Reflecting on the assigned readings answer the following questions:
Discuss three ways in which nurses can become empowered in the workplace.
Identify a leadership theory which can be utilized to support empowerment? Explain your selection.
Provide an example of how management theories can be utilized in the workplace. Critique how leadership and management theories support leadership and followership.
Nurses can become empowered in the workplace in various ways. Firstly, they should be actively involved in decision-making processes that affect their work (Corcoran et al., 2015). This could include being part of task forces or committees focused on creating policies and procedures related to clinical practice. Additionally, nurses should strive for professional development opportunities such as attending conferences and workshops geared towards advancing nursing knowledge and skills (Denisco & Barker 2019). Lastly, nurses should advocate for themselves by advocating for the education of other staff members about evidence-based practices and collaborating with interprofessional teams which facilitate shared leadership roles (Lipson et al., 2017).
One leadership theory that can be utilized to support empowerment is transformational leadership. Transformational leaders focus on developing their followers’ self-esteem while motivating them to reach high goals through inspirational messages based on mutual trust (Posse & Stahl 2018). This type of leader encourages autonomy among staff members while recognizing each member’s unique strengths thus fostering a sense of collective purpose within an organization (Yukl 2006). When used effectively, transformational leadership can encourage nurse engagement while promoting positive outcomes such as improved job satisfaction and greater patient safety among others(Hirani et al., 2016).
In conclusion, individual nurses have the power to influence change within health care settings which ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction among nurses and better patient outcomes. Strategies such as being active participants in decision making processes, pursuing professional development opportunities, or advocating for oneself are effective ways for nurses to become empowered at work. Transformational leadership is one theoretical framework that can be employed by nurse leaders to foster an environment where everyone has a voice leading ultimately leading to a culture of collaboration and respect .
In addition, Vittola expresses the extent of military tactics used, but never reaches a conclusion whether it’s lawful or not to proceed these actions, as he constantly found a middle ground, where it can be lawful to do such things but never always (Begby et al (2006b), Page 326-31). This is supported by Frowe, who measures the legitimate tactics according to proportionality and military necessity. It depends on the magnitude of how much damage done to one another, in order to judge the actions after a war. For example, one cannot simply nuke the terrorist groups throughout the middle-east, because it is not only proportional, it will damage the whole population, an unintended consequence. More importantly, the soldiers must have the right intention in what they are going to achieve, sacrificing the costs to their actions. For example: if soldiers want to execute all prisoners of war, they must do it for the right intention and for a just cause, proportional to the harm done to them. This is supported by Vittola: ‘not always lawful to execute all combatants…we must take account… scale of the injury inflicted by the enemy.’ This is further supported by Frowe approach, which is a lot more moral than Vittola’s view but implies the same agendas: ‘can’t be punished simply for fighting.’ This means one cannot simply punish another because they have been a combatant. They must be treated as humanely as possible. However, the situation is escalated if killing them can lead to peace and security, within the interests of all parties.
Overall, jus in bello suggests in wars, harm can only be used against combatants, never against the innocent. But in the end, the aim is to establish peace and security within the commonwealth. As Vittola’s conclusion: ‘the pursuit of justice for which he fights and the defence of his homeland’ is what nations should be fighting for in wars (Begby et al (2006b), Page 332). Thus, although today’s world has developed, we can see not much different from the modernist accounts on warfare and the traditionists, giving another section of the theory of the just war. Nevertheless, we can still conclude that there cannot be one definitive theory of the just war theory because of its normativity.