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Running head: CASE STUDY 1
CASE STUDY 4
Case Study
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Case Study
Blindness Disability
Sightlessness is defined as blindness. When someone has blindness, they are unable to see anything at all. The term "blindness" refers to the inability of one's eyes to discern between dim light and strong light, when used literally. In current society, the terms "blind" and "blindness" refer to a wide spectrum of visual impairments. Severe loss of vision in one or both eyes with some residual eyesight is commonly called "blindness." People over the age of 50 account for 80% of all cases of blindness. Blindness can be caused by diabetes, macular degeneration and other conditions that affect the retina and optic nerve. One of the most common and disabling conditions is blindness. Around 246 million individuals in the world have limited vision, and 39 million are legally blind. About 90% of the world's visually handicapped citizens reside in underdeveloped countries. Blindness is a disability that affects a person in different levels of life where there are those that are born blind and there are those that becomes ill along the way losing their sight (Angkananon et al., 2021). There are different experiences for the people with blindness and this include those that are completely blind and cannot even see colors. On the other hand, there are those blind but they are able to recognize colors, varying shapes and a varying degree of light. There are about 25 of those visually impaired that can navigate without the use of the white cane and this is based on how the control their movement and their ability to see objects on their way (Angkananon et al., 2021). Blindness is a disability that affects an individual ability to work in a workplace that demands to have sight to handle some tasks like in the production section where machines are handled and it is a high risk for them to work in the kind of work environment.
Program Need for the Blind
People with visual impairments have a wealth of options at their disposal around the country. People who have lost their vision have access to a variety of programs and services aimed at helping them succeed in school, careers, health, the legal system, and other aspects of daily life. One of the most philanthropic institutions in the United States for the benefit of people with vision impairments is the American Printing House for the Blind. It is the mission of this group to remove the daily obstacles that persons with visual impairments confront in their daily lives at home, at work, in school, and in public. People who are blind or visually impaired can find it difficult in securing employment because of the challenges that they have due to their disability but organizations like American Printing House for the Blind are there to offer necessary support. There is an increasing push for equitable job opportunities for the blind and visually impaired in the population despite the needs that they have but because offering them the support needed contribute to them delivering value. The blind people require support in terms of resources that helps them secure job employment and be able to deliver and this include developing assistive technologies, and educating community leaders to raise awareness to support the needs of the visually impaired population. For those who are blind or visually impaired, the National Federation of the Blind provides a wide range of services that include training and education, as well as assistive technology and goods, advocacy, and outreach.
Assistive Technology Need
Each and every person's life has been impacted by technology in the modern world. To ensure that employees and entire population with visual impairments can take use of the full range of functional, job function, and social opportunities available to them, assistive technology is critical. Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, purchased commercially off the shelf or adapted or custom-made for use by individuals with disabilities falls within IDEA's definition of assistive technology (Götzelmann, 2018). As a result, employees with disability in an organization deserve to have an environment that is favorable for them to work and this include computers designed with voice technology that allow them use computer comfortably. There are two primary categories of assistive technology for people with visual impairments: low vision devices and blindness aids (Götzelmann, 2018). The employees deserve training on how to use the assistive technology as a way of orientation for them to deliver quality services in the workplace.
Orientation and Mobility Instruction Need
“IDEA is as supportive services as are required to assist a child or an adult with a disability to benefit from special education and also employment, additionally, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act includes orientation and mobility services” (Koutheair Khribi, 2022). Employees who are blind or visually impaired may get orientation and mobility assistance from trained professionals, as defined by IDEA, to help them become familiar with and move around their immediate surroundings at in the community and the workplace for more safely. For people with visual impairment, orientation and mobility services are an essential aspect of teaching them how to navigate their surroundings and retain or regain their sense of where they are going (Koutheair Khribi, 2022). A long cane can also be used by those who are blind or visually impaired to help them navigate their surroundings safely and independently. An key part of the expanded core curriculum is orientation and mobility (Erickson, 2022).To get around the environment in a safe and efficient manner, the management in organization has the role of making sure that the need of moving around for the blind is offered by limiting destructions that might risk their lives.
The Program Design for the Visually Impaired
In the workplace, there is the need to design a service program for the visually impaired especially the blind in order to ensure that they get the necessary support that makes them work effectively. There are various service designs that should be put into consideration for the visually impaired that makes them feel accommodated in the workplace.
Administrative Considerations
The administration has a huge infrastructural role in making sure that the people living with disability are considered in how they would navigate within the office and the entire workplace environment. People with disabilities can benefit greatly from simple changes to their environment. Having a workstation that is easy to navigate is essential. Consider developing a good terrain in the environment also side rails that guides the visually impaired employee to the office without much struggle (Kajur, 2020). The issue of infrastructure should be extended to the toilet also to ensure that employee has a guiding side rails that makes their movement within the workplace favorable. The administrative management should consider acquiring the computers and other technology that are favorable in serving the interest of the blind within the organization and ensure that the offer their services based on their job description without much stress. During meetings and presentations, the administrative management should consider using verbal communication on describing graphs charts and other visual aids that helps the employees to also contribute to the meeting and get insight about the progress of the firm.
The administrative consideration should also include offering training to the entry level employees that are visually impaired in how to use the assistive technology like the computer that has voice and brail technology to facilitate their service delivery (Kajur, 2020). The administration through the human resource department should consider hiring employees with visual impairment without discrimination. People with vision impairment can be highly motivated and successful, having surmounted what many people consider a difficult work/life hurdle. As a result, finding and recruiting such persons should be considered by the administration. There are a number of organizations and agencies that can assist in finding and employing individuals who are visually impaired or blind since they are already prepared for the job market like training on assistive technology and best mobility.
Managing Staff
The management of staff with visual impairment requires a design that focuses on the assistive technology needed and modification of the environment to create the best place that an employee can deliver. The design of handling the visually impaired employee is to first modify the workplace and make sure that the assistive technology is in place that ensure they deliver services. The management should listen to the employees demands in terms of their environment that include the arrangement that makes sure that they are comfortable and can move around sourcing files and also attend to clients without much struggle. The management would be responsible in making sure that the visually impaired employees are working independently by supporting their demands to make sure that they work like any other employee without the need of any special attention or favors. In the process of evaluation of the productivity of the employees, there should be equality in the process and those with visual impairment should not be favored especially when all the assistive technology that helps them work effectively are provided. There is a high possibility that those with visual impairment do not like being favored in the workplace because this is what makes them inferior and not worth being employed. There is the need of showcasing the capability of every employee and this would make the visually impaired work harder and prove that they can deliver when offered the necessary support.
Workplace Conflict
In the workplace, conflict is something that normally occur because people cannot agree on everything and there is a point where different opinions and suggestions are experienced. Understanding that a conflict is a common aspect that is experienced is much important because it guides on the ways of looking for a solution towards the particular problem. In the case of virtually impaired employees, a design of addressing issue of conflict in a fair way without favor is needed to avoid developing negative energy in the workplace. A design that brings equality in the workplace is what needed and in a scenario where the virtually impaired employee are in a conflict with the general employee require wisdom in handling the conflict where everyone is given an opportunity to express dissatisfaction. The mediator or the person taking the neutral ground should handle the issue professionally and there should be no favor to the virtually impaired employees or being considered inferior but justice served and a decision that serves the interest of both parties is offered (NHS, 2021). The main reason to why favors’ are avoided is to promote diversity in the workplace and this would not work when the other employees are feeling that the people living with disability are getting more attention and favor from the management. During the hiring process and also orientation practice, all the employees should be subjected to an interactive session where they are encouraged to work together and support collaboration without the need of discriminating one another. Promoting the culture of diversity and inclusivity is a design that works towards making the virtually impaired feel respected and their contribution is appreciated (NHS, 2021). There is the approach that the workplace conflict is addressed by looking at the causal factors that led to the disagreement and this helps in finding a solution to the problem. There is the need of building the foundation that all the employees are equal from the treatment and also attention they get in terms of disciplinary action and also evaluation because they all have the resources necessary to deliver.
Legal/Ethical Consideration
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is illegal to discriminate against an individual with a disability, such as blindness or impaired vision. Federal legislation prohibits discrimination in employment. Federal and state civil rights enforcement organizations implement the ADA's restrictions on discrimination in the workplace, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC enforces the ADA's anti-discrimination provisions, which prohibit firms with 15 or more employees from engaging in any kind of employment discrimination. State and local governments may not discriminate in their programs and activities, and this includes all levels of state and local government, no matter how many employees they have (WHO, 2022). The organization would be designed to accommodate the aspects of legal matters and make sure that employees are employed without discrimination including those with visual impairment and more focus would be directed towards their experience, academic qualification and skills.
There are the ethical issues that need consideration when incorporating diversity in the workplace and making sure that the visually impaired employees interested are taken care of (Koutheair Khribi, 2022). It is considered unethical for the employees to discriminate their colleagues that are visually impaired in any way especially in the scenario they feel that they are not up to the task offered to them to work in the firm. The visually impaired employees should be treated as everyone else and there should be no favors.
Personal Reflection/Opinions
I consider it relevant for an organization to consider ways of handling the needs of their employees and this is to make sure that those visually impaired have a good environment that serves their needs and are capable to deliver quality services based on their job description. In my view, supporting the blind employees with the assistive technology that makes them work on their assigned tasks effectively makes them equal to other employees and makes it possible for them to be compared to the other employees that have no disability (WHO, 2022). The assistive technology acts as an equalizer in the workplace and this should be welcomed as a way of eliminating discrimination and favors and make the workplace more collaborative. In my opinion, I belief that offering all the support needed to the employees that are blind makes them confident that they can deliver based on their job description. In the future research, more focus should be directed towards looking for more knowledge about the effective technology that should be used for the visually impaired that makes them satisfied with their job.
References
Angkananon, K., Wald, M., & Phetkeaw, T. (2021). Development and Evaluation of Technology Enhanced Interaction Framework Method for Designing Accessible Technologies for Visually Impaired People. Frontiers In Computer Science, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2021.671414
Erickson, J. (2022). 6 Principles Of Visual Accessibility Design - Usability Geek. Usability Geek. Retrieved 30 March 2022, from https://usabilitygeek.com/6-principles-visual-accessibility-design/.
Götzelmann, T. (2018). Visually Augmented Audio-Tactile Graphics for Visually Impaired People. ACM Transactions On Accessible Computing, 11(2), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1145/3186894
Kajur, S. (2020). How to make your office accessible for visually impaired & people who are blind. | Anuprayaas. Anuprayaas - Making India Accessible. Retrieved 30 March 2022, from https://anuprayaas.org/8-ways-to-make-a-workplace-accessible-disability-friendly/.
Koutheair Khribi, M. (2022). Toward Accessible Online Learning for Visually Impaired and Blind Students. Nafath, 7(19). https://doi.org/10.54455/mcn.19.02
NHS. (2021). Blindness and vision loss. nhs.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2022, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vision-loss/.
WHO. (2022). Vision impairment and blindness. Who.int. Retrieved 30 March 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment.