Development of Quality players Essay Example for Free

Development of Quality players Essay On a performance perspective, the LTA stated some à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7.3m has been spent on delivering the LTA Performance programme. This is set to provide financial support to more than 600 talented youngsters aged 8 to 21 years old. (LTA, 2002) The performance programme is constituted of six stages. Initially beginning with Mini-tennis (4 8 year olds), then progressing to Club Futures (8 10year olds), County Futures (11-13 year olds), National Futures(11 13 year old), Academies and Intermediates (14 -22 year olds) and Seniors. The development of such a structure has mainly down to the former French performance director of the LTA, Patrice Hagelauer, and his knowledge and implementation of the French development system. Originally seven Tennis Academy centres were proposed but due to the lack of junior talent coming through this was rationalised to four centres namely Bath, Leeds, Loughborough, and Welwyn Garden city. The Loughborough academy alone is costing the LTA à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2m. In addition to this a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30m (Harris, 2001) National Centre is in the pipeline and is due to be built at Roehampton and subject to planning process should be ready by 2006. This is set to consist of 6 indoor, 4 grass, 6 hard and 6 clay courts, gymnasium, player and coach support services, accommodation and medical centre. The LTA is likely to meet the majority of costs for the centre although The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc are lending a proportion of building costs. This development has been met with mixed reactions Mark Petchey Sky TV presenter commented Once again the LTA have their priorities wrong. Unless good youngsters are coming through, the National centre will be a white elephant. Indeed it has been further commented that the belief that there is a misconception that we have talented youngsters (Bob Brett) in the last 10 years there has only been 2 juniors in the International Tennis Federations top 50. One of the key suggestions causing the lack of talented juniors is the quality of coaches in Britain. On 2002 spending figures only 3% of the budget was allocated to coach education. There are currently 2,100 LTA licensed coaches working in clubs in the UK (Jago, 2002). Although that may sound substantial when this figure is put along side the total number of registered player (116,588) it amounts to one coach for every 55 players. The comparison of this to the Frenchs excess of 4000 licensed coaches clearly illustrates we have some catching up to go (Jago, 2002). The LTA aims to initially identify talent through the nations club system. Yet the current established club structure is will behind that of France and Germany. (Figure 5) France has some 9,200 clubs compared to the 2,400 on Britain (Fordyce, 2002). In addition most of the clubs in France have five courts and a clubhouse. Around 8000 of them were built and maintained by cities and local authorities, each one costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000. The idea of which would be a dream to the LTA and leave them with a substantially greater proportion of finance to invest in more for coaches, development programmes and competition structures (Jago, 2002) The culture of British tennis clubs may also be to blame. Tennis clubs in Britain might be a pleasant place for an adult to play a few sets on a Sunday afternoon but they do little to help the country produce future champions. The former performance director Patrice Hagelauer, stated The culture is one of leisure and social tennis which is great, if you also have junior tennis and competitive tennis, but at a lot of clubs, that is not there (Fordyce, 2002).  However, the key to developing successful players may not lie in the relatively expensive problems of increasing the number of clubs, courts and coaches but may be more with how we deal with potential talent and develop it. The LTA currently relies on talent selection, which is a process of differentiating between those young performers who are already in the sport in order to provide those with the greatest potential with opportunities for advanced level training, support and competition. However, there are a number of disadvantages with this method. Initially it relies on juniors to be playing the game and it has been shown that we currently fall behind in this area. Also, individuals usually compete with others in a similar age group and the most talented from that age group stand out. Selection of success at this young age may not be a direct indicator of potential due to the fact that it fails to take into account the varying maturation levels evident in individuals of the same age that actually dictates there power and strength due to their greater size evidently providing an advantage to those who have had a faster maturity rate. This may go some way in explaining why those talented at that young age and are selected to be developed fail to continue through and emerge and successful players on the senior circuit. It is obvious that this current method which the LTA employs doesnt seem to working very well. Our only two players in the top 100 have been described as an accident and a foreigner (Roberts, 2002). Tim Henmans talent was tutored in a privately-run development scheme, and Greg Rusedski, was developed in the Canadian tennis system. Around the world other countries seem to have realised more efficient way of finding talented individuals. Much of the sporting success of Australia has been down to the realisation back in 1988 by the Australian Institute of Sport and particularly Dr Allan Hahn that it is no longer possible to have a reliance on club systems to deliver talent at an elite level. He stated that to continue to be internationally competitive, we must actively seek to unearth the talent. Talent searches initially implemented in rowing spread to a wide variety of sports, and following the announcement in 1994 of Australia to host the Sydney Olympics back in 2000 their in Federal Government allocated $500,000 a year for two years for national talent identification. The success of many Australian athletes at these games demonstrated the significance of such a programme (AIS, 2003). Subsequently in 2002, the tennis specific talent search was implemented namely the Targeted Athlete Project (TAP). The program is individually designed to each player in the scheme to make them a better player. Each player is assessed upon joining TAP and areas of weakness identified. Funds are then allocated to addressing these problems (Tennis Australia, 2003) This programme aims to support 30 of Australias best boys and 30 of there most talented girls. Current members of the programme range from the ages of 11 to the oldest, 22-year-old Evie Dominikovi. With this system in place, Australia, who currently possesses the worlds number one in the male game, Lleyton Hewitt, will no doubt create many more players of international calibre. The adoption of such a scheme may make considerable financial sense for the LTA. Through the development of a screening process that identifies key multivariate constituents of a successful elite player more appropriate funding can be targeted at a limited number of individuals who it is known that they possess the right psychological, physiological, skill/decision making and even sociological aptitudes necessary for success. A system implemented in schools would not just limit the search to those who are currently active in tennis. This would eliminates both the players frustration of continued participation in a sport that they are not physiologically suited to and will prevent wasting finances on developing a talent that never had the potential to make it to the top, thus allowing the LTA to get the most out of its limited resources.  Can we develop talent and increase participation numbers simultaneously? The LTA may have set itself an impossible task of increasing player numbers and developing better quality players with the current finances. In an attempt to achieve both finances are spread too thinly and neither is achieved successfully. It is evident that these two aims may not be as mutually supportive as the LTA consider them to be. Indeed it has long been stated the key to possessing high numbers of elite sports players from a nation is to have a broad base of participation and the broader the base the increase in likely hood and probability there is of finding quality players. There are several critical flaws in this assumption and there are anomalies in statistics that prove so. Figure 6 demonstrates the weak relationship between these two variables and an increase in players is by no means a necessary pre-requisite for developing large numbers of elite performances. This is clearly highlighted in the case of Russia which has double the amount of tennis players Britain has in the top 100 yet has a 1/18th of the amount of total registered players (ETA 2000). Indeed although increasing the number of players may not have a direct effect on the number of elite players, the concentration of efforts in talent identification and development which will produce a greater number of elite players may have a combined effect in inspiring more players to take up the game; increasing the sports national profile and subsequent possibility of an increase in the sports allocation of financial assistance from national sources which would assist in broadening participation.

Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

PEARL : Believable or Not Pearl could, or could not be a believable character in The Scarlet Letter depending on how the reader interprets Pearls’ actions and speech. I plan to prove that Pearl could be believable, and that she could net be believable. Throughout the book Pearl either says or does things that are not typical of a girl of her age. After Hester talks to Chillingworth, Pearl is asked if she knows why Hester wears the scarlet letter. Pearl replies, â€Å"It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart†. I do not believe that a seven your old girl could be observant enough to discover that the same reason that Dimmesdale puts his hand over his heart is the same reason that Hester wears the scarlet letter. If the whole town did not discover that there was something going on between Dimmesdale and Hester, then how could pearl? Another example that Pearl is not a believable child is when Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale are talking in the forest, and Dimmesdale decides to give Pearl a kiss. Pearl then walks over to the brook and washes off the kiss. Pearl seemed to like Dimmesdale previous to this incident, and now all of a sudden, she does not like Dimmesdale enough to not wipe off his kiss? Yet another example that Pearl is not a believable child is when she is walking in the woods alone, she says, â€Å"Why art thou so sad? Pluck up a spirit, and do not be all the time sighing and murmuring!". If a young girl believes that a brook can be sad, that shows some serious mental problems. Most children would think of a brook as a brook, not a sad brook, and tell it to pluck up its spirit. Also in the forest when Pearl is talking to Hester, Pearl says, â€Å"And so it is! And, mother, he has his hand over his heart! Is it because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man set his mark in that place? But why does he not wear it outside his bosom, as thou dost, mother?†. I do not believe that Pearl would know that Arthur Dimmesdale has sinned, and even if she did know, how could she be smart enough to know that he wore his shame in secrecy.

Ministry of Sound Case Study

1.From the offset Ministry of sound has had to deal with numerous environmental factors that has fashioned the club in the early stages and in the later years. Weather it has hindered its development or accelerated it is up for analysis. During the early stages logistically they had to deal with the issue of the clubs location being in a high crime rate borough of Southwark situated in Elephant & Castle. Also with â€Å"Acid House† derived music, the nightclub inherited the underground rave culture that is synonymous with the designer drugs of the 90’s such as ecstasy. The national drug offences crime rate is at 4.5 were as Southwark council is 18.6 far exceeding national average, this is shown in appendix 1. These factors could have been detrimental to the development of the club and portray the label in a negative public image. In addition with the security team fuelling the drug trade within the club could be seen as one of the principle threats. But with the overhaul of the security team and the zero tolerance on drugs, they managed to change the clubbing ethos to a cleaner and safer environment. During the later stages one of the weakness could be the commercialisation of the brand, loosing the â€Å"edgy† and â€Å"underground† crowd that established the club. However this also means commercial success with ministry of sounds DJ Eric Prydz â€Å"call on me† reaching number 1 for 16 weeks in 2004. 2.The capabilities of ministry of sound has vastly increased over its life span with itself becoming a brand, gaining brand recognition. Which could be now recognised as a worldwide music lifestyle. With its product portfolio ranging from; record labels, branded apparel/electronics, worldwide tours, radio and fitness DVD’s. it has outgrown its venue in south London from just a nightclub to a movement, being able to influence popular music trends and unearthing new styles and genre of music. Ministry of sound has now achieved a significant presence within the industry, which allows the company to expand and diversify its product portfolio successfully within the mainstream markets. 3.To identify the main stakeholders we have to differentiate the qualities and recognise the levels of significance they hold to the organisation. We can do this by analysing stakeholders by categorising them, such as internal and external stakeholders and by using the power interest matrix as shown in appendix 2. There are 4 categories within the power interest matrix that we can apply to Ministry of sound. The fist being A â€Å"minimal effort† which is low power and low interest, they do not have any authority they can exert onto the organisation. Then there is B â€Å"keep informed† these stakeholders have high interest and limited ability to influence directly, for example those who visit the nightclubs and events and retail customers. However they do expect a high quality service or product, whilst expecting a euphoric experience. Category C â€Å"keep satisfied† are stakeholders that have low level interest but can exert change relatively easily, such as government bodies or local authorities. Their expectations seem to be generic to all other organisations, follow laws and regulations and act coherently within society. Lastly being arguably the most important stakeholders are D â€Å"key players† these are employees and investors like venture capitalists 3i, who are key players in ministry of sound organisation. Expecting good return on investment and dividends, whilst expanding creating growth and longevity for the company. 4.Strategic choices at this point are vital to the prosperity and future of Ministry of Sound. They are required in this case to develop their strategies to improve the performance of the organisation in accordance to their external factors. Taken from Johnson, Scholes and whitington â€Å"Exploring corporate strategy† states there is a strategic model were a business route will be taken in relation to three requirements. Suitability, does it make economical sense? Also would it be suitable in context of environment and capabilities. So if Ministry decided to open a new super-club in Dubai, would it make economical sense? Dubai may have high levels of disposable income within its population, but the market may not be as strong or cultural differences may occur. Another is a financially superior competitor may invest more entering the market. Feasibility, are the resources available to execute the strategy? Includes cash flow analysis break-even analysis and forecasting. Acceptability, this is in relation to the risk involved in the project and the returns gained. Also to do with stakeholders, it requires the company to review the reactions and the possibilities of the venture. 5.Another factor they should include is when entering new markets and countries, they should employ mid level native managers. This is to extract local knowledge of laws and cultural differences, in order to maximise company competency within the new country. So when considering reorganisation and the three divisions, each need to be catered in forms of correct management style and strategy implementation. I agree with the reorganisation of the company as it separates departmental aims and outcomes. This intern specialises each department, however the company should employ previously successful and experienced department managers. This would ensure the running of the departments to be more efficient and productive. In conclusion the reorganisation is key to the development of company, and now relies on the implementation of the key strategies. With the rearrangement of the company, different aspects can get specialisation and close focus rather then being neglected that could be detrimental to the organisation. This is imperative for long term orientation of the product portfolio and expansion prospects. Bibliography http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8468372.stm

Create a Reflective Piece Using The Gibbs Reflective Model - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2143 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Level High school Did you like this example? Create a reflective piece using the Gibbs Reflective Model which identifies an incident in the workplace where there was a lack of leadership. Use critical analysis of a reflective cycle to explore how this incident has increased your knowledge and understanding of professional practice with respect to the values and behaviour s in the field of nursing, and how future your behaviours will change. Definition of Gibbs Reflective Cycle Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) is a tool used by numerous professionals, including (but not limited to) health professionals, education workers and those in leadership positions: its purpose is to assist practitioners in reflection, which contributes to continuous personal development (CPD) and helps to ensure that a person is continually learning and improving in their role. The idea is to systematically reflect on a particular situation to ensure that all aspects have been considered and evaluated, as this will assist the reflector in understanding what to do next time they are in a similar situation. The process consists of the following steps: Click to Expand Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Create a Reflective Piece Using The Gibbs Reflective Model" essay for you Create order Description: What happened? Feelings: What were you thinking/feeling? Evaluation: What was good about the experience? What was bad about it? Analysis: What sense can be made of the situation? What was really going on, as opposed to what you may have perceived? Conclusion: What was the end result à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" how well did you think you managed the situation overall? What else could you have done in the situation? Action plan: If the situation occurred again, what would you do? Would you act differently? Is there a skill you can develop or something you can learn to help you to be better equipped next time? Introduction The incident I will be reflecting on occurred whilst I was placed with the vascular team. We had received a request for a duplex carotid scan for a patient on ITU who had been admitted due to a large stroke. Upon arrival we read her notes which highlighted significant aphasia and difficulties with communication. The nurse also informed us that the patient had a long standing memory problem and as a result of this, she did not remember why she had been admitted and would become very distressed when her stroke was discussed. When we approached her to perform the scan we found that she was under minimal sedation and was having assistance from a ventilator. The scan was completed without difficulty and we began to document our findings in the notes. A nurse came onto the ward with two members of the public in order to show them around ITU before the mans surgery. This has been a long-standing protocol which strives to decrease worry before a planned stay in ITU. The members of the p ublic were brought to the bedside where the nurse began to explain what the equipment was and what it was used for. The nurse made no effort to introduce the members of the public or herself to the patient. She also glanced at the patients notes and then informed the members of the public that she had been admitted to ITU because of a stroke. Upon hearing this, the patient became overtly distressed and had to be more heavily sedated after the nurse in charge of her care could not calm her by talking in a soothing manner. This event clearly caused undue anxiety to both the patient and members of the public, in addition to the members of staff who bore witness to the incident. The incident was reported using an in-house critical incident report by both myself and staff from ITU as this was a breach of patient confidentiality and poor practice. Interpretation of the incident Before the incident, I was aware that the nurse was showing the members of the public around the ITU in order to familiarise them with the ward. I was very surprised when the nurse did not check the patients notes beforehand, and the distress caused to both the patient and the members of the public was entirely unnecessary. To critically reflect upon this incident I shall use a well-known reflective cycle from Gibbs (1988). This model is cyclical and is unique because it includes emotions, knowledge, and actions and believes that experiences are repeated, which moves away from the model proposed by Kolb (1984). Some scholars, such as Zeichner and Liston (1996), believe that a wider and more flexible approach is needed by examining values in a critical light and how the practice of this can lead to changes in quality. Description The most important factor in this incident was the lack of intervention from myself or the other healthcare professionals. The nurse should have been made aware that this was not a suitable area to bring the members of the public to. I also assumed that there would not be disclosure of specific patient details as this would be a breach of patient confidentiality policies which are covered in numerous guidelines from the Healthcare Professions Council (HCPC, 2012) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC 2015). Feelings The main emotion that I felt in this situation was anxiety. I had been to ITU many times before and it is an environment in which I feel comfortable. I had not been to ITU to perform a carotid ultrasound before and I felt nervous as I wanted to perform the test well. I believe that, as a result of this, I moved some accountability to my senior colleague. I found the incident upsetting to witness as the distress was caused by a member of staff and their actions were avoidable. Evaluation My role was to complete the scan and establish the presence or absence of carotid disease, which I did. The results of the scan would have been used to determine the best course of management for this patient. It is important to note that acting in the patients best interests was also part of my role, and I feel that I did not fulfil this completely. The duty to protect patients and patient confidentiality at all times lies with all staff, including myself, my vascular colleague, and the ITU staff. Our failure to act as a team could be explained by Rutkowskis (1983) theory of group cohesiveness. This theory proposes that altruistic behaviour is dependent upon the social norm, and is defined as people helping those in need, and who are dependent upon them for help. Rutkowskis (1983) showed that the group is more likely to act in accordance with the perceived social norm if there is a high level of group cohesiveness. In the situation that I have described, neither my colleague nor I were familiar with the healthcare professionals on ITU and there may have been a low level of group cohesiveness as a result of this. Further work (Koocher Keith-Spiegel 2010) has demonstrated that irresponsible professional behaviour can be averted by informal interventions. People were found to be more likely to take action if they were the senior person in a situation, and most felt that a positive outcome was as a result of their intervention (Koocher Keith-Spiegel 2010). It is important to note that the way in which this outcome was measured (taken from data described as feelings after intervention), may have introduced bias as it is likely that participants felt pleased with their courage in acting in an appropriate manner, regardless of the outcome of the intervention. It is possible that their intervention garnered no difference in professional behaviour. It is important to note that cases of major misconduct, such as those which could result in harm to patients or dam age to the reputation of the Trust, should be dealt with by more formal routes. We completed an internal incident report which automatically flags the incident to senior clinicians and managers which would ensure that this incident was not unheeded. If this incident had not been reported, it would be an indicator of declining professionalism and acceptance of inferior standards of care. Tolerance of poor standards was highlighted by the Francis report (2013) as a consequence of poor staffing, policies, recruitment and training, and leadership. Analysis The patient had a jugular line in place, which I had anticipated would make the scan more difficult and therefore probably contributed to my increased level of anxiety. I feel that if I had not been as anxious I would have been more likely to intervene; however it is clear that both my colleagues and I should have intervened more quickly. I believe that an informal intervention as described by Koocher and Keith-Spiegel (2010) would have been appropriate in this situation. Conclusion Having witnessed the distress caused to both the patient and members of the public, I am now aware of the important of being more assertive if similar situations were to arise in future. Although I believe I should have intervened at the time, the experience I have gained from this has made me more aware of the important of always acting in the best interests of the patient even when this may take courage. I believe that having greater confidence in my ability to scan would have reduced my diffusion of responsibility and allowed me to act in a more autonomous fashion. There should also be a greater emphasis to establish strong working relationships between healthcare professionals to in turn increase levels of group cohesiveness (Rutkowski et al 1983). Action plan My future practice will involve becoming more proactive when I believe that there is a risk to patient confidentiality, and I will not assume that other members of staff will act in a professional manner at all times. I will continue to undertake reflective practice by using the model proposed by Gibbs (1988), and will aim to become confident when protecting patient confidentiality, particularly in situations where I am applying clinical skills which are new to me or that I do not feel completely confident with. As a trainee healthcare scientist, I aim to consistently implement the values and principles as set forth by the HCPC (2012) of a clinical scientist, and although this experience was difficult, I now feel that I have a greater understanding of these principles and values. Changes in norms and behaviours Due to the incident, I have formed a new set of behaviours. The first of these is that I will no longer assume that all members of staff will act in accordance with guidelines about patient confidentiality. Tied to this is a conscious effort on my part to refrain from assuming that I can predict the actions of other healthcare workers and I will always prioritise the welfare of patients in my care. Gibbs (1988) model has allowed me to critically reflect on my behaviours and has allowed me to identify aspects of my behaviour which may be detrimental. Critical reflection of this incident has made it clear that there is a deference to those I deem more senior than myself, perhaps due to a subconscious desire to maintain good working relationships. It is possible that the major obstacles which prevented me from speaking out in this incident were my perception of an authority gradient between myself and my colleague and low group cohesiveness. To prevent future events like this occur ring I will express any concerns about my clinical skills before beginning any procedures in order to both reduce any authority gradient and to also reduce the diffusion of responsibility as much as possible. I now feel more confident in protecting patient confidentiality and will aim to always embody the values and principles of a healthcare scientist. References Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking of the educative process. 2nd edition. New York: Heath and Company. Francis Report (2013), Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry, London: The Stationery Office. Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit. Hatton, N. and Smith, D. (1995). Reflection in Teacher Education: Towards Definition and Implementation. The University of Sydney: School of Teaching and Curriculum Studies. Healthcare Professionals Council (2012), Confidentiality à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" guidelines for registrants, London: Park House. Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Koocher, G. and Spiegel, K. S. (2010) Peers Nip Misconduct in the Bud, Nature, 466(2), 438-440 National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (1997) Dearing Report: Higher Education in the Learning Society. London: The Stationery Office. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2015) The Code for Nurses and Midwives. London: Park House. SchÃÆ' ¶n, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. How professionals think in action, London: Temple Smith. SchÃÆ' ¶n, D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Quality Assurance Agency (2001). Personal development planning: guidance for institutional policy and practice in higher education. Rutkowski, G. K., Gruder, C. L., Romer, D. (1983). Group cohesiveness, social norms, and bystander intervention, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(3), 545-552. Zeichner, K. and Liston, D. (1996) Reflective Teaching: an introduction. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.