Diversity and Inclusion: Theory of Tolerance

Let's frame this idea using the definitions below. 

• Diversity: the existence of many unique individuals in the workplace, marketplace and community from different nations, cultures, ethnic groups, generations, backgrounds, skills, and abilities.
• Inclusion: a work environment where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate in creating business success and where each person is valued for his or her distinctive skills, experiences and perspectives.
• Tolerance:  The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

  There is a reality to being a human being.  We like to be with people that enjoy and respect similar beliefs, customs, values and life practices.  Through human history, peoples with different ideas and beliefs have sought out other people like themselves.  The massive flow of immigrants into the US led to the formation of German Village, Little Italy, Harlem or Chinatown. This pattern is repeated throughout the world.  These gatherings of like-minded folks are not created by purposeful intent of discrimination or a desire to shut-out a certain kind of person.....But simply to associate with people that a share culture and sense of being.    Why is it that the Diversity and Tolerance seems to be ONLY a one-way street? If we are truthful with ourselves, the emotional connections with others that share a desire to express their uniqueness can be illustrated by just observing a few historical facts and modern day patterns alike. Let's consider a few examples: •   Tribal connections - from migratory creatures to farmers•   Craftsman guilds - for some this became their surname•   Motorcycle gangs - remember Hell's Angels•   Survivalist - Dehydrated food and guns•   Artist communities - little money but much creativity•   Gay populations - Community support•   Communes - Drop out and turn on•   Fundamentalists - pick any extreme thought•   Shakers - for the good of the community•   Amish - live simply•   Fly fishermen - wear vests with a lot of pockets•   Local Italian, Polish, German, Catholic social clubs - celebrate tradition•   Masons - secret handshakes•   Golfers - willing to spend time being frustrated and then tell stories about it As further evidence of this reality:  Peoples with a specific cultural or lifestyle expectation have always looked for others with a similar view.  This desire to find others with a shared beliefs, that are different from the moderate middle of any culture, normally cause those like-minded groups to live more on the fringe of that society.  One of the earliest writings on this topic is a lengthy piece, discussing the history of why homosexuals and artists began to develop as a community outside of London in the late 1700s.  This cultural evolution continues to play out today.

• One of the earliest writings on this topic is a lengthy piece, discussing the history of why homosexuals and artists began to develop as a community outside of London in the late 1700s.  This cultural evolution continues to play out today.
• The Beat Generation and Hipster gatherings of the late 1950s in Greenwich Village and San Francisco.  This movement fueled by avant-garde poetry read by people that wanted to dispose of the pre-package life for which they were intended

 In general, Communities develop around a shared sense of being.  For those that feel things differently than the tribe, community, clan or group of which they are a member: a new life path is determined for them by them.  They have decided to not share the values of their home community or common family beliefs....and with that decision a result manifests, which can create discomfort for all involved.  When such a decision is made by a community dissenter, everyone involved feels the conflict and discomfort.  The person can feel unloved, hurt by reactions or maybe become "shunned" by the community.  The community may express disappointment, judgment or even silly threats.  All involved begin to question the other person or group's belief.  Doubt, frustration, logical appeal, name calling, extrapolating to the extreme....can be a result of one simple belief that is different from the tribe, community or company culture. 

Does this idea support a belief that separatism is OK, or is it the reason why creating artificial or forced diversity will never really build an integrated community?  

• Who is to blame for this kind of discomfort? 
• Is it a group of human beings with beliefs and ideas that create a company culture? 
• Why is it that the dissenter always point the finger back at the community with a sense blame? 
• What happens when wearing the very different attire then that group becomes an inflammatory statement by a dissenter?
• Is wearing a head cover motivated by religion or ethnic custom? 

 The question of tolerance versus culture may never be answered until the inhabitants of planet earth are all blended together and homogenized into a multi-cultural school of mindless lemmings that follow one another to nowhere because all uniqueness has been lost.  

The Impact of Bad Leadership

We are witnessing multiple examples of bad leadership.  Trouble makers!  Haters! Takers!  These people are whiners and users.  Across the country thugs and law breakers that don't to contribute much to our society have been eliminated from the gene pool.  It may be by their own hand or it may be by those that protect the whole of society.   White, black, pink or purple - it makes no difference.  From the attack on state police in PA to NYC police officers, a sickness is manifesting in America.  The sickness is one of blaming the other guy for my condition.

The new leaders in the news have learned no lessons from history.  Proud, ethical and strong leaders like Gandhi and MLK were relentless in their pursuit of human justice by rising above their condition. 

 

Instead we see obnoxious Rev. Hater Sharpton leading the charge to inflame the other haters and trouble makers.  Bad leadership does more damage than no leadership.  The poor Rev seems to have lost his mind, while the leader of the free world goes on vacation and allows these kind of haters and baiters to become false idols.    

Ohio Leadership on Target for Economic Development

Gov. Kasich made a tough decision, which was also the right decision for Ohio business. Expanding Medicaid may seem like an expansion of an all ready over-reaching federal government, but the money was there and allocated. By expanding Medicaid, the Governor allowed the working poor to get healthcare coverage. Now, here is the bonus. The people covered under the expanded Medicaid roles will be exempted from employer mandates. Neither will this group of Ohio citizens count towards employer FTE measurement under ACA.

This is a very good outcome for Ohio businesses and Ohio working poor, as most would not have been able to afford their portion of employer based group coverage. The expansion of Medicaid extends coverage to the working poor, reduces the financial obligation on small and medium size business in Ohio and helps to prevent the fines and penalties against business that will be leverage by the IRS, DOL and HHS.

No State Run Exchange

Good for Ohio! Keeping the State government out of this political hot potato is an indication of Ohio leadership staying out of the way of the marketplace. The marketplace will deliver more opportunity and creative solutions for healthcare coverage because Ohio has not set itself up to be in competition with alternatives and the best creative thinking the marketplace can deliver.

Everyone should understand that the Federal government is not in charge of healthcare regulation. Each state controls the operation of health insurance providers in the state. Each state has separate rules and coverage mandates.

Just imagine, if somehow the state of Ohio had a vested interest via a monetary commitment in healthcare delivery, while the state government is also in charge of regulatory oversight of all insurance solutions.....The ODI could have been acting with more authority than Czar Barack now thinks he has over healthcare law.

Need talent to help us growth

In order to satisfy our growth, we need to add talented folks to compliment Sequent's consulting department.  Exciting challenges for an entrepreneurial-minded person that enjoys fast thinking, building a core department from scratch and helping clients achieve their business objectives. 

Sequent is seeking a Recruiting Specialist that understands the retail-mindset and has a good network to attract Change Management consultants and thought leaders. 

The Recruiting Specialist will have full responsibility to build the structure needed, grow our network of consultants and clients, manage resource allocation for various projects andwork with department leaders to ensure the resources match the client’s needs AND culture.

Sequent wants to add a Human Resource Management System consultant.  This position reports to the Technology Practice Manager and manages HRMS consulting and implementation projects.  This position is responsible for business process improvement, data flow mapping, and project management. 

The HRMS consultant serves as the main point of contact on projects and works with other subject matter experts to ensure data integrity, testing, reporting, and process improvement opportunities.  He or she identifies training needs of end users and assists in the development of training to meet those needs.  The HRMS consultant is the primary point of contact between the IT department and the HR business process owners on all system upgrades, testing and other projects as assigned.  The right person must enjoy problem solving and have servants heart.  Travel is required in order to support these on-site clients.

Apply at http://ejob.bz/ATS/CompanyPortal.do?companyGK=18797&portalGK=1710

Carriers start to position due to ACA

This is the first, but I am sure it won't be the last statement of its kind from carriers.  Look at the italics part of this quote from United Healthcare CEO. Quote of the Day

“We have nearly 70% of our 2013 business priced and the markets have been rational in our view, competitive but better than 2012 for us. We have been very steady in our pricing discipline year-to-year, consistently adhering to and aligning to our forward view of costs. And we take measured membership losses in instances where we cannot get our price, as we did in the commercial risk markets in 2012 and expect to again in 2013. We have included the ACA insurance tax and other ACA cost factors in our 2013 rate filings. We are working effectively with our state partners through the rate approval process. As always, some have been more challenging than others. At the end of the day we must price to our cost and if we conclude that a state’s posture on commercial insurance pricing is not economically sustainable, we will have no choice but to withdraw from that market. We have not been put in that position to date.” — Stephen Hemsley, president and CEO of UnitedHealth Group, discussing UnitedHealthcare’s 2013 pricing on a Jan. 17 fourth-quarter earnings conference call.

Healthcare Reform: New Suite of Federal Taxes and Fees

The text below the dotted line has been sent from a health insurance carrier to its broker network.  This helps explain
the spiraling health insurance cost.  I wonder how much tax revenue will be created due to PPACA????

....................................................................................................................................................................................................

A new suite of taxes and fees is being assessed on health plan sponsors in 2014 based on stipulations outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This Special Broker Update is part of a series of communications about these taxes and fees and how  we will implement them.

The first fee, implemented in 2012, is the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, or PCORI, fee. Currently $0.16 for each covered member and each dependent, this fee will increase to $0.18 for each in 2014. We will continue to separately disclose this charge to fully insured groups only. Self-insured groups must pay this fee directly to the government using IRS Form 720.

Beginning January 2014, other federal fees will be imposed. We expect them to be in the following ranges:

• Reinsurance fee, approximately $5.25 per member per month
• Market share fee, between 2 percent and 3 percent of the monthly premium

Reinsurance Fee
Medical Mutual will assess and collect the reinsurance fee across all medical lines of business for all fully insured plans and self-funded groups; excluded coverage includes stop loss, dental, vision and Medicare Supplement.

Market Share Fee
Medical Mutual will assess the market share fee on all fully insured lines of business, including dental and vision, with the exception of Medicare Supplement policies. Stop-loss applicability is to be determined.

Small Employers Win With Medicaid Expansion

The idea of an expanding federal government becomes less appealing every day.  However, I believe that the expansion of Medicaid to Ohio residents is good for small businesses.  We can debate the progressive or conservative position all day long, but that accomplishes nothing. 

Isn’t this really an economic development issue?  Absolutely! 

Why?

·       Increase cash into the state economic flow of over $13 BIL a year

·       Increase sales tax revenue to Ohio of $400 MIL a year

·       600,000 people will be covered by Medicaid that were not covered before

·       600,000 working people that still may be below 138% of the federal poverty level will qualify for Medicaid

·       600,000 working poor now covered under Medicaid will be EXEMPTED from employer based health care cost!

Do you understand that last point?  Seriously, this is a big deal.  The group of working poor now covered under Medicaid will not count against FTE calculations or the penalty structure under ACA.

Read this Washington Post article

http://wapo.st/11WEwlN