Category: Unit 1

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Assignment 1 – Clarifying Your Research Interest

The four interests I chose for this concept map are social justice, literature, leadership, and family.  My concept map produced five research questions from the combination of these personal and professional interests. The three questions that seem most interesting are:

  1. Housing stability positively effects addictions recovery, but how can leaders further support our guests’ transition into housing to encourage change?
  2. Are the systems between hospitals, organizations, and the city effective in connecting our clients to the right resources?
  3. What systems could be implemented to encourage innovation from the team to initiate change?

To further narrow down these questions, I felt the strongest one of the three is: Are the systems between hospitals, organizations, and the city effective in connecting our clients to the right resources? Working in the downtown east side community of Vancouver, organizations such as hospitals, non-profits, and the Ministry share clients. We all aim to help our clients make progress in areas such housing, their addictions, and health, but there is often a communication gap and a lack of understanding about one another’s available services and resources. This creates frustrations as organizations send clients to services that do not fit their needs, and each organization faces the same need of understanding the individual’s situation from the beginning. With a better communication system, a shared network of knowledge about a client or of resources could be achieved and further our client’s progress greatly. Also, as my third question indicates, I am in pursuit of finding productive and engaging ways of encouraging innovation and ideas from a team, and I believe the question chosen prepares a venue to explore this second idea of innovation. Surveying my team’s and other organization’s ideas on how to achieve better communication between organizations would certainly help me delve into different systems that effectively collect these ideas. Beyond surveying people in the social work sector, I plan to explore literature in the healthcare, leadership, religion, and business fields to inform my question.

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Response

This is a response to Oliver’s post – https://create.twu.ca/oplearning/2018/01/06/learning-activity-1-2/

Thank you for sharing your decision-making process. My decision-making process shares many similarities with the questions you ask, and that sense of caring “too much about one person’s opinion” and allowing it to make you question your decision is certainly relatable. I am the youngest female member of a male dominant team, and in comparison, I hold much less experience with our work. Along with these qualities, I am an introvert who does not enjoy confrontation. Despite all the items listed, I am put in a leadership role on my team where I must enforce certain policies and confront staff to complete certain tasks. I mull over my emails multiple times to perfect the language before sending modify my conversations to lighten the weight of the issue at hand to avoid negative feelings. I often question whether this hyper-awareness of my words and position as a young woman on a diverse team of men is necessary. Although I continue to struggle with this question, my role has taught me much about working with a culturally diverse team with many personal backgrounds. I learnt of the needs to be flexible and patient in trying to understand my team’s worldview. Each team member has his or her own quirk, cultural dispositions, and passions. Because my role connects me to each member of our team, I have learnt and continue learning how to better communicate and support each member by adapting my language, posture, and tone to each person. Mirroring, the concept of mirroring the gestures and attitude of another, is a great tool in leadership. In my experience, this technique has helped me build trust with my team mates and allowed them to feel understood. As leaders, I believe it is important to acknowledge the difference in views with our followers and allow safe space for them to express their perspectives. Although I also battle with the balance of understanding and caring for a team mate and persisting in the decision I make as a leader, I still believe it is important to allow others’ perspectives to instigate questions for my reasoning behind a decision. As much as I hate it, opposing views help me ask great question for critical thinking. To answer your question specifically, I say, leaders should accept that others will hold different worldviews, try to understand their perspectives, and allow these different insights shape your worldview.

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LDRS591, Unit 1, Activity 1.3

Patton (2001) discusses the difference between the popular use of anecdotal learning lessons from  “research and theory” (p.332) based lessons. Patton (2001) states that evidence-based lessons and leadership is best practice as they “reduce uncertanity, offer illumination, elighten funders and staff […], enhance communications, and facilitate sharing of perceptions” (p.332). This is contrasted with popular ideas that lose “its substance and meaning” (p. 333) due to essons not derived from research but anecdotal experiences. The quality of the practice or lesson can be measured by “one’s confidence in the transferability […] of a supposed lesson learned” (p.334).

Trybus (2007) discusses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act’s mandate of requiring educators in the U.S. to only teach curriculum backed by Scientifically Based Research (SBR). This is fueled by constant pressures to improve programs. Acceptable evidence to these leaders, or educators, follow the mold of traditional scientific disciplines – empiricism, data analyses, and peer scientific review (p.5). The components of acceptable research studies are outlined clearly by the NCLB(p.6), and pre-judged bodies of scientific knowledge were created for educators. In the past, “professional wisdom” was the dominant compass for making teaching decisions (p.8). By integrating said wisdom with SBR evidence, it is the hope of educators that more nuanced solutions will come about and encourage teachers to feel they are “part of the process” while strengthening the education field as a whole (p.8).

Walshe and Rundall (2001) discuss the rise of evidence-based solutions that close an important gap between research and clinical practice (p.430). They present various examples of what happens when evidence-based doesn’t make it to clinical practice, leading to certain interventions being overused , underused, and misuse (p.431). Agencies in various countries established databases and “evidence-based practice centers to produce and disseminate evidence reports and technology assessments” (p.434). Along with these agencies, the Center for Health Management Research (CHMR) was established to bridge the differing ideas of how to apply the research in practice (p.440-446). It accomplishes this by building an evidence-based culture by drawing upon a common body of research and designing research questions that help health care organizations make decisions (p.446-449).

As the authors discussed, good leadership depends on sound research, or evidence. Dictionary.com defines evidence as “that which tends to prove or disprove something.” The information an organization chooses to use must be proven. Beyond the importance of best practices, practicing well in the health sector, and educating students with facts, evidence-based decision-making is crucial because truth is important to society. If individuals or organizations made decisions based on personal understandings or experience, there would be no true understanding of what is good and what is real. There is a moral obligation for organizations and people to research and disseminate truth.

Where have you witnessed the negative outcome of misinformation, and what were the results?

Reference

Patton, M. Q. (2001). Evaluation, Knowledge Management, Best Practices, and High Quality Lessons Learned. American Journal Of Evaluation, 22(3), 329.

Trybus, M. (2007). Understanding Scientifically Based Research: A Mandate or Decision Making Tool?. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 73(4), 5-8.

Kieran Walshe, a., & Thomas G. Rundall, a. (2001). Evidence-Based Management: From Theory to Practice in Health Care. The Milbank Quarterly, (3), 429.

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LDRS591, Unit 1, Activity 1.2

My decision-making process as a leader begins with the consideration of its significance and potential effects on myself, my team, and organization. If the decision requires a quick response with little potential of harm (i.e. the potential negative effect is easily correctable and effects few individuals), I rely on previous experience and values to decide on the course of action. At work, I make regular scheduling decisions where I fill in shift gaps that occur in the absence of our regular staff. My priority is to fill in the mandatory positions, and this may require certain shifts left unfilled due to a shortage of on-call staff – flu season is a scary season! While my team may be left understaffed, I know with warning they are capable of serving our clients well. My staffing decisions effect the team, but my team is able to combat the negative effects. Conversely, I take time to consult other’s opinions and find information on available options when I face decisions with a greater harm potential. Hiring poorly certainly holds the potential of harming the team and company. When conducting the interview process, the interviewee speaks to multiple individuals on the leadership team and myself as we seek to find the right candidate that best fits the needs and culture of our team. Beyond considering my values and previous experience, larger decisions such as hiring require greater critical thinking that seeks to understand the implications of each considered option.

As mentioned, my values influence my decisions daily. My understanding of what is right and true is shaped by my culture, education, and religion. This aligns with the proposition the authors of “What is Inquiry” discuss: one’s worldview influences “the types of questions that you ask as well as the processes that you use to find the answers to your questions” (“What is Inquiry”). As an individual of Chinese descent born and raised in Canada, there are clear differences between the decision-making processes I find between Chinese and Western cultures. Personally, the collectivistic nature of Chinese culture poses questions and decisions based on the outcomes effect on the group of individuals influenced by the decision, while the individualistic nature of Western culture poses questions and decisions more central to its effect on the decision maker. This example of collectivistic and individualistic influence is also found in my work place. My team is composed of individuals from numerous cultures and personal experiences that shaped their worldview. Some come from a history of physical abuse or addictions, while others come from loving families. Despite these differences, my workplace is a Christian workplace, and this similarity shapes our shared values and understanding of good to guide our shared vision of showing grace and helping our struggling clients.

Have you experienced oppositions between team members due to their collectivistic and individualistic perspectives? If so, how was it resolved?

Reference

InterfacetTraining (2010). Cultural dimension: me or we. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW7aWKXB5J4

What is inquiry. (n.d.). Leadership 591: Scholarly Inquiry. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-1-notes/

Questions from: https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-1-learning-activities/

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LDRS591, Unit 1, Assignment 1.1

My post-secondary education in English literature presented assignments that asked me to “research” certain topics. My understanding of research was investigating what scholars discussed. In contrast to this definition, Plano-Clark and Creswell (2015) define research as “a process of steps used to collect and analyze information in order to increase our knowledge about a topic or issue” (p.4). This definition of research poses the systematic process of research where a question is posed, data is collected, and data is analyzed to formulate an answer (Plano-Clark & Creswell, 2015, p.4). The “research” I was asked to perform during my degree did not consist of these steps, and is instead defined as literature review, theoretical discussion, and opinion papers (p.5). Beyond my high school science classes, my experience with research is limited due to the nature of my degree. In recent years, the only memorable research that fits Plano-Clark & Creswell’s (2015) definition is in the research studies I studied in psychology. Do you see research playing a role in the liberal arts?

Currently, my role as an administrative assistant in a non-profit organization that serves a community struggling with poverty, homelessness, and addictions in Vancouver does not require extensive research. While I do read research such BC’s Homeless Count Report to better understand the continual rise of homelessness in Vancouver, I must admit, I do not intentionally seek other research about the homeless or addictions situation. My personal education of these issues come through News reports, but these come with biases and cannot be defined as research; once again, I am learning from opinion papers and not research. While my role does not require research, I recognize my need of understanding the situation my organization is trying to address through data. Would you have a suggestion of where I can begin reading more research on homelessness and addictions issues?

As the administrative assistant, I work closely with the supervisors of our team. I am often a logistical resource for our team, and they come to me with a range of questions and problems. On one occasion when our supervisors were absent, a pregnant team member entered my office with tears after finding blood in her urine. Her doctor told her to go to the hospital, but she was unable to contact her husband to drive her. Understanding the need to make a decision in the absence of our supervisors, I quickly assessed our current staffing needs, transportation options, policies, and our team value of grace. I booked a company vehicle, asked a teammate to drive, implemented a scheduling plan to fill in the staffing gaps, and contacted our manager about the decision. I made a decision based on the organizational values, past experience, and policies.

References

BC Non-Profit Housing Association & M. Thomson Consulting. (2017). 2017 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver [Data File]. Retrieved from http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/homelessness/HomelessnessPublications/2017MetroVancouverHomelessCount.pdf

Britten, L. (2017, Sep. 26). Homeless count finds housing affordability crisis numbers up. CBC News. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-homeless-count-2017-1.4308345

Plano-Clark, V., Cresweel, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide (2nd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Questions from: https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-1-learning-activities/