Job roles at Tescos Essay

A Director is also sometimes known as chief executive officer. CEO are the main â€Å"bosses† of PLC’s-Public limited Companies- The title reflects his or her role as both a member of the Board of Directors but also as the senior manager. In large Companies, including investment banks and other financial institutions, â€Å"Director/Managing Director† does not refer to the chief executive but can rather refer to the head of a major business unit. Even though it is known as CEO in some cases, companies prefer the term Director or Managing Director. The responsibility and the role of a CEO is to make sure the company is functioning properly financially. They are the main people who give instructions to employee’s lower status to them. The Directors are the face of the business. They have a huge responsibility as if the company becomes corrupt or bankrupt this will be due to the director not making correct choices. A Managing Director usually has job security because the board rely on them to keep the company running correctly, if the board decides to fire the director it would be really difficult to find a replacement quickly, therefore it would cost the company quite a lot of money. Because of this usually the job of a CEO is secured. Typical day to day jobs of a Managing Director range from making strategic planning to dealing with customers. Skills, qualifications and personal qualities needed to be a Managing director range from University level degree to peer to peer skills in order for them to communicate accordingly with customers. Managing director are highly appreciated for their work, therefore are paid quite large amounts of salaries, these salary begin from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½65,000 and can lead up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000. The benefit of a CEO is that they get paid bonuses in the end if they are PLC Company. These bonuses range from 50%+ of the original salary. The CEO/Managing Director of Tesco’s is Terry Leahy. The role and day to day jobs of Terry include making final decisions on things like if Tesco’s wants to create more branches or close down branches. Mr Leahy might also be involved into making decisions such as if Tesco as a whole want a redecoration or they want a new logo. Again Terry Leahy is the face Tesco; he reflects the popularity of Tesco. Operative: Tesco’s operative’s key responsibilities are to offer customer service for their customers. For example, if they are a cashier they will offer customer service when the customers buy products from the till, where as if the they are a shelf stacker they may help customers who are looking for a specific product or give them advice about particular products they might be interested in. A Tesco operative isn’t considered usually as a secure job. The reason being, to be an operative you don’t require a lot of skills, because of this it means that a large amount of people fit this criteria, therefore Tesco’s wouldn’t hesitate to quickly fire the operative as they would have a handful of people to select the new operative from. Tesco also likes to employ their operatives on temporary contracts. This means that by law it is easy for Tesco to get rid of the employee. The only way a Tesco’s operative could get a little bit of security would be if they sign a permanent contract. This means that it would be legally much harder for the company-Tesco- to fire the operative. Usually an operative wouldn’t be offered a permanent contract without previously completing a temporary contract. The basic skills that a operative will need is ranged from good communication skills, and to have basic English and maths skills, also on top of these educational skill they will also need a common sense and a sense of humour. They will need to be organised and well presented. No degree is usually needed to qualify as an operative, but obviously a GCSE will be taken as a good factor. The wages of an operative usually ranges from minimum to around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7 an hour. Operatives are rarely paid their salaries in a yearly basis. Benefits which affect a Tesco’s operative would be things like a certain amount discount on the companies products, the operative would also be entitled to around about 4-5 weeks paid holiday per year. Manager: The managers, of a branch of Tesco’s have important responsibilities. These range from ensuring that their operatives and supervisors are working to their full potential and that the department or the store is meeting their day to day targets. For example an overall Tesco store manager will have much more responsibilities than for example a meat department manager. The tasks of a Tesco’s store manager would range from ensuring if for example the meat department has enough supplies for the week, or if bakery departments needs more flour to bake bread, the manager might need to arrange the sources. The managers at Tesco’s usually have a stable and secure job. This is explained because to apply for a position like a manager, you will need either have a lot of experience working for Tesco, or another supermarket, or will need to have degrees at a higher level of education. Usually managers of Tesco’s have worked their way up from starting at a lower place like an Operative, and through years of experience they reach the managers position. However reaching a managers position this way is very difficult as it takes a lot of patience and hard work. The other way of getting a job as a manager of Tesco’s, might be to get a business masters degree, although again, this takes a few years of studying in university, and there is only a small range of people who have these type of qualifications in the labour market. The role of the manager of Tesco’s is very different to the job role of an operative. The job of a manager requires a large range of skill; as they will have many decisions to make and problems to conquer. The store manager of a certain branch of Tesco’s might need to make decisions from such as if they need to fire a certain employee at that branch to decide whether or not to change the layout of the Tesco. Another serious problem a manager will be facing would be deciding how to react with the complaints of the stores customers. As you can see the manager has a large amount of responsibility when it comes to decision making, this is why either experience or qualifications is a must, so the person makes the correct decision. The skills which a manager of a supermarket will need will range from good communications skills-in orders to deal upfront with customer’s complaints- to being a proven leader, a motivator in order to lead his or her employees to complete the aims of Tesco the fastest and most efficient way. They need to be able to do independent work, to be organised, committed and hardworking. A sense of humour is also a skill which they need; this comes in handy with the communication with the customers, and is a big asset in solving day to day problems, such as complaints. As a standard procedure, benefits come with the job of being a manager. These benefits are much better than the benefits of a standard operative. Managers are paid in a annual salary-per annum. The amount will vary on the size of the store of Tesco, for example if it’s a Tesco express not a standard big Tesco and the amount of qualifications the individual has. The amount ranges from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35,000. The contract of a manager may state that they are contracted to work 40 hours per week, and this is all they will be paid for, however they may find themselves working longer hours then problems might occur. The benefits of a manager include larger discounts on Tesco’s products compare to operatives, and unlike the 4-5 weeks of paid holiday for operative, the managers will get 5-6 weeks of paid holidays per year. C-Grade A contract of employment is a contract binding under the law of United Kingdom, between the employee and the employer-Tesco’s- stating the terms and conditions of the employment. Explanation of sales operatives contract of employment Salary: A sales assistant is paid just above minimum wage, at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6.50 per hours. A salary is a form of a periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which is specified in the contract of employment, while the wage is a payment for a certain unit of labour for a certain unit of time. The reason for such a small wage for a sales assistant is because this doesn’t require a lot of experience and qualifications, in fact if you can count its enough to be a sales assistant. Date paid: A sales assistant salary day is usually paid monthly, and during the end of the month and is important because this is the day they receive payment for the service which they have provided. Hours of Work: Sales assistant work for around 40 hours a week, over a 5 day period which Name of the contracted parties: This is where the employer and the employee are named with there addresses Starting date of the employee: This is the date of which the employee has begun working at Tesco’s. Job title and description: This is one of the most important sections in the contract, due to the fact that this is the bit where it is fully described on what the employee has to do, and what fits into their jobs guidelines. Address of workplace: This is the section where it clearly states the address of the place the employee will be working every day, and where they should go to every morning. Holiday entitlement: This is the section where it states how much holidays an employee is allowed. Usually for a sales operative on average its 4 weeks (20 days) of paid holiday per year. And every year after the first year an amount of 1 day is added to the paid holidays. Sickness entitlement: Contractual sick pay: the employee will receive their normal salary for a period of 4 weeks, in any 12 month period where a doctor’s certificate is produced after 7 consecutive days of sickness. Payments will be less statutory sick pay and any social security’s benefit due to the employee. So the sales operative would only be allowed to take 7 sick days off without a doctor’s note. Devoting full time to the company: This shows that the sales operative will need to devote their full attention to their job when they are at work. They are not allowed to spend any time phoning friends, or furthering other business interest at a time which Tesco is paying them. Reimburse of expenses: If a Tesco’s employee like the sales operative spends any money on the business of Tesco’s, then they need to keep the receipts so Tesco’s reimburse the amount in which the employee has spent. Disability: If a Tesco’s employee is injured at the workplace, Tesco’s are legally obliged to pay for their medical costs. Notice Periods: Time In Employment Minimum Notice Under 1 Month No Notice Over 1 Month 1 Week 2 Years Service 2 Weeks 3 to 12 years service One week for each year to a maximum of 12 weeks. Death Benefits: If one of the Tesco’s employees dies, then Tesco’s are legally obliged to compensate the family of the employee who just died. Oral Moderation not binding: This means that anything that are orally changed that might be made to the contract are not binding under the law of the United Kingdom. And if both the employee and the employer wish to have this a legal matter, they will need to write it down, agreed , and then Tesco’s and the employee have to both sign it Both the employee and the employer have to sign the contract otherwise, it is not a legally binding contract and can not be used in the court of law, if in any case needed.

Case Study: Impact of Mining

PFII/2007/WS. 3/7 Original: English UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS Division for Social Policy and Development Co-organizers Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Government of Khabarovsk Krai and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON) INTERNATIONAL EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT KHABAROVSK, RUSSIAN FEDERATION AUGUST 27. -29, 2007 Case Study on the Impacts of Mining and Dams on theEnvironment and Indigenous Peoples in Benguet, Cordillera, Philippines Paper by CORDILLERA PEOPLES ALLIANCE I. Background Land and People of Benguet The Cordillera region in Northern Luzon, Philippines, is homeland to more than 1 million indigenous peoples belonging to at least 8 distinct ethnic groups collectively known as Igorots. Two of these ethnic groups, the Ibaloy and the Kankanaey, are found in the province of Benguet, which occupies 265,538 hectares of the Cordillera r egion’s total land area of 1. million hectares. The Ibaloy people live in the southeastern portion, occupying 8 of the province’s 13 towns. The Kankanaey, meanwhile dominate the northeast areas of Benguet. Benguet’s fertile land along the rivers and gold ore in the mountains saw the emergence of distinct villages engaged in various economic activities. Gold mining communities rose in the gold-rich areas in Itogon, while gold-trading villages were established along strategic mountain passes and trails. Rice-growing villages emerged in the river valleys.Swidden farming combined with gold panning in the streams and rivers. Land ownership among the Ibaloy and Kankanaey is traditionally recognized by prior occupation, investment of labor and permanent improvements on the land, specifically irrigation systems and retaining stonewalls of the ricefields. The community shares access rights to the forests, rivers, and creeks, and the fruits of these lands and waters are o pen to those who gathered them. [1] Entry of mining, construction of dams Mining has a long history in the Philippines.Small scale mining has been practiced by Philippine peoples for at least ten centuries, and large scale mining by foreign as well as Filipino firms for about a century. Little is known, though, about mining prior to the coming of the Spanish colonialists in the 16th century. [2] Corporate mining in Benguet started during the Spanish colonial period when Spanish businessmen secured a mining concession from the Igorots in Mancayan and launched the operations of the Sociedad Minero-Metalurgica Cantabro-Filipina de Mancayan in 1856. This mine eventually closed down.When the Americans arrived in the 1900s, they entered into contracts with local families to file legal claims to mineral-bearing land. These claims were later used by American prospectors to create the mining companies that would dominate the mining industry in Benguet. These were Benguet Corporation, Atok Bi g Wedge, Itogon-Suyoc Mines and Lepanto Consolidated. [3] In the 1950s, the Agno River in Benguet was tapped as a source of hydropower. The first dam to be built along the Agno River was the Ambuklao Dam, followed by the Binga Dam.Twelve (12) other run-of-river mini-hydros, all privately operated, were also built in other parts of Benguet. In the 1980s, widespread people’s resistance forced the Marcos government and the World Bank to give up its plans for major dam projects in the region. However, the Ramos government took advantage of the energy crisis in the 1990s and initiated with Japanese funding, the construction of the San Roque Multipurpose Project. The San Roque dam is the third dam to be built along the Agno River, located in the boundary between Benguet and Pangasinan province of Central Luzon. 4] II. Mining Operations, Dams and Impacts on the Indigenous Peoples of Benguet Mines and Dams Present in Benguet The province of Benguet has hosted 14 mining companies sinc e corporate mining started in 1903. Some of these mines have closed down while others have continued. Presently operating in Benguet are two large mines using high technology for large-scale mineral extraction. These are the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (operating for 70 years) and the Philex Mining Corporation (operating since 1955).Benguet Corporation, the oldest mining company in the country, abandoned its operations in 1997 after mining for almost a century. The abandoned open pit mine site, underground tunnels, waste dump sites, mill, diversion tunnels and tailings dams in Itogon still remain today. The company now has ongoing contract mining arrangements with small scale miners. Itogon-Suyoc mines closed down in 1997, but is now negotiating with foreign investors to reopen its mines. In addition, new mining explorations and applications are now coming into other parts of Benguet with renewed efforts by the government to invite foreign investments.These applications of v arious kinds, numbering 138, are found in all 13 municipalities of the province covering 147,618. 9 hectares or 55. 7% of the province’s total land area. This figure is aside from the area already covered by past and existing mines. Thus we have a situation where most of the total land area of Benguet is covered by past, ongoing and future mining operations. Accompanying mining operations is the construction of tailings dams needed to contain the mine wastes. These tailings dams were built across the river beds in various parts of Benguet.However, most tailings dams are not leak proof and have not been strong enough to withstand torrential currents during the typhoon season, and the major earthquake that rocked Northern Luzon in 1990. Through the years, tailings dams in Benguet have proved incapable of containing the volume of tailings that came from the mills. Time and again, these tailings have breached their dams. Benguet Corporation constructed 5 tailings dams. Lepanto ha s 5 tailings dams, 2 of which collapsed. Philex has 3 tailings dams, 2 of which collapsed in 1992 and 1994. In 2001, tailings breached another Philex dam.Itogon-Suyoc has 1 tailings dam that collapsed in 1994. Thus we have a situation where burst, broken, weak and leaking tailings dams dot the major river systems of the province – the Abra River, Agno River, Antamok River and Bued River. Another concern is the series of three mega hydroelectric dams built along the Agno River – the Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque dams – that block the river flow to generate electricity. The power generated by these dams has gone to supply the power needs of the mining companies as well as the overall power demand of the Luzon Grid.However, Ambuklao and Binga dams are dying and no longer fully operational, crippled by the voluminous silt that has accumulated in the reservoirs, upstream and beyond. The San Roque dam, which has the generating capacity of 345 megawatts, is now generat ing only 18 megawatts. Impacts of Mines and Dams The combination of mines and dams in Benguet has had devastating impacts on the environment and on the Kankanaey and Ibaloy people in the province. These impacts have not only caused serious environmental destruction and suffering for the affected communities, but have also violated the collective rights of the indigenous peoples.As proven by the experience of the Benguet indigenous peoples, large-scale corporate mining and dams destroy, pollute, disrupt agricultural economies, and displace indigenous peoples. 1. Land destruction, subsidence and water loss Corporate mining in Benguet is done by surface mining as well as underground tunneling and block caving. Also significant are other surface excavations by the mining companies for the installation of facilities, such as portals for deep mining, lumber yards, ore trains, mills, tailings ponds, power houses, mine administration offices, and employee housing. 5] Open pit mining is the most destructive as it requires removing whole mountains and excavation of deep pits. Generally, open pits need to be very big – sometimes more than 2. 5 kilometres long. In order to dig these giant holes, huge amounts of earth need to be moved, forests cleared, drainage systems diverted, and large amounts of dust let loose. According to the Benguet Corporation, â€Å"Any open-pit mining operation, by the very nature of its method, would necessarily strip away the top soil and vegetation of the land. [6] Sure enough, open-pit mining in Itogon by Benguet Corporation has removed whole mountains and entire villages from the land surface. After exhausting the gold ore, the open pit in Itogon is now abandoned as the company has shifted to other economic ventures like water privatization. Not known to many, Philex also practices open pit mining in Camp 3, Tuba, Benguet, presently affecting 98 hectares of land. The affected area is continuously expanding as the open pit mine operat ions of Philex continue. The land damage has displaced homes and communities and caused the people to lose their lands.Meanwhile, underground block-caving operations by Philex and Lepanto have induced surface subsidence and ground collapse. In Mankayan, where Lepanto is operating, the land surface in populated areas is sinking, causing damage to buildings, farms and property. In July 1999, Pablo Gomez, a villager in Mankayan, was killed when he was suddenly swept away in a landslide along with the Colalo Primary School building. 71 million cubic feet of earth gave way beneath him, covering and destroying 14 hectares of farming land. [7]Aside from land subsidence, the water tables have also subsided as deep mining tunnels and drainage tunnels disrupt groundwater paths. Tunneling often leads to a long-term lowering of the water table. In 1937, a disaster hit Gumatdang, Itogon’s oldest rice-producing village. Atok-Big Wedge drove in two gigantic tunnels on opposite sides of the village, immediately draining the water from its most abundant irrigation sources. In 1962, Benguet Corporation drove in another drainage tunnel that stretched between its Kelly mine in Gumatdang and its mines in Antamok.Instead of just draining water from the mines, the tunnel drained the water from a major irrigation source, drying up ricefields. Ventilation shafts have also drawn water away from surface streams, irrigation canals, and pondfields. In addition, the felling of timber to shore up underground tunnels has denuded surrounding watersheds, aggravating water loss. [8] Not only does mining cause water subsidence, it also deprives farming communities of much-needed water. The industry requires large volumes of water for mining, milling and waste disposal.Mining companies have privatized numerous natural water sources in Itogon and Mankayan for the purpose. Now, the people in many mining-affected communities have to buy water for drinking and domestic use from outside sources through water delivery trucks, or by lining up for hours in the few remaining water sources to fill up a gallon of water. 2. Pollution of Water and Soil Open-pit and underground bulk mining by Philex in Tuba and Lepanto in Mankayan generate ore and tailings at a rate of up to 2,500 metric tons per mine per day. 9] Toxic mine tailings are usually impounded in tailings dams. However, when pressure in the tailings dams builds up, especially during times of heavy rainfall, the mining companies drain their tailings dams of water or face the risk of having the dams burst or collapse. In either case, the tailings eventually find their way out, polluting the water and silting up the rivers and adjacent lands. People of Mankayan remember the Abra River before the mine. It was deep and narrow, just 5 meters wide, full of fish and surrounded by verdant rice paddies.Now there is a wide gorge of barren land on either side of the polluted river. Fruit trees and animals have died from the poisone d water and rice crops are stunted. [10] When Lepanto started operations in 1936, the company dumped mine tailings and waste straight into the river. It was only in the 1960’s that the first tailings dam was built. The dam was abandoned after less than 10 years and the land became unsuitable for agriculture. Tailings dam 2 was constructed in the 1970s. Its collapse caused the contamination of nearby ricefields.Tailings Dam 3 and a diversion tunnel gave way in 1986 during a strong typhoon. Another spillway collapsed after a typhoon in 1993. The spilled tailings encroached on riverbanks and destroyed ricefields downstream. They also caused the riverbed to rise and the polluted water to backflow into other tributaries of the Abra River. [11] An Environmental Investigative Mission (EIM) in September 2002 indictaed that heavy metal content (lead, cadmium and copper) was elevated in the soil and waters downstream from the Lepanto mine.Water samples from the Abra River were found to have low level pH (acidic) capable of solubilizing heavy metals. One resident who used gravel taken from the Mankayan River for construction of his house reported that the steel bar reinforcements were corroded after a few months. The same EIM report revealed dissolved oxygen readings at the CIP Mill Outlet and at Tailings Dam 5A to be below 2 mg/L. Aquatic life cannot survive in conditions where dissolved oxygen is below 2 mg/L.Sulfuric acid is also believed to be the cause of the â€Å"rotten eggs† smell that residents report when mine tailings are released into the Mankayan River during heavy rainfall. Another concern is the high amount of Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) found at various points of the Mankayan River downstream from Tailings Dam 5A. [12] Abandoned mine sites like Benguet Corporation and Itogon-Suyoc Mines in Itogon have long-term damaging impacts on rivers and their surrounding fields because of the build up of acidic mine wat er.Acid mine drainage comes from both surface and underground mine workings, waste rock, tailings piles and tailings ponds. [13] Pollution of this kind can continue long after a mine is closed or abandoned, and the water that leaches into the ecosystem is frequently acidic, killing rivers and posing health risks to local communities. [14] 3. Siltation Siltation of rivers is a serious problem in Benguet resulting from mining operations and dam construction. The Ambuklao and Binga dams are stark examples of the detrimental impacts of siltation and megadams on rivers.The steadily rising level of silt in the dam reservoirs and along the Agno River upstream of the dams is covering a wider and wider area around the dams and continues to destroy more and more rice fields. In the case of the Ambuklao dam, the communities of Bangao and Balacbac were located far above the predicted water level of the dam and 17 kilometers away from the predicted edge of the reservoir. These two communities ar e now inundated because of the rising water level and accumulation of silt upstream along the Agno River. Government authorities dismiss the increasing siltation as a natural phenomenon.However, the Ibaloy people know that the dams are the real culprit. The farmlands and communities were never affected by silt before the dams were built despite storms and earthquakes. The dams blocked the free flow of water and silt down to the lowlands. Silt deposits built up in the dam reservoir and blocked oncoming silt that receded backwards upstream, swamping and inundating all farmlands and communities within reach. [15] In the case of the Philex, a tailings dam collapsed in 1992, releasing some 80 million tons of tailings and causing heavy siltation in the irrigation system downstream.The company paid Php5 million to the affected farmers. Again, during a typhoon in 2001, another tailings dam of Philex collapsed. Ricefields in San Manuel and Binalonan, Pangasinan, were buried in toxic silt a m eter deep. This time, Philex refused to admit responsibility for the disaster putting the blame on nature. [16] In the case of Lepanto, the downstream impact of tailings disposal is that along a 25-kilometer stretch of the Abra River, some 465 hectares of riceland have been washed out. [17] Further, Lepanto’s claim that Tailings Dam 5A is actually helping to contain siltation is deceiving.The high level of TDS and TSS from the CIP Mill Outlet up to Tailings Dam 5A indicates that the silt originates from company operations and is not due to natural siltation. [18] 4. Serious health problems due to water, soil and air pollution Contamination of water, soil and air contributes to increased toxic build-up in people’s bodies. Asthma and other respiratory problems often affect local communities as well as mine workers. When people’s health deteriorates, their ability to work and earn money is reduced even further. The old and the young are particularly vulnerable. [19 ]In 1985, a copper ore dryer was installed by Lepanto. The copper dryer affected the 3 barangays of Paco, Colalo and Cabiten in Mankayan. Local residents complained of abnormal withering of crops, sickness and death of domestic animals and high incidence of respiratory ailments. The company was forced to close down the dryer in the face of people’s opposition. [20] The most common symptoms felt by residents of Mankayan who have inhaled chemical fumes emanating from the mine are: headache, dizziness, cough, chest pain, nasal and eye irritation. Other symptoms reported are itching of the skin, rashes and diarrhea.Some residents report that wounds take longer to heal when exposed to the water of the Abra River. Because of past adverse reactions, people avoid contact with the river water. They do not allow children to bathe in the river. Nor do they let their animals drink from it. Incidence of cancer is a cause for further study as it is among the top 3 causes of mortality in so me affected communities. [21] Women are primarily responsible for maintaining the health of the family and the community. As such, women have to carry the burden of ill health arising from environmental destruction and pollution due to mining operations.At the height of the open pit mine and mill in Itogon, some pregnant women suffered miscarriage, while others experienced diseases of the skin, respiratory tract and blood when exposed to toxic fumes emanating from the mill. The drying up of natural water sources in another contributory factor in the poor health and sanitation in the community. [22] 5. Loss of Flora, Fauna, Biodiversity, and food insecurity The drainage area of the Abra River is home to about 1689 species of plants belonging to 144 families, including 177 species of orchids in 47 genera. More than half (51. %) of the plants found within the area are classified as endemics with 60. 7% of all the orchids classified as such. Benguet has the highest plant species diversi ty within the river basin area compared to other provinces. The EIM conducted in September 2002 noted gross differences between the waterways located directly below the Lepanto mining operations and tributaries originating from sources elsewhere. When the company started a fishpond in March 2001, all the fingerlings died after only 4 days. Aquatic organisms like udang (shrimp) and igat (eel) are reportedly becoming rare.Residents observed fish disease and deformities, aside from a drop in the fish catch. Fishkills occur every rainy season, attributed to the release of water from the tailings dams by the company. The loss in aquatic life is a major change in the life support system of the communities who rely on the river for daily food. Not only are livelihood sources affected, but so is the general biodiversity damaged, causing breakdowns in the food web. Once-common birds and tree species have disappeared. Among the bird species reported now to be rarely seen are: pagaw, tuklaw an d kannaway.Trees such as the kamantires and burbala were also identified to be no longer in significant quantities. [23] 6. Dislocation of Indigenous People from Ancestral Land and Traditional Livelihoods Large-scale corporate mining and dams have dislocated the indigenous Kankanaey and Ibaloy people from their ancestral lands and traditional livelihoods. Dams have caused the loss of ancestral lands to inundation and siltation. Descendants of families displaced by dams have been reduced to illegal occupants in the dam’s watershed areas or settlers in land owned by others.Mining patents granted by the government to mining companies have denied indigenous communities of their rights to ownership and control over their ancestral lands and resources. In terms of livelihood, mining concessions have taken over lands used by indigenous peoples for their traditional livelihoods – ricefields, vegetable gardens, swiddens, hunting and grazing livestock. Rice fields along riverban ks have been damaged by siltation. Garden cultivators have lost their crops to surface subsidence. Traditional small scale miners have lost their pocket mines and gold panning sites to the big mines and dams.Some communities have lost entire mountainsides, burial sites and hunting grounds to ground collapse and deep open pits. Traditional fishing is no longer possible in polluted rivers, replaced by commercial fishponds in dam reservoirs. An additional impact is the violation of the collective rights of the indigenous Kankanaey and Ibaloy people of their collective rights to self-determination and cultural integrity as they are displaced from the land and community that is the basis of their continued existence and identity.III. People’s Alternatives People’s alternatives to corporate mining and dams and indigenous systems of sustainable resource utilization and management can be found in indigenous communities in the Cordillera. The Ibaloy and Kankanaey people of Beng uet continue to practice traditional small-scale mining till today. Traditional methods of pocket-mining and gold panning are crude but environment-friendly and have been passed down through generations since the 16th century.Small-scale mining is a community affair and access to resources is defined by customary laws, characterized by equitable sharing, cooperation and community solidarity. Men, women, children and the elderly each have a role to play in the extraction and processing of the ore. They extract only enough gold to meet their basic necessities and receive their share of the gold based on an equitable sharing system. However, as communities are deprived of their land and resources, these traditional small-scale mining methods and positive values are now under threat of vanishing.An alternative source of energy are microhydro dams as opposed to megadams. The experience of the micro-hydro project (MHP) of the Chapyusen Mangum-uma Organization (CMO) in the Cordillera prove s the viability of a community-based and community-owned power system to provide energy for lighting, rice milling, sugar pressing, blacksmithing and carpentry. The MHP has built up the people’s capacity to develop their own local resources while ensuring affordable access of poor households to electricity.It also became an opportunity for the people to improve their organization by participating in all phases of project implementation. The observance of ubfo or the traditional system of labor exchange in community mobilization has had a positive outcome by restoring traditional cooperative practices and the free utilization and exchange of individual skills towards a common objective. [24] IV. Recommendations The experience of the Kankanaey and Ibaloy people brings to a fore the need for changes in the development paradigm and policies affecting indigenous peoples.The following recommendations, arising from various reports and fact-finding missions, are forwarded for conside ration by the United Nations, by international financial institutions, mining and dam companies and national governments: 1. The international community should develop minimum standards for the protection of the environment and human rights that are binding on all countries and companies, based on the highest existing standards, and with effective monitoring and sanctions imposed on the offending parties, be it the national government, funding institutions, or the companies. . There exists the Akwe:Kon voluntary guidelines, developed under the Convention of Biological Diversity, for the conduct of cultural, environmental and social impact assessments regarding developments proposed to take place on, or which are likely to impact on sacred sites and on lands and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous and local communities.These guidelines should be made binding rather than voluntary and could be adopted as a minimum standard by international financial institutions and na tional governments when implementing development projects affecting indigenous peoples. 3. Countries that are home to transnational companies should enact legislation that will require those companies to operate using the same standards wherever they operate in the world.Home countries whose nationals and corporate entities inflict damage in developing countries, particularly on indigenous peoples, should impose some form of penalty on the offending parties. 4. An international system should be created to allow complaints to be filed by affected indigenous communities against companies, governments and financial institutions whose development programs and interventions violate the rights of ownership and control by indigenous peoples over their ancestral land, territories and resources and cause serious destruction of the environment. . In the case of Benguet where the indigenous people have already suffered and will continue to suffer enormous damage to their lands and environment due to the long-term impacts of mining and dams, proper and immediate compensation and reparation should be provided to all affected people to include adequate monetary compensation, sustainable livelihood, alternative land, employment and other sources of regular income. A program for the restoration and rehabilitation of lands and waters destroyed by mines and dams should also be implemented. . Past experience has shown that no monetary compensation nor livelihood project could replace or surpass the destroyed ancestral land and traditional livelihoods of affected indigenous peoples. The solution to restoring the living quality and to stop the permanent destruction of the environment is to stop destructive large-scale corporate mining and decommission unviable tailings dams and megadams. Alternatives such as chemical-free traditional small scale mining methods and community-based microhydros need to be promoted and supported. . National legislation and policy on the liberalization of mining and the energy industry need to be reviewed and revised as these have proven detrimental to indigenous peoples in different parts of the country. A new mining policy should support the Filipino people’s efforts towards nationalist industrialization and ensure the creation of jobs, food security, a stable economy, mitigation of environmental degradation, and environmental rehabilitation. ———————– [1] Jacqueline K. Carino. Case Study. WCD. 2000 [2] APIT Tako.Mining in Philippine History [3] APIT Tako. Mining in Philippine History [4] Cordillera Peoples Alliance. December 2002. Cordillera Hydropower Projects and the Indigenous Peoples [5] APITTAKO [6] Christian Aid and PIPLinks. Breaking Promises, making profits. Mining in the Philippines. UK. Dec. 2004 [7] CA and PIPLinks [8] APIT TAKO. Mining In Philippine History: Focus On The Cordillera Experience. Paper presented to the United Nations Economic and Social Cou ncil’s Commission on Human Rights during its Transnational Extractive Industries Review.December 2001 and revised March 2002. [9] APIT Tako. [10] CA and PIPLinks. [11] Save the Abra River Movement (STARM). What is Happening to the Abra River? A Primer on the Effects of Corporate Mining on the Abra River System. September 2003. [12] STARM [13] STARM [14] CA and PIPLinks [15] Jacqueline K. Carino. A case Study of the Ibaloy People and the Agno River Basin, Province of Benguet, Philippines. Presented during the Consultation on Dams, Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities. Geneva, Switzerland. August 1999) [16] Croft 17] APIT TAKO. [18] STARM [19] CA and PIPILinks [20] STARM [21] STARM [22] Jill K. Carino and Cornelia Ag-agwa. The Situation of Mining in the Cordillera Region, Philippines and its Impact on Land Rights and Indigenous Women. Paper presented during the Second International Conference on Women and Mining. Bolivia. 2000 [23] STARM. [24] Hapit, The Official Publicatio n of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance. 3rd Quarter 2005. A basic Service to the People: The Chapyusen Micro-Hydro Project ———————– [pic]

Critical Analysis on Their Eyes Were Watching God

Critical Analysis on Their Eyes Were Watching God Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel that was written by an African American author, Zora Neale Hurston. The book was launched in 1937 and primarily focuses on the life experiences of the protagonist Janie Crawford (Bloom 59). The story is set in central and southern Florida and epitomizes Janie’s search for self-awareness through love and relationships (Bowers 83). At the heart of the entire narration are the three marriages that Janie has gone through. The story analyses the quest for fulfillment, self-awareness and freedom by the main character through the experiences she had specifically in her three respective marriages. The story is told of her through a comprehensive flashback of her closest ally, Pheoby. The plot emanates in manner that after her extensive marriages, it becomes the role of Pheoby to narrate the story to the unaccommodating crowd (Scott 49). The book is an account of Janie’s struggle for self-awareness and fulfillment and the things she went through in order to achieve that. Janie was brought up by her grandmother after the disappearance of her mother upon her birth. Her mother had a lot of expectations in her daughter. When she escaped she passed all these expectations upon Janie. Hence, she wanted Janie to live a life that she has never lived. As a result, she married her to a Logan Killicks, an older farmer (Snodgrass 12). However, Janie became so miserable since she did not get the love that she wanted. She eloped with a sweet talking man called glib Jody Starks to another place where they get married. Jody was a wealthy man who is also a political leader (Hermes et al 64). He treats Janie as a trophy woman. Most of his treatments are not accepted by her but she perseveres until her marriage ends. After her second marriage, Janie is financially independent. Therefore, she rejects the many suitors who come her way but falls in love with Vergible Woods and they get married (Levine and Novel Units, Inc. Staff 25). Eventually, Janie becomes so happy sinc e she gets the love and freedom that she needed. In fact woods treat her as an equal and she enjoy she marriage so much. Conversely, after being bitten by a rabbit during the hurricane, woods tries to shoot Janie but Janie manages to shoot her in self defense. The end of the third marriages wraps up the experiences of Janie (Lester 76). She returns home to a very anxious neighborhood. She relies on Pheoby to tell her story. I find the book to be very constructive in its presentation of the themes and styles. Essentially, the author manages to provide several subjects to the reader through Janie’s experiences (McMahand 70). I tend to believe that the experiences of Janie are synonymous with those of many other people especially women of African American descent. So, the book perfectly epitomizes the quest for fulfillment and the inherent price towards the achievement of such an endeavor. The book is written in a very distinctive manner (Collins 36). The use of language is most significant. Actually, the author uses African American ascent of English. Perhaps this is to exemplify the setting of his plot. Basically, the book has been criticized for employing African American English in language. Subsequently, the book has been written in a reflective manner. In fact the experiences of Janie fully epitomize the personal experiences of the author. The protagonist is a refection of the author. The book has also been written in a flashback method through Janie’s close friend. This is also an attribute that is worth to note (Minds 76). Fundamentally, the book has a unique style of presentation. And the author has exemplified a number of themes through her way of writing. The title was chosen so as to exemplify the society’s reaction to the life experiences of Janie. Perhaps it was the crowds whose eyes were watching God (Awkward 29). Eyes Were Watching God explores a number of themes. These include is love and Relationships versus sovereignty, Power and subjugation as Means to accomplishment as well as Language: dialogue and Silence (Linde 41). Janie was driven by her quest for love, awareness and independent. Throughout her respective three marriages we see Janie fighting for these three things. Even when the marriages broke she never gave up (Wall 91). This was primarily due to her strong will to be free and live an independent life. Eventually, she finds these three aspects in her third marriage. For this reason, she becomes very happy. Even after her third husband death, she finds her ultimate happiness (Koss et al 11). Several techniques are used by the author. First is language. This is very central to the themes thus explored by the aut hor. Her use of silence and speech as language coincides with the protagonist pursuit of awareness and independence. The weather plays a very definitive role in the evolution of the plot of the story. The great Okeechobee hurricane brings the end of Janie’s third marriage (Hurston 31). In as much as Janie and Tea Cake survive the incident marks the beginning of the end of the marriage. Teacake is bitten by a rabid saving Janie from drowning. This leads to the shooting incident where Teacake dies. If you need a custom critical essay on any topic, you can get professional help with writing a critical essay online, at CustomWritings.com!

The eNotes Blog Newest Poet Laureate to Give InauguralReading

Newest Poet Laureate to Give InauguralReading Natasha Trethewey, the United States 19th Poet Laureate, will give her first reading at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. this Thursday. Trethewey became the national Poet Laureate in June of this year. The reading later this week will kickstart her duties in the role. The poet-historian, as the Library of Congress describes her,  was born and raised in the South, hailing from Gulfport, Mississipi, the state in which she currently holds another Poet Laureate title. Trethewey is also Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University in Atlanta. Besides teaching, the poet and author has published four collections since 2000 and one work of non-fiction,  Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her 2006 collection, Native Guard, won her the esteemed Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Of her poetry, James Billington of the Library of Congress has said Trethewey inter-mixes her story with the historical story in a way that takes you deep into the human tragedy of it. It is her ability to weave the present and the past, to engage the public and the personal, and to give language to the unsaid that makes Trethewey’s poems of such lasting import. The history Billington references is Tretheweys own family history, which her poetry relates to the racial legacy of America as a whole. At the time of her birth, Tretheweys parents marriage wasnt legally recognized; on Natashas birth certificate her mothers ethnicity was recorded as colored, her fathers Canadian. The Supreme Court reversed anti-miscegenation laws a year later, but the impact of racial prejudice surely struck the future poet from a young age. Later, the family tragedy that was her mothers murder further spurred Trethewey to become a poet, if anything to simply make sense of what had happened. Her mothers life became the inspiration behind Native Guard, which is dedicated to her memory. Perhaps one of the best examples of the weaving between present and past, public and personal stories, is found in the poem Letter Home: I sit watching though I pretend not to noticethe dark maids ambling by with their white charges. Do I deceive anyone? Were they to see my hands, brown as your dear face, theyd know Im not quite what I pretend to be. I walk these streets a white woman, or so I think, until I catch the eyes of some stranger upon me, and I must lower mine, a negress again. There are enough things here to remind me who I am. For a preview of her upcoming reading, view the  clip below recorded at Tretheweys April 12th recitation at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago, courtesy of Poets Writers magazine and the Dark Room Collective.

Assassination Attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt

Assassination Attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt Statistically, being the president of the United States is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, since four have been assassinated (Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy). In addition to the presidents that have actually been killed while in office, there have been a myriad of unsuccessful attempts to kill U.S. presidents. One of these happened on February 15, 1933, when  Giuseppe Zangara tried to kill President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami, Florida. The Assassination Attempt On February 15, 1933, just over two  weeks before Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as President of the United States, FDR arrived at the Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida around 9 p.m. to give a speech from the back seat of his light-blue Buick. Around 9:35 p.m., FDR finished his speech and had begun talking to some supporters who had gathered around his car when when five shots rang out. Giuseppe Joe Zangara, an Italian immigrant and unemployed bricklayer, had emptied his .32 caliber pistol at FDR. Shooting from about 25 feet away, Zangara was close enough kill FDR. However, since Zangara was only 51, he couldnt see FDR without climbing up on a wobbly chair in order to see over the crowd. Also, a woman named Lillian Cross, who stood near Zangara in the crowd, claimed to have hit Zangaras hand during the shooting. Whether it was because of bad aim, the wobbly chair, or Mrs. Crosss intervention, all five bullets missed FDR. The bullets, however, did hit bystanders. Four received minor injuries, while Chicagos Mayor Anton Cermak was mortally hit in the stomach. FDR Appears Brave During the whole ordeal, FDR appeared calm, brave, and decisive. While FDRs driver wanted to immediately rush the president-elect to safety, FDR ordered the car to stop and pick up the wounded. On their way to the hospital, FDR cradled Cermaks head on his shoulder, offering calming and comforting words which doctors later reported kept Cermak from going into shock. FDR spent several hours at the hospital, visiting each of the wounded. He came back the following day to check on the patients again. At a time when the United States desperately needed a strong leader, the untested president-elect proved himself strong and reliable in the face of crisis. Newspapers reported on both FDRs actions and demeanor, putting faith in FDR before he even stepped into the presidential office. Why Did Zangara Do It? Joe Zangara was caught immediately and taken into custody. In an interview with officials after the shooting, Zangara stated that he wanted to kill FDR because he blamed FDR and all rich people and capitalists for his chronic stomach pain. At first, a judge sentenced Zangara to 80 years in prison after Zangara pleaded guilty, saying, I kill capitalists because they kill me, stomach like drunk man. No point living. Give me electric chair.* However,  when Cermak died of his wounds on March 6, 1933 (19 days after the shooting and two days after FDRs inauguration), Zangara was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On March 20, 1933, Zangara strode to  the electric chair  unaided and then plunked himself down. His last words were Pusha da button! *Joe Zangara as quoted in Florence King, A Date Which Should Live in Irony,  The American Spectator  February 1999: 71-72.

Consultancy project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Consultancy project - Essay Example The company still experiences problems in Saudi Arabia, most of which affect the productivity of employees. The company currently experiences problems with the HR department. Therefore, the BAE Company plans to work with the Delta HR consultancy to enable them identify the issues related with the HR department. The consultant presented in this paper is Delta HR consultancy group, consultee in BAE company systems and the consultee’s client group are Strikemaster aircraft in Saudi Arabia ( BAE Systems 2000, p. 111). In any consultancy project, consultants must know the operational and conceptual picture of their definition in consultation, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the appropriate operation models to enhance their effectiveness in consulting. This also facilitates the expansion of experience and enhances understanding the necessary process in their consultancy projects. Studies indicate that only few consultants succeed in the absence of high quality skills. Su ch skills include evaluation of the problem definition, knowing of when to listen or confront, being a good relation builder, and recognition of excessive dependency or understanding dynamics of resistance. Such skills enhance the competency of a consultant (Biech 2005, p. 20). Objectives of the project entail the investigation of the problems facing BAE, the proposal of the process involved to undertake a consultancy project, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the consultancy project with regard to BAE. Process of Undertaking a Consultancy Project The process of undertaking a consultation project involves six steps. The steps apply to both long-term and short-term consultation. These include pre-entry, entry, information gathering, solution searching, evaluation and termination (The Consultancy Process, 1990). The steps are in correspondence to the research methods undertaken and data acquired through qualitative and quantitative methods. All information in this paper originates from questionnaires and interviews where the consultant seeks to get first hand information that forms the basis to the consultancy project. Step 1: Pre-entry Pre-entry step underscores significance of the consultants in their regular engagement in self-assessment. This ensures that consultants remain in their rightful positions situations arising. The consultant may be misperceived as possessing unusual knowledge, insights and skills in defining and solving problems for another person. The pre-entry step therefore focuses on the consultant, and in this case, Delta HR consultancy. This step forms the preliminary stage where the consultant establishes a conceptual framework. This also enables the consultant assesses himself to articulate to others and to self of his/her true capabilities in providing them with the services they require. Failure of going through this step leads to possible underestimation or overestimation of the potential of the consultant to be useful. The assessmen t prevents the consultant from considering most problems and needs of the consultee as fitting to the favourite interventions and paradigms of the consultant for helping. The reflective and self-assessment involved in this stage enable the consultant understand the beliefs and values to be able to understand how organizations solve their problems. The Delta Consultancy must

Cellular Phone Usage While Operating Motor Vehicle Essay - 1

Cellular Phone Usage While Operating Motor Vehicle - Essay Example as per a study published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (Utter, 2001 cited by Tseng, Nguyen, Liebowitz, & Agresti, 2005). The use of cellular phones while driving has been established as the major cause of driver inattention. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis found that use of cell phones while driving caused 330,000 moderate to severe injuries and approximately 2,600 deaths each year (Sundeen, 2003 cited by Tseng et al., 2005). At the same time, according to Brookhuis, de Vries, & de Waard (1991), while talking on the cell phone drivers demonstrated decreased lane deviations (cited by Horrey & Wickens, 2004). Despite these inconsistencies, a total ban of cellular phone usage while operating a motor vehicle may drastically reduce road accidents. Driver distraction can be classified into two types (internal distraction and external stimuli) and four categories – visual, cognitive, auditory and biomechanical distraction. Of these, auditory distraction is associated with cell phone usage (Tseng et al., 2005). This is more likely in case of hand-held phones but other studies demonstrate that primary cause of inattention is cognitive, which implies that even hands-free phones are equally dangerous (Horrey & Wickens). Several studies have been conducted and on an average, it has been found that drivers talking on the mobile phones while driving have higher risks in car accidents compared to non-mobile phone users (Laberge-Nadeau et al., 2003; Wilson et al., 2003; Redelmeier and Tibshirani, 1997; Strayer and Drews, 2004 cited Tseng et al.). Use of mobile phones while driving increases the risk of collisions by four times, which is also confirmed by Redelmeier and Tibshirani (1997). In addition, frequent mobile phone users had relatively higher risk than rare-users. Being engaged on the cell phone while driving, is definitely more risky than listening to the radio or talking to other passengers while driving. Horrey & Wickens,