How to Care for the Emotional Needs of the
Elderly
by FRANCES EVESHAM Last Updated: May 31, 2015
An elderly person needs to feel safe, remain close to other people and believe that his
life continues to be meaningful. Meeting his emotional needs can help him avoid
depression. Signs that he lacks sufficient support may include difficulty in sleeping, a
poor appetite or an inability to concentrate, points out the American Association of
Retired Persons. Emotional care for a senior should include steps designed to deal with
vulnerability, loneliness, boredom and isolation.
Security
A senior citizen may feel fearful and nervous, especially if she lives alone or has
mobility problems. Support a positive outlook with practical measures to guard against
intruders. Arrange for the installation of additional locks or chains and a spy-hole in the
door, so she can see who is calling before she opens the door. An emergency call
button could reduce her fear of failing to get help should she fall or become unwell.
Trending Articles on
Pondering a bucket list can be fun, but it also makes it more likely that…
Connection
Help senior citizens to maintain contact with their friends and family. Encourage visits
from younger family members and use the telephone to maintain regular
communication. An elderly person may find Internet access helpful when family or
friends are unable to offer frequent visits, but he could need help in learning to use the
technology. Use photos, books and music to help him remember happy life events and
involve him in important family occasions such as marriages or new babies to help him
know that he continues to be an important member of the family.
• Sponsored Links
o Assisted Living Costs
12 Facilities Near You. Compare Pictures, Pricing, Options.
caring.com/assisted-living
Community
Maintaining links with her community can support an elderly person's feeling of
connection with the world beyond her family. Check to make sure she does not spend
all of every day alone. You may be able to arrange transport to local events, church
services or shopping trips. Contact organizations in the area that may be able to offer
visits or send newsletters that support her interests. Make sure she is able to manage
the controls of her television or radio and that she knows how to access local channels
so that she can continue to enjoy involvement with her neighborhood.
Leisure
Take time to listen carefully to an elderly person. Help him continue to take
responsibility for himself by discussing his needs and tailoring any interventions you
make to his preferences, whether he loves ball games or prefers reading. Help him
overcome any obstacles to his leisure activities that aging might cause. For example, try
large print books or different spectacles to overcome visual problems that prevent him
from enjoying his favorite authors. Maintain his dignity, whether he ...
How to Care for the Emotional Needs of the Elderly by FR.docx
1. How to Care for the Emotional Needs of the
Elderly
by FRANCES EVESHAM Last Updated: May 31, 2015
An elderly person needs to feel safe, remain close to other
people and believe that his
life continues to be meaningful. Meeting his emotional needs
can help him avoid
depression. Signs that he lacks sufficient support may include
difficulty in sleeping, a
poor appetite or an inability to concentrate, points out the
American Association of
Retired Persons. Emotional care for a senior should include
steps designed to deal with
vulnerability, loneliness, boredom and isolation.
Security
A senior citizen may feel fearful and nervous, especially if she
lives alone or has
mobility problems. Support a positive outlook with practical
measures to guard against
intruders. Arrange for the installation of additional locks or
chains and a spy-hole in the
2. door, so she can see who is calling before she opens the door.
An emergency call
button could reduce her fear of failing to get help should she
fall or become unwell.
Trending Articles on
Pondering a bucket list can be fun, but it also makes it more
likely that…
Connection
Help senior citizens to maintain contact with their friends and
family. Encourage visits
from younger family members and use the telephone to maintain
regular
communication. An elderly person may find Internet access
helpful when family or
friends are unable to offer frequent visits, but he could need
help in learning to use the
technology. Use photos, books and music to help him remember
happy life events and
involve him in important family occasions such as marriages or
new babies to help him
3. know that he continues to be an important member of the
family.
• Sponsored Links
o Assisted Living Costs
12 Facilities Near You. Compare Pictures, Pricing, Options.
caring.com/assisted-living
Community
Maintaining links with her community can support an elderly
person's feeling of
connection with the world beyond her family. Check to make
sure she does not spend
all of every day alone. You may be able to arrange transport to
local events, church
services or shopping trips. Contact organizations in the area that
may be able to offer
visits or send newsletters that support her interests. Make sure
she is able to manage
the controls of her television or radio and that she knows how to
access local channels
so that she can continue to enjoy involvement with her
neighborhood.
Leisure
Take time to listen carefully to an elderly person. Help him
continue to take
4. responsibility for himself by discussing his needs and tailoring
any interventions you
make to his preferences, whether he loves ball games or prefers
reading. Help him
overcome any obstacles to his leisure activities that aging might
cause. For example, try
large print books or different spectacles to overcome visual
problems that prevent him
from enjoying his favorite authors. Maintain his dignity,
whether he lives at home or in a
care facility. Ensure he has access to his own clean clothes and
that any false teeth or
other prosthetics fit securely so he can feel comfortable.
Planning
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rPLOKLBmjlltGUs4jYCKXi3BSkn2-F-
7. dress independently needs urgent action to provide her with
personal care. Watch for
any deterioration in her mood and be prepared to involve health
care providers. Make
sure she takes any medication exactly as prescribed. Sorting her
tablets into the correct
daily dose can help overcome a senior’s fear of making
mistakes.
smime.p7s
Whole Foods Case study.pdf
Organization Behavior WK 3 reading assignment.docx
Week 3 Lecture 1 “Problems in Person Perception”
Salutations Class! In our personal and professional lives, we all
have perceptions which drive our behaviors. Whether we like to
admit it or not, we all have both positive and negative
perceptions of various things (people, tasks, events).
8. Understanding what’s behind those perceptions will allow you
to evaluate, understand, and better appreciate happenings
around you.
A perception, academically defined in the text on page 121 by
Hitt, Miller, and Colella, is the process of sensing various
aspects of a person, task, or event and forming impressions
based on selected inputs. Within the slide presentation this
week, we reviewed the three stages of perception which
included sensing, selecting, and organizing. During this
lecture, we’ll focus in on what the text calls “Problems in
Person Perception”.
We’ll cover four specific terms and give you a bit more insight
into each one. Noted below are each topic, how the Hitt,
Miller, and Colella text defines each one on page 125, and some
specific examples to help you identify each in practice.
Implicit person theories – defined as “personal theories about
what personality traits and abilities occur together and how
these attributes are manifested in behavior.” An example of this
recently surfaced in the workplace. Here’s the scenario…a
leader recently had his door shut for the majority of the day for
the last couple of weeks. His secretary senses that his door
being closed is a reflection of how he feels about her. In other
words, subconsciously believes that physical separation and
dislike are coupled together. The problem with this is that the
leader had his door shut for very valid reasons. He was
coordinating an entangled web with human resources and the
legal department to terminate an employee for poor
performance. How could this problem in person perception be
avoided? What could be done the next time around to prevent
this misunderstanding?
Halo effect – defined as “a perception problem in which an
individual assesses a person positively or negatively in all
situations based on an existing general assessment of the
person.” Let’s use the all too popular example of a politician
9. on the national level…how about a longstanding member of
Congress who has cheated on his tax returns and is facing tax
evasion charges. Many folks would generally see that Senator
or Congressman as an all-around bad person regardless of any
good that individual has done in his or her community.
Projecting – defined as “a perception problem in which an
individual assumes that others share his or her values and
beliefs.” For this concept, let’s take the manager who values
bonuses in the form of money as a motivational tool. The
manager’s employees, however, have varied beliefs. Some
prefer money but many prefer paid time off to spend with their
respective families. So, as the manager rewards all of his
employees with money, it’s hard for him or her to understand
why his chosen medium is not motivating all of his workforce.
As a leader within an organization, it’s very important not to
project based on your beliefs and values but rather embrace the
differences among the workforce and develop an understanding
of what makes your employees “tick”.
Stereotyping – defined as “a perception problem in which an
individual bases perceptions about members of a group on a
generalized set of beliefs about the characteristics of a group of
individuals.” This element can be a downfall of many teenagers
nowadays. Let’s assume your teenage child, who is a straight A
student, a member of the varsity athletic squad, and has deeply
religious convictions, starts to hang around with a “rowdy”
crowd. A crowd that stays out late at night, drinks alcohol, and
has the occasional drug binge. Regardless of the teenager’s
intentions, many folks in the community are likely to stereotype
that person and develop the perception that he or she is also a
“rowdy” individual. In reality, the teenager was actually trying
to help the rowdy group of individuals and get them involved in
church activities. This is what’s commonly known in parenting
circles as “guilty by association”. Despite the best of
intentions, a child or adult for that matter can become labeled
10. and unfairly judged.
In summary, there are various problems in person perception
that must be considered when evaluating a situation. As you
move through life both in your personal and professional lives, I
encourage you to continuously self-reflect to help minimize
misunderstandings. I’m a strong believer in the Golden Rule
and encourage you to be cognizant of your perceptions of others
and also of others’ perceptions of you.
What a great way to lead into the project! Are perceptions an
issue in your organization? If so, do you have a
recommendation for improvement? Continue to think about
areas for organizational improvement as this week you’ll be
submitting at least 5 references that you’ll use for your final
paper. Have a productive week!
References
Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational
Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
11. Week 3 Lecture 2 - The Big Five Personality Traits
Welcome to this week’s second lecture which focuses on The
Big Five Personality Traits as detailed in Chapter 5 of the text.
First, let’s paint a picture…just imagine you’re the hiring
official for your organization and are in need of a few good men
or women to become part of your high-performing, goal-
oriented team. Also, imagine that it’s company policy that
personality tests aren’t to be used in the hiring process. You, as
a well-seasoned leader, understand that certain personality traits
can make or break an employee when immersed in your work
environment. What personality traits might be important for
new members of your team? How might you unofficially get a
vibe for the personality traits of the applicants without violating
the company’s policy of not using personality tests during the
selection process?
Let’s start with the first question…what personality traits might
be important for new members of your team? In the
organizational behavior community, there’s a general consensus
that even though there are thousands of personality traits, there
are five that bubble to the top. These five are generally known
as “The Big Five Personality Traits”. In the paragraphs that
follow, we’ll define each of the five traits as noted in Hitt,
Miller, and Colella on pages 142-145 of the text and provide a
contextual background from which you can discern if the trait is
necessary for success on your team. Here it goes…
Extraversion – defined as “the degree to which an individual is
outgoing and derives energy from being around other people.” I
suspect most of us have heard of being either introverted or
extraverted. Professions that interact with the general public on
a continuous basis value extraverts. Some predominantly
extraverted professions include sales, food service industry,
12. nursing, and most management positions. Some examples of
introverted professions are engineering, research-based jobs,
and accountants.
Conscientiousness – is defined as “the degree to which an
individual focuses on goals and works toward them in a
disciplined way.” Simply put, I can’t think of a profession
where being conscientious is not a good thing. Even if you
choose to be a criminal, being conscientious with your planning
can be the difference between lockup and freedom! Just to be
clear, I don’t recommend this career path :)
Agreeableness – is defined as “the degree to which an
individual is easygoing and tolerant.” This is tough one. One
the one hand, it’s important to be easygoing and tolerant in a
team environment, however, this might lead to giving in on a
key point that might need further debate for a better solution.
In a perfect world, a person would know how to move in and
out of this personality trait depending on the external factors of
the current situation.
Emotional stability – is defined as “the degree to which an
individual easily handles stressful situations and heavy
demands.” This is another one of those “must haves” regardless
of the profession. A “steady hand at the wheel” is needed to
think clearly and make sound decisions.
Openness to experience – is defined as “the degree to which an
individual seeks new experiences and thinks creatively about
the future.” This trait lends itself to creativity and professions
which require a heavy dose of creativity can best benefit from
employees with this trait. A few professions that benefit from
openness to experience include marketing and design.
So, now that you have identified the critical personality traits,
on to the second question… how might you unofficially get a
vibe for the personality traits of the applicants without violating
the company’s policy of not using personality tests during the
selection process? One way to do this is during the interview
process by crafting open-ended questions which provide hints at
13. one’s personality.
For instance if you’re looking for extraversion traits, the
following question might be a good starting point:
Tell me about a time when you participated on a team and
accomplished a goal. Who was your customer, what role did
you play on the team, and how well did you communicate with
your team members?
What about the trait of conscientiousness? Try this out:
Tell me about a project you completed which required you to be
resourceful and detail-oriented. What specifically was the
process you followed to stay on track and achieve the objective?
Okay, so hopefully you get the idea…personality traits can be
observed through means other than personality tests. Now it’s
time to sound like a broken record…project, project, project!
Could your chosen organization do a better job of hiring
quality candidates? Does the hiring process need additional
quality control steps to maximize chances of a good fit?
Continue to think about ways your organization can improve
upon current practices. For instance, should candidates go
through not only an interview with a hiring official but also a
follow-up orientation visit with potential team members?
Take care and have a productive and enjoyable week!
References
Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational
Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Read Chapters 4 & 5
Organization Behavior Week 2 Lecture 1 and 2.docx
Week 2 Lecture 1 –
From this week onward, you will get the opportunity to study
specific elements of strategic OB. After reviewing each of the
14. topics, I encourage you to reflect on your place of work and
ask, “Does my organization measure up?” If not, that topic
might become part of your final project paper. This week
brings two topics that are sure to be interesting and spark
debate…diversity (chapter two) and globalization (chapter
three). For this lecture, we’ll focus on diversity in the
workplace. This lecture coupled with the reading in Chapter 2
this week should provide the backdrop for an enhanced
understanding of diversity and the current topics facing our
country today.
Let’s begin with the Presidential election of 2008. Why is this
a significant event in our country’s history with respect to
diversity? We, as a nation, elected the first African-American
President, Barack Obama. From the civil rights movement of
the fifties and sixties to the election of our first African-
America President, our country has grown over the last several
decades and continues to evolve with respect to diversity and
inclusion. Before moving further into this lecture, please take a
moment to read the Experiencing Organizational Behavior
article on page fifty of the text titled, “Diversity at the Top”.
Noted below is one particular excerpt from the article worth
reinforcing:
“President Obama’s intrapersonal diversity and strong beliefs
that diversity in governance is necessary is reflected in the
diversity of his cabinet. Thirty-four percent of his officials are
female, eleven percent are black, eight percent are Hispanic,
and four percent are Asian. While these do not seem like large
numbers, they reflect more diversity than was present in past
administrations’ cabinets. This diversity is expected to increase
as President Obama’s tenure in office lengthens and he brings in
new officials.”
As you know, cabinet changes can happen at a moment’s notice.
For purposes of this discussion, let’s take the article at face
15. value and assume the diversity stated is what exists in present
day. While some would argue that the cabinet is not diverse
enough, it’s definitely apparent that the cabinet is no longer a
Caucasian Boys Club. A quote by John Maxwell best
summarizes President Obama’s vision with respect to leadership
diversity, “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way,
and shows the way.” (Kruse, 2012) President Obama “knows
the way” because he is biracial himself and has a very diverse
extended family as noted in the article within the text. He
effectively “goes the way” by selecting a diverse set of cabinet
members. What about “shows the way”? Well, let’s take a look
at a few initiatives that the President has supported while in
office.
*Gays in the Military --- The policy of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”,
or DADT, was repealed and gays can now openly serve in our
armed forces (Lee, 2010).
*Same-Sex Marriage --- While same-sex marriage is in a state
of flux and varies across the nation, there are a number of states
currently that have come to recognize same-sex marriage in
recent years. The President has shown public support in the
media for same-sex marriage and supports the repeal of the
Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA (Civil Rights,
2014).
*Increasing Employment of Individuals with Disabilities ---
This Executive Order focuses on employing disabled persons
within the Federal government and outlines recruitment and
hiring flexibilities (Obama, 2010).
Regardless of your personal beliefs and based on the evidence,
it’s fair to say that President Obama has made progress on a
national level when it comes to diversity and inclusion.
Further food for thought...unfortunately, there are organizations
16. serving the public in some cities across America that do not
reflect the diversity within their areas of responsibility. A
recent example gained national attention in Ferguson, MO
where an unarmed, black teenager was shot and killed by a
white police officer. The ensuing protests nationwide sparked
much-needed debate and catalyzed the conversation about race
and diversity in America. While I’m sure you each have a
strong opinion one way or the other on whether the shooting
was justified, let’s look beyond that and analyze the situation
from a diversity perspective. Sixty-seven percent of Ferguson
is black, however, blacks make up less than six percent of the
Ferguson Police Department. (Firozi, 2014) What’s wrong with
this picture from a diversity perspective? Ideally, a public
organization’s membership should reflect the demographics of
the people it supports. Failure to achieve this balance can result
in public perceptions and sometimes actions that are not in line
with the values of the United States.
References
Civil Rights. (2014). Retrieved December 29, 2014, from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/civil-rights
Firozi, P. (2014). 5 Things to Know about Ferguson Police
Department. Retrieved December 29, 2014, from
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-
now/2014/08/14/ferguson-police-department-details/14064451/
Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational
Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Kruse, K. (2012). 100 Best Quotes on Leadership. Retrieved
December 29, 2014, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/10/16/quotes-on-
leadership/
Lee, J. (2010). The President Signs Repeal of "Don't Ask Don't
17. Tell": "Out of Many, We Are One" Retrieved December 29,
2014, from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/12/22/president-signs-
repeal-dont-ask-dont-tell-out-many-we-are-one
Obama, B. (2010). Executive Order 13548 -- Increasing Federal
Employment of Individuals with Disabilities. Retrieved
December 29, 2014, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-
office/executive-order-increasing-federal-employment-
individuals-with-disabilities
Week 2 Lecture 2 –
Culture Context & Dimensions
This week’s second lecture focuses on understanding the
difference between high-context and low-context cultures. First,
let’s define both so we have a common understanding before
covering the nuances of each. On page eighty-four of the text,
Hitt, Miller, and Colella provide the following definitions:
*High-Context Culture – A type of culture where individuals
use contextual cues to understand people and their
communications and where individuals value trust and personal
relationships.
*Low-Context Culture – A type of culture where individuals
rely on direct questioning to understand people and their
communications and where individuals value efficiency and
performance.
18. Generally speaking, Western cultures, the United States as an
example, tend towards low-context whereas Eastern cultures,
Japan as an example, tend towards high-context. Before we talk
about the benefits of understanding the differences and
ramifications of not understanding the differences in the global
marketplace, let’s take a simpler example to ensure you
understand the distinctions.
Martial Arts Example
Let’s look at a martial arts class taught on American soil by a
Japanese instructor. For purposes of this example, this is an
adult class with students from eighteen years onward. For those
of you Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan fans out there, you’ll savor
this teaching moment :) If you’re not sure who either of these
famous martial artists are, don’t sweat it. It’s not necessary to
know those folks to understand the teaching point here. Most
martial arts classes begin with a stretching and warmup routine
followed by instructional elements. Once an instructor
demonstrates a technique or a drill, students are then given the
opportunity to practice with their peers. This gives the
instructor an opportunity to identify technical issues and
provide feedback.
Picture this…the Japanese instructor has all of his students
kneel down while he calls on an American student, eighteen
years of age, to be his partner in front of the class for
demonstration purposes. The Japanese instructor asks the
student to put him in a standing headlock so he can demonstrate
a defense against such a move. Instead of a standing headlock,
the student puts the instructor in a headlock and drags him to
the ground.
Now, before telling you what happened next, let’s analyze this
situation from the contextual perspective. First, operating
under the aforementioned contextual definitions, the American
student is obviously from a low-context culture. As we know,
low-context cultures value performance and efficiency. This
19. student, as odd as it sounds, was living up to his culture
stereotype. He wanted to test the instructor and see if he was
talented enough to get out of a headlock variation. The
Japanese instructor is just the opposite and from a low-context
culture. He values trust and personal relationships. The
instructor’s goal was to demonstrate in a controlled
environment for the other students to discuss the finer points of
the defense.
What happened next? Well, let’s just say it was not a good
outcome for the student. The instructor diagnosed the situation
and responded with an escape and very quick chokehold from
which the student “tapped out”, or in simple terms, gave up.
Now let’s bring this situation into focus and relate it to the
global business environment. What happened “on the mat” with
the Japanese instructor can very easily happen across an
organization that exists on a global level. Associates and
managers from different cultures can easily misunderstand
situations leading to uncomfortable outcomes for not only those
involved but the entire organization.
Culture Dimensions
Delving even further into the dimensions of national culture, I
call your attention to Exhibit 3-4 on page eighty-eight of your
context. While there are nine culture dimensions listed on that
graphic, four of those were developed by Dutch social scientist
Geert Hofstede as noted by Hitt, Miller, and Colella on page
eighty-eight of your text and listed below:
*Uncertainty Avoidance – degree to which members of a society
wish to avoid unpredictability.
*Power Distance – degree to which members of a society expect
power to be unequally distributed.
*Individualism – degree to which members of society are
comfortable focusing on personal goals and being rewarded for
20. personal efforts and outcomes.
*Assertiveness – the degree to which members of society are
aggressive and confrontational.
Looking at these dimensions and applying them to our martial
arts example discussed prior, which might easily apply to the
American student? I believe it’s safe to say that the American
student has a high degree of individualism and assertiveness.
He showed that by attempting to test the instructor in front of
other classmates rather than going through the demonstration so
the instructor could teach the specifics of the technique. What
about the Japanese instructor? The instructor, on the other
hand, identifies at the other end of the spectrum with a low
degree of individualism and assertiveness.
A final note…in the business world, most high-profile, global
organizations have some type of cultural training to help
prevent misunderstandings from happening in the workplace. If
your organization does not do something of this nature, I
encourage you to reach out to your Human Resources and see if
they might be interested in doing so. If not, I encourage you to
personally research the elements of various cultures that you
might encounter.
References
Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational
Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Organization Behavior Week 2 and 3 assignment.docx
W2 Discussion 1 - Diversity Roadblock – Stereotyping
Please respond with initial response to the following question
along with at least 2 supportive replies to your initial responds
(Total of 3 different reply’s):
21. · Sheryl Sandburg is one of the best known women in business
today. Her accomplishments have illustrated the capacity of
women to manage complex organizations in a manner that is
equal to that of a man. What has her success revealed in regard
to stereotyping and diversity?
· Each response minimum of 100 words w/reference
· No plagiarism
Week 2 Assignment “Whole Foods Case (Chapters 1, 2 and 3)
see Case study
Review the Whole Foods Case Study (pp. 1-6) and answer the
questions connected to Chapters 1, 2, and 3 as listed below.
Responses to each question should range from 100-200 words,
No plagiarism. Your paper should reflect scholarly writing and
current APA standards (12 point Times New Roman font,
double-spacing, 1" margins, title and reference pages). Be sure
to use the text and/or other sources to support your responses
and properly cite the use of such.
1. Describe how Whole Foods uses human capital as a course of
competitive advantage. (Ch 1)
2. Identify the aspects of high-involvement management
contained in Whole Foods’ approach to managing its associates.
(Ch 1)
3. How could Whole Foods’ democratic model of selection
interfere with the development or continuance of a diverse
workforce? What should it do to prevent such difficulties? (Ch
2)
· How do you think globalization will affect Whole Foods over
time? Please explain several ways it could affect the company’s
operations. (Ch 3) Must meets or exceeds assignment criteria
W3 – Discussion Perception Factors
Please respond to the following questions along with at least 2
substantive replies your initial response (for a minimum of 3
posts):
1. What factors influence the way we perceive people? How
might these factors influence the judgments an interviewer
22. makes about a job applicant?
2. Your initial post should be a minimum of 150 words and
specifically reference the applicable elements of this week’s
reading.
3. Each of your substantive replies should be minimum of 100
words and specifically reference the applicable elements of this
week’s reading.
4. No plagiarism
Week 3 Assignment 1 Final Project – References
Benjamin Franklin once quoted, “By failing to prepare, you are
preparing to fail.” This week’s written assignment is designed
to ensure you stay on track with your final project and have
adequately researched your organization of choice and planned
intervention. For this week, provide a set of references you
have read in preparation for your final project.
Each reference should include the following:
APA formatted citation of the source as it will appear on your
References page
A brief description of the source
A short summary of its primary points or arguments
A brief explanation of how the source is relevant to your project
A minimum of 5 references is required for this assignment.
Wk 3 Assignment 2 It’s Just a Matter of Timing Case Study
Review the It’s Just a Matter of Timing Case Study (pp. 133-
134) and answer the three discussion questions. Responses to
each question should range from 100-200 words. Your paper
should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards (12
point Times New Roman font, double-spacing, 1" margins, title
and reference pages). Be sure to use the text and/or other
sources to support your responses and properly cite the use of
such.
1. What did Teresa learn?
2. Other than quitting, what can Teresa do to resolve the
problem? What learning and perception factors should she
23. consider as she analyzes the situation?
3. If you were an outside consultant to the firm, could you
recommend solutions that might not occur to Teresa or Vegas?
What would they be?
4. No plagiarism
WEEK 4 Lecture 1 “Motivating Associates”
Motivating Associates
Hello Class! As we start this week’s lecture, I hope you’re
starting to notice a trend. Each lecture starts off with a goal –
what we want to accomplish in the following paragraphs. This
idea of goal-setting, regardless of the task at hand, is a critical
element of success! Whether it’s a phone call, a meeting, or a
visit to local grocery store, I always strive to have a specific
goal in mind at the onset.
Okay, now let’s press on to the goal of this lecture – to gain an
understanding of how to motivate associates. We’ll discuss five
specific ways to motivate employees followed by a mind-
boggling example from the hair salon industry as discussed in
your text. On pages 195-202, Hitt, Miller, and Colella provide
a practical list of motivation practices as described below:
· Find Meaningful Individual Rewards – tailor individual
rewards to individual needs and desires, consider both intrinsic
and extrinsic rewards, intrinsic examples include satisfaction
based on exciting and challenging work, feelings of
accomplishment, extrinsic examples include pay increases,
bonuses, pay level, job security, job titles.
24. · Tie Rewards to Performance – encourages desired behavior,
performance measurement is critical to accurate linkage with
rewards, can be financial or non-financial rewards.
· Redesign Jobs (Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment) – goal is
to make jobs more meaningful, job enlargement involves adding
tasks that are similar in complexity relative to the current tasks,
job enrichment is making a job more motivating by increasing
responsibility
· Provide Feedback – should be provided in conjunction with
goals, regular intervals, be specific, from a credible source,
focus on the performance and not the individual when
delivering.
· Clarify Expectations and Goals – Ah, refer back to the first
paragraph of this lecture! You must know the destination
before embarking on the journey to get there!
Now that we have an understanding of some of the most
practical techniques to motivate associates, let’s look at an
unexpected example from the hair salon industry. Please draw
your attention to the Experiencing Organizational Behavior
segment on page 194 of the text title “Making Visible
Changes”. Visible Changes is a hair salon company based on
Houston, TX. As you can see from the lead-in paragraph, this is
not your normal hair salon. A hairdresser making a total of a
quarter million dollars (includes her $40k bonus) just doesn’t
seem feasible. As my grandpa used to say when he worked on
cars, “let’s look under the hood”, or delve deeper in the
workings of Visible Changes, to understand how a company in
an industry not known for high pay can pull this off.
Considering the backdrop of motivation practices provided
25. above, which of these does Visible Changes engage in that
makes it so successful? It’s obvious they tie performance to
rewards – commissions and bonuses are based on specific
criteria such as repeat customers and products sold. Visible
Changes has also done a fantastic job at clarifying expectations
and goals. For instance, there are different levels of hair
stylists. Each level (such as senior cutter and master cutter) has
a requisite set of goals that must be met (such as number of
haircuts, repeat customers, and continuous learning hours)
before a hairstylist can move to the next level. The company
has also been successful at finding meaningful individual
rewards to include profit-sharing, public recognition, and travel
to interesting locations. The company even offered to pay
tuition to medical school for any children of employees…what a
perk!
Let’s further extend this discussion to the public sector and
Federal government employees. Within the last few years,
Federal employees have been subjected to multiple years
without cost of living adjustments (also known as the “pay
freeze”), a government shutdown, furloughs, reductions in
travel and training, and elimination of bonuses (although these
appear to be coming back in certain agencies). The bottom line
is that the Federal workforce has been subjected to various
practices that effectively decreased their motivation.
Here’s the question…with such a brutal few years, can the
government environment be changed and motivation practices
implemented to improve employee morale? Are there
complicating factors in the public sector which do not appear in
the private sector? Yes, the environment can be changed,
however, for meaningful changes to occur, there needs to be
some compromising between the Executive and Legislative
branches. The Federal government is a unique organization in
that there is not one person who makes the ultimate decisions.
26. Instead, the government is structured to provide adequate
checks and balances. While the “balance of power” concept
makes us strong as a nation, it provides numerous challenges
from an employee motivation standpoint.
If you were a government manager, which of the motivation
practices might you use considering the circumstances? One
place to start might be to find meaningful individual rewards.
For many, government service is a calling and they do it for
patriotic reasons rather than for financial gain.
References
· Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015).
Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
WEEK 4 Lecture 2 “Stress Management” Stress Management
Class, I’m proud of the efforts you’ve shown thus far in class!
Completion of this week marks the halfway point, a significant
achievement considering the difficulty and time commitment for
this class. Well done! The second lecture this week revolves
around a topic from Chapter Seven, stress – how to identify it
and how to manage it. My hope is that you can reflect on your
own situation (and those you care about) and not only identify
stress concerns but take a proactive approach to managing them
so you live a long, productive, happy, and healthy life!
Have you ever found yourself feeling uneasy after a day at the
office? Do you often experience physiological, emotional, or
behavioral discomfort as a result of your work environment? If
so, you’re likely experiencing symptoms of stress. Here are
some the common symptoms of stress as noted by Hitt, Miller,
and Colella on page 215 of the text:
27. · Common Physical Symptoms: headaches, muscle tension and
pain, chest pain, fatigue, change in sex drive, upset stomach,
lowered resistance to infection and disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure, increased metabolism and burning of body fat.
· Common Emotional Symptoms: anxiety or worry,
restlessness, lack of motivation, lack of focus, irritability,
anger, sadness, depression.
· Common Behavioral Symptoms: alertness and excitement,
increase in energy, overeating, undereating, angry or aggressive
outbursts, drug or alcohol abuse, tobacco use, social
withdrawal.
If you haven’t experienced any of the aforementioned
symptoms, I want your job :) Seriously though, I suspect we’ve
all experienced a number of these stress effects at one time or
another in our lives. So now that you’ve diagnosed your own
situation, it’s time to prescribe a solution. The best solutions
are typically a two-pronged approach from both the individual
and the organization. Regardless of how much effort an
individual invests in reducing stress, the organization must be
willing to make changes to keep good employees over the long-
term. A good organization will make changes to accommodate
employees, even if it costs them money in the short-term,
because of the long-term benefits and reduction in healthcare
costs associated with stress.
Let’s start by looking at changes you can personally make to
lessen stress. The first is diet. What does yours look like? Do
you often eat junk food and make unhealthy choices at fast food
restaurants? To use an analogy…would you fuel your car which
takes unleaded gasoline with corn syrup? Of course not...the
car won’t make the trip and will likely sustain permanent
damage. This is no different than your body. By fueling your
28. body with unhealthy food, you’re sure to contribute to stress.
The text notes that diet impacts alertness, energy levels, and
overall well-being.
Another life change you can make immediately to lessen your
stress levels is the implementation of an exercise routine.
Rather than go into the numerous exercise routines out there,
I’ll focus on the different categories of exercise. Generally
speaking, exercise can be broken down into three major groups,
what have been coined the “three Ss” – stamina, strength,
stretching. Hitt, Miller, and Colella define moderate exercise as
30 minutes of activity three to four times a week. The key here
is not to get burnt out and be sure to use moderation.
For instance, if you’ve been literally laying on the couch after
work for the last year, you’ll not want to go out and run 5 miles.
Rather, you might start with walking a half mile 3 times a week
for the first couple of weeks and slowly increasing rates and
mileage after that.
So, even if you do everything right from an individual level,
that will only go so far. There must be action on your
organization’s part to help lessen the stress as well. Page 230
of the text provides various actions that can be taken by the
organization to reduce stress as listed below:
· Increased autonomy & control
· Proper compensation
· Maintain job demands/requirements at healthy levels
· Ensure associates have adequate skills to keep up-to-date with
technical changes in the workplace
· Increased associate involvement in decision making
29. · Improve physical working conditions
· Provide job security and career development
· Provide flexible work schedules
· Improve communication to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity
Now it’s time to sound like a broken record again…project,
project, project! Has your organization instituted any of these
measures? Might your organization benefit from instituting
additional measures. As you should recall from your project
assignment, you are to identify a process/structure/environment
that needs improvement and provide an intervention
recommendation for improvement. As an example, let’s say you
work 12 hour shifts and your analysis shows that workplace
accidents typically happen the last couple of hours of the shift
due to exhaustion.
One proposed intervention might be to provide flexible work
schedules where you can choose between eight, ten, or twelve
hour shifts. This is your chance in a friendly environment to be
the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of your organization. The
possibilities are endless!
References
· Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015).
Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
2
30. The Real Reason Why Older
Men Want To Date You
Hugo Schwyzer
11/09/11 1:50pm
Filed to: GENDERAL INTEREST
731.5K
8716
I got a cheeky anonymous email recently: "I'd like to
commission an article on the
plight of sexually invisible middle aged men. I thought you'd be
the perfect
person to do it." As an insult, it was a mildly clever thing to say
to a 44-year-old
writer. But it reminded me of the reality that aging men do
experience anxiety
about our own diminishing attractiveness. It's hardly news to
point out that men
are more concerned about their bodies than ever before, but the
fear of visibly
aging is no longer limited to women, if it ever was.
Can Men Handle Being Ogled?
32. but there's no flirtation or desire behind it."
Women over 35 often report the same thing. The difference is
that most 40-
something women aren't lamenting the fact that they don't turn
the heads of
college boys. Many of them would just like to turn the heads of
guys their own
age. Not so for their male peers, many of whom are busy
chasing substantially
younger women. Middle-aged men don't seem to value
validation from women
their own age as much as they value it from women 10 to 25
years younger.
This isn't just opinion. It was borne out in the now-infamous
results of the 2010
OK Cupid survey, which found that in the world of online
dating, men seemed
almost universally interested in pursuing substantially younger
women. Men's
desired age range for potential matches was dramatically
skewed against their
chronological peers. A typical 42 year-old-man, for example,
would be willing to
33. date a woman as young as 27 (15 years younger than himself)
but no older than
45 (just three years older.) And as OkCupid discovered, men
regularly devoted
most of their attention to women at the very youngest end of
their stated range —
and frequently messaged female members who were well
beneath that.
When I sent out a request for stories about this phenomenon, I
heard many like
this, from Veronica, age 37: "When I was first dating online in
my late 20s, I got
http://jezebel.com/5854281/can-men-handle-being-ogled
http://jezebel.com/The-End-of-MILF/
http://jezebel.com/The-End-of-MILF/
hundreds of emails a week. Eight years later, even though my
pictures are better
and my accomplishments more substantial, I get only a quarter
as many. Most of
the guys I hear from are over 50."
Women in their 20s, including those who set firm upper-age
limits, report being
inundated by messages from men who are far older than that
34. stated preference.
Sarah, 25, noted that these guys invariably claimed to be
atypical 35 (or 45) year-
olds: "They ask me to disregard my upper age limit, just for
them - make an
exception, they're different, really. They offer me their security
and stability
(financial and otherwise) in exchange for sharing my own
passion and energy.
Like they've 'checked-out' and want me to bring them back in."
Amelia, 28, wrote: "I see lots of men online over 35 who are
looking for women
18-30. I wish they knew how big a turn-off that is. If you can't
handle your peers,
then you can't handle me." But she also pointed out that the
transparency of older
men's insecurity has a side benefit: "Maybe it's a public service
(that these men so
obviously pursue inappropriately younger women). If they lied
and said they were
interested in women their own age too, I might actually
respond."
The obvious question is why so few men are interested in dating
women their
35. own age. It's not as if middle-aged women are equally obsessed
with younger
men. Though many women in their 30s and 40s report
occasional contacts from
much-younger guys ("cougar-trolling," as one friend calls it),
the OKCupid data
indicates that women are much more interested in dating guys
their own age. In
the effort to prove that they can still attract younger women,
middle-aged men
are the ones who are rendering their peers "sexually invisible."
Media critic Jennifer Pozner points out that part of the problem
is the premature
aging of older women in Hollywood. Take Fireflies in the
Garden, the 2008 film
in which 43-year-old Julia Roberts plays the mother of 34 year-
old Ryan
Reynolds. Or look at the late lamentable reality show Age of
Love, which featured
a grotesque competition between "kittens" in their 20s and
"cougars" in their 40s.
As Pozner wrote in her book Reality Bites Back, "The kittens
36. hang out in their
apartment hula-hooping in bikinis, while the cougars sew
needlepoint, read, and
do the laundry (because that's what worn-out old crones do.)"
Combine the
media's de-sexualization of women over 40 with the never-
ending celebration of
May-December celebrity couplings, and the signal to men is that
the validation
they crave can only come from younger women.
The reasons older men chase younger women have less to do
with sex and
everything to do with a profound desire to reassure ourselves
that we've still got
"it." "It" isn't just physical attractiveness; "it" is the whole
masculine package of
youth, vitality, and, above all else, possibility. It's not that
women our own age
are less attractive, it's that they lack the culturally-based power
to reassure our
fragile, aging egos that we are still hot and hip and filled with
potential. Inspiring
desire in women young enough to be our daughters becomes the
most potent of
37. all anti-aging remedies, particularly when we can show off our
much younger
dates to our peers. The famous little red sports car reveals only
the size of our
bank account; attracting a girl barely out of her teens (or, if
we're in our fifties,
barely out of her twenties) validates the enduring power of our
youthful appeal.
Older women are encouraged to fight what one called "the slow
slide into sexual
invisibility" not only with cosmetics, but with the realistic
acceptance of their own
aging. For many women, what ages right along with them is the
type of man to
http://www.realitybitesbackbook.com/
whom they're attracted. As Amy, 43, put it, "I don't mind that
most guys in their
20s or 30s don't flirt with me anymore. They aren't what I'm
looking for anyway."
Her sentiments jive with the OK Cupid data that shows that
most women over 35
want to date men who are their same age. But that same data
shows that men
38. fight the same "slow slide" with frantic denial, a denial that
manifests itself in a
compulsive need to pursue women substantially younger than
themselves, all the
while pleading to be seen as atypical for their age.
We may all want to still be hot when we're on the high side of
40. The question is,
to whom do we want to be sexually "visible?" For too many
straight men, it
seems, the sexual validation of their female peers is less ego-
soothing than the
kind that they believe can only come from much younger
women.
Alzheimer's Disease and
Women: A Research
Update
James M. Ellison, MD, MPH
Swank Memory Care Center, Christiana Care Health System
Monday, November 14, 2016
This article explores the latest research concerning Alzheimer's
39. and
women.
http://www.brightfocus.org/bio/james-m-ellison-md-mph
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is, as we often hear, a public health
problem of
epidemic proportions. It is the fifth leading cause of death in
Americans aged 65
and older. More than five million Americans are already
affected. AD will become
an even greater societal burden in the future, due to the growth
of our population
both in number and in expected length of life. While AD is a
major source of
suffering, death, expense, and caregiving burden for all of us, it
has an especially
powerful impact on the lives of women.
The Age Factor
Many more women than men suffer from AD. A recent study
reported that 3.4
million women age 65 and older, compared to 1.8 million men,
are affected in the
United States.1 Since the most powerful risk factor for
Alzheimer’s disease is age,
many researchers believe that women’s greater life expectancy
explains why so
many more women are affected. According to the latest census,
Americans of
both sexes now expect to survive into their early 80s, but
women will live, on
average, nearly three years longer than men.2 Researchers
40. confirmed the
importance of women’s longer survival as a risk factor for AD
by following a large
group of aging East Boston adults. They showed that the
lifetime risk for AD
among the women in this group was 32%, while the lifetime risk
for men was only
18%.3
Male/Female Differences
Women’s lives and bodies differ from men’s in a variety of
ways that might affect
the course and expression of Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies
have focused
on socioeconomic factors including educational level, lifestyle,
and the different
stresses that affect women as compared to men. In addition, a
very important
body of research has explored the effects on AD of hormonal
differences
between men and women. Early research findings in animals
indicated that
estrogen has multiple beneficial effects on the brain including:
• Improved synapse formation: the synapse is a structure that
permits cells to
communicate with one another.
• Increased cerebral blood flow and glucose metabolism
• Increased choline acetyltransferase activity: this enzyme helps
in the formation of
acetylcholine, an important brain chemical involved in nerve
cell communication.
• Reduced deposition of toxic beta-amyloid: one of the
41. hallmarks of Alzheimer's
disease is the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques between
nerve cells in the
brain.
• Prevention of mitochondrial damage: mitochondria are the
cell’s power plants,
and also provide other important functions.
In women started on estrogen therapy in early post-menopause,
estrogen
therapy was shown to have cognitive benefits. The famous
Women’s Health
Initiative Study, however, reported an increased risk for
dementia among women
who began estrogen or estrogen with progesterone at ages 65 to
79 years. This
finding alarmed many patients and clinicians and led to a
decrease in the
prescribing of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
Subsequent
reconsideration of the many sources of data on HRT, however,
has suggested an
explanatory “window effect” or “timing effect” theory. This
theory proposes that
estrogen begun in early post-menopause has beneficial effects
on the brain, but
that estrogen’s potential benefits in older women are
outweighed by detrimental
effects including enhanced clotting and inflammation.4
Surprisingly, some research suggests that not only the number
of affected
42. people, but also the character of the disease is affected by
gender. Men with AD
have been found more likely to show aggressiveness,5-6
preoccupation with
bodily function, and apathy.6 Women, by contrast, have been
found to show more
reclusive behavior, emotional lability, hoarding, and refusal of
help.6
The Impact of Caregiving
Finally, a discussion of AD’s effects on women must
acknowledge women’s
disproportionately large caregiving role. Women account for
three out of every
five AD caregivers. This means that about 6.7 million women in
America provide
unpaid care for someone with dementia.7 The impact on these
caregivers’ lives is
extraordinarily stressful. An NAC/AARP poll taken in 2010
showed that nearly
half the caregivers who responded considered the stress of
caregiving to be
maximal.8 Many employed caregivers are forced to take a leave
of absence from
a paid job or to give up a job altogether as a result of caregiving
demands. The
majority of caregivers report having less time for their friends
and families.
Although there may be positive aspects of caregiving, women
who take on this
role often have done so as a result of their promise to keep a
relative or friend
out of an institution, or to avoid the prohibitively expensive
costs associated with
43. other options, such as paid care at home or in an Assisted
Living dementia
unit. Dementia care, compared to caregiving for other illnesses
or disabilities, is
a particularly demanding form of caregiving. Female dementia
caregivers,
according to an NAC/AARP study, provided an average of 24
hours of care per
week, significantly more hours than other types of caregivers.
More than half the
dementia caregivers reported that they must maintain vigilance
24 hours per day.
Several model programs have focused on the needs of
caregivers, addressing
such critical matters as self-care, relief of depression, and
coping with behavioral
symptoms associated with dementia.9
Summary
The future may hold significant advances for the prevention and
treatment of AD.
There has been progress in early detection, lifestyle
modification, somatic
therapies, and psychosocial treatments. However, the special
needs of women
are among the important questions that demand additional
attention. Further
investigation is clearly needed in a number of areas, including
the effects of HRT
on brain health, biological biomarkers, genetic risk factors, and
better detection of
those at risk for AD, to mention a few. Also, to improve the
44. lives of women
affected by AD, it will be crucial to have greater support for
caregivers, to develop
improved options for home care and for the financing of care.
Sources
1. Carter CL, Resnick EM, Mallampalli M, et al. Sex and gender
differences in
Alzheimer’s disease: Recommendations for future research. J
Women’s
Health 2012; 21:1018-1023.
2. U.S. Census Bureau Statistical Abstract of the United States,
2012.
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0105.p
df,
consulted 10/20/13.
3. Hebert L, Scherer PA, McCann JJ, et al. Is the risk of
developing
Alzheimer’s disease greater for women than for men? Am J
Epidemiology
2001;153:132-6
4. Rocca WA, Grossardt BR, Shuster LT. Oophorectomy,
menopause,
estrogen treatment, and cognitive aging: Clinical evidence for a
window of
opportunity. Brain Res 2011; 1379:188-98.
5. Kitamura T, Kitamura M, Hino S, et al. Gender differences in
clinical
manifestations and outcomes among hospitalizes patients with
behavioral
45. and psychological symptoms of dementia. J Clin Psychiatry
2012;73:1548-
1554.6
6. Ott BR, Tate CA, Gordon NM, et al. Gender differences in
the behavioral
menifestations of Alzheimer’s disease. J Am Geriatr Soc 1996; J
Am
Geriatr Soc 44:583-7.
7. Fetherling D, Fazio S, Maslow K. What toll does Alzheimer
caregiving take
on women? In Skelton K, Geiger A, Morgan O, et al (eds).
Alzheimer’s in
America. The Shriver Report on Women and Alzheimer’s. New
York, Free
Press, 2010, pp 107-126.
8. Alzheimer’s Association unpublished data from NAC/AARP
2009 survey of
caregiving in the United States, from Skelton K, Geiger A,
Morgan O, et al
(eds). Alzheimer’s in America. The Shriver Report on Women
and
Alzheimer’s. New York, Free Press, 2010, pp 107-126.
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