Labour law and labour market regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Labour law and labour market regulation - Essay Example In the case of Wiltshire County Council v NATFHE and Guy, the court was faced with the question of determining whether a part-time contract was for a fixed period or not. It involved Ms Guy who was employed at s a teacher and attended some teaching lessons but later the course was removed due to reasons such as under subscription amongst others leaving her without employment. When her contract was not renewed she complained of being dismissed unfairly claiming that she was protected by the Employment Protection Act 1978 which in its strict interpretation envisaged that hers was a fixed term contract The appeal court held that her contract was for a fixed term and the contract subsisted even if she had been technically dismissed. Stating that a fixed contract is one in which there was a defined beginning and end. Therefore, basing on the Wiltshire case, Joe can claim unfair dismissal on grounds of discrimination after which the case will be taken to a tribunal for determination This therefore means that there are certain provisions that must be met that include giving the employee the mandatory notice period required in order to terminate the contract and the steps to be followed in the termination process. 2 The employer can only terminate the contract for reasons amongst them non-performance of duties, job elimination and misrepresentation amongst other reasons and must be written in a statement to the employee.3 The employer is therefore required to pay their employees there severance pay or any other form of financial consideration that may be entitled to the employee. The termination of the employment of Joe must not be based on discriminatory reasons and therefore in any sort of remedy sought; the courts of law will determine the reasons for the termination of the employment. If Joe had an individual contract with his employer or was covered by a collective bargaining agreement, his remedies and compensation will be covered under the stipulations of t hat agreement that subsisted before the termination of the contract. In a jurisdiction such as that of the United Kingdom, the courts or the tribunals can hear the cases brought for wrongful termination of the contract of employment. If proven that the contract of employment between Joe and that of his employer was wrongfully terminated, the court has remedies that it can give Joe.4 One remedy available to Joe is that he can be reinstated back to the position or job he held previously before termination of the employment. The courts may also order for monetary compensation to Joe for the wrongful dismissal that will be calculated commensurate with what he previously earned.5 Question 1 (b) Dismissing an employee who has had a long-term history of illness or sickness is one of the major difficult decisions employers have to make when considering terminating the employment of a sick employee in the United Kingdom.6 An employer is entitled to dismiss but fairly an employee who is absen t from duty due to sickness that may be long-term in nature but there is a caveat that they must demonstrate that they have acted in a fair, sensitive manner.7 This means that

Mystery Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mystery Story - Essay Example "Hello". "No. I tried to call him all afternoon, but he didn't answer the phone and didn't return my calls." Carol's mind began to race. Something was wrong and the misdeeds started this afternoon with Jim's absence. It wasn't like him to not call back or get in touch. "What time was he murdered Where How" There were a million questions racing through Carol's mind. "He was shot in his office within the past hour. We've got a suspect in custody. We'd like you to come down to the station and talk to us." Keller's tone was far too matter of fact. There was a murder that was being treated as a trespassing. "Well send a car for you. Your husband is at the city morgue. We need you to help us with the investigation". The words seemed to flow so easily from the officer's lips, but stuck inside and fouled Carol's ears. Mr. Keller's office was a dimly lit hole in a drive by mini-mall. Carol noticed the barren space and lack of any usual business activity. The desks lacked all the usual accouterments that make an office run such as paper, pens, and staplers. There was only a small laptop computer that sat folded and dusty from lack of use. There was no copier and no printer in sight. "We are not sure. It seems your husband was working late when this suspect entered the office. It was probably an attempted robbery, but he set off an alarm when he entered. The metro police were only a block away and caught him exiting the building." Keller looked at Carol and asked with an air of awkwardness, "Did your husband have any enemies Any reason someone would want to kill him Did you know anything about his business dealings" "Why no," Carol stammered. "You said it was a robbery. I don't know any other reason someone would want him dead. He ran a real estate business, and he took care of all that. I didn't know any of his clients or investors." "Well," Keller continued, "There didn't seem to be anything taken. Your husband still had over $200 on him and a wallet full of credit cards. Doesn't seem like a

The Effectiveness Of Performance Related Pay Commerce Essay

The Effectiveness Of Performance Related Pay Commerce Essay Impressive levels of staff performance are difficult to for many organizations to attain. Maintaining desirable levels of personnel performance is central to the objectives of most organizations. This is imperative as employee performance often translates to aggregate organizational performance. In a situation where employees are less motivated or less engaged to their job functions, there is a risk that such low employee morale will be reflected in an organizations overall performance. There are two main types of motivational mechanism that can be employed to induce staff to desired levels of performance namely; intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Perkins White (2008:8) defined extrinsic motivation as motivation that is derived from the use of tangible or transactional reward. Financial reward and incentive pay are examples of extrinsic motivation. Perkins White (2008:8) defined intrinsic motivation as the motivation of staff that is derived from the nature of the work itself. Armstrong (2010) added that intrinsic motivation is intangible in nature. Examples of intrinsic motivation are career development, career progression, training and development e.t.c. Armstrong (2002) argued that while intrinsic motivational mechanisms tends to have a sustained and positive impact on personnel morale, extrinsic motivational mechanisms tend to have minimal impact on personnel morale. For some organizations, they focus of their process of motivating staff is mainly extrinsic, while for some others, the focus is on use of mainly intrinsic motivational variables. In spite of this, Armstrong (2010) contended that both types of motivation can together be used to design mechanisms and processes for motivating important personnel. The use of performance-related pay (PRP) as a tool for motivating staff within organizations is what this research will be about. Before proceeding, it is essential to point out that PRP is an extrinsic motivational variable. Many firms, specifically firms that deal with financial services, use performance-driven pay to reward personnel for enviable performance. Before going into in-depth explanation of what PRP is, it is essential to gain an understanding of what employee reward is. In the words of White Drucker (2009), employee reward involves the tools used to compensate employees for their contributions to the achievement of organizationa l objectives. Employee takes into consideration how important it is to use the right reward schemes to compensate personnel, especially where there is above average performance. While employee reward mechanisms can be both tangible and intangible in nature, tangible reward schemes will act as the main emphasis of this research, most notably pay. The challenge of using pay to motivate staff is the difficulty of determining the right application of pay structures in a way that it enhances sustained and desired levels of staff performance. This difficulty has led to increased innovation in the use of pay to motivate staff. One of such innovations is the development of performance-related pay. Thorpe Homan (2003) suggested that PRP deals with the correlation of personnel performance with financial rewards. Again, IDS (1998) defined PRP as the different types of incentive mechanisms, in exclusion of direct payments based on outcomes achieved. Some of these incentive arrangements are pro fit sharing, employee share ownership arrangements, bonus arrangements e.t.c. PRP is widely used in the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Bonus schemes are usually used to reward for employees for additional business or revenue generated. The recent liquidity crisis in the UKs financial services industry, in the wake of the subprime economic disaster, has stimulated a widespread debate on the effectiveness of (PRP) as an effective tool for influencing personnel behaviour. Most of these debates arose because of the role of bankers in fuelling the liquidity crisis which culminated into the recent global economic recession. Based on these observations, this emphasis of this study will be on assessing the usefulness of PRP as a mechanism for motivating employees, especially from the ethical perspective. 3. Preliminary Review of Literature PRP acts as an added way that can be used by firms to reward their employees in tangible terms. Again, performance-related pay also refers to individualized mechanisms or processes in which pay rises are relative to the outcomes of performance appraisal (Heery Noon, 2001). This is why CIPD (2009) referred to performance-related pay as appraisal-related pay or merit pay. A great deal of debate has arisen in recent times about the usefulness of performance-related pay as a tool for motivating staff to sustained and desired levels of performance. Most of the recent debates have been fuelled by the role of rogue bankers in the recent global economic crisis. While money or pay provides an avenue through which an employees value is assessed, there is a failure by most organizations to recognise that people tend to differ when it comes to being motivated by pay. Human beings are complex creatures and as such will respond to motivation through the use of pay in differing ways (Corby et al., 2009). Another problem derived from the application of PRP is the failure of most organizations to distinguish between awarding financial rewards based on behavioural criteria or based on the achievement of results. There is a broad difference between these two criteria. In most cases, the application of PRP by most organizations is more focused on the achievement of results and less focused on behavioural criteria. While result-oriented performance-related pay can be effective in terms of the achievement of an organizations objectives, there are pitfalls in the use of this particular approach. The role of bankers in the recent economic crisis acts as a useful example of how result-oriented performance-related pay can be damaging to overall organizational performance especially in terms of the intrinsic worth of a firm. The use of bonus schemes led to excessive risk-taking by most bankers, especially bankers in the investment trading arm of most banks. Such excessive risk taking wa s largely driven by the desire to earn bonus payments; as a result, proper risk management mechanisms were often ignored as most banks became excessively leveraged. The decision by RBS to acquire Dutch bank, ABN Amro, was done in ignorance of appropriate corporate governance mechanisms; a decision that would not have been taken in retrospect as it led to accumulation of huge losses by RBS in the wake of subprime bust in America (Owen, 2009). Most of the criticisms against PRP is derived from its failure to recognise the significance of the need to control behaviour. This is because the application of result-oriented performance-related pay process tends to encourage employees to engage in discretionary efforts and behaviours that are mainly based on their desire to earn additional pay incentives as opposed to engaging in behaviours that bring about added value for shareholders. Kessler (2005) noted that another problem with the proper implementation of performance-related pay mechanisms is the difficulty of measuring inputs as they are generally more qualitative in nature. On this specific note, performance-related pay is more likely to be based on individual targets than team or group targets. Another issue with the implementation of PRP is that since in most cases, it is reliant on individual targets, there is a potential for it to become discriminatory in nature. The banks in the United Kingdom again act as useful exa mples; bonus schemes tend to be given to bankers in the investment banking and trading arm of most banks while back office staffs seldom have access to such bonus schemes. What makes this appalling is the fact that most of the ill decisions taken by the bailed out banks was done by bankers in the trading arm of most these banks (FSA, 2009). Armstrong (2007) noted that discriminatory application of performance-related pay systems only leads to decreased intrinsic motivation and decreased co-operation between employees. This undermines every sense of an equality-based organizational culture. Again, Perkins White (2008:165) were quick to point out that discriminatory bonus schemes only leads to low aggregate employee morale. Such a scenario only serves to undermine overall intrinsic interests within the organization. These observations help to highlight the undemocratic nature performance-related pay schemes especially as it tends to leave little room for the protection of entrenched collective employee interests. In spite of the multiple criticisms against performance-related pay (PRP), it is only fair to acknowledge that there are also perceived benefits that can be derived from using PRP schemes. For one, Lawler (2005) argued that relating individual pay tom performance possesses a potent motivational effect since it creates room for differentiating between the behaviour of employees and how they are rewarded. 3.1 Need for this research Firstly, I decided to conduct this research because of one of the subjects of my international human resource management module. That topic, in particular, was about how culture determines the way people react to financial rewards and non-financial rewards. Again, this research will help to examine the rationale for use of PRP schemes as a way of influencing personnel behaviour. 4. Research Questions 1.) Can performance-related pay be used to create a dichotomy between the need to protect collective employee interests and the need to inspire above-average of performance among personnel? 2.) What are the most effective ways that organizations can employ to reduce the pitfalls of performance-related pay? 3.) Why did use of performance-related pay schemes fail to control the excessive ris taking attitudes of personnel in the investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)? 5. Research Objectives 1.) To establish the best way of implementing performance-related pay in such a manner that entrenched collective employee interests will always remain protected. 2.) To establish the value of performance-related pay as a tool for enhancing performance of key personnel. 3.) To establish veritable options to the application of performance-related pay systems as a tool for motivating personnel to sustained and desired levels of personnel performance. 4.) To ascertain reasons for broad criticisms against use of performance-related pay to reward employees, especially personnel in financial services institutions in the United Kingdom. 6. Research Perspectives The research philosophy that I will use in this research is interpretivism. Collis Hussey (2003) posited that, interpretivism suggests a broader philosophical paradigm and avoids misunderstanding with the phenomenological research paradigm. In some aspects, there appears to be a like for like similarity between interpretivism and phenomenology. Any research that employs interpretivism is often times than not inductive. The subject of pay-driven performance is a subject that entails qualitative information as both direct and indirect observations both by the researcher and other researchers will form the basis for most of the information collected by the researcher. The study of the effects of financial rewards on personnel performance, to a lesser degree, involves quantitative information except when measuring output-driven target for target-oriented jobs. Such measures can apply to certain jobs in the financial services sector, like investment banking jobs. The potential lack of ac cess to such quantitative or target-driven information has informed the decision to use more qualitative-oriented information. Previously conducted empirical research on this researchs subject matter will be used to create the theoretical framework for this study. 7. Research Design Collis Hussey (2003) noted that the research design serves the main purpose of giving focus and direction when conducting a research. The research design forms the skeletal framework of the different methodologies applied during the conduct of a particular research. The research design that will be used in this research is the case study research design. Saunders et al., (2003) noted that the usefulness of the case study research design is that it enables the researcher to narrow the focus and scope of a research such that unnecessarily work is prevented. In this research, the case study for examining the effectiveness of performance-related pay is the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This bank will form a useful case for investigating the key variables of this study especially when taking note of the fact that the actions of some of its employees were culpable in some of the excessively risky decisions that almost contributed to its demise in the wake of the subprime market disaster ( Owen, 2009). As a result, findings from the cross-examination of RBSs PRP arrangements can be used to determine the best ways of implementing PRP schemes in other similar organizations. 8. Data Collection Methods In order to achieve the necessary requirements for this particular research, data or information will be obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Under-listed is a concise description of some of the tools that will be used to gather both forms of data. 8.1 Primary Data Collis Hussey (2005) defined primary data as raw data or information. The usefulness of primary data stems from the fact that it provides the researcher with original perspectives when investigating a particular problem. Primary data will be used to a considerable degree in this research. There are different ways for gathering primary data. In the context of this particular research, the researcher will gather primary data through three anonymous open-ended interviews with personnel of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The researcher expects that the interviews will take approximately forty minutes for each of the proposed interviewees. One of the proposed interviewees is a friend of mine and has promised me access to the other two interviewees. This friend of mine is a customer service representative in one of RBSs offices in London. Feedback from these three open-ended interviews will help the researcher to meet most of the objectives of this research and also conclude this resear ch. 8.2 Secondary Data Secondary data, on the other hand, will be obtained from academic textbooks and academic journals. Collis Hussey (2005) noted that secondary data is information assembled by other researchers and are available in public domains. Some of the peer reviewed academic journals that will be used in this research are the human resource management journal, CIPD articles and the reward management journal. These journals will be accessed from academic databases like the CIPD website, Ebscohost, and Emerald. Journal entries sourced from these databases will help to create the theoretical framework of this research. The value of the secondary data to be utilized in this research is derived from the assumption that it will also be used by the researcher as a support mechanism during analysis of the primary data gathered by the researcher for this researcher. 8.3 Analysis of Data Gathered by the Researcher Most of the data that will be analysed in this research will consist of the primary data gathered by the researcher. As mentioned earlier, the primary data for this researcher consisted of feedback from the three open-ended interviewees that will be carried out. The researcher will make use of content analysis during analysis and interpretation of feedback from the three interviewees. The content analysis will involve using the secondary data gathered as a support mechanism for analyzing feedback from the three interviewees. The use of secondary data during analysis of the primary helped to reduce subjectivity, which is one of the main limitations of the qualitative research approach. 9. Limitations of this Research One of the main limitations of this particular research is the fact that the researcher will only use one research approach as opposed to use of a mixed-methods research approach; in this case, only the qualitative research approach will be used. The qualitative research approach is not without its limitations. One of the main limitations of this particular research approach is that analysis of data gathered tends to be subjective since it is largely based on the researchers perspectives and viewpoint (Collis Hussey, 2005). To reduce subjective analysis and interpretations, the secondary data gathered will be used during analysis of feedback from the interviews that will be carried out by the researcher. Another constraint of this research is the fact that the sample size of just two interviewees may be regarded as too small to generate considerable primary data. To address this particular constraint, the researcher will ensure that considerable secondary data will be gathered so as to ensure that a concise analysis is conducted. Another constraint of this research is the use of just one case study; in this case, the Royal Bank of Scotland. The use of just one case study may make it challenging to generalize findings or results from this research. This is where the secondary data gathered by the researcher will be crucial; the secondary data will offer further perspectives on the underlying subject matter of this research, especially where the primary data appears deficient. 10. Ethical Considerations The process of conducting this research will be based on the stipulated requirements of Coventry University. In this regards, the Coventry University Ethics Manual will be studied by the researcher before inception of the research. All external information that will be utilized in this study will be properly referenced using Coventry Universitys recommended referencing style; in this case, the Harvard referencing style will be used by the researcher. The use of this particular referencing style appears to be in accordance with the plagiarism regulations of Coventry University.

The Twenties :: essays research papers

Area One-Politics and Government-The Harding Scandals and the Bonus Bill veto   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The presidency of Harding was filled with continuous scandal. Many compare the Harding to Grant has both being postwar presidents marked by scandals and corruption. Having appointed several excellent officials, Harding also appointed a number of incompetent and dishonest men to fill important positions, including the Secretary of Interior, Albert B. Fall and Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Secretary of Interior, Albert B. Fall, in 1921, secured the transfer of several naval oil reserves to his jurisdiction. In 1922, Fall secretly leased reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming to Harry F. Sinclair of Monmouth Oil and at Elk Hills in California to Edward Doheny of Pan-American Petroleum. A Senate investigation later revealed that Sinclair had given Fall $305,000 in cash and bonds and a herd of cattle, while Doheny had given him a $100,000 unsecured loans. Sinclair and Doheny were acquitted in 1927 of charges of defrauding the government, but in 1929 Fall was convicted, fined, and imprisoned for bribery.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another scandal involved Charles R. Forbes, appointed by Harding to head the new Veteran’s Bureau. He seemed energetic and efficient in operating the new hospitals and services for veterans. It was later estimated that he had stolen or squandered about $250 million in Bureau funds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scandal also tainted Attorney General Daugherty who, through his intimate friend Jessie Smith, took bribes from bootleggers, income tax evaders, and others in return for protection from prosecution. When the scandal became to come to light, Smith committed suicide in Daugherty’s Washington apartment in May 1923. There was also evidence that Daugherty received money for using his influence in returning the American Metal Company, seized by the government during the war, to its German owners. Area Two-Economics-Prosperity and Innovation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though overall the economy was strong between 1922 and 1929, certain segments of the economy, especially agriculture, did not share in the nation’s general prosperity. Improved industrial efficiency, which resulted in lower prices for goods, was primarily responsible. Manufacturing output increased about 65%, and productivity, or output per hour increased by about 45%. The numbers of industrial workers actually decreased from 9 million to 8.8 million during the decade. The increased productivity resulted from improved machinery, which in turn came about for several reasons. Industry changed from steam to electric power, allowing the design of more intricate machines and replaced the work of human hands. By 1929, 70% of industrial power came from electricity.

Woman for President

I think a woman should be president of the United States because it greatly shows that a woman can do anything a man can do. I think unless you give a woman a chance to be president you won’t know if a woman could make a good president or not. I believe if a woman became president it could lower the discrimination of women throughout the world. I also feel if a woman became president it could increased equality between men and women. If a woman was president I think if there was a problem she could talk about it and make a good decision to handle it.A woman should be president because discrimination against women could change a lot. It would show a great deal of people that a woman is capable of running a country. It could show people throughout the world that if a woman can run a developed country like the United States, a woman can do anything. I also think it would be a positive change throughout the entire country. It would be a big change because normally you would see a man doing such a high power job.This proves that if a woman is president more women would be less worried to do a job because of getting discriminated against. A woman should also be president because it would increase equality between men and women. It could start to reveal that men are more accepting of women and vice-versa. This doesn’t mean that men and women will get along happily ever after but it does mean that men and women can try to get along much more easily with a for woman president.This proves that if a woman is president this could improve men and women getting along for the better of the country. A woman should be president because a woman could be more understanding to people in need. A woman for president could do more in giving people what they want in a fair matter. I think if faced with a problem and woman would think and talk about it much more thoroughly than a man would. In recent years male presidents have resulted into poor decision-making when faced with a problem, such as war, and violence.This proves that if a woman is president she could handle problems in a less violent and better way. Overall I think a woman should be president. I think a woman could run the United States of America much better than a man. A woman for president could decrease discrimination of women by showing that a woman can do anything a man can do. A woman for president could increase equality between men and women. A woman as a president can affect the United States in a positive way. Overall I think a woman should and can be president if she has the right qualifications.

Miss Havisham

My beloved sweetheart bastard. Jilted me, destroyed me and crushed me into broken red pieces. I stink and remember the day we were waiting for so long, but you then decide to run away. Why? Why did you do this to me? Was it because of me? Or was there something wrong? The wedding gown that I wore is decaying, rotting and disintegrating away as days past from that heart breaking day. Don't think it's the only the heart that b-b-b-breaks, the soul also b-b-b-breaks. I waited and waited and waited, but no sign from you. Where were you?You malevolent, wicked and corrupt man sent me through hell and allowed me to burn on that day and onwards. Do you really, really love me? I guess you don't pretty much since you incinerated me into sorrowful ashes and now I have nothing. It was you who did this to me; a red balloon bursting in my face. Bang. I stabbed at a wedding cake, hoping not to remember the day you Jilted me. Was it on purpose? I can change for you to come back my love. Please, plea se. I spend whole days in bed cawing Noon at the wall but not a day since then I haven't wished you dead.Prayed for it so hard Vive dark green pebbles for eyes, ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with. Just give me a male corpse for a long slow honeymoon, better if the corpse was you. There are so much permanent marks on my body that even a whole year wouldn't be enough to count all of it. My mouth is getting drier and drier each day when I think of you, thirsty for your blood. Some nights better, dreaming that you would come back for me, I Just beg you to come back so I can release all the agony and pain you pierced Into my heart onto you.Puce curses that are sounds not words. Some nights better, the lost body over me, my fluent tongue In Its mouth In Its ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Sometimes I ask myself who did this to me? You see I have so many questions In my mind to be answered but not a single one have been answered for 20 years. My love, all I want to do is to Just strangle you till you feel my agonizing pain and It will soon be your turn but beware there's a burning ember scorching In my heart, waiting to be unleashed and trust me It will be more devastating than what you have done to me.Miss Having By Kent to come back so I can release all the agony and pain you pierced into my heart onto me, my fluent tongue in its mouth in its ear then down till I suddenly bite awake. Sometimes I ask myself who did this to me? You see I have so many questions in my all I want to do is to Just strangle you till you feel my agonizing pain and it will soon be your turn but beware there's a burning ember scorching in my heart, waiting to be unleashed and trust me it will be more devastating than what you have done to me.