What is leading the mentaill to homeless Research Proposal - 2750 Words

What is leading the mentaill to homeless? (Research Proposal Sample) Content: WHAT IS LEADING THE MENTALLY ILL TO HOMELESS?ABSRACTThis study will aim at addressing the issues of homelessness in relation to mental health. The research will be based in the United States of America, from the staff of Heathwayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s Centre for Women (HCW), homeless people and employees from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The main objectives of the study will be to determine the reasons behind the increasing number of mentally ill people in the streets. It will be hoped that this study would be of great significance to various parties. The study undertook a review of various relevant studies done in the area of homelessness amongst single mothers, mentally ill adults and youths. These were presented in the form of a literature review, which will be indicative of the various books and journals that were used to enrich the knowledge base during the research. Literature review showed the gaps and the existing knowledge regarding th e topic. It enabled the researcher to demonstrate and familiarize with the area of study, and showed continuity of the previous work that will be covered in the researcherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s area of study. A critical review will be presented in line with pointing out the evident points of errors of omission or commission in the earlier studies. Conclusions of the studies were also presented, as are the gaps to be filled by the study. To indicate the relationship that exists between the various variables, a conceptual framework will be formulated. A survey research design will be employed in the study. This will enable the research to obtain a descriptive over view of the study. In this case the 50% of the respondents will be considered for the study. The data collected will be analyzed using quantitative techniques. The researcher will edit, code, classify and sort the data upon collection. However, since qualitative data will be also generated, it will be analyzed by use of them es and categories. Graphs, tables and pie charts were used to present frequencies and percentages. These will enable the researcher to arrange the data in a logical sequence for easy interpretation and comparison of different classes of data and also compare and interpret data findings appropriately. INTRODUCTIONÂMental illness or psychological disorder is a state of mental or behavioral anomaly that causes an inability to carry out an ordinary life. The causes of mental illness are valid and include; excessive substance abuse, stigma and discrimination. Homelessness ÂÂdescribes the condition of people without a regular dwelling place.Understanding the reasons behind the increasing number of homeless people, especially the mentally ill is important in giving direction on the salient issues and policies that need to be put in place by the government to solve this menace. According to Substance Abuse and Mental services Administration 20 to25% of the homeless population in United States of America suffers from some form of mental illness. ÂOver the last few years the policy makers have neglected the presence of homelessness people in our cities, but with the ever increasing number and pressure to protect human rights by no governmental organization; this matter has sought the attention of many stakeholders.The main objective of this study is to find the relationship between mental illness and homelessness. Normally mental illness interferes with peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s ability to carry out essential aspects of their life, such as self hygiene and doing basic household chores. Besides, mental illness is attributed to hampering people from forming and maintaining stable relationship. These and other factors cause people to sheer away from mentally ill individuals, thus leaving them homeless.There is a direct correlation, between mental illness and physical health, especially among the homeless. Due to their impaired judgmen t these people fail to take precaution and are often victims of physical problems such as respiratory infection, skin diseases and tuberculosis and HIV, furthermore most homeless people in the USA suffer from substance abuse and drug dependence. An integration of mental illness, substance abuse and poor physical health, is for real too much for this people, and better policies need to put in place to solve this mess once and for all. Better mental health facilities, would not only combat mental illness, but homelessness as well.LITERATURE REVIEWThis chapter presents an overview of existing literature from the theoretical review. It contains information on research carried by other scholars and organizations, as regards homelessness and the mentally ill.According to Averitt (2003), the population of the homeless people in the united states has grown tremendously over the last 20 years, with mentally ill single mothers representing a higher proportionate of this increasing figures. In another study Averitt (2003), argues that homelessness affects this people greatly, in that they are exposed to violence and other stressful events like physical assault and exploitation.The physical and mental health of homeless people was found to be worse compared to that of low income individuals with housing. (Bassuk et al. 1998).Homeless mentally ill mothers, do not give proper care to their children, and a recent survey shows they face their children being taken away from them for better care. (Averitt 2003)These children are negatively affected. They are at high risk of developing emotional and behavioral problems, as well as problems with their physical health and educational achievement. (Buckner, Bassuk and Weinreb 1999; Masten 1992).this risks are higher for the homeless child whose mother has a mental illness.Burg (1994) notes that the cycle of homelessness and repeated psychiatric hospitalization that most homeless people face may be tackled by an integration approach in which basic needs, independent living skills and mental health issues are addressed. Despite that no integrated program so far exists to cater for the need of homeless mentally ill individuals. (Dickey 2000). General objectiveBroadly, this study seeks to establish the reasons behind the rising number of mentally ill homeless people.Hypothesis or specific research questions.What are the factors behind then increasing number of homeless people?How does personal care contribute to homelessness?How does inability to maintain relationship contribute to homelessness?How do frustrations and stress contribute to homelessness?How does poor household management contribute to homelessnessConceptual modelFigure 1Inability to maintain stable relationshipPersonal carePoor household managementStress or frustrations by caregivers and family members.Number of mentally ill homeless peopleIndependent variable dependent variableFigure1Source (aut hor 2014)The figure shows how the various independent variables that is , inability to maintain stable relationship, personal care, poor household management and frustrations of caregivers and family members on the number of mentally ill homeless people. There is a direct relationship between the variables implying that an increase in the independent variables leads to an increase in the number of homeless mentally ill people.Limitations of the StudyIn the undertaking of the research project, a lot of limitations are likely to be encountered. Such may comprise of the following:Time limits- the researcher needs to move up and down to collect information concerning the research. Amid the tight academic schedule time becomes insufficient for travelling from place to place collecting the required data. The respondents too may find time to be a limiting factor considering they too need to accomplish their organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s goals.Financial constraints- this particular research exer cise required a lot of money and other resources that were apparently lacking and if available then in small quantities. Due to this travelling to all places to gather the required could not be effectively and efficiently be achieved.Inadequate information: Given the nature of the study which requires getting information from mentally ill people, getting relevant respondents who are conversant with area is quite a challenge. However ones just need to be a little bit more careful and focus on the right and defined target population that is the care givers and employees of the mentioned organizations, to some extent one can get information from mentally ill people, sounds funny!Access to the target resource persons:-getting access to the managers as well as other personnel who are in position is not only a nightmare but also a hurdle since you have to book for appointment which can be rejected or accepted. This limitation can be overcome by applying public relation skills learnt in th e course of undergraduate degree courses such as communication skills as well as assuring the responds that the findings will only be used for academic purposes and will be confidential.ÂÂRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGYThis chapter presents a research methodology of the study, shedding light on the Research design, population, sample and sampling procedures, instrumentation, and data collection procedures and data analysis. Research DesignÂThe study will employ survey research design. This design is a present oriented methodology used to investigate population by selecting samples to analyze and discover occurrences(Oso and Onen,2009).It will be used to describe and explain events as they are ,as they were and as they will be by providing some numeric description of some part of the ...

Health of the Family Business Consultant Report - Pizza Franco - Free Essay Example

PIZZA FRANCO Contents Executive Summary Health of the Family Business Consultant Report Analysis Conclusion Recommendations References Executive Summary Pizza Franco is a family business that operates a pizza chain and has been in the business for decades. The company has flourished when it comes to expanding its chains but the business lacks behind in terms of having a vision and proper organizational strategies. Pizza Franco has a strong unified family that is running the business with strong communication amongst them. But the company does not have a proper organizational strategy, strategic plan, succession plans and shareholder management plans. Pizza Franco does not have a board of directors and has very few external members as part of their employees. These factors lead to the business not being able to develop properly and effectively and lacking behind when it comes to innovation or diversification. Pizza Franco should establish a proper board of directors that is able to communicate with shareholders on a regular basis, they should observe the business and provide guidelines and recommendations on how to improve the busin ess. The board of directors will help give the business a direction and therefore help in its development. Another important step that should be taken by the business is to ensure that there is cohesion and coordination among family members, more non-family members should be brought in to fill in managerial positions in order to increase diversification among the firm if they have more experience than existing family members. Furthermore, the business should develop a proper succession plan so that conflicts can be avoided when filling out important positions such as CEO, CFO and the experienced person is selected for the position. Health of the Family Business Consultant Report Pizza Franco is a family run pizza chain that has been working for decades and has expanded their operations in a major way. The owner of the company is Don Franco and his sons have been appointed at various managerial positions within the company. The business has been operating for a long time but still it lacks a proper business strategy that is required for a family business. A family business is a synthesis of: ownership control (15 %+) by two or more members of a family or a partnership of families, strategic influence by family members on the management of the firm, concern for family relationships and the dream (possibility) of continuity across generations. By definition, Pizza Franco is a family business. Analysis The key criterion of a successful business is that there should be a mutual understanding and interdependence between all the groups present in a business. These groups include family owner, family members, and non-family members/employees. A proper family business realizes the fact that family dynamics play a very important and influential role in business and family influences the business and vice versa. Furthermore, ownership also plays an important role in influencing the business and the family. So all these groups are related and are independent as well as dependent on each other. If one system is not working properly, it will have a bad effect on the other system. Pizza Franco has established itself as a family business but it is not aware of the relation and influence of these groups on each other. Pizza Franco lacks a proper structured family council that is necessary for discussing and resolving problems before they turn into big issues, educating the family about the re sponsibilities that they have when they are part of the ownership and the management and helps in facilitating a proper communication process that enables the family to create a proper family plan. Pizza Franco also lacks of a proper management team which should include both family and non-family members. When the CFO of Pizza Franco, the eldest son of the owner, died, the family was in a conflict as to who to appoint as the new CFO; Alexander, who was the son of the owner and had no experience at all, or an external manager. The family favored Alexander over an external manager. Having less or no non-family managers reduces the efficiency of the management. The management team is responsible for coming up with business plans, strategic plans and contingency plans and experienced people are needed for this. The most important factor that Pizza Franco lacks in is of an absence of a proper board of directors. A board of directors is important for a company because it adds onto the per spective of the owner, makes efficient and effective business plans, as well as monitors the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s performance, makes important decisions regarding investments and dividends and keep family members informed about the performance of the business. A firm should have a proper organizational strategy so that it can work efficiently. Businesses should be well aware of what their organizational hierarchy is, what type of skills do people at each post should possess and who is responsible for each department in the business. A proper organizational structure should be able to make sure that the organization is decentralized or centralized. The roles of family members and non-family employees should be carefully defined and the extent of the involvement of family members in the management should also be set properly. Pizza Franco lacked a proper organizational strategy. The business had no proper set guidelines for family members and it lacked a sense of direction. I t can be apparent from the fact that when the owner was looking for a replacement for the CFO, he had to consult various people before coming to a conclusion. But despite this, the communication strategy of the business is efficient. In the process of coming to a decision to select the CFO, the father decided to consult all shareholders involved and make a collective decision. Good governance is also important for any business to flourish. Governance needs to be efficient and for a family business to achieve that, they need to make sure that they have a proper structure (with rules and guidelines) and encourage emotional intelligence among their employees (both family and non-family members). Like any other business, a family business should also have a clear strategy concerning their mission, vision, succession laws, shares and much more. Pizza Franco lacks in this area as well. Despite expanding their business to such an extent, they still do not have a formal strategy to carry out their business. While their communication strategy is strong and effective, they need to be clear about what their long-term and short-term goals are and how their business should be able to operate. Family firms need help in governing the familyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"management relationship. The desired outcome is rational economic and family welfare decisions unencumbered by traditional family dynamics. Governance can be provided for through ownership structure, different classes of voting and nonvoting stock, buy-sell agreements, a family constitution. Pizza Franco also lacks of a proper board that is essential for firms to operate effectively. Board composition in family-controlled firms in the SP 500 found that companies, in which independent directors balanced the influence of founding families on the board, performed better and created greater shareholder value. Firms in which founding family ownership remained (and relatively few independent directors served on the board) performed significantly worse than nonfamily firms. Shareholder management in the firm is also very important as shareholders are the ones who own the firm or the business and are responsible for its well-being and development. The shareholders in Pizza Franco are all family members and therefore a proper plan for their management does not exist. Shareholder wealth management and stewardship is important as these factors make sure that the firm is on its way to development and is maximizing its profits. With a proper shareholder wealth management plan in place, the shareholders of the firm will be motivated to maximize the wealth of the firm, increase its stock prices, increase the overall value of the firm and in turn increase the net worth of the individual who is holding the stock. Stewardship, on the other hand, involves the concept that the owner of the firm or any shareholder that is involved in the business is not in it solely for the financial gains b ut wants to contribute something to the community and the workers, they want the business to keep on growing and succeeding long after they are gone and are basically looking for long-term instead of short-term gain because of the desire to have future generations take over the business.Pizza Franco encourages stewardships among its stakeholders as they are expanding their business, are settling in for the long-term and are involving future generations in its operations. But the company, then again, lacks a clear strategy for the business and it needs to define its long-term and short-term objectives. Shareholder meetings are also very important as these represent one of the best opportunities to educate owners about their responsibilities and what the company and its management expect of shareholders and allow for financial, business, and competitive information-sharing and communication on other issues critical to a family firm in a disciplined and proactive manner. Family shareho lders expecting to fulfill their responsibility of aligning management interests with shareholder priorities and holding management accountable need to have a thorough understanding of financial statements. They need to be able to make sense of what the numbers say about the firm and its competitive condition. In order for a family business to keep on operating efficiently for a long time, succession policies need to be defined clearly and efficiently. A proper succession criterion should be set for each post (mainly the important posts such as the CEO) and successor goals should be identified. Without proper successors taking over the business, the family business would fall apart and would fail in a very bad way. A family business also needs to ensure that successors also fit the profile of successful successors. For example they can be people that know the business well or even love the nature of the business, they are guided responsibly by the previous generation, by advisors , and by a board of outside directors, they have good relationships and the ability to accommodate others, especially if part of a successor team, they can count on competent nonfamily managers in the top management team to complement their own skills or they have controlling ownership or can lead, through allies. Pizza Franco did not have clear succession policies. They lacked behind this area. The example of setting up a new CFO when the ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s son died is a clear example of how important it is for the business to have a clear succession policy. Despite having a lack of experience, Alexander (younger son of the owner) was keen and adamant to take his brotherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s place as the new CFO of the organizations. The family could not reach a consensus on this decision and consultants had to be bought in to contribute to this decision. The meeting ended with a mutual agreement of appointing an interim CFO for a period between 6 months up to a year until Alex ander gains the necessary experience needed to succeed. The aim of the consultants was to reach a decision that would satisfy all the family members and avoid a family conflict. Therefore it is clear that Pizza Franco needs to have a proper succession strategy in order to avoid such conflicts and decision making processes in the future and be clear about what the organization wants. Conclusion Pizza Franco is a family business that has developed in terms of its locations but it still needs to go a long way when it comes to strategy. The business has developed itself efficiently in a few areas but it still needs to work in various other parts. Pizza Franco has a family council which lacks in structure and experience but is very effective for collective decision making among family members. Furthermore, they have a vague stewardship strategy as the owner of the business is working for the long-term and want to make sure the business remains successful in the future. The family is also much unified when it comes to taking decisions which is an important trait for a business to have. But Pizza Franco lacks various necessary things. They do not have a board of directors which is important for a business to perform and progress efficiently. The business denotes the notion of unhealthy family culture perhaps rooted in the sonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ limited business knowledge and la ck of vision especially expressed by Alexander who is assertive on his decision to take on the role as the CFO at current times). To an extent this problem lies in the structure of the business, as the head of the family and the business, the father, has not started to integrate the younger sons in the business operations. The company lacks in strategic planning, succession planning and shareholder strategy. These strategies ensure that conflict is minimized among family members. Furthermore, Pizza Franco also lacks in diversifications when it comes to having more non-family members as managers. They do not have a proper organizational culture which is necessary for any business to thrive. Recommendations The most important step that should be taken by Pizza Franco in order to improve their business is to have a board that oversees the business and works for its progress. The role of the board is prominent in the governance of the relationship between a family and its business when the ownerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"familyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"business interaction is perceived as a positive-sum dynamic. Pizza Franco needs to ensure that their board is also adaptable to any sort of change in the company. The board should develop or approve the strategic plan, participate in the management development plan, and prepare the leadership continuity plan and the contingency plan. The board should work works with a professional team of advisors to prepare a succession plan and should use a succession planning consultant to ensure that the board takes steps professionally. The other step that should be taken by them is to have proper defined succession policies. These policies will ensure that conflict among family members is reduced when succession needs to take place and the process is done smoothly. The business needs to ensure that more non-family members are placed at managerial positions if they have the required experience since it will bring more innovation and diversification into the firm. A management team should be developed by Pizza Franco that should evaluate potential successors for management, including family and non-family members and promotion and succession should avoid nepotism and management should promote the most qualified candidate. A systems approach should be adopted by the organization in which all the family members are made aware of their relation to each other and their effect on the business. Training of potential heirs from an early stage in their life by offering them internship or working opportunity at market rates should also be given importance. Employees and members should be made aware about emotional intelligence and they should be able to recognize each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s feelings and manage emotions effectively. References Anderson, R. and Reeb, D., Board Composition: Balancing Family Influence in SP 500 Firms, Administrative Science Quarterly, 49 (2004), pp. 209-237. Astrachan, J. H. (2010). Strategy in family business: Toward a multidimensional research agenda.Journal of Family Business Strategy,1(1), 6-14. Eddleston, K. A., Kellermanns, F. W. (2007). Destructive and productive family relationships: A stewardship theory perspective.Journal of Business Venturing,22(4), 545-565. Gersick, K. E., Davis, J. A.,Hampton, M. M., Lansberg, I. (1997). Generation to generation: Life cycles of the family business. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kellermanns, F. W., Eddleston, K. A., Barnett, T., Pearson, A. (2008). An exploratory study of family member characteristics and involvement: Effects on entrepreneurial behavior in the family firm.Family Business Review,21(1), 1-14. Poza and Daugherty (2013). Family Business. 4th Edition, chapter 6 and 7. 1