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Education is a catalyst of change that guarantees upward social mobility.
Education
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Introduction
Education is a catalyst of change that guarantees upward social mobility. In American society, education is seen as a tool for achieving the American dream. It is meant to equip individuals with the necessary values and skills to develop intelligence and provide financially rewarding career opportunities. Despite the importance of education in improving the quality of life, a significant portion of the American people cannot pursue higher education as it is expensive. The cost of education in America is among the highest worldwide, and it impedes families that are not wealthy enough from providing their children access to higher education. Over the years, the government has introduced various education reforms to create better education equity. America’s current reality, however, shows that these reforms have not been beneficial to every American child, and they have disregarded the economic realities of the American people. The American education system has failed in equalizing the American population and has instead resulted in an educational divide and worsened the wealth and opportunity inequalities in the country.
Access to education is tethered to the income and wealth of a family. Families with accumulated wealth and high income can provide their children with access to education. In contrast, families at the other end of this spectrum cannot fund their children’s education. Financial inequality is one of the biggest threats to education equity. Since 2001, three major educational reforms that have been in America include President Bush’s no child left behind policy, President Obama’s race to the top policy, and President Trump’s school choice policy (Ravitch, 2020). These reforms proved ineffective as they focused on promoting testing, competition, and punishment instead of restructuring the school funding system and enabling desegregation (Ravitch, 2020). Due to the failures of these reforms, States have been forced to come up with measures to address the problem. A state that has had significant success in increasing access to higher education for all its students is Florida. Florida has had significant success as its measures focus on equity, giving each student what they need.
Ways Florida Addresses Education Inequality
One of the tools that the state of Florida has used to beat the challenge of financial inequality is the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP). This program focuses on public school-going students and guarantees that all public-school students have funding and access to their educational needs and services (Florida Department of Education). This funding formula works because funds are allocated to each student that participates in the K-12 public school program. The program’s funding system is based on student participation, local property tax, student population sparsity, cost of educational programs, and district cost differential (Florida Department of Education). The main sources of funds in this program include local, state, and federal support. As 90% of the total funds are from local support, the state of Florida has made it such that if a school district has fewer local funds, the state funds are increased, and if a school district has more local funds, the state funds are reduced (OPPAGA, 2021). This measure ensures that school districts with many students from low-income families have just as much funding as school districts with many students from wealthy families. The FEFP is also designed in a way that local funding is based on property wealth and income (OPPAGA, 2021). High property wealth and income school districts contribute more local funds than low income and property wealth school districts.
To reduce the cost of completing college-level courses, Florida also implemented a policy that exempts most of its students from developmental education. Developmental education equips students with the skills and knowledge necessary to pass college-level courses. In the US, students from minority groups and low-income families make up the largest percentage of the students shuffled into the development education program (Bettinger et al., 2013). While this program intends to prepare students for post-secondary education, its effect is that it increases the drop-out rate of students as it significantly increases the semesters needed to complete the program, thus increasing the cost of education. In 2013, the state of Florida implemented statewide developmental education reforms through the senate bill 1720 (Nix et al., 2020). The reform implemented three major changes: the exemption of students from college placement tests and developmental coursework, the compression of developmental courses or the use of corequisite alternatives, and the enhancement of student advising services. Some of the advantages that this reform has enabled include a reduction in the cost of education, an increase in the number of students from low-income families that complete their coursework, and a reduction in the racial gap witnessed in Florida’s education system (Mokher et al., 2021). Overall, Florida’s developmental education reforms have helped the state attain a significant education equity level.
Conclusion
America’s education system has failed to equalize the American population as it has increased the educational divide and worsened the wealth and opportunity inequalities in the country. As financial inequality is one of the biggest challenges to education equity, there is a need for reforms and measures that best enable students from low-income families to gain access to education and educational resources. For instance, the reforms and steps taken by the state of Florida prove that effective educational reforms can better promote educational equity in the country and help close the ever-growing income and racial gap witnessed in the country.
References
Bettinger, E. P., Boatman, A., & Long, B. T. (2013). Student supports: Developmental education and other academic programs. The Future of Children, 93-115.
Nix, A. N., Jones, T. B., Brower, R. L., & Hu, S. (2020). Equality, efficiency, and developmental education reform: The impact of SB 1720 on the mission of the Florida college system. Community College Review, 48(1), 55-76.
Mokher, C. G., Park-Gaghan, T. J., & Hu, S. (2021). What happens to efficiency and equity? The cost implications of developmental education reform. Research in Higher Education, 62(2), 151-174.
Florida Department of Education. (2021). Funding for Florida School Districts. Retrieved http://www.fldoe.org/fefpOPPAGA. (2021). Florida Education Finance Program. Retrieved https://oppaga.fl.gov/ProgramSummary/BackPageDetail?programNumber=2002&backPageNumber=01Ravitch, D. (2020). The education reform movement has failed America. We need common-sense solutions that work. Time.
6. Steps taken by production manager to reduce risk.
Assumptions made during production
The labour resource output is constant throughout the production process.
When calculating the cost we assume that the amount of work put in by the human resource is consistent with the projections.
That the workers never miss work during the project.
We assume that the workers are never faced by such challenges like sickness that would make them miss a day of work.
That workers work a standard 8 hours daily with no overtime.
We have not created a provision for working overtime or given any rates for calculating overtime wages.
That there is no labour turnover.
The process only uses the workforce present at the start of production up to the end. I.e. there is no exit or recruitment
That there is no other factor affecting production other than the size of the workforce.
That the production engineer will be involved in every step of production
ASSESSMENT A
6. Steps taken by production manager to reduce risk.
Risk is any incident that can happen in the place of work when least expected and usually results to losses or injury to workersCITATION Cro00 l 2057 (Michel & Galai, 2000). It is always prudent that the manager assess the working environment and identify the risks most likely to be faced. Risk management is the scientific approach involved with quantifying the probability of an event occurring and the effects of the occurrence CITATION Kra06 l 2057 (Andreas, 2006). Risk is an important part of every venture and no benefits would be gained by an entry does not take risks. Some practical approaches to alleviating the possibility of a risk happening and mitigation measures if and when a risk occurs are CITATION Kra06 l 2057 (Andreas, 2006);
Making sure all the workers use proper equipment and wear protective gear.
Making sure that the place of work has a strategic exit point in case a risk occurs e.g. fire.
Installing fire fighting equipment and making sure they are well maintained.
Properly securing the production plant to prevent the risk of theft.
Taking the relevant insurance cover to secure the assets.
This measures coupled by creating awareness amongst the workers, rehearsing evacuation and first aid drills would go a long way in ensuring safety in the workplace is guaranteed. The manager should employ risk management strategies most relevant to his company.
7. Reduction of the budget (cost cutting measures).
Budgeting is the process through which an entity formulates a plan to utilise his/her monetary resources by allocating them amongst the various tasks depending on a variety of factors CITATION Ban03 l 2057 (Alan & Gilberti, 2003). Many business enterprises due to market dynamics have been forced to look for cost cutting measures so as to increase the profitability of a firm and to maintain its competitiveness. The production manager can use a variety of approaches in order to cut on the cost. Such steps include;
Recruiting skilled interns- the manager could use the help of interns to supplement the effort of his current workforce. This would help reduce the time frame of the project and resolving of over allocation issues effectively cutting down on cost.
Automation of processes where possible- the production manager could advocate for the mechanization of some processes. This would help in increasing the effectiveness of the workers, reducing the time taken.
Outsourcing- outsourcing involves identifying non-core operations in a business and contracting them to an outside firm which has greater expertise in carrying out that operation at lower costs CITATION Gre99 l 2057 (Greaver & F, 1999). the project manager would recommend outsourcing some non-core production functions to specialists companies. This would essentially reduce the cost of production and ensure effective use of time.
Economies of scale- the manager could work on ways of increasing the output significantly so that the amount of profits earned supersedes the cost.
HR initiative- the manager would let each member participate in giving ideas and raising suggestions on ways in which the production process would be made more effective. Human resource forms an important part of every production process and HR initiative is one of the best methods of bringing out the best in the workers CITATION Noe06 l 2057 (Noe & Raymond, 2006).
These are some of the ways the manager would use in cost reduction.
8. Smooth running of the product development process.
The project manager’s most important responsibility is ensuring that the production goes on as planned. Some of the prudent steps the manager would take to make sure that all goes well during the whole process include;
Have a deep and detailed understanding of the production process- the manager should make sure he equips himself with all the requisite knowledge about the product.
Team work- the manager should make sure that all the processes are harmonised and that all workers are in sync. This would help in ensuring all the employees pull towards the same goal.
Setting objectives- the manager would set objectives which would act as a guideline and reference point during the whole process. Objectives are very important if a desired target is to be achieved.
Creating a schedule- time is one of the most important resources. A work schedule would ensure that time is properly used hence avoiding any delays during production.
Leading frequent team meetings- the manager should conduct regular meetings with his staff to get updates and to solve any challenges that have come up in the course of production.
Conducting random inspections- the manager should carry out random checks throughout the production period so as to keep the staff on their toes. In essence this would help reduce complacency amongst the workers.
Budgeting- a budget is an important tool in today’s business world. A manager should ensure that all production activities are carried out within the confines of the stipulated budget.
Motivating workers- the manager should keep on motivating the workers since they would be faced with numerous challenges all through the production period.
9. Project related supporting activities, plans, events or tasks that you might have overlooked
1. Conducting a consumer survey.
The company before undertaking to produce should have conducted an opinion poll to have the consumers say on the intended product. Consumers are one of the most important part of a firm’s success. Factors affecting the consumers demand for a product vary a lot. Nowadays market surveys is an important method of identifying the needs of the market and identifying market gaps to be exploited. The firm should have used the various statistical methods of collecting data from the masses then the data would be analysed. The results of the analysis would provide a clear picture on the market needs.
2. Assessing environmental impact.
The company should have formed a team to conduct a study on the environmental impacts that would result from production. An environment assessment report would help in deciding whether it was wise to go ahead with the planned production and would also help in devising proper ways of handling and dumping wastes after production
10. Ensuring product quality is maintained.
The quality of a product is what a company prides itself in. Faulty products have been associated with repair costs and at times cost of replacement. Many firms have been affected by this as faulty products affects the reputation of a producer. The two main methods used in ensuring the product is of the right quality are;
Quality assurance- it involves checking the product at every stage of production. As the product passes through different departments it is checked to ensure that it is of the right quality. At times tests are carried out to help out in gauging the quality. Usually samples are picked during production and in some big companies the quality is checked in computerised systems reducing the possibility of having a product. It ensures that the right raw material is used during production and that each product is produced within a specified time. Maintenance of equipment is an important part in ensuring quality is maintained.
Quality control- it’s conducted by quality control inspectors. The inspectors set the threshold in which the products should reach. Quality control is quite an old fashioned method of guaranteeing quality. Raw materials are sampled and analysed and if they are of the required quality production is allowed to start. During production samples of the unfinished product are collected and tested. This helps in ensuring the production process is devoid of ant defects. Once production is complete the products are again checked before being dispatched to the consumers. However, this practise is quite expensive and wasteful thus many companies have embraced quality assurance rather that quality control.
References
BIBLIOGRAPHY Alan, B., & Gilberti, J. (2003). Budgeting. McGraw Hill.
Andreas, K. (2006). Risk Management. Emerald Group Pub.
Greaver, & F, M. (1999). Strategic outsourcing a structured approach to outsourcing decisions and initiative. AMACOM.
Michel, C., & Galai, D. (2000). Risk Management. McGraw Hil.
Noe, & Raymond. (2006). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. (5th Edition ed.). McGraw Hill.
Finance management and reimbursement methodologies
Finance management & reimbursement methodologies
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Part A: Evaluating the importance of government initiatives pertaining to the coding functions
Medicare and Medicaid patient and Program Protection Act of 1987
This initiative enhances comprehensive effort to expand access to healthcare coverage. The access of this health is also ensured at affordable care act. The act also offers voluntary nature of the medical program and hence government states can remain free or decline federal funding to such programs. The patient protection also ensures that health records of patients are well protected against access by illegal individuals unless authorized by the patient in question. The act promotes protection against rise factors associated medication and medical patient through legislations that helps to governs patient’s healthcare (Outterson et al., 2012).
Operations restore trust
This government initiative considers a number of issues that brings about poor design of healthcare simulation models. It also mirrors the possibility of failure occurrence of academic healthcare simulation modelers with an aim of building model that that mirrors the actual healthcare harms as recognized by stakeholders of healthcare system.. In this case, healthcare planners are used as change agents to enhance the acceptance of simulation in the health sector. The design approach or methodology used determined the effectiveness of the system simulation model for healthcare. On the other hand, , the efficiency, effectiveness and reliability of automated healthcare system is determined by error free coding that also depends on the model design (Virtue, Chaussalet & Kelly, 2013).
The automated health system that is error free restores maximum trust to stakeholders who needs quality and dependable information from the health care system. Therefore, the operations of restore trust tries to minimize or eliminate poor adoption of simulation modeling in healthcare. As a result, this initiative has an importance of improving the efficiency of healthcare system operations by reviewing differences to other sectors, reviewing size complexity as well as stakeholder issues, present and prospect challenges. In addition, the initiative can help in the review of healthcare planning which also contribute to improvement of operational efficiency. This also implies that healthcare planning can play a significant role in the use of healthcare simulation modeling to get enhancement in efficiency of operations (Virtue, Chaussalet & Kelly, 2013).
Medicare integrity program
The Medicare integrity program initiative is also geared towards improving the effectiveness of medical healthcare programs. The program thus ensures that healthcare information of patients is true, reliable and not corrupted in anyway. The coding functions used for the automation of healthcare system thus reduce the possibility of illegal alteration or modification of patient’s information. This is possible given that coding functions can be used effectively in order to reduce risk of errors in the clinical coding process hence improving quality of healthcare services in health organization, hospitals and other health centers. The initiative for that matter ensures that the information that comes from the healthcare medical system is of the expected content and standard (Slutsky et al., 2013)
Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and modernization Act of 2003: Recovery demonstration project
The legislation in this act ensures that patients get the right treatment in terms of the type and dosage of drugs or medicine used for the respective disease diagnosis. The initiative also ensures that medical staff in various health centers and organizations employs the use of modern method of disease diagnosis and treatment for purposes of accuracy and reliability. The use of modern methods is also importance in ensuring that clinicians and medical practitioners follow the right process in diagnosing and treating of patients. The coding functions of clinical processes by informatics professionals ensure the use of automated modern methods for implementation of this act.
Prescription drugs have vast potential of improving health and longevity with past notable innovations in pharmaceutical field. This past innovations is also characterized by therapies that raised significant safety anxieties. This initiative thus have the importance of responding to challenges that pose threats to the safety of drug prescription through regulation agencies, pharmaceutical firms and academic institutions in order to check and assess pharmaceutical risks and benefits. The medicine prescription drug, improvement and modernization act 2003 also has the importance of authorizing agency for healthcare research and quality in order to fund research concerning the effectiveness and suitability of health services in addition to prescription of drugs (Jingwen Caleb & Jobi 2013).
Part B: The role of quality improvement organization
The role of quality improvement organizations contracting under centers for Medicare and Medicaid services as applies to coding process involves facilitating extensive quality improvement activities for the implementation of evidence based enhancements in care transitions through community organizing, technical assistance and participation monitoring including implementation adverse effects and effectiveness. By so doing, the quality improvement organizations reduces errors experienced by medical beneficiaries at the time of transitions among care settings thus reducing harms that include unnecessary re-hospitalizations (Brock et al., 2013).
Part C: Diagram for the activities of revenue cycle
The following shows the diagram of activities of each step of revenue cycle in their order of occurrence.
The health information management (HIM) staff members will have various roles during each step of the revenue cycle where they are likely to be involved. First, the HIM staff will be responsible for updating financial information of patient regarding the amount paid by the respective patient to the healthcare provider through the service process. The information update for patient by HIM staff is also done to premium payment to managed care organization or the insurer. HIM staff also has the responsibility of processing the third party transactions which involve premium payment by the employer to the insurer on behalf of the patient. In addition, they also process patient benefit plans that are paid by premiums at the insurance company level. In addition, they also back up information processes at each stage of processing, producing payment receipts as well as enforcing protection measures for health information which includes financial information.
Part D: Addressing the automated billing report errors:
Date of service error
The case where the date of service on one portion of the bill for a same-day surgery is not in agreement with the date on other portions of the bill can be solved or corrected by referring from the hard copy source document where the bill transaction was first recorded prior to entering information in the computer system. This correction is subject to the assumption that the automated system has no design or implementation error, otherwise, system redesign and implementation can be considered.
Inaccuracy of diagnosis and procedural codes
The errors associated with diagnosis and procedural codes can be solved or corrected by re-designing and implementing the automated system in accordance with the required procedures of diagnosis.
A billed procedure to the wrong patient
The case where a procedure is billed to the wrong patient can be corrected by reversing the transaction where possible. T he automated system can also be investigated for design errors where system redesign can be considered, followed by implementation of the corrected design.
References
Outterson, K., Hermer, L. D., Huberfeld, N., Leonard, E. W., Rosenbaum, S., & Watson, S. D. (2012). Brief of Amici Curiae Health Law & Policy Scholars and Prescriptions Policy Choices in Support of Respondents on the Constitutional Validity of the Medicaid Expansion in State of Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services. Boston Univ. School of Law, Public Law Research Paper, (12-27), 12-27.
Virtue, A., Chaussalet, T., & Kelly, J. (2013). Healthcare planning and its potential role increasing operational efficiency in the health sector: A viewpoint. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 26(1/2), 8-20.
Slutsky, J., Atkins, D., Chang, S., & Sharp, B. A. C. (2013). Foreword. Comparing Medical Interventions: AHRQ and the Effective Health Care Program. Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, 1.
Brock, J., Mitchell, J., Irby, K., Stevens, B., Archibald, T., Goroski, A., & Lynn, J. (2013). Association between quality improvement for care transitions in communities and rehospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries. Jama, 309(4), 381-391.
Jingwen Tan, G. Caleb Alexander & Jobi B.Segal. (2013). Academic centers play a vital role in the study of Drug Safety and Effectiveness.PMCID:NIHMS572328.