Film Analysis: Metropolis Women

Film Analysis: Metropolis Women Film History The first ever science fiction film, â€Å"Metropolis†, is a German Expressionism film released in 1927 that portrays women through femininity, technology, and sexuality. Science Fiction cinema, see it as a landmark film and a futuristic technological fantasy that mirrors both our fears and our fascination with technology. Even more remarkable is that the film connects the relationship among female sexuality, male-oriented vision, and technology. In this paper, I would like to examine the relationship between women, sexuality, and technology. Post World War I, German Expressionism had a strong influence on cinema. By the end of the eighteenth century filmmakers used cinema as a way to address issues relevant to culture and society by combining the arts and technology, which is seen in the architecture and techniques of film at this time (Deren). The idea of German Expressionism was that cinema was to heighten emotional and psychological states, filmmakers used exaggeration, violence, and distortion such as sharp angles, painted shadows, and twisted landscape to give films disturbing visual characteristics. Metropolis depicts a futuristic city in the year 2026 from the view of the 1920s. The wealthy ruling class lives in luxury in their skyscrapers while the working class is forced to sweat and slave in subhuman conditions under the city. The working class is a slave to the ruling class, and man is a slave to the machine. The film starts with images of massive machinery spewing smoke with their pistons churning in a continuous rhythm. The workers dressed in all black are marching in a very robotic form to the elevators that will take them down to the oppressive machines that run the city. There are then images of a shift siren sounding and very large clocks that only count to ten, which alert the workers of the beginning and the end of work shifts (Ruppert). Here is where the workers are reduced to robots in which their movements are dominated by the mechanical rhythm of the machine. Workers in this system, must adapt themselves to a functional, technological rationality; they must func tion like machines, in lockstep and geometric formation, their individual identities lost. Thus, the hands of Metropolis become, mechanical and replaceable (Rutsky). However, our first impression of the city where the elite live is that of a very modern and impressive urban landscape with the large architecture, planes, cars, and eden like gardens where the power of technology benefits human purpose (Ruppert). The story of Metropolis provides a unique view of the future. Freder is the son of the ruler or head of Metropolis, Jon Frederson who is considered of almost superhuman rationality and efficiency (Rutsky). One day, outside in the eden like gardens, Freder comes across a woman from the working class who has brought the children up to see how their brothers live. He immediately falls in love, and follows her to the depths of the city where he learns of the hard lifestyle the workers lead. It is here where Freder witnesses a violent explosion and he suddenly imagines one of the machines as a demonic beast â€Å"Moloch† to which the workers are sacrificed. Hoping to persuade his father into providing a better life and more promising future to the underground workers, Freder travels to see his father. When his father refuses, he goes and takes over the job of an overworked laborer. Upon completing the shift he learns that Maria is almost like a spiritual leader to the workers as he hears her teaching the workers about the Tower of Babel. At this point, Freder decides he wants to help Maria and he joins the underground community. Freders father finds out and was concerned about the influence Maria may have over the workers so he enlists in the help of an old rival Rotwang, to help keep the working class under control. From Jon Fredersons point of view, Maria has already cuased Freder to alienate from him and question his authority. This represents no only a potential rival to his power, but poses a threat to male domination, should the feminine values of the â€Å"heart† such as nurture, compassion, and feeling (emotions generally considered feminine) ever become dominant (Ruppert). Rotwang, an evil scientist, wants to undermine Marias leadership and create a plan to destroy the machines. He kidnaps Maria and creates a robot which he clones into her and uses it to confuse the workers. The plan works and the robot Maria leads workers to destroy machines, which causes their city to flood that almost drownes the workers children. It is up to Maria and Freder to rescue the children. Eventually the children are saved, which causes the workers to rebel against Maria who they believed caused all these problems. The workers end up burning the robot Maria at the stake. Through this, the workers and his Jon Frederson realize Freder is the connection from the brain to the hands, that Maria had always hoped for. Freder is the heart of the machine. It is evident, by the main context in the film that the images portraying femininity are threatening the male world of technology, domination, and control. â€Å"Control of the real Maria, represents a threat to the world of high technology, and its system of sexual repression; domination of the Robot Maria by Rotwang who orders her to perform certain tasks; control of the workers by the Frederson Master of Metropolis who plans to replace the underground workers with robots; and finally, control of the workers actions through Fredersons sneaky use of the machine, the robot Maria (Huyssen).† Marias threat to male dominance in Metropolis is made apparent in the sequence in which Rotwang and Fredersen observe her speaking to the workers. The two watch as she communicates her version of the legend of the Tower of Babel to the workers, emphasizing the division and destruction between the ruling classes and the workers, a situation that obviously corresponds to the conditions in Metropolis (Ruppert). She predicts eventual reconciliation and social harmony: between the brain that plans and the hands that build, she says, there must be a mediator. It is the heart, that must bring about an understanding between them. With the creation of robot Maria, came the ability for the viewer to clearly see how sexuality can be used to gain power and control. In this particular scene Rotwang presents her at an all male gathering in the upper city. Robot Maria emerges from steam and light to do a sequence of seductive belly dances stripping off more clothes at each glance. She became quite the spectacle and the object of male desire and vision, leaving all the men in â€Å"awe†. Femininity in this sequence, suggests, it is constructed by male vision and that female sexuality comes to life through male desire (Ruppert). By connecting technology and female sexuality, the film incites the viewer with polarities and opposition. â€Å"Viewing the film we are able to see doubled and mirroring patterns. These patterns link oppositions at the same time that they estrange or defamiliarize them. This is apparent in the opposition between the upper and lower worlds, linked and estranged by technology (Telotte). † However, according to Huyssen, the creation of Maria the robot, links technology and women directly. Huyssen argues that the robot Maria in Metropolis is the â€Å"embodiment of early twentieth century male fear of women and machines, both of which were perceived at threats to patriarchal control (Huyssen). In addition, technology was not always linked to sexuality in this way; the two were associated in the early nineteenth century, at the time when machines were beginning to be perceived as threatening. Huyssen also points out, that â€Å"women and machines are linked, equating male fears of powerful technologies with fears of female sexuality (Huyssen).† With the creation of robot Maria as a substitute for the human Maria, comes the division of what the film has implies to viewers to be the principles of femininity compassion, nurture, and empathy (Ruppert). And, while the robot Maria acts on her own, she also encourages aggression and destruction that eventually becomes a behavior which is self-destructing to the workers. However, there was something about robot Maria, that was able to rekindle spirit, repressed hopes, and encourage the workers to destroy the boundaries that limited their potential. Until this part in the film, women are hardly ever seen. It is in this scene, we are seeing women in numbers as they become a crowd of female hostility. In Donna Haraways reading, â€Å"The cyborg (robot Maria) should be celebrated as potentially liberating, even utopian idea- a metaphor for flexible identities, transgressed boundaries, gender obsolescence (Haraway).† In Haraways view, robots represent industrial machinery that excludes the human. However, with the creation of robot Maria comes incorporation of the human and elimination of the character distinctions, which were previously assumed to separate technology from humanity. Neither entirely human nor imitation, it is these boundaries that distinguish robot Maria. It is also Haraways view that â€Å"when the boundary between human and artificial subside, and when gender differences, for example, are no longer a question, women can then be unrestricted from their positions of inequality and equality can become possible (Haraway).† Some critics such as Telotte and Kracauer argue that the film send an anti-technology message. According to Telotte, for example, views the film as a â€Å"destruction of technology, something that makes us forget our social responsibilities (Telotte)†. And Kracauer criticizes the scene that displays the creation of the robot Maria as â€Å"unproductive to the flow of the narrative and dismisses the staging of her erotic dance as spectatorial excess (Kracauer)†. Kracauer goes on to say that the creation of the robot â€Å"is detailed with a technical exactitude that is not at all required to further the action† and he attributes the erotic dance as â€Å"Langs penchant for pompous ornamentation† and discounts the non-narrative value of Metropolis, its reflexivity and status as spectacle (Kracauer)†. On the other hand, Huyssen, sees it as pro- technology. He argues that the films threatening aspects can be eliminated and that the battle between the workers and the city dwellers could be solved by â€Å"technological progress† (Huyssen). As viewers see contradictions, viewers are also in awe of the spectacular developments in technology and see the human costs associated with that development. The severe conditions of the workers makes it more difficult for the viewer to embrace technology while resisting technology is nearly impossible because they are already shown being a part of everyones life. The fact that the film is viewed by critics both as pro-technology, and anti-technology suggests, that technology is not the final determining factor of social life in Metropolis. It is capitalism that turns the workers into machines and women into objects. Metropolis provides us with a view of Weimar culture by showing the viewer social conflicts and differences between labor and capital, feminist liberation, and the risk and the possibilities of technology. In addition, the relationship between technology and the human is made apparent in this film by Maria showing us liberating power of technology that can dissolve boundaries and the male fears of technology and the destruction of social boundaries. â€Å"If patriarchy depends on the kind of values we attribute to sexual difference, then technology, the film suggests, depends on what we do with machines, the cultural uses we make of them (Ruppert).† Works Cited Haraway, DonnaA Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist- Feminism in the Late Twentieth Centurey, in Sinians, Cyborgs and Women: The reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge (1991): 149-181 Rutsky, R.L.the Mediation of Technology and Gender: Metropolis, Nazism, Modernism. New German Critique, No. 60, Special Issue on German Film History. (Autumn, 1993), pp. 3-32 Deren, SecilCinema and film Industry in Weimar Republic, 1918-1933 Telotte, J.P.The Seductive Text of â€Å"Metropolis† Telotte, J.P. Replications: A Robotic History of the Science Fiction Film Huyssen, Andreasâ€Å"The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Langs Metropolis, â€Å"New German critique 24-25 (1981-1982): 221-237 Kracauer, Siegried. From Caligari to Hitler: A schological History of the German Film. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1947 Ruppert, PeterTechnology and the Construction of Gender in Fritz Langs â€Å"Metropolis† Reflection: Application of Leadership Skills in Nursing Reflection: Application of Leadership Skills in Nursing 1. Introduction 1.1 This report looks at my existing leadership skills and how they have developed when implementing a postnatal group within my practice. Through developing this group, I will look at how the team responds to my leadership and how I approach situations. As part of my continuing professional development, I will identify changes needed in my approach to future practice in order to provide a quality working environment and improved development of service provision. This community health care project was chosen because Hall et al (2009) states that governments are increasingly interested in community healthcare programmes because, in partnership with other agencies, they can reduce social exclusion and the inequalities within and between local communities. Support groups can relieve feelings of isolation and loneliness in a study of women with post-natal depression, the support from others meant that mothers gained in self-esteem and felt empowered (Eastwood et al, 1995). 1.2 The Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) must follow performance standards in association with health enhancing activities (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004, p12). Part of these standards state that I am responsible for applying leadership skills and managing projects to improve health and well being. Promoting partnership working and leading public health interventions through innovative and visionary approaches is key to my role as a SCPHN. Historically much of health service provision has been service led rather than needs led, designed and developed at the convenience of the providers rather than the patients (Wilkinson Murray 1998). Healthy lives, brighter futures (DOH, 2009a) and Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (DoH, 1999) highlight the importance of there being partnership between services, children and parents which must be driven by strong leadership by SCPHNs. These improvements need to be achieved through an agreement between health practitioners and services and parents, children and young people. 2 . Aims 2.1 The aims of this report are to identify different leadership approaches and my own approach and evaluate positives and negatives of these approaches to improve my leadership skills. To explore the SCPHN role as a leader and the opportunities and obstacles that may impinge on effective leadership requirements in public health nursing through leading the development of a postnatal group. All SCPHNs interventions should operate on a partnership and empowerment model of delivery, which ensures acceptability of the service by both professionals and clients. Further aims will be to understand the principles of change management and conflict management, to enable effective resolution and promote a cohesive team environment. 3. Leadership in Practice 3.1 Through my experience as a SCPHN I believe that I hold transformational leadership traits, which include communication, motivation, decision making and conflict resolution. I believe my current skills lie in communication and motivation but areas where development is required are conflict within teams and on an individual basis. Two types of leaders have been identified transactional leaders set goals, give directions and use rewards to reinforce employee behaviours associated with meeting or exceeding established goals. Transformational leaders have the ability to motivate performance beyond expectations through their ability to influence attitudes (Mcguire Kennerly 2006, p.180). I endeavoured to follow Johnsons (2005) research, which suggested that highly effective leaders need both vision as well as a specific plan in order to carry out their plan if goals are to be achieved. I have demonstrated vision by creating this idea for a postnatal group. As a transformational leader I will try to share my vision with my followers, enthusing them with a high level of commitment (ChangingMinds, 2002-2006). In previous professional roles I was a follower and therefore I need to develop leadership skills. It is important as a practitioner to be aware and incorporate the qualities of both leadership styles in practice. 3.2 In my role as a leader I need to use interpersonal skills to influence others to accomplish a specific goal exerting influence by using a flexible approach of personal behaviours which is important in forging links, creating connections amongst organisations in order to promote high levels of performance and quality care (Sullivan Decker, 2009). I have approached a fellow SCPHN within the team and by recognising her individual expertise and praising her knowledge have encouraged her to contribute to the group by leading a session on womens health. As a leader I recognise Raffertys (1993) work by caring for the people I lead and I can see that by encouraging and praising my team I am able to promote high levels of performance, which therefore results in the delivery of high quality care. 3.3 In my leadership experience I have recognised the need to focus on the relationship between the people and the organisation this is described as Action Centred Leadership by Adair (1979) (Appendix 1). Adair highlighted the importance of a leader having the ability to meet three functions these where; to achieve the required task; to maintain the team and to meet the needs of individual team members. I have recognised the complexity of achieving successful leadership which requires the overlapping of these three functions in variable proportions to achieve the desired outcome. I have identified that both my team members and I have individual strengths and weaknesses and therefore task completion requires a multidisciplinary team approach, considering the organisational skill mix and resources available. Team members need to have an understanding of what is expected of them, and an understanding of how their individual contributions relate to the whole project. When developing the idea for the postnatal group we had a team meeting to share ideas and to ensure that everyone was aware of the aims of the project. Consideration of the needs of the team involved my considering training needs, communication systems and team development in order for my multi-professional team to function. Prior to commencement of the postnatal group a multidisciplinary team introduction meeting was held to ensure that every team member was familiar with their colleagues expertise and skills. As a leader it is important to recognise team members have individual skills, needs and problems, and to give praise and status to everyone. Again training and development is essential in order to maintain quality of care delivery as outlined in the benchmarks within the Essence of Care (DoH, 2006). When delegating work to others as a registered practitioner I have a legal responsibility to determine the knowledge and skill level required to perform delegated tasks. Like other public bodies, health service providers are accountable to both the criminal and civil courts to ensure that their activities conform to legal requirements. As a registered practitioner I am also accountable to regulatory and professional bodies in terms of standards of practice and patient care (RCN, 2006). If a focussed and effective group is to develop huge importance should be given to valuing all the skills and contributions of team members. As the team leader on this project I made myself available for one to one support for staff and held regular update sessions to see how their role was developing within the project and give them opportunity to raise concerns or highlight areas of improvement. 3.4 As a leader in Health Care it is my role to promote and develop partnerships between clients and other agencies, to empower and motivate individuals in order to develop services and service provision in communities. In 2006, the Essence of Care (DoH, 2006) outlined the importance of partnership working health promotion is undertaken in partnership with others using a variety of expertise and experiences. In many areas of the health service funding is limited but if individuals within my community can be motivated to take the lead on this project, they may be able to apply for extra funding (such as lottery grants) in order to be able to achieve future aims and targets. 3.5 An important aspect of leadership is having a good understanding of your team and an awareness of team relationships which includes how you view yourself as a leader and how your team view you. Having the ability to reflect on your own leadership style is essential in order to promote flexibility and the ability to change methods to suit different teams and individuals. I look to my manager to provide active displays of recognition, commitment and vision to ensure that my skills and those of other health professionals are utilised to improve the health and well being of communities, families and individuals (McMurray Cheater, 2004). I realise that vision is a key characteristic of effective leadership; it reflects the ability to create and articulate a realistic, credible, attractive picture of the future for individuals and organisations that grows out of and improves upon the present (Robbins, 2000). I agree with Barr Dowding (2010) who stated that you do not need to be a man ager to be a leader but you do need to be a good leader to be an effective manager. 4. Leadership styles applied to the complexity of delivery of care. 4.1I have encountered many different leadership styles in my work in the Health Care sector. Many theorists have discussed leadership styles; Lewin et al (1939) identified three main leadership styles. Laissez-faire can present as disorganised, team members not aware of what is required from them with feelings of panic and lack of time. I have worked with a Laissez-faire leader which led to stressful situations where the leader would shout and not warn team members of future roles and responsibilities. This led to a very disjointed team and high levels of absence with stress related conditions. Directive/Autocratic this mode of working generally focuses on task specific allocation which great emphasis on precision delivered in a military style. I see my own leadership style as being non confrontational and therefore an autocratic leadership technique is not my preferred choice. I aim to develop my leadership style to become a participatory leader with a quiet contributory presence, encourage a happy team spirit where each member of the group supports and values each other, and there is a sense of belonging. I aim to deliver quality patient care with effective monitoring of standards, by allocating task driven duties, which give my team feelings of achievement. To progress and develop the skills required to achieve this form of leadership style I need to be aware that different teams require flexible approaches and this style may not suit all. I will need to seek continuing professional development and take advantage of available training throughout my career to develop my leadership skills. I can continue to grow as a leader by maintaining evidenced based practice and keeping abreast of key research into healthcare leadership. I recognise that there are disadvantages to this participative style of leadership it can be time consuming when decisions need to be made quickly which can prove costly in terms of resources. 4.2 As a SCPHN I must be an effective leader, which means possessing the ability to communicate with others in such a way that they are influenced and motivated to perform actions that achieve desired outcomes (Daft, 2005). As a leader we must focus on our own strengths and use a reflective approach to access the willingness of each individual to take on board change (Barr Dowding, 2010). It is my aim to stimulate awareness of health needs and lead on such initiatives by delegating aspects of practice to other agencies and facilitating the work of relevant team members (NMC, 2004). This collaboration presents significant challenges to the success of the proposed intervention and requires me to make important professional considerations about the proper implementation of a change strategy. Effective leadership is required to ensure that various practitioners communicate with one another and provide a holistic, coordinated service tailored to local needs (DoH, 2009c). Communicating an understanding and awareness of workload, resource and time pressures for staff is important as a leader in order to delegate work appropriately to team members and to avoid further stress and aid motivational leadership. 4.3 More flexibility in service delivery has been highlighted in the NHS Plan (DoH, 2000) confirming the drive to blur professional boundaries. The resulting flexibility of approach in relation to who does what, at what time and in what setting, has changed the skill mix of teams. As a result of new flexible service delivery plans, every individual needs good leadership to be fully aware of their roles and responsibilities to avoid confusion or potential conflict. To implement the postnatal group I need to introduce a careful change management program to ensure complete engagement of the whole team. I can use the structure of a framework to shape the change process. Lewin (1951) model of planned change breaks the change process down into three stages. These stages are: Unfreezing the existing organisational equilibrium, Moving to a new position, Refreezing a new equilibrium position. The unfreezing stage is commonly greeted with guilt and anxiety and it is important that as a lead er I provide psychological safety that helps these anxious individuals to convert their anxiety into motivation to change. This did cause friction and resistance with some team members who were unwilling to adapt to their new roles therefore a detailed rationale for changes was clearly explained through discussion groups. Demonstrating my leadership skills through effective communication was of paramount importance in order to try to avoid hostility towards any perceived threat (although not actual). The moving stage needs a new role model (within the partner organisations) to champion the proposed change and help others to follow and establish the new service. This may involve convincing senior management for the need for change and responding to any suggestions for modifications. Time may need to be negotiated in order to share information and update staff on the necessity for communication between professionals perhaps through workshops or focus groups. The refreezing stage invol ves integrating the new initiative into the organisation and consolidating significant relationships. The successful implementation of this change process is crucial to the success of the initiative; this can be aided by audit of results. Evaluation of my role is vital to validate the implementation and also to help diminish the risks against conflict as professionals can feel they own a project and have the ability to make changes and modifications. 4.5 By implementing a skill mix I have ensured staff ownership from the outset, utilising a bottom up approach. Barr Dowding (2010) state that the bottom up approach is encouraged within the humanistic technique, whereby the subordinates (followers) are encouraged to share ideas with their leaders and will be involved with the decision making process. As the leader I used a full and clearly defined evidence of staff members and their relevant skill mix in order to utilise them effectively. It is vital to utilise research and evidence of best practice in relation to postnatal groups in other areas of the UK. The current economic climate challenges our leadership skills and means that all practitioners need to scrutinize their practice to organise their work and be as innovative and productive as possible within the constraints of health service budgets (DoH, CPHVA, Unite, NHS, 2009b). 5. Leadership benefits to the quality of client care. 5.1 My role as a leader is to promote and implement concepts such as joint working and partnership with the community, addressing equity and inequality issues, collective action and an empowering agenda with a new way of thinking and methods to use in order to work dynamically (Cowley, 2008). These key concepts highlight the importance of this postnatal group being effectively led and supported by multi-agency organisations and community partnerships. As a registered practitioner and leader it is my responsibility to ensure that there is a supervision system in place within an organisation to protect the patient/client and maintain the highest possible standards of care. On-going supervision is used to assess team members abilities to perform delegated tasks and capability to take on additional roles and responsibilities. Supervision will be offered indirectly or directly at set points in time and team members will be given weekly opportunities to discuss any issues, concerns or worr ies they may have. 5.3 As the leader of this project it is important to be aware of the five areas of clinical governance identified by Crinson, 1999 clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, clinical risk management, quality assurance and staff development. It is important that within the leadership role I improve services based on complaints, evaluation and feedback by both professionals and clients, while accepting criticisms of my leadership skills. Any service must involve professional groups in multi professional audit. Proactively identifying clinical risks to patients/staff should make for a sound provision and aid myself as a health professional to be an effective leader. I aim to monitor my ability to measure the capacity and capability to deliver services by ensuring that there is effective clinical leadership as stated by the National Audit Office, 2007. 5.4 As a leader I believe setting high standards of quality care for clients is a key responsibility. This can be done by identifying key benchmarks set by the NMC (2004) where it is stated that the public have the right to expect that health care professionals will practice at a high standard. The use of benchmarks can assist in identifying the need for change. Within the Norfolk PCT I believe the value of the Nursery Nurse is recognised by SCPHNs with particular relevance to their skills being utilised. Using this as a benchmark it may therefore be suggested that integrating a Nursery Nurse into the postnatal group would compliment my role as a SCPHN in addressing the needs of the client in the most effective manner. Effective delivery of information at the postnatal group is dependent on the capacity of the workforce to implement it and having the appropriate resources to support the work force. This capacity relates to having sufficient staff in place, who have the requisite know ledge, skills and confidence to undertake assessments (DoH, DFEE Home Office, 2000c). The team that I am responsible and accountable for leading is multi-skilled and able to share relevant information in order to offer help and support to each other. 5.5 To be an effective leader I believe it is an essential requirement to undertake evaluation and analysis of any intervention on a regular basis to give the opportunity to implement change, which is supported by Summerbell et al (2005). They highlight that stakeholders (families, school environments, and others) be included in the decision making and I believe this allows for a broad range of ideas to be shared to provide quality care and services that are effective and appropriate for the target client group. Evaluation is key to quality assurance and an essential part of the leadership role is to ensure that followers are actively involved in the quality control process (Marquis Huston, 2009). 5.6 As a leader by utilising this service I am able to effectively share other agency resources and the skills of professionals with similar aims and objectives. The Department of Health (2000) promotes the collaboration of services and the ability to pool budgets and resources in order for services to be maintained and obtain sustainability. I believe that shared ownership of a strategy encourages partner agencies to incorporate targets into their individual plans and to work together to provide appropriate support for children and families this is supported by Hanson, 2010. The key to successful collaborative working and partnerships is to reach a common understanding of the priorities of the community and how to best tackle them (Mitcheson, 2008). Concepts such as joint working and partnership with the community, addressing equity and inequality issues, collective action and an empowering agenda all provide me as a SCPHN with new ways of thinking and methods to use in order to wo rk dynamically (Cowley, 2008). Once the group is more established, their own personal development aims will enable some of the clients to take a more prominent role in the leadership and development of the group as peer supporters. 5.7 Within the team I believe that the consequences of poor leadership to client care could be that staff members becoming unsettled and unhappy in their position and they may transfer these feeling towards the clients resulting in a lack of motivation on both sides. I feel that if staff are not behind their leader then this will reflect into the group through misinterpretation of the service Coe et al (2007) and Smith and Roberts (2009) found that barriers to attending groups include misinformation about the organisation. This evidence highlights the importance of my supportive leadership of health professionals to be clear, consistent and supportive in the information they are giving. 6. Dynamic and flexible approaches to leadership issues. 6.1 I have found through experience that awareness of conflict management is a key area of responsibility for an effective leader. To date I have found that in health there are a huge variety of professionals all with different knowledge and backgrounds and interacting with each other giving considerable potential for conflict. Conflict can arise through the competition of different groups vying scarce resources. An individuals personal objectives may also be a cause for potential conflict. As a leader it is vital that I do not ignore any potential conflict situations and if conflicts do arise, I will plan solutions before patient care is compromised. I intend as a leader to promote a positive working environment through my leadership skills, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN, 2005) state that many professionals experience both positive and negative working environments and recommend a useful tool to explore relationships on an individual and team basis. I aim for my team members to view me as a leader who is able to collaborate and involve relevant parties to solve a situation rather than one who avoids conflict. Conflict can result in poor productivity (Barr Dowding, 2010) by being a dynamic and flexible leader who is able to resolve conflict effectively I can ensure a continuing high quality of patient care. 6.2 If I had conflict within a team I am leading, I would use a tool created by Tuckman (1965) on stages of group development. The four stages of group development Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing can be used to break down a difficult situation into manageable elements. During the forming stage of team development and development of the group it was my aim to ensure that I explained all tasks and objectives in a clear manner and to emphasise and reassure team members that I was happy to listen to ideas but decisions would be made so that everyone had a good understanding of what they were required to do. To team then moved into the storming stage of development where the group were happy to discuss ideas but showed respect if there was disagreement and communication skills to come to amicable decisions. The next stage is the Norming stage were the group began to support each other in their roles. This stage can sometimes develop slowly currently the team has not reached t he consistent performing stage as partners and team members continue to develop and learn how to work effectively together. By maintaining and developing the group further I hope to achieve consistently high standards of performance within the group. This will require effective communication, shared labour, greater cooperation, lower absenteeism and increased resistance to frustrations. If I continue to perform as a leader to a high standard I believe I can achieve the delivery of high quality care and a motivated team. 6.3 In order to maintain professional development and practice based on evidenced-based research I believe health professionals need to access relevant training, and share knowledge and skills within the team environment. Reflection is essential in order to look back at achievements. Consideration of what has been successful and what would be done differently in future practice to make a service as beneficial and effective as possible for children and families is essential. I aim to promote partnership working as I feel it is key to the implementation of this intervention in order to sustain it and continue future development within the area. 6.4 At the end of the project I aim to collect data in order to evaluate and analyse the cost-effectiveness of the intervention and identify opportunities for cost savings, which is part of my professional responsibility identified by NICE, 2007. I aim to involve service users and engage them in a simple customer feedback questionnaire to establish how well the initiative meets their needs. 7. Conclusion 7.1 I feel that further and continuing research is required on what clients require within a service. It is my responsibility as a SCPHN and a leader of a team to maintain evidenced based practice and respond to the needs of professionals and clients. I aim to continue developing the key skills of reflecting upon experiences and improving practice at the beginning, during and after action, to ensure improvement of services. From the experiences and reflection I have undertaken I have identified my leadership style and conclude that I will try to respond to individuals within the context of their understanding and community. Consideration of ideas generated by members of the team and client group are key to effective leadership. 7.2 I endeavour to share and input values such as honesty, respect, integrity and emotional strength as I believe they are essential for working with team members and clients. Promotion of my values and constructive criticism need to be demonstrated within any team. Adaptability and flexibility of leadership styles must also be developed and used. I aim to continue and develop my participatory leadership approach with both colleagues and clients. This will enable me to evaluate, question and confirm all of my actions within my role as a SCPHN. 8. Recommendations 8.1 As a SCPHN I should lead change and encourage change in a flexible and appropriate manner to aid the development of healthcare services. 8.2 I acknowledge that I need to develop my skills in applying quality care frameworks in practice to improve my quality assurance. 8.3 I recognise that my conflict management skills should be developed through experience and used effectively to promote good leadership. 9. Appendix Appendix 1 Adair, 1997 interaction of needs within the group 11. References Adair, J (1979) Action Centred Leadership. Aldershot: Gower Press. Barr, J Dowding, L (2010) Leadership in Health Care. London: Sage. Changing Minds (2002-2006) Transformational Leadership. (Online) Available at: http://www.changingminds.org/disciplines/leadershipstyles.htm (Accessed 24th June, 2010). Coe, C. Gibson, A. Spencer, N. Struttaford, M (2007) Sure Start: voices of the hard-to-reach. Child, care, health and development. 34, 4, 447-453. Cowley, S (2008) Community Public Health in Policy and Practice. 2nd Edition. London: Balliere Tindall. Crinson, I (1999) Clinical governance: the new NHS, new responsibilities. British Journal of Nursing. 8 (7): 449-453. Daft, R (2005) The Leadership experience. 3rd Edition. Canada: Thomson South-Western. Department for Education and Employment, department of Health Home Office (2000c) Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families. London: HMSO. Department of Health (2000) The NHS Plan. London: HMSO. Department of Health, CPHVA, Unite NHS (2009b) Getting it right for children and families. Maximising the contribution of the health visiting team. Ambition, Action, Achievement. London: The Stationery Office. Department of Health (2009c) Healthy Child Programme Pregnancy and the first five years of life. London: The Stationery Office. Department of Health (2009a) Healthy lives, brighter futures The strategy for children and young peoples health. (Online) Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/publications (Accessed 5th June, 2010). Department of Health (2006) Our Health, Our Care, Our Say. London: HMSO. Department of Health (1999) Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation. London: HM Stationery Office. Eastwood, P. Horrocks, E Jones, K (1995) Promoting peer group support with post-natally depressed women. Health Visitor, 68 (4): 148-150. Hall, D, Williams, J, Elliman, D (2009) The Child Surveillance Handbook. 3rd Edition. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing. Hanson, S (2010) Empowering change. Community Practitioner. 83, 36-37. Johnson, S (2005) Characteristics of effective health care managers. Health Care manager 24(2), 124-128). Lewin K (1951) Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper and Row. Lewin, K, Lippitt, R White R (1939) Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created social climates. Journal of Social Psychology 10: 271-299. Marquis, B Huston, C (2009) Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing Theory and Application. 6th Edition. London: Lippincott, Williams Wilkins. McGuire, E Kennerly, A (2006) Nurse managers as transformational and transactional leaders. Nursing Economics 24(4), 179-186. Mitcheson, J (2008) Expanding Nursing Health Care Practice Public Health Approaches to Practice. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. National Audit Office (2007) Improving Quality and Safety Progress in Implementing Clinical Governance: Lessons for the Primary Care Trusts. London: NAO. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2007) Behaviour Change. London: Department of Health. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) Standards of proficiency for Specialist Community Public Health Nurses. Norwich: The Stationery Office. Rafferty, A (1993) Leading questions: a discussion paper on the issues of nurse leadership. Kings Fund Centre. Robbins, s (2000) Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. New York: Prentice Hall. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2005) Working with Care: Improving Working Relationships in Healthcare. London: RCN. Royal College of Nursing (RCN) (2006) Supervision, accountability and delegation of activities to support workers A guide for registered practitioners and support workers. London: RCN. Smith, D Roberts, R (2009) Young parents perception of barriers to antenatal and postnatal care. British Journal of Midwifery, 17, 10. Sullivan, E Decker, P (2009) Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing. 7th Edition. London: Pearson Education. Summerbell, C, Waters, E, Edmunds, L (2005) Interventions for preventing obesity in children. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Tuckman, B (1965) Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin 63: 384-99. Wilkinson, J and Murray, S (1998) Assessment in Primary Care: Practical Issues and Possible Approaches. British Medical Journal 316, 1524-8.< Community Development Plan: Hung Hom Community Development Plan: Hung Hom A Project Intervention Plan Hung Hom Li Ka Tik The following paper is going to suggest an intervention plan on the Hung Hom community of Hong Kong’s Kowloon District. It briefly introduces the situation of Hung Hom and identifies the issues about inequality between rich and poor residents. Also, an intervention strategies and empowerment plans are propose based on the social action approach. The roles of CD worker in those plan and the foreseen challenges are mentioned in the last part. About Hung Hom Hung Hom is belonged to Kowloon City Districtand bordered by Hung Hom Bay in the east, No. 12 Hill, Hok Yuen and the valley Lo Lung Hang in the north, Kings Park in the west,Victoria Harbour in the south. It is a well-resourced community with over 17 social service agencies (Social Welfare Department), 28 educational facilities, 52 health clinics (www.lifein.hk), communal facilities, recreational facilities and business activities. The location of the community is near the cross harbor tunnel and is well connected by minibuses, buses and MTR, including the link from Shatin to Central which will be constructed soon. Identifying Key Social Problems in Hung Hom The problem of inequality between upper/middle class and grassroots is one of obvious social problem in Hung Hom. According to Rawls (1971), social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity. Moreover, for the second principle of justice, all social goods including opportunity, income, wealth and the bases of self-respect should be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of thesegoods is to the advantages of the lease favored. Marshall (1963) indicated that equality not only mean the equality of income, but it also is a general enrichment of the concrete substance of civilized life, a general reduction of insecurity and risk as well as an equalization between the more and less fortunate at all levels so the equality of status is more important. Hung Hom includes both of public estates and wealthier neighborhoods, which imply there is a large poverty gap. The 2011 Population Census Statistics for Hung Hom indicated the level of income inequality or socioeconomic gap between the upper class and the middle and lower classes which was probably a potential source of inequality.Despite its wide range of resources in Hung Hom, the resources are unevenly distributed in various parts of estates. Therefore, there is a potential inequality between those without and with access to the enough resources and the most obvious examples arethe health clinics and the kindergartens which concentrated in the wealthier neighborhoods such as Whampoa estate. Moreover, the majority of them is privately operated and targets the middle and upper class residents. Eventually, lower income residents in KaWai and Hung Hom estate need to seek the affordable services in other nearby districts because those services charge very high fees which are beyond th e means of them. The equality of opportunity is also referring to ‘social mobility’. If there is an oppression of the education resources from the higher income residents, it is hard for the children from a grassroots family to elevate to a higher social status. Therefore, an intervention planshould be created for victims of inequality in Hung Hom, the residents with lower income, to fight for reasonable resources distribution. Rationales and objectives of using social action According to Rothman (1984), there are there models of community practice and social action is one of the intervention approaches. It is the practice of taking action and usually as part of an organized group or community. The objective is to shift the power relationships and resources, in order to create positive change and generally in the direction of greater equity of economic and social justice.Social action relies on forcing the government to change aiming at benefiting the poor, such as the lower income residents in Hung Hom, and disadvantaged the oppressed.Social action gets people moving and makes them feel strong that they less submit meekly those who oppressed them. It gives them responsibility for their own lives and actions as well as their leadership potential so it leads a long-term positive social change. Specific intervention strategies and empowerment plans In order to have an effective and impactful intervention, a confrontational organizing approach is used that a campaign is going to be organized for the social action(). The vision of the campaign is that everyone in Hung Hom can enjoy an equality community, and the goal is creating an appropriate distribution of resources, especially on the educational and medical resources. The objective is to empower the grassroots in Hung Hom to fight for resources for themselves; to make a dramatic statement that will focus public attention on the situation of them; to request the government taking action on the issue of inequality in Hung Hom. Moreover, a slogan of the campaign is â€Å"Growing in Hung Hom, studying in Hung Hom!! Living in Hung Hom, Medical consultation in Hung Hom†. Empowerment helps the populations that have traditionally been powerless or haven’t understood their potential to exercise their power. For example, grassroots residents in Hung Hom did not aware that they are oppressed to accept the limited medical and education resources and just thought that they are not rich enough to enjoy services so they should go to other nearby districts. In fact, they have the right to request the government to provide an enough public resources for them. Thus, the community education is very important, especially the Liberating education which is the most suitable method for social action, including a process of conscientization, a development of a critical thinking and an awareness of the hidden assumption of the policy. Moreover, empowerment motivates people to take other kinds of positive action, such as voicing out their collective opinions on other unequal resources allocation in their community. Therefore, at the beginning of the campaign, the focus is to gather grassroots residents in Hung Hom and promote the right which they originally have and aware them they have the choices. For instance, they and their children can enjoy affordable public medical and educational services in their own community. The second step is to encourage them to attend, as a group, a public meeting at which an issue of interest to their community is being discussed, in order to let them understand the policy related to their needs more, so that they can think more and propose the idea to the policy marker. A well communication channel and platform is very important to express the needs and requests. Thus, once they have built in the concept, communications, such as letters, phone calls, email, etc, with policy makers and others in authority (such as the Chief Executive, Secretary of Education) are organized. It is not enough to affect the policy marker if the voice is limited in the grassroots res idents in Hung Hom. Therefore, encouraging media reporting is the next step, which helps to find a support from the public for this social action, by persuading the media to cover events or to publish stories that highlight particular issues or embarrass politicians and others in power who refuse accept the reasonable suggestion advised by the grassroots residents in Hung Hom. In order to make a larger impact on public’s mind for the issues, a street theater will be held at the last part of the campaign, which is meant to ridicule the opposition and to convey profound message in a way that is easily understood and entertaining. Finally, if the social action gains an initial success, there will be aevaluation section including the effective of the empowerment, the assessment of the modified resources allocation and the situation of inequality in Hung Hom as well as the coming planning on the prospect of equality community in Hung Hom. Roles of CD worker in those intervention strategies As a CD worker, there are four roles including enhancing the social interactions and functions of individual and their groups and communities; educating public on economic and social injustice that may hinder community functioning; initiating an advocacy for policy changes in response to needs identified by the community and the society and help them to articulate their common concerns and needs to the public, the government; and formulating and implement social policies, services, and programs that support the development of human capacities. Foreseen challenges and difficulties The redistribution of resources in Hung Hom is obviously beneficial to the grassroots residents. On the contrary, the interest of residents with higher income is affected, so they will oppose the policy proposed by grassroot. Moreover, Hong Kong is a free-market society with a lower tax system that government is unwilling to spend too much money on education and medical services in Hung Hom avoiding the affecting of free-market system. In conclusion, there are lot of difficulties, created by upper class and government, on reaching an equality community. Therefore, based on confrontational organizing approach, the campaign with social action is the most suitable method and it help to empower the grassroots resident in Hung Hom and make an advocacy to ask for resources for them. References Census and Statistics Department Hong Kong. 2011 Population Census Fact Sheet for Kowloon City District Council Hung Hom (G14-G20). Accessed online from http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/district-profiles/ca/kowloon-city/g19.html on 24 Feb 2014. Chui E., Ho L., Law C.K., Lee K.M., Lee V. Wong Y.C.. (2010) Report of The Study of The Future Directions of Providing Social Work Services within the New Urban Renewal Strategy to be Formulated Cox, F. M., Erlich, J. L., Rothman, J., Tropman, J. E. (Eds). (1987). Strategies of community organisation. (4th ed). ITASCA, IL: PEACOCK Publishing, Inc. Marshall, T. H. (1963) ‘Citizenship and social class’, in T. H. Marshall (ed.), Sociology at the Crossroads (London: Heinemann), pp. 67–127. Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Websites http://www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/ www.lifein.hk