Aramco Supply Chain Management Essays

Aramco Supply Chain Management Essays Aramco Supply Chain Management Essay Aramco Supply Chain Management Essay A Users Conference ID#: 2965 Improving Supply Chain Management through Real-Time Operations Monitoring Track: MES Topic: Enterprise Integration Presenter: Ramadan Fan Company: Saudi Aramco  © Copyright 2008, Saudi Aramco. All rights reserved. Agenda Saudi Aramco Overview Saudi Aramco Distribution Operations Supply Chain Management Challenges SIMATIC IT XHQ Implementation Enterprise Monitoring Solution Key Benefits Next Steps Page 2 Saudi Aramco Overview – Global Offices Saudi Petroleum Overseas Ltd. Ltd. Vela Marine Intl. , Ltd. Intl. , Ltd. Saudi Petroleum Intl. , Inc. Intl. , Aramco Overseas Company, AOC (BV) Company, Saudi Petroleum Ltd. Ltd. Aramco Services Company Saudi Aramco Headquarters Page 3 Saudi Aramco Overview – Upstream Downstream Gas Sales Grid Upstream Gas Plants Downstream Gas Plants OIL GAS Wells GOSPs Bulk Plants Refineries Crude Treatment Stabilizers Page 4 Crude Terminals Saudi Aramco Distribution Operations Responsible for domestic fuel distribution through its Bulk Plants and Air Fueling Operations Meet the Kingdom’s growing fuel demand in the most safe, reliable, and environment friendly manner Enhance customer satisfaction through world class services Page 5 Supply Chain Management Challenges Managing remote facilities scattered across the country Tracking product transfer via trucks, pipeline and marine Accessing different operation and business systems Generating operation reports in a timely manner Coordination between sending and receiving plants Responding quickly to customer complaints Page 6 SIMATIC IT XHQ Implementation Corporate strategy to standardize on a single Enterprise Monitoring Solution (EMS) Easy direct access to key operational data Common view of aggregated information Integrate real-time process data with business data Improve performance monitoring through KPI measures Replicate best practices across the enterprise Page 7 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Distribution Operations SAP System HR LP Finance BW Non-SAP Applications LIMS SAIF Oracle Servers OSI PI Servers PQAS TIIS HCM PM OCRCS Terminal Management Systems Field Automation Lab Systems Siemens Honeywell Tank Gauging Test Instruments Page 8 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Distribution Operations Site-Specific Dashboards Product Inventory Sales and Transfer Orders Truck Loading/Unloading Pipeline Shipping Quality Assurance Operations Compliance Data Source SAP-HCM, PI SAP-HCM TMS (Siemens/Honeywell) OSI PI PQAS * OCRCS * In-house developed application based on Oracle Page 9 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Distribution Operations Common Dashboards Management Dashboard Maintenance Dashboard Equipment Dashboard Inspections Dashboard TI Dashboard Safety Dashboard Quality Dashboard Data Source SAP-HR, PM, Finance SAP-PM SAP-PM SAIF * TIIS * SAP-LP LIMS, PQAS * * In-house developed applications based on Oracle Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Key Benefits Empowered plants to make quick and informed decisions Enhanced Saudi Aramco customers relationship Graphically related daily operation to production targets Data transparency and sharing among plants Focus on problem areas with data views and drilldowns Page 21 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Next Steps Visualization of full supply chain Dashboards for high management level Integration with SAP Portal Integration with GIS system Integration with planning and scheduling tools Page 22 Enterprise Monitoring Solution – Distribution Project Team Siemens Ahsan Yousufzai, Manager Ayman Al-Mutawa, Tech. Lead Zulfiqar Naushad, Consultant Ahmed Al-Sahaff, Team Lead Zubair Hassan, Team Lead Maher Al-Khaldi, Developer Asif Iqbal, Developer Faruk Bansir, Developer Saudi Aramco Ahmed Marzooq, IT Mohammed Shabeeb, IT Faris Omar, IT Ziyad Saleh, IT Ali Sallout , Distribution Ramadan Fan, Distribution Mohammed Hazmi, Distribution Murtaza Hussein, Distribution Khalid Khelaiwi, Distribution Khalid Zaid, Distribution Page 23 Closing Remarks â€Å"You can’t improve what you can’t measure† â€Å"Provide the right information, to the right person, at the right time† Page 24 Thank you For more information, please contact: ramadan. [emailprotected] com Page 25

Persuasion and Jane Austen Book Club Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Persuasion and Jane Austen Book Club - Essay Example In persuasion by Jane Austen, Lady Russell manages to convince Ann that Wentworth is not the best suitor for her leading to Ann turning down Wentworths proposal of marriage. Lady Russell takes advantage of her position in the Elliot family where she has played the role of a mother since the death of Ann’s mother to persuade not to marry Wentworth. Lady Russell together with the rest of Ann’s family believed in the â€Å"value for rank and consequence† (Austen 11) which was the basis of their opposition to the union between their family and Wentworth. Wentworth is not a wealthy individual and therefore represented a lower class compared to that of Ann who is from a lineage baronet. Lady Russell is in this case concerned with Ann’s future since Wentworth cannot promise to sustain her. Lady Russell uses the power of persuasion to control what becomes of Ann’s future. The ability Lady Russell that possess is well highlighted in Austin’s descripti on of the woman who is depicted as being â€Å"a woman of sound rather than quick abilities...she was a benevolent, charitable, good woman...most correct in her notions of decorum...she had a cultivated mind, and was, generally speaking, rational and consistent--but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry" (Austen 42). Although some might consider the influence Lady Russell has over Ann as a selfish disposition that does not take into consideration feelings of her goddaughter, she was motivated by her protective love of Ann. Lady Russell had concerns over the future of her â€Å"most dear and highly valued god-daughter, favorite, and friend† (6). She is therefore worried that just like Anne’s mother was blindly consumed by romance to marry Sir Walter Elliot who is seen as being irresponsible due to careless spending that leaves the family in debts. To avoid what a future in which Lady Russell sees Ann turning suffering for the wrong choice she makes at the monument, she warns Ann â€Å"you’re making the same mistake

MGMT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGMT - Assignment Example Performance appraisal is a very beneficial process. It is a positive experience and can contribute to the overall wellbeing of the company and organization if implemented properly it helps individuals to perform better, raise their confidence and give them motivation. On the whole it strengthens the relations between management and their subordinates within the organization and paves way for commitment. Performance evaluation is not something which can be ignored and taken lightly (J.Daniels) 2. What are the best performance management practices? Like (Feedback, communication, reword) Some of the best management performance practices are: 1. Performance Appraisals and Feedback 2. Communication For performance appraisals to be effective and produce the desired results, clear cut objectives need to be chalked out. They should have a clear objective of why it is done and what for. Performance appraisal is a process. As stated by Northhouse in his account on performance appraisals that i t is most likely to fail if its objective is not linked to good personnel management and is implemented with a vague purpose and line of thought. (NorthHouse) Different arguments have been put forward by different authors. Kelly believes that Communication of performance is a very integral part of the entire process. (Kelly) She has further argued that anyone who is leading and directing the activities of others under him should know the art of conducting an effective performance review meeting. It should not be taken lightly. It should be seriously and should not be considered as a meaningless chit chat. It should be sought for as an opportunity for improvement by both the manager as well as his sub ordinates. 3. What are the Career Success key elements? Career success key elements are sustained hard work, sincerity to one self and to the organization and commitment to organizational goals. It is important to ensure that the employees are aware of what direction they are treading o n and how effective they have been so far. Employer feedback helps immensely and has a major role to play in the career success. 3. How to conduct a Performance Management Assessment Performance Management is an entire process as mentioned above. However the final phase of the performance management cycle is the performance management Assessment. It offers an excellent opportunity for one to communicate past performances to the employee, evaluate his job satisfaction and chalk out plans for his future performance. During the assessment it is important to develop a supporting environment that states clearly the purpose of the discussion. Key areas of responsibility should be discussed and examples of specific results need to be cited. Similarly clarifying questions need to be asked and employee performance should be acknowledged wherever needed be. Past performances that could have been done better should be discussed with a clear focus on future performance. It is important to ensur e that the employee has an understanding of future expectations regarding performance. It should be concluded on a positive note with an emphasis on the benefits of the conversation. 4. What the traditional approaches to performance management describe succinctly with meaning Following are the traditional approaches to performance management: 1. Essay Appraisal Method: In this the description of the performance of the employee is provided by his superior 2. Straight Ranking Method:

Problems of Defining and Measurement of Development Essay

Problems of Defining and Measurement of Development - Essay Example There are many geographers that measure the development in the terms of countries Human Development Index. On the other hand in various countries economists link the development with the developed or either with developing countries economies and use the GNP (Gross National Product) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for measuring it (Pieterse 2009). As the definition of development, it is important that technological justice and improvements are even interrelated features that require being considered. The study has been conducted for defining the problems that occur while defining the development taking place in the economy and the various measures adopted by the economists for measuring it on the specific index. The study will also include different theories that are applied in the development for defining it. The study will also include examples drawn from various countries for defining the development, as most of the countries use the income level for defining the development taking place in different countries (Jaffee 1998). The term development has been used from the past few decades and there are several definitions which are associated with the training, seminars, workshops, certificate programs, college and degree programs and also the books and other reading materials. The term development when initially discussed was treated as the synonym of the term improvement of individuals of a lot of individuals in society. With the passage of time, with the emergence of new initiatives and innovations, there is an addition to the confusion in the definition of the term development. There is confusion in the terminology that is used for defining the term â€Å"development†. From the international perspective, it can be said to be as an integral part of a large and broader process of the social and community change (Love and Guthrie 2011). The goal of this change is to bring in the efficiency and improvement in the activities related to economic and social justice.  

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Essay Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are the best of friends with remarkably different personalities. Each brings their unique characteristics into this comical friendship giving the novel numerous amusing passages. Throughout the tale, Tom is often the leader while Huck is the reluctant follower. It doesnt matter that Toms ideas are ridiculous and extravagant, and Hucks are simple and practical, together they always proceed with Toms imaginative plans. In contrast to Toms great imagination and creativity, Huck is humorless and literal minded. Toms imaginativeness comes only from knowledge he has gained through books. Huck, on the other hand, actually lives out the fantasies Tom can only imagine. Tom Sawyer, already civilized, follows the values and beliefs of society. Due to these convictions, Tom always abides by the laws. For these reasons, Tom would never have helped free Jim unless he knew that Jim had already been freed. Conversely, Huck Finn rejects the philosophy of political beliefs for the fear of becoming civilized. He usually runs away at the first notion of him becoming sivilized. Huck is able to function in any society with the help of his adaptability and survival skills. He is able to go from the freedom of the raft, to the perceived harshness of civilization, and back again with ease. Although Tom has been able to slip past Deaths grip so far, his chances of escaping may not always work out to his liking. Of the two, Huck will always be the survivor in life. Together this pair achieves their goals because of their intelligence and witty personalities. They have the ability to put the knowledge they obtain into their every day lives. They are two adventurous souls in search of fresh and exhilarating escapades. Their ages united with their exceptional education keeps them on their toes. Hucks humorless personality and Toms extravagance has made The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, a popular adventure for all ages. The American people have forever enjoyed this novel and have made it the American literary classic that it is today. So there aint nothing more to write about an we is rottin glad of it, because if wed a knowed what a trouble it was to make this essay, and, we wouldnt a tackled it, and aint a-going to no more. -Mark Twain pg. 283

Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks Social Work Essay

Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks Social Work Essay Introduction The essay shall explore and analyse the theoretical underpinnings and key elements of critical social work. The account shall then describe assessment in social work practice contexts and consider how critical social work theories like Marxism, Feminism, Radical Social work and Post Modernism have shaped practice. A range of values ranging from personal, professional, institutional, organisational or agency, political, religious and cultural inevitably feature and must be dealt with in practice. Over and above this lies the social justice, emancipatory agenda vehicle by anti-oppressive approaches. Empathy is required and the social worker must be in the clients shoes (Egan, 1998). Theoretical bases and approaches enable practitioners to cross social divides and be with the client in a supportive way in an accountable and ethical manner. Vast energy must be invested to dispel and challenge both the personal and the structural dominant forces of oppressive practices. The author shall a ttempt to demonstrate how theories have shaped the response approaches to service delivery and contributed to professional practice. Critical Social Work Theoretical Frameworks The emergence of Socialism, Marxism, Liberalism and Conservativism shaped the emerging social professions at the turn of the twentieth century totally and reshaped the manner in which life was understood. How the social, political, economic shaped that reality became core in conceptualising reality and the way humans reacted to the world around them. In most cases socially constructed realities could be explained through the material realities if one was to look at the world through a Marxist perspective. The 1960-70s interpretation of social problems, described as the rediscovery of poverty. Marxist principles understood the world as socially divided by class, rendering some classes more susceptible to poverty than others as economically determined by having no control of the means of production. Marxist theory locates class struggle as a means of redressing this kind of socio-economic imbalance and the inequality The core elements in this phase were modes of production and power, t he equality that came with the package and the desire for change, social change could only be achieved through class struggle. The human position could thus be understood as driven and controlled by the external, in this case the poor as the oppressed group desired change. Social works role involves working with peoples lives, social problems centred on poverty and disadvantage and the core business involves establishing balance, social stability and social justice. Intervention without challenging social exclusion, inequality and poverty has proved to be insufficient yet traditional social work pathologised the individual. At the early phases social work was more about maintaining public order and suppressing civil unrest and class struggle rather than getting down to the core issues of poverty alleviation and challenging the sources and reasons for the differences that affected the people. Norms of behaviour and lifestyle for the people were determined by the eligibility criteria as the beneficiary elements of philanthropic interventions more than rights driven determinants. Radical social work emerged to instil that it was in fact a political activity. Social work should be about supporting those in need, challenging inequality and social change, not social control dealing with material realities. With radical social work emerged the community element in social work, conscious raising approach, gradual incremental change in the process and oppositional activism. As the profession developed critical social work begins to understand oppressive forces and work to reconstruct power imbalances (Thompson, 2007; Dominelli, 1988; Braye and Preston-Shoot Radical social work had been too minimalistic and was criticised for over focussing on class and paying no attention to other forms of inequalities. Bhatti- Sinclair (2011) argues that social workers remain committed to human rights, ethics and values and continuously seek a sharper understanding of how to apply theoretical concepts found in universal humanitarian principles, professional ethics and national law, policy and procedure. (xii) Inclusivity and citizenship are the main targets in critical social work practice as opposed to viewing people as collective groups (Glaister, 2008). Anti-oppressive practice thereby pursues social justice and challenges practice discrimination and oppression bluntly. Engagement with social reality must involve critiquing of social systems and structures, and set platforms for social change and difference. The approach has an ethical commitment to social justice by exposing inequalities and challenging unequal power dynamics in society. The manner in which society functions has structures that can either oppress or liberate some social groups. As the practitioner works, there is undoubtedly the challenge of professionally compliant. Social Work Practice Approaches Critical social work practice at all times engages with how other people on the other social, cultural, religious divide are understood by us. Understanding diversity and how personal views and values are located must be a constant reflective professional commitment. Personal or societal perceptions are shaped over time or driven by historical and socio-political realities/environments must be understood. Where stereotypes have been shaped over time in individuals; a professional operational base must be adopted. Braye, S Preston-Shoot, M (2003) challenge hypocritical professionalism by arguing that personal values and attitudes will always be there, the issue is that they should not affect effective service delivery. This is the heart of critical social work practice; being able to transcend the personal and being a professional. Social work can challenge or maintain status quo and that social workers are invested with power to care and control. In the context of what shall be discussed later about assessments, Braye Preston-Shoot (2003) state that, Preparation for and review of practice requires workers to understand themselves, their relationship with and impact on others, and their strengths and weaknesses in relation to maintaining a professional role (2003:135). Respect is necessary both when working with service users and fellow colleagues. As explored in Thompsons model PCS, Social work must explore the personal, cultural and structural dimensions of discrimination, and how these come together, and can be challenged in different ways (Dominelli, 2009). Social work must not reinforce oppression, discrimination or any inequality. Social work can reinforce patriarchal and other oppressive systems and power relations. There are social realities that social work either challenges reinforce, statistically ethnic minority groups generally experience higher rates of unemployment, live in poorer housing, have poorer health, lower levels of academic achievement, higher rates of exclusions from schools and are over-represented in prison statistics. Families who are from black and ethnic minority groups are more likely to be referred to childrens social work services, receive support services later, and children are more likely to go into the care system. There are other forms of prejudice, inequality and discrimination which can intersect, and these can affect people in many different ways. In light of these objective realities, what could be the drivers of such realities? What ideas are generated about the social group and how could this impact on a practitioners judgement when dealing with an individual from BME groups. The same applies when working with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, awareness of professional responsibility and a social justice approach when conducting an age assessment must be the practice base. The Human rights and child rights must be appropriately accorded without discrimination. Another example is that of mother blaming in a child protection cases. Feminist theory has challenged this gendered approach to problem solving where the female is mostly at the centre of the problem yet ignores the men from the social causal matrix. As a result of critical social work a shift has developed where the whole domestic environment and people must be part of the issue at hand. If all are not challenged this practice reinforces the interests of some groups over others and oppresses women. Assessment Process Middleton (1997) describes assessment as part of the planning agenda involving gathering and interpreting information in order to understand a person and their circumstances. It involves making judgements based on information. (Middleton, 1997:5). The process here involves respect for the individuals values, their core identity and judgements are made without being judgemental. Selective and stereotypical considerations must be avoided, labelling and categorising people and overlooking their individuality and can allow elements of discrimination to permeate the process which must otherwise not be affected by individual values and perspectives. As argued by Clifford (1998) it is important that social workers check their individual biases and ensure that these do not affect the manner in which they undertake assessments. In direct link with critical social work, assessments must be informed by critical theory to enhance a balanced, just and anti-oppressive assessment process. Personal views held by the social worker must not occupy any space in the assessment process for the sake of justice, fair access to services anti-discriminatory practice. Parker and Bradley (2005) argue that a balanced approach of an assessment involves wisdom, skills, appreciation of diversity and systematically applied knowledge in direct practice. Service users must feel that they benefit from the assessment process for it to be effective (Addock, 2001) and the social worker and family members must collectively contribute to the process. This involvement enriches the process and eliminates subjective approaches to the assessment. Social work practice and critical approaches intersect; the worker must be conscious of their personal beliefs and values and strike a responsible, ethical and professional balance in the manner the assessment and intervention is conducted and be honest and explicit with service users. (Parker Bradley, 2005: 7). Extensive knowledge of the service users environmental and living systems and the wider systems that impinge on them must be key determinants in assessments (Parker Bradley 2005:13) .Service user involvement is empowering and demonstrates citizenship and self driven responsibility as human worth. Understanding power dynamics in assessments Power relations inherent in the social work process must be carefully managed and ensure a balanced contributory approach whereby an exchange model would can adopted to acknowledge that the service users are experts of their situations. Service users and social workers exchange ideas, information and ways forward to make a difference and find alternative ways of approaching as collective partners (Parker Bradley, 2005:14). In terms of skills this involves actively listening to service users being available for them, a professional and non-judgemental or non directive approach, straight and honest talk and social justice pursuit. (Parker Bradley, 2005). Child centred assessments must be informed by child development theories, ecological approaches, ensuring equality of opportunity, involvement of families and an interagency approach ensures collective creative interventions. When working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children for example, Culturegrams help in analysing the impact of culture in the lives of those individuals and families being assessed (Parker Bradley, 2005:50-53). This can be very useful when working with BME groups as well as refugees and asylum seekers in a broader context. Values of the families and individuals are explored and these help shape the nature of the intervention where the individual shapes the course of the intervention as opposed to it being driven by the powerful professionals. Multiculturalism and social work Multiculturalism is a 21st Century challenge as citizenship recognition and integration a modern society characteristic. Critical multiculturalism suggests that social workers need to intellectually engage with the issues of difference and citizenship, in a manner that detaches practice from monoculturalist norms (Powell, 2001:146). Social workers are practically challenged to interrogate the value assumptions of their approach and assess principles and values they use in practice. If social workers are to avoid narrative repression, they need to be capable of challenging discursive hierarchies of meaning in their practice. (Powell, 2001:146). This becomes the reflexive component in the intervention. This involves challenging the very systems that they use and lobby for the change in structural elements that could be oppressing the very people they would be working with. Feminist social work engages in redressing gender inequalities, this could be the mother blaming attitude that it challenges. Critical social work engages a need for awareness by practitioners, a transformation of cultural attitudes around race relations, gay rights and the relationship between sexuality, culture and power and of the need for anti-discriminatory practice (Powell, 2001:149). In order to meet the professional demands of the profession, social workers must seek guidance and close the gap between personal values and professional practice. This must make constant reference to human rights, equality, discrimination and racism (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011). Fook (2000) argues that expert critical social workers are able to create critical knowledge which challenges and resists all forms of domination. Anti-racist practice Dominelli (2008) points out that anti-racist practice beyond that presented in Thompsons (2007) PCS model by emphasising on its interactional nature. For Dominelli (2008) racism is a multidimensional form of oppression over and above discrimination Institutional and Cultural racism are structurally associated and viewed as less evil than the personal racism which society frowns upon, yet the is no better racism. If practitioners hand over responsibility of BME issues to BME staff this may be problematic as it may result in a lack of obligation by white social workers to anti-racist practice and reinforce difference. Institutional practices must be professionally compliant (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011:128) at their own level. Treatment of black families/children hits them every day and there are challenges that the social workers have to deal with in the face of these ingrained stereotypical views of the good white family and the bad black family. Dominelli (2008) argues that challenging how white people perceive black families is only possible within positive trusting relationships. Nomadic settlers fall into the same category where as the minority ethnic groups where stereotypical assumptions exist that can influence the social work process. To work with individuals on the autistic spectrum requires knowledge and understanding of autism. Knowledge of the conditions characteristics, the basic understanding of the triad of impairments is necessary for use in the social work process. The individuals must not be viewed as unwilling to engage due their limited social interaction skills but must be understood and appropriate communication systems used. For example, instead of talking through an assessment; picture boards, games of their interest, familiar environments and using their preferred mode of communication would help to involve them, engage them and remove a possible stereotypical view that they cannot make decisions. If this process does not involve them, the likelihood is that anti-oppressive practice would have been failed. Good practice recognises individuality and this permeates through the social work process. Assessment process in practice The authors work experience with a forty year old autistic man in Coventry stands as a unique example of the complexity of service user involvement and creativity aimed at raising the level of positive outcomes in reviewing a care plan. The only established access point for his contributions was when he was away from home, on the bus. During any travel by bus, he livened up and opened up, expressed his views about the service he was receiving and it was the best time to evaluate the support care plan, conversationally in a bus. Working around the individuals world helped the social care provider to reach out to the very important needs that an office based assessment could not achieve. The bus environment had no powerful/powerless unequal binary dynamic in it. It was his comfort zone. Failure to recognise individual likes, obsessions and sensory issues in autistic individuals can hinders the social work process. Effective assessments can only be achievable when the service user is lo cated at the centre of the process by use of approaches that promote social change and justice. Challenging discrimination in practice Children are often described as vulnerable, innocent, in need of protection and lacking experience. If not carefully approached the child may be sidelined from the assessment process and overshadowed by adult ideas. If it is around abuse in the home, it is the childs experience and not the adults experience that must take precedence with the child as the expert. The Lamming Report emphasised the need to see the world through the eyes of the child. The role of the social worker in practice is to challenge discrimination, exclusion of socially excluded groups like children. Children have been looked at as subjects and the critical approach locates them as able to shape and voice. Failure to recognise children and the social workers relatively powerful position practitioners reinforce oppression. The critical practitioner engages service users to facilitate the telling of their stories in the assessment process. Law is used to counter oppressive practice and sets out operational parameters for professionals to deal with racism and be aware that discrimination is unlawful (Race relations Act 1976 Equality Act 2006, Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011).To overcome the practice challenge, social workers have looked up to anti-racist advocates for guidance on methods and models which respond ethically, effectively and efficiently to daily challenges and dilemmas (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011). Training and existing regulatory bodies like the HCPC enable practice to be justice based by requiring professionalism by the workforce through compliance and guidance. The Professional capabilities Framework requires the worker to Recognise and manage the impact on people of the power invested in your role (PCF 33) and standards of proficiency calls on the need to recognise the power dynamics in relationships with service users and carers and be able to manage those dynamics appropriately (SoPS 2.8). Formalised assessments aid in injecting consistency Crisp et al (2005) argues that the absence of a formalised assessment framework results in subjective assessments. Professionally trained and skilled workers enhance a fair assessment. Assessments must not just look at behaviour, but also the cause of the behaviour in a holistic way in order to make correct judgements and this is achieved through service user participation in the process. Milner Byrne, (2002) postulate that the assess ment there is need for mapping before planning the assessment journey. This involves knowing the child, engaging them and drawing their strengths in order to shape appropriate support (Dominelli Payne, 2002). Involvement Effective anti-racist, anti-oppressive practice must be drawn from practice intelligence, applied research and service users involvement. Empowering practice has an involvement and integration component as opposed to exclusion practice approaches by lack of appropriate language and culture awareness (Bhatti- Sinclair, 2011).Structurally, well planned and coordinated assessments and interventions involve the service user and must respond sensitively to their needs. Awareness of our own prejudices and past experiences and ideas must be non-threatening to clients (Lindsay, 2010) .Interactive polarisation between the social worker and client can undermine social work effectiveness whereupon families and individuals are pathologised either as unreachable or resistant. Positive communication enhances the relationship building (Kaprowska 2010:5) which is the key to an accurate assessment. Individuals with disabilities often argue that social workers assessments of them emphasise more on impairment and less on being seen as human, instead assessments must explore their individual abilities. In addition when working with individuals who use minority languages it can become a barrier for an accurate assessment hence the need to plan assessments for these individuals with full awareness of this key communication element in order to ensure the service users involvement. This could be necessitated by translators or minority language speaking social workers. Similarly, when working with the elderly, assessments must detect abilities and not reinforce ageist stereotypes, shared power and agreed direction principle. Conclusion The concept of critical practice locates the social worker as an active participant in a process of interpreting and understanding relationships and communication that must cut across difference. Over and above assumptions, prejudices, personal beliefs, structural frameworks; the critical practitioner must be reflexive and engaged in an empowering way whilst being aware of personal and socio-cultural origins and belief systems and challenging all forms of oppression. Appropriate skills and knowledge must be incorporated for the social work process to be effective.

Culture Through Generations :: essays papers

Culture Through Generations This essay will explain how I learned culture through generations of my family. The first thing I noticed when analyzing my chart is that there has been considerable migration through generations of my family. My family came from Europe to Central America , because they had made investments there which was their initial reason for leaving Spain. My parents generation left Central America for political reasons which lead them to financial disaster. Opportunity, can be said is the reason why generations of my families have lived in the Americas. Cultural values in my family are still rooted to those which exist in Spain. When they first came to the Americas , they moved to a very close nit European community. This is what set a precedent for cultural values and family through the passing down of European traditions from generation to generation. In the neighborhoods where my parents grew up it made a difference what your name was, so it was important to inter-marry between people of the same class and on the same cultural level. This also meant that your surnames created support networks which created a financial backbone for the family .This in turn is lead to not what I’d call a pre- arranged marriage but a suggestive marriage. That means your parents would suggest to you that a certain person from a certain family would be a suitable mate because of their family and background. This was common practice in my parents community. These kinds of marriages were accepted by previous generations because of a respect of your parents opinions, and because of the tight nit family structure. These traditions have been passed down form generation to generation, with exception to the American generation of my family. This also meant my family had expectations of each succeeding generation. Every generation was insisted upon having a college degree, it was completely unacceptable to not have a college education in my family. This particular culture and society was lived by two generations of my family. When communism came to power my parents needed to leave the country because all of their possessions were seized by the poor rebellious communists. Communism was also not parents political affiliation so they chose to come to America for opportunity and freedom.