Nursing: Jewish Discussion - Essay Example

?            Nursing: Jewish Discussion           Nursing: Jewish Discussion Religion within the workplace and public areas has been a somewhat sensitive topic over the years especially when an individual’s faith has been seen to have an effect on the manner of lifestyle they are supposed to lead (Levy, 2010). This may bring complications in scenarios where these lifestyles differ from the norm by the majority of the people within the workplace as it brings about the question of what are the considerable lengths that should be taken to ensure the comfort of these individuals (Aamodt, 2010). Though Lisa’s request can be understandable from a personal standpoint when factoring in the seriousness with which she has began to take her faith over the last 10 years or so, to ensure fairness to both parties, her supervisor’s point should also be considered as well. There are various factors within this scenario that should be looked into before they are able to adequately absorb all the issues that come into play in this situation. The first issue to be taken into consideration is the length of time that Lisa has been seriously practicing her Jewish customs. This is to determine the level of seriousness with which she takes her faith so as to decide whether her request is a genuine one or simply an attempt at getting the weekend free for her own enjoyment. Despite that she did not become a serious practicing Jew until late into her 20s, it should be noted that since then, she has made an attempt to follow the various customs that are required of her for a period of over ten years. The length of time shows the level of commitment that Lisa has to her Jewish religion and thus it can be decided that her request is a genuine one. Due to this fact, it can be said that her request is an understandable one as she is only requesting for permission to practice her faith the way she is supposed to which is a freedom that is available to all citizens of the country (Muchinsky, 2012). The request thus cannot be considered to malicious in any form or nature and can be seen to be coming from an honest place. However, this request  may be difficult to process as the needs of the other employees have to be taken into consideration as well as employee equality is an essential factor in any working organization (Belschack & Den Hartog, 2009). If Lisa is granted the permission that she seeks, it will seem as if she is receiving special treatment due to her religion, which may bring about a number of complications as a result. The special treatment of one worker over the others may lead to a drop in morale among other issues that would cause a decrease in the level of quality of work output as a result (Levy, 2010). Thus, it is essential for the supervisor to come up with a way that will ensure there is no special treatment that is offered to Lisa. There are various ways for solving this, and this includes Lisa taking on extra shifts during the rest of the week to compensate for the time that she wishes to excuse herself. Another way is through the exchange of shifts with other nurses who may be free during these times which though may take some convincing as it would be hard  to convince one to give up their free weekend. However the maintenance of fairness among employees is the most essential issue and the main concern that should be upheld. However, the supervisor can be said to have lacked the required cultural competence in the handling of that particular situation. Though his concerns were technically justifiable, the means in which he voiced these concerns could have been done in a better manner. It is always important to take into consideration the feelings of the individual that one is talking to when communicating with a person from the workplace despite the position that either party may hold (Befort & Budd, 2009). His harsh refusal and suggestion that Lisa moves back to New York could be taken out of context according to the nature of the conversation that was taking place. A superior is expected to treat their subordinates with mutual respect at all times, and this does not appear to have been the case in this scenario (Belschack & Den Hartog, 2009). If Lisa was to discuss the issue at a team meeting she could present her concerns via the topic of religious freedom, a right that she should be accorded as a US citizen  Response to Classmate’s Post The response from my fellow classmate over Lisa’s predicament brings out a number of valid points in the post. The first being the issue of the diversity with regard to culture that is present in the workplace, and the manner it which it affects an individual’s characteristics (Belschack & Den Hartog, 2009). This can be considered to be a significant observation especially in the case of Lisa as it serves as a prime example of the way an individual’s culture may affect their work. It is important to have this point in mind when considering a situation that requires the understanding of an individual’s background in order to get where they are coming from with a particular request. The respect of the different cultures that exist in a workplace is also important so as to encourage unification among the different employees (Belschack & Den Hartog, 2009). The suggestions offered about how the issue of Lisa’s request can be dealt with amicably also offer a number of good solutions that would have been preferable to the way the super visor actually handled the situation. The last suggestion involving seniority however may not go down well with other nurses and they may feel that she is being given preferential treatment. This is especially true if Lisa’s claim to seniority is based on the number of years she has been an employee and not actual rank. The nurses may not understand the argument that Lisa has been in service for 12 years and therefore she should be able to get a certain amount of consideration. The fact that the supervisor id not culturally competent is definitely agreeable considering his actions and the suggestions of activities in the team meeting would bring about a method of working out matters positively.                           References Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Industrial/organizational psychology: an applied approach (6th ed. ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Belschak, F. D. & Den Hartog, D. N. (2009). Consequences of Positive and Negative Feedback: The Impact on Emotions and Extra-Role Behaviors. Applied Psychology 58 (2). Befort, S. F. and Budd, J. W. (2009) Invisible Hands, Invisible Objectives: Bringing Workplace Law and Public Policy Into Focus. Stanford University Press. Levy, P. E. (2010). Industrial/organizational psychology : understanding the workplace (3rd ed. ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Muchinsky, P. (2012). Psychology Applied to Work, (10th ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press. Read More