Companies that have gained market advantages due to Covid19
Global pandemics have been known to have adverse repercussions on businesses. For instance, the worldwide covid-19 epidemic has caused many small businesses to close their doors due to the high losses incurred. However, some companies continue to flourish during such difficult economic times. One of the critical elements that make businesses benefit more from catastrophic events is the gained economies of scale. An example of companies that have gained market advantages due to the corona pandemic is the Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. and the UnitedHealth Group.
Recognized as an international e-commerce giant, the Chinese based franchise, Alibaba Group registered a more than double its profit in its first-quarter fiscal report. This number is expected to increase due to the covid-19 pandemic that has left cities and towns on lockdown state. With no access to physical shopping sites, people are left with no other alternative than to shop online. Over the past months, online traffic has upsurged, leading to a growing demand for online services such as the one extended by the Alibaba Group. The economies of scale facilitating Alibaba’s success is it’s the company’s networking advantage (Mourdoukoutas, n.p.). Alibaba offers a platform for buyers and sellers to interact.
Owing to the fact that the UnitedHealth Group is a renowned healthcare facility, this organization is one of the few that has recorded significant profits during the global covid-19 pandemic. This facility continues to offer the best medical services as people seek better healthcare during the epidemic. Due to the growing demand for medical attention, this organization has partnered with the local healthcare facilities to extend affordable services to members of the public (UnitedHealth Group, n.p.). The leading economies of scale that have made the UnitedHealth Group gain its market advantage it’s the additional investments the company has infused within its system to support those affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
Did Nurse Joserine delegate tasks appropriately? Why or why not? (please include the five steps of delegation)
Delegating Duties is a task that requires one to follow several steps to ensure activities run smoothly with minimal interruptions (Levin, 2018). Every organization has a specific way in which procedures are supposed to run. If a certain individual is absent, his/her duties are to be taken up by someone else competent enough to fill the spot. In the case of Nurse Joserine, I think that she was right to delegate her duties as she was needed a break. However, she did not do such a good job. Joserine followed only two steps of the five recommended for ideal delegation. First, she appointed appropriate individuals to handle each task. Secondly, she outlined the duties and expectations of the appointed people. However, she did not set a deadline or establish a way of determining the individual’s progress. Besides, Joserine barely made her representatives understand the level of authority associated with their assumed positions.
Who will be held accountable for the outcomes of the roles/tasks that Nurse Joserine has delegated?
Accountability is a key quality that ensures individuals maintain high levels of responsibility (Kendall, 2018). In the case of Joserine, the appointed representatives have to be under the authority of someone superior. The nursing coordinator who was left in charge of handling emergencies and other activities will be answerable to the CEO of the medical institution. The clinical specialist will also be answerable to the CEO as there is no other person second to this post. However, it is important to note that these two individuals lack adequate knowledge on how to handle the duties assigned to them. Therefore, in case of any damages, Nurse Joserine will be held accountable for her representatives’ outcomes.
References
Kendall, N. (2018). How new nursing roles affect accountability and delegation. Nursing Times, 114(4), 45-47.
Levin, R. P. (2018). The five steps of delegation.
Employment Laws: Reduction of Wages and Working Hours
Assignment
Compose a 10-page critical analysis research paper that addresses a specific topic of interest regarding employment law and the contractual relationships between employee and employers. Within the analysis, be sure to include at least five authors’ positions on the topic from scholarly peer-reviewed journals and be mindful to utilize sources that were published within the last three years. Students are to be sure to include a reflective portion regarding their analysis of the topic rather than just summarizing the journal articles chosen.
You may propose an alternative project of your own design that shows attainment of the corresponding course outcome. The mentor must approve the alternative project.
Sample Answer
Introduction
This research paper reflects on the contractual relationship and employment laws in line with the reduction of wages and working hours. Often an employer’s decisions to reduce employee pay are influenced by economic performances in the organization. Wages and salaries constitute the most significant cost of operation that determines the profitability of a company. Also, an employer may wish to establish a competitive advantage in the market through selling products at relatively lower prices. To achieve these goals the company often focuses on moderating its costs without compromising its profits. Depending on the nature of the relationship and the State the laws governing the operations may differ slightly. Employee and employer relationships are governed by the employment laws and the terms of the contract. This research paper is a critical analysis of employment laws on a reduction of wages and working hours within the period of the deal. For analysis at the global business level, the discussion is based on the US and China perspectives on the reduction of wages or the working hours. Often the employer is required to notify the employee through a letter of a memo explaining clearly for the reasons for the pay reduction. In the letter, an employer appeals to the employees on the pay restoration when the condition in the organization is restored.
Background Information
In the US pay reduction is governed as well by the minimum wage law. The employer is guided by the terms of the contract incorporated in the employment law. The federal minimum is $7.25 per hour with some states having higher minimums. An employer is obliged therefore to the minimum set through the state statutes. The state minimum is never below the Federal minimum. Also, the standard number of working hours is 40-in a week. Employees in the management may work for more extended hours below the minimum. The wage cut process need also to be fair to the employees without any form of discrimination on age or ethnic origin. According to Chen, and Horton, (2016) employees are keen to evaluate the wage levels on assessment of what is available in the market. In addition to the employment laws, the employer is called upon to the understanding that fairness is more critical in employment contracts than in other contracts (Kochan, & Riordan, 2016). All the proposals for a different wage are considered as a process of renegotiation of the contract. This calls for the employer to have an understanding of whether the employee is a contract partner or otherwise.
In China, pay reduction is based on termination and renegotiation of the terms of contracts which can only be fulfilled under certain circumstances governed by the China Labor contract Law. In Oher words, the employment terms in China are stricter on the formal contract, and all changes are based on the need for reevaluation of the terms of the contract in which pay cut and wage hours are not an exception. The law in China is highly protective to the employees and before the pay cut legalized a lot of legal restraints are encountered. Many labor-related risks exist in the country where HR or the employer fails to comply in this accord. A lot of consultations between the employer and the employee are done and the employer is required to make such changes in formal writing. The employees, on the other hand, assert their signature as evidence of their consent without objection to all the changes made. According to Cheng, Smyth, & Guo, (2015) the China Labor contract law that requires formal contracts to be mandatory has helped to improve the outcome of the workers significantly. The new terms that were implemented in 2008 are considered as the greatest reform on employment regulations in the country. Also, the law governs that if an employee proves incompetence in administering a given role the employer would have rights to transfer them to different functions under different contract terms.
In this research paper, the consideration is that employment protection legislation (EPL) for a pay cut and wage hour’s reduction is a global concern. In other words, both the US and other countries have clear laws that govern the conditions and the process of a pay cut. The contract terms also govern the decisions an employer would take, considering an employee as a contract partner. A reduction in wages is an indispensable element of the contract that would thus require the informed consent of the employee. In US consideration are for the employer to notify the employee of such changes in advance appealing to the need for change and future implications. In China, on the other hand, the labor contract law governs for the renegotiation of the terms of the contract requiring the employer to express the changes in written form with the employee signature as a sign that they are not in objection of the new terms. Reduction of wages and working hours has significant legal implications to the employer and the employee since they are governed by the employment laws and the terms of the contract which are the primary aspects of employee protection legislation a critical aspect in the global market.
The Fair Labor Standard Act requires the employer to maintain the federal minimum wage for all the covered employees. In other words, the law protects the employee from pay cut below the minimum wage rate. Also, this law requires that the employee is paid overtime for hours worked above 40-hours a week (Kochan, & Riordan, 2016). The employer cannot at any circumstance violate overtime payment as a substitute to a wage cut. FLSA is reinforced by other state and local laws to enhance protection of the employees from the violation. For instance in 28 states in the US the minimum wage is more than the Federal minimum. There is no requirement for the employers to have all the items of a contract documented such as the changes in the wage levels. This law also defines that employee’s compensation needs to be free from any form of discrimination by race, age. The employer needs to appeal to the employees that the pay cut will be made in a given percentage to the wages received by the employees. Both the management and the subordinate employees also need to be treated equally regarding the pay cut. All these requirements are enforced by the Department of Labor and the wage and hour division. The FSLA has no restrictions to the employers on the need to reduce the number of working hours provided all other statutory requirements like the minimum wage and payment of overtime are maintained.
The FSLA has a clear guideline on a reduction of salary for the exempt employees. In other words, the US employment law offers protection and guideline on the conditions that must exist to fulfill a reduction of predetermined salaries either temporary or permanent. One aspect is that a reduction in the salary of exempt employees often leads to the loss of the exemption. The implication is however that the employee will be paid based on minimum wage and overtime as defined by the FSLA for the nonexempt employees. However, there are conditions such as economic downtown that may protect a salaried employee from losing their exempt condition. Most of the exemption exists for employees in the executive or professional capacity. The salary of these employees may not as well be subjected to the reduction process based on a decrease in the quality and the quantity of the work performed. This law extends the provisions to the short-term deduction of the employees’ salaries based on reduced work performed especially when the employee is willing to work.
The US law requires the employer to notify the employee about salary reduction before they can work in the new salary rate. This means that before a new salary or wage term is implemented the employees need to express their consent agreeing to work under those new terms. This gives the employees a chance to negotiate through a collective bargain or legal assessment while an employer reviews their considerations. An employee has the right to decline the new terms which would mean ending the contract with the employees. The employee gives details on when the new terms will be implemented giving them an equal chance to decide on the specific actions. The employment law is incorporated into the existence of the company in business (Chen, & Horton, 2016). The decision to reduce salaries is controlled by threats of bankruptcy that would see employees lose jobs (Blanchard, Jaumotte, & Loungani, 2014). As a capitalist nation and with efforts to reduce unemployment law employment organizations like the Division safeguard the rights of the employer. An individual employee can also accept lower pay in the event of a job change. This occurs when there is demotion based on incompetence’s outlined for the high rank.
In summary, the US law allows the employer to reduce wages, salaries and working hours provided the four major requirements are not violated. One is to notify the employee of the pay cut to allow them to give informed consent of the new terms. The employees are not expected to object the new terms but to make decisions regarding new terms before they are implemented. The second is the pay cut also need not be nondiscriminatory by race, wage, position, a profession in which the statutes of the local, state and federal governments on discrimination are not violated. The third consideration is if there is a contract that states that the employee salary cannot be reduced on those conditions then the reduction would not be effective. To implement the pay cut on such condition the management needs to negotiate for such change since the employee is a contract partner with equal negotiation rights. The fourth factor is the reduction is to be guided by the minimum wage rate by state or federal government.
Employment Laws on wage Reduction in China
Pay cut in China is governed by China labor contract law. The law that governs those employments relations be in written contracts guide the framework through which the pay cut can be implemented. A contract has clear terms that govern the relationship between the employee and the employer. The wage rate is clearly defined as an indispensable element of the contract. Neither the employer nor the employees are given the full mandate to make amendments on the conditions outlined by them. The two parties have equal rights to negotiate for salary or wage rate. The employer needs to make all relevant consultation with the employee who needs to agree to the modification by signing documents for the new terms. The contract is the primary guideline to the relationship. A pay cut is often implicated by the law to be a reevaluation of the terms of contract. According to Cheng et al., (2015) the labor contract law requires that the employer must maintain the maximum working hours for the employees. The employees bargaining power strengthened by other sections gives the employee an upper hand to the negotiation over the employer in business and corporate level.
The China labor contracts law allows the employer to make a pay cut through a change in the employee’s position. In other words, the employer has no right capacity to reduce the wage of employees based on incompetence unless where a contract is signed for a new position. This is clearly defined in article 40.2 that affirms change of a position where the job is incompetent. The HR is mandated with an obligation to change the duties performed by the employee and also decide on the salary thereafter. To fulfill this provision of the labor contracts law the individual employer need to do so by an evaluation based on the internal rules and policies governed by the law. It’s often like the employee needs to understand the internal policies of the individual organization that governs this relationship (Chen, & Horton, 2016). The implication is that if the employer has no such clear guidelines that are understood by the employee then before any action is taken there would be needed for prior agreement with the employee before demoting the employee and making the pay cut decision. In most of the cases, the employer is not quick to demotion and pay cut based on the legal obligations involved.
The employer is empowered to reduce employee salaries based on a violation of the policies. This is governed under the contract law article 39 that defines that if the misconduct by the employee is minimal to warrant for dismissal, an employer can demote the employee and cut pay. The prior condition for this action would be that the employee had been bound to the employer’s rights to enforce penalties through such terms. Also, the employer would need to have such rules and policies that provide for a pay cut and which have been discussed and made known to the employees through a comprehensive set of policies. The law also outlines and governs the ranges within which the pay cut is initiated. The arbitrators and the judges have the mandate to decide what ranges of the pay cut would be initiated. This legal mandate to reduce the employee pay is highly restricted such that the employer often engages legal consultancy before making any major decision. Failure to comply with the limitations of these four conditions would lead to huge penalties. The employer has it in mind that the contract laws are aimed at empowering the employees. The employers need therefore to consult the law practitioners before the decision and not after based on the dangers of the unilateral decision-making process.
This means that unlike in the US the employment laws on the reduction of wages and working hours are more employers centric. The law has been strengthened by the fact that formal written contracts are mandatory in China but not in the US. All the legal process and terms safeguard the right of the employee to work for the agreed salaries. Through a contractual relation, all the terms are clearly defined, and the employee and the employer must abide with them without which legal implications would be inevitable. The contract laws are basically meant for the protection of the employees and not for punishment for any form of misconduct by them. With this consideration, the employer needs to take all the precautionary measures before making any critical decision.
In the global scale, both large scale and small scale employees are affected by the employment laws. The FSLA and CLCL require the employer to uphold all the regulations in regards to their efforts for a pay cut. As the employer reduces the salaries and wages, all the violations to the laws would attract considerable penalties in the federal and state courts. Also, the company would be exposed to public scrutiny on the general relationship between the employer and the employee. While in China the laws are stricter each of the employers has a responsibility to uphold them. Employment protection legislation (EPL) is expensive efforts for the employer operating locally and abroad (Louis, & Urcan, 2017). As employer spend more on penalties and as the power to control such actions like pay cut reduces policy implementation becomes difficult. In the event of heavy cash flow, the company experiences difficulties in restoring its operations. Employers are equally unable to handle the employee misconduct effectively. In the context of the need to reduce the working hours, the cost of production remains high although such efforts when guided by the availability of productive work can lead to increased production. The contractual relationship has the most significant implication to the employer. In the US formalization of some of the contract terms are not mandatory. Having clear contract terms increases employee bargaining power.
Implications to the Employees
Pay cut and reduction of the wage hours often lead to decreased income for the employees. Although in overall the employment protection legislation has positive implications for the employees, some circumstances inflict them to decide between the wages and employment security. There are also ethical implications for the case. Where the law provides pay cut and the wage hours as illegal the employee needs to decide between the company turning bankrupt and losing the competitive salaries (Balz, 2017). The laws also provide for the terms of punishment following all the forms of misconduct. China LCL provides that some certain conditions best interpreted by law the employer can legalize pay cut with minimal negotiation with the employees. This has made the employers victimized that all the consultation and notifications are based on formalizing the process. In the US the implication is that employees can feel they are not protected thus most of the cases are never reported.
On the other hand in China employees may feel superior over the employer. The employee may feel that they are not obligated to general business conduct and the policies as well. When this occurs, there is a general decline in the costs of production. Demotivate the employer on the commitment of the employee as a general responsibility which leads to significant implication.
Conclusion
This research paper identifies that the employees on the global scale are protected from pay cut and reduction of the working hours. The federal government requires that there is a minimum wage rate payable to an employee. The minimum wage rate helps to reduce the extent to which the wages and salaries can be completed. Results from the US employment laws on pay cut have reflected those standards in China. Unlike in the US, all pay relationships are defined by through the contractual agreements. Employment protection legislation efforts have both positive and negative implications for both the employee and the employer. To the employer, it depends on the country with which the operations are manifested. Employees who are protected by the labor laws from pay cut are likely to maximize efforts to enhance pay cut. One factor to remember is that the EPL laws are meant to protect and safeguard the rights of the employees.
References
Balz, A. (2017). Cross-national variations in the security gap: Perceived job insecurity among temporary and permanent employees and employment protection legislation. European Sociological Review, 33(5), 675-692. https://academic.oup.com/esr/article/33/5/675/4102109
Blanchard, O. J., Jaumotte, F., & Loungani, P. (2014). Labor market policies and IMF advice in advanced economies during the Great Recession. IZA Journal of Labor Policy, 3(1), 2.
Chen, D. L., & Horton, J. J. (2016). Research note—Are online labor markets spot markets for tasks? A field experiment on the behavioral response to wage cuts. Information Systems Research, 27(2), 403-423.
Cheng, Z., Smyth, R., & Guo, F. (2015). The impact of China’s new Labour Contract Law on socioeconomic outcomes for migrant and urban workers. Human relations, 68(3), 329- 352.
Kochan, T. A., & Riordan, C. A. (2016). Employment relations and growing income inequality: Causes and potential options for its reversal. Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(3), 419-440.
Louis, H., & Urcan, O. (2017). Employment protection legislation, investment, and firm performance.
The Impact of NursingInformatics on PatientOutcomes and PatientCareEfficiencies
To Prepare:
Review the concepts of technology application as presented in the Resources.
Reflect on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may help fortify nursinginformatics as a specialty by leading to increased impact on patientoutcomes or patientcareefficiencies.
The Assignment: (4-5 pages)
In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organization, propose a nursinginformatics project for your organization that you advocate to improve patientoutcomes or patient–care efficiency. Your project proposal should include the following:
Describe the project you propose.
Identify the stakeholders impacted by this project.
Explain the patient outcome(s) or patient–careefficiencies this project is aimed at improving and explain how this improvement would occur. Be specific and provide examples.
Identify the technologies required to implement this project and explain why.
Identify the project team (by roles) and explain how you would incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team.
Sample Answer
Introduction
Nursing informatics has a significant role it plays in improving patient outcomes as well as patient care efficiencies. According to McCormick and Saba (2015), specialists in nursing informatics have utilized health information technology to make great contributions in healthcare settings. As health organizations are expanding, they consequentially have to provide quality care and deliver it timely to patients. In the contemporary world, health organizations that are still using traditional approaches methods of management encounter challenges in trying to synchronize functions in various departments in healthcare units (Sewell, 2018). With that in mind, the proposed nursing informatics project to the leadership of the healthcare organization that I offer my services is the implementation of a computerized hospital management system.
Healthcare facilities in rural settings have major challenges in providing quality and efficient care to patients. Mamlaka Healthcare Organization is one of the healthcare care facilities that is trying to beat the odds in meeting the needs of every stakeholder. Major challenges that the organization is currently facing is the inability to keep proper records of patients appropriately, poor maintenance of doctors’ schedule and poor financial management. Therefore, integrating computerized hospital management system in this hospital would facilitate all the management functions in the departments (Olamide et al., 2015). Having a single computerized hospital management system (CHMS) would assist in serving all sections in the hospital thus eliminating the challenges that the hospital is currently facing. This means that the system would synchronize patients’ information through electronic medical records (EMR) which would help health professionals to document and communicate patient information within the departments. In the long run, this would assist in reducing time wastage and save on paper. Still, with the CHMS, this would help in enhancing operational and financial management. In this case, this system comes with accounting software which supports and facilitates functions in billing, inventory control, and policy management. It also provides statistical reports where the administration can use the information to evaluate the necessary and unnecessary expenditure and track occupancy of patients in the hospital. This is in fact quite critical mostly during emergencies where incoming patients have to be admitted once they have received triage assessment. Generally, the implementation of a single CHMS would have a significant impact on enhancing the quality of care and efficient operations in the health organization.
Stakeholders Impacted by this Project
Considering that the computerized hospital management system is an efficient and safe infrastructure for a health organization, implementing this project would impact patients, health professionals, and management. With this system which has a variety of functions, patients would benefit by engaging with different clinicians through the patient portal and getting access to information concerning their personal health (Olamide et al., 2015). Today’s patients are more engaged in knowing the kind of treatment they are getting for their health conditions. Therefore, the portals would help them access all the information they want to know about their health. Also, there are instances where it is difficult for patients to attend scheduled appointments with their physicians due to a number of issues such as movement challenges or financial setbacks. Other times, the lack of adequate doctors in this hospital since it is in rural settings also make it difficult for the patients to get a chance to see their doctor. Therefore, to overcome these challenges, the patient portal would come in handy in by helping such patients regardless of their location to access doctors in the health facility. Further, this system would have an impact on the medical team. For instance, with handheld devices such as pens, note pads, blood pressure meters, and thermometers, nurses would manage to collect accurate information from their patients. The functions of these handheld devices are connected with the CHMS; therefore, this would help in reducing recording errors which arise when nurses input the patients’ information manually. Hence, for outpatient services, quick data collection would reduce the time patients spend in the health facility. Most importantly, the management would also reap positive outcomes such as generating high revenue. On this note, the provision of quick services due to the eased functions would enable the healthcare organization to serve many clients, unlike other facilities that have not integrated technology in their functions.
Patient Outcome(S) or Patient-Care Efficiencies this Project is Aimed at Improving
With this project, it is evident that patients, health professionals, and the overall health organization will be directly impacted. Generally, this project will improve patient-care efficiencies in the delivery of quality healthcare. In this case, the active involvement of the medical team is required to comprehend how to handle the computerized technologies that come with the CHMS. This is necessary so that when they are delivering healthcare services they do so competently. For instance, in the finance department, the personnel would manage to improve patient-care efficiencies. They would achieve this by ensuring that there are no missing records, duplicate records or delays when preparing bills for the medical services patients receive. The automated functions with the CHMS will improve data management thus help the staff to be at ease when delivering patient care.
The Technology Required to Implement this Project
To achieve improving patient-care efficiency, the technology that will be required is the hospital management software which facilitates performance standards in all areas in the hospital. This software would allow the management of Mamlaka Healthcare Organization to have a single point of control and ensuring that there is better coordination of activities in different departments. This is because the different components in this software provide diagnostic support where the user community comprising of physicians, administrators, nurses, and researchers among others collaborate to improve healthcare.
The Project Team and Their Roles
In this project, the team will be headed by the project manager whose role will be ensuring that there is proper coordination in the implementation of the hospital management software. Further, the head of management in the hospital will ensure that there are enough equipment and finances for the project. The project will also have two clinical analysts who will ensure that networks are well maintained and upgraded regularly. An infrastructure manager will also be needed to identify the limitations and risks within the project plan. Another important team member will be a database specialist who will ensure that the databases in the hospital management software are functioning as required. The project will also incorporate a nurse informaticist. This team member will interpret the results of analytics and identifying how to reduce errors by addressing quality issues in different departments to promote healthcare efficiencies (McCormick, & Saba, 2015). The nurse informaticist will monitor and evaluate the measurable outcomes of care and provide a comprehensive report of the effectiveness of implementing the project in the health organization.
Conclusion
Overall, Mamlaka Healthcare Organization has the opportunity of being an outstanding health facility that puts the safety and quality care of patients at interest. This is evident if only the leadership in this organization takes steps in approving the proposal of implementing CHMS to enhance patient care. The organization will also benefit by increasing its profitability and also gaining a positive reputation against its competitors. Generally, the use of computerized systems will enable the organization to fit in the current universal technological trends where automated functions are making work easier in health organizations.
Reference
McCormick, K., & Saba, V. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics. McGraw-Hill Education.
Olamide, O., Adedayo, E., & Abiodun, O. (2015). Design and Implementation of Hospital Management System Using Java. IOSR Journal of Mobile Computing & Application, 2(1).
Sewell, J. (2018). Informatics and Nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Social and Emotional Development Regarding Divorce
To Prepare:
Choose two of the following aspects of social and emotional development:
Relationship with and interactions between mother, father, siblings
Quality of peer relationships
Empathy
Expression of emotion
Emotion regulation (e.g., impulse control)
Romantic relationship formation/success
Choose a developmental stage to focus on in this Discussion (e.g., preschool years, middle childhood, adolescence, emerging adulthood). (Note: If you choose emerging adulthood, please make sure you focus on the development of individuals 18–25 whose parents are divorcing.)
Consider how divorce has been shown to impact that aspect of development in the short and long term.
By Day 4
Post an analysis of how divorce has been shown to impact the aspect of social and emotional development that you selected, both within the first 2 years after the divorce as well as long term (e.g., into adulthood). Reference at least two peer-reviewed articles beyond this week’s Learning Resources to support the arguments you present in your post.
Social and Emotional Development Regarding Divorce
Divorce has negative impacts in the adolescence developmental stage. Mainly at this stage, when the dissolution of marriage occurs, the children are profoundly impacted since this is a time they have heightened sensitivity. The transition period, therefore, makes the adolescents vulnerable to any changes that may occur in the family structure or other close relationships. In the first two years, it becomes quite challenging for the parents as well as the adolescents to cope with the new family arrangements of the separated parents. Divorce leads to adverse short-term and long-term effects on the quality of peer relations and the expression of emotions aspects of social and emotional development in the adolescent stage.
The Short-Term Impacts
Once the parents have divorced, a significant short-term effect is that the children become rebellious and resistant to following the rules set at home. This mostly happens as a result of feelings of anger and hatred due to the separation. During the adolescent stage, children are encountered with identity crises since; they try to develop their individuality so that they are independent of their parents. That is why at this stage, the children value the relationships they develop with their peers than with their families. In social development, peer relationships have a significant influence on the individuality of the adolescents (Clarke-Stewart, & Parke, 2014). In this case, the children are not able to control their bitterness which they extend to their peers, and this affects the quality of the friendships.
Another short-term effect on the aspects of expression of emotions is that the adolescents struggle expressing their feelings concerning the divorce which leads to stress. They develop emotions of guilt, shame, grief, sadness, and even abandonment. Such emotions overwhelm them to a point they are not able to adjust to the situation. This forces them to socially withdraw themselves from their peers, families and the society which is the other short-term effect. Also, children in the adolescent stage are not able to cope and communicate openly when they are exposed to stressful situations. Unfortunately, this contributes to a decline in their academic performance. The academic performance is affected as a result of dropout rates, failing to attend classes and poor concentration in class. For instance, when there are no proper arrangements on who is to take care of the children’s education and overall well-being, the parent that ends up with the children may experience financial challenges. This is a significant stressor that the adolescents are not able to openly communicate about with their already stressed parent (Dunsmore, et al., 2009).
The Long-Term Impacts
The adolescents are not able to maintain good relationships with their peers so; they end up in wrong peer groups where they are introduced to drugs and other substances. In the long run, they become drug addicts, alcoholics, pickpockets, or even thugs. They mostly do so to further infuriate or rebel against their divorced parents. Still, the peers develop premature intimate relationships which lead to teenage pregnancies. The shame from the actions makes the adolescents have low self-esteem which affects their psychological growth. Still, the quality of peer relationships may diminish since the adolescents become insecure which affects their future friendships.
In the case of expression of emotions, since the adolescents cannot communicate openly about their feelings, it increases their stress levels, and this leads to health issues such as mental disorders. This happens because the parents are not usually emotionally and physically present to interact and share problems with their children. Such gaps leave the children vulnerable to mental conditions like depression. Approximately 3-8% of adolescents suffer from depression whereby the rate of depression in the adolescent girls is reported to be high (Meichenbaum, 2010). This is because girls at this stage are more prone to be affected by unhealthy environments because of the hormonal changes in their bodies which increase their sensitivity.
The above short-term and long-term effects can be prevented if the separated parents are cooperative in ensuring that the adolescents adjust to the new family arrangements. For instance, they should maintain loving relationships with their children as well as prioritizing their needs. Also, they should encourage open communication and ensure that as they co-parent, they should actively listen to their adolescent children. Most importantly, the parents should take time before they involve themselves in other relationships. This enables the children to have an adequate time of adjusting to the separation. Otherwise, new relationships make the parents have divided attention which affects the adjustment process of their children. Also, intervention programs should be considered since the children learn how to manage stress, communicate, regulate their emotions, as well as adjust to the changes.
References
Clarke-Stewart, A., & Parke, R. D. (2014). Social development (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Dunsmore, J. C., Her, P., Halberstadt, A., & Perez-Rivera, M. B. (2009). Parents’ beliefs about emotions and children’s recognition of parents’ emotions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33(2), 121–140
Meichenbaum, D. (2010, May). Child and adolescent depression and suicide: Promising hope and facilitating change. In At the 14th Annual Conference May (Vol. 7).
Global pandemics have been known to have adverse repercussions on businesses. For instance, the worldwide covid-19 epidemic has caused many small businesses to close their doors due to the high losses incurred. However, some companies continue to flourish during such difficult economic times. One of the critical elements that make businesses benefit more from catastrophic events is the gained economies of scale. An example of companies that have gained market advantages due to the corona pandemic is the Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. and the UnitedHealth Group.
Did Nurse Joserine 
To Prepare:
To Prepare: