Managing Absence Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Absence - Assignment Example This leads to poor and staggered service to customers, as agency employees, being untrained and raw, could never do justice to customers without bungling or making glaring mistakes. Problem of delayed service is very common and Line managers have to deal with unpleasant customer complaints, which sometimes, run for days and months, causing immense man-hour loss over trivia. If not attended sincerely and find suitable solutions, Company will lose the carefully nurtured image and goodwill in the market, not to mention facing the unpleasant and enraged reactions from the customers. Temporary staff is unsuitable for another reason that it needs more guidance and managers have to frequently accompany them to see that serious errors do not occur. This naturally results in distraction and wastage of managers' precious working time. Recruitment and staff turnover of the Company in recent years has become noticeably frequent and this is financially undesirable1. It is a matter of serious concern that unforeseen absences are creating major problems to management and managers and hence, are unpleasant to the image of the Company. The gravity of the situation is acute as absenteeism can result in service failures, recovery actions, implications etc. There are instances when Company was even drawn into unpleasant legal battles and this shows that prevention and solution both are immediately needed. Managing absence and its effect on productivity and efficiency is no small concern, and it is desirable to get practical advice to deal with long and short-term absences, ill health and absence resulting from working stress. It is essential to assess the damage to Company and inconvenience to managers who are forced to reorganise the entire group to set it rolling. Costs of frequent re-organisations cannot be ignored either. The downward trend in Company performance is creating an unhealthy atmosphere2. Reasons and excuses of sickness should be considered against the real sickness, manager bullying, children responsibility, exhaustion, depression, old relatives and their responsibility, their hospitalisation, sickness of tiny children and partner or husband etc. Handling absenteeism with professional help and on the basis of research already done is essential. Diagnosing problems, identifying weak spots, controlling systems and spotting training requirements for heads of department, line managers and team managers on how to deal with persistent absentees is important. Consulting employment law consultants and human resource professionals and frequent meetings with employee relations officers is another form of tackling this evil. In house legal advisers should be consulted for further actions against the absentees. Possibilities of future damage repair like in-house training; continuing professional development focussed on developing the employee's full potential, encouraging interactions, advising on employment law issues and practical law issues could guide strategy mapping. This will also involve line management solutions, return to work interviews, and frequent monitoring. It is better to involve employee work commitment, peer pressure, and medical opinion etc. and arrive at a decision after going through every aspect of absenteeism including from the

Internal Environment of Tesco Literature review

Internal Environment of Tesco - Literature review Example Quite understandably, there is a bright side to the picture and as well as a darker side which goes hand in hand, however, when talked about the corporate world, markets and industries, the darker side is more dark to offset the brightness of so-called bright side of the picture. The golden days for the business were when they could operate with monopolies and lesser competition. Consumer awareness was virtually zero and thus their bargaining power was extremely low (Senge, pp. 189-196, 1991). Â  However, with this revolution of information technology, the marketplace has changed into something, which no one could have imagined in his or her wildest dreams, some decades back. Statistics reveal that out of the Fortune 100 companies of 1900, only four of those corporations have been surviving and the rest is history. Furthermore, only General Electric (GE) is the only company, which still exists out of the top 12 companies that appeared on the Dow Jones Index in 1900. Quite clearly, the marketplace is now a brutal and ruthless place, which has no place for companies that fail to adapt, change, innovate, learn, and compete. In fact, the marketplace today is a bloody red ocean since all that companies do today, is make their competitors lose so that they can win. Â  For most companies, the pie is not growing or expanding and the only way to increase your share of the pie is to decrease the share of their competitors. More importantly, the companies that have failed to adopt proactive, calculated, informed approaches and have tried to remain mere spectators, the environmental forces have not forgiven them for the same and they are history. That explains why Nokia, which started it business as lumber company that made equipment needed to cut down the forests diversified, adapted, changed, and innovated to become the biggest seller of mobile phones in the world.

Customary International Law

Customary International Law The concept of â€Å"international law† has fuelled academic debate regarding its interpretation, parameters and whether it in fact hinders measures to maintain international order, by virtue of the fact that there is a dichotomy between theory and the reality of the formation of customary international law as suggested by the above statement. Indeed it has been commented that the â€Å"demise of custom as a source of international law has been widely forecasted because both the nature and the relative importance of customs constituent elements are contentious†. Conversely, it has been propounded that customary international law is nevertheless significant as a source of law particularly in the international human rights arena. For example, the codification of conventions, and case law of the International Court of Justice (IJC) have been cited as contributing to the â€Å"resurrection† of customary international law. However, notwithstanding the theoretical importance of international law making in areas such as human rights and as a check on autocratic power, these measures are only as effective as their practical enforceability, which some commentators have challenged in light of competing political interests at international level, which will be the focus of this analysis. Hedley Bull described international law as a â€Å"body of rules which binds states and other agents in world politics in their relations with one another and is considered to have the status of law†. However, many commentators have questioned whether this theoretical ideal of â€Å"international law making† is actually reflected in fact by â€Å"the existence of any set of rules governing interstate relations, secondly, its entitlement to be called â€Å"law† and, thirdly, its effectiveness in controlling states in â€Å"real life† situations†. Notwithstanding the contention as to whether the term â€Å"law† is applicable to the social contract in the international arena, it is argued that there are in force some general principles of law â€Å"which states regard as binding on one another†. For example, the fundamental principles governing international relations include the right to self-determination of peoples, prohibition of the threat or use of force, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for human rights, international cooperation and good faith. As such, Antonio Cassesse observes that: â€Å"The principles at issue possess tremendous importance, for they represent the only set standards on which States are not fundamentally divided. They constitute the core â€Å"rules of the game† on which all States basically agree and which allow a modicum of relatively smooth international relations†. However, Cassesse statements, whilst undoubtedly justified on the basis of member state commitment as signatories to international treaties and conventions, ignore the conflicts creates by the law making process which arguably make â€Å"little more than a manifestation of divisions in power between states of different political and economic importance,† which is further compounded by the conflict between the sources of international law under customary law and various treaties and charters. Indeed Anthony Carty observes that there is in no complete system of international law to provide resolutions to disputes in contemporary international relations. Cartys assertions are rooted in the premise that states continue to operate as â€Å"states of nature†, with no unequivocal demarcation of rights under international law, further compounded by ad hoc, unilateral interpretation by member states. Moreover, the lack of a cohesive international legal system evidenced by inconsistencies in concepts of customary law results in a â€Å"clash between international law and measures deemed necessary to maintain a balance of power†. This is particularly evidenced by the law relating to legitimate use of force in the international arena. The 1945 United Nations Charter (the Charter), which is considered to be a source of international law, was implemented to address the post Second World War concerns of preventing repeat atrocities. The preamble to the Charter asserted its primary objective as â€Å"saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war† and implementing a framework to facilitate peaceful dispute resolution in international relations. Furthermore, the Charter imposed a prohibition on the use of unilateral force by member states, which was viewed as a radical measure in international law making. However, the theoretical milestone in international law has been cited by some as a false dawn, compounded by the continued uncertainty as to the boundaries of Article 2(4) in practice, leading to Dixon to question its efficacy as a protectionist measure. Moreover, Reisman has argued that in any event, â€Å"Article 2(4) was never an independent ethical imperative of pacifism†. This is further supported by the proviso that â€Å"unilateral force must not be inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations†, which is further compounded by conflicting right of member states to self defence under Article 51 of the Charter. The intrinsic uncertainty facilitated by the drafting of Article 2(4) creates scope for discretion by the reference to â€Å"purpose of the United Nations†. As such, the Charter effectively grants scope for member state unilateral interpretation, whilst simultaneously justifying any use of force as complying with the â€Å"purpose† of the United Nations. Furthermore, the continuation of post holocaust conflicts question the efficacy of Article 2(4) as a protection mechanism on illegitimate force in international conflict, thereby facilitating scope for potential abuse of political and economic objectives without effective sanction, further bolstered by the Article 51 right to self defence. Moreover, notwithstanding the objectives of the ICJ, in practice its decisions have been criticised for lacking consistency, highlighting the problem of after the event decisions to determine whether force used was legal. The role of the SC in having the power to â€Å"determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of peace, or act of aggression† and implement measures that may include force, has been further utilised as highlighting the dichotomy between theory and practice in international law making. The machinations of the SC are intricate, with many arguing that powerful member states within the SC create an imbalance of power in using the SC to further their political desires. This is further compounded by the fact that states which are not signatories to the UN fall outside the jurisdiction of SC decisions and are subject to convoluted principles of international customary law. As such, this creates scope for selective enforcement of international law, compounded by the conflict between applicability of Charter principles and established principles of customary law, which is inherently problematic in practice. Whilst Dixon and McCorquodale argue that some principles of customary law apply irrespective of the Charter provisions, other commentators assert that the Charter â€Å"heralded a new beginning†, thereby limiting the scope of customary law in this context. This conflict between Charter and customary law in the context of legitimate force is a breeding ground for abuse, enabling furtherance of political goals by exploiting the uncertainty. For example, in the case of Nicaragua v USA, the ICJ stated that the Charter right to self defence was derived from customary law and that the SC had final veto over what constituted legitimate self defence. MacClean suggests that this decision suggests that the Charter supersedes customary law, which in the absence of any binding definition of â€Å"armed attack† or what constitutes justifiable self defence, enables international law to effectively be used to legitimise potential abuses of power with extreme uses of force as self defence, shrouded in the veil of accountability by ad hoc decisions of the ICJ after the event. A prime example of this is the ICJ opinion as to â€Å"whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons in any circumstances is permitted under international law†. The ICJ skated around the issue, repeating the prohibition on use of force contrary to Article 2(4) of the Charter and customary law, yet failed to expressly determine whether a preemptive nuclear attack would be unlawful. This clearly creates potential for abuse in the absence of any coherent guidelines, which is further evidenced by the crime of aggression, which has remained controversial as a legal concept in international law, often criticised for being â€Å"intertwined with political elements†. The implementation of the Rome Statute, UN Charter and International Criminal Court was hailed as a historical milestone for protection of human rights against aggression in the international arena. However, in order for any crime of aggression to be effective, it is vital to define what constitutes an act of aggression. However, member states have consistently bypassed implementing a binding definition of what constitutes an act of aggression since the UN Charter was introduced, thereby indicating a distinct gap between theory and the reality of formation of customary law. Furthermore, the lack of binding definition is perpetuated by the lack of delineation between state and individual liability and what is meant by the term â€Å"individual† for the purpose of establishing state liability. Article 39 of the Charter addresses crimes of aggression by the state and not individuals and therefore failure to define â€Å"act of the individual† clearly undermines the theoretical purpose of the crime of aggression as a check on autocratic power. The mechanics of war are inherently complex and the notion of excessive force will clearly vary from one state to another. This in itself highlights the gap between theory and formation of customary law on the international plane, as the problem of having any absolute legal framework will intrinsically be unable to account for the complexities of war at international level. Furthermore, the limited nature of a binding definitive framework also lends itself to exploitation by member states intended to serve their political and economic motivations. This is further limited by the fact that in aggression, the leadership requirement for establishing liability is inherently restricted by the practical difficulty faced by member states in bringing leaders of their state to account, again highlighting the gap between theory and practice. This was evidenced in the case of R v Jones where the House of Lords rejected the appellants claim that the Iraq war constituted an illegal act of aggression under the Charter. In rejecting the appeal, Lord Bingham asserted that â€Å"the crime of aggression is not a crime in the domestic law of England and Wales†. The judicial rationale in the Jones case was rooted in the notion that floodgate claims facilitating anarchy would result from enabling such a claim. Moreover, Lord Bingham stated that the international law crime of aggression was not a crime under national law and that it was â€Å"not for judges to decide what conduct should be treated as lying so far outside the bounds of what is acceptable in our society so as to attract criminal penalties.† This dictum again highlights the dichotomy between theory and law, which in itself lends itself to the use of international law as a tool in furthering political and social power. The Jones decision further begs the question as to the usefulness of the Charter in practice if the crime of aggression under international law is claimed to be unenforceable at national level due to national courts asserting lack of jurisdiction. Moreover, the Charter expressly grants a power of veto to the Security Council (SC) to determine what constitutes an act of aggression. Article 39 of the Charter enables the SC to make recommendations and decide what punitive measures shall be imposed to maintain or restore peace. Notwithstanding the attempts of UN Resolution 3314 to move towards a binding definition of aggression, the debates preceding the Resolution led to compromise in order to appease political disagreements and facilitate amity amongst member states. As such, ambiguous wording remained, compounding the continued uncertainty as to what actually constitutes an act of aggression. Additionally, it has been observed that certain UN member states are clearly more influential, which creates the contradictory situation whereby decisions left to be determined by the SC could potentially result in selective enforcement of international law with some states being subject to harsh measures to restore peace, whilst turning a blind eye to others. This undermines the purpose of the Charter and equality of the rule of law, with the ironic result that those in power can evade accountability. For example, Megret argues that the deficiency in the international law concepts of aggression have enabled the Bush administration to evolve ad hoc concepts of self defence justified as being necessary in the war on terror, thereby compromising the rule of law. In conclusion, the historical importance of the development of international law making through customary principles and various treaties cannot be ignored. However, the theoretical ideal is significantly undermined by gaps between theory and enforcement in practice, which is particularly evidenced in the law of aggression and use of force by the lack of consistent rules and purposeful ambiguity in Charter provisions intended to assuage political conflict and promote member state agreement. However, this has resulted in ad hoc decision making in the international arena often after the event, which undermines the purpose of international law as an effective mechanism to resolve international conflict and protect human rights abuses. Moreover, the inherent ambiguity and lack of precedent has arguably enabled powerful states to use international law to legitimise excessive force, further compounded by the conflict between customary law and the Charter in this context. As such, measures need to be taken to clarify a coherent legal framework with effective sanction if international law makers are to render member states subject to the rule of law in practice. Only then can international law making be â€Å"more than a manifestation of divisions in power between states of different political and economic importance†.

Essay --

Opportunity Create Opportunities for Success Success begins with opportunities. For a young doctor, an opportunity could mean being assigned to work with the best doctor in the hospital. For an artist, it could be a last-minute offer to show at a famous museum. For a student, it could mean being rewarded a scholarship to travel around world and do research. â€Å"Once a king had a huge rock placed on a middle of the path. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone removes the rock. Some of the king’s affluent merchants and helpers came by and simply walked around it. Many people who passed the way loudly blamed the king for not keeping the road clear, but no one did anything for removing the stone from the way. Then a farmer came who carried heavy load of vegetables, upon approaching the rock, the farmer laid down his load and tried to move the boulder and cleared the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the farmer picked up his load, he noticed a small bag laying in the road where the rock had been. The bag contained many gold coins and a note from the king which indicating that who removed the bag from the road he will win the gold. The farmer learned what many of us never understand. Every barrier provides an opportunity to improve our condition.† Opportunity is the time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something. If discovering these opportunities were a subject of simply going around into a store, rifling through a basket of opportunities, picking one, and then checking out, the order of power in the world would look completely a bit distinct. Of course, it doesn’t work that way. It’s up to us—with the cooperation of our social and personal connection—to go out, acquire and ... ...ferently? How would you treat it differently? What would you say or do differently if this were your chance? You should be ready with the answers of all these questions. Success in life, be it in some job or any area brings happiness and courage, once reached must be won over and over again. It’s not easy, but in the complex situation if we find the opportunity, its benefits are great, but it pays only to those have brave souls, who have the trust and believe in themselves. Who identify an opportunity when it comes their way, seize it, make the all efforts for it and continue to go ahead towards success. The Champion says- It may be challenging, but possible. The failure says- It is very difficult may be impossible. Now which category do you want to belong to? The champion or The failure? â€Å"Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity† H.Jackson Brown

Pampered Child Book Review

Mamen also identifies he â€Å"symptoms† of the pampered child that mimic those of genuine emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders and explains the dangers of misdiagnosis. While reading this book many things were brought to my attention, it connected to many related topics that were discussed in my child development course. Some topics that were related were; how to care and nurture children, disorders in children, and mainly how to control children's emotions.In my child development course my professor made it very clear to us that when caring for a child â€Å"parenting† is a very important factor in a child's life. It has also been suggested that parents most definitely matter. â€Å"In fact we are the most powerful instruments of change in a family. † There was only a small section the book where it talks about parenting. Which I thought was a little downfall for parents reading this book. There is a bigger section in the book about disorders. In my child development course we took quite a decent time going over several disorders.One specific disorder that was mention in the book was anxiety. When reading over this section of the book I was very connected to what I have learned in my course about anxiety. In the book, Mamen entions that there are three compents to anxiety which include; physiological which deals with your autonomic nervous system, cognitive which is through yours thoughts and behavioral which is related to avoidance. When looking back to my notes from class these 3 components are also mentioned.Mamen also talks about different types of anxiety, which was also talked about in my course. Stranger anxiety and separation anxiety are very common in infants and toddlers. Another topic in the book that I connected to my child development course was the section about temper tantrums. â€Å"Temper tantrums are not fun! As Mamen states that temper tantrums are not fun I can relate to my professor stating the same. The book mentions that there are two types of tantrums one being a temperamental and the other manipulative.Mamen states how to react to each of these tantrums. Just as I was reading I remembered my professor stating to â€Å"never give in† during a manipulative tantrum. The book states the same. Mamen states in her writing when dealing with manipulative tantrums, â€Å"that you must stay consist, if you're not consist you will never see the end to these tantrums. † One negative that I thought while reading about isorders she didn't explain how to deal with temperamental tantrums as well.She discussed the differences but when looking back to my notes, I noticed that my professor stated that you must â€Å"remove the cause† when dealing with temperamental tantrums. I thought Mamen could have had something along those lines while discussing temperamental tantrums. I thought that these two topics, anxiety and tantrums is where I felt connected to what I have learned th roughout my child development course. I believe that the book correlated very well with the information that I learned about each of these two topics.All in all, Mamen is very descriptive in her writings about each topic that she discusses. While reading I was very engaged in each of her topics. I did find that her topics about tantrums and disorders were very affected on how to cope with each of them. I would definitely rate this book as being useful. I would recommend it to any parent or professional trying to cope with â€Å"pampered child syndrome. † Mamen does an effective way on not only how to recognize this syndrome but also how to manage it.

Vannah

Two hundred and six years ago, high officials of two nations deliberately turned 5,000 square miles of Southwest Louisiana into a safe refuge for violent criminals who flocked to it from all over the young nation. This is how it happened. In 1803, the united States had paid France $15 million to abandon its claim to 828,00 square miles of land in the brand-new America. It was called the Louisiana purchase, but we TLD actually buy the land. America and France both claimed the land, and e paid France SSL 5 million to abandon its claim, leaving us as sole owners of the land.When the Louisiana Purchase was announced, Spain protested, saying France had no right to include a 5,000-square-mile strip of land in what is now Southwest Louisiana in the Louisiana Purchase. Spain said the land had been found by Spanish explorers and claimed for Spain. We argued that the Louisiana Purchase was history and we wouldn't try to change It. Spain said It wanted its land. The argument got hotter. When bo th sides hinted they might use military force to support their claims, lore but not wiser heads stepped in.The cool heads suggested that the disputed land be set aside and belong to nobody until ownership was decided by peaceful negotiation. Both America and Spain liked the idea. Thus was born the Neutral Strip. The disputed land being put aside was bound on the West by the Sabine River in East Texas. It was bound on the East by El Arroyo, the Spanish name for what is now the Calcifies River. It was bound on the South by the Gulf of Mexico, and on the North by the 32nd parallel, which was near Southeast in Red River Parish.The Neutral Strip included all or portions of the present Louisiana parishes of De Sotto, Sabine, Nuthatches, Vernon, Rapider, Beauregard, Allen, Calcifies,Jefferson Davis and Cameron. The rules or the Neutral Strip were simple: I For whatever time it took to peacefully negotiate ownership, the disputed land would belong to nobody. I Nobody would be allowed to liv e on the disputed land, which would also be off-alms or anyone In the military or law enforcement. I Since the Neutral strip would have no Inhabitants, there was no need for laws, ordinances, ales or regulations.The Neutral Strip opened in 1806, and the response was immediate. The strip became known as No Man's Land, and it seemed that every criminal in our young nation heard of it and moved into No Man's Land. Squatters took over land uninvited. It seemed that anybody who asked got grants from Spain for small tracts of land. Runaway slaves sought refuge there. Convicts who escaped from prison disappeared Into No Man's Land. So did military deserters , criminals sought for smuggling contraband goods, murderers, robbers, counterfeiters and rapists.Bands left No Man's Land to rob trade caravans, then disappeared again in No Man's Land. Other bands left long enough to rob homes and businesses before returning and melting into the lawless crowds in No Man's Land. Even joint military uni ts hesitated before entering No Man's Land. Two raids, in 1812 and 1816, netted few arrests and caused little Interruption of criminal activities. Inside the strip, there Land kept loaded guns in their houses. A curious mind-set developed that was copied years later by lawmen in some cities.The feeling was that having the worst elements of society gathered into one area created more safety in other parts of the city or parish. The same mind-set that led to red light districts and allowed criminals to congregate in specific areas of a city or parish. There were several roads across the 50-mile width of the strip that retained the Spanish names of Camino Real (Royal Road) which became routes of terror for traders. Some traders skirted No Mans' Land to the South by using schooners to carry goods to Galveston and other Texas ports for distribution.To the North, traders skirted No Man's Land by going through upper Red River Parish. After 13 years of crime and violence in No Man's Land, r elief came from an unexpected source. The Adams-Ions Treaty of 1819, known as the Transcontinental Treaty, was a pact between the United States and Spain. It was mainly directed at Florida. Under the agreement, we paid Spain $5 million and Spain withdrew its claim on Florida. In what was considered a lesser clause in the Transcontinental Treaty, Spain also gave up its claim on any land in Louisiana. With that silent stroke, No Man's Land died.