Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs & Discrimination
Discrimination and discriminatory practices in organisations will damage the patient’s quality of life in relation to Maslow’s analysis of human needs. Maslow believed that these needs can be shown using a pyramid table, because one level has to be completed before the next level is begun. There were five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs;
- Physiological needs ~ this is the need for oxygen and water and the maintenance of a constant core body temperature. These are the strongest needs a person can have because failure to achieve these will most likely result in death.
- Safety ~ when all physiological needs have been met, the need for security and safety arises; this includes housing and not being inside a hostile environment.
- Love, affection, belongingness ~ when both needs for safety and physiological wellbeing have been met the need for socialisation emerges. Maslow suggests that some people may seek to counteract feelings of alienation and loneliness at the cost of more important needs. This involves the feeling of belonging (solid friendship).
- Esteem ~ when all of the first three needs have been met the need to raise esteem becomes dominant. This involves self esteem and is basically the person learning to liking themselves and having the self confidence to stand up and speak up for themselves. This also involves the feeling of respect gained from others. When these needs are fulfilled the person will probably feel like a valued member of society and will more than likely be satisfied with their lives.
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Self Actualisation ~ The top level of the Pyramid shows itself to be the least important, this means that to feel completely happy about life you have to achieve completion of this level, because it is the top level of the performance pyramid it is therefore also the hardest to achieve. Self actualisation is knowing where you are going with your life and what you want to do with your life, those who achieve this are often very confident and are nearly always very successful with their lives
Placement
For legal reasons I can’t name the place of my group interaction because the place in question has now closed down, and I did not ask for there permission to include there name in my work, however I can still present as much information as possible.
Background;
The placement for my group interaction was local as it is situated in the small countryside village where I live in beautiful surroundings with a superb garden this was a fantastic place for a Residential home. The Owners of the property live in a house just off of the care home’s grounds as to provide extra security and the care home itself has been in business for about 9 years.
Establishment Information;
Type of Registration: Care Home
No. Registered Places: 16
Categories catered for: Old Age
Brief Description of the services provided;
The care home is a large regency house set in its own grounds close to the centre of the small countryside village, Cerne Abbas. The home is registered to accommodate up to 16 elderly people requiring residential care. A stair lift provides easy access from the ground floor up, but I’m not sure how many floors the stair lift goes up as the home has three floors.
After talking to the residents there and asking a few questions to the senior members of staff I then went and contacted the NCSC (National Care Standards Commission) and asked them to send me all the information they could upon the home. They sent me all the publicly licensed information on the place that they could. What I found in the Inspection Report for January 2004 shocked me. It turned out that the home had failed on most points of the inspection and were given a year and a half to sort everything out and put right what was wrong. Without mentioning the newfound information I had encountered I asked to go back and perform a second interaction with a group of residents, of course they obliged but my questions to the residents were a little different this time, I asked them about them time spent at the home. All in all most of the residents were more than happy with the time they spent there which helped relax me a bit, but also led me to ask some more important questions to the staff, they did not want to say too much about there jobs but seemed quite happy there, but whilst watching the staff from a distance I managed to spot some of the problems mentioned in the report, such as not putting medicine back in the correct places straight away. But as the report said the residents of the home, had a real trust with the staff and all seemed to communicate very well and were always very polite with one another. Although this installed me with confidence in the quality of the owners and the staff it also made me study the report harder to try and find information regarding confidentiality, this is covered in my next section.
Confidentiality;
I was able to ask a member of staff about how the confidentiality of the home was maintained. They said that all the records and information was kept manually in duplicate (One in the house and one in the owners possession) in case of emergency also on top of this the records were kept on file on a computer database that was password encrypted upon boot-up. This was good to know that all the information was being kept safe. The information received from my report on the home actually shows that there are no real problems with the maintenance of confidentiality in the home, required standards of care have all been met, but there however is one breach in the Data Protection Act (1998). The D.P.A states that ‘The home must be able to demonstrate that it has registered with the information Commissioner in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998’. The report states that at the date of the inspection the requirement to comply with this aspect of the D.P.A was made for the third time and had to be sorted immediately, whether it was or not I can’t say.
The Interaction setting:
The large main room was the setting for my first recorded interaction, the room had a floral décor and had what I think was about 10 comfortable armchairs and I think two 2 seat sofas and a three seat sofa, and all the chairs where arranged in such away that they could watch the television that could be wheeled around on a small and rather unsteady looking trolley. The large patio doors opposite the entrance offered good natural lighting into the main room and also let a small amount of background noise come in through the garden. The room was void of any major distractions and the staff seemed keen to let me really take control of the situation as they left only one senior staff member watching from afar.
People spoken to
Obviously for legal reasons even though they agreed to be part of my interaction I’m not going to incorporate there exact names, but can use names similar to there real names, before I recorded my interaction I went around and just spoke to them individually to help them learn my name, and ask them if they would be willing to take part in a group exercise for part of my coursework. Five people took part in my interaction, four of which were male, this made for a nice cosy atmosphere and meant I didn’t have to worry about having to control a very large group
The manuscripts of my interactions are to follow at the ends as apendicies; these however will not be complete manuscripts of everything that was said but a short five to six minute cut of the whole conversation.
Seating arrangements meant that there were able to wheal the television away and provide me with a chair that I rarely sat on; this was great because it meant that although it the layout did not present a stereotypical semi-circle shape, it provided all the benefits as I was left as everyone’s point of attention.
When I went in there I asked a series of questions with varying answers and responses allowing those who wanted to, to expand on what the said by trying to ask slightly more open questions than I might normally have asked.
Part of first manuscript
Me; [at this point I am standing and walking around the space in front of my chair] First off, I have been round to see you individually but just in case you have forgotten, my name is Adam. I have come to see you here today as part of my A level coursework, so don’t worry the only one under any pressure here today I can assure you is me. I hope you don’t mind but I would like to ask you some questions about your past and hopefully get your viewpoints on some more current issues as well. [now I choose to sit down in my seat] I have an exercise I would like to do, that is if you would be willing, I would like to go around the circle and discuss a date that means something to you, and why. Is there anyone who would perhaps like to start us off?
Mr Grassner; [after a nervous few seconds a man two seats to my right starts everyone off] Well I would say the most important day for me must be October the 13th. That was the date I first took Irene out for a meal, I think I was in my twenties then.
Me; Would I be correct in thinking, perhaps Irene was your wife then?
Mr Grassner; Oh Yes Irene was my wife, she was five years older than me, back then that was a big deal for my family, they always wanted me to marry someone younger.
Mr Thorntone; Do we have to here this again Albert, how many times do we have to here this then? I don’t whish to here all the same stories again, please just I don’t want to listen to this again!
Mr Grassner; This has nothing to do with you George, I’m explaining to the boy what is special to me, and that just happens…
Mr Thorntone; To be your wife [this was said in quite an aggressive tone], honestly will you ever shut up about her?
Me; [Trying to keep the peace] Well I haven’t heard this story so please, can Mr Grassner continue, I would like to here more about Irene
Mr Grassner; [after about five seconds of silence] Well anyway that date was the day that I first took here out for a meal, and a year later on the same date I proposed to her.
Me; That sounds romantic, how did you propose to her?
Mr Grassner; Well I did it the proper way, when we had finished our meal at the restaurant I took her home, and I got down on one knee and proposed to her.
Me; That does sound romantic, thank you very much Mr Grassner. Mr Thorntone would perhaps you like to share with us your most important date?
My communication evaluation
I think all in all my communication went well as there were not to many problems, there was the odd problem where more than one person spoke at once, but they appeared to be quite polite people. I think the problems that there were my mainly my fault. There were two occasions were although I was trying hard to listen I caught my self not looking at the individual talking but looking around the room to see everyone else was listening. There was one point where two of the elderly men got into an argument because one claimed that he didn’t ‘go one day without mentioning’ his wife, this gave me a chance to use the assertive skills that we had been taught, perhaps I should have used it sooner, and saved time by stopping the argument as soon as it started, instead I waited for there to be a moment of silence before I said to the main who complained that I would like to here about his wife, because I had not heard about her before, I found it hard to restrain my voice to a calm yet loud tone, to smooth and relax the situation. I went around and asked all of them the same question, when I finished asking the question I had prepared, I went around and asked them to tell me what they thought of the home, and nearly everyone there said that they really liked there time in the home as it was nice and peaceful.
I’m not sure whether my body language was as defined and open as it should have been, but I did make an attempt to utilise a bit of reflective listening and even a little bit of paraphrasing. I will need to work on these aspects again for my individual interaction.
Placement
For legal reasons I can’t name the place of my group interaction because the place in question has now closed down, and I did not ask for there permission to include there name in my work, however I can still present as much information as possible.
Background;
This is adapted from the Cerne Abbas school web page “Cerne Abbas CE VC First School is a Church of England voluntary controlled First School. The school is situated in the small village of Cerne Abbas, in the Cerne valley in West Dorset, and serves a wide rural area. The school is smaller than most other local primary schools, with some 24 boys and 41 girls between the ages of 4-9 years old on roll. Pupils come from a broad cross section of local families and all speak English as their first language. The school is a church school and encourages Christian values of respect, caring and sharing in all we do. Prayers and assemblies are a normal part of the schools life”.
Establishment Information;
Type of Registration: CE Primary School
No. Students: 24 male, 41 female
Categories catered for: Children between 4-9
Brief Description of the services provided;
Extensive community involvement draws on local talents for the benefit of pupils and ensures that the school is at the heart of village life.
The school is actively involved in village life; for example, pupils join in village country dancing events and races on Pancake Day; members of the local community attend school events, such as the summer fete, and some older citizens, as well as a number of parents, are voluntary helpers within classrooms.
Many parents are also actively involved in the life of the school. The Friends of Cerne Abbas School Association (FOCAS) is successful in raising considerable sums of money for the school. This is used well to buy additional resources and to help fund extra-curricular activities; for example, the cost of transport for many of the school visits the children make.
Confidentiality;
Speaking with the secretary of the school Mrs. Ryan I found out that like my first setting student records are kept in both manual and electronic forms. In the schools case the records are kept on a local intranet database, which keeps the data safe and lets the council keep track of student details at the same time. Up to date manual records are kept as well in case of an emergency. Not so much security has to be taken care for, for the school because not all medical information and personal information needs to be kept, only names and address really need to be stored.
The Interaction setting:
The setting for my interaction with Mathew Kirby was the teachers lounge, I was left completely alone with Mathew in a room that provided several barriers for communication, which had to be worked around, First I asked for the intercom that is part of a straight link to the school office to be turned down, as to avoid interruptions from people entering and exiting the school, then I opened a window so that the temperature was not quite as high and then I made sure I chose my seat carefully, to avoid sitting either end of the coffee table, we sat next to each other in armchairs, so that we were both comfortable and then we just started talking naturally. I had met Mathew before so a new about his interests and had built a good rapport with the young child. I felt that he trusted me with all his childlike innocence, which I knew was brilliant for communication, also he appeared a very intelligent child for his age. He talked
People spoken to
I spoke to Mrs Ryan about confidentiality in the school and I spoke to Mrs Riley the head teacher via email to ask about using the school as a setting for an interaction
Manuscript 2
Adam: (Pressing the record button on my PDA) and we are recording!
Mathew: Caw, cool!
Adam: After that I can play it back to you if you want. I apologise for my cold
Mathew: I’ve got a cold to
Adam: Yeah, how long have you had it for?
Mathew: Since, about last Saturday, but I have carried on as normal.
Adam: I’ve tried to carry on but I’m not sure how well I’m succeeding. What did you do last night then?
Mathew: I had taekwondoe last night, I really enjoy that, it was brilliant yesterday, but I really hurt my leg.
Adam: You hurt your leg?
Mathew: I like, bruised a ligament, I think that was what I did. It’s quite bad and it really hurts.
Adam: Well that does sound like a nasty injury.
Mathew: I’ve had to keep it bandaged up, look (showing me his injured leg).
Adam: It was your knee that you hurt then, now I see why you have the bandage on there, that could really hurt if you damaged that any further
Mathew: Yes the doctor said that I may break it if I do it again, and now I’m not allowed to play sport for a few days until its better. I’m up for a new grading soon (referring to Taekwondoe).
Adam: You told me last time I saw you but what belt did you say you were on now?
Mathew: Yellow, that’s the third belt you can get, soon I will be on the forth, I could have gone on to green tip, which is half way between yellow and green but when we went on holiday, not the one at Christmas but the time before, I missed the grading. Yow can get private grading but that costs a lot of money, I don’t know how much but my Dad said that it’s not really worth it unless there is someone else doing it to because it’s so expensive.
Adam: Are the private gradings easier?
Mathew: Yes because there are not many people there so the tutor can slow things down and help you through it.
Adam: Where do you do it to then?
Mathew: I do it at St. Osmunds, the sports hall there is really nice, and they have a lot of nice equipment
My communication evaluation
I had met Mathew before so a new about his interests and had built a good rapport with the young child. I felt that he trusted me with all his childlike innocence, which I knew was brilliant for communication; also he appeared a very intelligent child for his age. He talked about the sports he participated in, which were Taekwondoe, rugby and tennis, the sports he liked including football and badminton and sports he did not like, which was only really boxing. I found it very easy to sit and listen to Mathew, who appeared very eager to speak to me. I found that after prior practice I found myself using a much more open posture and maintaining eye contact for most of the interaction, this was something I did not expect because at this age most children tend to not keep eye contact with elders.
There were very few barriers for communication between us. There was no sound pollution from nearby distractions; there were no plant or high tables between us to produce a visible barrier between communications. Both mine and his body language was very open and relaxed which I believe is caused by the good rapport we share, due to the fact that I had met him several times prior to the interaction and shared similar sporting interests (we both like Manchester United).
Although I did not show it in my manuscript there were plenty of prompts involved in the conversation that I used to try and get him to explain points further. Paraphrasing and reflective listening are also present in our interactions and my manuscript “You hurt your leg?” and “It was your knee that you hurt then…” are examples of this. I made a good attempt at bringing in empathy whilst talking about his injury “…that does sound like a nasty injury”. I think that this was a much more successful interaction than the last one, probably due to the good relationship which we share, which goes to shoe that relationships are important for good communication.
Analysis of improvement in Communication
Before I took lessons in communications I had not heard of either paraphrasing or reflective listening, I took little care in my body language positions, but did try and maintain eye contact when speak or listening. My first interaction I think was a milestone in the utilisation and knowledge of communicational techniques, I utilised paraphrasing and reflective listening and made the best of the seating plan and made an attempt to minimalise confrontation and distraction. I made some mistakes with body language and lacked the authority to cut in and prevent an argument from taking place. Unfortunately the main problems I was confronted with were not addressable with my second interaction, which I think was a prime example of how communication should be carried out, the whole conversation was primarily him talking to me and giving me great practice for my listening skills, there are still a few areas I wish to improve upon with my group interactions so I can continue to practice these, I also need to maintain my levels of confidence and knowledge of techniques when communicating with individuals
