Human Services Research Article Discussion Essay - 2

Human Services Research Article Discussion - Essay Example Although the authors tried to impress upon the appropriate governments of taking the children’s well-being into account, there was no bias as set forth in the APA Publication Manual (Emory). Active voice was utilized and there were no racial lines discussed, as it can be assumed that the article encompassed all children â€Å"in care†. As Ms. Davidson is a social services manager and Dr. McKenzie is a clinical psychologist, both women are well versed in the subject matter. They were comprehensive in interviewing other social workers in the field. The actual study was conducted in a mostly rural area of the country which had seen an astronomical increase in small children (under one year old) being placed in care. Social workers seemed to be both harried and stymied by an overloaded system and most of the time the services put in place for the parents (alcohol, drug, and mental heath therapy) collided with the children’s needs, so that even though the case workers were aware of the child’s developmental milestone needs, the procedures were delayed by the legal system (P 36). The conclusions reached included the fact that even though workers had as much as twenty seven years of experience they could be better trained to deal with the greater influx of infants and babies requiring foster care and the special considerations that age group requires. This was supported by the social workers themselves in the body of the study. Even the authors admitted the small number of children studied (eighteen) was disproportionate to the numbers nationwide and the study was maybe not representative of Scotland as a whole. For instance, they could have expanded the study to include what developmental delays occur when cultural lines are crossed, such as children being placed in a home of a different race than their own. Another good study for this would be the ability to thrive of those children placed from Eastern European countries such as

Scotts Micracle-Gro Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scotts Micracle-Gro - Case Study Example Finally, a number of alternative solutions will be discussed and the most potential solution will be recommended for the company. Background of the situation The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, commonly known as Scotts, was formed through the merger of Miracle-Gro and the Scotts Company in 1995 (The Scots Miracle-Gro Company, n.d). The company is headquartered at Marysville in the Ohio. Through this merger, the Scotts became the largest organization in the North American lawn and garden industry. The company rapidly grew to be a leader of lawn and garden care products as well as professional horticulture products. The company manufactures and sells various spreaders including drop spreaders, broadcast spreaders, and hand-held spreaders. As per the 2007 fiscal year annual report, the company achieved $2.7 billion net sales. Key Issues From the SWOT analysis, it is clearly identified that increasing labor rate and mounting electricity rates in California are the key threats to the Scotts. This issue is likely to reduce the firm’s profitability over the next fiscal years. In addition, the Scotts currently employs temporary workers so as to manage the declining demand for labor. This situation would probably lead to the formation of an inefficient workplace environment. Finally, avoidable overhead costs and growing current liabilities significantly threaten the firm’s operational efficiency. ... Alternative solutions One of the potential solutions for the company to curb this issue is to outsource the production of its spreaders to a low wage manufacturing country like China. By doing so, the Scotts can take advantages of cheap rate labor in China and thereby reduce the total cost of production to a great extent. In addition, it is also advisable for the company to hire more skilled and cheap foreign workers. This option may allow the company to cut down its labor costs without closing the operation of its Temecula manufacturing plant. Selected solution to the problem While closely analyzing the alternative solutions identified above, it is clear that the process of employment of foreign workers would involve a series of difficulties, and this strategy may not often guarantee a competitive workplace environment. Hence, I would choose the production outsourcing option. Setting of short term goals is vital for a firm to achieve its long term objectives (Strategy implementation ). The case scenario clearly indicates that creation of an automated plant is the major short term objective of the Scotts. The Scotts management believes that automated operations would greatly assist the company to cut down its labor costs as well as landed costs. The company continuously improves its operational efficiency through process innovations and R&D activities. Although labor costs in China are expected to increase noticeably over the next 10 years, it would be comparatively lower than that of the US. Hence, the outsourcing strategy would best fit the Scotts to trim down its labor costs in the short run. During the next ten years, Scotts may make its Temecula manufacturing plant fully automated and therefore the company can replant its production