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The Unions And The Union - 1317 Words

Employers must respect the role of the union as the only and restricted agent of the employees. Respect between the employer and the union, on behalf of its employees, is the key to a successful relationship. The association between parties must adhere to the employer s exclusive right to manage its operations and to direct its workforces. Both parties must identify and acknowledge their respective rights and obligations under labor and service legislation and, under a cooperative agreement, the rights and duties of the employees covered by this agreement (HR in an Unionized Workplace). Most importantly, the employer must respect the fact that the employees have a right to join and participate in a union This includes the right to†¦show more content†¦Also, in order to foster healthy relationships, both parties should commit to resolving said differences and conflicts in a proactive, collaborative way that embraces the principles of fairness, respect, and dignity. As much as possible, disputes should be resolved between a worker and his or her supervisor at the first instance. An environment of respectful front-line resolution should be the first course of action with third party intervention only used as a last resort when resolution is at a standstill preventing voluntary resolution. The employer must provide fair and viable wages, benefits, and working conditions when compared to competitive workplaces. They must share adequate and up-to-date information with the union to allow the union to represent its members in a fair and thorough manner. The employer must openly listen to the union as the cooperative voice of employees, especially in materials dealing with policy or operational efficiency and effectiveness. They must involve the union in issues where employees may be negatively affected by operational or financial plans. Both parties should work toward establishing and fostering a two-way communication system. They should not only come together to resolve a dispute, but the goal should be to build collaborative strategies toward furthering their mutual goals, providing efficient and

Supply Chain and Inventory Management

Question: Discuss about the Supply Chain and Inventory Management. Answer: Introduction This paper aims to address challenges faced by Brisbane Outdoor Power Centre Company factored by the laissez-faire approach employed by the management to control its purchasing and inventory processes. It evaluates on the efficient processes relevant for use to improve Brisbanes performance by fixing purchasing and inventory department. Upon proposing appropriate inventory processes, it also recommends on the best inventory processes and how they can apply to the company. Brisbane has a full scope in the market which is built on its relation and customer oriented strategies. It offers educative and informative solutions to customers who have problems on the products produced by the company or companies operating on similar commodities (Deshpande, 2012). The company has been enjoying market control advantage against its competitors, a benefit that has impacted positively on its general profit level. However, its operation system is not effectively framed to enable optimal performance and profitability. The current purchasing and inventory management processes used by Brisbane The company has been operating on a conservative system of management. This is evident by the static operation of purchasing and inventory policies implemented by the outgoing CEO. Use of Laissez-faire approach has decentralized responsibilities to different retail managers (Swink et al., 2011). Each retail manager performs management strategies without having a large scope of upward or downward communication between the executives and other relevant stakeholders of the company. This has delinked communication and other important business activities that require unison agreement on their implementation. Each retail center is performing purchase, advocate for willing suppliers and determine qualified supply mechanism on their own. A behavior promoted by sites of location upon which retail centers are based thus experience different customer needs and demand. The company has allowed managers to operate on freedom by doing their work on their own, as well as setting their deadlines. They are partially relevant to support the management on a willing basis with either resources or ideas though it is not a mandatory requirement from the management. Failure to have a collection of processes of different disciplines i.e. supply chain management, demand forecast control and reserve logistics has exposed the company to unbalanced stock maintenance, non-procedural supply chain and poor inventory turn-over (Swink et al., 2001). This is the reason behind the lack of stock in one retail center forces the managerial department to sort for products in other centers stock to maintain a continuous and steady supply. Effective and efficient purchase and inventory management incorporate rational management which puts a target on each departmental heads under CEO watch (Swink et al., 2011). Comparative advantages of the currently used processes by the company The processes used by the company in purchasing and inventory management have the following advantages: Self-motivation; freedom set environment of operation in an organization encourages and motivates individual who believes in themselves and value self-control as a contributor to success. This method unties employees from tied strict rules and guidelines which are always noted by supervisors in charge. It empowers employees who are self intrinsically oriented to perform on their mandate once work guidelines are defined. Such characters perform well by giving their all to the business expectation thus thriving business success 9Naude Weiss, 2011). The maximum satisfaction; laissez- faire approach ensures that one takes an initiative and regulate on it by completing roles or duties on time. Taking control of the tasks given hands a satisfaction ego and consequently, promotes ideological exhaustion. Employees always offer their best to the level of their knowledge and skills to complete such tasks, an action that they believe brings the best out of their understanding. Creation of dynamism; loosely connected organization on the supervisory role offers a dynamic problem solution ability. Employees get a chance to try out things contrary to defined problem-solving procedure. They expound on their thinking towards a situational or any other problems by trying various formulas to tackle the situation. Therefore, they become more productive and creative in ideologies. Disadvantages of used processes by the company Lack of effective cohesion; independent type of operation in the business improves individualism among the employees. It eliminates the ability of employees to operate together by having a point of references in case of a confusing idea. Individuals if left to operate independently, stick to their opinion hence no consensus can accrue in such organizations. Business suffers as a result of ideological differences failing to tally with expectations and objectives set Low-quality work; not all are good at independent operation; some people need leaders who can guide and offer consultations. Such people do not produce the best out of their knowledge and skills thus deter the general performance of business. The quality of the work they can offer while working as a team is better and of the benefit to an organization compared to their produce while working independently. Lack of teamwork; giving employees opportunity to make decisions, and take business initiative on their own develop a tendency of individual manpower where every employee scramble on to win an idea of lead. Consequently, they fail to concentrate on ideas contributed by co-workers in believing that they can tackle a situation of discussion on their own. However, laissez-faire approach has some advantages over other systems of operation; it curtails a long run objectivity of business thus no the best method to apply. Supply chain and inventory management concepts relevant to the efficiency and reductive investment of the company Supply chain and inventory management are interlinked in a way that if appropriately selected no business can experience a loss or management challenges. It is appropriate for Belinda Green to apply a supply chain and inventory processes that is critical in its scope of operation and able to formulate, analyze as well as manage the supply department (Janvier-James, 2012). Appropriate inventory process ensures the provision of security of the stock, efficient and accommodative costs of goods, time bound and continuous inventory turn-over, reliable customer management and a vendor system of the Directorate (Lambert, 2006). These activities enable the business to evaluate its operation costs on a fair cost through which profit margin can be equated to the expenses incurred (Swink et al., 2011). The demonstrated operations management promote a focus on improving processes in the company while supply chain management applies the use of theories, relevant materials, and tools to ensure productive business cohesion. Supply chain being an important infrastructure of production, and relevant process involved in the business process, its definition should incorporate all stakeholders i.e. suppliers, retailers, suppliers, and consumers under the watch of a transformative leadership (Lambert, 2006). Transformative management is a constituent of a rationalized system through which centralization system of decision making is promoted (Lambert, 2006). Centralization in this company can enhance incorporation of various economic agents. The corporation leads to a responsive system ready for any argent need either from consumers or economic environment (Van Weele, 2010). It avoids uncertainty on stock depletion, failure of deadline meetings on tasks and lack of commitment from departmental or retail managers. To improve the performance of Brisbane and create a dynamism system where consultation and a common pool of decision making on product flows, the new CEO must embrace a centralized system of management (Cousins et al., 2008). More often, the system allows upwards and downwards communication raised by juniors to seniors and role dissemination or instruction from the senior employees to juniors (Van Weele, 2010). The most networked supply chain and inventory management bring managers together to discuss on pricing terms which tally with consumers expenditure (Jacobs et al., 2009). Therefore, they end up sharing their personal objectives which may cover along maximization of profit, risks, and integration of conscious objectives targeting environmental factors. Many scholars agree on the facts that an objective inventory management focuses on the stock and how the stock is found and where it is found (Cousins et al., 2008). This is a cornerstone of eliminating wrong purchase orders and wrong items because procedural steps done by specialized as well as designed employees tame all the errors (Frank, 2005). However, in case such problems happen appropriate are remedies are channeled. Evidently, a business can curb supply problems that arise due to lack of enough stock in a given center of retail. A good inventory relevant for Green to implement should incorporate the following procedure; Inception; this a process of identifying the under-performing parameters by evaluating sales, productivity level, the rate of turn-over among others to know the scope of rationalization. After evaluation of the relevant areas related to performance a plan is developed on how failures noticed can be solved (White paper, 2012). Planning; is all about preparing the implantation plan where management, staff responsibility, and benefit measurement criteria are outlined. It enhances the initiation of rationalized management (Lysons Ferrington, 2006). Execution; This where relevant managers are required to sort out problems noticed in their respective departments. It incorporates all senior managers and the CEO authorization. Inventory values and market trends are considered to enable appropriate purchasing process (White paper, 2012). The above-illustrated steps once complied, the management should define roles and responsibility on the criteria of purchase. This is done through a good relation development with the reliable suppliers, analyze the requirements of the materials to be purchased, identify the minimum quantity of stock needed in the store, outline steps on receiving and inspecting supplies and recommend on the maintenance of inventory system. Lastly, there should be a monitoring system on the inventories (Winsner et al., 2009). Monitoring of inventory should be persistence and continuous by assigning a responsible department in charge. An employee in charge is therefore expected to take records of on inventory management by maintaining update record. Recommendations to MS Green on restructuring the purchasing and inventory functions of the company To effectively restructure the systems related to purchase and inventory, I would recommend Green to; strategize on the effective and productive implementation of rationalization system of management in the company. Therein follow the following steps; Reduce the lead time; reducing lead time enhances the faster process of obtaining the supplies hence the quantity of safety stock is reduced. By doing so, the company will tell the effect of each supplier on the holding cost of inventory safety. Improve forecasting accuracy; it is necessary to improve efficiency level of prediction as it benefits the retailer not to stock excess or out of date products to achieve optimum inventory level. Furthermore, it reduces sale loss by enhancing services offered to customers. Optimize on product availability; improving on the products available to consumers correlates positively with the revenue to the company. However, situational outcomes require evaluation on the costs involved in over-stocking. Improve coordination of information; it is important to improve the coordination of information due to transparency benefits realized in the status of stock, demand, and production thereby enable proper planning on emerging issues that can affect the performance of the business. It makes the supply chain reliable and avoids stock depletion. Decrease the minimum order quantity; it reduces the volume of total inventory in the business thereby reduces the costs incurred on the stock. Define and monitor regulatory on a daily basis; regular practice of those activities assist to the available, and accurate information on inventory within the supply chain. Rationalization of management, consistent contact with suppliers, the transformation of retail centers, effective integration of managers and inventory monitoring are appropriate for achieving maximum production of goods and services at affordable costs thereby maximizing customer satisfaction. References Cousins, P., Lamming, R., Lawson, B. Squire, B. (2008). Strategic Supply Management, Principles, Theories and Practices. Essex, England: Pearson Prentice-Hall. Deshpande, A. (2012). Supply chain management dimensions, supply chain performance and organizational performance: An integrated framework. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(8), 2. Frank Dooley (2005). Logistics, Inventory Control, and Supply Chain Management. A Publication of the American Agricultural Economics Association. Jacobs, F.R., Chase, R.B. Aquilano, N.J (2009). Operations and Supply Management. New York: McGraw Hill. Janvier-James, A. M. (2012). A new introduction to supply chains and supply chain management: Definitions and theories perspective. International Business Research, 5(1), 194. Lambert, D.M. (2006). Supply Chain Management: Processes, Partnerships, Performance (2nd Ed.). Saresota, FL: SUPPLY Chain Management Institute. Lysons, K. Farrington, B. (2006). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (7th Ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education. M.J. Naude J.A. Badenhorst-Weiss (2011). Supply chain management problems at South Africa automotive component manufacturers. Mellat-Parast, M. (2013). Supply chain quality management: An inter-organizational learning perspective. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management, 30(5), 511-529. Preckel, P., Gray, A., Boehlje, M., Kim, S. (2004). Risk and value chains: Participant sharing of risk and rewards. Journal on Chain and Network Science, 4(1), 25-32. SKU Rationalization: A Technique for Inventory Optimization in the Retail Sector. TATA Consultancy Services. White Paper. (2012). Swink, M., Melnyk, S.A., Cooper, M.B. Hartley, J.L. (2011). Managing Operations across the Supply Chain. New York: McGraw-Hill. Van Weele, A.J. (2010). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (5th Ed.). Hampshire, UK: Cengage Learning. Wisner, J.D., Tan, K. Leong, G.R (2009). Principles of Supply Chain Management: A Balanced Approach (2nd Ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Le

Summary Essays (918 words) - Spaceflight, Science Fiction

Summary The book I chose to read this marking period was The Martian by Andy Weir. The book starts out with the entire Ares 3 space crew on the planet Mars, only six days into their mission. Soon to be hit with a massive dust storm with extremely high speed winds, much higher than their base is made to withstand they debate abandoning the mission. They end up deciding to do so, but the dust storm hits them before they can leave. The crew rushes to the ship, but Mark Watney is struck with a large piece of flying debris, and goes flying back, swallowed by the dust storm. The ship captain wants to go back for him, but the crew assumes he is dead and leaves the planet. Turns out he lived. Spaceman Mark Watney is now stranded on Mars all alone. Instead of giving up hope he continues on, thinks things out, and devises a plan. Their base, called the HAB is still intact, so Mark still has some supplies and even a large rover, but not nearly enough food or water to last forever. Marks sol ution to his food problem is filling his temporary home with space dirt, fertilizing it with his own waste, and growing potatoes. For water, he finds a way to extract water from rocket fuel, a very dangerous process which almost ends up blowing up the HAB, but Mark makes it work. Eventually, the folks back at NASA realize Mark is still alive when they see things on satellite images like the solar panels being cleared off daily(it's a very dusty planet), and things being moved around. Mark is able to set up a rudimentary way to communicate with NASA, and they then are able to instruct him on how to build something to get a better form of communication allowing Mark to send and receive messages to and from NASA. His former space crew, still on their way home from Mars is informed that Mark is still alive, and a plan is constructed to pick him up. The crew slingshots around earth using its gravitational pull, and heads back to Mars. When they get there Mark has to use a smaller pod spa ceship to get out of the atmosphere of Mars, and get as close the the crew as possible. Mark ends up just short of where he needs to be, and almost ends up watching his evacuation opportunity pass by. Instead, he punctures the hands of his spacesuit and is able to fly to his crew member Iron-man style and is pulled in to the ship. He becomes a hero back on earth Childhood of Mark Watney As a kid I never wanted to do anything but learn. I excelled in school, and my elementary teachers always wanted me to skip a grade but I didn't so that I could stay with my friends. Even back then though, when education was not a priority of mine at all I still wanted to be an astronaut, ever since I learned that Earth isn't the only planet. I never really thought it would happen though, and I definitely didn't think it would turn out the way it did. Getting stuck on Mars for two years completely alone was not part of the plan. Although I never really thought my dreams would materialize, I always dreamed of being a part of a human exploration to Mars. People always talked about going to Mars back then, but it never happened. Infact, after the Apollo missions human space exploration seemed to have stopped. This all seemed to change overnight. I was in 7th grade when it happened, I was sitting down watching the news after school one day. A news report came on about the discovery of microbial life on mars by a rover. Three days later NASA was granted the funding by Congress for the Mars mission. Although as a child I had no clue that I would end up being a part of the mission, the discovery is what sealed the deal for becoming an astronaut. After that I took school very seriously. I reached the potential that the teachers knew I had. Eventually my