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CLASSMATE 1

At my current position at the Area Health Education Center at Nova Southeastern, we have faced a few challenges with the nicotine replacement therapy we provide clients. We have thousands of dollars’ worth of nicotine replacement therapy on campus grounds. Unfortunately, there have been incidents in which NRT has been stolen, misplaced, or simply gone missing. There had been more than one incident in which the NRT had been stolen. This could not happen again, because we could now be penalized by the state for having NRT missing. The fine for missing NRT of 75 boxes and more is $65,000. Getting penalized this amount of money is equal to or is more than the salary of one of our team members. The impact this can have on our department is huge, as it can lead to the department cutting jobs, since our program is grant based.

This problem that our department has, is closely related to predicament. A predicament is situation that is complicated and difficult, which must be addressed by implementing a new strategy to remedy the situation ((Puccio et al., 2011). Getting fined for missing or stolen NRT really motivated our department of coming up with a new method to prevent that.

After discussing possible solutions, the head of the department agreed to move forward with installing a cage around the NRT within the room and input surveillance cameras inside the room as well. So, if someone were to get into the room, they still would not be able to get through the metal door without another key. This key for the metal cage was only given to 2 people, who are the managers. This provides security for the NRT and control who can and cannot go into the cage.

The solution provided closely correlates with creative management. By implementing this original solution, the department was able to return to prior levels of performance and maintain stable numbers of NRT in our inventory (Puccio et al., 2011). The only additional recommendation I would make, is for the security camera footage be easily accessed by our leadership, while also maintaining a paper or electronic log of when someone is signing in and out of the cage.

Reference:

Puccio, G., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. (2011).  Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. SAGE.

CLASSMATE 2

As I mentioned in my previous discussion, my school district is seeking ways to mitigate the teacher shortage that many districts are experiencing.  Particularly difficult areas to hire include teachers for special education, physical sciences, higher-level mathematics, career-to-education (CTE), and concurrent enrollment courses.  For the purposes of this discussion, I will focus on the CTE teachers. CTE offerings are required by the state of Colorado as a means to promote opportunities for students who are not college-bound.  Teachers in this category teach vocational courses in which students participating in the program receive industry certification by the time they graduate high school.  In order for each of the 9 high schools to offer CTE courses, it would require there to be a hiring pool of qualified teachers. Unfortunately, people who already have experience in these areas who might consider teaching do not do so because of what would be a significant cut in pay.  Schools don't have the budget to pay people what they earn in the industry. 

In this situation, the problem type is a predicament: how do we fulfill our obligation to provide students with state-mandated CTE opportunities when there is a very, very limited hiring pool. A proposed solution is to have all 9 high schools on the same bell schedule. This, in theory, would allow us to hire teachers to be housed at appropriately situated high schools and students from across the district would be able to take the required CTE courses for the industry certification in which they are interested. This is an example of creative leadership at the district level.  The discussions came from an identified need and have been ongoing for over a year. The district leadership involved the high school principals and the master schedulers to evaluate the impact this would have at the building level.  They then communicated the proposals to the students, parents, and community.  The proposed bell schedule will go into effect for the 2023-24 school year.. Since it hasn’t been implemented yet, I cannot evaluate it’s success.   can only comment on the actions taken to make this happen for the 2023-24 school year. The feedback was mixed.  Some people are very tied to the notion of independence of their high schools and not willing to look at the bigger picture of how this benefits more students and the work force.  The recommendations I would make include having parent meetings at each of the local high schools so parents and other stakeholders can have an opportunity to have their questions answered and concerns addressed.

Reference:

Puccio, G., Mance, M., & Murdock, M. (2011). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change. SAGE.