Mary Kay Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mary Kay - Assignment Example One direct selling technique that was employed by Mary Kay was over-the-counter selling. After two financial years, direct sales from the two skin care products led to a 120% increase in the company’s revenue (Davies & Dewhirst, 2005). With respect to Mary Kay’s direct selling strategy, over-the-counter sales persons had to employ excellent interpersonal communication skills in enticing potential consumers to make purchases. Among the necessary requirements for Mary Kay’s direct sales persons included confidence, assertiveness, and persuasiveness (Davies & Dewhirst, 2005). In essence, most sales persons were skilled in expressing friendly demeanors and possessed in-depth knowledge on the products as a means of improving their art of persuasion. Admittedly, the 120% increase in Mar Kay’s revenue was attributable to the advantages of direct selling over other marketing strategies. Among the benefits of direct selling include enhanced customer satisfaction resulting from personalized product deliveries, and minimum marketing risks associated with positioning of products. Contrarily, direct selling strategies like those employed by Mary Kay possess certain setbacks which may include poor quality leads and inability to enhance repeat sales (Palade, 2011). Beauty Control TM is a results-oriented beauty product that allows consumers to get a clear skin within a minimum of only seven days. In essence, Beauty Control TM can be described as a new generation product that acts as a foundation for clear skin. As a new product in the market, the best marketing strategy to employ would be promotional marketing. Basically, promotional marketing entails the use of attractive sales techniques in enticing potential consumers, and influencing them to make purchases. Currently, there are multiple competitors within the beauty products market whose brand reputations are the main source of their competitive advantages in

Resolving Leadership Problems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Resolving Leadership Problems - Assignment Example nal and as the result, many organizations around the world are now facing the complex problem of creating and acquiring leaders to take the most difficult decisions and ensure success of their organizations. For this report, the paper will consider case study of ABC organization that has been able to ensure its survival in the corporate world. ABC was one of the manufacturing firms until 2012; however, in June 2013, the company’s CEO resigned away, and since then, there has been a gap in terms of leadership in the company. The owners tried bringing in new CEO in the company but it is not working the way it used to be during the time of previous CEO. The employees are suddenly unhappy about their work and there have been issues regarding decision-making in the firm. Now the owners have decided to resolve this issue by June 2014 and for that, they desire the following state of the company: Analysis of company’s records has indicated that the ABC Company was making US$4 million on quarterly basis until 2012; however, since after quarter of January to March 2013, the company has been making only US$2 million on average. Owners of the company desire to bring back company sales to at least US$3.5 million by September 2014. In addition, there have been various conflicts regarding decision-making and owners would like to see satisfied employees in the company that will ensure long-term success of the company. In order to resolve any complex problem whether it be a problem related to resolving leadership problems or a problem related to reforming education, it is very imperative that change agents ensure consensus (Kaufman, Oakley-Browne, Watkins, & Leigh, 2003) at the time of problem identification, as well as at the time of deciding its solution. Unfortunately, sometimes, change agents try to employ their tested solutions at an organization without understanding differences in context and without acquiring consensus of the stakeholders and that result in chaos and

Interracial Marriage in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interracial Marriage in China - Essay Example The paper will then conclude by discussing the significance of race within this period. Branding, which is the word used within this text to describe the ultimate affects of any such a union, originated as the act of using an extremely hot implement to mark the flesh of humans and livestock. The practice of branding, including that of physically marking human beings, began long before recorded history. Although originally intended to mark ownership in cattle, it was also used as a form of punishment, and employed to distinguish criminals, slaves, and prisoners of war. In Western civilization, branding was banned as a form of punishment in the late 1800s.2 Historically, having a brand was a symbol or mark of identification and ownership - it labeled the person, significating what they were, rather than who they were; criminal, slave, and so forth, and the fact of being branded considered a sign of public shame and personal humiliation. Of course, this marking, including its accompanying reputation, remained with a person for the rest of their life. The use of this word in the above statement, therefore, gives a very clear indication of the attitudes among the general population of the early 20th century towards the idea of interracial marriages. Not only were these types of relationships negatively viewed, but they were also considered as being both shameful and humiliating. Consequently, Tom Frew, his Chinese wife, and their unborn children, would have all been branded with this public mark of shame, of derision, and of exclusion in certain quarters. Early Twentieth Century Worldviews "It has been justly remarked that a nation's civilization may be estimated by the rank which females hold in society. If the civilization of China be judged of by this test, she is surely far from occupying that first place which she so strongly claims" (Chinese Repository, vol. 2, 1833, p. 313). Although this quote is earlier than the period that this essay is addressing, existing worldviews during the earlier twentieth century were based on similar principles, and were rooted within this theory. Within the 1920s, Chinese women were generally seen throughout the Western world, as demonstrated through the above quote, as representative objects of an inferior, underdeveloped society. Almost despised, considered second-rate, this very common worldview, meant that Tom Frew and his Chinese family would face severe discrimatory attitudes and practices where ever they chose to live. "Could he live anywhere, with a Chinese wife" the statement demands. Only, it would seem, with the greatest of difficulties. America, in the early twentieth century, was very suspicious of the Chinese, especially in relation to the influx of immigration. Chinatowns had sprung up throughout many of the major cities - the result of the clash of two distinctively different cultures - and although living in the same city, there was little attempt at integration by either the Chinese or American people. Each community kept within its cultural boundaries, holding onto its group identity, and ensuring the continuation of this through imposing restrictive

Dance history Essay Example for Free

Dance history Essay Ballet is a form of dancing performed for theatre audiences. Like other dance forms, ballet may tell a story, express a mood, or simply reflect the music. But a ballet dancers technique (way of performing) and special skills differ greatly from those of other dancers. Ballet dancers perform many movements that are unnatural for the body. But when these movements are well executed, they look natural. The beginnings of ballet can be traced to Italy during the 1400s at the time of the Renaissance. During the Renaissance, people developed a great interest in art and learning. At the same time, trade and commerce expanded rapidly, and the dukes who ruled Florence and other Italian city-states grew in wealth. The dukes did much to promote the arts. The Italian city-states became rival art centres as well as competing commercial centers. The Italian dukes competed with one another in giving costly, fancy entertainments that included dance performances. The dancers were not professionals. They were noblemen and noblewomen of a dukes court who danced to please their ruler and to stir the admiration and envy of his rivals. Catherine de Medici, a member of the ruling family of Florence, became the queen of France in 1547. Catherine introduced into the French court the same kind of entertainments that she had known in Italy. They were staged by Balthazar de Beaujoyeulx, a gifted musician. Beaujoyeulx had come from Italy to be Catherines chief musician. Ballet historians consider one of Beaujoyeulxs entertainments, the Ballet Comique de la Reine, to be the first ballet. It was a magnificent spectacle of about 51/2 hours performed in 1581 in honour of a royal wedding. The ballet told the ancient Greek myth of Circe, who had the magical power to turn men into beasts. The ballet included specially written instrumental music, singing, and spoken verse as well as dancingall based on the story of Circe. Dance technique was extremely limited, and so Beaujoyeulx depended on spectacular costumes and scenery to impress the audience. To make sure that the audience understood the story, he provided printed copies of the verses used in the ballet. The ballet was a great success, and was much imitated in other European courts. French leadership. The Ballet Comique de la Reine established Paris as the capital of the ballet world. King Louis XIV, who ruled France during the late 1600s and early 1700s, strengthened that leadership. Louis greatly enjoyed dancing. He took part in all the ballets given at his court, which his nobles performed, but stopped after he became fat and middle-aged. In 1661, Louis founded the Royal Academy of Dancing to train professional dancers to perform for him and his court. Professional ballet began with the kings dancing academy. With serious training, the French professionals developed skills that had been impossible for the amateurs. Similar companies developed in other European countries. One of the greatest was the Russian Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, whose school was founded in 1738. The French professional dancers became so skilled that they began to perform publicly in theatres. But in 1760, the French choreographer Jean Georges Noverre criticized the professional dancers in his book Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets (Letters on Dancing and Ballets). Noverre complained that the dancers cared too much about showing their technical skills and too little about the true purpose of ballet. This purpose, he said, was to represent characters and express their feelings. Noverre urged that ballet dancers stop using masks, bulky costumes, and large wigs to illustrate or explain plot and character. He claimed that the dancers could express these things using only their bodies and faces. So long as the dancers did not look strained or uncomfortable doing difficult steps, they could show such emotions as anger, joy, fear, and love. Noverre developed the ballet daction, a form of dramatic ballet that told the story completely through movement. Most of Noverres ballets told stories taken from ancient Greek myths or dramas. But during the early 1800s, people no longer cared about old gods and heroes. The romantic period began as people became interested in stories of escape from the real world to dreamlike worlds or foreign lands.

Causes Of The Cold War Summary And Analysis History Essay

Causes Of The Cold War Summary And Analysis History Essay The Big Picture: Who, What, When, Where (Especially) Why. In 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were allies, jointly triumphant in World War II, which ended with total victory for Soviet and American forces over Adolf Hitlers Nazi empire in Europe. Within just a few years, however, wartime allies became mortal enemies, locked in a global struggle-military, political, economic, ideological-to prevail in a new Cold War. How did wartime friends so quickly turn into Cold War foes? Who started the Cold War? Was it the Soviets, who reneged on their agreements to allow the people of Eastern Europe to determine their own fates by imposing totalitarian rule on territories unlucky enough to fall behind the Iron Curtain? Or was it the Americans, who ignored the Soviets legitimate security concerns, sought to intimidate the world with the atomic bomb, and pushed relentlessly to expand their own international influence and market dominance? The tensions that would later grow into Cold War became evident as early as 1943, when the Big Three allied leaders-American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin-met in Tehran to coordinate strategy. Poland, which sits in an unfortunate position on the map, squeezed between frequent enemies Russia and Germany, became a topic for heated debate. The Poles, then under German occupation, had not one but two governments-in-exile-one Communist, one anticommunist-hoping to take over the country upon its liberation from the Nazis. Unsurprisingly, the Big Three disagreed over which Polish faction should be allowed to take control after the war, with Stalin backing the Polish Communists while Churchill and Roosevelt insisted the Polish people ought to have the right to choose their own form of government. For Stalin, the Polish question was a matter of the Soviet Unions vital security interests; Germany had invaded Russia th rough Poland twice since 1914, and more than 20 million Soviet citizens died in World War II. (The Soviets suffered nearly sixty times as many casualties in the war as the Americans did.) Stalin was determined to make sure that such an invasion could never happen again, and insisted that only a Communist Poland, friendly to (and dominated by) the Soviet Union, could serve as a buffer against future aggression from the west. Stalins security concerns ran smack into Anglo-American values of self-determination, which held that the Poles ought to be allowed to make their own decision over whether or not to become a Soviet satellite. At Tehran, and at the next major conference of the Big Three at Yalta in 1945, the leaders of the US, UK, and USSR were able to reach a number of important agreements-settling border disputes, creating the United Nations, organizing the postwar occupations of Germany and Japan. But Poland remained a vexing problem. At Yalta, Stalin-insisting that Poland is a question of life or death for Russia-was able to win Churchills and Roosevelts reluctant acceptance of a Communist-dominated provisional government for Poland. In exchange, Stalin signed on to a vague and toothless Declaration of Liberated Europe, pledging to assist the peoples liberated from the dominion of Nazi Germany and the peoples of the former Axis satellite states of Europe to solve by democratic means their pressing political and economic problems. The agreements allowed Churchill and Roosevelt to claim they had defended the principle of self-determination, even though both knew that Poland had effectively been consigned to the Soviet sphere of interest. The provisional Communist government in Poland later held rigged elections (which it, not surprisingly, won), nominally complying with the Declaration of Liberated Europe even though no alternative to Communist rule ever really had a chance in the country. In the end, the Yalta agreements were not so much a true compromise as a useful (in the short term) misunderstanding among the three leaders. Stalin left happy he had won Anglo-American acceptance of de facto Soviet control of Eastern Europe; Roosevelt and Churchill left happy they had won Stalins acceptance of the principle of self-determination. But the two parts of the agreement were mutually exclusive; what would happen if the Eastern Europeans sought to self-determine themselves out of the Soviet orbit? Future disputes over the problematic Yalta agreements were not just likely; they were virtually inevitable. And the likelihood of future conflict only heightened on 12 April 1945, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt unexpectedly died of a brain hemorrhage. Vice President Harry S. Truman-a former Missouri senator with only a high-school education, who had served just 82 days as vice president and had not been part of FDRs inner circle-suddenly became the President of the United States. Truman, who may not have ever known just how much Roosevelt had actually conceded to Stalin at Yalta, viewed the Soviets later interventions in Eastern Europe as a simple violation of the Yalta agreements, as proof that Stalin was a liar who could never be trusted. Truman quickly staked out a hard-line position, resolving to counter Stalins apparently insatiable drive for power by blocking any further expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence, anywhere in the world. Under Truman, containment of Communism soon came to dominate American foreign policy. The Cold War was on. So who started the Cold War? In the early days of the Cold War itself, American historians would have answered, nearly unanimously, that the Soviets started the Cold War. Josef Stalin was an evil dictator, propelled by an evil Communist ideology to attempt world domination. Appeasement hadnt worked against Hitler, and appeasement wouldnt work against Stalin either. An innocent America had only reluctantly joined the Cold War to defend the Free World from otherwise inevitable totalitarian conquest. In the 1960s, a new generation of revisionist historians-disillusioned by the Vietnam War and appalled by seemingly endemic government dishonesty-offered a startingly different interpretation. In this revisionist view, Stalin may have been a Machiavellian despot but he was an essentially conservative one; he was more interested in protecting the Soviet Union (and his own power within it) than in dominating the world. Americans erroneously interpreted Stalins legitimate insistence upon a security buffer in Poland to indicate a desire for global conquest; Americans subsequent aggressive efforts to contain Soviet influence, to intimidate the Soviets with the atomic bomb, and to pursue American economic interests around the globe were primarily responsible for starting the Cold War. More recently, a school of historians led by Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis have promoted what they call a post-revisionist synthesis, incorporating many aspects of the revisionist critique while still insisting that Stalin, as a uniquely powerful and uniquely malevolent historical actor, must bear the greatest responsibility for the Cold War. In the end, it may be that Who started the Cold War? is simply the wrong question to ask. World War II destroyed all other major rivals to American and Soviet power; the US and USSR emerged from the conflict as the only two nations on earth that could hope to propagate their social and political systems on a global scale. Each commanded powerful military forces; each espoused globally expansive ideologies; each feared and distrusted the other. In the end, it may have been more shocking if the two superpowers had not become great rivals and Cold War enemies. What was the Cold War The Cold War is the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue. Do note that USSR in 1945 was Russia post-1917 and included all the various countries that now exist individually (Ukraine, Georgia etc) but after the war they were part of this huge country up until the collapse of the Soviet Union (the other name for the USSR). Logic would dictate that as the USA and the USSR fought as allies during World War Two, their relationship after the war would be firm and friendly. This never happened and any appearance that these two powers were friendly during the war is illusory. Before the war, America had depicted the Soviet Union as almost the devil-incarnate. The Soviet Union had depicted America likewise so their friendship during the war was simply the result of having a mutual enemy Nazi Germany. In fact, one of Americas leading generals, Patton, stated that he felt that the Allied army should unite with what was left of the Wehrmacht in 1945, utilise the military genius that existed within it (such as the V2s etc.) and fight the oncoming Soviet Red Army. Churchill himself was furious that Eisenhower, as supreme head of Allied command, had agreed that the Red Army should be allowed to get to Berlin first ahead of the Allied army. His anger was shared by Montgomery, Britains senior military figure. So the extreme distrust that existed during the war, was certainly present before the end of the warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..and this was between Allies. The Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, was also distrustful of the Americans after Truman only told him of a new terrifying weapon that he was going to use against the Japanese. The first Stalin knew of what this weapon could do was when reports on Hiroshima got back to Moscow. So this was the scene after the war ended in 1945. Both sides distrusted the other. One had a vast army in the field (the Soviet Union with its Red Army supremely lead by Zhukov) while the other, the Americans had the most powerful weapon in the world, the A-bomb and the Soviets had no way on knowing how many America had. So what exactly was the Cold War? In diplomatic terms there are three types of war. In diplomatic terms there are three types of war. Hot War : this is actual warfare. All talks have failed and the armies are fighting. Warm War : this is where talks are still going on and there would always be a chance of a peaceful outcome but armies, navies etc. are being fully mobilised and war plans are being put into operation ready for the command to fight. Cold War : this term is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other the consequences would be too appalling but they did fight for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on their behalf e.g. South Vietnam was anticommunist and was supplied by America during the war while North Vietnam was pro-Communist and fought the south (and the Americans) using weapons from communist Russia or communist China. In Afghanistan, the Americans supplied the rebel Afghans after the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 while they never physically involved themselves thus avoiding a direct clash with the Soviet Union. The one time this process nearly broke down was the Cuban   Missile Crisis. So why were these two super powers so distrustful of the other? America Soviet Union Free elections No elections or fixed Democratic Autocratic / Dictatorship Capitalist Communist Survival of the fittest Everybody helps everybody Richest world power Poor economic base Personal freedom Society controlled by the NKVD (secret police) Freedom of the media Total censorship This lack of mutually understanding an alien culture, would lead the world down a very dangerous path it led to the development of weapons of awesome destructive capability and the creation of some intriguing policies such as MAD Mutually Assured Destruction. Cold War chronology 1945 : A-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima + Nagasaki. USA ahead in the arms race. 1947 : Marshall Aid to the west of Europe. Stalin of USSR refused it for Eastern Europe. 1948 : start of the Berlin Blockade ended in 1949 1949 : NATO established; USSR exploded her first A-bomb; China becomes communist 1950 : Korean War started. 1952 : USA exploded her first hyrogen bomb. 1953 : Korean War ended. USSR exploded her first hydrogen bomb. Stalin died. 1955 : Warsaw Pact created. Peaceful coexistence called for. 1956 : Hungary revolts against USSR. Suez Crisis. 1957 : Sputnik launched. 1959 : Cuba becomes a communist state. 1961 : Military aid sent to Vietnam by USA for the first time. Berlin Wall built. 1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis. 1963 : Huge increase of American aid to Vietnam. 1965 : USA openly involved in Vietnam. 1967 : Six-Day War in Middle East. 1968 : USSR invades Czechoslovakia. 1973 : Yom Kippur War. 1979 : USSR invaded Afghanistan. 1986 : Meeting in Iceland between USSR (Gorbachev) and USA (Reagan). 1987 : INF Treaty signed. The Iron Curtain http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/uploads/pics/winston_03.jpg http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif On March 5th 1946, Winston Churchill made his iron curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri, USA. The speech was officially entitled The Sinews of Peace but became better known as the Iron Curtain speech. It set the tone for the early years of the Cold War. Some saw it as unnecessary warmongering while others believed it was another example of how well Churchill was able to grasp an international situation. I am glad to come to Westminster College this afternoon, and am complimented that you should give me a degree. The name Westminster is somehow familiar to me. I seem to have heard of it before. Indeed, it was at Westminster that I received a very large part of my education in politics, dialectic, rhetoric, and one or two other things. In fact we have both been educated at the same, or similar, or, at any rate, kindred establishments. It is also an honour, perhaps almost unique, for a private visitor to be introduced to an academic audience by the President of the United States. Amid his heavy burdens, duties, and responsibilities unsought but not recoiled from the President has travelled a thousand miles to dignify and magnify our meeting here to-day and to give me an opportunity of addressing this kindred nation, as well as my own countrymen across the ocean, and perhaps some other countries too. The President has told you that it is his wish, as I am sure it is yours, that I should have full liberty to give my true and faithful counsel in these anxious and baffling times. I shall certainly avail myself of this freedom, and feel the more right to do so because any private ambitions I may have cherished in my younger days have been satisfied beyond my wildest dreams. Let me, however, make it clear that I have no official mission or status of any kind, and that I speak only for myself. There is nothing here but what you see. I can therefore allow my mind, with the experience of a lifetime, to play over the problems which beset us on the morrow of our absolute victory in arms, and to try to make sure with what strength I have that what has been gained with so much sacrifice and suffering shall be preserved for the future glory and safety of mankind. The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. It is a solemn moment for the American Democracy. For with primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. If you look around you, you must feel not only the sense of duty done but also you must feel anxiety lest you fall below the level of achievement. Opportunity is here now, clear and shining for both our countries. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will bring upon us all the long reproaches of the after-time. It is necessary that constancy of mind, persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decision shall guide and rule the conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. We must, and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement. When American military men approach some serious situation they are wont to write at the head of their directive the words over-all strategic concept. There is wisdom in this, as it leads to clarity of thought. What then is the over-all strategic concept which we should inscribe today? It is nothing less than the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands. And here I speak particularly of the myriad cottage or apartment homes where the wage-earner strives amid the accidents and difficulties of life to guard his wife and children from privation and bring the family up in the fear of the Lord, or upon ethical conceptions which often play their potent part. To give security to these countless homes, they must be shielded from the two giant marauders, war and tyranny. We all know the frightful disturbances in which the ordinary family is plunged when the curse of war swoops down upon the bread-winner and those for whom he works and contrives. The awful ruin of Europe, with all its vanished glories, and of large parts of Asia glares us in the eyes. When the designs of wicked men or the aggressive urge of mighty States dissolve over large areas the frame of civilised society, humble folk are confronted with difficulties with which they cannot cope. For them all is distorted, all is broken, even ground to pulp. When I stand here this quiet afternoon I shudder to visualise what is actually happening to millions now and what is going to happen in this period when famine stalks the earth. None can compute what has been called the unestimated sum of human pain. Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed on that. Our American military colleagues, after having proclaimed their over-all strategic concept and computed available resources, always proceed to the next step namely, the method. Here again there is widespread agreement. A world organisation has already been erected for the prime purpose of preventing war, UNO, the successor of the League of Nations, with the decisive addition of the United States and all that that means, is already at work. We must make sure that its work is fruitful, that it is a reality and not a sham, that it is a force for action, and not merely a frothing of words, that it is a true temple of peace in which the shields of many nations can some day be hung up, and not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel. Before we cast away the solid assurances of national armaments for self-preservation we must be certain that our temple is built, not upon shifting sands or quagmires, but upon the rock. Anyone can see with his eyes open that our path will be difficult and also long, but if we persevere together as we did in the two world wars though not, alas, in the interval between them I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our common purpose in the end. I have, however, a definite and practical proposal to make for action. Courts and magistrates may be set up but they cannot function without sheriffs and constables. The United Nations Organisation must immediately begin to be equipped with an international armed force. In such a matter we can only go step by step, but we must begin now. I propose that each of the Powers and States should be invited to delegate a certain number of air squadrons to the service of the world organisation. These squadrons would be trained and prepared in their own countries, but would move around in rotation from one country to another. They would wear the uniform of their own countries but with different badges. They would not be required to act against their own nation, but in other respects they would be directed by the world organisation. This might be started on a modest scale and would grow as confidence grew. I wished to see this done after the first world war, and I devoutly trust it may be done forthwith. It would nevertheless be wrong and imprudent to entrust the secret knowledge or experience of the atomic bomb, which the United States, Great Britain, and Canada now share, to the world organisation, while it is still in its infancy. It would be criminal madness to cast it adrift in this still agitated and un-united world. No one in any country has slept less well in their beds because this knowledge and the method and the raw materials to apply it, are at present largely retained in American hands. I do not believe we should all have slept so soundly had the positions been reversed and if some Communist or neo-Fascist State monopolised for the time being these dread agencies. The fear of them alone might easily have been used to enforce totalitarian systems upon the free democratic world, with consequences appalling to human imagination. God has willed that this shall not be and we have at least a breathing space to set our house in order before this peril has to be encountered: and even then, if no effort is spared, we should still possess so formidable a superiority as to impose effective deterrents upon its employment, or threat of employment, by others. Ultimately, when the essential brotherhood of man is truly embodied and expressed in a world organisation with all the necessary practical safeguards to make it effective, these powers would naturally be confided to that world organisation. Now I come to the second danger of these two marauders which threatens the cottage, the home, and the ordinary people namely, tyranny. We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, some of which are very powerful. In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments. The power of the State is exercised without restraint, either by dictators or by compact oligarchies operating through a privileged party and a political police. It is not our duty at this time when difficulties are so numerous to interfere forcibly in the internal affairs of countries which we have not conquered in war. But we must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habe as Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence. All this means that the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell; that freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. Here are the title deeds of freedom which should lie in every cottage home. Here is the message of the British and American peoples to mankind. Let us preach what we practise let us practise what we preach. I have now stated the two great dangers which menace the homes of the people: War and Tyranny. I have not yet spoken of poverty and privation which are in many cases the prevailing anxiety. But if the dangers of war and tyranny are removed, there is no doubt that science and co-operation can bring in the next few years to the world, certainly in the next few decades newly taught in the sharpening school of war, an expansion of material well-being beyond anything that has yet occurred in human experience. Now, at this sad and breathless moment, we are plunged in the hunger and distress which are the aftermath of our stupendous struggle; but this will pass and may pass quickly, and there is no reason except human folly of sub-human crime which should deny to all the nations the inauguration and enjoyment of an age of plenty. I have often used words which I learned fifty years ago from a great Irish-American orator, a friend of mine, Mr. Bourke Cockran. There is enough for all. The eart h is a generous mother; she will provide in plentiful abundance food for all her children if they will but cultivate her soil in justice and in peace. So far I feel that we are in full agreement. Now, while still pursuing the method of realising our overall strategic concept, I come to the crux of what I have travelled here to say. Neither the sure prevention of war, nor the continuous rise of world organisation will be gained without what I have called the fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples. This means a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States. This is no time for generalities, and I will venture to be precise. Fraternal association requires not only the growing friendship and mutual understanding between our two vast but kindred systems of society, but the continuance of the intimate relationship between our military advisers, leading to common study of potential dangers, the similarity of weapons and manuals of instructions, and to the interchange of officers and cadets at technical colleges. It should carry with it the continuance of the present facilities for mutual security by the joint use of all Naval a nd Air Force bases in the possession of either country all over the world. This would perhaps double the mobility of the American Navy and Air Force. It would greatly expand that of the British Empire Forces and it might well lead, if and as the world calms down, to important financial savings. Already we use together a large number of islands; more may well be entrusted to our joint care in the near future. The United States has already a Permanent Defence Agreement with the Dominion of Canada, which is so devotedly attached to the British Commonwealth and Empire. This Agreement is more effective than many of those which have often been made under formal alliances. This principle should be extended to all British Commonwealths with full reciprocity. Thus, whatever happens, and thus only, shall we be secure ourselves and able to work together for the high and simple causes that are dear to us and bode no ill to any. Eventually there may come I feel eventually there will come the principle of common citizenship, but that we may be content to leave to destiny, whose outstretched arm many of us can already clearly see. There is however an important question we must ask ourselves. Would a special relationship between the United States and the British Commonwealth be inconsistent with our over-riding loyalties to the World Organisation? I reply that, on the contrary, it is probably the only means by which that organisation will achieve its full stature and strength. There are already the special United States relations with Canada which I have just mentioned, and there are the special relations between the United States and the South American Republics. We British have our twenty years Treaty of Collaboration and Mutual Assistance with Soviet Russia. I agree with Mr. Bevin, the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, that it might well be a fifty years Treaty so far as we are concerned. We aim at nothing but mutual assistance and collaboration. The British have an alliance with Portugal unbroken since 1384, and which produced fruitful results at critical moments in the late war. None of these clash with the general interest of a world agreement, or a world organisation; on the contrary they help it. In my fathers house are many mansions. Special associations between members of the United Nations which have no aggressive point against any other country, which harbour no design incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations, far from being harmful, are beneficial and, as I believe, indispensable. I spoke earlier of the Temple of Peace. Workmen from all countries must build that temple. If two of the workmen know each other particularly well and are old friends, if their families are inter-mingled, and if they have faith in each others purpose, hope in each others future and charity towards each others shortcomings to quote some good words I read here the other day why cannot they work together at the common task as friends and partners? Why cannot they share their tools and thus increase each others working powers? Indeed they must do so or else the temple may not be built, or, being built, it may collapse, and we shall all be proved again unteachable and have to go and try to learn again for a third time in a school of war, incomparably more rigorous than that from which we have just been released. The dark ages may return, the Stone Age may return on the gleaming wings of science, and what might now shower immeasurable material blessings upon mankind, may even bring about its total destruction. Beware, I say; time may be short. Do not let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late. If there is to be a fraternal association of the kind I have described, with all the extra strength and security which both our countries can derive from it, let us make sure that that great fact is known to the world, and that it plays its part in steadying and stabilising the foundations of peace. There is the path of wisdom. Prevention is better than cure. A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organisation intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytising tendencies. I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin. There is deep sympathy and goodwill in Britain and I doubt not here also towards the peoples of all the Russias and a resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers by the removal of all possibility of German aggression. We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world. We welcome her flag upon the seas. Above all, we welcome constant, frequent and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people on both sides of the Atlantic. It is my duty how ever, for I am sure you would wish me to state the facts as I see them to you, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one

Strike Management And Trade Unions Management Essay

Strike Management And Trade Unions Management Essay OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: The main objective of the study by the research paper is to understand the importance of trade union to the organization and vise verses. What are the main functions of unions how they work during strikes? I predicted that throw trade union control would mediate the effects of job-related uncertainty, and that management communication and participation in decision-making would reduce uncertainty and increase feelings of control. The model was tested in a public sector organization as well as government sector organization the results supported it. Management communication is easy throw the trade What is a trade union? A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. This may include the negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. The agreements negotiated by the union leaders are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on other non-member workers. Originating in Europe, labor unions became popular in many countries during the Industrial Revolution, when the lack of skill necessary to perform most jobs shifted employment bargaining power almost completely to the employers side, causing many workers to be mistreated and underpaid. Trade union organizations may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past workers, or the unemployed. The most common, but by no means only, purpose of these organizations is maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment Over the last three hundred years, many trade unions have developed into a number of forms, influenced by differing political objectives. Activities of trade unions vary, but may include: What are the functions of a trade union?] Function and benefit of trade unions Association of workers to promote and protect the welfare, interests, and rights of its members; also called labor union In the broadest sense, trade unions came about as a way to protect workers after the industrial revolution in England, where they were working 12 to 14 hour days 6 days a week for whatever the company owner decided he would pay them. Which of course was as little as possible. Not that the need for trade unions was restricted to workers in England. A good read if you want to know what working conditions were like in America in the late 1800s and early 1900s would be Upton Sinclairs The Jungle, BUT BE WARNED there are some truly harrowing scenes in this book, and its publication in the 1920s caused such an uproar that the government created the FDA in an attempt to stop the worst excesses. For a slightly gentler view of the life of the working classes around 1900 America, try Theodore Dreisers Sister Carrie. You should also research the Pullman Corporation, and the Carnegie Steel empire, both of which grabbed back a good part of what little they paid in wages by forcing employees to live in filthy, unmaintained hovels in company towns, and shop at the company store where, of course, they were charged super high prices for everything. If I recall, the first of the American trade unions, and one of the first to strike, were the Pullman car waiters, who were all poor blacks (and referred to, whatever his name might be, as George). For many Americans, all the name Henry Ford means is paying his employees enough to be able to buy one of his cars (of course, you didnt buy a Chevrolet if you worked for Ford.) The power of a union is that the union can collectively bargain for the best possible deal for all its members; not just wages, but the right to live anywhere you wanted and not just in company housing, the number of hours worked, medical benefits, and paid time off. The power of a union is also limited to the solidarity of the members, because the only thing a worker possessed was the ability to walk off the job, so its more effective if everyone walks out and stays out together. Of course, the loss of wages for a man who was earning maybe 6 dollars a week caused huge strain on poor families, and employers had no problem hiring non-union labor to come in and work for the strikers. Ford hated the unions and was the last of the car manufacturers to recognize the right of the workers to organize. The detective agency Pinkertons was originally created to break up strikes by Ford workers at the Dearborn plant in Michigan, and they cheerfully broke up picket lines with shotguns, Billy clubs, and anything else they saw fit, all the while protected or ignored by the police. Many Americans are still prevented from organizing themselves into a union, as is evidenced by the struggle for recognition by the employees at Wal-Mart. Other Americans do not see the need for trade unions; after all, this is America and not Russia. But when you realize that in 1920 there was no medical insurance, no paid maternity leave, no paid day off for Labor Day (ironically Labor Day is to celebrate the gains made for American workers, but of course the Wal-Mart employees and many many others are still required to work on labor day) no paid day off for Presidents day. The right to a 5-day 40 hour workweek was not won until the 1950s. Bear in mind that ANYTHING an employer gives an employee comes directly out of his pocket. DO you think you would have all the benefits you have today if people had not given their lives to the Pinkerton thugs in Dearborn? No. Youd still be working 11 hours a day 6 days a week, with one day off for Christmas. I strongly suggest you do a lot of reading and some internet research if you want to know why you have the benefits you do (and the European benefits, which are even better than yours, because unlike Americans, most European workers did not simply walk away from trade unions (largely, of course, because of the publicity generated by the connection between the Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa, and the Mob). That should get you started anyway. Be grateful to the unions. OBJECTIVES OF TRADE UNION Industrial Relations :- Trade unions are formed to protect and promote the interests of their members. Their primary function is to protect the interests of workers against discrimination and unfair labor practices. Trade unions are form Representation Trade unions represent individual workers when they have a problem at work. If an employee feels he is being unfairly treated, he can ask the union representative to help sort out the difficulty with the manager or employer. Unions also offer their members legal representation. Normally this is to help people get financial compensation for work-related injuries or to assist people who have to take their employer to courted to achieve the following objectives: Negotiation Negotiation is where union representatives, discuss with management, the issues which affect people working in an organization. There may be a difference of opinion between management and union members. Trade unions negotiate with the employers to find out a solution to these differences. Pay, working hours, holidays and changes to working practices are the sorts of issues that are negotiated. In many workplaces there is a formal agreement between the union and the company which states that the union has the right to negotiate with the employer. In these organizations, unions are said to be recognized for collective bargaining purposes. Voice in decisions affecting workers The economic security of employees is determined not only by the level of wages and duration of their employment, but also by the managements personal policies which include selection of employees for layoffs, retrenchment, promotion and transfer. These policies directly affect workers. The evaluation criteria for such decisions may not be fair. So, the intervention of unions in such decision making is a way through which workers can have their say in the decision Member services during the last few years, trade unions have increased the range of services they offer their members. These include: Education and training Most unions run training courses for their members on employment rights, health and safety and other issues. Some unions also help members who have left school with little education by offering courses on basic skills and courses leading to professional qualifications. Legal assistance As well as offering legal advice on employment issues, some unions give help with personal matters, like housing, wills and debt. Financial discounts People can get discounts on mortgages, insurance and loans from unions. Welfare benefits One of the earliest functions of trade unions was to look after members who hit hard times. Some of the older unions offer financial help to their members when they are sick or unemployed. WHAT IS A ATRIKE? A strike is when a group of workers agree to stop working. They do this when they want to protest against something they think is unfair where they work. Strikes sometimes happen so that politicians have to listen more carefully to the workers. Why do workers go on strike? Workers go on strike for different reasons: to get improvements where they work for more money for shorter working days to stop their wages going down because they think their company has been unfair. TYPES OF STRIKES The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provides legal protections for two kinds of strikes, economic strikes and unfair labor practices strikes. The former is a strike that is undertaken by workers in order to garner improvements in their wages, benefits, hours, or working conditions. An unfair labor practices strike is an action that has far more serious legal implications for small business owners. This kind of strike occurs in instances where the employer allegedly violates NLRA rules that protect workers during collective bargaining. Typical violations that prompt an unfair labor practices strike include refusing to pay benefits when theyre due, discharging an employee for engaging in union activities, and refusing to bargain in good faith, reported J.D. Thorne in Small Business Reports. An unfair labor practices strike not only threatens a loss of business, but also requires that you return picketing workers to their jobs when the strike ends. Therefore, you must fire loyal r eplacement workers who crossed the picket line to work-and helped keep your business afloat. Businesses that do not do so are liable for back pay starting on the date that striking workers made their unconditional offer to return to work. Given the added risks associated with an unfair labor practices strike, then, Thorne contended that the most important aspect of managing an economic strike-the most common type-is to prevent it from becoming an unfair labor practices strike. Thorne noted that employer actions that could trigger this transformation include blatant ones, such as discharging an employee for engaging in his or her right to strike or withholding benefits (earned vacation time, pension-plan eligibility, etc.) as well as more subtle ones that nonetheless violate the National Labor Relations Act. The issue of communications with union members, for instance, is rife with rules that can ensnare the unknowing small business owner. These communication rules apply both to the pre-strike and strike periods. Following are specific guidelines that small businesses should adhere to in negotiations: Continue to bargain in good faith throughout the process. Both sides have a continuing responsibility to engage in good faith collective bargaining, wrote Thorne, which means that you must meet with the union with the intent of reaching an agreement about the workers demands. Failure to do so also could convert the nature of a strike. Provide unions with all information to which they are legally entitled. Under U.S. labor law, unions can request information about managements plans regarding various operational aspects of the business during the strike. For example, the union can ask for information about where the business plans to get replacement workers and the wages that they will be paid. Know management rights. Many legal protections are in place to protect workers from unfair management practices, but business owners have rights, too. Thorne noted, for instance, that businesses can discuss and clarify with striking employees how their proposal differs from that of the union leadership, and they can ask employees to vote to accept your final offer when its presented for ratification. Many strike situations also give them the option of utilizing replacement workers without penalty. Nonetheless, businesses should be aware that there are many legal dos and donts associated with management-union interactions during collective bargaining and strike periods, and they should make sure that they have adequate legal representation to assist them in this area. HOW TO MANAGING A STRIKE The beginning of an employee strike is almost always a difficult period for small business owners. The adversarial nature of such actions can be jarring for company leaders who are unfamiliar with strikes, and the walk-out itself can threaten small-and midsized business owners with devastating economic consequences (large companies can be hurt by strikes, too, of course, but their very existence is not usually jeopardized). Given this reality, small business owners and their management teams must take steps to ensure that their companies will be able to continue their operations during the strike. As Brenda Paik Sunoo wrote in Personnel Journal, a strike will inevitably pose challenges in many areas: managing contingent workers; setting up communication between management and all employees; maintaining customer service; establishing interim policies regarding benefits, overtime, vacations, and sick leave; and bolstering non-striking employees morale. Clearly, those that prepare well in advance will suffer the least trauma during and after a labor dispute. Indeed, business experts universally agree that advance planning is key to managing a strike. They note that few companies can claim that they were caught flat-footed by a work stoppage. Most strikes occur when labor contracts expire, and even those that do not take place on such a specific date typically provide management with plenty of warning signs. Businesses that prepare for contract expirations and other potential strike periods by drawing up detailed contingency plans in advance will be much better equipped to weather a strike than will those firms that wait until the last minute. In recognition of this reality, Risk Management noted in 1998 that increasing numbers of companies have created management teams-sometimes called strike contingency planning teams (SCPTs)-to address potential strike issues. Advance preparation efforts should cover a broad spectrum of operational areas. For example, businesses should have a plan in place to put together a contingent work force, whether comprised of replacements, non-striking employees (often supervisory personnel), or a combination of the two. A company that maintains information on recent job applicants, for example, may find itself better positioned to form a contingent work force than a firm that neglects to do so. Contingent work forces will also need training on a variety of issues, from duties to customer relations to legal matters (non-striking personnel already employed by the company may well need this training as well, since they will in many cases be undertaking unfamiliar tasks and interacting with customers and suppliers with whom they may not be familiar. Appropriate training programs should be in place well before a strike, not cobbled together after a strike actually occurs. Employers will also have to prepare interim pol icies governing various human resource issues for both striking and non-striking workers. Companies facing strike actions should also make sure that their customers and suppliers are notified at appropriate times of that possibility. If your company suddenly announces to a major customer that your facility has been hit with a strike without providing that customer without any prior warning, you are likely to lose that customer for good, even after the labor dispute has been resolved. Businesses facing strikes should also make preparations for alternative service to valued clients and customers. Another key to successful strike management, say labor experts, is for management to maintain a professional stance throughout. Many labor disputes disintegrate into intensely negative clashes, with repercussions that are felt long after the strike itself has been settled. Small business owners should do their best to prevent negotiations from becoming acrimonious. Owners who are capable of empathy with their striking employees concerns about job security and economic wellbeing will be better able to manage this than will those who automatically dismiss all work stoppages as solely an outgrowth of union greed. Finally, business owners should plan ahead to make sure that they have adequate security if a strike takes place. Strikes, by their very nature, are adversarial, stated Sunoo. They often are accompanied by disruptions in service and product delivery, and sometimes even violence. Savvy businesses will contact local legal and governmental authorities in advance to discuss issues such as picket lines, responses to disturbances, etc. In addition, businesses at risk of being the target of a work stoppage will often need to hire security forces to monitor the premises and protect their contingent work force. The role of security is twofold, said one security expert in an interview with Personnel Journal: 1) providing managers and non-striking employees with assurances that they can go to work without being injured, and 2) gathering evidence of any strike-related misconduct on the part of strikers for later use in legal proceedings. Companies seeking security service have a number of options from which to choose, including their own personnel, local off-duty law enforcement personnel, and local security firms that provide security guards. Experts recommend that companies seeking security help look to firms with previous strike experience and avoid local security firms unless they can get assurances that none of their guards have any meaningful social or familial relationship to any of the strikers. SOME EXAMPLES OF ST RIKES:- Wildcat strikes These are sudden unofficial strikes. They are not organized by a trade union, but union members might be involved. Wildcat action can start because of what seems to be a small problem, like the length of a tea break or the treatment of one worker. They might start small but if workers are angry with their bosses the strikes can spread fast and cause a lot of problems. What are pickets? Pickets are workers who are on strike that stand at the entrance to their workplace. The purpose of picketing is: to stop or persuade workers not to go to work to tell the public about the strike to persuade workers to take their unions side . ARTICLES:- 1.Express staff threaten strike Stephen Brook, press correspondent guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 November 2006 18.40 GMT Article history Union staff at Express newspapers will ballot for industrial action unless management withdraws its plans for 35 staff redundancies, a union meeting decided tonight. The National Union of Journalists chapel committee for the Daily and Sunday Express and Daily and Sunday Star were due to tell management tonight of its resolution, which was passed by about 200 chapel members with one abstention and one no vote. This chapel demands that management immediately calls a halt to its plan for wholesale redundancies among staff and casuals, the resolution stated. We instruct our officers to put in motion the necessary processes to ballot for industrial action should this not be immediately forthcoming. Late last Friday, the papers parent company, Northern Shell, told chapel committee members it would make 35 job cuts and close the business section of the Daily Express, outsourcing it to the Press Association. The union says this would result in up to 60 job losses, including casuals and other contributors. Other cuts will also see the news and features production departments merge, as will the Daily and Sunday Express travel sections. ABSTRACT FROM THE ABOVE:- 2. Government intervention to prevent airline mechanics strike On February 9, the governments National Mediation Board released the mechanics union at Northwest Airlines to prepare for a strike. This release came only after the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the union for the 10,000 mechanics, carried out public picketing, saying the board was taking the companys side and holding the contract hostage. The mechanics have been working four and a half years without a new contract. The old one they were stuck with contained big wage concessions. Meanwhile the company has been reaping big profits. Nevertheless, even while releasing the union for a strike, the board declared a 30-day cooling off period. It also urged President Bush to prevent any strike, saying a strike threatens substantially to deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service, meaning the near monopoly of Northwest Airlines at the Minneapolis-St Paul, Detroit and Memphis airports. The Bush Administration issued a statement that it wasnt going to allow a strike to occur. All the members of the National Mediation Board were appointed by President Clinton. The three person board from the start had a majority of management members. Its chairman, Francis Duggan, was a vice president of the Association of American Railroads; member Magdalena Jacobsen was a labor relations manager for Continental Airlines. In 1997, Clinton broke the American Airlines pilots strike after 7 minutes by appointing an emergency board to oversee the situation. Now Bush is announcing he will do the same thing Clinton did. When in gets down to basics -like preventing strikes -the only difference between a Democrat and a Republican is whether they smile at you when plunging in the knife. 3. Air India pilots to go on strike from 24 Nov The Air India management came unprepared for the meeting, claimed Otaal Mumbai: The Indian Commercial Pilots Association, or ICPA, at state-owned airline Air India, on Monday, said it will strike work beginning 24 November. The decision comes after a Monday meeting with the Central Labour Commissioner and Air India management was inconclusive. The talks were inconclusive. The Central Labour Commissioner has called for another meeting on 20 November but we are going ahead with our strike decision and we will serve a strike notice tomorrow in two week advance, said ICPA general secretary R. S. Otaal told Mint on the telephone. ICPA currently has at least 800 members. A spokesperson for National Aviation Co of India Ltd or Nacil, that runs Air India, declined comment for this story. The Air India management came unprepared for the meeting, claimed Otaal. Our demand is the same about clearing salary dues. We are fed up with the dues from the productivity linked incentives (PLIs). The cash-strapped airline had suggested a 50% cut in the PLI to save save about Rs700 crore. PLIs currently account for 30% to 50% of Air India employees wages. PLIs have not been paid since August. The national carrier, which has cumulative losses of Rs7,226 crore for financial years 2008 and 2009, has asked the government for a loan and equity infusion of around Rs15,000 core. Air Indias borrowings increased to Rs15,241 crore at the end of June, up from Rs6,550 crore in November 2007. 4. India airport strike threatens to paralyze travel Airport workers across India threatened to strike at midnight on Tuesday, a move that could ground hundreds of commercial flights and leave NEW DELHI Airport workers across India threatened to strike at midnight on Tuesday, a move that could ground hundreds of commercial flights and leave tens of thousands of passengers stranded. The threatened strike is over plans to privatize two major airports, but workers are expected to join in at 127 other state-run airports nearly every airport in India except New Delhi and Mumbai, the two busiest airports, which are already privately run. S. R. Santhanam, a leader of the airport workers union, said the decision to launch an open-ended strike starting at midnight Tuesday was made after talks with the government broke down Monday. No talks are scheduled unless the government sends a message, he said, adding that some 15,000 airport workers, including baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff would go on strike. The dispute between stems from a government plan to privatize new airports in the southern cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore, a move that union says will endanger the jobs of hundreds of employees. Airport authorities plan to shift all commercial activity from the cities old airports to the new ones when they open in coming weeks. Hyderabad and Bangalore are both large cities that are home to several major multinational corporations as well as scores of thriving information technology companies. The government plans to use the old airports for disaster management and flights carrying government leaders, aviation ministry spokeswoman Moushmi Chakravarty said. Chakravarty said the private operators would retain the employees. However, the unions worry that there could be future layoffs. Subhash Goyal, chairman of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said any strike could cost the booming aviation sector millions of dollars. It will have a tremendous impact on travelers, he said. Indias airline industry has grown dramatically in recent years as rising incomes and loosened regulations put air travel within reach of millions of new customers. In the early 1990s, Indian Airlines was the countrys single carrier, but Indian authorities opened up the airways and since then about a dozen airlines have opened for business, leading to a heated competition and low prices. 5. Strike and police brutality at Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, 2005 Submitted by Steven. on Jan 8 2010 01:00 Prol-Position on the violent, month-long strike/lockout of HMSI workers in India in 2005, which ended with the employers giving into many of the workers demands. The following summary relies entirely on media reports we couldnt get hold of any first hand reports from comrades. The month-long strike/lock-out at HMSI and the police attack on the workers caused a big stir in India. This is mainly due to the location of   the strike: a modern factory of a multinational company in a developing region which up to that point was not seen as prone to industrial disputes. The conflict at Honda threatened to become a spark in a generally tense atmosphere within Indias modern international industry. Therefore the police brutality against the workers cant be understood as a mere response to a single workers struggle, but must rather be explained by the general situation in the new investment zones (see also Newsletter 3 on call centers in India). In order to understand the political significance of the dispute for the Indian economy we recommend you read the detailed analysis of the Indian group Rupee. They describe the increased dependence of the Indian economy on foreign capital influx since the crash in 1991, the new privatization schemes and the other, dark side , of India Shining (the Indian boom). About the Region Gurgaon is situated in the state of Haryana, close to New Delhi, a town in a rural area without any tradition of workers struggles. The new town centre is characterized by modern office blocks and shopping malls. Companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Nokia have their headquarters here. The government of Haryana implemented strict anti-union labor laws in order to attract further foreign investment. The industrial zone mushroomed during the last five years and comprises 90 factories, with a large share of companies in the automobile sector. About 70 percent of all motor-scooters produced in India are said to be produced in this region. Japanese companies play an important role, given that Japan is Indias fourth biggest foreign investor and about three quarters of all Japanese companies in India are situated in Gurgaon. The AITUC is the most important union in Gurgaon, it is supported by the CPI(M). The Communist Parties of India have a difficult role to play. On the one hand, they have to make an effort to appear to support the workers, including by patriotic propaganda against foreign investors. On the other, they have the duties of governing parties. West Bengal is a CP-led state and attracts the second greatest amount of foreign investment of all Indian states. Shortly before the incidents in Gurgaon the government of West Bengal signed a 500 Million US-Dollar deal with Mitsubishi. The Situation in the Modern Industrial Sector The struggle in Gurgaon took place against the background of various conflicts within the modern industrial sector which often resulted in significant wage improvements for the workers. At HMSI the management claims that the workers already received a 100 percent wage raise in the previous year. In June 2005 the workers at Toyota in Bangalore demanded a 100 percent wage increase. The management promised 25 percent and was able to avoid industrial action. At the car part suppliers Speedo ax, Hitachi Electrics and Omax Auto, all situated in Gurgaon, industrial disputes were only settled a few days before the police attack on the HMSI workers. Apart from a booming, but still modest, automobile export industry more and more electronic device companies (mobile phones etc.) are opening their factories in India. Companies like Solectron and Flextronics have recently increased their investment in the sub-continent. The individual ownership of mobile phones has increased from 6 million in 200 0 to 50 million in 2005 and is supposed to grow by 20 million each year. The automobile export sector is still confined to a few companies and models (Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, Fiat, Skoda, Suzuki and Mahindra), exporting about 130,000 cars in 2004, but the sector, particularly the car component industry, is growing. About the factory The factory is modern, only four years old. The plant churns out 2,000 scooters per day and employs about 1,900 to 2,500 workers. In 2004 HMSI is said to have sold 550,000 scooters in India. Scooters and other two-wheelers are still the most important means of motorised transport in India. In 2003-04 about 5,625,000 motorcycles were sold, compared to 850,000 cars. Most of the workers are hired by subcontractors or only get daily contracts. The wages are poor, securing mere survival. A lot of workers come from the surrounding small villages or even from othe

The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl. :: Essays Papers

The Logging Industry vs. The Old Growth Forests of the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Spotted Owl. The Pacific Northwest is perhaps most commonly known for its awe-inspiring old growth forests that have been gracing the land for hundreds and hundreds of years. The land in British Colombia, Canada, Washington state, Oregon, and parts of Northern California are the only areas in the world where these forests exist. One of the most unique and amazing inhabitants of this age-old forest is the Northern Spotted Owl. The Northern Spotted Owl has been on the endangered species list for over ten years now. The Northern Spotted Owl can only be found in these old growth forests. The northern spotted owl requires many acres old forests to survive, due to its scarce food supply. They are very sensitive to their habitat, and simply cannot survive in any other environment. These owls, as well as the forests have been disappearing at an alarming rate due to the immense logging industry in its area. Logging is a huge industry in the Pacific Northwest for obvious reasons. The abundant, lush, forests are an ideal location for major logging companies to stake their claim. For many Pacific North westerners, and Americans in general, the logging industry is a major part of the economy. Many loggers have been raised and trained for their entire life to become loggers. Many loggers know no other skills to support themselves other than logging and the logging industry. There are many communities located in the Pacific Northwest that are supported fully by the logging industry. Without the logging of the old growth forests, their families and their livelihoods would be ruined. These two sides of the issue bring about a major controversy in America today. Should the Pacific Northwest’s old growth forests and the welfare of the Northern Spotted Owl be sacrificed for America’s economy, and the jobs of the people in the logging industry? Which should be placed at a higher value, the forests in the Pacific Northwest and the northern spotted owl, or the American economy and the jobs and welfare of thousands and thousands of people? These are very difficult questions for me personally to answer because I live in the Pacific Northwest, and I have seen the beauty of the old growth forests first-hand.