Teamwork and communication errors in healthcare

Introduction This paper states that medical errors have a number of underlying causes, including the fallibility of medical personnel, uncertainty of medical knowledge and imperfection of organizational systems, and pays special attention to the negative outcomes of communication errors in healthcare, pointing at bypassing the traditional disciplinary and hierarchical boundaries as the measures which are necessary for improving the patient outcomes and the working environment for caregivers.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Teamwork and communication errors in healthcare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Medical error The concept of avoidable harm caused by healthcare service providers has been discussed since the time of Hippocrates who defined the primary goal of medicine as doing no harm about 2,400 years ago. Called iatrogenic harm, the medical errors were considered as an inevitable product of modern medicine and one of its top five problems.1 The year 1999 has become a turning point in estimating the impact of medical mistakes, drawing the public and media attention to the existing problem and offering the measures for improving the patient safety. The publication of the report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) became a significant contribution to the patient safety literature. 2 This report expanded the existing theoretical framework of medical errors and catalyzed the national movement towards improving the safety of healthcare by initiating important changes in culture and training for the medical workers.3 The efforts of IOM to fill the gaps between theory and practice of ensuring the patient safety were valuable because the existing terminology contained a great number of confusing and overlapping concepts. In modern patient safety literature, the concept of medical error is defined as an act of doing wrong things or the fa ilure of doing the right things in medical care resulting in a negative outcome of the chosen intervention or even the high potential of such an outcome. 4 The concept of safety is defined as freedom from hazard and is in inverse relationship with the risks. The breaches in safety and ethics of healthcare are the main underlying causes of the medical errors which result in needless suffering for patients and service providers.5 To define the level of safety, the balance between the likelihood of doing good or harm by implementing certain measures and the availability of choices should be considered in every individual situation.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More With the complexity of terms and processes, measuring the errors, safety and corresponding outcomes of treatment can be rather difficult. Thus, medical errors can do or do no harm to the patients’ conditio n, while the patients can experience harm from medical care even if no medical errors occurred. For this reason, it is important to distinguish between preventable and non-preventable adverse effects.6 Taking into account the fact that undesirable patient outcomes can be caused by a variety of reasons, some safety experts give preference to the term preventable adverse effects as the main target of the safety field.7 This term is not only politically correct but also defends caregivers, shifting the emphasis on the role of organizational systems in preventing the iatrogenic harm. However, another group of safety experts considers the term of preventable adverse effects as inappropriate and useless for catalyzing the changes in patient safety. Due to the variety of definitions and measurement systems, the data on the rates of medical errors and their impact differs from hospital to hospital. According to the estimates of the safety experts, the risks of flying in an airplane are lo wer than experiencing harm from being a patient in a hospital.8 Another group of researchers stated that an average hospitalized patient experiences approximately one medical error a day.9 The financial impact of these errors is profound. According to the data of the 1999 IM report, the costs of the preventable adverse effects only were between 17 billion and 29 billion dollars.10 Still, the largest harm of the medical errors is on the patients’ health and anxiety of caregivers who are the second victims of the unsafe organizational systems. Taking into account the frequency and the negative implications of medical errors on both patients and caregivers, it can be stated that moral and ethical considerations of patient safety play an important role in improving the organizational systems for minimizing the risks of experiencing harm due to their imperfection.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Teamwork and communication errors in healthcare speci fically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The problem of ineffective team work With the present-day pace of technological progress and the increased complexity and number of mediations and procedures, the appropriateness and safety of the provided health care services depend upon the effectiveness of teamwork. Taking into account the amount of professional knowledge and skills required for providing patients with appropriate treatment, it can be stated that the quality and safety of health care cannot be controlled by individual physicians anymore. The ineffective teamwork and communication errors are costly for hospitals and patients. The main underlying causes of these mistakes include the extreme hierarchies of healthcare organizations and the lack of team training. As to the first parameter of the management style, it can be stated that structure and hierarchies are important for preventing chaos within the organizations, but going to extremes, it can do harm. The extreme hierarchies are rooted in the cultural and circumstantial problems with bypassing the traditional schemes.11 The psychological distance between workers and their supervisors can make nurses withhold critical information and tell leaders only what they want to hear. The distance between a leader and the assisting personnel is defined as an authority gradient which is rather high in healthcare. 12 The steepness of the hierarchical structure of the hospitals can reduce the effectiveness of their work. On the one hand, self-assured physicians may implement an autocratic management style and make decisions without much regard to opinions of other specialists. However, it can deprive them of valuable information which is required for improving the system. On the other hand, the problem is with workers who believe that leaders are not even interested in their opinions and do not feel comfortable to express their concerns. These large authority gradients can de crease the effectiveness of intervention plans. The institutional changes are needed in hospitals where the physicians are self-employed while nurses work for the hospital for improving their relationship and reducing the steepness of the authority gradient.13 The second underlying cause of communication mistakes in medical care is the lack of training and the fluidness of teams due to the realities of the health care facilities.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Currently, medical teams are often composed of people who see each other for the first time and are not prepared for playing specific roles.14 There are a variety of circumstances forcing medical personnel into such a situation, including the staff shortages, unexpected sickness of some specialists and changes to arrangements. Still, the main problem is with the lack of attention to the importance of effective teamwork in medical care. The high level performance in healthcare requires complex interactions between the specialists working in a team and dependent upon each other.15 The authority gradient, the steepness of hierarchies and team training are the main factors which should be reconsidered for shifting the emphasis from individual physicians’ responsibility towards the improvement of organizational structures. Recognizing the importance of teamwork in healthcare instead of putting the main emphasis on individual responsibility is important for minimizing the risks of professional mistakes. The evidence shows that multidisciplinary teams can improve the performance of the health care practitioners significantly.15 With the present-day amount of medical knowledge, one person cannot obtain all the necessary information from all spheres required for selecting the appropriate intervention strategies and applying them into practice. The healthcare teams are recognized as a crucial component required for providing safe and ethical healthcare. Disregarding the importance of dampening the authority gradient in the hospital setting in general, strong leadership is important for these teams.16 Moving towards the patient-centered model of healthcare, these teams need to cross the traditional boundaries of hierarchies and traditional disciplines.17 The united efforts of surgeons, anesthetists, physiotherapists, nurses and administrators would be beneficial for serving the best patients’ interests through improving the performance of the medical person nel. Though the fluid health care teams are often criticized as the obstacle for the effective teamwork, the fixed teams depending upon the individuals who have the experience of working together can be dangerous as well.18 The main disadvantages of the fixed teams in which certain groups of specialist get accustomed to working together include creating the informal hierarchies inside of the teams, making the incorrect assumptions and suffering from the so-called groupthink.19 Thus, it can be stated that involving multiple providers, and the multidisciplinary healthcare teams require creating specialized protocols for defining the roles of each specialist but not relying on human factor of the same individuals working together. Recognizing the importance of effective teamwork for preventing the medical communication errors, it can be stated that health care service providers should cross the traditional hierarchical and disciplinary boundaries for improving their performance and en suring the patient safety. The solution of the problem of communication errors Taking into account the fact that communication problem is the underlying cause of serious medical errors, proper measures need to be imposed for enhancing the effectiveness of teamwork, including training of specialists and employing strategies in the working process. Recognizing the importance of teamwork for ensuring the safety and quality of health care, medical workers can adopt the experience of the aviation communication training called Crew Resource Management. 20 As opposed to healthcare in which the importance of teamwork has been ignored, modern pilots and other members of the staff have been trained as teams for decades. Borrowing the concept of standard aviation procedures can be valuable for the healthcare.21 The main principle of this strategy is dampening the authority gradient for creating the environment in which every member of the team feels comfortable to raise issues and express conc erns. Another significant advantage of this approach is developing standard operating procedures so that every member understands his/her specific role in achieving the common goal.22 Despite the fact that the implementation of crew resource management allowed diminishing the authority gradients and enhancing the safety culture of airlines, certain limitations of using the aviation analogy for healthcare need to be taken into consideration.23 Along with dampening the authority gradient, balancing the no-blame culture and the error reports as a part of accountability are the measures which need to be imposed by hospital settings.24 It is important to acknowledge that the studies on transforming the healthcare safety culture are at their starting point, and further research is required for selecting the most effective strategies for applying these findings into practice.25 The strategies which can be implemented by health care teams for dampening the authority gradients and crossing the traditional hierarchical boundaries can vary from simple techniques to more complex forms. Along with simulation exercises during which the real-life working situations are imitated, health care teams can use certain strategies at the beginning and after completing clinical encounters.26 The simplest technique which can be used by the leader before the beginning of a certain procedure is introducing him/her, admitting personal weaknesses inherent to all humans and saying that every member is welcome to express concerns in case if something goes wrong.27 This simple technique can be valuable for creating proper atmosphere and improving the team performance during the procedure. The team performance can also be improved through the implementation of special techniques after the procedure is over, such as debriefing, for example.28 This strategy involves all the members of a health care team into discussion of the completed procedure for pointing at what was wrong and right about the behaviors of each participant. To enhance the effectiveness of debriefing, all the participants should recognize the importance of critical speaking and expressing certain concerns as well as accepting the fact that everyone, including the leader is fallible. Efforts of every participant are the important attributes to the compensation for the fallibility of healthcare professionals and other causes of medical errors.29 Additionally, the effectiveness of teamwork can be increased in the course of the procedure through the implementation of certain strategies, including the use of SBAR (situation, background, assessment and recommendations) messages and/or CUS (concern, uncomfortable, safety) words.30 Team training is required for teaching the members of the teams not only to use these techniques in appropriate situations but also to react to them accordingly and avoid overusing them. The solution of the problem of the communication problems requires a complex approach and hard work of all team members which starts before the beginning of the procedure and continues during the clinical encounter and even after its completion. Conclusion In general, it can be concluded that the quality of team performance is crucial for ensuring the safety of healthcare. A complex approach to team training is required for enhancing the team performance and serving the best interests of the patients. The changes in the hospital culture are crucial for dampening the hierarchy and improving the organizational systems and enhancing the effectiveness of the medical teams by creating the working environment in which every worker can raise concerns and make a contribution to meeting the shared objective. Notes Bill Runciman, Alan Merry, and Merrilyn Walton, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare: A Guide to Getting It Right (Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007), 1. Robert Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008), 3. Ibid., 36. Ibid., 4. Runciman et a l, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 116. Ibid., 4. Ibid., 6. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 2. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 10. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 94. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 173. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 100. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 128. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 237. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 104. Ibid., 169. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 163. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 104. Ibid., 104. Ibid., 101. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 245. Ibid., 237. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 102. Ibid., 209. Ibid., 103. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 240. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 104. Ibid., 105. Runciman et al, Safety and Ethics in Healthcare, 109. Wachter, Understanding Patient Safety, 106. This research paper on Teamwork and communication errors in healthcare was written and submitted by user John Webb to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Human Resource Management of Sonoko Company

Human Resource Management of Sonoko Company Sonoko’s Strategic Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Sonoko is a well established firm that has been operational for a considerable period. The success of the company in terms of profits in early years has seen it develop a strong corporate tradition and culture. The success of the HR function and management in the past years when the company was performing well can still be emulated and practiced in the future to replicate the positive performance.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Human Resource Management of Sonoko Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the decentralization of the firm’s HR function, Sonoko has a substantial number of HR experts within its ranks who help in managing and running the firm’s numerous HR divisions. These experts can collectively be of importance to the firm, particularly when seeking to harmonize and consolidate the firm’s HR function. Support of SHRM initiative SHRM insists on the pursuance of a corporate culture that aligns with the organizational objectives. Thus, SHRM will help in instilling a culture that sustains the productive past amongst Sonoco workers. Equally, it will establish new and emerging trends that can be incorporated into the corporate culture, and which help in implementing the firm’s objective. SHRM will enable the firm to effectively plan and handle its internal HR needs. Different divisions may require different HR attention, but which is harmonized from a corporate point of view. This will help in eliminating instances where workers in one department feel neglected because of the way their colleagues in a different department are treated. Weaknesses The decentralized HR function at the company was a big weakness for Sonoko. Although decentralization is a positive move that can benefit the company if it is well managed, the whole idea was misconstrued at Sonoko. The divisions established their own HR functions and treated each other in a suspicious manner. The HR functions were competing against each other, instead of cooperating towards the attainment of a common goal. HR was looked at as a back-room operation that only helped in protecting the front line operations. The HR operations are also too complex, inefficient, and costly. The presence of divisional HR functions has made the operations of the entire HR function to be compounded. In essence, the HR function is largely ineffective. The ineffectiveness, on the other hand, has contributed to high expenses for the company.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, there is lack of leadership continuity as promoted staff members fail to deliver on their management roles. This means that the company has to hire from outside to acquire new leaders, which is a comparatively expensive exercise a ltogether. How SHRM can address the issues SHRM will change the perspective of the HRM function at Sonoko. It will aim at unifying the objective of all the divisional HR functions into a common corporate objective. Thus, even if the divisions will still maintain their separate HR functions, their purpose will be unified. The SHRM will eliminate the unhealthy intra-organizational competition and instead establish a unifying factor. The individual HR roles will also remain functional and well coordinated towards the advantage of the organization. Such functional roles as training, performance management, compensation, and benefit, among others can never be practical if communication is non-existent. SHRM will not only revive these functional roles, but will also increase employee satisfaction levels overly. Cindy Hartley’s key goals for SHRM Cindy Hartley’s main objective for achieving a strategic human resource management was to create an organization that would have a process that was fully integrated. Hartley had inherited a company whose human resource function was decentralized and, therefore, less effective in achieving positive results. The decentralization was no longer having any strategic advantage to the company, but rather was only being tactical at most. The decentralization resulted in the major company divisions establishing their own independent HR functions which, instead of cooperating with the other HR functions in the separate divisions, ended up viewing them as competitors and, thus, failing to pull together towards the same direction. Thus, to reverse the situation at Sonoco as it was, and achieve her intended SHRM goal, Hartley had to work towards integrating performance management, development, as well as succession planning. These functions feed off one another, and therefore they are mutually inclusive. The goal was to link them back with the organizational values, culture, as well as business objectives. This was the only sure way Hartley could have begun off her long journey of achieving an SHRM for Sonoco.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Human Resource Management of Sonoko Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The SHRM also aimed at making the organization more hybridized such that all the divisions would participate in implementing all the roles of a HR department. Such roles include, â€Å"staffing, succession planning, compensation, personnel programs, and benefits, among many others†. Hartley was inheriting a system where some critical HR roles were actually being viewed as mere entitlements. They were not being considered as important costs worth being controlled by the company. Nobody was considering the importance of HR in driving behavioral results at the company. Because of the complex staff structures, it was very difficult for the HR function as a whole to act in a strategic manner for the benefit of Sono co. The lack of communication in the whole set up was having serious repercussions on the overall efficiency of the HR function. For instance, the benefits and compensation planning director would come up with new approaches or programs, which would then be handed off to the administrative team. By targeting a more hybrid organization, Hartley was seeking to establish some form of a divisional HR management, which would remain intact and offer assistance to the general managers whenever they would require assistance. This implies that the new managers in the HR department would be in a position to create the bond that is needed between businesses and the functions of the corporate human resource responsibilities. What Hartley should seek to achieve in plotting a strategic direction for the future Hartley’s plotting of a strategic direction for the future should see her transform both the compensation system, as well as the performance management system. There is no need for t hese systems to be less mechanical and random. Rather, what is important is that these systems become linked, consistent, and reflect more accurately on the contribution of employees towards the company’s performance.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Equally important for Hartley to consider is the establishment of a development process for the employees. This is an important achievement towards plotting a strategic direction because it will help with refining further the employees skills, as well as help in the development of necessary skills that could be lacking. Another important achievement that would help the plotting of a strategic direction is establishing a succession-planning process. The leaders that Sonoco will require to steer it forwards in the future ought to come from within the company itself. This talent pool of an organization is important because it addresses the aspect of sustainability. One notable trend was the casual manner in which succession planning had been handled at the firm. It was negatively affecting the organization in the long-run because employees who had scaled their career ladders at the company were failing to deliver on their managerial roles. An Outline of the Strategic Agenda Appropriate for Hertley The first action for Hartley should be to work with what she has inherited at the firm. All the key players in the company’s overall HR function should contribute in providing input, coordination, as well as guidance concerning HR. The focus should be placed on aligning HR objectives and desired results with the desired culture of the organization. Building a good will with other managers at the company is also an important aspect worth being considered for the agenda. The implementation and the overall change-over from the current practice will require the HR managers and supervisors’ contributions at their respective corporate levels. Having a team that speaks with one voice will help in achieving this objective efficiently. Hartley should continuously seek their views and contributions to make them part of the team. Any opposition from within should not be treated as rebellion, but rather critically considered for the good of the company. It is equally important that Hartley plans on how to inform the employees on the new changes to be expected. However, this should be done at a later stage, once all the difficulties have been ironed out. The supervisors will be better placed to conduct training to their respective teams and collect feedback from them.

Building Trust

You want results! Group Work (optional): Assume it is the ? rst day on the job as the new manager of this team. Discuss what you should do. Writing Exercises (optional): Write a message to the managers of your new organization, setting expectations about the team and goals they will be working towards moving forward. Describe your leadership style and approach to the challenge. Make your message motivational. Discussion Questions: †¢ Have you ever had to build trust with a large number of people who are fundamentally different than you? What did you do? What are the advantages of disadvantages of being the boss who is feared? †¢ Do you agree with all the things Jim does to earn the trust of his team? Why or why not? †¢ Do you think Jim will still have the respect of his team if he is so focused on serving them and their needs? Why or why not? Oral Presentations (optional): As the new manager, give an introductory speech to the managers in your organization about you an d the goals you hope to achieve. Clearly state the messages you want to convey to your direct reports. Role Play (optional): Discussion between Manager (Jim) and his Supervisor (Sam) whose leadership philosophy is very different and thinks a manager should be feared by his people. Explain yourself and try to gain your supervisor’s trust. †¢ Background for Manager (Jim): You believe you should think of your team as your customers and make every effort to make their job easier. You do not want to be feared by your people and think you will be even more productive thanks to your leadership style. †¢ Background for Supervisor (Sam): You think the new manager needs to come in strong and put fear in his employees to achieve. Discuss how they will be distributed. Will you incentivize the high performers by awarding them with new headsets ? rst? Discussion Questions: †¢ Do you agree with all the things Jim does to earn the trust of his team? Why or why not? †¢ Do you think Jim will still have the respect of his team if he is so focused on serving them and their needs? Why or why not? †¢ Is there anything Jim should do differently and how successful do you think he will be with his approach? †¢ As a manager, what are the advantages and disadvantages of seeing your team as your customers? Role Play (optional): Discussion between Manager (Jim) and direct report (Fred) who believes everybody needs new headsets and new chairs. †¢ Background for Manager (Jim): You believe you should make your people more comfortable, but you are limited in budget and must make your people and Fred understand there are limits to what you can do for them. †¢ Background for Direct Report (Fred): You think everybody needs new headsets and chairs. You know the new manager is anxious to make a positive impression and you think this purchase could help. Group Work (optional): What does Jim mean by having an â€Å"early victories† when he talks about getting new headsets? What kind of a precedent does this set and how should he manage expectations for the future? 3 Building Trust | Jim Roth Copyright  © 2007 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All Rights Reserved. Teaching Notes Building Trust (DVD Title: Building Trust in a Large Organization) Center for Leadership Development and Research Leadership in Focus Video Segment 3 and 4: (Run Time: 2 minutes 10 seconds) Writing Exercises (optional): As the Manager, write an email to your team telling them how you want them to come to you when they have problems. You want them to understand you are there to help them, but also don’t want them to abuse this privilege. Make the message motivational. Result and Lessons Learned: Manager receives feedback from his people and sees this as a victory that he has earned their trust. To earn trust and improve performance, it is important to learn the details about your people to determine why they come to work everyday.

'The employment relationships is based on a contract entered into by Essay

'The employment relationships is based on a contract entered into by equal parties but it is in fact a relationship characterised by parties with unequal power' - Essay Example While employment and the process of working for a particular employer may be defined in legal terms with contract documents and legal definitions which try to be as exact as possible, it is the psychological contract between the employer and the employee which is difficult to define and creates the inequality in the relationship. Any company would like to keep individuals working for the company engaged and motivated in their work. However, the process of engaging individuals as well as providing the motivation to all concerned parties is not an easy one (Vance, 2006). Establishing the psychological contract requires careful management, an understanding of what motivates certain individuals and understanding the work-life balance which prevents employees from burning out (Erdogan, 2005). These responsibilities may be considered as a part of the equation on the side of the employer but then dedication and devotion must also be offered from the employee to create a balanced psychological contract. There are several examples of companies employing effective policies and others where the policies may not be that effective and these can be discussed in the light of theoretical analysis to show how company policies can influence the employment relationship with a view to the psychological contract. Robinson and Rousseau (1994) suggest that the psychological contract is significant for all sides of the employment contract and those employees who are given employment with the company always hope to obtain more benefits from their employment in future. As per the meaning of the term the psychological contract is the implicit contract of various understandings between the company and the workers as they relate to both the expectations of the employees and the obligations of the employer (Emott, 2006). For example, as reported by Welch (2005), when employees are heavily rewarded for high performance

Collapse of the Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Collapse of the Societies - Essay Example He has clearly mentioned out that more than climatic variations; a society’s attitude towards addressing the environmental problems plays a key role in the demise of the society. It depends on the people and the government that how they consider it and what measures they take it in response to those environmental problems. He has stressed upon one factor that it depends on the society to choose its fate; to fail or to succeed. He has clearly mentioned that there are some societies that have sustained themselves even in the hard times such as Japan and on the other hand, there are some societies that have totally collapsed such as Somalia or Zimbabwe or those societies which are closer to collapse such as Nepal. According to him, we can learn from their downfall that what were the key factors that played a significant role in their collapse and then we can make an analysis of our selves that where are we standing today; near to collapse or we are already collapsed. Further Diam ond has identified that environmental problems are due to the irresponsible attitude of the humans. Humans have been the basic cause of societal collapse such as in case of Vikings; who happened to cause a lot of damage to their environment such as they caused soil erosion, they wilding cut the trees as a result deforestation occurred and the gradually the environmental problems and climatic changes occurred which caused inevitable damage to the overall society and hence a point came when those societies were swept off from the world. In other words we can say that, human interaction with its environment play an important role in determining the fate of a society. Here Jared has quoted the example of Montana which was a prosperous state with sound environmental conditions in USA. But today, the societal pattern of Montana has completely collapsed. It is one of the poorest states with unstable environmental conditions. The climate of Montana is getting warmer with no proper action pl an or government plan. However, we can say that today Montana’s invulnerable condition is becoming a threat to the overall United States. On the other hand, Jared sees that some of the societies collapse when they reach their peak such as Soviet Union. According to him Soviet Union faced a sudden decline in the time when USSR was in its greatest power. According to him, the main causes in such sudden collapse may be the mismatch between the resources available and their consumption or it could be a mismatch between economic potential and economic plans. There are some environmental factors that make some societies fragile than other societies. According to him there are two basic factors that cause a society to collapse such as conflict between the short term decision making interest of the elites and long term interest of the society as a whole. Whatever that is good in the interest of the elites for short term could turn out to be worst for the society in the long run. The American society could suffer from the same consequences from their governed bodies and business elites. It is imperative for the societies to understand all the problems and to take effective measures in addressing these problems. Addressing one problem would not be sufficient enough to tackle and overcome the issue of collapsing societies but it is highly important that all the problems should be highlighted and addressed on time to avoid collapse. Analysis

Bio Warfare Essay -- essays research papers

Biological warfare is war waged with deadly chemicals, biological agents, or radioactive materials (CBR). They can be used to kill large amounts of people, destroy food, or just temporarily stun them for a matter of time so troops can come in and torture them or do whatever troops led by an manipulative tyrant who destroys everything. Using CBR, allowed you to kill everything and leave the buildings standing instead of nuclear weapons which destroy everything, put fallout in the air, and have radioactive materials wash into the ground and streams. Using deadly chemicals in war has been going on since the early 1900’s during World War I (1914-1918). Chemicals such as tear gas, chlorine gas, phosgene, and mustard gas. The first 3 are things that irritate the lungs, and mustard gas cause burns. After experimenting with these chemicals, they tried flame throwers but they were ineffective because of their short range. But that later led to napalm. Napalms kind of like gas only lon ger burning, more thick and it’s stickier and this is a deadly combination. All of this stuff led to the wide use of fire for World War II (1939-1945). By the end of W.W.I, European powers have integrated gas warfare capabilities into their armies artillery. During W.W.II, Germany was working on many different things. Such as nerve gases, the atomic bomb, and Adolf Hitler had scientists work on something to increase longevity. At the end of W.W.II every country knew about the advantages of deadly gases than conventional shoot outs and destructive bombs. Gases such as tear gas have been used in limited wars since W.W.II, such as in the Vietnam War; tear gas is also employed by civilian police forces to stop riots. The more deadly gases such as mustard gas and nerve gas has generally been condemned by most countries. Such weapons do remain in some arsenals, but treaties have gotten rid of them. There is evidence that Iraq used these weapons in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and that allied troops may have been exposed to these gases during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. Various chemicals, such as Agent Orange, that alter the metabolism of plant and cause them to die have been employed in modern jungle warfare to reduce the enemy’s cover and let troops march in without the fear of being ambushed. Later it was found that Agent Orange harmed everything that was near it. It killed plants, went... ...n the skin by those who handle infected hides and carcasses and may be self-limiting, but often gets into the bloodstream, with fever and exhaustion. It is characterized by malignant pustules on exposed skin areas. The inside type is acquired by inhaling anthrax cells, as from animal hair and wool, which take over the lungs and sometimes the intestinal tract to cause lose blood. It is speculated that an intestinal variety may be caused by consuming contaminated meat or milk. Workers exposed to animal products, especially wool, are protected by vaccination. Penicillin is effective in treatment except in rapidly progressing cases. The worst outbreak of anthrax occurred in 1979, when a biological weapons plant in Sverdlovsk, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (present-day Yekaterinburg) released an aerosol form of the anthrax pathogen. The source of this exposure, which killed 66 people, was publicly denied until 1994. In conclusion, biological weaponry are very deadly and can kill 100’s of millions of people without them knowing what’s going on. At least it doesn’t destroy buildings. So when we drop the big one, later intelligent species can dig up entire buildings and dead bodies.

Modernization Theory Essay

Modernization theory is a theory that explains the process of improvement from an older culture to the newest one as well as explains the changing ways of communication and media use in traditional and postmodern societies. The theory takes into consideration factors from a certain place with the assumption that traditional places can be developed to the most recent manners. Modernization theory does not only stress there to be a change but also response to that change. It also looks at internal dynamic while referring to social and cultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies. So essentially, what is modernization and what does this theory consist of? To put it simply, modernization is the economic growth within societies. And the modernization theory believes that there are steps to success for every country. Modernization theory evolved in three different time periods. The first wave appeared between the 1950s and 1960s. Western cultures and styles of living were the main goals to reach along with culture, motivations and achievements. Three variants that this first wave brought with them were one; economic developments in which mass media promote the global diffusion of many technical and social innovations that are essential to modernization, two; literacy and cultural developments allow for mas media to teach literacy and other essential skills and techniques and three; national identity development permits mass media to support national identities in new nations and attention to democratic policies. The second wave of modernization theory is a part of the critical theory that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. This did not support but instead it criticized the influence of Western modernization. Within this criticism exists another theory called media dependency theory where developing countries are assumed to be dependent on mass media in the core of the Western world. The third wave of modernization theory began to rise in the 1990s. It is here that the modernization begins to be more neutral, neither in favor nor against Western modernization. Instead, it tries to expose the contradictions in the modernization process and simply help explain the consequences of modern living in contemporary society. The theory of modernization has its roots in the ideas of some scholars they produced different theories about the origins, characters, and future path of modern industrial society. Modernization theory is only optimistic and  full of contradictions. It is important to understa nd the history of a situation so a more realist approach can be taken to solve it. Now that the history is understood, it is possible to work with it and correct its faults so that the world will not be stuck anymore. The contemporary debate over modernization theory has in many respects circled back to researchers agendas. Alongside endless empirical studies of the correlation between wealth and democracy, scholars have tried to untangle precisely how and why economic and political developments are related. During the Cold War era, there were three successful theories of global evolution at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The Marxist school that compared modernization improvements with promotion of imperialism and social class exploitation has transformed into a larger liberal program, appealing to conflict against the United States and its limited allies as an instrument for more just economic distribution and more checks in global political expansion. The target of globalization more clearly identifies the problem of an enforced overseas model reducing cultural diversity and self-government; raising the profile of nationalism over the old subject of class struggle. It is not hard to understand why the hegemonic globalization school may be less outspoken, considering the fact that the meaning of its warnings of threats that can only be addressed in a world prepared under clear leadership and newly accommodated to containing political development that allows security dangers to progress and grow. Its neoconservative message calls for imposing a single model, more than comparing alternative approaches of nations and regions while accepting the benefits of diversity. Qualified studies done by multilateral globalization school show that modernization theory accepts that the merge is a long-term progression that must remain incomplete as civilizations find consolation in what distinguishes them. The fast pace of technological changes help accelerate integration, and there will be risk of increased interdependence and exposure that will only require more security collaboration. Yet the driving forces of the global system will remain states competing to gain an advantage in boosting their economies and national power. In the context of growing world integration, states will still be in competition to capitalize on modernization and shape the global system. Modernization theory predicts that strong economic growth raises homicide rate as it disrupts traditional modes of social organization and control. The same applies to higher levels of income, at least up to a certain point. It is only after a country has successfully developed and has reached a new more of socio-economic organization and non-traditional social reforms of control that crime rates can be expected to decline again – if not with the respect to property crime, then at least as concerns violent crime. This is compatible with modernization theory based on Durkheim n that moral individualism need not lead to higher rates of violence crimes as so-called organic solidarity will eventually substitute for traditional social control and constraints on individual behavior. Modernization theory is good for the greater of all but because it is a general theory its actions can be biased. Even with its contemporary works, it continues being a work in progress to make it better than what it is. Living in the twenty-first century only means more and faster technology, programs, data and many other things that are out there that certain places, countries and nations have possibly yet to discover or be aware of. Possibly, by giving that extra hand and helping one another as a civilization, this good for the greater of all can simply be greatness for all.