Article Analysis Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Analysis Assignment - Essay Example The health insurance has really helped people in settling the hospital bills and they are somehow economical. However, when adopting an insurance cover all the aspects need to be considered so as to ensure both efficiency and effectiveness as the document discusses. The document analyzes an article that argues that the publicly insured Americans have somewhat poorer lung transplantation survival as opposed to the UK patients. Approximately 30000 Americans suffer from cystic fibrous (CF) which is an inherited condition. The condition makes the digestive system and the lungs to be blocked with thick and mucus. People suffering from CF tend to experience severe malnutrition, long infections, breathing difficulties and premature deaths. Some CF cases are treatable with just anti-inflammatory drugs and other medicines. However, at the condition’s advanced levels patients may be required to undergo the lung transplantation process. According to Dr. Shah, senior investigator, lung transplantation is one of the complex procedures carried out today. It requires wealth of resources as well as careful long-term management by a number of specialists (Whiteman, 2015). The study assessed the survival of patients suffering from CF in UK and USA who are covered by public insurance of these two respective nations. NHS is the British public insurance while in America Medicare and Medicaid are the effective public insurance. The study involved 2307 both British and American CF patients aged 12 years or older who underwent either the lung transplant or combined heart-lung transplant between the years 2000 and 2011. The study revealed that the British publicly insured patients had approximate survival of 8.1 years as opposed to their American counterparts who had an average of 4.7 years (Whiteman, 2015). The American patients who were privately insured also had poorer outcomes with an approximate survival of 7.9 years. It is worth

Research Project Preparation

Research Project Preparation Introduction If we knew what we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?(Einstein). Life is exciting, and it will be surprising to find many things that have been avoided in particular society, somehow become most loved in others. A simple example is vegemite, while there were 10 of 10 of American kids felt it was disgusting[1], for sure, many Australians and New Zealanders will argue. Even, Australian dairy company, Bega, has spent A$460 million to acquire the brand back to Australian hand.[2] From that example, some questions might arouse: why those kids hate vegemite?; Why Australians and New Zealanders love vegemite?; How vegemite can be accepted in USA markets?. In an academic environment, some of those questions might lead to research. This essay will discuss research process, in particular, the process of planning research. And within it, explaining the definition of research and research process, the relationship between research topic and research question, the importance o f literature review, how the use of theory affect research approach/design, the goal of research a proposal and the importance of argument in academic writing. O Leary defines that the process of developing new knowledge by gathering data that answers a particular question is called Research[3]. So, what are those questions? For some, it is their concerns in issues encountered in life, for instance, poverty, famine, corruption, etc. For others, it will come from their passion for enjoying life. It is all the questions which relates to the need of new knowledge to solve our problems and curiosities[4]. Human curiosity is very diverse, from a question on how to have a beautiful delicacy to a dinner, to a complex idea on how to establish world peace. In some way, research is a means to contribute to options to fulfill curiosity, in which probably is the best practice to solve problems. However, there are, in some circumstances, many complexities to determine people behavior and their decisions, so, research needs plans, strategy, firm decision, and while at the same times, flexible to new changes to find the right knowledge to understand the p roblems, hence, be able to offer suitable recommendations for better future. As, O Leary mentioned that research is a creative and strategic process that involves continually assessing, reassessing, and making decisions about the best possible means for obtaining trustworthy information, carrying out appropriate analysis, and drawing credible conclusions[5]. Research process is a journey full of challenges which needs strategy, plan, every strength and support available to make it succeed in times and end up with expected result[6]. Meticulously planned steps are essential in a research process, such as 1. Find Research topic. 2. Articulate research questions. 3. Navigate ways trough ethics. 4. Work with literature. 5. Develop methodological approach. 6. Design methods. 7. Construct a coherent proposal. 8. Find respondents. 9. Collect data. 10. Analyze data, and 11. Write research report[7]. Every step comes with challenges[8], which sometimes are not easy to cope with. It may come from environment, family, requirements, resources, social barrier. And many of them come internally from the researchers, in such, low motivation, lack of confidence, unconstructive habits, background, work ethics, etc. It needs commitment and strategies to use the best support available and also the best state of own capabilities. It is a journey to find answ ers that is different from traveling where it has certain sets of destination. Where in between, it is needed to come back and forth to asses and reassess to keep everything on track. And by the end, it will take to a point where another research is needed[9]. Why? As new questions will emerge, society develop, human have a never-ending curiosity, problem bound to happen anytime and anywhere. However, with all of the challenges, there some, like in most journey, that found wonderful experience by doing research[10]. Explore mystery, find the unknown, and satisfy curiosity, while contributing to a better world are a very nice start to spark passion in research. The initial step in planning research is to find a well-thought research topic, and from those formulate a research question that structures a well-executed research. A research topic is an idea which will be the background of a research[11]. And as mentioned, with human curiosity, passions, issues, and problem surrounding, there will be no lack of idea. The challenge is on how to narrow down from so many interest surround, a remarkable idea that is feasible could come out[12]. O Leary explained that there are three ways to obtain research topic: 1. Concept mapping, which offers enhancement of creativity by looking problems from many perspectives, and therefore, have a brainstorm for a research topic; 2. Turning to literature, to identify information, ideas, theories and problems for research topics from a different perspective; 3. Looking for inspiration, that might be drawn from, personal insight and experiences, observations, contemporary/timely issues, and, identifying stakeholde rs need[13]. After research topic confirmed, well-articulated research questions are important, as to indicate the level of understanding of the topics and to structure logical course of action, to define an investigation, to set boundaries, to provide direction and to act as a frame of reference for assessing progress[14]. It will be the milestones for research process, set as achievable goals that tell how far steps has been taken, and how far it is needed to the end point. However, it is in researcher discretion to assess and reassess the questions to appropriately stay on track, undertake another direction based on new information, and new interesting information found[15]. Next principle step to plan and to prepare good research is reviewing literature. For most, Literature review is not new research, it is a way to learn from past knowledge, which offers unlimited theories, methodology, and experiences, as a valuable starting point to design research[16]. Delving into literatures strengthens the level of understanding of research topic, defines and redefines research questions, uncovers gaps in research rationales for further identification, and compares past approaches from various researches that have previously been conducted to discover suitable approach for own research[17]. Argument occupies a very important place in writing Literature review as an initial part of research. Even literature review itself is a purposeful argument, a form of argument to inform audience of what is happening in the field, to establish credibility as a knowledgeable and capable researcher, to argue the relevance and significance of research question, to provide the co ntext for own methodological approach and to argue the relevance and appropriateness of approach[18]. In doing so, it needs a strong evidence-based argument by compare and contrast own argument with past researchers, then synthesize and make arguments in own perspective as a part of further research[19]. Having confidence needed to initiate a research from reviewing literature, the next step is to develop most appropriate research approach and design. Understand on how theory used within research gives an overview to develop an effective approach. Explained by Creswell that each approach has its unique way of using theory. In quantitative approach, a theory will be used deductively, placed in the initial part of the research to provide an explanation or prediction about the relationship between variables and how variables affect other. The theory will be tested throughout the process in order to prove the validity of researcher prediction of variables relationship in particular aspects and environments. In qualitative approach, there are four ways on how theory is used: 1. As a broad explanation for behavior and attitudes, it is much similar on how theory used in quantitative approach where a general description of behavior and attitudes will begin the research, and series of prepare d hypothesis will be tested throughout; 2. As a theoretical lens or perspective; the perspective based on theoretical aspects such as race; gender; class, shapes research topics, questions, method and on how researcher position themselves that will obviously affect the written report and recommendations. 3. As an end point, in this case, theory will be the product of inductive thinking process of a research, where, collected bit of information will be developed into theory, generalizations, patterns, and then, compared with experience and existing literature to form researcher theorys; 4. In some qualitative study theory is not used, in these case researcher constructs a rich detailed description of a central phenomenon. In mixed method research, theory is used as a framework, social and transformative, that affect research methods in collecting, analyzing, processing quantitative and qualitative information[20]. The Last step in planning a research, as an expression of readiness to embark on the journey, is composing research proposal. Research proposal is a writing to convince other, a mean to argue that selected research questions are significance in obtaining results, a way to show that research methodology is effective, efficient and ethical to answers questions, and sometimes, it is the only opportunity to show potential as a researcher worthy for the job[21]. To construct convincing research proposal, all elements of research proposal; title; aims/objective; research questions/hypothesis; introduction; literature review; theoretical perspective; methods; limitations/delimitations; ethical considerations; timeline; budget/funding; and references should be written in a way to show clarity of thoughts, veracity of arguments and researcher potential[22]. The goal is to seek approval from admission boards, funding body or an ethic committee to initiate research, and by overcome the challeng es and meet the requirements[23], research plan will be tested and perfected. However, following guidelines, drafting and then redrafting at the same time be confident and open will contribute significantly[24]. Another important factor to remember as part of research process is the role of argument in academic writing. In every step of research there is a need for writings, for example, literature review, research proposal, research report, writing summary to challenge rationale and many others. Where, the nature of an academic writing requires to really understand the depth of principles, theories, and concepts and put it as reasonable statements to explain more concepts, process and procedures[25], research and academic writing cannot be separated. Within research process to find answers to contribute to the body of knowledge[26], research topic, research questions, rationale will be tested, it will perfected, to come out with conclusions and recommendations. Therefore, those conclusions, recommendations, concepts need to be written convincingly, supported by evidence, considered from different perspectives, and reasonable[27], to prove that the journey worth the effort. Conclusion This essay has discussed that research process is a journey. It definitely needs a well plan, and meticulous preparation, however, it is significant to bear in mind that within the process, it is requisite to come back and forth, assess and reassess, in open mindset and use the best of capabilities. Initial step to plan a research is to generate an idea for research topic. The challenge is to focus on idea that feasible and satisfy curiosity, and from that idea formulate research question that structured a well-executed research. Next important step to plan and prepare good research is to review literature, to learn from past knowledge by compare, contrast, analyze and synthesize ideas, theories, and methodologies as an initial standing. Next principal step is to understand on how theory as a framework, shapes differences between research approach to plan own approach. Final step in planning a research is by composing research proposal to convince and seek approval needed to start re search. Other important factor to remember, is that an academic writing and research process cannot be separated. Hence, to convince audience with strong evidence-based argument within research writings, to show that the journey worth the price is a must. References Constructing an Argument. Massey University. June 19 2014. Accessed March 21, 2017. http://owll.massey.ac.nz/study-skills/constructing-an-argument.php. Creswell, Jowhn W. 2014. Research Design. Washington DC: Sage Publication Inc. Davison, R.M., Martinsons, M.G., Kock N. 2004. Information Systems. Principles of Canonical Action Research 14. Lee, Sally. 2014. Is it the Australian version of Nutella? Daily Mail. August 30. Accessed March 21, 2017. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2738265/American-kids-taste-test-Vegemite-reactions-priceless.html . Miller, Jake. 2012. Nurturing a Passion for Research. Harvard Medical School. July 24. Accessed March 21, 2017. https://hms.harvard.edu/news/nurturing-passion-research-7-24-12. Niesche, Christopher. 2017. Vegemite back in Aussie hands. NZherald.co.nz. January 22. Accessed March 21, 2017. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3objectid=11786765. O Leary, Zina. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. London: Sage Publication, Inc. Webster, Jane, and Richard T Watson. 2002. Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2 xiv. What Is Academic Writing. Massey University. October 25 2012. Accessed March 21, 2017. http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/what-is-academic-writing.php. [1] Sally Lee, Is it the Australian version of Nutella?, Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2738265/American-kids-taste-test-Vegemite-reactions-priceless.html [2] C. Niesche, Vegemite back in Aussie hands, NZherald.co.nz http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3objectid=11786765 [3] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publication. Inc), 3. [4] Ibid,2. [5] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publications, Inc), [6] Ibid, 18-28. [7] Ibid, 1. [8] Ibid, 28. [9] Davison, R. M., Martinsons, M. G., Kock N., Principles of Canonical Action Research, Information Systems Journal (2004): 14 [10] Jake Miller, Nurturing a Passion for Research, Harvard Medical School, https://hms.harvard.edu/news/nurturing-passion-research-7-24-12 [11] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publications, Inc), 32-33. [12] Ibid, 33. [13] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publications, Inc), 33-34 [14] Ibid, 45 [15] Ibid, 45 [16] Jane Webster, Richard T. Watson. Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2002) xiv. [17] Locit, 86-88 [18] Ibid 99 [19] Ibid 98 [20] John W. Creswell, 2014. Research Design. (Washington DC: Sage Publication, Inc), 52-69. [21] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publications, Inc), 72-74. [22] Ibid, 74-77. [23] Ibid, 72. [24] Zina O Leary. 2014. The Essential Guide To Doing Your Research Project. (London: Sage Publications, Inc), 77-78. [25] What Is Academic Writing, Massey University, http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/what-is-academic-writing.php [26] Locit,3 [27] Constructing an Argument, Massey University, http://owll.massey.ac.nz/study-skills/constructing-an-argument.php

The Great Depression :: History

The Great Depression The Great Depression is comparable to Lennie and George's life. I would like to give a comparison of George Milton and Lennie Small to the Great Depression. The time that this story took place was during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck captured the reality of this most difficult time. During the Great Depression people needed to travel together to share chores and duties to make a living until something better came along. That is the way George and Lennie traveled. They traveled together to take care of each other but George took care of Lennie the most, because he was always getting in trouble. "You do bad things and I got to get you out." (Of Mice and Men p.11). During the Great Depression money was very scarce. You had to travel around to find a job in order to make money to survive. Lennie and George were in that type of predicament. Keeping enough money until the next job was difficult because prices were rising during the Great Depression and you had to budget your money. During this depression most people worked on farms because after the stock market crashed people realized that the reason the stock market crashed was because farms were not producing enough goods. People started to work on farms more to help everyone. Lennie and George worked for ranches and also in the fields. "He's a good skinner. He can rassel grain bags, drive a cultivator. He can do anything." (Of Mice and Men p.22). If you really look closely, George and Lennie's way of life and the Great Depression have a good deal in common. George and Lennie were outcasts in life. George Milton was small in size and a very smart man compared to Lennie. He was actually only of average intelligence. Lennie Small was a large person and very retarded. Since Lennie was so retarded he did not grasp the things that were happening around him. For example, if someone became upset about anything he would grab them and hold and squeeze until they stopped moving. Lennie would accidentally harm them and that is how he got inck smoke into the environment constantly. This disgusting smog stains buildings, covers trees, and hovers above many of our major city in large masses. Automobiles also contain some fluids that can be deadly to us and our wildlife. We often hear of gasoline spills by tanker trucks or by ships, both of which are meant to supply our automobiles with fuel.

Old Money vs. New Money

Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby. By including this aspect in the boo k, Fitzgerald purpose is to reveal the two faces Of corruption in America through the novel' s geography and its characters. The book's geography represents the dichotomy of corruption through its pee pole. Two regions of Long Island, East Egg and West Egg, make up the setting of the novo el. These separate entities reveal the corrupt nature of â€Å"old wealth† versus â€Å"new wealth,† and con firm the formers distaste of the latter.When Gatsby invites the narrator, Nick, to one of his extra vagrant parties, Nick notices upon first observations that those in the party from East Egg â€Å"ass med to themselves] the function of representing the staid nobility of the countryside East Egg condescending to West Egg, and carefully on guard against its spectroscopic g tatty' (Fitzgerald 49). Since the residents of West Egg have unlaundered wealth, those in East Egg of more established wealth look d own upon them as possessing a lower social status. However, both groups are equally corrupt.Despite people of old money condescending ‘the blatant kinds of corruption† demonstrated by those with new money, they themselves â€Å"[Indus GE] quietly and Benson 2 discreetly in bribery, blackmail, and manipulation to maintain and consoled et [their] power† (Miller 81). Through Fitzgerald depiction of these mutually corrupt groups, h e makes the parallel between the unrealized corruption of West and East Egg and the Unit deed States' blindness to this fact. In addition, the characters' residence in the setting directly relate to their set o f values.For example, both Nick Caraway and Jay Gatsby (who live in West Egg) strong lay desire the acquisition of wealth. Nick is a stock broker, and Gatsby gains money by apart captivating in â€Å"every sort of illegal mischief, some of which is so dangerous that people are afraid t o talk about it† (Foster 146). These char acters represent the people in America who were new lay rich and achieved success through their strong desire for money. In contrast, character RSI such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan (from East Egg) represent the values of those with establishes d wealth: In their selfishness they lack compassion for others.When Gatsby dies at the end oft he book, â€Å"the only . Are his father, Nick, a postman, a handful of servants, and the o mourners welled man who at the first party had admired the library' (Foster 141). But Tom and Daisy choc SSE to leave Long Island behind rather than attend his funeral. Although it is unlikely that Tom loud go to his rival's funeral navy, he also lacks â€Å"a series of virtues .. . In the America of w which [he] is paradigmatic, such as vitality, efficiency, loyalty, and the necessity of a realize able dream† (Lena 40).Even though people in East Egg do not have the strong desire for wealth lie eke those in West Egg, they exhibit a different face of corr uption that is no less immoral. By giving g these traits to his characters, Fitzgerald depicts America's people as either greedy for wealth or lacking in common values. Benson 3 The geography and characters portrayed in the book reveal Fitzgerald depict ion off irrupt America through the concept of â€Å"old wealth† and â€Å"new wealth. † Throw ugh the book's geography, the author represents the separation of these groups in a clear w ay and describes the rivalry between them.

Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens Essay

The definition of diversity: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique, and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. It is the exploration of these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. It is about understanding each other and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual.1 Two corporations who have implemented diversity efforts and have dealt with the benefits and challenges of these efforts are Spencer Owens & Co. and Cityside Financial Services. When examining both diversity efforts, it is important to understand how well each company has done with previous and present efforts, the problems the companies are facing now and the root causes of these problems. While these companies have implemented their own efforts to diversify their staff, it is important to examine the similarities and differences in managing diversity. Spencer Owens & Co. How well has Spencer Owens done in its diversity efforts? Spencer Owens’ recent past shows a great deal of effort put into diversifying their workforce. In the mid-1980’s, Spencer Owens & Co. initiated a strategy to diversify the company’s employees from entry-level to executive ranks. Prior to this start date, the company had an all-white executive male team. From the start of this initiative, Spencer Owens did very well on its diversity efforts to hire people â€Å"on their merits and for their capacities to do what is expected or required of them. To implement  the plan, the company set hiring goals, communicating them to all employees and creating accountability.† Over the next ten years, this in turn created opportunities for women and people of color to become part of the team and establish career paths for them to be future leaders in various departments of the company. Following the start of this program (1985-1995), Spencer Owens was considered the most diverse staff in its industry accounting for 50% of the firm’s 150 managers and professionals were women, and 30% were people of color. Additionally, during this period, people of color that were hired into entry-level positions had been promoted and moved up into managerial positions. Four out of the12 member executive team were women and three were people of color. Extensive involvement in the efforts to attract, recruit and retain minorities and women in becoming managers, professional staff and directors were a key priority to the firm. Spencer Owens also knew that a key to internal diversity was to ensure the company’s policies and overall commitment to an equitable workplace by instituting affirmative action goals, along with, aggressive hiring and advancement practices that set high qualification and performance hurdles. 2  The team at Spencer Owens was proud of their company’s commitment to fairness and equality and to encourage the employees to be â€Å"colorblind† to gender and ethnic differences. Along with this strategy, the firm also initiated sensitivity training and held follow-up discussions. Multiple employees commented, â€Å"Everyone is the same and treated the same.† With feedback from these trainings and discussions, the firm went a step further to create networking groups for women and people of color. How well are they doing now? Why is the firm now having trouble? Recently, Spencer Owens diversity efforts have witnessed great changes while also encountering many issues and problems. In 2000, the firm hired Agnes Richards, their first woman executive in 45 years. Over the course of the next three years, Richards noticed that the diversity efforts were slowly unraveling and affecting the productivity of the company. For  example, Richards noticed friction among race relations, people of color were bringing charges of racism against the white workers, and there were new complaints made by the two networking groups. One of the first steps that Richards and her leadership team took was to reinstate the sensitivity trainings. However, it was noticed that there was poor attendance among the racial and ethnic minorities. In addition to these issues, Richards fired an African-American female manager due to tardiness issues and for portraying a bad attitude. At that point, employees became angry and frustrated. Due to the firm’s problems, Richards hired consultants to study the firm’s race and gender relations. The interviews revealed the following: †¢ Employees have concerns about the affirmative action initiative. †¢ White employees feel that the diversity program is adversely affecting the quality of the firm’s work. †¢ It is perceived that white male managers are opposed to new methods brought forth by newer employees. †¢ People of color are critical of affirmative action program, including superficial results and feel that they are tolerated and not accepted. †¢ People of color feel their ideas are easily dismissed. †¢ Perception that the network groups defend the minorities of the company. †¢ Overall feeling of retaliation and fear of being called a racist. What is the root cause (or causes)? Spencer Owens’s discrimination-and-fairness paradigm, which measures progress in diversity â€Å"by how well the company achieves its recruitment and retention goals rather than by the degree to which conditions in the company allow employees to draw on their personal assets and perspectives to do their work more effectively, had created a cognitive blind spot. As a result, the company’s leadership could not frame the problem accurately or solve it effectively.10 Instead, the company needed a cultural shift – it needed to grasp what to do with its diversity once it had achieved the numbers. Because of senior managers’ resistance to a cultural transformation, Spencer Owens continues to struggle with the tensions rising from the diversity of its workforce.10 The root causes of these problems is that the employees need to feel that the ways they may be different are understood and accepted.3 With the de-emphasis of sensitivity trainings and follow-up discussions, the team became isolated in their views on diversity versus affirmative action goals. The misunderstandings became apparent with the original mission â€Å"to consider people on their merits and for their capacities to do what is expected or required of them.† Many minority employees say they gain a sense of belonging in the workplace when their employers create opportunities for workers with diverse backgrounds to interact with others and to become involved as apart of a group. 3 The networks were a great idea for employees to feel connected to the company; however, the execution was not done properly. These diversity programs could have helped employees of different backgrounds by communicating feelings and experiences about climbing the corporate ladder or breaking through the glass celiling.3 However, these network groups became defenders for women and the other minorities due to the perception of treatment, opportunities, miscommunication between the minorities and the white employees. Additional root causes for the present problems include employees wanting fair treatment, a sense of belonging, understanding and acceptance, and a feeling that they are contributing. Cityside Financial Services How well has Cityside Financial Services done in its diversity efforts? Cityside Financial Services has done well in diversity efforts. In 1999, after 69 years of being in business, the company had become very much diversified with half of the employees in the company being females and 90% of the support staff was African American. In addition, 53% of middle managers, 42% of senior managers, and 25% executives were African American. Cityside operated as two units in their Sales Division: Retail Operations  and External Deposits. The retail operations unit was filled with mostly African American employees. The external deposits unit was made up of mostly white college graduates. Nearly equal numbers of managerial positions existed in each unit, giving whites and blacks similar advancement opportunities. Bank employees agreed that, â€Å"If you did your job well, you’ll be recognized and promoted for it.† 4 As stated in the article, â€Å"Over the years, Cityside Bank developed a reputation for being a high-functioning, multicultural organ ization.† While the bank itself was deemed to be a multicultural organization, the two sales units were founded on two separate and distinct models that it was described by one executive as â€Å"two different banks†. While the bank was diversified as a whole, these two units were very much specialized to their distinct client base. This separation of duties and ethnicities has led to some of the problems that the company presently is facing. While the External Deposit team was described as â€Å"white, smart, dedicated and loyal workaholics, it was also said that it’s not the perfect job for black staff that need a salary, may be hard-working, but not at that level.† In addition, some of the other red flags to the present problems included wealthy individuals complaining about the limited services being offered to them, other clients in Retail Operations feeling overshadowed by wealthier clients in External Deposits (and were leaving the bank), and the lack of understanding (no clear guidelines) by Retail and External as the best way to handle the new market segment. This lack of coordination compromised the bank’s efficiency and created trust issues between these two departments as to the best way to help clients. How well are they doing now? Why is the firm now having trouble? While the company continues to maintain an overall diversified work staff, they are now encountering significant issues in their diversity efforts. One of the main causes of the problems that Cityside is now facing is that they have sectionalized the company with African American employees  working in the Retail Operations department and the white employees working in the External Deposits department. Per the head of External Deposits, she commented that â€Å"the problem is what is expected of senior management here has a cultural bias towards whites. It’s not to say that African Americans aren’t also able to do all that. But because of historical racial issues, they have been limited.† According to one black officer in Retail, he commented that â€Å"white workers would not be able to handle the demands of the Retail unit.† He continued to say that â€Å"(whites) wouldn’t know what to do with people in this neighborhood.† This bias ties into ethnocentrism, which represents the feelings that one’s cultural rules and norms are superior or more appropriate than the rules and norms of another culture.5 In addition, poor career planning shows another problem that African American’s have faced as potential candidates in the External Deposit unit. When Ron Wilkens, one of the investors of the bank, wanted to learn more about how the black workforce viewed its career prospects, it was noted that the root problem was how they (African Americans) were perceived by the whites. Was he deemed as a decision maker and someone that understands the customer where his thoughts are taken seriously or is he someone that is viewed as good at operationally making things work? His black officer commented that he is respected by white colleagues, but questioned the value of his contribution to the firm seen by his white colleagues. While there is diversity in the company as a whole, there needs to be more diversity in each division to ensure that each employee is given an equal chance to grow and that customers are offered the best goods and services as possible. What do these cases have in common? There are some significant similarities between the two cases. First, both companies originally had an all-white staff. Both companies instituted programs to diversify their teams. For example, Spencer Owens adopted an  affirmative action plan while Cityside initiated an aggressive minority program. After these programs were implemented, both companies had double-digit percentages of their workforce made up of women and African Americans. It was noted in both cases that these companies were recognized in their industries as greatly achieving a multicultural organization. With that, both firms committed to a fair approach for advancing all employees. It was also noted that as the diverse programs were in action, both companies began to experience compromised efficiency as the staff began to have problems working together. At Spencer Owens, the affirmative action movement left some employees feeling alienated and unappreciated. The article states, â€Å"Many non-white professionals reported having their ideas routinely disregarded.† Furthermore, a Latino programmer staffer explained, â€Å"Until white people discover an idea, until they express it with their own words in their style, it’s as if it doesn’t exist.† This comment is similar to the quote made by one employee at Cityside who stated, â€Å"When a white man disagrees, he’s being strong. He’s taken with respect. When a black man disagrees, he’s being negative and whiny, militant and kind of like Malcolm X.† Both quotes show that while the companies made strides as far as diversifying their employee base, there is still a great difference in the way the ideas and contributions of white and minority employees are perceived. With this comparison summary, in both cases, the working environment involves how employees perceive one another. This is labeled as social cognition and social information processing. Social cognition is the study of how people make sense of other people and themselves. The perception process influences a host of managerial activities, organizational processes, and quality of life issues. 5 Additionally, stereotyping employees is also seen in both these case studies. At Cityside, African-American employees in the Retail Operations unit are deemed to be able to better relate to the â€Å"local community†, which is predominately African American. At Spencer Owens, there is a stereotype threat in which white managers are in fear of supervising people of color in  that â€Å"any constructive feedback could be perceived as being criticized and subsequently being called a racist.† Lastly, both companies conducted interviews and developed surveys to better understand the opinions of the staff in order to get to the root cause(s) of why tensions were on the rise. What differences do these two cases have? The main difference in the two cases is the approach the companies took to diversity. As previously stated, Spencer Owens used the discrimination and fairness paradigm, which has a â€Å"focus on equal opportunity, fair treatment, recruitment, and compliance with federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements.† 10 This approach can make employees feel equal, but it can also lead to feelings of alienation and a loss of identity to the employees. This may be what led to the elimination of sensitivity training. In a sense, if we are all equal and are basically the same type of person, then there is no need to be sensitive to our differences, since this approach aims to eliminate the differences entirely. This approach is what led to the problems now being seen in Spencer Owens. Cityside used an approach called the Access and Legitimacy Paradigm. Supporters of this approach believed that you need â€Å"access to – and legitimacy with-a more diverse clientele by matching the demographics of the organization to those of critical consumer or constituent groups.† 10 Cityside put African-American employees in retail because they would be dealing with mostly clients of the same race and culture and this would give the company legitimacy in the community and increase sales. Where this approach went wrong is that it alienated African-American employees and clients. While the discrimination-and-fairness paradigm used by Spencer Owens aims to make all employees equal and the same, access-and-legitimacy, takes the opposite approach and separates employees by race, not allowing the two to work together or grow in their roles in the company. What approach to diversity might have been more effective in each of these cases? Diversity and Affirmative Action: Difference Affirmative action is selective in mandating changes that benefit previously disadvantaged groups. It is an outgrowth of Equal Employment Opportunity legislation.5 Diversity is inclusive, encompassing everyone in the workplace. It seeks to create a working environment in which everyone and every group fits, feels accepted, has value, and contributes.6 Managing diversity, while based on cultural change, is a pragmatic business strategy that focuses on maximizing the productivity, creativity and commitment of the workforce while meeting the needs of diverse groups. 7 Approaches to diversity that might have been more effective in these cases: Managing diversity entails recognition of the unique contribution every employee can make.5 Managing diversity also moves beyond valuing diversity in that it is a way in which to do business and should be aligned with other organizational strategic plans.6 Diverse employees offer an extraordinarily wide range of proficiencies for doing business in any marketplace. The following are different approaches that Wilkens and Richards could have taken to be more effective in their efforts (see footnote 8): 1. To attract young, new hires, college career fairs allow an employer to target people of color and women who may be good potential employees. 2. Employee referral programs: good employees typically associate with other good potential friends and associates. By implementing a program where employees refer other good candidates, employers can identify and reach out to others of the same race or background. 3. Recruitment: enlightened employers know that they need to take a hard look at their own tactics for generating diverse job candidates. These organizations take a serious look at their internal assessment around recruiting. With this, employers target key groups of employees and then mentor them so that they are able to navigate the system successfully. 4. Education/trainings: a successful diversity program will also educate all of a company’s employees to understand the business rationale behind their efforts. That way, the employees who don’t directly benefit from a company’s diversity efforts  understand that they still have a stake in the program’s success. In addition, encouraging employees to participate in skills-based volunteer projects can help unleash targeted skills.5 5. Mentoring programs: It is important to understand that a company cannot expect to change in corporate culture unless you get your full employee base involved. Partnering lower level employees with senior level employees, including diverse and promising professionals of color mentor-mentee sponsorships, may help facilitate the understanding of working together. 6. Merit systems: performance standards should be based on a thorough job analysis. Standards should be periodically updated. It is also suggested that the standards not be based on traits and personality factors; focus should be on behavior or performance – what the employee does.9 7. Company philosophy: seeking out practices that emphasize equality and teamwork in compensation and decision-making. What should Wilkens/Richards do to turn things around? In addition to considering the above seven items, Wilkens and Richards should contemplate the following actions: 1. Reinstate sensitivity trainings: this needs to be mandatory for all employees to improve the negative relationships between the team’s diversity as a workgroup, to help with conflict management and interpersonal dynamics.5 This training will help to encourage collaborative behavior and improve communication efforts amongst the groups. a. Diversity should be understood as the varied perspectives and approaches to work that members of different identity groups bring.10 2. Take steps to reduce negative effects of unconscious stereotyping and increase the use of group goals in heterogeneous groups. Rewarding groups to accomplish group goals might encourage group members to focus on their common objectives rather than on demographic faultiness that are unrelated to performance. a. The leadership team must understand that a diverse workforce will embody different perspectives and approaches to work, and must truly value variety of opinion and insight. 3. The leadership team must recognize both the learning opportunities and the challenges that the expression of different  perspectives presents for an organization.10 4. The organizational culture must create an expectation of high standards from everyone.10 5. The organizational culture must stimulate personal development.10 6. The organizational culture must encourage openness and make workers feel valued.10 7. The organization must have a well-articulated and widely understood mission.10 Conclusion: Wilkens and Richards must realize that increasing demographic variation does not in itself increase organizational effectiveness. They need to realize that it is how a company defines diversity –and what it does with the experiences of being a diverse organization – that delivers on the promise.10 These companies should develop an outlook on diversity that enables them to incorporate employees’ perspectives into the main work of the organization and to enhance work by rethinking primary tasks and redefining markets, products, strategies, missions, business practices, and even cultures. By instituting this learning-and-effectiveness paradigm for managing diversity, Wilkens and Richards will tap into true diversity benefits.10 References: 1. http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuomca/diversityinit/definition.html 2. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). â€Å"Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.† 3. Grensing-Pophal, Lin, (May 2002). â€Å"Reaching for Diversity Efforts in the Workplace.† 4. Ely, Robin. (April 17, 2006). â€Å"Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services† 5. Kreitner, Robert & Knicki, Angelo. (9th Edition/2010). â€Å"Organizational Behavior† 6. Stonybrook University. â€Å"Diversity and Affirmative Action: Difference† 7. www.business-marketing.com/store/affirmvsdiv.html 8. www.boston.com/jobs/diversity. (May 9, 2004). â€Å"DiversityWorks: How all Employees Benefit.† 9. Hodge, John. (June 1, 1993). â€Å"Relationship between managing diversity and merit-based systems.† 10. Thomas, David A. and Ely, Robin A. (September/October 1996). â€Å"Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Managing Diversity.†