Leadership revised

Answer to Question # 1 Sharon Daloz Parks, in his books entitled â€Å"Leadership Can Be Taught,† discussed leadership in an adaptive concept. Adaptive concept means that the word leader denotes to lead and in order to lead a group, you ought to be a procrastinator of time or think ahead of time. A person should have a view on what possible things might be encountered. Then think of the possible solutions for the upcoming problem. Anticipatory imagination is considering all the pros and cons of things. In adaptive leadership, it is believed that leadership can be learned. It deals with understanding and about behaviors and actions. It is not in any way an inherent trait. The adaptability of the organization depends on having a widespread leadership. The ideas should not only come from the people on the top, but it should come from people within the organization. Practicing adaptive leadership means making a holding environment where discussions of certain issues are kept safe. In addition, the adaptive leadership consulting is about understanding adaptive pressures and dynamics, and using those insights in creating successful changes. Adaptive leadership is a must in an organization because it paves the way for less problems to incur because in this process, the leader is futuristic, which considers the entire negative and positive things that will come their way.  As a mentor or guide, the leader has to be likened to an eagle which soars high and sees all things below. Leaders should have focused determination and an attitude for winning. Indeed, leadership is not a position but disposition. Answer to Question # 2 With regards to the to the character trait of embracing the negative, it is said that (a) Profit comes as a result of facing problems, so doing it is seen as a good thing, not a negative thing; and (2) The best way to solve a problem is not to have it to begin with. Embracing the negative means embracing problems. The person who is pessimistic or negative is a type of person who is always looking at the negative side of life. It seems that problem is bigger than the solution. Man in his struggle for existence need not grope in the dark but always look at the bright side of life. The dark side is the problem and the light side is the solution. As we face different challenges in our life, we must always think positive, never give up easily when trials comes our way and look at the brighter side of life. Always remember that in every problem, there is always a solution. The best way to do is to give up the negative, and learned to motivate and encourage yourself to think positively or be an optimistic. Thinking realistically and positively will become automatic in you as you go through your life. And the response to the problems when it comes to you the next time will be handled in a entirely a new way. It will then be easier for you to handle and face the next trials that will come to your life if you will become optimistic. It is indeed a long process and it will take some time for it to happen, but eventually, in the long run, it will happen. So it is better to start now on your journey to replace the negative thinking or being pessimistic with a positive thinking or being an optimistic. Profit comes as a result of facing the problems. Like David who faces Goliath, in our lives facing problems and trials will determine our strength and failure in life. Indeed life is a choice; we either choose life or death, problems or solutions, negative or positive. The rest is up to us. The best way to solve a problem is not to have it to begin with which means that in solving problems we need to look at the solution of the problem because in this way more concrete ideas will come our way. Keeping a positive attitude and not considering difficult things as problems would greatly help in attaining one’s goals. Sometimes when we have a problem, we keep on thinking that we have a problem and it is so hard to solve, how can I get over it? And in some cases, instead of solving the problem we engaged ourselves in drinking alcoholic beverages or taking prohibited drugs in order for us to forget that we have a problem. With these, we are not solving the problem. We keep on thinking about the problem not knowing that it will only aggravate the problem because emotionally we are affected by it. Instead of thinking about the problem on and on without doing something, we should face the problem, know what causes the problem and find the solutions. In every little problems that we encounter we must find solutions immediately, before it gets worse or become big that we cannot handle anymore. When we follow this kind of solving/handling the problem it will be easier for us to face the trials next time. If we continue with the way we do it the wrong way of solving the problem we will not gain something from it but if we start to face it now, and find solutions to the problem we will gain something from it and life would be easier. Answer to Question # 3 Three Essential/Necessary for Success: 1.   Competencies Competencies means being confident in whatever undertakings we had. Competencies means we are fully equipped to do things because of all the necessary ingredients of trainings, experiences and capabilities are stored within us. Successful people are confident people. 2.   Alliance Builder Alliance builder means we are also a support group. We love networking, linkages and alliances with people who are also a builder like us. Builder means they help us to grow as a person in every aspect of our lives. The saying that no man is an island is a complement of this so called alliance builder. To be in allegiance with the right people is indeed a blessing. Successful people are building other lives or alliance builder. 3.    Character or Integrity Character or Integrity is very important aspects for success. Character or integrity is the totality your whole being. Talents, riches and material things can make us on the top but character will make us stay there. Truly character depicts the real you. Six Character Dimension: 1)   Gain the complete trust of the people they were leading and capture their full hearts and following The saying that, â€Å"follow the leader,† means that a true leader is worth following for. They gain the trust and confidence of his followers and believe in every word he says. And being a good leader we should also be a role model to our followers. 2)      See all of the realities that were right in front of them. They had blind spots regarding themselves, others, or even the markets, customers, projects, opportunities, or other external realities that kept them from reaching their goals.  Ã‚  A true leader is realistic for their weakness and strengths. Blind spots means, that they are open to correction and suggestion because they don’t see everything like an imperfect person. They have teachable spirit and a humble heart to learn more things for their completion as a person. They want to learn more in areas like marketing, customer relations, projects, opportunities or other external realities in life because leaders are good followers. 3) Work in a way that actually produced the outcomes that they should have produced, given their abilities and resources  Successful leaders are results driven and results oriented. They work in a way that their given abilities and talents were used and exercised and applied to the fullest. 4)   Deal with problem people, negative situations, obstacles, failures, setbacks, and losses.  Successful people are not afraid to work with all kinds of people and situations. They consider it as a challenge and transcend their own interest and give themselves to larger purposes, thus becoming part of a larger mission a test for their testimony and they are winners and not losers in facing any failures, setbacks, and losses. 5.   Create growth in their organization, their people, themselves, their profits, or their industry.  Successful people are part and parcel of growth in any organization and a contributing factor for the success of other people and the industry in general. 6)    Transcend their own interest and give themselves to larger purposes, thus becoming part of a larger mission  This character trait for success is broadminded. Successful leaders want to widen his territories, his field of interest and horizons. He wants to connect with best minds and believe in the saying that â€Å"Iron sharpens Iron† for the betterment of themselves and others. Indeed, for them learning never ends from cradle to grave. Learning is a never-ending process we should never stop striving to learn more. References: â€Å"Avoiding Pessimism May Be More Important than Being Optimistic.† 1998.Ohio State University. â€Å"Ethics is our Religion: Creative and Optimistic Thinking.† 2006. North Virginia Ethical Society. McGrath, H. Phd. â€Å"Teaching Students to Think Optimistically. Deakin University: Faculty Education. Parks, SD. 2005. â€Å"Leadership Can Be Taught.† Amazon.com â€Å"Positive Thinking: Practice this Stress Management Skill.† 2007. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). â€Å"Tips on Giving Up Pessimistic Thinking Habit.† 2006. Liesnet. â€Å"What is Leadership?† 2007. Amazom.com         

Attachment Theory and Child Essay

An attachment is a two-way emotional bond in which people depend on each other for their sense of security. Although we forma attachments through out our lives, psychologists are particualry interested in the attachments formed between a child and his/her primary caregiver.1 This essay will examine the role of attachment in childhood and it’s subsequent formation of relationships. Most babies of mammals exhibit the same patterns as human infants; they seek proximity to the mother and react with anxeity on seperation from her, which is the essense pf attachment behaviour. John bowlby believed that attachment was an innate pattern and it helped infants to survive. Bowlby had observed how baby monkeys reacted with distress on sepearation from their mother for a brief period. The mother and baby both called for each other. This shows that attachment is essential for survival however, it can be argued that research relating to animals cannot be generalised to humans. Bowlby’s theory of attachment is that children have a biological need to attach to their main caregiver as attachment helps serve the purpose of survival. The emotional relationship provides the infant with a set of expectations about relationships which stays with the child throughout life; this is known as the internal working model, and is a pattern for relationships the child may have in the future. If the child experiences love and affection, he/she will come to see him/herself as worthy of love and attention. This is the child’s working model as Bowlby sees it. The working model will determine the child’s relationship with other people and the way the child sees him/herself in the future. On the other hand, if the child experiences neglect or rejectionthey may develop a working model that is based on denial rather than on reality. Such a working model may contribute negatively to the the mental health of the child and the quality of their relationships with others in the future. Mary Ainsworth was a US psychologist who operationalised Bowlby’s concept so that it could be tested empirically. She devised an experimental procedure called the stange situation, which resulted in the classificatin of attachment patterns. In the strange situation an observer shows the caregiver and child into a room and then leaves. The caregiver watches the child play and a stranger soon enters the room. The stranger sits silently at first then talks with the caregiver and then tries to interact with the child. The caregiver leaves the room. This is he first seperation between the caregiver and the child. While the caregiver is absent the stranger continues trying to interact with the child. The caregiver returns and is reunited withnthe child. The stranger then leaves the room and the caregiver follows leaving the child alone. This is the second seperation. The stranger enters the room and once again tries to interact with the child. The caregiver returns for a second reunion and the stranger leaves. The findings resulted in the classification of three attachment types discussed below. Attachment type A, avoidant, is when the child shows apparent indifference when the caregiver leaves the room, and avoids contact when the caregiver returns. The child is apparently not afraid of strangers. Mothers of type A children tend to be insensitive and do not seem interested in their child’s play. Attachment type B, securely attached, is when the child is upset when the caregiver leaves and is happy to see the caregiver return. The child is easily comforted by the caregiver. The mothers of type B children are very intersted in their child’s play and actively support and communicate with the child during play. Attachment type C, ambivalent is when the child is very upset when the caregiver leaves the room, however, the caregiver finds it difficult to sooth the child when they return. The child seeks comfort but at the same time rejects it. mothers of type C children are inconsistent in their reactions to their children. Ainsworth concluded that the primary caregiver’s behaviour determines the attachment type of the child. A sensitive primary caregiver leads to a securely attached child. Insecure attachment will lead to problems in later life. Jerome Kagan (1982) suggested that innate differences in children’s temperaments influence how the environment interacts with them. Another impact on attachment is the family circumstances that a child is part of. A childs socio-economic environment has a major impact on the attachment type the child has. If a family is hit by povery the child may not recieve the necessary support and this could lead to a change in the attachment type. A risk factor in the development of mental health seems to be a lack of formation of attachment to important people during childhood. According to Goldberg (2000), the method is a unique combination of experimental and clinical methods. He he finds it a well standardised procedure which allows for natural interactions. Lamb (1985) claims that this widely used methodology is highly artificial and extrememly limited in terms of the amount of information gathered, and that it fails to take into account the mother’s behaviour. Marrone (1998) finds that although the strange situation has been criticized for being stressful-and therefore unethical- it is modelled on normal everyday circumstances when the caregiver must leave the infant for brief periods of timein different circumstances. However, it can be argued that exposing children to stress in experimental situations can be very different to everyday life. Van ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) carried out a major review of 32 world wide studies, involving eight countries and over 2000 infants. They found that there are differences within cultures in the distribution of types A,B and C. For example, Japanese studies showed complete absence of type A, but a high proportion of type C. There sems to be a pattern of cross-cultural differences, so that type B is the most common cross-culturally. Type A is reletively more common in Western European countries, and type C is reletively more common in Japan. He differences has been associated with differences in child-rearing. The results of these studies indicated that if we want valid interpretations of the strange situaton in a cross-cultural setting, we need to have good knowlege about child rearing. The cross-cultural validity of the strange situation methods of assesing attachment and the meaning of the classification classifications themselves has been questioned. The meaning of the strange situation has been challenged, in that it focuses on o the measurement of the attachment in terms of the infants reaction to the seperation and the subsequent reunion with the caregiver. It does not take into account that the meaning of seperation may differ across cultures. Japanese children are rarely seperated from their primary caregivers and so the seperation may be a very unusual situation for the child. this may mean something completely different to Japanese mothers and children than to American infants and mothers. Bowlby’s internal working model assumes that although the model can be modified, it remains relative;y stable throughout the lifespan. Hazen and Shaver (1987) were one of the first researchers to explore Bowlby’s attachment theory in relation to adult romantic relationships. They found the attachment theory a valuable perspective on adult love because it could explain both positive and negative emotions. Hazen and Shaver translated Ainsworth’s three attachment styles to make them suitable for adult relationships. Then they devised a â€Å"love quiz† in a local newspaper and ask respondents to indicate which of the three patterns best described their feelings toward romantic relationships. A self selected sample of 620 people, aged 14-82 years, responded to the love quiz. The mean age was 36 years. There were 205 males and 415vfemales. A second study used a sample of 108 college students. The researchers found that 60% of the respondants showed a secure attachment style and 20% showed the anxious ambivalent pattern, and 20% showed the anxious avoident pattern. The research also asked the respondents to describe their parent’s parenting style. People who were seecurely attached had said their parents were responsive and attentive, people who were anxious-ambivalant had rejecting and inattentive parent. Hazen and Shaver theorised that romantic love shares important similarities with early attachment relationships. They also found that differences in adult attachment wre related to how people felt about themselves. Although the researchers found some correlation between parenting style and attachment paterns, they went against drawing too many conclusions as this would be deterministic. In fact, it seems that as people get older, they are more likely to to be able to develop their own outlook and approach to life. The study was ased on a self selected sample and can therefore not be representative. Self report data is not always reliable, and since the study was carried out in the western world it cannot be generalised to everybody across different cultures. It can be seen through the strange situation that majority of infants are likely to develop an attachment type B, although, it is largely dependant on factors such as temperment, socio-economic factors, and parent styles. In addition, it can also be seen that the attachment style developed as a child can have a large impact on the attachment style involved in the formation of subsequent parent relationships.

A needs orientated approach to care

This will be discussed in detail providing evidence of strengths and weaknesses of the model. The nursing process that will be discussed will be APIE which is assess, plan, implement and evaluate. A nursing process is a systematic approach which focuses on each patient as an individual ensuring that the patients holistic needs are taken into consideration. These include physical, social, psychological, cultural and environmental factors. . The nursing process is a problem solving framework for planning and delivering nursing care to patients and their families (Atkinson and Murray 1995). When used collaboratively the nursing model and the nursing process should provide a plan of care that considers the patient holistically rather than just focusing on their medical diagnosis (Moseby’s 2009). It will also discuss an example of a care plan done for a fictional patient and evaluate and discuss how the nursing plan and the nursing process have created a plan of care and how effect ive this was or was not. Care planning is a highly skilled process used in all healthcare settings which aims to ensure that the best possible care is given to each patient. The Nursing and Midwifery council state that care planning is only to be undertaken by qualified staff or by students under supervision. The Department of health (2009) says that â€Å"Personalized care planning is about addressing an individual’s full range of needs, taking into account their health, personal, social, economic, educational, mental health, ethinic and cultural background and circumstances† with the aim of returning the patient to their previous state before they became ill and were hospitalized considering all of these needs to provide patient centered care. It recognizes that there are other issues in addition to medical needs that can impact on a person’s total health and well being’.It provides a written record accessible to all health professionals where all nursing interventions can be d ocumented. Care planning is extremely important as it enables all staff involved in the care to have access to relevant information about the patients current medical problems and how this affecting them in relation to the 12 activities of living as well as any previous medical history. Barrett et al (2009) state that taking care of an individuals needs is a professional, legal and ethical requirement. There are many different nursing models all of which have strengths and weaknesses and its up to the nurse to choose the right one for individual patient, the model which is used will vary between different speciailties depending on which is more relevant to the patient and their illness and needs. Although a vast majority of hospitals now use pre-printed care plans it is important to remember that not all the questions on them will be relevant to all patients. An example of this would be that activity of breathing may not have any impact on a healthy young adult be would be a major f actor for an elderly man with COPD. There are four stages to the nursing process which are Assess, plan, implement and evaluate (APIE) but Barrett et al state that there should be six stages to include systematic nursing diagnosis and recheck (ASPIRE) as although they are included in the nursing process they are not separate stages and could be overlooked.(Barrett et al 2009). It is important that a nursing process is used and it is set out in a logical order, the way in that the nurse would think this helps minimize omissions or mistakes. Roper, Logan and Tierney model of nursing suggests that there are five interrelated concepts which need to be taken into consideration when planning and implementing care which are activities of living, lifespan, dependence/independence continuum, factors influencing activities of living and individuality in living (Roper, Logan and Tierney 2008). Assessment Assessment is fundamental to gaining all the information required about the patient in order to give the best possible care. â€Å"Assessment is extremely important because it provides the scientific basis for a complete nursing care plan† (Moseby’s 2009). The initial assessment untaken by nurses is to gather information regarding the patients needs but this is only the beginning of assessing as the holistic needs of the patient including physical, physiological, spiritual, social, economic and environmental needs to be taken into consideration in order to deliver appropriate individualized care (Roper, Logan and Tierney 2008). When using the 12 activities of living (ALs) for assessment it gives a list a basic information required but must not just be used as a list as the patient will respond better to questions asked in an informal manner and when just part of the general conversation. RLT (2008) state that although every AL is important some are more important than o ther and this can vary between patients. It is important for nurses to obtain appropriate information through both verbal and non-verbal conversation patients are more likely to give correct information but without jumping to conclusions or putting words into their mouths. ‘Assessment is the cornerstone on which a patients care is planned, implemented and evaluated (RLT 2008). â€Å"Poor or incomplete assessment subsequently leads to poor care planning and implementation of the care plan† (Sutcliffe 1990). Information can be gained from the patient, the patients family and friends as well as any health records (Peate I, 2010) During this process of gathering information it is important to find out what the patient can do as well as what they cant. , McCormack, Manley and Garbett (2004) state that gathering the information requires a certain kind of relationship between the nurse and the patient and nurses need to be able to communicate effectively in order to be able to build this relationship. A full assessment needs to consider how the patient was before they became ill or hospitalized in relation to their medical diagnosis as well as how the patient was dealing with it, how they are now, what is the change or difference if any, do they know what is causing the change, what if anything they are doing about it, do they have any resources now or have they have in the past to deal with the problem (barrett et al). RLT (2008) state that there are 5 factors that influence the 12 activities of living which are biological, psychological, sociocultural, environmental and politicoeconomic, these may not all hav e an effect on each patient but all need to be taken into consideration.The more information gained in the assessment process the easier the other steps will follow. RLT (2008) suggest that assessing is a continuous process and that further information will be obtained through observations and within the course of nursing the patient. At the end of the initial assessment the nurse should to identify the problems that the patient has. There are limitations to using a nursing process which are the 12 als are often used as a list as part of a core care plan and are not always individualized Walsh (1998) argues that the 12 activities of living may just be used as a list which could result in vital information being missed which could be detrimental to the patient. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) states a nurse is personally and professionally accountable for actions and omissions in practice and any decisions made must always be justifiable. There are many benefits to using a nursing process it is patient centered and enables individualized care for each patient. It also gives patients input into their own care and gives them a greater sense of control it is outcome focused using subjective and objective information which helps and encourages evaluation of the care given. It also minimizes any errors and omissions. When I carried out the assessing stage on mabel I did this using the 12 activities of living as suggested by Roper et al (2008) but this was used too much like a checklist. I didn’t gather enough information in order to be able to do the best plan of care possible for her although I don’t feel this could have been detrimental to the care she received it needed more information than I had. I also found it difficult deciding which information should go where so I endened up repeating information in more than one of the 12 als, Which although this wouldn’t have made a difference to the planning of the care plan there was too much irrelevant information which could mean that it wasn’t read thoroughly just skimmed over as it would take too much time. As I am inexperienced in doing this I realized when writing the care plan that there were many questions that I didn’t ask so there where many parts that could not be filled in. I also didn’t gather e nough objective data for certain parts so I didn’t have any evidence that the care had worked or how effective it had been. This is where Barrett et al (2009) state that there should be a systematic nursing diagnosis where nurses establish a nursing diagnosis rather than just a medical diagnosis. This is where the holistic needs of a patient are taken into consideration. Although nursing diagnosis differs from a medical diagnosis the two do interlink but a nursing diagnosis considers the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of the medical diagnosis and problems that may arise from these. Another part of the systematic nursing diagnosis is to provide baselines to state where the patients are at at the present time so that a needs statement can be written in conjunction with the patient in terminology that they can understand(Barrett et al 2009). Planning The next stage of the nursing process is planning this is where all the information gained in the assessment part to plan the care of the patient. The planning stage of the process is where achievable goals need to be made through discussion with care givers and the patient or the patients representative. These goals need to contain both subjective goals and objective goals in order for them to be measurable and evaluated. The plan of care is to solve the actual problems the patient has and to prevent potential problems from becoming actual ones. It also aims to help the patient cope with their illness in a positive way and to make them as comfortable and pain free as possible (RLT 2008). Planning needs to be totally individualized and patient centered they need to feel they have a voice and part of the team. The more information gathered in assessment the easier the plan of care will be. The main objective of a nursing plan is to ‘provide the information on which systematic, i ndividualized nursing can be based and individualized nursing can be based and implemented by any nurse’ (RLT 2008). Through a detailed individualized plan of care any nurse caring for a particular patient should be able to see exactly what is required of them as all the information will be recorded in the care plan. The NMC (2008) says that nursing interventions need to be specific for that particular patient, based on best evidence, measurable and achievable. There are many different criteria for setting goals just one of these is PRODUCT which stands for, Patient centered, recordable, observable and measurable, directive, understandable and clear, credible and time related. This is just meant as a way of helping nurses to set goals (Barrett et al 2009). When planning care a great emphasis needs to be based on the dependence/independence continuum which will have been established in the assessment phase. The care to be given will encourage the patient to get back to as rea sonably possible or as close to where they were on the continuum as they were before they were admitted to hospital. Planning also needs to take into account the resources available to implement the care as they need to ensure that the care they are planning is achievable and will not be compromised by lack of resources or a shortage of nursing staff (Roper et al 2008). When I did a plan of care for mabel it quickly became evident how inexperienced I was. I didn’t gather enough information in the assessing period to be able to do an effective plan of care. I also didn’t know how achievable the goals where as I wasn’t aware of how long they would take to improve or if they where achievable or not, I also found it difficult determine which problems were interrelated and as a result tried to link anxiety in with another problem when in fact it was a problem on its own. I was able to write the needs statements effectively that were not long but on a couple of these the influencing factors were missed out which would be necessary when providing holistic care. Planning care for a patient requires a great deal of knowledge in the chosen specialty which is why it must be carried out by a qualified member of staff or a student under supervision. Implementation Implementation is the next part of the nursing process and where all the goals which were set in the planning stage are put into motion and the goals can start to be achieved through nursing and medical interventions. The main component of the implementation stage is the delivery of the care to the patient. This is done with nursing staff, the multidisciplinary team members involved in the patients care such as doctor, dieticians and physiotherapists and the patient themselves in order for the patient to be able to return to how they were previously before they were admitted to hospital. The plan of care will be specific to the particular patient and will focus on the biopsychosocial aspects of the patient (Marriner 1983).Implementation provides great emphasis on individualized care which is why it is important to establish in the previous phases where they are on the dependence/independence continuum and what they are able to do now and what they were able to do before. Individualis ed care is associated with how the patient did things before such as how the person carries out the ALs and how often they carry these out. An example of this would be when carrying out the AL of personal cleansing and dressing to individualise the care it would be necessary to have determined in the assessing stage how the patient usually did this and how often it wouldn’t be individualized if in the care plan it was stated that they got a shower every morning if at home they only did this once a week. Core care plans may be used in certain situations this can provide a greater level of care as potential problems can be foreseen if related to a certain problem on the other hand it is also important not to standardize care as patients react differently to different illnesses and treatment. (Faulkner A, 2000). The NMC (2008) state that nurses are required to ‘Make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity’. In order to deal with certain problems or situations people often develop coping strategies which can be either adaptive or maladaptive. Adaptive coping strategies are usually helpful to the patient whereas maladaptive ones could be detrimental to their health such as smoking or drinking, the patient may feel this helps them to deal with a present situation but it is actually causing them harm. Patients need to be discouraged from using maladaptive coping strategies this could be done by introducing them to adaptive coping strategies and encouraging them to change their maladaptive ones into adaptive ones. Diamond (2008) states that there are also legal and ethical issues when it comes to implementing care as consent needs to be gained before any care is implemented and if this is not given the care cannot be given this will obviously have an effect on how effective the care has been when evaluating the care. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) state in section 3 of the code of c onduct ‘you must obtain consent before you give any treatment or care’ (2002). During the implementation of Mabel I found that although I was able to implement the care effectively I hadn’t recognized all of the nursing interventions needed to provide holistic care and I wasn’t fully aware of timescales of the planned care. I feel I also needed to research further into Mabel’s problems in order to gain the appropriate knowledge to provide the best care available as this would ensure that are the interventions are evidence based and best practice (NMC 2008). Barrett et el (2008) state that this is where recheck should take place which would enable the health care provider to establish how effective the plan of care is before the treatment ends this would enable them to re-evaluate the plan of care while the treatment is still ongoing and adjust the goals accordingly. Evaluation Evaluation is where the care that has been given can be assessed to evaluate the care given and whether it has worked or not. Chalmers (1986) describe that it is an ongoing and continuous process and also occurs at timed points in a formal setting. Roper et al (2000) say that evaluating care also provides a basis for ongoing assessment, planning and evaluation. There are two different parts to evaluation summative evaluation and formative evaluation. Formative evaluation is done with the patient taking into account whether they feel the care given has worked when done with consideration of the dependence/independence continuum information regarding the patients previous place on the dependence/independence continuum can be obtained from the patient, their friends and relatives as well as other health care professionals in the multidisciplinary team involved in the care of the patient. Summative evaluation is when the holistic view of the patient is taken into consideration how they feel about the treatment, whether they felt that the goals were achievable. It so where all the measureable data stated in the baselines and data received after this time are analyzed to show how effective or not the treatment has been. When evaluating care consideration needs to be given to the influencing factors such as biological factors as the bodies physical ability varies according to age the physical ability of an older person is generally less efficient, therefore therefore the plan of care needs to take this into consideration so that when the evaluation takes place it its hoped to have been effective. A nurse needs to evaluate her patient’s status regularly for some patients this will be just once a day but for others it will be much more frequent depending on their illness and healthcare status. RLT (2008) says that evaluation must be individual to the specific patient and not just a standard goal that is related to a specific problem. If goals haven’t been achieved then it is up to the nursing staff to determine why. Maybe the goals set weren’t measureable or achievable. Parsley and Corrigan (1999) say that if goals haven’t been measureable or achievable then new goals need t o be set. It could also be that the nursing interventions were not successful in which case new interventions should be set. Through my evaluation of Mabel it was evident that I did not require all the information to do a comprehensive plan of care. Although I did set baselines which meant I could compare data I wasn’t experienced enough to set goals to the correct timeframe I also didn’t obtain enough measureable information in certain problems to be fully able to assess how effective or ineffective the care had been. Had I had more experience I feel that the evaluation wouldn’t be a problem. Evaluation requires checking and rechecking in order to see the effectiveness of the care delivered. It requires knowledge and expertise to be able to effectively evaluate and amend the goals and interventions set as necessary. The whole care planning process took me a long time and I still was not very good at certain aspects of it. When setting goals a lot of detailed information is required in order for the plan of care to be effective so I can now understand why it is necessary for a trained member of staff to carry out the task. Conclusion This assignment has shown that when used together the nursing process and the nursing model provide a good basis to providing care. It sets out a systematic approach to providing care. Care needs to be set out in a way that both the nurse and the patient know exactly what is happening as well as any other health care professional in the multidisciplinary team providing care for the patient. It has also shown that involving patients in their care enables them to feel they are part of the team and are more likely to help themselves with their care. Reference list Sutcliffe E 1990, Reviewing the process progress. A critical review of literature on the nursing process. Senior Nurse, 10(a), 9-13. Applying the Roper-Logan-Tierney model in practice 2008 Elsevier ltd. Roper N, Logan W, Tierney J (2008) The Roper Logan Tierney model of nursing, Churchill Livingstone:London. Dimond, B. (2008) Legal Aspects of Nursing, 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. Barrett D, Wilson B, Woolands A (2009) Care planning a guide for nurses: Pearson, Essex. Faulkner A (2000) Nursing The reflective approach to adult nursing. Stanley Thornes: Cheltenham. Peate I (2010) Nursing care and the activities of living 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell: West Sussex. Yura H, Walsh M (1983) The nursing process: Assessment, Planning, Implementing, Evaluating. Appleton Century: Crofts Norfolk. Cook S (1995) The merits of individualized measures within routine clinical practice. . http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Longtermconditions/DH_093359(2009) (29/04/11 Alfaro R (2002), Applying the nursing process: Promoting collaborative care 5th ed. Lippincott: London. Moseby’s Medical Dictionary (2009), 8th ed, Elsevier. http://www.nmc-uk.org/Nurses-and-midwives/Advice-by-topic/A/Advice/Accountability/[Date Accessed 11/04/2011]. McCormack B, Manley K and Garbett R (2004) Practice Development in Nursing, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Atkinson L Murray E, (1995), Clinical guide to care planning, McGraw, Oxford. NMC (2002), The NMC code of professional conduct, Nursing and Midwifery Council Publications A needs orientated approach to care This will be discussed in detail providing evidence of strengths and weaknesses of the model. The nursing process that will be discussed will be APIE which is assess, plan, implement and evaluate. A nursing process is a systematic approach which focuses on each patient as an individual ensuring that the patients holistic needs are taken into consideration. These include physical, social, psychological, cultural and environmental factors. . The nursing process is a problem solving framework for planning and delivering nursing care to patients and their families (Atkinson and Murray 1995). When used collaboratively the nursing model and the nursing process should provide a plan of care that considers the patient holistically rather than just focusing on their medical diagnosis (Moseby’s 2009). It will also discuss an example of a care plan done for a fictional patient and evaluate and discuss how the nursing plan and the nursing process have created a plan of care and how effect ive this was or was not. Care planning is a highly skilled process used in all healthcare settings which aims to ensure that the best possible care is given to each patient. The Nursing and Midwifery council state that care planning is only to be undertaken by qualified staff or by students under supervision. The Department of health (2009) says that â€Å"Personalized care planning is about addressing an individual’s full range of needs, taking into account their health, personal, social, economic, educational, mental health, ethinic and cultural background and circumstances† with the aim of returning the patient to their previous state before they became ill and were hospitalized considering all of these needs to provide patient centered care. It recognizes that there are other issues in addition to medical needs that can impact on a person’s total health and well being’.It provides a written record accessible to all health professionals where all nursing interventions can be d ocumented. Care planning is extremely important as it enables all staff involved in the care to have access to relevant information about the patients current medical problems and how this affecting them in relation to the 12 activities of living as well as any previous medical history. Barrett et al (2009) state that taking care of an individuals needs is a professional, legal and ethical requirement. There are many different nursing models all of which have strengths and weaknesses and its up to the nurse to choose the right one for individual patient, the model which is used will vary between different speciailties depending on which is more relevant to the patient and their illness and needs. Although a vast majority of hospitals now use pre-printed care plans it is important to remember that not all the questions on them will be relevant to all patients. An example of this would be that activity of breathing may not have any impact on a healthy young adult be would be a major f actor for an elderly man with COPD. There are four stages to the nursing process which are Assess, plan, implement and evaluate (APIE) but Barrett et al state that there should be six stages to include systematic nursing diagnosis and recheck (ASPIRE) as although they are included in the nursing process they are not separate stages and could be overlooked.(Barrett et al 2009). It is important that a nursing process is used and it is set out in a logical order, the way in that the nurse would think this helps minimize omissions or mistakes. Roper, Logan and Tierney model of nursing suggests that there are five interrelated concepts which need to be taken into consideration when planning and implementing care which are activities of living, lifespan, dependence/independence continuum, factors influencing activities of living and individuality in living (Roper, Logan and Tierney 2008). Assessment Assessment is fundamental to gaining all the information required about the patient in order to give the best possible care. â€Å"Assessment is extremely important because it provides the scientific basis for a complete nursing care plan† (Moseby’s 2009). The initial assessment untaken by nurses is to gather information regarding the patients needs but this is only the beginning of assessing as the holistic needs of the patient including physical, physiological, spiritual, social, economic and environmental needs to be taken into consideration in order to deliver appropriate individualized care (Roper, Logan and Tierney 2008). When using the 12 activities of living (ALs) for assessment it gives a list a basic information required but must not just be used as a list as the patient will respond better to questions asked in an informal manner and when just part of the general conversation. RLT (2008) state that although every AL is important some are more important than o ther and this can vary between patients. It is important for nurses to obtain appropriate information through both verbal and non-verbal conversation patients are more likely to give correct information but without jumping to conclusions or putting words into their mouths. ‘Assessment is the cornerstone on which a patients care is planned, implemented and evaluated (RLT 2008). â€Å"Poor or incomplete assessment subsequently leads to poor care planning and implementation of the care plan† (Sutcliffe 1990). Information can be gained from the patient, the patients family and friends as well as any health records (Peate I, 2010) During this process of gathering information it is important to find out what the patient can do as well as what they cant. , McCormack, Manley and Garbett (2004) state that gathering the information requires a certain kind of relationship between the nurse and the patient and nurses need to be able to communicate effectively in order to be able to build this relationship. A full assessment needs to consider how the patient was before they became ill or hospitalized in relation to their medical diagnosis as well as how the patient was dealing with it, how they are now, what is the change or difference if any, do they know what is causing the change, what if anything they are doing about it, do they have any resources now or have they have in the past to deal with the problem (barrett et al). RLT (2008) state that there are 5 factors that influence the 12 activities of living which are biological, psychological, sociocultural, environmental and politicoeconomic, these may not all hav e an effect on each patient but all need to be taken into consideration.The more information gained in the assessment process the easier the other steps will follow. RLT (2008) suggest that assessing is a continuous process and that further information will be obtained through observations and within the course of nursing the patient. At the end of the initial assessment the nurse should to identify the problems that the patient has. There are limitations to using a nursing process which are the 12 als are often used as a list as part of a core care plan and are not always individualized Walsh (1998) argues that the 12 activities of living may just be used as a list which could result in vital information being missed which could be detrimental to the patient. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2008) states a nurse is personally and professionally accountable for actions and omissions in practice and any decisions made must always be justifiable. There are many benefits to using a nursing process it is patient centered and enables individualized care for each patient. It also gives patients input into their own care and gives them a greater sense of control it is outcome focused using subjective and objective information which helps and encourages evaluation of the care given. It also minimizes any errors and omissions. When I carried out the assessing stage on mabel I did this using the 12 activities of living as suggested by Roper et al (2008) but this was used too much like a checklist. I didn’t gather enough information in order to be able to do the best plan of care possible for her although I don’t feel this could have been detrimental to the care she received it needed more information than I had. I also found it difficult deciding which information should go where so I endened up repeating information in more than one of the 12 als, Which although this wouldn’t have made a difference to the planning of the care plan there was too much irrelevant information which could mean that it wasn’t read thoroughly just skimmed over as it would take too much time. As I am inexperienced in doing this I realized when writing the care plan that there were many questions that I didn’t ask so there where many parts that could not be filled in. I also didn’t gather e nough objective data for certain parts so I didn’t have any evidence that the care had worked or how effective it had been. This is where Barrett et al (2009) state that there should be a systematic nursing diagnosis where nurses establish a nursing diagnosis rather than just a medical diagnosis. This is where the holistic needs of a patient are taken into consideration. Although nursing diagnosis differs from a medical diagnosis the two do interlink but a nursing diagnosis considers the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of the medical diagnosis and problems that may arise from these. Another part of the systematic nursing diagnosis is to provide baselines to state where the patients are at at the present time so that a needs statement can be written in conjunction with the patient in terminology that they can understand(Barrett et al 2009). Planning The next stage of the nursing process is planning this is where all the information gained in the assessment part to plan the care of the patient. The planning stage of the process is where achievable goals need to be made through discussion with care givers and the patient or the patients representative. These goals need to contain both subjective goals and objective goals in order for them to be measurable and evaluated. The plan of care is to solve the actual problems the patient has and to prevent potential problems from becoming actual ones. It also aims to help the patient cope with their illness in a positive way and to make them as comfortable and pain free as possible (RLT 2008). Planning needs to be totally individualized and patient centered they need to feel they have a voice and part of the team. The more information gathered in assessment the easier the plan of care will be. The main objective of a nursing plan is to ‘provide the information on which systematic, i ndividualized nursing can be based and individualized nursing can be based and implemented by any nurse’ (RLT 2008). Through a detailed individualized plan of care any nurse caring for a particular patient should be able to see exactly what is required of them as all the information will be recorded in the care plan. The NMC (2008) says that nursing interventions need to be specific for that particular patient, based on best evidence, measurable and achievable. There are many different criteria for setting goals just one of these is PRODUCT which stands for, Patient centered, recordable, observable and measurable, directive, understandable and clear, credible and time related. This is just meant as a way of helping nurses to set goals (Barrett et al 2009). When planning care a great emphasis needs to be based on the dependence/independence continuum which will have been established in the assessment phase. The care to be given will encourage the patient to get back to as rea sonably possible or as close to where they were on the continuum as they were before they were admitted to hospital. Planning also needs to take into account the resources available to implement the care as they need to ensure that the care they are planning is achievable and will not be compromised by lack of resources or a shortage of nursing staff (Roper et al 2008). When I did a plan of care for mabel it quickly became evident how inexperienced I was. I didn’t gather enough information in the assessing period to be able to do an effective plan of care. I also didn’t know how achievable the goals where as I wasn’t aware of how long they would take to improve or if they where achievable or not, I also found it difficult determine which problems were interrelated and as a result tried to link anxiety in with another problem when in fact it was a problem on its own. I was able to write the needs statements effectively that were not long but on a couple of these the influencing factors were missed out which would be necessary when providing holistic care. Planning care for a patient requires a great deal of knowledge in the chosen specialty which is why it must be carried out by a qualified member of staff or a student under supervision. Implementation Implementation is the next part of the nursing process and where all the goals which were set in the planning stage are put into motion and the goals can start to be achieved through nursing and medical interventions. The main component of the implementation stage is the delivery of the care to the patient. This is done with nursing staff, the multidisciplinary team members involved in the patients care such as doctor, dieticians and physiotherapists and the patient themselves in order for the patient to be able to return to how they were previously before they were admitted to hospital. The plan of care will be specific to the particular patient and will focus on the biopsychosocial aspects of the patient (Marriner 1983).Implementation provides great emphasis on individualized care which is why it is important to establish in the previous phases where they are on the dependence/independence continuum and what they are able to do now and what they were able to do before. Individualis ed care is associated with how the patient did things before such as how the person carries out the ALs and how often they carry these out. An example of this would be when carrying out the AL of personal cleansing and dressing to individualise the care it would be necessary to have determined in the assessing stage how the patient usually did this and how often it wouldn’t be individualized if in the care plan it was stated that they got a shower every morning if at home they only did this once a week. Core care plans may be used in certain situations this can provide a greater level of care as potential problems can be foreseen if related to a certain problem on the other hand it is also important not to standardize care as patients react differently to different illnesses and treatment. (Faulkner A, 2000). The NMC (2008) state that nurses are required to ‘Make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity’. In order to deal with certain problems or situations people often develop coping strategies which can be either adaptive or maladaptive. Adaptive coping strategies are usually helpful to the patient whereas maladaptive ones could be detrimental to their health such as smoking or drinking, the patient may feel this helps them to deal with a present situation but it is actually causing them harm. Patients need to be discouraged from using maladaptive coping strategies this could be done by introducing them to adaptive coping strategies and encouraging them to change their maladaptive ones into adaptive ones. Diamond (2008) states that there are also legal and ethical issues when it comes to implementing care as consent needs to be gained before any care is implemented and if this is not given the care cannot be given this will obviously have an effect on how effective the care has been when evaluating the care. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) state in section 3 of the code of c onduct ‘you must obtain consent before you give any treatment or care’ (2002). During the implementation of Mabel I found that although I was able to implement the care effectively I hadn’t recognized all of the nursing interventions needed to provide holistic care and I wasn’t fully aware of timescales of the planned care. I feel I also needed to research further into Mabel’s problems in order to gain the appropriate knowledge to provide the best care available as this would ensure that are the interventions are evidence based and best practice (NMC 2008). Barrett et el (2008) state that this is where recheck should take place which would enable the health care provider to establish how effective the plan of care is before the treatment ends this would enable them to re-evaluate the plan of care while the treatment is still ongoing and adjust the goals accordingly. Evaluation Evaluation is where the care that has been given can be assessed to evaluate the care given and whether it has worked or not. Chalmers (1986) describe that it is an ongoing and continuous process and also occurs at timed points in a formal setting. Roper et al (2000) say that evaluating care also provides a basis for ongoing assessment, planning and evaluation. There are two different parts to evaluation summative evaluation and formative evaluation. Formative evaluation is done with the patient taking into account whether they feel the care given has worked when done with consideration of the dependence/independence continuum information regarding the patients previous place on the dependence/independence continuum can be obtained from the patient, their friends and relatives as well as other health care professionals in the multidisciplinary team involved in the care of the patient. Summative evaluation is when the holistic view of the patient is taken into consideration how they feel about the treatment, whether they felt that the goals were achievable. It so where all the measureable data stated in the baselines and data received after this time are analyzed to show how effective or not the treatment has been. When evaluating care consideration needs to be given to the influencing factors such as biological factors as the bodies physical ability varies according to age the physical ability of an older person is generally less efficient, therefore therefore the plan of care needs to take this into consideration so that when the evaluation takes place it its hoped to have been effective. A nurse needs to evaluate her patient’s status regularly for some patients this will be just once a day but for others it will be much more frequent depending on their illness and healthcare status. RLT (2008) says that evaluation must be individual to the specific patient and not just a standard goal that is related to a specific problem. If goals haven’t been achieved then it is up to the nursing staff to determine why. Maybe the goals set weren’t measureable or achievable. Parsley and Corrigan (1999) say that if goals haven’t been measureable or achievable then new goals need t o be set. It could also be that the nursing interventions were not successful in which case new interventions should be set. Through my evaluation of Mabel it was evident that I did not require all the information to do a comprehensive plan of care. Although I did set baselines which meant I could compare data I wasn’t experienced enough to set goals to the correct timeframe I also didn’t obtain enough measureable information in certain problems to be fully able to assess how effective or ineffective the care had been. Had I had more experience I feel that the evaluation wouldn’t be a problem. Evaluation requires checking and rechecking in order to see the effectiveness of the care delivered. It requires knowledge and expertise to be able to effectively evaluate and amend the goals and interventions set as necessary. The whole care planning process took me a long time and I still was not very good at certain aspects of it. When setting goals a lot of detailed information is required in order for the plan of care to be effective so I can now understand why it is necessary for a trained member of staff to carry out the task. Conclusion This assignment has shown that when used together the nursing process and the nursing model provide a good basis to providing care. It sets out a systematic approach to providing care. Care needs to be set out in a way that both the nurse and the patient know exactly what is happening as well as any other health care professional in the multidisciplinary team providing care for the patient. It has also shown that involving patients in their care enables them to feel they are part of the team and are more likely to help themselves with their care. Reference list Sutcliffe E 1990, Reviewing the process progress. A critical review of literature on the nursing process. Senior Nurse, 10(a), 9-13. Applying the Roper-Logan-Tierney model in practice 2008 Elsevier ltd. Roper N, Logan W, Tierney J (2008) The Roper Logan Tierney model of nursing, Churchill Livingstone:London. Dimond, B. (2008) Legal Aspects of Nursing, 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. Barrett D, Wilson B, Woolands A (2009) Care planning a guide for nurses: Pearson, Essex. Faulkner A (2000) Nursing The reflective approach to adult nursing. Stanley Thornes: Cheltenham. Peate I (2010) Nursing care and the activities of living 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell: West Sussex. Yura H, Walsh M (1983) The nursing process: Assessment, Planning, Implementing, Evaluating. Appleton Century: Crofts Norfolk. Cook S (1995) The merits of individualized measures within routine clinical practice. . http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Longtermconditions/DH_093359(2009) (29/04/11 Alfaro R (2002), Applying the nursing process: Promoting collaborative care 5th ed. Lippincott: London. Moseby’s Medical Dictionary (2009), 8th ed, Elsevier. http://www.nmc-uk.org/Nurses-and-midwives/Advice-by-topic/A/Advice/Accountability/[Date Accessed 11/04/2011]. McCormack B, Manley K and Garbett R (2004) Practice Development in Nursing, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. Atkinson L Murray E, (1995), Clinical guide to care planning, McGraw, Oxford. NMC (2002), The NMC code of professional conduct, Nursing and Midwifery Council Publications

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Constitution and Bill of Rights - Essay Example What may be less obvious is that this same system of governance was also put in place so that the people were given the power to rule themselves in a distinctly indirect manner. Representative government based on elected officials have their place in the American system of government both as a rejection of the status quo of the patently unfair system of monarchical rule based on primogeniture and as a rejection of direct involvement of the majority of the citizenry. In essence, America’s form of democratic principles carries within it the promise of a rejection of the potential for a mad king such as George III to attain power simply through birthright as well as the admittance that the bulk of the electorate are equally unprepared for the grave responsibilities of directly controlling the business of running the country. In addition, the framers of the Constitution also quite deliberately place obstacles in the path of minority opinion always mandating rule (McKay 52). By creating a system of checks and balances involving endowing the three branches of government with their own specific powers and lack thereof, the government of the United States po ssesses both the advantage of not putting too much power in the hands of a single individual, but it also has the effect of often grinding down the process of instituting change to a near-halt. Article I of the United Constitution provides for the basic design of the legislative branch of the US Government, the Congress. The Constitution clearly delineates in no vague terms that the Congress has the power to spend and tax so as to â€Å"provide for the common defense and general welfare† of the country. In addition, Article I of the Constitution also endow the Congress the power to born money, regulate commerce with foreign nations and amongst states, as well as the sole power to declare war and support the

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A Teacher's Expectations of Students - Essay Example This is so that each student in a school will have goals that they should be obtaining in their learning each year. Without guidelines written in stone passed down from the state departments of education, there would be no map of direction for teachers to follow. When expectations are developed, whether true or not in reality, it can be perceived as being true. If these expectations are met, students experience a self-fulfillment prophecy (Stipek). In an average classroom, students on the first day of school will not only learn the name of their teacher, but they will be given a basic idea of what their classroom rules will be throughout the year or semester. Situations may arise and students may test their teachers patience with behavior but as long as guidelines for discipline are set in stone and every student is treated fairly, the students will learn to respect the unsaid expectations of the teacher. A teacher must enter his or her classroom that first day with a mapped out plan . With older students, a teacher might distribute a syllabus that describes the expectations and objectives of the class. However, with younger students, giving them a written out format like a syllabus may not be as useful because they may not be able to read it yet if they are very young or may not have the ability to interpret it well enough to make it apply to them personally. When a teacher expects a lot from his or her students, he or she has the ability to push them to learn. Through a teacher's own passion for learning and teaching, he or she can instill that same drive into the students' minds. When looking at students in grades fourth through sixth grades, this is a trying time to get the students to become more independent with their studies. They will be learning that they are in charge of completing their own assignments. It is also a crucial time when harder homework starts trickling in and the students begin to realize the importance of taking initiative to complete t heir assignments on time. In these grade levels, it is also still a time when it is normal to reward students for excellence by offering trinkets or other awards for a job well done. Students respond well to positive reinforcement. While they are not yet young adults and are not still young children, this age of students are in a transitional period. If a teacher rewards a student for a perfect score on a vocabulary test, it is evident that he or she is encouraging the students to push themselves to also receive perfect scores. This can then influence their academic achievements and improve their grades. This also gives them incentive to get a better grade next time. Sometimes teachers give their students materials that go beyond what other students their age are doing. If a fourth grader is given an eighth grade level book to read and write a report on, it is fulfilling because they are working with more advanced materials. This increases their mastery and productivity by exposing them to curriculum that is beyond regular achievement. Why reach for the clouds if you can touch the stars? If you dream it, you can become it. These are both statements that propose reaching for higher expectations. Students will achieve more if they are pushed to their boundaries and beyond. In the process, students will become brighter and more intelligent when exposed to curriculum that is above their grade level. Some expectations that would positively influence a student's achievements would be to

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Strategic Choice and Evalulation Essay In the strategic management process the company mission gives a general idea of what interests and goals the company has. These goals need a more specific target to evaluate the firm progress towards achieving that goal. The strategic management purpose is to define a general goal to sustain the corporate growth and to be profitable. There are different approaches to get there. Companies establish long-term objectives; usually over three to five years and by formulating grand strategies they achieve those long-term objectives. Following the value discipline model or Porter’s generic strategy model companies had successful achievements. As this paper will explain, the formulation of grand strategies that follow generic strategies to provide specific actions will help companies to maximize their competitive advantage. As an example, the company JetBlue Airways has implemented several of the strategies in their strategic management approach and the results show their continuous growth in the airline industry. The analysis of those value discipline, generic strategies and grand strategy alternatives will give a general idea of their importance for business growth. JetBlue Airways incorporates in their operations some these strategies at all levels which resulted on their rapid growth. JetBlue Grand Strategy, Generic Strategies and Value Discipline The definition of grand strategy refers to the means, how is going to be achieved the long term objectives. The principal responsibility of developing the strategies falls on the corporate managers and business managers. Grand strategy consists of the selection of different approaches, which executives understand is the best approach. Some of the grand strategies discussed in business are, growth, innovation, concentration and joint ventures (Pearce 2011). The selection of any of them or a mix of them should maximize the company profits. A combination of generic strategies will also support the company goals. Generic strategies are several â€Å"fundamental philosophical options for the design of strategies† (Pearce 2011). This type of strategies are based on two different philosophies on how to develop those strategies, following Michael Porter’s generic strategy idea or the Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema alternative approach of value disciplines. Michael Porter, expressed the importance for the companies to develop strategies, he said, â€Å"strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique† (Hammonds 2001). Porter generic strategies focus on cost leadership, differentiation and focus. Experts say this approach help the firms to produce above average returns for the organization and the starting point to get there is the grand strategy â€Å"the means by which objectives are achieved† (Pearce 2011). Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, business consultants, recommend a different method to generic strategy, they called it, value disciplines. They believe that strategies must center on â€Å"delivering superior customer value through one of three value disciplines: operational excellence, customer intimacy, or product leadership† (Pearce 2011). Even though there are similarities between the two models, their difference is that in the value discipline model â€Å"one discipline will be the focus of attention while the other two that are not selected must be maintained† (12 Manage 2013). Reviewing David Needleman’s decision to start JetBlue Airways constructed at New York’s JFK Airport it shows that from the beginning his business developed based on the strategy of concentrated growth. This grand strategy reflects the management decision to â€Å"direct the resources to profit on one single product, in a single market† (Pearce 2012). The company started by offering high quality customer service. As a result, they became a great competition to Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. JetBlue Airways used the low cost generic strategy to reduce cost and this gave them the advantage to charge lower prices for the same routes of competitor Southwest Airline. In a short period they gain market share and benefit from returns, as the 2001 annual report shows. When all other competitors showed financial reports with loss, JetBlue reported $38. 5 million in net income (JetBlue Annual Report 2002). In the case of JetBlue, concentrated growth is in fact a grand strategy. This firm placed all their investments to get profits out of a single product, airline service at low price to new routes. The goal of providing economical air service has been met by minimizing costs by installing more seats into the planes, selling tickets directly to customers no agent needed to complete this task (JetBlue 2013). Another area were they worked to minimize costs is by shortening ground delays. This discount airline is well-known by their new planes, the radio and satellite television on every seat and the leather sitting. JetBlue vision of product innovation and excellent service provides a low fare and low cost to passengers, it’s an airline that provides high quality customer services (JetBlue 2013). Differentiation is a business strategy that gives competitive advantage with its service. Being different from the competition also gave the company the distinction of being the airline with low cost with amenities for passengers. This was possible due their startup capital of $100 million (David 2011). The use of new planes, their leather seats, individual monitors with DIRECTV programming, was a few of the things they included on their low coast fare. They focused on service and that gave them the competitive advantage. The generic strategies of differentiation and low cost leadership at functional level produced the JetBlue Experience, network expansion, low fares, low operating expenses and investment in new and more efficient planes (JetBlue 2013). Another strategy JetBlue Airways use is focus to what they identified as the underserved but overpriced market (JetBlue 2002). They concentrated on U. S. cities from their main base New York that serves the largest travel market. They have grown from 1 route to serve almost 80 destinations across the US, Caribbean and Latin America (Nasdaq 2013). Pricing is another JetBlue strategy, that’s how they are winning new customers. By developing the image of low fare airline with high quality service, even though they offer only one class services, their high quality service create a new opportunity in the airline travel, including business travelers. Innovation is present in JetBlue company growth; they are the latest airline to give pilots IPads to cut back on paper manuals. The introduction to new technology will bring the capabilities to download weather images, also access updated flight documents (Sawers 2013). JetBlue Airways ability to perform tasks less expensive than competitors also keeps them as the top leaders. The airline fleet of, Airbus 320 and Embraer 190 permits them to offer lots of legroom, great entertainment and leather seats (JetBlue 2013). They keep maintenance and training costs down. For example, management can reinvest in growth opportunities, or commit to their employees training (Pearce 2011). JetBlue has focused on a strategy of serving customers how want low cost flights from place to place. That has been the consistent need of their clients. What JetBlue has done is assimilate new ideas to deliver that service, basically serving the same customers. Conclusion JetBlue competitive advantage is a combined strategy of cost leadership and differentiation. Their low cost position in relation to their competition supports the fact of their efficient operations. The introduction of new planes, allowed them to reduce their fuel costs and maintenance, and with large planes, there is more revenue for the company. They decided not to serve meals; this is another tactic that helped to reduce costs. Differentiation is another part of the combined strategy. Their strong image, TV entertainment, more legroom, and other amenities for the passengers, are evidence of the implementation of this strategy. This combined strategy, provides the company with excellent results, as they keep expanding their operation, partnering with other airlines, and starting new routes and destinations. Even in times of economic crisis and high fuel costs, â€Å"one of aviation’s most acute problems: the price of jet fuel†(Bachman 2012), they maintain their number one (1) ranking for nine consecutive years according to the 2013 North America Airline Satisfaction Study (JD Power 2013). This recognition confirms that all the efforts that JetBlue does by combining strategies to be a low cost airline with excellent customer service, are giving them the leadership in the airline market.

The Automated Teller Machines

The Automated Teller Machines Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have gained prominence as a delivery channel for banking transactions in India. Banks have been deploying ATMs to increase their reach. As at the end of December 2007 as per the RBI circular, the number of ATMs deployed in India was 32,342. More people are now moving towards using the automated teller machines (ATM) for their banking needs. According to a survey by Banknet India, 95% people now prefer this modern channel to traditional mode of banking. Almost 60% people use an ATM at least once a week. Increased ATM usage is also helped by the fact that customers have now the flexibility of using ATMs of other banks, as most of the banks are part of major interbank networks like National Financial Switch (NFS), Mitr, BANCS, Cashtree and Cashnet. The interbank networks have brought together ATMs of several banks so that consumers would gain access to any of the participating banks ATMs. Banks find it cheaper to pay membership fees to these networks as against setting up additional units in expensive-to-deploy areas. ATMs are now seen to be more than mere cash dispensing machines. Customers use ATMs to recharge their mobile phone pre-paid connections, pay their utility bills, even mutual fund transactions making them at par with flexibility given in internet banking only more secure. Of the value-added services provided at ATMs, bill-payment is the most used service, followed by prepaid mobile talk-time recharges. However, still about one third of the respondents do not use any value added services at ATMs. The ATM market in India is not yet saturated. Though the concentration of ATMs is greater in metros, the demand is increasing for other cities and even rural areas. ATMs per million people approximately is 33 units is very low. Experts forecast that the growth rate (CAGR) is expected to grow 18 percent up by 2013. Banks going into a self service model can have huge saving potential for banks and may also increase the convenience for the customers. Following is a representative trend taking into account the growth in the number of ATMs in three of the largest Indian banks: ATM Supply Chain Network Activities Following are the major activities carried out as part of the ATM supply chain or in supporting the ATM services of a bank Maintenance Activities Site Telecommunication Link Cash Refilling ATM Monitoring Handling Customer Complaints Reconciliation of Cash And Interbank Transactions Following is a sample ATM Supply chain network: Bank Head Office ATM Vendors Outsourced Agent Bank Branch 1 Bank Branch 2 ATM As can be seen from the network above, the major participants in the ATM supply chain network are: ATM Vendors If the bank ATM and the related IT infrastructure is outsourced then; the ATM infrastructure is operated and maintained by the ATM vendors for a fees. It provides the advantages of cost efficiency and scalability for the banks Outsourced Delivery agents They are the ones who supply cash to the ATMs. They either have a Vault Cash account where the vendors themselves maintain some cash balance or they have an Overdraft Account with the Bank itself, which gets debited after each withdrawal and credited after the deposit at the ATM. Bank Branches These are the Bank branches in-charge of the various ATMs in a particular area Bank Head Office This is the main office branch of a bank in a particular city or district ATM supply chain IT infrastructure ATM Infrastructure Information flow Delivery Channel Coordinator Switch Network Outsourced Delivery Agents Card Issuers Server ATM Information flow for cash withdrawal and for Credit Cards Information flow for cash replenishment MIS Info ATM It interfaces with the switch network to exchange cash withdrawal, cash replenishment and credit card information Outsourced Delivery Agents They receive information from the delivery channel coordinators to replenish the ATM cash Delivery channel coordinator They receive cash replenishment and MIS information from the switching network. There is always more than one ATM under each Delivery channel coordinator to take advantage of the economies of scale. Also, the channel ordination can be either manually managed or automated. Switch Network The switch server authenticates the user, as well as exchanges cash replenishment related information with the individual ATMs Card Issuers Server The banks host server interacts with the switch network to obtain card withdrawal and credit card information while at the same authenticating the credit card transaction from the Card Issuers Server Delivery Channels Delivery channels are medium for information transmission or cash transmission in a banking context. They are also known as touch-points, which deliver service to the end-user in his convenience. The primary medium of touch-point was the brick-mortal form of banking. However as time passed, and information technology proliferated banks were able to extend the touch-points to various other forms such as: Automated Teller Machines (ATM) Point of Sale (POS) Mobile Banking Internet Banking The delivery channel innovation was started by private banks foreign banks after the 1991 reforms when many banks were allowed to carry out operations in India. Advantages of Delivery Channels Deliver channels provide the following benefits to users Easy access 247 availability Security, Reduced transaction costs Options of access per convenience Acceptance Implementation Old generation banks with little or marginal systems have acceptance issues with the disruptive technologies of internet. The acceptance issue also comes with many of the old generation customers who believe in losing the personal touch of banking. Implementation issues center around the following: Centralization of Data Multiple technologies for different systems Security issues (Customer end/Banking end) Multiple interface for different channels Synchronization of information across channels Currency Distribution Banks need to maintain a certain level of cash in order to service its daily withdrawals. There is an entire supply-chain in place which helps in ensuring the same. Below is a diagram of how money travels from the press to the various banks ATM Presses/Mints Public Press-linked offices Currency Chest offices (Banks) An overview of the supply-chain of Banks The presses and mints where notes and coins are printed are under the RBI. The money from the mints and presses is moved daily to the 19 press-linked offices. These are sent to the nearby zonal currency-chest banks, essentially Banks which store current called as Chest offices. There are in all 4279 chests and 4040 coin depots. Functions of the Chest office Fulfills the requirement of peoples funds Withdrawal and acceptance of unfit notes Payments to Governments Operates with minimum balance at all times Each day the records are maintained for the issue/acceptance of currency. It also has to maintain the asset-liability position in cash management. Currency in Circulation Just as a manufacturing supply chain deals with product varieties also known as SKUs, the currency supply chain also has its SKUs through various denominations. The shift towards higher denominations was observed since the wide-usage of ATMs. Various steps were also taken to phase out Rs .5/- notes and replacing with coins for many such low denominations Source:RBI Docs, Currency Management, Section VIII, Dt. 27/08/2009 Clean-Note Policy To ensure the life of currency notes, RBI issued a directive to all bank offices to cease the stapling of notes and instead band them and the soiled notes be returned to RBI. But devalued stapled notes were still lying with banks. IT systems were used to create a Currency Verification Processing (CVP) system. This categorized notes into Fit, Unfit, Reject and Suspect categories. A Citizens charter was also issued providing guidelines on how to identify soiled notes and steps to be taken to return to RBI. However due to implementation issues kept the proportion of soiled notes in circulation from 15.9 million pieces (2002-03) to 10.9 million (2008-09). Logistics Distribution Challenges Each bank generally arranges for personal logistics service with police protection. Security vans are used for short-distances and train for longer distances. The extent and size of the country poses a significant problem in meeting need for currency at various pockets in India. Following are some of the issues faced in distribution Security availability of railway wagons Political boundaries that inefficiently defining jurisdiction of Issue offices which lead to suboptimal logistic services Moving currency across touch-points an exercise that is avoidable is generally carried out Private security is not desirable and police cant be dedicated for this exercise Various existing distribution systems of milk-cooperatives, post-offices, coin-dispenser mechanisms and a directive to issue bulk users with a certain proportion of coins was made. Supply Challenges With 4 printing presses, supply after 1999 was not a problem, but the pace of notes replacement made quality of notes deteriorate. Since the notes that were returned came unsorted there were inefficiencies in understanding the outflow of currency from system. In order to develop capacities to free-up vault space in banks various measures like shredding systems in all offices were setup. Demand-forecasting among banks Banks carry out demand-forecasting using statistical analysis using long-term historical demands to calculate forecasts. These aim to serve the following needs: Incremental needs As and when money is needed by RBI, the presses supply Replacement needs Money is needed to replace specific notes, which are soiled or disfigured Reserve needs Emergency requirements to fulfil reserve requirements by banks Technology in Currency Operations With such a vast network of banks, the Reserve Bank established Integrated Computerized Currency Operations and Management Systems (ICCOMS) which helped in error-free reporting and accounting of chest-level transactions. Security in distribution and ATM Security is increasingly becoming more significant in network environment with the emergence of the internetworking technology. The internetworking technology can act as or provide the communication channels across networks so that machines in different networks can talk to each other. But such kind of technologies like ATM is exposed to all kinds of attacks in such an accessible environment. Most of the network technologies, without integrating with security mechanism originally, are being redesigned to provide some security services. ATMs attempts to be secure by keeping the customers personal identification number (PIN) and other information safe by using encryption software such as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard) Threats to ATM networks Like other such networks, ATM networks suffer a lot of threats like eavesdropping, spoofing, service denial, VC stealing and traffic analysis etc. And VC stealing and traffic analysis happen only in ATM networks. Eavesdropping Eavesdropping refers to the threat that the attacker connects or taps into the transmission media and gain an unauthorized access to the data. It is one of the most common attacks to the network. Service Denial ATM technology is a connection-oriented technique managed by a set of signals. By sending some anti-signals frequently, the attacker can disturb the communication between user A and user B to a great extent which can disable the Quality of Service(QoS) in ATM. Combining this technique with other tricks like eavesdropping, the attacker can even completely block one user from another. Stealing of VCs If two switches in an ATM network compromise, the attacker can even steal a VC from another user. Some argue that possibility of compromising of the switches is quite low but that is true only if the ATM network is owned by one organization. But this is not the case today since in ATM internetworking, in which case cells travel through different ATM networks, it becomes very easy for two switches to compromise. Traffic Analysis Its a kind of threat in which a hacker can get information by collecting and analyzing the information (not the actual content of communication) like the timing, volume and about the parties communicating through a Virtual Circuit. Encryption effects only the content and not the timing and volume of the communication. So gaining access to even these can reveal a great deal of information to an attacker. Generally this attack doesnt happen but can happen when ATM is used in a highly stringent and securitised environment. Major requirements/functions of an ATM security system User Identity Verification: The system should have the facility to establish and verify the identity of all the users and players in an ATM network. Controlled Access and Authorization: The system should ensure that any player without authority to gain access to some information or resources should not be able to access it. Protection of Confidentiality: Every data that is stored or used in communication should be kept classified. Protection of Data Integrity: Guarantee regarding the integrity of the stored communicated data should be given by the Security system. Strong Accountability: The system should ensure that No entity is able to deny the responsibility of its any of the actions or efforts carried out by her. Activities Logging: The security system should support the capability to retrieve information about security activities in the Network Elements with the possibility of tracing this information to individuals or entities. Alarm reporting: Provision of generation of alarm notifications regarding certain selective events related to security. Audit: Provision of analysing of data logged into the system in case of any security violation so that required measures can be used and checks can be installed. Security Recovery: Provisions of recovery from successful or attempted security violations. Security Management: Proper management of the security services required as a part of above requirements. Suppliers of cash main source: Central bank The most important requirement of an ATM is one major motive behind the technology i.e. making money easily available to the customers. Traditionally there have been a number of suppliers of cash starting from unorganised money lenders in the past to the modern banks today. A bank is a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and gives loans to customers using those deposits. Can be commercial or retail banking or the money can be lend either directly to the customer or also through the use of markets. Banking channels Apart from their branches, bank offers many different channels to access their banking and other services. Among these, few channels help the customers in carrying out transactions without the involvement of real cash. These are E- Mail, Telephone, Call banking, Mobile and Video banking etc. In addition to all these channels, banks provide a source of real cash called ATM through a machine that dispenses cash and sometimes takes deposits without the need for a human representative from bank side. Major source of money: Central Bank A central bank is a banking institution with an exclusive privilege to lend to its government. It behaves both as a normal commercial bank wherein it charges interest on the loans made to borrowers, majorly the government of the country the bank exists for and also as a lender of last resort wherein it lends to the banks when situation is not too good or as a part of the statutory requirements. But Central bank has a monopoly on creating the currency of that nation and it is the kind of bank that can lend money to other banks in times of need. It is the major source of money in a market and acts as the regulator of money supply too. Security in Distribution on and ATM Security is increasingly becoming more significant in network environment with the emergence of the internetworking technology. The internetworking technology can act as or provide the communication channels across networks so that machines in different networks can talk to each other. But such kind of technologies like ATM is exposed to all kinds of attacks in such an accessible environment. Most of the network technologies, without integrating with security mechanism originally, are being redesigned to provide some security services. ATMs attempts to be secure by keeping the customers personal identification number (PIN) and other information safe by using encryption software such as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard) Major requirements/functions of an ATM security system User Identity Verification: The system should have the facility to establish and verify the identity of all the users and players in an ATM network. Controlled Access and Authorization: The system should ensure that any player without authority to gain access to some information or resources should not be able to access it. Protection of Confidentiality: Every data that is stored or used in communication should be kept classified. Protection of Data Integrity: Guarantee regarding the integrity of the stored communicated data should be given by the Security system. Strong Accountability: The system should ensure that No entity is able to deny the responsibility of its any of the actions or efforts carried out by her. Activities Logging: The security system should support the capability to retrieve information about security activities in the Network Elements with the possibility of tracing this information to individuals or entities. Alarm reporting: Provision of generation of alarm notifications regarding certain selective events related to security. Audit: Provision of analysing of data logged into the system in case of any security violation so that required measures can be used and checks can be installed. Security Recovery: Provisions of recovery from successful or attempted security violations. Security Management: Proper management of the security services required as a part of above requirements. Suppliers of cash main source: Central bank The most important requirement of an ATM is one major motive behind the technology i.e. making money easily available to the customers. Traditionally there have been a number of suppliers of cash starting from unorganised money lenders in the past to the modern banks today. A bank is a financial intermediary that accepts deposits and gives loans to customers using those deposits. Can be commercial or retail banking or the money can be lend either directly to the customer or also through the use of markets. Banking channels Apart from their branches, bank offers many different channels to access their banking and other services. Among these, few channels help the customers in carrying out transactions without the involvement of real cash. These are E- Mail, Telephone, Call banking, Mobile and Video banking etc. In addition to all these channels, banks provide a source of real cash called ATM through a machine that dispenses cash and sometimes takes deposits without the need for a human representative from bank side. Major source of money: Central Bank A central bank is a banking institution with an exclusive privilege to lend to its government. It behaves both as a normal commercial bank wherein it charges interest on the loans made to borrowers, majorly the government of the country the bank exists for and also as a lender of last resort wherein it lends to the banks when situation is not too good or as a part of the statutory requirements. But Central bank has a monopoly on creating the currency of that nation and it is the kind of bank that can lend money to other banks in times of need. It is the major source of money in a market and acts as the regulator of money supply too. nation and it is the kind of bank that can lend money to other banks in times of need. It is the major source of money in a market and acts as the regulator of money supply too. Demand Projections for ATMs Most ATMs are connected to international bank networks, enabling people to withdraw and deposit money from machines not belonging to the bank or country where they have their account. Serving the ATMs network is a costly task: it takes employees time to supervise the network and make decisions about cash management and it involves high operating costs (financial, transport, handling, insurance etc.). As interest rate rises and greater operating efficiencies become paramount. Some banks typically maintain as much as 40% more cash at their ATMs than whats needed, even though many experts consider cash excess of 15% to 20% to be sufficient. Cash related costs represent about 35-60 % of the overall costs of running an ATM. Through currency management optimization, banks can avoid falling into the trap of maintaining too much cash and begin to profit by mobilizing idle cash. Effective currency management and control starts with an automated solution that uses advanced algorithms to accura tely predict currency supply and demand, allowing banks to forecast demand and pro-actively manage currency throughout their network. Transportation and servicing cost increase can be substantial for banks. To achieve the lowest cost of distribution based on accurate supply and demand forecasting and optimization procedures is critical for a bank to lower its operational expenses and improve the return on its cash assets. What is expected of a forecast model of the ATM network is that it simulates historical demand by using data from actual cash-in transactions and cash-out transactions. The historical demand model is overlaid with additional factors, such as paydays, holidays, and seasonal demand in a specific area. Analytical models are aligned with the experience of resources that have intimate knowledge of the banks daily operations and are used to determine the optimum cash amount for each ATM by calculating the transport and money upload costs against interest rates. Cash drawings are subject to trends and generally follow weekly, monthly and annual cycles. An appropriate model for a bank and its branches or ATMs should estimate optimal amount of stocked money plus efficiently manage and control day-to-day cash handling, transportation with reducing of currency transportation and servicing costs. The system should be flexible enough to allow the bank to reforecast future demand, perform WHAT IF analyses, and optimize the network as the cash distribution environment evolves. Cash demand forecast for every ATM is based on linear regression models with seasonality coefficients. The development of such models is relatively complicated and differs for various ATM. Therefore preparation of forecasting models for whole ATM network is difficult task for owners of machines. The parameters of forecasting models are determined in the system implementation stage and are held constant during the operation phase. However, business environment changes continually in real world and, therefore, the model parameters must be also adapted to the changing environment. A recent paper on the optimization techniques proposes the use of artificial neural networks combined with existing what-if analysis tools and simulation modelling procedures. This advanced method will handle the drawbacks of simple regression models but will be more accurate in projecting the demand. Off-late a few advanced software packages developed by traditional financial network giants like Visa are also available that provide powerful cash management facility. Publicly available data regarding these software packages suggest that they also use multi-regression models for prediction purposes. Network optimization models for cash distribution to various ATMs are also important to reduce the costs across the supply chain. In the first instance, it can be very valuable to coordinate cash uploading and service procedures while visiting the ATM network. Coordinated route planning for maintenance of various ATMs could also reduce the ATM networks management costs significantly. Issues in Currency Identification Counterfeit currency notes is one of the biggest problems that are currently plaguing the cash distribution network. A lot of people suffer from this while withdrawing cash from an ATM when they inadvertently receive a fake note in a bundle of proper bills. It is difficult to prove accountability in case of such an incident and fix blame. Of the 48,963 million pieces of currency in circulation in 2009 398,111 pieces were found to be counterfeit. RBI has come with a set of recommendations to be implemented across the distribution network that forms the supply chain of cash distribution to check counterfeit, maintain quality of notes in circulation, strengthening of security systems and procedures and fixing accountability in case of human error. These recommendations are as given below: (A) Measures for facilitating detection of counterfeit notes and maintaining quality of notes in circulation (i) Note Sorting Machines (NSMs) / Desktop Sorters may be installed in all bank branches in a phased manner for early detection of counterfeit notes. (ii) Banks may ensure the quality of the notes fed in ATMs. They may conduct periodic audit of the agents used for outsourcing this activity viz. the CIT companies. Banks may switch over to the cassette swap system for feeding the ATMs. New ATMs installed may be provided with in built note detectors. Over a period existing ATMs may also be required to have in built note detectors. (iii) Performance parameters of NSMs may be standardized by RBI to ensure that all NSMs installed adhere to the laid down standards for detection of counterfeit notes. (iv) RBI may ensure that the plan for withdrawal of notes of old series is implemented strictly as formulated and that the new series of banknotes with more robust security features be introduced as early as possible. RBI may also facilitate R and D efforts for development of new security features. (v) Where any person inadvertently in possession of counterfeit notes upto five (5) pieces tenders the same at a bank counter, the requirement of filing FIR may be done away with. A simple report may be filed with the branch which in turn may include this in the Counterfeit Currency Report (CCR) to FIU-IND / RBI. (vi) RBI may review the system of incentives and disincentives for detection and disclosure of counterfeit notes while assisting the enforcement agencies in dealing appropriately with those involved in making and distribution of counterfeit notes. (B) Measures relating to cash holding and distribution (vii) RBI may stipulate suitable cash holding limits for all currency chests beyond which the cash should necessarily be moved to a chest with larger limits or to RBI. (viii) Each RBI office may undertake a review of the requirement of currency chests in their jurisdiction based on the volume and nature of transactions, accessibility of the chest and other factors including security so as to rationalize the number of chests and upgrade the facilities thereat for better security and efficiency. (ix) To tap advantages arising out of economies of scale, minimize overnight cash risks at bank branches and to benefit from sophisticated logistics techniques banks may be encouraged to establish Currency Processing Centres, which should be permitted to charge other banks for processing services. (x) As NSMs have to be installed at all branches for sorting notes before dispensation, banks will have to make necessary investments. The cost of such investments will need to be recovered from the bulk tenderers of cash. Banks may put in place a transparent policy for such charges of cash handling/processing with the approval of their respective boards as already advised by RBI vide its DBOD directive DIR.BC.86 / 13.10.00 dated September 7, 1999. (xi) RBI may take initiatives in promoting use of cards and electronic means of payment. (C) Measures for strengthening security systems and procedures (xii) RBI may explore enlisting the services of a specialized and dedicated force / other approved agencies to provide security at chests and for movement of treasure. (xiii) RBI may explore upgradation of the security systems in currency chests and RBI vaults incorporating electronic bio-metric access, electronic locking of bins, and surveillance through Closed Circuit Television (CCTVs). Networking of CCTVs at chests within the jurisdiction of a controlling office of the bank may be explored for better surveillance. (xiv) Tamper-proof shrink wrapping of soiled notes with bar coding of details of the branch remitting them may be introduced. (xv) A system of quarterly security audit of currency chest branches by controlling offices may be introduced. Comprehensive guideline / format may be prepared by RBI /IBA. (xvi) A system of risk based inspection of currency chests may be introduced by banks / RBI taking into account various parameters for evaluating the extent of risk. (xvii) Banks may draw up a contingency plan / disaster management plan in consultation with local police. (xviii) RBI may explore the possibility of introducing a defacing system of self inking / marking of banknotes in transit or in chests, which would automatically trigger-in if there is an attack / attempted robbery/ theft etc. (D) HR Measures (xix) Banks may modify their transfer pricing policy or equivalent policy so as to pass on the benefit on account of having a currency chest to the branch where the chest is maintained. (xx) Rotation of staff posted at currency chests may be ensured to prevent vested interest and entrenched non adherence of laid down systems and procedures. (xxi) Where deviations and irregularities are found, controlling offices may take immediate punitive action after fixing accountability. (xxii) Bank may accord recognition to currency handling operations as a sensitive and skilled activity and provide necessary incentives and training. A. Dis