The International Grocery Industry Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The International Grocery Industry - Term Paper Example In every economy, there has to be a government that makes up laws that definitely affect the way an entity sets its way of business. The legal entity is concerned in setting marketing standards like prices, distribution strategies of particular goods, how to treat employees and sometimes where to set up a market or an enterprise. The legal sector can either reduce or increase the competitive nature of a company. The British government has set strict rules on how different entities can deal with food and drinks products which highly affects the Tesco supermarket. The laws that have been set affect the packaging and labeling of the products. This is so because the products are perishable and they are consumed by very many people thus a small mistake in packaging and labeling can lead to numerous deaths which are against the objectives of the government; to protect the general public. It is right for the goods to be packaged well to avoid contamination and moreover, the labeling will al low the consumer to know the expiring date of a product, the ingredients of a product and if it is a counterfeit good or an original good. The laws have made the production costs to increase thus the price of the products have to increase. It has posed a great challenge to Tesco as it had to increase the retail prices thus threatened consumers to look for other options. Moreover, the banking sector of Tesco has been able to deal with the strict government laws made to protect the general public from being exploited by the banks. Royal Bank of Scotland had a joint venture with the Tesco Personal Finance system thus it has enabled the Tesco company to deal with the strict banking laws as they have a half-half share. The share in costs makes Tesco to half the burden thus enable it to make more profit and to be stable. This has seen the company making a profit of â‚ ¤130 million in February 2007. By making such profits, the Tesco Company is expected to have bought the Royal Bank of S cotland (Nash, 2006, pp. 23-56).

Transforming Traditional Views Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Transforming Traditional Views - Essay Example rvation movements stand to preserve the environment from being consumed further because it would create significant and damaging changes to the state of the world. It is difficult for these movements to gain support when most people are either ignorant to the damages being done to the environment, or not taking to account the dangerous effects it has to life and property. It is also difficult to gain support from majority of a global population that just wants to consume as much as they want or need. If the status quo does not change, these movements will just end up as another intellectual or ideological movement. Ideally, however, it would be very beneficial if these movements will be able to have the substantial attention and support from majority of the world’s governments, NGO’s and whole populations. The timing now is critical as well since the damages made against the environment has already resulted to many natural disasters in different parts of the world. Now, more than ever, is a ripe time for movements and ideologies that have agendas to preserve nature to be taken with serious

Recent Organisational Changes in the Virgin Group

Recent Organisational Changes in the Virgin Group These assignments discuss the organisational changes that the Virgin Group has been during the last few years, and how they are adapting to the changes in the operating environment. This will be in the context of the employees perception of the changes, and how the Virgin Group can lower their resistance to change. This is a natural feeling from employees, when faced with uncertainty, and this needs to be managed. The assignment focuses on the Virgin Group airline operation, Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic Airways was founded in 1984, and it is the UKs second largest carrier. The company is based at Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester airport; Virgin Atlantic operates long haul services to over thirty destinations globally. The organisation has been recognised through awards from top business, consumer and trade (www.virgin.com). 2.0 THEORECTICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Meaning of Change management Change management is not a distant discipline with rigid and clearly defined boundaries. Rather, the theory and practice of change management draws on a number of social science disciplines and traditions. Three schools of thought form the central plank on which change management theory stands. This includes: The Individual perspective school: This school is split into Behaviourist and Gestalt-Field theory. The Gestalt-Field theorists believed that behaviour is not just a product of external stimuli; rather it arises from how the individual uses reasons to interpret the stimuli. The behaviourists, on the other hand seek to achieve organisational change solely by modifying the external stimuli acting upon the individual. The Group Dynamics school: This originated from the work of Kurt Lewin. According to Lewin (1974) people in organisations work in groups, and individual behaviour must be seen, modified or change in the light of groups prevailing practices and norms. HENCE the focus of change must be at the group level and should concentrate on influencing and changing the groups norms, roles and values (Cummings and Huse, 1989). The Open Systems school: The school is concerned with understanding organisations in their entirely. It attempts to take a holistic rather than a particularistic perspective. This is reflected in its approach to organisational change. Change management can be defined as a systematic approach to dealing with change, both from the perspective of an organization and on the individual level. A somewhat ambiguous term, change management has at least three different aspects, including: adapting to change, controlling change, and effecting change. A proactive approach to dealing with change is at the core of all three aspects. For an organization, change management means defining and implementing procedures and/or technologies to deal with changes in the business environment and to profit from changing opportunities. Daft (2000) states that change is a necessary evil and all organisation undergo change at one time or another if not continuously. Organisations usually change in response to political, economical, social, technological and legal forces. There are four different types of change that an organisation can undertake, they are technological change, new product based change, structural change, and cultural change. According to Bass (1985) successful adaptation to change is as crucial within an organisation as it is in the natural world. Just like plants and animals, organisations and the individuals in them inevitably encounter changing conditions that they are powerless to control. The more effectively you deal with change, the more likely you are to thrive. Adaptation might involve establishing a structured methodology for responding to changes in the business environment (such as a fluctuation in the economy, or a threat from a competitor) or establishing coping mechanisms for responding to changes in the workplace (such as new policies, or technologies). 2.2 RESISTANCE FOR CHANGE Many authors (Lawrence, 1954; Maurer, 1996; Strebel, 1994; Waddell and Sohal, 1998, among others) stress that the reasons for the failure of many change initiatives can be found in resistance to change. Resistance to change introduces costs and delays into the change process (Ansoffs, 1990) that are difficult to anticipate (Lorenzo, 2000) but must be taken into consideration. Resistance has also been considered as a source of information, being useful in learning how to develop a more successful change process (Beer and Eisenstat, 1996; Goldstein, 1988; Lawrence, 1954; Piderit, 2000; Waddell and Sohal, 1998). Undoubtedly, resistance to change is a key topic in change management and should be seriously considered to help the organisation to achieve the advantages of the transformation. To manage resistance change effectively, the following methods could be used: Communication and Education: This is by far one of the most effective implementation tactics that can be used by an organisation. Communication is used when solid information is required to ensure that employees buy into the process and education should always be used when the change pertains to the introduction of a new technology or product or service (Bunker and Alban, 1992). Participation: This will help with the smooth transition from the pre change phase to the post change phase and if employees were encouraged to participate in the change initiation phase then most of the problems that can occur when the change is implemented could be eliminated as the issues and problems may have been identified and solved in the initiation process (Buller, 1988). Negotiation: This can be used when there is severe resistance and management needs to sell the idea to the employees. Top Management: The visible support of top management to the change process can help reduce and eliminate resistance (Daft, 1982). 3.0 IMPLEMENTING CHANGE IN VIRGIN GROUP One of the largest internal change moves by the Virgin Group, was when Sir Richard Branson, became disillusioned by the public listings, obligations and corporate bureaucracy of a publically listed organisation, he sought after to taking the organisation back to private ownership (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). This was from the philosophy that forgoing short-term profits for long-term expansion is the way forward (www.virgin.com). This contingency approach of the Virgin Group is formed from the business requirements, and the structure (which will take the shape of what is needed to operate within the change environment) as this has a considerable direction on the overall organisational performance (Burnes, B. 2000). The structure of the Virgin Group and its accomplishments, are contingent the environmental influences. As a result by changing the structure, this is an internal driver of change in reaction to the external markets (Mullins, L 2005). With the change in the listing of the organisation, came the reduction in organisational bureaucracy. The need for bureaucracy and a hierarchical structure in the Virgin Group was reduced greatly (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). As a result Sir Richard Branson assumed a hands-off stance, with the managers, encouraging them to use their initiative, skills and experiences (www.virgin.com). This change to the organisational structure has led to a separation of the employees, through now working in specific groups or parts of the business. The variety in locations that the Virgin Group operates, and the wide range of services and goods they offer has led to divisions in the work force. Therefore they are not a centralised team; some divisions could operate in an insular manner, which is easier said than done to change, without altering the structure (Burnes, B. 2000). Some of the internal drives of change the Virgin Group faced with, were the several layers of managers, which can slow down the management reporting systems and their reaction to situations they are faced with. With the contemporary environment, this is negative to change and will slow down the internal management process (Burnes, B. 2000). There have been internal issues since the structural change, with communication across the group and this was particularly noticeable in the middle and lower levels of employees. They were not receiving enough information on the proposed changes, leaving them unable to instruct employees on the organisational changes (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). The organisational structure of the Virgin Group is a group de-centralised; this could encourage silo behaviour, from the different business teams and the different locations in which they operate. There is a natural competiveness between groups, and operating under this structure can encourage competitive behaviour between them (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). To encourage the Virgin organisation working as a group, and to reduce silo behaviour caused by the structural change they started using a single web address, Virgin.com, for the whole of the organisation customers has entrance to all the Virgin services under a solo portal. These strategies assist in supporting the organisational parenting strategy and improve the synergies already imitative from the organisational branding of the Virgin Group (www.virgin.com). Virgin Atlantic service is very much customer focused with a prominence on value for money, quality, fun and innovation. The organisation is 51% owned by the Virgin Group and 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, and employees over 9000 people (www.virgin.com). This change has led to two internal parent organisations, but with Virgin retaining the majority share. Changes to organisations are almost at an epidemic status, reducing the organisations control of the external environment. All organisations are faced with incessant change; this is in their operational environment and the organisational context. In the modern-day organisational situation, there is enormous attention and spotlight on the human resource. The drivers from this change can be both internal and external to the organisation (Coram,  R Burnes B 2001). The human resource is not excluded from this change process, and is a significant part of the organisational context (Frank F et al 2004). Contemporary theorists advocate that if organisations want to be effectual, in both their current and future operating environment, they must focus on the composition and motivation of their human resource (Beardwell, I. et al. 2004). Virgin Atlantic values their employees and trains them to maintain the high service levels and to be able to remain effective (www.virgin.com). As a result of the change it is vital to manage the human resource fairly. When organisations use human resource management as a tool, it will assist them to encourage and motivated their employees to adapt to the proposed changes. The future prospects for all organisations are unpredictable and it is difficult to confirm what is required from the human resource, when an organisation is changing (Bratton, J Gold J 2003). An internal driver of change is the HR responses to market forces. The HR function should mix the current issues of their human resource with the wider financial and business requirements, that change will force upon them (Bratton, J Gold J 2003).The Virgin Group including Virgin Atlantic focus on their employees, as they see the value in managing the resource. Employees are recruited who fit within the culture and support the Virgin ethos. Internal change is driven by an organisations strategy (Bellin, B Pham C 2007). The strategy is a consciously created plan, which will include the methods and actions, to achieve the desired result. An organisation mission statement is normally a non monetary realisation. This mission is the future direction of the organisation (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). The internal forces for change includes making the organisational structure more effective, reducing diversification through streamlining the portfolio and identifying new and emerging markets. This change has realigned the organisation on their mission, focusing employees to assist in the transformation (Groucutt, J. et al 2004).   Virgin Atlantic is reliant on their branding, this is recognisable when they enter new markets, and this has been an internal driver of change (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). The Virgin brand name is the most significant benefit and asset to the organisation. This brand of Virgin and Sir Richard Branson was capitalised on, when an adverts for Apple Computers, Sir Richard Branson was connected to Einstein and Ghandi, as a shaper of the 20th century (www.virgin.com). The management of Virgin Atlantic has been very strong, during the changes over the past five years. This strong leadership of the organisation will focus the employees during periods of change. An organisations efficiency and survival during periods of change, is dependent on the ability of their management and leadership team. (Bailey, J. 2009). Gupta (2004) concluded that the ideal world of vision, the leadership transfers this to the real world, making it happen (Gupta, S 2004). The virgin group is a good parent to Virgin Atlantic, with Richard Branson as an effectual leader (Bailey, J 2009). This will assist in the stabilisation of the organisation during times of change, and reduce employee resistance. The success of the organisation is, in addition, dependant on clear-cut communication and management of the behaviours that motivate employees performance to be an effective organisation (Gupta, S 2004). Through proving freedom of decision making to the managers with Virgin Atlantic, encourage a responsibility of their actions and ownership of the organisation. This provided an organisational culture that encouraged growth with the managers. When recruiting new management, potential employees are shortlisted for innovation, abilities and competitive nature (www.virgin.com). In addition, Virgin Atlantic is capable to cope with the possible downsides of this autonomy and decentralisation. To prevent the failing of communication links and the potential threat of single business units chasing their own strategies, the Virgin Charter sets out a management system and internet business strategy that takes gains from the of information technology, further extending the Virgin brand (www.virgin.com). External forces have led the separate business within the Virgin Group to move towards the tactically five pillar realm. The core strategy is the heart of Virgins core strategy to develop the five pillars of the business empire: travel, leisure, mobile phones, entertainment retailing and personal finance (www.virgin.com). This during periods of change keeps employees focused on the organisational goals, and unites the organisation (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). The accomplishments of the Virgin Group are reliant on their corporate parenting strategy, and the competitive advantage is dependent on the culture (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). The Virgin Groups strategy is executed through the decentralisation of the businesses and the unified branding. In the short run, the strategy looks very strongly constructed, and some commentators believe it is near enough unstoppable (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). On the other hand, in the long term, they need to be a succession plan, to replace the natural wastage of management, with individuals that believe in Virgin Charter. They will need to continue the legacy of the Virgin Groups corporate ethos, through successful execution of the Virgin Charter (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). Virgin Atlantic must also carefully consider the new markets they plan to enter. One solitary slip-up can blemish or even destroy the Virgin Brand, and this could be disastrous for the group (Johnson, G Scholes J 2004). Diversifying too much could weaken the Virgin brand, especially when a service or product does not meet the expected Virgin standard. The news on a loss of reputation will travel faster than the success of a product or service. Therefore the association of a single Virgin brand can also have a negative effect on the group (Kotler, P et al 2005). As previously discussed, organisational change is an existing and inevitable aspect of organisational life. The environment surrounding the organisation in the operational and market context is in a continuous situation of change, this through the worldwide economy and the speed and change of technology. As a result, organisations should take action to reduce the impact of forced change, through predicting and assessing the possibilities (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). There are numerous external factors, which will have an effect on the Virgin Atlantic, and how they manage their operations. The external political environment includes the administrative and legal systems, which govern the organisation where they operate. The external operational environment for the Virgin Group will influence the internal procedures and ultimately the organisational effectiveness. These external political influences can be drivers of change, which manage over the organisation. For example an unfavourable political environment can prevent expansion into the location (Klein, L 2008).   The national financial trends will also be a driver of change, for example a down turn on the economy will impact on an organisations expansion plan. This driver of change can reduce the economic stability of the finances of the organisation; as a result, less investment will be attracted. The state-run legal systems are made up from the policy, laws, and regulations of the host country.   As a result the organisation must survive within this legal framework, and audit their systems to ensure compliance to local regulations (Baldry, C et al, 2007). This economic stability is vital for organisational survival. This is achievable through re-evaluating their present market position, and tactically plan where they want to be. This is the organisations strategic fit, aligning their strategy with the environment, through matching their core competencies and skills, to the required strategy. This is a simple process that some organisations overlook (Kotler, P et al 2005). This continuous organisational change has an effect on the employees; this can impact the workplace, these changes can leave the workforce unsettled and can leave individuals uncertain of their role, and how this fits in with the organisations strategy. Change is unsettling for employees, and in times of economic downturn, they can become fearful of their job security (Hunter, D 2006). The very structure of an organisation can add to employees uncertainty in periods of change. The organisation hierarchical structure can put off the workforce from acquiring the details of the planned change. This is a basic change process, which is regularly overlooked, to the determent of the strategy (Hesketh, A Fleetwood S 2006). Consequently, the workforce is not aware of the full extent of the organisational change strategy, or their role within it. The structure of the organisation is capable of covering up what is really is occurring, frequently with just the summit of the management team being conscious of the full strategic intent of the organisation (Groucutt, J. et al 2004). The constant change in the Virgin Atlantic can lead to uncertainly with some employees. This uncertainly can lead to resistance to the change. This resistance is not malicious, and is not intended to disrupt, but some employees feel more secure through holding on to the way things are, and not changing working patterns and behaviours. When the employee relationship is not as strong as it should be, then any change to the working environment will be met with resistance (Beardwell, I. 2002). The most important tool that the management has during periods of organisational change is communication. Through setting up formal and informal communication channels, the employees can be given the information on the changes, leading to them understanding the rationale and the benefits to the organisation. The employee voice is a fundamental human right, for free speech, which should be encouraged in the workplace (Hunter, D 2006). These employee forums can be used as a platform for the Virgin Atlantic to discuss organisational changes that will affect the employees working lives. This will give the employees a voice, to openly discuss their concerns. Prosser (2001) concluded that the collective voice of the employees achieves what the lone voice could never do: it humanises and civilises the workplace (Prosser, M 2001). Therefore, it is vital to give employees a collective voice. The Virgin Group can also measure the employees feelings, fears and attitude to the proposed change, through employee surveys. This is good human resource management practice. This method of gauge the employee attitudes is only of assistance to the organisation when they are surveyed on a regular basis, to be used as benchmarks of the progress of the organisation in the employee relationship (Marchington, M et al, 2001). There are arbitrating factors when employees attitudes are surveyed, and this is further enhanced to benefit the organisation, when they are used with other forms of listening to the employee, for example discussion and communication (Hesketh, A Fleetwood, S 2006). When concerns are discussed it is imperative to pay attention to the motivational factors, which will maintain the employee interaction with the employer (Parker, S (2000) cited in Dorenbosch, L et al 2005). Not all theorists agree that employee attitude surveys are the way forward in industrial relations. When they have the results from the surveys employers do not have to respond to the conclusion from them, sometimes it is just lip service (Blyton, P Turnbull, P 2004). Union representation in organisations is frequently viewed as ideal in employees voice, and there is support that there is considerably more to the employees voice, than any survey can reveal (Dundon, T 2003). Virgin Atlantic has successfully managed organisational change through changing the structure of the organisation. This is in reaction to the different markets they operate in and the changes individually to their environment. This has led to an insular culture; this can be addressed through communication across the group. One of the major issues the organisation has faced is the employees rà ©sistance to the changes, sparked by uncertainty of their current and future working environments. Employees as individuals enjoy security, and when this becomes uncertain, there is a natural reaction to resist the change. 4.0 CONCLUSION The objectives of the assignment is the implementation of change in an organisation through understanding of the theoretical aspects of change management and the best way change management can be effectively implemented. It is absolutely clear that the support of senior management staff need to be sorted, development of effective strategies, tackling staff resistance to change, and implementing plans for accomplishing each goal stated need to be taken serious during implementation process to gaining comparative advantage over competitors. Virgin Group, are successful and encourage innovation. They must now ensure that all employees are committed to organisational strategy, and will through the knowledge accept the change.

Plath’s Daddy Essays: Allegory in Plath’s Daddy :: Plath Daddy Essays

Allegory in Plath’s Daddy  Ã‚   In her poem "Daddy", Plath artfully intermixes the "factually" true with the "emotionally" true. There are scraps of her own life here, but the poem is much bigger than that, and goes beyond the face-value interpretation that is it nothing but a self-indulgent literary vengeance spree. Daddy works on both a biographical/personal level for Plath, but also on an allegorical level as well. I see this poem as a dual testament to Plath's (and all women's) struggle against male power, authority, influence, etc. She never "had time" to define her feminine self in opposition to her father, in the context of this male relationship, or legitimately break free of it, because of his untimely death. She first resented his being emotionally absent in her life, and then physically absent. In her journals she admits how she struggles in her relationships with men because of this lack. Accounts by both Plath and Aurelia, assert that her father was quite the stereotypical authoritarian male, and although she loved him, she came to hate what he represented and how he had treated Aurelia and her. Many women of that time, (and all times) can understand this dynamic---loving men, but hating how they treat us and view us and exploit us--- consciously or unconsciously, on either a personal, or societal level. Taken from this perspective, the Holocaust/victim analogy takes on a whole different slant. Rather than referring (exploitatively) to the personal sufferings of one individual woman, it can allegorically represent the mass, historical victimization of women by patriarchy, which has been well-documented (witch hysteria) and which continues (female circumscision) She says "every woman adores a Fascist in boots"--all women in some way participate (if only in their passivity, in refusing to reject the roles that society attempts to force upon them) in this social and cultural situation. The child-voice of the poem can represent,on a deeper level, that innocence young girls lose as they become women and find themselves being "chuffed off like a Jew," often reluctantly or unknowingly, into the expected roles for women in marriage and childbearing---when fairy tale expectations of love crash into the reality of the Sisyphian tasks of dishes, cooking,cleaning,laundry, child care, when so many women have their dreams and identities erased under the daily grind of domesticity---a different sort of confinement, slavery, suppression, another and altogether different kind of death and destruction of the spirit.

Occupational, safety, and security at work place

This boils to the fact that a rocker will perform his duties to the fullest only when he Is sure that even when an accident occurs he will be taken good care of. â€Å"One of the most important things that an employer should provide to his employees Is safety even at a low risk site† says Pushup Vela the human resource assistant at Prime Aluminum Ltd.Brief History of Safety and security is that one of the effects of the Europeans coming course of time it was discovered that it was absolutely necessary to safeguard the interest of both the employer and the employee, hence the introduction of the arioso means of regulating employer-employee relationship.Initially, it was thought that the employees were being made objects of servitude but in the long run it became apparent that this sort of relationship requires the incorporation of rules to avoid either party being cheated out rightly. Labor law which was fashioned to ameliorate the prevalent crisis engulfing the industry in Eng land at a time was adopted in Nigeria as a direct consequence of colonialism by the United Kingdom. 1. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to seek and to find out whether there are challenges inherent in this area that a human resource manager faces in his day to day routine duties within the organization thereby suggesting possible solutions that sought to overcome some of the challenges and well as providing some recommendations for the organization and to discuss and understand how Prime Aluminum Ltd deals with their occupational safety, health and security policy and what process it uses to achieve the broad objective of getting the relationship between employee and the employer and based on Prime aluminum Ltd. . 3 Scope of the Study By working on the term paper, Vive been able to understand how the policy has been incorporated in the institution, the challenges faced in the human resource department in implementation of such a policy, the presentation of some of t he solutions as well as some of the recommendations Vive been able to come up in the course of my research. When I carried out this research, I experienced some scopes in the area of this report.Bearing in mind the acquaintance and time of the paper has been wide- ranging specifically within the revision challenges inherent in the area of occupational health, safety and security suggesting the possible solutions as this rear basically deals with the top management level and low management. Being a student of Human Resource Management class, I got a chance to work with the Assistant Head of Human Resource, Mrs†¦Pushup Villain, where I got a chance and experience to engage on a one on one interview where she took me through the occupational health, safety and security policy and processes and how it makes sure they achieve their goals in the organization. 2. 0 Focus on Organization 2. 1 About Prime Aluminum Ltd Prime Aluminum Ltd has over 40 years of experience in their team of s pecialists;Prime Aluminum Casements Limited (PACE) has built a reputation of providing high quality solutions for aluminum windows, doors, structural glazing, curtain walling, ceilings, partitioning, claddings, office fit-outs and external fade related requirements across all building sectors. It is located on Mambas road as well as Lemur road. Prime prides itself in accomplishments and finding high quality solutions for all aluminum windows, doors, structural glazing, curtain walling, requirements for clients in an equitable, environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economical manner.Improve working conditions that are necessary to ensure higher labor productivity, better quality work, healthier labor relations and compliance with quality standards. Health and safety in the workplace is no more a new thing or issue in organizations but it is still handled as a new topic in, Prime Aluminum of today all because of the way it is being practiced. However, there appears to be some gradual improvement in awareness and practice. This part of this research work is meant to examine and describe the law as it relates to health and safety at work 3. FindingsResearch Questions Analysis This part of the study presents the response of the HER of Prime aluminum on safety health and security policies distributed questionnaires and as obtained from the interview How do Security policy, health and safety help with strategic decision making? Pushup: Strategic decision making is all about risk management. Getting the right information on Security policy, health and safety improves the chances of success, and helps to prevent accidents – which every business needs to do because accidents are so costly, in all sorts of ways that many organizations do not realize before one occurs including Prime . He goal of the company is to focus on health of all the employees so as to get employers who are fit to do the Job. For example we had an employee who was injured where he was working in the site. He was a very potential employer but due to less safety we lost him. Thus we are now struggling to get one who did such a great Job which is costing us a lot. What is the perception of the employees on health and safety issues and policies? Pushup: This part of this research work is meant to examine and describe the law as it relates to health and safety at work.By law, employers have to protect employees' health, safety and welfare at work. They have to make sure the workplace is safe and without risk to health. As part of this duty, employers must: 1. Keep dust, fumes and noise under control 2. Make sure that plant and machinery are safe and regularly maintained, and that the systems used in the workplace are safe 3. Provide protective clothing where necessary 4. Report certain diseases and injuries to the relevant authority 5.Provide adequate first aid equipment and facilities At sites where heavy machinery are being used; it is certain that the level is higher cause of the mechanical movement of parts of such machinery and therefore for the employee that will be monitoring or operating such machinery will be exposed to accidents. In a case like this, it should be known that the level of safety that will be provided will be much more than that of a site where ordinary hand tools are been used.Based on the above, we now understand that the level of Safety and Health protection will be higher nowadays because of the rapid mechanization of the manufacturing industry and the accidents that may occur will definitely be more fatal elicits. Do health and safety career problems actually reach the top and directors? Pushup: Health and safety is one crucial element of the mix of skills, along with finance, marketing and human resources, for example. It is becoming increasingly important because this could cost the firm a lot. UT in most cases the top directors are hard to reach because they are normally out of own doing business and it get s difficult for the HER to focus both on the workers at the sites and at the office. But these problems are normally taken care of at the end of the day. Could you give some examples of the biggest safety risks being faced by leaders? Pushup: employees undoubtedly face their biggest risks while driving for work. There is a very personal effect on individual directors – a director can set an appropriate example – or an inappropriate one.For example, if they speed to reach yet another meeting, or if they work long hours and drive a long way home after exhausting meetings. Directors have the legal responsibility if things go wrong and police will prosecute if, for example, a driver falls asleep at the wheel because of an over-long working day. What can they do about it other than set an example? Pushup: One of Prime aluminum's key issues is the management of occupational road risk – driving for work – which is why we offer a full range of solutions which can be targeted at those deemed to be the highest risk.These range from consultancy to driver training, and also computer-based driver risk assessments, which can be the cheapest, but most effective, way to start. What comes after that? Pushup Consider again the director who is a keen motorcyclist – if he or she suffers an accident it could bring the business to its knees! From Prime aluminum's work with its key major award winners we know that one in five accidents occurs in the home or while at leisure, so if we can reduce those, then the negative cost that accidents cause the workplace can be greatly reduced as well. What sort of training is available to directors?Pushup: Because directors have limited time available they will often not be able to go on pre-scheduled safety training courses. Prime aluminum addresses this through two routes: Conferences, where directors can network and key new developments can be highlighted by top speakers such as leading personal injury arre sters and FETES 100 leading company case studies given by their chief executives Tailored consultancy and in-company safety training means that companies can have a day or two of intensive focus on health and safety which is exactly right for their business.All of these options make directors aware of their legal duties and responsibilities, as well as the savings they could make if safety is properly managed, and the positive benefits of doing it properly. 4. 0 Challenges and solutions at Prime Aluminum Ltd security of his employees. Health and safety form an integral part of work environment. A work environment should enhance the well -being of employees and thus should be accident free.The terms health, safety and security are closely related to each other. Health is the general state of well-being. It not only includes physical well-being, but also emotional and mental well-being. Safety refers to the act of protecting the physical well-being of an employee. It will include the risk of accidents caused due to machinery, fire or diseases. Security refers to protecting facilities and equipments from unauthorized access and protecting employees while they are on work.According to Folia, & et al (1993), asserted that a proper understanding of the various work situations in manufacturing, textile, mining, construction and other labor intensive industries reveal that workers are exposed to hazards. These include: physical contact with poisons, dust inhalation, exposure to organic and inorganic chemicals, extreme temperatures of hot or cold, accidents, injuries, falls, burns and scalds, other dangers and sudden death. However, the health and safety of the workers have been recognized as a fundamental human right.The need to foster a safe work environment, protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities and other members f the public impacted by the workplace environment is the primary goal of all Occupational Health and Saf ety(OH)practice An integrated occupational health and safety policy is essential for developing a stable and productive work environment. The government has in recent time enacted laws regulating the labor market and it has also been revised to promote healthier labor relations, appropriate working conditions, equity in the workplace and improved skills.Improved working conditions are necessary to ensure higher labor productivity, better quality work, healthier Barbour relations and compliance with quality standards. The economic gains associated with occupational health and safety policy improvements include: a. Increased productivity and worker morale; b. Reduction of working time lost due to injury and disease; c. Reduced equipment down-time, reduced damages to materials and machinery, and savings in the costs of recruiting and training replacement employees; d. Reduction in transaction costs such as insurance costs and legal fees.Adequate occupational health and safety policy an d standards are required for a nation's continued integration into the world economy. International investors who subscribe to world- class occupational health and safety standards are reluctant to invest in markets in which local firms are able to compete unfairly through reduced occupational health and safety standards. Increasingly, African exporters particularly those who export to developed economies are being required to comply with international quality management standards.These standards require world-class performance in areas such as occupational health and safety policy, environmental protection and product safety A health and safety management system involves the introduction of processes designed to decrease the incidence of injury and illness in the employer's operation (Alberta, 2006). The successful implementation of this resources, and a high level of employee participation. The components of effective health and safety management system are briefly explained below : a.Management leadership and organizational commitment. For this system to be effective, management must show leadership and commitment to the program. To achieve this, management should put the organization's expectation around health and safety into writing by developing a health and safety policy. Employees who forms part of the health and safety committee, should be involved in writing the policy, and to be signed by senior operating officer, to indicate the commitment of management. B.

Red Smith: More Than Just a Sportswriter Essay

There is truly no person that has ever deserved to be called a writer more than Red Smith. As a man who loved and believed in the art of writing, he once stated, â€Å"All you do is sit down and open a vein and bleed it out drop by drop† (Schmuhl xx). Even more, he was a hardworking and dedicated man that put his all into each piece of literature, despite the constant and restraining deadlines placed on him. His dedication was never more evident than when he stated, â€Å"I made up my mind that every time I sat down to a typewriter I would slash my veins and bleed and that I’d try to make each word dance† (Schmuhl xx). Furthermore, his work far exceeded the stigmas placed on sports writing at the time, since he cared more about the literature than the subject matter. This is all evident in his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete,† in which he discusses what it was like to try to get out of gym class as a freshman in college. Red Smith’s background, experiences, and writing style propelled him to be one of the greatest sportswriters of all time. Red Smith’s background helps explain his current position as one of the best sportswriters to ever pick up a pen. Smith graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1927 and wasted no time signing on as a reporter. After working for the Milwaukee Sentinel, Smith took a job as a sportswriter for the St. Louis Star-Times. He went on to write for the Philadelphia Record for nine years, which allowed him to further hone his skills as a writer. Finally in 1945, Smith began his critically acclaimed column, â€Å"Views of Sport† in the New York Herald Tribune. This would all culminate in his 1956 victory of the coveted Grantland Rice Memorial Award for outstanding sports writing and a Pulitzer Prize in 1976, which he claimed was one of the two achievements he would like to be remembered for according to Schmuhl. Smith ? ally joined the staff of the New York Times in 1972, where he continued writing his famed and beloved sports columns (Britannica Encyclopedia). Smith, considered to be one of the most literate and colorful sportswriters of all time, developed a keen writing style during his early years in the business. He delved into the worlds of football, baseball, boxing, and horse racing in his writing. According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, Smith’s â€Å"literary craftsmanship, humorous and iconoclastic approach, and deep knowledge of sports made him of the of the United States’ most popular sportswriters† and he managed to shake the heavy argon used in most sportswriting, while maintaining his popularity. He even became a consultant on usage for many dictionaries and encyclopedias due to his precise use of the English language (Britannica Encyclopedia). All these attributes led Smith to becoming a better writer. While Smith may have had an illustrious career writing about sports, that wasn’t even his ? rst passion. Smith put it plainly, â€Å"I never had any soaring ambition to be a sportswriter, per se. I wanted to be a newspaper man, and came to realize I didn’t really care which side of the paper I worked on† (Schmuhl xvi). Robert Schmuhl further shows that Red’s passion was rooted in more than just sports through the quote, â€Å"Journalism was his passion rather than sports, a viewpoint that never changed† (xvi). This passion for writing explains why his work is more literate than the norm for sports writing and deviates from the regular jargon found in newspapers. Furthermore, this helped him gain wide popularity, since his works weren’t just catered to people who watched sports. His work ethic also put in him in a position to become a great writer. Since he was a perfectionist who was always looking for the perfect phrase or metaphor, his columns could take upwards of six hours to write (Schmuhl xx). Smith was also one of the last reporters to leave the press box and when he wasn’t at work, he would spend long hours in his home of? ce, to which he referred to as â€Å"The Sweat Shop† or â€Å"The Torture Chamber† (Schmuhl xx). When Smith worked in Philadelphia, he was writing columns seven days a week and even ? ling event stories, and this work came with little relief as he worked for the Record for nine years (Schmuhl xvi). However, this work did not come without reward. Stanley Woodward, the sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune, called Smith with a job opportunity (Schmuhl xvi). Woodward viewed him as â€Å"the greatest of all sports writers, by which I mean he is better than all the ancients as well as the modems† (Schmuhl xvi). His move to New York allowed him to reach a wider audience and it wouldn’t be possible without his undying work ethic. While his background and experiences show how he was able to write luminously, his writing is what truly shot him to the top of his ? eld. The brilliance in his work was never more evident than his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. In this essay, he pulled together all of the great things that Smith is known for, most notably his humor, strong sense of perspective, and use of metaphors and similes. The essay deviates from his norm of writing about other people in sports, and instead discusses his own sports experience. He offers an interesting story about how he didn’t like gym class his freshman year at Notre Dame University, so in order to not have to go to the classes, he joined the track team. Playing it off like he was a decent mile runner, he managed to acquire a spot on the team. When it was ? ally time to run at a meet, he ran so poorly that other runners were actually lapping him, and his merciful coach decided to cut him a break and tell him to hit the showers. Afterwards he decided to ditch track and not go to gym class either, but he was able to skate by with gym attendance due to the gym teacher’s negligence with record keeping. He was still marked down with good attendance by the time swimming came around. Swimming, unlike regular gym, wouldn’t have been an issue for Smith, but his friend didn’t know how to swim so he asked Red to help him out and take the test for him. Since the instructor didn’t know either of the two, Smith signed in with the wrong name and passed the test for his friend. However, when it was time for Red to take the test for himself, which he planned to take after everyone else was done; the swimming supervisor told him that he had already passed. Thus, Smith thought he wasn’t going to get any kind of credit for gym, but since the swim instructor gave over everyone on the roster for the swim tests, which gave everyone a passing grade, he was able to get away with not properly participating in gym class. Smith concludes his experience with freshman gym in â€Å"When I was an Athlete†, â€Å"So there I was. I had ducked out of gym class, I had failed as a runner, and I had not passed the swimming test in my own name. I had no right whatever to a gym credit but I got it because that instructor simply turned in all the names on his roster and everybody passed. I don’t know why I should still hate him. But I do. † (Schmuhl 57). Smith took a difficult experience and turned it into a humorous essay filled with similes, metaphors, and all the style a reader can ask for, proving that he truly is a prolific writer. The story and picture that Smith paints with his funny anecdote about his gym experiences show that he was able to transcend simple sports reporting and tell a story. His ability to capture the reader’s attention and take him or her on a journey is what set him aside from other journalists of his time. All of this goes back to the fact that he wanted to be a writer more than he wanted to be sports journalist. Moreover, this essay proves that he had a vast reach in his writing abilities and was not just stymied to the doldrums that sometimes encompass regular sports reporting. Smith’s ability to tell a story was one of the biggest reasons for his popularity and is what set him apart from the pack of sportswriters. Smith’s writing was also varied and interesting due to his allusion to others. Rather than simply beginning with his own thesis or introduction, in this particular essay, Smith decided to give a quote from another writer who wrote about a similar experience. This helps capture the reader’s attention and introduce the topic in a more interesting manner. The quote from his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†, demonstrates how he quoted someone else to introduce his own topic: â€Å"‘Also, in order to pass gymnasium (and you had to pass it to graduate), you had to learn to swim if you didn’t know how. I don’t like the swimming pool, I didn’t like swimming, and I didn’t like the swimming instructor, and after all these years, I still don’t. I never swam, but I passed my gym work anyway, by having another student give my gymnasium number (978) and swim across the pool in my place. ’† (Schmuhl 54). This connection to James Thurber’s quote provides a nice and smooth way to get into his topic. Smith even goes as far as to discuss how the quote gave way to this piece, â€Å"I don’t know how many times I read this passage in James Thurber’s account of his hard times at Ohio State before I related it to my own trials as a freshman at Notre Dame† (Schmuhl 54). This insight gives readers more to sink their teeth into and perpetuates Smith’s strengths as a writer. Red Smith also went off on brief tangents, which allowed him to establish a conversational voice and make his writing more interesting. At multiple times in this essay, Smith began to discuss other experiences that didn’t directly correspond with the original subject matter. For example, when he was discussing his experience at his track meet, he told the reader about how some people were laughing in the stands. With the conversational transition of â€Å"perhaps I should explain that† he began to discuss how close he was to the people he roomed with and then brought his original story back with the transition â€Å"the point is† (Schmuhl 55). This provides yet another interesting story about his life and it gives readers an opportunity to better understand the situation, but more importantly it allows readers to feel like they are in a conversation because of the voice and tone created by Smith. Smith also deviated from the central issue when he began to discuss his former experiences with swimming when he was much younger as he writes, â€Å"I’d been swimming since I was six or seven. When I was a kid in Green Bay, Wisconsin it was a point of pride to be the first chump in the water in any year. † (Schmuhl 56). Here he didn’t provide the same types of transitions, which allowed the reader to understand the change in topic. After giving some background information, Smith then goes back to his story and begin to discuss how he took the swimming test for his friend. These tangents allow for a more interesting and involved reading experience. Smith was also a master at using literary devices to paint a vivid picture and to make his writing more interesting. As James Kilpatrick said, â€Å"He had a nice hand for simile and metaphor,† and this essay was no different (Schmuhl 45). However, not only did Smith bring in similes and metaphors, he also made them humorous, which makes the picture he paints with his words all the more interesting. An example that truly embodies Red Smith is the quote from â€Å"When I Was an Athlete† in which he combines his famous use of similes and humor, â€Å"Then, faced with the intolerable prospect of resuming my place in the formation and, on command, rising on my toes and flapping my arms like a buzzard trying to take off, I read the fine print in the college catalogue† (Schmuhl 54). Furthermore, he was able to use personification to bring the reader into his own mind and perception of events. He used the phrase â€Å"the gun barked† to describe how his race started at the meet (Schmuhl 55). This shows how he didn’t exactly want to be there and even how he felt out of place. It makes the reader feel as though he was being forced to start the race because when a person is barked at, it doesn’t bring up pleasant thoughts. His uses of metaphors, similes, and personification all bring more flare to his writing and bring people into the situation. As noted by James Kilpatrick, Red Smith had a keen sense of perspective in his writing (Schmuhl 45). Perhaps this is never more evident than in his essay, â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. Throughout the entire essay, Smith gives extensive point of view and thoughts from his own perspective. The readers get a sense that they are in Smith’s shoes going through the experience. Smith exemplifies his skill for showing the reader the situation from his own eyes when he discusses his run at the meet, â€Å"For a while I was alone. Then the short-handicap runners moved up, ran with me briefly, and went on. Pretty soon Kennedy and Nulty passed, and I was alone again. But not for long. Here ame the eager ones pouring past, with a full lap on me. † (Schmuhl 55). Through this quote it is clear that Smith was a master at using perspective to make the reader see and feel the situation as he did. Smith’s use of perspective makes his essays more enjoyable to read and was also a factor for Smith transcending the simplicities of sports reporting and becoming a tremendous writer. Smith also gave extensive detail in his writing. His detail also allowed the reader to jump into the scene with Smith and feel the same things, while painting a clearer picture of the events. The quote of, â€Å"For lunch I had pork chops with applesauce, mashed potatoes, green peas, salad, several glasses of milk, and pie a la mode,† shows how Smith’s vivid memory gave the reader more information about the situation (Schmuhl 55). However, all these details about the food he ate weren’t quite as frivolous as they may have seemed, since he would later bring it up that he tasted the food as he struggled through his run and later became sick and threw up his extravagant lunch. This shows Smith’s genius in his writing because he gave information that may seem excessive at first, but later the reader is reminded of its importance. Smith’s attention to detail propelled him to the top of the sportswriting field. Red Smith was a great writer and critically acclaimed as one of the best of all time. His numerous awards testify to his long lasting excellence as more than just a sports journalist, but as a writer in every sense of the word. None of it would be possible if it weren’t for his background and ability to produce great works such as â€Å"When I Was an Athlete†. Intangibles that range from his work ethic all the way to his ability to use the perfect metaphors make him one of the greatest writers to ever grace a piece of paper.