Employment Law and Employee Relations Assignment

Introduction Employment relations between employers and employees are managed by several different sources. There are a variety of statutory provisions which govern the acceptability of certain behaviours by either party. Key legislative provisions that will be referred to throughout this case study include the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and the Equality Act (2010) EqA, amongst others. Each of the three situations here will be looked at individuals although it is noted that each of the three people in question are employees and there is no need to consider the tests of whether or not the individuals are self-employed or employed for the purposes of statutory protection (although this was not as clear with Sally, see below for analysis). Each employee has also been issued with a contract which is presumed to be compliant with the minimum statutory requirements. Each scenario will be looked at in turn. Jim The discussions associated with Jim and his recent civil partnership indicate that there is a prima facie argument being presented by Jim that he is being discriminated against by virtue of his sexual orientation. Jim has argued that he has been given a less favourable shift pattern and that this is due to his sexual orientation and his statement that he is likely to be seeking to take time off to raise a child in the near future. He has also indicated that he has been subject to abuse from a colleague by virtue of his sexual orientation. Jim is now off work ill and has suggested that he may wish to resign. The danger from the Council point of view is that Jim resigns and states that he was constructively unfairly dismissed by virtue of his treatment due to sexual orientation. Although he has only been employed for a period of 18 months and this would typically mean that he had not have the appropriate qualifying period for unfair dismissal. However in accordance with section 19 of EqA there is no qualifying period and this therefore presents a danger to the Council. In order to potentially argue this, Jim would have to show that he had suffered from discrimination, harassment or victimisation in the work place as a direct result of his sexual orientation. In accordance with the EqA 2010 direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation are all outlawed. Jim is seemingly arguing that he is being directly discriminated against as he is being given worse shifts than his counterparts who are heterosexual. In order to prove this there would need to be a comparator so that he could show that he has been treated comparatively worse than his counterpart, the comparator having circumstances that are not materially different to Jim (Shamoon, 2003). Therefore in this case it would be necessary to look at the treatment of someone who is in all ways similar to Jim with the exception of sexual orientation. The facts as indicated here are not sufficiently clear to show whether or not on balance Jim has been treated any differently than other colleagues with the revised shift patterns. There is also an additional concern faced by Malcolm in that in the case of Martin (2006). In this case it was held that the investigation of the grievance process was in itself discriminatory as the manager had failed to give the complainant the necessary time and a ttention, instead dismissing his grievance as petty. Malcolm’s response to Jim’s verbal statement is therefore a concern and although a formal grievance has not been raised the matter needs to be treated with greater concern in order to investigate the complaint fully. In relation to the investigation of victimisation and harassment, the full process needs to be followed in order to comply with the requirement of the EqA to protect Jim. Section 26 of the EqA deals with the conduct that has the effect of being discriminatory by virtue of victimisation and harassment. Again the full facts have not been ascertained as yet and although Jim feels the emails are coming from a colleague this would need to be investigated fully. The crucial aspect of this scenario however is to deal with the grievance in an appropriate manner. Malcolm’s previous brushing aside of Jim could in itself create allegations of discrimination and this needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency. A failure to do so could result in Jim bringing a claim for constructive, unfair dismissal with the possibly of the tribunal awarding compensation for injury to feelings. This is aimed at being compensatory and not punitive but nonetheless presents a real danger to the Council (Corus, 2005). Frank This scenario deals with an employee that is known for several misdemeanours over the two years of his employment, most notably going out during the week and weekend and attending work in a manner that is seen to be unacceptable. His latest error as a result of this activity has resulted in a potential substantial loss to the Council. There is no indication that his action with the transcription error happened when he was doing anything outside of his authority within work. It is also noted that he is paid a minimum wage or ?5.13 at 19 years of age which does not indicate that he is an apprentice. That said being 19 and recognised to have substantial weaknesses in his performance which do not seem to have been picked up previously places the Council in a weaker position. Despite this, it is evident that his error has caused a substantial loss and as such it is reasonable for the Council to look towards a disciplinary. The principles of fairness when conducting a disciplinary are contained in the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Produces (2012) as well as the non-statutory guide that is also created by ACAS. More formally, S98 of ERA states that in order for an individual to be dismissed the employer is required to have acted reasonably and following a suitable disciplinary process would be a key component of this. In the event that the process is not followed and Frank then claims unfair dismissal the failure to follow the process could result in an uplift of any award by 25% (Section 207 of Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992). Firstly it is necessary for the employer to consider whether formal action is necessary. It is not clear whether previous misdemeanours or poor performance has been dealt with formally or informally and this should be looked at as a matter of priority. However for the purposes of this advice it is suggested that these have not been dealt with formally in any way. Where a discussion is to be recorded formally on the record of an employee, as is likely to be the case her section 11 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 will become relevant and the statutory right to be accompanied needs to be taken into account. It was confirmed in the case of Sarkar (2010) that where the disciplinary could result in dismissal it is not acceptable to use an informal process. The potential loss here is substantial and therefore it is possible that the Council could be looking at gross misconduct. Frank has the qualifying period of 2 years service and could therefore potentially claim unfair dismissal making it vital that the processes are followed correctly. The employer needs to act promptly as if it fails to indicate the severity of the situation to the employee there is a danger that it would be seen to have affirmed the contract and accepted the employees repudiatory breach (Cook, 2009). A full investigation is necessary which will then potentially lead to the disciplinary procedure. The position of the employer should however be reserved for the duration of the investigation. During the investigatory meeting and the disciplinary meeting (if there is one subsequent) the employee has the right to be accompanied. The level of investigation necessary is dependent on the severity of the accusation (A, 2003). Where an employee is at a serious risk of long term impact for example being dismissed and receiving a professional detriment a much more thorough investigation is required. Based on this and the underlying need to act reasonably Frank should be suspended in order for the investigation to take place. He should be informed of his rights and obligations during the period and also how long he is likely to be suspended for. As the conduct is sufficiently severe that it could result in dismissal this is a crucial step and the investigations should be very thorough. There are concerns that the Council has been aware of performance issues and has not yet dealt with the matter. Furthermore it would seem unreasonable that a junior individual was able to make such a costly error and this will have to be born in mind when determining the severity of the disciplinary process to be followed. Sally Sally’s contractual status is questioned initially as she is currently working various hours with a weekend on call every month. Sally has been located at the Council office for 3 years with a set desk and specific hours. This level of control is considered to be sufficient to comply with the definition of employee as per section 230 of the ERA 1996. This is a matter of fact and law and it is suggested that as she was required to personally preform the contract and the Council had a high level of control she would be deemed to be an employee (Carmichael, 2000). Based on this it would be the case that Sally is entitled to the statutory minimum holiday which is 20 days (excluding 8 bank holiday days). Sally has requested a change to her current working hours which is dealt with a flexible working request and secondly she is likely to be interviewed alongside others for the full time vacancies which have now arisen, should she wish to apply and would not want to be discriminated against by virtue of her caring role for her terminally ill mother. Since June 2014, employees with at least 6 months’ continuous service have been able to apply for flexible working for any reason. The employer is then under a duty to deal with the request in a reasonable manner and be fair in the way that they treat the application (Duncan, 2012). Crucially, in accordance with section 13 of the EqA it is possible for an employer to be directly discriminating against an individual who is treated less favourably due to the disability of an associated person (Coleman 2008). This situation is potentially difficult for the Council to manage and there is at least some argument that Sally is not in fact an employee. On balance however this is not a valid argument given the prescriptiveness of the hours of work and the physical base in the council as well as the personal nature of the services provided. The Council would therefore be required to provide paid holiday and to provide Sally with her contract of employment. Furthermore any requests for flexible working would need to be dealt with fairly and when looking to fill full time roles, Sharon would have to ensure that she did not discriminate against Sally as this could result in disability discrimination despite the fact that the disability is not suffered by her directly. Conclusions In summary, Jim should be offered a full and diligence grievance procedure to prevent him resigning and later claiming constructive unfair dismissal by virtue of sexual orientation discrimination. Frank should be dealt with formally through the use of the disciplinary procedure with a full investigation and if necessary a disciplinary that conforms with statutory requirements. Sally is, on balance, an employee and needs to be managed with due care to the disability discrimination rules and the need to be fair and reasonable when considering any flexible working requests. References ACAS (2012) Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/k/b/Acas_Code_of_Practice_1_on_disciplinary_and_grievance_procedures-accessible-version-Jul-2012.pdf A v B [2003] IRLR 405 Carmichael v National Power plc [2000] IRLR 43, Coleman v Attridge Law and another [2008] ICR 1128 Cook v MSHK Limited and another [2009] EWCA Civ 624, Corus Hotels plc v Woodward and another UKEAT/0536/05, Duncan, N (2012) Employment Law in Practice, City Law School (London, England, Oxford University Press) p.216 Employment Relations Act 1999 Employment Rights Act 1996 Equality Act (2010) Martin v Parkam Foods Ltd ET/1800241/06 Sarkar v West London Mental Health NHS Trust [2010] IRLR 508 Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary [2003] ICR 337 (HL) Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Google †PESTEL & Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Essay

1.0 Introduction Google Inc, a global technology company, founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, is the most popular search engine in the world. Google provides numerous free services and products such as Google search, YouTube, Google Maps, and has transformed how people use and share information. Google’s business spans from advertising, data analytics, operating systems to technologically advanced devices such as Google Glass, Driverless cars, Solar-powered drones, and was recently named â€Å"The World’s Most Valuable Brand† due to consumers perception of Google being a forward-looking company focused on innovation (Bloomberg, 2014). As of 2013, Google has 43,862 employees working in more than 70 offices in over 40 countries around the world with their headquarters located in Mountain View, California, USA. (2014). For the purpose of this study, I will be basing my analysis of Google in Singapore, its Southeast Asia headquarters which opened in 2007. The following sections will analyse the various factors that will influence Google’s operations in Singapore, and conclude with recommendations of how Google should further improve to boost its competitive edge. 2.0 PESTEL Analysis 2.1 Political Though little political restrictions affect Google’s operations due to the nature of its business, government stability is a major aspect in Google’s strategic planning. Singapore had been rated Asia’s most politically stable country (Berdzenadze, 2013), and Asia’s most competitive economy in the Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum (2013). When the market of operations has political and economic stability,  businesses will thrive and in turn advertise more, thus increasing business opportunities for Google. 2.2 Economic Google was hailed as being â€Å"Recession-Proof† when they continued to post solid earnings through the economic downturn (Quittner, 2008). It is well positioned to weather the downturn, as its services are free to consumers, and advertisers substituted traditional media advertising with online advertising to cut costs. Regardless, Singapore is widely acknowledged as having one of the best business environments in the world. Ranked as the world’s easiest place to do business (The World Bank Group, 2014) and city with the best investment potential (as cited by Economic Development Board, 2014), Singapore with its sound monetary and fiscal policy attracts many investors. The more investment dollars pour into a business, the more they are willing to spend on advertisements, which increases business opportunities for Google. 2.3 Social In Singapore where there is high internet penetration rate of 87% and mobile penetration rate of 156% (IDA, 2014), consumers comfortable with technology often see the internet as the first source of product research before making their final purchase, making Google a very important part of the process. To increase the number of users accessing Google’s services from their mobile device, Google released its own Android mobile operating system which now holds 55.8% of the mobile device market share (comScore, 2014). It is thus increasingly important for marketers to influence consumer’s final purchasing decisions by advertising in this space. However, Google’s infrastructure created to customise and personalise each user’s search experience by storing their personal information has been  received with mixed reactions as some find Google’s sale of such information a violation of their privacy. As people’s attitude and concern towards protecting their private data change, Google’s business may face a threat. 2.4 Technological Beyond a search engine, Google constantly innovates and develop its wide range of free products aimed at strengthening user engagement. Technology rapidly advances, and Google actively takes measures to ensure they do not fall behind. According to Bloomberg data, Google has acquired 127 companies in the past three years (as cited by Farzad, 2014). Besides buying companies, such as Waze, a GPS navigation software, and Admeld, an advertising optimisation platform, in a smart defensive play to acquire companies that poses a threat to its business, Google has been acquiring a wide range of technological companies from Humanoid robots to Airborne wind turbines to Home automation devices. In a bid to strengthen its business, Google is increasingly moving into developing hardware technology that has a tangible presence in consumer’s homes and offices. 2.5 Environmental It is estimated that Google runs over a million servers in data centres worldwide, with its first Southeast Asia data centre in Singapore operating since 2013, and consumes a huge amount of electricity. Every time someone makes a search or sends an email, they contributes to the electricity bill at Google’s data centre (Tan, 2014). However, Google argues that they have made the world a greener place considering the electricity consumption for a search in lieu of a drive down to the library. Above all, unlike other companies, Google builds most of their own data centres down to the energy-saving chips it uses, and custom-designs its servers for efficient energy use (Glanz, 2011). Its  facility in Singapore uses recycled water for its cooling system. Although Google is a high carbon footprint business, it has adopted a proactive strategy to hold itself up as a 3ly responsible company by making its facilities environmentally-friendly through generating its own renewable energy from solar panels, wind farms and purchasing carbon offsets by funding green efforts. 2.6 Legal From the perspective of law and regulation, the internet is inherently transgressive and difficult to govern since it is global, and information can be instantly transferred at anytime, anywhere. Google’s products collects a lot of personally identifiable information on its users – DoubleClick cookies tracking online footprints, Google wallet storing name, credit card details, and thus how this information is compiled, used or stored are a natural concern. Google’s data centre in Singapore serves users around the region, and Singapore’s business-friendly approach with the privacy law on international transfers of data that does not restricts transfers to specific countries on their approved list, but instead puts the onus on the company to put in place measures to ensure personal data is transferred to locations with comparable standard of protection, makes compliance issues less complicated than that of Europe’s (Bratby, 2013). In general, Singapore is a relatively late adopter of privacy laws (The Register, 2014), and is largely reactive rather than transformative. As such, legal issues that may arise in Singapore are likely to be those that Google already has measures or policies in place. 3.0 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 3.1 Threat of New Entrants Although the internet has traditionally been viewed as a â€Å"low barrier to entry† marketplace, the barriers to entry in the internet search market are high, as it would take a giant step in innovation, and a mammoth starting capital to build a network infrastructure that could compete with all of Google’s services and products. The scale of Google’s businesses has become a significant barrier to entry. Nevertheless, companies focusing solely on developing a single product or service that Google offers could potentially usurp Google’s dominance in that area, as seen with the Rubicon Project, an advertising start-up which surpassed Google’s Ad Network reach by over 6 million unique visitors (Thomas, 2012). 3.2 Threat of Substitution Some of Google’s products and services could potentially be substituted, such as users choosing GPS instead of Google Maps, but Google’s primary business is their online search engine, which is difficult to substitute. Everyday, an average of 5.9 billion Google searches are made (Statistic Brain, 2014). Although there are alternative sources of information such as newspapers, books, television, or radio, the internet is the preferred source for people to retrieve information as it provides information on demand. As of now, the threat of substitution is low as there are no foreseeable substitutions for online search. 3.3 Supplier Power Google owns its search platform and advertising services tool, thus it has very limited exposure to suppliers. Due to the advertising system used to generate revenue, both the advertiser and search engine user are Google’s customers. However, websites that have given inventory to Google for sale can be considered their supplier. As websites frequently have their inventory  listed across multiple ad exchanges, Google will have to return both quantity of sales and quality of pricing of their buys to maintain the impressions given to them for sale by web publishers. So long as Google maintains strong market dominance, supplier bargaining will remain low. 3.4 Buyer Power Although internet users are free to switch to alternative platforms, most of Google’s products and services that they use are at no cost to them. Whereas in the case where the buyer is the advertiser, buyer power is low as there are limited vendors they could spend with. A key feature of Google’s ad buying platform, DoubleClick, is that advertisers can buy ads on 300 different websites with a few clicks instead of making 300 calls or meetings to get the ads on all the websites. The scale of modern online media buying is staggering as Google provides access to millions of possible sites for advertising. Although Google’s products are not unique, they are at scale, and can make competition difficult for start-up and smaller competitors. 3.5 Industry Rivalry Google is known for being the best search engine with high relevance within its searches, thus its position as the market leader in the search market with about 80% market share (Nguyen,2012). Though competitors have caught up, and substitution of Google search in favour of Yahoo or Microsoft’s Bing is certainly possible, ‘Googling’ has now been ingrained in people’s mind, and is largely a habit instead of being driven by significant product differentiation. When Google introduced the Android operating system, they have placed themselves in direct competition with Apple. Though Android phones currently has larger market share than iOS phones, Apple will not easily give in in the battle of mobile operating systems. Google’s strategy is all about scale and interoperability. With advertising making up over 90% of its total revenue (Google Inc, 2014), it is critical for Google to protect its space, thus its entrance into the browser and mobile operating system market. When one owns the platform, one has the stage. Google tries to own as much of the overall ecosystem as they can so as to lock in its users and keep out competitors. In doing so, it does not need considerable advertising expense to stay and remain on top. 4.0 Conclusion & Recommendations In terms of PESTEL analysis, I recommend that Google venture into new markets around the region. Singapore is a mature market, thus opportunities to grow further are rather limited due to its market saturation and small population. In essence, it is difficult to justify large advertising spend when it can never attract large reciprocal sales as it simply does not have the population to support it. However, expansion into emerging markets in Southeast Asia such as Indonesia or Philippines will help its revenue growth. To illustrate, Indonesia has internet penetration at 24% (Statista, 2014), which translate to 60 million users. That is 12 times Singapore’s population. The propensity of growth there is phenomenon. In terms of Porter’s Five Forces analysis, I recommend that Google diversify into other ventures that helps generates income as it is not healthy for the company to rely almost entirely on one source of revenue. With its wide range of free products and services, Google could select a few of its products to further develop as alternative revenue sources such as its VOIP business, or licensing fees for its products. Google will also need to ensure that it maintains its momentum in the research and development of its search engine to ensure that it is ahead of its competitor. With Microsoft and Yahoo search’s merger, the convergence of technologies will improve their search engines, and possibly catapult Yahoo’s more successful products such as Yahoo Finance and Flickr. As long as Google’s continue to innovate and stay ahead of its game, they will remain the market leader in the industry. 5.0 References Bloomberg. (2014, May 21). Google Overtakes Apple as Most Valuable Brand [Video file]. Retrieved 13 June 2014, from http://www.bloomberg.com/video/google-overtakes-apple-as-most-valuable-brand-PgHrIgIsQMuzLZA4CxRJSg.html Bratby, R. (2013) Singapore takes business-friendly approach in data protection guidelines. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from http://www.zdnet.com/sg/singapore-takes-business-friendly-approach-in-data-protection-guidelines-7000021091/ comScore. (2014). comScore Device Essentials – Singapore & Hong Kong 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from https://www.comscore.com/content/download/23711/1282705/version/1/file/ singapore-vs-hongkong-mobile-usage.pdf Berdzenadze, I. (2013) Singapore: Asia’s Leading Business Hub. CNN. Retrieved June 24, 2014, from http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-953461 Economic Development Board. (2014). About Singapore – Facts and Rankings. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/why-singapore/about-singapore/facts-and-rankings/rankings.html Farzad, R. (2014). Google at $400 Billion: A New No. 2 in Market Cap. Business Week. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-12/google-at-400-billion-a-new-no-dot-2-in-market-cap Glanz, J. (2011, Sep 9). Google Details, and Defends, Its Use of Electricity. The New York Times, pp. B1. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/technology/google-details-and-defends-its-use-of-electricity.html Google Inc. (2014) Google Annual Report 2013. (pp. 26). Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://investor.google.com/proxy.html Google Inc. (2014) Company – Google locations. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/locations/ Google Inc. (2014) Investor Relations – 2014 Financial Tables. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from https://investor.google.com/financial/tables.html Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore. (2012). Google breaks ground for Singapore data centre. Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/blog/insg/in-the-news/google-breaks-ground-for-singapore-data-centre/ Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore. (2014). Infocomm Landscape – Facts and Figures. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures Quittner. J. (2008, 16 Oct). Behold! The Recession-Proof Google!. Time. Retrieved June 22, 2014, from http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1851286,00.html Statisticbrain. (2014). Google Annual Search Statistics | Statistic Brain. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.statisticbrain.com/google-searches/ Tan, H. (2011, 21 Dec). Rainfall to cool Google’s data centre here. The Straits Times, pp. 21. Retrieved June 23, 2014 from http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action? documentId=nica_ST_2011_22596292&year=2011&month=12&date=21 The Register. (2014). Singapore lures big biz with mega data protection regime. Retrieved 24 June 2014, from

Michigan history3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Michigan history3 - Research Paper Example was centrally meant for the mission issues, but was later adopted for settlement because it played as a dynamic sport for accessibility by either stream, through Saint Josephs River and by the trail of canoes. It was also a dominant center for commercial trade. Michigan’s were believed to be prominent Detroit film makers, but most of their vast regions were also associated with arts culture and business. Being cosmopolitan regions, they also practice much of assimilation with their neighbors. Despite this, the inhabitants still preserver their heritage. Because the sport of choice in this region was accustomed by rivers, Michigan practiced fishing as a way of sustainability and mining also became a basic practice due to presence of salt. Michigan lies in a distinct zone of peninsular. Its most upper region had been covered by forests while the other lower region was basically meant for settlement. Most of their lands were dominantly associated with the issues of business, agriculture and the practice of mining. Because of the thriving rivers, fishing has also not been left

A core concept across nursing theories Research Paper

A core concept across nursing theories - Research Paper Example Core concepts are the ideals upon which any practice is based.For most professions, core concepts are distinct to each, with practices like biology, sociology and psychology having their own concepts specifically applicable to their practice. These concepts are broadly defined in their metaparadigm, and such metaparadigms comprise of several major concepts.Such metaparadigms are considered to be the boundaries or limits of any practice. This is not much different in the nursing practice. The core concepts or metaparadigm of nursing, according to Fawcett (1984, as cited by Daniels and Daniels, 2004) include: person, environment, health, and nursing. These concepts help define and shape the nursing practice. While theorists have come up with different models for the practice in each area of nursing care, there are common concepts or threads to all these areas of nursing practice. Regardless of the area of nursing involved, the nurse will still be concerned with the following concepts: person, the environment, health, and nursing. In recent times, the concept of care has been included as an essential concept of nursing because it is crucial to the delivery of efficient nursing care (Daniels and Daniels, 2004). With these above considerations, this paper shall now identify a core concept which cuts across nursing theories. It shall compare and analyze the concept definitions based on the selected contemporary theories while considering the practical applications of these core concepts. Discussion A core concept which is common to two contemporary theories is the concept of nursing. This concept applies to the theories laid out by Dorothea Orem and Virginia Henderson. In her theory, Orem acknowledged the four concepts which comprise the nursing metaparadigm. She further defined human beings as â€Å"an integrated whole composed of an internal physical, psychologic, and social nature with varying degrees of self care ability (Chinn and Kramer, 2004). She also emphas izes that human beings are also self-care agents with different interdependent parts, which, when functionally sound, leads to contentment, pleasure, and happiness. When considering the concept of nursing, Orem sets forth that it is an art by which the nurse can deliver specialized care to individuals with disabilities requiring special assistance in compliance with daily needs for self-care (McLaughlin-Renpenning, 2002). In effect, nursing considers actions which are specifically chosen and delivered by nurses to guide individuals under their care in the sustenance and management of conditions in themselves or their general environment (Orem, 1985). In other words, the nursing conceptualization under Orem’s theory is founded on self-care and management; such care and management which is supported by a holistic nursing of the person’s needs and disabilities. Nursing under Orem is also based on nursing agency and nursing systems theory. These are elements which make up the nursing practice under the metaparadigm concept of ‘nursing.’ According to Orem, nursing agency is the human power and action qualities related to nursing practice. Its exercise includes the establishment of the legitimacy of a relationship; initial operationalization of interpersonal systems; and diagnosis related to patient variables (Bridge, Cabell, and Herring, n.d). The nursing systems theory emphasizes that nursing systems are seen when the nurses adopt and deliver care which manages a patient’s individual and self-care capabilities – and such care then applies to therapeutic self-care requirements (Kozier, Erb, and Blais, 1997). Orem also emphasizes the fact that humans need constant inputs in order to remain alive; that human agency is practiced through care of self and others; that mature humans experience hardships through the restrictions in their self-care; and that

The Difference between Republic and Democratic Party Essay

The Difference between Republic and Democratic Party - Essay Example For instance, people - or both parties and political ideologies - in the American South tend to be more conservative, while their neighbors in the Northeast and West Coast are typically more liberal. Also, not everyone adheres to the principles of the two major parties and there are several minor or "third parties" in the United States, although they rarely get their candidates elected (Remini 35-43). Below are some issues that are frequently discussed by the news media and politicians. Every four years during a presidential election, both major parties convene at a national convention and draft a platform, which is an agenda for the next four years and spells out their positions on the issues of the day. The current party platforms reveal the parties' positions on the following controversial issues: 2. Democrats' opinion is that flag burning is political speech and is protected by the Constitution; Republicans oppose them and claim that the flag is protected from burning by a constitutional amendment 4. According to the Democrats' platform they are in favor of strong regulations to protect the environment. Republicans look at this problem from economic point of view: "strong environmental laws harm the economy", they say. 9. 5. Democrats: "strong anti-discrimination laws are needed". Republicans: "People and businesses can be trusted not to discriminate". 6. Democrats debate that it is important to increase the minimum wage to help workers; Republicans' response is as follows "first of all, to raise the minimum wage means to hurt businesses". 7. Democrats stand for the Government which should require universal access to healthcare, while Republicans state that private insurers are preferable to government mandates. 8. According to Democrats, the Government should increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for public programs, Republicans: "cutting taxes for everyone helps the economy". 9. Democrats write that military spending is to be cut; veteran's benefits are to be expanded; the US is to act in concert with other nations and/or with support from NATO and the UN. Republicans declare that military spending is to be increased; veteran's benefits are to be cut; the US is not to be constrained by other nations or by NATO and the UN 10. Democrats strongly oppose the death penalty: "it is not a deterrent and innocent people are in jeopardy". Republicans are less sentimental in this issue: "the death penalty is necessary and effective" - that is their message. 11. Democrats announce that gays' rights and marriage are civil rights; Republicans view is traditionalistic, they say that marriage is a sacred trust between a man and woman only. 12. Democrats oppose the practice of the prayer in school, they believe it is the violation of the separation between church and state. Republicans, again, follow the tradition arguing that the prayer in school is a religious right and our Judeo-Christian heritage (Shafer & Badger 22-70; Gould 14-97). Thus as the above mentioned facts show, Democratic and Republican Parties are different in some very

Peter Enterprises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Peter Enterprises - Essay Example An income statement represents a company’s activity or performance over a period of time. The income statement is intended to provide investors an accurate depiction of the company’s profitability over the period of time (in this case 1 year). This includes mainly the sales and cost figure of the company over the period of time. Cost which are capitalized are included in the category of either depreciation or amortization expense. The income statement is generally full of accounting assumptions; fundamentally the matching principle. The matching principle dictates that the revenues of the company should be matched with the expenses incurred during the period. Any accrued sales (Credit Sales) or expense is accounted in the income statement. Earnings from the income statement are essential criteria when investors evaluate or opt for a company to buy its share. It is earning power of the company which lifts its value and attracts the investor about the profitability of the company. In the case of Peter enterprise, it has generated a net profit of  £444,400 which is 14.79% of the sales. This implies that the net profit margin is 14.79% which is promising; however the company is profitable but we cannot jump into any conclusion unless we compare it with the industry standards for the particular year or a company which has risk similar to the Peter enterprises. (c) Peter Enterprises Balance Sheet As of 31 December 2009 Assets          Current Assets    Accounts Receivable 294,800 Stock 287,000 Total Current Assets 581,800       Fixed Assets    Machinery 1,480,000 Equipment 163,100 Motor Vans 148,700 Total Fixed Assets 1,791,800       Total Assets ?2,373,600       Liabilities          Short-term Liabilities    Trade Creditors 273,000 Bank Overdraft 54,000       Long Term Liabilities    Loan 1,500,000       Total Liabilities ?1,827,000       Net Assets or Shareholder's Equity ?546,600       Capital 417,200 Add: Net Profit 444,400 Less: Drawings 315,000 ?546,600 (d) A balance sheet shows a company’s financial position at a particular point in time (Krakhmal & Day, 2010). We can determine through balance sheet that how much financially strong and economically efficient a company is. It shows how much the company owns or how much money is owed by it. The assets are financed by either debt or equity and the balance sheet can reveal important information about it. We can compute a lot of ratios using the numbers in balance sheet and compare them with the industry standards. The most common ratios are liquidity, solvency, and profitability and efficiency ratios. A balance sheet can explain how the company is being managed. For instance, a high day on receivable implies that management is not efficient in collecting money. This impacts cash flow cycle and can cause liquidity problems for the organization. Furthermore, Solvency ratios such as the Debt/Equity ratio can provide an important insight to creditors to whether grant a loan to the organization or not. It also gives an insight to shareholders about the current worth of the company. An analysis of Peter’s balance sheet shows that it has a very high Debt/Asset ratio which is equivalent to 70%. Answer 2a) Cash Forecast for the next 6 months    Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Cash Inflows                   Cash Sales* 262000 254000 268000 288000 296000 292000

Joint Venture between the Government and Business in Africa Term Paper

Joint Venture between the Government and Business in Africa - Term Paper Example The company has engaged in many social and economic activities that have benefited the country and the citizens. This includes the construction of roads, hospitals and schools. This has helped in growth of the economy and improvement of the living standards as the per capita income has grown from $80 to $6000 per year. In its early years of its operations, after the discovery of the diamonds, De Beers operated, as a monopoly by regulating diamond supply, which meant the price of diamonds, remained high. After sometime, De Beers realized that they could not control the market anymore. The company was forced to stock enormous amounts of diamonds when the demand for the diamond was extremely low. The company also discovered that they could not control the discovery of diamonds in the entire world. For instance, Canada refused to join the cartel that De Beers had formed. The change of policy was also largely influenced by the unfavorable image created by blood diamonds. Rebels in the nei ghboring countries would force civilians to extract the diamonds and sell them off in order to get money to purchase weapons. The company’s change of focus changed from scheming the supplying the diamonds to a moderate policy of marketing and selling the diamonds already in their stores. This focus helped in creating demand rather than controlling the supply. The company still maintained a significant market control through selling the diamonds to traders who were willing to conform to the laws of the land and regulations set by De Beers. This helped to create an environment to conduct business in a more ethical manner. The construction of the Kimberly process in Gaberone ensured that all the sold diamonds were mined legally. This helped in diminishing the blood diamond issue, which was used to finance wars across Africa. This also helped to restore the reputation of the company, which had been eroded by the blood diamond issue. (JOE NOCERA, Diamonds) The success story of thi s joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana has worked because the Botswana government believes in democracy and encourages economic growth in the country. The government also saw the partnership as a way to improve the living standards of the citizens in the country. For this type of partnership to flourish, the government must have the will to improve for the benefit of the common citizens. The company had previously attempted to work in partnership with other countries and government but, it did not work due to corruption in those countries. Since Botswana attained its independence, she has always remained democratic and free state. Here, the leaders in the government are sincere and intelligent. This is the rationale as to why the joint venture has been of help to the Botswana citizens. We can therefore hardly compare Botswana leaders with other African leaders who only enhance their selfish interests. Many African leaders accept money from foreigners in orde r for foreigners to extract the country’s resources without benefiting the people of that country. WTO trade negotiations over farm subsidies The government of United States has for many years partnered with private businesses in the country. Among the common partners are the farming industries. They enjoy many subsidies from the government each year. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established after the World War II. Its main role was to regulate and create an economic order where all