A Comparison of the Carbon Footprint of Retail Stores Patagonia, H&M, and The Wardrobe :: Global Warming Climate Change Carbon Emissions

Are you worried about global climate change? Have you ever wondered how you contribute to this problem? What about the impact of the clothes you buy? We have put together estimated information from three different types of stores to help you realize options you have as consumers to be more green. Patagonia is an example of an environmentally conscious and globally active store. The same is true for H&M but it aims to provide affordable, fashionable clothing at the same time. The Wardrobe in Davis, California is an example of a local store, community built and owned. It is important to consider the environmental impact of the stores you support and the clothes you buy. Local stores have the lowest impact because their transportation needs are less than those of stores part of a chain. However, although larger stores may emit more carbon simply because they are bigger, some are committed to cutting down on their carbon footprint. CARBON FOOTPRINTS Patagonia 303.66 tons CO2/yr H&M 261,376.75 tons CO2/yr The Wardrobe 54.13 tons CO2/yr Patagonia Patagonia's Carbon footprint of 303.66 tons of CO2 per year was calculated from estimating the lights in each store to 40.89 tons of CO2 (13%) from the electricity for 47 energy saver bulbs, and 182.85 tons of CO2 (61%) from electricity for 100 fluorescent tube lights, 71 tons of CO2 (23%) from the fuels burned for shipping to the stores from the distribution center, 8.23 tons of CO2 (3%) from the fuels burned for shipping clothes from the distribution center to the European stores by sea freight, and 1.3 tons of CO2 ( H&M H&M calculated it emitted 73,593.61 tons of CO2 to power its buildings (28%), 161,273.66 tons of CO2 for transportation of its clothing (62%), 23,517.81 tons of CO2 for business travel (9%), and 2,991.67 tons for fuel for its company cars (1%). The Wardrobe The Wardrobes footprint of 54.13 tons of CO2 per year was calculated using the 4.81 tons of CO2 (9%) from electricity for their four desktop computers, 0.99 tons CO2 (2%) from electricity for the 11 show lights kept lit 24 hours a day, everyday, 1.31 tons of CO2 (2%) from electricity for the 47 lights turned on during store hours equalling 52 hours a week, 6.

An analysis of hamlets philosophy of life and death in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay

Dylan Thomas once wrote â€Å"And death shall have no dominion†. William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, is a provocative play that portrays how a young prince struggles with his philosophy of life and death after the death of his father. Hamlet, the prince, has trouble overcoming his father’s passing as he also has to deal with its aftermath. The first problem Hamlet has to deal with is his mother Gertrude’s marriage to the newly appointed king, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. Hamlet is disgusted by this, seeing it as â€Å"incestuous†(Shakespeare 1. 2.162) and begins to contemplate suicide as an alternative to dealing with his problems. His strong angst toward the newly weds grows even more acute when Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost and becomes aware that Claudius murdered his father. With this, he continues to struggle, asking himself which is easier, â€Å"to be or not to be†(3. 1. 64). After this, Hamlet’s outlook on life and death is continually changing due to a series of events until he comes to the conclusion that people should â€Å"let be†(5. 2. 238) because â€Å"there’s a divinity that shapes our ends†(5. 2.11). Thus, through Hamlet, Shakespeare presents the idea that there is a greater power shaping everyone’s lives and no matter what life throws at people, they must persevere and let events play out as fate is in control. Hamlet has a very bleak outlook on life at the beginning of the play. He is very emotional about his father’s death and feels as though his mother and uncle’s marriage is â€Å"less than kind†(1. 2. 67). Hamlet finds the death of his father very personal and is greatly bothered by the fact that everyone is faking their sadness instead of mourning properly. Furthermore, not only are others not mourning, Gertrude and Claudius have the audacity to tell Hamlet to stop mourning as â€Å"all that lives must die†(1. 2. 74). This is the first issue that leads Hamlet to debate if suicide would â€Å"resolve†(1. 2. 134) the problems he is dealing with. He sees death as a way to relieve himself from his earthly problems, but realizes he will be damned to hell if he commits suicide, as it is a mortal sin. Thus, Hamlet is discouraged by all the untimely events that seem to come another the other and they seem to overwhelm hi. Hamlet’s pessimistic view on life is again seen the night that he and his friend Horatio go to find the ghost of Hamlet’s father. As they are waiting, Hamlet tells Horatio how he believes everyone is born with a â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27) that with â€Å"o’ergrowth†(1. 4. 30) causes people to be victims of fate. Even if a person is genuinely â€Å"pure†(1. 4. 36), if their tragic flaw is unchecked, even the smallest amount of blemish the will cause them to lose their â€Å"reason†(1. 4. 31) and corrupt all their other virtues. This short, but rich passage again display’s his pessimistic view on life, as he believes that a person’s fate is unavoidable. Hamlet’s ideas on life and death appear to become less pessimistic after he encounters his father’s ghost. At first, Hamlet is troubled as to whether the ghost is Satan or actually his father’s â€Å"spirit†(1. 4. 44), but follows he the ghost anyways. He does this because he wants to believe it is his â€Å"father’(1. 4. 50) and does not think following will risk his life or cause any harm to his â€Å"soul†(1. 4. 74). Hamlet not wanting to risk his life displays how even though he wants to disappear, he still values his life. After Hamlet decides to â€Å"follow†(1. 4. 97) the ghost, the spirit reveals that he is the dead kind and he is in purgatory because Claudius murdered him. This means that Hamlet has to avenge his father’s death and so he makes an oath of vengeance, that he will kill Claudius to right his father’s murder. This new goal gives Hamlet a reason to live, but because he believes he was â€Å"born to set it right†(1. 5. 211), he implies that after he does the deed, his life will be complete and he will die. Hamlet’s new philosophy is guided by the oath of vengeance, as it gives him a purpose in life, but a self-destructive one. Although Hamlet finds a new purpose in his life, Shakespeare continues to show how Hamlet’s outlook on life is far from positive. While talking to two old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet acknowledges that he feels like he is in â€Å"prison†(2. 2. 267). In the literal sense, Hamlet feels trapped in his home with Claudius, being the murderer of his father, and his mother abandoning him for that â€Å"adulterate beast†(1.5. 53). On a deeper level, Hamlet is trapped within his own thoughts, as he is constantly struggling with suicidal thoughts and is also burdened with figuring out how to avenge his father. He continues to see the world as a â€Å"foul†(2. 2. 326) place and finds others â€Å"a piece of work†(2. 2. 327). This shows how Hamlet’s pessimistic view of the world is still overwhelming, despite his newfound reason to live. Hamlet’s fatalistic view on life develops even further as he seriously contemplates suicide once again. The â€Å"question†(3. 1. 64) he ponders is whether it is more noble to â€Å"suffer†(3. 1. 65) through life or to end life’s hardships by killing oneself. He comes to the conclusion that he wants â€Å"to die†(3. 1. 72), but realizes that just like â€Å"sleep†(3. 1. 72), death is not the end of all hardships. Hamlet is aware that suicide leads to damnation. It is this and the uncertainty of what comes â€Å"after death†(3. 1. 86) that scares Hamlet and makes him less enthusiastic about death. Furthermore, he observes that the more he thinks about death, the more cowardly he becomes and the less he wants to kill himself. Therefore, Hamlet’s desire to kill himself is not great enough for him to follow through with it, as the thoughts to what comes after death scares him too much. Even though Hamlet chooses life over death, he still does not find life pleasant and wishes he could just disappear. Hamlet started off with a very bleak look on life and a skeptical view on death, but when Hamlet is talking to Horatio, readers can see him start to change his outlook to be less pessimistic. He has seriously contemplated the worth of living twice and even though he has found new meaning to his life, he still wants to cease to exist. It is all of this that leads Hamlet to anticipate his death during a conversation he has with Horatio. It is here that Hamlet thanks Horatio from the bottom of his â€Å"heart†(3. 2. 78) for being so loyal to him. This moment between the two characters, shows that Hamlet is anticipating his own demise and wants to make sure he Horatio knows that he was appreciated by Hamlet. The fact that Hamlet is expecting to die, shows readers that the implication Hamlet makes when taking the oath of vengeance is correct. He is convinced that his life will come to an end after he avenges his father’s murder. This shows how Hamlet is beginning to think about how people cannot control our lives, but that everyone has a certain fate. This theme is further developed through Hamlet’s actions later on in the play. Even though Hamlet’s view on life and death is still quite pessimistic, Shakespeare exposes Hamlet to the idea that humans may not be in control of their fate. Shakespeare does so through â€Å"The Murder of Gonzago†(2. 2. 564) the play Hamlet puts on, as Hamlet is aware that â€Å"the purpose of playing†(3. 2. 21) is to mirror reality. With this in mind, Hamlet adds â€Å"some dozen or sixteen lines†(2. 2.567-568) to create a mirror image of his father’s murder within the play. Hamlet does this to see if his uncle really killed his father, and determines that he does do to his reaction. The play discusses how people live their lives â€Å"determine[s] oft we break†(3. 2. 210). This idea connects back to Hamlet’s discussion with Horatio about people’s â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27) causing them to be a victim of fate and builds upon that concept. The play also considers how, what someone wants to happen and what actually happens, are totally different; people have no control over their lives. Thus, the play builds upon the concept that no matter what people do, their efforts will be overthrown, as they cannot control fate. This exposes Hamlet once again to this idea putting it in his sub-conscience to be seen further on in the play. Hamlet has now been exposed to the idea of fate controlling people’s lives, but has not come to realize this for himself yet. This is seen when Hamlet accidentally murders Polonius and still accepts responsibility for it even though Polonius was killed due to his tragic flaw, being nosy and arrogant. Polonius is killed after giving away his location while â€Å"intruding†(3. 4. 38) on Hamlet and Gertrude talking. Since this is how he is killed, it could be expected that Hamlet would try to rationalize Polonius’s murder as it was his fate to die in that manner. Instead of doing this, Hamlet’s sense of responsibility for the death of Polonius is at odds with his cynical view that people are a victim of their fate. This reveals that Hamlet is just beginning to grasp the concept presented in the play. Rather than rationalizing Polonius’s death as something uncontrollable, he believes that he is an agent of divine retribution and it was his duty to kill Polonius. Thus, Hamlet twisted the words of the play and came to a different conclusion than what the play presented. Either way, Hamlet’s philosophy on life and death comes closer to his final conclusion as he is beginning to realize that people have no control over their lives. Hamlet’s philosophy on death is refined even further when he is confronted with the idea that death may not be as big a deal as he makes it seem. He is faced with this idea when he comes across troops led by â€Å"Fortinbras†(4. 4. 15) going to â€Å"Poland†(4. 4. 16) to fight to â€Å"gain a little patch of ground†(4. 4. 19) that is useless to the troops. This puzzles Hamlet because he sees it as illogical, as the men are fighting without a â€Å"cause†(4. 4. 29). He does not comprehend how so many people are willing to die for nothing, when for him dying is a very hard thing to come to terms with. Shakespeare uses this scene to show Hamlet that death is not as significant as he makes it seem, but rather insignificant in the big scheme of things. Although he does not grasp this concept right away, it is important in shaping his overall view on life and death at the end of the play. Thus, Hamlet is once again exposed to an outlook on life and death that contrasts his own and leads him to a new understanding about life and death. The outlook Hamlet has on life and death becomes more optimistic as he has finally come to terms with death. Horatio has just fetched Hamlet from a pirate ship bringing him back from his journey to England and they are in a graveyard near the castle. They stumble upon a gravedigger and his friends and when the gravedigger digs up a â€Å"skull†(5. 1. 77) Hamlet reveals he is now amused by death, rather than scared of it. He jests about what the skull may be and reveals he now grasps that life is a â€Å"fine revolution†(5. 1. 92). This shows how Hamlet has come to terms with the fact that everyone dies and are all reduced to just â€Å"bones†(5. 1. 93). Instead of being bothered by this and constantly fighting death, Hamlet has become allies with it, a kind of fatalism. Despite this, Hamlet is not fully unaffected by death, as he is still emotionally touched by it when it is personal. This is seen when the skull of â€Å"Yorick†(5. 1. 191), the old jester, is dug up. After seeing this, Hamlet beings again to conceptualize how everyone is equal in death as even â€Å"Alexander†(5. 1. 216) and â€Å"Imperious Caesar†(5. 1. 220) â€Å"returneth to dust†(5. 1. 217). Although Hamlet tries to rationalize Yorick’s death, when he finds out that the grave being dug is for Ophelia, he cannot control his emotions any longer. Once again death affects Hamlet and he is overcome by â€Å"sorrow†(5. 1. 268) and â€Å"grief†(5. 1. 267). Thus, Hamlet has a new fatalism about him, but death still moves him when it is personal, which is continually seen through to the end of the play. Hamlet’s once pessimistic view on life and death takes a final turn when he takes everything that has happened and comes to believe that â€Å"providence†(5. 2. 234) controls life and death. After the graveyard, Hamlet tells Horatio how he escaped the ship taking him to â€Å"England†(5. 2. 44) to be killed, by authority of Claudius. The ship was under attack by pirates and before jumping ship he wrote letters to have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who were taking him to England, killed instead of him. This huge escape, along with all the events prior enable Hamlet to realize how insignificant everyone is in life. Hamlet now believes that regardless of what a person does, it will not matter because â€Å"there [is] a divinity that shapes our ends†(5. 2. 11). This is seen when Hamlet admits that the deaths of â€Å"Guildenstern and Rosencrantz†(5. 2. 63) are â€Å"not near [his] conscience†(5. 2. 65). He rationalizes their deaths because they died in the process of ingratiating themselves to the â€Å"King†(5. 2. 43), their tragic flaw, and since providence is always in control, their deaths are out of Hamlet’s hands. This contrasts Polonius’s death when even though he died due to his â€Å"vicious mole of nature†(1. 4. 27), Hamlet still felt responsible since he did not yet believe fate controls everything. Furthermore, Hamlet answers his own question â€Å"to be or not to be†(3. 1. 64) with â€Å"let be†(5. 2. 238). He recognizes that people cannot live their lives scared of dying because â€Å"providence†(5. 2.234) has a hand in the smallest of things. This philosophical look on life and death reveals that Hamlet has accepted his fate and is now ready to die. Hamlet’s philosophical look on life continues until his dying moments. Since he has accepted his fate, he stops thinking about his actions and lives with the â€Å"readiness†(5. 2. 237) to die. He goes into a fencing match with Laertes who is there to avenge Polonius’s death, knowing he may â€Å"lose†(5. 2. 223) but does so anyways. Little does he know, Claudius and Laertes have made a plan to poison him with the sword or with a poisoned â€Å"chalice†(4.7. 183). Hamlet is struck by the poisoned sword and is told that he only has â€Å"half an hour’s life†(5. 2. 346). It is with this that readers see Hamlet’s philosophical outlook prevail again. After killing Claudius, the leader of this plan, he acknowledges that he only has a few moments to live and takes control. He is not scared but rather calm and tells Horatio to â€Å"let it be†(5. 2. 370) and to live his life and â€Å"tell [his] story†(5. 2. 384). Lastly, Hamlet passes on the kingdom to â€Å"Fortinbras†(5. 2. 393) and recognizes that â€Å"the rest is silence†(5.2. 395); Hamlet’s life is over. Thus, Hamlet’s philosophical look on life and death goes hand in hand with his death, as he does not fight it and he is well aware that he is dying and stays calm. This is a major contrast to how the play starts off when Hamlet is terrified to die, as he is scared of damnation. Now, Hamlet is ready to die and is okay with dying â€Å"now†(5. 2. 236). Thus, Hamlet’s philosophy on life and death has come full circle, as he started off very pessimistic and ended up with a reflective view on life and death. Shakespeare presents the concept that life and death are out of people’s control and are shaped by â€Å"providence†(5. 2. 324) through the character of Hamlet. Hamlet believes that life cannot be controlled by people but rather, it is controlled by God and fate. He realizes that he should not live his life in fear of death and many events lead him to be convinced that no matter what people do, the way they die will still be controlled by a â€Å"divinity†(5. 2. 11). Although God plays some part in everyone’s lives, people cannot depend solely on him to shape their lives. How a person lives does â€Å"determine†(3. 2. 210) how they die, but only that person can shape their own future. Every new generation is told that the future is in their hands and this is very true. Everyone can make their life what they want it to be and no-one has to succumb to fate, but anyone can choose that path. People need to be aware that even though fate and destiny may be considered real, everyone has the power to shape their own life. Bibliography: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Eds. B. A. Mowat, P. Werstine. New York: Folger Shakespeare Library, 1992.

Praising Children Essay examples - 1679 Words

Praising Children Yaren D Obando Introduction to Psychology I Praising Children The field of behaviorism has always lacked agreement and will always be a debatable subject. Nonetheless, we find ourselves in the middle of one. Whether is bad or not to praise, or frequently use positive reinforcement in our children, and its consequences of doing so or not doing so is the issue at stake here. Both perspectives, both positions, and both sides have been well represented by the authors of each article. The fact that positive reinforcement indeed strengthens all behaviors wanted will never be proved wrong, but what I intent to do in this integrative analysis is to prove the fact that praising children, and the misuse of positive†¦show more content†¦On this idea, they don’t argue that children should take pleasure in their accomplishments, but the fact of how they should take pride in those. In fact, is positive reinforcement the primary key in which children learn to take pride in them, and how positive reinforcement it is promotin g the importance of children engaging in self-evaluation. For the authors in this article the â€Å"goody† is positive child outcomes, and positive reinforcement has effectively met theses ends. Also that this reinforcement increases behaviors, not decrease as Kohn suggested. They rebute the idea that good job functions decreases the behaviors that are intended to increase, since positive reinforcement only strengthens behaviors wanted. Strain and Joseph conclude their response by summarizing all of Kohns’ ideas, right away refuting all of their most important contrary ideas, and giving us food for thought. 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William Shakespeare s The Tempest - 1267 Words

Government legislation has always been a social topic throughout the years. Thus, the bond in which a government creates with its people is vital in order to create a functioning society. This has led many scholars to provide social commentary on government legislature, allowing complex issues to be portrayed in different mediums, generating a greater audience. During the Enlightenment Era, William Shakespeare’s writing were a form of social commentary on the English Government. Endorsed by the king, Shakespeare’s works told tales of tragedy and whimsy, incorporating both fiction and nonfiction elements. One trademark of Shakespeare s plays were the subtle allusions to the concurrent events in the English government. This is evident in†¦show more content†¦The purpose of revealing its metaphorical nature is to display the true purpose and meaning of Shakespeare’s famous final play. The play attributes supernatural powers to the Prospero, the protagonist, allowing him to be able to convey his actions and regain his lost dukedom. In The Tempest, there are various tricks and illusions that unravel on the island. In context to the era, magic and witchcraft were slowly displacing itself from the mainstream practices. Nonetheless, Shakespeare attributes this characteristic to Prospero. These conjurations all stem back to Prospero and his goal to returning things back to the natural order. In his time on the island, Prospero uses magic to bully the island and its inhabitants. These actions are abusive to nature. Prospero’s character contrasts that of other Shakespearean roles because his actions and intentions are selfish and controlling in nature. This is because his character is modeled after a selfish monarch. As previously stated, Prospero uses his power to manipulate people and events on the island. These acts of magic could relate those powers given to governmental legislation. Governments have always possessed the ability t o prevent social disorder through surveying and policing the public. Social commentary around the abuse of these powers root back to their origin. Similarly, Prospero appears as a king ruling over the island. Although merely illusions, these actions creates an unstable relationship with

positives and negative effects of the fashion - 1420 Words

Positives effects of fashion We can argue whether or not the fashion industry has more of a positive or negative effect on people of today, regardless we can agree that the fashion industry has grown to become very popular and influential. It seems as if everyone is trying to pursue a career in this field. Here are 10 positives of the fashion industry. 1. New designs- designers are able to create new designs for those people who have a love for fashion. It is an enjoyment they feel when seeing a new trend get started because fashion is unpredictable. 2. Discovering new talents- It is always a refreshing to see a new and creative designer come into the spotlight. Fashion is a very competitive industry and at times trends are†¦show more content†¦Stealing, robbing, and use of other ill means to become fashionable is not uncommon among youth today. Non-Conforming: Fashion craze makes people non-confirmist. Just to prove them different and unique, they adopt any style. 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Labour Relation Act Assignement free essay sample

Course: Principles of Human Resource Management Section: Industrial Relations Assignment: Individual Assignment Question 1 How employee can be dismissed for poor performance In today’s work environment it is important that the employees meet the competitiveness of their organisation’s market locally and globally. To have employees that are not performers (Dead Woods) can cost the company an arm and a leg. Poor performers can cost companies a lot of money, not only due to service but due to mistakes they make. More over dealing with them take up a significant part of management time. Most organisations do not have a system that addresses, and deal away with poor performers openly and honestly. In these sections we will be looking at the best way to issue a dismissal by following the right process. When dismissing an employee it is important that you prove that there is a good reason and the right procedure is followed. LRA recognise that the reason for dismissal can fall into the following categories 1. The Operational requirement 2. The conduct of the employee 3. The capacity of the employee The poor performance of the employee falls within the incapacity category not the conduct as some other managers’ turn to confuse this when addressing poor performance problems. The dismissal will be as result of incapacity therefore the Performance Management procedure must be followed not the disciplinary procedure. This is not advisable because the Code of Good Practise: Dismissal (Section 8 of the LRA) provides different guideline for procedure to be followed when dealing with an employee who is not performing to the required standard. It is important to have a separate procedure and guidelines for managing poor performance so that management is not misled into using the disciplinary approach instead of Performance Management Procedure when dealing with dead woods (Poor Performers) in the organisation Setting up standard that is expected from Employees As an employer you are entitled to set the reasonable standard that both the employer and employee agree upon. This is normally done with the Performance Management process by means of performance appraisal (standards). The standards need to be clearly communicated to the employee. There must be an evaluation of these performance standards on a timely basis preferably quarterly. It is important that the employer provide the employee with sufficient instruction of how to perform the tasks he is suppose to do and how the employer requires those tasks to be done. The employer must provide the employee with the training unless the employee has been hired with the basis that he has certain qualification. The employer must provide also the guidance along the way on how to meet the set standards to which the employee needs to improve. The following shows how the performance standards are set when an employee under performed (IDP for under performers) * Set the performance KPA areas for the job that requires the employee to deliver * Set the targets and time frame for the targets * Give the employee a specific list of task The most important aspect for a fair dismissal to be taken into consideration is wether Procedural fairness and Substantiative Fairness is fairly applied. Below are these facts that you need to establish before finalising the dismissal of an offender (poor performer). Procedural Fairness This relate to the process used for discipline or dismissing an employee, the processes includes 1. Giving of counselling and prior warnings 2. Process followed prior corrective meetings or disciplinary hearing 3. Process followed at the actual corrective meeting or disciplinary hearing including the way in which the employee is given the opportunity to answer to the charges Substantive Fairness This relates to wether there was a fair reason for dismissal. This refer purely wether there was a substantial gist on the decision to dismiss or impose a penalty The substantive fairness test must meet the following rules 1. Did the employee break a workplace rule? 2. Was the rule or standard valid or reasonable 3. Was the employee aware, or could reasonable be expected to be aware of the rule or standard 4. Did you apply the rule or standard consistently 5. Was the dismissal an appropriate sanction for the contravention? If all the steps above have been followed, it is assuring that the dismissal will be substantially fair Poor performance infringement must be dealt with via a process of more than one to three warnings at progressively higher levels of severity, depending on the adherence or compliance of the infringement. The warning accumulated on a progressive basis can culminate in a disciplinary hearing and a possible dismissal. In the case of poor performance only the infringement of the similar kind accumulated in the line of progression stand a reason to a discipline. The standard generic corrective procedure to be followed . Make sure that the infringement occurred and has been committed by the employee in question, that is to have a proof that the employee under performed 2. Meet privately with the employee and explain the poor performance, ensuring the employee understands and making summarised notes of the entire corrective meeting discussion 3. Give the employee the opportunity at the meeting to put his reasons for poor performance 4. Carefully consider the his reason for poor performance and decide on the facts and balances of probability as at to wether the employee is guilty or not 5. Inform the employee of the decision and reason for it 6. Inform the employee of what is expected in future and how his progress towards meeting the requirement will be measure and monitored 7. Consider what assistance within the reason the employer can render to overcome obstacles 8. Inform the employee that he will be issued with a first or final written warning 9. Issue the employee with the warning on the official warning Form of the company which has the letter heads. The warning letter must confirm, clearly and concise the following * Date and time for the corrective meeting that was held and a brief summary of the employees explanation of his case * What is expected of the employee in future and any agreement reaches * What the employee is been warned of, that is the employee must be clearly warned of the poor performance and the consequence of more sever discipline if he does not improve If the employee performance was found to be unacceptable after the first warning then 1. Remind the employee of the standard of employment required at the first meeting 2. Stipulate the steps to be taken by the employee to ensure the achievement of the required standard 3. Offer the employee counsel, advise and other assistance toward improving his performance 4. State the additional steps where relevant, to be taken by the employer towards the improvement of the employees performance. This must include actions such as Training, Supervision, or removal of obstacles if there is any 5. Issue the employee with the second warning The warning must also contain The date and time of the corrective meeting that was held and a brief summary of the employee’s explanation of his poor performance * The nature of the complaint and the level of warning * What is expected of the employee in future and any agreement * What the employee is been warned of, * What the employee is been warned of, that is the employee must be clearly warned of the poor performance a nd the consequence of more sever discipline if he does not improve 6. Make sure that the performance was poor and unacceptable, as per the performance management captured 7. When all is exhausted and the employee still under performed despite the effort attempted to remedy his under performance arrange for final performance hearing or a meeting at which the has the chance to be heard before making a final decision to dismiss 8. At this stage the employee must be allowed to be represented by a co-employee or a shop steward 9. Keep a record of the last meeting at which you take the decision to dismiss in case the employee refers a dispute and there is a need to prove that the dismissal was fair 10. The letter must stipulate the reason for dismissal, which in this case is incapacity to perform his duties. Explain to the employee that his have the right to refer the matter to CCMA or Bargaining Council and provide him with information such as contact number and address of such an office. Example of a real work place case Ragman Lesilo (not real name) was employed by Company, as Support Engineer. During the first few months of employment everything runs smoothly. However, we begin to discover that the tasks that have been set are not being performed properly within the acceptable standards. For instance, all the work that he has done need to be redone by another support engineer because of quality, created mistakes, seems to struggling on understanding concept that he claimed to understand when he joined the company. He does not finish his tasks in time and efficiently and always been reprimanded for not delivering. He has failed to maintain the required standard of performance as set in his performance appraisals He is aware of this as we hold regular weekly meetings; his performance standard is a way too low as compared to other engineers with the same roles. He knows as well that he is expected to know that he should maintain an acceptable level of effectiveness and efficiency in terms of Support function and competence while performing his role. Substantiative Aspect we took into consideration He was given a reasonable opportunity to improve. Several formal discussions regarding his failure to maintain the required work standard before dismissal becomes an option. He acknowledged in the discussion that he knew he breached a work standard. We gave him an opportunity to improve by providing support in form of training, coaching and mentoring. Evaluation was done after 3 months and there was no improvement base on the standards that we agreed upon. We had a discussion with him to make him aware that his performance has not improved and gave an opportunity to deliberate his side of the story, with the balance of probability we ruled out the story as not a mitigating factor that contributed to his poor performance. We finally summarily realises that there have been an accumulation of factors on the same offence of poor performance which he has been receiving written warning. Due to the poor work performance been an ongoing, we warranted a dismissal and we applied it as a last resort. Procedural Requirements we took to consideration * We provide Ragman appropriate evaluation, instruction, training, guidance and counselling * We investigated to establish the reasons for the unsatisfactory performance and tried remedy the situation * We briefed the employee about his right to refer his dispute to CCMA I believe this warrant a fair dismissal that qualifies both procedural and substantiative fairness Question 2 Discuss Industrial relations under the Labour Relations Act 66, 1995 (as amended by Act 2, 2002) emphasizing on the following The right to strike Definition of a Strike, it is a partial or complete concerted refusal to work or retardation or obstruction of work by persons who are or have been employed by the same employer or by different employers for the purpose remedying a grievance or resolving a dispute in respect of any matter of mutual interest between and employer and employee. The strike is considered a lawful when it is protected; there are procedural requirements that must have been complied with before the employees may embark on a strike. The requirements are Step 1: The dispute must have been referred for conciliation A dispute of mutual interest must be referred to the CCMA or bargaining council Chapter 5 (Section 64(1)(a)) LRA, and the employee acquire the right to strike if a certificate of outcome stating that the issues has been issued or 30 days period has elapsed since the referral was first received by the CCMA or barging council Step 2: They must have given the intention to strike The employers must be served with the notice of intention to strike from employees or union in a form of writing at least 48 hours before the strike commences. The notice should indicate when the strike is going to begin. The notice must be served to the relevant bodies that are party to the dispute. Step 3: If the issue in dispute concerns a refusal to bargain, employees or unions must have obtained an advisory arbitration award. The employees must have obtained an advisory award before the issue out notice of intention to strike from CCMA or Bargaining Council. There is a limitation to the right to strike which is applicable to essential services But there are certain circumstances when employees can embark on a protected strike without following the procedure as set out above (Conciliation and Notice Procedure as prescribed in Section 64(1) of LRA. If an employer unilaterally introduces changes to the employees’ term and conditions of employment, employee can refer the dispute and require the employer not to implement the change or remove the changes if the employer already implemented the change. In this case if the employer does not comply within 48 hours the employees can immediately engage on a strike without following the procedure. Example Macdonald introduces a 24 hours service without consultation process and notifies employees within short notice, this change impact all the employees and they are not happy about this decision. The employees are angry and decide to strike. Under normal process the employee will have to issue a notice of intention to strike and refer the dispute to conciliation. However as this situation is regulated by Section 64(4), the employee may in referral to the dispute require McDonalds to stop implementing the 24 hours service and if already implemented the change then McDonalds has 48 hours to comply. Then after complying McDonalds must maintain the status quo for 30 days from the date of referral during this time the normal conciliation process will take place to deal with the dispute. Secondary Strike is a conduct to further a strike to support a strike by other employee against their employer. In this case the employees do not have grievance or dispute with their employer and does not have a direct outcome of the dispute. The Secondary Strike must comply with the following three requirements for it to be protected 1. The primary strike by the primary employee must be protected 2. The secondary employees must give their employer at least seven days; notice of the secondary strike 3. The nature and extent of the secondary strike must be reasonable in relation to the possible direct or indirect effect it could have on the business of the primary employer Fundamental Labour rights contained in the constitution of South Africa Chapter 23 of the constitution which was passed and came into effect in 1996 after the new dispensation was to close the gap of the imbalance of labour relation in South Africa which existed prior 1994. Black South African labourers though they were majority they experienced marginalization in relation to labour relation and labour law among other things from the Afrikaner Nationalism leadership. An example of the strict act that was meant to have black workers under tougher and strict control with regard to abour relations was the amendment of the 1956 Industrial Conciliation and other laws that where racially biased. The Constitution contains a Bill of Rights, Chapter Two, which enclosed the rights of all South Africans. The following fundamental labour rights are enshrined in the Constitution as the majority of black South African where deprived this rights in a long time 1. Everyone has the right to fair labour practices. 2. Every worker has the right a. to form and join a trade union; b. to participate in the activities and programmes of a trade union; and c. o strike. 3. Every employer has the right d. to form and join an employers organisation; and e. to participate in the activities and programmes of an employers organisation. 4. Every trade union and every employers organisation has the right f. to determine its own administration, programmes and activities; g. to organise; and h. to form and join a federation. 5. Every trade union, employers organisation and employer has the right to engage in collective bargaining. National legislation may be enacted to regulate collective bargaining. To the extent that the legislation may limit a right in this Chapter, the limitation must comply with section 36(1). 6. National legislation may recognise union security arrangements contained in collective agreements. To the extent that the legislation may limit a right in this Chapter, the limitation must comply with section 36(1). These rights where meant for employment protection which is applied to all employees who ordinarily work in South Africa. Therefore, the legislation also covers employees who work partly outside South Africa and partly inside South Africa. It also applies regardless of the stated governing law of any employment contract or the nationalities of either the employee or the employer. With the help of labour unions orchestrating this legislations in several sectors of employment they have been a positive benefit which seen a lot of black workers being able to realise the reward financially, personally and socially with regard to Industrial Relations issues. The right to freedom of Association Chapter 2 of the LRA sets out basic labour rights. Amongst this right there is Freedom of Association, the right of employees and employers to join and participate in the lawful activities of unions and employer organisations respectively. On the employee’s side, the right to freedom of association protects against interference, state interference and the union discrimination on the part of an employer. Now that the unfair labour practices remedy has been limited to individual employees, considerable union attention is now given to the anti-discrimination provisions contained in the LRA (Labour Relation Act) and the EEA (Employment Equity Act). The Constitution recognises the right to freedom of association, the right to form and join a trade union and the right to participate in trade union activities These rights alleviated victimisation among majority of black and few of white employees. Most of the employers respects their employees and treat them with dignity due this legislation being in place. The violation of this legislation is punishable by law and as such employee, unions or employers will respect the Freedom of Association as legislation. The difference between protected and unprotected strikes Protected Strikes| Unprotected Strikes| Comply with section 64(1)(a)(b) of LRA, Procedural| Contravene section 64(1)(a)(b) of LRA, Unprocedural strike| Strike over un-prohibited issues| Strike over prohibited issue| Employee cannot be dismissed unless for operational reasons| Employee can be fairly dismissed| Cannot institute a civil proceeding against employees| Can institute a civil proceeding against the employees| Question 3 Discuss the dispute resolution mechanism of the Labour Relations Act third party intervention (after all internal procedure have been exhausted) indicate all the key steps that need to be followed The external dispute resolution process in a sequential order Third party Intervention 1. CCMA / Bargaining Council 2. Conciliation 3. Arbitration 4. Labour Court 5. Labour Appeal Court Definitions Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA): It is a body appointed by parliament to resolve labour disputes between employees and employers Bargaining Council: Is a body that established and properly registered for a particular sector. Its function is to determine by agreement between employers and trade unions in the specific sector and it attend the resolution for disputes in that sector. Conciliation: Is the process that takes place at the CCMA and at Bargaining Council, it is essentially a negotiation process whereby the parties should try to reach settlement agreement to resolve a dispute Arbitration: Is the process that takes place at the CCMA and at Bargaining Council if conciliation has not been successful. Both the Arbitration and conciliation are conducted by neutral officials (Commissioners). CCMA/Bargaining Council When the employee seeks external third party intervention for his dispute, he will refer the matter to the CCMA or the Bargaining Council. Certain Bargaining Councils are authorised to conciliate and arbitrate labour disputes in the same way as CCMA would. Below is a graphical representation of dispute resolution process Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Referral to the CCMA| | Conciliation| | Arbitration| | Labour Court| | Labour Appeal Court| | | | | | | | | | Or Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Referral to the CCMA| | Conciliation Arbitration| | Labour Court| | Labour Appeal Court| | | | | | | | There are circumstances where Conciliation and Arbitration process is handled as one process on order to save time and money for both parties and CCMA. This is shown in the above tables on step 2. Conciliation Process Conciliation falls within the CCMA procedure but LRA does not provide the guideline or give proper definition. It is effectively a settlement negotiation; its idea is for the ex-employee and employer to try reaching mutual acceptable settlement. Form 7. 11 is used to register this referral at the CCMA. At this stage the conciliating mediator is appointed to mediate the dispute in order to conduct the fact finding exercise and to make recommendations to both parties (Section 135 of the LRA). The ex-employee, Employer and a presiding Commissioner attend the conciliation process which is conducted along informal lines. The trade union representative may accompany the ex-employee while the employers as well might bring along the company representative. At conciliation no legal representative is permitted. The consolation process normally begins with opening statement from both parties, in which each side gives details of their respective cases and specify what remedy they require. The important thing about this process the proceedings are without prejudice (what each parties say in this session could not be used against each other). The advantage of the settlement at this stage is that it makes a win/win situation. If the dispute is resolved at conciliation the Commissioner will issue a certificate to indicate settlement. After the signing of the certificate of settlement neither party can withdraw from the agreement without written consent of the other party. In case that the parties do not resolve the issue, it can then be referred to CCMA for Arbitration or the Labour Court. Arbitration When no settlement is reached, the matter is then referred to Arbitration within 90 days of certificate of non-settlement being handed down in the Conciliation process and copy of the Certificate of Outcome from the Conciliation must be attached during the referral to Arbitration. LRA 7. 3 form is completed by the ex-employee at CCMA; the CCMA will notify the employer about the date, time and venue of the Arbitration hearing. At this stage is where a full re-hearing of the entire case including the investigation of the fairness of the procedure leading up to dismissal is tested. The test involves the presentation of all evidence and, cross examination of witnesses. Once their entire case has been presented the commi ssioner make a decision in a form of an arbitration award stating his reason for reaching such a decision and should justify any compensation awarded. The award must be handed down within 14 days of the conclusion of the arbitration. If the reason given by the Commissioner do not justify the award made, then in principle the award is reviewable, which means that the matter can be taken to Labour Court and request a review. Over and above the award the commissioner hands down at arbitration he can make an order for certain cost to be paid depending if the dispute has little or no chance of succeeding, the party who brought the dispute before CCMA will find himself having to pay CCMA the costs. Conciliation and Arbitration The process was introduced in the first amendment of the LRA in 2002, this enables the CCMA to finalise disputes much faster and does not consume time for all the parties. It is also less expensive for the parties and CCMA. The combination of Conciliation and Arbitration is a process in which a dispute is conciliated and if the dispute is not settled during conciliation, the commissioner moves straight into holding arbitration. This process is effectively a one stop process, which is quicker than the normal two stages process for resolving a dispute. It takes place as continuous process on the same day. This process is compulsory for certain disputes such as dismissal for any reason relating to probation and unfair labour practise on probation. It maybe used on other dispute but is not compulsory meaning that either of the disputing parties might reject it. Labour Court The Labour Court is like the Supreme Court, but is only concerned with labour, or employment disputes. The Labour Court will only hear a case if the case was first referred to the Commission for mediation, and if the conciliation process failed to resolve the dispute. If the conciliation or mediation process is properly handled, therefore, the intention is that less and less cases will actually be referred to the Labour Court. Only time will tell if this is a correct prediction. The Act specifies which cases are to be referred to the Commission and which disputes must be referred to the Labour Court. Disputes that should be referred to the Labour Court include * Automatically unfair dismissals. * Illegal strike dismissals. Remember, persons who embark on legal or protected strikes may not be dismissed, and * Operational requirement or retrenchment dismissals. These are all cases that must be referred to the Labour Court. However, the Director of the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration may also, upon request of a party, refer a matter to the Labour Court, if the Director is satisfied that the dispute is sufficiently complex, or if it is in the public interest to refer that dispute to the Labour Court. Labour Court of Appeal In addition to the Labour Court, the new Act also establishes a Labour Appeals Court. The Labour Appeals Court may hear Appeals from the Labour Court and is the final Court of Appeals in relation to all labour disputes. There are no further Appeals from the Labour Appeals Court to another Court. Question 4 Discuss industrial relations changes, Collective Bargaining, the social partners and employment legislation impact on industrial relations in the post Wiehahn era One of the major functions of the trade unions is to ensure better working conditions, wages and salaries for its members. This is achieved through the process of collective bargaining. The most essential instrument tool for serving the interest of the union members is through collective bargaining. This a process in which organise groups and employer seek to reconcile their conflicting goals into mutual agreement and accommodation. Post Wiehahn, the commission gave the unions power to form unions and participate in strikes. Unions did not react positively on the inclusion in the existing official centralised system of collective bargain that they where deprived of. Unions continued to bargain collectively on the plant level in terms of recognition agreements entered into with relevant employers. There was a resistance from the employer to sign the recognition of unions on a plant level; gradually employers started signing this recognition which led to the growth of the unions. The unions continued embarking on strikes for the promotion of economic, political and civil rights which eventually led to the un-ban of political organisation and political prisoners. Ultimately there was an agreement of an interim constitution and bill of rights which constituted the workers fundamental rights. Chapter 3 of LRA, Collective Bargaining is part of this right which is still in existence in three levels and is practised in today’s Industrial Relation discipline. After the first democratically held elections in South Africa in 1994, the new Government of National Unity introduced the Labour Relations Act (LRA) No. 66 of 1995, which aimed at normalising the relationship between politics and industrial relations. This Act has redefined South African labour relations. The Act brought about fundamental changes to employment relations and collective bargaining in all levels (Sectoral, Centralise and Plant). It also introduced important new concepts such as workplace forums and unfair discrimination into South African workplaces, while a comprehensive system of trade union, organisational and individual workers’ rights, including the all-important and fundamental right to strike, was statutorily regulated. It made provision for four dispute resolution bodies, namely the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the bargaining council, Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court.

Poor Communication in Workplace Essay Essays - Communication Studies

Poor Communication in Workplace Essay The management normally assume that that the way they communicate is received and interpreted well by employees. However, this is not always the case. RopeASW conducted a survey in 2009; where they found out that 55% of managers who responded to the survey assume they communicate well with workers. 65% of employees said that their seniors do not communicate well (Zaremba, 2010). In my study I found out that lack of credibility increases the communication gap between employers and employees. Many employees do not believe what they are told by management. This study shows that employees with longer tenure are less likely to belief their superiors than new employees. This proposal will focus on all causes of communication problem. It will also give recommendation in order to give good solutions to eliminate this problem. It contains a conclusion at the end. Statement of Problem Communication is the most important and basic activity of a company. In organizations, communication is becoming more complex because of work activities and multi-cultural environment which is becoming complex at high rate. Availability of high transmission media also contribute to communication breakdown (Zaremba, 2010). Companies are required to focus more on communication so that they can effectively increase job satisfaction in work place. Lack of good communication leads to actions not completed. Management ends up being out of touch with the staff that it needs to motivate so that the company can operate at full potential. Poor communicate affects even the customer department making the company lose sales. It also makes organizations making poor decisions which affect the progress of the company. The company ends up losing workers and money. Many researchers have researched widely on communication issues. However, there has been few studies in this area. The need for this project is to explore the effects of poor communication, causes and solutions to the problem. The proposal is important to companies as it will help them put in place communication networks. These networks give different perspectives of employees. It will also assist companies boost the morale of employees as well as increasing job satisfaction. These benefits will be derived from this study. Management Plan This section contains my qualification for carrying out project research. It also contains cost incurred. I already books and articles on communication, hence I used most of my time sifting through information, looking for key results. The only cost I incurred was in printing and copying articles. I obtained all sources of literature review from university library. My experience in Youth Health Partnership Organization helped me to assimilate proposed literature review. Literature Review I started the project with the understanding that communication is the foundation of any organization. I discovered it is important to evaluate the solutions to communication problems. I reviewed relevant literature to support my study. I used literature related to communication; others expressed the effect of communication on job satisfaction of employees. I other literature showed the perception of both male and female in the organization. Finally, I included literature that dealt with ways of improving communication. Zaremba(2010) argues that there exist differences in the way male and female employees perceive communication behaviors of their seniors. According to Zaremba (2010) managers' leadership style, conflict management skills contribute to effectiveness of communication. Research Methodology In this research, different methods were used to collect information and data. Primary sources used were interviews and conversations. Journals were used as secondary sources. Variables I used formal communication, informal communication and communication climate as my variables. The three variables were affected by various issues. Communication climate This is the atmosphere that is created by people who use listening skills, verbal and non-verbal communication skills. It involves how communication takes place in an organization. The environment in which communication is taking place determines if communication will take place or not. Communication climate is affected by various factors and one of them is credibility (Klyuknanov, 2013). Credibility involves the qualification of the sources of information. It also involves the consistency with which knowledge is applied and the overall reliability. Credibility starts from the top level management and it trickles down to the middle level managers up to operational level. If workers