Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Walmart case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart - Case Study Example This together with the ‘open door policy’ states that management needed to consider the â€Å"associates† views in the decision making process. Walton was against worker unionization and he argues that it would lead to establishment of restrictive work regulations and dramatic pay hikes. Furthermore, he came up with the â€Å"sun down rule† which encouraged workers to complete their tasks on time (Hill and Jones, 2009). His policies were based on getting workers to perform to their level best while paying the insufficient salaries. However, they would be rewarded in stock ownership plans and profit sharing schemes. This strategy has worked for years nonetheless; it has been facing issues in the recent times. Issues Facing This Strategy This strategy has led the company to great heights and sustained its exemplary financial performance over the years. Over the recent past, there have been various issues emerging from the application of this strategy (Anthony , Kacmar and Perrewe, 2002). Wal-Mart is the private entity with the highest number of â€Å"associates† world over. This has created numerous problems with regards to human resource management. In the past, the company has been relying on the strategy of encouraging the employees to work hard with the promise of getting a promotion or incentives through stock ownership and profit sharing. This strategy has been regarded as being highly unfair as workers are exploited to work for long hours and they are not duly compensated for their contribution. Furthermore, it has been observed that the company rarely fulfills its promise of sharing its employees through profit sharing. The company has been faced by several law suits over pressuring their employees to work for long hours without paying them overtime wages. Moreover, the company has been under attack for paying its employees peanuts and pressuring them to work too hard (Heskett, 2011). This has resulting to increasing dissa tisfaction among the workforce and can be attributed to the decline in the company’s performance in the recent past. This policy is aimed at increasing the company’s productivity while totally ignoring the â€Å"associates† plight and contribution towards the company’s success. In most competitive firms, worker remuneration is based on output and this should be the case for the giant retailer. Labor unions have attempted to intervene but to no avail. The company’s â€Å"associates† are continually oppressed as its reputation and financial glory go down the drain. Labor unions have made concerted efforts to unionize the employees over the years but they have fallen on deaf ears. Wal-Mart has been noted to be one of the few companies that have strongly opposed against unionization of the â€Å"associates†. The company management argues that labor unions champion for increased salaries and impose strict working regulations (Heskett, 2011 ). This move is regarded to be highly capitalistic and aims at maximizing the company’s profits at the workers’ expense. This has created negative publicity concerning the company and if no immediate action is taken, it could have further detrimental effects on its profitability. In addition to, the company has

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Anyliss of Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. What caused Poe Research Paper

Anyliss of Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. What caused Poe to write such dark poems - Research Paper Example Critics both in history and literature have constructed a number of theories about his motivations to write as he did with some suspecting Poe’s unstable love life while others have noted substance abuse as the cause of his horror stories. To understand Poe’s literary works, it is important to be open to both theories but is evident the death of his loved ones in addition to being abused by his foster father are some of the factors that significantly influenced his works. Poe’s tragic life began when just before his third birthday, his mother died of tuberculosis living him his brother and sister orphans as their father had earlier on abandoned them (Moreno and Rigal-Aragà ³n 128). At this point in life, Poe was very young to comprehend the implication of his mother’s death in his life but in later years especially during adulthood, his reflections led him to grieve for how much better his home life would have been with both his biological parents present. The death of his mother seems to have had a psychological effect on him given that as early as age six he was afraid of the dead or dying causing him to have panic attacks whenever he passed a cemetery fearing ghosts would come after him (Meyers 76). The death of William Henry Leonard Poe also due to tuberculosis infection was the second death of those Poe loved. Poe mourned the death of his brother regretting the lack of chance for them to interact. Although Poe had an unstable rela tionship with his foster father, Poe’s mental stability and work in general was greatly impacted. Therefore, the death of his mother, brother and foster father played an influential role in the in Poe’s dark literature. Given the painful experience Poe had due to the death of those close to him, it is only natural that he would feel death as the ultimate punishment. Death is the most effective means of separating people from each other as it did to those round him. Poe therefore

Monday, September 9, 2019

Hyundai Motor Companys global performance with regards to fulfilling Essay

Hyundai Motor Companys global performance with regards to fulfilling its corporate social responsibility - Essay Example To illustrate, Hyundai Motor’s Chinese subsidiary won the ‘2011 Most Responsible Corporate Citizen’ award for the firm’s efforts in various social welfare fields. The Hyundai greatly supports the Chinese government in poverty reduction, traffic safety, sand prevention and control, and several other areas4. It is estimated that the company’s investments in the field of environmental sustainability in China would reach nearly 4.1 trillion and those investments may account for clean diesel vehicles, electric vehicles, and Blue Drive development plan5. In India, the Hyundai Motor India Foundation (HMIF) has made investments worth more than 20 million rupees in different social welfare programs6. The organization has begun its â€Å"Go Green† village based project in Tamil Nadu (an Indian State) in 2011 with intent to improve living standards of the region’s villages7. Considering the Hyundai’s contributions to the State, the company has been given the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Award’ and ‘Best Commercial and Industrial Institution’ award by the Tamil Nadu State government8. According to Biwalkar, the Brand Trust Report study conducted in India in 2011, Hyundai was selected as the country’s 43rd most trusted brand9. Hyundai’s corporate responsibility programs benefit Chinese and Indian societies. To illustrate, these economies are still at developing phase and therefore they struggle to meet increasing infrastructure facilities and other living condition requirements arising out of a high level population growth. Evidently, the emerging economies greatly support Hyundai’s business and arrange improved operational facilities for the... This essay discusses that modern society is highly concerned about environmental sustainability more than ever before. Consumers today tend to discourage businesses which are likely to cause toxic emissions or other forms of pollution. While analyzing the industrial world, it seems that majority of the organizations raises some sorts of challenges to ecological balance. For a multinational corporation like Hyundai Motor Company, the world’s fourth largest automobile manufacturer, the potential for environmental damage is higher. Since combustion of fossil fuels constitutes a huge portion of greenhouse gas emissions, modern consumers are increasingly switching their demand to eco-friendly vehicles. The most noticeable achievement of Hyundai is that the company could markedly reduce CO2 emissions on the strength of technological innovations. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2011 Trends Report, Hyundai Motor America was ranked as the top automobile manufacturer in terms of fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. Through its quality innovations, Hyundai developed green cars that are capable of reducing CO2 emissions and thereby promoting environmental sustainability. Reports indicate that such innovations assisted Hyundai to lower the CO2 emission volumes of its new models including i10, i20, and i30 blue to the range of 100g/km. Although the company has been successful in designing and executing social welfare programs as compared to other automobile manufactures, it still contributes to environmental and other social issues.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Phase 4 Individual Project 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Phase 4 Individual Project 2 - Assignment Example There was a keen and clear understanding that percolated through the organization: the company would focus on the discovery of ‘New Chemical Entities’ (or NCEs) and work towards the development of such molecules into viable drugs for sale in the market. The business goal of the company was to be a ‘market leader’ in the field of Drug discovery and research. The various laboratory instruments and equipment were chosen for procurement, based on the planned service capabilities of the company. Our company had invested in top quality bio-safety cabinets, laminar airflow chambers, gel documentation systems, liquid chromatography systems, flow cytometers and incubators, to name a few. The laboratory set up involved bulk investment of capital and recruitment of scientific personnel to handle such precision instruments. Clients were given tours of the laboratory facility and audits were managed professionally. This brought a good reputation to the company and soon, the company won its first major client: one of the ‘Top 10 Pharma companies’ of the nation! Pilot R&D studies were successfully conducted in the laboratory and the client was satisfied with the level of work and commitment. A few months in to the project from its first ever client, our company received a query to conduct ‘Clinical Trials’ on a particular drug that was discovered elsewhere. The management was keen to capitalize on such a wonderful opportunity that came along! ‘Clinical Research’ is indeed a dimension very different from ‘Drug Research and Development’; yet, it was lucrative since it promised good earnings in a much shorter duration. Our company’s senior management consisted of a Managing Director (who was not from the Life Sciences background), a President (who was a figure head) and a Chief Operating Officer (who was specialized in consulting services). The Head of the R&D facility was consulted for expert a dvice on this new project. After a few rounds of internal discussion, the management decided to go ahead with bidding for this Clinical Research project. The client insisted on several rounds of negotiation to which our company acceded. The final quote (which ultimately won the deal) was the lowest bid amongst all the local competitors. There were huge celebrations for winning the project and the existing employees were highly motivated and enthusiastic! The client expressed his urgency to begin the project with immediate effect. The Head of the R&D facility was now required to devote his time to the new project (though it meant a stark deviation from his original job responsibilities), owing to the project’s criticality. Resources were hastily recruited for the sole purpose of meeting the demands of this project. New departments such ‘Clinical Operations’, ‘Clinical Data Management’ and ‘Regulatory Affairs’ were formed in order to cater to the sudden requirements of the ‘clinical research’ sector. The Human Resource Development team was under extreme pressure to recruit the right resources in a very short span of time. The then existing Senior Management arranged for the legal documentation in the absence of a dedicated ‘Business team’. The project timelines and the milestones for payment proposed by the Sponsor (client) were quickly accepted by our company, in a bid to initiate this major project. A ‘Project Kick – Off meeting’ was arranged to formally commence the proceedings. A

Saturday, September 7, 2019

How does her book challenge medieval ideas about women Essay

How does her book challenge medieval ideas about women - Essay Example The city in her book symbolizes the women whom she had to build its reputation and prove how men have falsely thought them to be. Furthermore, in order to make women to be well-represented, Christine utilized symbolisms in her book to in order to present her thoughts accordingly. In her book, where she is the main character herself, three women told her and guided her through the building of a City. This City basically represents the state of liberation for women, who were thought to be misjudged and looked down to during the medieval period. It is in this City she was to build where women will find refuge against the men who attacks their womanhood through various writings and literature, and who sees themselves to be the ones with accomplishments and greatness alone. The three allegorical women whom the author talks to in the book – Reason, Justice and Rectitude, she was able to establish the greatness of women. Through the help of these ladies, Christine was able to identify her role as a woman in the society. According to the wisest of the ladies, it is only when a person has full knowledge of the self would one be able to understand oneself and the nobility of that individual. Thus, it is the Ladies’ role to help her see and understand a woman’s worth in the society. By understanding women’s roles in the society, Christine therefore builds the City’s foundation. It is only when woman clearly realized how special their tasks are in the community, then they would eventually be able to build a strong wall that would guard their city against any forms of attack. Women who assumed a great role in the military as well as in politics have proven their strength, not just in the physical aspect, but their psychological competence in order to defend their areas of responsibility. From the women who have found the Amazon to the queens who used their power and wisdom to rule over their kingdoms, it cannot be denied

Friday, September 6, 2019

Foundation Certification †My Short Notes Essay Example for Free

Foundation Certification – My Short Notes Essay A team or group of people and the tools they use to carry out one or more processes or activities. Functions provide units of organization responsible for specific outcomes. Functions are logically isolated from each other. Definition – Process A set of coordinated activities combining and implementing resources and capabilities in order to produce an outcome and provide value to customers or stakeholders. Process has following attributes. Trigger, Activity, Dependency Sequence Process should be measurable Process should produce specific output Process should meet customer expectation Definition – Process Owner The person/role responsible for ensuring that the process is fit for the desired purpose and is accountable for the outputs of that process. Definition – Service Owner The person/role accountable for the delivery of a specific IT Service. They are responsible for continual improvement and management of change affecting services under their care. The service owner is a primary stakeholder in all of the underlying IT processes that enable or support the service they own. Definition – Service A means of delivering value to customers by facilitating outcomes customers want to achieve without the ownership of specific costs or risks. Definition – RACI Model R – Responsibility (at least 1R per activity who is doing the actual work) A – Accountability (1 A per activity) C – Consult I – Inform Service Strategy The purpose is to define the perspective, position, plans, and patterns that a service provider needs to be able to execute to meet an organization’s business outcomes * Perspective – Defines the organization’s view of itself, generally communicated through the organization’s vision and direction. * Positions – Defines the distinctiveness of the organization in comparison to its competitive market and as identified through the minds of its customers. * Plans – The predefined details for supporting and enhancing the organization’s perspective and positions, usually identifying a potential future state for the organization and a strategic response to the state and level of investment required. * Patterns – Defines the conditions and actions that must be consistently in place and repeatable to achieve the objectives of the organization; patterns allow the organization to predict the future. Service strategy defines the role of serv ices and service provider in achieving the business objectives of the organization through management of IT. Value to Customer To enable a service provider to create value for a customer, a systematic approach has to be adopted. For ITIL, this approach is determining service utility and service warranty. Service Warranty (Fit for use) + Service Utility (Fit for propose) = Service Value Service utility and service warranty are present for every service provided to a customer. One cannot exist without the other. By describing both Service Utility and Service Warranty, it enables the provider to clearly establish the value of the service, differentiate themselves from the competition, and, when necessary, attach a meaningful price tag that has relevance to the customer and associated market space. Service Package = Enabling Services + Core Services + Enhancing Services Definition – Service Asset A Service Asset is any resource or capability used in the provision of services Definition – Business Case The business case is a detailed analysis of the benefits and impact of the business action in meeting the business objective and disrupting the delivery of other IT services. Attributes Introduction, Methods Assumptions, Business Impact, Risk Service Strategy Processes Demand Management Strategy Management for IT Services are out of scope for ITIL Foundation exam. 1. Financial Management * Responsible for securing the necessary fund to provide the service to the customer. * Maintain balance between cost of service and quality of the service * Maintain balance between supply and demand * Activities * Budgeting * IT Accounting * Chargeback * Service Valuation * Outputs * Service Valuation * Service Investment Analysis * Compliance (Align with rules regulations) * Cost optimization * Support for BIA 2. Service Portfolio Management * Track services throughout whole service lifecycle * Link services to their business objectives/value * Ensure all other management processes are working to get expected business outcomes * Includes Service Pipeline, Service Catalog Retired Service Catalog * Content : Description, Requirements/Business Cases, Value, Options, Price, Risk, Priority Investment Categories and Budget Allocations Phases/Activities of service portfolio management 3. Business Relationship Management * Maintain relationship between customer and service provider and understand customer needs * Ensure high level of customer satisfaction * Understand service packages and service level packages Service Design Benefits of Service Design * Reduction in total cost of ownership (TCO) * Improved quality of service * Improved consistency of service * Easier implementation of new or changed services * Improved service alignment * Improved service performance * Improved IT governance * Improved effectiveness of service management and IT processes * Improved information and decision-making * Improved alignment with customer values and strategies The Four Perspectives (Attributes) of ITSM * Partners/Suppliers * People * Product/Technology * Processes Major Aspects of Service Design * Service solutions for new or changed services * The management information systems and tools, especially the service portfolio * The technology architectures and management architectures * The processes required * The measurement methods and metrics Service Design Package (SDP) The contents of the service design package comprise four major sections with several smaller, but equally important, sub-sections. The four major sections are: †¢ Requirements †¢ Service Design †¢ Organizational readiness assessment †¢ Service Lifecycle Plan Service Design Processes 1. Design Coordination * Single point of coordination and control for all activities processes in Service Design stage * Individual organizations decide whether they need Design Coordination process or not. Only major changes will require this process * Activities 2. Service Level Management * Focus on Service Warranty (performance, availability, and security) * The establishment, monitoring, and improvements in service levels and their achievement * Communication to Customers Business managers on Service Levels. Will not conflict with Business Relationship Management process since this will only focus on Service Warranty * Manage, Negotiate Document SLR SLA * Develop Review OLA * Review UC for ensure they are align with SLA * Influence improvement within SIP * Monitor service performance against SLA * Three types of SLA structures. Service Based, Customer Based Multi Level/Hierarchical (Corporate, Customer Service based agreements) 3. Supplier Management * UC (Underpinning Contracts) SCMIS (Suppliers Contracts Management Information System) * Activities * Definition of new supplier and contract requirements * Evaluation of new suppliers and contracts * Supplier and contract categorization and maintenance of the * SCMIS * Establishment of new suppliers and contracts * Supplier, contract, and performance management * Contract renewal or termination * Supplier Categorization * Supplier Management process activities are span across all states except Service Strategy 4. Service Catalog Management * Include live service are services available for deployment (Customer-facing service and supportive services) * Service Catalog is a large part of the Service Portfolio. However, while the portfolio is focused on tracking the business requirements and the investments on a service, the Service Catalog is focused on the service solution and its delivery to the business * Service Catalog includes Business Service Catalog Technical Service Catalog * Top – Down approach is used when defining service catalog. (Business - Technical) 5. Capacity Management * Maintain balance between Resources/Capabilities Vs Demand * Business Capacity Management Service Capacity Management * Sub-Process of capacity management * Business * Service * Components * Activities * Performance Monitoring * Demand Management – Short term reactive activity * Application Sizing – New or Changed service * Modeling – Predict future behaviors * Tuning * Capacity Planning * Capacity Management Information System 6. Availability Management * Ensure that the level of availability delivered to all IT services matches the agreed need for availability or defined service level targets * Includes Reactive Activities (Monitoring, Incidents) Proactive Activities (Planning, Design) * Measurements * Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) or Uptime * Mean Time to Restore Service (MTRS) or Downtime * Mean Time Between System Incidents (MTBSI) 7. IT Service Continuity Management * Known as disaster recover planning * Produce and maintain IT Service Continuity plan to support Business Continuity Plan * Business Impact Analysis (Quantify the loss) Risk Assessment (Identify possible failure points) are considered when implementing strategy * Ongoing activities to make people aware about the recovery plan. Trainings, Reviews 8. Information Security Management * Information security is a critical part of the warranty of a service * Ensuring that the agreed business needs regarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the organization’s assets information, data, and IT services are matched * Develop and maintain information security policy align with business security requirements * Security test schedules and plans. * Information Security Management Perspectives * Organizational * Procedural * Physical * Technical * Framework for Managing Information Security * Plan * Implement * Control * Evaluate * Maintain Service Transition Service Transition Processes 1. Transition Planning and Support * Ensure proper attention is given to the overall planning for service transitions and to coordinate the resources required to implement the new or changed service * Provide clear and comprehensive plans that enable customer and business change projects to align their activities with the service transition plans * The scope of transition planning and support concentrates on the resources, schedules, and budgets required to move the IT service * To standardize methods and procedures used for efficient and prompt handling of all changes * A transition strategy will be constructed to define how all transitions will be managed within the organization based on the type and size of transitions expected in the environment 2. Knowledge Management * Maintain a Service Knowledge Management System (SKMS) that provides controlled access to knowledge, information, and data that is appropriate for each audience * DIKW Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom structure * Database to capture Data, Information and Knowledge but not Wisdom * Components of SKMS 3. Service Asset and Configuration Management * Ensure that assets under the control of the IT organization are identified, controlled, and properly cared for throughout their lifecycle * Identify, control, record, report, audit, and verify services and other configuration items (CIs), including versions, baselines, constituent components, their attributes, and relationships * Manage complete life cycle of CI * Activities * Planning – Strategy, Policy, Objectives, CMDB Design * Identification – What CI to be recorded their relationships * Control * Status Accounting * Verification Audit 4. Change Management * Ensure that all changes to configuration items are recorded in the configuration management system * Optimize overall business risk. It is often correct to minimize business risk, but sometimes it is appropriate to knowingly accept a risk because of the potential benefit. * Types of changes * Normal Changes – Need to go through all steps of change management process * Standard Changes – Pre approved changes. Should be possible via service request. No need of RFC * Emergency Change * Steps * The RFC is logged. * An initial review is performed (to filter RFCs). * The RFCs are assessed and may require involvement of CAB or ECAB. * Authorization of change builds and test by the Change Manager * Coordination of the build and test, e.g., work orders are issued for the * Build of the change (carried out by other groups) * Change Management authorizes deployment. * Change Management coordinates the deployment (with multiple checkpoints). * The change is reviewed (Post Implementation Review). * The change is closed. 5. Release and Deployment Management * Planning, scheduling, and controlling practices applied to the build, test, and deployment of releases * Define and agree Release and Deployment Management plans with customers and stakeholders * Four phases of release deployment management * Release Deployment Planning * Release Build Test * Deployment * Review Close Service Operation Responsible for the ongoing management of the technology that is used to deliver and support the services. Service Operation accepts the new, modified, retiring, or retired services from Service Transition, once the test and acceptance criteria have been met. Functions Unique to Service Operations is the introduction of functions. While a defined function does have responsibilities in all stages of the Service Lifecycle, the majority of activities they performed are completed within the scope of Service operations. 1. Service Desk * Single point of contact between the services being provided and the users. A typical Service Desk will manage incidents and service requests as well as communication with the users. Thus, the Service Desk staff will execute the Incident Management and Request Fulfillment processes with the intent to restore normal-state service operation to users as quickly as possible * Minimize service outage day to day basis * Make sure that agreed services only provide to those who authorized * Structures * Local * Central * Virtual * Follow the Sun * Activities * Logging all request, prioritization, categorization and first level of investigation * Keep user informed about incident outage * Customer satisfaction survey 2. Technical Management * Custodian of technical knowledge and expertise related to managing the IT Infrastructure. It provides detailed technical skills and resources needed to support the ongoing operation of the IT Infrastructure. * Plays an important role in providing the actual resources to support the IT Service Management lifecycle. It ensures that resources are effectively trained and deployed to design, build, and transition, operate, and improve the technology to deliver and support IT Services. 3. IT Operations Management * Ongoing management and maintenance of an organization’s IT infrastructure. IT operations is the set of activities used in the day-to-day running of the IT infrastructure to deliver IT services at agreed levels to meet stated business objectives.IT Operation Control * IT Operation Control * Job Scheduling, Backup, Restore and Monitoring * Facilities Management * Data Centers, Recovery Sites, Computer Rooms 4. Application Management * Application Management covers the entire ongoing lifecycle of an application, including requirements, design, build, deploy, operate, and optimize. Service Operation Processes 1. Event Management * Detecting Event, Understanding Event, Determining Appropriate Control Action * Three Types of events * Informational * Warning * Exception * Populate SKMS with event information and history 2. Incident Management * An unplanned interruption to an IT service or reduction in the quality of an IT service, or a failure of a CI that has not yet impacted an IT service * The purpose of Incident Management is not to prevent an incident, but to reduce its impact by restoring normal service operation as quickly as possible * Ensure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt response, analysis, documentation, ongoing management, and reporting of incidents * Incident Models Steps and procedures that should be used to manage previously seen and documented incidents * Steps * Order of Steps * Responsibilities – Who should do what * Time scale/Threshold * Escalation Procedures * Any necessary evidence/prevention actions * Activities * Identification * Logging – All incidents regardless of source of that incident * Categorization * Prioritization * Impact + Urgency = Priority * Initial Diagnosis * Escalation * Functional * Hierarchical * Investigation and Diagnosis * Resolution * Closure 3. Problem Management * Concentrate on diagnosing the root cause of incidents and on determining the resolution to those problems. * Defines a problem as the underlying cause of one or more incidents 4. Request Fulfillment * Form of changes that are small in nature, low risk, and low cost in its execution, and are frequently performed * Activities * Menu Selection * Financial Approval Optional * Other Approval Optional * Fulfillment * Closure 5. Access Management * Effectively execute the policies in Information Security Management, enabling the organization to manage the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of the organization’s data and intellectual property. Continual Service Improvements * CSI is always seeking ways to improve service effectiveness, process effectiveness, and cost effectiveness * Review, analyze, prioritize, and make recommendations on improvement opportunities in each lifecycle stage * Periodically conducting internal audits verifying employee and process compliance * Periodically conducting customer satisfaction surveys * Continual Service Improvement Approach * CSI Register * Part of SKMS. And keep track of all improvements opportunities. * Anyone should be able to access and submit improvement points to CSI Register * IT Governance has three main areas * Enterprise, Corporate, IT Governance * Types of Metrics * Technology – Performance, Availability * Process – KPI, * Service * Tension Metrics : Resources, Features, Time Schedule The Deming Cycle * Plan: Design or revise business process components to improve results * Do: Implement the plan and measure its performance * Check: Assess the measurements and report the results to decision makers * Act: Decide on changes needed to improve the process Seven Steps Improvement Process 1. Identify Strategy for Improvements 2. Define What You Will Measure 3. Gather Data 4. Process Data 5. Analyze the information data 6. Present and use the information 7. Implement Improvement

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Analysis of Australias Mental Health Policy

Analysis of Australias Mental Health Policy Policy Analysis Sile Mpofu At some stage in their lives, Australians will be affected by some form of mental illness. Mental illness is very common in Australia and at least 3% of the population experiences severe or recurrent illnesses and approximately 45% Australians experience mental problems at some point in their lives. (National health policy, 2008). According to the world health organistaion, 2004, a mental health policy is a set of objectives, principles and objectives which are organized to improve mental health and decreasing the number of mental problems in a population. A mental health policy is described as a vision for the future and it assists in establishing a model for action. A policy is meant to be implemented to cover a longer period for example between 5 to 10 years. A mental health policy prioritises the government in assigning health in relation to other health and policies. The history of this policy dates back from March 1991, when it was first implemented. The early parts of the policy focused on structural changes in how and where the mental health services were delivered, as the years went by it improved and the plans implemented became broader focusing on partnerships between various sectors, prevention and early intervention and involving the role of consumers and carers. however, in 2006 the policy experienced a large scale of mental health problems including areas like housing, justice and employment. The National health policy, 2008, aims at making sure that Australia has a good mental health system which will detect and come up with early interventions, promote recovery and ensure that every Australians affected by mental health illnesses has access to appropriate and effective treatment and also decreasing the stigma associated with mental illnesses. This mental health policy aims to increase the ability of youth, adults, children and older people to be able to realise that they have potential and to help them cope with normal life stresses and also their involvement in the community and lastly to assist those recovering from mental illnesses. (Mental health policy, 2008). This policy aims at developing policies and interventions to improve the mental health problems in Australia, using available resources to assist in achieving the greatest possible benefits, providing the most effective services for the ones who require it and helping improve people affected by mental problems. (Australian health ministries, 2009). Every Australian including those affected by mental illness have rights, they are entitled to take part within the community without experiencing discrimination, they should have easy access to literature, information and advocacy services, rehabilitation and even supported accommodation. People with mental illnesses must have the rights to be informed about their illnesses. The mental health legislation, 2008, is supposed exercise these rights. There are a number of problems associated with mental illnesses, these include, relationship breakdown, bereavement, unemployment, being a carer and removal of family, the aforementioned problems are immediate contributing factors to mental health issues. Certain risk factors which comprise of drugs, alcohol use and physical health problems some include being excluded socially, issues of discrimination and bullying. (Who,2008). Mental health for each individual is affected by personal factors and past experiences and cultural values. Daily lives and daily experiences influence mental health. (Lehtinen, Riikonen Lahtinen, 1997). Particular attention is focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who have no homes and are unemployed. Refugees are at high risk of mental health problems and focus will need to be on them as well as they are a high risk of committing to suicide and previous risk of harming themselves is also a contributing factor. (Parkar, Fernandes Weiss 2003). Even though this policy embraces the wellness programs in a diverse manner, it is also commonly focused on exercise, better eating and managing morbidities like hypertension and diabetes, and forgetting to focus on the mental health issues. To make matters worse people experiencing mental health issues become unwilling to report their conditions in the fear of ruining their careers and losing their jobs, more so the stigma attached to mental health issues contributes to this. (WHO, 2008). According to the mental health Policy 2008, employers tend not to see the warning signs of mental issues their workers experience until they look at their medical history and disability claims, this makes it difficult. Miles, M 2008, states that Mental health illnesses are very common in working adults because it was discovered that anxiety and depression medication were in the top three list of medications they take. Carers can be family members or friends and will need information and materials to assist in caring for their loved ones, carers tend not to be acknowledged but they play a very important role, and act as advocates who help in achieving recovery goals and influencing policy and practices and help to bring a positive change. Carers require respect and acknowledgement for what they do for them to be able to help their loved ones. Carers have their own needs and are also at a risk of developing depression themselves. Stress and anxiety are also a problem faced by carers and their needs have to be recognized and their wellbeing be protected. Support programs and respite services for carers to have breaks every now and then. (National health policy, 2008). The link between physical conditions and mental health are unnoticed or overlooked by employers because they concentrate on managing chronic conditions. The national mental health policy 2008, provided a strategic framework which is desirable, it is looked at as a wide agenda to guide the coordinated efforts in mental health reform over the next four years. The framework focuses on three determinants of mental health include, social inclusion, freedom from being discriminated against, violence, and economic participation. (McCubin, 1994) states that public health care for the under privileged is badly funded and this policy seeks out to improve this, there are three dominant discourse evidence in this policy which include, economic power, political/institutional power and ideological and discursive power. Economic power entails decisions about who gets services and what sort of services they get, healthier people have unlimited access to mental health services available whereas the poor ones have little or no access at all. Political institutional power. Ideological/discursive power, this involves treating most forms of mental illnesses and ignoring political, economic and social causes, this discourse reinforces peoples problems and once they are implemented they are led into overcoming social interventions. (Prilleltensky Gonick, 1996). Words commonly used include, strategies, health systems, policies, interventions, engage, Indigenous Australian, aims, frameworks, community. Criminal justice system, cultural respect and safety, disability, mental illness, primary care services and recovery. Different words and phrases are used in policy this is done to avoid misleading and ambiguous phrases. (National mental health policy,2008). The National Health Policy, 2008, recognises groups which can be highly affected by mental health problems, the main target of this policy is for individual who are homeless and disadvantaged, people exposed to trauma, and the ones that have chronic illnesses. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience more mental health problems compared to other Australians. This policy also recognises adolescents and older people because of their stages in life, however this policy does not target particular groups, this is yet to be identified and specific groups are mentioned by example. The mental health policy, 2008, states that the approach for a particular group will be based on evidence that is best available and to the tailored particular needs. The stakeholders in this particular policy include public mental health services, private mental health services, health care professionals, mental health service managers, carers, mental health consumers, families, mental health polic y makers, mental health advocates, psychiatrists to help in assessing patients, psychologists, general practitioners, and psychologists. All these stakeholders come together to help fight mental health and assist all those affected. (National mental health, 2008). Moral judgments expressed in this policy include looking at the right and wrong way of assisting people that are experiencing problems focusing on the positive actions and the consequences and evaluating the good and the bad outcomes associated with this this issue. (National health policy, 2008). This policy brought together different sectors that have an impact on the mental health of people, their community and their loved ones, this entails general wellbeing aged care, community care, employment, housing and indigenous affairs, by working together these sectors have a very important role to play in the promotion of the mental health and wellbeing of the population and come with ways of promoting early interventions. Social inclusion is important for all of the community and this policy is making an effort to improve it. Groups that are at risk of social exclusion are those that are homeless and, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and children who are disadvantaged. Social inclusion on the other hand will recognises that mental health is essential to the wellbeing of families, communities and individuals. (National health care policy,2008). The revised policy aims at representing a new commitment by all the health ministers and the ministers who are responsible for mental health to continued improvement of the mental health system of Australia. The policy looks at a holistic government approach to mental health issues, (Council of Australian governments, 2006). The mental health strategy looks into the future and its job is to maintain the policy’s efforts and work on building the success of the past and also look into the new challenges which need changes and new ways of working together to come up with good outcomes. The Health minister involved will adopt the challenge of leadership in mental health reform and the requirement for greater association and commitment across government to look at and sustain change. The mental health reform was increased by the government recently with it investing in clinical and community support services. This policy is known to be the next step in coming up with a better mental health system, its outcomes and actions from the policy that will make the necessary difference. (Council of australian governments, 2006). The world health organisation, 2001 came up with three ideas to improve mental health, these include viewing mental health as being an essential part of health, mental health being a lot more than absence of illness and mental health being linked with behavior and physical health. The mental health policy, 2008, aims at acknowledging the indigenous heritage and the different collaboration of Aboriginal people’s culture and their heritage to the Australian society, more so it also recognises indigenous people’s rights to the statuses and culture, their land and self-determination. This policy has different types of evidence which suggest that mental health as well as its determinants can be improved in relation with unplanned or even planned changes in the social and physical environment. The policy suggests that enough justification last for programme and policy interventions followed by evaluation of process and outcomes for individuals from low income back grounds. The policy plays a role in monitoring the effects on mental health of the social and environmental changes in any individual’s life. All these interventions will broaden the evidence the foundation to encourage solutions for a better mental health. The interests of all Australians affected by mental health were represented, but mainly Aboriginal people and children that are disadvantaged. (National health policy, 2008). Different solutions which target those at risk are comprehensive and they range from prevention and early interventions through providing treatments to continued care and preventing relapse. The main focus on recovery looks closely at developing new meaning and purpose and the being able to pursue certain goals within the community. The target should aim at assisting the whole population and promote mental health and wellbeing amongst individual affected by metal illnesses including their carers and families. (National health policy, 2008). The mental health sector, 2008 is responsible for coming up with solutions in this policy. The mental health sector provides properly tailored, culturally respective, evidence based delivery, responding effectively to individual needs. The solutions aim aStake holders are very important for a policy to be successful, for this policy to be created the stakeholders were motivated by the increasing the number people affected by mental health issues, helping people with mental health create a better frame of mind, helping people get better and take control of lives and creating positive changest biological, psychological and social factors, more so aim to assist or intervene earlier to help reduce symptoms, improve problems and mental issues. People with mental health illnesses will have access to non-government services, support from their peers, or acquire long term housing options. (Mental health policy, 2008). The policy looks at the importance of better mental illnesses for the community as a whole, its vision is for the continual reform of mental health delivery for all sectors. Everyone affected by mental health problems will be expected to receive services that meet and are supportive of their needs, other expectations will be for them to be involved in their own care and recovery. The success of this policy combines an approach involving many various government agencies and communities to deliver equal programs for individuals, the community and system levels. A lot of effort in the mental health promotion needs to take place beyond the healthcare system, in the sectors which impact on the daily living of people and the community to support development of resilience and maintaining mental wellbeing. This comprises of education, proper housing, employment, good justice and welfare of individuals. For a successful policy mental health services are supposed to deliver services in a way that is not judgmental and must be respectful. (National mental health policy, 2008). After this policy was implemented it proved to be effective as it brought about changes to those affected by mental issues. There proved to be lesser anxiety and depression moods, less misuse of substances. The physical health of affected people improved as well as productivity at work, home and school. Violence and crime even decreased by a great margin. Although there was still a lot work that needs to be done the policy has done a lot of work and changes to of the people. (Vichealth, 2009). The mental health policy, 2008, after its implementation helped in reducing health inequalities and also improved quality of life including life expectancy, sense of self determination was improved as well as self-esteem, and sense of belonging. (Vic health, 2009). . REFERENCES Mental health evidence, promoting, 2004, retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/promoting_mhh. World health organisation, 2004, retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/policy/en/policy_plans_revisi National mental health policy, 2008 retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/m