Saturday, August 31, 2019

Influence of Rules and Regulation on Public Sector Accounting Practice

Title: Rules And Regulation In Public Sector Accounting. Date / Time: 07 October 2012 (Monday) / 4:00 Pm Location: Room Spk308, Othman Yeop Abdullah Building (School Of Accounting. ) Guest: Student Of Public Sector Accounting Group C Agenda: Influence Of Rules And Regulation On Public Sector Accounting Practise. Last Sunday, we are discussing about the rule and regulation regarding Public Sector Accounting Practice. On that day, we are discussing about the article in federal law which on part VII (Financial Provision).Initially, we must know about the establishment history of the Federal Constitution. Federal Constitution it’s also known it as the Malaysian Constitution. It is the written legal documentation that it’s formed based on two previous documents of the Federation of Malaya Independence Constitution of 1948 and 1957. The legal drafted based on the advice of Reid Commission. Federal Constitution consists of several different parts. Public Sector Accounting Practice is related to part VII in the Federal Constitution.These VII parts consist of several articles. The article starts from Article 96 until Article 112. This segment is focus on the financial provision for the government and state. Article 96, Indicates that no money can be raised by taxation or rates, nor can it be spent (except) under the authority of the federal law. Article 97, all revenues and monies raised or received by the Federal government shall be paid to the Federal Consolidated Fund and all revenues and monies received by the state shall be paid to the State Consolidated Fund.Article 98, Indicates that expenditure charge to the Federal Consolidated Fund include grant, remuneration of the royalties, pensions, debt charges, money to pay for court judgment. Next Article 99, Annual financial statements require the federal government to prepare and submit to the Parliament, statements of estimated receipts and estimated expenditure of the following year before the commencement of that year. Also requires federal government to submit statement of assets and liabilities of last financial year.Article 100, Supply Bills indicates that expenditure to be met from the consolidated fund excluding charged expenditure shall be included in a bill known as Supply Bill. Article 101, if the amo unt appropriated (approved) by the Supply Act is insufficient, a supplementary budget can be prepared and submitted to Parliament. Article 102, Expenditure of unusual urgency not is included in the approved budget; it needs to be approved by Parliament. Article 103, The purpose of the Contingencies Fund is to meet urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exist.Article 104, Withdrawals from Consolidated Funds regulates payment for charged expenditure authorized by Supply Act and also Article 102. Article 105, Auditor General is appointed by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister and after consultation with the Council of Rulers and is eligible for reappointment. Article 106, The Auditor General will perform such other duties as specified by the King on accounts of federal, states and other public authorities. Article 107, the audit report should be submitted to the King to be laid in the Parliament.The states accounts’ and other state autho rities should be submitted to the state ruler for presentation to the State Legislative Assembly. Article 109, Grants for States indicates that Federal government shall make to each state a grant, capitation grant. Article 110, Assignment of Taxes and Fees to the States, each state will receive portion of taxes collected within the states which receive 10% of export duties of mineral produced by states. Article 111, The Federation shall not borrow except under the authority of federal law and state.Last Article 112, Restrict alternation by states to any addition to its establishment or the establishment of any of its department or alter the rates of established salaries and emoluments. DISCUSSION: We have conducted a discussion in the class. Before starting the presentation, we already began the discussion session. We ask the students to give their opinion about article 96 until article 112. one of our friends, Noor Amiera binti Jaafar gave her opinion regarding article number 97. S he said, â€Å"Federal Constitution related to government financial.Example Article 97, subject to federal constitution, all revenue came from state will be accounted to the state government†. Besides Noor Amiera, the others member also provides their own opinion like, Teoh Vin Sen he said state government will collect the money and revenue from state if under the federal government. Last but not least our friends Yap Kit Yeng, she gave an opinion regarding article number 96, and she said the federal government will collect the revenue from taxation. SUGGESTION: 1.We suggest that it’s compulsory for every student to read the book before they came to the class in order to improve their participation. Moreover by reading before they came to the class, the objective of Student Centred Learning because they can give their own opinion about the discussed topics. 2. Each group should be more confident when they want to do the presentation. Besides that, the presenter must ma ke slide presentation clear. 3. Student should give the full attention when the presenter present about their chapter. Besides that, the presenter must point to the audience when they want the answer.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Nature and Importance of the Study Essay

Trisales Business Systems Corporation, built for almost 30 years already, is a company engaged in the business of retailing office equipment. Such equipment range from Photocopying machine, Fax machines, down to smaller ones such as calculators and electronic typewriters. Their main suppliers include big names in the appliance industry including Sharp Philippines, Copier Online, Epyon Corporation, Panasonic and Sanyo. TBSC is a small to medium in size. All in all, the company consist of no more than 50 employees, including the staff and the people in the managerial levels. They cater to a number of clients around the Cebu province. TBSC is located in Ramos St., Cebu City. The main aim of sales and stock inventory system is to hold the inventory records accurately and a healthier sales transactions with their costumers and suppliers. Manual recording is really giving them hard time in going thru further for their business. And because they include big names in the appliance industry with a number of clients around the Cebu province, they need to provide an accurate records of their transactions including their inventory as much as well. They also want to have a more secure business flow, and for a well-organized inventory and transaction records. To necessary avoid chaos when it comes to storing information. They believe that having a healthy system for their company is another way of showing their professionalism in the business industry. Statement of the Problem Below specified are the current problems faced by the Trisales Business System Corporation: i) Time consuming transactions and inventory process Without a system, recording transactions and conducting inventory is one of the most difficult and time-consuming job for their company. Their employees are spending most of his/her time jotting down all transactions for the day. By the end of the month, or whenever the company conducts the inventory of stocks, they have to dig through a whole pile of files to determine the number of sales from the previous workdays, to match it with the results of the inventory. ii) Inaccurate inventory of stocks and sales TBSC nowadays is still using the manual recording of informations and data for their business. This causes their records in transactions and stocks to be misguided, filed inappropriately and cluttered. As result, there is difficulty in retrieving data, making analysis and making adjustments to the records. iii) Unsecured records of data and informations The manual system of recording data in TBSC, to be direct to the point, unsecured. Anytime, it may get lost, edited or faded which is more prone to miscalculations and causing incorrect changes to the records. iv) Stocks outs and excesses of stocks in inventory Shortages in the stock inventory can result in product delays to customers which will reduce their expectations to the company. A poor forecasting in the inventory is also leading them in excesses of stocks that results in additional costs to the organization in storage costs and funds tied up in unused stocks. If the company do not use inventory quickly after purchasing, the business will begin to lose money on the materials just because of their slow and unorganized scheme. Objective of the System The main objective of this study is to obtain answers to the questions stated above. We want to know the problems encountered by TBSC employees with regards to their information storing and accessing. Furthermore, we want to demonstrate how the system focuses on those information can be a determinant to improve customer service in Trisales Business Systems Corporation. A proposed solution to the problem: i) To achieve a hassle-free, time bounded transactions and inventory process for the employees in-charge. That would lessen their time in spending on the process of doing transactions and inventory records. Equals more time for doing other productive tasks and to help create a healthier and more productive environment for TBSC. ii) To determine and to minimize the errors in recording transaction and informations. Since TBSC is a growing company, the system will not only stores data, but also does analysis on day to day company transactions. iii) To secured the company important files and records by having a log-in and password boxes as a gatekeeper. Also to prevent from editing forms and important data such as dates and amounts. iv) To control excesses of stock and to prevent stock outs. The system will function to update and arrange the stocks inventory in the appropriate order to give the precise count of their products to prevent excessing and stock outs in further. Significance of the study To the TBSC and Company The planned system significance is to minimize errors and confusion of the employees in recording. Importantly to organize and to give accurate records of the inventory and transactions, for the company to built-up in the industry. Mostly to give stand and to serve the customer’s wants on further. To the fellow researcher The significance of this system is to give a vivid inner view on how the nature of technology will help our career along the way. To embolden researchers who has the same field as mine. There’s no easy way of having this study but it would be the best ever pleasure when that almost everyone in a company is using your programmed system. To the proponents The significance of this study is to support everyone in the field of technology, and to stretch a bit of my knowledge in this field. This will serves as the proponents guide as they embrace the same field as mine. Importantly to give a healthier deal in the business industry. Scope and Limitations Scope of the project The proposed system generally on the sales and stock inventory of the Trisales Business System Corporation. The system purpose is for the regular transactions and operation of their sales and inventory. The proposed system could minimize the problems stumble upon the company records of important data. These are the scope for the proposed system: i) Can build account Employees could have their accounts, especially the person who’s in charge with the sales transactions and stocks inventory. ii) Accumulating Products Through the system, adding new products for the business is more appropriate. The person in charge would just simply input the asked information to the system example: product id, product description, date delivered, pieces ect. The inputted information for the new product will be stored in the database, and could also easily access by the system. iii) Can manage sales transactions The proposed system can manage sales. For example the client requested for a new office supply/product from TBSC. The system will simply ask the user to input some important data from the client and the system will automatically store it. The stored data and information can be used for further transactions with the client. Limitations Below are the possible limits of the proposed program for Trisales Business System and Corporation: Registration in the system is done only by the administrator or the person in charge. Does not support network and internet topology, or online transactions. Storing of informations is limited, only important and the specified information in the system are allowed Multi-tasking could possibly done, but only for the given system for example; Entering data for the new arrived supplies while having the purchasing transaction. Could go through compatibility issues while installing the system. Because of the programmed used in creating the system. Review of Related Literature Chapter II This chapter will be discussing the findings of related research to this study. It will provide a discussion on the significance of this study to the existing literature. Moreover, this chapter will discuss several issues regarding sales and stock inventory system development and based on the existing literatures. The following discussion chronicles the subject of inventory systems. Theoretical Background The theoretical background is the structure that can hold or support a theory of a research study. The knowledge organization by way of theoretical background has two disciplinary root Related Literature This chapter represents the review on related literature regarding topic about the Sales and Stock Inventory System. Review of Related Literature In exploration, we find new techniques, new knowledge, even develop new substances, gadgets, equipment, processes or procedures, imagination and skill is employed by the researcher. The commodities, new devices, services, in technology are needs of man for a better fuller life which is the concern of the research. These useful arts are the products of the technological environment and the end-user is society in general. The fast growing trend and innovation in technologies today prompts researchers to conduct studies about the efficiency of system program. This Chapter presents a brief review of literature and studies, both local and foreign that is related to these studies.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Employee Empowerment Essay

1.0 Introduction Employee Empowerment is not something that you simply declare you will initiate and expect that the program will be successful.   It requires good management programs for it to succeed.   This piece purports to show how team building as a management program can be used to make employee empowerment a success. Employee empowerment should be understood to mean a situation where everyone can take action to enhance his/her work, either in personal or organizational terms, and not just delegation of job authorities to job holders.   The essence of employee empowerment is to develop leadership skills (Lashley , 2000). 2.0 Case study Using an organizational culture framework, this case study examines the critical preconditions necessary for employee empowerment and highlights how the multiple cultures within one public bureaucracy differently impacted their implementation. Serve, a large human service organization, initiated an employee empowerment program that contradicted and thus collided with many elements of its overall organizational culture. Despite the best intentions of the organizational leaders, upper management support, and opportunities for participatory decision making, the organization could not foster the critical preconditions needed for employee empowerment. Leaders had difficulty expanding the employees’ power and promoting member inclusion. Concurrently, most employees rejected these new opportunities for control and distrusted the leader’s intentions. Yet, despite the widespread rejection of these empowerment initiatives, most employees described their work lives as empowering the piece discusses how a localized empowerment endeavor may be a more appropriate and feasible focus for public bureaucracies seeking to initiate greater staff empowerment. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between individuals and their environments, and how this interaction affects the empowerment process in light to the whole team building exercise. 2.1 Management Program that could be used in addressing the problem To avoid such instances like the one mentioned above, team building as strategy can be used. Team building refers to improving team performance by developing team working skills by using any appropriate method.   Effective team building and employee motivation fit together.   Successful organizations are not involved in team building as an end to itself but rather because with effective team building employee motivation increases and organizational results are achieved. (Cherney, 2002). 3.0 Review of the research With Adams Associates, enjoyment increased team building effectiveness.   Team building is a tool for employee motivation.   All teams go through very predictable phases.   Knowing and understanding these phases gives leadership the confidence to continue in the team building even when during one of the phases, the employee motivation appears to be declining. A prime example of utilizing and effectively using the method of team work is through a workshop duly created for the purpose of enhancing skills of the employee, creating a spirit of team building, showing how to address conflict management, teaching problems solving skills and enhancing quality management techniques with team work, there is better understanding of the different leadership styles as well as inclination of and empowerment of employees (.Modern Management, 2003). Communication also, as one of the most vital and important methods of any relationship has been observed to lead to a truly cohesive and effective means of accomplishing goals of the organization.   One of the prime examples practiced by a number of organizations includes a morning chat before commencing actual work.   This morning exchange of ideas not only gives impetus to the overall objectives of the organization, they also provide a sense of motivation and empowerment for the numerous tasks and activities that will face the employees during the course of the long working day ahead of them. Though this morning exchange of ideas and sharing of information may not take long, the little time together provides a sense of responsibility amongst team members and leads the team to bring out new ideas that may assist other team members in their course of their day’s normal routine work.   It also allows employees to reinforce ground rules that have already been established by the organization, as well as lead to a truly satisfying and enjoyable working environment. Another important way of enhancing employee empowerment via team building is through enhancing leadership skills among employees.   Good leadership qualities are similar to good parenting. The object is thus to create an environment where employees not only enjoy to utilize their own strengths, but as members of a team also ensure that they become effective and contributing members of the respective organizations. In case of any changes, the workers must be involved or else they will fight progress (Chien, 2004).   In an empowered organization people should not expect to be told what to do but they should know what to do.   There is therefore need to support and stimulate the people co-operate to overcome functional barriers and work to eliminate fear within their team (Hand 1994:25). Research findings concerning self-managed teams have been largely positive.   Proponents claim that self-managed work teams are effective because they empower employees to make decisions that affect their lives.   Thus these teams radically change the way that employees value and think about jobs.   Other benefits associated with self managed teams include greater flexibility to respond to market changes and competitive pressures. 3.1 Companies that have experienced various degrees of success Let us now see why some companies seem so successful while others do not.   Microsoft’s success can be attributed tot heir work place environment, empowerment of employee ideas and their employee benefits.   A motivated work force, coupled with a well built team causes a team of motivated people to work towards accomplishing their goals. In order to achieve its goals, Microsoft hires not only graduates who the company believes will contribute by bringing in fresh innovation and ideas for the upcoming generation.   After hiring these employees, the company ensures that these employees are always focussed and are giving their full potential in delivery of services. Eastman Kodak, a company concerned with developing, manufacturing, marketing imaging products and service for consumers has adapted a Kodak and lean cross-dock projects to oversee that the company is successful.   Lean cross-docks create an environment of empowerment by enabling any cross-dock employee to top and seek help to fix problems.   Employees training encourage empowerment by providing the rationale for why processes are performed in a specified manner.   This not only enhances their employee’s understanding of operations but also facilitates operational improvements. It also practices respect for workers starting with worker safety.   Employee safety is particularly critical at cross-dock because of the fast-faced, high volume material flow.   Respect for workers is also communicated by seriously considering employee suggestions for improvement and reviewing them in a timely manner (Child et al, 1994). In pursuing the opportunity, Kodak used the expertise of Tran freight; a lean-dock specialist.   The team then developed projects objectives based on thorough discussions with Kodak managers.   The objectives included creation of employee-empowered, team oriented in problem solving among others and team building was also at the core of these objectives.   This success enabled Kodak to expand the number of plants and supplies involved in the lean cross-dock operation. With the above two examples, it is evident that team building is crucial for employee empowerment to be a success.   For team building to thrive, the executive leadership needs to clearly communicate its expectations for the team performance and expected outcome.   The team members should understand why the team was created.   The organization on its part needs to demonstrate consistency of purpose in supporting the team with required resources. The members also ought to understand the context.   That is why they are participating on the team.   They should understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals.   Over and above all, the members should define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals and understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization goals, principles and visions. For good team building, the members need to have the desire to participate in the team. The feeling that team mission is important should be entrenched in each and every one of them.   They should perceive that service as valuable to the organization and to their own career, anticipate recognition for their contributions and expect their skills to grow and develop on the team. The management also needs to enhance clarity about the priority of the tasks of the team members.   The organization is required to provide business information regularly.   The team members also need to communicate clearly and honestly with each other and bring diverse opinions to the table as ways of addressing necessary arising conflicts. If these suggestions are not adhered to employee empowerment in an organization is doomed to fail.   These are however not the only reason why employee empowerment fails.   Other reasons are explained herein. Firstly, there is lack of a clear definition of empowerment by managers.   Managers need to clarify such issues as what decisions can be made in their absence by the employees, without their permission or oversight. Secondly, the top management sometimes defines the decision making authority and boundaries with staff but then micromanage the work of employees.   This is majorly because the managers do not trust the staff to make good decisions.   If the staff members know this, they will craftily make decisions on their own and hide the results or come to the manager for everything because they do not know what they really can control (Bateman & Snell, 1999). Sometimes, managers abdicate all responsibility and accountability for decision making when reporting staff for instance is blamed or punished for failures, mistake and less optimum results, they flee from empowerment.   This failure to publicly support decisions and stand behind the employees makes them feel deserted.   As a company’s resource therefore, employees need to be organized forcefully enough to achieve the objectives.   A critical feature of successful teams is that they are invested with a significant degree of empowerment or decision making authority. Equally important, employee empowerment changes the manager’s mindset and leaves them with more time to engage in broad based thinking, visioning and nurturing.   This intelligent and production division of duties between visionary leaders, focusing on emerging opportunities and empowered employees, running the business until day to day provides for a well managed enterprise with strong growth potential. To sum it all up, there are a few things that need to be done for successful employee empowerment as relates to team building.   The top management needs to realize that its behaviour must change too.   They should not expect employees to confidently begin solving problems and making improvements unless they see that the executive group will support it and do it themselves.   Infact, employees will not even bother trying unless they see evidence that top people mean it (Zoglio, 1997). A clear goal needs to be set since groups of employees with no experience working together on business issues will not know where to start.   Focus should be on the real work effort.   Remember, empowerment works best when employees have an important compelling business-related goal such as saving the company from bankruptcy, being the low cost, high quality leader in their field. 4.0 Conclusion For employee empowerment to be a success therefore in any organization, team building is a critical component.   This is because it will ensure commitment which is the foundation for synergy in groups, contribution, effective communication, and co-operation and will also deal effectively with conflict management.

Research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Research project - Essay Example To prove the effectiveness of the instrument, the researchers collected the blood sample from a donor and tested it. They measured the diameters of the white and the red blood cells, and they got accurate values. Additionally, they measure the quantities of different blood components, and they got accurate values too (Optical society of America, 2012). The devices work through the Spectrally Encoded Confocal Microscopy (SECM). Through this technique, the images are formed after the split of light beams to form a line of purple to red colors. When scanning a person’s blood, a probe is placed close to the person’s skin. The red to purple line is then directed towards the blood vessels. When the blood cells pass the line, they split it into scattered colors forming images (Optical society of America, 2012). The technique is advantageous over other blood scan systems, since it does not rely on the complicated equipments and harmful fluorescent dyes. However, the researchers discovered that one of the challenges of using this technology is the difficulties in finding the blood vessels depths (Optical society of America, 2012). 2. The use of optical microscopy in studying the blood characteristics will make the work of the medical experts easier. In the paper, the researchers have demonstrated the viability of the Spectrally Encoded Flow Cytometry (SEFC). ... They compared the SEFC imaging using the in vivo, and the in Vitro imaging system. The researchers used Healthy volunteers who pressed their lower lips against the probe of the in vivo imaging. For the in vitro imaging, blood was collected from the healthy donors using venipuncture. The results showed that the SEFC in vivo imaging system produce clearer images compared to the in vitro imaging system (Golan, Yeheskely-Hayon & Minai, 2012). This is because it was possible to see and count even the smallest capillaries. Additionally, more images were observable in the in vivo imaging system. However, while using the in vivo system, the researchers experienced some challenges while trying to find the image depths (Golan, Yeheskely-Hayon & Minai, 2012). Through the study, the researchers discovered that the SEFC in vivo can show the characteristics of people’s blood components and the technique is non-invasive (Golan, Yeheskely-Hayon & Minai, 2012). The use of SEFC will be helpful in tracking the hematocrit levels, which is useful when studying the circulation alterations before and after surgeries (Golan, Yeheskely-Hayon & Minai, 2012). The study highlights the effectiveness of SEFC in visualizing cell deformation especially for those patients with sickle cell anemia. However, the researchers suggested that additional studies regarding the potential of the in vivo SEFC are necessary. This is because an upgrade in system is necessary to increase the imaging depth (Golan, Yeheskely-Hayon & Minai, 2012). 3 I All the articles demonstrate the potential of the SEFC in carrying out blood tests. The authors of both articles criticize the technology, and they think that further research is

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Paracetamol solubility in cosolvants Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paracetamol solubility in cosolvants - Assignment Example Based on the experimental results, the molarity of paracetamol varies with percent alcohol in an exponential rate unlike the nearly linear relationships established by the same solute with propylene and glycerol. Such is an evidence of decrease in polarity aside from the findings that for homologous n-alcohols, increase in the length of carbon chain and complexity in molecular structure, which is also true for ketones, contribute to the lowering of solubility. Thus, since alcohols like methanol, ethanol, and propanol possess full miscibility with water and consist of polar molecules at the same time, greater extent of drug solubility can be expected for a paracetamol in an aqueous system with alcohol as the co-solvent. Due to this high level of solubility, the relationship between the concentrations of paracetamol and of alcohol becomes graphically non-linear whereas co-solvents other than alcohols bearing insignificant effect on solubility make a more linear variation with less stee p slope upon dissolution of the drug

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Unit IV Assessment#2 Sick Building Syndrome Essay

Unit IV Assessment#2 Sick Building Syndrome - Essay Example The agents coagulate in the rooftops and walls and people end up inhaling the particles in them (Wargocki et al., 2000; pg. 72). The biological contaminants inhibit respiratory activities thus causing SBS. SBS has been associated with several symptoms. The major symptom is a feeling of acute discomfort that results from throat, nose, and eye irritation, headaches, sensitivity to stenches, dizziness, fatigue, dry and/or itchy skin, and inability to concentrate. The occupants also have trouble in breathing, an inordinate feeling of weariness and tiredness. These symptoms fluctuate from person to person depending on the degree of exposure to the contaminants and the type of SBS (whether type 1 or type 2) (Gurjar et al., 2010; pg. 121). Though the symptoms are increasingly becoming prevalent due to occupants spending most of their time indoors, no medication for SBS has been discovered. The long lasting solution to SBS is improving the building techniques to improve structures and make them less problematic (Wargocki et al., 2000; pg. 104). This is attained by ensuring that buildings are fitted with ventilators and chimneys that absorb the contaminants and allow inflow of fresh air. The number and efficiency of HVAC ventilations should be improved. However, the short term and immediate solution to SBS is leaving the building (Gurjar et al., 2010; pg. 120). Those affected by SBS report feeling better after leaving the building, to acquire fresh air. Gurjar,  B.  R., Molina,  L.  T., & Ojha,  C.  S. (2010).  Air pollution: Health and environmental impacts. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Retrieved from

Monday, August 26, 2019

An Empirical study of determinants of capital structure of Essay - 1

An Empirical study of determinants of capital structure of non-financial companies in Egypt before and after the financial crisis - Essay Example The current financial crisis therefore has significantly affected the financial institutions of the world along with other non-financial institutions also. Due to this reason, the overall extension of credit to the non-financial institutions has been affected over the period of time. It is however, important to note that international banks specially working in developing countries have relatively limited contacts or business relationships with the international banks therefore they have not been affected the way international banks have been. In countries like China where the financial sector is mostly under the control of government, banks exposure towards toxic debt is limited therefore despite having the international presence, these banks are not fully affected by these changes. It is also however, critical to understand that there is an indirect threat faced by the international banks due to general decline in the stock prices as well as the falling housing market. Since most of the banks do not keep most of their capital in the form of cash therefore declining asset values will force them to allocate more capital to cover the potential risks. In such an environment there are chances that the overall credit extension to private sector may decline and financial institutions may require the support of their governments to keep them solvent. Theory also suggests that a reduction in the bank credit may result into a decline in the investment activity in the country and this will invariably affect the growth and may result into the creation of unemployment within a country. Since most of the emerging countries such as China, India, Korea and Japan are depending on exports as their major economic variable for growth therefore the current financial crisis may result into the substantial decline in the export business and thus may

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Issues in employee preformance essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Issues in employee preformance - Essay Example In a production oriented organization or manufacturing organization, the employees function like a chain. If any one link (employee) goes out of order or damaged in a chain (Organization), the strength and cohesion of the chain (Organization) will be lost. For example in a tire manufacturing unit, it is important that all the three divisions (mixing, building and curing) function properly in order to ensure 100% productivity. If the mixing people fail to deliver the processed rubber compound in time, green tire building will be affected whereas if the building people fail to complete their duties in time curing will be affected. Thus all the employees in a manufacturing unit complement each other in order to attain maximum productivity. Management of employees in a manufacturing unit is not an easy task. In fact the job of a production supervisor is a complex one since he should act as the link between the employees and the management. The interests of employees and the management may often contradict each other and the production supervisor is the person who needs to satisfy both the management and the employees. This paper briefly analyses the management of employee performances in a manufacturing unit by a production line supervisor. In most of the manufacturing units, the production supervisor has the responsibility of finishing the production in time. He should follow the schedules he received from his superiors or planning department in order to ensure maximum production in his shift. At the same time, unforeseen problems may occur at the time of production. For example, some of the employees might be absent, some of the machineries faced breakdowns or some of the other departments linked with the production have not performed well. In all such circumstances, the employees will contact the production supervisor for the advice and instructions. For example, if some of the employees absent in a particular shift, it is difficult for

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Irs and orgainzed crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Irs and orgainzed crime - Research Paper Example , permanence, hostility or threat of violent behaviour, prohibited ventures, legal business penetration, fraud, and lack of principles (Finklea, 2010, p. 2). The structure, however, is not rigid but is hierarchical. In the United States, organized crime has held its roots for a long time but came to be popular in the 20th century. This was with the penetration of Italian mafia, Russian mafia, Japanese Yakuza and Chinese Tongs that the federal government battled with for most of the century (Finklea, 2010). IRS was established with a mission to offer Americans taxpayers with excellent service through assisting them to comprehend and comply to their tax obligations, as well as enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all (Internal Revenue Service, 2012). Under this mission, the service has a criminal investigations (CI) department. The department seeks to serve the American public by investigating potential criminal violations of the internal revenue code and related financial crimes. The crimes that the IRS investigates include tax evasion, money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act laws. It is only the IRS that has the authority to investigate potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code despite there being other agencies, which deal with the same crimes (Internal Revenue Service, 2012.). For these reasons, the IRS criminal investigation works on a global scale. The federal bureau of investigation attempts to put a stop to organized crime from all over the world. To counter the problem of financial crime, the IRS’s criminal investigations department is divided into three interdependent divisions: Legal Source Tax Crimes; Illegal Source Financial Crimes; and Narcotics Related and Counterterrorism Financial Crimes (Internal Revenue Service, 2012). The service, since the 1919 has attempted, succeeded and failed in investigating organized crime that include narcotics and money laundering. One of the earliest cases is that of Al Capone in the

Friday, August 23, 2019

Different Research Methods Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Different Methods - Research Paper Example uthors believed that â€Å"a deeper understanding of these transitions is required in order to assist prospective science teachers during their pre-service years and support them during their early years in schools† (Mulholland & Wallace, 2007, p.880). To achieve their objective, the researchers designed a qualitative research through the use of a longitudinal case study. With two Australian primary teachers as participants, the research lasted for four years documenting their transition from pre-service to in-service teaching. The constructivist/interpretative approach was used as the framework for the research with â€Å"case study as its organizing perspective† (Mulholland & Wallace, 2007, p.880). Adopting a constructivist/ interpretative framework allowed the researchers to use their expertise and experiences in gaining in-depth understanding of the experiences of novice teachers. Interpretative or constructivist research â€Å"assumes that reality is socially constructed, that there is no single, observable reality† (Merriam, 2009, p.216). This paradigm states that because individuals have the natural propensity to seek meaning and understanding of the world, there are various interpretations of different events. The role of the researcher then is to construct knowledge about what is examined both from his/her perception and the respondents of the study. Data from an experimental methodology or quantitative research cannot substantiate the experiences that the researchers wish to investigate. Due to the nature of the problem and objectives that the researchers wished to attain, a longitudinal case study was employed. The researchers are highly involved in a sense that they had prior theoretical knowledge and experience about the topic. The constructivist/ interpretative approach ensured that the results gathered will reflect both the interpretations of the respondents and the researchers. It is crucial for the objectives of the study to gather data during the

Thursday, August 22, 2019

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Response Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Response Essay To Kill a Mockingbird is one the most enduring stories to be told. One of the reasons for its appeal is that it brings to light social issues that remain as relevant to day as they have been when Harper Lee (1988) wrote it. One of the most interesting facets of the story is that it is told from the perspective of a child that challenges adult readers claim to maturity and wisdom. The summation of Tom’s case is expresses the tragedy of the story: â€Å"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of mens hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed. (pp. 244-245). This realization is the realization that the trial revealed that despite the illustration of Maycomb, Alabama as a sleepy, tired town, there were significant social conflicts just beneath its social faà §ade. As a classroom material, the book’s coming of age style allows younger readers to relate effectively with the story. Since the setting maybe alien to students, there should effort to explain the social relevance of the issues and its possible application today. There should be emphasis that Lee goes beyond race as a tool of discrimination and seeks to address censure for differences with mainstream society. Lee’s work is an inspiration to other writers in engaging their audience. The presentation of various perspectives on the issue without changing the voice of the story also allows readers to easily place themselves in not just the narrator’s shoes but keep touch with their own. After reading the book, one has the realization of the power of discrimination and social exclusion. Moreover, that regardless of how enlightened or placid people are, these issues always cause significant rift and conflict in the community. Reference Lee, Harper (1988). To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing Lee, Harper (2008). To Kill a Mockingbird. Book Rags. Retrieved on February 20, 2008, from http://www.bookrags.com/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Coffee and Starbucks Essay Example for Free

Coffee and Starbucks Essay ?Introduction Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee company and coffee house chain headquartered in Seattle, Washingston. Starbucks was founded in 1971, when three academicians, began a specialty coffee store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice in Seattle (Starbucks Corporation, 2009). In 1996, Starbucks operated its first international store expansion in Tokyo, Japan. With current approximately 19,500 stores in 58 countries (Location xcelerated, 2012), Starbucks is quickly becoming one of the best known brands and the largest specialty coffeehouse company in the world. The Market Demand of Coffee The demand of coffee in the United States has rose 2 percent in 2011(Perez, 2011). Americans drank 77. 4 billion cups of coffee during a year (Perez, 2011). A statistics showed that â€Å"the average consumption among coffee drinkers in the United States is 3. 1 cups of coffee per day† (E-Imports, 2012). With gathering the information and statistics, it has proved the demand of coffee market in the US is extremely high. Also, the coffee market is the potential market for rivals entering into. Hence, Starbucks has to attain strong competitive advantages and market demand with its resources and capabilities. Starbucks’s Resources and Capabilities An organization has the ability to identifying and determining the competitive power of their resources and capabilities to create competitive advantage. Business resources are the productive input or competitive asset that is owned or controlled by the organization (Thompson, 2012). In the case of Starbucks, the resources and capabilities are coffee bean, store ambience, employee culture, and brands and reputations. Coffee Beans Coffee beans are the natural resources of Starbucks. They are one of the most valuable resources for coffee industry. Starbucks was a purveyor of specialty coffee – it has seemed top-notch coffee beans to produce high quality of coffee. High quality of coffee beans was usually sourced directly from coffee-producing countries, for instance Kenya, Guatemala and Indonesia. Starbucks was usually acquired the coffee bean at a premium price for suppliers who suited the Starbucks’ standards, socially and environmentally responsible farming. Starbucks has committed the long term contracts with the supplier in order to protect both party with the price and quality of coffee beans. The Starbucks’s coffee beans provided a sustainable competitive advantage in the face of active competition. It is due to the high quality and premium coffee beans sourced from other country were uncommon and costly to imitate for competitors. Store Design and Ambience Starbucks was positioned as a â€Å"third place† between beyond home and work with the store design and relaxing ambience. The design of store is provided a comfort and relaxing environment for its costumer. Each detail of likes the style of fixtures, the edges of countertops and the texture of slate floors was examined to enhance the unique ambience and mood of the Starbucks store. With blended the colorful banners and artworks, the merchandise displays, the music and the aromas, Starbucks has created an attractive, consistent and stimulating environment that provided comfort of a home for customer, excellent customer service and quality products as the concept of â€Å"third place theme† (Moon Queich, 2003) cited by (Harveywallbanger, 2012). These elements made the Starbucks experience key in retaining its customers with the competitive advantage and capture new markets. The store design is valuable by providing a third place theme, a relaxing and conform atmosphere. Besides, it was rare design in United States as Starbucks is the first mover to replicate the Italian style coffee store. Competitors are difficult and costly to imitate as the Starbucks has an exclusive In-House architects and designers to ensure the right image and character for each store. Employee Culture A vital dynamic in Starbucks’s growth was the human resources, its employee. Starbucks has provided a great work environment around its employees, one of its most important resources and sources of sustainable competitive advantage (Gates et al. , 2011). Schultz believed that a plentiful employee benefits package was a key competitive advantage. Starbucks was the first company to offer all employees, even part-timer, were qualified to get healthcare benefits, participate in the Bean Stock program for stock option grants. Besides that, Starbucks has offered an extensive training program to each employee that includes a commitment to customer service experience and the knowledge of products (Balaban et al. , n. d). All employees of Starbucks were trained to have good customer experiences for retaining customers. For example, they were trained â€Å"just say yes† to customer requests. Starbucks’ approach towards employees benefited to company has maintained the turnover rate at 60-65 percent, while the other national industry turnover is about 150-400 percent a year. The plentiful employee benefit package provides a sustainable competitive advantage to Starbucks. It is added value to Starbucks because employees will have the better job performance due to the motivation and courage. It was rare as the Starbucks was the first company provided healthcare benefits and stock option plan. And also, it is costly to imitate for Starbucks’s competitors. Brand and Reputation Brand recognition and reputational are essential resources and capabilities to Starbucks’s competition advantage. According to Starbucks Strategy Fortune, â€Å"Starbucks store traffic has risen between 6 percent and 8 percent a year even in a down economy†. Starbucks reputation was growing mostly by word of mouth rather than spending on advertising. Schultz believed that opening numerous stores helped to build the brand to Starbucks by increasing awareness of the brand. On the other hand, Starbucks also strengthened its brand and reputation with Fair Trade Certified coffee and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company collaborated with CARE and Conservation International to encourage environment responsible methods of growing coffee. These activities would be created the attention and attraction of its customers on the brand of Starbucks. Due with the strength of brand and reputation, Starbucks was achieved sustainable competitive advantages in the specialty coffee segment. Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model One of the powerful and widely assessment tools of an organizations industry’s competitive forces is the five forces model, created by Michael Porter. This model embraces that the competitive forces affecting industry success go beyond rivalry among competing sellers and include four coexisting sources (Thompson, 2012). The Michael Porter’s five forces are the threat of entry, the threat of substitutes, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of supply and rivalry among competing sellers. I will identify the competitive environment of Starbucks in coffee industry by using Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model. 1) Industry Rivalry The industry competition among the existing firms is positioned at the center of Porter five forces model. Rivalry is gradually growing against Starbucks each year as the growing of industry. The growth of industry rivalry has increased due to introduce the new products into the market and differentiate products based on quality, service and selection (Gamble Thompson, Jr. , 2011) cited by (Brown, 2011). With this point, Starbucks has introduced a new way of having premium coffee and new product of Frappuccino, was greatly differentiated from the competitors. Starbucks also served coffee with the highest freshness standards with FlavorLock bags. Starbucks compete to against two strong orgationation in the fast food industry who have operated coffee beverages and stepped into coffee market, McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts. The competitive threat distributed by McDonalds to Starbucks was referring to the Consumer Reports magazine in 2008 , which rated that the McDonalds the quality of coffee is better and the price is cheaper as compared to Starbucks. The industry’s growing has slowed down while the industry competition is increasing among existing firms. In short, the force of industry rivalry formed by the competition among coffees industry is characterized very strong. 2) The Threat of New Entrance The second competitive force of Porter’s model has significant differenced in the late of 80s and the recent competitive environment of Starbucks, is no barriers to entry. According to Porter (2008), barriers of entry are low in the specialty coffee industry. The coffee houses in the United States were about 585 in 1987 and 25000 in 2007. It showed that the new entrants of specialty coffee market was increasing speedily in 20 years. Besides that, the specialty coffee market had grown from $11. 5billion (2005) to $12. 27 billion (2006) in the United States. Due to the market demand growing rapidly, it was attracted a number of fast-food retailers, such company as McDonald and Dunkin’ Donuts. In addition, the product differentiation (included coffee selection, roasting and brewing) is considered weak. With these elements, it can be established that the threat of new entrants in coffee industry is moderate. However, Starbucks has a strong competitive advantage with a well-known brand and image, the quality service and diversity products, and a strong market in the segmentation. 3) The Threat of Substitutes Another competitive force of Porter’s model is the threat of substitutes. The force of substitutes is significant decreased in the coffee market. This is because, there are only little of substitutes product, such substitute as soft drinks, energy drinks and fruit juices. The principal substitution of products has posed a slight threat to coffee industry were carbonated soft drinks which introduced by the Pepsi and Coca-Cola company. In the past few years, studies have done that coffee has increasingly obtained the preference of consumer more than carbonated soft drinks. This is probably concentrated the healthy related with carbonated soft drinks, and evidenced that coffee is a relatively healthy preference. (Harding, 2000) cited by (Larson. , 2008) Based on the information and evidence, the threat of competitive substitute products is considered to be weak for Starbucks Corporation. 4) The Bargaining Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of supplier has changed in several ways through the widely growing in the coffee industry. Starbucks was purchased it premium coffee beans from the farmers that were numerous, small and unconnected during the late 1980s. In the recently years, coffee beans suppliers were joint by Fair Trade Certified coffee and acted like a large entity. Specialty coffee companies were making the coffee beans suppliers gradually important by seeking greater quality of coffee to compete the competitors in the market. The coffee beans suppliers today are more power, with increased joint and increased importance upon high quality coffee beans. Starbucks has work out with the coffee beans suppliers into continuing fixed-price commitments in order to ensure an adequate supply, which decreased the supplier bargaining power. (Larson, 2008) 5) The Bargaining Power of buyers The last element of five forces model is the bargaining power of buyers. The force of the buyer’s bargaining power is defined to the buyer’s capability to force down prices, and seek for higher-quality products and services (Porter, 1998, p. 24) cited by (Larson, 2008). The bargaining power of buyer in specialty coffee segment is considered high, since two strong competitor of Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin’s Donuts have offered the lower prices. However, Starbucks has introduced the several new products and high quality of coffee, highly differentiated to maintain consumers satisfied and away from competitors in the coffee market. Thus, the buyer bargaining power has offset and became moderate. The Summary of Michael Porter’s Five Factor In summary, the coffee market faces very strong forces from the industry rivals but it obtains weak forces from the threat of substitutes. Besides, the other three forces are considered as moderate. Generally, the impact of the five forces is moderate in the specialty coffee industry. Therefore, Starbucks is able to obtain the ideal revenues in the coffee market with operated effectively and efficiently. Starbucks’ Generic Strategy. There are three successful generic competitive strategies that organizations can apply to achieve their competitive strategies, included overall cost leadership, differentiation and focus, defined by Michael Porter. Overall cost leadership strategy implies an organization to apply lower overall costs to attract consumers. The differentiation generic strategy contains the creation of service and product as being valuable and unique for the industry. Focus is the last generic strategy, which aims a certain market of a product line (Porter, 1998, p. 38) cited by (Larson, 2008). However, Starbucks are suitable the broad differentiation strategy of the five generic competitive strategies nowadays. This strategy allows Starbucks to serve a broader customer base with the differentiation of product and service (Grant, 2009) cited by (Brown, 2011). This approaches to retain and attract as many consumer with the generally product mix. Starbucks had the unique skills, products and services reputation with the distribution segment of specialty coffee industry. For instance, Starbucks was developed an icy-blend of dark-roasted coffee and milk, named Frappuccino. This drink was a hit with $54 million sales in the first year on the national market. In addition, the high-quality standards and strong employee culture of Starbucks were known well in the specialty coffee industry. The high-quality coffee beans are purchased from Fair Trade Certified, considered a differentiation product to other competitors. The employees of Starbucks were also trained to have strong customer experience. In the differentiation strategies, Starbucks have strengthened the brand and reputation for quality and creative flair. Starbucks’ Strategy Options. Starbucks is able to create three strategic options for sustaining competitive advantage and further growing the business by having evaluated its forces. The three strategic options for Starbucks are that diversification, expansion and merger. 1) Diversification The diversification of a business is that introducing new products and offering new services to the industry. There are two way of diversification for business, be related or unrelated. Starbucks is suited to attempt related diversification, reflecting more association with the specialty coffee industry. Schultz believed that the company has lacked on blockbuster products, only the variations of products. Starbucks has a successful product diversification in the history with launched coffee and tea beverages, brewing and serving equipment, roasted coffee beans, music and gifts. The introduction of savory products such as cake, donut and muffin is a successful diversification as it can be combined with the existing product and core product, coffee. The diversification strategy is a good option for enhancing Starbucks’ growth and competitive advantage. 2) Expansion The expansion of an organization can be within a country and into an overseas market. Starbucks should reduce their expansion efforts in the United States and focus to expand its business into new countries to further internationalize it. The Economist stated, â€Å"While Starbucks has expanded so have its rivals. The firm’s home market seems to have reached saturation point. † With the rapid expansion, Starbucks is oversaturated in the United States. Therefore, this strategy option is suitable for Starbucks as the United States coffee market is reaching saturation point. If Starbucks has to go further growing and expanding, the international expansion is one of the best strategies for Starbucks. 3) Merger and Acquisition According to Investopedia, it defined as â€Å"a merger is an alliance of two organizations while an acquisition is the attaining of one organization by another. † The strategy of merger and acquisition sets out to accomplish the same goal, by increased broad customer base, market share and corporate strength of business. In the history, Starbucks has merged with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream to develop super premium ice cream and acquired a premium tea company, Tazo LLC. In the case study of Starbucks, there states that there were about 25000 coffee houses in the United States in 2007. The merger and acquisition of small specialty coffee retailers will enhances the market position, market share and competitive advantage of Starbucks. This is a strategy that will exploit opportunities whilst avoiding threats to further growing and expansion of Starbucks. Recommendations The first and most important process which Starbucks should take is to diminish the efforts expansion in the United States. According to Starbucks’ strategy Fortune, a new store will often cannibalize about 30% of the sales of a nearby Starbucks. The continuing aggressive of expansion in the United States by opening as many new stores of the same area is an act to cannibalize store sales. The reason why Starbucks should diminish their expansion plan is the coffee market has reached the saturation in the US. The overcapacity of expansion plans in a location will be met with failure to an organization. On the basis of all the evaluation and evidence referred for the strategy options, the recommendation is to further expand internationally. Starbucks can convey the remained investment into international development plans by reducing the expansion plans in United States. The expansion of international market offers a supreme target with three fundamental objectives. The first reason is the lack of awareness of coffee market in many countries which represent the prospective market share. For instance, Starbucks currently opens approximately 20,000 stores with 13,000 in the US and 7000 in foreign countries. The total coffee consumption per person in the US has lowered much than many countries, such country as Finland and Italy. With gathering the information, this proves that expand internationally, there is a massive coffee drinking population and potential market share to be selected. (Starbucks Corporation, 2008) cited by (Larson, 2008). Another reason that international expansion offers an ideal prospect is that the expansion of product innovation. For example, Starbucks has announced their Tazo tea brand into the Japanese market. And, Tazo was brought into the United States market as it was a successful trial in Japan. Tazo green tea has brought a success to Starbucks as it was a national drinks and showed that the power of brand in North America. Starbucks could have to evade the risk of brand reputation as more innovative products should run a trial in international markets. Since the markets have yet visible to Starbucks for a period time, it is possible to avoid a great risk with affecting the brand reputation. Therefore, Starbucks has great competitive advantage in the markets with expand intentionally. The last reason of international expansion is to increase the brand reputation. Building brand image is key factor to an organization as the brand will affects an organization’s sales and position in the market. For example, in case of Starbucks, the company has increased revenue from $7. 8 billion in 2006 to $9. 4 in 2007, along with an increase in brand value. In order to recover the exclusivity of Starbucks brand, Schultz would focus the expansion of international countries and slow down the expansion of the United States. Therefore, the international aggressive expansion will help to strengthen its brand image and regain a strong competitive advantage for Starbucks. In a nut shell, I am highly recommended a strategy decision to Starbucks is that expanding into international markets. International countries have represented the ideal potential market shares with the high demand of specialty coffee. By applying this strategy, Starbucks will continue to be the leader in the specialty coffee industry and further regain and strengthen its competitive advantage. Furthermore, it also gains the customer satisfaction in the international markets. International expansion is the way to move forward. Reference Balaban, S. et al. (n. d) â€Å"Management 600† Starbucks Coffee Company. http://cobweb2. louisville. edu/faculty/regbruce/bruce/cases/starbucks/starbucks. htm [Accessed on 7 April 2012]. Brown, H. (2011) â€Å"External Environmental Analysis of Starbucks and the Coffee Industry† Strategic Management MGMT 4340 http://www2. uhv. edu/chapao/MGMT4340/Samples/Project%20Sample%203. pdf [Accessed on 9 April 2012] E-Imports (2012) â€Å"Coffee Statistics† Espresso Business Solutions. http://www. e-importz. com/Support/specialty_coffee. htm [Accessed on 5 April 2012]. Gates, R. et al. (2011) â€Å"Strategy Analysis MGMT 562† http://freedownload. is/pdf/strategy-analysis-mgmt-562-2925711. html [Accessed on 6 April 2012]. Harveywallbanger. (2012) â€Å"Starbucks’ Customer Retention Strategies 89† HubPages. http://harveywallbanger. hubpages. com/hub/Starbucks-Customer-Retention-Strategies [Accessed on 6 April 2012]. Heavey, J. (2012) â€Å"Starbucks a Strategic Report†Scribd. http://www. scribd. com/doc/27614539/Starbucks-a-Strategic-Report-by-James-Heavey [Accessed on 8 April 2012]. Larson, R. (2008) â€Å"Starbucks a Strategic Analysis† Past Decisions and Future Options http://coe. brown. edu/documents/StarbucksaStrategicAnalysis_R. Larson_honors_2008. pdf [Accessed on 8 April 2012]. Location Excelerated (2012) â€Å"How many Starbucks are they? † Location Excelerated. http://loxcel. com/sbux-faq. html,

Nature of Globalisation

Nature of Globalisation Critically Consider The Nature Of Globalisation. In So Doing, Identify And Examine The Various Elements Associated With The Process Of Globalisation. It would be fair to say that globalisation had its beginnings just after the 2nd world war, in December 1945, when 15 countries entered discussions to end blind customs tariffs (World Trade Organisation). The aim of this move was to end the years or protectionism which had led up to WWII (World Trade Organisation). It was believed that the terrible economic status of countries after WWI led to WWII. It was thought that if countries trade and economies were more interlinked it would be possible to avoid war in the future (European Commission). This was the basis for creating the European Community (EC), where the aim was to create a common market economy. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was also created at about this time following a first round of negotiations. This step was a relatively small one as the agreement only affected 1/5 of the world trade (World Trade Organisation), however it was an important first step in trade liberalization. There were further discussions in an attempt to create the International Trade Organisation in conjunction with the Havana Charter; however this was not supported by the United States, spelling its end (World Trade Organisation). GATT was the only means of governing world trade until the creation of the World trade organisation. Although GATT was relatively limited in its powers, its reductions in tariffs and general trade liberalization helped to spur on world trade growth by 8% a year between 1950 and 1960 (World Trade Organisation). A good sign that this GATT was working was that trade growth continued to outpace production growth (World Trade Organisation). This means that countries were trading, not because they had a giant surplus of product but because the future benefits around economic growth were clear. However GATT was not without its problems, economic recessions between 1970-1980 caused Governments to use other methods to protect sectors facing increasing foreign investment (World Trade Organisation). With the closure of factories and an increase in unemployment, the governments of America and Western Europe set out to subsidise agriculture in order to maintain large trade (World Trade Organisation). This practice made it economically undesirable to export agricultural produce to these subsidise d countries as the price of the local goods was largely brought down by the government, meaning it would be very difficult to attract consumers to the same, more expensive product. This was effectively a barrier to world trade and would have been damaging to the GATT agreement. With increased globalisation, the limitations of the GATT started to be seen. The trade in services was not governed by the GATT, but it was increasing in importance to world economies. Loop holes were being exploited in The GATT agreements (World Trade Organisation), and this led world leaders to believe that there was a need for a more unilateral agreement. The World trade organisation was born and has become the unilateral trade governing body. The GATT was not the sole point of this global push, another organisation, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), started in 1961, with the aim to ‘Supporting sustainable economic growth, boost employment, raise living standards, maintain financial stability, assist other countries economic development contribute to growth in world trade (Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development). These initiatives are a summary of the political will of the time which had such a driving force on globalisation. The speed of change has been facilitated by rapid technological change. Technological change has had a number of steps. The first satellite-delivered basic cable service was called the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN); later The Family Channel was launched in 1977. From 1981 to 1985, the â€Å"big-dish† C-Band satellite market began to take off. System sales soared as hardware prices fell. The increased access that this brought around the globe allowed TV images to be transmitted to the world (Marples, 2008). This process allowed one nations culture and principles to be transmitted very quickly around the globe, therby changes in one country, typically the USA would influence changes elsewhere, where people perceived others to be living better. The demand for information and growth in telephonic communication led to a growth in the 1970s of the telecommunications network, with more ‘trunk lines linking major countries. This both facilitated and satisfied the growing need to communicate across countries (Webb Associates). IBM introduced the desktop personal computer (IBM PC) in 1981. This led to the explosive growth in the computer industry which facilitated the development of global supply chains, where computers linked together in a network could control the management of stock worldwide. The benefits of this were quickly recognised and required the infrastructure to support large data transmissions (Webb Associates). This caused a huge expansion in the 80s of fibre optic cables required for rapid data transmission. As a result many companies invested in the manufacture of this new cable (Ivan P. Kaminow, 2002), however with the sheer number of companies producing the cable its value dropped enormously, which in turn caused more of the cable to be used in networking (Ivan P. Kaminow, 2002). The next step in this chain reaction was the introduction of faster computers to deal with this massive increase in data transmission; Moores laws states that the ‘number of chips in a computer doubles every 18 months (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica). This ever increasing demand and supply of faster computers has driven the development of centralised computer facilities which in turn has promoted the use of faster broadband. This is known as the network effect which drives technology (Nordhaus, 2000). This led to the development of the World Wide Web in the early nineties which gave a further boost to rapid g lobal communications and the need for faster data transmission. The internet spawned a new generation of on-line businesses that traded across the globe, eg Amazon in 1995 (Internet Story). In order to get the most benefit from technology it is best if everyone has it. For example the social networking site Facebook, would be useless if only a few people used it. Similarly technologies such as mobile phones require a high degree of integration as the technologies become useless if limited to those who have the same handset as each other (Dix). One markets use of a given object drives another through seeing the use of it and wanting it themselves (Dix). These technological changes created greater awareness in one market of what was available in another and eventually giving direct access to it via on-line trading. This was creating what has been referred to as ‘The Global Village (Absolute Astronomy). McLuhan describes how the globe has been contracted into a village by electric technology and the instantaneous movement of information from every quarter to every point at the same time. In bringing all social and political functions together in a sudden implosion, electric speed has heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree. Alongside this technological development was the opening up of China in 1978, with the launch of its economic reform program (Huchet, 2006). This allowed China to become the global source of manufacturing (Huchet, 2006). Many companies saw the opportunity to manufacture high value, small electrical items at a low cost. This brought down the price of technology overall, which helped to bring popular electrical items like computers to the masses. It is important to see why the opening up of China was such a large world event in the process of globalisation. China had been isolated from the international world from 1949-1979 (Woo, 2003), so 1/5th of the worlds population had not participated in world trade and investment systems (Woo, 2003), leaving a large void to be filled. This caused the massive relocation of labour intensive industries to China to take advantage of this sudden new opportunity. It is the suddenness of this opportunity which has really caused the dramatic increase in the rate of globalisation. To highlight this increasing rate of globalisation the direct financial investment of a country can be examined. In 1997 China had $44.2 billon of direct investment, in 2002 this figure had risen to $52.7 billion (Woo, 2003), this dramatic increase shows that in the space of 5 years the amount of investment entering China has increased dramatically, showing that growth is not slowing. Due to Chinas massive population, it is also responsible for a large number of world imports, with the growth in Chinese importing between 2002 and 2003 growing by 30% (Stetten, 2005). Arguably culture has been most affected by globalisation. Peoples culture is affected by what they see every day. The export of American movies has dramatically changed some cultures by the assimilation of elements of western culture (Flynn). This exposure particularly affects attitudes to women, birth control and the demand for certain products (eg Coca Cola). The exposure to global media has also caused world fads to arise through product exposure (Lechner); products such as Pokà ©mon and Tamagotchi are a good example of this. Massive increases in the amount of international travel and tourism have caused countries to learn the culture of another through greater exposure to their people (Freesun News, 2009). Immigration from one country to another has introduced one countrys culture to another, which is then passed down to subsequent generations (The University of Iowa Centre For International Finance and Development). The popularity of World sports events such as the Olympics or The Football World Cup are definitely due to increased global communication and generalised culture attracting support from around the world (Freesun News, 2009). In conclusion the process of globalisation was underpinned by the belief that to avoid future wars it was beneficial to promote sustainable economic growth and thereby boost employment and raise living standards, whilst maintaining financial stability to assist other countries economic development and thereby contribute to growth in world trade. This mindset led to the creation of world trade governing bodies, such as the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and The European Union. These organisations set out to liberalize trade through the removal of import/export tariffs and protectionism by governments. The rapid increase in the rate of globalisation has been facilitated by the introduction of technology which has allowed fast communication and transport between geographically distant places. The admission of China into the world trade market has increased supply and demand for finished products which is further boosting industry around the world. References Dix, A. (n.d.). eBulletin. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Network Effects and Market Engineering: http://www.hiraeth.com/alan/ebulletin/network-effects/ Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. (n.d.). Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Moores Law: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/705881/Moores-law European Commission. (n.d.). EUROPA. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from The history of the European Union: http://europa.eu/abc/history/index_en.htm Flynn, D. A. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Revisiting Globalisation through the movie and digital games industries: http://web.mit.edu/cms/Events/mit2/Abstracts/KerrFlynn.pdf Freesun News. (2009, 09 29). Travel Tourism: Unity through Diversity in the Age of Globalization. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Travel Tourism: Unity through Diversity in the Age of Globalization: http://www.freesun.be/news/index.php/travel-tourism-unity-through-diversity-in-the-age-of-globalization Huchet, J.-F. (2006). Social Research. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from The emergence of capitalism in China: an historical perspective and its impact on the political system: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_1_73/ai_n26878471/ Ivan P. Kaminow, T. L. (2002). Optical Fiber Telecommunications IV: B. Systems and impairments. London: Academic Press. Lechner, J. B. (n.d.). Globalization and World Culture. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Globalization and World Culture: http://www.sociology.emory.edu/jboli/isb408026.pdf Nordhaus, W. D. (2000, June 13). Technology, Economic Growth, and the New Economy. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from http://www.econ.yale.edu/~nordhaus/homepage/sweden%20061300c.PDF Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development. (n.d.). About OECD. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development: http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html Stetten, M. D. (2005). China and Globalisation. Intereconomics , 40 (4), 226-234. The University of Iowa Centre For International Finance and Development. (n.d.). Immigration Globalization. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Immigration Globalization: http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/globalization/readingtable/immigration.shtml Woo, W. T. (2003, 12 04). The Economic Impact of Chinas Emergence as a Major Trading Nation. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from The Economic Impact of Chinas Emergence as a Major Trading Nation: http://www.econ.ucdavis.edu/faculty/woo/Woo.US-China%20statement.1Feb04.pdf World Trade Organisation. (n.d.). The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from World TRade Organisation: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm Select A Multinational Company That Has Existed For At Least 20 Years. Assess How The Process Of Globalisation Has Influenced The Development Of Your Chosen Company Unilever is one of the largest global players in the fast moving consumer goods sector with annual sales of â‚ ¬40,5bn (Company Accounts 2008). However, it started from humble beginnings in Bolton in 1886 when William Lever established a soap manufacturing company called Lever Brothers with his brother James. In this essay I will attempt to set out how the process of globalisation has influenced this company. Unilever was started in the 1890s by the Lever brothers, who introduced Sunsilk Soap to Victorian England. Within a short time Lever was selling soap throughout the UK, as well as in continental Europe, North America, Australia, and South Africa (Unilever). Lever began a tradition at this time that lasted well into the 20th centurythat of producing all its raw components. Lever Brothers, a vertically integrated company, grew to include milling operations used to crush seeds into vegetable oil for margarine as well as packaging and transporting businesses for all of its products, which then included Lux, Lifebuoy, Rinso, and Sunlight soaps. In the early 1900s, Lever was using palm oil produced in the British West African colonies. Lever was therefore an early example of a global company (Unilever). In 1914, as the German Navy began to threaten the delivery of food importsparticularly Danish butter and Dutch margarine, the British government asked Lever to produce margarine. This was eagerly accepted as the margarine business was thought to be compatible with the soap business because the products both required oils and fats as raw materials. Lever Brothers successful diversification, however, put the company in competition with Jurgens and Van den Bergh, two leading, long established Dutch margarine companies. This is an early example of global competition (Unilever). Jurgens and Van den Bergh merged to form the Margarine Unie and after two years of discussion, Lever Brothers and The Margarine Unie decided that an ‘alliance wasted less of everybodys substance than hostility and merged on September 2, 1929 and Unilever was born. This was an early example of cross border mergers. The reason for this merger being that both companies used animal fats and oils as their raw materials. The end result of the merger was a company that bought and processed more than a third of the worlds commercial oils and fats and traded more products in more places than any other company in the world an early example of global scale. The decade following World War II was a period of recovery for Unilever, culminating by the early 1950s in rapid economic growth in much of the Western world with the development of the various global trade bodies discussed earlier. Until 1955 demand in Unilevers markets continued to rise and competition was not a major issue. However as markets grew the demand sucked in global competitors, particularly from the USA and Germany and profit margins dropped and success was less assured. Unilevers strategy through this period was to use its global financial scale to acquire companies in new areas, particularly food and chemical manufacturers. Among the postwar acquisitions were U.K. frozen foods maker Birds Eye (1957) and U.S. ice cream novelty maker Good Humor (1961) (Jones). The advent of the European Economic Community created new opportunities for Unilever. Since the late 19th century, when the companies that comprised Unilever had set up manufacturing facilities they had been located in various European countries to avoid tariff restrictions and where it was most economical. Under the Common Market, many of the tariff restrictions that had spawned the multinational facilities were eliminated, giving the company an opportunity to consolidate operations and concentrate production in lower-cost countries and thereby reduce its overall costs. During the 70s Unilever progressively consolidated its manufacturing operations across Europe, taking advantage of the economies of scale of the larger European Union Market (Unilever). As the world economy expanded during the sixties and seventies Unilever set about developing new products and entering new markets. It was Unilevers management and technological capability allied to great financial strength based on its success in Europe that made it possible to enter these markets. It developed a global management structure facilitated by improved communications and the growth of air travel (Unilever). Throughout its history Unilever has grown through acquisitions, using its global financial scale to purchase local or regional companies that gave additional scale or access to new markets or adjacent markets, Ponds, Calvin Klein and Ben Jerrys to name a few. These acquisitions all represent foreign investment which without the process of globalisation would never be possible (Newinternatiomalist). As individual markets blurred and a more international view of markets was taken we can see the emergence of global brands such as Sure deodorant, known as Rexona globally. This emergence of global brands required Unilever to restructure its business to remain competitive. In the 1980s Unilever undertook a massive restructuring (Unilever). The company sold most of its service and ancillary businesses, such as transport, packaging, advertising, and other services that were readily available on the market, and went on a buying spree, snapping up some 80 companies between 1984 and 1988 (Unilever). The restructuring was designed to concentrate the company in those businesses that we properly understand, in which we have critical mass, and where we believe we have a strong, competitive future, Unilever PLC Chairman M.R. Angus told Management Today in 1988 (International Directory of Company Histories). Specifically, Unilevers core businesses were detergents, foods, toiletries, and special ty chemicals. This was followed in late 1990s by a comprehensive review of Unilevers wide-ranging businesses in an effort to focus on the strongest core areas: ice cream, margarines, tea-based beverages, detergents, personal soaps, skin care products, and prestige fragrances with several other areas identified as developing core areas: frozen foods, culinary products, hair care products, oral care products, deodorants, household care products, and industrial cleaning products (Unilever). Businesses outside of these areas were sold including its largest disposal the selling of its specialty chemicals business to Imperial Chemical Industries PLC for about US$8 billion. As the pace of globalisation increased, Unilever had to focus more on global brands and in 1999 Unilever announced that it would eliminate about 1,200 of its brands to focus on around 400 regionally or globally powerful brandsa group that accounted for almost 90 percent of 1998 revenue. This sweeping overhaul of the product portfolio was aimed at increasing annual growth rates from four percent to six to eight percent and at eventually reaping annual savings of  £1 billion. Unilever has focussed further in the 21st century on 12 â‚ ¬1bn global brands (Unilever). Like with most multinational companies Unilever manufactures many of its products away from the destination market, in order to reap the benefits of cheaper labour and increased profit margins. It operates a global supply chain and, for example, a forecast planner in the UK will control the output from factories in Germany or France and a planner in Singapore may control a plant in China. It is due to the technological synchronisation of the worlds telecommunications and broadband systems that this has become possible, coupled with the ability to send expatriate managers out to foreign countries to develop new operations and transfer management know how. International organisations also have had an effect on the development of Unilever. In 2008 Green Peace targeted Unilever for obtaining palm oil for its soap from non sustainable sources (Jones). Unilever responded by announcing it would source all palm oil from sustainable sources. It is this flow of information from geographically distant countries, facilitated by international organisation, which has undoubtedly forced Unilever to develop to remain in the public good. International competition has always been an issue for Unilever, with international competitors like Proctor and Gamble (USA), Nestle (Switzerland), Kao (Japan) to name but a few. This international pressure has shaped Unilever and its markets. This kind of international competition shows how the world is no longer working on a country level, the entire globe is seen as a single market in terms of competition and as such Unilever faces many different competitors depending on which country it is marketing a product towards. References International Directory of Company Histories. (n.d.). Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Unilever PLC Unilever N.V.: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2840600220.html Jones, G. (n.d.). Working Knowledge. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from Unilever—A Case Study: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/3212.html Newinternatiomalist. (n.d.). Newinternatiomalist. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from History of Unilever: http://www.newint.org/issue172/simply.htm Unilever. (n.d.). History. Retrieved 11 17, 2009, from http://www.unilever.com/aboutus/ourhistory/

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Comparing Huck Finn and Colden Haufield in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain :: essays research papers

Throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Huck and Holden go through a series of events from which they are able to learn and grow from. They are able to develop opinions that they did not hold at the beginning of the novels but that they have formed from their travels, and both Huck and Holden are changed by the end of each novel. Although both Huck and Holden’s growth is addressed in the endings, both novels fail to provide a definite future for them. During their journeys, the reader wonders what is going to happen to Huck and Holden once this series of adventures is over and what their outlooks are. The reader is left uncertain of their future when different paths are presented from which the characters have to choose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Huck Finn and Catcher in the Rye, the authors bring the main characters back to where they begun which makes their growth from their journeys more evident. At the end of Huck Finn, Aunt Sally is planning to ‘sivilize’ Huck, but Huck has already been ‘sivilized’ once and from his journey down the Mississippi he has viewed the ways of society and has rejected them. At the beginning of the novel, Huck holds conflicting beliefs and is not sure whether he should follow society and its rules. By the end, he has decided from his travels that he has to form his own opinions and make his own decisions because society is not all that many believe it to be. In Catcher in the Rye, Holden holds a cynical view of society and the people in it, but in the end, Holden acknowledges his cynical view by revealing that he is under the care of a psychoanalyst and then says, â€Å"Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybo dy† (Catcher 214). Holden has begun to accept the people in society that he criticized throughout the novel and accepted the fact that he cannot protect children from entering the adult world. This shows that from the various incidents in his travels through New York, he has grown and begun to develop a new view on society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   While the changes made by Holden and Huck are apparent in the conclusion of their stories, their futures are left uncertain. At the end of Huck Finn, Aunt Sally plans to ‘sivilize’ Huck while Huck plans to head west.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Essay --

What makes you an adult? Many people believe that age determined adulthood but they are wrong because age is a number and everyone grows up in different rates. You can’t always expect everyone to become mature at the same age, because everyone is different. Many teens become adults faster for certain reason and some of them were not give the option they just had to too. Becoming an adult is not an option for everyone but sooner or later you have to grow up because you can’t stay a kid forever. Being 18 years old makes you legally an adult in united states, but in reality we know that 18 years old are very different from maturity as well responsibilities and life experience. Age do not determined the actual matureness of a person neither the circumstance to handle situations. Adulthood is not based on age; it’s based on emotional maturity. The ability to listen to and evaluate the viewpoint on circumstance they find themselves on and been able to analyze how to find the solution to the problem that makes them mature. Age is just a number; therefore you could be twenty-six, twenty-eight and still act immature. Many teens think that as soon they 18 their parents are going to continue to help them but the true is that they already did their part raising them up. One part of growing up and becoming an adult is that parents are not always going to be there so you got to grow up on your own. Sooner or later he or she are going to face obstacles on their own and that would make them stronger which will help them mature. There are several attributes to make an adult an adult and number one is responsibilities because that ones part that help you grow up in life. Part of being an adult is important to maintain pa... ... not a bad thing because you get to make your own decisions without someone telling you what to do. I know that been a kid life is simple you go to school come back home and do homework and that all you worried about but you never get to explore and have more adventures like adults. A part of being an adult is that you make mistakes but you always learn from the mistakes and that prevent you from doing the same mistakes all over again. What I am trying to say is good to be a kid but you have to grow up to become an adult because that’s how you decide what kind of life style you want instead of your parent making it for you. I know some were not given a chance to enjoy childhood but what you got is more importance meaning that you who didn’t enjoy you childhood you had a head start to become a adult and maybe do better than other who didn’t went trough your situation

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Platos The Allegory of the Cave Essay -- Plato Allegory Cave Essays

Plato's The Allegory of the Cave In Plato’s â€Å"The Allegory of the Cave,† he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a â€Å"mind’s eye† and a â€Å"bodily eye.† The â€Å"bodily eye† is a metaphor for the senses. While inside the cave, the prisoners function only with this eye. The â€Å"mind’s eye† is a higher level of thinking, and is mobilized only when the prisoner is released into the outside world. This eye does not exist within the cave; it only exists in the real, perfect world. The â€Å"bodily eye† relies on sensory perceptions about the world in order to determine what is reality. Metaphorically speaking, the cave is a physical world filled with imperfect images. This world is filled with distorted images about reality. Inside the cave, the prisoners believe that the shadows they see on the wall are actual reality. Their â€Å"bodily eye† tells them that this world is real because their senses perceive so. Plato suggests that the senses do not perceive actual truth. The â€Å"mind’s eye† is not active inside the cave because the prisoners are imprisoned in this distorted world, which they believe is reality. When one prisoner is pulled out of the cave and into the light, it is this sudden freedom that starts the gradual process of enlightenment. This sudden freedom opens the â€Å"mind’s eye†. The prisoner â€Å"will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as h...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

How well does BA protect its employees? Essay

Employees from BA’s prospective are an investment and for BA to get a return on this investment they have to protect it. In this section I am going to evaluate how well BA protects its employees I will use evidence from BA sources to back up each of my points. How does BA protect its employees? Bas takes the safety of its employees very well I know this because in the BA report they say â€Å"The safety and security of our customers and employees in the air and on the ground is a paramount to British Airways and at the heart of our business.† This statement suggests that the safety of BA’s customers is the most important part of their business. it also says that the protection of customers and employees is what the business runs around. BA protects its employees in a number of different ways, for example if an employee is working in an office in front of a computer BA will then make sure that the employee gets regular brakes so that the employees eyes do not get damaged too badly. This is one way that BA protects its employees. BA also protects its employees by reducing the risk of them injuring themselves. They do this by putting up hazard signs that show the employees to be careful. An example of this is wet floor signs these signs show employees that the floor is wet and slippery which instructs them to be more careful. Another way that BA protects its employees is by introducing stress management policies. This is because stress is a major factor that may affect an employee’s health. BA has tried to reduce the amount of stress within the business by introducing a â€Å"stress management policy†. Examples of the policies that BA uses to reduce stress is management training, employee involvement programmes etc†¦ It is one of BA’s top priorities to protect their employees if they don’t then this will mean that the employees will start to get de-motivated and not come to work this will therefore create a decrease in the production of work from the employees as they will not be in most of the times. BA protects its employees very well this can be seen in the graph below which shows the amount of days taken off by employees. In this graph you can see that BA has got quite a low amount of people taking days off related to illnesses at work. This therefore shows us that the employees are happy working at BA. BA also says: â€Å"We have a target of reducing the number of days taken of due to work related injuries by 30 % by 2010† The statement above suggests that BA are working on reducing the amount of work related injuries this shows us that BA are very concerned about the safety of their employees. BA spends 120million pounds on the security of their employees this shows us that they are very concerned about the safety of their employees. We can see that this is paying off as less people are taking days off this is shown in the graph above. The table above shows that BA has reduced the amount of injuries within the business therefore showing that BA’s 120 million pounds security investment has been put to good use. It also shows that BA wants to keep on decreasing the amount of injuries that have happened to employees. In the table above you can also see that the working day’s lost per 100,000 people is 4300 days this is a very low amount therefore showing that BA has protected there employees very well as they are coming into work very regularly. An example of a BA employee getting injured is when a cabin crew employee fell from the doorway of a 737 plane. The employee suffered 3 fractured vertebrae. When BA heard of this they then acted on it and tried to reduce the chances of this occurring again. The table above shows that the amount of injuries to employees inside BA has been reducing constantly for the last three years, but there is stillroom for improvement in the serious injury section where the results show it has risen by an extraordinary amount. How do the trade unions implement national and local working conditions? The trade unions within BA have a very big influence on the decisions made by BA, if BA make a decision that the trade unions do not like then they will cause a strike to occur and give BA a bad reputation. An example of where this occurred was the strike that occurred at Gate Gourmet this was because the trade unions felt that the working conditions where too bad. When this strike occurred it meant that BA had to cancel flights this meant a loss in profit and bad publicity, which caused a downfall for the business. BA would not want to get into situations like this. The trade unions can implement the working conditions by arranging strikes like this. These strikes cause the business to think about keeping the working conditions up and to think about the employees before they take any actions. The trade unions do not have to strike to implement anything, this is because the trade unions can negotiate with the managers of the department and discuss what the working conditions are like. by doing this the trade unions can work with the business to get better working conditions for the employees, this way the managers and the employees are happy without resolving to conflict. Overall the trade unions are a big factor that influences the decisions that the business makes. The main way that they implement the working conditions is by working with the business to tell them the conditions that they want. They may also complain if the conditions that are promised by BA are not met.