Ethics Week

From this unit, I expected to learn what an ethics committee is and how they operate.  I also wanted to learn about who is involved in an ethics committee and how ethics plays a role in my nursing career and how I should operate in and around ethical issues.

I am not sure that I had ever really known anything about an ethics committee, and so I learned that there is a lot more to an ethics committee than I would have previously thought. I learned that an ethics committee can have guests sit on the board as needed to help in a given situation.  An ethics committee is made up of social workers, physicians, nurses, clergy, a lay person, and lawyers. It can be very difficult to try and have an unbiased opinion and look at the entire story before coming to any conclusions.

From the discussion that we had this week, I feel that a lot my team members thought the same way as me with the ethical decision on whether to stop dialysis for a vegetative state individual. We seemed to agree that it is important to gather all our information before we make a decision as an ethics committee and to hear all the different viewpoints. From the discussions, it is evident that we all come from different perspectives and backgrounds and that there can always be good & bad choices and consequences on both sides of the situation. It is difficult to come up with a final determination when you want what is best for both sides.

One of the biggest things that I have taken from this week is that I have resources available to me.  I will come across a number of ethical issues and decisions that will involve a patient of mine or me, and I need to make sure I know where to turn for information and support.  It is good to know that I have an ethics committee that can be utilized if the situation requires it.

Overall, I feel that ethical situations are all around us, and possibly even more than normal in nursing.  Because I currently work with older adults and death is probably closer to that population than any other, especially in the older adult population that is in the hospital with illness there are even more ethical situations that can arise.  I enjoyed the discussions that we had and the thoughts and feelings that it helped me to have hopefully before I would ever need to have them in a real life situation.  

Performance Appraisal Interview

For my interview, I interviewed a sales director, Jim, for a computer software company.  The following questions are the ones that my team came up with to ask for our interviews: 

1. How often are performance appraisals done?

 He stated that in his line of work, they are officially done monthly with each employee and also more regularly as needed.  The unofficial and more frequent times are more for the 1s and 2s than the 4s and 5s.

2. What questions do you usually ask?

 As they meet very regularly, these meetings are very brief and to the point.  They go over current sales in the pipeline.  They discuss prospects to getting more into the pipeline.  They look at the sales that were prospects but didn’t pan out and discuss the reasons it didn’t happen.  He said that he also asks what he could do to be a better manager and in what ways he can assist them to make the sales and the money they would like to make.

3. Have you ever had someone become angry during a performance review?

 Jim said that he has been doing this for so many years that there have been some angry employees, but most of the time they are upset with themselves.  He has said that he has only had to have one employee escorted out by security.  Because they meet so frequently, and he said that he makes himself so available to his team, the performance reviews are usually not a shock to anyone. 

4. What do you think is the most valuable takeaway from performing performance reviews?

 The takeaway is that he wants employees to know where they stand.  He doesn’t want anyone to feel blindsided by a decision that is made.  He wants to make sure that everyone knows where they stand with him and the rest of this managers. 

5. How many strikes does an employee get before they are terminated for repeat offenses?

 This is more dependent on the success of the employee, how often the offenses are taking place and what the offenses are.  In sales, things can often be overlooked due to exceptional performance.  So something such as tardiness may be a bigger deal for a new employee or one that is not performing than one that has been a proven salesman month after month.  Leniencies are granted to high performers as an additional incentive for performing.  For most employees, they use a 3 strike system. 

6. Is there an incentive program for reaching the company's highest level of appraisal?

 As all of these employees are in sales positions, the incentive program is essentially their pay structure.  The better they do at work, the higher their paychecks and commissions will be.  They don’t necessarily get anything extra for getting all 5s on their appraisals, but if they are continually receiving 5s and then have a bad month or two, this can and will often times be looked over due to previous high appraisals.  They also do several monthly daily and a few hourly competitions on a regular basis to incentivize the employees. 

7. Is the appraisal same for each employee? Or specific for each person/role?

 The appraisals are similar for each employee, but they are most definitely not the same.  Each employee is different, therefore, each appraisal will go a little bit different.  He does spend more time with his managers than he does with other employees, but that is just “the nature of the beast,” according to Jim. 

8.  Is the employee able to make any suggestions or set goals for the next appraisal?

 Goals are based on set of base standards as well as things such as the employee’s prior month’s sales performance, year-to –date sales analysis, and the prior year’s performance with a given set of accounts.  All of these things get evaluated to determine the desired goals for a given employee, but the employee definitely has input in this process. 

9. Do you believe appraisals are a helpful tool?

 As he stated before, Jim feels like appraisals are a great way to let the employees know where they stand.  It helps them to know where they can improve and the things that they do which are valued and appreciated. 

10. How do you positively reprimand or motivate employees who have poor work ethics or attitudes?

 As this is a very close team and there are constant meetings between team members and management, there would be a discussion about the behavior to work on a game plan to correct the behavior.  There would then be a 3 strike system put in place to help this get resolved.  As this is a sales team, things are not “fair.”  He actually hates the word “fair.”  The plan for one employee is not necessarily the same plan that would be used for another employee.

11. What is the factors that influence if the employee deserves a pay raise and do you discuss this during performance appraisals?

Every employee has their own pay and commission structure based on tenure with the company, base salary and other factors that are determined in regards to the products sold and other factors.  All of the commissions are unlimited, meaning that the amount that an employee earns is 100% dependent on the employee. 

12. What scale do you use for performance appraisals?

 He use a fairly basic 1-5 system to rate the employees on a number of different categories, and then gives an overall score to each employee.  5 is exceptional, 4 is exceeds all standards, 3 is for meeting the standards, 2 is needs improvement, and 1 is for unacceptable. 

13. Do you have employees do a self-evaluation and compare?

 He doesn’t do this every month, but about once a quarter or two times a year, Jim will ask the employees to rate themselves on certain things to get a sense of what they think of themselves.  This is a way to see if he is being clear with his appraisals and to see if they are on the same page as the employees. 

14. Do you do the evaluation by yourself or do you have someone in with you?

 This varies from time to time.  Because he meets monthly with his employees, he doesn’t always meet with another individual, but usually he does.  It depends on what they are going to be talking about and what position the employee holds in the company. 

15. How do you make performance appraisals a positive experience for those involved?

 He likes to keep it short and to the point.  He says that is the most positive experience he can provide.  Also, he is to the point.  He does bring up the things he appreciates about the employee and that they are doing well, but he also lets them know what needs to be improved upon. 

  

After having this interview, I realized that there is a lot that goes into an employee evaluation and the type of team or company will dictate the type or evaluation that is performed.  I think that I always assumed that there were just yearly evaluations and it was mostly to determine if there would be a raise or not.  The type of evaluation scale is similar to what I am used to seeing and what was discussed in our work this week, but obviously different companies look for different things from different employees.  I think that it is good to have a second employee involved in any sort of problem needing to be discussed with an employee.  Also, it nice to see that all employees have the possibility to reach the highest expectations as set forth by the company.  I like that there is a game plan and constant contact and connection made so the employee feels like the company wants them to succeed.  According to this sales director, “it is easier to keep an employee, than deal with the headache of letting them go and then looking for and hiring a replacement.”  Overall, I had a good time interviewing someone involved in the evaluation process at a company and learning more about it.  It is very interesting to see how different companies do them.  

Performance Appraisals and Problem Employees

At the beginning this unit, I expected to learn about performance appraisals and about how different companies do them. I expected to learn how to fire or let an employee go.

I learned that there are a lot of different things that can be done in a performance appraisal and the way that it takes place. I also learned that most of the time, nurses (and employees in general) are going to get the average score and not the highest ranking.  It is important that I don’t let an average score get me down and that I will use it as motivation to get a better rating the next year. I learned that Utah is an employment at will state and employers or employees do not have to give a reason for terminating employment.

I liked the multiple discussions that we had going for this week.  I learned a lot from my different teammates about their thoughts on performance appraisals and problems employees.  Choosing the greatest leader of all time is a very difficult one thing to do, especially coming to a consensus.  I never would have thought that when we are evaluating individuals that we are actually just comparing the person to the great leaders of all time.

I will be able to apply what I have learned this week to my nursing practice.  In the future, I will be able to understand where my manager is coming from when he/she gives me my employee performance rating. I will make sure to do all that is required of me in my RN position so that I'll be able to receive the best rating that I’m able to do.  It also gives me motivation in knowing what they are looking for, so that I can look for opportunities to increase my stock at the company in which I’m employed. 

I have learned a significant amount during this week.  I never knew what went into employee performance evaluation process.  I feel that it takes a lot to fire an employee which makes it nice that Utah is an employment at will.

Team Building Week

Before beginning this unit, I expected to learn how I can become a better team player.  I have learned that it is not nearly as much fun working on a paper as it is to be participating in an in class activity of team building with my classmates.  I learned that it is important to step back and let other people and their opinions be expressed.  There is more than one way to accomplish a task and the other opinions may be better than my own.

My feelings about the class activity was that it is not even close to the same when doing it outside of the normal class activity on campus.  As someone that has participated in this a couple of times now, I think that you are able to learn quite a bit more from activities such as those like this week than in normal class or anything online.  I would even say that if it is to be online, it should also be required to be online at the same time.

I will be able to apply the things learned from this week to my nursing practice by making sure that I'm an active listener, leader, and follower, depending on the times that each is needed.  I need to think about other opinions, instead of only looking at my own.  I will work to gain my co-workers trust and help them to know that they can rely on me.

I feel like this past week taught me a lot about myself and my team members.  I learned that we all have strengths and weakness.  We can put our coworkers in areas where they shine and help them to make their weakness strong.  Overall, I have to say that I wish I could have been there for the in class activity.

Interviewing an Interviewer

For my interview, I chose to interview a previous manager of mine, Jennifer.  She works as the Operations Manager of an attorney’s office.  She is responsible for all personnel and oversees the day to day operations of the company.  My team came up with 14 questions to ask during our interview. 

1. Would you prefer to hire a candidate with strong interpersonal skills or more experience?

Jennifer said that she would obviously like to have both in a great candidate, but if she had to choose one, it would probably be the strong interpersonal skills.  Those skills are harder to teach than it is to teach someone how to do a specific job. 

2. What length of commitment do you look for in a potential employee?

This would differ from position to position.  Jennifer stated that she would love to keep a team together forever, assuming they are hardworking and efficient, but she knows this is unrealistic.  She said she likes to get about a year or so from the majority of her employees.  For management, it would be nice to have at least two years. 

3. Can you give an example where a candidate's answer was too honest? 

She said that she didn’t remember the specifics of what question was asked to the potential candidate, but that he went off on a tangent about how it can be difficult to focus on work when he has smoked too much marijuana.  She said that she just remembers a very weird and awkward feeling in the room after he said that and then he realized what he had done and he said, “I guess I’m probably not going to be offered a job today.” 

4. How much emphasis do you place on an interviewee's attire?

“Quite a bit and not that much,” she said.  For Jennifer, it is not important the brand of clothing or those types of things, but whatever it is, it should be neat, not busy, and look like you care.  She said that this is a person’s first impression to their potential new job, and if they don’t look like they care at this point, what will it be like a few months from then, when they aren’t trying to impress anymore. 

5. What is your favorite part of performing an interview?

For Jennifer, the best part is meeting new people and interacting with people.  She also likes to do the interviews because she says that it helps her to feel a passion for improving the company that she works for.  She says that it is her way of making sure that only the best people get hired so the company will continue to be great. 

6. Do you like to take risks and give people that are not exactly what you're looking for, but show potential in other ways a chance?

Absolutely.  She has offered a number of people jobs that may not have been right for that specific position.  She likes to say that she hires the right person and then finds the right job for that specific person. 

7. What are some of your favorite questions to ask a potential candidate?

She said that she likes to ask questions that dive into a person’s behaviors and traits.  Some of the questions she likes best are, “How would you handle a customer complaint about you?  Give me an example of co-worker conflict and how would you handle it?  Describe a situation where you went against a policy or procedure because you felt your solution was better?  Why would you want to work for this organization?”  She said that these types of questions make a person think and the interviewer gets a glimpse of the person as they think about the answer and how they answer the question.

8. What kind of impression do you try to give the candidate at the beginning of the interview? Do you try to scare them, make them feel comfortable?

At the beginning of the interview, Jennifer said that she tries to help the person feel comfortable and welcomed.  She said that she has found that people respond better and open up more to this type of style that intimidation. 

9. How will you prepare to interview candidates?

She said that she has a few set questions that she plans to ask, but essentially, she just lets the interview take itself where it is going to go.  She does make sure to review their resume prior to an interview, and the other thing she likes to review is the job description of the job they are trying to fill. 

10. If there are two equally-qualified candidates for a particular position, how will you decide between the two?

If they are both equally qualified for a certain position, she said she might like to see if there is another position that one could fill.  But it would probably come down to the little things, like their demeanor, their interpersonal skills, and she said that she might like to call them both back in for another interview to get down to the “nitty-gritty” if it absolutely came to that. 

11. When evaluating applications, what will you look for when deciding who to interview?

She likes to see applications and resumes that are simple but still show everything that is needed.  She doesn’t like to see a lot of fluff.  Like before, she stated that this was a chance to make a good impression, so she wants to be a little bit wowed. 

12. Describe the best boss you ever reported to.

The best boss that she has ever reported to was one that allowed her to work and didn’t micromanage everything that does.  She knows that this is partly a reflection on her and the ability to anticipate and do things ahead of when they are asked for, so that her boss will not need to hound her for things. 

13. What are some "pet peeves" that occur during interviews?

According to Jennifer, there a few things that will completely kill a person’s chances of being hired.  To name specifics, she stated being late to the interview, using offensive language in the interview, and using the word “umm” too much.  She stated that an interview is the person’s chance to make a great impression and these “pet peeves” are deal breakers for her. 

14. Do you have anyone else with you while conducting the interview?

Absolutely.  She said that she always takes at least one other person, but and often times a couple of people.  It completely depends on the job that they are filling and the direct reports that are available to do the interview.  Jennifer said that she likes to get multiple people’s input on a potential candidate. 

Following the interview, I learned that the interview process is complex and a lot goes into it.  I liked how she used behavioral-based questions in her interviews, which are similar to questions I have been asked in an interview.  The qualities that she is looking for in a candidate are not unrealistic expectations to have of a candidate and ultimately an employee.  It was fun to interview someone about hiring that had previously hired me and then I worked under for about 4 years.  Overall, this was a great experience and insight into the interview and hiring process.