Placement Reflection Essay

Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 10/02/14 Today was my first day on placement at Pembroke Residential home in Saltburn. When I first arrived I was a little nervous as I didn’t know anybody and I wasn’t sure on what to do because I didn’t know their routine. The pressure eased off a bit after the first hour because another student came in as she was doing her block placement and I was told to just follow what she did as she had been before and knew what she was doing. Firstly, I observed the other student as she fed a resident, this made me feel a lot more at ease as I knew I would be doing this another tine and I was given the opportunity to observe first so I knew exactly what to do and how to act when I was asked to fees in the future this was a positive experience for me. I also had a one to one conversation with a resident about a programme that was on the television in the lounge. We talked for about 30 minutes and he seemed pleased that I had taken the time to sit a listen to him and have a convers ation with him. This was a positive experience for me and made me feel great as I felt I had made him feel happier. It also gave me a chance to get to know the resident and use my communication skills using one to one interactions. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 03/03/14 Today I was quite excited as I had been asked to feed a resident and this was an opportunity for me to get some experience of my own for the future. The resident is unable to get out of bed as she only has use of her upper half of her body so I took her breakfast upstairs (golden syrup porridge and a cup of tea which had to be drank through a straw) and fed her as well as having a one to one interaction with her. This was a positive experience for me and once I had finished I had to record everything that I had given her as every meal has to be recorded in her book. I felt good because the resident had a smile on her face and seemed happy, also it was the first time on placement that I had interacted with a resident like this. I hope to be able to feed this resident in the future as I really enjoyed it. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 10/03/14 I was a bit disappointed today as I felt like I didn’t learn anything new and found it wasn’t very beneficial for me. All I have done today is take the tea/coffee trolley round all of the residents numerous times, washed the pots numerous times and picked up some sample pots for the residents at Huntcliffe Surgery, Saltburn. I felt like I was just being used as a run about and being given the jobs that none of the staff particularly wanted to do. Although this was a negative experience for me, I didn’t complain and I just got on with it, I feel like I haven’t achieved any experience today. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 17/03/14 It was quite busy today on placement so I was on my feet a lot and helped out as much as I could. I fed the same resident that I have previously fed another time. I fed her both her breakfast (apple and cherry ready break and a glass of milk) and her lunch (chicken stew, mash, carrots and a cup of tea). I also had several one to one conversations with various residents throughout the day. Communicating with the residents made me feel as though they enjoyed it and I got to know a little bit about each of their personalities which will help me to interact with them more in the future. I am going to continue communicating with the residents as much as I can so that I can get to know them better. I observed the staff ordering new medication for the residents and filling in care plans, progress sheets etc. This was a positive experience for me as I got to see the non-practical side of working in a residential home and had an insight on the types of paperwork involved. Today made me feel t hat my placement was becoming a little more beneficial for me as I am slowly learning new things again rather than doing nothing health and social care related. Pembroke Residential Home, Saltburn 31/03/14 The home was very busy today I was on my feet a lot but I enjoyed it because I always had something to do. I fed the usual resident I feed regularly this morning (original ready break and a cup of tea) and her lunch and then recorded how much she had ate and drank on her sheets so that the other staff new how well she was eating. I also did the same for her lunch (beef casserole, mash and veg, a yoghurt and a glass of juice). This was a positive experience for me and I found it easier to interact with the resident today because we had more to talk about. I also feel that the resident enjoyed my company because on both occasions we has one to one communication. As this residential home is small and only has 10 residents they don’t usually get a choice of meals unless they don’t like what is on the menu then they will be given an alternative. Today, the cook made two different meals for lunch and I went round the residents to ask which they would prefer. This was also a p ositive experience for both me and the residents as they felt a lot happier about the fact that they were given a choice of meals rather than just what was on the menu. I felt that I had cheered the residents up by doing this. Every week since I have been on placement at this residential home I have taken the tea/coffee trolley round the residents and visitors and washed lots of pots. I was told to do the same today which was a negative experience for me as I don’t feel that this helps me to achieve anything and get an idea of what it is like to work in health and social care with the elderly. I felt annoyed that I had been asked again to do these things as I get asked do to these every week. Activities are offered to the residents every day so that they feel they have something to do rather than just sit about and watch the TV, read the newspaper etc. I was asked to offer the residents a choice of activities today but unfortunately none of them felt up to participating in anything that I offered. Although no activities were carried out, this was a positive experience for me as I then had to record that what I had done in the activities booklet to show that even though the residents had chosen not participate in various activities they were still given the choice. I felt that the staff had trust in me to be able to start filling in this sheet as even though it is only a small step it gave me more experience on what type of paperwork is involved in working in a residential home. As I have  previously been shown how to work the stair lift one of the staff member asked me to take a resident upstairs to their room. I was trusted to do this myself, using the stair lift. This was a positive experience for me as although I had observed the stair lift being used I had never actually used it myself to get residents up to their rooms. The resident seemed rather happy with how I placed her on the stair lift and how I used it. This made me feel great as I knew I had achieved another skill for working with the elderly/disabled in health and social care. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed attending placement this week as I was never left with nothing to do and felt I learnt a lot of new skills even if they are just small steps to working in helath and social care in the future.

Reflection About Platos Allegory of the Cave Essay

This should already be clear to you: -The shadows of ideas projected on the wall = opinions, illusions. -The wall = the material world seen by us. -Ideas are the basis of reality and not the material world. The most important thing you can do is: ‘ Know thyself’, practice self-reflection, learn more about yourself than what you believe you are. Here I will go further: The material world is largely an illusion, it is always changing. By just looking at it, one cannot learn anything. There is also another world: an eternal world of ideas. It is made up out of eternal unchanging forms of things. This world can be known through reason alone. The material world (world of things) is a manifestation of this eternal world of ideas. Using the allegory, Plato pictures the everyday situation of man. He can speak, hear, and encounter the world without actually being aware of the world of Ideas. True knowledge can only be gained from the world of ideas. The world of things merely generates opinions or illusions. lato depicts these worlds as existing on a line that can be divided in the middle: the upper part of the line is the world of ideas and the lower part is the world of things. Each region can further be divided in two. In the world of things, there are â€Å"illusions†, which composes the lower region, and â€Å"beliefs†, which composes the higher region. The illusions are the shadows represented by the artistic works of the craftsmen and poets. The beliefs are man’s knowledge of individual things, which may sometimes be true but is often times false because individual things are constantly changing. The world of ideas, on the other, can be divided into â€Å"reason† (the lower part of the region) and â€Å"intelligence† (the higher part of the region). Under reason is the knowledge of things like mathematics. And under intelligence is the knowledge of the highest and most abstract categories of things, for example, understanding the ultimate good. Here are some examples that I want to give: – the idea of giving: ‘when you give something to a person, you create a bond between yourself and the other’; the other shows you gratitude for your gift. BUT in real life (material world) it can be so that a particular person has had some nasty experiences with giving presents (some people aren’t that gratefull) and therefore creates an aversion for ‘giving’. He has formed a wrong ‘opinion’ about the idea of giving. – Poker hands: in poker KK is a very good hand, this is mathematically so. Some pokerplayers however lost a lot of chips with this hand, because an Ace fell on the table. This means that in the future they will tend to misjudge their hand (because of their experiences with it) and underestimate it (contrary what is known in probability theory) – e.g. you learned from your environment that all black people are bad. This is in a sense a shadow on the wall of the cave. Instead of fixating on the shadow, you must force yourself to look behind that what you have learned (or passively accepted) before. Then you will find out that what you have learned before isn’t the truth. – fear of snakes: you start panicking because you thought you saw a snake in your yard, but it is only a garden hose. When you return you see the truth, it was your own fear that gave you a misjudgment. – The entire idea behind science is basically based on this: instead of assuming certain things to be true, scientist tend to do a lot of research and experiments before they will claim a theory about something. In a real situation you should discard your own opinions and strife for the truth. The truth will hurt (just as staring in the flame). It wil hurt you AND others. It is in part conquering your fears, and be open minded in all situations. Questioning yourself always is truely a hard task. (many who have left the cave, came back because it was just too difficult living in the light of reason)

Lab Researching Networking Standards Essay

Part 1: Research Networking Standards Organizations Gather information about the major networking standards organizations by going on a web surfing treasure hunt. Identify important characteristics of some of the organizations. Part 2: Reflect on Internet and Computer Networking Experiences Reflect on how the various networking standards organizations enhance our experience of the Internet and computer networking. Background / Scenario Using web search engines like Google, research the non-profit organizations that are responsible for establishing international standards for the Internet and the development of Internet technologies. Required Resources Device with Internet access Part 1: Research Networking Standards Organizations In Part 1, you will identify some of the major standards organizations and important characteristics, such as the number of years in existence, the size of their membership, the important historical figures, some of the responsibilities and duties, organizational oversight role, and the location of the organization’s headquarters. Use a web browser or websites for various organizations to research information about the following organizations and the people who have been instrumental in maintaining them. You can find answers to the questions below by searching the following organizational acronyms and terms: ISO, ITU, ICANN, IANA, IEEE, EIA, TIA, ISOC, IAB, IETF, W3C, RFC, and Wi-Fi Alliance. 1. Who is Jonathan B. Postel and what is he known for?

Customer Service Essay

1. Organisations that intend to be successful need to design products, services and product/ service bundles to meet customer needs. How can they do this and how can they ensure that the organisation’s plans achieve quality, time and cost specifications agreed with customers? What data and records might be drawn upon to make plans intended to meet customer needs? Organisations that use market research to gather feedback from consumers regarding product design and product/ service bundles tend to be more successful that those who do not use market research as a business tool. Data received from the market research records that have been collected from any market research including surveys, questionnaires, focus groups or simply speaking with customers, are drawn upon to ensure the organisation achieves quality, time and cost specifications as per the customer’s requirements. For example, the Mining Village I currently work at have designed a total accommodation bundle for its clients. Each room is equipped with Wi-Fi, a Smart TV, air conditioning, refrigerator and advanced security systems. After a hard day’s work guests can unwind around the fireplace, watch a movie in the cinema, socialise in the Tavern and recreational room or work out at the gymnasium, pool or tennis court before sitting down to a meal in the restaurant. The cost of the bundles includes 3 meals a day plus use of the facilities as mentioned above. The Owner of the Village, has done market research with Companies who would require accommodation in the area with the Coal Steam and Gas development in the Area. They drew down on the information received and purposely built the accommodation to house those working in the area. The market research provided a edge to the company over the Hotels in the area, as the Village supplied everything the market were after. 2. What monitoring and evaluation procedures might be followed to ensure that the organisation keeps up with changes in customer needs and in market conditions, obtains and distributes resources appropriately and is able to consistently meet product quality and delivery standards? Monitoring and evaluation procedures are important to keep up with changes in customer needs and in market conditions. They ensure the organisation  obtains and distributes resources appropriately, and constantly meets product quality and delivery standards. Monitoring and evaluation procedures include interviewing and communicating with customer regularly, as market conditions and customer needs often change. It is important to find out their priorities, likes, dislikes and purchasing intentions, demographics and psychographics. Procedures also include measuring progress against the organisations vision, its goals, and its predetermined performance expectations and quality standards. KPIS and KRAs should be monitored as they provide measurement criteria. Data should be compared with the forecasted or expected performance, and measured against the organisational goals and against the individual, team/section/division and organisational KPI’s. Customer feedback is vital and can be collected through customer surveys, product testing, focus groups or simply speaking with the customers during sales transactions. Speaking with sales staff is also important, as they are the ones who deal with the customer’s every day. They are able to directly observe customer responses to products and to the service they receive. 3. How can customer feedback be collected and used and why is it necessary to consult with customers (internal and external) and with other stakeholders when monitoring and assessing the organisations progress toward achieving quality targets? Customer feedback should be collected and used to investigate and identify target markets, current and emerging needs, satisfaction levels and complaints. The ways you can collect feedback are through formal surveys including mail, email and phone, questionnaires, focus groups, speaking with customer service operators and speaking to customers while they shop or customer feedback forms. It is necessary to consult with customers and other stakeholders to identify progress towards the results, the likelihood of receiving the results towards quality targets and the impact of work against the targets.  Consulting with customers and stakeholders helps to keep the work on track, and can let you know if things are going according to plan. For example The Old Spaghetti Factory has Customer Feedback forms on their dining tables. Customers are able to fill in a feedback form to comment on customer service quality, food quality, speed of service and the dining experience overall. By collecting the feedback forms the managers are able to see if the team is performing up the standard the organisation is aiming for. 4. Within the organisation there will be groups of people or teams which work toward goal achievement. How can managers and supervisors ensure that team members have the skills needed to communicate effectively with customers and to provide excellent customer service? How might they assist colleagues in overcoming difficulties with meeting customer service standards? Managers and supervisors need to ensure that team members have to skills needed to communicate effectively with customers and to provide quality customer service. For this to be done, the managers and supervisors themselves need to have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives the organisation is trying to achieve in relation to customer service standards. They need to be able to help team members understand and act towards meeting those requirements. Managers and supervisors also need to be able to communicate well with team members. To ensure the employees are fulfilling the customer service requirements of the organisation, the manager or supervisor need to make sure the team members know how the organisation expects is employees to behave and what the organisation expects the team members to achieve in the workplace. Their performance should be measured and adjusted according to the organisations goals. To assist their colleagues, if they required assistance in overcoming difficulties in customer service standards, they need to communicate with their colleagues. They should ask if there was any reason as to why they are having difficulty reaching the customer service standards of the organisation. They should reiterate the company’s customer service standards and the reasons why they need to meet and exceed customer expectations, and how it impacts on the achievement of the organisations goals. The offer of support as well as retraining, coaching or mentoring should be given by the  manager or supervisor. Kerri has noticed that Terri work performance is lacking. She is being rude to the customers and is not completing the tasks that are required to provide superior customer service. Kerri has spoken with Terri and reiterated the organisations goals and objective in relation to customer service. She can see that Terri’s performance is lacking as she is unmotivated at work. Kerri has offered Terri a series of coaching sessions to help her be motivated and work to the organisations standards. 5. What procedures might be followed to identify problems with appropriate individuals and groups to adapt customer services, products and/or service delivery so that it continues to meet customer needs? KPIs and targets can be applied at individual level or as a department. Those who do not meet their targets can be coached or placed on a performance improvement plan to assist them in achieving their targets.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

The Royal Bank of Scotland - Case Study Example Increased merger and acquisition activity, particularly in the banking sector, in Europe has been, and is due to deregulation as contained under the Second Banking Directive that was adopted in 1989, and implemented in 1993 which set the stage for the Euro, and the European Union's transition to a one market economy (Murphy). The preceding was a process undertaken by the European Union in response to developments as represented by " globalisation of markets and finance, the creation of regional economic blocks such as the Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the emergence of newly industrialized countries in Asia or Latin America, the introduction of new technologies in product design and manufacturing, and new forms of firms' organization representing just some of the main features of the new international economic order that is emerging" (Canals 1). 1. It is important to understand is the process of deregulation, as it has had two important effects (Gardener and Versiulujs 2): 1. It, deregulation, has "removed or reduced the economic franchises, increasing competition between banks and financial institutions thereby increasing risk in their balance sheets, rendering them seemingly less sound than their large corporate customers". 2. "second and more subtle but no less important change arise from the ability of the banks to seek new business in much wider fields of activity (for example, such as loan

Warranties Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Warranties - Research Paper Example In case a service or product does not perform as promised, the warranty should ensure that exchanges or repairs are done in regard to the product (Martin, 2000). Basic information about warranties 1. They are loved by retailers On a factual basis, most of the retailers usually get more profit from the warranty contracts that they would get from the sale of the products. In actual sense, a consumer pays a price that is higher by approximately 20% or 10% in order for a warranty to be extended by the manufacturer. Most of the retailers would most probably subcontract the deal with a third party company for half the amount paid so as to avoid the risk that is involved with the risks. That is a strategy that may be used by companies in an attempt to maximize on their revenue. 2. The consumer may already be covered but he or she is not aware The holders of American express cards usually have the privilege of the extending the length of the warranty from the manufacturer by a year while the holders of a MasterCard or visa signature usually have the time doubled. There are also some manufacturers who may offer a discount rate that is fixed if the product’s level of damage does not reach the level of return. 3. The warrant will most probably not be used People usually enter into warrant contracts so as to reduce the risks that may be involved in case the product that has been purchased does not perform as expected. Most of the appliances that are bought with a warrant do not in most of the times break down. 4. Types of warranties 1. Manufacturer’s warranty This form of warranty is a warranty that is drafted and written by the manufacturer and included in the products that are produced by the manufacturer. The company usually guarantees that its products will be free of any defects for a specified time period after the day of purchase. The warranty however does not cover any accidental damages that are caused by the user to the product. In such an agreement , repairs or replacement of the product are usually done freely by the manufacturer (Barron, 2000). 2. Extended warranty This type of warranty is also known as a service contract. This type of warranty is an agreement that signed between the selling company and the consumer or a consumer and a store that is in offers coverage on behalf of the manufacturer for a fee. Manufacturers usually do not provide warranties that are extended but the store or retail store in which the product is purchased usually offers the warranty. The extended warranty is usually added as a cost to the price of the product. The purchaser of a product should ensure that the warranty is done in writing and he or she should not rely on the salesperson to make an explanation in regard to the warranty. 3. Store warranty A store warranty can be perceived to be another name for an extended warranty or service contract. In such a scenario, the store offers to extend a warranty for a fee. The warrant is associated wi th a risk in that if the store runs out of business, the purchaser will be left without any form of coverage (Parisi, 2000). 4. Third party warranty The warranty can also be called a service contract. The warranty is different from a store warranty on the side of the company that offers the coverage of the warranty. The consumer will have to pay for the extended warran

M&M Project Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

M&M Project Report - Research Paper Example The objective of this report is to write in a layman’s language, all the parts involved in the M&M project. The report will lead to an explanation of what was done in each part, as well as the result. Presentation of the data and the results will be on an excel worksheet. Part three will involves analysis through construction of confidence interval to find out the distribution of candies per bag as well as the proportion for each color, and then recording of the results in an excel worksheet. Different claims of color proportions will be tested in the fourth part. Finally, the claim there is no difference between the number of brown and red candies will be tested in part five. Introduction: M&M Project Report The purpose of this report is to explain what was done in each part of the M&M project, as well as analyzing the results. In addition, the report will lead to investigation of quality control. The five parts of the project included sampling method, the sample mean and pro portion, testing of different M&M candies’ claims, and using 95% confidence interval to do testing. In the end, the report will lead to a better understanding of the process and methods of packaging M&M candies. M&M candies were randomly obtained from different stores. A random sample was used to make sure that the sample was a true representative of the entire population. The population here means a collection of all the subjects that are to be studied – all the M&M candies for that matter. Different colors in each bag were counted and recorded in an excel work sheet. ... On the other hand, the number of candies per bag will use the data in the bag column. To obtain the proportion for any color, the number of candies for that particular color will be divided by the total number of candies. A separate excel sheet will be used to create a histogram for the number of candies per bag. The descriptive statistics for the total number of candies per bag will be computed in another sheet. The summary of all the important information will be made in another worksheet titled â€Å"Part 2 Summary." The descriptive statistics and the summary were as follows: Table 1: Descriptive statistics Num. of Candies in Bag    Mean 56.02222