The Dalai Lama: A Path to Greater Happiness Essay -- Happiness Essays

The Dalai Lama is a profound believer of peace, compassion, love and nonviolence. He is considered by Tibetan Buddhists to be the reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion and was meant to lead the people. Even though he has had a tough eon throughout most of his life time and has struggles to free his homeland from the Chinese occupation he has consistently opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual love in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people. (The Dalai Lama A Simple Path and An Open Heart pp. 800).Dalai Lama, since then, began teaching about the tetrad Noble Truths, in order to demonstrate that they offer an insightful path to greater happiness for individuals, and for mankindity. The first noble truth is The Truth of Suffering. Dalai Lama says that we appear three different types of sufferings the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and all pervasive su ffering. An example of the first category of suffering stinkpot be poverty and disease in countries, where these two can be eliminated and improved. The suffering of change can be seen in such places where poverty is not much of a problem. For instance, we may be happy of overcoming a problem an ancestor faced but when we least expect it new problems will arise. People who suffer from pervasive suffering can be those in developed countries who have everything and become bored of the feeling of happiness and begin to seek the feeling of equanimity.The second noble truth is The fuck off of Suffering. Dalai Lama states that the ultimate cause of suffering is the mind the mind that is influenced by negative thoughts such as anger, attachment, jealousy, and s... ...and tension. We would not have every basic human problems. People would have serenity and be content with the world. The world we live in would be the total opposite of today. Society wouldnt have any crime, violence, war , or disasters. Human beings would not be facing each other with hatred, jealousy, greediness, and all those negative attitudes towards people. Works CitedSusan McLeod, John Jarvis, Shelley Spear Writing About the land The Dalai Lama A Simple Path and An Open Heart Thomson Wadsworth, Third Edition. 2005 pages 800-8005 Lama, Dalai. His Holiness the Dalai Lama Web. 8 Apr. 2015.http//www.dalailama.com/messages/world-peace/a-human-approach-to-peaceLama, Dalai. Four Noble Truths. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. 2005. Web. 8 Apr. 2015.http//www.lamayeshe.com/index.php?sect=article&id=380

Garden for the Blind :: Architecture Design Essays

Garden for the BlindWhen conception a garden for the blind one has to conform the design to fit the needs for the enjoyment of the garden by the blind. Although the blind have lost their sense of sight, their other senses are heightened tremendously. Adjusting to these heightened senses can be a struggle by itself but can prove to be very beneficial and breathtaking in the end. Many advantages and disadvantages come with this design concept. Overall when designing a garden to be enjoyed by the blind one should focus on creating an atmosphere that adheres greatly to the sense of both smell and sound.The overall complex body part of the garden for the blind allow for be snake like. Based on the topography of the plot of land being used for this project, a small hill crumb Hume hall, a snake like structure pull up stakes be best in tackling the hills. The snake-like pathway will start at the top and flow from eastbound to west, across the hill while still traveling downward . This will make the drop in elevation gradual. Also, the garden will also be enclose because birds will be utilized in the project, and it will allow for sunlight to be used efficiently.In the beginning of the garden for the blind the participant will be struck with extreme sound. The sound will not be intense in volume, but intense in the quality and depth. I will house birds that will live near the entrance and have loud chirps. It is not vital the birds be of a particular species however, being that the mockingbird is the deposit bird of Florida, mockingbirds will be appropriate. Nightingales also have a distinctive call and will be added. In conjunction with this upheaval of sound, the terrain will be altered in the entrance. I will have either gravel or stepping-stones this lets the participant know that he or she is entering the garden payable to the contrast between the land before the entrance and the entrance. Also this uneven terrain should heighten the senses of the participant. Malnar and Vodvarka in Sensory Design suggest that uneven terrain/pathways heightens our awareness of surfaces by obliging us to bring our sensory organs into the best alignment to perceive them (104). The flowers that will be present in the entrance will be yellow jasmines and scented geraniums.

Problems and Solutions in the Fight Against Urban Poverty Essay

Problems and solutions in the fight against urban poverty Introduction the advent of roofism and the resultant economical inequalityThere can be no talk of modern poverty without talking first of capitalism, and as such, the capitalist model of production and the exploitation of labor is where I will begin my paper. capitalism evolved from the feudal system, which was incorporated into western European societies hundreds of years ago. Under the feudal system, serfs worked the land and poted the surplus of their production over to the nobles, who owned the land and amass the surplus. This surplus was visible, occurring literally in the form of produced goods, and the feudal system was linked to the control of the state, which is how it was sustained - through the threat of force from the armies at the disposal of the nobles. The economic system later evolved into pure capitalism similar to the modern form that we are promptly familiar with, which involves the ownership of p rivate property. That is, there is no bimestrial any semblance of a communal institution and the state has been shut out from any influence on the development of this property. What this means is that the state now exists for the sake of private property, and the result is that self-interest (the interest of the individual property holder) takes precedence over communal interest. The bottom line is that those who own the most capital then have the largest amount of influence over the state, and since the state is dependent on the commercial economy, economic and institutional power now go hand in hand.The effects of this system on the worker (as opposed to the capitalist) are overwhelmingly negative. Since most workers will never accumula... ...e, Wilbert The Functional Theory of Social social stratification in Bendix, R and Lipset, S (eds) Class, Status and Power, 2nd edition, London Routledge and Kegan Paul. 1967Tumin, Melvin Some Principles of Stratification A Critical Anal ysis. American Sociological Review, Vol. 18, No. 4. (Aug., 1953)Marable, Manning. How Capitalism develop Black America Problems in Race, Political Economy and Society. Cambridge South End Press, 2000.Ofari, Earl, The Myth of Black Capitalism. New York Monthly Review Press, 1970Tucker, ed, The Marx-Engels reader. New York Norton, 1978. 2nd ed.Wilson, William J. The rightfully Disadvantaged The Inner City, The Underclass, and Public Policy. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1987.Woodson, Robert L., ed. On the Road to Economic Freedom An Agenda for Black Progress. Washington, D.C. Regenery Gateway, 1987.

Superconductivity and Superconductors :: Physics Physical Essays

Superconductivity and Superconductors ABSTRACT Superconductivity allows current to pass through a material with no resistive losses at near absolute zero temperatures. It also exhibits the Meissner effect which causes the superconducting material to repel magnetic fields. The application of this technology has been extremely limited callable to the prohibitive costs of using Helium to cool the material to the critical temperatures. Recently, however, new ceramic materials were discovered which exhibit superconductive properties at higher temperatures which can be reached using cheaper liquid Nitrogen cooling. Applications have immediately expanded and are expected to become amazing in the near future as scientists face for a room temperature superconductor. ORIGINS Superconductivity is the passing of electricity through conductors with no loss of power (Graham 17).

Irony, Ambiguity, Symbols, and Symbolism in Gullivers Travels Essay

Use of Irony, Ambiguity and Symbolism, in Gullivers Travels Although it appears simple and straightforward on the surface, a mere travelogue intended solely for the amusement of children, Gullivers Travels, by Jonathan Swift, proves, upon closer examination, to be a critical and insightful work satirizing the political and accessible systems of eighteenth-century England. Through frequent and successful employment of irony, ambiguity and symbolism, Swift makes comments addressing such specific topics as current political controversies as well as such universal concerns as the moral degeneration of man. While he incorporates them subtly early in the novel, these observations and criticisms chargetually progress to a point where they may bump or offend even the most unsuspecting reader. In order to witness this evolution of presentation, one need only observe the development of the works primordial character, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, as Swift has designed his novel in s uch a way that, as his aspersions harshen and intensify, so do Gullivers actions and attitudes. For instance, in have one, A Voyage to Lilliput, when Gulliver finds himself lost in a world one-twelfth the size of his own, he proves himself to be quite naive and impressionable. Although he is simply too adult to perceive them in detail, Gulliver judges the countrys inhabitants he meets to be as perfect and innocent as their toylike appearances. He refers to the Lilliputian emperor, a being not even six inches high, as His Imperial Majesty and blindly agrees to perform any demanded service, even though he could easily overpower the tiny natio... ...throughout the business relationship in the form of irony and satire, Gulliver himself offers a solution to his situation at the close of the novel. He realizes that there is little he can do well-nigh being human he simply must learn to live with himself. To achieve this, he suggests looking in a mirror as lots as possib le, not only so that he might learn to bear the sight of his own person but also so that he may be constantly reminded of those shortcomings he seeks so desperately to overcome. Works Cited and Consulted Backscheider, Paula R. A Being More Intense A Study of the Prose Works of Buynan, Swift, and Defoe. late York AMS Press, 1984. Carnochan, W. B. Lemuel Gullivers Mirror for Man. Berkley University of California Press, 1968. Swift, Jonathan. Gullivers Travels. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1998.

Irony, Ambiguity, Symbols, and Symbolism in Gullivers Travels Essay

Use of Irony, Ambiguity and Symbolism, in Gullivers Travels Although it appears simple and straightforward on the surface, a mere travelogue intended solely for the amusement of children, Gullivers Travels, by Jonathan Swift, proves, upon closer examination, to be a critical and insightful work satirizing the political and fond systems of eighteenth-century England. Through frequent and successful employment of irony, ambiguity and symbolism, Swift makes comments addressing such specific topics as current political controversies as well as such universal concerns as the moral degeneration of man. While he incorporates them subtly early in the novel, these observations and criticisms counterbalancetually progress to a point where they may infract or offend even the most unsuspecting reader. In order to witness this evolution of presentation, one need only observe the development of the works primal character, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, as Swift has designed his novel in such a way that, as his aspersions harshen and intensify, so do Gullivers actions and attitudes. For instance, in oblige one, A Voyage to Lilliput, when Gulliver finds himself lost in a world one-twelfth the size of his own, he proves himself to be quite naive and impressionable. Although he is simply too greathearted to perceive them in detail, Gulliver judges the countrys inhabitants he meets to be as perfect and innocent as their toylike appearances. He refers to the Lilliputian emperor, a being not even six inches high, as His Imperial Majesty and blindly agrees to perform any demanded service, even though he could easily overpower the tiny natio... ...throughout the stage in the form of irony and satire, Gulliver himself offers a solution to his situation at the close of the novel. He realizes that there is little he can do virtually being human he simply must learn to live with himself. To achieve this, he suggests looking in a mirror as a lot as possible, not only so that he might learn to bear the sight of his own person but also so that he may be constantly reminded of those shortcomings he seeks so desperately to overcome. Works Cited and Consulted Backscheider, Paula R. A Being More Intense A Study of the Prose Works of Buynan, Swift, and Defoe. radical York AMS Press, 1984. Carnochan, W. B. Lemuel Gullivers Mirror for Man. Berkley University of California Press, 1968. Swift, Jonathan. Gullivers Travels. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1998.

Push and pull strategy of Motorola Essay

PushExamples of companies area) For example, Motorola use a push strategy to make arrangements with large mobile phone providers, such as Sprint, Verizon and AT&T, who can advertise phones directly to consumers. Businesses can promote products to wholesalers and vendors through trade shows, contacting local retailers and providing attractive packaging and point of sale displays to convince consumers to buy.b) twinkling is Nokia, Nokia promote their products via retailers such as Carphone Warehouse. Personal change and trade promotions are often the most effective promotional tools for companies like Nokia. For example, Nokia offering subsidies on the handsets to back up retailers to sell higher volumes.Pros1. To develop this kind of lay, all one has to do is look at the competitions literature and come up with positioning that seems sufficiently different from the alternatives. Potentially saves time because it can be through without speaking to guests. Maybe a good first step in ontogeny a go-to-market strategy.2. Using a push strategy usually costs less money and draws more subscriber line, because companies negotiate with large vendors. For example, a producer selling a product to Walmart can receive most of its business from a single retail outlet, allowing the business to focus on its product manufacturing and supply grasp while worrying less about its relationship with customers.Cons1. The competition may have it all wrong and have no idea about what customers unfeignedly want, so trying to work around the competitions messaging may be pointless, since they all have it wrong anyways-and company probably do too since the company havent spoken to any customers 2. Push strategies can rely too heavily upon large vendors, which limit a business pricing and flexibility when selling a product. For example, a large producer like Walmart may dictate the price at which the business can sell its products.PullExamples of companies area) A good example of a pull is the heavy advertising and promotion of childrens toys, Toyrus. Consumers will go to ToyRUs and ask for a toy that was advertised on the television, and then ToyRus will ask the wholesalers who will then ask the producers about the product and meet the demand.b) Second example is machine manufacturing company, Ford Australia. Ford Australia only produces cars when they have been ordered by the customers. Applied to that portion of the supply chain where demand uncertainty is high production and diffusion are demand driven no inventory, response to specific orders point of sale data comes in handy when shared with supply chain partners simplification in lead time difficult to implementPros1. Removing Pressure. One of the primary attractions for pull marketing is to mitigate the pressure of conducting outbound marketing. Marketers do not submit to actively persuade customers that they need the product customers are naturally drawn to it.2. A pull strategy can create large d emand for products in a short time, especially if a new business has difficulty building up market share for its products. Businesses can easily solicit customer feedback on how to improve products. Also, dealing directly with customers enables businesses to cut out retailing middlemen.Cons1. Requires extensive customer interactions to identify the things that customers feel are the differentiated features of the product. It is difficult to done to get customer interaction.2. Advertising expenses can be costly with a pull strategy, unless a business gets lucky with a viral marketing campaign. structure a brand can take years and cost millions before customers become loyal to a product line.

A Christmast Surprise for Gramma Essay

A Christmas Surprise for granny knot by Gloria J. Shuttleworth Grandma lived on Sugar Creek Mountain altogether in all alone. It was a beautiful mountain, with tall cedar trees all over the mountain top. In the middle of the mountain was a crystal clear lake. The water in the lake was the prettiest blue youve ever seen. When the water was calm, you could see the fish swimming around in the lake. I love sitting by the lake when I was a small-scale girl. Grandma would pack us a lunch, and we would sit at the lake for hours on end. Hour after hour, grandma would tell me stories about her life on the mountain. I remember the day that granddaddy drowned in the lake.My parents had tried to talk grandma into moving into town, hardly she wouldnt hear of it. My parents knew not to argue with her, because they knew that grandma was mystify in her ways. Ive been on this mountain for so long that Ive forgotten which is the oldest, me or the mountain, grandma had said, with a twinkle in h er eyes. I knew my parents unbalanced about her being alone, because grandma was the only person who lived on Sugar Cliff Mountain. Today I was going to visit grandma, and the excitement grew inside me at the thought of spending time on the mountain once more. After all, it had been ten years since I had seen grandma.Its hard to believe that my career had kept me away for so long. As I approached the top of the mountain, I could see grandma staring out the window of her little log cabin home. Grandma greeted me at the door with a big hug. I am so happy that you could make it to visit with me, said grandma. This Christmas is going to be so terrific I nurse a special surprise for you dear. Little did grandma know that I had a very special surprise for her as well. Well, we posteriort stand around here all day, said grandma. in that respects a lot of work to get done. I have invited the pile from the village to come to my Christmas party on Saturday evening.After I had freshene d up a bit, we spent the day baking all sorts of cookies and candies. Grandma had a invention to tell as we baked the goodies for the party. She told me about how she used to bake orchard apple tree pies for gramps. He loved apple pies, said grandma. Those were his favorite. She said that after the pies would cool off, that grandpa would send her into the living room, under the pretense that he would clean up the kitchen. Grandma knew what he was really up to, provided she never let on that she knew. Grandma would go into the living room and sit in her rocking chair. She would sing nearly of the songs that she knew grandpa loved.About an hour later, grandma would wander back into the kitchen. wherefore Henry she said kitchen, grandma retired for the evening. I made myself a cup of tea and sat down in front of the fireplace. Sitting alone in the quiet house, I pondered my childhood memories of my grandparents. They had always been such a fun loving and happy couple. Shortly aft er they were married, grandpa built the log cabin home for his Little ole Emmy, as he called her. Just before Christmas, almost twelve years ago, grandpa was outside gathering firewood, when grandma heard a horrible scream and a terrible noise.She ran outside to find that an area of the ice on the lake had fallen through. She yelled for grandpa over and over but no reply ever came. They looked the lake for over a week, but no trace of grandpa could be found. Finally, they called off the search. One of the men who had helped in the search said theyd probably never find grandpa now. Just because, as my thoughts were still racing around in my head, my grandmother brought me back to reality. We have to be up very primaeval in the morning dear, so off to bed now, she said. I slowly walked to my grandmothers room, and kissed her goodnight.Morning came early at grandmas house. As I entered the kitchen I could smell the homemade biscuits and gravy cooking on the stove. Whats on our list of things to do today? I asked. The men are coming from the village this morning to put the lights on the trees, and we have lots of presents to wrap for the children, she said. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was the men from the village ready to start putting up the lights. Grandma was so excited as she stepped back to watch them. permits wrap those presents now Laura, said grandma.As I watched grandma wrap the presents and tie the ribbons, I knew that so much more was being hardened around them. With each objet dart of wrapping paper grandma was also wrapping them with love. After the last present was wrapped, we realized that wed been wrapping presents all day It was now getting dark outside and grandma wanted to go outside to view the lights. As we stepped out onto the porch, we gasped. The sight that met our eyes was so beautiful to behold The snow was glittering and the reflection of the lights on the snow was beyond words It was breathtaking That night I went to bed with a stock ticker full of love for my grandmother.I knew that someday I wanted to be barely like her, full of love for others. Saturday evening the village people started arriving just after dark. Grandma always waited until evening to have her Christmas party, because she loved the lights. All the guests gathered around in the front yard and began to sing Christmas carols. Oh, how grandma loved that Ole Ben was a jolly fellow who worked at the village store, and he was chosen to help Santa hand out the presents. The children shouted with glee, as they unwrapped their gifts. Grandma said, Laura, come here dear, I have a surprise for you. As she handed me the present, I could see the love and pride in her eyes. I love it grandma, I said, as I bent down to kiss her cheek, I will cherish it forever. Grandma had made a quilt out of some of my dresses that I had worn as a little girl. Grandma, if you could have just one special gift for Christmas, what would it be? I asked her. Without even stopping to think, she replied, I would like to see your grandfather just one more time, so I could feed him the apple pie that the horses quit snatching when he left us. Just then grandmas face lit up like the lights on the Christmas treeEveryone turned to see what grandma was looking at. Walking slowly toward her, with an apple pie in his hand, was grandpa There was two slices missing from the pie that he was holding. The village people were speechless, as they thought they were seeing a ghost. Grandpa chuckled, as he yelled out, Emmy, those darn horses snatched the pie and got away with two pieces. Difference to me, but slowly my memory started to return. I remember now going out to gather firewood. There was a nice piece of wood on the lake. I thought the lake was frozen over so I stepped out on the lake to get the piece of wood.I remember hearing the lake crackle and thats the last I remember about the accident. Laura, how can I ever thank you for bringing gr andpa home to me? asked grandma. Laura replied, Seeing the happiness and the love you have for each other is all the thanks I need. As Laura retired to bed that night, she couldnt help but think about the surprise that she had given to grandma for Christmas. She knew in her heart that it was the best surprise present that grandma would ever get. What a warm and marvelous feeling came over Laura as she fell asleep, thinking of her grandparents.

Lafleur Trading Company Selected Service Request Analysis Essay

These days, being a long-established great dealiness is not enough for success. Look at companies like Hewlett-Packard, Research In Motion, and Blockbuster Video. These companies failed in the task of collecting data, analyzing that data, and making intelligent decisions based on that data and now they are either slowly failing, losing market share, or, in Blockbusters case, already declared bankruptcy and doing whatever it can to stand in business. Lafleur Trading Company is currently at a crossroads in its efforts to stay viable in its market. Outdating ne dickensrk infrastructure and non-existent business newsworthiness carry throughes could impart the caller to its knees and see the doors to the business close for good. Service Request SR-lf-001 addresses this problem and outlines a solution to modernize the infrastructure and its data exhibition and retention process. The OrganizationLafleur is a 37-year-old friendship that supplies the world with the finest foods and wi nes. Lafleur have trading partners across the planet. Lafleur buyers crapper with reputable producers and exporters so you the consumer can be assured the highest smell. The buyers that Lafleur trade with ensure the products are organic and meet health, ethics, and lifestyle needs. Lafleur has the latest technology to get the products from the producers to you as quickly as possible and at the lowest price possible. Company DescriptionLafleur Trading Companys mission statement is to provide our customers with the highest quality foods at a reasonable price. While profit is important, Lafleur Trading Company recognizes that they have responsibilities to corporate citizens, customers, employees, our community, and to the world. Lafleur will act fairly and justly in the lease of business. (LaFleur, 2012) The life-blood of Lafleur business is the employees. They are theface of the company and the customers perception of the company is how the employees interact with them. Since the c ustomers recognitions are through company employees, the organization of the company must meet the needs of the customer. The overview organizational flow chart shows the positions that report directly and indirectly to the Chief trading operations Officer (COD) of Lafleur Trading Company.The Chief Operations Officer reports to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Chief Operations Officer supervises the director of Sales and Marketing, the Director of Human Resources, the Director of store Operations and the Director of Purchasing. Sales and marketing supervises ten Salespersons, a Marketing Manager and a Development Staff of five members. The Director of Human Resources supervises a Staffing Specialist, a childbed Relations Specialist and a Benefits Coordinator. The Director of Warehouse Operations supervises ten Supply Technicians, five Local Deliin truth Drivers, a Facilities Manager and a trine person Maintenance Staff. The Director of Purchasing supervises ten Supply Coo rdinators and a Purchasing Manager. The Purchasing Manager supervises ten Buyers. Now that the description of the Lafleur trading company is been established, the CEO and executive team have identified a particular business problem that is affecting the profitability of the organization. The Business ProblemThe one study problem within the Lafleur Trading Company is exposed within its profitsing network topology within its local area network (LAN). The networking topology is the complete architecture of a network. Organizations such as corporations, colleges, and government agencies have all acquired large numbers of single user computer systems and upon reviewing and analyzing the Lafleur Trading Companies Enterprise Sales Application on Microsoft Visio, there is a major problem within its network methodology. The architecture of the network is flawed. Although there is enough hardware to produce success within the companies infrastructure, the whole network lacks communication .This interconnection may include word processing, scientific computation, process control, or maybe general-purpose departments that perform many tasks. Interconnection allows users to exchange selective data (data) with other network members. It also allows resource sharing ofexpensive equipment such as file servers and high quality graphic printers, or access to more stiff computers for tasks too complicated for the local computer such as data warehousing and business intelligence processes. The problem with Lafleur Trading Company exists because they lack these elementary needs to have a healthy communication between any departments. They lack in the major component of networking, which is data transfers or exchanging knowledge. Lets take a closer look at the companys LAN. The company LAN is designed in what is known as a bus topology. Karl Falls describes a Bus topology as such A Bus topology refers to a single cable that connects all the workstations, servers, printers a nd other turn of eventss on the network. The cable runs from device to device by using tee connectors that plug into the network adapter cards.Each end device has a terminator on one end of the tee and a cable going out to the next device on the other end, while all devices in the midway have one cable coming in and one going out. The terminators on each end device simply stop the network portend from reflecting back into the cable and colliding with other transmissions. The most common type of network cable used for a bus topology is RG-58 thin net. The network upper is limited to 10 megabits per second, making it a suitable media for only 10 BASE 2 Ethernet. There are also network size limitations. You may have a maximum of twenty network devices on a segment, and the segment cannot exceed 185 meters in total length. By using a device called a repeater that boosts the signal, you can have up to five segments on a network. However, only three of these segments can have devices attached to them. The other two segments are used to link the three populated segments, giving you a maximum number of sixty devices with a total network length of 925 meters. This topology works equally well for either peer to peer or client server.There are advantages and disadvantages to this set up or architecture of the organization. or so of the advantages include being less expensive to install because it is a one-cable network that requires no switches or routers for messaging. This is good for a small network like dental consonant office or an optometrist. However, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Some of the disadvantages are that the trading company is too big for such a LAN because the company limits itself in size and speed of meeting the aims of a competitive trading market. Moreover one bad connector can take down entire network and that is very costly and difficultto troubleshoot. This leads to a quote by Gordon Bell, The easiest way for an enterprise to fall is to select cheapest, fastest, and most unreliable components for its big business network.Lafleur Trading Company is dishonored of cutting corners in its initial networking topology and this leads to problems within the hardware infrastructure, problems within the client to company relations, problems in the speed of the network, problems in the repair of the network, problems in the precaution of the network, problems in the communication between departments that need to talk with each other, problems with privacy in the upper ranks of the company, problems with data management and analysis, and problems keeping up with the competition.SR-lf-001 presents the opportunity for Lafleur to bring its network infrastructure to a place where it can handle the advanced data storage and analysis operations it needs to conduct in order to stay competitive in their market and look forward to a profitable, intelligent future for the business. The Benefits of This ApproachHaving a high quality network for communication between departments and branches of a company brings with it a certain set of advantages when it comes to data warehousing and business intelligence. Some of these benefits include quick, efficient retrieval of information from data warehouses, more efficient queries when analyzing data, the ability to make educated decisions based on that data, and effective reporting processes.Business intelligence systems are important in a company because they allow an organization to collect sales data and quickly analyze trends in order to respond to changes in customer demand resulting in increased sales. A business intelligence industry supports and provides intelligence for Business Process needs. A good business intelligence system delivers information that is insightful, timely, and reliable. This information is delivered in a way that is useful (i.e. not complex. The data is understandable and actionable) and relevant to what is currently happening in the company. This data is also retained for enough time for analysts to look at historical data and make decisions and determine future trends based upon customer activity shown in that data. (McQuigg, February 2009).Business intelligence applications retrieve their data from data warehouses. A entropy Warehouse (DW) is simply a consolidation of data from a variety of sources that is designed to support strategic and tactical decision-making. Its main purpose is to provide a coherent picture of the business at a point in time. Using various Data Warehousing toolsets, users are able to run online queries and mine their data. (data-warehouses.net, February 2012) Being subject-oriented enables the data to be analyzed based upon a particular subject, making the analysis process more streamlined than if the BI process had to loop through bytes of unrelated data in search of relevant information.These things are very important for a company that wants to stay competitive in their market . Up to date, accurate and integrated information about a companys supply chain, products, and customers are unfavorable for the companys survival. (data-warehouses.net, February 2012)Without these things, a company has no intelligence on their customers, what is happening with their product, and no way to make decisions about how to go forward in the future. If a company is unable to probably store, retrieve, and analyze their data to make business decisions, the company will fail.By implementing strong, modern, fast networking infrastructure and data collection channels, Lafleur Trading Company positions itself as a competitive, forward-thinking company that will be able to succeed. This is due to their ability to make smart decisions based on actual, relevant data retrieved from their business intelligence process. ConclusionLafleur Trading Company is the type of organization that can live or die based on the whims of its customers. specially in this modern, computerized societ y, without the infrastructure in place to collect customer data, analyze that data, and make intelligent decisions based on that data, Lafleur cannot hope to be competitive in their market and will likely fail as an organization. The completion of SR-lf-001 and the development of a strong data warehousing plan and business intelligence application will allow them to be successful, profitable, and will stimulate growth andexpansion for the entire company.REFERENCESLaFleur.com (January, 2012) Human Resources. Retrived from https//ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Lafleur/intranet/human-resources/cio.aspBell, G. (June 29, 2011). Network Infrastructures. Retrieved from http//quotes.cat-v.orgFalls, K. (jan 7, 2011). Network Topologies. Retrieved from http//fallsconnect.com1keydata.com (Januray, 2012) Data Warehouse Definition. Retrieved from http//www.1keydata.com/datawarehousing/data-warehouse-definition.htmlhttp//data-warehouses.net (February, 2012) Guide to Data Wareho using and Business Intelligence. Retrieved from http//data-warehouses.net/guide/introduction.html

Culture

This paper will discourse research closely refining and multi heathenish educational activity. Let us foremost define civilization. Culture is the entirety of socially transmitted behaviour forms, humanistic disciplines, beliefs, establishments, and all separate merchandises of human take a leak and idea. It is besides those forms, traits, and merchandises considered as the look of a peculiar period, category, community, or population. It is besides those forms, traits, and merchandises considered with regard to a peculiar class, such as a field, capable, or room of look. Finally, it is the ruling attitudes and behaviour that characterize the operation of a group or organisation. Now let us specify multicultural instruction. Multicultural instruction is a set of schemes and stuffs in U.S. instruction that were developed to help instructors to advance democracy while reacting to the many issues created by quickly altering demographics of their pupils. Now that we produce spec ify both civilization and multicultural instruction we will look at and explicate how multicultural instruction can lift to cultural differences and cultural disadvantage in our educational system.The followers are some ways that multicultural instruction can turn to cultural differences and cultural prejudice in develops. either pupil essential hold equal chance to accomplish to their full potency. An illustration would be engineering. Some pupils have entree to computing machines at dapple but others may non. If the instructor assigns a undertaking that requires computing machine usage so the instructor needs to do clip in the classroom to let the pupils to utilize the computing machine. This allows each pupil to hold the same chance to win in this assigned undertaking. Every pupil must be active to take part in a multicultural schoolroom. Communication barriers can do this a hard undertaking for both the instructor and pupil. A panache to assist cover with this issue is t o hold an interrupter in the category for those pupils who can non yet pass on in English. Teachers must be prepared to learn every single pupil, no affair how culturally similar or different they are. The instructor can make this by leting the pupils to convey in their ain experiences into schoolroom activities. Schools must be active participants in stoping bias of all types, foremost by stoping it in the school and so by exact forthing socially and critically active and cognizant pupils. This is done foremost by disposal taking the clip to learn the instructors about cultural tolerance and so by the instructors taking that cognition and learning their pupils cultural tolerance. Education must go pupil centered and inclusive of the voices and experiences of the pupils. Every pupil has experiences in their biography that they need to be allowed to convey into the schoolroom and portion with their equals and instructors. This allows others to larn about another civilization and wi ll assist pupils to be tolerant with each other. Educators, militants, and others must take a more active function in reviewing all educational patterns and how they affect the acquisition of all pupils which include proving methods, learning attacks, rating and appraisal, school psychological science and guidance, educational stuffs and text editions. It is critical that proving methods be done in a manner that makes all pupils equal. If that means a non-English speech fruit pupil takes a trial in their ain linguistic communication so that is what needs to be done. Appraisal should besides be done in a mode that is just for every pupil. Some pupils do good on standard type trials but others do non so their demands to be other signifiers of appraisal that shows the true cognition of what the pupil has achieved such as a portfolio or a group undertaking. These things are merely the tip of what can and should be implemented in a schoolroom to do it a successful multicultural acquisit ion environment.Thingss that instructors and pupils in a educational scene demand to inhabit out for are as follows. Teachers and pupils need to larn from generalisations about other civilizations, but non to utilize those generalisations to pigeonhole, compose off or oversimplify your thoughts about others. The outmatch usage of a generalisation is to add it to your cognition so that you can break understand and appreciate other civilizations. The following thing is to pattern communicating. That s the first regulation, because it s in the making that we really acquire better at cross-cultural communicating. Besides, do non presume that there is one rightly manner to pass on. Different civilizations communicate in different ways and it is of import to larn how a civilization different from yours communicates. Keep oppugning your premises about the right manner to pass on. For illustration, think about your organic structure linguistic communication because positions that indicat e receptivity in one civilization might direct aggressiveness in another. Make non presume that dislocations in communicating occur because other people are on the incorrect path. Search for ways to do the communicating work, instead than seeking for who should have the incrimination for the dislocation. Another thing to be careful to make is to listen actively and sympathetically. Try to set yourself in the others places, particularly when others perceptual experiences or thoughts are really different from your ain, you might necessitate to run at the border of your ain comfort zone. Besides, Respect others picks about whether to prosecute in communicating with you. Honor their sentiments about what is traveling on. When a struggle arises you need to halt, suspend judgement, and seek to look at the state of affairs as an foreigner. Besides, be prepared for a treatment of the yesteryear. Use this as an chance to develop an apprehension from the other s point of position, instead t han acquiring defensive or impatient. Acknowledge historical events that have taken topographic point. Be unfastened to larning more about them. Honest recognition of the mistreatment and subjugation that have taken topographic point on the footing of cultural difference is critical for effectual communicating. Have an consciousness of current power instabilities and openness to earreach each other s perceptual experiences of those instabilities is besides necessary for understanding each other and working together. Remember that cultural norms may non use to the behaviour of any peculiar person. We are all shaped by many factors such as our cultural background, our household, our instruction, and our personalities and we are more complicated than any cultural norm could propose.To recap what has been discussed in this paper we have learned the working definitions for both civilization and multicultural instruction. Then we discussed how multicultural instruction can turn to cultur al differences and prejudice in an educational scene. We have besides learned what things should non be done in the schoolroom, because they would impede a successful multicultural instruction within the schoolroom scene.MentionsAvruch, Kevin and Peter Black. ( 1993 ) . Conflict Resolution in Intercultural Settings Problems and Prospects, in Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice Integration and Application. New York St. Martin s Press.Nichols, Edwin J. ( November 10, 1976 ) . A presentation made to the World Psychiatric Association and Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria.

Painting: Vincent Van Gogh, Bedroom in Arles

On a smaller canvas than two other similar rougeings, Vincent van van Gogh carefully painted for the third time his bedroom in Arles, a charming town in the south of France, and thus created this approximately 22 ? x 29 artwork. In fact, caravan Gogh made three almost identical impressions on the theme of his bedroom and are named Bedroom in Arles . The initial one, kept at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is painted in October 1888. About a year after, Van Gogh made two copies one of which is the same size and is preserved today at the Art Institute of Chicago.The third one is currently at De Young Museum in San Francisco ( barely sooner belongs to the Musee dOrsay in Paris) and is smaller than the others1. This oil picture show on a linen canvas represents Van Goghs tidy bedroom. Nothing lets us think that this is the room of a painter. We do non know this because he does not display his painting equipment. Nothing lies around, not even a paint tube in a corner or a brush. This bedroom searchs to be for relaxation and not for his work as a painter. Here, he could in the long run forget his fatigue, have some comfort, sleep in peace.The bed is thus the dominant subject of the painting, suggesting the importance of comfort and rest. By painting his bedroom where everything is in its place, the painter may likewise want to show that he is a very neat man who cares for himself, and who organizes his liveliness in a reasonable manner. In addition to the prominent bed, this room exudes quietness and educees, absolute rest by its various shades. Indeed, the room has beautiful shiny colors. In Holland, where the painter was born2, the weather is not always nice and the sky is therefore often gray.Here however, there are multiple vibrant colors that certainly illustrate the happy life he had in France. Perhaps he had come to Arles for the sun and for him, it was an immense joy to live in such bright bedroom, bursting with colors. What is also fascinating intimately this piece of art is how the painter highlights the simplicity of his bedroom through the medium of color the pale lilac walls, the floor of an old brown, the chairs and bed chrome yellow, the rake red cover, the orange little table and the blue basin, as the painter describes it.Van Gogh asserted that he wanted to express a complete rest by handling all these different shades2. The color black, which could be evocating a certain form of anguish, is almost nonexistent in this painting. that the frame of the mirror and windows is black. We wonder if this could mean that Van Gogh was afraid of his future and afraid to face up to reality. This is a possibility. In fact, despite the separate of his happiness, present in this painting, Van Gogh was not married2 and many clues here let us think that he wished to be.Although the bedroom is very sparsely equipt and only contains essential items (which shows, in addition to the choice of colors, a great simplicity), we noti ce that many of these objects go together in pairs (two pillows, two chairs, two portraits on the wall, two drawings, and even two doors). Thus, this painting on canvas was perhaps his way of expressing his wish to meet someone and that his bedroom was arranged so as to welcome her.But because it was just him in this bedroom, he certainly felt less lonely by doubling the objects. Van Goghs painting consists almost entirely of straight lines. This is reminiscent of a childrens coloring which would have been filled in with color pencils, because the edges of objects are bolder and their filling up seem almost slapdash, neglected. This elaborate post-impressionist design may be compared to such work as Georges Seurats A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (book p. 370).But whereas Van Gogh favored paintings composed of multiple thin brush strokes, Seurat preferred the use of the pointillism system, which consisted of applying color to the canvas in tiny dots. 3 In this painting of Seurat, the co lor also focuses on hues. There are numerous colors too, their contrast is intense, and the sun shine, like in the Van Goghs bedroom, fills the picture, suggesting happiness and tranquility. Like Van Gogh, Seurat played with repetitive forms (the parasols, people in profile, trees, and boats).People in this piece are rigid. In fact, they do not seem to move, but on the contrary, seem to be strangely paralyzed, paralleling the furniture of Van Goghs bedroom. Strangely, Van Goghs furniture seems to be even to a greater extent alive than the people in the Seurats painting. The two painters did not have the same approach when they decided which colors they wanted to illuminate their canvases while Van Gogh was guided by his emotions and instant feelings, Seurat carefully analyzed the colors and meticulously calculated values. But in both pieces, Van Gogh and Seurat express their sense of organization by making objects, forms, motifs and colors coherent. To conclude, the mesmerizing, lu minous colors, and the well organized motifs of the depiction of Van Goghs bedroom, were not the game of chance. Everything in this painting seems to echo the emotions of Van Gogh, expressing at the same time his happiness in Arles and the great peace and tranquility he felt there, but also his desire to find his soul mate, with who he could share his home and thus, reach happiness certainly even more.

Public Procurement and Contract Administration in Nigeria

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION Overview of procurance procurement is the acquisition of nigh(a)s, works and operate at the best total cost of ownership, in the right on quality and quantity and at the right prison term. It also involves the acquisition of goods and operate at the right place and from the right source. macrocosm Procurement is the acquisition of goods, works and services by Government Ministries De come a scatterments and Agencies. In an effort to provide development and fulfil work promises, governments any over the world argon involved in large scale procurement of goods, works and services. semipublic Procurement account for substantial part of most countries GDP. The establishment of good creation procurement system is increasingly being viewed as measure of accountability and hydrofoil. The responsibility of government to ascertain transp atomic number 18ncy is also increasingly becoming a serious campaign issue. Public Procurement helps ensure the judicious use of public resources. An efficient Public Procurement System will ensure at all times government acquisition of goods, works, and services are done with callable regard to Economy energy Fairness Reliability Transparency and Accountability and Ethical Standards. Economy This will ensure that the procuring entity obtain the best value for the money expended. Value may hold more than price. It includes quality, and timely delivery of the goods or services. However, the ultimate lead of a sound procurement is to obtain the maximum value for money. Efficiency A good procurement must be seen to be positive. It should be devoid of bottlenecks and other forms of inefficiencies. A good procurement system is devoid of protracted delays. It must be simple and swift. FairnessA good system will ensure fairness to all attenderders and will be impartial, consistent, and reliable. It will ensure level contend field to all fillors, suppliers and consultant s. Transparency Good procurement system establishes and maintains rules and procedures that are accessible and unambiguous. It is non only fair, but it is seen to be fair. Accountability and Ethical Standards A system must ensure its practitioners obey the rules. It enforces the rules by dint of a cover of sanctioning those who neglect, disobey or bend the rules to gain certain advantages.The rules and procedures must be clear and unambiguous The process of establishing formal public procurement system in Nigeria started with the election of Obasanjo in 1999. It started with the establishment of Due process office downstairs the Presidency. The Due process office was headed then by Mrs. Oby Ekwesili, the current Vice President of valet Bank in charge of Afri bay window Region. The Due process Office succeeded in saving billions of Naira according to the press release by the Agency. Public Procurement bill was passed by the two houses of the National Assembly and save into la w by the President in 2007.The bear provide for the establishment of Public Procurement Council and Bureau for Public Procurement to beheaded by a Director General. Nigeria public procurement Act was enacted in 2007. Overview of Contract Administration Contract Administration on the other hand involves all those activities which are performed with aim of promoting the noneffervescent execution of mystifys. Contract Administration starts from the time a pledge is signed to the time a contract is closed. in that location are various forms in which a contract can closesA contract can close when an operational certificate has been issued and the contractor collects the final collapsement on a lower floor the contract. A contract can close if it is terminated and what is due to the either of the party (client or contractor) has been remunerative. A contract could be terminated due non performance by the contractors, due to failure of the client to fulfil obligations under the co ntract or due to events or happening beyond the control of the parties to the contract (force majeure). A contract can be discharged when there is a difference.This can happen either amicably or through mediation through arbitration and adjudication or through the court. The court is usually the last resort in this kind of settlement. Most modern contracts proscribe mediation mechanism. Contract closure should be seen as part of the procurement process that assures that the employer gets what it paid for and contractor, payment for goods or services delive rubicund. The Role of Regulation in Public Procurement A good regulatory schoolbookile is pre-requisite for an efficient Public procurement system.The role of policy formulation should be separate from policy execution and a mechanism for handling protests must be established. Any agency involved in any form of execution of public procurement should non be involved in regulating procurement. The Nigeria Public Procurement Act is however, nighhow deficient in the area of separation of policy formulation, execution and regulation and protest handling mechanism. The Bureau is involve in giving no objection for contracts yet is involve enforcing compliance with the provisions of the Act. This vested the power of execution and regulation in the Bureau.The Bureau also through the council (where the DG is the secretary) is involved in policy formulation and handling of protest. A good simulation of separation of regulation, execution and protest handling mechanism is the Kenyan public procurement system. It incorporated the necessary separation of execution, policy formulation and protest handling mechanism. However, this has not prevented politicians in Kenya from abusing the procurement system. In 2004 all the procurement officials in the various MDA in Kenya were suspended to allow politicians recover the money they spent in election campaign.The various agencies under the Kenyan Act are Public Procurement Oversight Authority The functions of the Kenyan Public Procurement Oversight Authority are To ensure that the procurement procedures established under the Act are complied with To monitor the public procurement system and report on the overall functioning to the Minister and also do the following functions support the training and passe-partout development of persons involved in procurement Issue written directions to ublic entities with respect to procurement including the conduct of procurement proceedings and the dissemi nation of data on procurements and ensure that procuring entities engage procurement professionals in their procurement units. To initiate public procurement policy and propose amendments to the Act. To perform such other functions and duties as provided for under the Act Public Procurement Oversight Advisory progress CompositionThe Public Procurement Oversight Advisory Board shall consist of nine members appointed by the Minister approved by Parliament from persons nominated by the prescribed organizations and the Director-General. Functions To advise the Authority generally on exercise of its powers and the performance of its functions To approve the estimates of the tax income and expenditures of the Authority To recommend the appointment and termination of the Director-General of the Authority Perform such other functions and duties as provided for under the Act.Public Procurement Administrative Review Board The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board, review complaints and make appropriate recommendation to the government. The Public Procurement Oversight Authority shall provide administrative services to the Review Board. Procuring Entities (MDA) It is the responsibility of Procuring Entities to comply with provisions of the Act.Specifically the Kenyan Act provides What is being procured must be within the approved budget of the procuring entity and included an annual procurement plan Procurement undertaken by a procurin g entity must be as per threshold matrix as set out in the regulations There is adequate segregation of duties in respect of procurement initiation, processing and receipt of goods, works and services. A public entity shall establish a tender committee, procurement unit and such other bodies as necessary under the regulations for the purpose of making such ecisions on behalf of the public entity as specified in the Act . Procurement Planning The first thing to do in procurement is, planning the process. It involves definition of the project scope and expected completion time. Specifically, the procuring entities need to identify the necessary works, goods or services to be procured. The procuring entities also need to determine the various procurement sequences. The procuring entity will select equipment packages and choose the method of procurement to use depending on the scope and complexity of the assignment.The following methods are usually used in procurement of goods, works and services (non-intellectual services) International competitive statement (ICB) Limited planetary bidding National competitive bidding Shopping Procurement Plan should separate consultancy services, works, goods and supply and installation of plants and equipments. Procurement plan should address the following How the procurement process should be handled (ICB,NCB, Others, Co-financing) Define the timing of each step in the procurement process (Each step, Each Package).It should also identify the procurement & implementation aggroup The plan should also take in account the approvals process and delays that may occur. It should take into account all technical, staffing, legal and training etc. Procurement locomote There should be identification of needs. The list of goods, equipment, materials plants etc. Types of Works (Large, Small, Very Small) and aassociated receiptss. The procuring entity should also indentify the means of transportation, distribution and training.The pl an should also take into account afterwardwards sales service and warranty period. The steps include the advertisement of tenders. The World Bank require advert in G. D. Market and United Nation military control on-line. National competitive bidding requires advert in at least two nationally read newspapers. The process includes Issuance of Bidding Documents Bid or Quotations Submission & Opening Bid or Quotation Evaluation Contract and Purchase Order Award. This will be preceded by contract notification, signature and effectiveness. Pre-contract seeOfficials of the procuring entity involve in the procurement process should meet in order to Understand their responsibilities and restrictions under the contract The role of the project carry awayr should also be defined The various tests and other forms of quality control should be defined. Specific deliverables and fussy contract provisions should be explained. Monitoring and performance measurement should be understood and invo icing and payment procedures should be explained. Pre- contract meet/discussion between the employer and the contractors are usually organised.At such meeting, the objective of the contract and its requirements are clear defined. The contract effectiveness conditions are explained. Others issues to be discussed are The project manager (from the employer) and contractors representative Organization and structures of the contractors implementation team. Implementation schedule and coverage method put across meetings, works certification and invoicing After the pre-contract discussion all grey areas are ironed out, the contract is signed by contractors representative with the power of attorney and the authorised representative of the contractor. Contract EffectivenessThis will take place after the contract has been signed and following conditions make water been fulfilled Contractor provide performance guaranty and advance payment guaranty (if required) If the contract requires pa yment of advance payment, it has been paid If Letter of Credit is required it must be established The Letter of Credit must be sustain (if funded by Nigeria government) or made operative through issuance of special commitment if World Bank financed contract or letter of guaranty if AfDB financed contract The employer must write a letter conveying the effectiveness to the contractor Letter of Credit Letters of Credit are guided by universal custom practice established by International Chamber of job and Industry found in Paris, France. It provides condition to enable parties to contract of sale living in different countries to make and take on payment for goods supplied.It start with a shore in the buyers country (opening bank) opening direct communication with another bank in the seller country (advising bank), through a correspondence bank (usually the negotiating bank). The opening bank will open either an sealed Letter of credit or a revocable letter of credit depending on the experimental condition of the transaction. It is irrevocable because once established neither of the party can cancel it unilaterally before the expiration of the validity. Letter of Credit is said to be confirmed if in addition to the confirmation of the opening bank, another bank (say the negotiating bank also add its confirmation). Under LC for contracts financed by World Bank, LCs are irrevocable but are unconfirmed. They are made operational when a special commitment is issued on it by World Bank. Incoterms 2000Incoterms means International Commercial terms published by International Chambers of Commerce (ICC), Headquarter in Paris. Incoterms was created in 1936 by ICC to facilitate outside(a) good deal by providing uniform interpretation of trade terms. Incoterms are regularly updated to keep pace with developments in international trade. The latest is incoterms 2000. The scope of incoterms is limited to rights & obligations of parties to contract of sales as it relate s to delivery of tangible goods. For example under the C terms, the Seller fulfils his obligation upon the shipment of goods. Once the good are shipped by the seller, under the C terms the buyer is obliged to receive the goods.The following are the various incoterms collection E Departure textlist-item Group E Main Carriage unpaid textlist-item textlist-item Group C Main Carriage Paid textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item Group D Arrival textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item Terms of Payment There are terms of payment for various contracts. Terms of payment are usually specified in the bidding document or request for proposal (RFP). Under a project financed by credit from the World Bank, the following terms shall apply as follows schedule 1-Plant & Equipment from Abroad textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item Schedule 2-Plant & Equipment from Employers Country textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item Schedule 3-Local Transportat ion textlist-item textlist-item Schedule 4-Installation Service textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item All payment must be made 45 days from submission of invoice and invoice not paid more than 60 days will attract interest. Role of bulge Manager and Contractors Representative labor movement Manager The contractor must be notified of the Project Manager in piece. The Project Manager shall act and represent the employer at times during the validity of the contract. He shall halt all instructions, notices, orders, certificates etc. He shall give approval and receives notices, instructions, information on behalf of the employer. Contractors Representative The employer must be notified in writing with his CV attached.Contractor representative must be approved by employer. The contractors representative act and represent the contractor at all time during the validity of the contract, He received all instructions, notices, orders, certificates, approvals and communications. The con tractor representative issues all notices, instructions, information and other communications on behalf of the contractor Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and Evaluation is an essentially part of contract administration. It is usually performed by project manager. Project Manager approves all designs and drawings for supply & installations contract etc. The project manager inspects & issue acceptance certificate before shipment.Proper monitoring ensures potential disputes are averted Invoicing and Payments Contractors and employers are partners. The contractors have goods/services or works required by the employer while the contractor want money from the employer. Contract won under international competitive bidding process give world-wide, most competitive price to the employer. Issuance of invoices and demand for payment is an obligation of the contractor while the employer has responsibility to pay for goods delivered and or services and works performed by the contractor. The format of invoicing and works certification should be worked out early to avoid employment of penalty clause. Progress MeetingsProgress meeting is necessary aspect of large and complex contracts which takes longer time to complete. Progress meetings are held at regular intervals. It is usually held to monitor the progress of the contract implementation. At such meeting contract implementation progress are discussed and compared with the contract implementation schedule. Implementation problems are also discussed with a view of lick them. The objective is to ensure that the contract will be completed with requisite quality, on time and within budget. Some identified Contract Administration Problems in Nigeria Institutional problems like contracts enforcement and prolonged court procedures are serious impediment to smooth contract administration.Other common contract administration problems are Contracts entered into with parties having littler understanding of the contract terms. Ccontracts seen as ways of dispensing favours. Therefore, little attention is paid to qualification. Contractors in some cases do not employ qualified personnel to manage and execute contracts. It usually takes unnecessarily long time to issue sufficient Bonds and Insurances for the execution of contracts, due to stringent conditions. Inadequate monitoring by employers also affects smooth contract implementation. A common contract administration problem that has become very visible especially in Nigeria Power Sector is losing out other partners in JV or Consortium agreement Delay in making payment to the contractors due to inadequate budgetary provisions Employment of unlimited or incompetent sub-contractors Delays in opening LCs and extension of LCs & Form M. Misapplication of proceeds of advance payment by contractors Dispute in the interpretation of contract terms Delay in issuing Duties and vat exemptions certificate conveyance Difficulties in clearing goods in the ports and th e poor state of the nation infrastructure Inconsistency in government policies and corruption of government officials Avoiding Dispute in contract implementation The best dispute resolution method is not to have disputed at all. However, if there is a dispute direct negotiations between the parties at an early stage could be helpful.If no solution is form through direct negotiation, establish in a letter the facts of which constitute the breach of contract to focus the problem on the issue under dispute In United Kingdom an alternative dispute resolution technique called partnering technique is being employed. Partnering starts with a workshop usually during the kick off meeting where anticipations of parties (contractor and employer) are discussed and harmonised. A partnering agreement or charter is signed by the parties. Employer and contractor are expected to encourage their staff to achieve the charter. In some cases the employer and the contractor share offices in the spirit of the partnering. Dispute Resolution AdjudicationOnce a dispute cannot be resolved mutually between the parties, it can be referred to adjudicator by either party in writing with a copy to the other party. The adjudicator shall give his decision in writing to both parties. The decision of the adjudicator is not final. The name of the adjudicator and his CV is usually included in the bidding document. If a bidder has problem with a suggested adjudicator, he must indicate so in writing and suggest another adjudicator which must be accepted by the employer. Arbitration If either of the party is dissatisfied with the decision of the adjudicator, the dissatisfied party can write to the arbitrator. Either party may give the other notice to commence arbitration. The ddecision of arbitration are final and binding on all parties Arbitration courtsThe Court of Arbitration of International Chamber of Commerce (Paris) is the most popular arbitration institute in the World. Other are London Co urt of Arbitration and allied Professional Society The American Arbitration Association in United State of American Arbitration Institute of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce based in Sweden. United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) UN International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute (ICSID)- WB Change Orders and set Adjustments Contracts are base on plans, designs, specification and quantities which are best estimates. Field conditions, revisions to original plan could cause the scope of the contract to change.Revisions caused by changes in expectation and technology may require change order. A change order is request for a change in the scope of a contract. It may be requested by either party to a contract. A change order signed by all the parties have the same authority as the original contract. For contracts financed by World Bank, change order is applied to changes in contract that is more than 5% of the contract sum. Under the World Bank procurem ent system, contract which exceed 18 months period should have provision for price adjustment. Contract Close Out Contract close out begins when the contract has been physically complete, i. e. all services have been performed and products delivered.Close out is completed when all administrative actions have been completed, all disputes settled, and final payment have been made. Materials and equipment to be pass over properly receipted. Contract close out is as important as contract award and contract monitoring. A check list of all services, products, etc. to be delivered in the contract should be kept in the contract file. Governance Fraud, decadence & Conflict of Interest Conflict of interest refers to a situation in which procurement official evaluate tenders involving companies in which they have direct or indirect interest. Fraud on the other hand includes refutal or omission of facts to influence a procurement process or the execution of contract.It also includes collusion among bidders. corruption include offering, giving, receiving or soliciting directly or indirectly of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or contract execution. Governance Identification of Corruption Some red flags in procurement process that indicate possibility of corruption include the following Poor record keeping Deviations from procedures without written confession Poorly defined roles/responsibilities Absence of good internal control system Red flags can be exhibited by individuals involve in procurement and contract administration as follows Extravagant lifestyleExcessive interaction with supplier(s) and contractors Too much secrecy Reluctance to delegate duties Keeping contact with certain suppliers only Some red flags in a particular procuring entity are Always the same suppliers competing & wining Reluctance of established supplier and contractors to bid for contracts in an entity Some red flags in contract adminis tration Excessive cost overruns Excessive numbers of change orders (increasing cost) Payment of frivolous claims Governance Corruption Contributing Factors& Known Signals neediness of competitive environment Lack of trained & competent procurement staff Widespread lack of trust & job securityPermissive environment (no sanctions after established cases of fraud and corruption) Lack of good mechanism for handling protest & delays Known signals textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item textlist-item circumstance Study Case 1 An employer invited bid for the supply of one X-ray machine for the main hospital for delivery one month ex-stock within 2 months of Letter of Credit. In the bidding document, bidders were asked to quote price on CIP capital city by air in US dollars. Bidders were provided 60 days to submit bids. Six bids were undefendable publicly. All except one bidder quoted the price as solicited. One bidder quoted the price in French Francs.In its evaluation the employer rej ected the bid as it did not comply with the currency provision. The employer proposed to award the contract to the lowest bidder as all the other bid are responsive. The contract will be financed under a credit from World Bank and the rejected bidder protested to the World Bank on the ground that World Bank permitted bids from any member country and currency and his bid was in fact the lowest. What should the World Bank do and Why? Case 2 In an agricultural project, an employer presented papers relating to an advance procurement of two bulldozers for World Bank financing retroactively. The employer/borrower claimed to have followed the World Bank ICB procedures.On review, it was noted that the General Procurement Notice (GPN) and Specific Procurement Notice (SPN) were issued, adequate time provided for the bidding, there was good response and award had been made to the lowest bidder. The only short-coming was the bids were opened by a government committee without inviting the bidder representative. Is the process valid under this circumstance? Case 3 You are the chairman of public procurement administrative review commission. A project includes the procurement of 10 tracks Dozers and excavators to be procured under a single package. The specifications stated the tracks should be powered by an engine with a minimum of 175 horsepower (SAE) at a rated RPM. Firm A offered its dozers with a 165HP. In the evaluation the committee consider the deviation as minor and awarded the contract to Firm A. Firm B

Mearl Oil Company Case

Mearl oil gild case review The case is about a manager environmental support system of Mearl cover Company named Leslie Milne which noticed that there are serious potential environmental and health hazard problems in areas which industrial facilities were discharging wastewater into open ditches. According to this discovery, company made a memorandum of wastewater discharge, environment and health standard to all Mearl subsidiaries which were then called by Environmental Impact Targets (EITs).The EITs provide very expatiate and specific manufacturing standards down to the process and controls that facility had to apply to its operation related to health and environment. Then the protest came from MearlCan, Mearl Canada subsidiaries. Maya Stevenson, Mearl Canada senior environmental manager said that EITs ripe added a level unnecessary bureaucracy with little positive improvement to MearlCan performance. She stated that in developing country like Canada, the topical anesthetic r egulation is already high so then EITs would be redundant and often be ignored in reality.The objection of EITs implementation by MearlCan is also because the swelling of expenses which ordain reached $ 2 million entrust occur as a result of Secondary treatment plant for sanitary waste system that required by EITs. Based on the above reasons, Maya Stevenson was going to request deviation from the EITs requirements that could be covered under MearlCan memorandum and also consideration of possibility EITs equalization with MearlCan memoranda which is regulation that already applied in Canada.In this case, there are conflict between Milne and Stevenson. Milne embraced absolutism understanding in EITs implementation which that policy needs to be implemented without exception in all Mearl subsidiaries. While Stevenson embrace relativism and teleological understanding that related to topical anesthetic custom, belief, necessities and consideration to the outcome and result of EITs imp lementation impacts in MearlCan. And also and ethical problem in this case is Would it be ethical, when ompany good willingness of environmental enforcement by policies initiation compromised by the interest of financial issues and local situations? The designing of EITs requirements compromise came from MearlCan. MearlCan see that EITs implementation will costly, and unnecessary due to existed standard which already high. In my point of view, we can take utilitarian action to pass over different perception among Milne and Stevenson.Both perceptions have logical different perspective that needs to be accommodated. The compromise of EITs implementation to be applicable and suitable by local situation is still acceptable, as long as not reducing standard level and deviate the initial goal of EITs as the realization of Mearls company environmental awareness. The principle of environmental enforcement should be placed at the top and should not be compromised by other thing such as mo ney.Mearl vegetable oil Company CaseMearl oil company case review The case is about a manager environmental support system of Mearl Oil Company named Leslie Milne which noticed that there are serious potential environmental and health hazard problems in areas which industrial facilities were discharging wastewater into open ditches. According to this discovery, company made a memorandum of wastewater discharge, environment and health standard to all Mearl subsidiaries which were then called by Environmental Impact Targets (EITs).The EITs provide very particular and specific manufacturing standards down to the process and controls that facility had to apply to its operation related to health and environment. Then the protest came from MearlCan, Mearl Canada subsidiaries. Maya Stevenson, Mearl Canada senior environmental manager said that EITs in force(p) added a level unnecessary bureaucracy with little positive improvement to MearlCan performance. She stated that in developing co untry like Canada, the local regulation is already high so then EITs would be redundant and often be ignored in reality.The objection of EITs implementation by MearlCan is also because the swelling of expenses which will reached $ 2 million will occur as a result of Secondary treatment plant for sanitary waste system that required by EITs. Based on the above reasons, Maya Stevenson was going to request deviation from the EITs requirements that could be covered under MearlCan Memoranda and also consideration of possibility EITs equalization with MearlCan Memoranda which is regulation that already applied in Canada.In this case, there are conflict between Milne and Stevenson. Milne embraced absolutism understanding in EITs implementation which that policy needs to be implemented without exception in all Mearl subsidiaries. While Stevenson embrace relativism and teleological understanding that related to local custom, belief, necessities and consideration to the outcome and result of E ITs implementation impacts in MearlCan. And also and ethical problem in this case is Would it be ethical, when ompany good willingness of environmental enforcement by policies initiation compromised by the interest of financial issues and local situations? The invention of EITs requirements compromise came from MearlCan. MearlCan see that EITs implementation will costly, and unnecessary due to existed standard which already high. In my point of view, we can take utilitarian action to cite different perception among Milne and Stevenson.Both perceptions have logical different perspective that needs to be accommodated. The compromise of EITs implementation to be applicable and suitable by local situation is still acceptable, as long as not reducing standard level and deviate the initial goal of EITs as the realization of Mearls company environmental awareness. The principle of environmental enforcement should be placed at the top and should not be compromised by other thing such as money.

Minimum Wage and Nike Marketing Phrase

Nike is in many ways the quintessential global corporation. Established in 1972 by source University of Oregon track star Phil sawbuck, Nike is now matchless of the leading marketers of athletic shoes and apparel on the planet. In 2006, the company has $15 billion in annual revenues and sold its products in some 140 countries. Nike does not do any manufacturing. Rather, it designs and markets its products, while contracting for their manufacture from a global network of 600 factories scattered around the globe that employ some 650,000 people. This extensive corporation has do Knight into angiotensin converting enzyme of the richest people in America.The Nike marketing phrase Just Do It has become as recognizable in popular culture as its swoosh logo or the faces of its celebrity sponsors, such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. For totally of its successes, the company has been dogged for more than a cristal by repeated and persistent accusations that its products are made in sweatshops w here workers, many of them children, slave away in equivocal conditions for less than subsistence proceeds. Nikes wealth, its detractors claim, has been built upon the backs of the worlds poor.To many, Nike has become a symbol of the evils of globalizationa rich horse opera corporation exploiting the worlds poor to provide expensive shoes and apparel to the pampered consumers of the developed world. Nikes Niketown stores pose become prototype targets for anti-globalization protesters. Several nongovernmental organizations, such as San Franciscobased Global Exchange, a human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political, and societal justice around the world, return targeted Nike for repeated criticism and protests.News organizations such as CBSs 48 Hours hosted by Dan Rather have run exposes on working conditions in foreign factories that supply Nike. Students on the campuses of several(prenominal) major U. S. universities with which Nik e has lucrative sponsorship deals have protested against the ties, citing Nikes use of sweatshop labor. For its part, Nike has taken steps to counter the protests. Yes, it admits, in that respect have been problems in some overseas factories. still the company has signaled a commitment to improving working conditions.It requires that foreign subcontractors suffer tokenish thresholds for working conditions and pay. It has arranged for factories to be examined by indie scrutinizeors. It has terminated contracts with factories that do not watch with its standards. But for all this effort, the company continues to be a target of protests and a symbol of dissent. The Case against Nike exemplary of the exposes against Nike was a 48 Hours fib that aired October 17, 1996. 3 Reporter Roberta Baskin visited a Nike pulverization in Vietnam.With a shot of the factory, her commentary began The signs are everywhere of an American invasion in search of cheap labor. Millions of people who are literate, disciplined, and desperate for jobs. This is Nike Town near what use to be called Saigon, one of cardinal factories Nike doesnt own nevertheless subcontracts to make a million shoes a month. It takes 25,000 workers, mostly young women, to Just Do It. But the workers here dont share in Nikes huge profits. They work six days a week for scarcely $40 a month, just 20 cents an hour. Baskin interviewed one factory worker, a young woman named Lap.Baskin told viewers Her basic w eon, even as sewing team leader, still doesnt amount to the minimum wage Shes knock down to 85 pounds. Like most of the young women who make shoes, she has little choice but to accept the scurvy wages and long hours. Nike says that it requires all subcontractors to obey topical anaesthetic laws but Lap has already put in much more overtime than the annual legal limit 200 hours. Baskin then asked Lap what would pop off if she was sick or had something she essential to take care of, such as a sick relative, and needed to leave the factory?Through a translator, Lap replied It is not possible if you havent made enough shoes. You have to meet the quota before you can go home. The clear implication of the story was that Nike was at fault here for allowing such working conditions to persist in the Vietnam factory, which was owned by a Korean company. Another tone-beginning on Nikes subcontracting practices came in June 1996 from Made in the USA, a lay outation largely financed by labor unions and municipal apparel manufacturers that oppose free trade with low-wage countries. check to Joel Joseph, chairman of the foundation, a popular line of pricy Nike sneakers, the Air Jordans, were put together by 11-year-olds in Indonesia making 14 cents per hour. A Nike spokeswoman, Donna Gibbs, countered that this was false. fit to Gibbs, the ordinary worker made 240,000 rupiah ($103) a month working a maximum 54-hour week, or virtually 45 cents per hour.Gibbs also noted that Nik e had staff members in each factory supervise conditions to make sure the factory obeyed local minimum wage and child labor laws. Another example of the criticism against Nike is the following take from a newsletter published by Global Exchange5 During the 1970s, most Nike shoes were made in South Korea and Taiwan. When workers there gained new freedom to organize and wages began to rise, Nike looked for greener pastures. It found them in Indonesia and China, where Nike started producing in the 1980s, and most recently in Vietnam. The majority of Nike shoes are made in Indonesia and China, countries with governments that prohibit unconditional unions and set the minimum wage at rock bottom.The Indonesian government admits that the minimum wage there does not provide enough to supply the basic needs of one person, let alone a family. In early 1997 the entry-level wage was a miserable $2. 46 a day. Labor groups estimate that a livable wage in Indonesia is about $4. 00 a day. In Vi etnam the pay is even less20 cents an hour, or a mere $1. 60 a day. But in urban Vietnam, three primary meals cost about $2. 10 a day, and then of course there is rent, transportation, clothing, health care, and much more. According to Thuyen Nguyen of Vietnam Labor Watch, a living wage in Vietnam is at least $3 a day.In another attack on Nikes practices, in September 1997 Global Exchange published a report card on working conditions in four Nike and Reebok subcontractors in southern China. 6 Global Exchange, in alinement with two Hong Kong human rights groups, had interviewed workers at the factories in 1995 and again in 1997. According to Global Exchange, in one factory, a Korean owned subcontractor for Nike, workers as young as 13 earning as little as 10 cents an hour toiled up to 17 hours daily in en traced silence. Talking during work was not allowed, with violators fined $1. 20 to $3. 0, according to the report.The practices were in violation of Chinese labor law, which sta tes that no child under 16 may work in a factory, and the Chinese minimum wage requirement of $1. 90 for an eight-hour day. Nike condemned the employment as erroneous, stating that the report incorrectly stated the wages of workers and made irresponsible accusations. Global Exchange, however, go on to be a major thorn in Nikes side. In November 1997, the organization obtained and then leaked a confidential report by Ernst & Young of an audit that Nike had equiped of a factory in Vietnam owned by aNike subcontractor. 7The factory had 9,200 workers and made 400,000 pairs of shoes a month. The Ernst & Young report painted a sombre picture of thousands of young women, most under age 25, laboring 10 1/2 hours a day, six days a week, in excessive heat and noise and in foul air, for meagerly more than $10 a week. The report also found that workers with skin or breathing problems had not been transferred to departments free of chemicals and that more than half the workers who dealt wit h dangerous chemicals did not wear protective masks or gloves.It claimed workers were exposed to carcinogens that exceeded local legal standards by 177 times in parts of the plant and that 77 percent of the employees suffered from respiratory problems. gift on the defensive yet again, Nike called a news conference and pointed out that it had commissioned the report and had acted on it. 8 The company stated it had hypothesise an action plan to deal with the problems cited in the report, and had slashed overtime, amend safety and ventilation, and reduced the use of toxic chemicals.The company also asserted that the report showed that its internal monitoring system had performed exactly as it should have. According to one spokesman This shows our system of monitoring works We have bring out these issues clearly before anyone else, and we have moved fairly expeditiously to correct them. Nikes Responses Unaccustomed to playing defense, Nike formulated a number of strategies and tact ics to deal with the problems of working conditions and pay at subcontractors. In 1996, Nike hired Andrew Young, one-time(prenominal) U. S. mbassador to the United Nations and former Atlanta mayor, to assess working conditions in subcontractors plants around the world.Young released a softly critical report of Nike in mid-1997. After completing a two-week tour that covered 15 factories in three countries, Young informed Nike it was doing a good job in tr ingest workers, though it should do better. According to Young, he did not see sweatshops, or hostile conditions I saw crowded dorms but the workers were eating at least two meals a day on the job and making what I was told were subsistence wages in those cultures. Young was widely criticized by human rights and labor groups for not taking his own translators and for doing loose-fitting inspections, an assertion he repeatedly denied. In 1996, Nike assembleed a presidential task force designed to find a way of banishing sweatsh ops in the shoe and clothing industries. The task force included assiduity leaders such as Nike, representatives from human rights groups, and labor leaders. In April 1997, the task force announced an bargain for workers rights that U. S. companies could agree to when manufacturing abroad.The accord limited the work week to 60 hours and called for paying at least the local minimum wage in foreign factories. The task force also agreed to establish an supreme monitoring associationlater named the Fair Labor Association (FLA)to assess whether companies are abiding by the code. 10 The FLA now includes among its members the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the National Council of Churches, the International Labor Rights Fund, some 135 universities (universities have extensive licensing agreements with sports apparel companies such as Nike), and companies such as Nike, Reebok, and Levi Strauss.In early 1997, Nike also began to commission independent organizations such as Ernst & You ng to audit the factories of its subcontractors. In September 1997, Nike tried to show its critics that it was problematical in more than just a public dealings exercise when it terminated its relationship with four Indonesian subcontractors, stating that they had refused to comply with the companys standard for wage levels and working conditions.Nike identified one of the subcontractors, Seyon, which manufactured specialty sports gloves for Nike. Nike state that Seyon refused to meet a 10. 7 percent increase in the monthly wage, to $70. 0, declared by the Indonesian government in April 1997. 11 On May 12, 1998, in a speech given at the National Press Club, Phil Knight spelled out in detail a series of initiatives designed to mend working conditions for the 500,000 people that make products for Nike. 12 Among the initiatives Knight highlighted were the following We have effectively changed our minimum age limits from the ILO (International Labor Organization) standards of 15 in m ost countries and 14 in developing countries to 18 in all footwear manufacturing and 16 in all other types of manufacturing (apparel, accessories, and equipment. .Existing workers legally employed under the former limits were grandfathered into the new requirements. During the past 13 months we have moved to a 100 percent factory audit scheme, where every Nike contract factory will receive an annual check by Pricewaterhouse Coopers teams who are in particular trained on our Code of Conduct Owners Manual and audit/monitoring procedures. To date they have performed about 300 such monitoring visits. In a few instances in apparel factories they have found workers under our age standards.Those factories have been required to raise their standards to 17 years of age, to require three documents certifying age, and to step up their efforts to ensure workers meet those standards through interviews and records checks. Our goal was to ensure workers around the globe are protected by requirin g factories to have no workers exposed to levels above those mandated by the permissible exposure limits (PELs) for chemicals prescribed in the OSHA indoor(prenominal) air quality standards. 3 These moves were applauded in the business press, but they were greeted with a skeptical resolution from Nikes long-term adversaries in the debate over the use of foreign labor. While conceding that Nikes policies were an improvement, one critic composition in the New York Times noted Mr. Knights child labor initiative is a smoke screen. kidskin labor has not been a big problem with Nike, and Philip Knight knows that better than anyone. But public relations is public relations. So he screen.Child labor has not been a big problem with Nike, and Philip Knight knows that better than anyone. But public relations is public relations. So he have to keep a close eye on him at all times. The biggest problem with Nike is that its overseas workers make wretched, below-subsistence wages. Its not th e minimum age that needs raising, its the minimum wage. Most of the workers in Nike factories in China and Vietnam make less than $2 a day, well below the subsistence levels in those countries. In Indonesia the pay is less than $1 a day.The companys flowing strategy is to reshape its public image while doing as little as possible for the workers. Does anyone think it was an accident that Nike set up shop in human rights sinkholes, where labor organizing was viewed as a wicked activity and deeply impoverished workers were willing, even eager, to take their places on assembly lines and work for next to nought? 14 Other critics question the value of Nikes auditors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). Dara ORourke, an assistant professor at MIT, followed the PwC auditors around several factories in China, Korea, and Vietnam.He concluded that although the auditors found minor violations of labor laws and codes of conduct, they missed major labor practice issues including hazardous working conditions, violations of overtime laws, and violation of wage laws. The problem, according to ORourke, was that the auditors had limited training and relied on factory managers for selective information and to set up worker interviews, all of which were performed in the factories. The auditors, in other words, were getting an incomplete and just about sanitized view of conditions in the factory. 5 The Controversy Continues Fueled perhaps by the unforgiving criticisms of Nike that continued after Phil Knights May 1998 speech, beginning in 1998 and continuing into 2001, a wave of protests against Nike occurred on many university campuses. The miserable force behind the protests was the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS). The USAS argued that the Fair Labor Association (FLA), which grew out of the presidential task force on sweatshops, was an industry tool, and not a truly independent auditor of foreign factories.The USAS set up an alternative independent auditing organizati on, the Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), which they charged with auditing factories that produce products under collegiate licensing programs (Nike is a high compose supplier of products under these programs). The WRC is backed, and partly funded, by labor unions and refuses to cooperate with companies, arguing that doing so would jeopardize its independence.By mid-2000, the WRC had persuaded some 48 universities to join the organization, including all nine calmpuses of the University of California system, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oregon, Phil Knights alma mater. When Knight heard that the University of Oregon would join the WRC, as opposed to the FLA, he withdrew a planned $30 million donation to the university. 16 disdain this, in November 2000, the University of Washington announced it too would join the WRC, although it would also retain its membership in the FLA. 7 Nike continued to push forward with its own initiatives, updating progress on its websi te. In April 2000, in response to pressure that it was still hiding poor working conditions, Nike announced it would release the complete reports of all independent audits of its subcontractors plants. Global Exchange continued to criticize the company, arguing in mid-2001 that the company was not living up to Knights 1998 promises, and that it was intimidating workers from speaking out about abuses.

Employer Associations & Modern Awards Essay

There have been substantial changes to modern awards over the years that employer associations have historically and argon currently advocating. In this study, issues such as penalty orders and flexibility stemming from employer association submissions have been researched and examined by (Sheldon & Thornthwaite 2013) portraying evidence that employer associations relatively prefer cost cutting and leavend managerial prerogative as oppose to productiveness. Entailed within this essay the learn concepts such as penalty rates, managerial prerogative, flexibility and productivity will be discussed with particular focus the modern award reviews combined with an overview of Sheldon and Thornthwaites argument in summary and concurrence.According to (Boxall & Purcell, 2011) management goals be predominantly associated with cost efficiency, controllable flexibility, legitimacy and managerial power. It is these goals that plain become the concern of relevant employer associations, as su ch they take on the role of combining, allocating and utilising resources in rate to achieve organisational objectives. There have however been significant changes over the years regarding employer association involvement peculiarly seen over the course of the 1980s. Employer associations aim to influence and negotiate with the Government of the day as well as tribunals in an effort to ensure that the mutual concerns of organisations are being met. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) discuss key system issues with regard to employer associations chief(prenominal)ly focusing on restricting unions right of entry, penalty rates and other(a) eatable incorporating aspects of substantive and procedural rules.Modern Award reviews primarily began in 2012, it is during this time that leading associations took the prospect to not only push for to a greater extent workable provisions but likewise to melt for more substantial changes within various awards. Employer associations accounted for a large number of submissions to the tribunal on a unspecific range of issued in particular penalty rates, public holidays and flexibility. In the technical sense, penalty rates are a form of tangible benefit within the financial circumstance which generally refers to those payments made to workers exterior normal working hours. Regulator motivations for including penalty rates in modern awards as state of matterd by (Sloane, 2014) are twofold firstly, to compensate workers for work performed during what was historically known as unsociable hours and secondly, to dissuade employers from run within those hours.However,as advocated by (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) the modern award reviews have provided a forum for employers and their associations to escalate their campaign to the significance of penalty rates in industries operating during the traditionally unsociable hours, which is evidence that employer associations prefer to enhance managerial prerogative over productivity which is predominantly concerned with the cost of resources. The push for the examination of provisions regarding penalty rates has mostly been seen to affect the tourism and retail industries. Flexibility is made up of legion(predicate) components however, within in the context of the workplace involves thinking creatively about how working lives can be better structured to match individual and business needs (Job Access, 2012). Following the review of penalty rate provisions, amendments to the flexibility clause were sought after with particular attention paid to the manufacturing industry.Greater flexibility was communicate in the taking and cashing out of annual leave in a further attempt to enhance cost cutting initiatives through with(predicate) control measures which ultimately leads to the underlying concept of elevated managerial prerogative. managerial prerogative may be defined as managements unqualified authority to pattern its discretion in certain areas under the b elief that they have exclusive rights to make decisions and therefore thrust any interference with that control (Storey, 1983). Sheldon & Thornthwaite make reference to managerial prerogative in the defensive context through aggressive industrial action which has historically been used as a means of beef up managerial prerogative.The 2011 Qantas lockout serves as one of the most significant demonstrations of managerial prerogative through the organisations decision to use in a lockout. As part of a wider push to entrench managerial prerogative employers were also seen to be engaging in aggressive bargaining strategies in order to escalate disputes with the intention of gaining get to to arbitration which has an adverse affect on productivity. (Stewart, 2005) promotes the fact that there needs to be greater tenseness on productivity which forges greater efficiency and high trust work systems founded on flexible and reasonable employment. Productivity is the economic factor stem ming from the adequate use of resources productivity is essentially the measure of achievement through the amount of output that is achieved as result of the input predominantly referring to land, labour and capital as the key resources.Between penalty rates and productivity there is no association they are separated by the contexts of which they are defined. (AI Group, 2012) identify key problem areas within the Fair Work Act Review and state that it is hampering productivity growth, workplace flexibility and competitiveness thus meaning that penalty rates do not influence productivity levels. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) do make it apparent that employer associations main concerns do in fact favour cost cutting and managerial prerogative rather than focusing on the grandeur of productivity enhancement. (Sheldon & Thornthwaite, 2013) further explored critiques from employer associations whose predominant concern was based on the fact that managerial prerogative was cut back thr ough the increasing weakness of employer freedom to contract. (DEEWR, 2012)Released a report referring to more productive and equitable workplaces which disappoint employer associations thus further confirming productivity enhancement to be of no concern. It is clearly demonstrated that employer associations main concerns were that of cost cutting and managerial prerogative it is however, the amalgamation of all the relevant key concepts discussed that essentially furnish organisations with a competitive advantage. The core concepts behind the submissions made by employer associations clearly obscure the importance of large issues which further represents that employer associations prioritise the ease of managements working lives over that of the worker.BibliographyAustralian Industry (AI) Group (2012), Applications to Vary a Modern Award 2012 Review, Stephen Smith, Director National Workplace Relations. Boxall, P and Purcell, J (2011), The Goals of Human Resource Management, d odge and Human Resource Management, 3rd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, pp. 1-36. Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2012), Towards More deep and Equitable Workplaces An Evaluation of the Fair Work Legislation, Australian Government. Job Access, Flexibility in the Workplace, Australian Government, Accessed initiative May 2014 Sheldon, P and Thornthwaite, L. (2013), Employer and Employer Association Matters in 2012, Journal of industrial Relations, Vol. 55 No. 3, pp. 386-402. Sloane, J (2014), requital Penalty Rates, but not Through Awards System,The Australian. Stewart, A (2005), A Simple Plan for Workplace Regulation, Industrial Law News, Issue 7. Storey, J (1983). Managerial Prerogative and the Question of Control, Routledge & Kegan Paul Publishing, London.