Discuss how performance appraisals are a function of HR and management.

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DUE IN 10 HOURS

 

A performance appraisal is a regular review of employee job performance and contribution to organizational objectives. In many cases, performance appraisals are conducted at the end of the year to evaluate employee performance, as well as set performance for the next year. For this assignment, you will evaluate another function of HR and management and its contribution to effective performance management. Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read the article Adapting the Performance Appraisal Process to Meet the Needs of the Modern Workplace (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

In your paper,

  • Discuss how performance appraisals are a function of HR and management.
  • Analyze the basic components of an effective performance appraisal.
    • Explain how performance appraisals can contribute to organizational goals and objectives.
  • Explain the advantages of performance appraisals and how they contribute to effective training and development.
  • Explain potential forms of discrimination based on labor laws and regulations when conducting a performance appraisal.

For additional support with completing this assignment, please refer to the following tools:

  • Finding HR Journals in the AU Library (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. This tip sheet will support you in researching through the Ashford University Library.
  • What Is CRAAP: A Guide to Evaluating Web Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. This will assist you in determining the reliability of an HR website.
  • Scholarly and Popular Resources(1) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..This tutorial explains the differences between scholarly and popular resources.
  • Human Resource Research With FindIt@AU (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. This tip sheet will support you in researching through the Ashford University Library.

The Performance Appraisal paper

  • Must be two double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
  • Must include a separate title page with the following:
    • Title of paper
    • Student’s name
    • Course name and number
    • Instructor’s name
    • Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

  • Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph.
    • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
  • Must use at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed, or credible sources in addition to the course text.
    • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
  • Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
  • Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style

Discussion: Psychological Disorders

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Discussion: Psychological Disorders

If you break your arm or have a sore throat, you can go to your doctor’s office and find out what is wrong. It may require an x-ray or a throat swab, but you will receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan. For a broken arm, the treatment is straightforward: a cast. For a sore throat, it is more complicated because there are many possible causes. It might be strep throat, which you would treat with an antibiotic. It could be postnasal drip from allergies, which you would treat with an allergy medication. It may even be because you were shouting too much at the concert last night, which you treat with time. The right treatment depends on the right diagnosis.

In the case of psychological disorders, there is no easy way to identify that right diagnosis. Despite our increasing understanding of the biological basis of disorders, there is currently no physiological measure (blood test, brain scan, genetic test, etc.) that can be used to diagnose these disorders. Instead, all diagnoses for psychological disorders are based on the symptoms that are reported by the patient and observations from others.

This week, you will explore what is involved in diagnosing one of the disorders covered in the textbook (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, PTSD, or schizophrenia). You will review the diagnostic criteria in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM–5) and, based on what you have learned about the biological basis of these disorders, propose how you would improve the diagnosis of these disorders. As an interesting historical note, one of the controversies with DSM-5 was that it takes a very long time to update the diagnosis and understanding of all the disorders that are included in the book. (The previous version of the DSM, DSM–IV, was published in 1994 and revised in 2000). It was suggested that there could be an online version of the DSM–5 that would be used in a research setting and could be updated much more regularly as a greater understanding of the brain basis of these disorders emerged. It was to be called the DSM–5R (for Research), but this idea was never enacted.

To prepare for this Discussion:

  • Select a specific disorder from those covered in Brain and Behavior and review information about the biological causes, symptoms, and treatment of that disorder.
  • Consult the web links provided for each of the disorders covered by the text to identify the DSM diagnostic criteria for the condition.
  • Reference the Learning Resources to understand how the condition is diagnosed and what is known about the biological basis of this condition.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a description of the disorder you chose, including the biological features that are typically observed, such as changes in brain activity level, differences in brain structure, or abnormalities in neurotransmitters. Then describe how disorders are diagnosed in general by the DSM and the specific criteria used to diagnose your chosen disorder. Is there any relationship between the way the textbook describes the disorder and the way the DSM describes the disorder? Finally, based on the biological information in the textbook and what you know of the DSM-5R project, propose and write a new set of diagnostic criteria that incorporates the biological information discussed in the textbook. This should be 1–2 paragraphs and it should summarize what you think are the most important biological factors (brain regions, neurotransmitters, or genes) that are associated with your chosen condition. Finally, discuss why you think that this is not already included in the DSM.

Support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources and any additional sources you identify using both in-text citations and complete references in APA format.

Teacher Interview/Role Of Teacher

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Directions:

You will interview a veteran classroom teacher, one who has been teaching for a minimum of five years.  After completing the interview,  write a two-page critical reflection/summary paper based on the answers the teacher gave to the questions asked during the interview.

Develop a list of questions (you may use the questions below) to ask the veteran classroom teacher.

You paper include the following:

  • Background information on the teacher interviewed
  • Summary/reflection of the information elicited during the interview process

Suggestions:

When completing this activity, you may want to record your interview if the teacher allows it.  This will help you to capture a complete response.  If not, you should do your best to write down the entire response.  Your final paper should begin with the teacher’s background, then include a summary of his/her responses, and conclude with your reflection of the teacher and the insights you have gained from the interview.

Possible Interview Questions:

Curriculum/Subject Knowledge:

  • Do you prefer homogeneous or heterogeneous grouping? Why?
  • What does individualized teaching mean to you?
  • How can you tell students are learning? Which evaluation techniques do you use?
  • How do you individualize the learning process in your classroom?
  • What are some ways that a student in a group can show you s/he has mastered a concept?
  • In which curriculum area are you particularly strong?
  • If you were asked to obtain in-service experience in one area of the curriculum, which area would you choose?
  • What are some of the ways that you present materials to students, such as in social science?
  • How do you integrate technology into your teaching and students’ learning?
  • What do you think a teacher needs to know in order to begin lesson planning for a class?
  • What four key components do you believe you must include in a lesson plan?

Instructional Techniques:

  • Describe any school experience you have had, particularly in student teaching (or in another teaching position) that has prepared you for a full-time position at a school?
  • Describe any innovative projects you have been involved in developing.
  • Give an example of how you have used cooperative learning in your classroom.
  • How you accommodate the different learning styles of the students in your classes?
  • What do you consider to be your strengths and how will you use them in your teaching?
  • What two core teaching strategies do you use to achieve your desired results?

Classroom Management:

  • How do you set standards for acceptable performance in your class at the beginning of the year?
  • How do you get students to do what you want them to do?
  • Describe your system of classroom management.
  • How do you help students develop in self-discipline? Can you teach this skill?
  • In your opinion, who should be responsible for the discipline in the school?
  • If a student is disrupting your classroom, what steps would you take to solve this problem?
  • What is your opinion about individual vs. total class punishment?
  • Compare negative and positive reinforcement and describe the affects of each.
  • Describe a typical student in your class with reference to his/her developmental stage, study habits, attitude towards learning, and his/her behavior characteristics.
  • How do you assist a student who has been tardy to become punctual?
  • Describe your classroom’s physical environment.

Parent Relations/Communication:

  • Describe some ways you inform parents of what is going on in your classroom.
  • How do you involve parents in your classroom?
  • How do you update parents on the progress of their child?
  • In your opinion, how effective are parent conferences in solving student problems?
  • Describe how you become acquainted with parents and students.
  • What would you tell a parent who complained about his/her child not having enough homework?
  • What information do you include in your Open House presentation?

Personality, Personal Attitudes/Professionalism:

  • Why did you want to teach?
  • Describe an “ideal” teacher.
  • Why would you want to teach in a certain School District?
  • What is wrong with education today? What is right?
  • What do you expect from the school principal, psychologist, and superintendent?
  • What would your closest teaching associate say about your relationships with students?
  • What are your greatest teaching strengths? What are your greatest weaknesses?  How do you overcome these?
  • How do you collaborate with other teachers/staff in your school?

Teacher Relationships with Students:

  • What kind of students do you like to work with? What type of students could you teach most effectively?
  • How would you deal with a student who ridicules a given assignment?
  • How do you help students experience success?
  • How would you differentiate instruction for students?
  • What procedures do you use to evaluate student progress besides using tests?
  • How do you challenge the varieties of learners, both slower and advanced, within the same class?
  • How much do you need to know about your students in order to be most helpful to them?
  • What three things do you most want to know about your students?
  • In what major ways do you most want to influence the lives of your students?

The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution,

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Discussion: Identity-Based Needs

In Week 1, you discovered that needs are at the center of all conflicts. The continuum of needs includes survival needs, interests, and identity-based needs. In the case of cultural conflicts, identity-based needs tend to be the most prevalent. The assigned article, “Culture and Conflict” explains the relationship between culture and identity. Your course text explains four categories of identity-based needs: meaning, community, intimacy, and autonomy.

To prepare for this Discussion:

  • Review the assigned pages in Chapter 1 of your course text, The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution, and pay particular attention to the section on identity-based needs and, specifically, the needs of meaning, community, intimacy, and autonomy.
  • Review Chapter 4 in your course text, The Dynamics of Conflict Resolution, and focus on how different cultures address conflict.
  • Review the article, “Culture and Conflict.” Note the discussion about identities.
  • Select for use in this Discussion a local or global situation in which cultural groups are experiencing or have experienced conflict.
  • Think about how identity-based needs play(ed) a role in and/or fuel(ed) the conflict.
  • Reflect on the categories of identity-based needs (meaning, community, intimacy, and autonomy) and think about how they relate to the conflict that you have selected.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a brief description of the conflict that you selected. Explain how identity-based needs play(ed) a role in and/or fuel(ed) the conflict. Finally, briefly explain to which category the identity-based needs belong and why you categorized them as you did.