to be the root of the problems because of the results that have been observed.Show MoreRelatedDecisions In Paradise Essay776 Words   |  4 PagesAbstract This paper will describe the evaluation stage of the decision-making steps. Working through the last part of the nine step process Nik and Alex will review the factors that will have to be considered during implementation. Nik and Alex will work to evaluate resources that will be needed during this phase of the decision-making process. Once the implementation has taken place measuring the process will be necessary to ensure that the plan stays on track. 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