An Analysis of Organisational Culture Essay

1 Background of Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines is a major American airline and pioneer in low-fare air transportation in the world, based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest Airlines is known for its low prices and no-frills service. Based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent data, Southwest is the nation’s largest carrier in terms of boarding domestic passengers. (Southwest Airlines, 2014) Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 by Rolling King and Herb Kelleher. It started its operation in 1971 covering intrastate Texas cities, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Originally, the airline was only serving Texan cities but few years later, the company has progressively enlarged its service to other American states. Southwest Airlines was able to differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering the lowest prices. At first, many practices of Southwest Airlines had been see as irregular and had been disdain by other airlines. However, it’s Low-cost  strategy has won a great victory in the US especially, when the airline industry suffered difficulties after the terrorist attack. In 2011, the acquisition of Air Tran Airways allowed Southwest Airlines to serve international destinations in five near-international countries. According to the Southwest Airlines’ official report, the airline has nearly 46,000 employees and operates more than 3,400 flights per day. Southwest Airlines has acquired many awards, such as it had been ranked as 18th on the World’s Most Respected Companies by Financial Times (2011) and was given the title; the world’s most admired companies for 20 consecutive years in Fortune’s 2014 list. 2 Induction of The Practice In the United States, Southwest Airlines has been the most successful airline in its industry. This success is largely due to its effective human resource practices, most of which fall under the rubric of employee. A study by Miles, S,J. & Mangold, W,G. (2005), demonstrate an interview with Colleen Barrett, President and Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Airlines that she credited Southwest’s success to its employees. On the hand, In 2008, a large number of companies cut jobs in order to face Global Financial Crisis. However, Dickler, J. (2008) reported that Southwest Airlines is committed to avoiding layoffs at all costs during the recession and employees in the company have never felt that their job is in jeopardy due to the economy. Research by Glassdoor blog (2010) indicated that Southwest Airlines is the best company to work for. Clearly, Southwest Airlines focuses its attention on its employees. Kotter researched the corporate culture and performance (2012) and come to the conclusion that organizational culture has the ability to improve organizational performance and employee job satisfaction. Southwest Airlines demonstrated a perfect performance in terms of corporate culture. Over the years, the company has imposed a strong corporate culture that made the company even stronger. I will apply Schein’s framework to approach practice of Southwest Airlines that the company centers around the relation privileged with its employees and the employee focused culture lead to Southwest Airlines successful. By adapting the Schein framework, we can  approach understanding of the organizational culture of Southwest Airlines. 3 Justification of Framework There are many reasons using Schein’s framework to analyze organizational culture. First, He divided culture into three levels, namely artifacts, values and basic assumptions. These levels are used as a basis for assessing any organizational culture.( Comer, M., n.d.) Therefore the framework can be used to analyze dimensions of organizational culture influence employees in Southwest airline. Second, it is a popular viewpoint be used in many literatures on organization culture. (Sun, S.,2008) Third, Alvesson & Berg, (1992) indicate that the framework having received less criticism. Moreover, Kong, S. H. (2000) and Miles, S,J., Mangold, W,G. (2005) also indicated Schein’s three levels model has capability to combine a number of perspectives in cultural studies. Additional, An onion diagram of organizational culture that developed by Hofstede et al. (1997) is based on Schein’s model. Hofstede divided culture in to four layers that include symbols, heroes, rituals and values. The similarities between both models are focused on the physical assumptions that shape the ideology of culture and lead to the norms and values. However, the model of Schein encompasses more aspects than the model of Hofstede. On the other hand, there are some critiques of Schein model form scholars viewpoints. First, Hatch, M. J. (1993). indicates that Schein’s model is lack of the dynamic role of assumptions and beliefs in creating and changing organizational culture. Second, Tuan, L,T. and Venkatesh, S. (2010) proposed the model developed by martins extend more on the interaction between the organizational sub-systems, the two survival functions, namely the external environment and the internal systems, and the culture dimensions. 4 Explanation of Framework Schein (2004) defined organizational culture as a â€Å"dynamic phenomenon that surrounds us at all times, being constantly enacted and created by our interactions with others and shaped by leadership behavior, and a set of  structures, routines, rules, and norms that guide and constrain behavior†. To fully understand the meaning of culture, he defined organizational culture consists with three levels as represented in Figure. 1 First level of Schein’s model is the most visible indicator of culture that consists of artefacts and creations. Artefacts represent the physical construct of the organization and its social environment and provide a superficial glimpse of an organization’s culture because the true significance or meaning that lies behind their use can be difficult to decipher and interpret.( Pierce J, G. 2004) The surface of a culture can be easily observed from Physical layout of the building, Communication methods, Dress code, social interplay and informal structure. According to Brown, G (2014) Organizational artifacts and creations be split into six characteristics : Norms are the assumptions made by employees following historical evidence as to the normal ways of achieving things in the organization. Language is the way managers speak a business term to subordinates and vice versa is a clear indicator of culture. ( Brown, G. 2014) Symbols used as the way of communicating that associated with culture. Rites demonstrated by the collective interpersonal behavior and values constitute formal or informal culture structures. Myths and stories are narrative based on events that shared among employees and used as a method of communicating core values. Taboos are the indicators of what should not be done in the organization. Those institutionalized artefacts serves as a guide to channel behaviours toward desired behavious that vest fit the value of organizational culture. Figure 1. Model of culture indicating different levels of culture Second level of Schein’s model examines the values and beliefs of the organization. Values provide organizational members with a sense of the moral and ethical codes which shape an organization. Such values and beliefs include trust, effort, basis of reward and honesty; these must be followed through to growth a culture. Schein believed that organizational values are not as apparent as organizational artifacts. However, he states that they do exist at a greater level of awareness than â€Å"basic underlying assumptions,†Ã‚  which he identifies as his third level of cultural manifestation. ( Pierce J, G., 2004) The latest is the most important since as Schein puts it â€Å"Human minds needs cognitive stability and any challenge of a basic assumption will release anxiety and defensiveness†. The third and core level of organizational cultural performance is basic assumptions. These basic assumptions especially from the continuous use of a problem solution that are often so fundamental and repeatedly been successful in the past and has unconsciously been taken for granted. Typical basic assumptions include: the basis on which individuals are respected, the basis of the firms’ ability to compete, the use of involvement and participation and How and whom makes decisions. (Brown, G. 2014) According to Comer, M. ( n.d.), the best way to identify underlying assumptions is through a process meeting where artifacts are listed, values discussed and underlying assumptions are reviewed. Schein’s three levels of the manifestation of organizational culture can be depicted as an iceberg as presented in figure 2, with the most visible level at the top which is artefacts. In the iceberg metaphor, organizational values, are closer to the surface and provide a more accurate assessment of the organization’s culture. However, the true scope of the culture still remains hidden beneath the surface. (Pierce, J, G., 2004) the basic assumptions of an organization’s culture lies beneath the surface and is very difficult to recognized. Figure 2. Iceberg Conceptual Model of Schein’s Three Levels of the Manifestation of Organizational Culture. 5 An Analysis of The Practice In the level of artefacts and creations, these visible indicators cab be observed by employee in the southwest airline and outsiders. The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. (Southwest, 2015) The culture at Southwest Airlines is visible in many ways. Norms are informal ground rules that provide guidelines concerning appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a group. (Calvary, W. 2014) In Southwest Airlines, fun and celebrating are the norm. Southwest Airlines has creating their own language, such as â€Å" passengers are Customers, and love is LUV†. This unusual language style also provides leaders at Southwest Airlines with many opportunities to spread and connect Southwest’s corporate culture together. ( Lauer, C. 2010) Symbols communicate the culture through unspoken messages and mental images held by employees. Logo of Southwest Airlines with a heart, it shows Southwest Airlines’ spirit with love and employees work with fun and humors. Southwest Airlines has had several slogans that have indicated company’s value and caught the attention of customers and employee, such as â€Å"Just Plane Smart† (Southwest Airlines, 1992). This slogan somewhat promotes a sense of humor that Southwest Airlines have always had that approach in an informal way (Organizational Dynamics, 1992). Southwest Airlines created many rites to do with employees. Once employees are hired, they are immediately given a celebration greeting into the company (Tyler, 1998). Through the rite in the Southwest Airlines, it shows the warmth and friendly culture in the company. There are many stories had been share in the Southwest Airlines, such as successful events and failure experiences from employees. Southwest Airlines called the story as LUV Story that enhances the customers’ experience, and that helps employees understand how they should behave in a particular situation The middle level value and beliefs, values are the foundation for an organization’s mission, vision, and defined by different beliefs of the company. The clearer an organization’s shared perceptions and values are defined, the stronger people can associate with its mission and feel a vital  part of it.( Racelis, A ,D., 2009) The core values in the Southwest Airlines are fun loving and spirited. First, Southwest Airlines focus on the situations, issues, or behavior, not on the person. People in the company should find a solution instead of judging others. Second, maintain the self confidence and self-esteem of others. Southwest Airlines offer employees not only the internal training programs, but also provide employees with external training whenever they want to advance their careers. Additional, Southwest Airlines also uses an employee recognition program to reinforce employees, such as President’s Award, Winning Spirit Award and Star of the Month. According to the Southwest report, the company will hold an event called Heroes of the Heart every year on Valentine’s Day. The event takes place at Headquarters in Dallas, where employees with good performance will be awarded by president Colleen Barrett. ( West, R. 2014) People enjoy in it and part of the fun in the party is the surprise when the winning team is announced. The winning Team holds one of the highest honors at Southwest Airlines. Therefore, Southwest Airlines won the hearts and minds of their employees. Deal, T. E., & Key, M. K. (1998) note that Southwest Airlines is a model company in providing both frequent spontaneous praise (acknowledgment) on current behaviors as well as having formal recognition programs which reward past behaviors. Third, to maintain positive relationships with employees, colleagues and managers, Southwest Airlines focuses on a team environment that enables employees embrace their connections with one another. Southwest Airlines has always placed little emphasis on formal organizational company structure, that employees are given authority to make decisions and Supervisors view their subordinates as internal customers who deserve help in doing their jobs better. (Gittell, J. H. 2004) Fourth, fun and love attitude. Southwest Airlines create an environment that combines humor with responsibility. Southwest Airlines places the highest importance in its selection process on employee that hire for attitude that based on their social skills. Employees can use any talents they have in order to entertain the customers as long as  they make them happy. There are many popular videos about the funny safety speech made by Southwest flight attendant that consists of rapping or singing when they present the safety rules such as Hilarious Southwest Airline Safety Presentation that is recently the most popular video on the internet. A relaxed atmosphere at work makes Southwest Airlines’ employees happy and this also keeps customers coming back because they like this style. It shows that having fun in the working environment is an essential value of the company. Fourth, Southwest Airlines holds variety events in many fun loving ways to implicate their value. In 2011, the celebration of 40th Anniversary Southwest Airlines held 40th Anniversary parties at three cities—Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (Southwest Airlines, 2014). Every year Southwest Airlines hosts a huge Halloween party at its Dallas headquarters (West, R. 2014). The events convey beliefs of the fun and loving culture and made it become a tradition at Southwest Airlines. At the deepest level, basic assumptions are below our awareness. The assumptions that shape the organizational culture can be exposed by observing how employees interact and the decisions they make. Southwest Airlines is noted for operating according to basic assumptions that value employees’ welfare and providing high-quality services. (Qwabe, N. P., n.d.) Southwest Airlines implicates no layoff policy. According to Southwest Airlines’ report (2010), Southwest Airlines offers Employees the freedom to pursue good health, create financial security, travel. Southwest Airlines also has a long tradition of bridging the work divide by seeking to accommodate the needs of families through flexible scheduling and ensuring that managers do not devote too much time to the job at the expense of their families. (Gittell, J. H. 2004) These values and beliefs informs employees of exactly what is expected of them and help them understand the organization. 6 Conclusions Organizational cultures can have multiple impacts on employee performance. Normally, employees work harder to achieve organizational missions if they  immerse themselves in the organizational culture. First, the case of Southwest airlines shows that the company puts its employees in priority that they implement a no layoff policy. Employees feel secure in their job, and enjoy a high level of compensation. In addition, Southwest Airlines sees employees as the greatest assets of the company. Second, Southwest Airlines creates an happiness environment and operate with the concept, love (LUV). Southwest Airlines encourages employees to work with humor and responsibility, that happy working atmosphere not only greatly improve the efficiency of their work but also get recognized by customers. Third, team work is crucial in the company, Southwest treat employees as family member instead of worker. Southwest creates the maximum welfare to employees and returned loyalty from employees. The effect of organizational culture relates to its strength. Organizational culture strength based on how broadly and deeply employees hold the company’s values and basic assumptions. In a strong organizational culture, most employees embrace all beliefs and values that through well-established creations and artefacts, as a result of that those values are difficult to change. Furthermore, strong cultures tend to be long-lasting. (Ojo,O. 2009) According to Sun, shili (2008), a strong culture (one in which beliefs and values are widely shared and strongly held) can also offer many advantages. Southwest creates a strong organizational culture that majority of the people hold the same basic beliefs and values as applies to the organization. The performance of employees improves by strong culture in Southwest Airlines. A strong culture provides Southwest Airlines with immersing everyone in the culture immediately and has awareness of culture. Thereby, every individuals in the Southwest Airlines with shared values that assist employees achieve organizational goals successfully. References Alvesson, M., & Berg, P. O. (1992). Corporate culture and organizational symbolism. Brown, G. (2014, September 30). The learning organisation [PowerPoint slides]. Calvary, W. (2014). Beliefs and Norms [Powerpoint]. Comer, M. (n.d.). Cultural Congruence Model: A framework for examining organizational culture. The Hayes Group International. Corporate-Fact-Sheet. (2014). Retrieved from Southwest Airlines website: http://www.swamedia.com Deal, T. E., & Key, M. K. (1998). Corporate celebration: Play, purpose, and profit at work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Pub. Dickler, J. (2008, December 11). Even in recession, some employers stick to no-layoff policy. CNN. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/ Financial times. (2011, October 31). The world’s most respected companies. Financial times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com Gittell, J. H. (2004). The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance. Glassdoor. (2014). 50 Best places to work in the US [Web log post]. Retrieved from www.glassdoor.com Hatch, M. J. (1993). The dynamics of organizational culture. Cross-cultural Research, 18(4), 657-693.. Hilarious Southwest Airline Safety Presentation (Open Captions) [Video file]. (2014, June 17). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com Hofstede, G. (1998). Attitudes, Values and Organizational Culture: Disentangling the Concepts. Organization Studies, 19(3), 477-492. doi:10.1177/017084069801900305 Kong, S. H. (2000). A Discourse on the Roots of Mainland Chinese Organizations. Euro Asia Journal of Management, 21, 105-142. Lauer, C. (2010). Southwest Airlines. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Miles, S. J., & Mangold, W. G. (2005). Positioning Southwest Airlines through employee branding. Business Horizons, 48, 535-545. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2005.04.010 Ojo, O. (2009). Impact assessment of corporate culture cn employee job performance. Business Intelligence Journal, 2(2), 388-397. Retrieved from http://www.saycocorporativo.com/ Philips, M. E. (1990). Industry as a Cultural Grouping (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles. Pierce, J. G. (2004). Organizational Culture and Professionalism: An Assessment of the Professional Culture of the U. S. Army Senior Level Officer Corps (Doctoral diss ertation, The Pennsylvania State University). Qwabe, N. P. (n.d.). Organisational Culture, Innovation and Creativity | Nombali Qwabe – Academia.edu. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu Racelis, A. D. (2010). Relationship between Employee Perceptions of Corporate Ethics and Organizational Culture: An Exploratory Study. Asia Pacific Management Review, 15(2), 251-260. Retrieved from http://apmr.management.ncku.edu.tw/ Schein, E. (1996). Culture: the missing concept in organisation studies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(2), 229-240. Southwest Airlines. (2010). southwestonereport. Retrieved from http://southwestonereport.com Tuan, L. T., & Venkatesh, S. (2010). Organizational culture and technological innovation adoption in private hospitals. International Business Research, 3(3), 144-153. Retrieved from www.ccsenet.org Tyler, K. (1998). Take new employee orientation off the back burner. HRMagazine, 43, 49-57. West, R. (2014, December 19). Flashback Fridays: Halloweens of the Past [Blog of Southwest]. Retrieved from http://www.blogsouthwest.com World’s most admired companies – Fortune. (2014). Retrieved January 5, 2014, from http://fortune.com

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Critical analysis - Essay Example These can offer the employees a strong establishment for the aim of attaining a competitive edge (Enrensal, 2006, p.17). A career is termed as an individual’s occupation that deals with how an individual earns his or her living. Career management encompasses the process where people invest their resources for the aim of achieving career objectives (VonHippel et al, 2000, p.102). Career management is not a one day undertaking but rather a long-term process that is vital for the adaptation of the evolving demands of the 21st century’s economy. Various economic changes taking place in the economy tend to have a great impact on the income distributions and employment opportunities available in the world. During career management sessions, employees are trained on the adoption of suitable beliefs, attitudes, and values that fit in today’s job environment. Career advice given to individuals assists in changing their working behaviors as well as to help them in self dis covery in order to meet the needs of employers who are highly influenced by effects of globalization (Grey, 2002, p.445). Worldwide competition, technological change, and adjustments in consumer preferences have greatly impacted on the quality and the type of employment available thus necessitating the need for organizations to embark on career management practices. Career management therefore takes two forms; can either be conducted at an organizational level or at an individual level. In todays market settings competition and the cost economics presents a lot of insecurities in the job market. On the other hand competition and evolution industries are opening a surfeit of opportunities for the people to select from (Personal Career management, 2012). New job openings and associated threats results in the job market becoming extremely unpredictable. In this type of uncertain environment, it is eventually the role of an individual to make his or her own decisions on what to pursue f or the preferred career. The individual ambitions attached to the upcoming business developments are used to shape up the individual career options. An organization in this case can try and support the career aspirations of an individual; if at all the career is falling in line with the goals of the organization. Thus with the notion of careers in the contemporary world, an individual is required to adjust the way careers were viewed traditionally. A job is no longer a mere means of getting money but rather should be looked at as a means of acquiring knowledge. As much as the individual is working on meeting the objectives of the company, he or she is also making strengthening his or her skill for the aim career development (Alagse, 2012). Career management is termed as the initial responsibility of any individual. Pursuing of the preferred career by an individual is a long process where he endlessly gets to learn things pertaining to his personality, purpose, interests and abilitie s. It calls for rigor and much focus at each and every step of career management. This particular person must incessantly review his or her assignments and try to come up with alternative outlook of the job, which assists in enriching an individual’s experience. An interrupted relook at the current job and the organization that an individual is serving alongside the available opportunities in the outside world will enable an individual

Genetics and Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Genetics and Evolution - Essay Example Thus in such situations the characters used to recognise the species becomes merely diagnostic, not distinctive. Biologically speaking, these are a connected series of the species in neighbouring areas which interbreed with two end populations which are too phenotypically and geographically separated that they cannot interbreed. These two genetically and phenotypically diverse populations which represent the end populations may exist in the same geographic region, yet due to genetic and phenotypic diversity would not interbreed. As an example, the case of Larus gulls can be taken, the different species of which form a ring around the North Pole. The Lesser Black-beaked Gulls in Siberia form a part of this ring, and although they descend from the same species, adjacent Herring gulls are so different from them that they do not interbreed. Earnst Mayr's Biological species concept tends to recognise species based on defined phenotypic characters. Mayr defined species as groups of interbreeding populations, which do not reproduce across other species. This builds in a concept of reproductive isolation from other such groups. Particular species specific phenotypic characters or attributes prevent interbreeding with other species. Although the biological species concept places the taxonomy of natural species within the concept of population genetics, it fails to explain the ring species. Although there are apparent differences between naturally occurring ring species, the phenotypic distinction within the same or adjacent geographic areas blur, so in actuality, they interbreed. Secondly, the existence of connecting population distinguishes the ring species from two separate species. These features raise questions about the species concept (Liebers et al., 2004). Q2. Neo-Darwinism and Lamarckism The Neo-Darwinism of evolution contends that all life on earth arose from a common ancestor. This was postulated to occur due to random mutations of genes, which survived following the process of natural selection. Where these mutations were beneficial and had survived natural selection, it led to a replicative process leading to more offspring. On the contrary, those with deleterious mutations have fewer or no offspring. Some of these mutations which were beneficial could help new adaptations to altered environments changed or new. These adaptations were incorporated in the genetic traits leading to generation of newer species. It has been postulated that the genetic makeup of the complex organisms is a result of duplication and useful mutation of existing genes of simple organisms. Lamarck's theory of evolution on the other hand posits that when environmental conditions change, an organism goes through the need for changes. With these changes, organs or organ systems may also go th rough the drives of these changes, which ultimately would need use or disuse of some organs. If used, these organs will develop, and if disused, these organs will demonstrate diminution. In this way a new characteristic or genetic trait is acquired. When acquired traits run in generations, these become hereditary, and the organism demonstrates an evolution. These two theories differ in the concept of causation of mutation. While the neo-Darwinian

Hunted House Essay Example for Free

Hunted House Essay Nobodydared to go in empty house in an isolated part of the village . Eventually, the landscape of the empty house was shady,lush and green, no one is brave enough to hunt for wildfigs. The beautiful and evergreen nature surrounding the empty house was damp and soggy always. After the F.Sc examinations, my peers and I decided to go for camping the empty house since we had enough of studying books and would like to investigate about the mystery of that house. It was supposed to be a two days camping trip. We equipped ourselves with the necessary camping gear and enough food to last for the two days. We walked deep inside the village and reached at a huge and old empty house. As soon as we arrived there, Hammad approaches all of us to enter the house since the journey was quite difficult and tiring. We stepped in the house to fill our empty stomachs with the food that we had brought but we realized that the condition of the house was incredibly dirty and dusty. The ceiling was fully covered with spider webs whereas the floor was covered with dried leaves. Hence, we managed to clear up the place before start eating our meal.Then, we went walking around the house and suddenly Hammad started screaming â€Å"Aww!!!†. He saw a human skull inside a drawer. All of us were astonished with the discovery of human skull in the mystery house. At that moment, we could feel our blood stream was flushing and cold. All of us quickly rushed out of the house and decided to go back home. It was our badluck because it was raining and falling snow heavily outside. We had no choice but to wait until the rain stops. Fear was written on all our face, especially since we had discovered a human skull! All of us were in low spirits. Even Hammad was silent and nervous who is actually a noisy maker in our group. The hours dragged past but the rain continued. Instead we had no choice but to spend the night in the mysterious house. Although we were exhausted, we could not rest our tired minds and bodies with the demand of sleep.At midnight, Ali woke up to go to toilet and asked me to accompany him till the door. While I was waiting for him, I saw a â€Å"fully white dressed creature without head holding an axe† was hunting for food in the middle of night at the balcony of the house. I could not believe my own eyes and started reciting prayer according to our religion Islam. Then, I quietly went back to sleep after Ali was back. The next morning, we decided to make our way back to home and quickly packed all our goods. On the way heading back, I told them about the horrifying creature that I saw last night. All of them were nervous and frighten.On our way back, we met with a group of villagers who normallywashes their clothes at a bank of canal, which is situated about 2km away from the empty house. Therefore, we took that opportunity to ask them about the mystery of the empty house and the ‘human skull’. According to them, beforethis there was a young lady who got murdered by the communist soldiers in the empty house. One of them tried to rape her but she managed to fight him back using an axe. Unfortunately, she lost her head in that battle. Hence, the human skull belongs to the young lady and the white creature is her spirit who is hunting people for her revenge.After that incident, no one dared to go the house. Then, my friends and I thank the villagers and made our way for home. We decided not to go to the empty house anymore after this.

Pressure Ulcer Assessment and Management | Reflection

Pressure Ulcer Assessment and Management | Reflection Chitse Wheeler Albon Description The purpose of this reflection is to contemplate on the critical incident that brought to my attention regarding the pressure ulcer assessment and management of staffs in care home. Utilizing a critical incident as a way of reflecting involves the identification of comportment deemed to have been particularly subsidiary or unhelpful in a given situation (Hannigan, 2001). I am working in a nursing home in unit catering elderly mentally ill clients. We have 25 residents most of them suffers from dementia. One incident happen to a 90 year old male client with dementia who was double incontinent and has been bed bound due to recent fall that have resulted him to have a fractured hip. He had a history of hypertension and angina 4 years ago. Throughout this essay I will referred the client to Mr. X to protect his identity and maintain confidentiality abiding the guidelines set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2014) I observed redness on the sacral area of Mr. X while doing personal care for him with another staff. According to European Pressure Ulcer Advisory ( EPUAP) guidelines, it was grade 1 pressure ulcer as there was intact skin with non-blanchable redness. He is more helpless against pressure damage, as his skin has ended up more delicate and more slender with age (NICE 2014). The nurse in charged was informed regarding our observation. She assessed the pressure area of Mr. X and told to staff that he needs to be assisted in changing his position every 2 hours and application of barrier cream during pad change. The next day, it was reported in the hand over that Mr. X developed a grade 2 pressure sores, a partial thickness loss of dermis presenting as a shallow ulcer open ulcer with a red pink wound. (EPUAP 2014). It also conveyed that the night staffs have not turn him for more than 8 hours and never completed the positional chart. The worst was Mr. C was the fourth resident with pressure ulcer in the unit. Feelings I felt confident because I have prior knowledge regarding pressure sore management and can share this to other care staff for better care for residents with pressure ulcers. However, I was shocked with what I heard in the handover and felt sorry for Mr X that in less than a day he incurs grade 2 bedsores. The effect of pressure ulcer to him and the amount of pain he was dealing. Pressure ulcers can result in clients limited functions, emotional anguish, and agony from pain. (Nelson et al 2009). According to Purshotaman (2013), pressures to bony areas in a 1 to 6 hour period can result to pressure ulcer and shear and friction also act as a synergy to acquire wound in clients who are malnourished, incontinent, bedridden or mentally disturbed. And within 24 hours or it take up to 5 days for pressure ulcer to develop. It was unacceptable that there are four residents who have pressure sore at the same time thus reflecting the quality of care rendered to clients. Pressure ulcer prevention involves an interdisciplinary approach to care. To achieve it, it requires coordination, organizational culture and operational practice that uphold teamwork and communication. Evaluation Pressure ulcers, otherwise called pressure or bed sore, are restricted areas of skin damage as a result of underlying destructed tissue brought on by excessive pressure stopping blood flow and bringing on an absence of oxygen and supplements to tissue cells. Eventually tissue cells die causing ulceration. The vital factors that leads to accumulation of pressure sore includes clients medical condition, medication, malnourishment, age, lack of fluid intakes or dehydration, incontinence, lack of mobility, skin condition and weight. The external influences that hasten its occurrence are pressure, shearing force, friction, moving and handling and moisture. There are several risk assessment tools available to use to determine the level of client having pressure ulcer which I have been familiar during my learning process. These scales are the Norton scale, Braden Scale and Waterlow scale. The most common scale adopted in my work place was the Waterlow scale. It includes additional factors such as age, nutritional status, skin type and disease especially those affecting circulation. The score should be determined during admission of the client, but it is an on-going process and must be carried out whenever a significant changes arise from clients condition ( L. Nazarko,2009). Even though the Waterlow scale identifies more risk factors than the other two assessment tools and widely used across the United Kingdom, it has still be criticised for its ability to over predict risk and ultimately result in the misuse of resource.( Edwards 1995; Mcgough, 1999). Most of the scales used have been develop based on opinions of the importance of possible risk. It might get different scores from nurses assessing the same clients (L. Nazarko, 2009). The predictability of these tools been challenged because it might over or under predict the risk of a person having pressure sore, gaining expensive cost of implications as preventive equipment is put into place that might not always be necessary.(Frank et al, 2003). Although the Waterlow scoring system includes more objective measurements like the Body Mass Index ( BMI ) and record of weight loss. It is still indefinite whether the reliability of the tool ratings has improved by these additions. It has been recognized that this is a fundamental defect of these tools and due to this clinical judgement must always support the conclusions made by the results. The aims of the Pressure ulcer risk assessment tools are to quantify and measure the risk of a person to have a pressure ulcer. To be able to determine the quality of the measurement, the evaluation of validity and reliability should always take place. However, the limitation of the validity and reliability of the pressure ulcer risk tools are generally recognized. According to EPUAP (2014), the solution to overcome these problems is to combine the scores of pressure ulcer risks tools with clinical judgement. In the studies of pressure ulcer tools, there have been few endeavours made to analyse, the diverse pressure ulcer risk assessment strategies. Pancorbo Hidalgo et al (2006) distinguished three studies, researching the Norton scale compared to clinical judgment and the effect on pressure ulcer frequency. From these studies, it was inferred that there was no confirmation, that the danger of pressure ulcer incidence was lessened by the utilization of the risk assessment tools. The Cochrane audit (2008), set out to focus, whether the utilization of pressure ulcer risk assessment, in all health care settings, reduced the frequency of pressure ulcers. As no studies met the criteria, the authors have been not able to answer the survey question. At present there is just feeble proof to support the legitimacy of pressure ulcer risk assessment scale tools and obtained scores contain fluctuating measures of estimation lapse. According to NICE (2014) guidelines, a client who is at risk having a pressure ulcer must be assessed within six hours of admission. However, Mr. X has been in the nursing home for years, his assessment should have been on-going as he was prone to develop it. During the assessment, a skin inspection must be completed on the most vulnerable areas the bony prominent part of the body like the sacrum, heels, elbows, shoulder, back of the head and toes and other parts of the body where shear or friction could take place. Pressure ulcers are assessed and graded according to the extent of damage of the tissue. The European and US National Pressure Ulcer Advisory panels (EPUAP and NPUAP) together with the Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliances (PPPIA) release the latest International Pressure Ulcer guidelines for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. It’s an evidence based recommendation for the prevention and treatment that can be used throughout the world in any health care settin g by health care professionals. Pressure sores are categories from stage I to IV depending on the tissue damage. Addition to these, are two other categories the unstageable pressure ulcers and suspected deep tissue injury (EPUAP-NPUAP-PPPIA International Pressure Ulcer Guidelines 2014) The assessment implement used throughout my area of work, is the Waterlow Scale.The utilization of the Waterlow implement enables, the nurse to assess each patient according to their individual risk of developing pressure sores (Pancorbo-Hidalgo et al 2006)The tool uses an amalgamation of core and external risk factors that contribute to the development of pressure ulcers.. Nutritional assessment and screening tools like getting the Body Mass Index (BMI) are also utilized in the home for managing patients who are at risk of or have a pressure ulcer. The EPUAP (2014) recommends that as a minimum, assessment of nutritional status should include regular weighing of patients, skin assessment, documentation of food and fluid intake. Even so there are policies and procedures in place for management and prevention of pressure ulcer there were still a prevalent occurrence of pressure sores in the unit. Analysis The staffs’ knowledge about pressure ulcer prevention and management plays a very vital role. However, the lack of health care staffs’ education and trainings; and documentation resulted to numbers of patients having pressure ulcers in the unit. All health care professionals must receive relevant training and education regarding pressure ulcer risk prevention and management (NICE 2014).The information, skills and knowledge, gained from these training sessions, should then be shared down to other members of the team and embedded to practice. And all health care staffs involved in the care of clients with pressure ulcer needs to be updated on policies, guidelines and the latest patient educational information according to NICE guidelines (2014). Effective communication between staffs in the care of Mr X could have played a major role to make his pressure sore healed quicker and not worsen. Pressure ulcer prevention and management is a collaborative effort. The nurses should have taken the lead and make sure that the information about the course of care actions towards pressure ulcer management of Mr X has been disseminated to all staffs during the shifts which can be done during the handover. The nurses as leaders of the unit must take other staffs to join on board towards the same direction on a certain goal of clients care. As a student nurse, I have previous knowledge and experience about the pressure sore care and management before but the NMC(2014) oblige that I, to be a registered nurse in the United Kingdom, need to take an appropriate action to update my knowledge and skills to maintain and develop competence to safe practice. To be able to be competent, I need to acquire risk assessment skills while putting in my NMC code of conduct. I was able to assess and observe the redness of the sacral area of Mr X and have reported it immediately to the nurse in charge. Through this positive action of care, the nurse has provided immediate nursing care to Mr. X. Conclusion There is a proof that demonstrates that pressure ulcer risk assessment tools are valuable and useful when utilized as an aide for the obtainment of equipment. Then again, they cant be depended upon solely to give a holistic care to clients. It has been highlighted, that to guarantee holistic assessment of clients, it is important to complete a combination of assessment to be able to create a complete picture client’s health. In spite of the fact that The Waterlow scale covers various variables that need to be considered all through the assessment process, it has become apparent that the â€Å"at risk† score, can frequently be over or under scored relying upon the health care practitioner’s clinical judgement. Clinical judgment has turned out to be, a vital part of pressure ulcer prevention and management. The education and effective communication of the patient, relatives, carers and nurses has likewise been highlighted, as a critical part of consideration. Enabl ing the patient with data in regards to their ailment, may diminish the mending time and prevents further concerns. Action Plan To prevent and minimize the number of pressure ulcer staffs must attend training regarding pressure ulcer prevention and management. They should be also familiarizing with the policies and procedures when pressure ulcer is noticed so that if the same experience occurs in the future they familiarize the actions to be follow. In addition, health care staffs must be mindful that communication, teamwork, support and supervision have a big role to improve the quality of care of pressure ulcer management. Reporting, Supervision system and empowering staffs to confidently complete forms like positional charts, food and fluid charts and body map can be effective and a good way to improve communication between staff and for continuity of care of clients As a catalyst of change, I should be a role model to other staffs by abiding with the standard of care rendered with clients and promote their best interest by educating my colleagues and having effective communication between staffs and clients. However, not all staffs are willing for change. Change takes time but as long as there is a continuous education and system of good practice in place and staffs can see the results and benefits for clients, others and for themselves, more or less change can happen. Referrence: Nazarko, L. and Nazarko, L. (2002). Nursing in care homes. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Science. National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance.(2014) Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Quick Reference Guide. Emily Haesler (Ed.). Cambridge Media: Perth, Australia;. Nice.org.uk, (2014). Pressure ulcers: prevention and management of pressure ulcers | Guidance and guidelines | NICE. [online] Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg179 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]. Nice.org.uk, (2014). Pressure ulcers: prevention and management of pressure ulcers | Guidance and guidelines | NICE. [online] Available at: http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg179 [Accessed 5 Jan. 2015]. Bryant, R. and Nix, D. (2012). Acute chronic wounds. St. Louis, Mo.: Elsevier/Mosby. Pancorbo Hidalgo et al (2006) McCabe, C., Timmins, F. and Campling, J. (2006). Communication skills for nursing practice. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan. (Hannigan, 2001). E. Purshotaman.(2013) 2013 International Conference on Biological, Medical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE2013. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: DEStech Publications, Inc E. Purshotaman Anon, (2015). 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/systems/long-term-care/resources/pressure-ulcers/pressureulcertoolkit/putoolkit.pdf [Accessed 6 Jan. 2015]. Nazarko, L. (2009). Nursing in Care Homes. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons.