Level of Pesticide Residues Essay Example

Level of Pesticide Residues Essay Literary Review Plan Pesticide Residues in Food: a Cause for Concern? Introduction This literary reappraisal aimed to detect if the UK consumer should be worried about the degree of pesticide residues in their nutrient, the wellness effects ( inauspicious or otherwise ) and if they are unfavorable to the extent that consumers should halt purchasing nutrients which contain pesticide residues. Information for this literary reappraisal was obtained by extended research into the topic of pesticide residues with the usage of diaries, articles, books and cyberspace beginnings such as the Pesticide Residue Committee web site. The information used in this reappraisal aimed to be as up to day of the month as possible, with the bulk of beginnings published in the last 5 old ages. What are Pesticide/Pesticide Residues and Why Are Pesticides Used? The universe s population needs nutrient to last, and the chief beginning of nutrient comes from workss nevertheless these are really susceptible to plagues, competition, mold, parasites, fungus and other jobs that could perchance take to take down output or even devastation of a whole harvest ( Ware 1989 estimated that in developed states 10-30 % of all harvests are ruined by plagues and disease. ) Pesticides were invented to increase the opportunities of a harvest surviving, and turning a larger output, and therefore guaranting that as many people are fed as possible. To understand the demand for pesticide it is of import to specify what a pesticide may be and how it might be used. Sannino, 2008 refers to The Food and Agriculture Organisation ( FAO ) , a division of the United Nations, who define a pesticide as a substance or a mixture of substances [ normally chemicals ] intended to forestall, destruct or command any pest ; nevertheless they besides category growth regulators, defoliants or desiccants as pesticides. Pesticides can be used to forestall disease and molds in crops during storage and growing and avert harm to outputs caused by animate beings and insects. We will write a custom essay sample on Level of Pesticide Residues specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Level of Pesticide Residues specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Level of Pesticide Residues specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Defending crops from harm ensures that a high degree of good quality and varied nutrient is invariably available in the UK. The debut and innovation of pesticides has meant that consumers in the UK do non hold to worry about the measure of nutrient available they allow for the luxury of quality and assortment. Population growing peaked at 2.04 % per annum towards the terminal of the 1960 s taking to increased nutrient demand and alterations in nutrient ingestion forms. This sparked the growing in pesticide engineering and hence we eat better quality and more varied nutrient than before the peak growing period in the sixtiess ( an illustration of necessity as the female parent of innovation ) . Furthermore, The Food Standard Agency ( FSA, a authorities administration ) note that the high outputs produced due to the usage of pesticides provide the consumer with lower monetary values for their nutrient. Hamilton 2004 highlights the benefits of pesticides on a wider graduated table ; d ue to the fact that spoilage to big sums of harvests caused by many animate beings, insects and micro beings, ( if pesticides were non used ) , could take to losingss in trade and cause great injury to the economic system. There are many classs of pesticide as there are many ways that harvests can be destroyed antifungals ( classically made up of carbamates or similar ) are used to protect works harvests against fungus, weedkillers ( classically made up of carbamates, 1,3,5-triazines and substituted carbamides ) protect against weeds and insect powders ( classically made up of organophosphorates ( OPs ) , pyrethroids, carbamates, and substituted carbamides ) protect against insects ( Sannino 2008 ) . Other pesticides include molluscides and bacteriacides. Sannino 2008 provinces they are categorised by manner of their chemical grouping as pesticides, either consist of organic compounds or inorganic compounds ; modern pesticides chiefly consist of the former with some even developed from the plant-tissue themselves, with Sannino 2008 giving rotenone as an illustration. Hassall 1990 provinces that the plague and chemical construction of the pesticide can besides, and normally are, used to categorize pesticides. Pesticide residues are the degree of pesticide left behind on or in nutrients one time they have been processed ( and therefore will be consumed with the nutrient, nevertheless they are non found in all nutrients ) . Residues may besides be found in nutrient due to spray impetus or contaminated environments or, for illustration in meat and animate being merchandises, due to those animate beings devouring provender that contains pesticides. Hamilton 2008 notes that imbibing H2O may besides go contaminated with residues. If any pesticide residue is left on or in the nutrient it will usually be a minute sum ( FSA ) nevertheless some, such as Weddie 1991, and many consumers, believe that the pesticide residues cause injury, ( this fact is used as a selling tool in the organic nutrient industry and is a possible ground why many people choose to purchase organic nutrients ) ( Weddie 1991 ) . Pesticide Residues do non needfully happen in nutrients because excessively much pesticide has be en used on harvests, or because the pesticide has been applied falsely ; some pesticides are applied to nutrient specifically as a residue to support the nutrient from disease, molds, micro-organisms and similar when being stored or transported. ( FSA ) The prevalence of pesticide residues in nutrient and their possible affect on human wellness and the environment has brought approximately much treatment in literature ; the argument about whether these residues pose a possible cause for concern is on traveling this literary reappraisal purposes to research this further. The Green Revolution and History of Pesticide Cremlyn, 1978 Tells that the use of chemicals in order for harvests to boom is older than most think in fact some basic constructs have been understood since the Ancient Greek and Roman times, for illustration they were so cognizant of the benefits of sulfur, arsenic and sodium carbonate on nutrient harvests and their capablenesss of skirmishing plagues. The good belongingss of contending against plagues for nicotine, soap and pyrethrum had besides been utilised long before the Green Revolution and the modern epoch of pesticides. During the 1800 s the first controlled scientific research into the good affects of chemicals to forestall pest damaging harvests were undertaken. HajA?lova 1999 inside informations the promotion of the use of arsenic taking to the debut of an insect powder made up of impure Cu arsenite in the last 1860 s. Further promotions throughout the century where discovered, for illustration a antifungal incorporating Cu sulfate which illustrated selective pesticides belongingss, and the use and innovation of organomercury pesticides in to the early twentieth century. Holland 1996 regarded the 1930 s as the start of the modern age of pesticide usage, innovation and execution. Many of import finds were made in this decennary, including dinitro-ortho-cresikm, thiram, pentachlorophenol, TEPP and ( towards the terminal of the decennary ) DDT. HajA?lova 1999 notes how DDT went on to go the most extensively employed insect powder across the ball, triping the usage of other organochlorines in pesticides. In the 1940 s endocrine weedkillers, and carbamate weedkillers and insect powders were utilized, nevertheless Sannino 2008 notes that pesticides in agribusiness merely became extended and gained broad spread use after the Second World War, co-occuring with the Green Revolution and up-scaling of agricultural engineering and demand for more nutrient production with population growing ( which peaked during the late sixtiess ) . The 1950 s saw the birth of many more pesticides, such as urea, that remain in usage in modern agribusiness. The following decennary saw the debut of of import compounds such as captan, glyodin, benomyl ( in funigisides ) , tiazines, ammonium hydroxide, glyposate ( in weedkillers ) and Malathion ( in insect powders ) . At this clip organic pyrethrins were besides taken over by man-made replacings that showed better action. The Green Revolution ( chiefly go oning throughout the 1950 s, but widening into the 70s and early 80s ) was designed to dramatically heighten the engineering used in agribusiness, and therefore convey about higher outputs and better quality nutrient harvests. This saw the start of the riddance of hungriness for many in the underdeveloped universe and dramatically changed agribusiness. This Green Revolution ( a phrase foremost coined by William Gaud in the late 1960 s ( Gaud 1968 ) was funded by The Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation and a figure of Governments across the Earth who saw its possible for illustriousness ( Greathead 2008 ) . Dr Norman Borlaug ( male parent of the Green Revolution, ( Niazi 2004 ) ) , who worked for The Rockefeller Foundation, proved that great successes could be made in agribusiness and demonstrated this with his development work in Mexico in 1943. The successes at that place meant that Rockefeller and Borlaug sought to distribute this theoreti cal account of development ( through pesticides, mechanization, new cultivars, irrigation and fertilization ) into other states, foremost concentrating on staple harvests. One of the first states to turn over out this theoretical account was India ; De Datta 1968 noted the successes India found when implementing the new strategies, particularly in regard to IR8 ( a new strain of rice, latter dubbed Miracle Rice ) which produced 10s fold the output of traditional rice. This success was emulated throughout Asia. Barta 2007 illustrates the Green Revolution s successes in India, by saying that the cost of rice there had more than halved since the 1970s, and that by the 1990 s India had tripled the norm of sum of rice-grown-per-hectare. IR8 besides proved a great success of cut downing hungriness in the Philippines, taking to their mean one-year rice production more than duplicating between the 1960s-1980s ( FAO ) . Conway 1998 s statistics ( that during the same clip period cereal outputs besides more than doubled in less economically developed states ) besides prove that the Green Revolution brought approximately great decrease in degrees of hungriness a nd therefore increased the quality of lives for the population of those states. However, the Philippines was one of the first to demo marks of the disadvantages of the Green Revolution IR8 needed heavy pesticide usage to accomplish its possible, but this led a great decrease in the figure of Filipino fish and frog genus and some leafy weeds ( which is environmentally unsound, nevertheless it besides depleted the nutrient supply of husbandmans and they on occasion utilised these as nutrient besides ) ( Wijaya 2008 ) . Criticisms have besides arose with some stating that nutrient security has really decreased for many, Spitz 1987 give the illustration of some land use being moved from pulsations to wheat in India, nevertheless the hapless at that place do non utilize wheat as a basic and therefore less are fed. Sen 1991 besides saw jobs with nutrient security that he believes arose due to the Green Revolution. Sen 1991 s averments have been contested by Bowbrick 1986 who states that Sen depends on incoherent sentiment, and conflicting bing hypothesis. Bowbrick 1986 besides states that Sen 1991 s statements have already been disproved as they were similar to those used by the Bengal authorities to seek and pass over out dearth, nevertheless this failed in tradegy. Igbozurike 1978 stated that another job faced was the fact that the genetically modified cultivar that had higher outputs, needed a big sum of pesticides ( and other agriculturally developed devices ) to make their full potency, and therefore, when these devices were non portion of the input, the end product of the higher giving assortments might non hold really been every bit big as traditional 1s. Altieri 1995 feels that another disadvante of the Green Revolution is its dependance on monocultures, intending that in developing states a less varied diet is consumed ( and this has besides led to pest nuisance and dirt debasement ( Greathead 2008 ) ) . Frison 2008 furthers this statement by speculating that although the job of famishment has been greatly alleviated by the Revolution, malnutrition has really become worse. Chapman 2002 besides believes that due to the lessen quality of the rice strains used to bring forth higher outputs in Asiatic states ( as discussed earlier ) these now reach a lower monetary value when sold than the traditionally adult assortments. A farther spread has arisen between large and little husbandmans ( and therefore perchance widening the spread between rich and hapless ) as the agriculture used in this strategy favours large farms, taking to a decreased figure of landholders ( Greathead 2008 ) . The FAO purely promote the antonym of this type of land ownership. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research ( CGIAR ) was set up by The Rockefeller Foundation in 1968, and established as a planetary Centre of nutrient research with the purpose of keeping nutrient security for all in 1970. The CGIAR has had to cover with concerns that the Green Revolution was unsustainable and the effects it has had on certain environments ( Oasa 1987 ) . The CGIAR implemented strategies, such as the Participatory Rural Appraisal, so that the Revolution continues in a more sustainable manner and so that husbandmans were non cut out of the cringle when it came to their land and how to better it. These strategies were besides aimed at giving the scientists involved a better perceptual experience of what needed to be done. The Green Revolution, holds many advantageous consequences, nevertheless, other disadvantages have besides arisen. Sherer 2007 points out that the promotion of pesticides can be linked to fossil fuels, therefore when the monetary value of these rise, so does the monetary value of harvest production, and therefore nutrient. Thomas Malthus originally predicted that population growing would surpass nutrient supply ( i.e agricultural development ) ( Malthus, 2005 ) , nevertheless the Green Revolution is the chief cause ( along with others such as the debut of contraceptive method ) that this did non go on. However, some, ( such as Trumbull 2007, Kunstler 2005 and Peak Oil Theorists ) believe that this nexus with fossil fuels could take to Malthus theory going fact. Similar schools of idea believe that the Green Revolution has supported population growing to such an extent that it is now doing great jobs, including environmental and economic catastrophes ( Pimentel, 1994 ) . Following on from this statement Oasa 1987 and Ponting 2007 conveying frontward the grounds that as the agribusiness brought approximately by the Green Revolution requires many inputs, ( such as pesticides, feul for machines and so on ) , th is caused many husbandmans to lose their land due to the fact they had to borrow money to pay for these new inputs, whereas if they had stuck with traditional methods they would still hold income, employment and nutrient supply. Following this, employment was besides reduced and mechanization took over many laborers occupations. The Green Revolution was indispensible to the growing of the universe s population since center of the twentieth century, with the universe s population about trebling since its development. The Green Revolution is to thank for the fact that many people are no longer hungering and that the Malthusian incubus has non materialised of population out turning nutrient supply. Ehrlich 1968 believed that the Green Revolution was non the miracle that most thought it was, and alleged that in the following decennary there would be no manner that many in India would non confront lay waste toing famine and dice from malnutrition. However the Green Revolution was instated in India and gratefully Ehrlich s predicted calamity neer happened ( Pollock 2008 ) . Conway 1998 s statistics show that the since the Revolution, less economically developed states now consumed a one-fourth more nutrient, and Kindall 1994 points out that the sum of grain harvested, ( a basic nutrient, without which many people would decease ) , has increased two and a half times over. HajA?lova 1999 sees the pesticides introduced as the new coevals of pesticides . The 1960 s besides saw the reaching of research into wellness deductions of pesticide residues in the nutrient concatenation. The utilizations of organochlorines, such as the popular and wide-spread DDT, were reassessed in the following decennary due to their negative consequence on so environment. This led to some organochlorines, including DDT, being prohibited from being used in agribusiness across the Earth. The 70 s proverb farther prohibition of pesticides that were thought to potentially do other harmful effects on the organic structure. However, HajA?lova 1999 provinces that although hindsight was needed to understand the wellness deductions of DDT and others like it, enhanced consciousness and apprehension, coupled with modern techniques of pesticide intervention to the land and fresh policy used when contriving new pesticides are now utilized with the aspiration of take downing the menace of negative ( wellness and environmental ) effects of pesticides. Now there are about 900 utilized and forbidden chemical pesticides, thanks, in portion, to the Green Revolution. Last century saw the usage of pesticides addition by enormous sums ( the EPA ( The Environmental Protection Agency ) states that the use of pesticides increased by more than 200 % in the two decennaries between 1960 and 1980, with about 1.8 billion kgs of pesticides employed per annum across the Earth. In the 1970s 36 per centum of the universe s population was classed as hungry , thanks in great portion to the Green Revolution this figure has reduced by a astonishing 50 per centum in merely 25 old ages ( 1995 ) ( Greathead 2008 ) . Third World In Desperate Need of Green Revolution Benefits of Pesticides Greathead 2008 notes that Sub Saharan Africa is in despairing demand of a Green Revolution, nevertheless attempts to implement it their hold failed due to jobs associated with easiness of entree, fabrication disbursals, transit, political struggle, increasing public, tough environments and civil instability. Frison 2008 besides believes that the multiplicity of dirt and land types impedes its success every bit good as the fact that the African authorities are unwilling to implement a Green Revolution at that place. Dugger 2007 studies of recent efforts to implement Green Revolution manner practises in Western Africa. This effort seeks to present NERICA rice into the part which produces a 30 % higher output than normal rice at that place, and requires no chemical inputs such as pesticides ; nevertheless the debut of inputs can take to this figure duplicating. However Dugger 2007 states that this strategy has merely been winning in Guinea as elsewhere husbandmans have had small entree to the new rice. Pesticide Residues and Effect of Health Pesticides can contaminate non mark beings, such worlds, in many different ways, such as through air and H2O pollution, through contact with the tegument ( as is common with workers in developing states ) , or indirectly by eating and imbibe nutrients and liquids that contain pesticide residues ( Department of Pesticide Regulation ( 2008 ) ) . Lorenz ( 2009 ) states that the degree of injury caused to worlds depend on the sum of contact with the pesticide. The Department of Pesticide Regulation 2008 found that due to their fat soluble and bioaccumulation features, all sample of human fat taken contained some degree of pesticides, with kids being the most vulnerable, due to being smaller. Sophia lorens 2009 found that contact with pesticides caused many inauspicious wellness effects, including tumors, comas, roseolas, mistakes at birth and endocrinal intervention. Miller 2004 and the World Health Organisation ( WHO ) approximate that three 1000000s workers in less economically developed states suffer inauspicious wellness affects due to pesticides per annum. However Jeyaratnam ( 1990 ) feels the figure may really much greater, and estimates more than eight times as many ( although this information has non come from the WHO and therefore is less trusty than the former appraisal ) . McCauley LA, Anger WK, Keifer M, Langley R, Robson MG, and Rohlman D 2006 have hypothesised that many wellness deductions, such as several malignant neoplastic diseases, are due to pesticides ( nevertheless it must be noted that these negative wellness deductions were found in topics working straight with, and therefore had direct exposure to, pesticides. ) Several surveies, such as those by Alavanja, 2004. and Kamel 2004, have besides showed that workers utilizing organophosphate pesticides ( the more environmentally friendly alternate to organochlorine ) have great hazard of developing neurological defects and some malignant neoplastic diseases. The ( now replaced ) organochlorines have shown marks of greatly increasing the opportunities of the animal trainer holding diabetes ( Montgomery 2008 ) . The degree of acceptable and safe pesticide residues in nutrient is monitored so that the ADI ( acceptable daily consumption ) is set by spliting the NOEL ( no observed inauspicious consequence degree, found by proving pesticide exposure on animate beings ) by a big safety factor ( the norm is a safety factor of one 100 ) ( Sannino 2008 ) . This high safety factor would bespeak that devouring the degree of pesticide residues described by the ADI would non take to concern, nevertheless much literature would belie this. Sannino 2008 describes pesticide residues inauspicious affects utilizing organochlorines ( OCs ) as an illustration, as they are no longer used on nutrient harvests due to the fact they were found to bioaccumulate in the organic structure ( owing to their belongingss of fat solubility ) . Hopper and Oehme 1989, justly point out nevertheless that any wellness deductions will change greatly with dosage, i.e. the degree of pesticide residues consumed. HajA?lova 1999 tells that dehydration and malnutrition will increase the hazard of injury to an person by pesticides, and therefore a healthy person is less susceptible to illness from pesticide residues than an unhealthy one. However Ames and Gold 1997 contradict many of these findings and province that wellness concerns about pesticides, and specifically malignant neoplastic disease, and misconceived. Ames and Gold 1997 found that ( with the exclusion of lung malignant neoplastic disease due to smoking ) malignant neoplastic disease degrees have really fallen Monitoring and Control of Pesticide Residues Organic Food Affects of Processing on Levels of Pesticide Residues in Food Pesticides: Sustainability and Environmental Impact Miller 2004 has noted that merely 2 % of insect powders and 5 % of weedkillers really make contact with the intentioned topic ( i.e. the harvest ) , therefore the remainder of the pesticide that is applied will travel back into the environment. This can hold really negative affects on the environing eco-system ( nevertheless the extent of these effects will be dependant on the pesticide s chemical traits and including the length of clip it takes to deteriorate, how much it holds to the dirt and its ability to be suspended in the H2O tabular array. The subsequent consequence of dirt pollution on biology is potentially annihilating. Rocket 2007 believes that the happening of pesticides ( particularly DDT and pentachlorophenol ) in dirt shackles nitrogen arrested development, and therefore impedes the development of vascular plants ( such as trees ) . Legumes harvests are besides impaired, states Rocket, due to the harm towards Rhizobium this besides leads to economic harm as their natural N repairing qualities mean that huge sums of money ( Fox 1997 estimated over ?6.5 billion ) does non hold to be spent on unreal nitrogen-containing pesticides. Wells 2007 warns of the inauspicious affect that pesticides are holding when it comes to the planetary bee population bees are needed to pollenate workss and nutrient harvests therefore the danger to their Numberss could be potentially really risky. Many insect powders are deadly to the bees. Miller 2004 estimates that in the United States this has a really negative consequence on the economic system, due to the fact that harvests are non being pollinated. Miller 2004 states that this decrease in figure of bees is taking to a loss of over ?100 million per annum. Palmer 2007 provinces that pesticide residues can move as a toxin towards animate being species if they are close by, or if they wander into a harvest field when pesticides have merely been applied. Besides if the nutrient beginning of some animate beings, i.e. some insects, is eradicated so this will besides do inauspicious effects as animate beings could potentially travel hungry, or have to be displaced. Other jeopardies to animal species, particularly those highest in the foodchain, arrives due to the bioaccumaltion belongingss of some pesticides, as these animate beings may devour other animate beings that have besides consumed pesticides. Miller 2004 provinces that many of the animate beings in danger of extinctionin the United States are put at higher hazard due to the use of pesticides. The Green Revolution, and therefore the intensive usage of pesticides, has led to set down being used for production that would neer usually, it has besides led to monocultures and pesticide immune cultivars. These factors contribute to worsening biodiversity. Davis 2003 hypothesised that the increased end product of land that is already farmed will hold the enlargement of reaping other countries that have non yet been touched therefore continuing valuable green infinite. However Shiva 1991 disagrees, and states that much former wood has been cleared and used for agribusiness, to cover with the now decrepitude land. Johnston ( 1986 ) furthers this statement by saying that a deficiency of pesticides in soils additions its bio-diverse worth, nevertheless many would differ, such as Davis 2003. The sum of organic affair in the land and the sum of H2O the land can keep hold a straight relative relationship ( nevertheless the sum of organic affair and the degree of pesticides leached has an inversely relative relationship due to the binding belongingss of the affair ) . Lotter 2003 therefore demonstrated the benefits of organic affair by observing how this is peculiarly good in long periods without rain. Lotter 2003 provinces that land farmed organically produced up to forty per centum more harvests than those farmed utilizing pesticides during times of drouth. Gilliom 2007 conducted a survey into the H2O systems in the United States, where flooring consequences concluded that every watercourse tested showed marks of pesticide pollution. Kellogg 2000 furthered this and found grounds of pesticide residues in both land H2O and rain. Bingham 2007 brought this research to the UK and concluded that some samples in this state really showed degrees higher than the acceptable governed degree. Hogan 1973 used a hydrology conveyance theoretical account to measure the pollution in H2O constructions. Hogan 1973 performed elaborate probes into pesticide overflow, with the position to calculate the degree of pesticides that would pollute top degree H2O. Papendick 1986, speculated that dirt eroding would assist the motion of pesticides from their intended mark, and into H2O. Other ways this may go on besides include spray impetus, leaching or surface run away. Pedersen 1997 found that the likeliness of a pesticide to foul environing H2O depends on it man y things including how it was applied, where it was applied ( i.e. near a big H2O supply ) , wind, its ability to travel in and interact with H2O and the type of harvests its applied to. The degree of pesticides found in H2O is governed by the scene of Environmental Quality Standards in Britain, ( with other bureaus in the U.S.A and the E.U puting other appropriate informations ) . These Standards are put in topographic point so that direct toxic condition by a pesticide from devouring the H2O will non happen ( Bingham 2007 ) . The degree of pesticides in the H2O systems besides has really unsustainable effects of fish and other water-habiting species, with Helfrich 1996 saying that insecticides cause the most harm, compared with antifungals and weedkillers. Toughill 1999 provinces that whole H2O systems can be stripped of fish due to pesticides come ining the organic structure of H2O via surface run away. Helfich 1996 provinces that big sums of fish can decease due to direct contact with pesticides ( such as cooper sulphite ) nevertheless they can besides be killed indirectly as they can be suffocated and decease due to weedkillers come ining the H2O and destructing the oxygen-manufacturing weeds. Another indirect cause of harm to angle public were noted by Helfich 1996, for illustration lower immune system activity, decrease in the figure of workss used for guarding district, decrease in the figure of nutrient assortments, ( such as some insects ) and increased incidences of rejecting nests and hedging hu ntsmans. PANUPS 1999 have besides found that pesticides greatly cut down zooplankton public, which is damaging to the likeliness of freshly born fish surviving as this is their chief supply of nutrient. The clip it takes for a pesticide to interrupt down and the harm done to organic structures of H2O and the life with in them has an inversely relative relationship, therefore in order to continue more H2O systems and their dwellers it is of import that pesticides with a speedy interruption down clip are used. Cone 2000 believes that the use of pesticides is besides to fault for the decrease in the figure amphibians across the Earth. Science Daily 2006 believes that a cocktail consequence of many pesticides is seen to be harmful to development of toads. This causes long term jobs as polliwogs exposed to this cocktail of pesticides are non merely slower at developing into toads than those non, but are besides reduced in organic structure size, therefore doing damaging effects to their capableness of out running nutrient and huntsmans. Raloff 1998 found similar affects on polliwogs with endosulfan pollution ( at concentrations deemed similar to those found in organic structures of H2O near harvest land ) . Science Daily 2006 besides found atrazine to be peculiarly harmful to male of the atrazine has been proven to feminize the males and turn many into intersexs, which has damaging reverberations on degrees of reproduction. Another possible path of environmental disturbance is through the air jobs arise chiefly due to the applications of pesticides that involve spraying. Spray impetus can happen, taking to the pesticide impacting someplace or something other than the coveted mark, i.e. the harvest. A survey of air quality in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park in the United States in 2006 noted that this pesticide impetus creates danger to flora and fauna. Pesticides can besides potentially bind themselves to dust and other stuffs in the air doing them to go even further and do more harm. Palmer 2007 does province nevertheless that this air pollution can be reduced be replacing aerial methods with pesticide application on the land. The Netherlands use a system on their farms by which this type of pollution by pesticides can besides be reduced. The system involves using a buffer zone ( such as trees, which will move as a barrier to spray impetus ) circling any country where pesticides will be used ( Science Daily 1999 ) . Reynolds 1997 blames a degree of planetary heating on the air pollution caused by fumigation pesticides it states that the degree of VOC ( volatile organic compounds ) contributes significantly lending to the production of trioxygen ( or ozone ) . Ritter 2007 produced a survey into POPs, ( relentless organic poll

Cultural life of Canadians

Cultural life of Canadians Introduction From the ancient times, much significance has been attached to the cultural life of Canadians; this is marked by the attachment to the institutions that seek to preserve and perpetuate culture.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Cultural life of Canadians specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The primary institutions seeking to preserve the Canadian culture are the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the National Film Board and the Canadian Council. The reawakening moment for Canadian culture was motivated by the need to guard it from absorption by the US culture which has been gaining dominance since the 1980s. Consequently, the desire to activate the culture of Canada was due to the concern that there was no uniform culture that bonded the Canadian population. The period around 1990s witnessed a paradigm shift in public concern about the preservation of Canadian culture; this exposed all areas of cultural similarities and differences. There was uniformity in public opinion in acknowledging the importance of monuments, national institutions and celebrating local events. The areas that have attracted controversies are the need to stage musical plays together with the brewing tensions regarding gay rights, art gallery exhibitions and celebrations of cultural festivals. These differences, commonalties and controversies have signaled shifts in the cultural politics of Canada which focuses on balancing of Canadian culture against that of US. The matters raising conflicts in the quest for independence of the Canadian culture are racial, cultural, linguistic and religious identifications. The cultural politics of Canada has been played at the local and provincial level since cultural issues concern communities (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 2). The political controversies surrounding the focus and the character of Canadian culture are related to racial, ethnic and sexual identities. This has calle d for the Canadian people to look at cultural dissimilarities from the perspective of representation and images since culture has become a central area in globalization.Advertising Looking for assessment on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consequently, cultural matters in Canada have been subjugated and relegated to questions of identity. Matters of culture were previously centered on issues of morality and the need for equality of cultural experience, whereas cultural intervention targeted cultural diversity. The striking feature of Canadian cultural matters is that it is a subject of constant debate in cities and predominantly touches on public visibility, community cohesion and social interaction as the main aspects of cultural identity, while the politics of cultural diversities are a subject of debate in the urban areas. The central part of Canadian culture is the arts; culture provides means o f entertainment and provides an opportunity for the Canadian people to celebrate their differences and similarities (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 2). Similarities in the Readings The three readings emphasize the influences and the effects accrued from culture. The readings appreciate that culture enhances social creativity and stimulates innovation, human progress and well being. All these are an indication that culture is a central engine in human development and a tool to facilitate economic growth and as a means of leading intellectual and emotional growth (Toolkit 2). Culture has the following effects: it enhances human understanding and has the capacity to trigger action; it fosters the creation and the maintaining of identities; culture also modifies values and preferences for collective behavior and thus enhances of social cohesion. Furthermore, culture contributes to community development and fosters civic participation (Canada Council 1). Both readings acknowledge the several im pacts of culture on the society which include the following: personal development, social cohesion, local image and identity, imagination, vision and community empowerment. From these impacts, it is evident that arts have both individual and social benefits (Canada Council 2). All the three readings differ on their approach to matters and issues that require modification in order to adapt to the modern changes; in the toolkit bibliography article, there is the introduction of Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) which has developed a toolkit on database format which is an instrumental source of information for all stakeholders in the sector like presenters, artists and arts organizations in various fields of organizational planning.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Cultural life of Canadians specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The CPAMO tool kit enables individuals and groups to learn, from previ ously researched studies, all aspects of cultural policy and theory as well as their implications and adaptations by other organizations (Toolkit 1). Among the fields of cultural pluralist planning are: organizational commitment, community engagement, audience development, employment and professional development. The toolkit bibliography article dwells a lot on the organizational aspects of culture; it explains how an organization can acquire a culture and how such a culture is nurtured. It defines and explains culture in the following ways: Organizational planning: this is a body that is concerned with initiating the changes that an organization whishes to make. Their role involves the evaluation of the organization, identification of both internal and external challenges and the opportunities that the organization faces, policy and structure appraisal and organizational strategic plan. Among the main areas of concern in organizational planning are: a new organization should undert ake a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis which reflect on the internal and the external environment. This is instrumental in allowing organizations to identify its stakeholders, its potential partners and the audience and to systematically review its policies towards promoting cultural diversity. New organizations can develop their culture in line with the requirements and goals of United Nations Environmental and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and particularly their cultural diversity programming lens or the arts council of England. The following are considered success factors in an organization: cultural vision, a receptive institutional culture and harmony between an organizational and community values, artistic excellence and cooperative governance. The development of an organizational culture may be hampered by things like cost, institutional resistance and limitedness of human resource. In the development of institutional culture, requisite cultur al practices may be obtained from research institutions, government agencies and arts councils (Toolkit 2).Advertising Looking for assessment on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Community engagement: this offers the organization better connection with its environment. This can be achieved through engaging the community and getting its opinion about good organizational practices. This can be realized through the use of art organizations to participate in diverse communities, another one is the use of traditional approach which seeks to involve communities in organizational activities. The assessment of a community’s engagement in issues of mainstream culture can be realized by gauging their interest in current cultural affairs and on the other hand organization’s engagement with diverse communities can be evaluated by assessing its interest in the life of the community. Programming and curatorial development: this is indispensable and cannot be separated form community and audience development. This is necessary if the organization is to create an all inclusive programming and if it is to execute curatorial decisions. This program has the capab ility of attracting wider and diverse organizational audience. Audience development: this involves meeting and engaging the needs of underrepresented audience. This can only be realized with a clear and passionate vision. The two barriers to audience development are representational and intellectual barriers which may result from limited inclusiveness in programming. Employment and professional development: diversity in the employment and professional cultures is a reflection of an organizational culture and diverse in its background. A homogeneous workforce population is one that is reluctant to change and this homogeneity is a threat to the survival of an organization (Toolkit 8). Differences in the Readings The Canadian Council for Arts exhibits its difference in the approach to culture, unlike the toolkit bibliography article which dwells on organizational aspect of culture, the Canadian Council for Arts dwells more on the social aspects of culture. The role played by the Canadi an Cultural Organization has been criticized for under representing the indigenous and the immigrant population. On the other hand, the book on cultural identity brings to fore the impact of bi lingual nature of the Canadian society and how it is making it difficult for Canada to have a homogeneous culture. These cultural differences have threatened cultural generations and their perpetuation. The book describes all the modern and traditional aspects of culture. Unlike the other two readings, it explains the various ways of propagating culture and the things that enable the Canadian population to learn culture. The areas of concern are film and theater industry, music, literature and oral tradition. Oral tradition: Canada’s cultural politics have had an impact on the language and the definition of Canada’s national cultural traditions. To deal with the cultural aspect of language, there is need to strengthen the English-Canadian culture especially in Canadian instituti ons. Preservation and propagation of Canadian culture can only be achieved when it is presented in the linguistic form of both English and French. There is, for example, a theme of unity in explaining Canadian cinema of English origin especially in character motivation. The theme and specificity of Canadian popular music is a mix of urban and rural influences. There have been various controversial opinions regarding the traditional culture of Canada. There have been claims that the artistic practice of Canada was characterized by preoccupation with landscape and are ambivalent towards nature which undermine their beauty and terror (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 3). Canadian television programs have been described as lacking or having fewer jolts per minute when compared with other countries like the US. Consequently, culture in French Canada has been described as noble and is manifested in the modernity of Quebec. There has been controversy concerning the treatment of the social-cultural diversity of the modern Quebec culture which has been considered as a metaphor for urban modernity. While cultural production in the English language has been considered as unifying, the diversity that is latent in the French- language cultural production has been associated with the fragility of Canadian community and hence derives Canada of continental experience (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 3). The areas of concern necessary to propagate Canadian cultural tradition are cinema, music, literature and theatre. Cinema: Canada lacks a tradition of film making. This has been liked to the need of avoiding cultural confrontation that comes with cultural diversity. The pioneer of film-making was the auteurist feature film movement, prior to that time the English-Canadian film making was only aimed at perpetuating state-sponsored documentaries and the avant-garde experimental film. Since then, cinemas of duty which are conventional in form have gained prominence and are aimed at incorporating those who have been for longtime excluded from the Canadian cinema. The emergence of the National Film Board has led to various experiments in the quest to enhancing film productivity. This has led to increased politicization of urban scenes and the growth various forms of art like video art. As an academic discipline, film studies have been faced with questions of identity (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 5). Music: Music, though a cultural instrument is seldom studied in Canadian universities and has long been ignored. Music is a form of folklore and there has been minimal research on various aspects of music. Traditions and innovation are typical of musical life. Musical lessons are undertaken within the collectors and the fans including those who publish in magazines which are devoted to Quebec pop. Music is a cultural tool whose content is hard to judge and to isolate and it only becomes meaningful when its sound and lyrics meets prejudice. Music is marked with racial, ethnic and gende r identities. Musical videos, for example, introduce the link between musical forms of practice and gendered or racially oriented identities (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 6). Literature: Literature is the main medium of transmitting culture. There is an aspect of literature called cultural studies which concerns developments in literature, its criticism and anthologies. Canada’s duality nature of languages casts doubts on the writing margins. The need to define Canadian literature has been plagued with multiculturalism which diffuses cultural and ethnic unrest. There have been some calls to accept the heterogeneous nature of Canada and the culture should be contextualized along that line that should go beyond the homogeneous perception of nationhood in order to eliminate the traffic between language, cultures and religions. Another introduced aspect of literature is the African-Canadian culture which is characterized by inconsistencies with the definition of Canada. Canadian liter ature is characterized by the following aspects: plurality, stereotyping and hybrid. To avoid stereotyping, there should be a need to attack and homogenize stereotypic behaviors which can destabilize the cultural coexistence (Curtis, Gupta and Straw 8). Importance of culture: Enhance the quality of life. Through culture the quality of life can be improved. Visual arts, for example, can reduce stress and depression. Music also can lower the blood pressure in people and hence reducing the intensity and the degree of pain. Culture can also have longevity impact. Attendance of cultural events can reduce mortality risks. Culture is also important in understanding the neighbors and how people can co-exist (Canada Council 2). Conclusion Just like in any other country, culture remains a central part in the lives of Canadian people. It provides them with an opportunity for entertainment, enables them to share their similarities and dissimilarities and more so culture provides them with some sense of attachment. There are divergent ways by which people can express their culture, it may be through reading of books, attending life performances, visiting art galleries and attending movie theatres. The central theme of culture is that it forms basis for attachment. Culture enhances individuals’ social body. In the context of theater, for example, race identity carries a lot of weight particularly in our resolve to answering the question of crisis of cultural identification. Each of the reading explains different aspect of culture. Tool kit bibliography describes organizational culture, the Canadian Council for Arts explains more on the societal significance of culture, its impact and influences to the members of the society. The reading on cultural identity explains various ways of transmitting culture and also how a nation or a society can nurture culture. Canada Council. â€Å"Social Effects of Culture: Exploratory Statistical Evidence.† Statistical Insight s on the Arts 6.4 (2008): 1- 40. Print. Curtis, Liane., Gupta Dipti and Straw, Will. Culture and Identity: Ideas and Overviews. Department of Canadian heritage, 2001. Web. Toolkit. Toolkit Bibliography. Class Notes, n.d. Print.

E-commerce project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

E-commerce project - Essay Example It is evident that many companies now realize the importance of websites as a tool to gain market share and improve sales. Most flourishing companies like unique home decor, Paul Michael company, Bensons would not have reached the places they are without their websites (BAJAJ, 2005).The Martha Stewart management structure consists of activities such as the allocation of tasks, supervision and coordination, which are directed towards the accomplishment of the aims of the company. The company structure mainly participates in the accomplishment of the company goals this is because the company has several dedicated employees whose main agenda is to assist the company to achieve his company's goals. Martha Stewart has several supervisor is in each and every department, this ensures the employees work up to the required standard. This contributes to the making of designing high quality decor products because the management has catered everything governing the employees work. The company us es various business models to make it distinct from other companies. The business models also help to describe the organizational architecture of capture mechanisms, delivery which are employed by the company's enterprise. The company has applied business models such as, collecting intelligence, user generated content, and improving the available systems. It also uses transport services such as airline and private courier services to ensure their products are available all over the continent. The goals of the business are primarily marketing the products on sale and making sure they increase their profits though online sale and delivery. The company also seeks to be capable of running consumer satisfaction surveys so as to assist they gauge their progress. Finally, the ultimate goal is to ensure that the company becomes a reputable and among the most respected and successful in this field of business. Supply chain underscores on cutting down of resources and various expences inorder to improve their bottom lines with more effective supply chains. In order for companies, to be the best and out do its competitors in the market it has to define the most effective supply chain. This would improve how the business operates, in fact the supply chains do work well with the ERP systems which are involved in conducting various business activities, which include production planning and customer service which are not part of the supply chains. Technology plays a main role in the accomplishment of the supply chain concept pre-dates the internet, and they use web based application and communication can it truly reach its fully potential. The website will, therefore, be designed so as to make sure the company achieves most of its goals in the most efficient way possible. The website will become a partial platform for the marketing department. This is because many people nowadays depend on the internet for many things, making it an easier place to access customers. The produ cts will be marketed by posting them on the website and giving information on the latest home decors awaiting release and those already in the market. In order to enhance marketing, the company will have to alias with the most visited websites and have accounts in social platforms such as Facebook, linked in, twitter and MySpace among others. Secondly the company will should be able to give customers the ability to purchase items and request them to get delivered to supported locations. The products shall be priced ant the availability of a customer to purchase the items collectively using a virtual card. This will allow them to shop for many products easily. The third aspect of this website is customer support.

Week six summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week six summary - Essay Example The disadvantage of having a union is that it can lead to job losses. If the unions indulge in strikes and protests with the employees for unfeasible and avoidable reasons, the employer may suspend or fire the employees. Another negative aspect of being a union member is that it may consider only the interests of its members disregarding the plight of workers from other unions and non-unionized workers. By having workers from different backgrounds and a different mindset may trigger to disciplinary problems. The lack of discipline and implementation of it may hinder the formation of partnership, thus compromising the concept of consensus. According to Casico (2005) self-discipline, when it is committed, consistent, and dependable; will be in accordance to what was agreed upon. When the organization provides the employees with an optimal stress free working environment they will show optimum productivity. When the opposite occurs, Corsico (2005) stated that â€Å"†¦stress related disability claims are the most rapidly growing form of occupational illness†. An incentive program (rewards, promotions, recognitions) that takes into consideration the employees’ input increases the motivational levels and reduces the stress levels. Career Development Plan - There has been personnel training. An analysis of job responsibilities has been performed. We have developed job descriptions and qualification for: First Level Management Position – Regional Sales Manager, Lead Generation Sales Associate, In House Trainer, Marketing Specialist, and Diversity Officer. Training Program - We will design training for everyone (solution based selling, customer service, telephone sales, closing the sale on the telephone/field) that will be created and conducted and OSHA standards will be complied with. Methods for Evaluating Employees - I have suggested a 360 degree program. I found a report from the United States Office of Personnel Management (1997) that is

Introduction to Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Introduction to Management - Case Study Example It is an observation that in midst of such economic chaos, outsourcing is one of the major approaches that has benefited, and still benefiting a huge number of business organizations in terms of reduction of costs. Such characteristic of outsourcing has caused many organizations, especially in the developed parts of the globe to focus on the human resource of developing countries; specifically African and Asian countries that offer reduce costs but same quality except few challenges. However, in order to overcome challenges of outsourcing and benefit extensively from such opportunities, it is very imperative to carry out analysis of its different aspects. For such purpose, this paper will be discussing different issues of outsourcing while analyzing a case study (Hatch, pp. 50, 2006) of an Australian fashion retailer, Leethal Fashion Accessories that will allow a comprehensive and critical understanding of the topic. Discussion †¢ External Environment Factors Besides financial matters and internal processes, business organizations have to confront few external environment issues, and it becomes very imperative for them to resolve them, as it is an observation that avoiding external factors often result in huge losses, as well as deterioration of internal processes. The selected case study (Hatch, pp. 50, 2006) specified that while accessing the Indian manufacturing market, the organization confronted a number of external factors that needed immediate attention.

How media affects our perception on gender

How media affects our perception on gender Media plays a great role on our day to day doings: for our views on particular fields of thoughts, our purchasing thought, and the way and of performance (how people things) and on various aspects on life. One of the ways that the media affects is on our perception on gender. This can be main seen thought various advertisements in that thought various media advertisement they tend to belittle the one gender .this is very evident in many advertisements that manly advertises liquor cigarettes for example in the recent past an international brand beer put out an advert that a gentleman drinking that brand he will have all ladies chasing after him this give a thought that a lady only looks at the drink on not on the mans personality. Moreover this is more reflected when by the programs that are aired on the media some of the program give the feminine gender a low status in the society .it give the lady a position as the a beast of all burden . The research revealed that television portrayed more male figures than female, and furthermore depicted males in a more varied range of occupations and activities than their female counterparts, who typically were depicted as being content with domestic settings while working in traditional female occupational specialties. If this doesnt affect a childs perceptions of gender roles I dont know what does. Just as much research supports that positive depiction of both male and females on television can influence the same type of role model for children who in turn nurture this image later in life as an adult. Is it not a good thing, when a young girl wants to be like the female surgeon on ER, and dreams of becoming a doctor? Or the young boy or girl who is impressed with the team of forensic scientists on CSI and is inspired to follow suite? In as much as children spend a lot of their time watching television and tend to imitate what they see, it seems logical to assume that the perceptions of gender roles can be at least influenced in part by the type of programming that is beamed into our living rooms. Further more, it is entirely plausible that gender role development is impacted by the imitated behavior of children of what they see on television. Lets use the media to inspire our youth to do great things. Lets take the old perceptions of males and females and turn them inside out in a positive way. Our children should be reaching for the stars, and we as adults should be pointing these kids in the right direction. Though not as strongly as in earlier years, the portrayal of both men and women on TV is largely traditional and stereotypical. This serves to promote a polarization of gender roles. [With femininity are associated traits such as emotionality, prudence, co-operation, a communal sense, and compliance. Masculinity tends to be associated with such traits as rationality, efficiency, competition, individualism and ruthlessness.] Meehan has shown how on TV, good women are presented as submissive, sensitive and domesticated; bad women are rebellious, independent and selfish. The dream-girl stereotype is gentle, demure, sensitive, submissive, non-competitive, sweet- natured and dependent. The male hero tends to be physically strong, aggressive, assertive, takes the initiative, is independent, competitive and ambitious. TV and film heroes represent goodness, power, control, confidence, competence and success. They are geared, in other words, to succeed in a competitive economic system. There is no shortage of aggressive male role-models in Westerns, war films and so on. Many boys try to emulate such characteristics through action and aggression. There are few women in the heroic role played by Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. Men tend to be shown as more dominant, more violent and more powerful than women. Men on TV are more likely to disparage women than vice versa. They drive, drink and smoke more, do athletic things, and make more plans. They are found more in the world of things than in relationships. Women on TV tend to be younger than the men, typically under 30. So TV images largely reflect traditional patriarchal notions of gender. Stereotypical masculinity, for instance, is portrayed as natural, normal and universal, but it is fact a particular construction. It is largely a white, middle-class heterosexual masculinity. This is a masculinity within which any suggestion of feminine qualities or homosexuality is denied, and outside which women are subordinated. The notion of natural sex differences help to preserve the inequalities on which our economic system continues to be based. Most modern TV ads feature both girls and boys, but boys tend to be the dominant ones. Ads aimed at boys portray far more activity and aggressive behaviour than those for girls, and tend to be far louder. Boys are typically shown as active, aggressive, rational and discontented. Boys ads contain active toys, varied scenes, rapid camera cuts and loud, dramatic music and sounds. Girls ads tend to have frequent fades, dissolves, and gentle background music (Welch et al.) Morley reports that many men prefer to watch TV with full concentration, without interruption, and in silence, and that many women watch with less attention. Some women prefer to watch and chat at the same time, seeing television viewing as a social activity. Women also refer more often than men to chatting about TV programmes with friends and workmates. One women (cited by Hobson, in Seiter et al.) declared I only watch Coronation Street so I can talk about it. Fathers who become engrossed in TV programmes (most clearly in news programmes, apparently) are of course at the time less responsive to other members of the family. Some commentators have argued that watching in this way is a deliberate way for men to shut out the rest of the family. It is very uncommon for mothers to neglect the family in this way: they tend to maintain a monitoring role. Some may on occasion even watch primarily in order to make social contact with another viewer. This is a clear reflection of prevailing social roles in the home. Most mothers would feel too guilty to watch television as wholeheartedly as many men like to do, and the prevailing pattern of responsibilities in the home does not permit women to watch in the way that men prefer. As Ang puts it (in Seiter et al.): Men can watch television in a concentrated manner because they control the conditions to do so. Fathers are the ones referred to most often as controlling the selection of TV programmes on the main family TV set, though fathers often didnt see it this way (Lull). In Morleys sample, men were far more likely to plan a evenings viewing in advance than women were. For many men the remote control device is effectively symbolic of their power of choice over programmes. Some women complain that their husbands often switch programmes without regard for whether their wives had been watching. Mothers only rarely take such unilateral action. This is a reflection of male power in the home. As one girl put it, Dad keeps both of the automatic controls one on each side of his chair.

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey :: essays research papers

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Hero A hero is considered to be any man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose; especially, one who has risked or sacrificed his life. This describes one of the main characters in the highly acclaimed novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey. Randle McMurphy is the hero of this novel because he stood firmly against oppressive powers, showing courage and ultimately paying with his life. There were no heroes on the psychiatric ward before McMurphy's arrival. Nurse Ratched wielded supreme power. No single patient had the ability to stand against the injustices to which they were subjected. McMurphy united these patients. He gave them collective courage and a sense that they could resist their persecutor. For example, Harding states, "No one's ever dared to come out and say it before, but there's not a man among us that doesn't think it. That doesn't feel just as you do about her and the whole business-feel it somewhere down deep in his scared little soul." Not only did McMurphy unite his friends, the patients; but he understood the enemy, the staff. He recognized the ultimate authority and oppressive power of those in charge of the psychiatric ward. He also knew that to resist them would put himself at great personnel risk. McMurphy, however, took the risk and defended his fellow patients. For example, McMurphy says to the black boy who is harassing George, "I said that's enough buddy." McMurphy knew this confrontation would have harsh consequences, but he took the chance. In fact McMurphy took one too many chances. This hero's end comes when he lashes out at nurse Ratched, blaming her for the death of Billy Bibbit. McMurphy demonstrated his feeling for Billy by his emotional reaction to his death, "First Charles Cheswick and now William Bibbit! I hope you're

Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations Essay

CHAPTER 14 Collective Bargaining and Labor Relations Chapter Summary This chapter provides an overview of private-sector labor-management relations in the United States, with brief attention to public-sector differences and international labor relations. After a model of labor-management relations and a context for current relationships are provided, various aspects of the process of collective bargaining are described. Cooperative forms of labor-management relations are then presented. Finally, an explanation is given for how changes in competitive challenges are influencing labor-management interactions. Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, the student should be able to: 1. Describe what is meant by collective bargaining and labor relations. 2. Identify the labor relations goals of management, labor unions, and society. 3. Explain the legal environment’s impact on labor relations. 4. Describe the major labor-management interactions: organizing, contract negotiations, and contract administration. 5. Describe the new, less adversarial approaches to labor-management relations. 6. Explain how changes in competitive challenges (e.g., product-market competition and globalization) are influencing labor-management interactions. 7. Explain how labor relations in the public sector differ from labor relations in the private sector. Extended Chapter Outline Note: Key terms appear in boldface and are listed in the â€Å"Chapter Vocabulary† section. Opening Vignette: Labor Relations and the Bottom Line The main issue in the 54-day strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) at two General Motors parts plants was job security and whether GM would invest in plants in the United States or continue its effort to cut U.S. employment and shift production overseas to reduce labor costs. The strike postponed all of GM’s plant operations, which caused annual earnings and market share. GM plans to spin off a new unit, which would eliminate 200,000 of UAW workers from the payroll. Ford is thinking about doing the same thing but has postponed the move because of UAW opposition. I. Introduction—Labor-management relations are complex, and many are in transition as competitive challenges force a realignment of management and worker interests. The need for many U.S. companies to become smaller and more efficient translates into actions (job loss) that are at cross-purposes with the interests of union members. II. The Labor Relations Framework (text Figure 14.1 and TM 14.1) A. John Dunlop suggested a labor relations systems that consists of four elements: 1. An environmental context (technology, market forces, etc.). 2. Participants: employees and their unions, management, and the government. 3. A web of rules (rules of the game) that describe the process by which labor and management interact. 4. Ideology (acceptance of the system and participants). B. Katz and Kochan have presented a model that focuses on the decision-making process and outcomes. 1. At the strategic level, management makes basic choices such as whether to work with its union or develop nonunion operations. 2. These labor and management choices made at the strategic level affect interaction at the second level, the functional level, where contract negotiations occur. 3. These strategic decisions also affect the workplace level, the arena in which the contract is administered. III. Goals and Strategies A. Society—Labor unions’ major benefit to society throughout history has been the balancing of power and the institutionalization of industrial conflict in the least costly way. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, 1935) sought to provide a legal framework conducive to collective bargaining. B. Management must decide whether to encourage or discourage the unionization of its employees. Based upon issues of wage cost, flexibility, and labor stability, as well as ideology, management must decide. If management has a union, it has the option of supporting a decertification vote, an election in which employees have a chance to vote out the union. C. Labor unions seek to give workers formal representation in setting the terms and conditions of employment. (See text Table 14.1 for categories of provisions in collective bargaining agreements). IV. Union Structure, Administration, and Membership A. National and international unions are composed of multiple local unions, and most are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) (see Table 14.2 in the text for a list). In 1995, three major unions, the UAW, the United Steelworkers, and the International Association of Machinists, announced plans to merge by the year 2000. | | |A related reading from Dushkin’s | |Annual Editions: Human Resources 99/00: | |(â€Å"HR Comes of Age† by Michael Losey | 1. Craft unions are those that organize members of a particular skill or trade, such as electricians or plumbers. Craft unions are likely to be responsible for training programs called apprenticeships. 2. Industrial unions are made up of members who work in any number of positions in a given industry, such as the auto or steel industry. Whereas craft unions may wish to control the number of members, industrial unions wish to maximize the number of members. B. Local unions are frequently responsible for the negotiations of a contract as well as the day-to-day administration of the contract, including the grievance procedure. Typically, an industrial local corresponds to a single manufacturing facility. C. The AFL-CIO is a federation of national unions. It represents labor’s interests in the political process and provides numerous services to its members, in terms of research and education (text Figure 14.2). | | |A related reading from Dushkin’s | |Annual Editions: Human Resources 99/00: | |(â€Å"Labor Deals a New Hand† by Marc Cooper | D. Union security depends upon its ability to ensure a stability of members and dues. Unions typically negotiate a contract clause that defines the relationship it has to employees and that provides for an uninterrupted flow of dues. 1. A checkoff provision is an automatic deduction of union dues from an employee’s paycheck. 2. A closed shop is a union security provision under which a person must be a union member. 3. A union shop requires a person to join the union within a certain length of time after beginning employment. 4. An agency shop is similar to a union shop, but does not require union membership, only that an agency fee be paid. 5. Maintenance of membership requires only that those who join the union remain members through the life of the current contract. 6. Right-to-work laws—As a function of the Taft-Hartley amendment to the NLRA, states may decide to make mandatory union membership (or even dues paying) illegal. E. Union Membership and Bargaining Power—Employers are increasingly resisting unionization. Unions are making new attempts to organize new memberships and to provide new services. Union membership has consistently declined since 1950 and now stands at roughly 10 percent of private-sector employment (text Figure 14.3 and TM 14.2). Reasons for this decline are noted below: 1. Structural Changes in the Economy—These changes include decline in core manufacturing and increase in the service sector. But these changes, according to studies, only account for 25 percent of the overall union membership decline. 2. Increased Employer Resistance—Almost 50 percent of large employers in a survey reported that their most important labor goal was to remain union free. Unions’ ability to organize whole industries has declined, and therefore wages are rarely taken out of competition. Additionally, studies have shown that if a union wins an election, it is frequently the case that managers lose their jobs (see Figure 14.4 for the increase in unfair labor practices filed). | | |Competing by Meeting Stakeholders’ Needs: | |Is Strong Labor Relations Good for Business? | | | |Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls is not looking to cultivate a unionized work force. That is why it endures strikes at its seat| |making factories by UAW workers who were trying to negotiate their first collective bargaining contract with the company. Ford | |has taken a different view because it has begun a strong commitment with the UAW to be a competitive advantage. Ford realizes | |that it is not in the best interests of its employees to accept seats by replacement workers because their relationship with the| |union and respect for the team are too important to them. Finally, Johnson Controls agreed on a contract with the UAW at its | |two plants with help from Ford. | 3. Substitution with HRM—In large nonunion companies, HRM policies and practices may encourage positive employee relations, and therefore union representation is not desired by employees. | | |Competing through Globalization: | |UAW Concedes Defeat at Transplants—for Now | | | |UAW is diverting its attention from the Japanese-owned assembly plants to the German-owned plants because the Japanese are | |turning their backs on the UAW. Transplant operations are tough to implement, but they are continuing to grow in this country | |and employment continues to shrink. Also, the UAW membership is beginning to shrink because it depends on the auto industry for| |its existence. Transplant operations usually offer pay and benefits and the social and political environments don’t support | |unions. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are willing to work with the U.S. auto union because it is easier to organize during economic | |times and they may be able to influence affairs with Germany. BMW pays workers hourly with bonuses as well as using a | |self-directed work team concept. These pay and benefits are attractive to the workers at this company. The union must also | |contend with plant expansions because employees find themselves considering job promotion or at least a move to a more appealing| |work slot. BMW and Mercedes-Benz are expanding both their factories and their payrolls. | 4. Substitution by Government Regulation—Employment laws have been passed that reduce the areas in which unions can make a contribution. 5. Worker Views—The lack of a U.S. history of feudalism and class distinctions has limited the class-consciousness needed to support a strong union movement. 6. Union Actions—Corruption, resistance to obvious economic change, and openness to women and minorities have all hurt the perception of union. V. Legal Framework—Legislation and court decisions that provide the structure within which unions must operate have had an effect upon membership, bargaining power, and the degree to which unions and managements are successful in achieving their goals. The 1935 NLRA enshrined collective bargaining as the preferred mechanism for settling labor-management disputes. Section 7 of the act sets out the rights of employees, including the â€Å"right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining.† A. Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs)—Employers: The National Labor Relations Act (1935) prohibits certain activities by both employers and labor unions. Section 8(a) of the NLRA contains ULPs by employers. 1. Employers cannot interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in exercising their Section 7 rights. 2. Employers cannot dominate or interfere with a union. 3. Employers may not discriminate against an individual for exercising his or her right to join or assist a union. 4. Employers cannot refuse to bargain collectively with a certified union (other examples are given in text Table 14.3). B. Unfair Labor Practices—Labor Unions: These were added by the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act. 1. These ULPs parallel those listed previously. For example, unions may not restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their Section 7 rights (see Table 14.4 in the text for additional examples). C. Enforcement—The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has the primary responsibility for enforcing the NLRA. 1. The NLRB is a five-member board appointed by the president. Additionally, there are 33 regional offices. 2. Only businesses involved in interstate commerce are covered by the NLRA and therefore subject to the NLRB. 3. The NLRB has two major functions: a. To conduct and certify representation elections. b. To prevent ULPs and to adjudicate them. 4. ULP charges are filed at and investigated by the regional offices. 5. The NLRB may defer to the parties’ grievance process instead of holding a hearing. 6. The NLRB can issue a cease-and-desist order to halt a ULP. It may order reinstatement and back pay. The court of appeals can choose to enforce the NLRB’s orders. VI. Union and Management Interactions: Organizing A. Why Do Employees Join Unions?—Is it for wages and benefits? Do unions help increase wages and benefits? B. The Process and Legal Framework of Organizing—An election may be held if at least 30 percent of the employees in the bargaining unit sign authorization cards. A secret ballot election will be held. The union is certified by the NLRB if a simple majority of employees vote for it. 1. A decertification election may be held if no other election has been held within the year or if no contract is in force. 2. The NLRB must define the appropriate bargaining unit. The criterion they use is â€Å"mutuality of interest† of employees. 3. Certain categories of employees cannot be included. C. Organizing Campaigns: Management and Union Strategies and Tactics (see text Tables 14.5 and 14.6 for common campaign issues). 1. Table 14.7 in the text and TM 14.3 list employer strategies, legal and illegal, that are used during organizing campaigns. Additionally, note the significant increase in employer ULPs since the late 1960s. 2. The consequence of breaking the law in this situation is minimal, and discrimination against employees active in union organizing decreases organizing success. 3. The NLRB may set aside the results of an election if the employer has created â€Å"an atmosphere of confusion or fear of reprisals.† 4. Associate union membership provides a person who is not part of a bargaining unit with some of the services a full union member receives (access to insurance, credit cards, etc.). This is a strategy unions are trying in order to increase support. 5. Corporate campaigns seek to bring public, financial, or political pressure on employers during the organizing and negotiating process. Example: William Patterson, corporate affairs director of the Teamsters union, attended the 1996 Time Warner Inc.’s annual meeting, where he unsuccessfully pushed a Teamsters proposal to split the chairman and CEO position into two separate positions. The Teamsters pension funds have assets of $48 billion and actively pursue strategies as stockholders to support their positions. VII. Union and Management Interaction: Contract Negotiation—Bargaining structures, the range of employees and employers that are covered under a given contract, differ, as shown in text Table 14.8. A. The Negotiation Process—Walton and McKersie suggested that negotiations could be broken into four subprocesses: 1. Distributive bargaining occurs when the parties are attempting to divide a fixed economic pie into two parts. What one party gains, the other loses. 2. Integrative bargaining has a win-win focus; it seeks solutions beneficial to both sides. 3. Attitudinal structuring refers to behaviors that modify the relationships between the parties, for example, offering to share information or a meal. 4. Intraorganizational bargaining is the consensus-building and negotiations that go on between members of the same party. B. Management’s preparation for negotiations is critical to labor costs and productivity issues. The following steps are suggested: 1. Establish interdepartmental contract objectives among industrial relations and finance, production, and so on. 2. Review the old contract to focus on provisions needing change. 3. Prepare and analyze data on labor costs, your own and competitors’. Data on grievances, compensation, and benefits must be examined as well. 4. Anticipate union demands by maintaining an awareness of the union perspective. 5. Establish the potential costs of various possible contract provisions. 6. Make preparations for a strike, including possible replacements, security, and supplier and customer. 7. Determine the strategy and logistics for the negotiators. C. Negotiation Stages and Tactics 1. The early stages may include many individuals, as union proposals are presented. 2. During the middle stages, each side makes decisions regarding priorities, theirs and the other parties’. 3. In the final stage, momentum may build toward settlement or pressure may build as an impasse becomes more apparent. More small groups are used to address specific issues. 4. Getting to Yes by Fisher and Ury presents four principles of negotiations: a. Separate the people from the problem. b. Focus on interests, not positions. c. Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do. d. Insist that the results be based on some objective standard. D. Bargaining Power, Impasses, and Impasse Resolution—An important determinant of the outcomes of negotiations is the relative bargaining power of each party. Strikes impose various economic costs on both sides and therefore, in part, determine the power. E. Management’s Willingness to Take a Strike—Willingness is determined by the answers to two questions. 1. Can the company remain profitable over the long run if it agrees to the union’s demands? 2. Can the company continue to operate in the short run despite a strike. 3. The following factors help determine whether management is able to take a strike: a. Product Demand—If it’s strong, there is greater potential loss for management. b. Product Perishability—A strike timed with perishability of a crop results in permanent revenue loss. c. Technology—A capital-intensive firm is less dependent on labor for continued operation. d. Availability of Replacement Workers—(Note that the Clinton Administration issued an executive order that at the time of publication was under an injunctive order. This executive order prohibits federal contractors from permanently replacing striking workers). e. Multiple Production Sites and Staggered Contracts—These permit the shifting of work from a struck site. f. Integrated Facilities—If parts are not available from a struck plant, other facilities may be shut down. g. Lack of Substitutes for the Product—A strike is less costly if customers cannot purchase substitute goods. F. Impasse-Resolution Procedures: Alternatives to Strikes 1. Mediation is provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. While a mediator has no formal authority to force a solution, he or she acts as a facilitator for the parties, trying to help find a way to resolve an impasse. 2. A fact finder is most commonly used in the public sector. The fact finder’s job is to investigate and report on the reasons for the dispute and both sides’ positions. 3. Arbitration is a process through which a neutral party makes a final and binding decision. Traditionally, rights arbitration (the interpretation of contract terms) is widely accepted, while interest arbitration (deciding upon the outcome of contract negotiation) is used much less frequently. VIII. Union and Management Interactions: Contract Administration A. The grievance procedure is a process developed to resolve labor management disputes over the interpretation and implementation of the contract. This happens on a day-to-day basis. 1. The WWII War Labor Board first institutionalized the use of a third-party neutral, called an arbitrator (now, the final step in the grievance process). 2. The effectiveness of grievance procedures may be judged on three criteria: a. How well are day-to-day problems resolved? b. How well does the process adjust to changing circumstances? c. In multi-unit contracts, how well does the process handle local contract issues? 3. The duty of fair representation is mandated by the NLRA and requires that all bargaining-unit members, whether union members or not, have equal access to and appropriate representation in the grievance process. An individual union member may sue the union over negligent or discriminatory representation. 4. Most grievance procedures have several steps prior to arbitration, each including representatives from increasingly higher levels of management and the union (Text Table 14.9 and TM 14.4). 5. Arbitration is a final and binding step. The Supreme Court, through three cases known as the Steelworkers’ Trilogy, confirmed the credibility and binding nature of the arbitrator’s decision. 6. Criteria arbitrators use to reach decisions include: a. Did the employee know the rule and the consequences of violating it? b. Was the rule applied in a consistent and predictable way? c. Were the facts collected in a fair and systematic way? d. Did the employee have the right to question the facts and present a defense? e. Does the employee have the right of appeal? f. Is there progressive discipline? g. Are there mitigating circumstances? B. New Labor-Management Strategies 1. There are signs of a transformation from an adversarial approach to a less adversarial and more constructive approach to union-management relations. 2. The transformation includes increasing worker involvement and participation and reorganizing work to increase flexibility. | | |Competing through High-Performance Work Systems: | |Look Who’s Pushing Productivity | | | |Aluminum Co. of America is working to create a high performance work system within its plant by setting up a labor-management | |partnership and spur productivity, protect jobs, and as using unions as consultants. The International Association of | |Machinists is implementing a revolutionary change in the way unions view cooperation with management. The goal is to protect | |workers’ jobs and pay by making their employers more competitive. By developing expertise in new work systems, unions have a | |chance to make themselves valuable to employers battling today’s intense global and domestic competition. Partnerships can also| |dilute the opposition many executives feel toward unions. However, the most willing unions still battle over wages. The IAM | |has opted for a soft-sell approach, marketing itself as a resource for employers. The one payoff is that unions get mo re jobs | |for its members even if it can’t win election battles against nonunion contractors. | 3. Union leaders have frequently resisted such change, fearing an erosion of their influence. 4. In the Electromation case, the NLRB ruled that setting up worker-management committees was a violation of the NLRA, given certain circumstances (see Table 14.10 for a description of what makes teams illegal). 5. Polaroid recently dissolved an employee committee when the U.S. Department of Labor claimed it was a violation. 6. In a third case, the NLRB ruled that worker-management safety committees were illegal because they were dominated by management. 7. These new approaches (with the boundaries of legality) to labor relations may add to an organization’s effectiveness. Table 14.11 in the text and TM 14.5 illustrate the patterns of traditional and transformational approaches. IX. Labor Relations Outcomes A. Strikes—See Table 14.12 in the text for U.S. strike data. Note that strikes occur very infrequently. B. Wages and Benefits—In 1997, private-sector unionized workers received, on average, wages that were 28 percent higher than nonunion counterparts. 1. The union-nonunion gap is most likely overestimated due in part to the ease of organizing higher skilled (therefore more highly paid) workers. The â€Å"union threat† more than likely causes an underestimation of the differences. The net difference is close to 10 percent. 2. Unions influence the way in which pay is given (across-the-board wages on top of occupational wage rates). Promotions are in large part based on seniority. | | |A related reading from Dushkin’s | |Annual Editions: Human Resources 99/00: | |(â€Å"Off the Tenure Track† by Barbara McKenna | C. Productivity 1. Unions are believed to decrease productivity in three ways: a. The union pay advantage motivates management to use more capital per worker, which is an inefficiency. b. Union contracts may limit work load, and so on. c. Strikes and other job actions result in some lost productivity. 2. Unions, alternatively, may increase productivity: a. Unions provide more efficient communication with management, which may reduce turnover. b. The use of seniority decreases the competition between workers. c. The presence of a union may encourage management to tighten up in terms of consistency on work rules, and so on. 3. Overall, studies have concluded that union workers are more productive than nonunion workers although the explanation is not clear. Example: Between 1978 and 1982, Ford lost 47 percent of sales. Today, Ford uses one-half as many workers to make a car as they did during that period. A major factor in Ford’s increased productivity has been the improvement in their labor-management relationship. Management has made a strong effort to increase employee involvement. The Walton Hills plant outside of Cleveland, Ohio, is given as an example of a change from an adversarial relationship to a more cooperative approach that allowed for a change of work rules which kept the plant open. D. Profits and Stock Performance—These may suffer under unionization if costs are raised. Recent studies have shown negative effects on profit and shareholder wealth. These research findings describe the average effects of unions. The consequences of more innovative union-management relationships for profits and stock performance are less clear. X. The International Context—The United States has both the largest number of union members and the lowest unionization rate of any Western European country or Japan (Text Table 14.13). A number of potential explanations exist. A. The growing globalization of markets (EC common market, NAFTA, etc.) will continue to put pressure on labor costs and productivity. Unless U.S. unions can increase productivity or organize new production facilities, union membership may continue to decline. B. The United States differs from Western Europe in the degree of formal worker participation in decision making. Work councils and codetermination are mandated by law in Germany. XI. The Public Sector—During the 1960s and 1970s, unionization in the public sector increased dramatically. By 1997, 37 percent of government employees were covered by a union contract. Strikes are illegal at the federal level and in many states for government workers. Chapter Vocabulary These terms are defined in the â€Å"Extended Chapter Outline† section. Web of Rules Decertification Craft Union Industrial Union Local Union AFL-CIO Checkoff Provision Closed Shop Union Shop Agency Shop Maintenance of Membership Right-to-Work Laws Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) National Labor Relations Act, 1935 Taft-Hartley Act, 1947 National Labor Relations Board Associate Union Membership Corporate Campaigns Distributive Bargaining Integrative Bargaining Attitudinal Structuring Intraorganizational Bargaining Getting to Yes Mediation Fact Finder Grievance Procedure Arbitration Duty of Fair Representation Electromation Case Discussion Questions 1. Why do employees join unions? Employees join unions because of dissatisfaction with wages, benefits, working conditions, and supervisory method. Employees believe that collective voice (representation) will increase the likelihood of improvement. Unionization provides a better balance of power between management and employees (as a group). 2. What has been the trend in union membership in the United States, and what are the underlying reasons for the trend? Since 1950, union membership has consistently declined as a percentage of employment to approximately 16 percent of all employment. Students may suggest a number of reasons for this (as discussed in the text): decline in the manufacturing â€Å"core† industries, increase in employer union resistance, more frequently adopted progressive HRM policies, increase in employment legislation, and a lack of union adaptation. 3. What are the consequences for management and owners of having a union represent employees? Various consequences may occur depending on the quality of the union-management relationship. Management may find less flexibility, higher wage and benefit costs, higher productivity, and a negative impact on stock price and profitability. 4. What are the general provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, and how does it affect labor-management interactions? The NLRA provides a detailed list of individuals’ rights regarding organizing a union, bargaining a contract, and involvement (or lack thereof) in job (concerted) actions. These rights are referred to as Section 7 rights. Section 8 lists unfair labor practices for both employers and unions. Students could present and discuss each of these. The NLRB (the primary enforcement agency) was also mandated by the act. The NLRA encouraged unionization in order to provide employees with a balance of power vis a vis employers. It affects labor relations by providing a structure for negotiations and conflict resolution. Students could be called upon to provide some specific examples. 5. What are the features of traditional and nontraditional labor relations? What are the potential advantages of the â€Å"new† nontraditional approaches to labor relations? Traditional labor relations can be characterized as adversarial in nature. Negotiations are generally win-lose, and grievances tend to be settled at the third and fourth levels of the process. Nontraditional labor relations include an emphasis on problem-solving and win-win negotiations. Grievances may be more frequently settled informally at the first step. Additionally, employees may be involved in team efforts and participate in decision making. 6. How does the U.S. industrial and labor relations systems compare with systems in other countries such as those in Western Europe? The U.S. industrial relations system has a very low relative union density rate. The union wage premium is higher in the United States. Western European unions have a much higher level of formal worker participation in decision making. Web Exercise Students are asked to visit UAW’s web site to read about and answer questions about their recent mergers. †¢ www.uaw.com End-of-Chapter Case A Floor Under Foreign Factories? The global economic crisis is turning up the heat on companies that use cheap overseas labor, and as a result many companies are taking action like Nike, Inc. Nike lifted wages for its entry-level factory workers in Indonesia by 22 percent to offset that country’s devalued currency and other companies are finding ways to fix these problems without being undercut by rivals. The American Apparel Manufacturers Association (AAMA) introduced a task force to set guidelines for companies to police their factories and suppliers. In addition, the Council on Economic Priorities launched a program toward labor relations by having companies self-regulate even in the face of negative publicity about sweatshops, which could in turn create a floor of basic working conditions evolving around the globe. The plan is to establish the Fair Labor Association (FLA), a private entity to be controlled 50-50 by corporate and human-rights or labor representatives. The FLA would accredit auditors, such as accounting firms, to certify companies as complying with the code of conduct, and inspect about a fifth of a company’s factories for certification. This plan however needs to address wages and unionization rights in order to be successful. These two efforts can pose a problem for companies who still want to deal with sweatshops because human-rights groups will continue to expose the companies that use this technique. Questions 1. From labor’s point of view, what challenges does the â€Å"mobility of capital† create of protecting worker’s rights? From labor’s point of view, the challenges are: decent wage levels, appropriate standard of living, and job security. 2. Should companies be obligated to pay a â€Å"living wage† to workers? What would the likely consequences be for workers? To avoid exploitation by companies, â€Å"living wages† certainly makes sense. It also treats employees as assets rather than cheap labor. 3. If international labor standards are to be enforced, what is the best means? Should enforcement take the form of self-regulation by industry groups or should national governments cooperate in enforcing such standards? If international standards are to be enforced, they should be consistent and similar for the whole international market. This way it will be easier to monitor and control when there are discrepancies or when there is check-ins in the factories. National governments should take a cooperative approach in this arena to make sure things are going as planned and companies are complying with standards. 4. As a consumer, do the conditions under which people work matter to you in choosing a product to buy? Answers will vary. For the most part, most consumers will not think about where the products came from or where they were made when deciding on whether to purchase a certain product. The people that will take this issue into consideration would probably be the human-rights groups or other informed and concerned consumers; however, many people do not understand or are well informed about such issues. Additional Activities Teaching Suggestions Students are frequently quite interested in how labor relations work. Additionally, they may have fairly strong opinions about unions and their effectiveness. Discussions are therefore quite easy to start and keep going. Below are a number of activities that can be added to the text material. One role play is included that allows students to try out the first step in a grievance procedure. The HBR case on the clerical and technical employees organizing campaigns gives students a good chance to think about how HRM policies and practices truly play a role in employee relations. Two of the â€Å"Competing through† boxes have discussion questions listed. Finally, the Saturn end-of-part case is very useful with this chapter, illustrating the benefits of a constructive joint union-management relationship. 1. Competing through Quality Discussion Questions: †¢ Certainly strikes bring about hostile attitudes in many cases. What strategies can management use to defuse these feelings once people are back at work? †¢  · Given the Electromation case, how careful does management need to be in using teams as a quality improvement technique? 2. Competing through Globalization Discussion Questions: †¢ What types of strategies should U.S. organizations use when dealing with labor relations in other countries? What information do they need and with whom should they staff the labor relations positions? †¢ Will unions ever move to have a multinational structure like many organizations do? Why or why not? You may wish to have students do some library or Internet research on this question. 3. An interesting case from the Harvard Business School is listed below with questions for discussion. This may be assigned to groups as a written case analysis or used in class to discuss and illustrate a number of points regarding why employees join unions and what sort of union organizing techniques are used. Case 9-490-027: Clerical and Technical Workers Organizing Campaign at Harvard University (A) Case 9-490-081: Part (B) Teaching Note (5-490-083) Supplement (9-490-081) This case describes a successful organizing drive among clerical and technical workers at Harvard. The union (HUCTW) relied on unusual strategies: espousing cooperation, avoiding specific demands, emphasizing the need for worker voice, and making use of volunteer organizers. Discussion Questions 1. Should Harvard oppose unionization? 2. How would a union affect the university’s â€Å"business† needs? 3. How effective were Harvard’s campaign tactics? 4. What did you learn about managing human resources from reading and analyzing this case? 5. The Saturn case presents a labor-management relationship (as well as a plant design process) designed from the ground up as a cooperative, joint interaction. After covering this chapter, students should be well prepared to discuss the demands placed upon both the union and management in a situation like Saturn’s. The case provides some focus on the political riskiness of a cooperative relationship for the union-elected officials. In the Saturn case discussion, it would be useful to note the difference between beginning a new operation in which the union-management relationship is based on â€Å"jointness† and trust and the effort needed to change a relationship in which trust has not existed in the past. 6. Assign the following article from The Wall Street Journal (May 24, 1993): â€Å"Why Ms. Brickman of Sarah Lawrence Now Rallies Workers† by Kevin Salwen. Note also that as part of the AFL-CIO’s new â€Å"union summer program,† more than 1,600 young people, mostly college students, have applied for pro-labor candidates and help organize workers. Ask the students to discuss this quote: â€Å"Every successful social movement in history, including the civil rights movement, was run by young people. If the labor movement is going to succeed and grow again, they need to be a big part of it.† 7. A role play is useful in talking about the grievance procedure. Using the following scenario, assign the roles of union steward, supervisor, employee, and observer to students in groups of four. Give them 20 minutes to try to resolve the issue informally, but if they are unable to, have them â€Å"write it up† as a grievance. Those groups that do resolve it may hand in their resolution. Observers should provide feedback to the students in the other roles on interpersonal skills, empathy, listening, idea generation to resolve the issue, and so on. It is Friday afternoon in the special-order fabrications section of the Caseville plant. As the supervisor Mary Reed is checking work orders, she notes that there is one order that has not been handled, and delivery is due the next week. Clearly, Mary is going to have to find several people to work a second shift on overtime. Under the Caseville-Local 484 contract, overtime must be distributed by seniority. The supervisor quickly pulls her seniority list from the file and, beginning at the top, walks around her area talking to the employees and asking about their interest in overtime immediately after the current shift ends. After talking with five men, Mary has only one who will work. Quitting time is five minutes away, and the whereabouts of Brooke Youngblood is not known (Brooke is next on the list). In desperation, Stevens asks three employees standing at their benches who are about to leave. Two of these people agree to work (both are junior to Brooke). That afternoon and evenin g the order is completed. Monday morning, upon arrival, Brooke is greeted and asked about his weekend. It turns out that he had taken a trip into the city with his son for a major league baseball game Friday afternoon. The tickets had been purchased a month before, and the special event was a birthday present. In the course of the discussion, Brooke learns about the overtime and realizes he hadn’t been asked about it by his supervisor. He immediately calls his union steward, Carry Stevens. A discussion ensues.