Evaluation of Strategic Planning

Strategy is the course and level that an organization tends to pursue over a given time so that it can achieve competitive advantage over its competitors. Such organization has to use the available resources to meet the continuous market needs and even satisfy the expectations of its stakeholders.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Strategic Planning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Markides 2004, strategy means making difficult decisions on a few activities. A company must define the parameters under which they base their decisions. On the other hand, strategy can mean, moulding of available resources within a firm in a specified direction in order to achieve success (Mintzberg 1987, p. 68). A clear image of the strategy must be revealed to ensure effectiveness of the strategy. Kathlene Eisenhart upholds that a strategy is a limited structure that outlines the path in which a firm will fo llow and expect to maintain in the future (Eisenhardt 1997). The operation level involves activities that the firm should engage in when in the market. The course is the direction that the business ought to take in the long-term (Zitani 1985). The resources are the skills, technocrats, finances, facilities, and assets that a firm requires in order to compete while those who have interests in the running of the business either directly or indirectly are the stakeholders. Stakeholders can be either internal or external. Additionally, there are three levels of strategies namely: corporate, business-unit and operational strategy. Operational strategy involves the organization of each part of the business to deliver the business-unit and corporate levels. This level deals with people, internal and external resources amongst others. The business-unit strategy, however, deals with the choice of products, customers’ needs, adventuring into new markets, and gaining competitive advanta ge over the competitors (The Strategic Planning Process 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lastly, corporate strategy is the essential level as it encompasses the overall business scope and even guides the business decision-making procedures. On the other hand, strategic planning entails the attempt of defining or shaping the future. In addition, one has to develop a clear structure of the desired destination and expectation (Definition of strategic planning 2012). Therefore, an organization has to define its vision, goals, tactics, and objectives. Businesses have to forecast into the future in order to remain relevant and successful in the future and present dynamic market. Moreover, these firms have to evaluate both their internal and external abilities that can enable them stay on track and achieve their targets. As a result, this process calls for decision-making. Su ch decisions may change the entire management process of a company, alters the relations among stakeholders, organization’s strategic partners, competitive ability of the company, or radical changes in the government policies. Strategic planning quantifies the greatest asset a company should possess. It dictates public sentiment concerning an organization alongside combining essentials of employment and administration. It also entails working with people by appreciating the difference in individual skills and capabilities to achieve the organizational goals. For a company to attain recognition, it requires a functional system that allocates human resource astutely and economically considering relevant acquaintance, expertise, and aptitudes. An effective human resource plan considers long-term goals of the company and implements strategies achievable within the given period. Strategy, therefore, involves effective and efficient use of resources thereby bringing a firm to its d esired future (Stone 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Evaluation of Strategic Planning specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Decision-making is a significant activity that faces organizations in their daily operations. Notably, when so many issues that require decision-making prop up, the HRM’s efficiency is reduced; as a result, pressure develops. This situation leads to stressful life; it becomes dominant when the management postpones decision-making activities (Eisenhardt 1997). In case a problem requires the attention of another department; the management should direct the issue to that department immediately. This will help to avoid procrastination in decision-making. For organizations to ensure success in their operations, they must ensure that they employ rational decision-making procedures in formulating their strategies (Definition of strategic planning 2012). In addition, businesses ought to be proactive and remain focussed on achieving their strategic objectives; therefore, the organizations must be open to learn new ideas to develop new knowledge. Strategic planning entails environmental scanning and benchmarking, which involve internal and external collection of data that help to show trends, expectations, and future changes in the business field (Stone 2011). Under the SWOT analysis, the internal analysis involves the strengths and weaknesses while the external analysis involves the opportunities and threats. On the internal perspective, the company analyzes the nature of their operations, financial managements, and personnel outputs. On the external perspective, however, a firm studies its product reception in the market, economics factors both nationwide and globally and customers’ satisfaction. It terms of duration, environmental scanning can be initiated for a shot period, long period, or continuous review.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Business strategies should be focusing on the trends, relationships, and events in an organization. After the forecast, the company can come up with responses that can help in improving their position in the future. Organizations, therefore, should adapt to their environment since environmental scanning is an essential mode of organizational learning. It involves a detailed analysis of the internal and external parameters that can affect the operations of a business. In scanning, there is a deep analysis of the stakeholders’ views and expected behaviours. This makes it possible for organizations to lay out strategies and plans on how to handle the scenarios. Therefore, they become alert to deal with any unexpected changes in the internal and external environment (Conway 2009). Businesses ought to perform the above function in order to have a clear roadmap of where they are headed. Presently, most firms include Information and Communication Technology in the environmental scan ning process since it facilitates the whole process. Strategic planning for future occurrences assists businesses in making decisions, which could have proved difficult to make at the time of the actual action. Environmental scanning and benchmarking provides a business with varied options and broad vision on how to deal with future challenges. Another instance involves predetermination of customers’ possibilities of change in tastes and preferences in the future; it makes the firm avoid undergoing unnecessary costs but remains active in the market (Organizational Learning – Maintaining the Competitive Advantage n.d.). The strategy, therefore, upholds the trust and confidence of the customers and stakeholders to an organization thus increasing the lifespan of the firm. The constant changing market trends demands personnel that are able to adopt changes at any instance. This culture of accepting new ideas as they come makes firms remain vibrant among their competitors. Currently, organizations should ensure that they keep their employees updated on any occurrence that can have some impact on the running of their operations. A deep evaluation of a company’s strategy makes a company to identify its current position in the market; for instance, if it is losing its attractiveness among its competitors. Therefore, employees should be trained to learn the art of sharing any information that they have, and they think can affect the business operations in any way (Sandie 2011). Undoubtedly, firms that continuously hold learning programs have a competitive advantage over other firms. In addition, employees who constantly undergo through organizational learning process remain focused in achieving the firm’s strategic objectives given that they are reminded of the business goals at all times. The increased competition position in the global market assures firms of their survival in the constantly changing market. Further, strategic planning ena bles firms to foresee the changes in the customers’ tastes and preferences thus altering their products to suit their needs. Some of the parameters that firms must consider are the customers to target and those not to target, the types of products or services that they should offer the targeted customers and the procedure of achieving the set goals. The firms can also increase their market share by offering products at a low price with a low cost of production, which are different from their competitors (Markides 2004, p. 6). This option helps to accommodate the low earning population who desire to consume the products but could not afford the high prices. This forecasting, therefore, can instil confidence in the stakeholders hence increasing their investment values or bases in the firm. On the other front, the customers’ loyalty is increased as they feel assured of the future business existence through the strategic planning. Another parameter that benefits a company is the ability of a strategy to be flexible to any environmental change. This parameter makes a strategy not to backfire in case of drastic market changes. Therefore, effective strategies identify the environment in advance and must be ready culturally to be embraced by the change. Apart from the numerous benefits of strategic planning, there are also some limitations/weaknesses of SP. First, the mechanism cannot predict the future changes in the market conditions; for instance, there can be a drastic change in social issues or economics like unexpected terrorism and hurricanes. This shows that the future cannot be predicted with certainty. Additionally, it becomes difficult to carry out business forecasting in an environment that is characterized with rapid changes. The second shortcoming of SP is the inability to focus on short-term goals/targets. However, investors are interested on short-term results of a firm. In this manner, SP creates short-term losses so that it can create l ong term-value for the firm. This trend can lead to a low business liquidity thus resulting to insolvency. For example, Working Capital Management helps to avoid business bankruptcy. Proper management of the working capital will enable the business to have sufficient capital so that it can pay its debts as they become due as it makes profit in the process (Bryson Einsweiler 1988). Strategic working capital policies should ensure that the firm will be able to be profitable even during a financial crisis. This calls for inclusion of both short and long-term goals in the SP process. A deep focus on the future expectation on business operations can help improve the management of working capital. This may involve reducing production costs but still maintaining sales level. It may also entail examining future debts and expenditures in a well-planned balance of current assets and current liabilities (Strategic Planning n.d). A thorough management of credit facilities like allowing discoun ts for prompt payments, establishing credit terms and standards alongside proper planning on cash management is realized through a properly managed working capital. Moreover, SP discourages innovation and different alternatives. Such plans may inhibit changes thereby discouraging disrupting alternatives. Nevertheless, firms ought to tap and retain talents that are within their premises for their own benefit. Firms that have well-coordinated Knowledge Management (KM) in their strategies avert scenarios of repeating past mistakes. KM provides organization with new ideas on how to navigate the dynamic market; therefore, increasing their response time during the tough financial times (Eisenhardt 1997). The firms will also be able to predetermine the taste and preference trend of their customers in the future. This they can do by studying the past trends of product purchases and use them to forecast into the future. In this situation, the business will be able to produce only the correct volume of goods that will fit their customers thus preventing wastage and unnecessary expenses. This will translate to more profit for the company; more profits imply continuous growth and expansion of services into the market. Noticeably, effective KM has immense returns to any business organization. In addition, SP disregards intuition/perceptions instead, regard already obtainable â€Å"hard† data. SP also assumes that all goals can be moulded into one single objective. Organizations should be opportunistic planners in approaching strategic planning as this will increase their flexibility and openness in altering the SP process (Limitation in Strategic Planning n.d.). Therefore, external forces will be handled effectively through opportunistic decision-making. Apart from flexibility, the management should encourage active participation of all departments during SP so that everyone can own the process. In addition, organizations should plan as facilitators. Organizations s hould also inculcate environmental flexibility when designing strategies. This will enable the strategy to survive in case of market changes. In their approach, organizations should ensure that their SP’s stand the tests of time. References Bryson, J. M Einsweiler, R. C 1988, Strategic planning threats and opportunities for planners, Planners Press: American Planning Association, Chicago. Conway, M 2009, Environmental Scanning: Slideshare. Web. Definition of strategic planning 2012, Strategic Planning to Improve Organizational Performance. Web. Eisenhardt, K 1997, ‘Strategic Decisions and all that Jazz’, Business Strategy Review, vol. 8 no. 3, pp. 50 – 91. Markides, C 2004, ‘What is strategy and how do you know if you have one?’, Business Strategy Review, vol. 15 no. 2, pp. 6 – 11. Mintzberg, H 1987, ‘Crafting Strategy’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 7, pp. 66 – 75. Organizational Learning – Maintaining the C ompetitive Advantage n.d., Management Study Guide – Free Training Guide for Students and Entrepreneurs. Web. Sandie, B 2011, Learning 2.0 – Creating a Competitive Advantage for Your Company: aim. Web. Stone, R. J 2011, Human Resource Management (7th ed.), John Wiley and Sons, Brisbane. Strategic Planning n.d., Logical Framework Specialists. Web. The Strategic Planning Process 2010, QuickMBA: Strategy. Web. Zitani, A. M 1985, Strategic planning in the public sector: prospects and limitations, Cornell University Publishers, New York. This essay on Evaluation of Strategic Planning was written and submitted by user Maddox K. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Examining Americas Foster Care System Services Social Work Essay Essays

Examining Americas Foster Care System Services Social Work Essay Essays Examining Americas Foster Care System Services Social Work Essay Essay Examining Americas Foster Care System Services Social Work Essay Essay Foster attention is a societal service plan that provides impermanent, out-of-home attention to kids whose households are unable to supply a healthy, stable environment. Unfortunately, most kids are placed following a substantiated study of disregard or maltreatment. Placement can besides happen due to parental issues, homelessness and emotional or behavioural jobs on the portion of the kid. Foster kids remain in the attention of the province until precipitating state of affairss are resolved, parents relinquish their rights or are terminated, the kid is adopted or the kid ages out ( becomes excessively old ) of the system. Children in Foster attention are a vulnerable population and often find themselves traveling from one Foster place to another, which could be harmful to their already delicate province. Many kids in Foster attention have hapless developmental, mental, and educational results. Harmonizing to information sing Pierre Bourdieu and category pl ace, it appears as though surrogate childrens ability to hold or derive personal, economic, educational, societal and cultural capital is stacked against them. Too many surrogate kids struggle in their passage from foster attention to maturity and will give up to picks that will forestall them from obtaining an optimum degree of wellness ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000 ) . Since 1909, the federal authorities has been involved in Foster attention through statute law and policies, with province and local authoritiess being granted primary duty for supervising Foster attention services. In 1912, the federal authorities established the U.S. Children s Bureau, which was developed for societal services intents. Even with the authorities s on-going attempts to forestall out of place arrangements for kids in the United States, 100s of 1000s remain removed from topographic points they ve called place. Many believe that the system needs overhauled in respect to federal disbursement, in that increasing budgets may give kids the wrap-around services they need to be healthy and successful. The primary duty for kid public assistance services rests with the States, and each State has its ain legal and administrative constructions and plans that address the demands of kids and households. However, States must follow with specific Federal demands and guidelines in order to be eligible for Federal support under certain plans. Get downing with the transition of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act ( CAPTA ) in 1974, the U.S. Congress implemented a figure of Torahs that have had a important impact on State kid protection and kid public assistance services ( Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2009, p.3 ) . Such statute law requires the frequent amendments of federal policies and ordinances and such statute law besides includes close engagement at the State degree, province statute law and/or alteration of State bureau policies and ordinances, every bit good as execution of new plans. The taking federally funded plans that support State attempts for surrogate attentio n and acceptance activities are included under rubrics IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. The Foster attention bureaucratism is chiefly concerned with doing certain surrogate kids have immediate demands met, nevertheless, taking a proactive attack sing the hereafter of these kids would be even more good. Many believe that these kids are difficult plenty to command and keep due to behavioural and psychological concerns, that including future ends would overstrain workers. Sadly, the Foster attention system does non supply any inducement to bureaus for handling surrogate kids differently- in fact, makes no difference whether bureaus watch Foster kids age out of the system to travel on to life on the streets or to inscribe in college. By and large talking, bureaus are paid daily for each twenty-four hours a kid remains in their attention, approximately $ 19- $ 30 a twenty-four hours per kid ( Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, 2010 ) . It is evident that surrogate attention constabularies need to alter, given that there is small inducement for them to work towards p romoting a better, more stable life for the kids. Even if an bureau turns all of its surrogate kids over to homelessness, it is still eligible to house more teens the undermentioned twelvemonth. It is apparent that these kids, although they have shelter and nutrient along with other basic demands, may non be acquiring the attending they need sing future planning. The kids are clearly non the victors in this state of affairs and the federal authorities should step in sing the demand for more financess and stricter policies affecting future planning and discharge locations ( i.e. into installations, homelessness, with relations, etc. ) . As Adam Smith stated and was cited in Introduction to Political Economy, The disbursal of the establishments of educationaˆÂ ¦is likewise, no uncertainty, good to the whole society, and may, hence, without unfairness, be defrayed by the general parts of the whole society ( Sackrey, Knoedler A ; Shneider, 2005, p.42 ) . Due to the frequent moves foster kids on a regular basis trade with, they face an increased susceptibleness to educational obstructions, therefore doing them more educationally vulnerable. They frequently incur absences from school while traveling abodes, alteration schools often and repeatedly cover with the consequence such happenings have on attending, comfort degree, long-run public presentation and overall school experience. School credits may non reassign suitably and school records may be inaccurate or go lost as a consequence of frequent moves and alterations ( Bruskas, 2008 ) . Statistics show that approximately 25 per centum of former Foster kids will go homeless at some point in life and the opportunities of their kids come ining Foster attention additions. 65 per centum of surrogate kids will hold attended seven or more schools before graduating high school, with the high school graduation rate for surrogate kids being under 50 per centum. In add-on, an estimated less than 10 per centum of former Foster kids go on to inscribe in college and the completion rate for 2-4 twelvemonth college is about 2 per centum ( Guess, 2008 ) . A immense part of immature grownups, that have once been in the Foster attention system, study that they have problem affording nutrient or paying measures since discharge from surrogate attention. Almost half of the Foster kids that age out of surrogate attention make non travel on to work and about 40 per centum of those graduating from surrogate attention go a cost to the community, either trusting on public assistance aid or in prison. Furthermore, one of the most recent federal surveies on Foste r attention showed that merely 17 per centum of former Foster kids were wholly self-supporting. Sadly, many determinations sing surrogate kids and arrangements do non affect Foster kids engagement. Therefore, they may confront life-long effects when they do nt play a portion in the decision-making procedure. Decisions are routinely made sing a kid s arrangement that will hold life-long effects without the engagement of most kids. Foster kids that are non allowed to take part in determinations sing their hereafter may stop up experiencing powerless. It is imperative that a kid experiences a sense of control during their life s class in order to see a positive childhood guaranting a healthy and successful maturity ( Guess, 2008 ) . There are ways to battle instruction problems for surrogate kids but making so would necessitate proper allocation of financess and serious committedness on the parts of all involved. By and large talking, it would be extremely good to the kid if child public assistance bureaus saw to it that surrogate kids remained in the same school he/she attended during the initial Foster attention arrangement. Vows to guarantee proper record transportations occurred in the event that a kid needed to be moved should be implemented and provinces should be allowed financess to cover transit costs during school passage troubles. With the Foster attention statistics being so black, who is truly profiting from our current Foster attention system policies and processs? It is non farfetched to believe that increasing our fiscal investing in the hereafter of such persons would be good to our society as a whole. After all, an estimated 500,000 kids were in our state s Foster attention system in 2006- an tremendous sum of people that depend upon public functionaries and citizens likewise to set their best involvements foremost. Conversely, Galbraiths s theory of societal balance may cast some light onto why the Foster attention system is what it is today. Galbraith notes that the quality of, and demand for, public services is difficult to turn out. As Sackrey et al provinces on pg 173 of Introduction to Political Economy, While a broad might see a crumpling transit system, conservativists might see a fantastic system of main roads available to all, and the freedom to drive anyplace as one of the great benefits of our sort of society. Economic power does non merely do the upper categories rich: it gives them matchless political power.A Because the upper categories dominate the political order, the authorities shapes its economic policies to assist them keep and increase their societal and economic advantage ( Sackrey et al, 2005 ) . Unfortunately, the huge bulk of kids referred to or forced into surrogate attention are from low income/socio economic position. With the majority of political engagement stemming from the upper class/wealthy population, it is no admiration more has nt been done to protect and supply for America s surrogate kids. Is the misdirection of federal financess and deficiency of appropriate services within the Foster attention system a consequence of the absence of a strong political representation of the lower-middle category citizens? And is the thought that the Foster attention system has been broken and labeled a crisis state of affairs for several decennaries because authorities fun ctionaries have been looking out for their ain personal involvements, alternatively of the common good? Quite perchance, Etzioni s paradigm may explicate why decision-makers are non speedy to contend for statute law that would supply foster kids with more chances to win in life, and how their personal values may be rocking their determinations. Possibly, decision-makers are more emotionally drawn to other pressing issues, given that they may non be emotionally/individually involved in the Foster attention system. As stated by Richard Coughlan A ; Terry Connolly, Among other things, these values lead determination shapers to go to to certain pieces of information while disregarding others. These values besides shape the options considered by the person. Etzioni s theoretical account suggests that affectional factors play an of import function in the decision-making procedures of persons ( 2008, p.1 ) . Although there is much guess, it is impossible to estimate the exact purposes of public functionaries, but close scrutiny of the Foster attention system and its anterior and current po licies shed visible radiation on the extent and success of authorities engagement. The federal authorities has implemented several alterations to the Foster attention system in the past several old ages, and continues to reconstitute policies that have already been established. The 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act ( RL. 105-89 ) changed the ordinances provinces must follow and the inducements provinces received when they improved public presentation in adoptive arrangements. The 2001 Tax Relief Act ( P.L. 107-16 ) changed acceptance inducements once more by offering a $ 10,000 unqualified revenue enhancement recognition to households who finalize the acceptance of kids with particular demands after January 1, 2003 ( Hansen and Hansen, 2005, p.3 ) . Some alterations in statute law that occurred old ages ago still affect kids and families today. Due to alterations in public assistance and public assistance reform, many households and individual parent families have found it hard to care for kids financially. Due to fiscal alterations in aid to households, lessen ing in nutrient cast allowances and deficiency of plans available to help persons with passages to and from foster attention, households may hold been hesitating to be reunified. Foster parents are besides being affected by alterations in Foster attention policies and by policies that are in demand of alteration. For case, per federal jurisprudence, kid public assistance bureaus are required to pay foster parents for the cost of raising surrogate kids, but the deficiency of a national lower limit sum has caused disparities among provinces. This policy allows provinces to put rates at their ain discretion, with or without taking into consideration the mean cost of raising a kid based on location. It is of import to observe, nevertheless, that non all hope is lost sing our state s kid public assistance plans, as new statute law merely may be the reply for the state s apparently on-going crisis. Not all is inexorable sing our Foster attention system, nevertheless. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act ( PL. 110-351 ) was passed and signed into jurisprudence by former President Bush on October 7th, 2008. This piece of statute law may be the Foster attention system s salvaging grace, as we presently watch many surrogate kids bounciness from place to home-rarely sing the pleasance of holding a stable place environment. Furthermore, given the fact that a immense per centum of kids in Foster attention have mental wellness diagnosings, the transition of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 ( PL. 110343 ) is overriding. The Act requires that employers that offer mental wellness benefits, that besides have more than 50 employees, must offer equal coverage for mental wellness and substance maltreatment intervention as they do for physical wellness. The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act reauthorizes the Adopt ion Incentives Program through 2013, with $ 43 million in funding mandate. The Fostering Act besides increases award sums for older and particular demands surrogate kids. With the new Act, each province should gain an inducement if it reaches its highest of all time acceptance rate and comparative care should have pecuniary aid. The Act should besides supply care and acceptance aid payments for older young person runing in ages 19-21 that meet certain standards sing the completion of high school, college registration or vocational instruction and plans to help with employment. Importantly, provinces that see fiscal nest eggs that result from federal acceptance aid are required to reinvest the nest eggs in kid public assistance services, including post-adoption services ( Voices for America s Children, 2008 ) . Given the psychological, emotional and physical emphasis that by and large comes along with surrogate kids, such Acts should be a manner in which former Foster kids can go on intervention when necessary. Additionally, statute law has moved in the way in which all kids that have been neglected or maltreated should be eligible for federal financial support and non merely those that reside in hapless families. Because I am presently employed at a mental wellness and Foster attention bureau in North Carolina, I come across many kids and teens that are in demand of fiscal aid. Currently, I am making instance work for a adolescent that has been denied federal support aid twice due to his parent s incomes being excessively high. This kid happens to be one of the most deserving of federal support, in that his behaviours are utmost plenty to where it is justified to hold him come in either a psychiatric residential intervention installation or something comparable. Unfortunately, he has non been able to have necessary intervention because it has been deemed his parent s do excessively much money- although they do non hold adequate money to direct him to the impor tant intervention installations. As a consequence, he resides in a lower degree of attention, which is foster attention, and he is unable to have the intensive intervention he needs at this clip. This adolescent s instance is a premier illustration of how the system can really work against surrogate kids. Before the transition of The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, kids in the Foster attention system were non allowed to remain in Foster attention after the age of 18, unless the plans were having fiscal aid from resources other than the federal authorities. With educational statistics such as the aforesaid, it is impossible that our public functionaries would non hold allowed aid for surrogate kids beyond the age of 18, as they would by and large transition into the work force or some signifier of college. Given that these kids normally do non hold consistent stable figures to supply them counsel and aid as they transition into maturity, as many of us are given by our parents, it would hold behooved our authorities in the yesteryear, at all degrees, to guarantee a smooth passage occurred for such immature grownups. As a society, we must disregard the fact that the new act will non wipe out the deficiency of support we provided these immature grownups for decennaries before. Just as with anything else, it will take ample clip before our state and these surrogate kids will see betterments within the system. With this new act, nevertheless, commissariats in the jurisprudence include the ability for young person to stay in Foster attention up to the age of 21, with the aid of revised instance direction processs to do certain every attempt is made to supply surrogate kids with a smooth passage into maturity. Most significantly, provinces will now have federal financess to assist finance plans that encourage safe issues from the Foster attention system. While such promotions seem promising, the act is new and it is excessively early to find success or results. Several issues have plagued our state s Foster attention system for decennaries, all of which could be improved with careful consideration and restructuring of policies and budgets. The deficiency of quality Foster places is one of the chief grounds kids are moved from place to place, sometimes within a really short period of clip. The fact that health professionals, whether through affinity agreements or foster attention, are frequently non compensated comparative to the cost of raising kids is besides a major issue impacting the success of the system. Policy shapers are covering with limited budgets that sometimes do non let for much room to play, doing many to believe the budget needs to be reevaluated. Last, authorities ineffectualness contributes mostly to the normally dubbed broken Foster attention system. Federal authorities support and supports should be in topographic point to supply a assortment of permanence options for surrogate kids, and provinces should be held decent ly accountable for surrogate attention results and processs, suitably penalized when non in conformity with policies, and suited inducements for provinces should be granted for improved patterns. The deficiency of appropriate surrogate places in America continues to impact the success of the Foster attention system. Through preparation and licensure and meeting minimal makings to further, grownups are able to open up their places to further kids. Problems arise, nevertheless, when instance workers, who may be overworked ( and frequently times carry caseloads beyond province upper limits ) , overstressed and underpaid, are unable to take kids ( from defenders places and surrogate places ) as necessary because there are non plenty lodging options. In add-on, surrogate parents may be turned off to raising surrogate kids for fiscal grounds ( their province does nt pay adequate money for day-to-day stipends ) and the 1s that do remain around as surrogate parents may be making so for a payroll check. By and large talking, the money that surrogate parents receive is to be put towards the attention of the kid. Although surrogate parents should non be utilizing their stipends to su pplement their income, some provinces do non necessitate surrogate parents to demo cogent evidence of how the money they receive was spent. Due to the fact that the authorities does non hold required results for surrogate kids or inducement plans, the Foster parents do non acquire compensation or inducements for promoting and guaranting surrogate kids focal point on, and win with future ends ( i.e. careers/jobs, college, etc. ) . Insufficient reimbursement rates for surrogate parents may finally make an addition in kids being placed elsewhere, such as establishments. Unfortunately, if the Foster parents rates do non accurately reflect the existent disbursals and demands of the Foster kids, it is finally the kids who will endure. There is a desperate demand for the benefit of surrogate kids and society as a whole, for the federal authorities to implement answerability within the Foster attention system and kid public assistance. Unfortunately, history has shown that kid public assistance has non been held responsible Foster attention related public presentation results. In the past, public presentation results were based on a kid public assistance bureau s conformity to federal and province demands, but, in 1994, the Social security Act was amended so that portion of public presentation results emphasized the terminal consequences, in peculiar, positive terminal consequences of kids and households in attention ( Bruskas, 2008, p. 72 ) . The Children s Bureau developed an evidenced-based statewide reappraisal of kid public assistance system results and the province appraisals are called Child and Family Services Reviews. These reappraisals assess how good each province is run intoing the demands of the ki ds it serves in add-on to how good they meet systemic demands. Each province efforts conformity in 14 countries ; 7 related to the demands of kids and 7 related to system demands. Areas of conformity related to the kids they serve are divided into three classs: safety, permanence, and wellbeing. In March 2004, the first Child and Family Services Reviews were completed ; the consequences were inexorable. Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the remainder of the 50 provinces failed to run into non merely some, but all countries of kid public assistance criterions ( Bruskas, 2008, p.72 ) . On norm, states complied with 6 out of the 14 identified countries, with non one province holding met the federal demands set Forth to afford stableness and appropriate permanence to further kids. Improper regulative patterns and even a deficiency of regulative patterns in general, has allowed for provinces to continually scatter financess for Foster attention care and administrative costs tha t should non hold been covered by federal support. Harmonizing to the Children s Bureau, systematic reappraisals of State title IV-E Foster attention eligibility plans have been conducted to guarantee federal financess are being used for intended intents and that financess are recovered that have been dispersed improperly. In 2000, over 20 million dollars in financess were identified as being improperly dispersed, and as a consequence, the federal authorities is working on implementing disciplinary action programs to reimburse the losingss. Many believe that the authorities should make the ability for such Foster attention financess to be used for legion services, runing from preventive services to post permanency/post reunion services. Besides, some believe that using a federal inducement plan to honor achievement of set Forth results would be helpful, although an statement could be made against incentive plans in that provinces should be implementing the minimal criterions sing ki d public assistance without exclusion or public presentation inducements. The mean citizen is most likely unaware of what happens to further kids, both in the Foster attention system and one time discharged ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 ) . A great manner to increase answerability is for provinces and the federal authorities to garner information sing informations on surrogate kids. Published studies should include information on what happens to former Foster kids when they leave surrogate attention. Data should scatter elaborate information on college attending and completion, lodging and occupation keeping. Along with the thought that this would make more authorities answerability, schemes and inducements to increase the effectivity of plans for teens in surrogate attention can be developed and assessed, and schemes that fail can be identified and discontinued. The authorities must be ambitious in puting criterions, such as necessitating a per centum of teens in bureau attention to finish college The Foster attention system should concern itself with more than merely supplying places for kids in demand. The authorities is responsible the lives of 1000s of kids being taken from their places and sometimes off from their communities, making public outgo and oftentimes trauma on the parts of the kids and households. It is mind boggling that the authorities has non recognized the importance of, and acted on, the demand for surrogate kids to hold the necessary tools and resources provided to them in order to boom as members of society. Bing that surrogate kids are already covering with the traumatic event of being removed from their places, it would look farther detrimental to their wellness to non concentrate on helping them with the accomplishments they need to work merely every bit good as their equals. The Foster attention system should be held to the full accountable for what happens to the kids and teens in its detention. Additionally, the Foster attention system appears to r un without much examination from the populace. Unfortunately, surrogate kids are non every bit represented amongst societal categories, and so it is hard to capture the attending of the authorities when so few of them are affected personally by surrogate attention issues. In fact, even those within the center and upper categories that are involved in the disregard or mistreating of their ain kids seldom see their kid removed to authorities attention. ( Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, 2010 ) . In add-on to the issues associated with the Foster attention system aforementioned, there is a strong association between incarcerated parents and kids necessitating out-of-home arrangement. Specific policies sing this quandary have been formulated and the fact that the authorities is forcing for shorter corsets for surrogate kids has created a quandary for incarcerated parents. For illustration, the Adoption and Safe Families Act requires provinces to register for request to end parental rights for most kids who have been in surrogate attention for 15 of the most recent 22 months. This regulation is meant to cut down the likeliness that kids stay in Foster attention for a long period of clip, but it besides creates troubles for incarcerated parents because the mean clip served by parents is 80 months in province prison and 103 months in federal prison ( Swann and Sylvester, 2006, p.1 ) . Furthermore, a strong nexus has been determined to be between kids who have endured child malt reatment and/or disregard and with delinquent behaviour. Statisticss should be formed to educate society on the association of surrogate kids and the juvenile justness system, as there is no inquiry their harmful environment plays a portion in determining their hereafter. Additionally, it is of import to observe that parental instruction and skill-building should be compulsory for parents that have been involved in kid neglect and/or maltreatment. By concentrating on the root of the bulk of out-of-home arrangements, the authorities may be able to extinguish arrangements by educating parents before kids need to be removed from the place ( Swann and Sylvester, 2006 ) . Another pressing issue environing America s Foster attention system is federal authorities support and budgets and whether reconstituting the fiscal system is necessary. Federal kid public assistance financess should include the support of all permanence options, alternatively of merely back uping acceptance. In add-on to acceptance, surrogate kids have the ability to be reunified with parents or with an identified defender. Currently, federal financess assist with acceptance merely, which includes support plans for fiscal demands for households that adopt kids from Foster attention. Besides, there was no acceptance inducement plan that supplied fiscal wagess to provinces that went above and beyond the established baseline figure of successful acceptances of kids from Foster attention. While new Acts have been passed to battle such jobs, it will be a piece before the effects of the new statute law are noticeable. Adoption advocators are pleased that provinces will acquire fillips i f they increase the figure of acceptances from surrogate attention each twelvemonth and provinces will be obligated to advise prospective adoptive parents about the $ 11,650 acceptance revenue enhancement recognition. In the yesteryear, it was non compulsory to inform surrogate parents of the revenue enhancement recognition. Another asset to statute law alterations is that all particular demands surrogate kids will be eligible for federal acceptance aid, where merely kids adopted from hapless households are presently extended subsidies ( North American Council on Adoptable Children, n.d. ) . Because non much fiscal aid is available for those that exit foster attention through reunion or care, the surrogate kids may stay in surrogate attention longer while waiting to be adopted. With such alterations to further attention funding sing several permanence options, provinces should hold an inducement to travel kids out of surrogate attention. A likely solution to the job for happening pe rmanence for kids on the acceptance waiting list is to increase subsidy support for acceptance. A bigger subsidy lowers the monetary value of acceptance services, increases the figure of acceptances, and reduces the figure of kids who wait in surrogate attention. Indirect grounds that increasing subsidy support may increase acceptances comes from a recent survey ( Hansen and Hansen, 2005, p.6 ) . However, it is of import to observe that subsidies are non ever plenty aid to raise a kid. Continual community support is sometimes needed for households who adopt kids, as the passage is non ever easily. What happens to kids and households one time the permanence ends have been met? Once the tribunal hearing is over and instance workers have left, households frequently find that the route in front is non ever a smooth one. Federal financess should supply post-permanency supports to households and surrogate kids that issue Foster attention, irrespective of whether the going was due to acc eptance, reunion or care. By making so, the authorities can guarantee that kids remain in their lasting place. In order to promote attempts to minimise Foster attention stay, positive results should be rewarded beyond support grants and provinces should be compensated for considerable advancement, non merely penalized for inability to run into federal criterions. Seasonably and steady reunion attempts should be implemented and the perennial failure of any province to wholly run into the federal criterions should be reviewed to a great extent but should besides raise concern sing appropriate criterions and policies. States should non merely be punished, but should be to a great extent rewarded for conjunct attempts to increase positive results. Some uncertainty besides surrounds the motivations behind kinship/guardianship attention. Although it is of import and good for kids to be raised by relations who are fit and willing, the thought of financially compensation households to look after their ain relations is a controversial subject. While the federal authorities is trying to open up healthy places for surrogate kids, and relations places are doubtless ideal, it causes argument due to the fact that about anyone would wish fiscal aid to assist raise a household member s kid. While I believe the authorities should concentrate on rearing accomplishments and instruction in order to increase the likeliness of surrogate kids returning place, it appears as though kinship/guardianship aid may impede the parents of surrogate kids. Will the troubled parents non see the pressing demand to better themselves if they believe their kid is well-taken attention of by a household member? Besides, if a household member becomes legal defend er, will s/he be more indulgent on the troubled parent and let the Foster kid to see the parent, even though the state of affairs is non healthy for the kid? It seems as though the authorities should concentrate on mending strained relationships between surrogate kids and parents, but handle affinity and care aid on a individual footing, to guarantee kids will non be exposed to unhealthy state of affairss. I believe the most of import facet of the Foster attention system is really the thought that it is possible to forestall kids from come ining Foster attention in the first topographic point. Top precedence should be passing money on educating parents and immature people, including drug bar, unwanted gestations, pack bar, how to hold healthy relationships and how to use household saving services when necessary. Children should non hold to endure due to the incompetence of grownups, hence, foster attention bar should stay on the head of public functionaries heads. The new Torahs set in topographic point should assist better the Foster attention system, but it is decidedly non a well-oiled machine. Adam Smith referred to a system of justness by saying, Merely with competition, justness and virtuousness would self-interest operate in such a manner as to advance the general public assistance of society ( Sackrey et al, 2005, p.43 ) . It is besides of import to observe that acceptance through the Foster attention system is non a market for a kid or a market where parental rights are sold. Children who go through bureau acceptances, whether public or private, are non merely given to those that are most disposed to pay. Adoption is a qualified service in which prospective adoptive parents and households make educated determinations based upon the best judgement of societal workers or themselves. Childs who are to be adopted exist within several markets, such as private and international acceptance bureaus which match households with kids based upon a batch of different factors. Many households have penchants sing acceptance, such as age, gender, race and particular demands. Due to these picks, the market for acceptance creates some competition and the ability for prospective adoptive parents to be slightly selective. I think it is safe to presume that the general consensus among our state is that the acceptance of a kid from surrogate attention presents many benefits to all of society, and non merely an advantage to the kid or his/her household. However, finding the best possible manner to cut down financial load upon the provinces and how to better kid results remains an on-going concern. Bettering the instruction provided to both surrogate kids and the parents of surrogate kids should bring forth benefits to everyone. Importantly, Markets in which the determinations of a few benefit everyone are said to hold positive outwardnesss. Other markets with positive outwardnesss include educational telecasting and fuel efficient autos. To promote telecasting manufacturers to do educational plans and drivers to purchase fuel efficient autos, Congress subsidizes people who engage in these good activities ( Hansen and Hansen, 2005, p.5 ) . Some believe that subsidies will promote more households to fo llow through the Foster attention system. There is no uncertainty that the federal authorities is doing paces to better the Foster attention system, but betterments should be focused more on the kids served and less on the system. There seems to be a greater demand to turn to the experiences of kids in the Foster attention system and to understand how effectual intercessions can be implemented to better the experience of kids come ining and go forthing the Foster attention system. The authorities must concentrate on educational results and the societal environments of Foster attention sing kid public assistance, as each facet impacts the lives of the surrogate kids. Government must besides undertake issues associating to the demand of increased financess to guarantee services are provided to those go forthing the Foster attention system, to do certain the former Foster kids have the accomplishments needed to go productive members of society. Because of the deficiency of personal experience that the wealthy, upper category ci tizens have with the Foster attention system, it is indispensable ordinary citizens make a conjunct attempt to show concerns sing the Foster attention system, in a constructive mode, to be the voices for America s surrogate kids.

Brainstorm By Howard Nemerov Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Brainstorm By Howard Nemerov - Essay Example Although the span of time in which the events of this poem happened is short, it is very detailed, and the details are very clear. It shows how much can happen in a very short time. If I were to liken this poem to a thing, then it would be to a photograph that captures the details of a beautiful moment. This poem describes a moment of reflection for the speaker, where he faces a storm while in the house, and where his mind takes him to an imagined circumstance of becoming the house, of feeling the crows on his head while he is the house, of being torn down by nature, and of being reborn again into something new. Reading the poem, I noticed a rhyme scheme on alternate lines. In some cases, the author used internal rhyme to satisfy the rhyme scheme. The poem has two stanzas, with the first stanza consisting of the bulk of the poem and the second stanza consisting of only one line, which somehow serves as a punch line. Simile can be observed in line 6, where the silence of the wind is likened to a blind man walking through the house. Personification can be observed in lines 7 to 8, where the timber and sap of the house are said to ‘revolt’ from the hold of the washer, bank, and spike. By line 16, I noticed the author used ‘blind’ thrice already, but in different contexts. The first instance refers to the ‘window blinds’, the next is the blind man, and lastly, when the window vanes blur or ‘began to blind’ with rain. At first, it disturbed me, but then maybe the author meant it this way because it probably symbolized something. The house and c rows are personified as they talked to each other. The speaker is then worried that ‘the secret’ might be out as the crows and the house talk. The secret is that â€Å"houses are only trees stretched on the rack.† If nature knew this secret, then it would claim what is rightfully hers; rain will put rust in the nails, shingles will be warped with

Walmart in Mexico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Walmart in Mexico - Essay Example The barriers to inclusive workplace in first level include discrimination, prejudice, and perception of threats to job security. One of the barriers to an inclusive workplace for Walmart in Mexico is possible discrimination that may occur on the basis of age, race, national origin, gender, disability and pregnancy. There are concerns on whether Walmart will foster the provision of equal opportunities to women and minority groups who mainly speak Spanish language. Discrimination leads to unfair terms and conditions of employment since training opportunities, promotions and compensation. Accordingly, discrimination will lead to unfair dismissals and retrenchment of workers at the company. Walmart workplace policies require some employees to work for longer hours thus creating perceptions of discrimination. Furthermore, the company is faced with instance of sexual harassment and unfair victimization and this may hinder inclusion and diversity. Walmart must address discrimination through providing equal employment opportunities in all matters of employment such as training, promotion and dismissals. The company should link the pay to performance evaluation and ensure the minority groups have access to training in order to improve their chances of career progression with the company. The company should provide the necessary facilities and equipment for the workers with disability and avoid stereotypes. The management should train all subordinates on the importance of avoiding sexual harassment or victimization that may hinder inclusive workplace. The human resource managers must encourage reporting of discriminatory complaints by the employees. Implementation of anti-discriminatory workplace policies will promote inclusion and diversity at the workplace. The individual employees will benefit from access to career advancement and promotion opportunities that will ultimately translate to increased income

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management Assignment

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management - Assignment Example Concurrently, through results of surveys, authors Boyer, Francois, Doutre, Weil and Labarere (2006) have disclosed that to enable patient satisfaction, managers in a health care setting look into improving the organizational environment, in conjunction with functional facilities and amenities, as required. Emphasis was thereby noted that the information relayed by patients through customer satisfaction feedback is a crucial source of relevant information that would enable management and hospital administrators to deteremine problems, concerns, and issues that would enable them to design an appropraite plan of action towards continuous quality improvement in their health care setting (Boyer, Francois, Doutre, Weil, & Labarere, 2006). For continuous quality improvement in the health care setting, collaborative effort is crucial from all stakeholders; not solely on nursing leaders and health institution managers. However, their respective roles in ensuring both quality improvement and i n patient satisfaction is paramount as leaders were specifically identified as the driving force and â€Å"influence the behavior of other people in order to get things done† (Martires & Fule, 2000, p. 150). In this regard, the aim of the current paper is to present pertinent issues relative to determining ways and means to address issues on the satisfaction of patients, in conjunction with the need for unrelentless efforts for unceasing quality improvement and patient satisfaction in the health care setting; specifically to provide a comparative analysis of how nursing leaders and managers approach these concerns through the use of diverse concepts, ideals, abilities and responsibilities of the leader versus manager described in health institutions. Finally, one would provide explanation as to the method that effectively and appropriately matches ones professional, as well as philosophy of nursing and the reasons this method best fits to ones leadership style. 2) Comparative Analysis of How Nursing Leaders and Managers Approach Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Satisfaction The study conducted by Boyer, Francois, Doutre, Weil, & Labarere (2006) on the link between patient satisfaction surveys and continuous quality improvement generated findings which revealed that there are three factors that influence satisfaction of patients with unceasing efforts for quality improvement: (1) a focus on a culture that emphasizes quality in the health care setting; (2) the content and consistency in results provided by regular patient satisfaction surveys; and (3) the extent by which management encourages participation of various health care practitioners towards utilizing results of the patient satisfaction surveys towards the need to improve identified facets of the health care environment. As disclosed, â€Å"this result is coherent with the continuous improvement quality theory and with studies that have shown that quality improvement is more often asso ciated with a participative organization than bureaucratic and hierarchical culture† (Shortell, O’Brien, Carman, et al., 1995, pp. 377–401; cited in Boyer, Francois,

Evaluation of a social work practice

Evaluation of a social work practice Evaluation of Social Work Practice with Hispanic Children and Families Example of a practice evaluation A practice evaluation is a review and evaluation of individual practice within program and how the practice affects the person or recipient of services. Within The Place for Hope and Restoration, is the Raid and Rescue program has service practices for the â€Å"outreach workers† is to â€Å"raid† the streets to identify possible victims, such as prostitutes, exotic dancers, and/or service workers, such as cooks, busboys, waitresses, and day laborers. The outreach workers provide information about the other programs of the agency, to include how they can provide a safe place to stay, help the victim learn how to be a survivor, provision of advocacy and legal services, etc†¦ and offer â€Å"rescue† service, to include transportation to the Safe Harbor program and the other programs within The Place for Hope and Restoration. How these service practice affect the person is essential in identifying the impact to the individual, the staff, the agency and the comm unity. Some areas of practice to be reviewed would include: access, safety, effectiveness of outreach, raid procedures, barriers to the raid and rescue process, along with the needs of the individuals and program. Through the use of data, such as structured record reviews, individual case reviews, surveys or other data, the program practices can be evaluated regarding the efficacy, efficiency, and outcomes. Through evaluation of the practices of the Raid and Rescue program, stakeholders will be able to determine the ongoing needs of the practices, identify program deficits and determine if the practices are meeting the defined outcome measures for the target population and the community. This should assist the overall program in determining the need to continue, modify, or discontinue the practice utilized by the Raid and Rescue program to meet the needs of the stakeholders. Example of a Program Evaluation A program evaluation is the systematic review of a â€Å"program’s current (and future) interventions, outcomes, and efficiency to aid in case – and program-level decision making in an effort for our profession to become more accountable to stakeholder groups† (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012, p.26). Program evaluations come in a variety of formats, but should include evaluation of the program’s goal(s), mission, program objectives, practice objectives and activities (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012, p. 55) to determine if the outcomes and purpose of the program are being met. As noted previously, The Place for Hope and Restoration has multiple departments including outreach, Safe Harbor, fundraising, advocacy and policy, and administrative services. Within each department there are several programs. An example of this is the outreach department has the â€Å"Raid and Rescue† and â€Å"Community Outreach† programs under it. Each program then has s pecific goals to meet the needs and requirements of the stakeholders and funding source(s). A program evaluation is focused on the specific program, not the department nor the specific practices, though they are part of the comprehensive program evaluation. Utilization of the Six-Steps of the Program Evaluation Process The first of six steps of the evaluation process for a program would include the engagement of stakeholders. To evaluate the Raid and Rescue Program, stakeholders would need to be identified and engaged to provide feedback. This will be accomplished through a variety of formats including public hearings, meeting with community service coalition groups, and the use of standardized survey tools. Both internal and external stakeholders should be involved in this evaluation process. Internal stakeholders would include those involved in the operation of the program. This includes, but is not limited to, funders, board members, administrators, staff and volunteers. External stakeholders would include law enforcement, legal services, community service programs, family members, elected officials, and the community-at-large. The recipients of services are also key stakeholders and need to be involved in the evaluation process, both those who are currently participating in the program, those w ho have transitioned into other programs of the agency and those who either refused or did not follow through with accessing raid and rescue. The next step in evaluating the program would be to clearly describe the program. To do this one must identify the expected effects, activities, resources, stage of development, context, and logic model (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012, p. 31). This will be achieved through the review of the agencys strategic plan, the mission statement, funding requirements, and various other agency resources that describe what the purpose and goals of the program. The third step of this program evaluation process is to develop a plan of how the program will be evaluated. For the Raid and Rescue program, the Theory of Change will be utilized to determine if the program is effective and what the practices are effective within the program. This will be completed through a retrospective chart review, client and stakeholder surveys, and stakeholder focus groups. Step four is the gathering and evaluation of data (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012, p. 32). For this program the data from the surveys, chart revie ws, and focus groups will be gathered, analyzed to determine strengths and areas of need. Data will be presented as both qualitative and quantitative data, to demonstrate success rate, completion rate and other variables, determined by the stakeholders. Outcomes towards program goals will also be evaluated to determine if Raid and Rescue is reaching victims and if their practices are helping victims. Step five is tied directly into step four of the evaluation process as this is the development of conclusions and making recommendations, based upon the data. To complete this step one must â€Å"judge the data against agreed-upon values or standards set by the stakeholders† (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012, p. 33) and present the conclusions in a clear and consise manner. Lastly, there is a need for follow-up regarding the program evaluation in order to ensure the process was meaningful. The results should be disseminated, meetings should take place to review the results with key stakeholders, such as advisory committees, management staff, project teams in order to prioritize any needs and outliers of the program and develop action plans, based upon the identified needs or to continue current practices. The stakeholders should also be provided information regarding the successes of the program through focus groups, reporting results back to coalition groups, and through the use of media, such as newsletter articles, social media formats, program reports to funders, and formal reports to board members. References: Grinnell, R. G. (2012). Program Evaluation for Social Workers (Sixth ed.). New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, Inc.

A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy Essay -- Exploratory Essay

A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy One of the most hotly contested issues inside and outside of biomedical ethics today is abortion. The discussion received a new impetus at the release of the controversial abortion drug RU-486, "a pill to increase access to abortions and let women get them privately from their own doctor instead of facing shouting protesters at clinics."2 As is the case with all controversial issues, there are very passionate people on both sides of the fence. Unfortunately, a heated discussion on abortion can easily and quickly turn into a battle of rhetoric rather than a dialectic of reason. But the guiding light in such a discussion must always be reason, not rhetoric or other fallacies, for only reason can solve this issue and judge which side is correct. In this brief essay, I shall attempt to clear away some of the confusion present in typical abortion debates by cooling the rhetoric with reason enlightened by scientific facts. Specifically, I will examine two common pro-abortion arguments made by Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thomson and demonstrate that they cannot stand up to rational scrutiny and therefore fail to justify abortion. I shall also use a "quadrilemma" argument similar to that of Peter Kreeft's to show that, aside from all specific argumentation, abortion cannot be morally justified. Before even beginning to discuss the issue of abortion, it is imperative to agree upon a starting point from which to reason. The fact that some people differ even about this very point tends to render the pro-abortion and the anti-abortion paradigms somewhat "incommensurable," and this is probably one major reason why people are tempted to arrive at different conclusions about this ... ...ilure is equal to an unwanted pregnancy due to rape is nothing short of ridiculous. The sexual act by nature tends towards pregnancy, i.e., that is the natural purpose of the sexual act, and any woman who engages in this act voluntarily, with or without contraception, thereby willingly opens herself to pregnancy. 20 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468. 21 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468f. 22 M. LeRoy Sprang and Mark G. Neerhof, "Rationale for Banning Abortions Late in Pregnancy," Journal of the American Medical Association 280, no. 8 (1998): 745. 23 Sprang and Neerhof, "Banning Abortions," 745. 24 Cf. Peter Kreeft, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), 119-21. 25 One might object that "abortion is morally neutral" is another possibility, but that which is morally neutral is morally permissible. A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy Essay -- Exploratory Essay A Rational Look at the Abortion Controversy One of the most hotly contested issues inside and outside of biomedical ethics today is abortion. The discussion received a new impetus at the release of the controversial abortion drug RU-486, "a pill to increase access to abortions and let women get them privately from their own doctor instead of facing shouting protesters at clinics."2 As is the case with all controversial issues, there are very passionate people on both sides of the fence. Unfortunately, a heated discussion on abortion can easily and quickly turn into a battle of rhetoric rather than a dialectic of reason. But the guiding light in such a discussion must always be reason, not rhetoric or other fallacies, for only reason can solve this issue and judge which side is correct. In this brief essay, I shall attempt to clear away some of the confusion present in typical abortion debates by cooling the rhetoric with reason enlightened by scientific facts. Specifically, I will examine two common pro-abortion arguments made by Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thomson and demonstrate that they cannot stand up to rational scrutiny and therefore fail to justify abortion. I shall also use a "quadrilemma" argument similar to that of Peter Kreeft's to show that, aside from all specific argumentation, abortion cannot be morally justified. Before even beginning to discuss the issue of abortion, it is imperative to agree upon a starting point from which to reason. The fact that some people differ even about this very point tends to render the pro-abortion and the anti-abortion paradigms somewhat "incommensurable," and this is probably one major reason why people are tempted to arrive at different conclusions about this ... ...ilure is equal to an unwanted pregnancy due to rape is nothing short of ridiculous. The sexual act by nature tends towards pregnancy, i.e., that is the natural purpose of the sexual act, and any woman who engages in this act voluntarily, with or without contraception, thereby willingly opens herself to pregnancy. 20 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468. 21 Wilcox, "Nature as Demonic," 468f. 22 M. LeRoy Sprang and Mark G. Neerhof, "Rationale for Banning Abortions Late in Pregnancy," Journal of the American Medical Association 280, no. 8 (1998): 745. 23 Sprang and Neerhof, "Banning Abortions," 745. 24 Cf. Peter Kreeft, Making Choices: Practical Wisdom for Everyday Moral Decisions (Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Publications, 1990), 119-21. 25 One might object that "abortion is morally neutral" is another possibility, but that which is morally neutral is morally permissible.