Top 100 Common Job Interview Questions

Top 100 Common Job Interview Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Job interviews are a key part of the hiring process. They can also be incrediblynerve-wracking! The best way to calm anypre-interview jittersis to prepare well-crafted responses to the major questions comingyour way. While you can’t predict exactly what the hiring manager will ask you, you can come upwithanswers to the most common questions. This guide contains the top 100 questions that hiring managers ask in a job interview. Before getting to the list, let’s consider why it’s so important to prepare for job interview questions, rather than just winging it. Why Should You Prepare for Job Interview Questions? Interviews are important; there’s no getting around that. They’re often your first opportunity to communicate directly with a hiring manager and advocate for yourself as the best person for the job. While some interviews are more conversational than others, none of them feel like the most natural socialdynamic. The interviewer’s going to ask you some open-ended, some specific questions about your skills and experiences, and you should be prepared to answer them in a strategic way. The last thing you want to do is go blank or start rambling about your childhood dog. To excel in your interview, you should prepare your responses to common interview questions.With enough mock interview practice leading up to the real thing, you can make sure your answerssound natural and leave an excellent impression. For more on how to answer common interview questions, check out our guide with tips and sample responses! For now, let’s go over how this list of 100 questions is sorted into categories. How Does This List Work? No interviewer's going to ask you 100 questions in a row unless they possess King Joffrey levels of cruelty. However, they might sample a few questions from each of the below categories to get a full sense of your skills and experiences. There are five categories of questions in this list: traditional, behavioral, cultural fit, logistical, and curveballs. Traditional questions are the ones with which you might already be familiar. They tend to be open-ended and ask about your background, goals, and work style. Behavioral questions are some of the trickiest, because they ask you to provide specific examples that illustrate an achievement, a learning experience, or even a failure. Cultural fit questions are also common, and they’re particularly important for organizations that place high value in workplace culture. These may feel more personal or creative, but your answers should still be tailored to the organization at hand. Logistical questions tend to focus on your work history, how long you plan to stay, and salary expectations. Curveball questions are the random ones that you might expect during an icebreaker on your first day of summer camp. Don’t dismiss these questions as unimportant, though, as they’re an opportunity to let your personality shine through. Curveball questions can also be another way that the manager gauges cultural fit. You’ll find 99 questions sorted into these five categories. As for the special 100th question? That one’s at the end of the list, and it’s a virtually universal question that every interviewee must be prepared to answer! Before getting to that final essential question, plus some extra tips on how to prepare, let’s start in with some of the most common traditional job interview questions. The "tell me about yourself" prompt is an old classic, like apple pie at Thanksgiving. Don'tbe surprised if your interviewer brings it to the table. Traditional Questions: Who Are You? What Are Your Qualifications for the Job? The questions in this category are fairly common interview questions that interviewers have been asking for years. They’re often some of the first questions in an interview that get the conversational ball rolling as the interviewer explores your professional skills, attitudes, and experiences. Check out the traditional job interview questions below, and then scroll down for some tips on how to prepare for these types of questions. Common Traditional Job Interview Questions 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. What do you consider to be your greatest professional strengths? 3. What would you say are your weaknesses? 4. Why do you want this job? 5. Why should we hire you? 6. What would you contribute to this job? 7. If you had a personal mission statement, what would it be? 8. If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be? 9. What do you feel makes you unique? 10. What do you find motivating? 11. How do you define and measure success? 12. Where do you see yourself in five years? 13. How does this position fit in with the career path you see for yourself? 14. Would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person? 15. What are some of your hobbies? 16. What were some responsibilities in your previous job? 17. What’s your work style like? 18. What were some of your favorite things to do in your last position? 19. What were some of your least favorite things to do in your last job? 20. What would your manager say are your best strengths? 21. What would your manager say are areas that you need to develop more? 22. How do you make decisions? 23. What could you contribute to make this company better? 24. What are you looking for in your next position? 25. What’s your style of management? 26. Can you describe the best boss you ever had? 27. Can you describe the worst boss you ever had? 28. How do you manage your time? 29. What are you looking for regarding career development? 30. What’s a goal you have for self-improvement in the next year? 31. How has your education gotten you ready for your career? 32. If you got this job, what would some of your goals be? 33. How do you keep yourself organized? 34. Do you prefer working in a team or alone? Tips for Answering Traditional Questions As you can see, traditional questions tend to ask about your skills and what you would bring to the job. While some of the questions may sound more personal, like â€Å"tell me about yourself† or â€Å"what makes you unique?† they’re all openers to advocate for your professional qualifications. Your answers, therefore, should be tailored to the job and organization. A common mistake is to talk onlyabout your own goals and what you’re looking for in a new job. While a hiring manager does want to see your motivations and passions, she's also concerned withmaking a successful hire. She needs to see not just what you want, but what you could do for her organization. As you prepare your responses, then, you should consider the job description and what the company seeks. If one of the core competencies, or main skills, of the job is teamwork and collaboration, then you probably shouldn’t start talking about how much you prefer to work alone. You should bring in the core competencies of thejob in your responses, albeit in a natural-sounding way. In addition to tailoring your responses, a second tip for answering these questions is bringing in specific examples. Who doesn’t like to hear a good story? Even if the question doesn’t ask for a specific example, you could often benefit from sharing one, especially if you're someone who tends to drift into vague language. To make your answers more concrete, you could pinpointparticularinstances from your past. The next category, behavioral questions, explicitly asks you to bring in specific examples. Unless you’re a pro at thinking on your feet, these can be some of the most difficult questions to answer on the spot. Luckily, you’ll be prepared with your examples before you walk in the door! Interviewers ask behavioral questions so that you'll give specific examples oftimes that you succeeded, handled conflict, or, like this tired corkscrew, went above and beyond the call of duty. Behavioral Questions: How Do You Acton the Job? As someone who struggles to come up with a specific example when put on the spot, I think behavioral questions are pretty much the worst. At the same time, they’re also super common. Chances are, you’ll get asked a bunch of behavioral questions in your job interview. Hiring managers don’t just want to hear abstract ideas about your work ethic or skills. They want to hear about specific times when you achieved something, managed conflict, or bounced back after a failure. One rationale for these questions is that past behavior indicates future behavior. By gaining a sense of what you’ve done in the past, the hiring manager has a clearer vision of how you’ll perform in the future. The other reason behind these questions is that behavioral questions and answers are simply more interesting. They call for specific stories, and these stories make your candidacy more memorable and colorful. You want to leave a great impression, and intriguing anecdotes are one way to accomplish this. Below you’ll find some common examples of behavioral questions, followed by some tips for answering them. Common Behavioral Questions 35. Can you describe a time you demonstrated leadership? 36. Can you speak to a time that you had to handle criticism of your work? 37. Tell me about a time when your workload was especially heavy and how you dealt with it. 38. What would you do if you were asked to take on more assignments than you could conceivably finish by the expected deadlines? 39. Can you give me an example of a time you had to follow a policy with which you didn’t agree? 40. Tell me about a time you went above and beyond expectations at work. 41. Have you ever worked on a time when someone was not pulling his weight? What did you do? 42. Have you ever had trouble working with a manager? 43. Can you tell me about a time your boss disagreed with something you did? How did you deal with it? 44. How do you handle difficult customers? 45. How do you deal with stressful situations? 46. Have you ever had to deal with a coworker who put you down at work? What did you do? 47. Can you tell me about a time that you faced a difficult situation with a colleague? 48. Give me an example of a time that you failed. 49. Have you ever had to give someone tough feedback? How did you go about that? 50. Have you ever gone against official policy or directives? Why? What were the results? 51. Can you give me an example of a challenge or conflict you faced at work? Describe how you handled it. Tips for Answering Behavioral Questions As you can see, behavioral questions explicitly ask you to give specific examples. Your mission, then? To highlight success stories that show you possess some of the core competencies the interviewer is looking for. Just as all your answers should be tailored to the job at hand, so too should your examples be chosen based on the job description and organization. If problem-solving is a big part of the prospective job, then choose an example, if possible, that demonstrates your problem-solving skills. Similarly, if you’re asked to provide a failure, don’t choose a story where you failed because you lack one of the core competencies. If the position wants you to be highly organized, don’t go on and on about your problems with organization. In fact, you could subtly highlight the opposite; maybe there was a time you failed to look at the big picture because you were too concerned with details of organization, and you’ve since learned how to balance the two. As you know by now, you should tailor your responses, but don’t just tell the interviewer what you think she wants to hear or choose a cop-out answer, like â€Å"I work too hard† or â€Å"I care too much.† You still want to be authentic and true to yourself. The best way to ace these behavioral questions is to show up with a few prepared success stories in your mental suitcase. Perhaps you can packfour or five that relate to the most common questions - a time you showed leadership, a challenge you faced, a story about teamwork, an example of problem solving, and an instance of failure. One final tip about that â€Å"describe a time that you failed† prompt - don’t focus too much on failure. Be honest about the failure, but show how you saw it as a learning opportunity. Talk about how you acknowledged, addressed, and grew from your mistake. Your attitude toward setbacks may be just as important as the story you share. Now that you have a sense of those tricky behavioral questions and how to prepare for them, let’s look at the next major category: questions that aim to gauge your cultural fit. Maybe your ideal workplace values teamwork, innovation, or indoor climbing walls. Let the interviewer know what draws you to itsculture. Cultural Fit Questions:Do You Share Our Values? Organizational culture has always been important for employees, and today it seems tobe even more so. Many private companies, in particular, pay a ton of attention to workplace values and the happiness levels of employees. Good morale and workplace perks can improveindividual performance, retention, andteamwork, as well as prevent workplace conflict. Many hiring managers, therefore, will ask interview questions aimed at gaining a sense of your cultural fit. Check out some of the questions below, and then read on for a few tips on how to prepare for them. Common Cultural Fit Questions 52. What does teamwork mean to you? 53. What three qualities do you look for in a workplace? 54. How would you deal with a coworker you don’t get along with? 55. How well would you say you adapt to change? 56. What are you passionate about? 57. Describe your ideal company culture. What four or five characteristics does it have? 58. Who inspires you and why? 59. What motivates you to come into work everyday? 60. What was it like working at your last company? 61. What are some of your workplace values? 62. Do you prefer a more structured work environment or one where you can be more entrepreneurial? 63. What personality types would you say you work best with? 64. What are some activities you like to do outside of work, and how do they benefit your day-to-day job? 65. What would your friends tell me about you? Tips for Answering Cultural Fit Questions As you can see, a lot of these cultural fit questions focus on workplace values. They also bring out soft skills, like communication, flexibility, motivation, passion, and outside interests. While these questions are opportunities to let your personality shine through, don’t forget that you’re in a job interview. You still want to customizeyour answers to the organization, and the best way to do this is to research its culture online and, if possible, by speaking to its employees. The company website’s a great resource, as well as sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor. If you know any people who work there, definitely reach out and ask them about their experiences. These cultural fit questions work two ways. The manager wants to see how you’d fit in, but you also want to make sure the culture aligns with your values and work style. Make sure it’s the sort of place you’d like to work and could be successful. Find out about values, and, if you share them, reflect this understanding and alignment in your responses. Logistical questions might ask about a gap in employment or a career change, such as, "Going from a dog walker to a NASA astronaut seems like a big change. Could you speak on that a bit?" Logistical Questions: Employment History and Salary Expectations Logistical questions tend to be straightforward. They might ask about details on your resume, your professional goals, or your salary expectations. Some of these questions, especially about salary, may show up later in the hiring process, like in a second interview. You should be prepared to discuss them, though, just in case. Below are some common questions that fall into this logistical category. Common Logistical Questions 66. You worked at your last company for a long time. Will it be difficult moving to a new firm? 67. Why have you changed jobs so often over the past few years? 68. If you got this job, how long would you plan to stay with us? 69. What did you earn at your last job? 70. What are your salary expectations? 71. Why do you have a gap in your job history? 72. Why do you think you can lead a team without any previous managerial experience? 73. Why do you want to join our company? 74. Why do you want to move from an academic field to the business world (or vice versa)? 75. Why should we give you the job over other applicants? 76. Would you jump ship if you received another offer? 77. What other companies are you applying to? 78. Why did you freelance for a long period of time? 79. What caused you to leave your last position? 80. Why do you want to leave your current position? 81. Why did you take a job that seems unrelated to your career path? Tips for Answering Logistical Questions While you may have already talked about your skills and experiences, these logistical questions will get you talking specifically about your professional history. Be prepared to speak on your last job, its responsibilities, and your reasons for applying elsewhere. If you have any gaps in employment or are making a career change, you should also be ready to speak on that. As for salary, interviewers may save this question for later in the hiring process, like a second interview. You shouldn’t be dishonest about what you’ve made in the past, but you may decline to share by saying that the two jobs are so different, you don’t feel your last salaryappliesto the current situation. If you’re just not sure, do some research on the company website and sites like Payscale and Glassdoor to see what you could expect from a comparable position. I’ve found these sites sometimes have such a big range it’s hard to be sure, but you can look at the available information and then decidewhat's a reasonable range for you. Again, as you should in all your responses, make sure to communicate your enthusiasm for the position and commitment to the organization should you be hired. Finally, let’s consider the fifth category of questions, the curveballs. Don't get thrown by randomquestions, like, "If you were a vacation, would you be a camping trip, agrouptour, or a luxury spa?" Actually, maybe that one's from a Buzzfeed quiz. Curveball Questions: The Odd and Unexpected We've reached the quirky curveball questions. Like they sound, these questions run the gambit of total randomness. They tend to be odd and imaginative, and are mainly asked to gain a sense of your personality and ability to think on your feet. Of course, if you've already prepared for the right ones, then you won’t have to think on your feet! Some questions aim to root out your entrepreneurial qualities or vision. Others seek to see how you self-reflect and make decisions. Others, well - it’s hard to say what some of these are getting at. That’s why I decided to call them curveballs! Check out some potential curveball questions below, along with tenreal-life examples that interviewers from big companies, like Dropbox and Trader Joe’s have asked prospective employees. Then check out some tips on how to prepare for the unexpected! Potential Curveball Questions 82. If you could live your life over again from the beginning, what’s one thing that you would change? 83. If you could be an animal, which one would you be and why? 84. If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? 85. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? 86. What’s one new thing you taught yourself in the last year? 87. What would the name of your app be? 88. You have two minutes. Teach me something. 89. Why do people climb mountains? 90. From Space Exploration Technologies: When a hot dog expands, in which direction does it split and why? 91. From Whole Foods Market: Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck, or 100 duck-sized horses? 92. From Dropbox: If you’re the CEO, what are the first three things you check about the business when you wake up? 93. From Urban Outfitters: What would the name of your debut album be? 94. From J.W. Business Acquisitions: How would you sell hot cocoa in Florida? 95. From Hubspot: If I gave you $40,000 to start a business, what would you start? 96. From Trader Joe’s: What would you do if you found a penguin in the freezer? 97. From Boston Consulting Group: If you were a brand, what would be your motto? 98. From Delta Air Lines: How many basketballs would fit in this room? 99. From Uniqlo: If you had $2,000, how would you double it in 24 hours? Source of questions 90-99: Glassdoor.com Tips for Answering Curveballs Is it possible to prepare for the unpredictable? Sure, to some extent. While you may not know exactly what questions you’ll get asked, you can hone your skills of thinking on your feet. Improv actors, for example, don’t just get up on stage and see what happens. They keep their imaginations active and flexible with improvactivities. You might similarly try a rapid-fire question and answer practice session to see what you come up with. You should find that your answers come easier and more creative the moreyou warm up. As with all your other answers, you might be able to tailor your responses to the job. For instance, if you get asked about what kind of animal you would be, you could choose one that’s associated with leadership, like a lion, cleverness, like a monkey, or strong work ethic, like an ant, depending on what the job's looking for. At the same time, try not to overthink these too much. They’re more lighthearted and chances to reveal your personality and sense of humor. And if you find your mind totally goes blank, you could try to buy a little extra time with the old trick of, â€Å"That’s a great question. I’ll have to think about that for a second...† Now that you’ve read over 99 common interview questions in the five major categories, let’s take a look at the final question that almost every interviewer asks at the end of your meeting. Even if your interviewer doesn't ask you any of the previous 99 questions, you can be pretty sure that she'll ask you this next one! Final Crucial Job Interview Question Finally, you’ve made it to the end of the list and have seen 99 of the most common traditional, behavioral, cultural fit, logistical, and curveball questions that might come your way in the job interview. But we promised you 100 questions, and saved the nearly universal question for last. This question is an absolute must for your interview preparation. Almost every interviewer asks it, and there’s definitely a way that you can answer it wrong. Here it is: 100. Do you have any questions for me? Tips for the Final Question This final question’s not a particularly hard one, but it is very important. The biggest mistake you could make here is to say, â€Å"Nope!† The answer to this question should always be yes, and you should have at least two thoughtful questions to ask your interviewer. You may be sick of reading about how your answers should be tailored to the job and organization at hand, so I’ll just say it one last time: your questions should be tailored to the job and organization at hand (sorry). Your questions are one more opportunity to show your interest and enthusiasm. You can show that you’ve researched the organization and have a strong understanding of its culture and mission.Don’t ask questions that can be easily answered with a Google search. Similarly, don’t ask ones that you just talked about ten minutes before. What you already know about the company can inform your questions, though, as it shows you’ve done some digging. You might say, "I saw on your website that one of your long-term goals is xxx. Could you tell me about some of the specific steps you’ll be taking in the next few months to work toward this?" You couldask about a typical day in the office, what your team members would be like, or what qualities the company values most in its employees. For more suggestions on questions to ask at the end of your interview, check out this question and answer guide. So there you have it, one hundred of the most common questions that get asked in job interviews. In closing, let’s go over thekey pieces of adviceto remember as you prepare to rock your job interview. Here's one piece of advice: Do yourpreparation before you get to theinterview! Preparing forInterview Questions: FinalWords of Advice Interviews can be an intimidating hurdle in the hiring process, but believe it or not, they can also be exciting! They’re your opportunity to speak with your next potential manager and teammate, learn more about an organization, and show that you’re the best person for the job. With enough preparation, you can give succinct, thoughtful responses to any interview question. While you may not be able to completely eliminate all the unknowns, you can definitely reduce them considerably. As you consider how you would answer the above questions, make sure you keep thesefourmain guidelines in mind. Research the Job, Organization, and Your Interviewer In order to give a good interview, you mustbe knowledgeable about the job you’re applying for and the organization you wish tojoin. This knowledge will help youprepare tailored responses and present yourself as the best candidate for the job. You should thoroughly read the job description and learn about the organization from its website. You might read about it in news articles or reach out to current or former employees for their views.Once you have a clearer understanding of the job and workplace culture, you can start to analyze your own skillset to see how it matches up. This process of deconstructing the job description is an important step in customizing your answers, as you'll read below. Beyond researching the job and company, you should see also seek to learn more about your interviewer. You might track the person down on LinkedIn or via a bio on the company's website. You might discover a shared interest or personal connection that could spark conversation, whether you bring it up explicitly or not. I have a friend who learned that his next interviewer grew up on a military base in Georgia. When he interviewed, my friend used a bunch of military-related metaphors when describing his ideal management style. Apparently, his interviewer loved it, and my friend got the job. You don'twant to creep out your interviewer by repeating her LinkedIn profile back to her, but you mightdiscover a shared interest and work it into the conversation. In addition toshowing your enthusiasm for the job and organization, making a personal connection with your interviewer can never hurt! Collect Your Success Stories Have you ever heard the phrase, "Show, don't tell"? It means that you should give specific, illustrative examples and avoid vague, abstract language. It's a good rule forimproving your writing, and it's a good rule for improving your interview answers, too. Anyone can talk about how detail-oriented they are, but only people who actually possess this quality can share specific examples. Not only will anecdotes prove what you say about yourself, but they'll also be more memorable to the interviewer. As you read above, behavioral questions are all the rage these days. Interviewers want to get beyond the basics and dig into your past behaviors and experiences. They want to learn about how you've met a challenge, handled conflict, or interacted with your team in the past to get a clearer vision of how you'll behave in the new role. To answer these questions, you should be prepared with a few tried-and-true "success stories" from your past. These may come from your past job, or, if you're new to the workforce, from your education or perhaps volunteer work. You should be prepared to speak on some common themes, such as a time that you showed leadership, solved a problem, collaborated with your peers, faced a challenge, handled stress and pressure, or resolved conflict. As for the questions that ask about conflict or failure, try to choose an example that you learned. Frame itless as a failure and more as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Consider the context of your examples, like what led up to them and what the ramifications were.The interviewer may very well ask follow-up questions,so you should prepare to speak at length about your stories. This brings us to the next point, preparing for follow-up questions. The interviewer may be happy to follow your lead once the conversation gets flowing. Prepare for follow-up questions on your responses. Prepare for Follow-Up Questions An interview's not an interrogation. Most interviews aren't just going to shoot one question at you after another with nothing more than a nod in response to your answers. While the questions are important, the interviewer is also seeking to have a conversation and get to know you in a relatively brief period of time. Just as you can expect from any conversation, you'll probably get follow-up questions based on your responses. Your interviewer might ask you to give some more detail or provide some more context. If you talked about a challenge at work, the interviewer might ask what situations you think led up to that challenge or what changes in procedure you've made since. Once you've prepared your responses, consider what the interviewer might ask as a follow-up. What details could you elaborate on? How could your response branch into a related, but distinct direction? Just as you don't want to sound too rehearsed, you don't want your responses to be so tightly structured that you can't add additional ideas and details. If you find you have little to say about one of your success stories, then consider choosing onewith a bit more substance. Customize All of Your Answers As you read in the tips above, you can try to customize just about every one of your responses to the job at hand. Focus on your skills as they relate to the job description. In other words, what you say should not just be about you. It should also very much be about them. In most circumstances, the interviewer wants to make sure her next new hire possesses certain core competencies. Figure out what those core competencies are, and then reflect them in your responses. On the flip side, you might leave out other skills that aren't relevant. Highlight the ones that are most important in this particular context. Even if you don't have direct experience, you can show that you have skills that would transfer well to the role. By highlighting your transferable skills, you can show that you'd be successful in the new role, with or without previous experience. This idea of tailoring your answers to the job and organization is pretty much the fundamental overriding principle of all your interview prep. Aim to be knowledgeable, specific, and prepared to speak at length about what makes you the best person for the job! What’s Next? We’ve picked out the top interview questions to help you prepareyour best answers. Check out this guide with tips and sample answers to the most common job interview questions. What else can you do to rock your job interview? Check out this guide with tips for acing your interview, from picking out your power outfit to following up with a personalized message. Are you on the job hunt? This guide will help you write an excellent cover letter with a step-by-step template and six free cover letter samples.

4 mistakes you’re making with your money

4 mistakes you’re making with your money Managing money is a skill that you have to master over time- no one is born with it. And it’s one that can haunt the rest of your life if you’re not careful when you’re younger and just starting out. If you’re hoping to avoid some of the issues that can be most painful later on, there are steps you can take now to improve your money mastery. Let’s take a look at 4 common mistakes you should get under control before they derail your financial future.1. Not saving enoughThis can be one of the hardest things to do if you’re just starting your career and making your way through entry-level or low-seniority jobs. Saving is especially tough if you live in a big city or somewhere else with high living expenses. At the end of the month, there just may not be much left for a savings account, and it’s easy to say, â€Å"later†¦I’ll do it later.† But later comes up awfully fast, so save what you can and stick to a regular depos it schedule. These savings can be a lifesaver if you find yourself suddenly jobless, given that the average job hunt takes several months.2. Not investingAccording to a Bankrate survey, only 54% of Americans invest money. Among millennials, the numbers are even more dismal, at 18%. It may seem difficult to afford when you’re living on a ramen noodle budget, but the reality is that the time to start is when you’re young- you’ll have time to build your portfolio and time is on your side, given that you’ll be better able to absorb market changes over time. You don’t even have to dive into the stock market- you can start with other kinds of funds. NerdWallet has a great how-to guide for beginning investors.3. Not negotiatingDon’t be shy about negotiating pay raises or a higher starting salary. You’ve probably heard the old saying, â€Å"you don’t get what you don’t ask for,† and it’s absolutely true. If you go about the negotiating process in a smart and informed way, you really don’t have anything to lose†¦ but you could be making more money (y’know, for investing and feeding that rainy day fund).4. Not controlling spendingLiving within one’s means can be tricky in an age where your debit card can bring delicious takeout to your door with the ease of an app, or where a credit card makes it easy to ignore the actual spending that’s going on. Creating a realistic budget and sticking to it is one of the best things you can to do prepare for your financial future. It can also help you build in ways to support your other healthy financial moves, like saving extra money and investing.Think of these as healthy habit-building steps. After all, you wouldn’t expect to lose weight without implementing a diet or exercise plan. And again, although it can be very tempting to file financial steps under the â€Å"I’ll deal with it later† heading, it increases the chances that you’ll never actually take the steps at all. You can start building your financial future with relatively small steps now, so why not make sure you’re making your best possible effort?

Did the FSA do enough to prevent the 2008 financial crisis Dissertation

Did the FSA do enough to prevent the 2008 financial crisis - Dissertation Example The primary factors that led to this economic downturn were the failure of the FSA to appropriately monitor various financial transactions; the failure of the Tripartite arrangement for financial stability amongst Treasury, the infirmity of liquidity management within the Bank of England, a lack of commensurate provisions for deposit insurance, and a banking sector with exiguous regulations for insolvency. This article will examine the nature of this economic crisis with special focus on exploring the contention that the FSA was major factor in causing this market crash owing to its policy of non-intervention where it did not do enough to prevent the 2008 financial crisis. 1 Introduction The financial crisis in 2007-09, which is the worst economic downturn since the times of the Great Depression, initiated in the US sub-prime mortgage market, from where it spread across the globe at an unprecedented rate, affecting almost all the markets in the world (Mohan, 2010, 3). In early 2007, the US investment banks and the mortgage backers operating within the sub-prime mortgage markets started feeling the tremors when they faced problems from the defaulting debtors who were failing to repay their loan owing largely to the spiralling interest rates. Soon these financial institutions comprehended the extent of their debt and the overshooting of their limits (Cable, 2009). This ripple soon spread to Europe, and in 2007 in UK, the Northern Rock faced with market liquidity crash, and failing to find any private takers was finally nationalised by UK government (Ibid). In US, the Federal Reserve started lowering the loan interest rates in order to avoid large-scale financial defaulters in the market. Despite this, by 2008, there were a large number of cases of failed banks, starting with the insolvency of Bear Stearns, an investment bank. This was soon followed by large-scale bailouts of the mortgage backers by the US government, for well know financial institutions like, Fre ddie Mac and Fannie Mae (Gamble, 2009). Within one year, by early 2008, it was evident that the financial crisis was not limited to just the subprime mortgage markets, but had affected the entire financial system (ibid), and had been primarily caused due to the manner in which financial debts were converted into an intricate web of various securities, and then traded with other financial institutions (ibid). Thus, what had started as a small crisis within the housing mortgage market, transformed into a catastrophic banking disaster, seriously affecting primary the financial systems of US and Europe (both at domestic and international levels). Though the crises the global in nature, it was noticed that despite the Asian and LATAM emerging market economies (EMEs) suffering bad setbacks from the crisis, the basic financial system of these countries remained comparatively stability. The economic crises failed to affect any of fundamental financial institutions in these countries, thus m aking the economic downturn as being more of a North Atlantic financial crisis instead of a global one. A press report in 2007 stated that it was necessary "to draw up radical proposals to improve transparency in financial markets and to change the way credit rating

Unit 3 Assignments and Discussions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Unit 3 Assignments and Discussions - Essay Example Our staff documents numerous instances of neglect and emotional abuse, which we reported to a local childcare protective services agency (Feeney & Freeman 2012). Amazingly, investigation was conducted and the child allowed remaining in the uncles home. However, the situation seems not to improve. The NAEYC code requires rights of the children to be respected. The individuals found to promulgate child abuse stand to be sued and imprisoned. In our case, the uncle and his girlfriend should be arrested and charged for causing emotional problem to the child. You have a child in your room that has been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He sometimes scares the younger children with his boisterous and frenetic activity. A parent who is a kindergarten teacher notices his behavior and asks you what the problem is. The problem involves my child who has been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).The child scares the younger children with his boisterous and frenetic activity. In the process, a parent who is a kindergarten teacher notices his behavior and demanded to know from me (Feeney & Freeman 2012).. The NAEYC evaluation the teacher of the program to liaise with the children, as well as the instructors of the standard paper and pencil. The test should be conducted in a manner as to avoid stressing the children. This can be attained through preparing the children psychologically and subject them to the test at a relaxed manner. In addition to that, the aide will do a lot of work and hence this can cause commotion within the class. Essentially, the tests should be conducted within the room and cover a large number of children. Once the children are separated, there are chances to have some of them frustrated and give inaccurate results. According to NAEYC codes, the teacher should be strict on using the English language instead of

Caring for Children: Roles, Regulations and Practices

Caring for Children: Roles, Regulations and Practices Describing the role of the practitioner in caring for children The role and responsibilities of an early years practitioner follow a number of codes of practice which clearly state how practitioners and other staff must conduct themselves. Chief amongst the codes presently in operation are those that govern special needs, safeguarding children, childrens learning, behaviour, working with parents, and data protection (Nutbrown and Clough, 2014). As Spodek and Saracho (2014) note, the early years practitioner has a clear set of designated responsibilities including: working to the principles of the sector and its codes of confidentiality; meeting the learning needs of each individual child by ensuring that issues of differentiation are met; providing and sustaining an environment that is warm, welcoming and stimulating; working with parents and partners; and working as part of a team that provides a quality service for both children and parents. In addition, the practitioner may also, especially in cases of suspected abuse, have to work with an array of outside agencies and conform to issues of child safety (Daniel, Gilligan and Wassell, 2011). In fulfilling their statutory duties, it follows that the practitioner must put the needs of children first because, as Bradshaw (2011) comments, this helps to keep children out of harm, and by keeping them safe, a productive environment can be created in which they can maximise their potential. It is imperative that practitioners respect others’ choices because failure to do so can cause friction between staff members and can negatively reflect on the setting and upset the children (Sylva et al., 2010). Further, there is a pressing need, as Willow (2014) suggests, to ensure that one always respects issues pertaining to confidentiality. This is because it can help a child stay out of trouble, keep them safe, and help them to develop into responsible adults. Seemingly of secondary importance, because it is removed from direct interaction with the child, but actually of just as much importance, is planning, recording and reviewing the child’s progress (Bradbury, 2014). This is important for two major reasons. First, the formal keeping of records allows the progress of children to be monitored and evaluated against national criteria (Bradbury, 2014). Secondly, it can help practitioners to be reflective upon their own strengths and weaknesses (Paige-Smith and Craft, 2011). This is not, however, merely an issue of internalisation, for such a process also helps when one is undertaking activities because one can evaluate how well the event went well, and from that, make improvements to ensure that in future events are even better planned. Indeed, such reflection is, as Paige- Smith and Craft (2011) contend, an essential function of effective practice. It is also important, as Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons (2014) recommend, to demonstrate responsibility in the way that one conducts oneself at work, as it helps the children to learn right from wrong. This is an important consideration because it is partly the responsibility of the professional (in co-operation with the parents) to teach the children and in this way one acts as a role model. The creation of a meaningful partnership with parents is also of pivotal importance as the latter can learn from the former as to what the child likes and dislikes – it also allows the parents to take a proactive interest and role in the raising of their children and may help them to ensure that the child’s development is in line with national curricular expectations (Read, 2014). Continuing professional development (CPD) is, as Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons (2014) explain, critical as it enables the practitioner to enhance their existent skill set and further learn from best practice. It also shows others that the practitioner is interested in helping the children to be the best they can be and that they are dedicated to their role – which may also be useful when seeking promotion or a change of professional employer. Observing children as a form of CPD also helps one to recognise the distinctive stages of a child’s development and this can help with the prioritising of a childs needs, particularly with regard to where they may need additional support (Carroll and McCullough, 2014). Lastly, within this section it can be commented that working as part of a wider team helps to create a positive environment for everyone to work within; by making people feel valued, this may increase self-confidence and productivity (Pugh and Duffy, 2013). Comparing the differing roles of statutory, private, voluntary and independent settings Many parents successfully adapt to changes in their lives and in so doing have the benefit of support from their family and friends to provide assistance if it is required. A significant number of families, however, face issues that affect family life in such a manner that they require professional assistance, or may be hampered by a lack of ‘family and friend’ support or a lack of internal ability to deal with change. Such factors, as Daniel, Gilligan and Wassell (2011) observe, include: financial difficulties, unemployment, divorce and separation, caring for others, bereavement, and social isolation. If one looks at each of these in turn it is possible to comment further on the individual problems that each factor may entail. Thus, with regard to financial difficulties it can be noted that problems faced are likely to be exacerbated where there is a low income family that cannot afford food or clothes or proper rent (Burchinal et al., 2010). Indeed, the rise in food banks within the UK gives a graphic illustration of this problem, as Sylva et al. (2010) note. Poor housing may also lead to feels of depression and declining health as a result of factors such as damp. With reference to unemployment, the loss of a job, and the resultant lack of income can, in addition to depression, lead to stress within relationships and may also result in other family members, such as young mothers, having to go out to work (Shonkoff and Bales, 2011). Unemployment may also lead to a loss of child care as parents cannot afford support whilst a mother is forced to work, possibly culminating in a separation of child from mother at a crucial stage of infant development (Read, 2014). Divorce and separation can also cause several problems which need addressing and assistance from trained professionals. The three major problems are loss of income, smaller housing and cramped conditions, and a sense of guilt on the part of the child for a parent leaving (Bradshaw, 2011). Such issues can create tension and stress that can impact upon development and behavioural issues. In a similar manner, caring for other family members or caring for someone with a long-term illness (such as elderly relatives) can result in additional costs and a perceived ‘rationing’ of care towards children which can cause emotional disturbance (Pugh and Duffy, 2014). Bereavement brings with it, as Read (2014) explains, emotional strain, and issues pertaining to dealing with grief – which may also affect the internal dynamics of a family’s daily life and routines. Finally, social isolation, with its associated lack of communication, may cause health concerns to worsen which need additional support. In such scenarios, it becomes clear, from the comments made above, that children and families may need additional support at certain times in their lives (Burks and Kobus, 2012). There are many organisations and self-help groups that can provide this support. These include, the National Childbirth Trust, the National Association of Toy and Leisure Libraries, the Child Poverty Action group, Home Start, Parentline Plus, Gingerbread, various elements of local authorities’ services, and the National Health Service. In addition, as Shonkoff (2010) has commented, there are many different settings where children can be cared for, including, but not limited to, respite care, holiday play schemes, parent and toddler groups, schools, workplace nurseries, child-minders, pre-schools, after school clubs, residential care, day nurseries and crà ¨ches. The suitability of the option chosen is likely to be influenced both by the specific issue that the family faces and their financial circumstances. There are three different sectors that provide care and education for children. They are: the statutory (or state) sector, voluntary sector, and private sector. The statutory sector is a sector that has to be there by law, such as local state-funded schools and hospitals. The age range that primary schools cover is from five years to eleven years old and they follow a set curriculum (Nutbrown and Clough, 2014). The aim of a state sector school or similar facility is to provide opportunities for the education of every child and to support their learning (Pugh and Duffy, 2014). In so doing, they provide a safe and secure environment for children, which keeps them free from harm. Such schools also provide social opportunities for a child, which include learning to make friends, learning to socialise with people, learning the difference between adults and children, and learning to respect others. It may also provide opportunities for the families of children. This may be achieved by, for instance, new parents’ evenings and sports afternoons, as well as the Parent and Teacher Association. In contrast to the state sector, the voluntary sector is a sector in which people volunteer to organise and run specific facilities. A mother and toddler group (that is not aided by the state) or the Brownies and Girl Guides are examples of such organisations (Pugh and Duffy, 2013). Mother and toddler groups are usually aimed at children who are aged between two and four. Often these kinds of organisations are to be found placed in a church or community hall. Such buildings have not been designed specifically for children and thus may contain hidden dangers (Bradshaw, 2011). Nevertheless, the staff are usually parents themselves and the person in charge of the organisation must have at least a Level Three childcare qualification (or an equivalent). It would also be expected that people who are in positions of trust in such organisations will have been police checked so as to ensure that the children and parents are safe. The organisation, in this case a mother and toddler group, may ask for a small donation each week, and this may range from 50p in some deprived areas of northern Scotland, to approximately  £5.00 a week in Surrey (Burchinal et al., 2010). This money is used to cover the basic cost of booking the hall and associated costs such as lighting and water bills. The area in which the organisation is situated may not have an outdoor area for the children to play in and this can be seen as a disadvantage as keeping fit is an important consideration in the development of children (Marmot and Bell, 2012). It is also to be expected that toddler groups should follow the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum so as to ensure that children may be taught appropriately and their progress monitored from the earliest possible age (Shankoff, 2010). It is also likely that such groups will be Ofsted-inspected, which is important as it gives the parents confidence as to the quality of education and opportunity being afforded to their offspring in voluntary toddler play groups (Willow, 2014). Whilst the main aim of a mother and toddler group is to provide short-term care to young children, it should also be remembered that such groups also need to prepare the toddler for primary school by equipping him or her with the basic skills that he or she will need to excel in school. In addition such groups also provide social opportunities for the parent or carer (as well as the child) to meet new people and this can help to integrate marginalised groups within society (Barnett, 2011). The private sector is one in which people pay extra to get the best available opportunities for their childs education or health, as well as their own. When a parent uses a private day nursery he or she is charged for using it, with specific charges depending upon the service delivered and the area of the country in which the client resides. Though this may not be true in all such facilities, it is suggested by Burchinal et al. (2010) that the private sector usually provides hot meals for all children who use their services, as well as indoor and outdoor play areas for children to play in. The staff in such centres are likely to be highly motivated and to receive better remuneration packages that their state sector counterparts (Sims-Schouten and Stittrich-Lyons, 2014). Though it may be the case that private day nurseries are not housed in purpose-built buildings, many are – and the private sector tends to pride itself on the quality of the resources that it provides (Walker et al., 2011). As with the state sector, Ofsted may inspect the facilities provided. It is notable that in the last few years a greater proportion of such facilities within the private sector have been rated as more consistently excellent than those in the state sector. The main regulations that govern the care of children in different types of settings The following is a list of the primary legislation that relates to working with children in a childrens centre: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Race Relations Act 1976 Human Rights Act 1998 Data Protection Act 1998 Disability and Discrimination Act 2004 Within their day to day working, children’s centres must, at all times, comply with the Data Protection Act, 1998. This can affect daily working practices as it places a duty of care on practitioners to ensure that records are kept in a safe and secure environment and not shared with third parties (Willow, 2014). In addition, through the provisions of the Disability and Discrimination Act 2004, it is assured that there will be, within such centres, no discrimination against any person with respect to their opportunity for employment, the conditions of their employment or the delivery of services as a consequence of their sex, marital status, race, or disability. Cumulatively, therefore, the laws noted above require children’s centres to make sure that they perform their responsibilities in a timely and professional manner and, through so doing eliminate unlawful racial discrimination. The centre should be responsible for and take all such precautions that are necessary to protect the health and safety of all persons employed by it and should comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and any other Acts or Regulations relating to the health and safety of employed persons (Human Rights Act 1998). It gives further effect in the UK to rights contained in the European Convention of Human Rights. The Care Standards Act 2000 and the Regulations and National Minimum Standards set out the responsibilities of agencies and carers in promoting the health of children who are looked after (Davis et al., 2012). The Education Act 2002 regulates that local authorities and schools are required to protect, safeguard, and promote the welfare of children. This includes health and safety, child protection and the overall well-being of children. The Every Child Matters guidance and the Children Act 2004 introduced a new duty (Section 10) to co-operate at a strategic level on local authorities, Primary Care Trusts and other relevant childrens services partners. The focus of these Acts and the ECM guidance is to protect children and promote the welfare and well-being of children. This encompasses elements such as: being healthy – enjoying good physical and mental health and living a healthy lifestyle; staying safe – being protected from harm and neglect; enjoying and achieving – getting the most out of learning and life, and developing skills for adulthood; making a positive contribution – being involved in community and society and not engaging in anti-social or offending behaviour; and economic well-being – not being prevented by economic disadvantage from achieving their potential. Other legislation that helps the health and well-being of children includes the Children Act 1989, which provides care and protection of all children and young people in need, including those living away from home. Local authorities have a specific duty under Section 22 of the Act to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of each child they look after. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 amends the Children Act 1989 and supports the care system, putting in place the structures necessary to enable children and young people to receive high quality care and support. Daily care of children There are many different daily routines for children that can help them develop, such as hygiene, including toileting, washing hands, bed time and teeth cleaning; meal time routines, involving sitting at the table, using knives, forks and spoons; and sleep routines, to ensure that children acquire healthy sleeping habits that will stand them in good stead not only through childhood but in adulthood (Barnett, 2011). Daily routines vary depending where the child is being cared for. Promoting and supporting a child’s independence and self-care is important and a child’s self-image and self-esteem are vital to their overall well-being (Marmot and Bell, 2012). For the purposes of this essay, a focus is given on two particular learning activities: tying shoelaces, and dressing appropriately for the weather. Activity One: Shoelaces The activity involves teaching children to tie their laces by making a personalised shoe that the children decorate themselves, with laces for them to practice at home and at day-care. In this, there are two primary roles: the adult role, helping children learn to tie their laces, and the child’s role, which not only covers learning to tie shoelaces, but practising doing so at home. This promotes independence because the children feel a sense of accomplishment in achieving a daily activity that previously adults fulfilled for them. They are able to tie and re-tie their shoes at their convenience and it reduces the need for adult intervention in dressing. The activity promotes intellectual, physical and emotional well-being (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). The decoration of the ‘practice shoe’ is fun and develops their artistic abilities. Targeted at the four- to five-year old, it is within their technical capability (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). Activity Two: Dressing appropriately for the weather This activity involves dressing up a doll in appropriate clothes for going outside to play, which will keep them warm and dry, or cool, depending on the weather. The adult fulfils a teaching role by helping the children learn how to dress first a doll, and then themselves, appropriately. The objective for the child is to understand how clothes are related to temperature, comfort, and the planned activity (such as playing outside, going to the beach, or walking to school in the rain) (Carroll and McCulloch, 2014). This learning opportunity promotes independence by helping them to dress themselves for appropriate situations and weather. Ultimately, they will develop the ability to choose the clothes that they want to wear within a range of acceptable options. The children learn to stay healthy by avoiding becoming drenched, cold, or sunburnt, and their reliance on adults is decreased (Moyles, Georgeson and Payler, 2011). This builds on their intellectual, physical, emotional, and health-related skills (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). The use of the doll can help the activity be fun. The activity can be extended by considering holiday clothing, seasonal variations, and so on. Key issues which enable multi-professional teams to work together A multi-professional team approach allows professionals to share knowledge about a familys needs so that the parents do not have to answer the same questions over and over again (David, 2013). The professionals are aware of each other’s roles in supporting the family so that conflicting advice can be minimised. It is essential that each agency communicates well and understands not only their role and responsibilities but those of the other agencies as well. Parents/guardians are the most important people in a childs life, and carers recognise the importance of this. They have a responsible role that involves sharing care of the child with parents/guardians; listen to parents/guardians, as they are the ‘expert on their child (Sylva et al., 2010). Respect must always be shown for family traditions and childcare practices and when, for instance, there has been a bereavement, it may be important to engage the assistance of an educational psychologist to assess behavioural needs and bring about positive behaviour. Indeed, by adopting a multi-professional approach to working with children and parents the chances of the child being allowed to slip through the net of negligence or abuse is minimised. An understanding of diversity and inclusive practices Recognising diversity is about recognising that children can come from lots of different backgrounds and family structures (Burchinal et al., 2010). Diversity means responding in a positive manner to differences, and valuing all people. The following, though not an exclusive list, can be seen as a solid foundation of ‘checks’ upon which professionals should base their approaches to both children and parents. All children are citizens and have rights and entitlements. Children should be treated fairly regardless of race, religion or abilities. This applies no matter: What they think or say What type of family they come from What language(s) they speak What their parents do Whether they are girls or boys Whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor All children have an equal right to be listened to and valued in the setting. It follows that practitioners should aim to improve the physical environment when such improvements are needed. This might include the increased use of physical aids to access education such as ICT equipment and portable aids for children with motor co-ordination and poor hand/eye skills. New buildings should also be physically accessible to disabled pupils by making sure that they have access to existing buildings through the use of ramps and wider doors. Such improvements must be ongoing within organisations to ensure that no section of society is marginalised (Marmot and Bell, 2012). Improving the delivery of information to disabled children at nurseries or schools is a very important objective. The information given (and the manner in which it is given) should take account of pupils disabilities and parents preferred formats. It follows that all children should be treated fairly regardless of race, religion or abilities. This applies no matter what they think or say, what type of family they come from, what language(s) they speak, what their parents do, whether they are girls or boys or whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. Bradshaw (2011) stresses the importance of treating all people equally and with respect. All children have an equal right to be listened to and valued in the setting and all children have a need to develop. These are natural parts of their life and they must be supported at all times within a given setting. This is especially true if there is a scenario in which childrens development may be at risk. For example, children who are disabled and those with special educational needs, those from socially excluded families, the homeless or those who live with a parent who is disabled or has a mental illness, children from traveller communities, refugees or asylum seekers and those from diverse linguistic backgrounds may all faces especial challenges in their individual development. These must be assessed and catered for in an holistic manner to ensure that every child reaches their own maximum potential. This is because, as Wall (2010) notes, all children are entitled to enjoy a full life in which conditions are established by which they may take part in society and develop as individuals, Practitioners must therefore ensure that their own knowledge about different cultural groups is up-to-date and that they consider their own attitudes to people who are different from themselves. Children in the UK are raised in a society with many sources of cultural diversity (Carroll and McCulloch, 2014). Good early years practice needs to support this from the earliest months of babyhood. Practitioners need to work to create a positive learning environment. Play materials, books and other resources can be offered in a helpful way by reflecting on how young children learn about culture and cultural identity. Such diversity and inclusion is also linked to legislation such the Children Act 1989, Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, Rights of Children 1989 and the Race Relations Act 1976. Children like experiencing food, music or dance forms that reflect their own family and neighbourhood experiences, as Gray (2014) elaborates. Early childhood is a good time to offer opportunities that enable children to stretch themselves beyond that with which they are already familiar. Children can learn to appreciate cultural diversity in styles of art, craft, music and dance and all opportunities need to be well grounded in positive pride for styles common to every childs own background. Meeting childrens diverse learning needs means identifying needs, developing individual goals and objectives, selecting or designing appropriate supports and services, and then choosing the best learning setting in which those goals can be realised, and ideally, exceeded. It logically follows, therefore, that the role and responsibilities of an early years practitioner should be cater to the individual childs needs, and to teach them what they need to know and to find out the right way to teach them. Thus, the practitioner must be well-versed in a range of different teaching pedagogies and apply the most appropriate one to the given child at all times (Spodek and Sarancho, 2014). Indeed, it is particularly important, in this regard, to understand different planning stages when planning activities for children and to understand a childs age and stage of development when planning tasks for them (Sylva et al., 2010). It is imperative, that the activities planned are stage-appropriate for them to increase knowledge. Setting appropriate tasks and initiatives helps practitioners meet the individual needs of children (Bruce, Meggitt and Grenier, 2010). A discussion of two strategies for improving learning and performance There are many ways in which a person can improve their own learning and performance. Two are discussed in this section. The first is being under observation. A member of staff could observe you and give you feedback on where you are doing well, and where you need to improve. This could be a colleague, or it could be a formal inspection. The person observing can give you tailored feedback and ideally there should be plenty of time to discuss their observation. This should lead to personal reflection and the setting of career development goals – whereby you can spend time working on improving those areas (observed) where you displayed weakness. The importance of this form of observation and subsequent career development is noted by David (2013). The second commonly used approach is to reflect on one’s own practice and to use this reflection to inform further improvement (Paige-Smith and Craft, 2011). This may involve a reflective practice model, such as Kolb’s theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984). I have frequently used his reflective cycle – and by noting what has gone well and what areas need further improvement, I have been able to learn how to handle situations more smoothly and to apply knowledge effectively. Through combining both approaches I have gone through official ‘professional development’ sessions and have held protracted discussions with my line manager and other practitioners. Through so doing we have all shared best practice and perceived improvements in our daily working lives with each other and the way in which we plan activities for the children (David, 2013). A brief overview of how regulations can influence care provision Legislation plays a significant role in working practices within an early years setting but the primary aim is to safeguard and protect children and their families. Legislation, policies and procedures involve those relating to medicines, staffing and employment laws, child protection policies, health and safety, equal opportunities, behaviour management, special educational needs and working with parents (Shonkoff and Bales, 2011). Children and young people should feel happy, safe, respected and included in the school or early years setting environment and all staff should be proactive in promoting positive behaviour in the classroom, playground and the wider community (Willow, 2014). Policies and practice help to make sure the safety and wellbeing of children is in place and it is this legislation, developed through many years and experiences, and even mistakes, that underpin the working practices that are used today (Shonkoff, 2010). The owner of the workplace as a practitioner is t

End-of-life Essay

End-of-life care is a form of medical treatment which is usually provided for terminal illnesses, when the condition is no longer curable and every effort should be made at improving the quality of life rather than increasing the duration of life. Cancer is one condition which is incurable during the advanced stages. End-of-life usually does not involve provision of anticancer treatment but concern for lowering the physical symptoms (especially pain so that the patient is comfortable), addressing the psychosocial issues and the spiritual concerns, so as to improve the quality of life. Often an ethical dilemma exists at the situations under which end-of-life care should be started. The need to provide end-of-life care arises out the physician’s obligation to ensure that the patient can live and die with dignity, compassion, comfort and respect. Two of the cases which demonstrate the physician’s obligations to the patients were the Ann Quinlan case (1976) and the Cruzan V. Harmon case (1988) (Meisel, 2005 & Rekel, 2007). In the Quinlan case, Ms. Quinlan suffered irreversible damage to the brain cortex and was left in a permanent vegetative state. She required ventilator support, artificial nutrition and artificial hydration to maintain her medical and nursing care. She could be kept alive for any duration, but this was morally not required and not in the patient’s best interest. The physician’s refused to remove ventilator support and hence the family had to go to the New Jersey Court. The court in the landmark decision permitted to remove ventilator support as it was not in the patient’s best interest. The court had said that although the patient was in a permanent vegetative state and did not have to ability to make a decision about withdrawing ventilator support, it did not mean that she could not exercise her choice and give her decision. The decision-making could be made by a surrogate who would be doing so in the best interest of the patient. In the Roe vs. Wade case, the court gave the decision that the patient could control their medical treatment and had the right to make decisions. In the Cruzon case, after the ventilator was removed, the patient survived for about 10 years. The Missouri court in this case did not follow the advice of the parent’s on removing life-saving support. The court said that all measures should be done in best interest of the patient, and if there were not clear evidence of the patient’s wishes, then the legal guardian should be acting in the patient’s best interest. The court said that even if there was a need to prolong life through ventilator support, if there was no evidence that the patient’s best interest would be fulfilled. In the case Westchester County Medical Ctr (1988), the New York court said that there had to exist clear and convincing evidence whenever important decisions had to be taken by the surrogate (Meisel, 2005 & Rekel, 2007). Some of the common ethical issues regarding medical treatment have been ‘beneficence’ and ‘non-maleficence’. The physician should do treatment that benefits the patient and does not cause more harm. They should help reduce the suffering and help the patient to return to health. However, in the end-of-life issues, the patient would be dying due to the terminal cancer condition, and using life-sustaining treatment would not have any potential benefits, as it would prolong life, but not improve the quality. In this case medical treatment is doing lot harm than benefits, and hence using it would be inappropriate. However, a clear judgment has to be made in the clinical-decision making and one of the most important issues is whether the patient has made the intention of withdrawing all the life-saving treatment and instead goes into palliative care (in which symptomatic treatment would be provided so as to improve the quality of life during the last few days). Having the patient make this decision is based on another ethical principle known as ‘autonomy’. The patient has the right to choose or disregard whichever treatment he/she wants as the have the right to control any act that is done with their body (Walker, 1999 & Meisel, 2005). Implications of risk management – †¢ Mainly with the use of opioids to manage pain (especially from its prolonged use) †¢ Clinical practice guidelines and protocols should be followed to ensure the greatest amount of benefits for the patient in the form of improved quality of life and lowered discomfort levels (Hoffman, 1998). The right to autonomy of the patient should not be disregarded under any circumstance. The patient has the right to choose palliative treatment or reject it based on their own choices. The patient may also want to undergo curative treatment for cancer even though the survival rate may be low. The patient should be informed of the benefits, risks, options, outcome and costs of all forms of treatment available. The physician should answer all the queries the patient has of all the available forms of treatment. No treatment should be done against the will and intention of the patient. If the patient is not able to make a reasonable decision as they may not be legally competent, then the surrogate (including the family member or a legal guardian) of the patient should make a decision on the patient’s behave, keeping in mind the clear interests of the patient (Walker, 1999, Meisel, 2005 & Rekel, 2007). There may be a lot of competing loyalties between the patient and the organization:- †¢ The organization may try to keep the interest of the patient in mind and may do all that it can to reduce sufferings, improve the quality of life and ensure a peaceful end †¢ The organization may demonstrate a greater opinion towards anticancer treatment as it would involve higher costs (even though it is not beneficial to the patient anywhere) †¢ Even though the patient can benefit to a reasonable extent from anticancer treatment, the organization may force end-of-life care on the patient, as the family members have provided consent. In this case the family members would be having conflicting interests with the patient and may want a faster end to the patient. To prevent any conflicting interest of other parties, it is important that any decision made regarding use of anticancer treatment of initiation of end-of-life care should be clearly justified and documented through evidence-based findings. An ethical approach should be initiated to ensure that all issues are sorted out keeping the patient’s interest in mind:- †¢ The physician should ensure maintaining autonomy of the patient at all stages †¢ If the patient is not competent enough to make a decision by himself, decision-making should be done by the surrogate keeping in mind the patient’s interest and choices †¢ It is the obligation of the physician to ensure that the patient lives †¢ The patient’s competence needs to be determined so that a reasonable decision can be ensured †¢ The patient has to be informed of all the alternative choices available at all the stages †¢ In case of diagnosis of a terminal illness, confirmation should be taken from two physician’s (second opinion) †¢ In case of terminal illness, and the patient choice palliative care, efforts should be made at all stages to improve the quality of life (through symptomatic treatment of physical problems, addressing the psychosocial and spiritual issues), rather than on prolonging life The other issues which need to be addressed include:- 1. Active Euthanasia – This is legal in only a few states of the world including Netherlands and Belgium. The patient should make a reasonable decision, and should be a native from that state in which euthanasia is legalized. The physician himself would take the active step of ending the patient’s life. The patient should be diagnosed with a terminal illness 2. Physician-Assisted Suicide – This has been legalized in the US state of Oregon, PAS has been legalized. The patient would perform the active step of ending life and the physician would merely assist the patient. The patient should be diagnosed with a terminal illness (in which death would be certain within 6 months). The patient should be legally competent to make a reasonable decision (Rekel, 2007). References: Hoffmann, D. E. (1998). â€Å"Pain Management and Palliative Care in the Era of Managed Care: Issues for Health Insurers†, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 26(4), 267-289. http://www. aslme. org/research/mayday/26. 4/26. 4c. php Meisel, A. (2005). Ethics, End-of-Life Care, and the Law: Overview, Retrieved on August 16, 2008, from Hospice Foundation Website: http://www. hospicefoundation. org/teleconference/books/lwg2005/meisel_jennings. pdf National Cancer Institute (2002). End-of-Life Care: Questions and Answers, Retrieved on August 16, 2008, from NCI Website: http://www. cancer. gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Support/end-of-life-care Rekel, R. (2007). Rakel: Textbook of Family Medicine, 7th ed, Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. Walker, R. M. (1999). Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Care, Cancer Control, 6(2):162-167. http://www. medscape. com/viewarticle/417700_1

The Effects Of Power Play On Sexual Harassment - 1093 Words

1. Q: Explain the role that the perception of power plays in determining a sexual harassment claim. In your role as an HR manager, what actions would you take to reduce or eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace? What, if any, punishments would you use in your plan? Although sexual harassment cases happen more often than we would like, power play is one of the most common reasons these type of behavior surfaces within the work area; more often than expected. So, what is power play exactly? It’s a method people use to benefits themselves in a way others cannot, due to the position to which there in; while putting people in an unwanted compromise. One example, is a man that is the General Manager of a well-known establishment may†¦show more content†¦47). Additionally, â€Å"in a recent survey conducted by the University of Minnesota, more than 130 percent of women in a higherer bracket within a company will face some form of sexual harassment; than those in a less stressful job title† (DeNisi Griffin, p. 47). While there are many steps one can take in handling a claim such as sexual harassment, some steps are far more necessary than others; in order to see lasting results. That’s, why I’d take the following steps: to eliminate any form of sexual harassment from taking part in my company I’d begin by having a manager that is familiar with the codes of conduct and punishments one can/will face in a case such as this handle the claim. â€Å"First, the Human Resource Manager should make it clear that conduct such as this is not acceptable behavior; and will not be tolerated by any means† (Heathfield, par. 1). Then move forward by coming up with a plan of action, talk with the victim and gather the information needed to proceed with the allegations by informing them that there’s no worry of retaliation for reporting this claim; ever. â€Å"Then follow-up by having they explain what, where, when, and how this took place, ect.; as well as the time, place, and date of the incident; so a claim can be submitted to the proper authorities† (Heathfield, par. 6). Once