ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction The cases of Laurence, Dottie, and Edgar involve both individual and collective matters. For Laurence, his cases are two – deduction of a two days pay as a result of participation in industrial action and recovery of an overpayment of expenses due to his error when completing an expenses form. The first case which borders on industrial strikes calls for attention in line with the provisions as set out in the procedures governing official and unofficial strikes. Official strikes An official strike is supposed to have the backing of the appropriate trade union to which an employee belongs. In the case involving Laurence, it has to be established whether it was an official strike or not. Unofficial strikes An unofficial strike occurs without the trade union’s support because they are against agreed procedures and union rules. If Laurence had participated in an unofficial strike, could the employer have been right to deduct two days’ pay from his salary? There is no evidence to show that strikes are unjustified simply because they are unofficial. Rather, any group of employees has the right to strike in furtherance of a trade dispute, whether members of such a group are organized within a trade union or not. If a legal penalty for unofficial strikes were to be introduced, such people would have no ultimate sanction in a situation where they feel that they are aggrieved. From research, it has been established that most strikes; official and unofficial are caused by issues on disputes over wages, allowances, hours, trade union rules, discipline, working with non-unionists, and job demarcation. There are also strikes in sympathy with stoppages of other workers elsewhere and for the reinstatement of discharged and suspended workers. The case of Laurence To ascertain whether his employer was right in deducting two days pay from his salary, Laurence should be able to answer the following questions; which are in line with Trade Union and Labour Relations [Conciliation] Act 1992:   * Was there sufficient notice to the employer by the union to which Laurence belongs, of their intention to embark on industrial action?   * If so, was the notice received and acknowledged by his employer?   * Before the industrial action, were the various conciliatory procedures followed in seeking other options to resolve the dispute to avoid the strike followed, including seeking the help of Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Services [ACAS]?   * Is Laurence a member of the trade union that organized the strike?   * How was the strike – a “wildcat strike”? In other words, was it unofficial where were hostile, intimidatin
Australian Open tournament can be described as a product. When referring to a product, we mean tangible products, i.e. goods (Antti & Anselmi, 2008). However, in the modern world, a product is also something very intangible, such as a piece of software or a piece of knowledge (Antti & Anselmi, 2008). A product is, therefore, something that can generate revenue to the firm and offer a service to the customer. Australian Open tournament is seen to generate revenues of $209.6 million to the economy from customer turnout of over 0.5 million in 2005. This trend continues to actively contribute to the economy of the country every year it is held. It also provides its customers with an opportunity to participate actively as spectators of various tennis matches. It is promoted and marketed just like any other product, and the body tasked with this job is Tennis Australia. There is a CEO to oversee its operation; the team comes up with a marketing strategy for branding Australian Open which is similar to any tangible product in the market. Advertisements for the Australian Open are carried out to inform the consumers of the existence of such a product, and at one specific time, the cost of advertisement was recorded to be $31 million. Tennis Australia has a large number of customers, and to maintain them and gain their trust, the managers have to offer substantial services to them. Winston identifies three dimensions of service provider behaviour that correlate highly with cu
Identify, address, and mitigate conflicts that may arise from differences among team members From the communications shared among employees of Riordan Manufacturing, it is evident that resistance to change is a major source of conflict in most organizations. For instance, some employees at Riordan Manufacturing are supporting the initiative of going green so that the standards of production and service delivery can also improve (Riordan Manufacturing, 2013). On the other hand, there are employees who are against the idea arguing that it will cut down the number of bonuses earned. Whenever a change is introduced in an organization, it is quite common for employees to respond with mixed reactions in spite of the benefits associated with the same change. For employees who are more conserved and thus prefer remaining within the comfort zone, it is highly advisable for the lead management to introduce any changes with extra caution. For instance, employees should be involved in the process of injecting changes that affect their daily lives (Perrin, 2008). Employee participation in decision making creates a sense of belonging and dignity, and as such, even those who may be opposed to new ideas are highly likely to accommodate the same ideas with a lot of ease. Secondly, leadership conflicts may also arise at the workplace, especially when new leadership structure is put in place. The new structure may be composed of supervisors, management, or new owners in case of acquisitions and mergers. It is imperative to note that the leadership style of a new team may not auger well with some employees. The conflict resolution styles such as being an avoider, accommodator, controller, compromiser, or collaborator may not be applied in the same way by a new team taking over from the last one. New leaders in an organization may also introduce new sets of rules and guidelines to be followed. As a result, the old employees may find it cumbersome to conform to the new rules within a short time. Therefore, the leadership styles and new guidelines introduced at the workplace should be executed gradually until the time when all the employees will be fully accustomed. Executive summary A project leader usually acts as the torchbearer of any given team. The following strategies may be employed by a project leader to realize success and productivity at the workplace. Firstly, the most appropriate leadership style should be put in place. The authoritative style of leadership should be avoided whenever possible. Employees will not feel appreciated or respected if they are commanded around to perform certain tasks. Dialogue and consensus b
Introduction Communication can be as basic as a birdcall at dawn, or as complicated as making a satellite phone call that crosses continents. Communication takes on many different forms; the most commonly applied media of communication between two people is speech. However, people communicate by use of gestures, facial expressions, the written word, images, or coded language. In the present day and age, where globalization and technology have led to a level of interconnectedness between people, countries and continents as has never been there in the past, communication remains key (Stein, n.p). The interconnectedness between individuals, sectors and continents now calls for a different kind of specialized knowledge. The traditional approach is for an individual to focus on one area of his/her discipline, and study that area in-depth. However, it is becoming apparent that there can be over-specialization that results in a narrow sort of thinking and limits innovation. Cross-discipline calls for individuals specializing in one area delving into other branches of study that are not directly related to their current field (Dupree, n.p). In my opinion, the more important theme between the two themes under discussion is that of Crossing Disciplines. Specialization remains important because it gives a comprehensive understanding in a specific area resulting in more constructive research. However, having a tunnel vision has its drawbacks; this is because no discipline is entirely independent of all other areas of study, research and innovation. Reflection on the theme of modern communication In every American household, there is at least one television set. Eighty five percent of households in America own a desktop. There is an estimate of five billion mobile handsets in circulation worldwide today. It is further estimated that by the year 2013, there will be a minimum of ten trillion text messages sent annually (mobicom, n.p). Within the past decade, there have been major transformations in the way people choose to communicate. Barely ten years ago, it was considered a privilege to own a hand held device. However, cheaper methods of production and improved technology have enabled these devices be available to almost anyone (Matt, n.p). While computers, mobile phones and other handheld devices have enabled easy communication, and easier access to information, their negative aspects are now beginning to be understood (Matt, n.p). Some scientists and sociologists argue that these devices have run over our lives; so much so that there is less value in human to human commun
Dr. Robert D. Hare and Dr. Paul Babiak, specialists in psychopathy studies, were interviewed on the subject of corporate psychopaths who commit fraud thus causing serious damage to organizations, their affiliates, and clients. It is emphasized that not all psychopaths are fraudsters, but some fraudsters are psychopaths. The interview is focused on who psychopaths are, why they are dangerous to corporations, and how corporate psychopaths can be detected and treated. First of all, the interviewees speculate on what constitutes psychopathy. Associated with the lack of compassion and the inability to experience deep emotions, psychopathy causes egocentric, manipulative, and remorseless actions. Psychopaths only care about their well-being and ignore the needs, feelings, or problems of other people. They are also incapable of feeling guilty. However, people may display irresponsible or predatory behavior that does not make them psychopaths. There are scientific methods of diagnosing psychopathy. They are based on the ability to bond emotionally, care for others, etc. On the scale of 0 to 24, most people receive a score of 0 or 1, meaning they are not psychopaths, although they may or may not at times do things associated with psychopathic personalities. Probable psychopathy starts at a score of 18 out of 24. The next concern is why psychopaths are a threat to corporations where they work. By definition, psychopaths do not pursue corporate goa
In my opinion, risk mitigation and preparedness operations should be on the list of top priorities for company executives and agency heads. However, activities dedicated to response and recovery can fill the gaps an organization might have missed in preparing for an emergency or minimize the impact of an unexpected hazard both short- and long-term. As an emergency manager, I believe that it is important to conduct at least three initial meetings to discuss the response and recovery processes I am planning to work on during my time at the firm. The first meeting will be centered on the activities and concepts related to responding to hazards. The second meeting will focus on specifying the company’s approach to recovery operations. Finally, the third meeting will be dedicated to providing specific details in regards to the action plans I propose to respond to and recover from potential emergencies efficiently. I would explain to my employer what response is and why it is important to invest in building up the company’s capabilities to respond to hazards efficiently. Responding to an emergency involves minimizing damage, reducing the risk of secondary harm, as well as speeding up recovery via systematic damage assessment. Thus, all of the actions aimed at responding to a disaster have to be well-structured and require hours upon hours of preparation. Employees have to go through training on how to respond to the threats most likely to impact an IT enterprise. Cyber-threat training should be mandatory for every employee, except for a special team dedicated entirely to network security and damage assessment. These employees would have to create and implement a system, which can enable passive oversight over the company’s software. The U.S. Homeland Security Department (2016) notes that the main aspects of response are “(1) developing a single set of objectives, (2) using a collective, strategic approach, (3) improving information flow and coordination” (p. 4). My goal, as an emergency manager, is to ensure all of the collective efforts of various teams within the company and external forces are coordinated accordingly to meet a single set of established goals and items of an action plan. Unlike response, recovery operations occur after the disaster, and not during it. Recovery mainly focuses on the implementation of long-term solutions, although some short-term agendas are encouraged to ensure the company quickly rebuilds its operating capabilities after a hazard. During recovery, resilience and redundancy are exceptionally important as the only efficient way to minimize and recover from damage is to plan accordingly and develop steady yet flexible operational frameworks, as well as create the necessary back-ups, which the company can fall back on even if its servers are diminished. Another important factor to consider is the development of continuity of organizational planning, which means that an action plan for emergency response and recovery has to prevent interruptions in case of a hazard. This involves plans for employee training, relocation, and develo
Introduction Legalization of drugs has become a buzz phrase in today’s political sphere especially in light of recent arguments for decriminalization of marijuana. On the other hand, other groups believe that employment of criminal sanctions would deal with the problem of drugs. There is no single remedy but the paper shall look at the legal, social, economic and cultural effects of both strategies so as to reach a tenable solution. Decriminalization / Legalization of illegal drug sales and use Goode (2008) asserts that the war on drugs can more or less be seen as an ideology rather than a practical application of law. He claims that antidrug laws are quite ambiguous in this regard as they are based on unfounded premises. First, it is assumed that illegal drugs cause intense harm upon the human body and individuals must therefore be protected from the health implications of these drugs. The latter author believes that punishments for such drugs must therefore fit the intensity of harm that can be caused by a certain drug in order for justice to be served. However, since some of the most harmful drug users are never punished while mildly harmful drug users such as those who take marijuana can receive life imprisonment penalties then the criminal justice system is clearly inconsistent. The criminal justice system does not bother to relate the degree of harm causable by a drug and the kind of punishment that is given to suspects. Therefore, to criminalize drug use will be to assume that all illegal drugs cause harm without considering the actual degree of harm. A Moral entrepreneur is one who makes decisions concerning what he or she thinks is right and then makes sure that the rest of society is governed by those rules irrespective of whether society adheres to those perspectives or not. (Goode, 2008) Such persons normally come in the form of politicians and may easily utilize their positions to convince the public about a certain aspect of morality without basing their arguments on sound research. In the case of drug criminalization, it is assumed that drug users are emotional misfits and they should therefore receive punishments for their actions. But one only has to look at this argument critically to see why it cannot be tenable. If it is true that drug users are emotionally unstable, then the best solution should be to treat them and not to punish them. Goode (2008) further explains that if the law were to follow such a principle, then all mentally ill patients would be criminalized immediately even without committing any offense; a very cruel and illogical position. The o
Introduction Transformative Learning is a type of learning that is supposed to innately create understandings for participatory democracy by developing abilities of critical reflection on assumptions taken for granted that support contested viewpoints and participation in dialogue that disregards frictional threats to the values those rights and freedoms are intended to protect. This paper argues that the concept of transformative learning is elastic enough to adapt to other knowledge systems. In as much as transformative learning is viewed as a process rather than a technique, it is intrinsically evident in various studies involving different knowledge systems. Adapting transformative learning to different knowledge systems As the word suggests, transformative learning is about transforming or changing. Whatever is being changed has not been clearly defined, but it can be argued that the change involves many aspects such as viewpoints, traditions, cultures, behaviors and policies among others. This assumption alone renders transformation learning an adaptation to many contexts of learning. The learning systems are also defined by the same aspects and any paradigm that attempts to change them is quite relevant. Yet, those who argue that transformative learning is rooted to enlightenment assumptions escape the very fact that the assumptions per se are problematic. Transformative learning is adapted to learning systems across cultures. According to Merriam and Ntseane (2008), the many studies on transformative learning were based on Western rationalism and cognitive orientation where individuality, autonomy and rationality were accepted as cultural values. Hitherto, their study on African culture indicated that culture shaped transformational learning and not the other way round. Indeed, the disorientation issues that elicited the transformative learning process were life happenings common to people everywhere across the world. Transformative learning is flexible enough to adapt to knowledge systems rooted to traditional knowledge and perceptions. In his study on the context of Hawaiian traditional ecological knowledge, Feinstein concluded that people from western and indigenous worldviews can learn from each other (Feinstein, 2004). The curriculum and instruction methodologies designed to enable transformational leaning to take place allowed student-constructed knowledge (p.119). All human beings have an inherent thirst to learn new ideas other than those rooted in the traditions which can be evoked through transformational learning. Transformative learning is adaptable to knowledge systems across ages. It is a fact that both old and young people must embrace changes in order to learn. Young people would require changing in order to be in a better position to meet future challenges while older people might require transforming the lingering experiences that largely control their lives. Shilling (2002) suggests that the adult experience as a result of oppressive and abusive policies that undermined the social, economic, political and cultura
Introduction Businesses require constant information to be processed and disseminated to the relevant stakeholders on time. To achieve this, they need Management Information systems. A Management Information System is a set of connected apparatus, mostly computerized combinations that continuously acquire raw and needed data from within and outside a firm. Consequently, the data is processed and stored in a central place called database where it is always updated and availed to those with authority to access it. There are several applications that are described in the case study. They are known as the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The disseminate information relating to financials, inventories, manufacturing, sales and marketing, as well as order management and procurement. The systems also assist in project management documentation as well s post-implementation performance measurement. El Alamein is faced by various challenges as they seek to implement the Enterprise Resource Planning systems. First and foremost, some heads of department have been resistant to change. They are used to relying on separate computers which were fitted with custom excel sheets so as to facilitate the operations. The second challenge was high staff turnover during implementation. It is clear from the case study that El-Alamein suffered loss of six crucial people in a period of six months only. High staff turnover is hurting for business because a corporation has already invested a lot in those people in training as well as other resources offered to them during their stay in the organization. In addition to heavy investment in the staff who left, their departure led to delay in the areas they were in charge of as well as repeating some of the steps already done during the analysis and set up stages. To mitigate the resistance to change, El-Alamein took drastic steps. Firstly, the company identified crucial persons from all major departments to act as agents of change. These agents were to take up the role of convincing the other employees on the need to embrace the system. Secondly, El-Alamein took it upon themselves to train users for the new system so that they understand how the new system will affect business operations. Lastly, the company took a step further by fostering participation by end users through inclusion of more employees than just the senior management when it came to decision making, analysis and implementation. In my opinion, the three steps taken to mitigate resistance to change are so bright. When you involve people and especially the junior staff in decision making, analysis and implementation, the process is bound to be smooth because the feeling of imposition and ambush is expunged. They feel part of the process and as such, they own it and would not wish to see it fail. Over and above, change agents, if well trained on their critical role can influence the viewpoint of other employees. They are trained to believe in the system/process first. Consequently, what they pass on to their colleagues is deep conviction from within them. This becomes easy to convince others i