A quality service can be defined as one which leaves its users with a smile on the face due to attained satisfaction. In this case, the traveler is dissatisfied with the services offered by that shuttle company because he quietly swears never to use the company again. Several ways clearly show how the shuttle company failed to provide quality services. Firstly, we see the repeated failure of making available the right car for taking the traveler to his hotel. Time management is also another failure. Thirty-five minutes later, there was no car to take the customer to his hotel despite confirming availability in only ten minutes. The company rule that drivers should not drive less than three customers out of the airport is an acceptable policy. As such, it would have been appropriate to take the stranded traveler directly to his hotel rather than stick to the rule.
The dispatcher’s decisions were inappropriate because he did not consider the customer’s satisfaction before making decisions. For instance, he repeatedly fails to direct the right car to pick the customer even after radioed by two drivers taking different routes. Considering the cold weather, this was a terrific injustice to the stranded traveler. Knowing that he had delayed the traveler, he should have instructed the driver to take him directly to his hotel. On the contrary, he still does the opposite by delaying him more by following their policy that does not allow driving less than three customers out of the airport.
To improve the services of the shuttle company, I would ensure the use of policies that lead to total customer satisfaction. First of all, I will ensure I listen to the views of customers by taking occasional audits from them. Analyzing such information will give a hint on customers’ satisfaction and identify ways to meet their needs. As an example, negative feedbacks due to delays and inappropriate service such as in the case of the stranded traveler can be used to improve the service. Implementation of service quality training should also be practiced from the top-level management down the organization. This would ensure that all shuttle company employees strive to provide quality services to customers by not failing them as in the case of the dispatcher’s inefficiency. Where intentional delays occur, there should be penalties to the employee in question as a way of eliminating inefficiency in the company services. Lastly, I would provide an extra vehicle within the company that can move to any of the common routes upon request. On the dispatcher’s instruction, such vehicles can pick any customer who has not been attended to directly to his destination to avoid serious delays.
The strategy of employee empowerment gives the employees the power to make decisions about their jobs and take responsibility for their outcomes. In this case, employee empowerment has not been effectively employed. The inability of the lady driver to take the frustrated traveler directly to his hotel on her own decision is evidence of a lack of employee empowerment. Instead, she picks the customer and moves out of the airport after asking for instruction from the dispatcher. This leaves the customer dissatisfied with their service and in the long run, loses the customer completely. With employee empowerment, the customer would have been taken to his hotel without further delay. This may have impacted positively on the customer who may opt to try their service a second time. Therefore, employee empowerment should be applied to ensure vital decisions like this one can be handled effectively.
Women In Prison In The United States: Article And Book Summary
Magazine Summary
The article “Coming to the Aid of Women in U.S. Prison” addresses interventions that could be used on women prisoners, whose population has been increasing at a faster rate than that of men (McClellan, 2002). Specifically, it is contended that education, litigation, and human rights could be used to address the problems facing women prisoners in U.S. Jails.
From the article, it is evident that the reasons contributing to the rapid growth of women prisoners in U.S. jails include poverty, unemployment, less education, abuse, and victimization, as well as drug use and dependence. These factors must be put into consideration when designing programs to address the problem of women prisoners. However, the author is categorical that most women prisoners in U.S. jails are systematically denied access to meaningful programs and, consequently, recidivism rates are much higher (McClellan, 2002).
The author argues that effective education and empowerment programs should be used not only to enable women prisoners acquire new competencies but also to restructure “their personal system of social relations in a group setting where participants explore common influences and problems that affect each of their lives” (McClellan, 2002 p. 39). Litigation must be targeted at challenging the conditions of confinement of women prisoners, and also at ensuring that disciplinary rules are applied equally to male and female prisoners. In the context of human rights, prison institutions should be more humane, friendly, and professional. Victimization and unfairness should be discouraged to spur holistic reforms (McClellan, 2002).
This article is an eye-opener in addressing the problems facing women prisoners in U.S. prisons using interventions such as education, litigation, and human rights. If these interventions are implemented as programs within the U.S. prison system, the population of women prisoners is likely to go down.
Book Summary
The book, titled “A World Apart: Women, Prison and Life Behind Bars”, provides personal accounts of women incarcerated at MCI-Framingham, which is one of the oldest operational women’s prisons in the U.S. This summary illuminates how women prisoners undergo agonies of family relationships severance, institutional malaise, and sexual abuse.
Most women prisoners suffer from depression due to separation from their families. A personal account of a woman prisoner named Denise shows how the prison lacks systems and programs to maintain relationships between incarcerated mothers and their children. It is evident that family separations not only provide an enabling environment for children to become delinquent due to lack of parental guidance but also enhances the risk of recidivism.
Institutional malaise is a matter of great concern in U.S. prisons. It is clear that some prisons do not account for their budgetary allocations, while others fail to adopt practices that will bring greater efficiency. Consequently, Women, prisoners continue to be unfairly treated and discriminated against, leading to high levels of depression and recidivism (Rathbone, 2007).
A personal account of a woman prisoner known as Julie demonstrates that sexual predation/abuse is a common occurrence in most U.S. prisons (Rathbone, 2007). In my view, women engage in sexual relationships with male correctional personnel to gain personal favors, distract themselves from their own agonies, or for pleasure. The author suggests that it is difficult to reform such women due to the malpractices involved.
To conclude, this book is informative on the challenges faced by women prisoners in MCI-Framingham in particular and the U.S. in general. However, although the author provides personal accounts of prisoners to illuminate the challenges, the work is weak due to failure to provide interventions that could be used to address the challenges.
References
McClellan, D.S. (2002). Coming to the aid of women in U.S. prisons. Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine, 54(2), 33-44.
Rathbone, C. (2007). A World apart: Women, prison, and life behind bars. New York, NY: Random House Publishing Group.
Function Analysis Of The Information From Interview
Introduction
Communication is arguably the cornerstone on which any successful relationship, be it business or personal, is built. The importance of effective communication as a means of gathering information is universally acknowledged and a lot of research has been taken on the subject and numerous books are written to help people improve their skills to make them more effective in their communication efforts. In a bid to gather information, various strategies have been developed. Key among them is the use of interviews. There exist various factors that one should always consider when setting up an interview. It should be noted that the strategy adopted is especially significant since it may result in the success or failure of the communication efforts. In an interview, the interviewee forms an integral part and should therefore be given special consideration. In this paper, I shall discuss the various functions that each question in an interview aims at achieving. To this end, an analysis of a recently held interview shall be provided.
Function analysis of the Interview questions
The interviewee reiterates a story told by his grandfather about a family that went out in search of a beaver. Never giving up, the family hunted the beavers for a long time until they eventually got one. On that day, the wife was nearly attacked by a mammoth as she returned home with the hunt. Even though the husband did not believe her, other members of the community attested to the truth behind the story. Storytelling plays an integral part of all communities. It is used as a tool through which lessons on morality, consequence, and culture are taught. As such, this story’s function is to reflect on the concept of structuralism as explained by Levi-Strauss, who theorizes that the purpose of a myth is to provide a logical model capable of overcoming a contradiction. In this story, the fact that the woman’s story is believed by members of the community regardless of the man’s disbelief makes it a myth.
Also, the story portrays the woman as a hero who leaves the village in search of food and never returns until she finds it. The community members who believe her story acts as mediators when the man disagrees with the truth behind the story told. As such, the man is colored as the villain since he tries to go against the beliefs of the community regarding this tale. These characters reflect on the sphere of action as theorized by Durkheim’s functionalism theory which asserts that individuals in a society have a strong desire to share common experiences, but a corporation with each other is not necessary.
On the same note, the story has all the characteristics of Malinowski’s functionalism theory. According to theorists, functionalism is based on human biology and psychology. He states that functionalism explores the human being and the functions of a society. In this regard, the theorist further contends that functionalism dwells on the seven needs of every individual. They are nutrition, reproduction, safety, comfort, relation, movement, and growth into the secondary needs of society. The truth behind these assertions is depicted in the structure and flow of the story. The family went hunting for food (“They traveled from stream to stream, from the river to river, leading a nomad’s life”: movement and nutrition) not only for themselves but also for other members of the community (growth into the secondary needs of society). The fact that the family members went hunting together is an indication of an existing relationship. When the woman is returning home she is confronted by a mammoth (fear causes body discomfort). As a result, she runs back to the camp (safety) where she narrates her experience to the community.
In the subsequent questions, the interviewee talks about his culture and tradition. To this end, he describes various cultural practices that are still being observed up to date. Besides, he further narrates legends that have similarities with those of other communities. For example, the interviewee describes the traditional food festival which is still honored today. In this regard, he explains some evident peculiarities regarding this celebration and explains why the Canadian version of this celebration is closely related to the European than the American version. This description shows functionalism in the sense that the celebration in Canada is more close to that of Europeans because the Europeans settled near Canada. As such, they developed mechanical solidarity as well as social solidarity and cohesion Durkheim. This is further explained by the fact that the human mind believes that working with others guarantees survival.
Further on, the interviewee talks about certain symbolic creatures that have shaped his culture. Examples include the beaver and the fur trout. The beliefs held by the interviewee regarding these creatures are perfect examples of functionalism as explained by Radcliffe. The theorist asserts that the existence of any particular thing is justified when it performs a certain function. The theories alternatively state that another analysis is hinged upon the fact that there is a historical explanation that describes how a particular social fact came into existence. This theory can therefore be used to back the interviewee’s assertions about the beavers and the existence of the fur trout in earlier days.
Functionalism can best be defined as the assertion that every item in folklore must have a function. There are three types of functionalism as proposed by various theorists. According to Radcliffe-Brown, functionalism refers to the social cohesion that is achieved through the shared mental structures of the “conscious collective”. In his point of view, cultural beliefs, societal rules, and activities should be graded about what they did the community as a whole. This assertion was based on the belief that cultural evolution was a result of similar cultural activities and characters that triggered an internal logic that enabled communities to move from one level of culture to the next. Evidence of this theory is depicted when the interviewee talks about musical similarities between his culture and that of the French. Not only does this show cultural evolution (the ability to tolerate the cultures of others), but it also proves Durkheim’s assertion that functionalism is about social solidarity and cohesion.
Conclusion
As has been illustrated in this interview analysis, communication plays an integral role in the information gathering process. By deeply analyzing a conversation, one can be able to deduce the function of each sentence in a conversation. From this interview, the folklore told by the interviewee as well as the legends, cultural disparities, and similarities aimed at showing the structure and functions of different cultural aspects. Theories used to further our understanding of these matters have been effectively used to analyze the function of the interview. It would therefore be a worthwhile endeavor if we dedicate some time towards the dissemination of our conversations. Not only will this facilitate effective communication, but it will also help us understand the functions that certain information plays in our lives and towards our survival.