The Rational Decision Making Essay

The Rational Decision Making Essay Rational decision making, along with the thinking process that it involves, is a subject that has been vastly researched, both theoretically and empirically, and many different opinions have been, therefore, stated, since decision making is perhaps the most crucial part of human behaviour. As a result, a variety of social scientists have, at some point of their activity, occupied themselves with it and especially with its assumptions and their consequences. This essay will attempt to answer the question of what is a rational decision, by contrasting the classical to the behavioural approach of rational decision making, along with the perfect and the bounded rationality assumptions that accompany them, as well as the conditions under which they hold true. It will also, through this process, try to show that the classical approach lacks realism that would promote its widespread applicability and will further elaborate on the more realistic concept of bounded rationality. Moreover, a key part of the behavioural decision making, the heuristics process, will be presented and will serve as a bridge to the second part of the essay, which will analyse biases, the, perhaps, most important category of barriers to rational choice in organisations. Lastly, ways of overcoming those biases debiasing techniques will be demonstrated. But first, in order to decompose the essay question, two definitions will be given regarding the rational thinking and the decision making procedure. According to Baron, rational thinking is the desirable kind of thinking that each of us would want to do, if we knew our best interests, in order for our goals to be achieved in the best possible way, the ultimate of which is utility maximisation (2000, p.5). Furthermore, we are involved in a decision making process, when we choose an action of what to do or not so as to achieve a goal, after having judged a particular situation and evaluated the different possible outcomes (Baron, 2000, pp.6-8). This judgement can be spontaneous or thorough, it can be perfect or satisfactory, depending on the different theories and their elements that will be described in the main body of this essay that follows. Rational reasoning and decision-making: The two theories A rational decision is one taken under the conditions of either perfect or bounded rationality, depending on which of the two completely opposed theories is taken into consideration in order to explain our behaviour. Although these two theories are totally contradictory, a general model of rational behaviour which fits both of them was described by Simon. More specifically, he wrote that every rational behaviour incorporates some common elements such as that the decision maker will analyse only a subset of numerous decision alternatives, out of which process, possible choice outcomes will occur. Then, according to an exact pay-off function, in the classical theory, or approximate, in the behavioural one, value or utility is allocated by the decision maker to each of the possible outcomes, and the one with the higher value is finally chosen (1955, p.102). However, the two theories assume very different things and entail alterative consequences in their effort to account for a rational decision. The classical, also referred to as normative, the one that assumes perfect rationality and utility maximisation in all decisions, derives from the traditional economic theory and portrays an economic man, who, while allocating scarce resources, is also rational. He is aware of all the relevant aspects of his complex and immense environment, his system of preferences is stable and well-organised and he is so skillful in computation, that he can calculate by himself the produced utility of all the possible actions that can occur as a result of his decision and eventually, choose the one with the highest (Simon, 1955, p.99; Simon, 1979, p.493). In addition, it is possible for us to, correctly or not, predict human behaviour without actually observing it. We are able to do that, because of the way that the environment, in which this whole process t akes place, is shaped (Simon, 1979, p.496). On the other hand, the behavioural theory of rational decision-making, that originates from the theory of institutionalism the transformation of the economic theory in order to include the tied to market transactions, legal structures and is based on the concept of bounded rationality, is not as simple and brief and does not make as strong and absolute assumptions about the human cognitive system as the classical theory does. The knowledge and computational skills that the human agents possess are realistic and much weaker than the same that are taken for granted in the previous outlined theory of utility maximisation. People, in this theory, are not expected to equate costs and return at the margin, as Simon puts it. Instead, the idea of satisficing is introcuded, where humans, far from optimising, try to achieve, through their rational, but less competent than in the classical theory, reasoning, an acceptable, in terms of the gained utility, threshold. To put it plainly, lacking knowledge of relevant outcomes probabilities and of external environments state, non accurate evaluation of all possible outcomes and weak human memory are key factors for the bounded rationality theme (1979, pp.495-496, 499). Elaborating a bit further on the concept of deciding under the bounded rationality context, two are the main mechanisms that are needed in order for a decision to be made: the idea of search and that of satisficing. The decision maker must search for the alternatives for choice, if they are not given to him initially, so a theory of search needs to be included in the bounded rationality model. Moreover, because the computational skills that people possess are limited and utility of all different possible choices can not be measured precisely, they have developed a minimum satisfaction level that they want to achieve with their outcomes value, terminating their search and choosing that particular decision. Another feature of this approach is that the predictions it makes, can be easily tested through observation and empirical phenomena (Simon, 1979, pp. 495, 502-503). In an attempt to show that the behavioural theory of rational decision making is superior to the classical one, two important flaws of the latter will be briefly presented and a general, relevant to both approaches, conclusion will be drawn. A major flaw, that originates from the unrealistic notion of the classical theory, is that agents decisions are made in a context in which all relevant, present details, future expectations and risks are incorporated, according to Kahneman, an assumption which rarely holds true (2003, p.706). Secondly, the, perhaps, most important pylon for the classical theory, utility maximisation, is severely challenged, since there is no existence of evidence that this is actually happening (Simon, 1979, pp.496-497). Connected to the previous fact is the economic model that indicates negative sloping demand curves which, according to Becker, do not necessarily portray rational behaviour that aims to utility maximisation, because there is evidence that people who use other irrational decision rules, find themselves in the exact same position (1962, pp.4-5). Conclusively, regarding the two presented theories, although in relatively simple and stable decision situations where uncertainty is not present, people seek and achieve maximisation of their personal expected utility function, there are serious deviations from this procedure, when, even slightly, complicated features are introduced in the decision process. The decision attempts in the latter context are explained by the behavioural theoretic model, in which the issue of bouned rationality plays a central role. This theory explains the wide variety of empirical observations that do not abide by the classical models assumptions (Simon, 1955, pp.103-104; Simon, 1979, pp. 497, 505-506). Heuristics and their twofold connection to decision-making A subject of major importance that is closely linked to the behavioural or descriptive theory of decision-making, is the heuristic technique. Heuristics have been adopted by people as responses to complex and uncertain decision-making situations and are mental shortcuts, sometimes unconscious, that help them reason in a continuous way (Hammond et al., 1998, p.47; Tversky and Kahneman, 1974, p.1124). They are generally part of humans problem-solving process and include very selective search through problem spaces that are often immense, as Simon explains. As soon as a satisfactory enough outcome is produced, the search ends and this decision is taken, as explained in the analysis of the behavioural theory above (1979, p.507). Heuristics are widely used for the reason that they regularly accomplish the goal(s) they were summoned for, making them the, probably, most reliable and with strong properties medium towards a rational decision (Simon, 1965, p.183). One of the most common heuris tic methods is representativeness, through which, probabilities of events are calculated in respect to how resemblant of an event is another. If the resemblance is high, then the probability that one of the events derives from the other is also high. Another way to attribute probabilities and frequencies to events, is through the availability or accessibility heuristic, which indicates that elements of large categories are more easily retrieved from our memory and therefore higher probabilities are assigned to them. Lastly, the anchoring and adjustment heuristic indicates that people begin their syllogism from a familiar starting point and, usually, their final decision lies not so far from it, being only mildly adjusted (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974, pp. 1124, 1127-1128; Hammond et al., 1998, p. 48). However, the second dimension that connects heuristics to decision-making is that, through them, barriers to rational choice, may be created. The, perhaps, most important category of suc h barriers, namely biases, will be presented in the following second part of the essay and potential ways of overcoming them will be demonstrated. Biases and ways to overcome them Because of the essays length limit, the sole barriers to rational decision-making that will be analysed are biases and will be featured along with some techniques that can soften their impact. Generally, the range of biases is really wide but there are some common causes that are responsible for most of them. Stimuli in judgement and evaluation are not translated in a linear mode, creating distortion in the reasoning process, is one of the causes. A second one, is the unconscious automatisation of humans cognitive action when they are trying to recall information from their memories and their choice between a narrow information base and finally the use of inferior strategies, due to lack in superior ones, is a third (Larrick, 2004, pp.319-320). The anchoring heuristic that was mentioned in the previous section of the essay can lead to biases that influence rational decisions. This happens because our thoughts and judgements are anchored by the first impression that we have on a situation and we rarely consider new perspectives to the situation, a fact that might lead to incorrect conclusions. Nevertheless, there are ways of overcoming this bias, such as being open-minded and viewing and adopting the cognitive strategy of considering the opposite, which alters the starting point of our reasoning (Hammond et al., 1998, p. 48; Larrick, 2004, p.323). In addition, a very common bias which severely influences rational choice in organisations is when decision makers tend to choose alternatives that do not affect much the status quo. This happens often because people rarely want to hold responsibility for an action that can lead to criticism from colleagues and prefer the safer course of doing nothing, that poses a less psychological risk to them. It is also the case, that when there are many alternatives to a decision, because more effort is required in order to analyse all of them, people usually stick to the status quo. A way of overcoming this particular bias, which can have general applicability as well, is through the adoption of the motivational strategy of accountability. This technique indicates that people should, at all times, be held responsible for their actions, or in the case of the status quo bias, the non-actions, and they will have to explain the logic behind their decision. As a result, they begin to consider alter native possible decisions and, what is important, they take into account that the attractiveness of the status quo can change over time, thereby learning to evaluate decisions not only in terms of the present but of the future as well (Hammond et al., 1998, pp. 48-50; Larrick, 2004, pp. 322-323). Lastly, a bias that strongly influences the rationale of our decisions, is the sunk-cost one. According to this, employees, involved in a decision-making process, the majority of whom are managers, continue to support past choices, even if they do not seem valid any more and not surpassing them involves more losses than gains. Although most people know that these sunk-cost decisions are not relevant to the present one, they influence their minds and often lead them to making improper decisions. The reason why people seem to not let aside those decisions, is because they are unwilling, consciously or not, to admit to a mistake, as Hammond et al. underline, since that would hurt their self-esteem. People in business environments where the penalties for bad decisions outcomes are high, do not have the motive to terminate any such decision-relevant results, because they are hoping that they will be able in the future to somehow generate gains from them. The most efficacious way to tackle the sunk-cost bias is to consult the views of people who did not take any part in the decision-making process and will likely not have a biased perspective concerning it (1998, pp. 50-52). In order to avoid the possibility of getting tangled into a sunk-cost bias situation, people can engage into the technological strategy of group decision-making, in which the effective sample size of experience used to make a decision is widened, and the particular bias is statistically less likely to occur, if the groups experience and training is diverse, according to Larrick (2004, pp.326-327). Conclusion To sum up the key points of the essay, concerning the first part about rational decision-making, the classical theory, although attractive and relatively simple to comprehend, lacks a great degree of realism and applicability, since it presupposes perfect rationality and flawless computational ability of possible decisions outcomes for all human agents, a fact that leads to utility maximisation. On the other hand, the behavioural decision-making theory has been developed in order to provide an explanation to many empirical findings and data, which illustrate humans as boundedly rational, meaning that instead of optimising, they are looking for a decision alternative that meets some minimal criteria that are set by them. One of the extensions of a behavioural theory are heuristics, which are standardised judgemental operations that deal with situations that demand reasoning and assessment of probabilities. However, traps that lead to systematic syllogisms distortion, a multitudinous c ategory of which, are biases, do exist and are sometimes caused by heuristic processes. They, nonetheless, can be confronted in several ways, the most important of which is awareness of their existence. Because human behaviour and decision-making are interlinked, more chapters in the theorisation of the latter, especially in more specific areas of it, are expected.

The Making of Barack Obama: A Glance at the Persuasive Power of Media

Barack Obama, an African-American from a middle-class family, surprisingly won the U.S. presidential election last November 4, 2008 and swore to presidency on January 20, 2009. As the U.S. is one of the racist countries in the world, he surprised the world by becoming the first Black President.Most political critics argued that media agenda setting and Obama’s social media strategies significantly aided in his campaigns. Aside from traditional media (print and broadcast media), Obama used the Internet media to win the attention and the voting power of most of the U.S. citizens.Although Obama has been into politics and has served the public for almost half of his life, it has been identified that Obama’s publicity in those popular media contributed a lot for his success in presidential election.During presidential campaign, it has been observed that Obama is in every media. From news in print media such as newspaper and magazine to radio interviews and television shows. Most noticeably, Obama also invaded the Internet with â€Å"www.barackobama.com† and the YouTube, to name a few. His e-mail advocacy, on-line video, and text messaging strategy also caught the attention of the sensitive audience and consumers. As Monte Lutz put it:Barack Obama won the presidency in a landslide victory (by a margin of nearly 200 electoral votes and 8.5 million popular votes) by converting everyday people into engaged and empowered volunteers, donors and advocates through social networks, e-mail advocacy, text messaging and online video. The campaign’s proclivity to online advocacy is a major reason for his victory. (2)The Persuasive Power of Media and the PoliticiansMass media is known as the most powerful propaganda and persuasive tool. At first, media was only used in business to influence the buying behavior of most consumers. Most newspapers and magazines carry colorful and catchy advertisements, challenging the readers to try the product or service to see the difference.Radio and television commercials also continuously clog the audience while listening or viewing their favorite program, and before they know it, they are already heading their way to the grocery or department store to buy the product that has been advertised. Brand recall was found to be an effect of product and service advertisements. Even if the audience did not pay enough attention, part of their cognitive system is able to recall the name of the product or service being advertised.Seeing the effectiveness of media in influencing the buying behavior of consumers, this trend has been adapted to politics – from setting political agenda, creating public policy, advocating political issues, to packaging the political candidate buying for any electoral position.Politicians believe that if the media could influence the buying behavior of the consumers, then it could also influence the voting behavior of the public. The advantage of most politicians lies on the fact that the Internet is now accessible everywhere. Most households nowadays own a computer with Internet access; if not, they can access it at a nearby computer shop.

Work place communication

Communication is essential for effective functioning in every part of an organisation. From marketing, production, finance, personnel, and maintenance, all departments may receive direction from corporate goals and objectives, but communication links them together and facilitates organisational success. The importance of effective communication from team leaders cannot be overemphasised for one specific reason: everything a team leader does, involves communicating.Communication is needed to increase efficiency, satisfy customers, and improve quality. Effective communication is so important for organisational success that not only team leaders, but also the employees must be effective communicators. One role of a team leader is to help employees improve their communication skills. When all members of a team, department, or organisation are able to communicate effectively with each other and with people outside their group, they are much more likely to perform well. The successful team leader, therefore, needs effective communication skills.Communication is the activity of conveying information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient. However, the receiver needs not to be present or be aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus, communication can occur across vast distances in time and space. Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of communicative commonality. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender.Feedback is critical for effective communication between parties. Communication can be defined as the exchange of opinion, ideas, information, facts, feelings, and values between two or more persons sender and receiver's) with the help of some channels to accomplish the desired purpose. The sender creates a message either in the written or in verbal or nonverbal form. The message is dispatched to the receiver with the help of channels of communication. The receiver takes the delivery of the message and provides feedback to the sender.The sender gets the feedback and determines whether the receiver has received the same message and meaning that the sender had intended to communicate with him; if the sender feels that the receiver has not received the same message and meaning, he/she again initiates the cycle of communication. THE CYCLE OF COMMUNICATION Elements ot Communication 1 . Sender 2. Message 3. Channel of communication 4. Receiver 5. Feedback 1 . Sender: The sender is the person who initiates the process of communication.Whenever the sender feels that there is a need to communicate some information to the other person (receiver), he/she starts the process of communication. The sender must be aware of the purpose of the communication and the receiver's abilities to understand the message in terms of language, interest, etc. 2. Message: The message is created by the sender to convey the inf ormation, facts or opinion to the receiver. The message should be clear and simple so that the receiver can understand it in the same way as the sender desires.While creating a message, the sender should take care of words, language, and meaning of the message if the message is to be communicated in verbal or written form or he/she should take care of body language and facial expression if the message is to be communicated in nonverbal form, along with the abilities and professional competencies of the receiver. 3. Channels of communication: Communication channels are the medium through which the message is communicated to the receiver. Channels of communication play an important role in the process of communication.If the sender selects an appropriate medium or channel of communication, there are more chances that the receiver will receive the same message; or else, there are chances that the message may get distorted. In this hi-tech era, there are a number of channels that can be used to communicate message, e. g. , mobile, e-mail, voice mail, person, radio, TV, Internet, blogs, etc. 4. Receiver: The receiver is the person who receives the message. The receiver may be a single person or a group of persons. The receiver understands the eaning of the message and provides feedback to the sender.The receiver should have the same language ability, comprehension, and cultural background as the sender. If not, it may lead to distorted understanding of the meaning of the message by the receiver. 5. Feedback: It is the most crucial element of communication. It is provided by the receiver to the sender. Receiving feedback is important for the sender to know that the receiver has received the message and interpreted the meaning of the message in the desired way. Without feedback, the process of communication cannot be complete.For example, when you send a mobile SMS to our friend, you get feedback in the form of delivery report that informs you whether your message ha s been delivered or not to the intended receiver; it also happens in the same way the case of e-mail. BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION Communication plays a major role in developing a relationship. It can also a relationship among family members or management in any institute. More specifically, communication influences the effectiveness of instruction, performance evaluation, and the handling of discipline problems.Communication should be straightforward. What can make it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the barriers. Some barriers of communication are the following. Physiological barriers to communication are related with the limitations of the human body and the human mind (memory, attention, and perception). Physiological barriers may result from individuals' personal discomfort, caused by ill-health, poor eye sight, or hearing difficulties. Poor listening skills, listening to others is considered a difficult task. The solution is to be an active rather than passive listener.A l istener's premature frown, shaking of the head, or bored look can easily convince the other person/speaker that here is no reason to elaborate or try again to communicate. Information overload, it is essential to control the flow of the information, else the information is likely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooked. As a result, communication may get distorted. Inattention, at times we Just do not listen but only hear. For example, your manager is immersed in his/her very important paper work and you are explaining to him/her about an urgent problem.In this situation, due to the inattention, the manager will not listen to you (he/she will only hear you); hence, he/she may not get hat you are saying and it may lead to disappointment. Emotions, the emotional state of a person at a particular point of time affects his/her communication with others as it has an impact on the body language (nonverbal communication). If the receiver feels that the sender is angry (emotional st ate), he/she can easily infer that the information being obtained will be very poor.Poor retention, the human memory cannot function beyond a limit. People cannot always retain all the facts/information about what is being told to them especially if he/she is not interested or not attentive. This leads to communication breakdown. Physical and environmental distractions, physical distractions are the physical things that get in the way of communication. Examples of such things include the telephone, an uncomfortable meeting place, and noise. These physical distractions are common in the warehouse setting.If the telephone rings, the usual human tendency will be to answer it even if the caller is interrupting a very important or even delicate conversation. Distractions such as background noise, poor lighting, uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room, or an environment that is too hot or cold can affect people's morale and concentration, hich in turn interfere with effective communication . Psychological barriers, psychological factors such as misperception, filtering, distrust, unhappy emotions and people's state of mind can Jeopardize the process of communication.We all tend to feel happier and more receptive to information when the sun shines. Similarly, if someone has personal problems such as worries and stress about a chronic illness, it may impinge his/her communication with others. Social barriers, social barriers to communication include conformity, a process in which the norms, values, and behaviours of an individual begin to follow those of the wider group. Social factors such as age, gender, and marital status may act as a barrier to communication in certain situations.Cultural barriers, cultural barriers to communication often arise when individuals in one social group have developed different norms, values, or behaviours to individuals associated witn another group. Cultural ditterence leads to difference in interest, knowledge, value, and tradition. Th erefore, people of different cultures will experience these culture factors as a barrier to communicate with each other. Semantic barriers, language, Jargon, slang, etc. , are some of the semantic arriers. Different languages across different regions represent a national barrier to communication.The Use of Jargon and slang also act as barrier to communication. Past Experience, if someone has awful experiences in the past related to some particular situation, then he/she will try to avoid communication in that situation. Organisational Barriers, unclear planning, structure, information overload, and timing, technology, and status difference are the organisational factors that may act as barriers to communication. Technological failure, message not delivered due to technical failure (e. g. receiver was not in mobile network area and the sender has not activated delivery report in message setting).Time pressures, often, in an organisation the targets have to be achieved within a specif ied time period, the failure of which may have adverse consequences for the employee. In a haste to meet deadlines, usually an employee tries to shorten the formal channels of communication that can lead to confusion and misunderstanding among the various levels of supervisors, hence leading distorted communication. Therefore, sufficient time should be given for effective communication. Complexity in the organisational tructure, the greater the hierarchy in an organisation (i. . , the more the number of managerial levels), the more chances of communication getting destroyed. Only the people at the top level can see the overall picture while the people at low level Just have knowledge about their own area and a little knowledge about other areas of the organisation. Unclear messages, effective communication starts with a clear message. Unclear messages in terms of meaning, grammar, and words may act as a barrier to communication because the receiver may not be able to understand the actual meaning of the message.Lack of feedback, feedback is the mirror of communication. Feedback mirrors what the sender has sent. Without feedback, communication cannot be considered complete. Both the sender and the receiver can play an active role in using feedback to make communication truly two-way. Methods of overcoming barriers of communication, overcoming the communication barriers will be different in different situations depending upon the type of barriers present. The following are some of the important general strategies that will be commonly useful in all the situations to overcome the barriers of communication.Taking the receiver more seriously Crystal clear message Delivering messages skilfully Focusing on the receiver Using multiple channels to communicate instead of relying on one channel Ensuring appropriate feedback Be aware of your own state of mind/emotions/attitude Effective communication techniques are useful to make the communication efficient and meaningful . There are several techniques of effective communication, which can be used. For example, maintaining eye-to-eye contact with the team is essential for ettective communication.Listening actively means to be attentive to what the other erson is saying verbally and nonverbally. Active listening is an effective communication skill. 1 . Stand squarely facing the other team; establish eye-to-eye contact. 2. Keep the posture open. 3. Be relaxed. Using silence during communication process can carry a variety of meanings. The impact from every conversation you have comes from your nonverbal cues. These include eye contact, your posture, and the gestures you make.The nonverbal cues indicate what you think, even if your words say something else entirely. Some people don't like to be touched, and invasion to their personal space is one nonverbal cue ou can easily avoid. Nonverbal cues are Just as important as any other communication technique you're trying to master. The tone of your voice, f or example, if you say that mfou'll be happy to sacrifice this opportunity for someone,† but you're yelling when you say it, the team will clearly notice that you're actually not happy to do it.Be consistent verbally and nonverbally inconsistency in verbal and nonverbal communication by the sender may lead to confusion and misunderstanding of the message. Ask open-ended questions open-ended questions encourage the team to communicate more, whereas, close-ended questions iscourage the team from communicating. Use Language Understood by the team. Accurate, accessible and detailed recording is not only essential it is a vital tool for ensuring accuracy of information, clarity of goals and accountability. Of course, it can achieve none of these aims if it is never read, and so in the first place it must be legible.It is a team leader's responsibility to ensure that, they record conversations, accurately, and that they retain the information available. Electronic copies of any form of communication i. e. emails can be copied saved and stored either into a eparate folder on your computer, or onto a USB storage device, or external hard drive alternately you should ensure that all emails are archived for future reference. Methods of Verbal Communication Face to face informal communication Underused in these days of email, but invaluable for getting the message behind the words.Body language can tell you a lot about what a person really thinks regardless of whether they are agreeing with you verbally or not. Quite often we will email someone who only sits in the next room – or even at the other side of the same room, ‘because an email is recorded'. There is nothing to stop a record of a face to face meeting being created. Meetings Many meetings are badly planned and managed, this is one of the main disadvantages of meetings as no formal records or minutes are kept or recorded. Formal Briefings Useful to reach a mass audience.Beware though if what you have to say is controversial or bad news for some of the audience then you will face a lot of resentment and create resistance, where staff feel unable to challenge you or to ask questions because there are so many people present. Verbal Communication has the following advantages: Saving of Time The greatest advantages of verbal communication is saving of time. Under this system of communication the messages are communicated immediately without consuming any time. Verbal communication is the only way out when a message is important and when immediate action is necessary.Saving of Money As there is no tormal met nod ot communicating the message, no help ot any particular media this type of communication saves a lot of money. More Effective As the message is direct between the Senders of message and the receiver of message the messages prove to be more effective. The sender of the message can also exercise his personal influence over the receiver of message. Clear Doubts Verbal commu nication is also better as it removes any doubts regarding the message, between the sender and the receiver of message.Any doubts can immediately be cleared and the receiver of the message can immediately get the explanations regarding the message. Increase in Productivity and Efficiency Verbal communication is more effective. It increases the productivity and efficiency of workers because they clearly understand it and follow it. Verbal communication has the following disadvantages: Lack of Proof of Message The greatest disadvantage of verbal communication is that there is no proof of the message being communicated.Not Suitable for Future Reference As there is nothing in writing supporting the message communicated under this method, it is not suitable for future reference. If there is any dispute at any point with the message. Not Suitable in Case of Distance if the receiver and the sender of the message are living at a distance from each other, this method of communication is not suitable because it will increase the cost of communication, it ill not be effective because of lack of personal touch and it may not be clear and explanatory.Many times, when people think of the word communication, they think of an exchange of information and ideas through words. However, verbal communication is just one small part of communication. There are many different methods of communication. Written You can't avoid written communication in the workplace; it's everywhere. Emails, memos, reports, and other written documents are all part of everyday business life. Written communication is the most appropriate when detailed instructions are equired, when something needs to be documented, or when the person is too far away to easily speak with over the phone or in person.Email is a lifesaver for many people, especially in the business world. If you rely on emails and memos to conduct your business, it's very important to portray a professional image. Don't use abbreviations unle ss they pertain to your field, and always use spell check and read over your email before you send it to make sure it's clear and concise. Emails should be brief and to the point. Non-verbal communication plays a large role in the way you communicate with thers. Unless you're using sign language, however, you probably dont want to rely on it as your sole means of communication.You do, however, need to be aware of it. Your gestures, eye contact and movement, and the way you stand and sit all convey a message to the person you are communicating with. Use gestures appropriately, or leave your hands at your sides. Don't fidget, which is distracting, and avoid crossing your arms, which sends off the appearance of being angry or closed off. Always look the person you are speaking to in the eye, and don't roll your eyes or stare while they talk. Email Effective where supported by the organisation, and where sent by the right person.Emails that look as though they are selling something or t hat come from people the recipient has never heard of, are at high risk of being deleted without being read as they will be seen as potential spam. Newsletters Newsletter can be good for general awareness, but will normally only be well read if the newsletter is usually interesting and colourful. Notices/signs/posters Effective for messages or promotion of single issues although notice boards are not always the best place to put a notice that you want read. Signs need to be displayed where they can be easily seen but there is still no guarantee that they will be read.Blogs Blogs are a good way of keeping people up-to-date, again, providing that there is a good reason for people to visit and read you blog these can also be limited to people with only a passing interest. The importance of keeping oral records Any oral communication where a decision or commitment is made, and that is not otherwise documented, needs to be captured and placed in your recordkeeping system. For example: A meeting or conference call where a decision is made, if formal eeting minutes or notes are not taken. A voice mail message committing to take action.A telephone call responding to a member of staff. The issuing of verbal warnings. What types of communications are included? Face-to-face meetings Telephone calls Voice mail messages (including telephone or computer) What is the best way to capture conversations that are records? Write a memo in your diary. Be sure to include: Date and time of the communication Type of communication (e. g. , voice mail, telephone call) Participants Subject Details on any decisions or commitments What kind of electronic communications might be a record?Any electronic communication where a decision or commitment is made, and that is not otherwise documented, needs to be captured and placed in your recordkeeping system. For example: E mails. A voice mail message committing to take action. All other forms of on line communication. E mails Any on line corres pondence What is the best way to capture conversations that are records? Save to a file on your computer, or onto a USB drive, or external hard drive be sure to include: Date and time of the communication Type of communication

Hipa A Critical Issue - 1800 Words

HIPAA – A Critical Issue Most people have a basic understanding about HIPAA and what it entails, but for future healthcare leaders, it is a critical issue. The goals behind the HIPAA privacy rules are very beneficial for keeping individual’s health information private, but it does place a heavy burden on organizations to ensure the information remains protected. Healthcare leaders have always had to adapt to change, but it is becoming increasingly necessary to have leaders that can adapt quicker than ever. Not only do they need to keep up with the technological advances in healthcare, but they also need to become compliant with the new and ever-changing healthcare laws. Numerous modifications have been implemented under HIPAA in the†¦show more content†¦14). In 2009, HIPAA was modified yet again to include the Health Information and Technology and Economic Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. The HITECH Act drastically modified the law to offer enhanced patient privacy and security, ne w patient rights, and increased compliance enforcement by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) (New Rule, 2013, para. 2). The HITECH Act put rigorous guidelines in place surrounding data protection of heath information technology to improve patient privacy and security (Grossman, 2014). Many of the new technology requirements have been incorporated with the increased use of electronic health records (EHRs) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Security Rule, n.d.). The final omnibus rule incorporates some additional regulations, but is primarily based on the final legislative changes under the HITECH Act. Definitions Under HIPAA, the definition of a covered entity is a health plan (insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, government health plans), healthcare provider (doctors, dentists, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.), or healthcare clearinghouse (billing service, repricing company, health information systems, etc.) (Covered Entity, n.d.). A business associate is, â€Å"a person or entity that performs