Monetary and Fiscal Policy in United States and Finland

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in United States and Finland Macroeconomics 202 Assignment One:
Answer these following questions in an essay format. At least five economic terms must be used from within your essay. Think critically and creatively. Limit your answers to a maximum of two pages in an essay format (single spaced).

Monetary and Fiscal Policy in United States and Finland
Monetary and Fiscal Policy in United States and Finland

This is due in the third week on Wednesday. Once again, this is pass or fail and is worth 7% of your grade. Any late assignments will be half off if it passes.
You will need to pick a country for this assignment to analyze (this country will also can be the country for your project). If you have a partner for your
project, please list it on your paper next to your name. You will need to read a little further in the book about fiscal and monetary policy.
1. What is the current economic situation in the United States? Is the United States producing at high or low? Is spending and consumption high or low? What
are the current fiscal and monetary policies?
2. For the country of choice, what is it’s the current economic situation? Good or bad? Is the country producing at high or low level? Is spending and
consumption high or low level? What are the current fiscal and monetary policies?
3. How does the current policies and its consequences affect my current life and my life after college? (education, jobs, loans, buying a home, family,
retirement etc)
4. What is my biggest macroeconomic worry?
Hint:
Read about our current monetary and fiscal policy. What is the Fed doing? Rates? What is our congress doing? Taxes? Spending? Figure out the consequences.
Read articles about how baby boomers are dealing with the current financial problems. Think about how that relates to you and your future.

National Mental Health Strategy;Policy

National Mental Health Strategy
National Mental Health Strategy

National Mental Health Strategy

Order Instructions:

Please Keep this all Australian, such as references and information.

Use Harvard Referencing, I will add a Manuel of Australian Harvard referencing

This assignment is all about the National Mental Health Strategy. Just like the first and second assignment the writer did for order 114503 and 114550.

Using the Althaus et al (2103) text provide an analysis of your chosen policy using the following headings.

1. What policy instrument/s have been used in the delivery of the policy?

2. How was the consultation carried out / by whom/ with whom?

3. How and with whom has the policy been coordinated?

4. How has the policy been implemented? Were there other implementation choices / strategies and if so what were they?

5. How has the evaluation been carried out and what were the findings / future recommendations?
The paper should be professionally presented and provide a sound structure of analysis throughout.

Provide an introduction to your policy and conclude with the paragraphs on evaluation and future recommendations.

Please only use the above titles.

There should be a minimum of 20 references for this paper

More info.
Policy Analysis Paper 2 50% , 2000 words. Due Monday 31st. October at 9.00am
This assignment will provide a succinct outline of the chosen policy purpose and context and its relation to other existing policies / programs. Students will :
Analyse the policy instruments, consultation and coordination processes
.Discuss implementation choices and strategies
.Discuss evaluation processes.
.Provide a summary of scholarly recommendations

This assignment should provide a sound structure of analysis and professional presentation throughout the paper

SAMPLE ANSWER

Policy Paper 2: National Mental Health Strategy

Introduction

Despite the international recognition of mental health policy implementation, Australian government’s success in delivering population based care is overshadowed by its failure to fully implement the reforms as promised. The Australian government mental health action plan has several potential pitfalls including the unmet needs, met non-needs and resource shortages. These are main issues that are continually being reported in the Australian mental healthcare policy reforms (Bateman & Smith, 2011).

To understand the NMH reform process and its implication to the society, this paper analyzes the policy instruments used to deliver the policy. The paper also explores consultation as well as the coordination processes; discuss the implementation strategies, and evaluation process of the NMH policy. The paper concludes by providing a summary of future recommendations.

Policy instruments used to delivery National Mental Health Strategy

Policy instruments refers to the means or approaches the government has applied to deliver the NMH policy. According to Althaus et al.( 2013), there are four types of policy instruments have been used to achieve the NMH policy ends. These include money, advocacy, use of legislative power and government action. The government operates a federated system that consists of complex division of labor between the Federal, State and Territory government. The federal government is responsible for controlling the funding of the health services whereas the state and territory government main role is to delivery services with additional of few funding and regulatory responsibilities (Health 2015). The tax collection process is arranged in a way that it creates vertical fiscal imbalance. The imbalance makes the federal government to influence the state and local territories during the policy making process by attaching conditions. For instance, the Federal government played increasing important role in establishing the White paper health reforms. In this case, the government action instrument is perceived as centralization, where the Federal government plays more active role in overseeing the policy, public reporting, endorsing and rewarding the policy performance through the conditions it attaches to its financial assistance. Political theorist argues that adoption of decentralized integration can maximize its positive outcome (Crosbie 2013).

Advocacy is another policy instrument that has been applied to deliver the National Mental Health Strategy policy. The main priority of the public health service team is to establish a national focus and address the challenges faces by over one million people who suffer from mental health diseases. Through this instrument, the main role of the government aim is to shape the NMH policy by developing the effective strategies that will ensure that effective policies are implemented, and a funding support to sustain the implementation processes of the policy. Another focus of advocacy as an instrument is to bring the citizens together so that they can learn, debate, and share their knowledge through white papers, comprehensive reports and public events that facilitate policy analysis (Howlett 2011).

The use of legislative power as an instrument to deliver the NMH policy involves use of government power to enhance changes in particular societal behavior. The main aim of using legislative power is to protect people by ensuring that the safety and quality standards of mental health are met and to correct for any existing market failures. As compared to the previous NMH reforms plans in the past 2 decades, the use of legislative process  have shifted from prescriptive-legislative strategy towards a decentralized approach that aims to improve the consumers outcomes. This is best evidence by cross-border anomalies dissolution in the NMH first and second plans and introduction of routine evaluation against core national performance indicators which highlights increased recognition for community education to influence the public attitudes (May et al. 2006).

Consultation

The main role of consultation is that it enhances new forms of accountability. Consultation process enables the government to seek view point of the people affected by the policy, which in turn improves trust as well as enhance smooth policy development as well as implementation processes.  A mental Health commission was established to ensure that reforms support the needs, wishes and hopes of people diagnosed with mental illness. The first consultation on Mental Health Strategy dates since 1984, when Dr. Neal Blewett (then Federal Minister of Health)   decided it was time to establish a national policy on mental health services (Whiteford & Buckingham 2005).

Consequently, a consultancy was established to report the mental health status in Australia.  Upon the submission of A National Mental Health Services Policy in 1988, the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council (AHMAC) was formed in 1989 in order to discuss the way forward. These consultations were held in territories and States between December 1989 and January 1990.  Since then, the subsequent reforms have involved consultation services between the National Mental Health commission, carers, consumers, professional staff and non-government organizations in both public and private sectors in order to establish shared vision, to align actions, share learning and to monitor progress of the reforms (Australian Government 2013b).

Research indicates that the failures in the current NMH policy reform is attributable to poor inequalities which arise from misrepresentation of the people or stakeholders affected. It is important for the healthcare practitioners to understand their roles in safeguarding the misrepresented population. This implies that they are their community voices in such neoliberal policy environs. For instance, mental health reports highlight the negative impacts on Aboriginal people across Australia caused by social exclusion during the policy consultation. These findings reports caution against the threats of perpetuating the neoliberal agendas, and recommends that the government must broaden and improve consultation skills in order to actualize transformational societal changes (Howlett 2012).

The Australian government defining feature is free and fair elections. However, the citizens increasingly want to be included in the decision making processes of choices that affect their community. Groups that are outside of government are increasingly demanding to be involved in decision making process. The legitimacy of the public policy relies on interrelationships between government and the citizens. Therefore, the public servants, politicians and government representatives must find a way to discuss with the community of interest, and make arrangements to draw them into the policy process and simultaneously avoiding delays, abrogation of accountability to targeted population and simple vetoing by groups not represented (Kruk  2012).

Coordination process
Effective policy implementation is based on shared goals. Therefore, the government programs should work together and should assign priority to competing proposals. The government works together in a coordinated manner by institutionalizing the government’s structures and routines. Coordination occurs in various forms such as establishing coherence during policy development and implementation or establishing sense of consistency in specific policy objectives. Coordination also reflects on efficient consultation between the various stakeholders in order to attain a common goal and to permit input that will enable the specific policy meets a workable proposal (Huxley 2014).

The traditional mode of NMH policy coordination involved integrating the various stakeholders through hierarchy, with government representatives and politicians exercising sovereign authority passed through the chains of command from the top government representatives (minister) to various heads of departments, frontline public figures and the populace. The coordination process in this type of governance is centralized, and applies directives and roles in top-down application (Butler 2016).

This type of representation of the society does not provide accurate picture of the complex roles and actions of each stakeholder.  Research indicates that this has resulted in poor coordination, planning and operation between the Federal, states and territories. Consequently, there is increased duplication and overlapping gaps in the services such that the vulnerable people are left to suffer due to complex and fragmented system. This calls for adoption of alternative views as well as coordination systems that have emerged in the recent past (Smullen 2015).
Implementation process

Once a policy decision is reached through the aforementioned processes, the next step is policy implementation. This stage entails informing the public of the policy developed; approaches to implement it, government staff are instructed about their responsibility to deliver their services.  Since the development of National Mental Health strategy in 1993, the Australian government has commenced a 5- year reform plan. The policy is implemented in a 5-year mental health plan commonly referred to as the National Mental Health Strategy. Its aim was to coordinate the development of public mental services at national level, which was the responsibility of the state and territory since 1901 (Australian Government 2013a).

The structural reforms that begun since the first mental health plan aimed at reducing reliance on psychiatric hospital and increasing reliance  of community based alternatives  as well as acute care  in primary care settings. The implementation of the plans sought to foster strong partnership between special care and primary care providers across the various sectors of the community and the government. The emphasis on promoting mental health and prevention of mental illness has continued to be supported across the second, third and fourth National Mental Health Policy (Roberts 2011).

For instance, the 2008 NMH policy carried on the whole-government approach so as to overarch vision of establishing a mental health system that allows recovery and prioritization of early intervention to ensure that all the citizens with mental illness access adequate support.  The implementation of the Fourth National Mental Health helped refine the previous NMH strategies through specific reform actions designed to improve mental health patient’s social inclusion, early intervention, recovery and prevention in a coordinated, innovative and accountable health care system (Whiteford, Buckingham, & Manderscheid, 2002).

The main criticism of the four National Mental Health strategies (NMH) is that failure to implement the policy directions. Although the system is being reformed towards the desired directions, the reforms have not been equal; with increased disparities in funding as well as delivery have been unequal in some states and territory (Jones 2010). There are concerns on whether the fund that federal government says it spends on mental health is actually spent on it. In addition, withdrawing of ‘maintenance clause’ in the 2003-08 Health Care Agreements, there is little accountability of the money spent and there are some inaccuracies. The main issues are not only on inconsistencies of national policy settings, or policy directions are not implemented but also on whether the extent of change and the policy pace is adequate enough (Bacchi 2009).

Evaluation process
The evaluation conducted has focused on the effectiveness of the National Mental Health strategy since its establishment. The study evaluation indicated that there have been some substantial changes that have occurred in the structure of public mental health services in Australia (Connor et al. 2012). In addition, the quality of mental health services in the 1990s substantially in that there seems to be more responsive and community oriented as compared to decades ago.  This indicates that the NMH strategy has been instrumental in accelerating the positive changes in the mental health system observed today. The strategy has provided brought change to service systems that have been reluctant to accept care and responsibility to patients with health complications. Most of the initiatives have been established to provide quality housing and job opportunities which have been instrumental in promoting mental health and patients well being (McGorry 2011).

Despite the aforementioned positive improvements, there is rampant dissatisfaction with most aspects of mental healthcare services. There are still numerous reports on access to services, stigmatization by the staff and poor quality of service. Most of the people feel disenfranchised by the focus on serious mental diseases. The carers feel burdened by the escalating demands and the limited resources. Most argue that there is little assistance, especially in Aboriginal population, to enable them manage burden of mental health issues in the community (Australian Public Policy 2013).
Future recommendations

 The first recommendation is for the government to increase focus on mental health promotion, prevention and education.  Research indicated that many mental disorders begin at a childhood and adolescence stage indicating that mental health in young population is a significant issue. The government should increase focus on improving mental health services for adolescents living in underprivileged environments (Health 2014).  This can be done through working with schools and communities to provide programs improve mental health knowledge with the aim of implementing prevention and early intervention programs for the community. The reforms should also embrace the emerging technologies such as video-conferencing and web based treatments. Lastly, it is imperative to review the workforce guidelines for eligibility of mental health work force by integrating training packages that will improve knowledge, values and skills of mental health workforce and provide skills driven by the community needs rather than the existing occupational frameworks (Thill 2015).

Conclusion

As indicated in this project, the remote communities face unique challenges. This call for workforce development and support to ensure equitable access to services especially in rural areas and to recognize that community has differing health demands. These societies need innovative service to support their specific needs.

References

Althaus, C., Bridgeman, P., & Davis, G., 2013, The Australian Policy Handbook, Allan & Unwin, Sydney.

Australian Government, 2013a, National mental health committee publication. Retrieved from https://mhsa.aihw.gov.au/committees/publications/

Australian Government, 2013b, Mental health. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/Mental+Health+and+Wellbeing-1

Australian Public Policy. 2013, Mental health policy — stumbling in the dark? Retrieved from Research Network http://www.apprn.org/

Bateman, J. & Smith, T. (2011). Taking Our Place. International Journal Of Mental Health, 40(2), 55-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/imh0020-7411400203

Butler, J., 2016. What the Major Parties Have Promised for Mental Health. [Online] Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/06/27/what-the-major-parties-have-promised-for-mental-health/

Bacchi, C.L, 2009, Analysing policy: what’s the problem represented to be?, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.

Connor, N., Kotze, B., Vine, R., Patton, M., Newton, R. 2012, The emperor’s edict stops at the village gate. Australas Psychiatry.20(12); 20,28

Crosbie, D.W. 2009, Mental health policy – stumbling in the dark? Med J Aust.190:S43

Health, T. D. O., 2014. National Mentall Health Strategy. [Online] Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-strat

Health, T. D. O., 2015. Austrailian Government Response to Contributing Lives, Thriving Communities – Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services. [Online] Available at: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/mental-review-fact

Howlett, M. 2011, Designing public policies: Principles and instruments. 2nd ed. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. London, UK:

Howlett, M. 2012, The lessons of failure: learning and blame avoidance in public policy-making. Int Polit Sci Rev. 2012;33(5):539.555.

Huxley, J., 2014. Mental Health Australia. [Online] Available at: https://mhaustralia.org/general/why-australia-needs-national-strategy-prevention-mental-disorders

Jones, D. 2010,COMMENTARY: Deinstitutionalization of mental health services in south Australia – out of the frying pan, into the fire?. Community Health Studies, 9(1), 62-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-6405.1985.tb00542.x

Kruk, A. 2012, Australia’s ambitions to make a difference in people’s lives: the early focus of the new National Mental Health Commission. Mental Health Review Journal, 17(4), 238-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13619321211289317

May, P., Sapotichne, J., & Workman, S.,2006, ‘Policy Coherence and Policy Domains’ The Policy Studies Journal, 34,3: 381-403

McGorry, P. 2011, 21st century mental health care: what it looks like and how to achieve it. Australas Psychiatry. 2;19:5

Roberts, R. 2011,Delivering national mental health reform: When is a reform not a reform and what happened to the Fourth National Mental Health Plan? Aust J Rural Health. 19:229

Smullen, A. 2015, Not centralisation but decentralised integration through Australia’s National Mental Health Policy. Aust J Publ Admin, 2;19:5  retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8500.12153/pdf.

Thill, K ., 2015, ‘Listening for policy change: how the voices of disable people shaped Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme’, Disability and Society, vol. 30, no. 1 , pp 15-28

Whiteford, H. A. & Buckingham, W. J., 2005. Ten years of mental health service reform in Australia: are we getting it right?. Health Care, 182(8).

Whiteford, H., Buckingham, B. & Manderscheid, R., 2002. Australia’s National Mental Health Stategy. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180(3), pp. 210-215.

We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!

What is happening with the Affordable Care Act

What is happening with the Affordable Care Act
What is happening with the Affordable Care Act

What is happening with the Affordable Care Act

Order Instructions:

Guidelines for New York Times Articles

1. Obtain an article from the New York Times, either the Science Times on Tuesday or another New York Times article from the last six months. The topic could be on a science innovation that impacts patient care or an article about what is happening with the Accountable Care Act (ACA otherwise known as Obamacare).
2. Copy the article and submit it with your paper.
3. The one page paper on the article must be written in APA format.
4. Here are some guidelines for the paper
a. Typed, with 1 inch margins, double-spaced in Times New Roman with a font size of 12
b. Include a cover page with Title of the paper and the author
c. The paper must be 1 page in length with 3 – 4 paragraphs
i. Paragraph 1 – Brief synopsis of the article
ii. Paragraph 2 – Three major points of the article
iii. Paragraph 3 – 4 – How the information impacts your work as a nurse, or the profession of nursing or the transformation of health care in our country
5. APA formatting
a. Type in Insert header a running head to include the title and page number
b. Cite the newspaper article at the bottom of the pager, use APA standard for citations
c. In the body of the paper include the correct citation for in-text citation
d. Use this link or other APA resource as a reference for correct citation of a newspaper article
http://libguides.adelphi.edu/content.php?pid=356752&sid=3474108
6. Other
a. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE, use paraphrase to write the paper.
b. This is an individual assignment; do not copy from each other.

7. Grading Rubric
APA format for citations, cover page, running head 2 pts
Synopsis of article 2 pts.
Three major points of article 3 pts.
How the information impacts nursing/health care 3 pts. 10 pts

SAMPLE ANSWER

Title: What is happening with the Accountable Care Act

Student Name

Institution

Date

Synopsis

In the article on the New York Times by Paul Krugman, Obamacare is facing a serious challenge due to the inability of the supporting private insurance firms to offer their support. The anticipated intake of the insurance cover by the Americans has overwhelmed the private insurance companies supporting Obamacare and thus a significant challenge to Obamacare. This article presents the challenge with the Accountable Care Act despite there being many benefits and positive stories about the scheme (Krugman, 2016).

Three major points of the article

Despite the successes of Obamacare (Accountable Care Act), a political challenge looms. The election year in progress offers a significant challenge to the Accountable Care Act because the president’s legacy is tarnished by the Republican candidates as well as the party. This is why the fact that companies such as Aetna pulling out will definitely be a blow to Mr. Obama and his successor at the Democratic party candidature; Hillary Clinton.

The article brings out the success of Obamacare despite very high skeptics on the care program. The Obamacare scheme was expected to be very expensive and taxing on the American citizens but instead; this has not been the case. The scheme has operated for more than two years and indeed, more than 20 million Americans have benefited from the scheme. This was unprecedented.

There seems to be a deliberate scheme to frustrate the Accountable Care Act. Many states have alternative care programs aside from the expanded Medicaid and indeed, will likely not support the program when major donors pull out. Instead of making it affordable for the Americans to afford care, they are hiking the cost of insurance as a response to Americans pulling out of Obamacare.

Impact to nursing career

The article points out that the health care sector should often consider the cost of healthcare with regard to the duty of care. The article on Obamacare has led to the provision of quality services at affordable costs. Obamacare may not have solved all of America’s problems but it did bring about major hospital reforms (Oberlander, 2012). Regardless, the challenges with Obamacare may lead to a backlog of patient record processing especially with regard to payments.

References

Krugman, P. (2016, August 19). Obamacare Hits a Bump. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/opinion/obamacare-hits-a-bump.html

Oberlander, J. (2012). The future of Obamacare. New England Journal of Medicine367(23), 2165-2167.

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Negative Impacts of Cognitive Biases on Policy Decisions

Negative Impacts of Cognitive Biases on Policy Decisions would like to focus using primary literature but for introduction could use BBC news like British petroleum disaster discuss a bit of it the possible negative impact of cognitive bias in policy decision.

Negative Impacts of Cognitive Biases on Policy Decisions
Negative Impacts of Cognitive Biases on Policy Decisions

further explanation of topic keywords will be in the document attached below. since it said use a wide range of example would want it to cover on a different type of cognitive bias like planning fallacy, positive illusion, etc,? would also want to cover examples from
a different part of the world like some examples of Europe and some from Asia (preferably)…also want examples from different aspects like environmental,
military if possible.
also, want to have a paragraph include examples of cognitive bias have no impact or even positive impact on policy decisions (since it says to evaluate…)…
just my opinion about the outline..

HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance

HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance Order Instructions: HR policy’s contribution to business performance

HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance
HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance

In this essay, you continue your examination of methods for assessing and communicating about the contribution of HR policy to business performance. Use this opportunity to share with your classmate’s questions, alternative perspectives, challenges and proposals for overcoming challenges that might have value across organizational contexts.

To prepare for this essay:

•Review the files sent by email.

sharing ideas about the ways in which HR leaders can investigate and communicate about the linkages between HR policy and business performance that could be useful across a range of workplace contexts.

Proposing ways in which HR leaders and line managers can work together to assess the impact of HR policies and practices on business performance.

o Providing an alternative perspective on the challenges HR leaders would face, in general, or in specific organizations, and ways of overcoming those challenges.

o Asking probing questions to learn more about other people views, such as their experiences with evaluating specific HR policies

HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance Sample Answer

Ideologies on How HR Leaders Can Communicate the Link between HR Policy and Business Performance

In sharing insights on how HR policies are directly linked to the business strategies of an organization, it is vital to consider that the domains are primarily moderated by the cost, quality, and innovative strategies of an organization. On the other hand, the motivation to perform within an organization as detailed is likely to be associated with by with the inclusion of an efficient managerial style and organizational culture (John & Sue 2007, pp.5). In other words, it is essential to note that the impact of the leader’s policies on the performance of an organization is linked by the attitudes, skills and behaviors of the employees within an organization.

This indicates the rationale behind the implementation of efficient HR practices which can impact higher performances within an organization. On the other hand, significance should be noted in the three HRM policy domains that include motivation, ability and opportunity in impacting the performance of organizations business outcomes that involve the competencies and corporation of employees (Jenkins, & Delbridge, 2013, pp.2790). This intrinsically initiates an impact on the attitudes of employees, an element that motivates them to get committed within their organizations.

Approaches HR Leaders and Line Managers Can Employ In Accessing the Impact of HR Policies on Business Performance

According to several literatures, the link between HRM and the performance of an organization has significantly neglected the roles of the managers and line managers yet these personnel’s are considered as important in the implementation of many HR practices within an organization (Jiang, Lepak, Han, Hong, Kim, & Winkler, 2012, pp. 78). It is therefore essential to determine the fact that the HR leaders and line managers can work together in the management of people through the inaction of HR practices and leadership behavior through a casual chain that seeks to integrate the relationship between an organizations performance and HRM policies and practices.

This is significant in the relationship between the HR leaders and line managers that is directed towards influencing the views of the employees through a supportive approach both at the functional practice level within the organization (Katou, & Budhwar, 2013, pp.30). On the other hand, HR leaders and the Line Managers are in a position to relate the levels of an organizations commitment and attitudes towards the activities of an organization. These practitioners are in a position to influence the exchange relationships developed between the employees within the organization, a factor that initiates commitment and motivation within an organization.

The Challenges that HR Leader Face and How to Overcome these Challenges

It is essential to determine that the element of change management remains a challenge for HR managers and leaders within an organization. However, through the inclusion of an intensified training, HR leaders are bound to add their competencies in dealing with the element of change management. Secondly, it is imperative to determine that leadership development is another challenge that HR leadership and managers face (MacLeod, & Clarke, 2011, pp.12).

Leadership development is however critical within an organizations strategy, a factor that denotes the challenges that HR leaders experience especially in providing processes, tools and essential structures in selecting and developing an organizations future leaders (Oke, Walumbwa, & Myers, 2012, pp.275). Leadership development can however be initiated through the development of a strategic initiative that ensures the right employees are hired, retained and the culture of an organization is in a position to support the performance of these employees.

Probing Questions in Evaluating Specific HR Policies

In determining the manners in which HR leaders can communicate the link between policy and business performance, a couple of questions came across that include:

  1. How can leaders effectively measure the impact of an organizations business performance through a link of its performance and the HR Policies?
  2. What are some of the approaches that can be initiated in ensuring that the employees of an organization are aligned to the HR policies and that these policies impact their performance?

HR Policys Contribution to Business Performance References

Jenkins, S. & Delbridge, R. 2013 “Context matters: examining ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ approaches to employee engagement in two workplaces” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 24 (14) pp. 2670-2691

Jiang, K., Lepak, D.P., Han, K., Hong, Y., Kim, A. & Winkler, A. 2012 ‘Clarifying the construct of human resource systems: relating human resource management to employee performance’, Human Resource Management Review, 22 (2), pp.73-85.

John Purcell & Sue Hutchinson 2007 “Front-line managers as agents in the HRM-performance Causal chain: theory, analysis, and evidence. University of Bath Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 17, no 1, 2007, pages 3–20

Katou, A.A. & Budhwar, P.A. 2013 ‘Causal relationship between HRM policies and Organisational performance: evidence from the Greek manufacturing sector’, European Management Journal, 28 (1), pp.25-39

MacLeod, D. & Clarke, N. 2011 ‘Engaging for success: enhancing performance. Through employee engagement’ [Online]. Available from:http://www.engageforsuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/file52215.pdf (Accessed:10 October 2015).

Oke, A., Walumbwa, F.O. & Myers, A. 2012 ‘Innovation strategy, human resource policy, and firms’ revenue growth: the roles of environmental uncertainty and innovation performance’, Decision Sciences, 43 (2), pp.273-302.

Significance of HR Policy for an organization

Significance of HR Policy for an organization
Significance of HR Policy for an organization

Significance of HR Policy for an organization

Order Instructions:

A machine with a defective or missing part will not function as well as it should, and may break down entirely. Similarly, an organisation with a defective or missing element will not work well. The strategic significance of any element of an organisation becomes clear when that element is missing or broken. This could be true of a structural element, such as a department or team, or a more abstract, functional element, such as a policy or procedure.

o Synthesising general lessons about the strategic significance of HR policy for an organisation, as illustrated by examples of how a business can be impacted when policy fails

SAMPLE ANSWER

Significance of HR Policy for an organization

As in the case of a machine which breaks down when one of its parts is not functioning effectively or when it is missing, an organization’s performance is threatened when one of its departments is dysfunctional or neglected. The need for HR involvement in strategy is inevitable and companies that do not involve the HR in policy are bound to experience difficulties in achieving their objectives. This paper explains the importance of an HR policy and how its failure may impact an organization’s performance in a significant manner.

HR has been hailed as one of the most influential department within the organization. This is because it manages employees who are considered the organization’s most important asset. According to Watson (2005), HR policy provides guidelines governing employees, including how they should behave and execute their roles to meet organizational objectives.  HR policy guides performance through providing guidelines on employee roles and responsibilities, scope of performance and terms of contract or employment (Storey, 2007). In its absence, the organization may not be in a position to follow up employee performance. This creates a gap in employee accountability and could therefore result in low productivity.

HR policy ensures consistency within the organization and as established by Armstrong (2014), HR policy is key in ensuring that employees deliver consistent results. Through providing performance aspects, HR policy ensures that employees work towards meeting their targets. An example is performance appraisal included in the HR policy, which ensures that employees maintain consistent performance to ensure that they are rated highly. When the HR strategy is aligned with the overall company strategy results are likely to be more consistent and effective in enhancing organizational success (Watson, 2005).

HR policy provides a workplace structure; providing guidelines regarding working hours and leave, performance expectations, disciplinary action, work environment, workplace safety and communication channels among others (Bamberger, Biron & Meshoulam, 2014). Lack of a structure would be chaotic for the organization, leading to performance issues. According to Bamberger, Biron and Meshoulam (2014), policy sets clear guidelines that can be followed to enhance organizational processes by ensuring orderliness. This way, the organization is likely to run smoothly, as opposed to where there is no HR policy, thus enhancing efficiency.

HR policy in most organizations ensures that most regulations related to employee rights are adhered to. The HR policy in most cases contains information such as equal employment clauses, employee relations and membership in trade unions, health and safety and termination guidelines (CIPD, 2014). These are important in ensuring that employee rights are protected and that the organization is compliant with the law. It also means that employees are aware of the organization’s position based on various issues that affect job security, such that the organization can attract and maintain the right talent. Lack of a HR policy presents great risks in terms of meeting legal obligations and could subsequently influence performance (Storey, 2007).

In conclusion, it is clear that HR policy is a major prerequisite for organizational success; given that it provides guidance, order and structure, which are necessary in running the organization. All other departments depend on HR to ensure that employees can provide optimal service through guidance from the HR policy. The lack of a HR policy within the organization therefore resembles a machine which with a missing component, such that the organization is likely to fail. Similarly, a HR policy that is not working effectively could impact organizational performance in a significant manner.

Reference List

Armstrong, M. (2014) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 13th ed. London: Kogan Page

Bamberger, P., Biron, M. & Meshoulam, I. (2014) Human resource strategy: formulation,  implementation and impact, 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

CIPD (2014) HR policies factsheet [Online]. Retrieved from

http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/hr-policies.aspx

Storey, J. (2007) Human resource management: a critical text, 3rd Ed, London, Thomson Learning.

Watson, T. (2005) ‘Organizations, strategies and human resourcing’. 

In: Leopold, J., Harris, L. & Watson, T. (eds.).  The strategic managing of human resources. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

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The Policy of Internal Innovation Management

The policy of Internal Innovation Management Order Instructions: No title page needed

The Policy of Internal Innovation Management
The Policy of Internal Innovation Management

Research and report on two companies. Pick one which has always adhered to a policy of internal innovation and a second which has acquired technology several times through external means as detailed in our prior units. Compare and contrast the two approaches from the context of:

Implementation
•Evaluation
•Control
•Overall Portfolio Management

Relate them all back to your company’s success or lack thereof and consider the individual contribution each of these individual components has on the result. In both companies, consider if their approach is sustainable or if they need to change any of their methods applied in these four categories. Also consider if they need to switch between internal and external innovation overall.

Present your ideas as a complete set of recommendations for the company both evaluating their past performance and providing future recommendations. Also include consideration of current events (macroeconomic, competition, etc.) when making your recommendations.

The Policy of Internal Innovation Management Sample Answer

In the marketing arena as far as companies are concerned, it have been mentioned that, the key behind the development and growth of companies that are able to withstand a continuous increase of profits is innovation. Most of the business enterprises have invested a lot in innovation and not just innovation but open innovation. The aim of investing in this innovation is that, when an organization gives their innovation a second thought, it is able to yield a significance innovation results. Organizations are trying to explore on how it can be easier for them to connect with one another and mainly come up with a way that they will be able to comprehend between high and low technology and how they should develop to further innovations. With this in mind, companies are changing the innovations plans from internal innovation to open innovation, (Drucker, pg. 87, 2014).  This method is given a hand shake in the service industries, where stiff competition and advanced technological are mostly depended on for future innovative processes. It should be noted that, any kind of innovation should not interpret on how companies should govern their innovation. Every company vary differently from the other.

Facebook limited is a company that adhered to internal innovation. This has been there culture as they believe they should give their internal resources including their employees an upper hand to give there entrepreneur opinion. Facebook does encourage each and every person from the top management to the junior level to cram by creating. For it to happen, even the Chief Executive Office Mark Zuckerberg together with his vice president of the products Christopher Cox, are involved. They all become a part of concept and engineering of their products. In Facebook, the top management are viewed as great thinkers. With them been in the team, their innovation procedure get less of the approval and more of the great team of thinkers to participate. Facebook have come up with a new mobile strategy, (Berchicci, pg. 127, 2013).

The strategy has been implemented because in the recent study, it is believed that more user are trying to get contact with Facebook on their mobile phones. This has challenged the company and they have shifted to become a mobile organization. The organization has spurred on the mobile innovation. They have taken a different direction when there user are accessing Facebook through their phones. For this to happen, the company aims at giving their user something that is relevant, interesting and at the same time be in a position to come up with a new exposure where they are able to take act at an impulse. To do this internally, Facebook has come up with an internal mobile design think tank. Also, they are operating on the reengineering of the experience obtained from the “contextual sharing”. It means that they are able to offer information which can be comprehended, answered or even questioned while the user is still on the phone, (Feitelson, Frachtenberg, & Beck, pg. 17, 2013)

On the other hand, the Alliance Management Group believes that outsourcing for innovation require the employee to change on how they perceive things. They believe that what has not been invented in their company may or might be invented anywhere else. In the Alliance Management group, the top management whore are responsible for company biggest project do collaborate, share and be in charge of projects with their partners. For this to take place, the company needs to review their development process as far as the products are concerned. Also, the strategic planning, supply chain management, technology procedure, reward system and other organizational system for the benefit of incorporating innovation should be changed. Leaders in this company have created a cultural trend that hand shank external innovation. They have set a frame work that do encourage the employees to think global and be in a position to see new marketable places and idea when they use or apply the external resources, they will achieve what they want. To put this into action, the leader has created a reward system where they are able to reward those employees that use external resources.  In addition, they have created a platform to maintain the activity. The company deal with three approaches of dealing with the sourcing of technology in the firm.

The first on is recognized as traditional strategic planning activities. It normally deals with the inventory inside the firm and by this they are able to develop a plan if they are given those assets. In this context, what is missing for the company is the external inventories that the organization is in a position to get them.  Through the use of external assets, the company top management team are able to develop new customers from different market target. This is generated from the unimagined perspective of view that could not have been obtain from the use of only internal assets. To obtain all of this, the leaders or the top management have to restructure the strategizing process by including all the firms available resources. Also they should encourage employees to be able to identify external assets that will help them and the company at large to obtain the company vision and mission as quickly as possible and also at a minimum hurdle rate, (Cheng, & Huizingh, pg. 1215, 2014).

Facebook is the best known site in the social media. It recent innovated and invested in the mobile platform where its user can be able to access information without posing or at a go. With this innovation, it has been able to make a significance turning point. Facebook was able to get revenue that amounted to 69% of its total revenue generated only from the mobile devices. This was a great return for the Facebook since not many people could have used laptops or computers at a go an access to their services. According to their data, it is evidenced that through the fiscal year 2014 to 2015, they experienced a significant rise of 24% to 745 million. Through the use of the mobile platform, they have been able to make a significance step on advertisements. This will help them to allocate little cost to their projects and in return experience a huge return from the projects. For example in 2014, it was able to generate revenue amounting to 12,466,000 dollars and a net income of 2,925,000 dollars as compared to other years.

According to Facebook, threat is not or no longer a threat to them. They take a reputable advertising as the main threat for them. Failing to advance in advertisements they might be in a position to make a significance loss and that might be a boom to the company.

According to the alliance management group, it is based on the basis of controlling and overseeing the portfolio of innovation. The company has been able to create a very stable foundation that has help it to manage the portfolio of companies. It does mainly back it up with overseen and taking into consideration what might be of a big challenge or threat to them. To implement this, it involve the group collaborating with the members of the group and coming up with a good corporate governance procedure that goes beyond the company long term goal but at the time be a key knot toward the firm short term and long-term strategic plan, (Woo,  Bae, Kang, & Chu, pg. 14125,2014).

The implementation of internal and external innovation depends or is influenced by the external and internal factors that are within the business environment. For Facebook, it becomes difficult for them to use open innovation opt to source technology to boost up their services. This is because, they are facing a challenge of coming up with an informed decision procedure that they should undertake when implementing innovation that has been sourced from anywhere else. As we saw earlier, the company is at an easier position to make a good decision on what entrepreneur approach they should take since the top management are part of the internal innovation. Also, Facebook cannot be able to use or to source technology because, the business external factors are very cautious on the firm’s management as far as innovation is concerned. It is because, the external factor are used to decide what time the organization is in a position to refigure or rethink about managing their innovations. Also, Facebook key external sources and also the internal factors that govern the business operation are able to control on how the firm will be able to apply outsourcing approach to the company. This approach of outsourcing is at stake since it can easily affect the culture, communications and the architecture of the firm’s innovation control.

On the other hand, the Alliance Management Group, is better off with the sourcing of external resources. This is because it is able to bring together the innovative ideas into the firm which are congruent to the firm’s internal procedures, incentives and also the metrics. This are of a great significance to the implementation of the company long term strategies that are been generated from the use of external resources of technology. The use of this will help the company to bring together both the external and internal approaches into the big picture and the company system that will enhance the business approaches that will eventually require redesigning and the use of the organization innovative system. The use of open innovation or external innovation requires a great overlook on the basis of creativity and the process of innovation. It is because it maximizes the difficulty that is aligned with the control process of innovation. This technique of outsourcing requires that the top management is in a position to manage between internal and external factors that may be affecting the organization, (West, & Bogers, pg.814, 2014).

From the above, it can be concluded that both companies work best from their point of innovation. Whether they follow insourcing of technology or the outsourcing of technology to further their company long term goal, what matter most is how they are able to implement and control innovation keeping both internal and external factors that affects businesses. Also, it can be mentioned that, the top management team in both companies has the overall mandate to control their innovation procedures. This is because, it become very important for them to give and upper hand and encourage their stakeholder both internal and external to embrace innovation since it will be able to maintain a significance performance in the field of innovative management. With no support from the top management, the company innovative processes will have little or no impact on the company projects.

In addition, the top management are the primary contributors to the internal performances of the organization. When a new innovation has been launched, they should foster on a variety of internal ways on how they should adhere to the changes, (Zhang, Chen, & Li, pg. 669, 2013).  This will take effect when the employees are able to bring together and take in to action the new methods induced in the process of innovation. Encouraging innovative culture as Facebook does will create an environment where the entrepreneur ideas and risks are encouraged and the holder of them is rewarded as a way of motivation.  This will be able to create a case where the development of new products  are based on a good and thorough research that will be measured as part of a credible innovation and that will help the company to sustain very high profits in a given fiscal years. This will create a positive feedback on the basis of innovation culture that is expected to yield positive and curtained results. With this, it can me summarized that the implantation of any kind of innovation, whether insourced or outsourced do vary from one company to another. This is determined by the internal or external factors that affect a business environment.

The Policy of Internal Innovation Management References

Berchicci, L. (2013). Towards an open R&D system: Internal R&D investment, external knowledge acquisition and innovative performance. Research Policy, 42(1), 117-127.

Feitelson, D. G., Frachtenberg, E., & Beck, K. L. (2013). Development and deployment at Facebook. IEEE Internet Computing, (4), 8-17.

Woo, H., Bae, J., Kang, R. R., & Chu, Y. (2014, January). Effects of a Portfolio Company’s Alliance Formation on the Market Returns of Its CVC Firm. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 14790). Academy of Management.

Cheng, C. C., & Huizingh, E. K. (2014). When is open innovation beneficial? The role of strategic orientation. Journal of product innovation management, 31(6), 1235-1253.

West, J., & Bogers, M. (2014). Leveraging external sources of innovation: a review of research on open innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(4), 814-831.

Zhang, J., Chen, Y., & Li, T. (2013, July). Opportunities of innovation under challenges of big data. In Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD), 2013 10th International Conference on (pp. 669-673). IEEE.

Drucker, P. (2014). Innovation and entrepreneurship. Routledge.

Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation instead of retribution

Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation instead of retribution
Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation instead of retribution

Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation instead of retribution

Order Instructions:

Select a topic on which your persuasive writing paper will be focused.
Write a one to two (1-2) page research proposal in which you:
1. Identify the topic you selected and explain two (2) reasons for using it.
2. Include a defensible, relevant thesis statement in the first paragraph.
3. Describe three (3) major characteristics of your audience (official position, decision-making power, current view on topic, other important characteristic).
4. Describe the paper’s scope and outline the major sections.
5. Identify and explain the questions to be answered.
6. Explain your research plan, including the methods of researching and organizing research.
7. Document at least three (3) primary sources and three (3) secondary sources. Use credible, academic sources available through Strayer University’s Resource Center. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting guidelines:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Recognize the elements and correct use of a thesis statement.
• Write a research proposal that states the claim and scope of the research project.
• Outline the main sections of the research project.
• Devise an ordered research plan to obtain appropriate resources.
• Write clearly and concisely about selected topics using proper writing mechanics.
• Use technology and information resources to research selected issues for this course.
Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation instead of retribution

The research will focus on investigating whether prisons should shift their focus more from punishing prisoners to rehabilitating them instead. The reasons for selecting this topic are as follows: first, over 70% of prisoners re-offend within a period of just 3 years after they have left jail, usually with a more serious and cruel crime (Kane, 2013). Secondly, over 90% of prisoners go back to the community after just a few years and therefore it is crucial how they are treated whilst they are imprisoned (Opperman, 2014). Thesis statement: prisons should focus more on rehabilitating the inmates rather than focusing more on punishing them.

The main characteristics of my audience include the following: (i) political leaders in the United States – they can make laws and legislations which mandate prison facilities to rehabilitate inmates instead of punishing them. (ii) Prison leadership and officials: these are the individuals who run prison facilities across the country. While some are government employees running federal or state prisons, others are actually business people who operate private prisons. (iii) Current viewpoints on the subject/topic: while some members of the audience are in support of rehabilitating convicts instead of punishing them, some audience members think that prisoners should be punished for their deeds, not rehabilitated. At the moment, heads of prison facilities in the country are generally more in support of punishment and not rehabilitation of convicts. Many of these officials maintain that it is not possible to rehabilitate some inmates for instance serious criminals like child molesters, rapists, and serial killers. They believe that criminals should go to prison to be punished and that if they are taken to prison for rehabilitation, then the facility would not be a prison anymore, but a rehabilitation centre (Lawson, 2015). According to prison officials, offenders have to be punished and prisons serve this purpose of punishing them.

Regarding the scope of the paper, the research paper would be inclined toward supporting the view that prisons should focus more on rehabilitating convicts and not focus more on punishing them for their deeds. Even so, arguments from various parties against rehabilitating convicts and which support punishing them would also be presented objectively. The main sections of the research paper are as follows:

1.0       Introduction,

2.0       Significance of Research

3.0       Review of Literature

4.0       Research question and objective

5.0       Research methodology

6.0       Results and discussion

6.1       Views that prisons should focus more on rehabilitating prisoners rather than punishing them

6.2       Views that prisons should focus more on punishing convicts rather than rehabilitating them

7.0       Conclusion.

In the proposed research, the following research question would be answered?

  • Should prisons focus more on rehabilitation of convicts than retribution?

This research question will help to determine the thoughts and viewpoints of members of public regarding this topic. Their perspectives may be helpful in reform efforts aimed at reducing the high rates of recidivism. Prisoners are typically individuals that have been overlooked or even discarded from youth onwards, have had little education or encouragement, have been told many dismissing words by other people, and putting them in jail where all their moves and words are monitored may be regarded as punishment enough (Kane, 2013). By punishing them in this manner, there is likelihood that they would still return to prison after their release since they have not been rehabilitated.

With regard to research plan, this would be a mixed research study in which both quantitative and qualitative methods would be employed. Quantitative questionnaire surveys with closed-ended questions and qualitative interviews with open-ended questions would be utilized in data collection. A total 210 participants would be enlisted and the questionnaires would be sent to 200 of them online to complete. The remaining 10 participants would be interviewed. Furthermore, focus groups would be used to collect data. Secondary sources of data would include journal articles from electronic online databases, previous research on the subject matter, and government reports.

References

Kane, S. (2013). An Interview with the Most Rehabilitated Prisoner in America. Litigation, 39(3), 16-23.

Lawson, C. (2015). Does Imprisonment Work?. Legaldate, 27(2), 9-11.

Opperman, G. (2014). Change Your Prison, Change Your Outcomes, Change Your Community. Economic Affairs, 34(2), 224-234. https://www.doi:10.1111/ecaf.12068

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Rule of the Road Essay Paper Assignment                                     

Rule of the Road
               Rule of the Road

Rule of the Road

Order Instructions:

Imagine you made your hobby of building model airplanes into a small business that produces very small remote control aircrafts capable of long sustained flights. You are ready to expand your business by competing for Department of Homeland Security contracts.

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
1. Analyze how the federal act supports and favors your business over large multinational organizations that build aircrafts (e.g., Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation).
2. Create an organizational chart that would best support working within the federal contracting system and explain the value of each position (i.e., internal contracting officer) to your proposed business.
3. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Explain the basics of how and from whom the federal government buys what it needs.
• Apply the rules of federal government contracting.
• Compare the government’s key players and describe their main functions.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in contract administration and management.
• Write clearly and concisely about contract administration and management using proper writing mechanics.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Rule of the Road                                             

The American government is the world’s biggest purchaser of services and products. Purchases by civilian and military installations total almost $500 billion annually (Johns, 2015). Small firms countrywide can and need to make the most of contracting opportunities since such opportunities could actually be an essential revenue source that would help them in growing, innovating and creating employment opportunities. This paper provides an exhaustive analysis of how the federal act supports and favours the small business over big multinational corporations such as Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation which build aircrafts. In addition, an organizational chart is developed which would best support working within the federal contracting system and the value of each position to my proposed business is explained.

Federal agencies by law are required to formulate goals of contracting in such a way that 23 percent of all government purchases are procured from small businesses. Additionally, there are contract goals established for small disadvantaged businesses, businesses owned by women, companies owned by disabled veterans and businesses situated in HUBZones. These government-wide goals are 5 percent, 5 percent, 3 percent and 3 percent respectively although they are at times not attained (Government Contracts USA, 2015). They are vital since federal agencies have a constitutional duty of reaching out and considering small firms for procurement opportunities. As such, it is up to the small business owners to market and match their business services and products to the federal agencies’ buying needs (Government Contracts USA, 2015).

Small business contracting is a top priority for President Obama. The President established an inter-agency taskforce that came up with suggestions for increasing small business contracting. Moreover, he signed the Small Business Jobs Act that increases the access of small business to contracting opportunities and levels the playing field (Johns, 2015). It is notable that these initiatives have really made a major difference. Within the last 2 years alone, the number of contracts which have gone to small firms has increased steadily. In 2014, nearly 23% of all federal contracting funds went to small companies (Johns, 2015).

The Office of Government Contracting has the function of creating an environment for full participation by women-owned, disadvantaged, and small firms in federal government contract awards. The Office of Government Contracting advocates for small businesses in the federal procurement (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2015). The mission of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is to promote and stimulate economic development by way of providing help to new firms to get started and established businesses to expand and grow. The SBA could help small firms overcome significant barriers which they typically encounter when they try to win federal contracts. This is because the U.S. Small Business Administration works directly with other federal agencies and America’s major federal contractors to make sure that small firms actually get a fair share of subcontracts and contracts of the federal government (Government Contracts USA, 2015).

Organizational chart

There are various responsibilities and roles within the federal government as regards federal contracts.

 

Internal Contracting Officer (CO): individual who is in charge of negotiating or directing changes to Period of Performance, Statement of Work, delivery schedule, among others. The value of this federal government employee to my proposed small business is that he/she will authorize reimbursement of costs, that is, he or she is in charge of approving invoices. On the whole, a Contracting Officer has the role of awarding and administering the contract to my proposed business. The individual also has the role of terminating contracts, delivery orders, purchase orders, task orders and modifications. They also have role of obligating federal finances, and make findings as well as determinations. All these roles are subject to the Contracting Officer’s Certificate of Appointment (Federal Acquisition Institute, 2014).

Contracting Specialist (CS): with approval of the Contracting Officer, the person holding this role carries out procedural steps. The value of this federal government official to my proposed business is that he or she will carry out pre-award functions: the individual plans the acquisition strategy and prepares solicitation documentation. The individual will also perform contract award functions: this individual evaluates responses, negotiates terms of the contract, and prepares award documentation. He or she will also perform post-award functions: the individual modifies contracts, monitors performance of the contract, and closes out contracts (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015).

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): the individual in this role performs specific contract management duties pertaining to technical oversight as well as administration of a given contract. The value of this individual to my proposed business is that he or she monitors technical progress. He or she also recommends changes in requirements to the CO. The COR will ensure that as a contractor, my small business actually meets the commitments of the contract. The federal employees in this role are typically the first ones to know when a given contract or program is underperforming (Federal Acquisition Institute, 2014).

Inspector: the person in this role has value to my small business since he/she has limited quality assurance responsibility of: determining whether supplies of my small business comply with the legal requirements and requirements of the contract; preparing correspondence, and reports of investigations or inspections; and making necessary suggestions for legal or administrative authorities. He or she also has the role of examining and testing the services or manufactured supplies of the contractor, including intermediate assemblies, components as well as raw materials. The inspector also inspects materials and equipment owned by the government which are in the contractor’s – my small business – hands in order to prevent irregularities such as theft, damage and waste (Federal Acquisition Institute, 2014).

 References

Federal Acquisition Institute. (2014). Contracting Officer’s Representative. FAI.

Government Contracts USA. (2015). Federal contract opportunities for your business. Retrieved from http://www.governmentbids.com/cgi/en/bidding.advice.articles/Article/federal-contract-opportunities-for-your-business  

Johns, M. (2015). Federal contracting: Basics and Resources. HUBZone Contractors National Council.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2015). Contract specialist. Retrieved from http://mycareeratva.va.gov/careers/career/110215

U.S. Small Business Administration. (2015). Office of Government Contracting. SBA. https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/ogc

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Policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue

Policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue
Policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue

Reasons why policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue in Australian politics and foreign policy

Order Instructions:

2000 word essay on:

Why has policy on asylum seekers been such a divisive issue in Australian politics and foreign policy?

It was due a couple of days ago so I need it ASAP thanks.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Introduction

The dramatic influx of the number of illegal boats entering Australia has recently starred up issues on asylum seekers. In a recent press announcement made by the Prime Minister of Australia, it was determined that the government was forced to develop decisive hardline approaches to the smuggling of people with the aim of strengthening the integrity of the Australian Immigration functions. A recent survey based on the Australian current immigration systems revealed that close to half of the Australian population believe that the seekers of asylum in this country mainly arrive by sea and should be extradited back to their original countries in order to apply for the typical refugee transfer systems (Beeson,p. 226.2002).

However, it is essential to mention that the government is currently facing challenges and criticisms from a section of the society in regards to the manner in which this problem is handled. Beeson (2002) states that this issue is therefore considered controversial since many people have different views considering that different people from diverse walks of life have varied attitudes towards the problem of asylum seeking (p. 226). This is primarily attributed to the difficulties the government faces that accrue from overpopulation, the rapid growth that affects the financial strength of the nation and so on. This paper, therefore, seeks to determine the reasons why the policies on asylum seeking are becoming a controversial and divisive issue in Australian foreign policies and politics.

Background Information

In giving a typical definition of an asylum seeker it is imperative to determine that these are people who flee from their homelands of origin for the fear of persecution and who apply for physical and legal protection in another country for various reasons such as their religion, race, political affiliation or nationality. Australia being one of the signatories of the Refugee Convention to the United Nations has the sole obligation of ensuring that the human rights of the seekers of asylum in their territories are protected irrespective of the rationale behind their arrival, their places of origin and whether they arrive with or without proper documentation such as visas (Leaver, & Sach, pp. 621-636. 2006). This apparently determines the fact that whether the arrivals are validated or unauthorized, the Australian government is held accountable for giving such individuals the chance to prove their eligibility in becoming refugees before removing them from their land.

According to sources, the applications of asylum seekers protection should be assessed by the decision makers who work within the Department of Immigration and Citizenship who are trained in policies, procedures and law on refugee conventions and protection. The applicants are therefore required to undergo an interview that provides information of their citizenship in their own countries and the situations at stake in order to be granted a protection visa (Leaver, & Sach, pp. 621-636. 2006). Additionally, the applicants are taken through health examinations, security checks before signing the Australian Values Statement in the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It is also essential to state that the applicant who are successfully approved under the consideration of their claims as refugees and do not meet the lawful reasons for staying in Australia are always removed from the Australian soil.

Histories of Asylum Seekers in Australia

It is essential to mention that the system that the Australian government is using in processing the visa applications of the asylum seekers was developed during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the influx of the number of asylums who sort refuge in this country. According to sources, most of the asylum seekers originated from China as a result of the Tiananmen Square incident that occurred in June 1989 that saw the protection visa application rise to 16,249. From this period to the year 1995, the government changed its systems to include several members of a family in a single application(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). However, the system was again reviewed to ensure that each individual within a request makes a single application.

Current Government Policy

Currently, the government of Australia has initiated an offshore program that holds in detention unauthorized boat arrivals in Christmas Island until the asylums seekers are either granted a protection Visa or removed from the Australian soil. This approach is known as the offshore program that ensures that the people who fail to meet the UN standards and definitions of an asylum seeker resettled(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). At times, some boat arrivals usually take longer periods than other as they await the outcomes of their visa applications. In the event that their applications do not meet the required standards, they are forced to wait for their removal from Australia.

Assistance from the Government

In order to ensure efficiency during these processes, the government of Australia usually provides some assistance schemes for the asylum seekers during the application for protection process. The supports offered by the government include a temporal eligibility for Medicare and welfare services such as support and professional help in the preparation of their protection visas and income support(Pietsch, pp. 143-155.2013). It is essential to determine the fact that not all the applicants are eligible to receive these assistances since they must prove that they are in a financial hardship. Their eligibility for receiving these assistances is then reviewed by the government on a regular basis to ensure there are no changes to their situations.

Adverse Impacts of Asylum Seekers and the Australian Action

As a result of the tight regulations enforced by the Australian government of asylum seeking, the government of Australia has now embarked on an approach that relatively receives fewer refugees as compared to other nations, a factor that has received a lot of controversial thoughts. Considering the fact that Australia is the sixth largest country, it only accepts 0.6% of asylum seekers in the world. According to credible sources, the proportion of refugees who arrive in Australia does not reach 8% of the country’s total population of immigrants (McDonald, pp. 605-617.2013). Some of the challenges the government of Australia faces in its receipt of asylum seekers that have brought a rise of the divisive issues on its policies include;

Rapid Growth of Australian Population;

It is essential to determine the fact that migrants have the ability to affect the population of a country immensely. Currently, statistics shows that nearly one in every four Australians is born overseas, a factor that translates to more than 20 million people (Department and immigration and citizenship, 2009). This, therefore, saw the Rudd Government advocate against the idea of a big Australia, to mean that the population of this country would possibly rise to 36.9 million by the year 2050. This idea therefore brought an upsurge considering the intense growth of the population of this country that would infringe on some of the countries amenities.

As a result of this, the Australian government has attributed this overpopulation to immigration. The Labor party therefore took a drastic measure in developing policies that would control the population growth since the increase in the country’s population would result in overpopulation that would directly cause an impact on the countries employment capacity, economy,  welfare programs, and the governments funding (McDonald, pp. 605-617.2013).

Financial Tension for the Government

It is also essential to note that one of the common responses of the government of Australia in regards to asylum seekers that arrive by boat is in the country’s ability to provide support and assistance to this people. As determined by some sources, many of these asylum seekers move from poor and undeveloped countries to a wealthier nation (McKenzie, & Hasmath, pp. 417-430.2013). As a result of this, they are in a position of creating new tensions between the Australian governments from the huge financial assistances required to initiate their wellbeing in their soils. Sources from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship state that between 2008 and 2009, the country assisted close to 2792 asylum seekers at a tune of 7.05 million dollars, a factor that shows how the countries resources are infringed.

Overpopulation in Detention Centers

The detention centers especial those in the Christmas Island have reported incidences of overpopulation that results from the government’s aversive attitude towards the boat arrivals and the delays in announcing the eligible asylum seekers (McKenzie, & Hasmath, pp. 417-430.2013). The government initiated an approach that resulted in the crowding of the asylum seekers in the detention centers by delaying the immigration process for up to six months.

It is essential to consider the fact that the Detention Centre at the Christmas Island is only able to handle a capacity of 800 immigrants, but is now has a capacity of over 2000 people waiting for their applications approval (Flitton, p. 37. 2003). The authorities there therefore use every facility to shelter the asylums in the centers, a factor that goes against these people human rights.

Local Residential Safety Concerns

Security issues remain one of the controversial issues that have also risen from this subject since many of the Australian population fear that the acceptance of the asylum seekers in Australia may result in terroristic attacks (Lock, Quenault, & Tomlinson, p. 35. 2002). It is imperative to ascertain that most of the boat arrivals lack the required identification materials to disclose the reasons why their government is trying to persecute them, a factor that makes it harder for them to travel through the required conventional channels. It is therefore feared that the immigrants may harbor terrorists that try to escape from one country to the other, a fact that may raise security concerns in a nation.

Approaches the Government Can Take in Solving the Problem

It is essential for the government of Australia to develop more regional asylum centers. This approach would therefore enable the asylums that arrive by boat to get their tickets from a regional processing center, a fact that would not only solve the issues of overcrowding but would mitigate the chances of people being smuggled in the country (Lock, et.al). The government of Australia should also consider the rights of the population seeking asylum in their country and treat them with dignity instead of taking tough stances that frustrate such people.

Additionally, the government should also work out on modalities of hastening the visa application and approval processes to ensure that the delays witnessed in this centers are reduced (Cameron, pp. 241-259.2013). Those who fail to meet the minimum threshold of being considered and offered asylum in the country should be repatriated in a proper manner. It is also essential to ensure that women and children who arrive in this country as asylum seekers are also given fare treatments (Freedman, pp. 175-198. 2010).

Conclusion

It is therefore essential to determine the fact that the settlement of the asylum seekers in Australia remains one of the hard debates the government of this country is currently facing. The Gillard government has therefore made its stand on this issue by developing tight policies on the people seeking asylum in this country(Lock, Quenault, & Tomlinson, p. 35. 2002). Many of the Australian people are mainly concerned about the issues of overpopulation that has been witnessed in the detention centers since this aspect has a direct impact on the country’s economy including the quality of life and morals of this country.

According to sources, the rates of unemployment in Australia sprung up to 5.8% in the nation’s population, a factor that sees the government argue that an increase in its population would eventually increase the rates of unemployment in this country(Bleiker, Campbell, Hutchison, & Nicholson, pp. 398-416. 2013). As a result of the rising unemployment issue, the country’s economy is affected since much of the tax payers money is channeled into the benefits of the unemployed population.

The boat arrivals as compared to the air arriving asylums are known to destroy their identification details, a fact that makes it hard for the concerned authorities to process their visas due to the lack of credible information. Due to this fact, the asylums are forced to wait longer in the detention centers, a factor that has spanned the population in the detention facilities(Johnson, pp. 195-209.2007). Due to this, the nation fears that it may suffer attacks from either terrorists or diseases due to overpopulation. It is consequently crucial for the Australian government to ensure its boarders are protected and to ensure that decisive approaches of handling the asylum seekers are properly initiated.

References

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