Thomas Hobbs Theory On Human Nature And Ethics Philosophy Essay

Thomas Hobbs Theory On Human Nature And Ethics Philosophy Essay Many people are content with the way things are. I believe that the majority of todays civilization is in a neutral state of understanding and dont really care to know how this state of contentment became. One word can sum up the many reasons that things are the way they are today that word is fear. Throughout history, there are examples of how certain events can happen that will cause people to become overwhelmed with fear. Part of the reason for this, is these events have shaken the confidence that many will have in their various leaders and political systems. Once this takes place, it means that the social fabric holding society together, will completely deteriorate. When this happens a majority of people will begin to fend for themselves, versus attempting to work within the social frame work. In some cases, a new society will quickly emerge to fill this void because the masses are desperate for some kind of law and order. To achieve this objective, many will often give up their personal freedoms for the benefit of the group. A good example of this form previous times can be seen in Germany after the end of World War I. Where, the majority of the people would lose confidence in their leaders, because of the economic and social upheavals that were occurring. (Holocaust Encycl opedia )This is significant, because it shows how the loss of confidence in a political / social system can have devastating consequences down the road. To understand this aspect of human nature and how ethics affects thinking one can examine the ideas of Thomas Hobbes. I will illustrate Thomas Hobbes theory on human nature and ethics by using William Goldings Lord of the Flies. I will also attempt to use firsthand knowledge of the state of nature that still exists in some societies in todays modern times. Together, these two elements will provide insights as to how Hobbes theories can explain human nature and ethics. Thomas Hobbes discusses his different ideas on human nature and the role of ethics in a multi-volume work that he wrote called Leviathan. Wherein all he would write a total of four volumes underscoring his views. Volume one (Of Man), volume two (Of Common-wealth), volume three (Of Christian Common-wealth), and volume four (Of the Kingdom of Darkness), of these volumes, volume one is where Hobbes establishes the basic foundation for his theories, as he would use the other volumes to elaborate on specific aspects of his theory. (Hobbes Moral and Political Philosophy) At the heart of Hobbes political and social philosophy is his social contract theory. This merely means that the people will have an agreement with the government for certain protections, economic well being, and freedom. This balance between the people and the government is what Hobbes refers to as civilization. This state of civilization is made possible by human laws or as Hobbes states Lex naturalis. With Hobbes social contract theory people are willing give up a certain amount of their freedoms, to receive the above benefits from the government or Leviathan. According to Hobbes, this is the basic social foundation that exists in all societies around the globe, (with some kind of balance taking place in one form or another). (Hobbes Moral and Political Philosophy) Yet, when you look further, it is clear that there will be times that these kinds of social contracts will become no longer valid. Once this is occurs, is when a state of nature exists or as Hobbes states Jus natural. This is where everyone would have the right, to do any actions or activities of their choosing. The reason why, is because there are no rules or regulation to guide the actions of everyone. At which point, more people would begin to use these activities as a way to achieve their own objectives and survival. When this takes place, it means that there will be a constant state of war between everyone in society. A survival of the fittest mentality quickly sets in and takes shape. At which point, the overall quality of life will decline, while the rates of what civilization refers to as immortality, increases. To escape this atmosphere of lawlessness, the people will form some kind of social contract with each other. This is when they will create a society and government th at will have the authority over everyone. Where, they will establish various rules and regulations, by having the people surrender a certain amount of their natural rights, to achieve order. The overall abuses that could occur at the hands of the government are a small price that is being paid to be a part of civil society. As a result, Hobbes believes that a strong central government can be able to achieve this objective, by effectively controlling and providing the services that the people require. This is significant, because it shows how within all societies there is some form of social contract that will exist on a certain level. The problem occurs when there is break down in society. People will revert to a more animalistic type of survival, creating increased amounts of instability. It is at this point, that new societies could emerge, to address these changing realities that are taking place. (Hobbes Moral and Political Philosophy). In order to determine the relevance of Hobbes theories, we will examine them by comparing his ideas with William Goldings book Lord of the Flies. Where, this piece of literature discusses the basic foundation of human nature in comparison with law and order. This will provide the insights, as to how the social contract theory is the basic foundation for societies around the world. In Lord of the Flies, the story begins in the midst of war with a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys. The plane is shot down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys elect a leader and begin devising a way to be rescued. Ultimately Ralph is chosen as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group. Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, Ralph decides that they must light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships. The boys succeed in igniting some dead wood by focusing sunlight through the lenses of Piggys eyeglasses. However, the boys pay more attention to playing than to monitoring the fire, and the flames quickly engulf the forest. A large swath of dead wood burns out of con trol, and one of the youngest boys in the group disappears, presumably having burned to death. At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown-ups and spend much of their time splashing in the water and playing games. Ralph, however, complains that they should be maintaining the signal fire and building huts for shelter. The hunters fail in their attempt to catch a wild pig, but their leader, Jack, becomes increasingly preoccupied with the act of hunting. When a ship passes by on the horizon one day, Ralph and Piggy notice that the signal fire which had been the hunters responsibility to maintain had burned out. Furious, Ralph confronts Jack, but the Jack has just returned with his first kill, and all the hunters seemed to be enchanted while reenacting the chase in a kind of wild dance. Piggy criticizes Jack, and then hits Piggy. Ralph blows the conch shell and reprimands the boys in a speech intended to restore order. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear that some of the boys have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as littluns, have been troubled by nightmares from the beginning, and now the boys believe that there is some sort of beast or monster lurking on the island. The older boys try to convince the others at the meeting to think rationally, asking where such a monster could possibly hide during the daytime. One of the littluns suggests that it hides in the sea, a proposition that strikes fear in the entire group. Not long after the meeting, some military planes engage in a battle high above the island. The boys, asleep below, do not notice the flashing lights and explosions in the clouds. A parachutist drifts to earth on the signal-fire mountain, dead. Sam and Eric, the twins responsible for watching the fire at night, are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they see the enormous silhouette of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes. Thinking the noises that they here are that of the beast, they rush back to the camp in terror and report that the beast has attacked them. The boys organize a hunting expedition to search for the beastie. Jack and Ralph, who are increasingly at odds, travel up the mountain. They see the silhouette of the parachute from a distance and think that it looks like a huge, deformed ape. The group holds a meeting at which Jack and Ralph tell the others of the sighting. Jack says that Ralph is a coward and that he should be removed from office, but the other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Jack angrily runs away down the beach, calling all the hunters to join him. Ralph rallies the remaining boys to build a new signal fire, this time on the beach rather than on the mountain. They obey, but before they have finished the task, most of them have slipped away to join Jack. Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt and a violent, ritual slaughter of a sow to solemnize the occasion. The hunters then decapitate the sow and place its head on a sharpened stake in the jungle as an offering to the beast. Later, encountering the bloody, fly-covered head, Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the head is speaking. The voice, which he imagines as belonging to the Lord of the Flies, says that Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men. Simon faints. When he wakes up, he goes to the mountain, where he sees the dead parachutist. Understanding then that the beast does not exist externally but rather within each individual boy, Simon travels to the beach to tell the others what he has seen. But the others are in the midst of an elaborate feast even Ralph and Piggy have joined Jacks feast and when they see Simons emerge from the jungle, they fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands. The following morning, Ralph and Piggy discuss what they have done. Jacks hunters attack them and their few followers and steal Piggys glasses in the process. Ralphs group travels to Jacks stronghold in an attempt to make Jack see reason, but Jack orders Sam and Eric tied up and fights with Ralph. In the ensuing battle, one boy, Roger, rolls a boulder down the mountain, killing Piggy and shattering the conch shell. Ralph barely manages to escape the ensuing onslaught. Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an animal. Jack has the other boys ignite the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. Ralph stays in the forest, where he discovers and destroys the sows head, but eventually, he is forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. The officers ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savag e children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure. The plot and the story of in Lord of the Flies, underscores the different views that Hobbes would have on how societies were structured. In Lord of the Flies, the boys were somewhat traumatized from the plane crash and the backdrop of the war. This would create the basic foundation, for the overall amounts of fear that they would have, when they first arrived on the island. This fear was hidden, as the social contract that existed in the military school would remain in place in the beginning. Over the course of time, the lack of rules and these fears would begin to take on a life of their own. As it would work similar to a cancer, that would eat away at the old social contract theory. Once this began to occur, it meant that no one would take responsibility for maintaining this basic foundation. At which point, the social structure began to unravel, with the lack of rules (state of nature) and fear manifesting the changes that were occurring. Where, the majority would begin to become victims of their own fear, by believing the fact that monster was on the island. It is at this point, that the state of nature would take over and two different sub societies would emerge (one loyal to Ralph and the other loyal to Jack). This rivalry would cause the boys to engage in actions that were prohibited, in the society they came from. As their fears about the monster attacking them, would force them to kill one of their own. When confronted with this reality, the state of nature would continue to evolve in a perverse way, by denying what happened. As the majority of the boys, would seek out Ralph, in an effort to kill him. It is as this point that a total state of nature exists, as the old social contract has been destroyed and a new sub society has been created in its place. This confirms the ideas of Hobbes, by highlighting how a social contract exists on some level within all societies. This is because the various rivalries as well as individual competition; have caused many people to seek out: safety, comfort and protection. When this take place, it means that the actions of individual will begin to change, based upon these new social norms that exist. In Lord of the Flies, this is best illustrated at the end of the book, with Ralph becoming the hunted. As the former social contract that existed at the military school was: no long relevant. Instead, a state of nature took place, with a new social contract theory emerging. Where, Jacks group will dominate and determine what is best for everyone. This is significant, because it highlights how shifts can occur in all societies. Where, when the people will become fearful and lose faith in the leadership is when, changes will take place. It is at this point, that they will seek out new social contract, as the underlying confusion from the state of nature, will force everyone in this direction. At the same time, it can cause the ethical views that someone would have about various issues to change, based upon the underlying state of nature. Using the book Lord of the Flies, the changes in ethics occurred with the indiscriminate killings of the other boys. As this state of nature and the lack of rules, would allow this kind of behavior to be acceptable. At which point, the underlying social contract and the ability to enforce the different rules will change. This is important, because it underscores how the ethics of someone, will be influenced based upon the overall state of nature. Clearly, the book Lord of the Flies highlights how Hobbes theories on human nature and ethics are correct. Where, a social contract, that exists in all societies; will form a basic foundation for how various individuals will behave. This will affect the ethics of everyone, as the different rules and regulations will determine the most acceptable behavior. When the people lose confidence in the social contract that exists, a state of nature (lawlessness) will begin to take shape. Over the course of time, this will cause the individual to act differently, as they do not have the social contract restricting their actions. However, a constant state of battle exists within society, as the lack of ethics will cause everyone to constantly clash with each other. To provide some sort of stability, a social contract is created between: the people in society and the government they have. Where, the people are agreeing to lose a certain amount of their natural freedoms, in order to have some kin d of stability in their lives. The trade off, is not engaging in various activities allowed in a state of nature. In doing so, the social contract will have an impact upon the ethics and behavior of everyone within society.

Representation of Photos in the Media

Representation of Photos in the Media Introduction to Media and Media Studies, Writing and the Media, Reading the Media Question 1 For the representation in the media, we can relate to radio, television, cinema, internet such as social media, news and so on. Through them, we receive different information and entertainment, mostly for young people who grew up in modern world and society. Media representation is how media portray particular groups, ideas or topics in the world to another perspective how we see it. Let me take Twitter, for an example. Twitter is social media that have over 1 billion users monthly and 313 million monthly active users. (Twitter usage/Company facts, 2016.) Twitter is one of the social media where people post their opinions about recent events, what is currently happening in their lives, who did something that was not impropriate or who is in a relationship with whom. Some of the companies or/and celebrities are trying to interact with their followers and fans. Those fans can see their inspirations the way they look like, their behavior and not experiencing it in reality. In the interpretation, OShaughnessy and Stadler (2016:35) says that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦media first gives us information and only after the explanationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ On the way media are teaching people how to make a change in the world and how they see the world around them. Let me take travel blog as an example. For the last few years more and more people are traveling around the world taking photographs, learning about new cultures, new countries, mostly difference between people. Only after they write about it and that is how they teach other people. Personally, I think that is the best way to meet surroundings, to be filled with experience and knowledge. Figure 1: Lin, E. 2013. 7 TIPS TO TRAVEL SMART IN THE SUMMER Summer time is here! It is the perfect time for traveling and exploring the world. (The Lab, 2013) TAKE ANOTHER ONE When we talk about evolution media, they give us the information about some issues or just how to understand genders, religions, cultures or races. They want to teach us how to be normal, basically creating stereotypes and making people being judgmental, how we see the world and the way we are going to treat each other if they are not the same as we are (OShaughnessy Stadler, 2016). Perfect example is with the biggest YouTube star Felix Kjellberg or his channel name PewDiePie and biggest business journal, The Wall Street Journal. Felix is a web-based comedian and video producer whose job is to make people laugh. As PewDiePie/Felix says in the video à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦old school media doesnt like Internet personalities, because they are afraid of us. We have so much influence and such a large voice and they dont understand that (see My Response- PewDiePie, 2017). Even if he did an interview in 2013 with The Wall Street Journal they would only focus how much he earns as the tittle says YouTubes Biggest Draw Plays Games, Earns $4 million a Year (The Wall Street Journal, 2014.) Also the media would only acknowledge him for earning money by playing games as a hobby, spending money on cars and luxuries, but they do not show that he donates millions to charities. But because he was so successful in his career, he wanted to be funnier than usual.   In one of his YouTube videos he went just a bit far with paying two men that were holding a sign saying Death to all Jews after he apologized to everyone saying that he did not expect their response (see My Response PewDiePie, 2017). In the videos he made before, he would wear a uniform, taking Adolf Hitler as a reference to make people laugh, but the words Adolf Hitler was saying had Nazi messages. As The Wall Street Journal (2017:1) says Disney Servers Ties With YouTube Star PewDiePie After Anti-Semitic Posts. After that incident happened Disney canceled his show saying people Jewish religion were offended. PewDiePie automatically responded and apologized to his fans and people all over the world saying he didnt want to offend anyone and that his job is to make people laugh. Other you-tubers are standing with PewDiePie, even his friend whose religion is Jewish. Felix friend Ethan Hakmon or his channel name h3h3Productions, states that Disney and WSJ didnt ask people Jewish religion did they actually got offended or not, because he isnt. (see Is PewDiePie Racist h3h3Productions, 2017). Representation, interpretation and evaluation in media are creating the world as a single community because they are giving their opinions on certain topics. The problem is they have a huge influence on the world and people. People are becoming stereotypes and do not have their own opinion. Question 2 One of the roles in the media is to inform. Media inform us about our surroundings, we can easily find out what is happening in our country or on the other side of the world. For an example Haiti Earthquake in 2010. Oliver Laurent (2015) states On Jan 12, 2010, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck Haiti, killing more than 160,000 and displacing close to 1.5 million people. Five years later, the scars of the tragedy remain in Port-au-Prince,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We chose Haiti as information media because it was terrible for people whose families were on the island on that devastating and sad day. A lot of lives were lost and they are still battling with a lot of different sicknesses and people who are still trying to find them members of families. The second role of in the media is to educate. Media educate us about possible diseases, technology, undiscovered places and different cultures. As an example Elon Musk, who created SolarCity. Musk believes that in 20-30 years majority of the planet will use solar energy system. (see The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ½Elon Musk TED talks, 2013). SolarCity creates roofs who are invisible but cells are exposed to the sun. A roof with hidden solar tiles that powers your home with clean, renewable energy (SolarCity, 2017). Basically, Elon Musk is teaching us how to save the environment around us and use it in a good way, but also how to save our money and time. The third role of the media is to entertain. It contains of film, television, radio and internet. They are providing us with a lot of different content wanting to people to have fun, relax with their family and friends or just socialize. The Walt Disney Company, for example. They are cartoon creation company, film company and music record label. They are also producing clothes and toys (About The Walt Disney Company, 2017). We chose The Walt Disney Company as an entertainment as an example because of their offers and there is something for people in every age. Question 3 Figure 2: Hutchings, M. 2015. Protest on the Ramp: South African Designer Isabelle Lotter Joins #FeesMustFall Movement. (Ramp1885.com, 2015) According to the BuzzFeedNews (2015) #Fees Must Fall Movement is student protest that began mid-October in 2015 and still going in South Africa. Universities wanted to raise costs by 10.5 percent. First protest was on the campus of the University of Witwatersrand and it was spread to other universities in the country. Figure 3: CityogJoburgZA, 2016. South Africa: Flash floods kill six people in Johannesburg. (Africanews.com., 2016) Africanews.com (2016) reports the storm was bad and it was raining a lot on 9th of November 2016. International airport O.R. Tambo was flooded, not only the airport but streets also. Water was everywhere and ended with disaster. People were dying and a lot of the infrastructure was ruined.    Figure 4: Independent.co.uk. 2016. Barack Obama tells Latin America: Dont assume the worst about Donald Trump (Independent.co.uk., 2016) On this picture we can see Barack Obama (right on the picture) who was United States President before Donald Trump (left on the picture) on November 10, 2016. where they discussed about foreign and domestic policy (US Weekly, 2016). The picture was taken after the election at the White House in Washington D.C. (US Weekly, 2016). Question 4 Our analysis of photograph that Sabelo Mlangeni was taking a series of photographs of people who African people are ignoring their existence. JRDIJKSTRA (2014) states in one of his articles that people are judged for things they do and for who they are. They are just trying to find themselves, it is not their fault that they were born in different bodies and different mind. But again, people are going to look at you and point fingers at you just because you do not look like they do. On the provided photographs we can see men who are wearing womans clothes and who represent their selves as women and women who are described as ghost.   JRDIJKSTRA (2014) is asking himself Why then do we hate these boys when they have grown up to be men who dress as women? Why do we turn and call them names, pretending that weve never seen it? The first thing that strikes us is their fashion. Because the way persons hair is done, the way they are dressed and the way they are proud who they are. You cannot really see that often with other people, but again, it is their fashion and this is how they feel and are. Also images are black and white which is unusual for 21 century. Central issue or concern would be how men are dressed in reality and the way they are not afraid to show who and what they are. Also, women on the street are like ghost what actually shows us how we do not realize what is happening around us and who is doing their job. Medium of the photographs are 10241024 and they are all black and white. They give us feeling how was in the past but in present. With his images he reflects on his countrys past, while at the same time looking forward into the future and how life has changed. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡History forms an important part of my work, he explains, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¡especially in my own country where its just two decades ago that Apartheid was abolished (JRDIJKSTRA, 2014). So many things changed through past in South Africa. We think he wants to show people that difference between race and LGBTI people is not that different. It affects everyone around us and there is no rights of free speech and them coming out as different is brave no matter what other people are saying. Mlangeni wants to show us they existed before, not just in newer era. Sabelo Mlangeni is not relevant in South Africa because LGBTI is not a big topic at the moment the way is in countries overseas. The problem is that our country focuses more on corruption and finance rather than LGBTI. Maybe that is the reason they get more judged here in South Africa or African continent than in Europe, US or Australia.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Question 5 In South African movies such as District 9 and Tsotsi we can see a lot of crimes and how people are treating each other. Firstly, let me discuss about District 9. Xenophobia is one of the main problems in this movie. Xenophobia is a fear or dislike against people from other countries. (Dictonary.com, s.a.). Also in the movie they are referring to aliens as shrimps. I would say it is a racist thing to say. People from Johannesburg see aliens as people who steal all the time, they are uneducated or just doing illegal things. Tension of the crime is massive. The main character is Wikus van de Merwe, who is a very naive and he only thinks about himself, he also treats aliens like they are nothing. After he sprays a fluid in his face, he starts turning into one of them or into a shrimp. His father-in-law tries to convince his daughter to move on, because he does not like him that is why he even gave him a promotion in the company called MNU. Nigerian people were shown as War Lords because they were selling cat food to aliens as a scam, they would trade cat food for alien weapon. The problem was that the wea pon works only with alien identity, so the boss of Nigerians wanted to cut Wikus hand off. Muti is a term for a witch doctor that Nigerians believed in, they would kill aliens and eat their parts hoping they will get their powers to use their weapon. Another problem is that the media would show everything what is happening. At one point when the explosion happened, they said it was a terrorist attack, which was a lie. Also, when Wikus body started to change, people would see him on the news or hear on the radio and they would run away from him. Nobody wanted to listen to him and hear what he has to say, people only believed in mass media. At the end they were all judgmental to each other, because they were not the same (District 9, 2009). And Tsotsi (2005) is a movie about stealing from people, killing and running away from reality. One of the problems is how those people live. Their houses are not in proper conditions, there are a lot of diseases that can be spread around them. The second problem was that the main character did not know how to communicate without using his gun, he would have disrespectful behavior and he did not have mercy for anyone.   The third problem is that most of the children from the street are on the street because they dont have families or their families are just ruined. The main characters mom was sick and she died when he was little and his dad was alcoholic, so he basically did not have anyone to raise him on the way he can have an education or love. He would steal more and more from people who would look better looking, fights and killing others were the answer for everything. The only reason for changing his mind from all the crime was the baby from the car he stole. At the end he returns baby home after trying to take care of him, realizing it is very hard to take care of kids if you dont have money and safe area to live. Also, he took responsibilities for his actions. Question 6 6.1. Vodacom Summer 2015 Advert caption does not have anything with the provided link. However, advert that was on offer on provided link was a Blue Ribbon Bread (My Mom Is So Cool, 2015). The advert is way too long and it loses the whole point of the advert. We also decided to find Vodacom Summer 2015 Advert (Vodacom Summer 2015, 2015). From the begging we can see it that advert is about Vodacom. We think they tried to show their consumers and future consumers that they can stay in touch and stay connected no matter in which situation they are or where ever they are. 6.2. Chicken Licken Advert (Inner peace, 2015) tries to show us how their master is going to do everything and anything to get chicken pieces and just because he is eating their chicken he is so good in karate. 6.3. KFC (Emzini Wezinsizwa KFC South Africa advert, 2015) advert shows us that family or group of five can share one meal for a good price. The quality of the food is excellent because they would do anything for it. Also main characters in the advert according to the SABC1 (2017), were from the highly popular African sitcom Emzini Wezinsizwa. Bibliography/Reference list: Twitter usage/Company facts. 2017. Its whats happening, 30 June 2016. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Available at: https://about.twitter.com/company à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 03.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . OShaughnessy, M. and Stadler, J. 2016. Media and society. 5th ed. South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Oxford University press. Lin, E. 2013. 7 tips to travel smart in the summer, The Lab!, 2 July 2013 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºBlogà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Available at: http://blog.kdanmobile.com/2013/07/02/7-tips-to-travel-smart-in-the-summer/ à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 03.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . OShaughnessy, M. and Stadler, J. 2016. Media and Society. 5th ed. South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Oxford University press. My Response PewDiePie. 2017. YouTube video, added by PewDiePie à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwk1DogcPmU à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 03.04.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . My Response PewDiePie. 2017. YouTube video, added by PewDiePie à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwk1DogcPmU à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 03.04.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Grundberg, S. and Hansegards, J. 2014. Youtubes biggest draw plays games, earns 4$ million a year. Cussing, Comic Videogame Reviwer PewDiePIe has 27 Million Subscribers. The Wall Street Journal. 1. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-star-plays-videogames-earns-4-million-a-year-1402939896 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed: 04.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Winkler, R., Nicas, J. and Fritz, B. 2017. Disney Servers Ties With YouTube Star PewDiePie After Anti-Semitic Posts. Move came after the Journal asked about videos in which he included anti-Semitic jokes or Nazi imagery. The Wall Street Journal. 1. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-severs-ties-with-youtube-star-pewdiepie-after-anti-semitic-posts-1487034533 à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 04.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Is PewDiePie Racist? h3h3Productions. 2017. 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My photographs dont belong in a drawer. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . http://jorritdijkstra.nl/?tag=sabelo-mlangeni à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . JRDIJKSTRA. 2014. Jorrit R Dijkstra. My photographs dont belong in a drawer. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . http://jorritdijkstra.nl/?tag=sabelo-mlangeni à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Dictonary.com s.a. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . http://www.dictionary.com/browse/xenophobia?s=t à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 04.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . District 9. 2009. Directed by Neil Blompkamp, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºFilmà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . South Africa, New Zealand, United States: TriStar Pictures. Tsotsi. 2005. Directed by Gavin Hood, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºFilmà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . South Africa: Ster-Kinekor Pictures and Miramax Films. My Mom Is So Cool Blue Ribbon Bread. 2015., added by Blue Ribbon Bread, 19 Feb 2014. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºBrand videoà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW4WfO0LMnw à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Vodacom Summer 2015 MyBroadband. 2016. YouTube video, added by MyBroadband à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iBZpTdDNTs à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . Inner peace Chicken Licken Advert. 2015., Agency Net#work BBDO Johannesburg, South Africa, 5 Nov 2015.   à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºBrand videoà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMctGA8CzQE   à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . SABC 1. 2017. About Emzini Wezinsizwa, à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºn.dà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚  2017. à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºOnlineà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . http://www.sabc1.co.za/sabc/home/sabc1/schedule/details?id=63154728-3583-4156-a34b-f080985d6811title=Emzini%20Wezinsizwa à ¯Ã‚ Ã¢â‚¬ ºAccessed 07.03.2017à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ . In the List of Figures: Figure 5: Lin, E. 2013. 7 TIPS TO TRAVEL SMART IN THE SUMMER: Summer time is here! It is the perfect time for traveling and exploring the world. Figure 6: Hutchings, M. 2015. Protest on the Ramp: South African Designer Isabelle Lotter Joins #FeesMustFall Movement. Figure 7: CityogJoburgZA, 2016. South Africa: Flash floods kill six people in Johannesburg. Figure 8: Independent.co.uk. 2016. Barack Obama tells Latin America: Dont assume the worst about Donald Trump.

Siddhartha :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

Siddhartha    Siddhartha is extremely proud of his ability to think, fast, and wait.   These qualities also allow him to get a job with Kamaswami as a merchant. These are basically Siddhartha's life achievements.   Being able to do these things shows he is intelligent and more than able to do most tasks.   This is probably why he flaunts it, and is proud of these abilities so much.   In this essay I will discuss each of these abilities individually, and show how they apply to his life, what they do to teach him, or show him, and also show how they help him or hinder him in various situations.      Ã‚  Ã‚   The ability to think obviously is something to be proud of.   When a man can think on any topic, give feedback, and reflect on it, they are considered very valuable in any situation or job.   When Kamaswami first meets Siddhartha, he is instantly impressed with his ability to read and write.   We see how this ability to think can gain a man instant respect.   All Siddhartha's life he has been reading, writing, meditating, and studying.   It is quite evident tat if you or I worked that hard, we would feel the same achievement he has, and try to apply our abilities to anything we do.   Aside from thinking though, Kamaswami is also very impressed with waiting as we see when he says, "Writing is good, thinking is better.   Cleverness is good, patience is better."      Ã‚  Ã‚   As much as Siddhartha thinks, his ability to wait is something that really defines his character even better.   This is also incorporates with fasting, as well as thinking, but by itself waiting is extremely important. I have found, in all my years, myself to be quite impatient.   This will probably harm me later in my life.   The ability to wait also spurs the ability to think, and fast.   Throughout all his studies, Siddhartha had to wait out the array of different teachings he went through to know truly in his heart, that they didn't apply to him.   To wait on something shows wisdom, and maturity.   These are traits that no good businessman can ignore, as Kamaswami realizes.   That is a major reason Siddhartha was hired.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, fasting is something that once again requires patience, and deep

Lady Macbeth :: Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

The play Macbeth was written by Shakespeare in the early 1600's. There have been many papers and many different thoughts about the play. This paper, though, is over who is the stronger character, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Macbeth is the weaker character of the play. The play is about a nobleman of the King of Scotland, Macbeth, who is told by witches that he could possibly become king if he did a terrible deed. They also showed his right hand man, Banquo, a prediction as well. That his bloodline will lead to kings. The deed that Macbeth has to commit is to kill the king and take his place. Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, about the prediction the witches and she continues to encourage him until he does kill the king and scared off the king's sons so he can become king himself. He becomes king and the witches that showed him being king came around again and showed Macbeth another prediction. The prediction showed that Banquo's family will become king and will lead to more kings. Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his son but his son gets away. One of the sons of the now dead king returns with an army and attacks Macbeth at his own castle. Macduff, one of the many people affected by Macbeth's rise to power, engaged Macbeth during the attack and beheaded Macbeth in the end. After the battle, Malcolm, one of the sons of the slain king, took power of Scotland and the play ends. Macbeth, at the very beginning of the play, demonstrated just how weak of a character he is. He lets the three witches who meet him at the start of the play continue to speak there poisonous, twisted words "Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more..."(1.3, 70-71). He lets their words fester in the back of his mind until he goes mad with greed. He also shows his weakness by listening and believing the words of the witches, which he knows are not to be trusted "Your children shall be king..."(1.3, 86-88). He tells his wife about the witches predictions, who then continues to press upon him the need to fulfill his, at that time, "destiny". Macbeth finally succumbs to the nags of his wife "Prithee, peace! I dare do all..." (1.7, 45-47). Throughout the continuation of the play, Macbeth continues to show his weakness and lack of a spine.

An Analytical

Does Lili Rose make a right choice in the story â€Å"Curly Red † by Joyce Carol Oates? Why or why not? Lili Rose the protagnist of the story ,†Curly Red†by Joyce Carol Oates depicts the tension between her and her father by stating †Daddy ? I had to do it. I did'nt have any choice. I'wondered if it was true,dont we always have choices. †This quote focuses on the decisions Lili Rose had to made about the involvement of her brothers in the racist crime. She made the right decision following her consciousness rather than loyality of her family.She lived a guilt free life after confessing the crime of her brother and correcting the family mistake by suppurting the truth. Lili Rose did not conceal the truth from the society instead she amend the mistake. Her ethical nature and loyality to truth made her different from her family . She decides to live a guilt free life. She was not sorry about anything she did and was determined that if it again ahppens to h er she would do it again. Lili betrayed her family by revealing the secretof the involvement of her brothers in the murder. She confessed by stating,†I said Mom? It was Leo and Mario.I saw them with the baseball bat. They were the ones†. Her mother reacted furiously after listening this which indicates that her anger was releasing in physical way. Lili provided justice to Jadro Filer who was innocent. She gave justice to his family by confessing the truth beside the loyality of her family. Lili's father was assuaging his own guilt by supporting Jadro Filer's family financially. Lili was against this and thought that life cannot be retained by money. lili's parents try to protect leo and mario from the crime. lili followed her inner consciousness and told the truth which left her alone the wholelife.Lili Rose's †love†towards her brothers changes into†hate† when she realizes the horrible nature of her brothers . This illustrates in the story when Li li states †Only years later would I wonder what leo and mario had done to me if they'd guessed all that i knew. † lili feels that it is her personal responsibility to tell the truth about their crime as she did not want to carry this guilt her whole life. Hence,Lili Rose followed her consciousness rather than her family and supported the truth . she made the right choice which however changed her life forever. Delete ReplyReply ForwardMovePrint Actions NextPrevious

Preparation for professional practice.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this essay is to critically analyse the professional roles of qualified nurses, their accountability, collaboration and their responsibilities when taking leadership and managerial roles at all points in their career. This essay will be structured in two parts;Part 1 will focus on the process of the service improvement plan during one of the author’s practice placements in an acute ward and refers to the recommended â€Å"change† which the author intends to implement. The plan for change is based on protecting patients’ mealtimes. First, brief definitions will be given and an exploration of the concepts of management and leadership will be undertaken. Part 2 of this easy will focus on the professional development of the author upon qualification as a staff nurse within a few months which will be discussed under the section on â€Å"delegation†. SMARTER theory has been identified in this easy as learning needs. In accordance with the Nursing an d Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct (NMC, 2008) all names and places in this essay will be replaced with pseudonyms. PART 1 DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT According to Huber (2010) management in the context of nursing has been identified as involving the use of delegated authority within formal organisational, settings, to co-ordinate, organise, direct and control responsible subordinates. In the same context, Mckimm and Held (2009) described management as the process of bringing together or working with individuals, groups and other resources to accomplish organisational goals. Scott and Caress (2005) view management as directing and controlling a group of individuals for the purpose of co-ordinating and harmonising those groups towards achieving goals. Tormey (2009) illustrated the distinguishing characteristics of management and leadership. (Cheery and Jacobs, 2005) state that a manager is one who is appointed to formal positions of organisational authority and uses legitimatised power to command, reward or punish the workforce. On the other hand, a leader is one who will be able to communicate, gain commitment, facilitate change an d achieve results through efficient and creative means, with his/her followers despite the absence of the formal position of power (Huber, 2010). Leaders seek the active involvement of those around them to achieve mutually agreed goals; leaders also seek the collective will of all involved, establishing contact with leading other clinicians (Hersey et al., 2001). Crevani et al. (2010) suggest that leadership is an adventure requiring a pioneering spirit and leadership skills and interpersonal skill which differs from person to person; Yoder-Wise (2011) states that the work of nurses is based on management; therefore, nurses require better leadership skills and management skills which are considered to be a major factor in improving direct person-centred interventions, achieve goals, objectives and decision making for quality care provision. In order to achieve the goals and objectives, managers of the organisation must be involved in the activities which include being able to analyse matters, establish objectives, formulate goals, plan strategies, communicate effectively, efficiently handle change, conflict, as well as evalua te the ever-changing situation situation (McCrimmon, 2011) . Rosener (1990) cited in Barker, 2009) identified two types of leadership which include transactional and transformational leadership. Bass (2008) suggests that transactional leader focuses on management tasks and will not identify the shared values of the team; however, the transactional approach is orientated and can be effective when meeting deadlines or in an emergency. Cummings et al. (2008) concluded that the transformational leader recognises her/his followers’ potential and takes active interest in them and their development. The transformational leader inspires, promotes excellence beyond mere task, encourages employees to become autonomous and solution focused, stimulates interest among followers to view work from a fresh perspective, generates an awareness of vision towards which the team is headed, develops followers to higher levels of ability and potential ((Rolfe, 2011). LEADERSHIP STYLES Hersey et al. (2001) on the other hand identified different leadership styles; however, for the purpose of this easy the author here will focus on three styles which include autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. Hersey et al. further state that some people are able to combine the three styles of leadership and adopt a style to match the situation at hand. The autocratic leader is likely to make decisions on his or her own and give orders; this style can create antagonism and reliance which might hold back originality and advancement (Bass, 2008). Democratic leaders are more drawn towards relationships; they encourage group discussions and seek consensus where every decision made is agreed by the whole group (Hersey et al., 2001). This style of leadership may be slow because of every member of the group being considered; however, it is a favourite leadership style among the nursing profession (Grint, 2005). According to Hersey et al. (2001) the laissez-faire leadership style promo tes complete freedom and is known to allow events to take their own course; this is because there may never be a clear decision. Again Hersey et al. further state that there is no one style which is better than the others as they all have their own advantages and disadvantages. As specified previously, the situation will determine the styles to be used to achieve the goals (Hersey et al., 2001). IMPROVEMENT PLAN The improvement plan was formulated during the author’s recent practice placement in the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) which provides intensive care management service for individuals who are disturbed and exhibiting extremely violent and aggressive behaviour. According to Allan (1988), any patient brought to this unit must be on section of the Mental Health Act (MHA, 1983), apart from the severity of an individual’s illness, in order to qualify for admission to the ward. During this placement, the author of this essay discovered that there had numerous and ongoing interruptions and arguments between some patients and staff during mealtimes. In addition, staff members who were supposed to assist during mealtimes frequently claimed to be â€Å"very busy†. This untenable situation prompted the author to suggest introducing â€Å"Protected Mealtimes† to the team. The rationale for choosing this improvement plan was because some of the patients on t hat ward were not encouraged or supported by staff member during mealtimes, mainly those elderly patients who were finding it very difficult to eat and drink unassisted. Many patients were on medication that was causing them serious side-effects such as dehydration and constipation, so they needed to be encouraged to have adequate and healthy dietary intake. The author therefore had a discussion with their mentor and other multidisciplinary team members regarding this issue and they all supported the need for a meeting to resolve the above issue. Initially, the author felt very nervous about introducing this new approach to the team members, due to lack of confidence and knowledge. The key point of the change was explained to all the patients. A proposal was put forward after the meeting regarding and defining the topic, namely â€Å"Protected Mealtimes† and the patients on the ward were given the opportunity to voice their own opinions on what they thought about the new proposal. The patients gave a positive verdict on the proposal. The National Catering and Nutrition Specification (2008) defined protected mealtimes as a period when all non-imperative activities and treatments must stop, in order to allow patients to eat and enjoy meals without being interrupted by any other activity on the ward. It should be a period during which staff members need to encourage the adequate consumption of dietary intake and provide an environment which is very conducive to eating and is friendly and hygienic. It is also a time when s taff members need to ensure that mealtimes are a pleasant and relaxing social experience for all patients (Royal College of Nursing, 2007). The author took on the role of a democratic leader which according to Hersey et al. (2001) looks more towards relationships which encourage group discussion, consensus and group decisions, rather than the leader alone making the decision when introducing change. According to Greenhalgh and Heath, 2010) therapeutic relationship, engagement, listening skills and effective communication skills played an important role during the meeting detailed above, because the team members, as well as the patients were all equally convinced that the issues raised by the author were pertinent and essential, in terms of the patients’ satisfaction. It was agreed in the meeting that, during mealtimes, there would be no drug round, no activities by occupational therapy staff, no visitors allowed on the ward during mealtimes, and no domestic work carried out. All the televisions would be switched off, dormitories, day rooms, shower rooms and activity rooms should be locked. All the staff members and patients on the ward must be present in the dinning area during mealtimes, in order to avoid distraction as advised by (RCN, 2007). The change was implemented within a few days of the meeting. Initially, it was not easy, but within a few days everybody on the ward adjusted. Moreover, some patients who normally isolated themselves from group activities on the ward now began to interact and engage well in conversation during mealtimes. Staff members were supporting/encouraging and showing compassion to all the patients, mainly some of the elderly patients, with good dietary intake which showed appropriate care for patients. Such change s had a significant effect on the provision of ward services. According to Age UK (2010), appropriate nutritional care for patients in the hospital is very important, because it decreases the risk of malnutrition, obesity and its associated complications. CHANGE MANAGEMENT According to Christie and Robinson (2009), it is essential to have a plan for how things will be accomplished when implementing a change in any clinical setting. Change management in a nursing setting means observing things that happen or are done differently for the benefit of the patients. Braine (2006) stressed that for a change to be implemented successfully, there must be an awareness of the need to change, a desire to support and participate in the change, the knowledge to change, the ability to implement the change and the resources to maintain the change. O’Connell et al. (2008) advised that as a change management model for protected mealtimes, simple implementation would focus on the need for nurses to engage, motivate and participate in the change. Allan (2007) identified three stages for the change process which include unfreeze, change and refreeze. Allan emphasised that during the unfreeze stage, a proposed change needs a clear aim, so that the individuals pl anning it will have no doubt why, know the rationale and the benefit will be explained to others. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (2007b) has identified some barriers that hinder change management within the multidisciplinary team, many of which were evident in this particular example. These include the financial and political environment which can affect a professional’s ability and motivation to change. Garon (2012) concluded that a lack of awareness and understanding in an organisation’s nursing management theories have shown that the way in which an organisation is managed can affect nurses’ confidence to communicate the need for change. Maddock (2002) argued that the approaches to change and the proposal thereof may be ineffective unless individuals’ management strategies are put in place to develop leaders. ACCOUNTABILITY/ RESPONSIBILITY According to Marquis et al. (2009) one of the legal requirements of a registered nurse is accountability. Scrivener et al. (2011) identified that accountability involves the ability of the nurse to define every action he/she carries out. The (NMC, 2008) emphasised that accountability is seen as being of great importance and a qualified nurse is accountable for his/her own actions such as supervision, delegation, creative acts, intervention, assessing a situation or follow-up concerns. NMC (2008) further explained that the entire health care professionals are accountable and responsible for any action, error or omission made in practice. Huber (2006) states that as members of a multidisciplinary team, nurses must maintain their professional accountability. Nurses should also be able to use their communication skills to make complicated information understandable, explain choices, offer reassurance, look out for side-effects and liaise with medical colleagues about the subsequent prog ress of individuals with mental health problems (Garon, 2012). This was seen as a critical aspect of the operation here with regular reviews being planned to evaluate the success of the change and to amend the program where appropriate. Furthermore, if a nurse is meant to delegate care to another professional or support worker, she/he must delegate effectively and should be accountable for the appropriateness of the delegation. During one of the author’s practice placements in the acute ward, a newly qualified nurse delegated the task of security nurse to an agency staff who was very new on the ward. This agency staff let one of the patients out of the ward, not knowing that the patient was on level 1 observation restricted to the ward and the patient absconded from the unit. This resulted in an investigation which revealed that the newly qualified nurse did not delegate the task properly and did not communicate effectively. This raised the question of accountability and responsibility. The specifics of the nurse’s role are identified as being responsible for assessment, planning, the delivery of care and the evaluation of nursing care for their patients (NMC, 2008). According to RCN, 2011), nurses are accountable and responsible, on a daily basis, carrying out patient care most of the time and acting as care provider. Nurses have the responsibility for communicating the relevant information necessary for the patient to receive their full nursing care provision (NMC, 2008).(RCN, 1992) also states that with an increase in the level of responsibility and accountability, nurses need adequate training and competence to develop these changes. It is the responsibility of the nurses to make sure that patients are suitably dressed and eat their meals, while also managing their welfare rights and dealing with individuals’ psychological distresses; theses roles have to be carried out in conjunction with running organisational demands (RCN, 2011). INTER-PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION Orchard et al. (2005) described inter-professional collaboration as a combination of different professionals working together in a partnership in order to achieve common goals, establish a therapeutic relationship, showing respect for others and the skilled therapeutic use of self. On the other hand, inter-professional collaboration means the adoption of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working as the most effective route towards comprehensive mental healthcare (Audrey, 2003). However, Garon (2012) states that when talking about change in inter-professional collaborative team work, it is important to consider how staff members would need to be motivated to accept and welcome this change. It is also very important to select the right leader, which was a key advantage of this approach, to implement the change and involve all team members in the change process, as well as considering the safety of the patients, their comprehensive care and the stress the change might cause (NICE, 200 7b). CONCLUSION During this implementation of â€Å"Protected Mealtimes†, all the team members on the ward worked collaboratively, demonstrated excellent communication skills, showed motivation and were very enthusiastic and committed to the plan. Word count: 2,200.PART 2THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN (PDP) The purpose of writing this professional development plan is to think and reflect on a facet of the professional development experienced by the author during their three-year course. It will also enable the author to work efficiently and effectively in their areas of weakness and help to sustain areas of strength, as well as developing delegation skills in the nursing environment, upon qualification. In order to accomplish these goals, a plan utilising SMARTER theory (Specific, Measurable, Realistic, Timely, Ethical and Recorded/ Reflective (Appendix 1) is proposed. During the three years of nursing training, the author of this essay has utilised Gibbs Reflective Cycle (1988), as a framework for reflection on day-to-day actions, strengths and weaknesses. According to Brechin (2000), reflection means not only thinking about a situation, but also using it as a form of systematic appraisal of the events that have occurred and as an examination of an individual’s ability to learn from the experience and influence future practice. During this placement in the acute ward, the author discovered that delegating duties to staff when co-ordinating shifts was a far more complex issue than originally anticipated. The RCN (2006) described delegation in nursing as a process of entrusting or allocating responsibility to another person who is seen as being able to carry out such a task. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) states that a nurse’s job cannot be completed or carried out without delegating some part of the care functions to others, as it is highly impossible to deliver total care for different patients with different care needs. Barr and Dowding (2008) in their research emphasised that delegation is a critical leadership skill that must be learned. This became evident when considering a situation which emerged when dealing with a violent patient in a ward environment. In order to delegate tasks relating to this individual it was necessary to use confidence, communication, courate, compassion, competence and care. On the whole this was doen relatively well by myself however it was found that the newly qualified staff nurse is more likely to be unfamiliar with the procedure delegated to him and this made communication a more vital so that guidance could be obtained. Having identified a weakness in the authors ability to delegate, this communication between the two parties in the case mentioned above was used as a clear example of how greater comfort from the process of delegation could be obtained. This would in turn improve confidence. By watching delegations within the ward environment it became apparent to the author that there were greater difficulties when the manager used the autocratic style and this often created hostility amongst other staff and may hinder creativity and improvement. This brought the manager’s delegation skills into question. There was also an increased danger that the more junior member of staff would find themselves unsupervised in an inappropriate and unacceptable way according to RCN (2011). This leadership style as described by Bass 2008 as creating difficulties. Where better delegation communication were used the author was much more comfortable with the delegation process as they were aware that the process would be used appropriately and would be successful. With this in mind the PDP going forward would focus on risk management and controlling the process without following an autocratic style which would lead to loss of control when delegating. CONCLUSION The author of this essay has learned from undertaking this assignment that delegation not only saves time, but is also an essential skill which a registered nurse must posses; it is also requires good leadership and is an important role for every nurse involved in health care delivery. Through this Personal Development Plan (PDP), personal areas of weakness have been identified which the author is currently striving very hard to correct. REFERENCE LISTS Allan, E., 2007. Change management for school nurse in Scotland. Nursing Standard. 21, (42) 35-39. Allan, E., 1988. Planning a psychiatric intensive care unit. Intensive Care for people with serious mental illness. Hospital and Community Psychiatric, Vol- 39. Bass, B.M., 2008. The Bass Handbook of leadership: Theory, Research and Managerial Applications. 4th ed. New York: Free Press. Bass, B.M., and Avolio, B.J., 1994. Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. London: Sage. Braine, M., 2006. Clinical governance: applying theory to practice. Nursing Standard. 20, (20) 56-65. Brechin, A., 2000. Introducing critical practice. In Brechin, A., Brown, H. Eby, M., eds. Clinical practice in Health and Social Care. London: Sage Cummings, J., 2012. Developing a Vision and Strategy for Nursing, Midwifery and Care- Givers, tinyurl. Com/c89xe4x [Last accessed: May 2 2012]. Cherry, B., and Jacobs, S., 2995. Contemporary Nursing: Issues trends and management. 3rd ed. Elsevier: Health Science. Christie, P., and Robinson, H., 2009. Using a communication framework at handover to boost patient outcomes. Nursing Times, 105,(47) 13-15. Crevani, L.,Lindgren, M., Packendororff, J., 2010. Leadership, not leaders: on the study of leadership as practices and interactions. Scadinavavian Journal of Management. 26 (1)77-86. Cummings, G., Lee, H., Macgregor, T., 2008. Factors contributing to nursing leadership: a systematic review. Journal of Health Services. Research and Policy. 13(4) 240-248. Department of Health, 2008. Code of Practice: Mental Health Act 1983. London: DoH. Doran, G.T., 1981. There’s SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management Review. 70, (11) 35-36. Food in Hospitals National Catering and Nutrition Specification, 2008. [Last accessed on 30 May 2013]. Garon, M., 2012. Speaking up, being heard: registered nurse’ perceptions of workplace communication. Journal of Nursing Management. 56, (2) 35-39. Green, T., Heath, I., 2010. Measuring Relationship. London: The King’s Fund. Gibbs, G., 1988. Learning by doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford Further Education: Oxford. Hersey, P., Blanchard, K.H., and Johnson, D.E., 2001. Management of organizational behaviours: leading human resources. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall. Huber, D.L., 2010. Leadership and nursing care management.4th ed. Maryland Heights: Saunders Elsevier. Huber, D.L., 2006. Leadership and Nursing Care Management. 3rd ed. Lowa. The University of Lowa: The University of Lowa. Maddock, S., 2002. Making modernisation work: new narratives change strategies and people management in the public sector. International Journal of public Sector Management. 15, (1) 13-43. Marquis, B.L., and Huston, C.J., 2009. Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: theory and applications. 6th ed. London: Wolters Kluwer Health/ Lippincott William and Wilkins. McConnell, C.R., 2007. The effective Health care Supervisor. 6th ed. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlet Publishers. McKimm, J., and Held, S., 2009. The Emergency of Leadership Theory: From the Twentieth to the Twentieth-First Century. In: McKimm, J., and Phillips, K., eds. 2009. Leadership and Management in Integrated Services. Exeter: Learning Matters. Ch1. National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2007b. How to change practice. London: NICE. National Institute for Innovation and Improvement, 2013. NHS Change Model: Our Shared Purpose. Tinyurl, com/bwefn79 [Last accessed: May 2 2013]. National Patient Safety Agency 2007.Protected Mealtimes review – Findings and Recommendations Report. Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2008. The Code: Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nursing and Midwives. London: NMC. O’Connell, B., Macdonald, K., and Kelly, C., 2008.Nursing handover: time change. Contemporary Nurse. 30 (1) 2-11 Creating a Culture for Interdisciplinary. Orchard, C.A., Curran, V., Kabene, S., 2005. Creating a Culture for Interdisciplinary. Collaborative Professional Practice. Medical Education. Rolfe, P., 2011. Transformational leadership theory: What every leader needs to know. Nurse Leader. 9, (2) 54-57 Royal College of Nursing. 2012b Health and Social Care Act 2012. Tinyurl.com/HealthSocialCareAct2012 [Last accessed May 9 2013]. Royal College of Nursing, 2011. Accountability and Delegation: What you need to know. Royal Collage of Nursing. London: RNC. Rosener, J.B., 1990. Ways women lead. Harvard Business Review. In Barker, P., 2009. Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. The Craft of Caring. 2nd ed. London: Hodder Arnold. Scrivener, R., 2011. Accountability and Responsibility: Principles of Nursing Practice. Nursing Standard, 25, (29) 35-36. Scott, L., and Caress, A.L., 2005. Shared governance and shared leadership: meeting the challenges of implementation. Journal of Nursing Management, 13(1) 4-12. Tomey, A.M., 2009. Guide to nursing management and leadership. 8th ed. St Louis, MO: Mosby/ Elsevier. Yoder-Wise, P., 2011. Leading and Managing in Nursing. 5th ed. St Louis: Elsevier Mosby. APPENDIX- 1 S.M A.R.T.E.R PLAN SPECIFICSWithin six months of the preceptor-ship course, there will be a need to build better confidence that will improve communication skills which will support the author in their nursing career. MEASURABLEHow can one ascertain that the intended outcomes have been achievedThe learning outcomes will be gained via the professionals consultants, occupational therapist, staff nurses and preceptor-ship mentor involved. The author is confident that these professionals have the necessary assertive skills that will help achieve the desired learning outcomes. AchievableThe intention is to attend training courses, discuss any difficulties experienced with the preceptor-ship mentor or manager of the ward or any member of staff, and integrate the proposal as advice. REALISTICWithin three months of completion of the nursing course, it is anticipated that the author will be able to demonstrate effective leadership, delegating tasks properly, and entrusting responsibility to a person who is perc eived as being able to carry out these tasks by utilising one’s newly gained assertiveness skills. TIMELY Within three months of registration, an evaluation of achievements will be carried out and competencies will be examined frequently by the preceptor-ship mentor. The aim is to be constantly monitored by members of the team and to reflect upon performance and the impact of these actions. If there are any obstacles to achieving these goals or any concern from the team about the author’s approach, these issues will be discussed with the preceptor-ship mentor or ward manager, as this will facilitate the development of ongoing skills. ETHICALBeing knowledgeable about ethical issues such as social and cultural, rights, confidentiality and being aware of how this might impact on one’s practice. As a nurse there is a need to ensure that the patient’s autonomy is respected. RECORDED/REFLECTIVEReflection on personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), on a regular basis. Appendix 2 – SWOT Analysis MY STRENGTHS The SWOT analysis has helped me to develop, maintain a learning environment in which both education and lifelong learning are seen as integral to clinical setting, to work and focus on the goals and strategies, enable me to grab the opportunities I would love to achieve and work very hard to reduce my weakness and increase my strength. With the aid of SWOT analysis, I have been able to identify my strength as being a good team player, good listener, a good communicator and interacting well with my colleagues and patients. Showing compassion to my patients and having the ability to work under pressure. I like taking the lead and I am always happy when people appreciate me, it makes me happy and also motivates me. MY WEAKNESS I identify my weakness as being easily distracted, tending to carry out many tasks at a time and I am always fearful of making mistakes. I also felt that there are some areas I lack leadership skills such as being a good delegator because Barr and Dowding (2008) in their research emphasised that delegation is a critical leadership skill that must be learned. I find it complex to delegate duties when coordinating shifts. OPPORTUNITIES My opportunities are to update my knowledge in relation to the new pre-registration courses which include existing educational, personal and professional career development within the establishment. During this my practice placement I also had the opportunity to learn and share ideas with my colleagues, had the opportunity for questioning and giving feedback. THREATS My threatsare whilst on this practice placement, I found some areas very stressful. I discovered that some of the mentors were unfamiliar with the new- pre registration programme and unaware of the needs of the nursing students in relation to the learning opportunities or activities . Appendix 3 Service Improvement Activity – Notification Form Student Details Student SID Number: 0820968 Details of student pledge on which the proposed improvement is based. I must treat individuals kindly and considerately. I will provide a high standard of practice and care at all times. I will respect individuals’ confidentiality. I must show compassion and unconditional positive regard to my clients. I must disclose information, if I believe some one may be at risk of harming him/her self in line with the law of the country in which I am practising. I must listen to individual in my care and respond to their concerns and preferences. Details of proposed service improvement project/activity: The service improvement initiative is to facilitate Protecting Patient Meal Time in the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The purpose of this service improvement is to help and manage mealtimes without unnecessary and avoidable interruptions. Mealtimes are not only a vehicle to provide patients with adequate nutrition, but also provide an opportunity to support social interaction amongst patients. Reason for development: During my practice placement in the PICU. I discovered that there have been a lot of interruptions and argument between some patients and staff during meal time and also staff members who supposed to assist during meal time always claimed to be very busy. This made me choose to introduce to the team about â€Å"Protected Mealtimes†. This development is to support those patients who were finding it very difficult to eat or drink. Time spent on the project/activity: The service improvement lasted for the period four weeks because I first and foremost had the meeting with the multidisciplinary team members before introducing the change to the patients. Resources used: National Health Service (NHS boarder) Evidence on topic relating Protecting Meal Time Information from in the internet. Policy and regulation from the trust Text book Some information from dietician. Who will be involved? The ward consultant My mentor as a nursing staff, Occupational therapist staff Support worker The ward manager The dietician Myself( a student nurse) Future plans: The future plans are for me to distribute leaflets to the other professionals for them to read it in the internet and be awareness of the protecting meal time. Date discussed with clinical staff in placement area: Preparation for Professional Practice.? Introduction Whilst on the unit I became concerned when I noticed some service users were being discharged without proper education on how to manage their self-medication regime. This concerned me as it appeared to be a vicious cycle as I witnessed some service users being discharged without having a proper follow-up education on self-medication – which in certain cases led to non-adherence to their medication which consequently sometimes led to their relapse. For this cycle to be broken, I have realised that a proper education system, which would entail simple terminologies or understandable statements for service users to understand and learn how to manage their self-medication regime, should be put in place. Accordingly, this assignment will explain management and leadership styles related to a service improvement in the clinical area where I commenced my management placement. Applying management and leadership theory to practice, I will explain the reasons for my actions and will identify my strengths and weaknesses in terms of my leadership and management skills used whilst on placement. Adhering to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code of Professional Conduct (2008) and general good confidentiality prudence, all names and places mentioned in this assignment have been changed to a pseudonym. ?Leadership Styles & Management? In the mental health nursing profession, the management role cannot be averted, whether it is in managing a unit or improving services. Management is widely considered to be concerned with controlling, organising, planning, and problem-solving (Kotter, 1996 cited in King’s Fund, 2011). Yoder-Wise (2007) goes further on this point and states that management is concerned with the work of any individual who guides others through a series of routines, procedures or predefined practice guidelines. Moreover, leadership like management, has become a pivotal component of National Health Service (NHS) policy. This policy has on the most part been driven by the rising expectations of citizens who are now demanding to see an improvement in the quality of the services given to the service users and their families. Although management and leadership are somewhat different, both actions tend to overlap each other in terms of governing employees and organisation. Foster (2001) points out that management depends solely on the manager’s understanding of working with people of different backgrounds, having a good perception of situations and being able to aspire. On the other hand, leadership is an even more critical requirement within the NHS setting; this enables clinicians to demonstrate their leadership skills at all stages in health care provision and in new changes of services. Barker (2003), identifies leadership is a role of importance, emphasing that the role of a leader is dependent on his orher effective interpersonal skills. Oliver (2006) elucidates further by providing a list of qualities that are generally considered to define leadership, asserting that leaders must be capable of exploring personal and team motives and beliefs that can bring about change or perceived vision of success. Ellis and Hartley (2005) in agreement with Oliver (2006), state that leaders carry out this process by being ethical, respecting values, educate, motivate and direct the followers towards their objectives and goals. Consequently, leadership is required to be much more than just mere management skills that require â€Å"getting the job done† (King’s Fund, 2011 what page?). Over time, it has been posited that individuals are born either natural leaders or that they learn the qualities that are necessary for effective leadership roles (Hawkins &Thornton, 2002; Austin et al., 2003). There are a number of leadership styles but I will now focus on the main types. Autocratic leadership styles can range from benevolent to very rigid (Likert, 1967). In extremis, the use of authoritarian leadership, communications and activities can occur in a closed system. Autocratic leaders are considered to make all the decisions themselves and allow subordinates no influence in the decision-making processes (Grohar-Murray & Dicroce 1997). They will exercise their power, sometimes coupled with coercion, and are indifferent to personal needs of their subordinates’. Failure to meet such leaders’ goals can result in punishment. Autocratic leaders are known to be insistent, firm, self-assured and dominating, be it with or without actual intent.Such leaders feel little confidence or trust in their workers and as such, workers will fear theses leaders, whom they will feel have little in common. McGregor (1960) has produced what is perhaps considered the most famous description of such attitudes assumed by autocratic leaders; stating thatsuch a style of leadership excludes subordinates from the process of decision making and will assign work without consulting subordinates or knowing their inclinations and desires. The leader is in complete control and gives no room for subordinates to participate or offer opinions no matter how it may benefit (Daniels, 2004). Contrary to the autocratic style, democratic leadership involves the leader allowing employees to participate in decision making and at the same time provides guidance and direction (Anne, 1992). The most important finding arising from this work is that this leadership behaviour directly influences the climate and productivity of employees (Anna, 1992). A second important theme is that overall, the democratic leadership style has been known to be one of the most successful approaches because as initially stated, it allows employees to participate in decision making while at the same time supports, guides and counsels the followership (Anna, 1992.) However, critics have stated that on the basis of production, things move at a slower pace and this may lead to frustration amongst employees, especially those who tend to work faster in decision making process (Marquis, 2000). Notwithstanding, this democratic leadership still produces a high quality input from employees. This leadership builds trust amongst leaders and employees which then produces a cooperative team working relationship and builds high morale in the work environment. Accordingly, the democratic leadership approach should therefore not be used enough when urgent decision making matters arise, for example; decisions on issues of staffing, budgeting etc. In this situation it is more effective if a senior management makes the decision as this would be swift and the cost would be less as the business of any organisation cannot afford to make mistakes. Here, it is demonstrated how different leadership styles are required for different tasks and how in some positions certain leadership styles are more appropriate. The laissez-faire leadership is at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum from autocratic styles of leadership. Under a laissez-faire style of leadership the attitude is one of both permissiveness or ultra-liberalism in which there is a lack of control or centeral direction. . Thus, in different situations the same leader avertedly can use leadership of different styles. If a leader manages to combines all the leadership styles that have been mentioned than it is known as a situational leadership style. A situational leader adjusts styles of functioning depending on a particular position at that point of time and this is said to be another effective leadership style (Murthy 2005). This can be attributed to the Path-Goal theory approach. The Path-Goal theory supports the situational theory as it gives emphasises on the same leader using different types of leadership approach (Murthy, 2005). This theory was developed to examine the method in which leaders encourage their employees to achieve set goals (Murthy, 2005). It is important for leaders to have a sense of maturity to their staff as this approach builds a less task focused approach and into a relationship focused orientated (Forster, 2001). According to McGuire & Kennerly (2006) transactional leadership is a technique of leading an organisation through routine transactions such as rewards and discipline that are applied to the task after getting accomplished. Thus, it is almost completely based on the transactions that are conducted between the leader and the subordinate staff members because it is grounded on a theory that such workers can be and are motivated by rewards and discipline. A transactional leader will generally not look ahead whilst strategically guiding an organisation to a position of market leadership; instead such leaders are exclusively concerned with making sure everything flows smoothly (McGuire & Kennerly, 2006). The attributes of transactional leadership is that the nurse leader has authority over the employee by following organisation policies and regulation. Employees comply and follow directives and rewards are given in form of salary. This style of leadership essentially identifies itself repe atedly with the autocratic approach of the leader often responsible for creating staff commitment and building staff morale, as well as utilising intellectual stimulation and consideration of others. For this leadership approach to be effective, the leader depends on the loyalty of the employees (Marriner-Tomey, 2004). With all these styles of leadership and management now considered. I will now utilise these to analyse and explain my self-medication observations and theory. ?Self-medication Information? As discussed this assignment is focussed on improving the method in which self-medication information is carried out with service users. The reason for this decision is to promote self-medication management and help reduce the rate of non-compliance in medication and relapse. This approach will support service users as well as improve their knowledge of medication and it will prepare them for a healthy discharge. Information on self-administration of medicines is incredibly useful as it enables service users to manage their intake and promote their adherence to medication. The NMC Guidelines for the Administration of Medicines (2002a) states that the NMC supports self-administration of medicines and medicine administration carried out by carers, whenever appropriate. However, the safety and storage arrangements must be considered when necessary procedure is put in place. The nurse in charge therefore must carry out a decision on the basis of professional conduct that adheres with the NMC Code of Proffesional Conduct (2008), as the nurse would be accountable for their informed decision and omissions. When administering medication or supporting servicesto users who oversee their own self-medication regime the nurse must exercise their professional judgement and use effective skills and follow trust policy and regulations. Self-medication, where appropriate, is supported by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the document ‘Standards for Medicines Management’ (2007). It is apparent that the process of self-medication has made clear that it can help make service users become more familiar, confident and have better self-esteem by managing their own medication regime. The opportunity for service users to learn about medication through health education will ultimately improve their medication concordance before and after discharge. According to Nicklos (2010), change management is a methodical way of dealing with a change, both from the view of the organisation and on to the individual. Although an ambiguous term, change management has at least three different aspects, including bu; adapting to change to an area of professional practice, controlling change, and effecting change. A proactive approach to dealing with such change is undeniably at the core of all three of these aspects. Fred (2010), goes even further to state that change does not always come from within organisations but could be from legislation or current national guidelines which have been passed as a law and become enforced making it mandatory.. Changes to services and organisation may impact on the position, role and even the status of individuals and therefore can test levels of self-confidence as well as confidence in others. Change requires new clinical responsibilities, time for training and development and require openness to different ways of doing things and as such requires letting go of a previous practice. Such challenges make the planning of the change process a prerequisite for success (Michele, 2010). Accordingly, it is vital to comprehend the importance of change management as it gives a both positive and negative picture of what a change can bring. When I was thinking of my service user initiatives I had to consider some things such as time, as this allowed me to see if my change was realistic. My placement was on a rehabilitation unit where the recovery star tool was used to support service users in identifying their needs. Using the recovery ladder of change, a course of action was set in place to support service users care plan. The purpose of the rehabilitation unit was based on a form of rehabilitation that focused on helping service users to recover lost skills in coping with the demands of everyday lives. In the management of their medication in the rehabilitation unit, the nurses in charge are there to support and guide the service users in knowing what they are taking and when they should take their medication. By supporting and guiding service users to self-manage their medication improves both independence and helps them for forthcoming discharge. Before self-administration starts for service users, qualified nursing staff, or preferably pharmacist, should educate when, how and what is needed to be done. There are three stages at which service users can come to managing their medication. Stage 1 involves medications being stored in the medicine cabinet and at the right time the nurse in charge opening the cabinet and prompting service user to take their medication.At stage 2 the nurse in charge is accountable and responsible for the safe storage of the medication cupboard. During administration of medication the service user will ask the nurse in charge to open medication cupboard without prompting. The service user would then administer the medication under the supervision of the nurse in charge. Stage 3 would then be when the service user accepts full responsibility for managing the storage and administration of their medications. The nurse in charge then assesses and observes the service user’s verbal response and medication compliance. Once there is full clarity and positive observations of the service user’s self-medication management, they can get discharged back into the community. A problem I faced was how I would actually communicate this change to staff in the unit. To communicate is a transactional action where is sharing of ideas, beliefs and knowledge (Sen, 2007). Effective communication is an important skill all leaders should have because in a way of introducing something new and if done properly, it can allow staff to accept and receive change. Communication also gives room for staff for feedback and criticism (Sen, 2007). Another essential practice in a care setting is collaborative working. This allows professional to share their decisions and opinions (David et al, 1996). Within a team their views and shared ideas are important in an event of proposing change. In this assignment I have come to understand that the roles of leaders and managers is not merely just about giving orders but requires vital skills in communication, behaviour and approach to produce positive result. I requires telling people what to do but also making sure that it is within their competency level and realistic, is necessary for an effective working environment NMC (2008). My identified weakness was in the area of delegation as I needed to be more assertive. This is a skill that I hope to improve in my career as qualified mental health nurse. Professional Development Plan In this assignment, I will reflect on my weakness in terms of delegation which was an area in which I had to develop. Delegation has been defined as â€Å"the process by which responsibility and authority for promoting a task (function, activity, or decision is transferred to another individual who accepts that authority† (Sullivan & Decker, 2009, p135). However, Marquis & Huston (2009) have also defined it simply as getting work done through others. Regardless, it is worth noting that responsibility and accountability are not and do not mean the same thing. Whilst a delegator is entirely accountable to the task, the delegate will also be accountable to the delegator for the responsibilities assumed (American Nurses Association (ANA) and National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (2005), cited in Gopee & Galloway, 2009; Sullivan & Decker, 2009). The Nursing and Midwifery Council expects all nurses to â€Å"acknowledge any limits of personal knowledge and skill and take steps to remedy any relevant deficits in order effectively and appropriately to meet the needs to service users and clients† (NMC, 2005). Yoder-Wise (2011) notes thatif delegation is to occur, there should be mutual acceptance between both the delegator, who has the accountability, and delegate, who assumes the responsibility for performing the tasks and is consequently empowered (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). However, Sullivan & Decker have clarified that while responsibility is an obligation to successfully completing a task, accountability also means accepting the overall outcome – whether it be failure or success – of the task. Further, illustrating this, Yoder-Wise (2011) explains that when two registered nurses work are to work together sharing a task, then delegation does not occur. It is also important to explain that tasks can only delegate tasks for which we are responsible (Sullivan & Decker, 2009; Yoder-Wise, 2011). Sullivan & Decker have also noted that, once a delegate gains confidence, they become motivated and as such will begin to see their morale boosted to actively take on new challenges. They also expand add that although delegation can be learned, it essentially promotes teamwork and improves efficiency. Applying this to nursing, it is stressed that appropriate level of supervision has to be put in place to the delegate to ensure that tasks that have been delegated are completed effectively and safely (NMC, 2008b). The best interest of the patient should always be the overriding consideration when delegating tasks rather than saving time or money (Royal College of Nursing, 2011). Delegation has increasingly become an essential aspect of nursing in the United Kingdom because of staff shortages and high turnover in the face of ever-mounting demand for a variety of skills in health care (Curtis & Nicholl, 2004). With regard to my clinical management placement experience, I found I was less assertive when instructed by my mentor to delegate tasks as part of my learning. I freely admit that my timidity stemmed from being raised in a foreign country and as such the I felt intimated when delegating. As English is not my native language there have been occasions when some of my colleagues, and even fellow students at university, have informed me that they are indeed unable to understand my accent. I realise that this is unacceptable because I am expected – and will be required – to be clear, concise and detailed when describing the objective, limits, expectations and outcome of the tasks to my delegates (Currie, 2008; Sullivan & Decker, 2009). Moreover, as a student nurse, I have often felt intimidated when delegating tasks to other staff who I considered to be better informed, better qualified and more experienced in nursing than me. Indeed, such fears were confirmed when, during one shift recently, whereI attempted to delegate a task (see Appendix 2). This is an area that I intend to improve upon. Reference Barker, M.A. 1992. Transformational Nursing Leadership: A vision for the future. Thompson Publisher. London. Currie, P. 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Leading and Managing in Nursing 4th edition. USA. Mosby Inc. Yoder-Wise, P.S. (2011) Leading and Managing in Nursing, (5th edn), St. Louis: Elsevier Mosby. http://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/harvard_referencing.htm Use this link to learn how to Harvard reference properly. Your referencing is inconsistent and you need to list pages when quoting or referring to a specific point. As a general rule though, the main trick with referencing is continuity, so make sure your references and bibliography are consistent. Appendix 1: SMART Goal Delegation skills development Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time To prioritise all my tasks and manage time effectively and efficiently in all shifts.Commuting between London and the university has taught me the value of time management. Time management will enable me to carry out other tasks and achieve goals. More to the point, time management will provide me with personal organisation and self-discipline, as recommended by Yoder-Wise (2011) Time management will be measurable as I will be able to identify whether the tasks set out on a specific shift have been successfully completed on time whenever I’m taking over handover from night shift team members.Prioritisation is achievable by use of my diary which will contain all the tasks that need to be completed by the end of the day. Furthermore, prioritising will help me schedule tasks in the order of urgency. This will leave me room to tackle emergency situations that arise during the shift.Prioritisation is realistic because I realise that as a newly-qualified my responsibility will be to ensure that the shift runs smoothly. My diary will also be helpful as it will keep me reminded of the tasks I have to carry out and those which are still pending. In the case of pending tasks, being organised will give me sufficient time to involve staff who will be doing the next shift staff to complete them.Prioritising is an ongoing skill that I will have to keep learning during the first six months of qualifying and for the rest of my nursing career. Confidence and assertiveness while delegating tasks to other members of staff.Once a delegated task has been successfully completed and goals achieved confidence in allocating tasks to members of staff will have worked for me. By receiving feedback and constructive criticism from members of staff once they have successfully accomplished the delegated tasks. Being organised and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with fellow members of staff will increase my feelings of certainty that the shift will run smoothly relationship with staff.At the start of every shift I will allocate tasks to members of staff who have the competence, knowledge, time and willingness to carry them out and complete them. This is realistic because it will be my responsibility to manage shifts on the ward once I qualify. It will also be my duty to allocate or delegate tasks to members of staff. Likewise, during handover, I will ensure that I brief incoming staff on how the shift went and what remains to be done when they will be on shift.Based on my experience, so far, I’m very hopeful that I will achieve this goal within six months after I qualify. Appendix 2. Service Improvement Activity- Notification Form Contact Details Student SID Number: 0914451 Details of service improvement project/activity Service user Rehabilitation unit managing self medication. Reason for development To improve independent skills in managing medication for patients in rehabilitation centre so as to reduce the risk of relapse and to provide person centred care as well as empowering the service users. Time spent on project activity The time spent on self medication informative project was about six weeks. Resources used The Trust policy, The risk assessment form, The patient consent form, The patient withdrawal form, self- administration monitoring form (stages), self- administration patient record chart. Who was involved Nursing staff, doctors (MDT), Pharmacist , student (myself) and the service users. Future plans To review the self- administration if it is effective at a set time. Nurses involved in supervision of the programme must be registered nurses. Date discussed with clinical staff in placement area: (seen and agreed by my mentor Lorna Newton). And discussed with my IBL Facilitator Justin Nathan.