Defining Historiography Essay Example for Free

Defining Historiography Essay

Case Study: Harold Shipman

Case Study: Harold Shipman Shipman began practicing as a doctor in 1974, at the Abraham Ormerod Medical Practice in Todmorden. He was there until 1975 when his partners discovered that he had been obtaining drugs dishonestly for his own use. In 1976 he pleaded guilty to three offences of obtaining pethidine by deception, three offences of unlawful possession of pethidine and two further offences of forging a prescription he was sentenced in Halifax Magistrates court to pay a fine and compensation. In August 1992,he began working as a solo practitioner at a surgery in Hyde he continued to work as a single-handed practitioner until his arrest in September 1998. In July 1998 the Greater Manchester Police began an inquiry into Kathleen Grundys death, a patient of Dr Shipman, the inquiry was rapidly widened to include the deaths of Shipmans other patients. On Monday, 31st January 2000 the jury at Preston Crown Court convicted Harold Shipman of 15 murders and of forging a will. Case Study Mrs Kathleen Grundy was a widow and lived by herself she was in remarkably good health for her age. She undertook work for many Charitable organisations and had a healthy social life. She spent the evening before her death with a friend and was in normal health when she went home. Mrs Grundy died on 24th June 1998 at the age of 81. Shipman forged a certificate and passed of her death being due to old age. Later scientific analysis of her body tissues in August 1998 showed that she had died of morphine poisoning. In the few days before her death, Shipman had persuaded Mrs Grundy to take part in a research project into the ageing process, allegedly to be conducted by Manchester University. It emerged later that this was a hoax so he could obtain a sample of her signature, which he used in an attempt to forge a will. This also created an excuse to visit her at home. She visited him on 23rd June, to have her ears syringed and told her that he needed a blood sample for the research project which must be taken early in the morning. He arranged to visit her at about 8.30am the next morning. The following day she was due to attend Werneth House but she did not arrive. Friends and colleagues there became concerned as this was out of character for Mrs Grundy and two of them, Mr John Green and Mr Ronald Pickford, went to her house at about midday. They found her lying on the sofa fully dressed. Her body was cold and it was established she was dead. The door to the house was unlocked. They summoned Shipman to the house. Following a perfunctory examination of the body, he said ‘cardiac arrest’, following the test he had a brief discussion with someone in the coroner’s office and it was agreed that a certificate which stated the cause of death to be ‘old age’ would be acceptable. There was no record kept of the conversation with the coroner’s office. When Shipman had left the house Mr Green informed the police, as he was unable to contact Mrs Grundy’s daughter Mrs Angela Woodruff. The officers concerned spoke to Shipman later and he informed them he had called on Mrs Grundy earlier that day because she had been unwell. He did not mention the fact that he had called to take a blood sample. Shipman also told them he had spoken with the coroner’s office and was going to issue a certificate stating that Mrs Grundy had died of natural causes. The police officers took a quick look at the body and on seeing nothing suspicious took no further action. The day after the death Shipman spoke to Mrs Woodruff. He told her that he had seen Mrs Grundy on the day before her death just for ‘a routine thing’. He was vague and mentioned she had chest pains possibly due to indigestion. Shipman said that he had arranged to collect a blood sample the next morning, when he arrived she was not yet dressed. He then said that some old people complain of feeling unwell a few days before they die and then just die. He inferred that this had happened to Mrs Grundy. He handed Mrs Woodruff the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) and said that he had certified the death as being due to old age. Mrs Woodruff’s suspicions were not aroused until she was contacted by the Hamilton Ward legal firm handling her mother’s will. Her own law practice in Warwickhad usually dealt with her mother’s legal affairs. The original will had been lodged with the firm in 1986. Hamilton Ward received a new will the same day that Mrs Grundy died. The new will was badly typed. Mrs Woodruff told the Shipman trial in October: â€Å"My mother was a meticulously tidy person. The thought of her signing a document which is so badly typed didn’t make any sense. The signature looked strange, it looked too big. The concept of mum signing a document leaving everything to her doctor was unbelievable.†[1] The police arranged for the exhumation of Mrs Grundys body. The exhumation was vital because forensic evidence was needed to verify the case of death. Dr Rutherford an expert witness pathologist was instructed to conduct the post-mortem examination. The post-mortem was crucial as it would establish time and cause of death, one would also know if Shipmans version of events are true. The results of the post-mortem examination found no natural explanation for Mrs Grundy’s death therefore not supporting Shipmans account. Also questions that were left unanswered for example why had this happened to someone who had been in good health, had been answered. Scientific analysis of the body tissues revealed levels of morphine consistent with the administration of a fatal dose. Dr John Grenville also provided a report and said that there were a number of false entries in the medical records which had been created after the death to give credibility to Shipman’s stories. Firstly that Mrs Grundy was under the weather when he saw her on 23rd June and secondly that Mrs Grundy had been abusing drugs and might have administered the morphine herself. This evidence was very valuable as it proved medical records had been doctored in order to cover Shipmans back. Forensic evidence proved that Shipman forged Mrs Grundys will this was one of the main reasons as to why suspicions were aroused in the first place. Shipman wanted to obtain the whole of Mrs Grundy’s estate, leaving nothing to her daughter and grandchildren. He drafted the will using his own old-fashioned Brother portable typewriter. When the police came to Shipman’s premises and took possession of the typewriter the will was immediately linked to him. This was important as tests would be able to show that if the will had been produced from Shipmans type writer the paper could be matched as well as the ink and tracks that had been used, this evidence would be enough to prove that it had come from that specific printer. Although this evidence was valuable shipman could still argue that someone else had used his type writer. Overall the final product looked painstakingly unprofessional and suspicion would be aroused immediately. Expert hand writing evidence proved them to be forgeries. Shipman forged Mrs Grundy’s signature and dated the will 9th June 1998. On that day he staged a ‘signing and witnessing’ event in his consulting room and must have prepared a document for Mrs Grundy to sign which purported to provide for her consent to take part in some medical research supposedly to be conducted by Manchester University. This document required that Mrs Grundy’s signature should be witnessed by two others, who also had to sign and provide their names, addresses and occupations. While Mrs Grundy was at Shipman’s surgery on 9th June, Shipman appears to have obtained her signature on this document and then called two patients from his waiting room into the consulting room where they completed and signed the witnesses’ part of the document. Shipman must have used this document to copy the three signatures as well as he could. The document would have been valuable to shipman as he had no other means of looking at Mrs Grundys signature. Forensic evidence showed the Shipman had forged the signature as it did not match the style of Mrs Grundys writing and it was blatantly obvious that it was a copy due the fact that Shipman had to break off as he kept looking at the original signature to copy it, it was also noted that the signature Shipman forged was allot bigger than how Mrs Grundy would normally sign. There were clear conclusions drawn from the Forensic evidence as the post-mortem that Mrs Grundys death was a clear case of morphine poisoning. Even without this evidence there were a number of questions that did not add up for instance this was a sudden death of an elderly person in good health. There was no explanation for her death. Mrs Grundys door was unlocked this was also unusual for her as her neighbours mentioned the fact that she was a security conscious person, Shipman implied that Mrs Grundy left the door unlocked after letting him out this vital piece of evidence was a major blow to shipmans case as he had been unable to leave the security system in the condition relatives and friends would have expected it to be. Even though Shipman had altered Mrs Grundys medical records to show she was unwell just before her death and that he suspected she had been abusing drugs her medical records still showed she had been in good health and had no potentially fatal conditions that would harm her. Also the cause of death being ‘old age’, left unanswered question and was quite an inappropriate case of death for a person who had been in such good health. On the 31st January 2000, after six days of deliberation the jury found Shipman guilty of killing 15 patients by lethal injections of diamorphine, and forging the will of Kathleen Grundy. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences and it was recommended that he never be released. Shipman also received four years imprisonment for forging the will. Two years after his conviction, Home Secretary David Blunkett confirmed the judge’s recommendation that Shipman never be released. Shipman was officially struck off by the General Medical council in Februaury 2002 he consistently denied his guilt, disputing the scientific evidence against him. He never made any statements about his actions. His defence tried, but failed, to have the count of murder of Mrs Grundy, where a clear motive was alleged. Shipman subsequently committed suicide at Wakefield Prison by hanging himself from the window bars of his cell using bed sheets. He was found in his cell at 6:20 am on 13 January 2004, on the eve of his 58th birthday, and was officially pronounced dead at 8:10 am. Bibliography Crime scene to court second edition, Edited by .P.C.White http://www.the-shipman-inquiry.org.uk http://www.geraldengland.co.uk/gx/shipman.htm http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-180566187.htm [1] Mrs Woodruffs evidence in court Royal Ahold: An analysis Royal Ahold: An analysis ROYAL AHOLD: 1. Introduction Headquartered in the Netherlands, Royal Ahold is one of the worlds largest international retail grocery and food service companies. At its peak in 2001, Aholds reported sales and profits were â‚ ¬66.6 billion and â‚ ¬1.1 billion and it operated 5,155 stores in 27 countries with nearly a quarter of a million employees. Ahold was started as a family firm in 1887 by the Heijn family. It was a family-controlled business, operating primarily in the Netherlands for over 100 years. The company went public in 1948. In 1989, Ahold underwent a major transition from a family-controlled to a management controlled firm. This transition resulted in a phenomenal period of success for the firm. It generated over a 1,000% return for its shareholders and had a market capitalization of â‚ ¬30.6 billion by November 2001. In February 2003, Ahold witnessed a reversal of fortunes and suffered a complete meltdown. The firm was in a complete disastrous state with nothing going in their favour: a failed strategy, an accounting scandal, the firing of professional management, and litigation filings from all parts of the world. Shareholders lost most of their returns generated since 1989. Ahold scandal gave Europe a reason to believe that corporate governance and accounting problems were not restricted U.S. only. Ahold became â€Å"Europes Enron† (The Economist, March 1, 2003). It caused Dutch and European policymakers to rethink their approach to corporate governance and accounting policy. The Royal Ahold scandal, along with the accounting fraud at the giant Italian firm Parmalat, caused the European Union (EU) to impose more extensive and rigorous regulation on the financial reporting system and independent audit function within its member nations. The Royal Ahold debacle also reignited the debate re garding the need for more uniform accounting and auditing standards around the globe. In the Netherlands, a committee on corporate governance was installed on March 10, 2003 (Tabaksblat Committee, 2003) to restore the lost confidence in public companies. This report aims at studying the inter-relationships between the lack of corporate governance and of accounting transparency which led to the downfall of Ahold. The subsequent policies and strategies of the firm which aimed at reviving the firm are also aptly covered in the report. 2. The Growth Story: Expanding Boundaries Over the years, Ahold evolved from a single grocery store in 1887 to a food company with a dominant position in the Netherlands. By the mid-1970s, Royal Aholds management realized that for the company to continue to grow it could not limit its operations to The Netherlands. Since the Netherland market was already dominated by Royal Ahold, the companys top executives, who had long been known for their conservative operating and financial policies, announced their plan to expand its operations into other countries. Royal Aholds expansion efforts got off to a slow start but then accelerated rapidly in the 1990s after the company hired a new management team. Until the late 1980s, members of the Heijn family had occupied the key management positions within the firm. In 1987, two grandsons of Albert Heijn, served as Royal Aholds two top executives. Later in 1987 when the brothers retired, a professional management team was hired to replace the Heijn brothers. The team recognized that the quickest way for Royal Ahold to gain significant market share in the grocery retailing industry outside of The Netherlands was to purchase existing grocery chains in foreign countries. To finance their growth-by-acquisition policy, Royal Aholds new executives raised large amounts of debt and equity capital during the 1990s. By 2000, Royal Ahold had purchased retail grocery chains in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Portugal, Scandinavia, South America, and the United States. This aggressive expansion campaign m ade Royal Ahold the third largest grocery retailer worldwide by the turn of the century. At the time, only U.S.-based Wal-Mart and the French firm Carrefour SA had larger annual retail grocery sales than Royal Ahold. Royal Ahold completed its most ambitious acquisition in 2000 when it purchased U.S. Foodservice, a large food wholesaler headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Although Royal Ahold had previously purchased several retail grocery chains along the eastern seaboard of the United States, including New England-based Stop Shop, U.S. Foodservice was easily the largest U.S. company it had acquired. The U.S. Foodservice acquisition was also important because it signalled the companys commitment to becoming a significant participant in the food wholesaling industry. In 2003, after purchasing two smaller U.S.-based food distributors, Royal Ahold ranked as the second largest food wholesaler in the United States—Houston-based Sysco Corporation was the largest. In fact, the three U.S. acquisitions caused food wholesaling to be the companys largest source of revenue, accounting for slightly more than one-half of its annual sales. The companys more than 4,000 retail grocery stores located in 27countries accounted for the remainder of its annual sales. 3. Problems Due to Expansion The aggressive growth strategy adopted by the new professional management gave rise to a number of unexpected and unanticipated problems. Among these the major problems were caused primarily due to the expansion in the global regions. The differences in the cultural norms hampered the ability of the management to manage its worldwide retail grocery operations. As the firm ventured into new markets, especially the markets outside of Western Europe and the United States, it faced new challenges in the face of wide range of laws, regulations and cultural differences. The management team also faced difficulty in dealing with human resource policies regarding hiring, appraisal, and other employee benefits. The policies which were successful in The Netherlands failed to live up to the expectations of the new managers and employees in the countries of Asia, Latin America and South America. Furthermore the cultural norms of grocery shopping among the consumers in global markets also exacerbated the misery of the firm. Some consumers out rightly rejected the â€Å"Dutch: idea and way of organizing the grocery store. The consumers also did not appreciate the idea of â€Å"foreign invader† replacing the local grocery stores which existed there for years. 4. Response towards the Problems and Further Issues Since the problems were primarily the result of cultural and social issues, the management at Ahold decided upon the strategy of using the management personal of the local grocery chains and retaining them when those chains were acquired by Ahold. The new mangers were empowered with the authority to make major decisions. The Royal Ahold ambitious plan to become a major player in the wholesaling segment of the huge food industry in the US gave rise to new problems. Most of the company officials were unfamiliar with that segment. Therefore they adopted the â€Å"hands-off† mindset to the acquisition and depended primarily on the executives of U.S. Foodservice who were retained following the buyout to oversee the subsidiarys day-to-day operations. But the firm adopted a policy of following the same rigorous performance standards that were imposed on the companys domestic operations. The companys established goal of 15% annual growth rate in profits was used to decide upon the annual sales targets for each of the companys operating unit in Netherland and also at global locations. The units were pressurised to achieve their target and there were significant rewards on meeting the specified targets. But due to increased competition and the relatively lower profit margins within the food industry prevented many of those units from achieving the annual earnings goals that had been assigned to them.  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­5. Accounting Issues During the fiscal 2002 audit of Royal Ahold, Deloitte Accountants uncovered evidence suggesting that the companys consolidated revenues had been inflated and overstated. When Royal Ahold invested in a foreign company, it often acquired exactly a 50 percent ownership interest in the given company. Nevertheless, Royal Ahold would fully consolidate the companys financial data in its annual financial statements.Dutch accounting rules at the time permitted a parent company to fully consolidate the financial data of a joint venture company if the parent could control that firms operations. Such control could be evidenced by a more than 50 percent ownership interest in the joint venture company or by other means. Royal Ahold persuaded their Deloitte auditors by providing them with â€Å"control letters† officially signed by the officials of joint venture companies. This was accomplished by taking the officials to their side by bribing them. Further in order to placate the companys executives, the Royal Aholds management team signed â€Å"side letters† addressed to the companys executives of the JV. These letters affirmed that the decision making was mutual rather than by Ahold exclusively. Thus for Dutch accounting purposes, the joint ventures operating results should have been â€Å"proportionately consolidated† in Aholds annual financial statements. Apart from such improper accounting, Royal Ahold was also accused of not sharing the full information among the stakeholders. It did not reveal its obligations to purchase the ownership interests of certain investors in those companies. This was because of the default on the part of the joint venture companies to pay off their outstanding debt. Fraudulent Accounting at U.S. Foodservice Deloitte Accountants U.S. affiliate, Deloitte Touche, audited the financial statements of U.S. Foodservice after that company was acquired by Royal Ahold in 2000. Before the acquisition, KPMG was its auditor. Deloitte uncovered anomaly in the account books which distorted the consolidated net income of Ahold group. Subsequent investigation revealed that US food Service had misrepresented their financial statements for several years before the acquisition. The misrepresentation was because of improper accounting of the â€Å"promotional allowances.† Since the food wholesaling industry is intensely competitive, so the profit margins on their sales are relatively small. This led to the concept of â€Å"promotional allowances† (refund on purchases) being paid to food wholesalers by their suppliers or vendors. Another common practice or rather malpractice was â€Å"front-loading† promotional allowances. This means accounting for all the allowances prior to its actual period. The absence of proper internal controls over promotional allowances provided an opportunity for dishonest employees to overstate those allowances for accounting purposes. 6. The Aftermath In 2003 when the company issued the restated financial statements for the preceding there years, the fraud was uncovered. The net income figures for the years 2000, 2001 and 2003 had been overstated by 17.6%, 32.6% and 88.1% respectively. The corresponding figures for the reported revenues were 20.8%, 18.6% and 13.8%. Soon after the disclosures were made the regulatory agencies, law authorities, investment companies and other stakeholders began seeking more information regarding the fraud. Following the public disclosure both Dutch and U.S. law enforcement authorities filed criminal charges against the company and several of its former executives. Upon investigation, the responsibilities for the fraud lay on the top executives of the firm. The so called â€Å"professional management† which replaced the Heijn-family management in the 1990s were the forces responsible for the crisis. They over estimated their growing potential and set unrealistic targets at the company level. These targets where passed on to the individual units which were pressurised to achieve these unrealistic targets by hook or by crook. This was further enhanced by a significant level of rewards attached to the meeting of targets. Role of the Auditor Though it was because of the Aholds auditor Deloitte that the crisis was finally ended, but it cane under severe criticism for letting this fraud flourish to the extent it had reached. There were many lawsuits filed against Deloitte for the shear reason of negligence on their part which required them to prove their integrity. The loosely organized operating units under Ahold group made the auditing task a tough one. Regulatory Bodies The following controversy also revolved around the inefficiency and loopholes of the present in the regulatory system. The Ahold case re-affirmed the need for cooperation among the different regulatory bodies across countries. This was evident in the wake of rapid globalization which had taken place in the 1990s. Also the need for a common framework of regulations was further enhanced to maintain the comparability aspect of the account books across globe. 7. The Verdict The fraud charges against the Royal Ahold corporate house were finally settled in September 2004. The verdict required the firm to pay a fine of 8 million Euros. Further after investigation the Royal Aholds former executives (CFO and CEO) were found guilty and were penalized as well as were sentenced to four to nine months of imprisonment 8. The Road to Recovery program Press release is issued by Royal Ahold N.V â€Å"Our highest priority now is to rebuild the value of our company. We will do everything in our power to create a company of which you can once again be proud. Reinforcing accountability, controls and corporate governance Ahold is replacing a decentralized system of internal controls that had many weaknesses with a one-company system with central reporting lines. Internal audit will not only report to the CEO, but also to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Ahold has nominated Peter Wakkie to the position of Chief Corporate Governance Counsel on the Executive Board, to serve as the driving force behind improved internal governance policies and practices, for legal compliance as well as conformance to ethical and social standards. †

Culture of the Dominican Republic Essay -- Cultural Dominical Republic

Culture of the Dominican Republic The People Dominicans’ ethnicity consists of Taino, Spanish and African. The native people on the island were the Taino. The Taino were hunter and gatherers who lived off the land. Led by Christopher Columbus, the Spanish conquered the island in 1492. The Spanish overtook the Taino forcing them to be their slaves while killing many in the process. The Africans were then later brought to the island as slaves. Certain traits of these ethnic groups are still present in the Dominican culture, such as the food, language, religion and personality of the people (Goodwin, 116). A true Taino is hard to come by in the Dominican Republic, yet most Dominicans consider themselves part Taino. During the conquest the Spanish killed massive amounts of this indigenous group and their population almost vanished. However, Taino culture is still seen in some of the foods that are eaten in the Dominican Republic. Dominicans also use some of the Taino’s words in their language, such as tobacco, hammock and canoe (Lonely Planet website). One of the most significant aspects of Taino culture that is still present today is the importance of land. The Taino lived off the land and respected Mother Nature. This is still seen in Dominican agriculture which grows a rich produce of bananas, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco and cacao. Importing these products is one of their major sources of income (Goodwin, 116). The Dominicans have intermarried with Tainos, Spanish and African people but their African physical features are still present. Dominicans come in all different colors, ranging from very dark to very light and everything in between. Dominicans see skin color differently than it is seen in the ... ...Lonely Planet; Goodwin, 116-117). Throughout the history of the Dominican Republic certain heritage groups have played an important role in creating the Dominican culture. The Taino gave the Dominicans their love of Mother Nature, the African slaves gave them their physical appearance and the Spanish conquistadors shaped the Dominican’s language and religion. Although some influences are more dominant than others, overall the Dominican culture is a mix of three heritage groups that create a unique and intriguing culture. Bibliography Foner, Nancy. From Ellis Island to JFK. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. Goodwin, Paul Jr. â€Å"The Dominican Republic.† Latin America Tenth Edition. Guilford, CN: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2003. Lonely Planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/caribbea/dominican_republic/culture.htm Accessed 22 March 2004

AOL : An Exceptional Internet Service Provider :: Internet Online Communication Essays

AOLÂ  : An Exceptional Internet Service Provider The internet is expanding every day to new heights never reached before. To accommodate this new growth, internet service providers are needed. One of the largest internet service providers today is American Online, otherwise known as AOL. AOL has created a friendly atmosphere where online users can easily navigate their way on the internet. There are many reasons as to why AOL is one of the leading internet service providers. By clearly gathering and evaluating these reasons, it is obvious they have made all the right choices in building a successful company. AOL started in the eighties when personal computers were just put on the market. Stephen Case founded the company which was known then as Quantum Computer Services, in 1985. (Shelly, 2001) It was located in Dulles, Virginia. Originally the purpose of the company was to sell limited online service to PC users, as opposed to now where there is unlimited service. Slowly but surely Quantum started providing more services and eventually changed its name to American Online in 1991. By 1994 AOL had 1,000,000 members and had bought Redgate Communications, NaviSoft, BookLink Technologies, and ANS. (Who We Are, 2001) Similarly in 1996 AOL had set up in France, United Kingdom, and Canada, with plans to be in Japan. Now with more than seven million members, a deal is reached for unlimited use per month for $19.95. For the last four years the business has grown into a giant corporation. As of this year AOL has exceeded 31 million members and merged with Time Warner. (WWA, 2001) With this many members, it shows AOL must have an outstanding internet service. Since AOL is so commonly used, its website must be easy, convenient, and informative. The site contains a lot of information including entertainment, health, news, sports, and much more. Chat has become widely popular on the internet, allowing people from around the world to talk. It has been recorded that 56 million hours are used up a month in AOL chat rooms. (WWA, 2001) In addition to chat, news is taken from the television, radio, and newspapers to be posted on the web. There is also a section for kids where they can chat, look for help on homework, and go to other children websites.

The Emperor?s New Clothes :: essays research papers

‘The Emperor's New Clothes’ is a tale of an emperor who was exceptionally fond of new clothes. Two swindlers came one day and claimed that they were weavers and said that they could weave the finest cloth ever seen. They claimed that the colours and patterns were not only exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made from this material possessed the wonderful quality of being invisible to anyone who was hopelessly stupid or incompetent. They were paid handsomely to weave this cloth and given a room to work, as the emperor wanted to wear his new robes in an upcoming parade. When they decided that they had finished ‘weaving’, the emperor sent in his ministers to judge the quality of the cloth. The ministers, not wanting to lose their respected positions, told the emperor that it was magnificent when they could not see it at all. The emperor, believing his ministers could actually see the robes, and not wanting to seem a fool, paraded in the streets wearing th e new clothes, which were, of course, non-existent. The public admired the emperor’s clothes, for they too did not want to be labelled fools; only a child came out and said that the emperor was actually wearing nothing at all. Upon this outburst, the rest of the public realized that this was true, and the emperor finished the parade in shame for his stupidity of believing the two swindlers in the first place. One of the morals of this fairytale would be to not succumb to peer pressure. Had the emperor not cared about looking like a fool in front of his ministers, he would have declared that he could see nothing, and would have asked whether the ministers could actually see anything. Another moral would be to always give your honest opinion.

Trade Unions in Australia

Table of contents Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Page 3 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 4 Benefits of joining a union†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Page 6 Membership declines and impact of legislation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 7 Effect of Human Resources on Employees and Union memberships†¦Page 9 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 10 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Page 11 Executive Summary: Since the 1980’s trade union membership numbers have declined rapidly ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 130). Once upon a time it was quiet important for employees to be part of a union as it entitled them to have a collective voice, and power to build a pleasurable workplace. There have been many factors that have contributed to this decline in union memberships such as changes in workplace structure as well as increase in employee numbers (Patmore, 1992, pg 227 ). Changes in legislation by the Howard government with the implementation of the 1996 Workplace Relations Act and later the Workchoices Act restricted trade unions in a large way therefore contributing to the decline in members. The increasing use of Human Resources within businesses is also impacting as employees are choosing to directly consult management over issues rather then involving a third party. With the Labour party regaining power in 2007 the legislations have now been adjusted in favour of trade unions. However they are going to have to continue to work hard so employees choose to join unions and begin to go against this declining trend of union memberships (Cooper, 2004, pg 207). Introduction: A trade union is ‘an organisation of employees whose focus is the protection and negotiation of pay rates and conditions of employment’ ( Balnave et al, pg 536, 2007). By people joining together as a collective not an individual, produces a greater amount of power when dealing with issues such as wages and working conditions (Balnave et al, 2007, pg125). It is this power that influences changes to occur in employment relations and as a result employees become satisfied with their workplace. Trade unions for many years now have played a key role in Australia’s structure of employee relations ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 124 ). It can be noted that trade unions in Australia date back to as early as the rebellions made my convicts in regards to their living conditions and have moved forward to the current issues of employees such as work conditions, pay rates and various other factors (ACTU website). From the years 1850-1990, trade unions were officially established in Australia (ACTU website) and various unions were formed such as the shearers union, seaman union and miners union (ACTU website). In 1901 the NSW Industrial Arbitration Act was passed. This act was bought about in the hope of creating productive workplaces by improving the standards of workplaces ( ACTU website). Also this act issued compulsory arbitration so that if a dispute did arise within the workplace, it must be bought to the Industrial Relations Committee (ACTU website). Since the 1980’s trade unions in Australia have declined significantly (Patmore, 1992, pg 225). at a rate of 1% per year then increased to 2% per year in the 1990’s. ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 137). There are several reasons as to why this has occurred such as the structure of the workplace, for example the increase in causal labour (Patmore, 1992, pg 227), changes in economic markets, increase in flexibility given to employers over employees, increase in managerial rights and the behaviour of unions overtime (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 138) . The biggest change of all for trade unions in Australia came about in 1996, with the reintroduction of the liberal party under the power of John Howard. It was here that the development of the Workplace Relations Act occurred. This act saw the introduction of Australian Work Agreements (AWA’s). These agreements allowed for employers to work closely with their employees to set their own working conditions that would be suited to their work practices. The years following saw the Australian Council of Trade Unions along with the Labour government campaigning against Howard’s idea of industrial relations ( Cooper, 2008, pg 285). In late 2007, the labour government regained power of the federal parliament. From here the Rudd government moved to create the ‘Forward with Fairness’ policy that still stands to date ( Cooper, 2008, pg 286). This was more beneficial for the unions. The unions however will remain tarnished from Howard’s workchoices for quiet sometime and must focus on recruiting new members (Brigden, 2008, pg 365) if unions are going to remain within Australia. Human Resources practices have also impacted on unions as managers within a workplace are encouraged to now work directly with their employees, rather then including a third party such as a trade union ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). Because of this, trade union members will continue to decline Benefits of joining a union: Joining a union can be extremely beneficial for its members. A union offers it’s members the chance to join a collective support rather then fight individually. It increases economic benefits, increases productivity and workplace protection ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 131). The culture of the workplace may also influence ones decision to join a union. When faced with a problem it is a lot easier to proceed to fight this problem if you are part of a collective rather then approach the problem as an individual. In the case of trade unions, the advantage of being part of a collective means that the union can approach management so that matters between management and employees are discussed on a more even slate ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 133). Also being part of a collective group means that members are represented in front of a tribunal, and therefore have equal chance of success ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 135). This is something that a member would expect of their membership. Trade unions also prove effective when they act as lobby groups as a means of getting both parliament and the publics attention something that would be difficult to do as an individual ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 135). Trade unions are said to increase economic benefits as the presence and influences of a union may create changes in wages and working conditions (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 134). If an employee is satisfied with their wage and conditions then it is most likely that they will be more productive and therefore a greater asset for the company. Being part of a union enables protection for an employee in many areas including training, recruitment, wages and conditions of the workplace (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 132). This protection is important for an employee if their employer is expecting them to be efficient within the workplace. Lastly if the culture of the workplace is very union orientated, an employee is not going to feel comfortable if they too are not a member and vice versa. Therefore culture has an influence. There is also the argument that unions do not offer as many benefits as promised and members do not achieve any benefits. In terms of economic benefit, yes a union may influence an increase in wages, however in return management may increase work pressure on employees ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 134). At the same time, the decline in union membership numbers is affecting the ability of unions to effectively influence management (Balnave et al, 2007, 133). Because of this employees do not see the benefits in joining a union. Membership declines and impact of legislation: Since the 1980’s union memberships have declined in Australia at an alarming rate ( 2004). Memberships in 1988 stood at 42% opposed to 2003 with a small percentage of 23% (2004). This decline in membership can be explained by different variables such as change in workplace structure such as the move to more casual positions, workplaces employing larger groups of people and poor economic performance. The employers ability to make better wages also tests the need for unions ( Patmore, 1992, pg 227). Due to the close relationships that Trade unions share with the labour party many unions had relied on this relationship to make the conditions and wages for their members more pleasurable (Patmore, 1992, pg 231). So the re- election of the liberal government in the 90’s impacted significantly on the declining number of union members as there was no positive relationship between unions and the liberal party. From here on in the traditional Australian model of industrial relations was tarnished as yet again the people had chosen a government who had introduced an anti- union plan ( Barnes, 2005, 370). The first initial major change by the Howard government was the introduction of Workplace Relations ACT of 1996. This Act saw the introduction of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). These agreements enabled the employer and employee to formulate their own agreement conditions without any input from unions. The agreements had to pass the ‘No Disadvantage Test’ ensuring that an employee would in no way be disadvantaged by these individual AWA agreements (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 146). After winning the Australian people’s vote in the 2004 election, Howard’s government implemented changes to legislation which are considered to be the most significant in Australia’s history of industrial relations since the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1904 ( Riley & Sarina, 2005, pg 343). These changes involved amendments to the Workplace Relations Act of 1996, to generate The Workplace Relations Act 2005, which is also known as Workchoices. The prime aim of workchoices was to shift the power in the workplace to be in favour of employers ( Barnes, 2005, pg 373). This introduction of this act really impacted on the involvement of trade unions in countless ways. Firstly they destroyed the ‘No disadvantage Test’, therefore there was no way in which to test employees were receiving basic wages and that their conditions of work were up to standards (Riley & Sarina, 2005, pg 342). Also the unions were no longer able to enter workplaces and were restricted to visiting workplaces for recruitment only twice a year. If these rules were breached, penalties did apply ( Cooper, 2004, pg 202). Not only were unions unable to easily approach members and employees, but the Workchoices Act made it difficult for unions to partake in industrial action such as strikes (Barnes, 2005, pg 373). Because of the restrictions that workchoices placed on unions, members were not reaping the benefits they were promised. As a result memberships continued to decline (2004). In response to Howard’s Workchoices Act the Labour government decided to campaign against workchoice in the hope of winning the opinions of the broader community (Barnes, 2005, pg373). Together with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the Labour government launched a television campaign that dealt with issues such as job security, and a large level of unfairness that they believed was occurring in the workplace (Barnes, 2005,pg 375 ). The campaigns must have been some what effective as Labour was elected into power at the end of 2007. This was a great turning point for unions as it was the first time after more then a decade that they had not been confronted with an anti-union government ( Brigden, 2008, pg 365 ). Rudd’s government worked quickly to make amendment to the liberal government’s workchoices with the implementation of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008. With this new Act came the removal of AWAs and putting in place a new ‘no disadvantage test’. The scrapping of AWAs and the re-introduction of the ‘no disadvantage test’ gave unions the ability to rebuild their members as they now had more ability to approach workplaces as the power had now shifted back to the employees. Due to the impact of Howard’s adjustments to industrial relations legislations with the introduction of Workplace Relations Act in 1996 then to the inclusion of the Workchoices Act 2006 unions were restricted on their ability to influence employees. This impacted greatly on the decline in union members. The Fair Work Act2008 implemented by Rudd’s government looks more promising for the continuation of unions, however to re-gain full respect unions are going to have to double their efforts and increase their efforts in years to come ( Cooper, 2004, pg 203). Effect of Human Resources on Employees and Union memberships: With the decrease in unions, there has been a noted increase in the use of human resources techniques in the workplace ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). Human Resources is the element of a business that deals traditionally with pay and recruitment as well as planning and business performance ( Griffiths & Lloyd-Walker, 2007, pg 2). The techniques adopted by Human resources focus on the individual and their performance within the workplace ( Balnave et al, 2007 pg, 169). For instance businesses are more focused on including employees in their decision making process and rewarding them through reward systems. Also there are fewer management levels within workplaces which enables employees to be placed on a similar level to higher management ( Patmore, 1992, pg 239). This day and age, HR within a workplace is focused on helping the workforce directly rather then including a third party such as a union ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). Employees join unions for various reasons as already discussed such as the ability to be heard as a collective voice rather then as an individual, protection from employers, economic benefits and the culture of a workplace (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). Human Resources techniques offer the ability for employees to become more involved with their workplace decisions, it is possible that employees feel that they are able to easily approach management. Because of this employees feel that there is less need for them to become union members. Therefore because employees are able to voice their opinions and take part in the decision making process of their company, it is more then likely that employees will directly approach their management team rather then involving a third party such as a trade union. This inturn has an impact on the declining rate of trade union members. Conclusion: Trade unions have played an important role in industrial relations in Australia (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 124). Originally trade union membership was popular as it offered employees many benefits such as a collective voice and it gives employees a greater amount of power to achieve the pleasant working conditions they are after. For many years now trade union memberships have been declining due to various factors such as the change in workplace structure to more casual employment and companies employing larger work forces. However one of the biggest impacts of all was the re-election of the liberal government in 1996. The drastic changes the government made to industrial relations with the introduction of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and later the Workplace Relations Act 2005. These acts placed large restrictions on unions and as a result the number of union memberships continued to decline. It wasn’t until the Rudd government was elected in 2007 that changes were made to these legislations that enabled unions to play a part in industrial relations once again. The modern practice of Human Resources in the workplace is also said to have impacted on the decline of union membership. Through the use of Human Resources techniques companies are now more inclined to directly deal with their employees rather then have a third party involved. This is well suited to employees and they may feel more comfortable just approaching management rather then be apart of a union which involve fees. The re-election of the labour government in 2007 lead to the changes in legislation that unions needed if they are going to regain their level of importance in industrial relations. However unions are going to have to work hard at doubling their efforts at recruiting employees if trade unions are going to have a positive history in Australia (Cooper, 2004, pg 208). References: Balnave, N, Brown, J, Maconachie G, & Stone, RJ 2007 Employment Relations in Australia, 2nd edn, Wiley, Milton, QLD. Barns, A, 2005 ‘Trade Unionism in 2005’, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 48, no. 3, pp 369-383 Brigden, C, 2008 ‘Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2008’, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 51, no. 3, pp 365-378 Cooper, R, 2005 ‘ Trade Unionism in 2004’, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 7, no. 2, pp 202-211 Cooper, R, 2008 ‘Forward with Fairness? Industrial Relations under Labour 2008’, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 51, no. 3, pp 285-296 Griffiths, J & Lloyd-Walker, 2007 ‘Human Resources Management’, 3rd edn, Pearson Education Australia, French Forest, NSW. Patmore, G, 1992, ‘ The f uture of trade unionism- an Australian perspective, International Journal of Human Resources Management, vol. 3, no. 2 pp 225-239 Riley, J, & Sarina, T, 2005, ‘Industrial legislation in 2005’, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 8, no. 3, pp 341-355 About Trade unions, Australian Council of Trade Unions, viewed 10th April, 2010 http://www. actu. org. au/About/Tradeunions/default. aspx Unions History 1900- 1960, Australian Council of Trade Unions, viewed 10th April 2010 http://www. worksite. actu. asn. au/fact-sheets/unions—history-1900-1960. aspx Feature article- Trade union membership, Australian Bureau of statistics, viewed 10th April 2010 http://www. abs. gov. au/AUSSTATS/[email  protected] nsf/featurearticlesbyCatalogue/592D2F759D9D38A9CA256EC1000766F7? OpenDocument

Customer Service at Ll Bean

Abstract: This case discusses the customer service initiatives of LL Bean, Inc, a US-based multichannel retailer. LL Bean had evolved from being a mail order company selling hunting boots into a leading international retailer selling apparels, home furnishings and outdoor equipment. Its endeavor was to deliver quality products at reasonable prices and offer excellent customer service to customers. In its 98-year long history, the company had preserved the customer-centric tradition set by the founder and had, over the years, molded its operational policies to provide superior purchasing experience to customers. The company believed that a satisfied customer helped build customer loyalty and encouraged repeat purchases, which were essential to achieve success in the retail business. The case discusses in detail the customer-friendly policies of LL Bean and the customer service practices that had resulted in its being recognized as a customer service champion by consumers and industry observers. This also helped the company to perform better than its rivals during the global economic recession of 2007-2009. Experts felt that the company's superior customer service provided it with a competitive edge. The case will help students to: (1) understand the importance of customer service, particularly in the retail industry; (2) study the customer-centric policies of LL Bean and the various practices that the retailer followed to provide superior customer service; (3) understand how the customer-centric policies and practices contributed to the success of LL Bean; and (4) explore strategies that LL Bean could adopt in the future to attract more customers. This case is designed for MBA / MS students and is intended to be part of the marketing management curriculum. It can also be used in the business strategy curriculum. The teaching note includes the abstract, teaching objectives and methodology, assignment questions, feedback of the case discussion, and additional readings and references. It does not contain an analysis of the case.