Analysis of the New Labour Welfare Ideology and Policy

Analysis of the New Labour Welfare Ideology and Policy How and why does the governments new deal typify new labour welfare ideology? Are there elements of new labour welfare ideology and new deal policy which find echo in welfare ideologies and policies prevailing in early periods of welfare (Elizabethan and Victorian poor laws. Does social liberalism influencing early 20c welfare reforms and the architecture of the Beveridge welfare state still play a part in new labour welfare ideology and the new deal? Does the new deal and its ideological underpinnings represent a radical departure from or a continuation of new right approaches to poverty and unemployment. Outlined below is a critical review of the present government’s New Deal policy that takes into account the influence of past and present welfare ideologies upon New Deal’s development, objectives, and procedures. Originally the government had no role in welfare provision, this was left to local parish churches, almshouses, and before their dissolution, the monasteries. Each parish decided which of the poor deserved help, and which of the poor were not deserving of help. Those that were undeserving or came from other parishes had the unsavoury choices of begging, relying on charity, finding work, or simply starving to death. Those that did receive help often had to work to earn that help. There was little understanding of the causes of unemployment or underemployment. People no longer worked because they were no longer physically capable of working, trade was poor, or because they were being idle. The first legislation to deal with welfare provision was during the reign of Richard II; it was the precursor of further intervention during Elizabethan and Victorian times, and most notably in the 20th century. From the Elizabethan Poor Laws through to the Victorian era Poor Law Amendment Act the dominating feature of welfare ideology was that welfare provision should be as limited as possible, and that people should be dissuaded from applying for poor relief payments. Welfare payments were not a right, they were restricted to the most deserving or the most desperate, and who were often made to feel ashamed that they needed help. The Poor Laws were primarily a means of social control that were administered by the parishes, and were paid for by local ratepayers (Moran, 2005 p.14). The Poor Laws had at first been used as a way to keep families together and in their own homes. However, ratepayers resented paying for poor relief which led to the establishment of the dreaded workhouses to reduce the amount of poor relief provided. The Poor Law Amendment Act made the workhouses the normal system of providing welfare, and they imposed draconian conditions on anybody unfortunate enough to need thei r help. People had to undertake arduous tasks in return for receiving very basic food, clothing, and accommodation; many also had to endure the breaking up of their families. The workhouses demeaned and effectively penalised people that had been unable to help themselves (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.12). Although New Deal does not humiliate benefit claimants, it does make the continuance of benefit payments dependent upon them attending their New Deal placements; they even receive small top up payments. The New Deal operates on a carrot and stick principle, whilst the Poor Laws in general, and the workhouses in particular operated on the stick principle (Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.4). The welfare ideologies linked to the Poor Laws attracted criticism leading to proposals to offer welfare provisions without harsh qualifying conditions, and more generous poor relief. Research into poverty by Rowntree and others helped to change public attitudes towards the poor. Unemployment, underemployment, old age, and physical incapacity rather than idleness caused poverty. Support for changing welfare ideologies was detectable within the Liberal Party, trade unions, co-operatives, and in the Labour Party. New or, social Liberalism regarded the welfare ideology of the Poor Laws as been unjust and harsher towards the poor than it should have been. Liberal governments had intervened in the economy to introduce safety standards, yet took longer to establish a minimalist welfare state. The Liberal governments between 1906 and 1914 introduced limited old age pensions, unemployment benefits, national insurance contributions, and labour exchanges. The welfare provisions introduced by t he Liberals were not universal and payments were only made to those people that had paid national insurance contributions. Payments under this system were not particularly generous, yet they prevented the people that received them from having to resort to the workhouses to survive. The welfare ideology of the Liberal governments was that the government should provide minimum levels of help to stop people becoming destitute, it allowed some people to retire without having to fear the prospect of going into the workhouse. Unemployment benefits, although they only lasted for limited periods, helped families to survive periods of unemployment without losing their homes or being forcibly separated from each other by being forced into the workhouses. Labour exchanges, the forerunners of present day Job centres, allowed people to search for employment, whilst allowing employers the opportunity to recruit workers to fill their vacancies. New Deal can be argued to share things in common with the welfare ideologies linked with New Liberalism. Firstly the unemployed are encouraged to find employment as their benefits may only be awarded for a short -term period (Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.3). Whilst the welfare measures introduced by the new or social Liberals took many people out of the scope of the Poor Laws, they were not universal measures that proved inadequate for reducing poverty during the inter-war period. The Labour Party became the main exponents of expanding welfare provision, although the Labour government decided to cut unemployment benefits in 1931 in order to balance the budget. Labour had to wait until its 1945 general election victory before it could implement it’s a vision of the welfare state, heavily influenced by the Beveridge Report. The Atlee government introduced universal benefits such as Family Allowance and even benefits for people on low incomes that had not paid national insurance contributions. National insurance was expanded to cover everybody, married women that had not worked received retirement pensions based upon their husbands’ contributions (Moran, 2005, p.18). New Deal sticks with the idea of universalism, as everybody that has been unemployed for the qualifying period has to go on the scheme irrespective of their past national insurance contributions. New Deal does allow people different schemes to match all past experiences and their skills. There is flexibility as long as people are willing to on the scheme (Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.2). The post-war welfare state remained virtually unaltered until the Thatcher government came into office in 1979. Thatcher objected to the ways in which the welfare state operated, as it was too generous and provided little incentive for people to find work. Thatcherite economic policies were supposed to reduce the size of public spending, yet they were responsible for unemployment rising from one million to over three million (Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.4). The Thatcher government responded in various ways, for instance changing the definition of unemployment and switching people from unemployment benefit to incapacity benefit or income support. The Thatcher government also introduced work and training placement schemes such as Youth Training and Training for Work to improve the employment prospects of people that had been long-term unemployed. These placement schemes can be regarded as being the direct forerunners to New Deal. They too used the carrot and stick approac h; in fact people received a small top up to their benefits by joining the schemes or faced losing benefits for not going on placement. People that found employment once they had finished their placements could qualify for bonus payments as well Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.3). The Conservatives replaced unemployment benefit with Job-seekers Allowance that placed a greater emphasis on people actively seeking employment. People deemed unwilling to search for work either lost benefit outright or had it reduced. New Labour has not removed the sanctions available to decision makers to penalise people that are not actively seeking work (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p.416). New Deal has elements that make it compulsory for people to go on the scheme. New Deal differs from previous schemes in that more groups are liable to go through it. New Labour was keen that New Deal would improve employment rates amongst the under 25s, lone parents, the disabled and the over 50s. These groups are traditionally the groups that find it hardest to find jobs. New Deal places an increased onus upon people to increase their efforts to gain a job after finishing their placements. In return, people are given extra advice on gaining jobs by New Deal advisers Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.4). There are incentives to help encourage people to get jobs after New Deal. For instance, if they take a low paid job they have their income boosted by working tax credits. New Deal has arguably succeeded in reducing the numbers of long-term unemployed and making people more employable. It also provides advise for people such as lone parents that had not previously been helped when looking to gain employment (Department for Work and Pensions, 2004, p.3). Thus the New Deal has been influenced by various welfare ideologies from past and present. The idea behind New Deal is a simple one, getting people back in to work by giving them up to date training and work experience, thereby improving employment prospects. Just like the welfare provided under the auspices of the Poor Laws people have to work to gain payments, if they are unwilling to do so they lose entitlement. It differs from the Poor Laws in that people receive extra from going on the scheme and can receive extra for finding work after completing it. In other respects, New Deal is based on welfare ideologies that are influenced by New Liberalism and the welfare state established by the Atlee government. It is available to anybody that has been unemployed long enough. There are also elements that be traced to ideas from the New Right, provide incentives for those do well, and penalise those that will not take part. Bibliography Department for Work and Pensions (2004) Building on New Deal: Local solutions meeting individual needs, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London Fisher J, Denver D, Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001 – 5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Essentials of College Writing Essay

Peer editing is an evaluative method of judging or critiquing written text with the valuable engagement of peers. The purpose of writing within the context of peer editing is to write a text that will be able to incite responses, not only from people in authority who oversee the writing process (ex. teachers, professors, technical writing instructors, etc. ), but also from an individuals’ peers. The process of peer editing follows the writing process, the reading process, the critiquing session, and the rewriting process. Peer editing allows the expression of comments or suggestions regarding a written text which an individual may use to modify errors within the text, identify ambiguous elements that defeats the purpose of a cohesive theme, and draw out additional information that are instrumental in improving the written text. (Adger, Wolfram, & Christian, 2007) The overall result of peer editing is the improvement of literacy or skills in writing. (Topping & Ehly, 1998) Perhaps, it is also important to reiterate that peer editing allows individuals to identify errors or mistakes in the writing process that may be unknown to them. The diversity of peer characters and points of views allows one to look at the theme and quality of written works from different angles, allowing a writer to complete a written work clearly and concisely. What are some of the techniques a team can use to integrate various writers work into one cohesive document? Integrating various written works into a cohesive document should follow a series of steps. The first step is to read all the written works carefully in order to identify the main points and focus of each text. The team should then group or categorize written works according to their similarities in meaning, theme, or points of view. Once this is accomplished, the team should agree on the organization or framework of the single document they will be working on depending on the ideas or information drawn from the grouped or categorized written works. This process is similar to constructing an outline that will become the basis of the targeted cohesive document. Moreover, constructing an outline will require a team to identify what the focus of the article would be, what work will best fit in the introduction, the body, or the conclusion, etc. The next step would be to fill in parts of the outline, such that main and valuable points from each written work of team members will be drawn out to be integrated into the outline of the targeted cohesive document. At this point, the team is prepared to layout the finished document. What is the purpose and historical academic use of the APA style and why is it important to use APA style? The American Psychological Association or APA is a common citation style utilized by professionals in their written works. Its use is most common in the social sciences. The content of the APA citation style is usually the author and the year of publication, as well as the title of work and the imprint. Other elements of written works designed under the framework of the APA style include the reference list, intext citations, headers, page numbering, and page margins. (Hajnal, 1997) The origin of the APA citation format is traced back to a discussion between professionals who write journals with anthropology and psychology as subjects. It was a way to set a standard of writing for journals in order to promote structure and organization in the formality of writing professional articles. After this discussion, the APA published a written work containing writing standards and guidelines. (Hunter, 2007) The importance of utilizing the APA style is to organize a written body of work by structuring the writing styles and citation references into something formal or standard. Standardized writing will benefit readers in such a way that reading other journals is recognizable and comprehensible. (Seas & Driscoll, 2007) Aside from this purpose, the significance of utilizing APA as a writing guide ensures clarity, consistency and unity all throughout the body of the written work or article. (â€Å"APA Style†) For authors or writers, following the APA format or writing style is a means of abiding by rules set forth a particular publication – in this case, publications that publish written works of professionals in fields wherein the APA writing style is commonly used (such as psychology, sociology, education, nursing, etc. ). (â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions†) Discuss what is meant by Parallel Structures in the writing process. Abiding by the rules of parallel structure during the writing process, an author or writer should present equally important thoughts and ideas appropriately. This means that if a sentence calls for the presentation of several thoughts or ideas that are within the same level of importance, structure, or content, these should be written as such. No thought or idea should go against the flow of thoughts, especially in form. For instance, a sentence calls for the enumeration of activities that a person does in the morning. If the form of the verbs being enumerated are in the present tense, they should be written as such: â€Å"†¦ waking up, eating breakfast, brushing one’s teeth, and bathing. † and not â€Å"†¦waking up, eat breakfast, brush one’s teeth, and bathing. † This rule goes the same with the use of clauses and words that follow a colon. (Purdue OWL & Driscoll, 2006) Discuss the meaning of verb tense in the writing process. Like the parallel structure which signals consistency and uniformity within the body of a written work, verb tenses also results to the same outcomes in writing. Aside from the general rules of verb tenses such as past tense for actions done in the past, present tense for actions that are currently taking place, and future tense for action that are about to take place, verb tenses in the writing process also necessitates consistency and uniformity of thoughts. For instance, a written work is in the form of a narrative then it should not only be written in the past tense, but should be written in the past tense all throughout the remainder of the text. Website: http://apastyle. apa. org/ â€Å"Frequently Asked Questions. † (2008) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The American Psychological Association. Website: http://www. apastyle. org/faqs. html#1 Hajnal, P. I. (1997). International Information: Documents, Publications, and Electronic Information of International Governmental Organizations. SC: Libraries Unlimited. Hunter, S. (2007). APA Writing Style. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from Associated Content, Inc. Website: http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/181223/apa_writing_style. html? cat=3 Purdue OWL & Driscoll, D. L. (2006). Parallel Structure. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/623/01/ â€Å"Tenses in Writing. † (N. D. ) Retrieved October 22, 2008, from University of Washington. Website: http://depts. washington. edu/engl/askbetty/tenses. php Topping, K. J. & Ehly, S. W. (1998). Peer-Assisted Learning. NJ: Laurence Erlbaum Associates. Seas, K. & Driscoll, D. L. (2007). APA Overview and Workshop. Retrieved October 22, 2008, from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue. Website: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/664/01/

Who Is Lying to Us About List of Social Justice Issues?

Who Is Lying to Us About List of Social Justice Issues? The Key to Successful List of Social Justice Issues To demonstrate precisely how simple it is to get an experience that's so far removed from what's actually right, you're likely to have to count. A great education (in comparison with a bad one) will give a kid with a heightened chance of taking advantage of chances to be prosperous in life. There's no limit to the theory of sharing. Therefore, two options are presented. On the flip side, you might write from a worldwide perspective and examine sustainable cities throughout the world. Criticising Islam and Islamism, for instance, really isn't the very same as attacking Muslims. Presently, there are many protests happening in the capital of Saudi Arabia in addition to a variety of different cities. Obsessing on outperforming history must be the quickest way to walk backwards. Social justice issues can happen in connection with practically any part of society where ineq uality can arise because of unjust prejudices or policies. Their deficiency of pluralism can be observed clearly even in the present time. Social workers in rural places, therefore, must be ready for the special environment they will face on a daily basis. Ethnocentrism is a system which elevates one particular culture above another, judging different groups as inferior dependent on the standards and values of a person's own culture. Gossip, Deception and List of Social Justice Issues In doing this you can advance your degree of competence in this region and better serve your campus community. Attempting to locate fresh concepts is possibly the exciting actions however it can as well be exhausted when we can't get the wanted idea. Social injustices can be available in many unique forms. Unsurprisingly, because job opportunities are lessen for dropouts, these 2 groups have the maximum incarceration prices. The Basic Facts of List of Social Justice Issues From off campus, you will have to log in with your Menlo username and password so as to access a few of these resources. This site provides a summary of a few of these issues in depth, and links to other resources where you are able to get extra info. The notion that there's no problem if there are some errors in something and there's no need to strive for excellence. Have a look at the hyperlink below to register. The Bad Secret of List of Social Justice Issues For a lot of us, books provide a good place to begin. Make what it is that you are teaching relevant to what's going on in the world. If you're feeling a bit antisocial at the moment, spend a couple of minutes Googling a number of these topics to determine if they may do the job for your research paper. To get started researching local problems, head straight to local newspapers and internet sources. There are several different kinds of privilege. Additional the most sinister abusers often decide to reside in a secluded rural regio n to decrease their likelihood of getting caught. Because we as Christians think that all humans share the identical worth before God, it's simple to dismiss difference of any type, including skin color. To be just it's not sufficient to know about injustice and analyse root causes. Definitions of List of Social Justice Issues In years past your high school senior could graduate and go work at the neighborhood factory for the remainder of their life and create a great living. It's possible for you to bring your family and friends to volunteer. For example, if you're having students learn to compose letters, be sure they actually get mailed to an actual individual. This community will grow. There's already an excessive amount of funding free of control going into many organizations like First Nations and the CBC. The agency already features an ombudsman's office, but it functions as a one-stop shop for general info about the department for elected officials and the general public. Social justice doesn't mean an individual has rights to something they did not earn. From time to time, a law is the reason behind the social justice issue. Defendants don't have any idea whether prosecutors are making disclosure they require. In many instances, the harshness of the crime can land a defendant in the adult court system irrespective of age. It doesn't conduct investigations.

Analysis Of Plato s The Cave Essay - 2307 Words

Within the ship as presented above, a chaos reigns which is, according to Plato, similar to the situation in a democratic society. The disagreements between the sailors on the ship symbolically represent the instability of a democratic society. The shipmaster symbolizes the masses, something quite powerful and strong, but at the same time and due to his nearsightedness and deafness, easily tricked and seduced by persuasion and lies, having for consequence that unable people govern. A comparison can be made with Good but uneducated and stupid voters who, because of their inability to perceive the truth, allow themselves to be cheated and loaded with empty demagogy and lies. On the other side, the sailors who ignore or ridicule the true helmsman, are benighted individuals, just as the prisoners who live in the dark in the allegory of the cave. They are like the ruler in a democratic society, namely, the masses, who are out of ignorance blind to see the truth, and therefore unable to d etermine the direction in which the state should be led. And just as knowledge of the stars, winds, and waves is necessary for the genuine art of steering, so is knowledge of ideas necessary for the righteous and just governance. No other is the key idea exposed through Plato’s tripartite psychology: that knowledge should be central for those who aspire to rule the state. Reason is the part of the human soul that should govern, because out of all three constituents of the human psyche reason isShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Plato s Allegory Of The Cave 949 Words   |  4 PagesPlato’s â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† I immediately saw similarities to a major life-changing event from my past. The life I was living was a cave that I did not even know I was stuck in. 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Diversity At The Work Place - 853 Words

Diversity at the work place has over the years become a matter of serious discussion. This is because there is a need to stop the common stereotyping that has been in existence over the years. There has been a need to guarantee that there is diversity at the areas of work to ensure that each individual is given an opportunity to work. This is only possible if there is an end in discrimination, this is because discrimination is the major factor that affects diversity in organizations. Looking at a worldwide established company such as Microsoft, diversity is a major aspect that they adhere to. This is because, being an international company, it needs set standards that other companies look up to. A wide range of people from different†¦show more content†¦Microsoft can also attribute part of its success to work diversity (Syed, amp; Özbilgin, 2010). This is because, being a worldwide company, it is expected to ensure that there is diversity. Through being diverse, the company has been able to attract more clients since there is no discrimination since the company has open up its doors in different countries with different beliefs. Through embracing diversity, it has been possible for Microsoft to broaden its services. Through having companies in different countries with different languages, Microsoft has created employment to individuals who market their products and services in foreign countries. This has been significant in ensuring that the company meets its overall business goal which is providing its services globally. Diversity also ensures that there are varying viewpoints. This is because every individual has an opinion regarding a particular matter that may be essential in improving service provision. A diverse work force ensures provides an opportunity for better services through thorough evaluation of the already existing ideas. Through this, it is possible for the company to meet all its clients’ needs as there is a larger perspective of all available issues. There is also an increase in productivity in a diverse working environment. This is because each individual is encouraged to work to t heir best capacity which results in high output. Microsoft has

Strategic Operation Issues Free Essays

string(215) " have they over estimated the man-hours or underestimated the man hours\? This is vital to get right as an overestimation results in an increased cost, making us less competitive, and therefore losing the contract\." STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ISSUES ASSIGNMENT TABLE OF FIGURES ABSTRACT5 PART A6 PART B8 PART C10 PART D11 PART E13 REFERENCE LIST15 ABSTRACT Company A is a global company and within it has several different business units, Company A , is a specialised service provider for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries throughout the world, this report focuses on Company A Tower Field Service Pty Ltd, located in Australia. Operations and process management are vital functions for the effective running of successful businesses, they need to be strategically planned and designed to prevent the loss of vital information, company standards as well as continually improve practises. These processes should be well documented and understood by all employees of the company. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Operation Issues or any similar topic only for you Order Now The loss or relocation of individuals should not have significant impact on company functioning. This report shows how strategic operations functions can be used to improve processes and therefore increase business effectiveness. Key concepts in strategic operations issues, such as process design and analysis, total quality management and resource planning and control need to be well documented for the system to remain effective and to meet long term strategic goals. PART A Describe the organisation and the problem briefly, but well enough for the assignment examiner to understand what the organisation does and its relevance to this assignment; Company A is a global company with many business units located around the world; Company A is itself a division of Company B. Company A have extensive knowledge of all types of vessel and tower internals. Company A are a specialist service provider supporting customer’s needs for all their internal equipment installation, shutdown, maintenance or revamp requirements in the petrochemical, and oil and gas industries all over the world. It is Company A’s strategy to strengthen its ability to supply installation and maintenance services to its customers geographically leading to recent acquisitions, Oceania merging with APA creating APAC. This has resulted in the relocation of key personnel, within the company, to run new locations, consequentially losing experience and day to day operational knowledge. Due to an ill documented management system this knowledge and experience was not captured in processes procedures resulting in a gap in the operations of the business. This assignment focuses on Company A Pty Ltd, Australian Operations. PART B Briefly explain the background to this issue or problem by describing how it fits into the operations of the business. Its impact on the business could be demonstrated using a chart to show the functional relationships, and/or a process flow analysis to show how the operation or process that you are studying is integrated into the organisation; Company A’s work is varied and unpredictable, resulting in fluctuations and depressions in work frequency and volume (Figure 2. 0). Speed, cost and dependability are the important operational factors driving Company A’s market strategy in winning contracts. Whilst each project is different the process for quoting, receiving the contract and executing the job are essentially the same (Figure 3. ) . This process was held by a small number of experienced and long standing employees, when they were reallocated to run other locations, so was the knowledge of project, quoting requirements, Company A capabilities and experience. [pic] Figure 2. 0 – Shows the variation and volume in work load throughout any given year. Reference: Reporting Figures (2009, 2010, 2011) [pic] Figure 3. 0 – Process Flow chart of Company A enquiry through to Project Completion PART C Provide brief specific details of the operational issue, problem or process that needs to be addressed. For example, this might includes: †¢ Key objectives, success factors and performance of the issue in question †¢ Opportunities or implications for changes to the process or techniques being used now †¢ Resource implications or constraints †¢ Technologies and/or manpower issues involved in the process etc. Company A’s core business revolves around winning contracts; these contracts are based upon man-hours that is, the time it would take to complete the scope of work provided by the client. Any deviation from the budgeted man-hours results in reduced profit margins, poor on time delivery, customer dissatisfaction and loss of reputation. Therefore it is vital when quoting for a project all quality, costs, man-hours and materials are factored in. The relocation of personnel and subsequent lose of experience and personnel knowledge outlined a gap between assumed knowledge and documented procedures, as whilst the process to quote and win projects was essentially the same, it was not well documented and new employees were unable to successfully quote for a project. This not only will affect Company A’s bottom line but will result in inconsistent quotations and impact on employee job satisfaction. This has brought forward the need for a documented, maintained and reviewed Quality Management System, whereby, procedures, standard documents and templates can be used which capture all associated costs, project, client and company requirements. PART D Analyse the problem using concepts covered in the appropriate part of this subject (this should be the major part of your work and your report). In analysing the problem, you should consider: the five main objectives of operations management; changes to performance or outcomes (such as quality, productivity etc. ; potential improvements relevant theory calculations where possible; and any information about the costs involved. As speed, cost and on time delivery are the key to being awarded contracts, high importance needs to be placed on these factors and would be where strategic planning would be focused. Whilst quality and flexibility play a significant role in Company A’s application, quality is usually fixed by the client a s they know what they want achieved, as is flexibility, what they want and when they want it is usually not negotiable, especially as they are working to deadlines for their customers. The quotes that are presented to the client not only need to meet the operations objectives of cost and speed, but also dependability that is, is what they have quoted an accurate reflection of what can be practically achieved, have they over estimated the man-hours or underestimated the man hours? This is vital to get right as an overestimation results in an increased cost, making us less competitive, and therefore losing the contract. You read "Strategic Operation Issues" in category "Papers" An underestimate would result in insufficient time to complete the project and the extra cost would be worn by Company A. Not only would cost be an issue, but that would affect our reputation as a specialist provider, decrease customer satisfaction and therefore be less considered by the client when submitting a quote next time. The number and variety of different manpower needed is based on specification of output as well as aggregated capacity that is the number of man hours is then used to calculate how many men/days it would take to complete the job based on a ten hour day. The data for estimating an enquiry has been developed over time, using past experience, company expectations and feedback from the contractors required to do the work. The man-hours required to complete standardised services have been established using the top down and bottom up approach, this knowledge however has not been transcribed to a standard document, in order for consistency in quotations, this should be developed. This will increase productivity, the time taken to complete the quotes and would also facilitate improvement. The structure of Company A having high variation in the demand for services, along with the volume and variety of when and where these services are executed makes capacity management and scheduling difficult, thus reducing capacity (Slack et al, 2010). Being a highly variable business according to Slack et al, 2010, process variability results in simultaneous waiting and resource underutilisations, Company A has managed this capacity demand in off peak times of the year with only hiring a core set of permanent employees, responsible for key operational issues, such as planning, customer liaison and information integration. When a job is awarded short term contracts are issued to trades personnel to complete the core mechanics of the project, once the project is completed the personnel are terminated, thus preventing underutilisation of resources. This however brings with it another problem that is the availability of obtaining the competent personnel for that project and also the lack of consistency with staff working for Company A . The availability of staff, location of the project and type of work, needs to be factored into the resource planning and quoting for the client. As stated in Slack et al, 2010, resource planning, is concerned with managing allocation of resources and activities for process efficiency and effectiveness in satisfying customer demand. The implications are seen in the three main operations objectives that is quality, speed and cost. If there is insufficient man power available to complete the work, the job will run over time, resulting in cost of poor quality, and reputation with the client. This can also affect the quality of work conducted, as personnel could be stretched, or there may be insufficient trades to complete the job to quality requirements. The variety of different staff used, results again in loss of experience and knowledge in the work that we do, being a highly specialised service, it is important to maintain highly skilled individuals. This variety could impact on the man hours budgeted as you would have to account for learning new skills, other variables such as a work ethic, availability of resources etc†¦ The use of detailed work instructions, inductions or retention periods could be a viable solution. PART E Provide brief recommendations for improving the process including comparisons of your recommendations against the current system, and details of changes needed to correct the problem or improve the situation. You should include a rudimentary action plan or relevant time frame for implementation of your recommendations. Bear in mind that your recommendations should be potentially cost effective i. e. you must argue the changes from the point of view of their potential to improve cost, quality, output, productivity etc. In order to overcome the operational issue of loss of resources and valuable information, a well implemented quality management system, based on ISO 9001: 2008 should be implemented, with detailed work instructions, procedures and processes. The current system as it stands is inconsistent, highly variable and not well documented. Creating documented processes and procedures, consistency, application and ease of use will be beneficial to new/old employees with all assumed knowledge being captured and enable with succession planning. The implementation of a quality system would be a time consuming process involving a number of resources as the time to collate, document, review and approve procedures and processes would be lengthy. The application of designated individual would cut down the time needed to complete this project. The impacts of introducing a recognised Quality Management System such as ISO9001:2008 would be far more beneficial than the initial cost/time taken to implement it. Not only would quality of projects be increased, due to standardisation of the processes, but costs would be seen in the reduction of double handling and waste. As all facets of the company would be documented the knowledge of what is presented to the client would increase and therefore cost, time to complete projects, quality of quotations and time to complete these would be reduced. The continuous review process would also enable consistent improvements and company growth. (Figure 5. 0) Having an externally certified system, which is not a prerequisite for winning contracts with clients, would see us as a better candidate against other competitors without certification and could increase our chances of winning contracts. [pic] Figure 5. 0 – Integration of Quality Management System into Business operations. Reference. Company A IMS REFERENCE LIST Slack, N. , Chambers, S. , Johnston, R. and Betts, A. , 2009, Operations and Process Management, 2nd ed, Prentice Hall Company A (2011), http://ctnet. Company A . com/desktopdefault. aspx, International Direct Contact Resources Business Unit Power Point, , April 2011 ———————– OFFER REJECTED – LOSS OF WORK PROJECT PLANNED PROJECT EXECUTED NO QUOTATION? SIGN CONTRACT CONTRACT REVIEW GENERATE PROPOSAL REVIEW OFFER RETURN TO CLIENT WITH A SUITABLE LETTER DECLINING QUOTATION ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER (CONTRACT) ACCEPTED ISSUE TO CLIENT REGISTER ENQUIRY AND QUOTE FOR JOB RECEIVED REQUEST TO BID FOR CONTRACT FROM CLIENT How to cite Strategic Operation Issues, Papers

Qualitative and Quantitative Design Methods †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Queston: Discuss about the Qualitative and Quantitative Design Methods. Answer: Introduction: Ontology and Epistemology are intrinsic to research methodology. Ontology is the foundation of knowledge. Research paradigm is constructed by the integration of ontology and epistemology. The characteristics of research paradigm are ontology management, epistemology and methodology. The ontology of positivist knowledge is that reality is present out there, it can be understood through the external intervention by the scientist (Ritchie et al. 2013). Result is understood as the outcome of current convention. Ontology raises question about reality and what is reality. Ontology emphasizes on what is knowledge and in what ways we perceive knowledge. This enables us to understand the quintessence of knowledge. A clear understanding regarding the philosophy of knowledge will guide the researcher to engage in better research. The ontological position of the positivists is that there is a single reality that is out there and the task of the researcher is to go out there and discover the real ity. The understanding of the positivist ontological position is that there is a fixed reality. This ontology informs the researcher to deploy quantitative research methods that facilitates measurement and quantification of the reality. Another ontological position is that of the constructivists or the interpretivists. Their understanding about knowledge is that there is no single reality. There are multiple realities. Reality is contingent about the perception of different individuals based on their distinctive social location. Since reality is multiple, the approach towards understanding the reality is to explore the lived experiences of individuals, groups, communities and sects. Since experiences of different individuals cannot be quantified, measured on generalized to a larger sample population, therefore qualitative research methods comprising of qualitative interviewing, in-depth and intensive interviews, oral history and participant observation are some of the pertinent tech niques deployed for the constructivist approach of research. The ontological framework of critical social science research is that there is social construction of reality and that the construction of reality is subject to internal reflection. This ontological position influences the a critical and reflective orientation towards social issues. Therefore, Marxist method and feminist method are the key features of this kind of position. According to critical social science research, social realities are manifestation of the power structure and embedded in hierarchical relationship (Lewis 2015). The appropriate methods for this kind of approach is discourse analysis that engages in a perusal of the discourse itself and highlights the power that is manifested through discourse analysis, ethnography and action design research. Action design research is suitable for the temperament of this ontological position as it emphasizes on identifying the issues and seeking solutions management to the problem with the motive of social transformation or praxis. The term epistemology refers to the ways one can know the reality or knowledge and also explains the relationship between the knower and the phenomenon the person wants to know. It is ontology that informs the epistemological premise. Epistemology also emphasizes on the process of knowing and guides about future methods that can be adopted by the researchers. For example, the epistemological tenet of constructivism is subjective understanding of knowledge. According to this philosophy, reality needs to be interpreted with the aim of understanding the meanings imbued to the social action of individuals or groups. Theory, methodology and research design Ontology and epistemology determines guides and informs theory. Theory informs the methodological framework to be adopted for research and the methodical framework in turn gives shape to the research design. In social science research, there are three key ingredients, the first step is the construction of theory followed by the collection of data and followed by the designing of the research. The term theory connotes a testable proposition that have emerged either through the nomothetic (that is based on generalisable scientific laws) or the idiographic (that emphasizes on the subjective interpretation of reality) approach. A theory either emerges through the inductive of the deductive method. According to the deductionist approach, a researcher commences the research with a hypothesis based on the on intensive review of literature on the issue that is being studied. Then, the researcher goes into the field and deploys the survey or the questionnaire method to find the data. The aim of the researcher is to prove the hypothesis valid or invalid (Hughes and Sharrock 2016). The deductionists are inspired from the positivist foundation and tries to provide an objective account of reality. On the other hand, in the inductionist approach the researcher commences with broad research question and enters the field. During the course of the fieldwork and post the data collection, there will emerge the theory. This is also known as the grounded theory. Grounded theory makes use of qualitative research methodology. The foundation of qualitative research is that individuals experiences cannot be quantified and the researcher needs to adopt verstehen (empathetic understanding). This emphasizes that the researcher to understand the participants should put themselves in the shoes of the participant. This would facilitate in having a deeper and acuminous insight into the lifeworld of the individual. Methodology refers to the system that constitutes of a collection of methods th at are utilized by the researcher in the pursuit of their approach towards the research. It is important to understand that research is never pursued without reference to other studies. The ways and patterns in which the social scientist pursues the researcher is situated in the broader context of the paradigm (Neuman 2014). The selection of appropriate research design emerges from the epistemological position of the researcher and the ways the researcher is seeking to understand the given issue. There are two primary research designs. One is the quantitative research design and the other is the qualitative research. The specifics of qualitative, quantitative and mixed method approach to research As has been discussed in the previous journals ontology informs epistemology that in turn informs the methodology and that in turn influences the methods. Qualitative research design is premised on the understanding of interpretivism or constructivism or critical social science research (Glaser and Strauss 2017). In quantitative research design, the aim of the researcher is to measure the through the use of numbers. Quantitative research design entails grasping the objective reality, therefore estimation is done quantification of data. A key advantage of quantitative research is the precision and there is no ambiguity. The data generated from the quantitative research can be generalisable to a larger sample population. Some of the common methods in quantitative research are survey and structured interview. A survey involves studying a particular phenomenon through the use of questionnaire that comprises of both open-ended nad close-ended questions. A questionnaire with too many open- ended questions would make it difficult to code and quantify. A structured interview comprises of a set of questions pre-decided by the interviewer and is not subject to change or modification during the course of the interview. Survey is helpful in examining the number of people and their relation to the particular phenomenon. However, quantitative research has limitation in terms grasping the varied experiences of individuals. In that context, qualitative research is helpful. The data generated from qualitative research is not meant to be generalisable. It uses oral history, in-depth interview, qualitative interviewing, focussed group discussion, unstructured interviews among others that are considered to be compatible for the essence of the research. In case of quantitative method probability, sampling technique is adopted whereas in case of qualitative research non-probability sampling technique is considered to be befitting. Apart from these two research methods there is someth ing called mixed methods. Mixed methods are also known as triangulation. Mixed method approach involves the deployment of both qualitative and quantitative research method (Hussein 2015). For example if a researcher is planning to conduct a study to understand the effect of ethnic violence on a community, then the methods of oral history, unstructured interview, archive analysis and survey all can be employed together to have a better understanding of the phenomenon. In case of a research that aims to understand the relationship between drug abuse and youth, the a quantitative research comprising of large scale cross-sectional research design and survey would be useful. In case a researcher is interested to understand the children of sex-workers and stigma in their life, then qualitative research methods comprising of qualitative interviewing and participant observation would be the most suitable method. Quantification would not be possible in such kind of situation as it will insen sitive and uncouth conduct a structured interview on their lives. Participant observation will enable the researcher to understand the trials and tribulations of the participants and the observation from the field will enrich the data. References Glaser, B.G. and Strauss, A.L., 2017.Discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge. Hughes, J.A. and Sharrock, W.W., 2016.The philosophy of social research. Routledge. Hussein, A., 2015. The use of Triangulation in Social Sciences Research: Can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined?.Journal of comparative social work,4(1). Lewis, S., 2015. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches.Health promotion practice,16(4), pp.473-475. Neuman, L.W., 2014.Social research methods. Pearson Education Limited. Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Nicholls, C.M. and Ormston, R. eds., 2013.Qualitative research practice: A guide for social science students and researchers. Sage.