Clothing company HRM

In contemporary business environments, companies need to adopt effective human resources management policies; an effective personnel management strategy goes further than ensuring that employees are motivated to perform their duties diligently to involve respecting their human rights and fundamental freedom.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Clothing company HRM specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper is a response to a case study of an international clothing company that has had issues of disregard of human rights. The paramount factor for the company as far as human capital is concerned According to the case, the company saw employees as the line or pathway through which they would earn profits and revenue for the company. The main focus of the management was to have increased revenue and disregarded the way employees gave the results. With the managing style, the management was kept to ensure that emplo yees were loyal to the company and worked for the benefit of the company. However the challenge that the company had was that the management was not willing to listen to the demand of employees. The management never was willing to negotiate with unions and neither did it to respect human fundamental rights and freedom. Business risk and Merits to Do nothing with the situation When the company decides not to react on the demand of human capital and opt to retain the same method of operation, the company might get negative publication. Negative publication means that the company will lose business as it will be portrayed as an un-ethical company that does not respect the demand of its employees. Customer loyalty will be eroded by negative publicity of an organization; it will give competitors an upper hand. Cease using contractors Given a chance to control people directly, I will use an integrated human resources management system. The management system I would enact would ensure that human rights have been respected and employees have been motivated. When such policies are adopted, the company will gain positive publicity which will work for its benefit. The risk that would be there is to change organizational culture that the company already had. Make changes to contractors When the structure of contractors’ human resources management is changed to adopt an effective leadership method, the company will be able to adopt policies that will ensure human rights have been respected and staffs are motivated. What should be changed is the approach taken by the contractors and ensures that the policies adopted are quality.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Recommendations for the best approach For an effective operation, organizations need human and physical resources; properly managed organizations have an appropriate number of personnel’s in number, experience and expertise. To ensure that the right number of people is available when required, a company’s human resource management should develop effective framework of planning human resources. The following are the main objectives that the human resources management approach should have: To ensure optimum utilization of human resources; this will be attained through effective personnel motivation and empowerment programs To forecast future requirements for human resources. To integrate the human resources plan with the organization plan. To establish ideal management development programs and ensure it meets the needs of expansion and diversification programs. To assess the surplus and shortage of human resources and anticipate the impact of technology on jobs and human resources. This case study on Clothing company HRM was written and submitted by user Alyvia N. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essays

Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essays Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essay Evaluation of Milgrams study into obedience Essay I am writing to you regarding your research into obedience. After carefully analysing your study, I have concluded that, while it is very interesting to read, your case has many ethical and theoretical flaws. Primarily, you deceived your participants by using confederates that were thought to have been given real shocks when, in fact, they were not. This clearly is not a good way to start an experiment. You also revoked their right to withdraw, often saying things that would make them feel intimidated, such as, ‘You have no choice, you must go on. ’ The participants should have been able to say comfortably that they did not want to continue. I read your statement on the topic of the participants’ protection, where you claimed that you had no way of knowing how much stress the study would cause. However, I would have to disagree. As a psychologist, I would have thought it instantaneous for you to consider the psychological effect the study would have on your volunteers. Honestly, I just cannot see how you could not predict these reactions (if you need me to refresh your memory – anxiety, horror, disgust, trauma). It is not irrational to feel horrified that you had ‘administered’ a fatal dose of shocks several times, and then ashamed when you were told that it wasn’t real, or disgust at the fact that you are capable of killing someone in the first place. Could you not have created a scenario in your head in order to see a potential outcome? Your study lacked ecological validity, as nobody would actually be put in that situation in real life. It is also possible the volunteers acted the way they did because it was an experiment, and so they presumed it was not real, and they would not actually do that in real life. Finally, you only used male participants, therefore the study lacked representativeness, as it is possible that women would have been more unsettled by the shocks and would have dissented both verbally and physically, so you cannot generalise the findings. I hope you take these criticisms into consideration the next time you decide to carry out an experiment.

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 28

Assignment - Essay Example There are also people, who have faith in this third generation mode of transaction. Despite the rapidly increasing Bitcoin’s exchange rate against fiat currencies, there has been a lot debate that whether Bitcoin has a value or not. An article published last year in April on Business Insider argued over the intrinsic value of Bitcoin. Joe, the author of that article, referred to various voices that in some way either supported the idea or went against it. Some of the questions that were raised and answered in this article were pretty obvious one. The first assertion that has been made by the proponents of Bitcoin is that its value will continue to rise, there will be no deflation, and since there is only a certain limit to which Bitcoins will be produced i.e. twenty one million. Joe argues that Bitcoins are not collectable items that are to be stored and hope that their value will rise due to scarcity in production, because it is not compulsory that anything which has a limited production will eventually gain some value. Moreover, since it is a virtual concept, it can be cloned easily and replaced. He further explains the concept of fiat currency in comparison to Bitcoin, and he has tried to prove that why it i s necessary for a currency to have backing from strong authorities, and the volatility of currencies that are not being authorized by governments. Authorities not only maintain regular check and balance while fortifying currency, but they also provide a specific degree of insurance security in certain cases. Another factor that will prevent Bitcoin from attaining a slot as an alternate to fiat currency is that there are only few people who are ready to trade virtually. Therefore, Joe believes that there is no reason to consider Bitcoin as Gold 2.0. Jay Yarow (n.p.), probably Joe’s colleague at Business Insider, wrote earlier this year an article about Bitcoin and one of its ardent proponents. In his article he referred

To find out whether consumer confidence in online purchasing has Essay

To find out whether consumer confidence in online purchasing has increased or decreased over the last few years - Essay Example n evaluating the trends of online buying (as identified through the empirical research made on the specific issue); even the indications regarding the consumer preferences around the world – regarding the goods/ services offered online – seem to present significant differentiations. In most cases, the motives that lead consumers to purchase online are not clearly identified; however confidence has been proved to be a quite important criterion on which the decision of consumers to purchase online is based. The above assumption is proved not only through the studies published in the literature but also through the empirical research conducted for this paper. More specifically, a high number of consumers (approximately 185) have participated in a survey that has been conducted online; the results indicate that when having to purchase a specific good or service, consumers think first its potential availability in the Internet; if the specific good/ product is available onli ne then it will be preferred by the consumers; of course the relevant decision is always based on specific criteria (quality of the product, price, availability and so on) but mostly on the confidence of the consumer on the particular firm; the development of this confidence through the last years is analytically examined in this study. The development of Internet around the world has offered a significant support to all commercial firms that have chosen to enter the WWW in order to promote their activities. The level of improvement of corporate activities because of the intervention of Internet cannot be precisely estimated – different levels of success have been noticed across the various firms in modern market in accordance with the preparations made by their managers towards the incorporation of Internet as a valuable strategic tool as well as the perceptions of consumers towards the relevant efforts. In other words, it is possible that operating through the Internet is profitable for the

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Management accounting - Essay Example This paper focuses on management via accounting and applies the same for Ryanair. Importance of Management via accounting The main theme of The Visible Hand is that modern business enterprises utilise the market mechanism for allocating resources and coordinating the activities of the economy. According to Chandler, the traditional American business enterprises were single-unit operations and small in size, which used to produce single product within a small geographical area. The activities of the traditional enterprises were monitored and coordinated by the price mechanism and the market. Eventually, the modern business firm evolved which were larger in size and conducted multi-unit operations, which monitored the production of different products from different locations. The activities of those enterprises were not coordinated and monitored by market mechanism, but by the salaried employees. In simple words, the modern enterprises had suspended the market because the administrativ e coordination provided higher profit, better productivity and lower cost, compared to the coordination by market mechanism. He emphasised on the fact that management via accounting has created advantages that gained precedence over all other previous forms. The main advantages that it draws are: Lowering internal transaction costs by ‘routinizing the transactions between units’: The organizations with high value supply chain ends up increasing the transaction cost. This requires paying immediate attention by framing policies for reducing the cost. Properly organizing the information or goods between the units involved in the production of goods and services will lead to decrease in the transaction cost (Spulber, 2009; Swinnen, 2007; Pollitte, 2008). Reducing costs for information on markets and supply sources by ‘linking the administration of producing units with buying and distributing units’: Market failures may result from asymmetric and inadequate info rmation. The appropriate and full information is not always perfect since goods information is also expensive. In a market that deals with good and services, inadequate information can lead to various social costs like, market power, low innovation or inefficient allocation of resources resulting from customer deception. Thus, the cost of information available to the market and supply sources linking between the various units like, administration, production and distribution, should be reduced (Kouvelis et al., 2011; Sunstein, 2002). Faster and cheaper flow of goods or services and of information from one unit to another: Goods and services are seen to travel through manufacturers, warehouses, retailers, wholesalers, distributors and customers. The organization should link the sellers and the buyers together via an ongoing communication that can enable the business to effect the decisions taken by each of the business units. Therefore, the organization should emphasize on the fast a nd cheaper flow of goods, services and information through both down and up the supply chain. By making this flow cheaper and faster, the organization will be able to save lots of cost incurred that can be utilized in other forms (Finch, 2008). Management via accounting provides the organization with lots of value added benefits. They provide information for decision making and

The Largest Brands Of Cadbury Chocolate Brands Marketing Essay

The Largest Brands Of Cadbury Chocolate Brands Marketing Essay The Cadbury product range addresses the needs of each and every consumer, from childhood to maturity, from impulse purchase to family treats. For example an analysis of the gift sector highlights the importance of developing innovative products to address specific markets. Cadbury designs products to coincide with Christmas, Easter,Valentines, Mothers and Fathers Day and other calendar landmarks.Cadbury use marketing strategies such as the Choose Cadbury strategy to encourage a link between chocolate and these events ensuring there is a Cadbury chocolate product suitable and available for every occasion.Ex.celebrations 3.With the launch of Cadbury Land in July 2000, in a separate building to the rear of the site, and the complete replacement of the play area with a state-of-the-art themed play area, Cadbury World had achieved a shift in appeal to encompass the entire age range from 0-90 and beyond.Feedback from visitors in 2001 indicated that the attraction hadshifted from a very adult profile, to a strong child profile. The improvements made to the attraction since 2001 have been of more adult interest in order to re-address this balance, whilst more recent additions and improvements have attempted to be cross-generational. 4.Consumer Trends Good business and good values go hand-in-hand at Cadbury. They approach consumer  trends with a commitment to put actions before words and to respect and protect the long history of trust they have with their consumers. 5.Listening to consumers Listening to customers and consumers is fundamental to the business success its something they do every day and it helps to offer products that are safe, delicious and enjoyable. They talk to their customers the people who sell their products to the people who consume them to better understand consumer trends. Cadbury also deal directly with consumers and have substantial resources at the business unit level to listen and respond to consumer queries and complaints. 6.Responding to consumer needs The issues of food and balanced diets are now high on the consumer agenda, along with product quality and safety.  Cadbury use their intuition and consumer insights to understand consumer needs and issues and they demonstrate their responsibility by taking appropriate action to ensure they create tomorrows business today. They will continue to give consumers the great tasting products they love in a variety of different formats, recipes and sizes.  Research plays a large role in their innovation agenda, exploring opportunities for new products, product enhancement and packaging and are always checking that their recipes and ingredients are right for todays consumer. 7.Purple Goes Green The Cadbury Purple Goes Green initiative launched in July 2007 sets a vision for their company to tackle climate change.   They intend to shrink their global environmental footprint by cutting their energy use, reducing excess packaging and managing water use. They are setting new targets which build on the commitments they have already made in their CSR report. Cadburys environmental programme has been in place for around 15 years and corporate responsibility has always been at the heart of their business. Promotion mix A Radio Promotion with stations such as 98FM and BeatFM where the prizes consisted of hampers with all you need for a night-in: Snaps; DVDs, slippers and gift membership of screenclick.com. Advertisement during prime time shows on TV. Product Placement: Samples were sent to Faircity for display in the shop or possibly for evening scenes in homes. Samples were also given to major interior design trade shows for placement ontables in living room displays. Point Of Sale (POS): Naturally, given that the product is sold in retail outlets, in-store marketing support was also developed. This consisted mainly of attractive floor units, shelf headers and glorifiers to give standout in-store. Decorations: Christmas tree decorations given to support the creative image of Cadburys. Core purpose behind PROMOTION 1. 2.BUILDING PRODUCT AWARENESS: To showcase a newer product or an expanded product line. 3.CREATING INTEREST: Sales promotions are wonderful when it comes to generating interest.Cadbury creates the interest to buy chocolates during festival seasons like CHRISTMAS,EASTER,DIWALI etc. 4.INCREASE DEMAND: Besides building product awareness, the best way to use promotions is to get customers to buy your product .Special packs offered by Cadbury on special occasions increase their demand. Pull or push strategy and why: Cadbury promotes its products mainly using pull strategies creating demand during special occasiones or festival seasones.Consumers always ask their retailers for the product, the retailers will ask the wholesalers, and the wholesalers will ask the producers. Using a pull strategy alone would not reach all the desired consumers.So push strategies to push the product down the distribution channels;this involves persuading retailers to sell the product is also used by Cadbury. Critical appraisal The success of the Cadbury brand can be seen in how its image is continually maintained over time. Identifying brand values, and matching these to consumer lifestyles in specific market segments can help develop a clear advertising message. In previous advertising messages quality and taste were emphasized. Cadbury is now building on this through its Choose Cadbury strategy to underline the feeling a premium brand can bring to its customers.The Cadbury brand has proven itself to be a leader in a highly volatile and competitive market with players like Nestle and Hersheys because it has successfully established, nurtured and developed its umbrella brand and growing portfolio of products.So the promotion policy of Cadbury is working in a positive way for them.

Reflective Paper

Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Theresa Tapley BUS 303 Dr. Kevin Righter March 13, 2010 Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Effective Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a major role in ensuring that an organization will survive and prosper. The HRM facilitates the most effective use of people or employees to achieve organizational and individual goals. The HRM consists of numerous activities which include, equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, job analysis, human resource planning, the recruitment, selection, motivation, and orientation of employees, performance evaluation and compensation, the training and development of employees, labor relations, and the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. Effective human resources management plays a vital role in the success of an organization and is an active participant in charting the strategic course of competitiveness, productiveness, and efficiency. An effective HRM focuses on action rather than on record-keeping, written procedure, or rules. Although the use of rules, records, and policies are incorporated, â€Å"action† is the focus. The HRM emphasizes the solution of employment problems to help achieve organizational objectives and facilitate employees’ development and satisfaction. An effective HRM is, also, people-oriented. Whenever possible, the HRM treats each employee as an individual and offers services and program to meet the individual’s needs. An effective HRM program is concerned with helping an organization achieve its objectives in the future by providing for competent, well-motivated employees. Human resources are incorporated into an organization’s long-term strategic plans to assist with ensuring that future growth needs will be adequately staffed with qualified, trained employees (Ivancewich, 2010, pg 5). EEO and Affirmative Action One external factor that has a powerful influence on my company's HRM unction is the equal employment opportunity and human rights legislation, which has a profound effect on our policies and procedures concerning recruiting, selection, evaluation, and promotion. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opp osing a discriminatory practice. This commission is empowered to file discrimination suits against employers on behalf of alleged victims and to adjudicate claims of discrimination brought against federal agencies. No other regulatory area has as thoroughly affected HRM as the EEO programs have. It has implications for almost every activity in HRM and sets standards for hiring, recruiting, training, terminating, compensating, evaluating, planning, disciplining, and collective bargaining. Employers, to prevent employment discrimination in the workplace or to take remedial action to offset employment discrimination implement EEO programs, (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 65). According to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website, the EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws also apply to all type of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, demotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. During the employment selection process, each candidate should be evaluated on their qualification of the job requirements, based on their experience, education, and skill set. Many corporations use testing as an important tool. Rae T. Vann, general counsel of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national association of large federal contractors, observed, â€Å"When done properly, testing can be a very important tool in the employment selection process, and we commend the Commission on its efforts to improve the quality and fairness of tests and other job screening methods† (Title VII: Affirmative Action, 2006). I encourage my Clinical Managers to become familiar with the provisions of the EEO standards and guidelines. It is essential that they make every effort to seek counsel from our HR dept when initiating the interview and hiring process, dealing with poor performance, disabilities, demotions, appearance of harassment, and training and re-training. Throughout my five years of administrative management, I have unfortunately had to learn HRM and EEOC laws the hard way, through trial and error. With each mistake that I have made, such as not consulting the HR department before decreasing a dual role employee’s hours so that she could focus on one role due to extremely poor performance, I have learned the proper steps to come to the same conclusion. The decrease in hours caused her to lose her benefits and subsequently she filed an EEOC claim of discrimination and retaliation. Fortunately, due to proper documentation of the corrective actions, developmental action plan and the documented counseling, our HRM has adequate information to refute the claim. Now, I consult my HRM representative with any concerns, questions, or updates related to employee situations. Planning, Recruitment, and Selection Human resources planning are the processes by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization, reach its objectives. It involves forecasting of human resources needs and the projected matching of individuals with expected vacancies (International Labour Organization, 2010). An effective HR plan, also, provides mechanisms to eliminate any gaps that may exist between supply and demand. HR planning determines the numbers and types of employees to be recruited into the organization or phased out of it (Ivancevich, 2010). The Human Resource Planning Process incorporates strategic planning which will have a direct effect on the organization's profitability. The strategic plan must adapt to environmental circumstances. It must forecast how many and what employees are required for the organizations staffing requirements. Next, it must determine how many and what kind of employees are currently employed with the skills and training necessary for the future needs. Finally, after the HR system has analyzed the supply of and the demand or future workers, these two forecasts are compared to determine what action should be taken. Effective workforce planning is a critical element of effective strategic and operational planning. Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change ather than being surprised by events, as well as providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues. The US Department of Health and Human Services states, â€Å"Organizational success depends on having the right employees with the right competencies at the right time. Workforce planning provides managers the means of identifying the competencies needed in the workforce not only in the present but in the future and then selecting and developing that workforce† (US Dept. Health and Human Services, 2010). The HR department for my company has implemented a staffing model tool that projects future, potential, or expected growth versus the actual census, the current staffing and skill set of that staff, and calculates the hiring needs of specific positions within the direct and indirect patient care. Once the future needs are determined, then the hiring process begins. Human Resources Development Training and development are processes that attempt to provide an employee with information, skills, and an understanding of the organization and its goals. Training and development are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance and advancement within the organization. A solid orientation program is the first step in developing an employee. It reduces anxiety and fears, reduces start-up costs of a new employee, reduces turnover, saves time for supervisors and co-workers, and develops realistic expectations, positive attitudes toward the employer and job satisfaction. Once will established in a specific position, then the manager and employee must set goals for development and advancement. Management and professional development is designed to reduce obsolescence and to increase employees’ satisfaction and productivity. An important part of development is the evaluation process. Performance management is the process by which executives, managers, and supervisors work to align employee performance with the firm’s goals. An effective performance management process determines and evaluates performance, provides feedback to the employees about their performance, and measures and monitors skill-set (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 251). The company that I work for has an excellent formal performance evaluation process that is very effective in the development the employee and the motivation to succeed. Appraising and managing performance at my workplace starts form the day of hire. Each newly hired direct or indirect patient care must attend a through and intensive training program. After 90 days, from date of hire, the new staff member is evaluated for suitability for the position. The manager will present a written 90-day evaluation to the staff member. This evaluation will result in a successful completion of the introductory period, determine a need for an extension of 30 days to improve and meet expectations, or termination due to being unsuitable for the position (this usually occurs when the staff member continually fails to follow policies and procedures and/or causing patient endangerment). Every manager must complete an annual evaluation for staff members under their direct supervision. The score on the evaluation determine the merit increase and caps set forth by the company. When a staff member is failing to follow policy and procedure, putting patient’s safety in jeopardy, tardiness or excessive absenteeism, insubordination, breaking confidentiality and HIPPA regulations, and etc. the manager will conduct corrective action in the form of documented counseling, written corrective action, final corrective action, 3 day suspension, and/or termination. To make this process more effective and ensure compliance with EEOC and federal and state regulations, both next level supervisor and the HR dept representative must approve all final corrective actions, 3-day suspensions, and terminations. Compensation and Benefits There are several reasons that an employer or corporation will offer benefits and services to their employees. One reason is to keep the organization competitive in recruit and retaining employees. Another reason is to keep a union out or because the union has won this during negotiations. Finally, is the fact that providing benefits and service contributed to increased employee performance and job satisfaction (Ivancevich, 2010, pg358). Federal and state governments mandate three benefits programs offered by private and not-for-profit employers. The three mandated programs are unemployment insurance, social security, and workers’ compensation. In addition to the benefits required by law, many employers provide other kinds of benefits voluntarily, such as, compensation for time not worked, insurance protection, retirement plans, FMLA or medical FMLA, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and various retirement programs and stock ownership plans. Some organizations offer tuition reimbursement and flexible benefits plans. Whenever I am interviewing a candidate for a position, I always spend a portion of the interview discussing and explaining our benefit package. Sometimes our hourly rate is not quite as high as our competitor, but our benefits and employee services usually out ways the difference in compensation. Safety and Health The Human Resource Management team of the dialysis company of which I am employed, works very closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to ensure that the most acceptable and innovative concepts in employee safety and health are used. The NIOSH is the primary federal agency that conducts research on the safety and health of the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970, to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health established it in 1971 (Bradley, 2002). The NIOSH develops and promotes the use of national and state-based surveillance systems to identify, quantify, and track injuries and illnesses. Epidemiological analysis of these databases helps identify unsafe and unhealthy workplace conditions. NIOSH also supports laboratory and field research to further identify, assess, and control occupational hazards and exposures and the diseases and injuries they cause. In addition to identifying risks, the NIOSH develops and evaluates prevention measures such as control technology, personal protective equipment, and work practices. Through research internally within our company and the NIOSH, many improvements and standards have been put into place for water treatment safety and personal protective equipment. We have strong policies and procedures that protect both the employee and the patient from exposure to health or safety hazards. There are several reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards. First, on a moral note, an employee should not have to risk injury or death at work, nor should others associated with the work environment. The second is economical in nature. Many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State, through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the employability of the worker. The employing organizations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work, such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, and lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, customers, and community. Lastly, from a legal standpoint, the occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law. It is a known fact, that without the extra â€Å"encouragement† of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organizations would not act upon their implied moral obligations. During a Frontline interview with assistant secretary of labor for occupational health and safety, John Henshaw, the question was asked, â€Å"How successful do you think OSHA has been at protecting workers in the United States? † Mr. Henshaw replied, â€Å"In the last 30 years, OSHA has made some tremendous strides in reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In the last six to eight years, injuries have gone steadily down and fatalities have gone down to the point where they are the lowest ever (Frontline, 2002). The dialysis industry is carefully scrutinized to uphold acceptable OSHA safety and health standards. We, also, have internal auditors that simulate inspections to ensure compliance and safe practices. Employee and Labor Relations Labor relations can refer broadly to any dealings between management and workers about employment conditions. Most commonly, however, labor relations refer to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relations are thus crucial to industries like autos and airlines with heavily unionized workforces. In the United States, labor relations were profoundly affected by the National Labor Relations Act passed during the 1930’s, which gave workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Labor relations have been drastically affected by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibited the â€Å"closed shop†, as well as, the introduction of right-to-work laws in more than 20 states (Ivancevich, 2010, pgs 477). By the early 21st century, labor relations were less affected by labor unions, to which only 8 percent of private sector workers belonged in 2004, about half of the rate in 1983. The decline reflects the increase in labor relations consultants, who have helped managements avoid unionization (Anonymous, 2010). The presence of a union directly affects most aspects of Human Resources Management, including recruiting, selection, performance evaluation, promotion, compensation, and benefits, among others (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 34). Unions were once thought of a being for blue-collar factory workers, but now even engineers, nurses, teachers, secretaries, salespersons, college professors, professional football players and even physicians belong to unions. Within my workplace, we have an ongoing informational and educational campaign against the unethical practices of recruitment and enticement for our employees. We offer seminars and counseling in regards to the unionization tactics. While facing declining membership, union officials have turned to highly questionable practice of organizing new members through a process called â€Å"card check†. With card checks, paid union organizers try to persuade workers to sign cards saying that they favor union representation. This persuasion comes in the form of deception, coercion, and harassing visits to worker’s homes. John Ivancevich describes this practice as the â€Å"authorization card† (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 480). Under current laws, as soon as more than 50 percent of the workers sign a union authorization card, all employees within that organization will be required to participate in the union and pay union dues, even though not a single employee has actually been able to cast a personal, private vote. Often times, individual will sign the cards under intentional or unintentional misunderstandings or to get the organizer to stop harassing them, even though the employee may have no desire to join a union (Anonymous, 2010). Conclusion Human Resources Management is the heart of every organization. It serves as an advocate for each employee, while also protecting the organization from legal repercussions. Whether it is ensuring equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, providing job analysis, planning for the future staffing needs and subsequent recruitment and selection of qualified candidates, each of these areas are vital to a well-organized corporation. The HRM is paramount in the motivation, training, and development of employees. Ensuring a positive orientation experience, and concise performance evaluation and compensation will aid in retention and job satisfaction. Finally, the HRM has an extremely important role in labor relations and ensuring the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. References Anonymous. (2010). When voting isn’t Private. Retrieved on February 26, 2010 from website: http://www. unionfacts. com/articles/cardCheck. cfm Bradley, J. (2002). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 3/1/2010 from website: http://www. cdc. gov/niosh EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members (2006). Title VII: Affirmative Action. Retrieved on February 12, 2010 from website: http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2006/vii_affimative_action. html Frontline. (2002). A Dangerous Business. Frontline Interview with John Henshaw. September 30, 2002. Retrieved on 3/2/2010 from website: http://osha. gov International Labour Organization. Retrieved on February 11, 2010 from website: http://wwwilo. org Ivancevich. J. (2010). Human resource management (11th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780073381466. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on February 10, 2010 from website: http://www. hhs. gov/ohr/workforce/wfpguide. html Reflective Paper Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Theresa Tapley BUS 303 Dr. Kevin Righter March 13, 2010 Reflective Paper – Effective Human Resources Management Effective Human Resources Management (HRM) plays a major role in ensuring that an organization will survive and prosper. The HRM facilitates the most effective use of people or employees to achieve organizational and individual goals. The HRM consists of numerous activities which include, equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, job analysis, human resource planning, the recruitment, selection, motivation, and orientation of employees, performance evaluation and compensation, the training and development of employees, labor relations, and the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. Effective human resources management plays a vital role in the success of an organization and is an active participant in charting the strategic course of competitiveness, productiveness, and efficiency. An effective HRM focuses on action rather than on record-keeping, written procedure, or rules. Although the use of rules, records, and policies are incorporated, â€Å"action† is the focus. The HRM emphasizes the solution of employment problems to help achieve organizational objectives and facilitate employees’ development and satisfaction. An effective HRM is, also, people-oriented. Whenever possible, the HRM treats each employee as an individual and offers services and program to meet the individual’s needs. An effective HRM program is concerned with helping an organization achieve its objectives in the future by providing for competent, well-motivated employees. Human resources are incorporated into an organization’s long-term strategic plans to assist with ensuring that future growth needs will be adequately staffed with qualified, trained employees (Ivancewich, 2010, pg 5). EEO and Affirmative Action One external factor that has a powerful influence on my company's HRM unction is the equal employment opportunity and human rights legislation, which has a profound effect on our policies and procedures concerning recruiting, selection, evaluation, and promotion. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is an independent federal agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and retaliation for reporting and/or opp osing a discriminatory practice. This commission is empowered to file discrimination suits against employers on behalf of alleged victims and to adjudicate claims of discrimination brought against federal agencies. No other regulatory area has as thoroughly affected HRM as the EEO programs have. It has implications for almost every activity in HRM and sets standards for hiring, recruiting, training, terminating, compensating, evaluating, planning, disciplining, and collective bargaining. Employers, to prevent employment discrimination in the workplace or to take remedial action to offset employment discrimination implement EEO programs, (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 65). According to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) website, the EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws also apply to all type of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, demotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. During the employment selection process, each candidate should be evaluated on their qualification of the job requirements, based on their experience, education, and skill set. Many corporations use testing as an important tool. Rae T. Vann, general counsel of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national association of large federal contractors, observed, â€Å"When done properly, testing can be a very important tool in the employment selection process, and we commend the Commission on its efforts to improve the quality and fairness of tests and other job screening methods† (Title VII: Affirmative Action, 2006). I encourage my Clinical Managers to become familiar with the provisions of the EEO standards and guidelines. It is essential that they make every effort to seek counsel from our HR dept when initiating the interview and hiring process, dealing with poor performance, disabilities, demotions, appearance of harassment, and training and re-training. Throughout my five years of administrative management, I have unfortunately had to learn HRM and EEOC laws the hard way, through trial and error. With each mistake that I have made, such as not consulting the HR department before decreasing a dual role employee’s hours so that she could focus on one role due to extremely poor performance, I have learned the proper steps to come to the same conclusion. The decrease in hours caused her to lose her benefits and subsequently she filed an EEOC claim of discrimination and retaliation. Fortunately, due to proper documentation of the corrective actions, developmental action plan and the documented counseling, our HRM has adequate information to refute the claim. Now, I consult my HRM representative with any concerns, questions, or updates related to employee situations. Planning, Recruitment, and Selection Human resources planning are the processes by which management ensures that it has the right personnel, who are capable of completing those tasks that help the organization, reach its objectives. It involves forecasting of human resources needs and the projected matching of individuals with expected vacancies (International Labour Organization, 2010). An effective HR plan, also, provides mechanisms to eliminate any gaps that may exist between supply and demand. HR planning determines the numbers and types of employees to be recruited into the organization or phased out of it (Ivancevich, 2010). The Human Resource Planning Process incorporates strategic planning which will have a direct effect on the organization's profitability. The strategic plan must adapt to environmental circumstances. It must forecast how many and what employees are required for the organizations staffing requirements. Next, it must determine how many and what kind of employees are currently employed with the skills and training necessary for the future needs. Finally, after the HR system has analyzed the supply of and the demand or future workers, these two forecasts are compared to determine what action should be taken. Effective workforce planning is a critical element of effective strategic and operational planning. Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change ather than being surprised by events, as well as providing strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues. The US Department of Health and Human Services states, â€Å"Organizational success depends on having the right employees with the right competencies at the right time. Workforce planning provides managers the means of identifying the competencies needed in the workforce not only in the present but in the future and then selecting and developing that workforce† (US Dept. Health and Human Services, 2010). The HR department for my company has implemented a staffing model tool that projects future, potential, or expected growth versus the actual census, the current staffing and skill set of that staff, and calculates the hiring needs of specific positions within the direct and indirect patient care. Once the future needs are determined, then the hiring process begins. Human Resources Development Training and development are processes that attempt to provide an employee with information, skills, and an understanding of the organization and its goals. Training and development are designed to help a person continue to make positive contributions in the form of good performance and advancement within the organization. A solid orientation program is the first step in developing an employee. It reduces anxiety and fears, reduces start-up costs of a new employee, reduces turnover, saves time for supervisors and co-workers, and develops realistic expectations, positive attitudes toward the employer and job satisfaction. Once will established in a specific position, then the manager and employee must set goals for development and advancement. Management and professional development is designed to reduce obsolescence and to increase employees’ satisfaction and productivity. An important part of development is the evaluation process. Performance management is the process by which executives, managers, and supervisors work to align employee performance with the firm’s goals. An effective performance management process determines and evaluates performance, provides feedback to the employees about their performance, and measures and monitors skill-set (Ivancevich, 2010, pg 251). The company that I work for has an excellent formal performance evaluation process that is very effective in the development the employee and the motivation to succeed. Appraising and managing performance at my workplace starts form the day of hire. Each newly hired direct or indirect patient care must attend a through and intensive training program. After 90 days, from date of hire, the new staff member is evaluated for suitability for the position. The manager will present a written 90-day evaluation to the staff member. This evaluation will result in a successful completion of the introductory period, determine a need for an extension of 30 days to improve and meet expectations, or termination due to being unsuitable for the position (this usually occurs when the staff member continually fails to follow policies and procedures and/or causing patient endangerment). Every manager must complete an annual evaluation for staff members under their direct supervision. The score on the evaluation determine the merit increase and caps set forth by the company. When a staff member is failing to follow policy and procedure, putting patient’s safety in jeopardy, tardiness or excessive absenteeism, insubordination, breaking confidentiality and HIPPA regulations, and etc. the manager will conduct corrective action in the form of documented counseling, written corrective action, final corrective action, 3 day suspension, and/or termination. To make this process more effective and ensure compliance with EEOC and federal and state regulations, both next level supervisor and the HR dept representative must approve all final corrective actions, 3-day suspensions, and terminations. Compensation and Benefits There are several reasons that an employer or corporation will offer benefits and services to their employees. One reason is to keep the organization competitive in recruit and retaining employees. Another reason is to keep a union out or because the union has won this during negotiations. Finally, is the fact that providing benefits and service contributed to increased employee performance and job satisfaction (Ivancevich, 2010, pg358). Federal and state governments mandate three benefits programs offered by private and not-for-profit employers. The three mandated programs are unemployment insurance, social security, and workers’ compensation. In addition to the benefits required by law, many employers provide other kinds of benefits voluntarily, such as, compensation for time not worked, insurance protection, retirement plans, FMLA or medical FMLA, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and various retirement programs and stock ownership plans. Some organizations offer tuition reimbursement and flexible benefits plans. Whenever I am interviewing a candidate for a position, I always spend a portion of the interview discussing and explaining our benefit package. Sometimes our hourly rate is not quite as high as our competitor, but our benefits and employee services usually out ways the difference in compensation. Safety and Health The Human Resource Management team of the dialysis company of which I am employed, works very closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to ensure that the most acceptable and innovative concepts in employee safety and health are used. The NIOSH is the primary federal agency that conducts research on the safety and health of the workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970, to provide research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health established it in 1971 (Bradley, 2002). The NIOSH develops and promotes the use of national and state-based surveillance systems to identify, quantify, and track injuries and illnesses. Epidemiological analysis of these databases helps identify unsafe and unhealthy workplace conditions. NIOSH also supports laboratory and field research to further identify, assess, and control occupational hazards and exposures and the diseases and injuries they cause. In addition to identifying risks, the NIOSH develops and evaluates prevention measures such as control technology, personal protective equipment, and work practices. Through research internally within our company and the NIOSH, many improvements and standards have been put into place for water treatment safety and personal protective equipment. We have strong policies and procedures that protect both the employee and the patient from exposure to health or safety hazards. There are several reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards. First, on a moral note, an employee should not have to risk injury or death at work, nor should others associated with the work environment. The second is economical in nature. Many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in cost to the State, through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the employability of the worker. The employing organizations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work, such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, and lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, customers, and community. Lastly, from a legal standpoint, the occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law. It is a known fact, that without the extra â€Å"encouragement† of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organizations would not act upon their implied moral obligations. During a Frontline interview with assistant secretary of labor for occupational health and safety, John Henshaw, the question was asked, â€Å"How successful do you think OSHA has been at protecting workers in the United States? † Mr. Henshaw replied, â€Å"In the last 30 years, OSHA has made some tremendous strides in reducing injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In the last six to eight years, injuries have gone steadily down and fatalities have gone down to the point where they are the lowest ever (Frontline, 2002). The dialysis industry is carefully scrutinized to uphold acceptable OSHA safety and health standards. We, also, have internal auditors that simulate inspections to ensure compliance and safe practices. Employee and Labor Relations Labor relations can refer broadly to any dealings between management and workers about employment conditions. Most commonly, however, labor relations refer to dealings between management and a workforce that is already unionized, or has the potential to become unionized. Labor relations are thus crucial to industries like autos and airlines with heavily unionized workforces. In the United States, labor relations were profoundly affected by the National Labor Relations Act passed during the 1930’s, which gave workers the right to form unions and bargain collectively. Labor relations have been drastically affected by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which prohibited the â€Å"closed shop†, as well as, the introduction of right-to-work laws in more than 20 states (Ivancevich, 2010, pgs 477). By the early 21st century, labor relations were less affected by labor unions, to which only 8 percent of private sector workers belonged in 2004, about half of the rate in 1983. The decline reflects the increase in labor relations consultants, who have helped managements avoid unionization (Anonymous, 2010). The presence of a union directly affects most aspects of Human Resources Management, including recruiting, selection, performance evaluation, promotion, compensation, and benefits, among others (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 34). Unions were once thought of a being for blue-collar factory workers, but now even engineers, nurses, teachers, secretaries, salespersons, college professors, professional football players and even physicians belong to unions. Within my workplace, we have an ongoing informational and educational campaign against the unethical practices of recruitment and enticement for our employees. We offer seminars and counseling in regards to the unionization tactics. While facing declining membership, union officials have turned to highly questionable practice of organizing new members through a process called â€Å"card check†. With card checks, paid union organizers try to persuade workers to sign cards saying that they favor union representation. This persuasion comes in the form of deception, coercion, and harassing visits to worker’s homes. John Ivancevich describes this practice as the â€Å"authorization card† (Ivancevich, 2010, pg. 480). Under current laws, as soon as more than 50 percent of the workers sign a union authorization card, all employees within that organization will be required to participate in the union and pay union dues, even though not a single employee has actually been able to cast a personal, private vote. Often times, individual will sign the cards under intentional or unintentional misunderstandings or to get the organizer to stop harassing them, even though the employee may have no desire to join a union (Anonymous, 2010). Conclusion Human Resources Management is the heart of every organization. It serves as an advocate for each employee, while also protecting the organization from legal repercussions. Whether it is ensuring equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance, providing job analysis, planning for the future staffing needs and subsequent recruitment and selection of qualified candidates, each of these areas are vital to a well-organized corporation. The HRM is paramount in the motivation, training, and development of employees. Ensuring a positive orientation experience, and concise performance evaluation and compensation will aid in retention and job satisfaction. Finally, the HRM has an extremely important role in labor relations and ensuring the safety, health, and wellness of the workforce. References Anonymous. (2010). When voting isn’t Private. Retrieved on February 26, 2010 from website: http://www. unionfacts. com/articles/cardCheck. cfm Bradley, J. (2002). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved on 3/1/2010 from website: http://www. cdc. gov/niosh EEOC Office of Legal Counsel staff members (2006). Title VII: Affirmative Action. Retrieved on February 12, 2010 from website: http://www. eeoc. gov/eeoc/foia/letters/2006/vii_affimative_action. html Frontline. (2002). A Dangerous Business. Frontline Interview with John Henshaw. September 30, 2002. Retrieved on 3/2/2010 from website: http://osha. gov International Labour Organization. Retrieved on February 11, 2010 from website: http://wwwilo. org Ivancevich. J. (2010). Human resource management (11th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780073381466. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on February 10, 2010 from website: http://www. hhs. gov/ohr/workforce/wfpguide. html

Discuss the contribution that psychology has made to contemporary society

Since Psychology has been known as a subject, it is very broad, and has contributed to many areas of society to the work place, school, prison and institutions. In the work place, managers are trained to deal and communicate effectively with employees and customers alike. This helps to keep both parties happy, and this causes less distress. Most work places are under law in which even people with mental health issues are allowed to be employed, and only in severe cases they will be unaccepted to the job. An occupational psychologist is able to find a job for those who are disabled and that would be able to meet their skills and knowledge. A couple of centuries ago, people who had mental illnesses wouldn't be able to get a job, and are likely to be distinguished as ‘insane' or ‘crazy', because of the lack of help that was given at that time. In the school, the National Curriculum has been helped by the research of Psychology by the reflection of Piaget's stages – showing that children are likely to cope with ideas when they are ready or at a given age. For example, those children who are at the concrete operation stage at age 11 should not be given anything to do with formal reasoning. Although, Vygotsky believed in scaffolding, this means by actively participating in groups to their level of understanding to be able to make them understand what they are being taught better. In prison, they use token economy systems which is based on operant conditioning for those who have good behaviour they are reinforced with tokens, and these can be saved up to be able to have a privileges to go out. The token economy system allow for prisoners to continue their repeated good behaviour. During court sessions they need to know whether someone is classified as insane, and whether they should go to psychiatric hospital or ward, or to prison because they are a criminal. In institutions, they also use the operant conditioning of token economy systems to be able to have the patients do good behaviour and to be reinforced with tokens. This allows to substitute the tokens to be able to have leave or be able to do more activities within the institution. Institutions also have social skills to help those with mental health issues to be able to understand how to make social interactions with other people – many of both offenders as well as patients lack these skills, and these can be developed through number of ways such as role play and rehearsal.

The Baby Boom and the Future of the Economy

The Baby Boom and the Future of the Economy Whats going to happen to the economy as all the baby boomers get older and retire? Its a great question that would need an entire book to properly answer. Fortunately, many books have been written on the relationship between the baby boom and the economy. Two good ones from the Canadian perspective are Boom, Bust Echo by Foot and Stoffman, and 2020: Rules for the New Age by Garth Turner. The Ratio Between Working People and Retired People Turner explains that the big changes will be due to the fact that the ratio between the number of working people to the number of retired people will change dramatically over the next few decades: When most boomers were in their teens, there were six Canadians like them, under the age of 20, for every person over 65. Today there are about three young people for every senior. By 2020, the ratio will be even more frightening. This will have profound consequences on our entire society. (80) Demographic changes will have a major impact on the ratio of retirees to workers; the ratio of the number of people ages 65 and over to the number ages 20 to 64 is expected to grow from about 20% in 1997 to 41% in 2050. (83) Examples of Expected Economic Impact These demographic changes will have both macroeconomic as well as microeconomic impacts. With so few people of working age, we can expect that wages will rise as employers fight to retain the small pool of labor available. This also implies that unemployment should be fairly low. But simultaneously taxes will also have to be quite high to pay for all the services that seniors require such as government pensions and Medicare. Older citizens tend to invest differently than younger ones, as older investors tend to buy less risky assets like bonds and sell riskier ones such as stocks. Do not be surprised to find that the price of bonds rises (causing their yields to fall) and the price of stocks to fall. There will be millions of smaller changes as well. The demand for soccer fields should fall as there are relatively fewer people will the demand for golf courses should rise. The demand for large suburban homes should fall as seniors move into one story condos and later to old-age homes. If youre investing in real estate, it will be important to consider the change in demographics when youre considering what to buy.

Environmental Microbiology Lab Report Essays

Environmental Microbiology Lab Report Essays Environmental Microbiology Lab Report Paper Environmental Microbiology Lab Report Paper Materials Distilled water Test tube 6 Unopened packages of 1 sterile cotton swab 2 sterile nutrient agar Petri dishes 1 sterile blood agar Petri dish Incubator Refrigerator Bunsen burner Gas connection Plastic tubing Inoculating loop 12 sterile glass slides Wax pencil Igniter Crystal violet dye Grams iodine Ethyl alcohol Seafaring dye Paper towels Wire rack Sink Brightened compound microscope Lens paper Immersion oil Pen and paper Methods I. Collecting the environmental specimens: 1. Place some distilled water into the test tube. 2. Open one package of sterile cotton swabs by peeling apart the packaging at the top. Do not peel the package apart completely, just at the top. 3. Take out the cotton swab, dip it into the test tube of distilled water, and place it back into the original package with the cotton tip facing down. 4. Repeat the previous two steps for three more unopened packages of sterile cotton swabs. 5. Choose four locations from which environmental samples can be taken. For example, use the bottom of a shoe, a light switch, or a sink handle). Write these locations down on a piece of paper and number them El -EH for later reference. (For example, El is the sink handle). 6. At each location, take out one of the wetted sterile cotton webs and rub it against a small area of the surface being sampled. Make sure to turn the swab as well to ensure that the sample is on all sides of the cotton swab. After swabbing, p lace each swab back into its original package, with the cotton tip facing downwards. Keep track of which swabs were used for which samples. Label them if necessary. II. Collecting the throat and nose samples: steps for one more unopened package with a sterile cotton swab. 5. Take one of the wetted sterile cotton swabs and rub it against the inside of ones nose. Make sure to turn the swab as well to ensure that the sample is on all sides of the tone swab. After swabbing, place the swab back into its original package, with the cotton tip facing downwards. 6. Repeat the previous step, but instead take a sample from the back of the throat. Ill. Aseptic transfer of the environmental specimens: 1. Take the two nutrient agar Petri dishes and turn them bottom side up. Then, using a wax pencil, draw a line down the middle of each dish. Label each of these four sections El, EH, EH, EH so that the origin of each sample is known for later. 2. Take out one cotton swab that was used on an environmental surface out of its packaging. Keep this swab in one hand. . With the other hand, open the lid of one sterile nutrient agar Petri dish slightly at an angle. 4. Take the cotton swab in the other hand and gently swab it against the appropriately labeled half of the nutrient agars surface evenly. . Close the lid of the nutrient agar Petri dish and place the cotton swab back into its packaging. Dispose of the cotton swab and package in the appropriate container. 6. Repeat the previous four steps for the other three cotton swabs used on the environmental surfaces. Make sure to use the appropriate swab for the appropriately labeled section of the Petri dish. 7. Place the two inoculated nutrien t agar plates into the incubator in an inverted position, or with the lid facing downwards, to prevent condensation on the agars surface. IV. Aseptic transfer of the nose and throat specimens: 1. Take the one blood agar Petri dish and turn it bottom side up. Then, using a wax pencil, draw a line down the middle of the dish. Label each of these two sections N and T so that the origin of each sample is known for later. 2. Take out the cotton swab that was used on the inside of the nose out of its packaging. Keep this swab in one hand. 3. With the other hand, open the id of the sterile blood agar Petri dish slightly at an angle. 4. Take the cotton swab in the other hand and gently swab it against the appropriate half 5. Close the lid of the blood agar Petri dish and place the cotton swab back into its packaging. Dispose of the cotton swab and package in the appropriate container. 6. Repeat the previous four steps for the other cotton swab used on the back of the throat. 7. Place the inoculated blood agar plate into the incubator in an inverted position, or with the lid facing downwards to prevent condensation on the agars surface. V. Making heat fixed bacterial smears of all the samples: . Take the twelve sterile glass slides and label their corners using the wax pencil. Use the igniter to ignite the Bunsen burner flame. 6. With one hand, take the inoculating loop and pass it through the flame until it is red 7. With the other hand, open one of the Petri dishes slightly. 8. Take the sterilized inoculating loop and lightly touch it to one of the colonies on the agars surface. 9. Close the Petri dish lid and take the inoculating loop and gently smear it in the drop of water on the appropriately labeled slide so that it coincides with the sample you took from. Smear from side to side to create a thin film. Let this slide air-dry. 10. Pass the inoculating loop through the flame again until it is red-hot. 1. Repeat the previous eight steps for the rest of the samples and slides. Remember to take two samples from each of the six locations, each from a different colony. Also remember to place the colony samples on the appropriately labeled slide. 12. Once the twelve slides have dried, pass each one through the Bunsen burner flame once or twice. Do not hold the slide in the flame, as this will cause the sample on the slide to burn. 13. If the nutrient gar and blood agar Petri dishes are going to be used again, place them in the refrigerator, if not, place them in the appropriate container. VI. Gram staining all of the samples: 1 . Separate the twelve heat fixed slides into three groups of four. This makes it easier to apply the dyes to the slides for the appropriate amount of time. 2. Take one of the three groups of heat fixed slides and place them on the wire rack on top of the sink. 3. Take the crystal violet dye and apply it to the slides on the rack generously, making sure to cover the entire slide. Leave the crystal violet dye on the slides for thirty seconds. . Rinse the crystal violet dye off of the slides with distilled water, and place the slides back onto the wire rack. 5. Place the Grams iodine generously onto only one of the slides and let it sit for ten seconds. Rinse the slide immediately with distilled water and return it to the wire rack. Repeat this step for the other three slides, making sure to do each slide individually to ensure that the Grams iodine does not stay on the slide for more than ten seconds. 6. Take one slide and hold it at an angle over the sink. Take the ethyl alcohol and carefully place ten drops of it onto the slide, allowing it to slide off quickly. Immediately rinse the slide with distilled water and place it back on the wire rack. Repeat this step for the other three slides, making sure to do each slide individually to ensure that the ethyl alcohol does not stay on the slide for too long. 7. Take the seafaring dye and apply it to the slides on the rack generously, making sure to cover the entire slide. Leave the seafaring dye on the slides for thirty seconds. 8. Rinse the seafaring dye off of the slides with distilled water, and place the slides onto a paper towel to dry. The excess water on the slides can be blotted off gently with another paper towel. . Repeat the previous seven steps for the other two groups of four slides. VII. Determining the morphology and the gram stain results of the samples: 1 . Take out the brightened compound microscope, plug it into an outlet, and turn the power switch on. 2. Use the lens paper to wipe off the objective and ocular lenses. 3. Take one of the gram stained slides and place it onto the stage of the microscope. Use the stage slips to keep the slide in place. 4. Focus using the xx low power objective lens by first using the coarse adjustment knob to bring the lens as close to the slide as possible. Focus by moving the coarse adjustment knob to move the lens away from the slide. . Use the knobs on the stage to move the slide up and down, and side to side to find a portion of the slide with a good amount of sample on it. 6. Get the immersion oil and place a small drop of it onto the slide where the light is shining through it. 7. Switch into the xx oil immersion objective lens and focus using only the fine adjustment knob. 8. If necessary, use the light source and the condenser to alter the illumination of the slide. 9. Observe the color shown on the slide and determine if it is pink or rupee. If it is purple, it is gram positive, if it is pink, it is gram negative.

Contract Law and the Law of Negligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract Law and the Law of Negligence - Essay Example As such, every individual is under a duty of care towards others to employ reasonable care, in order to circumvent causing injury to them or their possessions (Judicial Education Center, 2013). Alec has a duty towards Kelly, just like that towards any other person on the walkway. In some instances, the act or omission of the defendant could cause damage to the claimant. However, the claimant may not have any action, because the affected interest may not be provided with the protection of the law. This situation is termed as harm without legal wrong or damnum sine injuria (Cooke, 2011, p. 5). Alec’s rash driving resulting in damage to Kelly’s shop attracts the provisions of the law of negligence. A defendant could be made liable for committing a tort, if the act had been intentional. This usually takes place in crime. Liability is also attached to the defendant, if the act was negligent, although unintentional. This is because the defendant had failed to fulfil his duty of care towards the petitioner (Judicial Education Center, 2013). In our case, Alec has failed to perform his duty towards Kelly, although it was unintentional. In Page v Smith, Lord Hope described primary victims as individuals who had undergone psychiatric injury. Such injury should have been the outcome of the fear or distress resulting from the accident that had taken place due to the negligence of the defendant or its immediate aftermath (Turton, 2008, p. 1014). Kelly suffered mental distress, the next day after the incident. She cannot take recourse under the category of primary victim for psychiatric injury. Whether there was a breach of duty From the legal perspective, negligence is the breach of a duty to ensure care, while committing an act. It is also the failure to act in the manner that a prudent or reasonable individual would have acted under circumstances that were similar. Such action or failure must be the proximate cause for the injury caused, if the plaintiff is t o recover damages from the defendant. Some of the defences to a negligence action are, the assumption of risk or injury by the plaintiff, or the injury was due to the plaintiff’s negligence (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011).A contractual relationship can generate an obligation to act with care. An instance of this is the duty of care assumed by a carrier to protect passengers and goods from injury or damage. In addition, the law presupposes that every person, in the ordinary course of conduct, is under a duty of care to abstain from injuring others. This duty, in every non – contractual situation, requires every individual to act as a reasonable person. If an injury occurs, despite such care being exercised, or due to circumstances that are beyond human control, then no compensation can be claimed. The doctrine of strict liability renders entities engaged in certain services and trades liable, even if the conduct is not negligent (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedi a, 2011). While deciding whether a breach of duty had taken place, the courts would evaluate the conduct of the defendant, with reference to what a reasonable person would have done under similar circumstances (Tingle, 2002, p. 1129) In Blyth v Birmingham Waterworks Co, it was opined that negligence was failure to do a thing, which a reasonable man would have done, in accordance with the considerations that normally regulate human conduct (Tingle, 2002, p. 1129). In our case, Alec, due to coming late, attempted to quickly cross

Recycling in our daily lives, is it out of care, necessity, or is it Essay

Recycling in our daily lives, is it out of care, necessity, or is it just a hassle - Essay Example To that extent, this essay analyses the factors influencing recycling, with particular focus on the theories from Henri Lefebvre and Michael De Certeau. Henri Lefebvre’s most significant publications that touches on the issue is the theory of â€Å"Critique of Everyday Life†, of 1930 (Saddleback, 2010). Lefebvre defined everyday life dialectically as â€Å"...the intersection of illusion and truth, power and helplessness; the intersection of the sector man controls and the sector he does not control...† (Lefebvre, 2004) the sector he does not control arises from psychological rhythms within ourselves, which occur naturally. In essence, what that means is that people can understand and then revolutionise their everyday lives. Lefebvre goes ahead to add that without revolutionising our everyday lives, quality of life would continue to diminish and inhibit real self expression (Lefebvre, 2004). Putting the theory of Critique of Everyday Life into context, one can read a lot about recycling. Lefebvre says that there is a sector of our minds that we do not control. It is the same sector that controls recycling. In essence, recycling is something that we usually do unconsciously. The human nature is such that we always find ourselves recycling from day to day, even without our knowledge (Silverman, 2008). You see recycling does not necessarily imply very sophisticated industrial processes. Recycling can get down to as simple as what we do every time in our homes, work, school, or streets (Saddleback, 2010). Whichever the case, the process of recycling is a daily routine in our lives that usually takes place in an unconscious manner. In the theory, Lefebvre insists that without recycling, the quality of human life would diminish to a great extent (Lefebvre, 2004). This implies that unlike some people’s belief, recycling is not a hassle. If