Christina Beshaw Author

What, if any, has been your experience with the Hawthorne effect on a job?  

After viewing the video and thinking back through my work history, there is one particular experience that came to mind. I was working for a small local company that was purchased by a larger company. Immediately after the transition, leadership began making small changes in the environment, such as strategically placing desks so that workers faced away from one another rather than facing each other. At the same time, employees were asked to communicate only through email, never in person. As employees, the ideas struck us as cold and impersonal. As time wore on and I assumed more leadership roles, I began to see those as strategies for improved productivity. It just wasn’t communicated to us at all that that was the reason for the poor reception. It ended up having a negative impact on productivity as our morale was impacted.

 

Describe a supervisor who inspired and motivated you — what were their characteristics or actions that made such a positive impact?

My most inspirational supvervisor was also the most demanding supervisor I have ever had. She didn’t hesitate to delegate new responsibilities to me, and never failed to act as if she had absolute faith in my abilities. While it was demanding and stressful at times, it afforded me the opportunity to learn and advance at a rate much faster than I expected. Her unfailing confidence in me taught me to be confident in myself. While she delegated many duties to me, she was working alongside me so there was never a feeling that I was being treated unfairly. Of all of my supervisors, she is the only one who never implied that I was less of a professional because I didn’t have a college degree.

An opposing view to climate change as proposed in the intro:

The website I studied that offered an opposing view to climate change was ProCon.org. What was interesting about this site is that it laid the arguments for and against climate change side by side and offered references for each argument. While the introduction in our text argues that humans are heating up the world, ProCon.org offers resources for several studies that show the majority of scientists involved disagree. The site lists the pros and cons for 14 arguments around climate change in total.

Is our commercial exploitation of animals immoral?

In cases where animals are raised in inhumane and cruel conditions, yes. Animals have the ability to think and fear, and I cannot imagine a life lived in a pen too small to move in, where animals live in pain (broken legs and ‘debeaked’) for as long as they can produce what we want. I do believe that there are operations who raise their animals morally, and while I live off of subsistence meat and fish, I make an effort to buy ‘free-range’ eggs and milk.

What obligations do we have to future generations?

I believe we have an obligation to minimize the damage we cause the environment, and to continue research towards more effective, efficient, and moral ways to produce goods and services. While I don’t feel current generations should restrict anything necessary to be comfortable in life, perhaps more regulation could be put in place for luxuries. For example, stricter emissions regulations for vehicles, or required recycling and the implementation of fines when households exceed garbage thresholds or water usage.

Who should pay the cost for protecting the environment?

The majority of the cost should be paid by those who pollute the environment. It would only make sense to place the cost on those who benefit if the environment was in a net-better position because of the protection efforts. Those responsible for causing pollution are, theoretically, making a profit while doing so. Passing the cost on to others while reaping the benefit would be unethical.

Resource for opposing view to climate change:

https://climatechange.procon.org/

I chose to research health insurance corporations this week, looking for cases involving mishandling of patient claims. In the 17 years I’ve worked in Patient Finance, I’ve appealed hundreds of high dollar claims that should have been paid by the insurer.

In 2005, United Healthcare acquired Pacificare, and the transition did not go as planned. In an effort to save money, United Healthcare began denying claims for high cost, sometimes life-saving services provided to it’s members. In total, the California Department of Insurance found 908,000 violations against it’s insured members. UHC is looking at a minimum of $91 million in fines, with an additional $82 million in appeal. If the decisions are upheld, this case sets a precedent in protecting insured patients against cost saving tactics by health insurers.

 

Haefner, M. (n.d.). UnitedHealth faces $91M fine after California court’s fair claims decision: The California Court of Appeal upheld regulations for fair claims settlements after a 10-year legal challenge, paving the way for $91 million in fines against a UnitedHealthcare subsidiary, the California Department of Insurance said Sept. 21. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/unitedhealth-faces-91m-fine-after-california-court-s-fair-claims-decision.html

 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/health/california-supreme-court-insurance-commissioner-decision/index.html