FMCSA COMPASS Training Evaluation Form Coursework

Essays on Investigating Statistical Concepts, Applications, and Methods Coursework The paper "Investigating Statistical Concepts, Applications, and Methods" is a worthy example of coursework on statistics. The survey was designed by COMPASS for FMSCA to evaluate the response of its employees after conducting a training organized by the Human Resources Department. The anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents are not indicated anywhere on the survey. There is no place where the respondents give their names, thus this clearly shows that there is anonymity in the survey and because of anonymity, there is no need for confidentiality.There are no specific instructions at the beginning of the survey. The questionnaire reminds the respondents of the importance of participating in the survey and what the survey objective is. There are various items used in the survey, one of them is the quality of the training, the respondents were asked to state the quality of training. What expectation they had prior to the training and if the expectation were met. The organizers wanted to find out how the training related to each of the attendant's positions and roles. Another time used was the clarity of the information disseminated to the attended, if there were any diagrams and visual aids sued to communicate the message.   The survey also sought to know if the facilitators allowed for feedback and suggestion from the audience. Apart from the curriculum as the main source of the items used in the training, the use of the internet was another source. The participants were asked if about their experience while using the online interface in the training and other additional comments related to the training.Yes, there are a few instances where the questions used more than one item to answer a certain variable. One of the variables that used a number of times was the quality of the training; this item was covered in the curriculum, the online interface and in the additional comments where the questions asked were directly related to the quality (Chance Ros sman, 2005).The shortest item is on the additional comments or questions. The question was â€Å"Other Comments?† .It has two elements in it. Although the item was the shortest, it would attract either short or detailed information from the respondents depending on the perspectives. On the other hand, the item with the longest elements is questions 12 and 12 which have a total of 12 elements each. The total number of items shown on the survey is 14. The questions are divided into three sections, on average it would take fifteen to twenty minutes to fill the form appropriately.There are a number of statistical analyses that would be used in analyzing the data collected from the survey. One of them is measures of central tendencies, the mean, mode and median of the data collected can be used to come up with the survey results. Another method that can be used is linear correlation and regression, conducting calculation to find the linear correlation and regression can point out the behavior of the respondents in line with the terms used in the survey. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) can be sued if the results are geared toward getting a scientific analysis of the survey. All the mentioned methods are quantitative; however, qualitative methods can also be used. The results used can be compared with other similar studies and a thorough literature review.   In conclusion, the main purpose of the training is to measure whether the objectives of the training were met and find ways of improving future training conducted by the company (Chance Rossman, 2005).

Transformational and Transactional Leadership Free Essays

Transformational and Transactional Leadership Transformational and Transactional Leadership Thomas J. Kenny CRJ-810 Dec 16, 2011 Many styles of leadership exist in the management world. Most of these approaches are very similar to one another. We will write a custom essay sample on Transformational and Transactional Leadership or any similar topic only for you Order Now Two very different styles of leadership are the transactional and transformational leadership styles identified by James Burns in 1978. These leadership styles are almost polar opposites of one another, with employees in the transactional leadership style motivated by rewards and benefits, and employees in the transformational style motivated by their charismatic managers. These two leadership styles, though different from each another, can be very effective tools in the world of policing. Transactional leadership represents â€Å"those exchanges in which both the superior and the subordinate influence one another reciprocally so that each derives something of value. †(Yukl, 1981) This style of leadership can be compared to dangling a carrot in front of someone, or giving officers who write the most tickets steady weekends off. Leaders who use this style give their subordinates something they want in exchange for something that the leader wants. The reward system of leadership used by the transactional leader can also involve rewards or values that are not as easily tangible such as trust and respect. Burns(1978) referred to these values as modal values; â€Å"modal values bond leaders to followers in an attempt to actualize the needs of both parties. † These rewards such as trust and respect may still be given out by low level police supervisors who may not have the authority to give out overtime or authorize special days off. While transactional leadership is concerned with increasing production and motivation through a reward based system, transformational leadership is concerned with making the employee want to succeed. Bass Steidlmeier (1998) describes this difference as: Transformational leadership is predicated upon the inner dynamics of a freely embraced change of heart in the realm of core values and motivation, upon open-ended intellectual stimulation and a commitment to treating people as ends not mere means. To bring about change, authentic transformational leadership fosters the modal values of honesty, loyalty and fairness and the end values of justice, equality, and human rights. Transformational leadership contains four components: â€Å"idealized influence (attributed or behavioral),inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. † (Bass, 1985) These four components can be summed up as that of a charismatic leader. Employees will see the qualities of this charismatic leader and try to emulate them. Bass (1985) describes this emulation of charismatic leaders as: If the leadership is transformational, its charisma or idealized influence is envisioning, confident, and sets high standards for emulation. Its inspirational motivation provides followers with challenges and meaning for engaging in shared goals and undertakings. Its intellectual stimulation helps followers to question assumptions and to generate more creative solutions to problems. Its individualized consideration treats each follower as an individual and provides coaching, mentoring and growth opportunities. Transformational leadership can be very effective in the world of policing, where the leadership exists from the top down. Officers who work for a transformational leader in a police department must â€Å"understand the vision of the department’s direction, appreciate the organization’s potential, believe that the goal of improvement is supported by the entire organization, and support the idea that change is needed. † (Bynum, 2008) Transformational Leadership can be very effective due to the fact that its motivational and inspirational effects can be long lasting and felt by every employee in the organization. Transformational leadership encourages its members to be more proactive and more productive without any specific direction or a reward in mind other than that it benefit’s the organization as a whole. With transactional leadership, some of the rewards such as better hours or days off can only be enjoyed by a few of the members. A competition to see who can write the most summonses, with the winner getting better days off, may increase production at first. The benefit of weekends off can not be given to everyone though, and usually only those who receive the reward will continue to produce as much. Transformational leadership might have a difficult time succeeding in an organization such as the New York City Police Department. The NYPD was founded in 1845, and therefore is deeply rooted in traditions and norms. Even the most charismatic leader, brought into the NYPD to institute change and a new direction, is going to be met with extreme resistance. Police Officers, who can tend to be very reflexive at times, might not take well to the idea of being self starting, proactive, and productive for their department. This initial resistance by subordinates usually makes the transformational leadership approach a long term solution to a departments problems. Transformational leadership tends to be more effective that transactional leadership, due to the fact that most of the terms in the reward based system of transactional leadership are defined and tangible. The subordinate is expected to produce a certain amount in order to receive a benefit. This can tend to make the employee cease production once they have met the production requirement. Conversely in transformational leadership the employees are motivated not by a reward, but for the good of the organization as a whole. This motivation can lead employees in a transformational leader organization to produce much more than what is expected of them. The fact that the terms of a transactional leadership arrangement are tangible also makes it effective for a short term production problem. A precinct with an influx of burglaries, might offer an extra day off to the next officer who makes a burglary arrest. While in the long run they would want the officer to always be vigilant for burglary arrests, the added benefit of a day off will have additional motivational effects. Transformational leadership is most often effective in organizations that have a need for change, or that have undergone a recent crisis. Transformational leaders tend to have uniting qualities, which can bring an organization out of mediocrity. Adolf Hitler, who was a tremendously charismatic transformational leader, was able to bring Germany back from the brink of total collapse and financial ruin that it was in following World War I. Transformational and transactional leadership can be two of the most effective styles of leadership in policing. By using the transformational leadership style, police managers can foster an group of proactive and motivated police officers, who want to achieve greater results for the good of the team. By using the transactional leadership approach, they can achieve great results exchanging rewards and benefits with subordinates for increased production. Using a combination of these two approaches to police leadership should lead to great success. References Bass, B. , Steidlmeier, P. (1998). Ethics, Character, and Authentic Transformational Leadership. Vanguard. edu. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from www. vanguard. edu/uploadedFiles/Faculty/RHeuser/ETHICS,%20MORAL%20CHARACTER%20AND%20AUTHENTIC%20TRANSFORMATIONAL%20LEADERSHIP. df Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: Free Press ;. Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper Row. Bynum, R. (2008). Transformational Leadership and Staff Training in the Law Enforcement Profession. The Police Chief. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from www. policechiefmagazine. org/magazine/index. cfm? fuseaction=display_archarticle_id=1422issue_id=22008 Yukl, G. A. (1981). Leadership in organizations. Englew ood Cliffs, N. J. : Prentice-Hall. How to cite Transformational and Transactional Leadership, Essay examples

Debut Albums and Pure Adrenaline Rush free essay sample

Pure energy! It was now or never! This was the opportunity I had been waiting for! It was time for action. It was a cold day. The wind was blowing, the trees swaying from side to side. It was time for me to conquer my fears. Although I did not know it, I was about to begin an adventure that would push my companions and I to our limits. The day had Just begun. My alarm clock was ringing and the birds were chirping. It seemed like it was going to be a fantastic day. The sun was out; there was not a breath of wind.I fled from my bed so I would not miss a moment of the beautiful day Mother Nature had been kind enough to share. I devoured my breakfast like it was my last and turned on the television. It was a magnificent day but little did I know that on this day I would take part in an event that would push me to my limits. We will write a custom essay sample on Debut Albums and Pure Adrenaline Rush or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page And thats when I noticed the branches of the trees starting to sway rhythm with the wind. I thought to myself, surely this cannot be. In an instant there were clouds on the horizon. I did not believe my eyes. The weather had changed instantaneously changed.It was now a cold, miserable and windy day. Then I saw her standing in the distance. She told me she was going to take me to a place of adventure, somewhere where I could overcome my fears and attempt something that only few had dared. She took me to this place. It was not scary, not Intimidating. In fact it was extremely inviting. There were people eating foods at the gorgeous restaurants. While admiring this concrete Jungle known as the Moses Madhya Stadium I realized I was no longer afraid. I was wrong. I was going to be going to be going face to face with my greatest fear.I was going to be Jumping off this Jungle. Papers were signed, my harness firmly secured around my waist. It was time to begin my voyage. The only thing that would be keeping me apart from the ground was an ordinary rope. I convinced myself I was ready. The voyage to the top of the Jungle had begun. It was no longer intimidating. The gigantic white structure surrounded me. It was as If I was on a pathway to happiness. After what seemed Like an eternity I had arrived at my destination. It was my time to shine. The spotlight was firmly placed on me. Pure adrenaline rush!Pure energy! It was now or never! This was the opportunity I had been waltzing for! It was time for action. Then It happened. I Jumped. I felt my stomach disappear my toes went numb, the wind was rushing through. I then opened my eyes. To my delight It was all over. My heart was pounding, my blood gushing through my veins. There I was dangling In mid-air. I had conquered my fear. I felt Like I was In a scene In a movie. All I could think was that It had been an amazing day. Word count: 51 1 Debut Albums and Pure Adrenaline Rush By keas only few had dared.She took me to this place. It was not scary, not intimidating. In restaurants. While admiring this concrete Jungle known as the Moses Madhya It was as if I was on a pathway to happiness. After what seemed like an eternity I had I had been waiting for! It was time for action. Then it happened. I Jumped. Then opened my eyes. To my delight it was all over. My heart was pounding, my blood gushing through my veins. There I was dangling in mid-air. I had conquered my fear. I felt like I was in a scene in a movie.

Unit 5 Cache Level 3 Childcare and Education Essay Example

Unit 5 Cache Level 3 Childcare and Education Essay In this assignment I will be covering the assignment criteria for Unit 5 which is the principles underpinning the role of the practitioner working with children. The responsibility of the practitioner is to work as part of a team with other professionals and staff members effectively to bring children and parents the best possible service i. e. working with social workers, speech and language therapists, and family support workers.Practitioners must also have a working partnership with parents, to work effectively with the child as the parents are the primary carers and they will know what the child is like at home and what the child’s interests are. For example they would have a policy called †parents as partners†. They would give their opinions and views about their child’s progress and development, what they are going to plan for the child to make sure they are meeting the child’s needs as well as trying to provide the best opportunity for learning .All practitioners must provide an inviting, relaxed and welcoming environment for the parents and children, and for any other people that come into the setting. They must have a professional relationship with the parents of the child and they must keep regular contact by getting the parents involved and participate in their child’s development and progress as much as possible. They must follow the rules of confidentiality and must work appropriately to the principles of the sector, meeting the individual learning needs of each child, planning and providing activities and experiences that help each child learn and develop further (Tassoni.P et al, 2007). For example creating individual learning plans for a child and what steps are going to have to be taken in order to help the child’s development, providing plenty of activities that can support each area of the child’s development, trying to include new experiences for the child i. e. â€Å"Forest School† the experience of outdoor activities. Taster days in primary school providing experiences in the setting such as foam shapes and the children can play and explore. Knowledge and understanding of a child’s individual needs is important when maintaining professional relationships with children and their parents ecause the parents are the main carers, and they know about the needs of their child i. e. the practitioner needs to find out as much information from the parents about the child, so that they can care for the child in the best possible way and the needs such as medication the child has to take, any allergies or disabilities the child may have and what interests does the child have. Every child has got individual needs that the practitioner has to meet and must not discriminate against a particular child.They need to know the child’s needs, so activities can be adapted to meet those needs (Tassoni. P et al, 2007) i. e. a child has difficulty with learning the alp habet so the practitioner can adapt an activity that lets the child learn the alphabet ,singing the alphabet in a song for example. If a child is having difficulty with their fine motor skills the practitioner can set up an activity with â€Å"foam† that lets the child draw and use their hands in the foam to improve the child’ skills or encourage the child to use chalk.Being reliable is important in maintaining professional relationships with children and adults, because it contributes to the well-being of the child, being reliable shows you are being professional. Being unreliable causes conflict and will be difficult in maintaining professional relationships with the parents and colleagues (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). For example staff rely on each other to maintain confidentiality and to support one another day to day.Being accountable is important when maintaining professional relationships with parents and children because you need to be professional when building re lationships with the children and adults (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). This involves maintaining confidentiality and supporting families who may be in need. If a child is experiencing difficulties then more people will contribute to helping to resolve the child’s problems and will offer additional support for the child and their parents, achieving a better outcome for the child, their parents, the practitioner and other professionals.The multi-agency team work together to support the child and their family sharing information in meetings, identifying problems and trying to solve the problems as soon as possible. The practitioner should have regular contact with the other professionals to provide the child and their family with a better service. (The Department for Eduation ,2012 www. education. gov. uk, 2012) The practitioner and other professionals will share ideas and comments, the diversity of the different professionals that the practitioner will be working with will benefit the child and their family.The other professionals will have different experiences and will be likely to offer more information and solutions to help the child and their family. (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). For example a practitioner is working with other professionals to meet the needs of a child that has special needs and this child will be starting primary school soon and the practitioner is working with someone who is a SENCO worker (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator).They have got to work out a solution on how best to meet this child’s needs by involving the child in as many activities as possible and encouraging the child to be as independent as possible by making the most of opportunities for the child to take care of himself, putting on shoes, washing hands , letting the child pick what food they would like to eat and drink and then let them pour their own drink. Practitioners have got to work with other professionals when meeting the needs of a child with a hearing impairment and this child may need medical intervention to assist the child’s hearing i. . hearing aids. They would work with a speech and language therapist to help the child’s language and communication, the child would have benefited from the multi-agency approach because the child will have learned specific skills that will help the child to become independent and hopefully this extra help will make the transition to primary school less stressful for the child and make it easier for him to fit in with his peers.The main purpose for reflective practice is to improve the Practitioners own professional practice and seeing how their standards of practice could be improved, for example looking at their abilities and what they are good at, but also looking at the areas in which they could improve on i. e. lack of communication with staff and parents and this needs to be improved or making more of a contribution in team meetings (Teaching expertise,2008, www. teachingexp ertise. com,2012). They should set targets for themselves and plan how they are going to achieve these targets, this helps them be successful in their own professional practice.Reflective practice also benefits the other staff because the staff can provide feedback to the them on their performance, offer support to them on how to improve (Tassoni. P et al, 2007) i. e. the staff can provide feedback from observing the practitioner with the children or the parents and see how they act around them and if anything could be improved, reflection is a vital component to ensure that staff are improving their practice and are aware of their professional development.The ten principles have been created and were from the UNCRC (The United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child) and the codes of practice are what the practitioner must follow in order to support the children in the setting and the ten principles of the codes of practice are called the welfare of the child, keeping children safe and maintaining a healthy and safe environment, working in partnership with the parents/families, children’s learning and development, valuing diversity, equality of opportunity, anti-discrimination, confidentiality, working with other professionals and the reflective practitioner (Tassoni.P et al, 2007). Keeping children safe and maintaining a healthy and safe environment means that the environment around the practitioner and the children has got to be clean and tidy and this links in with the EYFS (The Early Years Foundation Stage) because the environment has got to support the child’s learning and development (Tassoni. P et al, 2007) , another principle is the working in partnership with the parents and this is where the practitioner has got to work with the child’s parents and by working with the child’s parents they are meeting the needs of the child i. . listening to the parents advice on how to meet their child’s needs and thi s helps the practitioner meet the needs of the child more effectively with that child and this links in with the EYFS (The Early Years Foundation Stage) because this principle links in with the second principle of the EYFS which is positive relationships (Tassoni. P et al, 2007).The child’s learning and development is important and the practitioner must make observations on that child to assess the child’s learning and development and this links in with the EYFS (The Early Years Foundation Stage) because this principle links in with the fourth principle of the EYFS which is learning and development (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). Valuing diversity means treating each child as an individual, a practitioner must celebrate a child’s culture, language, race and religion (Not discriminating against any of the children at the setting but valuing ll of the children’s individuality) and the principle for equality of opportunity means that all children are given the sam e opportunity to learn and achieve, even if that child has special needs or a disability, they would still be given the same chance as the other children and this links in with the EYFS (The Early Years Foundation Stage) because this principle links in with the fourth principle of the EYFS which is learning and development (Tassoni. P et al, 2007).Anti-discrimination is where the practitioner treats every child as an individual and respects every child’s needs and interests and when they have any personal information about a child then this must be kept confidential and not shared with anyone unless they are involved in the child’s care i. e. other professionals, staff members or parents. They must work with other professionals to help support the child and their parents in the best possible way, they must be reflective in order to improve their practice and overcome problems in order to become successful and benefit the children, their parents, staff members and the s etting (Tassoni.P et al, 2007). The welfare of the â€Å"Child Principle† means that the practitioner must take the child’s needs into consideration and the â€Å"Every Child Matters† links in with this principle because they have to make sure they are meeting the needs of the child as well as meeting the five main points that the â€Å"Every Child Matters† states. The principle also links in to the â€Å"EYFS† (The Early Years Foundation Stage) because the principle comes under the fourth act which is learning and development (Tassoni.P et al, 2007). The â€Å"Every Child Matters† function is to support children in the five main points they state and these are be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve through learning, make a positive contribution to society and achieve economic well-being and this underpins practitioners when working with children because it influences the day to day practice (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). Every Child Mattersâ⠂¬  supports the practice because the practitioners are using this in their daily practice to meet the care needs of children (Tassoni. P et al, 2007). , for example they need to make sure that the children are eating healthily so they must use plenty of fruit for snacks and vegetables for lunch to support the children’s growth and nothing unhealthy is provided because that will have a negative effect on the children’s diet and could lead to obesity.Planning activities where the children will gain a full learning experience from, will gain new skills that will benefit the children later on in life. An example of this is at my placement, the children are given a bowl of fruit for snacks and at lunch the children have vegetables such as carrots and peas and the drinks the children have are milk or water, they choose what they want to drink.Valuing the children’s interests and experiences allows the practitioner to see what the child most enjoys, for example singi ng and making music with instruments or painting with sponges and brushes and the practitioner can gain ideas from seeing what the children play with and plan activities around these interests/ experiences so the activity is something that the child is going to want to do and the child will benefit more because they are getting a better learning experience by focusing on an activity that is planned around something they like to do. (Tassoni.P et al, 2007), for example whilst I was on placement a new child came into the setting but will she would not socialise with any of the other children. The practitioner had to talk to the parents and they said that their child loved to paint at home and loved to put glitter on her paintings so the practitioner was able to plan an activity that the child could be involved in, the practitioner set up the activity and encouraged the child to come over with some other children. The child soon started to talk to the other children. This activity allo wed the child’s interests to be valued as well as helping the child to more become confident.The EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) have introduced a new guideline that changes the way reflective practice is looked at and practitioners now work as a team, they look at the overall issues of practice and work out solutions as a team to be successful in meeting these issues. The practitioner and the other staff members work out these issues by holding regular staff meetings to discuss problems that need resolving, the staff then discuss the possible answers to these issues and this benefits the whole team as well as the individuals. Nursery World, 2008, www. nurseryworld. co. uk ,2012). The research that I am going to be evaluating is the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) guideline for reflective practice. The research will help the practitioner’s professional practice because the practitioner has the benefit of working with the other staff members in the team to work together on how to deal with situations together, therefore this is bringing better practice for the people in the team by co-operating together in the future.The children and their parents will benefit as well because the practitioner is reflecting on her/his practice as well as the setting’s overall practice. The practitioner’s professional practice will develop because the practitioner is developing new skills, becoming able to look at their own practice and look on what areas need improving. (Nursery World, 2008, www. nurseryworld. co. uk ,2012).A recent initiative that has recently been introduced is called ECAT (Every Child A Talker), this looks at the importance of children’s language and communication and the environment the child is in and that it should be helping the child learn to communicate and improve their language, ECAT (Every Child A Talker) supports all children, and helps children to develop their language and communication to the best of the ir abilities by finding out how to encourage/find the correct technique that helps the child to communicate, check agreed plan to see how the child needs helping and how this is going to be planned out.A professional and well maintained relationship between the practitioner and the parents must be established, this includes supporting children who have English as a second language and the practitioner is set guidelines that they must follow in order to make everyday activities revolve around communication and language. (Meggit. C et al, 2011) The recent Initiative that I am going to be evaluating is called ECAT (Every Child A Talker), the recent initiative will help the professional practice because the communication between the staff and children will promote the characteristics of ECAT.The children will benefit from this, because they are getting the same response from the staff. By holding regular staff meetings there can discussions on any changes that may need to be made to mak e the conditions in the environment better for the children’s learning. The day to day activities help to promote the children’s knowledge and vocabulary, this knowledge then helps them when they start school and will continue to help them as they progress through school. Wigan council,www. wigan. gov. uk, 2012) It is important to reflect on your own practice, this allows you to realise what skills you are good at and what you may need to improve on. For example observing children or developing listening skills when talking to parents or children. Reflective practice also helps you set reasonable tasks for yourself, and work towards a goal to help this skill that needs improving (Tassoni.P et al, 2007), a theoretical example is that of a student, who did not read the physical contact policy at his setting. A child comes up to him wanting to be picked up, he picks the child up and a staff member tells the student to put the child down or he might drop the child, the stu dent questions himself on what he did wrong and feels frustrated. The next day the child asks to be picked up again by the student, but the student has learned from his mistake that he cannot pick the child up so he says no to the child.Another theoretical example of a student who was interacting with a child, a nursery nurse asked that student to set out the beds but the student did not listen to the nursery nurse. The student continued to interact with the child and when the nursery nurse came to check how the student was doing, she saw that the beds were not put out and the student was slouching on a chair, the nursery nurse was not pleased that the student had not listened.The student was annoyed that she did not listen and apologised to the nursery nurse the next day in the setting. The reflective cycle lets you look at different situations that you may have been in the setting, ask someone to comment or give you ideas on how to improve on the outcome next time you encounter th e situation again, for example talking to your supervisor or another staff member can provide feedback and support.The reflective cycle lets a person look at what they did in that situation they were in and what action plan is going to be needed next time, sometimes you are going to encounter problems that are going to be hard to figure out but these problems must not stop progression to achievement or else you are going to feel like you are underachieving and not going to be successful. (Tassoni. P et al, 2007), for example a student wanted to plan an activity for the children and this activity was going to be understanding and earning how to count numbers and the next day the activity was carried out by the student with the children but the activity did not go so well and the student felt like she was under achieving and was questioning herself on what went wrong but she remembered the reflective cycle that was mentioned in college and she used the reflective cycle to discover wha t the problem was and this problem was resolved and the activity was carried out again and it was successful.One strategy to use when improving your own performance is listening to the opinions of the other people in the setting about your practice, this is a learning strategy because the feedback can be used to consider the ways of improving your own performance and what areas of development you need to improve on. (Tassoni.P et al, 2007), A theoretical example of a supervisor telling a student they needed to improve on their communication skills to become more confident, the supervisor could suggest different solutions to the area that needs developing, the supervisor could support the student when planning a task that could lead towards developing their communication skills. Another strategy to use when improving your own performance is setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timescale) targets for yourself, and make sure these targets are specific because you need to know what you want to achieve.The targets need to be measurable because you will need to know when you have been successful in a task, the tasks need to be achievable so you can complete the tasks and aim towards the goal you have set, the tasks need to be realistic so you can set yourself a task that can be done in a reasonable time and know the timescale of how long each task is going to take or otherwise you are going to struggle to meet the tasks if you do not know how long you are going to take with each task. (Tassoni. P et al, 2007), for example if someone wanted to become a teacher, they would need to get training and experience to get towards that goal.The person would have to plan out in stages of what they were going to achieve, when and how they were going to achieve the task and by the person setting tasks for himself he is motivating himself towards an aim that he wants to achieve to become successful. Another example of a student who wanted to create a fol der for their observations, they would need to collect all of their observations they had made on the children. The next step would be to get a file to store them in, but if the student had not done any observations on children then they would need to ask their supervisor if they could do an observation on a child in the setting.

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buy custom Wicked Widget Company essay The president of the Wicked Widget Company argues that his company will sustain its profitability next year because of its best workers retaining their jobs. This is because it has decided to save money by paying its employees on the basis of widget produced as opposed to on hourly basis. The company believes that by doing so, it will enhance efficiency and quality of the produced widgets. Additionally the president argues that this will save in management costs and electricity because the efficiency attained will help retain the best workers and reduce the weekly time spent on factory floor operation. This argument is not well reasoned because this practice will not automatically result to savings because the employees can produce more widgets in an hour and their wages will remain constant even if the widgets are very many as opposed to paying them for every widget as it can inflate their wages to a large extent if they manufacture many of them. To begin with, the president argues that the policy will enhance the terms of efficiency by reducing the costs incurred by the company and the minutes spend by employees on widgets. He goes ahead to explain how it will improve the quality of the widgets because payment will only be made on the accepted wigets. This reasoning is not valid because the likely situation is that employees will want to produce more widgets to earn more money compromising their quality. Only few widgets will be accepted to generate less income for the company. To validate this statement, it has to be assumed that most widgets produced will meet the standards of Widget Inspection Team. This assumption will strengthen his argument by maximizing profits from quality widgets. Another flaw in the presidents reasoning is that paying employees basing on the widgets produced will increase efficiency. This he feels, will be realized due to reduced companys costs and increased widget quality. This can not happen without an appropriate assumption being made to validate it. The assumption is that reduced employee minutes per widget will enhance efficiency, therefore ensuring that even if they produce many of them within a short time, their quality will no be compromised. This point of view/assumption will strengthen the point because even if the number of widgets produced will be more, their quality will not be questionable. The last flaw in his argument is that benefits from efficiency will enable the company keep only the best employees and manage the factory floor for lless time weekly hence savings in management costs and electricity. This is not obvious because it is not keeping a small number of employees will not routinely result in to efficiency at the company but other management factors have to be appropriately organized to achieve this. Therefore an assumption to be made has to be only if all other factors are effectively managed to run the company well. This point serves as strength to the argument because there are a number of other issues which affect cost effectiveness of personnel. In conclusion, the presidents argument was questionable because some of the reasons he brought forth as means through which his company will retain the best employees and improve its profitability are not valid. To begin with paying employees on the basis of widgets produced can slower their rate of production or increase the rate of wages all together. Secondly the celebrated efficiency gains may not be realized as fewer employees are not a guarantee of enhancing quality production. Lastly, the projected savings in management costs and electricity as some other factors need to be implemented for this to be realized. The presidents argument can be improved by carefully looking at and considering all the factors that affect efficiency in production. Buy custom Wicked Widget Company essay

A goal oriented appraisal system

A goal oriented appraisal system Purpose – To implement a goal oriented appraisal system Observations from yesterday meeting They don’t have a proper performance appraisal system Technical skills are assessing from their Netherland counterpart but as my knowledge it is not documented Currently they are using 360 feedback systems but the content of the appraisal is very poor They are focusing on implementing a goal oriented appraisal system They are planning to conduct appraisal quarterly Their main purpose is to improve employee’s soft skills while assessing their technical skills Through this hey need to identify the skill gaps and training need of their workforce Performance management is about working together with employees to identify strengths and weaknesses in their performance and how to help them be a more productive and effective worker. Therefore, it is important to have a proper performance management system to help everyone in the organization. In order to have a proper performance appraisal system we can use following actions. Actions to be taken We need to evaluate the current performance appraisal system We need to analyze the areas covering thorough the current appraisal system and how frequently they are providing their feedback to others. Also we need to identify if there is anything that need to be changed or add to the evaluation criteria. As per the current system they are assessing only soft skills, but it is very important to assess their technical and operational and service skills to improve their career. Identify organizational goals Performance management system should be focused on project goals. PM has the idea of project deadlines, necessities needed to achieve the deadlines; measures effectiveness or efficiency towards the deadline and drivers to achieve the deadline etc. This chain of measurement is examined to ensure alignment with overall results of the organization. Goals should be addressed within a SMART framework. Specific: Well-defined to inform employees exactly what is expected, when, and how much. Measurable: Provide milestones to track progress and motivate employees toward achievement. Achievable: Success needs to be attainable with effort by an average employee, with a bit of a stretch. Relevant: The goals should focus on the greatest impact to the overall corporate strategy. Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame to create a sense of urgency for completion Therefore it is important to clarify what your goals are for the next quarter. Identify processes or procedures that could be simplified or done more effectively. Declare the goals for the next quarter or new products/ projects employee may involve. Implement better communication between departments and team members. Set performance expectations. Clearly explain the expectations for the employees Examine that they are currently doing their job well. Share some weaknesses that observed in their work habits, and how overcoming those would help their performance in the company. Identify specific things to accomplish over the next quarter. Prioritize these works, so the employee knows which is most important and make sure to give them a deadline for each task. Monitor and develop the performance cycle throughout the quarter One on one (1:1) feedback is a great way to do this. As employees begin to work on their expectations, we need to assess regularly how they are doing. We can do this weekly and can give feedbacks about their performance. If they appear to be struggling to meet performance expectations, discuss with them and check if they required any support or coaching. Evaluate their performance At each performance review, we should let employee know how they are doing. It is often helpful to assign a numeric value on a scale, rating the employee from â€Å"not meeting expectations† to â€Å"meets expectations† to â€Å"exceed expectations†. As a company we need provide feedback on their performance. We need to be more specific as possible, noting key examples of when they demonstrated a certain quality. Explain about the consequences or rewards of their performance. It is a key strategy to retain the top talent and driving organizational performance that exceeds all expectations. These things can be used to develop the under performers to become greater assets to your organization. Discuss any problems they may be having. Listen to their concerns. Align feedback with feedback given throughout the quarter in their one on ones Set new performance expectations for the next quarter Some items may be the same. However, since these are also based on organizational goals, you will need to re-examine the goals for the upcoming quarter. Conclusion Effective performance management plan is the key to creating an engaged and aligned workforce the hallmark of all successful businesses. Without one, the organization could lose more than just time and money you could lose knowledge, employees and, in the end, your competitive edge.

Research Chinese culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research Chinese culture - Essay Example For instance, â€Å"We appreciate your business† is preferable in every case to â€Å"I appreciate your business.† Time sensitivity In Chinese business, deadlines and meeting times are treated more like suggestions. In American business, deadlines and meeting times are strict guidelines. That is, concern is not expressed if a meeting begins late or a deadline is pushed back by a couple days. This is often misunderstood by American communicators.ii Communication addressed to cultures that are less focused on the absolute concept of time should reflect a lesser emphasis on the importance of meeting times and deadlines. Although this may be frustrating, some cultures do not respond well to such demands. For that reason, communications should embrace a fuzzier view of timed projects. For instance, using the sentence â€Å"The meeting will start around 1pm† as opposed to â€Å"The meeting will start at 1pm sharp† is more likely to win over employees. ... This means not using language that could be interpreted to dispute or argue directly for something opposite to what was decided by the higher levels of hierarchy. By doing this, Westeners will remain respectful and avoid awkward situations. Audience Profile Sheet Job Sought: _Regional Sales Manager______________________________________________ Reader's Name: Kathryn Harold Reader's Job Title: Senior Sales Associate Kind of Reader: Primary __X___ Secondary ______ Reader’s Level of Education: Bachelors of Arts Degree Reader’s Professional Experience: 1 year as Sales & Marketing Intern 2 years as Junior Sales Associate 4 years as Senior Sales Associate Reader’s Job Responsibilities: A senior sales associate organizes and manages a company's sales force. Senior sales associates hire and train other salespersons, assigning territories and helping develop leads. Reader’s Personal Characteristics: She is a personable employee with strong leadership and interperso nal skills. She has shown compassion on the job. She has expressed interest in gaining more experience in an overseas sales position and desires a promotion. Reader’s Cultural Background: Caucasian American of Polish and German descent Reader’s Attitude Toward the Writer (you): She is a friendly acquaintance. She admires the work that her coworkers and superiors are doing. Reader’s Attitude Toward the Position you’re applying to: She views the position as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, a chance at a higher pay, and experiences in a new working environment. Reader’s Expectations for an employee in that position: She expects an employee in that

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Project management - Essay Example It is fundamentally due to this particular reason that organizations need to build both effective as well as efficient teams as well as individuals so that organizational goals can be accomplished with ease. However, assigning proper roles and responsibilities to the employees at the individual level as well as team level is also important so that they can contribute towards the accomplishments of the organisation. These aspects are further argued to be highly crucial in the field of sales and marketing which act as the major constituent and driving force of organisational productivity. It has been apparently observed in this context that the roles of employees in this section of business are different from other organisational dimension. The primary roles of the employees in this area are to follow and accomplish the goals and targets of the organization. He/she should be clear about what the organization expects from them and deliver accordingly. Furthermore, the employees should b e more involved towards the operations of the organization in accordance with the set standards and organisational vision. Alongside, the employees must be essentially motivated to strive for better performance continuously. Moreover, the employees of the organization should also need to be innovative in implementing new sales and marketing systems being adequately aware of the determined objectives so that the chances of any sort of error can be minimised efficiently (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009). Additionally, at the team level, the employees need to understand their roles and responsibilities for the organization and deliver their performance accordingly. All the employees in the team should work with equal dedication for the overall accomplishment of organisational goals and should provide topmost priority to the organizational targets rather than individual’s own interests. This aspect can be determined as a vital contribution for the team, towards the marketing and sales department of the organization (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009). 1.2. Project Scope & Process Type Required It has been noted that the implementation of a new sales and marketing system will be vital and advantageous to facilitate the performance of the company in terms of increasing revenue and brand value. In this context, it can be affirmed that implementation of a new sales and marketing system is quite likely to standardize the entire process of sales and marketing of the company. As sales and marketing acts as the backbone of any organization, this aspect is considered to be highly crucial. Furthermore, it has been noted that with the incorporation of a new sales system in organization, there is every probability of increase in sales as well as enhancement of the brand value. Furthermore, the implementation of the new system shall also enable the organization to have a more comprehensive prediction about the further demand fluctuations in the market building better coordination wit hin the two end of the supply chain, i.e. the manufacturing or marketing units and the ultimate customers. Apart from this, the new sales and management system will also enable the company to automatically record the sales and marketing activities of the employees and hence diminish errors in the weekly sales reporting activities, thus making the entire process

Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities Essay Example for Free

Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities Essay Abstract Hospitals can be set up as nonprofit or for-profit facilities. The differences between the nonprofit and for profit hospitals will be discussed. Hospitals have experienced different trends in the last thirty years. This paper will identify at least three major trends that have occurred within the hospital sector. Three examples that describe and differentiate the roles of hospitals and nursing homes are providing long-term care. The conclusion of this paper will be a brief critiquing of the current state of long-term care policy in the United States. Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities The differences between nonprofit and for-profit hospitals: A characteristic as stated by Williams and Torrens (2008) of nonprofit hospitals is that these hospitals do not function under the realm of regular corporate law but under a special provision of the corporate law in each state. It is also noted that nonprofit hospitals also function under special federal and state tax provisions because of recognition of their community service function. Other characteristics of nonprofit hospitals are they do not have owners and their governing body is a community based board that has complete authority over operations. Nonprofit hospitals, in general, are not required to pay most of the taxes at federal, state and local levels. Under section 501C (3) of the federal tax code, the non-profits are exempt. Due to this exemption status donations made by individuals are tax deductible. Nonprofit entities are not only expected to care for the destitute and poor but they are also expected to provi de a variety of services to the community (Williams Torrens, 2008). Now that the characteristics of the non-profit have been outlined the for-profit entities make-up will be discussed. For profit entities, unlike nonprofit ones, have owners. The owners are issued stocks and these stocks reflect the owner’s equity position. â€Å"For- profit  entities, including hospitals, may be publicly or privately held† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 186). Stocks for entities for-profit that are publicly held are made available for anyone to purchase. Publicly held for-profit entities are plagued with various accountability and regulation rules that are supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission at both federal and state level. Williams and Torrens (2008) state that privately held for-profit entities issue stock but the difference in public versus private issuing of stock is that the private for-profit stock is not available for purchase by the general public. For-profit hospitals, in the past, have been owned by the physicians who work in them but due to the astronomical costs of such expenditures as: building, maintaining and operating a hospital in today’s market the trend of physician owned for-profit hospitals is almost extinct. The majority of for-profit hospitals in the United States are part of a large multihospital chain. The multi chains of hospitals as stated by Williams Torrens (2008) are publicly traded. For-profit hospitals do not serve only the community but they are also expected to operate at a profit so that the equity investors receive a return on their capital (Williams Torrens, 2008). Three major trends that have occurred within the hospital sector. One of three major trends that have occurred within the hospital sector is the increase in specialty hospitals. The specialty hospitals focus on such areas as cancer and heart disease as well as profitable fields like orthopedic surgery. The specialty hospitals as stated by Williams Torrens (2008) show an increase of being owned partially by the physicians who practice in them. Some would make the argument that the specialty hospitals provide the best care while others see these hospitals as entities that â€Å"siphon off insured and relatively healthier patients leaving the less profitable and more complicated cases to community general ho spitals† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 194). Concerns raised by the physicians’ ownership of the specialty hospitals include but not limited to are that the financial incentives will affect the treatment decisions (i.e. diagnostic services) and also that the physicians will treat the less complicated but yet more profitable health care cases and leave the biggest burden of caring for the less fortunate, financially challenged and uninsured individuals to the community and public hospitals (Williams Torrens, 2008) Another trend that has occurred within the hospital sector  is in the field of technology. â€Å"Technology has shaped the physical and operational structures of hospitals, has affected the lives of patients and families, and has provided a delivery vehicle for physicians in clinical practice† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 195). It is technological research that allows for the services hospitals provide for example anesthesia and antisepsis laid the ground work for surgical care and imaging technology h as impacted effective intervention for individuals seeking care in a hospital atmosphere. Technology has affected a vast array of individuals: obstetric patients, those in need of pediatric care and terminally ill patients just to name a few. Advanced technology has led to development â€Å"increased specialization, clinical practices, expansion of specialized services, new medical and surgical specialties, and treatments for many diseases for which little curative or other care could be provided† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 195). While continued advance technology leads toward continuous improved health care it also brings along with it problems, especially for the hospitals. The hospitals are immensely gratified by the increased technology and its application to improve overall general health but along with the benefits comes complications. Hospitals are expected to provide the most up to date technology but at the most effective pricing to please their customers, patients and physicians. This presents a major challenge to hospitals (Williams Torrens, 2008) Academic medical centers are another trend that has occurred within the hospital sector. Academic medical centers are composed of medical schools and their primary teaching hospitals. The â€Å"academic medical centers provide tertiary, secondary, and primary care but have a principal focus on biomedical research, teaching of medical residents and medical students, and often an array of other professional training, research, and services activities† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 196). Unlike other hospitals, the academic medical center does not have top priorities of financial efficiency and customer satisfaction. Great demands are placed on these facilities by physicians and researchers to provide the latest technology and staffing for the assurance of teaching and clinical investigation. According to Williams and Torrens (2008) the long-term strengths and successes of our health care systems depends largely on the success of the academic medical centers to achieve their mission. Three examples that describe and differentiate the roles of hospitals and nursing  homes in providing long term care. The nursing home facility is for patients who need extended care because they are very sick or unable to function without continued nursing and supportive services in a formal health care facility. These patients are sick and/or are in need of assistance but they are not ill enough that they require the intense treatment and care offered at a hospital. According to Will iams and Torrens (2008) about forty-seven percent of all nursing home facility care is paid for by Medicaid and residents and their families pay approximately one-third of the cost for the facility services. In recent years the length of time one stays at a nursing home has greatly decreased. Even with the decrease in stay there is still a fifty percent chance of an individual in his/her lifetime having to spend some time in a nursing facility. Both of these previous mentioned trends is reflective of the nursing facilities moving toward becoming more technologically sophisticated as well as being able to function as more of a short term temporary residence for patients in between the hospital and going home (Williams Torrens, 2008). Hospitals are designed to take care of the more acute problems and emergencies. Hospitals provide a wide array of outpatient services. The outpatient services range from â€Å"rehabilitation to mental health counseling to outpatient surgery† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 205). Unlike the nursing home facility the primary source of payment for hospital stay and services is Medicare and private insurance and very little payment comes from individuals. The current state of long-term care policy in the United States. Medicare provides financing for medical care for nearly all elderly Americans and others with certain disabilities but this does not hold true for long-term care. The majority of individuals needing long term must depend on family and friends and sometimes the community they live in. There is a lot of work to be done in the United States as it relates to the financing of long term care for every needy individual (Williams Torrens, 2008). There is no clear and precise policy in the United States for long-term care but there are different provisions within Medicare and Medicaid that provide for long-term services for some (not all) individuals in need of it. While the financing of long-term care has been and continues to be a challenge for the United States there have been strives in the care coordination of long-term patients. The care coordination that has emerged through the years for long  term care patients appears to be relatively effective. â€Å"Quality is enhanced when information is communicated among all the professionals caring for a person, and efficiencies are achieved when duplication of services is avoided† (Williams Torrens, 2008, p. 211). Case management, which is a process that encompasses the following: case identification, assessment, care planning, service arrangement, monitoring and reassessment enables one professional individual to work with the family to coordinate and obtain all of the services that the long term care patient may need. Case management has proven to have one of the most positive effects of improving long-term care (Williams Torrens, 2008). References Williams, S. J., Torrens, P. R. (Eds.). (2008). Introduction to health services: 2010 custom edition (7th ed.). New York: Cengage Delmar Learning.

Effect Of Postimpressionists On The Next Generation Essay -- essays re

Postimpressionism Postimpressionism was a movement in late-19th-century French painting that emphasized the artist's personal response to a subject. Postimpressionism takes its name from an art movement that immediately preceded it: Impressionism. But whereas impressionist painters concentrated on the depiction of a subject's immediate appearance, postimpressionists focused on emotional or spiritual meanings that the subject might convey. Although impressionist artists interpreted what they saw, their approach nevertheless remained rooted in observation of the natural world. Postimpressionists conveyed their personal responses to the world around them through the use of strong, unnatural colors and exaggeration or slight distortion of forms. Postimpressionism can be said to have begun in 1886, the year that French painter Georges Seurat exhibited Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886), and to have ended in 1906, the year French painter Paul CÃ ©zanne died. British art critic Roger Fry, however, coined the term postimpressionism, in 1910 when he organized an exhibition of French paintings at the Grafton Galleries in London. Fry is said to have been dissuaded from using the word expressionist to describe the work of CÃ ©zanne, Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, and others, and to have finally declared: "Oh, let's just call them post-impressionists; at any rate, they came after the impressionists." The term was firmly established when Fry held a second show of postimpressionist art at the Grafton Galleries in 1912. The Postimpressionists The painters most closely associated with postimpressionism all took part in Fry's first exhibition: CÃ ©zanne, Seurat, Gauguin, Matisse, and van Gogh. Although their styles differed greatly from one another, these artists shared an ability to communicate concepts, emotions, or personal sensation through their art. Unlike other postimpressionists, Paul CÃ ©zanne did not create symbolic equivalents between elements of his paintings and particular emotions or concepts. Instead, CÃ ©zanne, who began his career as an impressionist, felt that he could communicate the intensity of his personal sensation through his painted observations of nature. He repeatedly turned to traditional artistic subjects, such as landscapes, still lifes, and nude bathers. However, his r... ...m, used more decorative shapes, stencilling, collage, and brighter colors. It was then that artists such as Picasso and Braque started to use pieces of cut-up newspaper in their paintings. An early 20th-century school of painting and sculpture in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms without realistic detail, stressing abstract form at the expense of other pictorial elements largely by use of intersecting often transparent cubes and cones. CÃ ©zanne influenced cubism, the highly influential visual arts style of the 20th century that was created principally by Picasso and Braque in Paris between 1907 and 1914. The Cubist style emphasized the flat, two-dimensional surface of the picture plane, rejecting the traditional techniques of perspective, foreshortening, modeling, and chiaroscuro and refuting time-honoured theories of art as the imitation of nature. Cubist painters were not bound to copying form, texture, colour, and space; instead, they presented a new reality in paintings that depicted radically fragmented objects, whose several sides were seen simultaneously. this has been collected from various resources on the net ... ibiblio.org, among others

360-Degree Feedback in the Appraisal Process †the Present Need for Banks in India

360-DEGREE FEEDBACK IN THE APPRAISAL PROCESS – THE PRESENT NEED FOR BANKS IN INDIA * Dr. J. SRINIVASAN Introduction Tremendous changes have taken place world-wide in the last decade. These changes have had a strong impact on service sectors in India. The world is very different today from what it was a decade ago. Today’s corporate world can be characterized as highly competitive, technology and systems-driven, customer-centered, quick, cost and quality conscious, to survive, one has to compete with those who have technological advantages, financial advantage, systems advantages, communication advantages, and above all, those with people advantage. Success of the individual in the work place demands collaborative relationships with superior, colleagues and subordinates, and can seldom be adequately assessed solely by the superior. Further, an individual’s personal development process requires objective and constructive feedback on one’s strength and weaknesses. The 360-degree feedback or Multi-rater assessment has become a worldwide phenomenon. It was extensively used as the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in India form mid eighties though the term 360-degree feedback was coined in USA in early nineties. This tool has become a popular change management tool and leadership competence-building tool. This is evident from the increase in the number of Indian companies adopting it. Performance appraisal has come to occupy a pivotal place in human resource function. The traditional merit rating which focused on personality traits was replaced by performance appraisal with focus on work results. In order to make appraisal more __________ * Assistant Professor of Commerce, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Cheyyar – 604 407. E-mail: [email  protected] co. in objective, transparent and participative, concepts such as self-appraisal, pear appraisal, subordinate appraisal and appraisal by customers both internal and external were introduced. Meaning 60-degree feedback is a process by which an individual gets his/her aggregated feedback from different categories of individuals- seniors (boss, reporting officer, reviewing officer), subordinates, direct and indirect reporters, peers (colleagues and internal customers), external customers and suppliers, and other role/set members with whom he/she is interacting. The 360-degree feedback process is an importan t development to enrich human resources, organizational development and training and development. Traditional performance assessment has generally been limited by the perspective of the immediate reporting and reviewing superiors. In contrast, the 360-degree feedback broadens the canvas dramatically. It provides a wider and more realistic forum for frank evaluation by direct reports, peers and others, resulting in new motivation and direction for the people. As a result of this, people can move towards company’s goals more quickly and with greater precision. Though people may express initial apprehension of being assessed by superiors, subordinates, colleagues and others, in actual practice many prefer to be assessed by a group who see their performance from a variety of perspectives, rather than from the limited perspective of their immediate superiors. They find 360-degree feedback as more accurate and fair. The 360-degree feedback process involves collecting perceptions about a person’s behaviour and the impact of that behaviour from the person’s superiors, direct reports, colleagues, fellow members of project teams, internal and external customers, and suppliers. Multi-source feedback encourages openness and raises expectation, leading people to believe the organizational values, continuous learning and honesty. The 360-degree feedback process should be integrated with the strategic perspective measures derived from the balance scorecard framework. Most organizations appear to be using this process for: ? Leadership development (implementing their leadership models or reinforcing the same) ? Individual growth and development ? Competency building ? Rarely or never for: Performance Appraisals, rewards and recognition, collecting data on employees, succession planning and career development. Considerations before starting 360 degree feedback 1. Purpose It is important that people are clear about why this process is being used and what it is being used for. The purpose needs to be clearly and consistently communicated to all those involved. 2. Culture Organizations need to consider whether the organisational culture supports this process and allows open feedback. The 360-degree feedback process relies heavily on the inputs of others so participants and raters need to feel comfortable and supported when taking part in this process. 3. Timing Identifying when to introduce 360 degree feedback is an important consideration. It is not appropriate to introduce it during periods of downturn or when redundancies or re-organizations have been announced. During these periods, staffs are more likely to be feeling threatened and concerned about the organization’s intentions and therefore resistant to new feedback processes. 4. Roll out Consider having a senior manager acting as a sponsor or champion of 360-degree feedback. This can greatly enhance its success and generate buy-in in to the process. It is also important to involve staff as early as possible in the implementation of 360-degree feedback as it prevents secrecy and the feeling that this has been imposed on them. 5. Confidentiality It is important to guarantee confidentiality for participants – both subjects and raters. Make sure the model you are using ensures this happens so that the feedback is not attributable to individual raters. The 360 degree process 1. Self-assessment Self-assessment encourages the individual to take responsibility for his or her own development and is a useful starting point in the 360-degree feedback process. Consideration needs to be given to the purpose of this information and how it is used as well as who has access to this data and how long is it held for. . The raters Identifying the most appropriate people to rate the performance of the individual is a key part of the process. Ideally the recipient will have full involvement in identifying who they think is in the best position to comment on their performance. The raters must be credible to the recipient for them to act on the resulting feedback. 2. 1 Number of raters The assessment has to be based on a large enough samp le to ensure that it is valid. If too small, there is a danger that one rater’s view will have a major impact on the overall results. to 12 respondents are usually sufficient in terms of reliability. 3 The questionnaire The design of the assessment, reporting and feedback process should suit the purpose of the exercise. It needs to describe the behaviours, which relate to actual job performance. It should relate to existing measurement systems within your area, such as competencies. It also needs to be in line with City’s culture and values. The questionnaire needs to be relevant to the raters and their day-to-day involvement with the individual. A well-designed questionnaire should offer respondents the opportunity to indicate where they have not had the opportunity to observe behaviour, or where the behaviour is not relevant to the job, so as not to force them to guess. Ideally the questionnaire should take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete. 3. 1 Qualitative and quantitative data The most effective questionnaire design is one that encompasses both quantitative as well as qualitative elements. The quantitative elements provide the structure and the qualitative questions provide the context. Feedback strategy It is important to consider what feedback is communicated and how and when this takes place. 4. 1 Feedback report Feedback usually consists of a report. The design of the report should be kept simple and ideally designed to help the individual priorities their relative strengths and development areas. Given that an individual is receiving sensitive information about how their colleagues, direct reports and manager vi ew their performance, sensitivity is essential. Someone must be available to help interpret the results with that person. . 2 Trained facilitators As 360-degree feedback is being used as part of the appraisal process, feedback is communicated face to face. The people giving the feedback (appraisers) must have had the relevant training to give them the skills to support this process. 4. 3 When feedback is communicated Ideally the individual receives feedback as soon as possible after that feedback has been collated. It is important to ensure that people receive it when there is support available to interpret the results e. g. s part of a supportive appraisal process. 3. Evaluation 3. 1 Purpose Evaluating the impact of 360-degree feedback is an important part of determining its success. This is especially important if you have piloted this process and are considering rolling it out to other areas and/or are repeating the process. 3. 2 Measures Impact can be measured at both the organi sational and individual level. This can include following up with participants about their views on the process as well as measuring the impact it had on their development plans. On an organisational level, monitoring key performance indicators will determine whether targets have been met more closely following the introduction of 360-degree feedback. Implementation of 360-Degree Feedback Process in Banks The implementation is typically done by: ? Creating acceptance of the process with the individual to be evaluated. ? Conducting a self-evaluation with the individuals. ? Identifying the appropriate number of persons who will participate in the 360-degree feedback process. ? Conducting the evaluations with the employees, superiors, peers and subordinates. Analyzing the collected information to identify consensus on strength and weakness of the evaluated individuals. ? Meeting with the evaluated individuals to discuss the 360-degree feedback results and to develop a self-development plan to overcome personal deficiencies to meet the challenges. ? Conducting periodic evaluations of the individual. Objectives of 360-degree feedback or Multi-rater Appraisal and F eedback System (MAFs) The assessment is made on a questionnaire specially designed to measure leadership styles, managerial qualities, impact and other behaviors considered critical for performance. Such feedback from multiple sources provides a credible picture and can be used for various purposes like: †¢ Providing insights into the strengths and developmental areas of the candidate in terms of the effective performance of roles, activities, styles, traits, qualities, competencies (knowledge, attitudes and skills), impact on others etc. †¢ Enhancing role clarity and establishing increased accountabilities. †¢ Identification of developmental needs and preparing development plans more objectively in relation to the current or future roles and performance improvements for an individual or a group of individuals. Leadership Development. †¢ Generating data for various personnel decisions (provided it is decided initially that the feedback is not meant only for the person but also to be shared completely with the organization) †¢ Culture building and reinforcing other change management efforts and organization effectiveness directed interventions. This may i nclude: TQM efforts, Customer focus or internal customer satisfaction enhancing interventions, Flat structures, Quality enhancing and cost reducing interventions, process changes etc. †¢ Aligning individual and group goals with organizational vision, values and goals. Planning internal customer satisfaction improvement measures. This review generally supplements the traditional appraisal system and does not replace it. Benefits of 360-Degree Feedback 360-Degree feedback offers several advantages. Some of these include:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Benefits to Banks: †¢ It provides a more objective and acceptable feedback. †¢ Very effective for developing leadership and other competencies considered critical for performing various Leadership and Managerial roles effectively. †¢ Serves as a team-building tool as it is more involving and participative †¢ Promotes a culture of openness Promotes total quality with emphasis on internal and external customer orientation â⠂¬ ¢ Results in better quality of HR decisions for training and rewards †¢ Helps in identification of competency gaps and planning development interventions †¢ It is a good supplement to normal appraisals but not a substitute to them. Benefits to the individual: †¢ Serves as a team-building tool as it is more involving and participative †¢ Helps to ascertain if your impact on others within the organization is in the desired manner/direction †¢ Enhances self-awareness Helps discover strengths, weaknesses and blind spots †¢ Provides direction for change and development †¢ Focuses attention on actions and behaviours valued by others; thereby improving work relations †¢ Helps discover areas where you have not yet made a significant impact. Ingredients for the Success of 360-Degree Feedback in Banks 360-degree feedback systems can be very sensitive. A person who is not well prepared for it can be thrown out of balance. If not designed and conducted well, it has the potential danger of developing wrong perceptions or notions. It is therefore necessary and important to manage the process well and make it foolproof. The first important step is to determine if the organization is ready for it. The second important step is to determine if the candidate is ready for it. The following are the indicators of a Bank’s readiness for 360-Degree Feedback. †¢ The top management of the bank is committed to develop the competencies of employees on a continuous basis. †¢ HRD systems operating in the bank being taken seriously in implementation. †¢ The top management is willing to invest their time and effort in giving feedback to their own subordinates. The top management is adequately committed to competency-building through 360-Degree Feedback. †¢ People take feedback supportively and use it for development. †¢ The Bank already is or is in the process of becoming a customer-driven organization. †¢ The HRD department has a high degree of credibility. The following are indicators to a ssess the readiness of a candidate for the 360-Degree Feedback: ? The candidate has a desire to know himself through the eyes of others. ? The candidate desire to be better. ? The candidate should be a learning-oriented individual. The candidate is receptive and respects the views of others. TVRLS Experience with 360-Degree Feedback TVRLS has covered over 3000 top-level managers so far from various organizations involving around 30,000 assessors. Research conducted by them to study the effectiveness of 360-degree feedback in enhancing overall effectiveness of top & senior management shows the following predominant changes: | » |They begin to focus more on leadership roles such as: | |   |* |Articulating vision and sharing it more systematically |   |* |Spending more time on communicating vision & goals | |   |* |Being more developmental as against benevolent or critical | |   |* |Paying more attention to and showing concern for individual needs rather than being preoccupi ed with one’s | | | |own ideas and issues. |   | | » |Enhanced Internal customer orientation, which is indicated by: | |   |* |Better interaction with colleagues and subordinates | |   |* |Learning from colleagues and benefiting from their experiences | |   |* |Building better rapport with seniors | | | | » |Increased focus on fostering team spirit which gets reflected in terms of: | |   |* |Setting high goals for the team | |   |* |More participative management | |   |* |Better conflict management | |   |* |Higher mutuality and more receptive to feedback | |   |* |Increased sensitivity to others’ feelings | |   |* |Creating a more collaborative culture | |   |* |Cross-functional review mechanism getting instituted | |   | | » |Marked increase in delegation and subordinates’ development in terms of: | |   |* |Empowering subordinates to take higher responsibilities | |   |* |Leaving routine decisions to lower levels | |    |* |Not nterfering in matters being handled by subordinates | |   |* |Encouraging subordinates to learn from their mistakes and being patient with them | | | | » |Predominant behavioural changes have been reported in terms of: | |   |* |Becoming assertive | |   |* |Clear communication | |   |* |Higher initiative | |   |* |Being more patient | |   |* |Being more proactive | |   |* |Better time management | In terms of the impact on their unit/department/organization, participants who responded felt that the changes they demonstrated post feedback, have generated increased motivation especially among their subordinates. In addition, increased sensitivity to their managerial and leadership roles has resulted in better working relationships and, a more congenial atmosphere. How to prepare for implementing 360-Degree Feedback in Banks It takes a lot of trust in the bank and a lot of preparations before one can more from using 360-degree feedback strictly for development purposes to using it for taking decision on promotions and rewards. Most current literature on making 360-degree feedback effective as a tool for performance and leadership-style reviews has this to recommend. ? Begin with Development ? Link with Company Goal ? Train Everyone ? Follow Up ? Company Culture. Drawbacks Not every process is perfect and 360-degree feedback programs are no exception. Subordinates may rate bosses high because they are afraid of retaliation. Peers tend to evaluate each other’s positively well, perhaps to avoid disrupting the group. On the other hand, peers tend to rate their colleagues on the lower side. Nevertheless, the number of people and variety of perspectives involved in a 360-degree feedback process should ensure a generally unbiased and accurate view of a person’s performance. Conclusion A 360-degree feedback process in banks gathers information, usually through a questionnaire, about the performance of employees or managers from people all around them-including peers, subordinates and even customers. This type of multi-perspective evaluation is more complete and accurate than the traditional top-down evaluation. Superiors only see a portion of a manger’s performance. They need other perspectives to fill in the blanks. Subordinates can provide important information on the leadership qualities of a manager. Customers are in a better position, than anyone, to evaluate how employees perform with customers. A 360-degee feedback evaluation is also valuable because people do not act the same toward everyone. The interpersonal skills of a manager are probably more accurately reflected in feedback from subordinates or peers than in feedback from a manger’s superiors. Another important aspect of 360-degree feedback is the inclusion of self-evaluations. Ratings by others will probably be more accurate, but self-evaluations force employees and managers to sit down and think about their strength and weakness. Finally, 360-degree feedback evaluations have the advantage of confidentiality. Top-down evaluations are usually not confidential. Supervisors must be prepared to defend their evaluations, which may cause them to soften or in some way alter what they might have said anonymously. Since 360-degree feedback involves groups of raters, the results are anonymous. *********** References: 1. Jim Meade. â€Å"Visual 360: A Performance Appraisal System That’s Fun†, HR Magazine, July 1999, pp. 119-122. 2. Mishra, Shishir and Nandini Chawla. Deriving Training Needs from 360 Degree Feedback†, TVRLS, Ahmedabad, 2003. 3. Paras Mal Jain. â€Å"Human Resource Management in Banks†, IBA Bulletin, October 2004, Vol XXVI, No. 10, Mumbai. p. 17-21. 4. Rao T V & Raju Rao. â€Å"The Power of 360- Degree Feedback†, Respo nse Books, A division of Sage Publications, New Delhi. (2005). 5. Rao T V . â€Å"HRD Audit†, 9th Edition, Response Books, A division of Sage Publications, New Delhi. (2005). 6. Rao T V. â€Å"Making 360 Degree Feedback Work†, Human Capital, August, 1999. 7. Rao T V. â€Å"Performance Management and Appraisal Systems-HR Tools for Global Competitiveness†, Response Books, A division of Sage Publications, New Delhi. (2004). 8. Rao T V. Readings in Human Resource Development†, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi. (2005). 9. Sangwan D S. â€Å"Human Resource Management in Banks†, IBA Bulletin, June 2005, Vol XXVII, No. 6. Mumbai. p. 14. 10. Tripathi P C. â€Å"Human Resource Development†, 5th Edition, Sultan Chand & Sons, New Delhi. (2006). 11. Udai Pareek and Rao T V. â€Å"Designing and Managing Human Resource Systems† 3rd Edition, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi,1981 (2005). 12. www. appraisal360. co. uk 13. w ww. city. ac. uk/guidelinesforusing360degreefeedbackintheappraisalprocess. html 14. www. click-360. com 15. www. fullcirclefeedback. com 16. www. tvrls. com

Post 9/11 Intelligence Reform Impact and the Way Ahead

Final Post 9/11 Intelligence Reform Impact and the Way Ahead Daniel Ratner INTL 444 Professor Mead October 8, 2012 Introduction After 9/11, an event so shocking, and humiliating to both the American people, and the U. S. Government, vast reforms were identified to ensure that an attack of this magnitude never happened again. From the ashes of this despicable act came two major pieces of Intelligence reform. These documents were the 9/11 Commission Report and The Intelligence Reform Act and Terrorist Prevent Act of 2004 (IRTPA).Both documents worked to reform the Intelligence Community (IC), and streamline current processes to improve the sharing of intelligence information, and products. With the sweeping changes mainly through the ITPRA the Intelligence Community is well on its way to being the major muscle group we need it to be acting as a single unit as opposed to separate and individual muscles all trying to lift the same heavy weight.With the findings of the 9/11 commission, th e implementations of the IRTPA have taken long strides, but what can be done better? We will look at the two pieces of legislation, and then compare and contrast the sweeping changes, and if the are going in the correct direction. The 9/11 Commission Report In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, a group of politicians both Republican and Democrats came together to identify shortfalls and introduce a call for reform. According the report, â€Å"Our aim has not been to assign individual blame.Our aim has been to provide the fullest account of the events surrounding 9/11 and to identify lessons learned. † When we as Americans have a major event in the United States, we always look for a scapegoat, the ideas behind the 9/11 commission was built as a bi-partisan group for just this reason. The report takes the events of 9/11 and attempts to paint a picture of a major lack of understanding of the threat we face from radical Islam, as well as other disenchanted with is around the world.Th e 9/11 report goes deep into the history of the events surrounding 9/11, but really only spends about 25 pages of the 450 pages report identifying the shortcomings, and way ahead. Now while this is a macro view of the reforms needed, it does leave much to the imagination. Post 9/11 Reform As we look at the reforms recommended we see that the commission broke the recommendations into major groups, they divided them into ways to give Overall Government Reform.This is subdivided into five categories, a new Unity of Effort between Foreign and Domestic operations in an attempt to mandate primacy in different types of operations to ensure the proper agency is doing the correct job, A Unity of Effort for the Intelligence Community, Unity of Effort in Sharing Information, Unity of Effort of in the Congress, and finally how to better organizing Homeland defenses. While these are all important, the major issue was the lack of ownership and sharing of intelligence between governmental agencies .As the 9/11 commission pushed for counterterrorism reform, it also pointed to a need for intelligence reform. the IC reform was aimed at the way we collect process and disseminate intelligence. The 9/11 commission struck to identify, â€Å"whether the government is organized adequately to direct resources and build the intelligence capabilities it will need not just for countering terrorism, but for the broader range of national security challenges in the decades ahead. This viewpoint looks at the National Intelligence Agencies and strive to focus their power to be both effective, and balanced. Coupled with these factors the 9/11 commission identified six major problems, the structural barriers to performing joint intelligence work, lack of common standards and practices across the foreign-domestic divide. Divided management of national intelligence capabilities, weak capacity to set priorities and move resources, too many jobs, and too complex and secret. Structural Barriers To P erforming Joint Intelligence WorkAlong with the issues of trying to keep ahead of our enemies, we must also be able to share our information with other intelligence agencies, and our allies. As the 9/11 report shows: â€Å"National intelligence is still organized around the collection disciplines of the home agencies, not the joint mission. The importance of integrated, all-source analysis cannot be overstated. Without it, it is not possible to â€Å"connect the dots. † No one component holds all the relevant information. † While all agencies collect information, only through joint integration can we truly paint an accurate assessment of the facts.As a reference, the report cites the Goldwater Nichols legislation of 1986, in which Operations as a whole were better envisioned though joint co-operative training. It shows the strengths of these types of events and why we must incorporate more joint intelligence to be successful. Lack Of Common Standards and Practices Acro ss the Foreign-Domestic Divide This portion of the report goes on to show the issues we have in the cases of both database management and dissemination of information. In cases of information gathered both home and abroad, there are issues with integration and synchronization of this workflow.Many have cited and shown how across the IC there are multiple databases, of which there is no conduit to share information, multiple programs collecting the same data, but are not cross-matched, and in many cases redundant entries are made, and then not managed creating an abundance of information unable to be processed due to a lack of manpower. Divided Management of National Intelligence Capabilities As the IC swelled in the post World War 2 and Cold War eras, we saw the abilities of many agencies in collections dwindle and collapse.The report shoes the degradation of the CIA’s ability to collect IMINT, and SIGINT. As the NSA, NRO NGIA, and other have been created, the HUMINT, OSINT a nd other intelligence collected by the CIA has had issues being validated due to the inability to task other agencies assets. Some of these issues were solved through their acquisition of their own satellites and some reform, but again we see information that is collected by a sole agency, which is not easily shared or validated by an outside source. Weak Capacity to Set Priorities and Move ResourcesThe task organization of the IC and the way in which it is managed fell on the Director of Central Intelligence, giving the CIA free reign in many cases, and also in many cases too much ability to mismanage or squander resources. As they struggle to manage these resources, and ensure all members of the IC are covered for what they need, there was little oversight in the ability to prioritize collection efforts. Moreover, there was little though given to how to best manage , â€Å"what they collect or the way they collect it. † Too Many Jobs As of the time of the 9/11 report the DC I had three jobs.Running of the CIA, manage the other members of the IC, and head analyst for the President of the United States. Any one of these positions is a capstone to a successful career; in the days of 9/11 it fell on one person. As the report goes on to show, is the fact that, â€Å"No recent DCI has been able to do all three effectively. Usually what loses out is management of the intelligence community†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This overtasking of an individual is not only reckless, but in many cases gave too much power to the CIA. The report finds that the DCI has three major shortcomings.They find that the DCI lacks the ability to control the funds allocated to the IC, the ability to remove or replace agency heads, and the ability to set the quality control and standardization of collection efforts. Too Complex and Secret As if all the previous five findings were not enough, we also see the issue of a cumbersome and hidden group of organizations. At the time of the 9/11 report, th e IC was comprised of 15 agencies, mainly managed by a single entity. This coupled with no clear roadmap to how the groups interact, whom they report to, and how they fund operations.Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) Out of the ashes of the events of 9/11 and the reforms brought forth by the 9/11 Commission report, came the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). This legislation known as S. 2845  was introduced by Senator  Susan Collins  of  Maine. The bill was enacted after being signed by the President on December 17, 2004. This legislation strove to take the 9/11 Commissions findings and implement them into law. As mentioned at the beginning of this paper, we mentioned six major problems the IC faced.Being that the IC was managed mainly based on the National Security Act of 1947, the IRTPA brought changes to the IC by taking the bad and refining the good of each item. The major change seen in the IRTPA was the crea tion of the Director of National Intelligence. As we had seen in the 9/11 report, the DCI was way too overtasked, and the need for an Intelligence Community to have a director. The Structural Barriers to Performing Joint Intelligence Work In the wake of 9/11 the Joint Intelligence Community Council.This council Chaired by the Director of National Intelligence, is comprised of all major Presidential advisors. It is chartered to â€Å"†¦assist the Director of National Intelligence in developing and implementing a joint, unified national intelligence effort to protect national security†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This council also in the matter of advising the Legislative branch, may make recommendations to improve the IC. Lack of Common Standards and Practices Across the Foreign-Domestic Divide With the creation of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) came the call for a â€Å"performance of common services. This charge stands to ensure that services previously not shared, managed, or understood are standardized. It also stands to provide a set of â€Å"standards† for the agencies to follow, and hence stay regulated. Divided Management Of National Intelligence Capabilities Under the National Security Act of 1947, the DCI was the head of the IC, but under the IRTPA, a new position was enabled. The new position Director of National Intelligence, appointed by the President of the United States. This change gave the DCI more oversight of the CIA, and gave the President a subject matter expert, one who had a single focus job.This also gives the DNI the ability to manage the tasking of national collection assets, a job not really performed before. Weak Capacity to Set Priorities and Move Resources In the case of the ability to set priorities, once again the charge goes to the DNI. He is charged to â€Å"establish objectives, priorities, and guidance for the intelligence community to ensure timely and effective collection, processing, analysis, and disseminatio n†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This charge gives the DNI the ability manage resources, requirements, conflict resolution between agencies to include the use of assets, and collection platforms.The only person the DNI must concede to the President. Too Many Jobs While we had an issue of the DCI having too many jobs before, some might say that the DNO now has too many jobs. This is a misconception, since the DNI has no intelligence agency to manage, rather he has department heads to manage that job. He instead focuses on the seamless and integrated manager of the whole gambit of intelligence. Too Complex and Secret The final goal of the IRTPA served to take the mystery and lack of oversight out of the IC. The establishment of an Inspector General to the DNI was enacted under the IRTPA.This office serves to manage ethical matters, settle complaints of favoritism, and ensure civil liberties are upheld through the actions of the IC and concurrence with National and International Laws. Other Changes Dri ven by the IRTPA The four findings recommended by the legislation are the following: (1) Long-term success in the war on terrorism demands the use of all elements of national power, including diplomacy, military action, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy, and homeland defense. 2) To win the war on terrorism, the United States must assign to economic and diplomatic capabilities the same strategic priority that is assigned to military capabilities. (3) The legislative and executive branches of the Government of the United States must commit to robust, long-term investments in all of the tools necessary for the foreign policy of the United States to successfully accomplish the goals of the United States. (4) The investments referred to in paragraph (3) will require increased funding to United States foreign affairs programs in general, and to priority areas as described in this title in particular.By breaking these findings out, we can better see how the IC can transform and flex the major muscle it has the ability to do. While there were pages and pages of changes, and background these four findings standout as the major players in policy reforms. Long-term Success in the War on Terrorism To be successful in the war on terror, we must utilize all possible assets and allies assets to our advantage. To do this we need to focus our efforts by sharing information, and ensuring that agencies are receiving timely and relevant updates to collected intelligence to ensure overall success.This sharing is critical to both foreign and domestic interests. Balance of Diplomatic, Economic and Military Influences The even balance of lethal, non-lethal and Humanitarian actions must be monitored and controlled. Too much use of any of these can degrade the ability of the United States and it’s ally’s effects in foreign actions. It is also important to remember that even in an attempt to show ourselves as a â⠂¬Å"hard target† we must show compassion and understanding to those less fortunate than us.This is a necessity if only because we must show the rest of the world that we are not so devoid of emotion that we can relate with their plights and ways of life. Overall Governmental Commitment to Success The war of terror is a marathon not a race. Only though the applied funding, legislative drive to ensure resources, and the executive branch push to allow success of the IC can we succeed in the war on terror. We cannot allow political infighting, election cycles, opinion polls, or other media-like reports to stop our drive for the end-state.While not always pretty, cost-effective, and popular, the needs of the IC to gather raw data must be protected. Added distractors such as political infighting in cases such as the passing, or re-authorization of the Patriot Act are great examples of the dangers the IC faces in achieving its goals. Commitment to Success and its Costs As stated abov e, this marathon is not always going to be cost-effective. Emerging technologies, payouts to sources, replacing of equipment, and other costs, not always made privy to the general public must be supported.Failure to the fund the IC can be detrimental to their success. While oversight is needed to ensure embezzlement is not a factor, the budget increases the IC requests should not be delayed or jeopardized by political adversaries, nor used as a talking point. This is currently seen in the $500 Billion defense cuts enacted by supercommittee legislations as face now. Conclusion As we see the changes made in the past 8 years since it’s inception, the IRTPA has helped the IC, but has not fixed it yet.While the DNI creation was a good thing, we do still see cases of the DNI have too much responsibility, and too much work. In some cases the added changes have brought more costs in bureaucratic startup, oversight, and staffing. While the need to separate the DCI from the rest of the agencies was important, the IRTPA has limited the CIA’s abilities an a variety of ways. Other advantages have been the information sharing of intelligence. The sharing has instituted policies and procedures as well as shared technology serves to better share information in a common platform.All things being combined, the IRTPA has been a game changer for the IC, only through reform, and through lessons learned will we strengthen and improve our practices, keeping our country safer. Bibliography 9/11 Commission. The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Report, Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, 2004. Andrew, Christopher. For President’s Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush. New York: Harper Press. Beckner, Christian.Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations: An Analysis. http://www. hlswatch. com/sitedocs/Implementing%20the%209 11%20Commission%20Recs. pdf (accessed October 03, 2012). Congress, 108th. INTELLIGENCE REFORM AND TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2004. 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July 2009. http://belfercenter. ksg. harvard. edu/publication/19145/organization_of_the_intelligence_community. html (accessed October 03, 2012). à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [ 1 ]. 9/11 Commission.The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Report, Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office, 2004. , p xvi. [ 2 ]. iBid. , p. 407 [ 3 ]. iBid. , pp. 407-410 [ 4 ]. iBid. , p. 408 [ 5 ]. iBid. , p. 409 [ 6 ]. iBid. , P. 409. [ 7 ]. GovTrack. , S. 2845 (108th): Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. , Website. , Washington D. C. accessed October 3, 2012 [ 8 ]. iBid. , Sec. 1031 [ 9 ]. iBid. , Sec. 1001 (r) [ 10 ]. iBid. , Sec. 1001 (i) [ 11 ]. iBid. , Sec. 7101