Implement and monitor WHS policies Essay

1. Why is it important to provide information to work teams on the relevant health and safety legislation, the organisation’s health and safety policies, procedures and programs, and any identified hazards and their control? It is important to provide information to work teams on the relevant health and safety legislation, the organization’s health and safety policies, procedures and programs, and any identified hazards and their control, because as any other part of a business health and safety matters affect production, the quality of products/services and of course financial results. According to this, health and safety should be managed in the same way and with the same importance grade as any other aspect inside a company. Information must also be provided to all workers because it is everybody ´s responsibility to have a health and safety place in which everyone will be beneficiated, the employee and the employer. 2. Explain the importance of effective consultative mechanisms in managing health and safety risks and describe what they entail. It is important to have an effective consultative mechanism in managing health and safety risks because consultation can offer a lot of benefits such as greater awareness, commitment, positive working relationships etc. A safe work place will be easier to achieve if everyone is involved and communicate with each other, if every worker help to identify hazards, if there are talks about health and safety concerns and of course if all of them work together to find a solution. Once all the workers are aware of the impact that health and safety procedures have, they will work all together to make their work place as safe as possible. 3. What factors need to be considered when using training to implement an organisation’s health and safety policy and ensure a safe workplace? When using training to implement an organization’s health and safety policy and  ensure a safe workplace, it is important to consider all the incidents or accidents that are likely to happen in every specific work, that way hazards and risks can be prevented and avoided. 4. What are hazard reports and why are they important? Hazard report is a report made to have a record of the incidents and accidents that have happened in a company to stop them to occur again in the future. Hazard reports are important because through them, possibilities of injuries can be eliminated as the hazards have been identified with the reports. 5. Risk management is a critical part of a proactive organisation’s strategy to provide a safe workplace. What does risk management entail? Risk management is a legal requirement for all business in which a process of 4 steps has to be followed: Identify hazards, assess risks, control risks and review. Risk management is designed to prevent loss by preventing harm to people as well as give opportunities the business to grow, increasing productivity and improving services. 6. How can incident records be used to identify potential future hazards and monitor risk control procedures? Incident records allow the identification of trends and types of incidents occurring or recurring in the work place. In this matter, if incidents are being reordered every time they occur, it will be easier to predict or prevent future incidents and accidents as well as monitor what it is being done in order to prevent near misses. 7. What do you think are the key aspects of health and safety legislation? The key aspects of health and safety legislation are that all workers are protected, there is a duty of care that help each worker not to endanger the health and safety of self or other colleagues and consultation with workers to discuss penalties for breaches of the legislation.

Cwts Narrative Report

NARRATIVE REPORT (Disaster Emergency Response Training with Water Safety and Survival Skills) Last October 4 and 5, 2012 students of STI College Caloocan that has NSTP or CWTS course attended and conducted training for Disaster Emergency Response Training with Water Safety and Survival Skills. Our batch was October 5, 2012 that was held at Boso-Boso Highlands Resort and Convention Center. The training and topics covered are regarding Obstacle Training, Rappelling, Bandaging, CPR, First Aid Training, Proper Wearing of Life Vest/Jacket, and the Water Survival Techniques.All students venue before going to Boso-Boso Highlands Resort and Convention Center was in STI College Caloocan. At exactly 5:00am, but since other students are not responsible they came late. That’s why instead of 6:00am departure, it became 6:30am already or almost 7:00am. Luckily, we did not encounter traffic that’s why we arrive at Boso-Boso Highlands Resort and Convention Center at exactly 8:00am. And then when we arrive at the training center, all students are instructed to change their clothes in much comfortable manner. The instructors gave as only 30mins to prepare and then after that we need to go to the training area immediately.So, when all of us are already settled, we immediately go to the training area. Before the training started our head in-charge, Ms. Falculan conducted a speech and she welcomes all the students in Boso-Boso Training ground. And after the program, one of the Instructors from Rescue 177 together with their Director had the orientation regarding the Rappelling Course; they teach us how to use the Rappelling equipments and how to apply it when we are doing the task already. After the orientation, we immediately proceed to the Obstacle Training ground, separately with the boys.All girls had the Obstacle Training first, while the boys are already having their Practicum regarding First Aid Training. I enjoyed the obstacle course, because I experienced run ning, balancing, jumping, crawling and climbing elements with the aim of testing my speed and endurance. Then after we accomplished the obstacle course, we proceed to the Rappelling area. And I am very thankful because I’ve done the task correctly and safely. Meanwhile, after the obstacle course and rappelling we had our lunch break already. All of us are in a hurry because after our break we are the one to have the Practicum for First Aid Course.

Boundryless Org Essay

1. Identify some of the problems likely to occur in a boundaryless organization like Newskool Grooves. What are the Advantages of boundaryless organizations? Some issues that have occurred at the Kiev offices, managers there said that their computer programmers find working with little structure is uncomfortable. They are used to the idea of a strong leadership structure and well-defined work processes. Trying to reach co-workers in other offices who practice boundaryless organization has become an issue for some managers. They said that when they call the office they say to wait until their meeting day which is an issue because they have an immediate issue and cannot always wait until they decide to get together. Developers working on hardware in different locations had a communication breakdown which required many hours of discussion to resolve which could have been avoided if they were all on the same track. The developers seldom met face to face and all made progress but all of them moved in different directions with the product development. An advantage of boundaryless organizations: Boundaryless organizations communicate mainly through email, phone and other virtual methods rather than more traditional face-to-face communication. The freedom to telecommute with international employees removes geographical barriers to productivity and allows for schedule flexibility. By organizing expert employees in groups and giving them decision-making authority, these companies can change quickly to meet needs and function efficiently in an ill-defined hierarchy. Employees no longer work in isolation but work as part of a team on broad, company-wide projects, quality management, just-in-time methods, lean production, and supply-chain management,† reports US Legal. To be successful, you should feel comfortable in a chaotic free-form workplace and have an ease of working with people to orchestrate the incredible amount of networking required. When employees manage and coordinate their own projects, it fosters a sense of pride in the ability to change and meet the demands of the situation fostering a strong work ethic. 2. Consider some of the cultural issues that will affect a company operating in such different parts of the world and whose employees may not be representative of the national cultures of each country. Are the conflicts you observe a function of the different types of work people have to perform? In this boundaryless company, headquarter in Berlin, Germany, structure outsourcing company in Kiev, Ukraine, marketing in Los Angeles, so many different employees with different cultures are all collaborate working together to achieve organizational goals. Employees are also very diverse in values, personality, and work preferences which are deep-level diversity. Some cultural issues that are sensitive will rise in the workplace and create unpleasant things among employees. Employees might not be working together well as they will have fighting in the decision making. A good research in understanding various biological characteristics like gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability, will better the surface-level diversity. Almost all employees are creative and like to accept challenges. Therefore, in this similar personality and work preferences, they should be emphasized in working with others as a team. Training for team building with different cultures people will be quite important. Looking at the conflicts in Newskool, like the difficulties in decision-making and employees fighting to do what they perceive is better compare to the others. It takes time for the company to come with one decision as all of the employees can participate in decision making. People that are so diverse will suggest different solutions, reflecting their different cultures. Maybe it will be good to have a proper discussion in decision making, and only few managers can have the power in making decision in the discussion. It is not a function of different types of work people have to perform. As people from different areas or departments can contribute their opinions and ideas in the same work that require one decision. Another conflict will be inefficiency. Yes, different people must perform different tasks in their organization, but Newskool is boundaryless. When Gerd, the founder and the CEO does not satisfy, he asks his employees to redo the work tasks. It will cause a waste in resources as Gerd perceive something differently from his diverse employees. Sometimes, it is good to have hierarchy as people can know who to refer, which department to function and so on. This conflict is a function of different types of work people have to perform. The employees that are sometimes so dominant and think their works are correct, refuse to listen to Gerd and do things according to their own way. 3. Based on what you know about motivation and personality, what types of people are likely to be satisfied in each area of the company? Use concepts from job characteristics theory and the emerging social relationship perspective on work to describe what might need to change to increase employee satisfaction in all areas. Types of people are likely to be satisfied are competent, anxious, empowered and open people. This based on self efficacy theory; this theory refers to an individual’s belief that he or she is capable of performing task. People who posses self efficiency believe that they are capable in behaving in a way that produce that outcome they want. In Newskool Groovers, their employees are participates in decision making and innovation, creative and competent people. Because technology plays a major role as a communication medium in the boundaryless organization, much work is done from a distance via e-mail, phone, and fax. Less work is done in traditional face-to-face settings. Virtual collaboration makes it easier to use the expertise of a broader range of individuals. With telecommuting, international employees are more easily made a part of all business processes. Employees often like the freedom that boundaryless work offers them, particularly with virtual teams and more flexible work plans, arrangements, and schedules. Due to that, employee in company satisfied with the area of the company. Characteristic employees in company are likely competent and strong team skills. Concept job characteristics theory a model that proposes that any job can be described in terms of five core dimension: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. Based on this theory, to ensure employee satisfaction in all area in Newskool Groovers are by creating and maintaining a common task and group climate to focus groups and teams on the tasks at hand and on overall strategies, focus is on how to move ideas, information, talent, and decisions where they are most necessary, increase individual skill to do a task, hence he or she is encouraged to do it, regardless of title or position, jobs are rewarded on the basis of doing the jobs, not for accomplishing the necessary work. Thus, personal accountability for the work is discouraged at the expense of accountability for the job. Boundary-less Organizations An organization has external boundaries that separate it from its suppliers and customers, and internal boundaries that provide demarcation to departments. This rigidity is removed in boundary less organizations, where the goal is to develop greater flexibility and responsiveness to change and to facilitate the free exchange of information and ideas. It is made up of self-managing and cross-functional teams that are organized around core business processes. The teams include employees from different functional areas as well as customers and suppliers. Advantages Boundary less organization is able to achieve greater integration and coordination. They are able to adapt to environmental changes. Disadvantages However, it can be difficult to overcome political and authority boundaries. It can be time consuming to manage the democratic process to coordinate the efforts of many stakeholders. Companies are moving toward network structures, a group of organizations which coordinate activities via contracts, not a hierarchy. Companies are using outsourcing, transferring activities to outside organizations such as suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. Network structures are becoming complex. Nike keeps R&D in-house but outsources other functions to companies around the world. Advantages of Network Structures 1.Production costs reduced through partners with lower costs 2.High bureaucratic costs avoided with a flat structure 3.Organic organizational behavior 4.Partners replaced for unmet performance expectations 5.Access to low-cost foreign sources of inputs and expertise Disadvantages of Network Structures 1.Coordination problems emerge, followed by lack of cost reduction and improved quality 2.Difficulty in replacing partners and keeping proprietary information from competitors 3.Difficulty in obtaining ongoing learning to build core competences The Boundaryless Organization The boundaryless organization connects people by computers, faxes, video teleconferencing, and computer-aided design systems. Functional experts join an organization to meet a contract and then go to another project, but unlike members of a matrix structure, they are not part of the organization. Outsourcing offers increased flexibility and reduced costs. Designing an organizational structure is an increasingly complex management activity.

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 45

Reflection - Essay Example es not bring a deeper meaning on its own as she is not really interested in making the point but rather interested in creating a pattern out of a language this brought to Leona’s failure of school time-sharing. Mindy’s class time-sharing on the other hand, was successful as the teacher contributes in her story (Gee, 2014). Leona’s teacher hindered her success as she did not give a hand in telling her story and always told her to sit down because the class could not get the meaning of the story. For example, she could not differentiate between doing and being. Mindy’s teacher included dialogue school in time-sharing to get the meaning of Mindy’s story hence making the story interesting (Gee, 2014). The interaction between Mindy and her teacher is an important type of communication between younger children and their parents. For instance, the teacher waits until Mindy pauses and she retaliates and explains to Mandy how to talk. Use of dialogue in Mind y’s story reduces explicit language as the teacher gives the key points in the story (Gee,

Business Continuity Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Continuity Management - Essay Example Some of the components of a business continuity plan are business and disaster recovery, crisis, incident and emergency management, product recall and unforeseen event planning. For this Business Continuity Management to be functional, it has to be grown (Eliot et al 2009, 1). From a simple obscure branch, it grows into a completely fledged conventional business practice. To affect this, one has to have some acquaintance in the key concepts of building a flexible organization and involve the use of a standard (BS 25999) as a channel towards best practice (Blyth 2009, p10). In this paper, we look at the implementation of business continuity management, its value with an effort to ascertain the context in which it is implemented in dealing with challenges that come with any business environment. Getting started with business continuity management According to Hiles (2010, p110) Business Continuity Management is a major component of comprehensive emergency management plan. It is thus an important asset for any organization, for it allows quick recovery form a disruption. It is not that organizations hope for disruptions to happen; it is only that in the current business environment, globalization has come with various uncertainties (Blyth 2009, p10).Therefore, a Business Continuity Management plan has to be clear to the participators, to the point and made in a way that it is directly meeting the needs of any given organization. It is, therefore, advisable that it becomes part of the manner in which an organization operates. In the past, this had always been a reserve for big multinational corporations. However, the recent past has seen a rise in the employment of such a plan with companies rising to the occasion of protecting its interest’s and its reputation (Eliot et al 2009, p1). Therefore, the firs t step involves the acceptance of its usefulness by the senior managers and the boss of a company. However, it should be of essence that this involves every employee, for it is part of their responsibilities. As a matter of fact, the existence of a business continuity coordinator is very essential. This is because; his team is given the responsibility of spearheading the whole process by providing the resources needed to manage the implementation of this BC program. Some of these steps concerned in the progress of this plan include: Understand the vulnerabilities of one’s company. Define the business continuity strategy. Develop a plan. Cultural change. Rehearse the plan. Background Business Continuity Management has its origins in catastrophe recovery planning. From this perspective, it grew to emergency planning before maturing into the ultimate new tactically focused management concern it is today(Blyth 2009, pp1-29). Having its roots in information systems, it has afforded to move from this technical focus to compliance focus. Some businesses are seeing beyond this s to a strategic focus. This has mainly been due to the chan ging requirements of both the stakeholders and the organizations. Relevance of business continuity management It is important for businesses that operate under risky environments such as finance, telecommunications, transportation and civic division to embrace this plan. This is because, the ability of them continuing to operate is majorly dependent on the organization as well

Human Resource Development in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resource Development in UK - Essay Example It is necessary for the professional stage to have skilled people with the required talent. It can be made possible to obtain such skill by buying them from outside the organization; that is, recruitment. However, it is also possible to achieve this by training and developing the present employees. Human Resource Development (HRD) is a planned approach that is used in order to invest in human capital. The reason that HRD is important is that one of the most essential factors for the development of a successful industry in the UK happens to the investment is skills. It draws on other human resource processes, for example resourcing and performance evaluation, so that the real and probable talent can be recognized. HRD presents a structure for self-development, training courses and career progression so that an organization's future skill requirements can be met with. In order to respond to restriction against the job market, there should be human capital development in the form of education and skills training. It is possible that some skills are scarce even when there is high employment. Newswire Today reports that in 2007 a report was issued by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) entitled "UK Skills: Making the Grade". This report was based on a survey of over 300 employers. According to this report, 55% of the employers who were evaluated are finding it more difficult to employ skilled workers now as compared to five years ago. In order to deal with this problem, in the same year the UK Government announced a major expansion in skills investment for England of over 11 billion for each of the next three years. Total spending on learning and skills is likely to increase to 12.3 billion a year by 2010/11. This compares with the 6.5 billion spent in 2001/02 (Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, n.d.). A lot of disparity is present education and training levels of different countries. For example, in Germany they consider technology and production as high status activities. For them to succeed in such areas they have to have a high level of technical training. Thus, German businesses feel greater importance to technical advantage than, say, those in the UK. In the UK not only technology is important but other areas as well, even the ones unconnected to the engineering and technical side. One example can be the Film Industry. It is only recently that the Film Industry has been credited but nonetheless, it is fact that the UK has tried to make it successful. For this, the Film Industry Training Board has been set up. The aim of the board is to improve skills development in the UK film industry. This is only the first industrial training board that has been set up in around 20 years. Industry Training Boards are constitutional organizations that were set up

Marketing management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Marketing management - Essay Example The governance body include the CEO and the board of directors. These individuals determine the organizational objectives and ensure that the firm is progressing towards the desired direction by constant monitoring and review. These stakeholders look after the revenue generation of the firm and the prospective areas of development. Employees: The employees are the work force of the company that helps the firm to achieve its organizational objectives. The employees of M&S are more concerned about how the organization is concerned about their welfare. The employees prefer to receive perks and privileges from the management which acts as a motivational determinant of their performance output. Investors: The investors are the external stakeholders who invest in the company in hope of better return. The investors are more concerned about the financial health of the company, as their return on investment is dependent on it. Moreover, the capital generation of the company is also dependent on the invested amount. The investors closely monitor the ups and downs of the firm and invest or withdraw their money accordingly. Customers: The customers are more concerned about the value proposition of the firm. They look for what M&S has to offer and how they will give them more value than its competitors. The growth of the company is also sought by the customers as it will determine the value addition of the company. Government: The government is concerned whether or not the company is running in accordance with the proper rules and regulations. The government also ensures that the company’s performance is helping to improve the economic conditions of the firm. The employee market sector can be divided in two particular segments, the primary and the secondary sector. The primary sector constitutes the jobs with long term tenure and the employees are motivated by the inclusion of

Women and the Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Women and the Law - Essay Example Furthermore, Section 2 of the Street Offences Act 1959 provides that where a woman is cautioned by a constable, in respect of her conduct in a street or public place, that if she persists in such conduct it may result in her being charged with an offence under section one of the Act, the woman, within fourteen clear days afterwards, must apply to a magistrates' court for an order directing that there is to be no entry made in respect of that caution in any record maintained by the police of those so cautioned and that any such entry already made is to be expunged. The court will make the order unless satisfied that on the occasion when she was cautioned she was loitering or soliciting in a street or public place for the purpose of prostitution. Such application made by a woman shall be by way of complaint against the chief officer of police for the area in which the woman is cautioned or against such officer of police as he may designate for the purpose in relation to that area or an y part of it. On the hearing of such complaint, the procedure shall be the same as if it were a complaint by the police officer against the woman. But unless the woman desires that the proceedings shall be conducted in public, an application will be heard and determined in camera. In the case of DPP v Bull,1 the trial court ruled that a male prostitute cannot be a common prostitute within the meaning of the Street Offences Act 1959 s. 1(1). Defendant was charged with being a common prostitute under the Street Offences Act 1959 s. 1(1). The magistrates' court dismissed the information against him on the ground that there was no case to answer since the section applied only to female prostitutes. The matter was appealed by way of case stated, contending that the language of the statute was not gender specific. On appeal, it was held that a male prostitute cannot be a common prostitute within the meaning of s. 1(1) which makes it an offence for a common prostitute to loiter or solicit in a street or public place for the purposes of prostitution since that section applies only to female prostitutes: R. v De Munck (Augusta) [1918] 1 K.B. 635 CCA. Thus, Topaz' conduct in operating as a prostitute on the corner of Boulsdon Street may expose her to a possible charge of soliciting or loitering for purposes of prostitution. It is noteworthy that landlady Rose may be prosecuted for brothel keeping and exploitation of prostitution. Under sections 33 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and 33A (as inserted by the Sexual Offences Act 2003) it is an offence to keep a brothel. "Keeping" includes managing or assisting in the management of the brothel. Also, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 makes it an offence for anyone to cause or incite a person to become a prostitute in any part of the world (section 52). Further, it is an offence

The musical thought and influence of Brian Eno Essay - 1

The musical thought and influence of Brian Eno - Essay Example "This resource is very relevant for the topic of study, considering that it traces the history of Brian Eno and what he has been able to do in music, which earns him a name. Through this source, we get to understand that; while music has been introduced with different aims, Brian Eno’s contemporary music, which he has referred as the "ambient" music, has been customized to, and intended for a particular place, or meant to elicit a particular mood. He has sought to influence the people in different contexts, with music that is particularly tailor-made for that purpose. Consequently, he introduced â€Å"ambient music for airports†, after wondering how the architects of an airport in Germany would have managed to be very careful with the floor plan, but neglect the essence of having a soundtrack in the airport terminal. Brian Eno is held in high esteem as a visionary record producer, ambient composer and leading sound experimentalist. His influence is actually felt based o n the choice and the diversity of the musical genres and subjects he handles, such that despite being a confirmed atheist, Brian Eno has gone ahead and done an album inspired by Christian gospel music. Thus, he has been able to traverse different what he refers to as ‘community music’, music that is all-encompassing and all-inclusive, by establishing music that is able to transcend the individuality and sense of self, and making an individual to completely surrender to the tone, mood and texture elicited by the music.  

Fundamentals of Business Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fundamentals of Business Law - Case Study Example With days the news spread in different media which are not always true as the original incident occurred. According to the Union, the grievant conducted for the document given by Mr. Burrell’s is just an act of being absent-minded and casual to the work. Burrell didn’t carefully evaluate the document before he gave to his colleagues. On the other hand by the Union, the work environment at Peters Middle School was very friendly and very similar types of documents are circulated often to exchange jokes. Supporting Mr. Burrell’s activity the Union stated that these exchanges of jokes should have been stopped earlier. This could have avoided the kind of situation aroused with Burrell. Mr. Burrell was very efficient as an educator thus taking that into account the management board should have taken a deeper look at the situation. By the Union, the Board solely believed the words from the employer witnesses which should not happen and should find a remedy to the problem. The management board with the policies for the employees has taken the right decision by terminating Mr. Burrell’s for his action against racism and violating the policies as an educator. The disciplinary action from the management is one of the major requirements for the school to establish a pleasant workspace for the other employees. Mr. Burrell’s not only violated the policies as a teacher but also tried to spread ‘hate sheet’ according to the management which should not be allowed at any cost by the board to maintain the regulation at school. According to the management board, the allegations against Mr. Burrell’s can be sorted as spreading sheets at school without permission which is not allowed. Secondly telling lie at the board meeting about the distribution of sheets and finally misrepresenting Gilbert Judson as black who is not very close to Mr. Burrell’s.

Solution to Ownership for the Condominium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Solution to Ownership for the Condominium - Essay Example One resident, a 68 year old woman named Lillian Williams was reported to have expressed her concern for the molds in the next door unit that already contaminated and ruined her personal belongings.The root cause for the problem could be pinpointed to change in ownership for the condominium. The report by Tracy dated April 11, 2011 revealed that buyers for units in the condominium were attracted to purchase under â€Å"a complicated reverse-mortgage deal backed by the federal government† (Tracy, par. 10). Further, it was stated that â€Å"the former owner of Catalina Isles, Angel Lage of South Florida, has said he has no responsibility for the place because he does not have a financial stake in it anymore. The complex is owned by a homeowners association that relies on maintenance fees and rent for income† (Tracy, par. 11). As there have been a number of units that were vacant, the homeowners association could not afford to regularly maintain the place.With the problems identified, the possible alternative course of action should be taken from the perspectives of the local agency that governs community housing problems, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and from the points of views of the residents of the condominium. Since the local inspectors at Orlando have verified the conditions of the units, those units that were found to have violated the codes for housing could be condemned and residents could be forced to be evicted.From the points of views of the residents.... Since the local inspectors at Orlando have verified the conditions of the units, those units that were found to have violated the codes for housing could be condemned and residents could be forced to be evicted. From the points of views of the residents, they can already opt to vacate the place, especially those beyond repair and seek a reverse mortgage program from the HUD. According to the official website of HUD, a reverse mortgage is â€Å"a special type of home loan that lets you convert a portion of the equity in your home into cash. The equity that built up over years of home mortgage payments can be paid to you† (par. 2). The advantage of this option is that the residents would not be subjected to hazards of living in that dire condition. The disadvantages, however, are the need to look for another place to live in, and the hustles of applying for the reverse mortgage with HUD. Further, the reverse mortgage option is only available to homeowners who are 62 years of age or older. Another option for the residents, especially of those units that are still repairable, they should shoulder the costs of maintenance and repair themselves. The advantage of this option is that they would not need for another residential place taking time, money and effort to do so. However, they should contend with the costs of repair and maintenance of the units they occupy. An Orlando tax payer expressed his views on the matter saying that â€Å"unfortunately, the real losers are the American taxpayers. Why doesn't Lillian Williams just fix and maintain her condo? When my roof leaks, I don't call the news, I just fix it. Where in the constitution does it say that I have to pay for Lillian Williams to fix her dang home? Why should I have to pay to fix

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Example for Free

The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy Essay The Reagan Doctrine was the foreign policy in the United States, enacted by President Ronald Reagan. The doctrine was design to eradicate the communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America that were authorized and corroborated by the Soviet Union. This assignment will review by what method the United States delivered open and private backing to guerrilla and resistance movements during the Regan years. Additionally, explain the political doctrine detailed events that occurred in Afghanistan when the Soviet Union invaded. As a final point, this assignment will define the benefits and drawbacks established on the Regan Doctrine. Summarize the Situation of U. S. Diplomatic of the Regan Doctrine During the course of the initial years of the Cold War, Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter all endorsed dogmas against communism in order to enclose it. Ronald Regan prohibited their detente policy in 1979, when the Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan. This alone demonstrated that policies that only contain communism were unproductive. Regan criticized in the compromise policy when it emanated to any communist government. As an alternative, Reagan proposed the Rollback policy. The creation of the Reagan Doctrine moved from containment and dispersal to eradicating all current communist governments. Likewise, the United States wanted to rise and encourage democracy and capitalism in additional of overthrew communist administrations (Conservapedia, 2012). Execution of the Regan Doctrine was to deliver explicit and concealed support to guerrilla and resistance movements in nations were the Soviet Union wanted to feast their communists plan or where eradicate an existing regime (Conservapedia, 2012). The doctrine was in complete operation when The Soviet Union deprived of aggravation and with overpowering force attacked Afghanistan in 1979. This roll back of Soviet control met little resistance from the international community excluding Central America. Internally, Democrats in Congress advised that the Regan Doctrine would ultimately lead to a nuclear war in return; they attempted to hamper and break the enactment of the doctrine (Conservapedia, 2012). Historian Barbara Tuchman differed with Regan confrontation doctrine and desired the United States to follow the stuff goose strategy. This decision was to offer the Soviet Union with consumer goods and all the grain they needed. Nonetheless, in spite of Regans lack of foreign policy qualifications his detection to stop the â€Å"Evil Empire† would not deter him. Nevertheless, several people thought he was a precarious warmonger (Souza, 1997). Explicate the Regan Doctrine and Specific Actions and Events With the war in Afghanistan into a year, most of the international community believed that the Soviet Union was invincible and to stop them would lead into a nuclear war. In an article written in the Third World Quarterly, by Andrew Hartman titled, The Red Template: US Policy in Soviet-Occupied Afghanistan. â€Å"The broad framework of US foreign policy in the era of the Cold War, as well as other eras, the U. S. must adhere to the bottom line. This means, protecting a constructive investment environment for private business benefits† (Hartman, 2002). In 1981, former Pakistani Dictator and General Mohammed Zia al-Haq, understood US Policy bottom line. In a meeting with William Casey, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the dictator offered Casey with a map of the Near East demonstrating how the Soviet Union occupation is moving towards Iran, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea. General Mohammed proposed that if the US does not interfere, the Soviets would produce great economic disturbance in the region (Hartman). Of course, the CIA recognized that this was not only possible but a fact. The Regan Doctrine not only stops the spread of communism but to eradicate the â€Å"Evil Empire†; is the core essence of U.  S. policy. The subsequent action was that the CIA introduced a concealed war against the Soviet Union. Just as during the Cold War, the Soviets campaign to initiate and increase was met with the reaction of U. S involvement. This state was no different. Describe the effects of these diplomatic efforts for the U. S. and other countries. As stated previously, The US foreign policy is driven by the bottom line. Communism is a threat to a capitalist country, consequently the Reagan Doctrine is only reinforced. US policy makers understood that if the Soviets were permitted to expand towards Iran, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea capitalism and democratic civilizations would be in grave endangerment. The oil rich field in those areas could not be governor by any communist regime. The chief economic motivation for hegemony in Afghanistan, Iran, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea is make sure that the U. S. provide military logistics and support to anti-Soviet armies and or guerrilla and resistance movements. The U. S. iplomatic efforts are to also keep these oil rich countries as a private interest and not under the control of a communism. The fact of U. S. reliance on foreign oil, is reason enough for involvement. An economic failure ripple effect in the Western Hemisphere would have distressed all democratic governments on both sides of the Atlantic ocean as well (Evelyn, 2011). The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Regan Doctrine The Regan Doctrine allowed the advantage of the U. S. to retain revenge for Vietnam and the invasion of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan provided that opportunity which could not be ignored (DSouza, 1997). The Pulitzer-Winning Historian Barbara Tuchman, stated that if Reagan had taken the â€Å"Stuff Goose â€Å"approach when it was offered in 1982, the â€Å"Evil Empire† would most likely still exist (DSouza). The drawbacks of the Regan Doctrine were not in absence in particular. The Iran Contra is perchance the best-known scandal connected with the policies of the Reagan Doctrine. Agreeing to the television program American Experience, broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS), the online article and video titled, â€Å"Regan† stated, â€Å"In 1985, while Iran and Iraq were at war, Iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the United States. The detail that an embargo was established against selling weapons to Iran, and the U. S. broke their own policy to advance their international relations with Lebanon and gain more power in the Middle East was a pressure on Reagan Doctrine. Operating a covert mission to a communist regime was intolerable. Conclusion The Cold War agreeing to former United States, Sectary of State Henry Kissinger defines as, â€Å"the most stunning diplomatic feat of the modern era. † Margaret Thatcher states, â€Å"Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot†. The Afghanistan war by delegations was just another reaction to the Soviets several efforts to expand their socialism. Before Regan, the U. S. policy was only to contain, but as with any untreated disease, the contagion would eventually spread. In the 1985 State of the Union, President Ronald Reagan stated â€Å"We must not break faith with those who are risking their liveson every continent from Afghanistan to Nicaraguato defy Soviet aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth. Support for freedom fighters is self-defense† (Regan, 1985).

The Islamic Concept Of Charity And Security Religion Essay

The Islamic Concept Of Charity And Security Religion Essay The contemporary debate of the charity has been long in the literature Melvin 2009, Ferrari and Khan 2010, Shirazi 1996, Scott 1987 and Waldron 1986. Specifically, the religious zeal and zest revolves around the notion of charity (Iwobi 2009). Islamic concept of charity is not exception for that debate of social welfare and the security (Scott 1987). It emphasizes on the moral values and the contribution to the neglected segment o f the society. However, Islamic concept of charity and social security has never been debated in the light of the moral economy. This paper is intended to give a comparative view about the different notions of the Islamic charity (zakat, sadqah and donation). The concept of charity, in general, is not new because every religion of the world preached that charity. However, the focus of this paper is to highlight the forms of charity in Islam, their differences and their impact on the multiculturalism and the formation of the moral economy. The definition of charity in Islamic tradition differs and it is context specific. However, its aim and goals remain the same. The Quran states: And be steadfast in your prayer and pay charity; whatever good you send forth for your future, you shall find it with Allah, for Allah is well aware of what you do (Al-Quran: Al-Baqara 2:110). Similarly, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: No wealth (of a servant of Allah) is decreased because of charity (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 2247). Charity is the fifth pillar of Islam and its reward will be given in the after world. The charity is not reciprocity for this world, but the world after. The Quran declare the five basic concept of the zakat. These concepts included: infaq (spending benevolently), ihsan (kindness), zakah (purification), sadqah (charitable deed) and khayrat (good deeds). However, Islam does not force anyone to give charity. It is obligatory in the form of zakat and voluntary in the shape of sadqah (charity) and donation. 2. Basic concepts of charity in Islam Islamic charity has three basic concepts: zakat, sadaqah and donation. 2.1 Zakat (alms giving) The zakat (Ø ²Ãƒâ„¢Ã†â€™ÃƒËœÃƒËœÃ‚ ©Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½) is extracted from the word zaka to be pure that denotes purification. The Quran highlights to the purification of wealth and states: Of their wealth take alms to purify and sanctify them (Al-Quran, Al-Tawbah 9:103). The zakat is obligation on a Muslim. It is moral duty of a Muslim to pay zakat at the rate of 2.5% per year. A Muslim cannot deny the zakat. The Quran lists recipients of Zakat: Zakat is for the poor and the needy and those who are employed to administer and collect it, and for those whose hearts are to be won over, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage, and for those who are overburdened with debts and for every struggle in Gods cause, and for the wayfarers: this is a duty ordained by God, and God is the All-Knowing, the Wise. (Al-Quran 9:60). The zakat is given individually to the relatives, neighbors and vulnerable communities. It is also administered collectively: Muslim charity organization, some of the Muslim states regulates the departments which are responsible of the charity (for instance Ministry of Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr in Pakistan) and Muslim associations. Nevertheless, zakat is mandatory to every Muslim (who can pay), but it is willful to pay individually or collectively. 2.2 Sadaqah (charity) The word sadaqah (Ø µÃƒËœÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ÃƒËœÃ‚ ©Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ½) is derived from the Arabic root sadaqah which means to be truthful and hence sadaqah implies engaging in any virtuous and moral act in order to earn happiness of God. The sadaqah has certain principals which a Muslim must follow. One, sadaqah is given in the name of God. Second, the money or the donation should be from the legal sources. Islam discourages the illegitimate (stolen or unethically gained) money or resources. Third, surplus money (beyond the need of a person) is the money of God and Muslims are custodian of it. Therefore, they should spend and return the money to the needy, poor and spend on the ways of God  [4]  . The Quran outlines the charity: Those who (in charity) spend of their goods by night and by day, in secret and in public, have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Al-Quran, Al-Baqarah 2:274). The Quran further highlights: And spend something (in charity) out of the substance which We have bestowed on you, before Death should come to any of you and he should say, O my Lord! Why didst Thou not give me respite for a little while? I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good. But to no soul will Allah grant respite when the time appointed (for it) has come; and Allah is well acquainted with (all) that ye do. (Al-Quran, Al-Munafiqun 63: 10-11). Further, the Quran states: And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive. We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no reward do we desire from you, nor thanks. (Al-Quran, Al Insà ¢n 76:8-9). In another statement, the Quran states: For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward (Al-Quran, Al Hadà ®d 57:18). Sadaqah is important for a number of purposes. It reduces the sins and increases the virtue of a Muslim. It compensates for shortcoming in any negligence in the payment of zakat. For instance, if a person forgets to pay zakat in the past or was guilty to pay the zakat, the sadaqah reduces the burden of the past. Sadaqah give a sense of protection not only the giver but also to the receiver of falling victim of disaster. God pleasure is received through the sadaqah. It is pleasure of the giver of the charity. The person feels happiness and fulfills his/ her obligation to the betterment of the humanity. Model of Islamic Charity Sadqah and donation: Volunteer charity No specification of rate or time Depends upon the capacity of an individual capacity Zakat: Obligatory charity Wealth: (income, earnings and savings) at the rate of 2.5% per anum Agriculture product: Crops (around 10%). Islamic Tresury (Fund): Bait-ul-Mal Spending: Needy, poor (orphans, widows), employees to administer and collect zakat, for those whose hearts are to be won over, captive (prisoners), in debts and scholars, and for the wayfarers. Social Security: Marginalized persons, communities Moral Economy: Good faith, fairness, justice, equality Fig 1.1 Fig 1.1 indicates that Islamic notion of charity is mainly based on the zakat, sadaqah and donation. These donations are collected at the Islamic funds. The fund is used to look after the marginalized community. This welfare is a form of social security. Everything related to the Islamic charity is based on the moral economy. The notion of moral economy is main crux of the charity. 2.3 Donation Third term which is often used is the donation. The donation refers to give money, gift or compensate the person, organization who is in need. A donation is typical a charity and it serves the purpose of humanity. Different words are used for the donation: khairat (Ø ®Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’Ø ± Ø Ø ª) or attya (Ø ¹ÃƒËœÃ‚ ·Ãƒâ€ºÃ…’Û ). These words denote the charity collectively and individually. Islam appreciates the donation to the cause of the humanity. It is normally given at the time of disaster, emergency, people in need, to save a human being, construct an educational institution and to feed the hungry people. 3. Difference between zakat, sadaqah and donation Zakat, sadaqah and donations are different kinds of charities in Islamic ideology. Zakat is the obligatory annual alms-giving which is determined on the basis of the value of ones own wealth. It is calculated 2.5% as per Islamic traditions in an year. The zakat is calculated at the beginning of the Islamic month Ramadan. According to the Islamic scholars, the zakat must be collected from the Muslims. This principal does not apply to the non- Muslims living in a Muslim state. It is mandatory and has strict verdict to pay the zakat, however, without any penalty for it. Zakat is responsibility of the only person who owns wealth. It is liable on the individual and the family. However, the sadaqah is a charity that is given beside the zakat contribution over the surplus wealth. It is volunteer act and without any percentage. Sadaqah is not specified as only monetary terms (feeding the poor and the needy), but also given support to the orphans, widows in the form of advising or counseling. It also includes the volunteer activities for the befit of the community at larger: teaching to the poor, giving sense of good faith and advising them to excel on the right path, the path of God. Similarly, some of the Islamic scholars believe that to form charity organization, construct educational institutions (mosque, school, college, universities) and construction of well (to clean water supply to the community) are the different forms of sadaqah. It can be given on the name of any relative (parents or children), if a person wishes to do so. Nevertheless, the sadaqah is volunteer act of the person and depend upon the capacity and surplus wealth of the person. On the other hand, the donation is neither time specific nor it is mandatory or obligatory. It is volunteer activity of a person. It significantly differs from the zakat, but close to the sadaqah. Nevertheless, these three types of the charity contribute to the welfare of the humanity altogether. 4. Comparative view of charity: Development of moral economy Islamic notion of charity (in its different forms) generates a moral economy. This is the economy which is based on the good faith and welfare of the humanity. In line with Bollig (1998) and Thompsons (1971, 1993) notion of moral economy. Islamic charity gives the following notion of charity. 4.1 Islamic charity: Moral injection Benthall (1999) highlights the Quranic injection of charity. According to Benthall the Islamic system of almsgiving (zakat) is more organized than other societies. For him, the zakat is closely associated with the prayers and the worship of God, therefore, the Muslim are morally obliged to pay the zakat to the poor, to the needy as per Islamic conception. He argued that Zakat can be distributed in poor, needy, orphans, widows, divorcees, prisoners and their families, unemployed and homeless people, students, those who cannot afford to marry. It is also for the disasters victims and those in need of free medicine or dignified funerals of a person who need it (Benthall 1999:31). Therefore, the Islamic charity is a moral injection to work for the betterment of the humanity. 4.2 Zakat: Powerful instrument to poverty eradication Zakat denotes growth, extension and purification and it is a donation on wealth and agriculture product. The zakat is collected as per nature of the wealth. It is collected to fulfill the tire needs of the marginalized segment of the society. The zakat is fundamental creed of Islam: It obligatory act of worship (Mohammad 1991). According to Mohammad (1996), the zakat is a system that has potential to eradicate poverty and inequalities (1991:1119). The zakat system is well organized system for the development of a country but it can be more organized for poverty eradication and for the maintenance of a society like Pakistan (Mohammad 1991). Similarly, a survey was conducted in 1990/91 of the household Integrated Economic Survey in Pakistan and findings revealed that the zakat and usher were the significant to contribute the lives of the people (Shirazi 1996). According to the survey, 39000 zakat committees were working with 250 thousand volunteers (Shirazi 1996:166). The zakat contribution on 1981/1982 from 845.85 million Pakistani rupees to 4655.9 million in 1993/94 (Shirazi 1996:170). The money was spending to substance allowance for poor (708.622 million), rehabilitation (245.669 million Pakistani rupees) and 1738234 people benefited from the zakat contribution (Shirazi 1996:185). However, the latest figures on the issue are not available. The development of the Islamic charity and its faire distribution could lead to alleviate and then eradicate poverty in the Muslim countries. However, the institution either do not exist or unable to deliver the services effectively. At some places, this institution was suppressed due to the fear of the dominance and power politics. Nevertheless, the Islamic charity has potential to contribute to the welfare of the humanity. 4.3 Charity: Road towards the social justice According to Bremer (2004:1) the development of any society local resources are necessary. Islamic societies developed over a range of charity organizations to in order to address the needs of the needy and poor. These organizations are zakat boards, wakf (endowment) and diverse local structures reflecting the richness of Islamic culture from Dakar to Davao (Ibid). For her, a strong civil society is now widely recognized as an important pillar supporting democratic institutions in the West (Bremer 2004:2). The strength of the civil society leads towards the development of the democratic institutions. According to her, foreign aid and a government is not enough for development in Muslim societies. Bremer outlines that in recent years USAID has funded the creation of an NGO service center that provides technical assistance and training to civil society organizations, and has granted financial support directly to NGOs ranging from business associations to community development groups (B remer 2004:3). For her, this development contribution can be significantly increased with the assistance of Islamic charity in Muslim societies. Ultimately, this charity leads towards the establishment of the social justice system (Bremer 2004). The whole notion of charity revolves around the notion of social justice in the Muslim world. The charity is the strong instrument to bring in the social justice. It helps the marginalized population within the society and tries to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. 4.4 Charity: Funding for free education According to Blanchard (2007) religious school work as a charity organization in Muslim countries. They are source of providing education to the vulnerable groups, especially to the madrasas (religious schools). Madrasas offer a free education, room, and board to their students, and thus they appeal to impoverished families and individuals. On the whole these religious schools are supported by private donations from Muslim believers through a process of alms-giving known in Arabic as zakat. The practice of zakatone of the five pillars of the Islamic faithprescribed that a fixed proportion of ones income be given to specified charitable causes, and traditionally a portion of zakat has endowed religious education (2007:4). Blanchard (2007) provides information that in Pakistan Madrasas are being observed by the government regarding their finance sources after 9/11 attack in the United States. He reveals that the madrasas are contributing to provide the education to the poorest. He found that madrasas are registered in Pakistan and their financial assistance is observed by the Government of Pakistan since August 2006 (Blanchard 2007:5). Nonetheless, the charity could fill the gap of the education. 4.5 Charity: Belief and health seeking behaviour A study highlights the importance of the sadaqah in health seeking behaviour in Pakistan (see Midway, Tabasco, Hani, and Khan 2010). This study revealed those patients who strongly belief and practice sadaqah (charity) feel better and believe that they can recover their health after giving charity to the poor. According to this research, almost 85% of the respondent thought and gave charity. The study reveals that the sadaqah is usually giving in the form of money (85.2%) clothes (49.2%) and sacrificing an animal (65.5%). Almost 92% of the respondents relate the belief and practice of sadaqah giving in the hope of recovery from illness. Nevertheless, charity gives internal strength to the patients and they believe that they can have better health recovery after giving the charity. 4.6 Islamic charity is universal or specific notion of welfare: There are two views about the Islamic charity. One, it is localized notion of welfare and limited to the only Muslims and the Muslim societies. The Muslims are contributors as well as consumer of the charity. This perspective is under criticism among a large segment of the Muslim scholars (see Benthall 1999). However, the second point of view is that Islamic charity is universal and every human being without border, creed and dogma can benefit from the charity. However, the charity contribution is applied only on Muslims. The Muslim contributes to the charity and gives equal importance to the whole human being in order to disburse the charity (Benthall 1999). However, they do not impose on the non- Muslims. Nevertheless, only Muslims are contributor of the Islamic charity. However, it is equally important to give the charity to the non-Muslims. There is no specification of creed or dogma in the Islamic charity (except zakat). The zakat is limited to the Muslim societies. The donation are without any religious affiliation or association. 5. Discussion There is wide spread opportunity to get resources in order to feed the marginalized segment of the society, as per the notion of Islamic charity, then why the Muslim countries are dependent upon foreign aid is a question which is often raised. In fact, there are two major reasons of the dependency of the Muslim societies on the foreign aid and remain in the vicious cycle of poverty and under development. 5.1 Collapse of the charity institution: Change in the charity institutions Muslim countries depend upon the foreign aid because they were unable to maintain their institutions. Such institutions were collapsed during the colonization or soon after (Bremer 2004). In the eyes of the colonial masters, the Muslim charity institutions were the symbol of Muslim legacy and they were a source of the rise of the Muslim power. Therefore, it was necessary to abolish such institution from the Muslims societies (Bremer 2004). Especially, the zakat institution was under strong scrutiny during the colonial era because it was believed that this institution supports the freedom struggle. The colonial powers developed the institution of welfare instead of the zakat institution. However, this welfare institution, developed by the colonial powers, was perceived as not ones own. It was considered as a symbol to get money, but without any legacy (Bremer 2004). It was just perceived as the symbol of the colony and soon after become the source to collect the money by hook or by crook. People wanted to get benefited from the social welfare but not were ready to pay it back. Therefore, it was not much institutionalized as the zakat was spread during the Muslim era in the Middle East and in the Muslim countries before the 19th century. However, the Islamic charity institutions are believed as part of the worship of the God. Therefore, there were rare cases of the unfairness or corruption. They have strong check and balance to maintain the charity among the Muslim charity organizations. Nonetheless, the change in the charity institution brought mistrust and unfairness in the charity. Many of the Muslims societies became the prey of it and remain in the vicious cycle of poverty and under development. 5.2 Collapse of morality: Change to develop a new morality based on materialism Islam appreciates the giving hands (charity giver) and discourages the charity recipient. According to Islam, giving hand is better than the receiving hand. However, current scenario does not reflect the basic ideology of the charity of Islam. Despite of the fact that the zakat remain as an institution among the Muslim societies at individual level. However, it was not developed at the state level after the colonial era. It was perceived that state is in the hands of someone else (colonial masters or their local representatives) and there was not any institutionalized method of the zakat collection and its distribution. This mistrust or non-confidence led to collapse the real notion of the moral economy among the Muslims. In Islamic morality, there are two sets of rights and obligation for a Muslim: the rights to worship God and the right to serve the humanity. In Islam, the right of God may be put aside by the God, if He wants to do so. However, the right to serve the humanity cannot be neglected until unless the fellow human beings do not forgive it. It is exclusive related with the people and their rights. They (people, especially poor and the needy) have to forgive their rights to the fellow Muslims. So the Islamic moral values exclusive emphasize on the welfare and social security of the humanity and the marginalized group of the society. However, the collapse of the Islamic morality of charity is dominated phenomenon in the current era. It does contradict on the basic philosophy of the Islam that spends everything to the humanity which is surplus. However, the materialism and greed for wealth is dominant in the current culture of the Muslim societies. It is depicted in the life style and in the emerging value system. Consequently, it is affecting the basic notion of the Islamic charity and changing the moral economy of the Muslim in the contemporary era. 7. Conclusion Islamic concept of charity is much associated with the Muslim societies. It forms a moral economy and moral value systems (give charity and worship to the God). It also strengthens the notion of close social networking of the Muslims. However, it does not neglect the humanity at large. It gives a due share to provide the help to the people of the world. The charity is given to the needy, poor, scholars, charity organizations and welfare of the society at large. However, criticism to retain the Muslim charity among Muslim is not exclusive from the discussion of the charity. Dominant point of view, however, is in favour of the humanity rather than the welfare of the any specific community. Islamic charity begins from the individual level. It creates the space for the state. However, it does not exclusive involve the state to regulate the charity. The charity in Islam is equally important to the worship of God. Islam emphasize the worship of God (right to obey the God) and the service for the humanity (the rights of the poor and the needy). The charity is the right of the fellow human beings who are in need and it cannot be neglected as per Islamic moral economy. The Islamic charity is grounded in the concept of the moral economy.

Burger Kings Diverse Culture Of Employees Commerce Essay

Burger Kings Diverse Culture Of Employees Commerce Essay I have chosen this business as a report. Moreover the main thing to choose this is that I am also working there from last 8 month ago. So thats why these area very well. It is also provide lots of education skills which are useful in my study. So in this is a good ideal business to do the report writing. I like to do work there. Different types of culture people working in burger king so I learn lots of things in store. Firstly we learn how to communicate with others whoever they are customers or staff. If we b honest or in patience then we will success in future. It provides verity of food to people of their taste. Like in burger king we can get also vegetable burger which is most like Indians. McDonald and others do not provide vegetables burgers. So this why I like this is well. People also get cheaper food in burger king as compare to others. Its start just burger from $2.50. Which is cheaper than others and lots of enjoy this. It is provide play grounds for children where child plays and enjoy their meals. INTRODUCTION: Burger King, is known as  BK .It is a industry of fast food   restaurants. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties in 1955, its two Miami-based franchisees,  David Edgerton  and  James McLamore, purchased the company and renamed it Burger King. Over the next half century the company would change hands four times, with its third set of owners, a partnership of  TPG Capital,  Bain Capital, and  Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, taking it public in 2002. Main features of burger king Chicken burgers Beef burgers Chicken salad Kids meals Onion rings Desserts Services: Drive thru Lobby Take away Play ground Dining outside History of burger king The burger found in 1953. After purchase the civil civil liberties to two pieces of tools called Insta technology, the two opened their first stores around a cooking device known as the Insta-Broiler. The Insta-Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers, they required all of their franchises to carry the device.  Ã‚  The firms strategy for turning the chain around incorporated a new advertising agency and new ad campaigns, a revamp menu strategy. This franchise also open their web site .which is also beneficial for the people to update their meals. Communication in burger king In burger king employees does their work as a group and in every shifts there is shift manager in store to look after all the staff. More over for takes order on drive thru there are head set to listen the orders of customer and gives them response. When the company launches any new meal then they provide posters to all stores and from store managers put that on wall or on glass in lobby to see the special offers .they also put new meals poster on drive thru menu. Service I think burger king provides good service than others because on drive thru they have to give meals in 45 second after takes money. If they does not gives the orders then according to rules they have to give free big burger to customer. Furthermore they provide some specials meals such as just few months ago they provide 5 dollars meal. In that meal they gives 1 beef burger.1 desert.1 fries and1 drink. Findings 1.1Organizational culture Cultures plays very vital role in the organization. No doubt it is multicultural organization. As I have seen in burger king different employees works from different cultures. It also helps to communicate, as in new Zealand employees from different part of world comes and works in burger king .more over burger king also teach their employees about their social and professional ethics . Like in burger king each crew member communicate with the manager and by this he affected by this. Organizational explain how an organization intends to go about achieving its mission. Company must identify its mission as increasing market share and making a profit. Goals of burger king World largest quick restaurant Company makes different commitments for the for safety Sales increase threw the promotions 1.2 Business demographics Training period teach more everyone in burger king. Seniors always shared their knowledge with juniors, which is very helpful for juniors. It gives experience to the new crews. When the any person starts work then have little bit nervous. Manager should conclude that so they work in simple mode. Any business can run when it is well prepared like burger king. Because burger king has own rules which every one of staff are follows. Training period teach more everyone in burger king Senior always shared their knowledge with the junior worker .it gives lots of experience to the new worker. Manager depends upon the capacity and how much busy of it. Manager is that person who teaches next lesson to the crew members. 1.2.1 Crew Trainer Crew trainer is person who trains the crew member and gives his experience and basic knowledge of workplace to the crew person. So trainer gives the basic knowledge like how to make burgers, how to clean workplace etc. crew trainer need to give good skills of their workers so they learn good in begging. 1.2.2. Managers The number of managers depends on capacity of burger king as how much busy it is. After passing crew training stage crew become crew trainer and he will be able to give training to other trainees. Therefore training manager is a person who teaches next lesson to crew trainers. He also shares his knowledge and experience with trainees. 1.2.3. Organizations Manager He is the person who has all responsibilities of restaurants like in our group there are five restaurants he is the big boss of all restaurants. He is most experienced person in the restaurant and he had all knowledge about restaurants. He manage all the staff and the store for good work . 1.3 Group dynamics As we know in each and every organization works with the help of groups. it improves the communication skills of employees due to work place. Such as when a crew member takes the orders of customer they must have good English speaking and listening skills. Which impress the customers? 1.4 Meeting management The communication which we use in meetings of organization related to our profession. It is good for us in future. Every Organization plan meeting to do something good for company. So when doing a meeting it is important every member who is attending meetings must follow some rules. Sometime meeting not goes well because of not planned well. So every meeting should have some time, when its necessary. I saw our store manager accent is very different for others and he speaks so fast. Some time we could not understand well what he spoke. It was big communication barrier in the working place. 1.5 Purpose: The purpose of communication should clear for all the meeting attainders. In that we get the knowledge about different skills and good work. Burger king providing good services to their customers and give them happiness. The purpose of communication should clear for all the meeting attended. In that we get the knowledge about different skill and good work. Company use some these methods to be in touch with all type of people like customer, employees, investors, etc. from Australia to all over in new Zealand they follow these methods. 1.6 Networks: The organization is connected with internet for everyone and they use emails, letters, posters and other advertising material to connect with people. The internal network of the organization is connected by LAN, WAN. 1.7 Stakeholders: The basic definition of the stakeholders is any group or individual that can be affecting the organization or affected by the organizational progress. Stakeholder is the person that has any type of interest in an origination by direct or indirect way. The organization should have proper communication with the stakeholders to development of the organization. Stakeholder is that person who takes stake in organization because it can be affected by the organization, action, objectives and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors, employees and government etc. 1.8Recommendation: According to me crew members need to get all information about store like which does managers. So with the help of that they would not be getting any confusion. Moreover is also increase their motivation skills and their experience .company need to place rubbish bins outside in parking because lots of people put rubbish in the parking. So maintained person need to do lots of things in morning. Company need to give more chances to their crews and as well as give them chance for promotions. According to me they have to add reward consumer and they should provide specials days like birthday or others days which are necessary in every person life. Interact with stakeholders using appropriate communication channels. If they have a preference for email, use email to contact them. If the goal is to change behavior two ways communication may be required, such as in person or telephone contact with stakeholders.

Urban Legend of Pemberton Park :: Urban Legends Ghost Stories

Salisbury’s Pemberton Park in the Dark Since I come from the Eastern Shore of this state, I was surprised to hear a ghost story I was previously unaware of. The story takes place in a park in Salisbury. The person who told me the story is a 19-year-old sophomore at the University, and we spoke about it one evening after dinner. He believes it to be true, because one of his friend’s siblings has apparently experienced the ghost firsthand. I tape-recorded his narrative: In Pemberton Park, about 30 years ago†¦exactly 30 years ago in a few weeks, actually, a young student got his heart broken. His girlfriend had loved him, or so it seemed, but†¦she found another guy. And the girl he had loved so much told him that their love was now dead. So he decided that he would be dead also. He walked to Pemberton Park and took a stroll along the lake, far away from everyone else, especially the girl who had hurt him. He was happy there, alone. But he dragged a heavy rope behind him anyway. He found a perfect tree above the bridge on the river. That night he hung himself out of hurt and hatred. But just as he jumped, he realized that he didn’t hate it there. He awoke the next day and saw a strange sight—his own body! He soon realized that he had died of sadness in a place of happiness, and he was destined to remain there the rest of his life, alone. But then something happened—Pemberton Park became popular. Especially among couples. Lovers would walk holding hands and the young man would sit silently, jealous and mad that they were invading his space. It happened more and more, but he did nothing. Nothing†¦nothing†¦until one night, almost twenty-five years ago, when his old girlfriend came to Pemberton Park with her new lover. When he saw her, he was filled with rage. He could not take it any more. Night fell, and his old girlfriend kissed her new boyfriend. It was her last kiss. After a huge manhunt, the police found her body, with her boyfriend’s, hanging over the river by the bridge. That’s why you aren’t supposed to wander deep into Pemberton Park this time of the year†¦and especially not with someone you love.

Fort Bragg: My First Road Trip Essay -- Personal Narratives Freedom Es

Fort Bragg: My First Road Trip When you are a teenager you reach a certain point in your life when you want to be independent. You get this feeling that you want to do something on your own to prove you can. When I was seventeen, in the fall of 2001, I had that feeling that I needed to do something on my own. I needed an adventure to show everyone that I was old enough to be on my own for once. I needed something exciting and new. I talked to my friend Annie and we came up with a plan for our adventure. We decided to go on a road trip to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and this is my story. It was our first road trip with no adults to watch over us or to help us in any way. Annie had a cousin named Steve who was a paratrooper at Fort Bragg. Steve was getting ready to leave for Kosovo to go on a peace keeping mission in November. Steve would be gone for six months and Annie wanted to see him before he left. The reason we picked the month of October to go on our road trip was because Annie’s parents were in Germany visiting her sister. If her parents were home then they would not of allowed us to go to North Carolina. Annie called her parents and told them that we were going camping for the weekend. They said Annie could go and to call them when we got to the camp site. Annie’s parents did not trust her, so of course we had to lie a little bit. My mom, on the other hand, was a pretty understanding person so we told her where we were really going. She said that it was okay for us to go, but she did not want me to take my car. I told her that we were taking Annie’s parents Cadillac, but we really did not because they would notice the mileage. Our first choice of a car was Annie’s Volkswage... ... wait was and they said twenty-five minutes, so we put our name on the list. We were shocked; we thought that the wait would be a lot longer than twenty-five minutes. We went outside and sat on a bench in front of the restaurant while we waited. They finally called our name and we went inside. We ordered our food and made small talk while we waited. Then it was time to say goodbye. We followed them to the exit of the base and beeped as we drove away. Road trips are fun and exciting especially if you are on your own. The road trip to Fort Bragg was an excellent adventure and I will always remember it. The trip was also a good experience for my first road trip. Sure some embarrassing events occurred during the trip, but it was all in fun. I can not wait until my next adventure. I know it will be as wild and crazy, if not more, as my first road trip was.

Organisation Structure Essay

The structure is totally centralized. The strategic leader makes all key decisions and most communication is done by one on one conversations. It is particularly useful for new (entrepreneurial) business as it enables the founder to control growth and development. They are usually based on traditional domination or charismatic domination in the sense of Max Weber’s tripartite classification of authority. [edit] Bureaucratic structures Weber (1948, p. 214) gives the analogy that â€Å"the fully developed bureaucratic mechanism compares with other organizations exactly as does the machine compare with the non-mechanical modes of production. Precision, speed, unambiguity, †¦ strict subordination, reduction of friction and of material and personal costs- these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly bureaucratic administration. †[5] Bureaucratic structures have a certain degree of standardization. They are better suited for more complex or larger scale organizations. They usually adopt a tall structure. Then tension between bureaucratic structures and non-bureaucratic is echoed in Burns and Stalker[6] distinction between mechanistic and organic structures. It is not the entire thing about bureaucratic structure. It is very much complex and useful for hierarchical structures organization, mostly in tall organizations. [edit] Post-bureaucratic The term of post bureaucratic is used in two senses in the organizational literature: one generic and one much more specific [7]. In the generic sense the term post bureaucratic is often used to describe a range of ideas developed since the 1980s that specifically contrast themselves with Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy. This may include total quality management, culture management and matrix management, amongst others. None of these however has left behind the core tenets of Bureaucracy. Hierarchies still exist, authority is still Weber’s rational, legal type, and the organization is still rule bound. Heckscher, arguing along these lines, describes them as cleaned up bureaucracies [8], rather than a fundamental shift away from bureaucracy. Gideon Kunda, in his classic study of culture management at ‘Tech’ argued that ‘the essence of bureaucratic control – the formalisation, codification and enforcement of rules and regulations – does not change in principle†¦.. it shifts focus from organizational structure to the organization’s culture’. Another smaller group of theorists have developed the theory of the Post-Bureaucratic Organization. [8], provide a detailed discussion which attempts to describe an organization that is fundamentally not bureaucratic. Charles Heckscher has developed an ideal type, the post-bureaucratic organization, in which decisions are based on dialogue and consensus rather than authority and command, the organization is a network rather than a hierarchy, open at the boundaries (in direct contrast to culture management); there is an emphasis on meta-decision making rules rather than decision making rules. This sort of horizontal decision making by consensus model is often used in housing cooperatives, other cooperatives and when running a non-profit or community organization. It is used in order to encourage participation and help to empower people who normally experience oppression in groups. Still other theorists are developing a resurgence of interest in complexity theory and organizations, and have focused on how simple structures can be used to engender organizational adaptations.

Employee Relations Management

Employee Relations is a process of managing diversity, flexibility and change, which involves maintaining employer-employee relationships that contribute to satisfactory productivity, motivation, and morale. Employee Relations is concerned with preventing and resolving problems involving individuals, which arise out of or affect work situations.Employee Relations cover all areas such as employer & employee relationship, communication, employee participation and involvement, developments in collective bargaining, equal opportunities, grievances handling, disciplinary management, health and safety, industrial relations and employment protection law, organizational change and people, personnel and recruitment and quality of working life etc. Today employers should now be undertaking an in-depth review of their approach to employment relations.Organisations which out-perform their competitors do so because they apply a coherent set of people management and development practices appropria te to their needs. Successful organisations are increasingly those which have a constructive relationship with employees and a management approach which enables them to develop and draw on the full potential of their people. Considerable improvements have been made to the practice of employment relations in recent years. People are working hard and enjoy going to work. They want to learn.However, while the damaging effects of poor relations have been radically reduced, many organisations are failing to secure the positive benefits that are available from improving them. Economic pressures dictate that organisations will change more frequently than in the past. Technology and the demand for customised services are shifting managerial focus towards knowledge management and people as their key differentiators. This will require substantial changes in the understanding and behaviour of the people who work in organisations.Employees will need to extend their skills and use them more effe ctively. But change initiatives often fail to deliver the results expected of them, largely because people issues have been neglected or not fully thought through. The test of employment relationships in the future will be their effect on managing change and eliciting employees’ willing contribution. 2. EVOLUTION OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS From the beginning of organized work activity when first one person directed the work of others, the subject of industrial relationsUntil the end of the 1970s, the acceptance of adversarial industrial relations, and therefore the need to resolve conflict, as being the natural order led both management and unions to from develop collective bargaining to a fine art. At the end of the 1970s, the employee relations entered into a new era. Disorderly collective bargaining played its part in bringing down the elected government and marked the start of a new era during which much of the legislation underpinning trade union influence was removed and rep laced by new legislation limiting the scope for damaging industrial action.Instead, a growing coalition of interests aimed at the maintenance of industrial peace and price stability in the context of substantial inward investment resulted in their making social partnership work at the national level. Similarly, in other major countries in Europe, social partnership at national level did not break down in the way in which it did in the UK. There is no doubt that attitudes to work and relationships at work have changed since the year 1970s.The driving force for much change has been economic and the agenda has been framed by managers. Working patterns and practices have become more flexible and managers are using people more effectively. The term ‘Employee Relations’ was conceived as a replacement for the term ‘Industrial Relations’. Industrial relations is generally understood to refer the relationship between employers and employees collectively. The decline of industrial relations can be measured on number of different dimensions.From peak of some 12 million plus union memberships has fallen to around 7 million today. Between 1980 and 2000, the coverage of collective agreements contracted from over three-quarters to under a third of employed workforce. At the same time, the range of issues over which bargaining took place decreased massively. The content of collective bargaining has been reflected in a dramatic reduction in industrial actions since 1980. 3. IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON EMPLOYEE RELATIONSWhile there is widespread agreement that changes in the international economy associated with globalisation have important consequences for employment relations, there are fewer consensuses about their nature and significance. One view is that globalization has created pressures for convergence between different countries in regard to employment relations. Another is that national level institutions play a mediating role in maintaining c ross-national differences, leading to divergence.A third school rejects the convergence/divergence dichotomy and argues that complex interactions between global and national (or local) forces shape employment relations outcomes. 4. CHALLENGES IN 21ST CENTURY Customers have become more demanding. They want increasingly high quality service and they want to know that the latest technology at the lowest price is available. The achievement of business goals and financial returns is increasingly depend on delivery by organizations employees, where the employee relations play major role.The communication is the glue that makes policies real when they are ineffective. Two-way communication in employee relations is highly necessary in today’s situations. Getting communication right involves both professionalism and persistence. The qualities required include focusing on positive behaviours and outcomes, taking a positive problem solving approach, anticipating problems, recommending s olutions and being able to offer sound advice to senior management on implementations. The ability to manage conflict remains a key issue for many organizations.Mediations as a method or technique of resolving work place issues represents an important shift from the traditional industrial relations framework, with its emphasis on formal discipline and grievance procedures, towards more of a ‘win-win’ approach consisted with the philosophy of human resources management. Commitment and employee engagement are crucial to performance but they are not consistently high enough in HR- priorities. The employee information and consultation are helpful in raising the profile of employee voice and involvement.More effort need to be put into training and supporting employees to achieve their job objectives. As examples, team-working and change management as the basis off establishing and maintaining motivation and commitment, is among one of critical role of employee relations mana gers these days. 5. CONCLUSION Employee relation is maintaining employee – employer relationship that contributing to satisfactory productivity, motivating employees and ensuring healthy employee morale.The most successful organisations are those which have constructive relationships with employees and a management approach which enables them to develop and draw on the full potential of their people. Considerable improvements have been made to the practice of employment relations in recent years. People are working hard and enjoy going to work. They want to learn. However, while the damaging effects of poor relations have been radically reduced, many organisations are failing to secure the positive benefits that are available from improving them.

Macroeconomic Performance of the Ten Countries Essay

What was Expected from the Governments and Central Banks of These New Entrants? On May 1, 2004, ten Central European and Mediterranean countries joined the EU and their names are as follows: Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia.   This raised the enlargement to 25 countries that comprise of 450 million people, which is more than the population of the U.S. and Japan combined. [1] This accession will compel the new member states governments to utilize the EU legislation without much exception and will enable them to enjoy all the advantages that go with it, and once they go through a certain period and show improvements, they will be included in Schengen area and the euro zone. In addition, from the year 2004 to 2006 they are entitled to receive a payment of 45 billion euros in a form of a community aid and 30.7 billion euros in a form of payment appropriations.   As a result, according to two treaties that were signed in Amsterdam and Nice that were the basis through which the enlargement was conducted, the intent of the whole arrangement was to make the enlarged Europe more democratic, transparent, and effective calling on all governments to work on these areas. The end result of the enlargement had been labeled as a historical precedence that will change the dimensions of the continent and it is believed to put the division of the past behind ushering in democracy, freedom, and stability to the whole region.   At the same time it is believed that it creates opportunities for all involved where the early 15 nations business share and economical activity had increased, while the new entrants have also reaped economic advantage that was not available for them before the assesstion. What had come into existence is a union of 450 million people and had already represented at the time the union was effected one-fourth of the world wealth, giving the region a new leading economic power.   In addition, the role the continent is playing in the international scene had gotten enhancement, especially in security and defense policy. [2] The new states and their governments that are joining the Union will have to adhere to the Copenhagen Criteria and it has three components.   The first component is any of the nations that are joining the union should reach a certain level of stability and should have establishments that oversee and guarantee democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and the observing of the rights of minorities.   Then the second one which is an economic criteria stipulates that the nations adhere to the principle of the market economy and have a mechanism that enables them to deal with competitive pressure and market forces that will be directed at them after joining the EU. What is called acquis communautaire adoption criterion anticipates that the candidates should put themselves in a position to shoulder the membership’s obligations, as well as a strict adherence to the principles of the political, economic, and monetary union.   Through all this process the Union is responsible for evaluating, recommending, and approving of the states’ performance and it will evaluate the capacity of the Union to absorb more members without affecting the normal functioning of the existing Union members. The process starts when European countries apply to join the Union and that will be evaluated based on how the applicant nations with the guidance of their respective governments meet the Copenhagen political and economic criteria, and the accession is granted only when the requirements are met.   The nations through their governments will have to agree to apply the EU legislation that is over 80,000 pages from day one, even if there are a few exceptions that will allow the new entrants a leeway as long as it is not going to intervene with the smooth operation of the activities of the other members.   When the EU is convinced that the applying nations meet all the requirements of the Copenhagen criteria the next phase will kick in, which is the signing of the accession treaty. [3] The ten Central European and Mediterranean states, through macroeconomic plans that were introduced and carried out by their respective governments had gone through this process before getting permission to join the Union.   And once they joined the Union there are more questions arising because it is difficult to say what currency they should be using and as long as they meet the Maastricht criteria they are expected to the join the euro zone by abandoning their own currency. Here the various central banks play a leading role because it is known that it will take them some time to meet the requirements and while working to meet the requirements they will have to focus on their structural and economic reforms so that they will manage to have a better convergence in both nominal and real terms.   Since the other requirement before joining the euro is entering the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System, the ERM II will require them to abandon their own monetary policy. It does not necessarily mean this route fits everyone since the rigorous stability requirement applied by the exchange rate could derail the existing stand of their current account, simply because when there is appreciation in their currency it will affect their competitiveness, because of the high price they will be forced to charge.   The other worry is joining the ERM II should not result in overvaluing their currency whereby they will be obligated to devalue their currency in the two years test period.   From what had been witnessed most of the nations had an open economy that was heavily reliant on trade with EU countries and if they can eliminate the transaction cost in any way, which would include currency exchange, they will embrace it. [4] The final outcome was from the ten countries that joined the Union Slovenia, Lithuania, and Estonia were able to enter the ERM II and were expected to join the euro zone on January 1st, 2007, simply because they had met most of the criteria. But the only nation that managed to join the euro was Slovenia showing that the others did not meet some of the requirements, they need more time to make the adjustments, and might be able to join the euro by the year 2008. The other three nations Latvia, Cyprus, and Malta had also joined ERM II and could join the euro in 2008.   The remaining members Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland are deemed to wait longer to better meet the criteria.   [5] The Macroeconomic Policy These Nations had been Following After Joining the Union. To address this question starting from the Central European nation that just joined the euro zone in January 1, 2007 might shed light on the areas that the nation did right while the other two nations Lithuania and Estonia will have to wait at least up to 2008 to be evaluated if they would meet the requirement of the ERM II.   The nation had $17,290 per capita income in 2005, it had a population of two million people, and it was among the most successful transition economies.   The nation’s GDP per capita in 2005 was 81% of the other EU members, which must have helped it to get a high score, since it is the only nation that has such a high percentage. According to the report the prosperity of Slovenia is due to its gradual and consensual approach to reform, which has made it different from the other nine countries.  Ã‚  Ã‚   It has worked hard to attain this position although lately its competitiveness is eroding.   Another area that had lagged was foreign direct investment (FDI) due to the slower pace and the general reluctance to interact with foreign sources resulting the FDI to be 1.2% of GDP between 1997-2005.   Even if it had reached once to 7% of GDP it had gone back to .02% of GDP in 2005 and this falling behind is curtailing the advancement the nation could have attained, yet it did not prevent it from joining the euro, simply because the possibility is within reach. [6] As far as economic growth is concerned the nation has averaged 3.9% it the mentioned period and had managed to fend off macroeconomic imbalances that were commonplace with the other transitional economies and its tight fiscal and monetary policy had resulted in allowing it to have a near balanced budget with a 1.7% budget and 1.1% current deficit, another good performance that was coupled with an enhanced foreign trade. The country also had managed to bring inflation under control and it had it at a single-digit since 1996.   Another advantage the nation had was it had a strong performance where the GDP growth was at 3.9% fueled by a rise in foreign demand.   In all this, inflation was under control at 2.5% and that was attained by allowing wage to lag behind productivity growth, by making up for oil price increase by introducing excise tax, and by attaining a stable exchange rate. [7] The next nation to look at is Lithuania which was among the three nation that were slated to join the eruo in 2007,   but has not made it and looking at its performance might shade light on how it fared.   The first glaring difference between the two countries is the per capita income where in Lithuania it was $7,210 in 2005 even if the population in Slovenia was only 1.4 million, whereas the population in Lithuania is 3.4 million. Other than that the GDP growth of 7.5% was much higher and it was the fastest growing economy in the region. It also had much more to export, which included refined oil, machinery and equipment, and textile.   It is not different than the other countries that are heavily dependant on the euro zone for their exports, the average being 60%.   The other advantage it had over Slovenia was it had enjoyed a peak GDP growth of 10% in 2003 since it was in a better position to create wage growth by bringing down unemployment from 17% down to 6% and in doing that it had got help from the EU fund that it was entitled for joining the Union in 2004. At the same time, it had a much better domestic demand that is enabling it to drive its economy.   Yet, there is a sign of heating of the economy as there is shortage of workers since they are migrating to the UK and Ireland.   After joining ERM II it had shown an impressive commitment to adopt the euro and was able to liberalize its pricing and most of its trades had been directed to the EU zone.  Ã‚   The other factors such as privatization had been taken care of to the point where all factors of production are in the private hands, and it had also been working in the area of FDI that is seeing a steep increase.    If there is another aspect that is holding it back it could the unparalleled poverty level in the nation and it is at 52% purchasing power parity compared to 81% enjoyed by Slovenia.   And one of the reasons that it did not qualify might be at least 16% of its population lives under the poverty line and poverty is widespread in the rural area where it is considered to be up to 57% of the poor are living.   That area might be the reason that contributed to its being held back for a while since all the indicators including health and education are going badly lacking in these regions. [6] Estonia that was in the list to join the euro in January 1, 2007 with the other two nations is a relatively smaller country with a population of 1.35 million and its per capita income is $9,100.   This nation has fewer natural resources and it depends on trade for the most part.   Its main specialty export is telecom.   Its GDP growth performance was not bad at 7.5%. The country had been a main gateways for trade between the Soviet Union and the West that is said to have given it some advantage and because of that the education level and the standard of living of the people was higher that other member countries. In 2005 its GDP growth had reached 9.8% resulting in the heating up of the economy as the unemployment rate had gone down, while at the same time workers are migrating to the other EU countries.   What is driving its economy is the domestic demand that is expanding due to income growth and credit expansion that is also taking export higher.   If there is any problem highlighted it is the overheating of the economy and the current account defect that is at 11% of GDP in 2005 and was at 13% in 2004, which would mean this could be one of the reasons why its plan to join the euro in 2007 had been postponed. [8] The other three nations slated for 2008 to join the euro are Latvia, Cyprus, and Malta.   Latvia has a per capita income of $6,750 and has 2.3 million people where one-third of them are living in the capital city.   The nation has few natural resources and is an importer for the most part and the import includes natural gas, oil, and electricity.   The source of GDP for 2005 was 23% industry, 73% service, and the remaining 4% was from agriculture. The country had some difficulty adjusting after it left the Soviet Union and the situation was turned around by the fiscal discipline the government introduced, where a cap was put to the subsidies enterprises were getting.  Ã‚   The government’s early liberalization effort had enabled the nation to join WTO in 1999.   Overall, the nation had converted itself into a market economy, which enabled it to join the EU in 2004.  Ã‚   Market and price liberalization, privatization, restriction on foreign transaction all are in the right perspective and the result had been positive where privatization is almost complete. Other areas overhauled were the legal system, institutions, and the social safety net.  Ã‚   The GDP growth had made it to 10.2% in 2005 and the unemployment rate was at 8.7% in the same year.   Some of the malice that is affecting the other nations such as low-income level, which was at 47% of the EU average had not spared this nation either.   Because of that labor migration had been escalating after joining the Union which is feared to create a problem in the long run while at the same time the population is aging.   Because of this there is a fear of overheating and the deficit has reached 12.4% while inflation is at 6%, which has contributed to the holding back of the nation from joining the euro and that might be possible in 2010. [6] Cyprus on the other hand has a highly developed infrastructure with a population of 784,000 and with a per capita of $7135.   The macroeconomic policy of the government had focused on meeting the requirement of joining the EU.   There was oil discovery in the sea south of Cyprus and negotiations had gone underway with the neighboring Egypt how to exploit the finding. The overall market structure is based on a free-market basis and is heavily dependant on the service sector, yet there is lack of investment from government and private sector, while at the same time the high cost of freight had been scaring business away, and all this had been worsened by the lack of skilled labor.   In spite of this handicap, the GDP growth rate had made it to 11.4 in 2004 and yet it is lagging behind in attracting FDI.   Even if there is a political problem between the north and south, this particular nation might be among the nations that would join the EU in 2008. [9] Malta is also another island with a population of 404,000, which had transformed itself into a freight transshipment and a financial center as well as a tourist destination.   In addition, it has some limestone and a better productive labor force than Cyprus where the economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing, and tourism.   Its per capita income is much higher than most countries at $20,300 and the unemployment rate for 2006 was at 6.8%.   The island has liberalized its market and privatized some government-controlled firms and the possibility that it might join the euro zone is there. [9] The other nations Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, are much bigger nations and there is Slovakia also that are slated to join the euro gradually after meeting the criteria, which might prove to be difficult to them because of their size.   If we take the case of the Czech Republic, it has a population of 10.2 million and a per capita income of $11,110 making it among the highest income earning countries.   After joining the EU in 2004 the process of transforming the economy from centrally planned to a market driven economy is almost complete.   There had been a considerable fiscal consolidation, and the inflation is low at 1.8%, while at the same time it had no problem with its balance of payments. Foreign direct investment is 50% of the GDP making it the only nation that enjoys such inflows of investment, yet, in spite of it, it had a high unemployment rate of more than 8% and is persisting, which might have been because of its high population that is not affected much by the migration of labor. The GDP growth for 2005 was 6%, attained mainly through export created through FDI in the automotive sector.   The fiscal deficit for 2005 was at 3% whereas the current account deficit fell to 2.3% for 2005.   Because of the high unemployment, which is the outcome of sluggish economic performance it might have to stay a bit longer before joining the euro, although the expectation is it will meet the requirement eventually. [10] More or less, the same is applicable to the other three countries Hungary, Poland, Slovakia whose population is 10 million, 38 million, 5.4 million respectively, making Poland the highest populated country among the EU-10 countries.   While Hungry had $10,050 per capita income, Poland had $7,110, and Slovakia had $8,130 in 2005.   Poland had to deal with structural reforms to consolidate public finance, tackle unemployment and poverty, work on making the nation attractive for business by introducing a more efficient government. The fact that up to seven million people live in poverty does not make it look as a good candidate for the euro yet and the unemployment rate is the highest at 16%.   However, the situation is a bit changing after joining the EU in 2004 and there was a growth of 5.3% in GDP in 2004, which created high consumption level, investment opportunity, and a better exporting level, and eventually it will make it a proper candidate to join the euro as it is working to meet that goal.   Its FDI is at 5% of GDP and that is low for such a large country although its inflation rate is low at 2.1% and its current account defect is also under control. [6] On the other hand, Hungary is in a much better position since it was able to attract FDI that is enabling it to build a robust private exporting sector.   If there is a problem, the budget deficit is at 8% due to higher public spending and tax reduction, which could affect the economy in the long run.   Inflation had slowed down to 3.5% for 2005 which was due to regulated prices and a decrease on indirect taxes. The unemployment rate stood at 7.2% in 2006.   Even if the government had introduced a fiscal consolidation program what might be needed to change the situation is a long term structural reform.   Hungary is moving steadily to join the euro gradually, and is better situated than the rest of the countries that are in line to join the euro in the coming years. [6] Slovakia is also in a similar situation with the others where it had a 6% GDP growth in 2005 and had unemployment rate of 16.2%.   In recent years, especially after joining the EU in 2004 it had undertaken major steps to decentralize its economy.   The government had introduced reform in many areas including welfare, pension, health care, labor market, and public finance.   Its GDP for 2005 grew by around 6% and inflation was at 2.7%. The fiscal deficit was at 3.3% while the current account deficit had been 7.8% of GDP for 2005 and it had FDI rate 2.7% of GDP.   Overall, it is working toward meeting the EU’s criteria to join the euro although it is difficult to say when it will meet all the requirements. [6] The conclusion is, there are requirements these nations will have to meet and the major ones are to tackle high level of inflation, a budget deficit below 3% of GDP, the public debt has to be at a manageable level, and maintaining a long term low interest rate in parallel to other central banks. If these are in place side by the side with the Maastricht and the Copenhagen Treaty criteria the time it will take them to join the euro will be shorter. Otherwise, their participation could affect the smooth operation of the whole Union, as well as it will put them at a disadvantage offsetting their whole fiscal and monetary policy. [11] REFERENCE The Union Welcomes Ten New Countries [Online]. Available:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.delnam.cec.eu.int/OurNewsletter/2004/ECNewsMay04.pdf.   March 14, 2007. European Parliament Fact Sheet. [Online]. Available:   Ã‚  Ã‚   www.europal.europa.eu/facts/2_3_0_en.htm.   March 14, 2007. The Challenge of European Economy in 2004. [Online]. 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Available:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.cerge-ei.cz/pdf/books/pdf_0304/III.pdf.   March 14, 2007. The European Union and Its Expanding Economy. [Online]. Available:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://jpn.cec.eu.int.home/speech_en_speech%2009/2005.php.   March 14, 2007