International labor standards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International labor standards - Essay Example The ILO is perhaps the only institution of its kind in the world which has the capability and credibility to ensure that international labor standards are implemented and this has lent credence to its continued existence. This agency’s recommendations tend to mainly provide guidance to its 183 member states but while this may be the case, its various conventions tend to be given the status of treaties, which are often binding on its members. Despite this being the case, it is a fact that these conventions do not go into force in the ILO member countries until such a time as they are ratified by individual governments. It is through the establishment of labor standards among ILO member states that it is possible to promulgate and enforce those national laws that are in line with its conventions (Warnecke & De Ruyter, 2010). Thus, it is through these means that the ILO work towards ensuring that international labor standard are enforced in order to protect the labor resources of the world from abuse. The ILO was established in 1919 during the Paris Peace Conference, the aim of the latter being an attempt to ensure that there was a lessening of public support for communist ideals. It is because of this that the allies chose to insert clauses into the peace treaty which would ensure that there would be the protection of labor unions as well as the rights of workers in the diverse industries of the world at the time. It was agreed that an international body, whose main purpose was to help in the guidance of international labor relations, would be established in the future. The first annual conference of the newly created organization was took place on October 1919 i Washington D.C. and it is during this conference that there was the adoption of the first six international labor conventions. These conventions dealt with the working hours in industry, how to define and handle unemployment, maternity protection, the minimum age to work,

Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Paper - Essay Example The gendered roles of men and women institutionalized the supremacy of men which was further reinforced by the fact that being the bread-earners, they were naturally the heads of their families. This kind of male dominance prevailed since centuries, until the mid-twentieth century, when women’s rights activists initiated historical movements. Up till then, women did not have many chances of getting high education as compared with men. However, with the passage of time, they became aware of their political and social rights and sought to fight for them. In many countries of the world, women were deprived of their inheritance, and so much was to be done to earn their birth rights. For instance, the right to express themselves; the right to have a voice or opinion; the right to earn or work; the right to marry the person of their choice; the right to have or not to have children; the right to vote; the right to divorce; the right to adopt a religion; or simply the right to live t heir own lives, rather than being dictated by the norms of society or the patriarchal system. Prior to this awareness, they had no rights over their own bodies or sexuality. Having right over your own body means having the power to decide for yourself. Self determination was denied to women since ancient times; but the dynamics of the twentieth century changed the mindset of all and sundry, once various movements in different parts of the world gained momentum. Perhaps the first step was to step out of the domestic domains and enter the work force with men. As their roles changed, there developed a natural urge to change their social and political status. After a long journey, women today can claim to enjoy equal benefits at workplace, access to therapeutic abortion, maternity leave, etc. The health exception drew additional legitimacy from Britain’s passage of a therapeutic law in 1967. In the late 1960s, reformers succeeded in securing laws for therapeutic abortion in a num ber of states, which set up complicated processes heavily supervised by medical committees that allowed women to end pregnancies in â€Å"hardship cases† involving rape, incest, the probability of a deformed child, or the threat of death. (Stansell, 315) The Abortion Law is yet a controversial topic in many parts of the world. However, women’s rights’ activists that were in favour of this law hailed the decision of the government in this regard. The official law prevented women from aborting themselves at home that posed severe health risks for them. However, abortion by choice is yet not a simple task in many states and is only performed where necessary. If the reasons of abortion are primarily for the health or honour of women, or in case of a deformed child, then women are granted this right. Conservative societies, like Japan were reluctant to change their attitude towards women, as demanded by the women’s rights’ activists. Regarding the abort ion rights in Japan, during the 70’s and 80’s, a massive change was witnessed among women who fought for women’s rights. This movement spread awareness among women about their rights whether to have a baby or not. â€Å"...women in the reproductive health movement diligently prevented the revision of the national law that would have limited access to abortion. The revision would have legally nullified women’

Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Example for Free

Timberland’s Corporate Social Responsibility Essay Timberland’s exercise of its corporate power in society is very much so positive. The have contributed many great things to the world around them as they see fit. Jeffrey Swartz, the grandson of the founder and the last member of the family to serve as CEO said, â€Å"At Timberland, doing well and doing good are not separate efforts. Every day, everywhere, we compete in the global economy. At the center of our efforts is the premise of service†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lawrence Anne T. ) Timberland only went further to prove this statement by Swartz. The social responsibly contributed by the New Hampshire Company is apparent and influentially responsible. Large companies can and are very influential to other companies because they set the pace. Not only with profit, but also with social responsibility, smaller companies follow after the actions of larger companies. Timberland is aware of this â€Å"big brother† image and is handling itself very well. Timberland has made both economical and social contribution to the United States and its neighboring countries. They have mastered the balance of public help. In September 2011, Timberland celebrated its centennial birthday with a service event called â€Å"Serv-a-Polooza† (Lawrence Anne T.). The event was held at its corporate headquarters in New Hampshire. Volunteers worked with Habitat for Humanity and framed houses in its corporate parking lot to be shipped for final assembly in Missouri to assist the suffering families in tornado- devastated Joplin, Missouri. They also created a new outdoor community gathering and performance space, built an outdoor classroom at a local elementary school, and improved the high school athletic facilities in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Lastly, volunteers worked on â€Å"greening† a community for a local nonprofit organization, transforming the meeting space for local disabled veterans, and knitting blankets for families affected by the Missouri tornadoes. (The Timberland Company ) Timberland and its volunteers have made substantial social contributions. Helping the state of Missouri shows the optimistic side of larger  corporations, which can often be misconstrued as negative entities. Timberland is making a great difference. Timberland has also prepared economical influences. Over the past years, Timberland has focused more on its effective sustainability. By the end of 2010, they had installed LED lighting in its stores in the United States and directed its European stores to purchase renewable energy, which in return reduced its carbon emissions by thirty-eight percent. Shortly after that accomplishment, Timberland set new sustainability goals for the following year. The company unveiled the plan to reduce its carbon emissions by fifty percent of total energy consumption. Timberland established a baseline for its supply chain emissions and challenged all of its suppliers to meet level two of the Global Social Compliance Program standards (Lawrence Anne T.). The programs that Timberland have pursued are not in lieu of self-interest. The standards and changes that the company has set fourth simultaneously benefit the company and its surroundings. Both the economical and social changes and contributions not only benefitted the company as a whole but also the people that the programs were initially for. The emissions sustainability efforts were economically beneficial because it supports health standards for the surrounding community where the Timberland factories are located as well as their suppliers. The programs that Timberland set effectively on their centennial birthday, in Missouri, were put in place in lieu of the Missouri residents and their families. The social responsibility initiatives of Timberland are focused on the appropriate problems but can focus on a different aspect. The programs set fourth in Missouri were great but Timberland can aim to assist other states besides their native state. Many programs went into play in Missouri because tats where Timberland’s â€Å"home† is. These efforts are great but are narrowed in on one place. Timberland’s efforts should be widespread around the United States. Timberland is off to a great start but shouldn’t be settled only in their place of comfort. Widespread efforts will go along way and open the doors for other volunteers, financial and non-financial support. VF Corporation should continue to support the initiatives of Timberland because they are headed in the right direction. Timberland’s efforts are creditable and honest. They have set a standard for other companies to follow. Being a larger and well know company is crucial because you’re always in the limelight. This limelight is the reporting mark that smaller and upcoming companies seek direction from. If Timberland continues with its practically good efforts, corporate entities would have a more positive perception. Timberland has set fourth great efforts with their economic and social contributions. They have properly set initiatives that are both beneficial to their surrounding communities as well as the company itself. Timberland’s exercise of its corporate power in society is very much so positive. The have contributed many great things to the world around them as they see fit. Bibliography Lawrence, Anne T., and James Weber. Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy. Fourteenth ed. Print The Timberland Company . Corporate Social Responsibility Report. 2001. .

Legal Effects of the Mabo Case in Australian Law

Legal Effects of the Mabo Case in Australian Law The Mabo cases are some of the most well known cases in the Australian legal system, this paper will focus on the Mabo v. Queensland, a case that was litigated over for almost a decade in the Australian high court, this case was a monumental step for indigenous people in Australia. From the colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788 The native Australians (Aboriginals) have fought to claim back their land, but it was seen by the first Australian colonists that Australia was terra nullius and therefore the indigenous people had no claim to land rights. There are many different points that need to be addressed before we can show that the legal effects of the Mabo case have turned out to be deceptive. The Mabo cases were seen by many people in Australia as a victory for indigenous people throughout Australia, but for some indigenous people it was not seen in the same light. A long battle between the indigenous people and the commonwealth had be going on since the first settlers had arrived in Australia and claimed the land as terra nullius (un-inhabited), even though Australia was clearly not un-inhabited. The indigenous people of Australia had a long and devoted relationship with the land and had set-up their families and homes on this land. In 1982, Eddie Mabo began an action for a declaration of native title over the Queensland Aboriginal land claims. They argued that terra nullius had wrongfully been used by the settlers that colonizied Australia, because for thousands of years indigenous Australians had enjoyed a relationship with the land that included a sense of ownership. In 1992 the High Court of Australia rejected terra nullius and the myth that the first settlers had used to deprive indigenous Australians of their land. In doing this, it recognized that native title existed before the arrival of the first Brittish colonists. The judgment became known as the Mabo decision, one of the most controversial decisions ever seen in an Australian court. It was a decision that was quite hard to fully comprehend, as there was no deffinition to which native title existed in Australia. Mining and other industry groups were not happy with the decision as it would take more time and money to gain leases on land and their applications may also be denied, but was celebrated by indigenous Australians and Paul Keating (prime minister), as an opportunity to appologise to indigenous Australians for the treatment they received and the taking of their lands. The Mabo decision in the high court awarded certain land rights to indigenous people, which were celebrated by some, but the terms and conditions that went along with the final high court ruling did not benefit all indigenous and had some negative effects on the indigenous, there are many requirements that must be met in order for an indigenous person / persons to claim rights to land in Australia, which some people see as unfair. For a long time before the first settlers came to Australia Aboriginals have inhabited what they called Mother Earth and there was a strong bond between the aboriginals and their land that they raised their families on, hunted on and built their homes on. The aboriginals roamed the whole of their country as the pleased and had many different sacred sites throughout, sites which had a link to their ancestors and what they called the dreaming, then in 1788 all of what they know and respected was taken from them by the white man, the first settlers had arrived from England and had claimed that land, that the aboriginals had called home for so many centuries, terra nullius (un-inhabited). With the arrival of the first settlers came with them a system of laws and government that had never been seen by the aboriginals. Laws and government that did not benefit the aboriginals in any way shape or form, laws that took away their land and left them with nothing. The indigenous people in Australia have suffered in different ways and forms from the days of the first settlers and have fought to claim back what many see as rightfully theirs, their land and their rights to own land and live, hunt and follow the way their ancestors lived on/ from the land. There have been many attempts by the indigenous to claim back their land and the MABO v Queensland is just one of many. Many of the land rights battles were started by the Milirrpum others v Nabalco Pty Ltd (1971), the Yolnga people brought an action against the Nabalco Corporation which had secured a twelve year mining lease from the federal government, ATNS. (2003), the argument was that the federal government had no right to offer a lease to the lands as they belonged to the aboriginal people. Justice Blackburn stated that native title was not part of the law of Australia and went on to add that even had it existed any native title rights were extinguished, ATNS, (2003), the rights of the indigenous were not heard until nearly two decades later when Justice Blackburns decision was overturned in the MABO others v Queensland others case, the indigenous peoples rights were considered for the first time since the colonization of Australia, Cullen, R. (1990). With the overturning of Justice Blackburns ruling the indigenous people of Australia have finally been given some legal rights to be able to claim some of their land back. But with these rights come quite a few guidelines and requirements that have to be met for an indigenous person to be able to make a claim to land in Australia, some of which in the Northern Teretory include, under the act the only land claimable is un-alienated Northern Territory land outside town boundaries, land that no-one else owns or leases, usually semi-desert or desert, also claims have been known to take a large amount to be decided and are often rejected by the government and Aboriginals must also prove to the government that they have a lawful claim to the land and that under their Aboriginal laws that they have a responsibility to sacred sites that they are trying to claim, Australiatrek.com. (n.d). Other states such as South Australia have different guidelines and requirements that have to be met in order to claim land some of which include the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act 1981 South Australia This gives Anangu Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people title to 10% of South Australia. The land, known as the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands, is in the far north of the state. Just south of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands lie the Maralinga Lands, this area was largely contaminated by British nuclear tests in the 1950s, this land in South Australia was returned to its Anangu traditional owners by virtue of the Maralinga Tjarutja Land Rights Act 1984 South Australia, Australiatrek.com. (n.d). To define native title, parliament passed the Native Title Act in 1993. Despite the mining industries anger, the act gives indigenous Australians very few new rights. It limits the application of native title to land which no-one else owns or leases, and also to land with which indigenous Australians have continued to have a sacred bond to. The act states that existing ownership or leases overrides the native title, although the native title may be given back to indigenous australians after mining leases have finished. If land is successfully claimed by indigenous australians under the act, they will have no rights over the developments of the land that they are claiming, including mining royalties. In conclusion i would have to agree and say that initially the Mabo decision would have been seen by indigenous Australians and by non-indiginous Australians as a win for all of the indigenous Australians living in Australia at the time of the decision.

Proliferation :: Politics Environmental Economics Essays

Proliferation There are legitimate concerns that people can have about a reliance on nuclear power. The biggest problem being that we need to find a place to put all of the waste. However the amount of waste that is the result of one person in their lifetime could be held in one’s hand. If residents got over their NIMBY complex then waste disposal could go by much quicker. It is imperative that the government officials choose adequate sites to store the waste but residents need to realize what must be done and allow them to do what they need to do. It will benefit everyone if residents around Yucca Mountain realized that the future of this country relies on nuclear power. However, it is necessary that we not rely solely on non-renewable energy sources. John Kerry wanted 20% of our nation’s electricity generation to come from renewable sources. This is currently the percentage that nuclear energy provides right now. Although nuclear energy may be a better alternative than coal, it is necessary that we utilize nature’s natural power as well. Solar, wind, and hydroelectric power should all play a role in the future of this country as well. One of the biggest problems with these three kinds of energy is that they are not constant providers of energy and cannot adjust well to changing demands. While hydroelectric power can always be provided from Hoover Dam, this is not true for dams in the frozen Northeast of the country. However, they can dramatically bolster our energy needs. The government should encourage utilities to offer incentives to customers to use less power. Although this may seem to be counter-productive for the utilities if they want to make money, it is a necessary step that our society must take if we want to have a sustainable future. Solar panels or a wind turbine could be used for private use as a way to supplement the power that they receive from the local power-plant’s grid. Every little bit can help if it was a nation-wide movement. Coal is not that bad. We are continuing to make advances in coal technology and scrubbers have greatly reduced the amount of Sulfur and Nitrous Oxides along with particulates that enter our atmosphere. We can even control the amount of CO 2 that we emit. By pumping it into aquifers under the ground it will stall the gas into entering the atmosphere for the time being.

Performance Management Reality Check Essay -- Business, Goals, Functi

How many of the 14 characteristics of an ideal system are present in the system you are evaluating? The Women's Resource Center at Southern Oregon University is currently using a performance management system that I believe has present all 14 characteristics. As a small organization doing work that is at many levels personal, our performance management system is one of the most highly held processes of our jobs. Our work at the Women's Resource Center calls for us to express ourselves, voice our opinions and beliefs, stand up and fight for change, and engage in our work emotionally. Due to the level at which we hold our jobs close to our hearts, evaluating our performance and gaining feedback on the work we are doing is extremely important not only for our management but also for the employees. Our individual goals must be aligned with organizational goals. As the goal of our work is to improve the lives of women and girls, our organization would not function if individual goals were anything other than that exactly. Our work is deeply rooted in the passion and motivation of the employees and volunteers involved regarding this goal. We are working as activists who are seeking and creating change and see no limits to the differences we can make personally in our community, region, and even globally. (Aguinis, 2009) The system is thorough as each employee is evaluated every school term and all major job responsibilities are included in the evaluation. There are three steps to the system. The first step is a self evaluation form that is filled out by the employee and acts as a tool for self-reflection. The second step is an informal evaluation with the staff manager. The final step is the formal evaluation with the coordinat... ... bad idea to have a process laid out. For our system to become more ideal we should develop a rating system that minimizes subjective aspects and does not rely so heavily of human judgement. We should also develop an appeals process that is formal in which employee that feel an error has been made may be able to challenge unjust decisions and correct errors. (Aguinis, 2009) I believe that the managers and the coordinator should work together to develop the appeals process and then bring the process to the staff to gather opinions, and feedback. I believe that the coordinator knows best how the process would be more efficient and effective but I would also want to hear from the staff to make sure the process makes sense and is accessible from their perspective. This is a process that really needs to work on both ends of the organization for it to be effective.

Hydro electric in malaysia

Large or small hydropower, still far the most Important of the renewable energy for electrical power production worldwide, providing 19% of planet's electricity. However, hydropower on a small scale remains the most effective energy technologies to be considered for rural electrification In less develops country. The advantages of small hydro technology are the system can last for 50 years or more with less maintenance and also environmental friendly. Malaysian government has launched the Small Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) In 2001, In order to motivate the IndependentPower Producer (IPP) in implementing the renewable energy projects in Malaysia. In 2009, there are 5 mini hydropower projects from 17 SREP participants, and one of them is Renewable Power Sdn. Bhd. This rnlnl hydro Is operating at Gadlng Reserve forest, Hulu Selangor with licensed capacity of 2. 2MW. The capital cost of this project is estimated to be paid off after 10 years generation. The barriers of this mini hyd ro are authority Issues, short-term profit minded and expensive transmission to the grid.Apart from these challenges, obviously mini hydropower is one of the most otential alternatives energy in Malaysia, suitable to the objective of Fifth Fuel Policy In Implementing renewable energy as one energy resource In Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia Tenaga Nasional Berhad operates three hydroelectric schemes in the peninsular with an installed generating capacity of 1,91 1 megawatts (MW). They are the Sungai Perak. Terengganu and Cameron Highlands hydroelectric schemes with 21 dams In operation. A number of Independent Power Producers also own and operate several small hydro plants.