Ikea’s Organizational Behavior

INTRO: IKEA is known for its strong organizational values, which are based on Swedish norms and in particular the opinions and values of the founder himself. It is not unusual to see IKEA employees following the norms and values even outside the working hours, but how important is OB really for IKEA? IKEA’S BRIEF HISTORY 1940-1950 A Swedish 17-year-old man named Ingvar Kampard founded Ikea in 1943. It all began with the Ikea catalogue that was sent from house to house, which is still known today as Ikeas signature. In 1948 the range of IKEA products extended to furniture and by 1958 the first store is opened. 960-1970 By the end of the seventies, Ikea manages to not only open stores all over Europe, but in Canada and Australia as well. 1980s The large cash flow start coming in once Ikea enters the US in1985. By this time IKEA has 10,000 co-workers and 60 stores. Ingvar Kampard retires from Group Management and becomes an advisor to the parent company INGKA Holding B. V. 1990s In 90s IKEA expands in Eastern Europe as well as China. In 1990 the first environmental policy and social responsibility policy is introduced in IKEA.In 1997 IKEA launches Children`s furniture and becomes a retailer with offers to the entire family. By 1999 IKEA group grows to 50,000 co-workers and has 158 stores in 29 countries. 2000s In the year 2000 IKEA arrives to Moscow, Russia and same year Code of Conduct is introduced, called IKEA WAY. Following years IKEA is actively participates in world donating events and promotion of social responsibility. IKEA AT A GLANCE 287 IKEA GROUP STORES WORLDWITE In 2011 IKEA Group opened 7 new stores in 7 countries. As of 31. 08. 2011 it had 287 stores in 26 countries 13 0888 3 144 49 Top 5 purchasing countries: 1. China 22% 2. Poland 18% 3. Italy 8% 4. Sweden 5% 5. Germany 4% Top 5 Selling Countries: 1. Germany 15% 2. USA 11% 3. France 10% 4. Italy 7% 5. Sweden 6% CO -WORKERS PER FUNCTION * Purchasing, distribution, wholesale, range & other: 1 4,300 * Retail: 100,000 * Swedwood: 16,000 * Swedspan: 700 * Total co-workers in FY11 131. 000 TOTAL SALES: Sales increased by 6. 9% compared to 2010. Total sales amounted to EUR 24. 7 billion. SUPPLIERS IN 2011: 1,018 suppliers in 53 countriesPRODUCTS: The IKEA range consists of approximately 9,500 products. PRINTED CATALOGUES, LANGUAGES & EDITIONS: The IKEA catalogue was printed in more than 208 million copies in 30 languages and 59 editions. STORE VISITS: In 2011, the IKEA Group stores had 655 million visits. IKEA . COM: IKEA websites had 870 million visits in 2011 As for Ikeas competitors, there is Wal-Mart, Howden and Ashley Furniture. Company Employees According to Emil Svallingsson who is an employee at IKEA for 10 years, about 50% of the employees are proud of their jobs.The other half refers the individuals who do not share the exact same vision about the company, and need to be told how to do things and have a stereotypical â€Å"boss†, rather than be all a part of one team. Culture Center – Together In the hometown of IKEA, Almhult, there is a Culture Center called â€Å"Together†. It is a place for employees all over the world to attend education, meetings and to learn about the company culture. There is a lecture hall, access to product archives and documents, as well as exhibitions and interactive installations.Employees are stating that the center is a great help to keep their foundational values alive and that it makes them more motivated in the everyday work life. â€Å"Together† works as a meeting place for people working at IKEA as well as a place for developing employment skills. The main idea is to gather the IKEA culture in to one building. Since there are more and more warehouses build over the world, it is not always easy to keep the same values for everyone, and therefore the center is the beginning to keep the company culture as Ingvar first created it to be. Our heart is in Almhult and it's amazing to be a ble to have a cultural center here. † -Ingvar Kamprad â€Å"Together† is also a great example of their flat organizational structure. Hopes are that employees, by themselves, will get a deeper understanding for the culture and by that develop IKEAs future together. † Ikeas center provides different exercises to the employees that show the entire IKEA concept and how it works at its best; how all the employees’ jobs together create one big job structure, and how products are being made and the importance of raw materials.At IKEA, training is crucial to keep the social work environment functional. From the training sessions, the hope is to develop awareness, knowledge and responsibility. All employees receive this training in order to take charge of their own development. In general, IKEA wants to give the opportunities for co-workers to grow, both at an individual level, but also in their professional roles. In return, IKEA expects their co-workers to do the ir job as well as possible depending on their ability and experience, take responsibility, and be willing to develop and grow continually and to act in an open and straightforward manner.Workforce Diversity Gender The gender diversity at IKEA is probably among the best one's over the world. They have applied special workforce diversity programs in all departments, and are working for a continuing development. The program is based on â€Å"stomach feeling† and employee’s opinions in order to fill the positions in a fair way. In the warehouses, there is quite an equal diversity between genders. Right now, globally it is about 54% are women and 46% men. Even among the higher positioned jobs such as warehouse responsible, it's equally divided, 52. % measured to be women and 47. 5% men. However, when you are getting really high up in the working positions, such as the top board, there are no women. According to Hakan Sandman, the Marketing Director of IKEA France, the gende r diversity is very equal overall; but that it also depends on what department one is looking at. Human Resources department tend to be mostly women, as well as the Marketing department where Mr. Sandman is the only man. THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CO-WORKERS IN IKEAThis pie chart represents employees’ gender distribution at IKEA globally, but for example in Sweden it looks different: The age distribution in IKEA Globally: Workforce Diversity: Ethnicity Ikeas main philosophy is â€Å"The People Philosophy†: though in the past their strategy was â€Å"Swedes†, they have abandoned it in 1998 with the rise of globalization. Currently they have a lot of long-time workers from different cultures and backgrounds. IKEA sees the diversity matter as a subject for creating more challenging business atmosphere.France’s new store in Avignon has staff from 21 different nationalities. Since 1998 they have changed their recruitment base to: including everyone and not just S wedish people. Recruited staff are immediately made aware of IKEA`s cultural diversity philosophy; first day at work new staff get exercise to tell their group members something unique or different about themselves. â€Å"As a global player it is very important for IKEA to be aware of what the world looks like today, and how it will change in the future. The only common thing for all of us is that we are different.If we accept and understand this fact we can start to use this Diversity for the best of ourselves and for IKEA† (Fajtova, 2007) The corporate language of IKEA is English and in their TV commercials they feature a wide variety of different ethnicities, ages, genders and race. Holistic Responsibility: â€Å"IKEA is a leader in setting high environmental standards for its product. That means employing strict manufacturing methods and supply processes so that materials, technologies and transportation have the least amaging effects on the environment. â€Å"1  œ Rene Hausler, Partner, IKEA-San Diego Franchisee. â€Å"We consider IKEA to be setting an excellent example for other corporations to follow. IKEA is prepared to go further than just saying ‘no' to a supplier who exploits children. The company is showing a genuine interest in bringing about improvement for children by assuming a responsibility for child labour issues. â€Å"2 – Ingvar Hjartso, UNICEF Representative. It seems as if today everyone is praising Ikea, and it is not without a reason.Ikea is a remarkably socially responsible company, it sets example to so many other companies that simply are profit driven, and do nothing but destroy the eco system, or poison the environment with chemicals such as â€Å"the monstrato†. Therefore, Ikea is rewarded and recognized highly for its CSR, it has received numerous awards, including the one on April 2005, the Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA)3 Award for eliminating the usage of Polybrominated Di phenyl Ether (PBDE),4 a toxic fire suppressor used in manufacturing furniture.In addition, earlier in 2004, IKEA had received the BUPA Healthy Communities award for Excellence,5 an award funded by the Ministry of Health, UK. The company pays a great deal of attention to different problems in the society and the environment; this did not begin recently, for more than twenty years Ikea has been environmentally conscientious. It began in 1989 when the then president of Ikea said that the â€Å"Environment is not just a new fashion, it will not fade away, it is the new reality and we have to adapt to it. And so, in 1990 in association with Karl-Henrik Robert, was initiated The Natural Step (TNS) environmental program in IKEA. And so throughout the years, one by one it began tackling different environmental issues; waste management were the first thing that Ikea took seriously, and so each IKEA store started having an â€Å"environmental coordinator† who worked towards waste recy cling and energy conservation, and also trained employees on environmental aspects. Since 1999, IKEA has works actively to reduce waste in manufacturing. Where possible, waste from one manufacturing process was to be used in the production of other items.And it did not end there; most IKEA stores provided collection points for customers to return waste. In the recent years, Ikea has been trying hard to be environmentally friendly, and it began rewarding the same behavior in its employees. It varies throughout the Ikea’s in different countries; IKEA Poland stores provide facilities for bikes, maps of bike paths and tools to repair customer bikes, IKEA Denmark lends out bicycles equipped with trailers at its stores, IKEA UK stores offer interest free loans and a 15 percent rebate to co-workers travelling to work by public transport.And in May 2007, IKEA Canada launched a Hybrid Parking Program, rewarding customers driving a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, with a premium parking s pot. Throughout the years, Ikea’s interest rose in a better future for our children through a better environment rose; when it came to energy consumption, the company’s data showed that IKEA it consumed a huge amount of energy for electricity, but, Ikea did not simply decide to switch off the lights on earth day. The company went a step further; it tried to consciously reduce its energy consumption. Therefore, in 2003 IKEA launched a ‘Kill-a-Watt-Energy Saving Competition. The competition was open to all IKEA stores across the world and it aimed to achieve reduction in energy consumption and also to create awareness among employees regarding electricity costs. By the end of the competition, IKEA had saved energy equivalent to providing electricity to 2,000 households, or two IKEA stores for a year. From waste to energy, Ikea then focused on forestry; around 75% of the raw materials used for Ikea’s furniture, catalogs and packaging came from timber. Hence, conservation of forests was an important environmental issue. IKEA worked with groups such as Greenpeace to formulate policies for sustainable forestry.IKEA was also a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As a result of consultations with these organizations, IKEA banned the usage of timber from intact natural forests. Many companies in industries, such as the diamond industry, choose to be ignorant; companies ignore or lack interest in where their diamonds come from, but often the blood diamonds that they purchase give life to more slavery. And even though there are a lot of different forms of slavery throughout the world, Ikea is one of the companies that does not tolerate it and even though child labor oes exist in countries where IKEA products are manufactured, IKEA does not accept child labor at its suppliers or their sub-contractors, and works actively to prevent it. The company has a special code of conduct called The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor, and monitor ing of compliance with The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor is done by IKEA trading service offices and with unannounced visits by KPMG to suppliers and sub-contractors in South Asia. As listen above, we can see that throughout the years Ikea has demonstrated over and over again that its responsibility goes beyond home furnishing.It undertook several projects for community development and a lot of its projects were centered on children, such as the one in August 2000, IKEA initiated the Child Rights Program in India in association with UNICEF. The project started in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the aim of the project was to prevent child labor in ‘the carpet belt' of UP, by addressing root causes such as poverty, illiteracy and ill health. The company’s CSR extended from the community and environment, to the suppliers. Ikea did not choose to be ignorant about where their suppliers got their goods.So it launched ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furn ishing Products (IWAY)' in September 2000, this way all of Ikea’s 2,000 suppliers spread across 55 countries, had the ‘code of conduct' to adhere to. Student Support Programs: Ikea helps students of all ages throughout the world; it has aligned with is Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success (ESSS is designed to assist children with language, social and emotional development); an early reading readiness program that IKEA supports through financial and in-kind product donations.In addition, since early 2001, the IKEA Group supports one-year scholarships for students from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia to study forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden. The purpose of the scholarships is to support competence building in sustainable forestry in countries that are important wood sources for IKEA, and to help future forestry professionals in those countries develop relationships with each other.And it doesn’t stop there; due to the fact that many IKEA products are made with cotton, they partnered with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Ikea over and over again displays its care for the society and the environment, it is because the company is not simply profit driven, it has a vision; and the vision is â€Å"to create a better everyday life for the many people. This includes doing what we can to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earth’s resources, and each other†. Internal Communication: Communication & EqualityThe CEO of the company has a specific culture that has been passed on since Ikea was founded, and this culture is communicated to all of the employees. She states that when she hires a â€Å"co-worker,† as IKEA terms employees, her plan is to help the person through his or her slumps. One of her greatest rewards is to see a worker she has worked with excel, and she believes all super visors and managers should serve as mentors. Every manager is also a team member, â€Å"I’m responsible but not the center of the universe. There is always someone who knows more than you do.And there are always new things that you can learn, which I think is the essence of why I work with IKEA. † Par Sundqvist Store distribution manager Sweden In Ikea a manager is not â€Å"the boss† or the one who commands and rules his department. Due to the low power distance in Sweden, Ikea was founded on the basis that everyone is equal. And based on the chart below of Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, one can see that because of the relatively low power distance in the U. S. , it was quite easy to communicate this approach to all the â€Å"co-workers† in Ikea North America. Exhibit 1.A Cultural Dimensions Theory Exhibit 2. A Cultural Dimensions Theory In Exhibit 1. A, one can see the power distance in both Sweden and the United States, though ther e may seem like there is a difference, once it is compared with Exhibit 2. A one can see that compared to countries such as China who have a high power distance, on average, the power distance is relatively the same in both the U. S and Sweden. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ikea’s Scandinavian way of doing business with the absence of the traditional â€Å"boss† was understood and quickly absorbed by Ikea North America.Equality within the company is emphasized and communicated to all of Ikea’s stakeholders; and though according to â€Å"glassdoor† Ikea employees give the company’s ability to communicate an average 3. 5 rating, they give serious leadership a poor rating of 3. 1 because according to the employees â€Å"there is a little too much equality†, employees want to be guided and told what to do a little more. It seems that not all employees are ready to be treated equality with their bosses and be all a part of one team. Based o n the latest updates on glassdoor, the company rating is a 3. ; the employees say it is â€Å"ok†. This company rating is based on eight components; career opportunities, communication, compensation & benefits, employee morale, recognition and feedback, senior leadership, work/life balance, fairness & respect. The lowest scores of 3. 1 were in career opportunities and in senior leadership. Two of the â€Å"Top Ten Reasons Why Good Employees Quit† are listed in the components that make up glassdoor’s company rating; employees have given to â€Å"Recognition and feedback† a score of 3. , and when it came to rating the â€Å"work/life balance†, IKEA employees gave the highest rating to it. Employees believe that better than anything else the company takes good care of their employee’s need of the work/life balance. Even though the rating seems to be solely satisfactory, it doesn’t truly represent the reality. Based on the rating one will assume that the company’s job demand is at a mediocre level, however, IKEA jobs are actually highly demanded; in Florida USA, IKEA had over 10 000 applicants for only 450 job.And in Sweden, Ikea ranks on the top 5 companies that university graduates want to work for. In addition, Ikea was on the â€Å"Top 200 World's Most Reputable Companies† (#2), Forbes, in 2009 and on the same year it was on the list of â€Å"Best Places to Work in Orange County† (Large companies), Best Companies Group, 2009. Pay and Benefits According to glassdoor. com Ikea employee’s rating of Compensation ; benefits is a mediocre 3. 4, however it does not portray the full picture. Where some believe that Ikea does a mediocre job, others are enjoying the vast benefits that Ikea provides them.Last fall Working Mother magazine named IKEA North America one of the 100 best companies for working mothers and singled out Spiers-Lopez for its Family Champion Award. The award was given for I kea great paid maternity leave and flexible work schedules. In addition, Ikea provides a number of benefits that are not usually offered to retail workers in the U. S. such as â€Å"full medical and dental insurance for those who work as little as 20 hours a week, including coverage for domestic partners and children; tuition assistance; and a 401(k) matching plan†.In addition, they receive long breaks, free uniform and the company has a food plan, it is known as the â€Å"$3 meals†. As for the facilities, there are lounges, relaxation rooms and showers. Ikea has all sorts of benefits from end of the year gift, to long service awards to sick pay and first day of school leave. Lastly, Ikea unlike most companies provides even part time workers with benefit packages. Bonuses in the company may vary, but on average the bonus of a sales associate is $785, and the team leader receives $1,002.However no all positions receive such high bonuses, when it comes to Ikea cashiers, they receive $50, and customer service associates receive $100. And all full time employees receive a 10% discount; it increases to 15% after 7 years of work. The employee discount comes hand in hand with home delivery and assembly of the furniture, always free of charge. All employees in Ikea receive above the minimum wage rate; most are paid by hour except a few who receive a fixed salary; the team leaders receives $39,908 and the department supervisor $34,712.Sales associates hourly pay is $10. 39, Ikea cashier’s is $9. 65/hour, customer serve associates receive $9. 38/hour, floor associates receive $10. 00/hour, Safety ; Loss prevention agent’s pay is $12. 69/hour and the pay of a co-worker is $13. 15/hr. On average the pay is around $12 per hour, with exception the interior designer who receives $16. 56 per hour. As for pension, at the moment, IKEA is building a new global pension package where they want to construct a global second-pillar retirement benefit struc ture. It is planned to be a fixed interest rate of 3. % on contributions. In 2000, IKEA introduced a multi-fund pension arrangement for their employees, which also can be used as a private retirement fund if they leave. The arrangement also offers workers who moves between countries a choice of asset mixes in which they can invest contributions. Co-workers at IKEA are able to transfer money between funds or split contributions between different plans, depending on their age and risk taking profile. It can also be mentioned that even if you choose to leave your job at IKEA, you may remain in the pension agreement. Everyone should have the same amount† – Ingvar Kamprad Ingvar also wishes to start a bonus program for employees over the world, but it is not yet defines how much money we are talking about. IKEA has 131 000 employees so the amount will easily reach very high numbers. So far, there are only 3 principles decided around the future wish; Everyone gets same amount , everyone can take part and its related to Inka holdings financial results. (Inka holdings is IKEA’s Dutch holding company) Improvements and Changes in 2011:The workforce turnover has decreased to 22% in 2011, and 81% of employees now come back from maternity leave: 100% at management level and 78% of hourly-paid workers. Thirdly, 2011 employee satisfaction survey came up with results that employees` favorability to rewards and benefits boosted by 5% in IKEA. Fourthly, IKEA launched family-friendly benefits such as a staff support program and childcare vouchers, as well as an loan with no interest in order to cover costs a month after birth. IKEA: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IKEA uses mostly 3 different types of training: * Induction training (35%) Mentoring (40%) * Coaching (25%) 85% of training is on-the-job training and only 15% off-the-job training. Differences between IKEA houses per region in relation to Educational background of co-workers IKEA`s workforce has reached al ready 131,000 employees and these people are an epicenter of IKEA values. Value is a core word for company`s strategy and co-workers` involvement in it. IKEA is doubling their sales every five years; however it does not doubling their staff. One of its keys to such a success lies in training and development programs constantly offered to the employees.Each employee is offered 40-hour training every year in average. Since the very beginning employees` development was perceived as a non-stop process in IKEA. The first period for all newcomers is training in IKEA’s culture. It usually implicates learning about the company’s history by watching the educational videos. Many co-workers start they way in IKEA as part-time co-workers and shift progressively to full-time, seniors, deputies etc. Along their career path they are getting cultural training and regularly acquire IKEA’s values.The major part of training is acquiring the core aptitudes and skills such as teamwo rk, efficiency, mobility, leadership, that were considered necessary for a successful career at IKEA. Networking in IKEA takes important role in training and development. When new employee joins the â€Å"family† he/she gets immediate access to a local network. Curt Temin, who works globally with learning and development within IKEA Group, regards â€Å"networking as the ultimate tool for professional development†. One of the very first things new employee learns is an ancient Swedish word â€Å"fika† (coffee break).In IKEA they understand that even informal meetings and communication between people lead to knowledge transfer and this is where development starts. â€Å"People’s careers are only as limited as they want them to be at IKEA,† concludes Jeff Wilson, learning and development manager for IKEA US. 90% of all positions inside IKEA globally are filled inside, and 35% of those jobs are managing positions. To keep such a high data company has launched a personal development program called â€Å"PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE†, which has 3 components and takes place ones a year.This program is open to employees who already became aware with companies values, understand their position within the company and ready for self-development. At the first step staff is invited to investigate strengths, weaknesses, self-awareness and career pathways. The second step includes meeting with manager to discuss previous conclusions, perform a skills gap examination and choose position to develop toward desired path. There are online career centers available at this stage to provide all necessary reference materials to complete this stage. Last third step in the program leads to setting goals by employee and making an action plan.IKEA has created environment for growth founded on belief that good people can be even better. In the year 2002 the â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† program was born from this idea. The Skills Escalator is compound of 4 main steps. When employee starts job as a trainee comes the first step. The second comes when employee actually step into planned responsibility. The third step is called â€Å"senior† because at this stage staff becomes leading with tasks of coaching others in their specific work. When the employee has become a mentor and expert it means the last fourth step of program has been reached.This program was created due to willingness of the company to employ people not solely for one role but to take a leading position in long-term. The core idea lies in progress, in order to learn and then train others. In IKEA nobody is a trainee longer than one year. The â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† always gives opportunity for staff to get higher skills level. Employees are progressing while working, they perform work and see which skill are necessary and how attain them during the working process and receiving feedback Employees are confronted with a coach, who is not telling exactly what to do, but help to ind an answer by giving few leading questions. Therefore employees receive help and support, but in such a way they describe what they need to know rather told in advanced. It gives employees control over own development. This relates to on-the-job training, which is most used training process in IKEA. In fall 2011 IKEA launched mentoring initiative â€Å"PARTNERS FOR GROWTH† which was directed by famous mentoring consultant Dr. Lois Zachary of Leadership Development Services. This program was set up to help co-workers establish vital relationships to maintain them in piloting IKEA and in pursuing their own personal development.This program targets only to the IKEA`s key management. Jeff Wilson, Leaning & Development Manager in US explains that â€Å"Partners for Growth† will have a crucial influence on IKEA, he believes, that among many other programs this one is one of the most important. As IKEA has big expansion plans for next 10 years this program will lie in the very heart of the process. A lot of efforts will be given to co-workers` development programs such this one, due to the need of greater capability for people to take superior responsibilities in US and Canada.Pernille Lopez, President of IKEA NA admits that Zachary`s knowledge helped to line up a triumphant monitoring strategy with his own. Lopez confirms, that IKEA`s main goal is to help co-workers to do their job better by developing and empowering staff. In IKEA they take extra steps in mentoring program. IKEA base mentoring program on growth of both mentee and mentor holding expectation of creating better employees by making them a partners. Innate result of this program turns IKEA`s mentees to future mentors. Major mentor to IKEA`s mentoring support groups, Dr.Zachary praises company`s commitment to development processes and finds those innovative and hopes to see mentoring process as a natural aspect of the IKEA`s culture in the next few years. â€Å"P ARTNERS FOR GROWTH† soothes the progress of individual learning, encourages professional and personal development, and has 4 strategic goals: * Develop Leaders from top to bottom – Support career development across the board – Develop and support diversity through IKEA organization – Strengthen IKEA culture Interest of employees in IKEA for more internal training | Percentage| Yes| 79%| No| 4%| Don`t know| 16%| Totals| 100%|PASSIONATE CAREER IN IKEA In IKEA at entry level all employees are hired externally, then those employees are making their way up through promotions. Only 10% of employees on higher levels are hired externally mostly because of lack of eligible candidates. Career planning in any organization is based on how the organization may help and helps its employees in planning their careers. IKEA behave as a supportive partner, in managing its employees careers, for example, by lowering the work load while employee is taking any educational prog ram, by giving time off to study, or by paying a part of the tuition fee.Therefore, career planning may include anything from policies on hiring and promotions and collecting data about personal preferences to Educational Assistance Programs and flexible working hours. Educational Assistance Program gives employees monetary benefits for taking certain training or courses. To be eligible for those benefits the employee must pass the course with the mark of 75% or higher. Those benefits depend on the course taken and on the level at which the employee is. Nonetheless, IKEA offers also its own training and development program.Whereas the company and the level of employment require certain training programs, others are optional. IKEA says that career planning mostly depends on their employees if they want to be pro-active rather than reactive, if they are willing to take more responsibility and to learn more, positions are always posted in the store and every employee may apply upon mee ting certain requirements and having good performance appraisals. IKEA as being in retail industry hires many people on a part time basis, therefore it may offer what is called flexible working hours.This primarily means that employees have a choice what day to work and what hours to work, since they are not required to work 40 hours a week. Flex work enables co-workers to balance home and work careers as well as to spend more time on personal development. Nonetheless, flex work program depends on where the co-worker is working, for instance, in some departments, such as IKEA Trading, co-workers are required to work 8 hours a day but it does not have to be in straight time as long as they have eight hours a day worked.Whereas, in other departments it means that co-worker may choose which days to take off and which days to work. Promotions within IKEA may be vertical or lateral. The policy states that in order to be eligible for promotion for a position lower than management position , the candidate must work with the company at least six months, and to be eligible for promotion for management position the candidate must work at least three years. IKEA provides good program for those employees that would like to, and are eligible for, relocation to different country.Interested co-worker needs to meet certain requirements and be the best candidate for that position. In case of not having the language knowledge IKEA provides language training therefore upon arriving in the new workplace the promoted candidate can communicate with others. This tactic ensures that all employees meeting the requirements may be chosen and the language is not a barrier. IKEA, as a part of career planning of its employees, also does succession planning in conjunction with management. It means that IKEA has charts with listed higher positions, employees on that positions, and relationships between those positions.In case of any vacancies the chart lists prospective successors that may st ep up into that position. IKEA in developing such charts takes into consideration performance appraisals, experience, personal characteristics, and personal preferences of the candidate. As mentioned earlier IKEA does it in conjunction with managers, it means each candidate's qualifications are confirmed by the manager and that manager decides whether the candidate is ready to be promoted or not. Feelings of employees in relation to competences utilized in the right way within the company TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: EMPLOYEESIKEA always tends to give greater value to its people by calling them co-workers, in such a way highlighting the importance of workforce in this company. The most important values for communication strategy in IKEA are respect, cost consciousness, togetherness and simplicity. During the hiring process IKEA is willing to take people who are willing to growth both professionally and individually, it is always stressed and emphasized during the recruitment. IKEA wishes to create sort of a partnership with its co-workers, it is ready to listen to their ambitions and particularly interested in hiring people who share IKEA`s values.In IKEA responsibility is given to co-workers and strategy of empowerment is applied. Therefore co-workers in IKEA are not afraid of making mistakes and are encouraged to innovative way of thinking. Worst enemy or evolution in IKEA is fear of mistakes. One of the factors IKEA using to make their employees feel better at the work place is absolute avoidance of status symbols. This system allows people to feel equal. The inspiration comes from the top management, and particularly from Ingvar Kampard who brings a great encouragement through his own life.For instance, he always uses public transport instead of taxis or car whenever it is possible. This again sets a good example for cost-consciousness from the highest level on, shows that managers do not expect things from their co-workers that they aren’t willing to do themselves. For Christmas 2006 IKEA has given 9000 bicycles to its employees with a purpose of cutting down the pollution and stick to idea of togetherness and cost-consciousness, which comes from top management. The staff is getting 15% off travel tickets on public transport to sustain same goals.Another example of how IKEA takes care of its employees is training and learning which not necessarily be important for the jobs performed. In 2002 Scottish IKEA introduced IT training for co-workers even thou most of those employees were not using computers in their jobs. IKEA tries to support co-workers, increase self-awareness and encourage them through continuous motivation and incentives. As mentioned before, preference during the recruitment process is given to people who are ready to grow both professionally and personally in IKEA.Regarding the motivating theories, when we begin using McGregor’s theory of X and Y, it can be safely stated that IKEA recognizes its employees as theory Y. IKEA consequently supplies the employees with benefits and incentives in order to give the opportunity for the workforce to grow themselves and their careers. Success of IKEA does not lie in cheap prices, but particularly in treatment of so-called co-workers and direct outcome of it. IKEA has two programs directed towards older employees: The duration of notice of termination of employment is increased by one month per year of employment for employees who are 40 years of age or older.The maximum raise is six months and is in addition to the length of notice according to the law. After ten years of work in IKEA, employees going on pension are allowed to a period of six months of reduced working time with full payment before the retirement. This helps to ease the transition from work to retirement by letting leisure to gradually take the place of work. Differences between IKEA per region in relation to Perceived Stress on the workplace Differences between IKEA per region in relation to how loyal employees feel towards the companyDifferences between IKEA per region in relation if they see themselves working in the company in the next 5 years TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: CUSTOMERS * 1 million customers visit IKEA every day * The average customer makes 3. 5 store visits per year * The average age of a customer is 42 * 60 per cent of them are female * 150 million meatballs a year are served in IKEA restaurants * 145 million catalogues are printed in 48 editions and 25 languages * IKEA staff conduct 50000 yearly â€Å"home visits† where they visit customers' homes (in exchange for an IKEA credit voucher) to find out what frustrates customers about IKEA products.All business organizations need to make sure that their customers are satisfied with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organization. IKEA is acting according to the A. R. T. of great service, to carry out a good customer service: Approachable- a n organization must create an open and friendly environment that will influence customers to come in with self-assurance so that their matter can be dealt with. Responsive -all staff should take responsibility of their action. Customer service should be flexible and provide precise and honest information, at all times.Timely – done accurately and efficiently at all time. Many businesses record customer complaints so that, they can review the matter, and to improve its customer service. THE WORK WELL PROGRAM HEALTHY PEOPLE= HEALTHY ORGANIZATION Retention of senior co-workers in IKEA in ways of: * twice a month offered body massage; * specialized course in healthy lifestyle containing a personal diet program, and guidance on losing (or gaining) weight; * help to stop smoking, handle stress or manage situations of conflict; * providing discount on fees to fitness centers; providing comprehensive health insurance coverage providing medical treatment and rehabilitation therapy in private clinics to encourage quick recovery and return to the workplace after illness; * a local project promoting good working attitude through colleague-to-colleague guidance in standing, sitting and lifting correctly Discrimination in IKEA USA Ikea has their way of conduct called the IWAY standing for ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products’. It defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA requires from its suppliers. Moreover the IWAY guides the work of employees.It covers working conditions, the prevention of child labor, the environment, responsible forestry management and more. Suppliers are responsible for communicating the content of the IKEA code of conduct to co-workers and sub-contractors and ensuring that all required measures are implemented at their own operations. For example, talking about discrimination the IWAY mentions: ‘The IKEA supplier shall not discriminate with regards to workers based on race, religion, beliefs, gender, marital or maternal status, age, political affiliation, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or any other basis. Discrimination is therefore forbidden not only concerning the race but also the gender, religion, beliefs, marital or maternal status etc. However in April 2011, complaints of racial discrimination were present in Virginia, more precisely in the city of Danville. Six African American employees have filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that black workers at Swedwood's (an industrial group within the IKEA Group of companies) U. S. actory are assigned to the lowest-paying departments and to the least desirable third shift which means from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. One of the women, Jackie Maubin, mentioned that white people were more likely to receive more money than black people. Swedwood found solutions to face those issues by showing those complaints through mediation and Ikea had offered Maubin 1000 dollars. The company Ikea is trying to eliminate discrimination by hiring based on workers individual skills and ability to do the job.CONCLUSION: As shown thoroughly throughout this report, in both theory and practice, OB is IKEA’s top priority; the company pays a great deal of attention and energy to the company’s organizational behavior. It is part of Ikeas foundation, which results in great success. Though of course, whether OB is IKEA’s number one, or number two priority, it varies depending on factors such as the country in which that particular IKEA is located, as well as the culture in which it operates in.Though the origin of the Swedish IKEA has OB as a number one priority, it slightly varies depending on the location of each IKEA store or warehouse, that is due to the fact that cultures and norm and ways of doing business vary all over the world, and even though IKEA does its best to keep OB its number one priority, it is not the number one prior ity in every single IKEA all over the world. There is still room for improvement though in comparison to other companies, IKEA certainly never neglects the important of OB, but whether it is the number one or number three priority, that varies all over the world.Appendix: Interview With Emil Svallingsson, Warehouse Employee at IKEA Sweden for 10 Years According to you, how are employees being treated at the IKEA warehouse? In an equal way? In general, all employees are treated well, even though some bad things has shown during my 10 years at IKEA. If you are complaining, you are risking to not get a promotion. People were always quitting and new were starting, mostly because of annoying costumers and due to a too small number of employees. IKEA is constantly trying to cut down on their staff in order to have the consumers doing as much as possible.During a very long time, no new people were hired at my department. Additionally, I have to say that there always have been a good diver sity between men/women, religion and age. It's a good mix! Are employees proud about their jobs? †No, it's about 50/50 I would say. 50% thinks IKEA is amazing and a wonderful place to work. We call those certain people the â€Å"IKEAns†, like Indiens. The other 50% are mostly working there because of a lack of other things to do. †Is IKEA a good environment for new initiatives? You always have to push yourself forward and be initiative if you want something to happen with your carrier. It is almost expected from the employees to do more than it says in their contract if they want to achieve higher positions. †Are employees actively involved to develop IKEA, or are they according to you, in need of being â€Å"pushed† forward in order to develop? †Again, that's 50/50. The ones who believes in the IKEA concept (the IKEA`ns) loves to be a part of the IKEA family and they do not have to be pushed. The rest of us might need a clear goal to be motivat ed.I would have liked to just have a small percentage of the extra money I earned if my selling went extra well for example. They don't have systems like that. Time to time, they did have a small competition or party for the employees though. That was fun. Interview with the French marketing director Hakan Sandman How are decisions in general being taken at IKEA? Ikea is very democratic in general, even though it's different between different countries. It differs depending on a country's general values and how the people are looking at the word Trust. It is easy to say, Yes†- we trust our employees! but not as easy to live. I would say that IKEA Sweden trust their employees most of all countries, but in comparison to other companies in France, we are very good at trusting and giving away responsibilities. How are the people at IKEA helping each other in order to move forward as a group? At IKEA, it is important that it's easy for our employees to understand and live our value s and beliefs. In the retail department, there are so many people who comes and goes, so it is important that the new ones are able to learn quickly and that the old ones are willing to teach.One of our most important slogans is: â€Å"Lead by Example† which basically means that you have to live as you learn. When the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, where in his forties, he was driving around in a Porsche, drinking champagne with beautiful women and he was living a very different life from today. He later on realized the importance of guiding people by being the example himself, and started to behave in a more appropriate way for IKEA. So what is â€Å"appropriate† for IKEA? It is important for anyone who works at IKEA to be a good example when it comes to money. You have to live as you learn and you are not opposed to waist them.An example of this is when a person at IKEA Russia once where spending a bit too much, which lead to that the company lost 50 million euro. Ingvar h imself then went to the person who was responsible for the act, but instead of yelling at him for what he did, he started to lecture about good behavior and the norms of IKEA. In this case, Ingvar saw that it wasn’t the money that were important in the situation, but the symbolic act to waist 50 millions. It was just not good for IKEAs reputation. At the same time he managed to â€Å"Lead by Example† by being a really good and understanding leader. Is it really that equal at IKEA?IKEA is a flat organization, which means it is not hierarchic. Our decisions may take longer time, but when letting everyone decide, people all over the organization will truly believe in the decision and work more efficient to get through with the new idea. At IKEA, it is important to feel the â€Å"We- Spirit†. Since we are doing things together, that leads to more personal energy and everyone will be more effective. Do you prefer it like that or the other way around? Sometimes, it ma y be hard to take a decision within the overall budget for example, cause we don’t really have anyone who Really decides.Everyone might want different things and that can require more time and energy than it would have done in a hierarchical organization. But in the end, I really prefer the flat type of organization. How to you get a flat organization to be effective? It's all about a balance between time efficiency and democracy. In the warehouses, there is somewhat a hierarchy, but as flat as possible. It wouldn't work otherwise. Ingvar himself is very concerned about his employees though and likes to spend time in warehouses in order to take in the opinions of people working there. He wants them to also have power.But is it really that equal between men and women? Every department sets its own goals every year. The goals are based on feeling form the employees but also on measured facts. In the very top, there are more men than women. A lot of women are working in HR depar tment and marketing. I'm the only man at the marketing department! It is really well divided between warehouse bosses though, I would say very close to 50/50 for men and women. References: http://geert-hofstede. com/sweden. html http://www. glassdoor. com/Salary/IKEA-Salaries-E3957. htm http://www. glassdoor. com/Bonuses/IKEA-Bonuses-E3957. tm http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/our_responsibility/national_community_involvment/index. html http://www. gulftalent. com/home/Training-and-Development-Manager-IKEA-jobs http://www. treehugger. com/bikes/ikea-thanks-usa-staff-with-12400-free-bicycles. html http://www. icmrindia. org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organ ization%20Behavior/HROB066. htm http://www. ajc. com/hotjobs/content/hotjobs/careercenter/articles/2007/12/04/1202_divikea. html http://goliath. ecnext. com/coms2/gi_0199-15937449/Ikea-sales-rise-brings-new. html http://theroast. com. au/story/262 ttp://www. workforce. com/article/20040730/NEWS02/3073099 82# http://www. ikea. com/ms/sv_SE/about_ikea/facts_and_figures/index. html https://home. workforce. com/clickshare/authenticateUserSubscription. do? http://www. glassdoor. com/Reviews/IKEA-Reviews-E3957. htm#Awards http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/the_ikea_story/working_at_ikea/co_worker_stories_par. html http://www. morten-rask. dk/2007c. pdf http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/IKEA http://publicculture. org/articles/view/19/3/on-the-ikeaization-of-france/ http://consumerist. com/2007/07/8-ikea-shopping-tips-from-a-former-employee. tml http://www. vault. com/survey/employee/IKEA3_2146. html http://www. ehmac. ca/everything-else-eh/51467-ikea-employee-discount. html http://forums. moneysavingexpert. com/showthread. php? t=145248 http://forums. redflagdeals. com/ikea-employee-discount-735501/ http://curbed. com/archives/2011/05/19/ikea-responds-to-charges-of-discrimination-and-poor-labor-conditions. php http://mangans. blogspot. com/2011/04/ikea-workers-complain-of-discrimination. html htt p://www. ituc-csi. org/ituc-condemns-ikea-anti-union. html? lang=en http://reocities. com/TimesSquare/1848/ikea. html http://www. uthorstream. com/Presentation/aSGuest9557-133416-ikea-business-finance-ppt-powerpoint/ http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/our_responsibility/working_conditions/preventing_child_labour. html http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/the_ikea_story/people_and_the_environment/index. html http://www. icmrindia. org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Ethics/IKEA%20-%20Social%20and%20Environmental%20Responsibility%20Initiatives. htm http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/the_ikea_story/working_at_ikea/co_worker_stories_par. html http://knowledge. wharton. upenn. edu/article. cfm? articleid=959 http://www. expology. o/expose/sites/expology_se/default. asp? s=387&id=642 http://www. smp. se/nyheter/almhult/ingvar-kamprad-oppnade-nytt-center-for-ikea-kultur(2076302). gm http://www. ikea. com/ms/sv_SE/about_ikea/pdf/sustainability_05. pdf http://www. efinancialnews. com/story/200 5-01-24/ikea-builds-global-pensions-package http://www. paraplyprojektet. se/news. php? id=1655&categoryID=4 http://www. ifmab. se/Vetaom/Pdf/Tiotaggare. pdf http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/our_responsibility/iway/index. html http://www. ikea. com/ms/en_US/about_ikea/pdf/SCGlobal_IWAYSTDVers4. pdf http://www. swedwood. com/ http://www. outube. com/watch? v=Z1pfI0xI6FQ http://www. ikea. com/gb/en/catalog/categories/series/21132/ http://www. ikea. com/gb/en/catalog/products/20196303/ http://www. personneltoday. com/awards/shortlist/award-for-reward-and-benefits/ http://gupea. ub. gu. se/bitstream/2077/2370/1/gbs_thesis_2002_22. pdf http://gupea. ub. gu. se/bitstream/2077/23217/1/gupea_2077_23217_1. pdf http://lup. lub. lu. se/luur/download? func=downloadFile&recordOId=598845&fileOId=598846 http://www. scribd. com/doc/44925799/IKEA-Corporate-Culture http://www. bitc. org. uk/resources/case_studies/ikea_diversity. html http://www. cmrindia. org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Re source%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/IKEA%20Innovative%20Human%20Resource%20Management%20Practices%20and%20Work%20Culture. htm Academy of Management Executive Magazine 2003, Vol17, No1 , Interview written by Katarina Kling and Ingela Goteman: â€Å"IKEA CEO Anders Dahlvig on international growth and IKEA`s unique corporate culture and brand identity† http://www. morten-rask. dk/2007c. pdf ——————————————– [ 1 ]. 1 Barret, Richard M. , â€Å"IKEA San Diego Supports ‘Green' Movement by Developing Stricter Manufacturing and Supply Standards,†

Stress’ Impact on Student

Stress’ Impact On Student Mentality By Courtney Johnson ,October 16, 2012 It’s that time of year again. The semester’s first round of exams forces students into late night study sessions, shoving activities with friends to the side and creating more stress than students prepare for. Eventually, students stretch themselves so thin that the effectiveness of their work begins to suffer, and their own confidence in themselves starts to lack. This is anxiety’s way of silently creeping into the otherwise happy and healthy student mentality.Most students are able to manage their time and balance their workload with other responsibilities. Yet, there are some students whose lives spiral downward, and they lose the optimistic perspective to assist in effectively managing their time. College students have a high risk of developing a number of different anxiety disorders — a direct result from excess responsibilities in their life. Disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder and social anxiety disorder can lead to depression, eating disorders and a change in one’s overall health.Yet, college students tend to worry most about their future career, school and friends, classified as generalized anxiety disorder or everyday anxiety. Different people react to this differently: Some cry, some get angry, some lose sleep and others lose their sense of reality completely and become a frazzled robot mechanically going through the motions of everyday life, focusing solely on school and work. While thinking about school and life after college is important, it does not have to be a rat race.With the right perspective and methods for coping with stress, students can learn how to manage their anxiety without feeling overly burdened from school. Popular methods that most students use to aid their anxiety levels are working out and practicing yoga. Working out is a great way to release endorphins in the brain that better oneâ₠¬â„¢s perspective about themselves and their outlook in the world. Yoga is a great weapon against stress because it uses breathing and meditation help to relax the mind and muscles.For students who may have tried these approaches, yet need more encouragement, Boynton Health Service has a mental health clinic that offers a variety of counseling options for students. One of these options that students might find most helpful is the Boynton Mindfulness Group, which â€Å"helps people explore methods for handling stress through mindful awareness. † According to the Mayo Clinic, mindfulness is defined as focused, deliberate attention to a task or thought to quiet the mind and eliminate distractions.Group sessions for the Mindfulness Group at Boynton include meditation strategies and lessons on the difference between responding to stress and reacting to stress. Boynton also offers a specific group for students suffering from severe anxiety, giving them the opportunity to meet and s peak with counselors in person and emergency sessions over the phone. The key to managing stress and anxiety is acknowledging it, speaking up and asking for help. These are all helpful strategies for the myriad of stressed out students silently panicking around every corner of campus this time of year.The University of Minnesota offers a number of services to aid students in managing stress and anxiety when they encounter it. Working out and practicing yoga at home can be just as beneficial; it simply depends on the student’s case. The different pressures placed upon the shoulders of students are very prevalent this time of the semester. Doing well in school is the ultimate goal, but building a case for life post-graduation is important, too. Controlling perspective and learning how to cope with these pressures is the key to minimizing student anxiety. http://www. mndaily. com/2012/10/16/stress%E2%80%99-impact-student-mentality

Breach of Covenant That Was Present †Free Samples for Students

In the present case, the facts given in this question revealed the presence of the issue if puters Pty Ltd can successfully sue Systems Pty Ltd for the breach of covenant that was present in the employment contract of Chu with puters Pty Ltd. This issue has arisen as a result of the fact that after his retirement, a pany, Systems Pty Ltd was incorporated by Chu's wife. This pany has been taking on Business Law from the clients of puters Pty Ltd. in NSW while restrictive covenant present in the employment contract of Chu provides that he cannot join any business that petes with the pany for 2 years in NSW. Therefore, it needs to be seen in this case if puters Pty Ltd can take action against Systems Pty Ltd for the breach of this covenant. 1. It appears that in the present case, as soon as Chu took retirement from the pany, he had decided to start a business that was going to pete with puters Pty Ltd. However, in order to fulfill this objective, a pany under the name of Systems Pty Ltd had been formed by Chu's wife. She is the sole director of the pany and also holds all the issues the capital in the pany. This pany is taking the business of puters in New South Wales. The legal principle was provided in Salomon v Salomon according to which it was affirmed that after it's incorporated, generally panies considered as a separate legal entity that is distinct from its shareholders. In this way, the principle of separate legal identity of the corporation has been followed in Anglo Australian panies’ law for more than 100 years. Therefore, when a pany acts, it acts on its own and not simply as alias for the persons controlling the pany (Clarke and Clarke, 2016). In the same way, the shareholders of the corporations cannot be held labor regarding the debts of the corporation beyond the initial capital investment. Similarly, they do not have any proprietary interest in the assets of the pany. In Jones v Lipman (1962), the defendant had entered into a contract for selling his land. However, later on he changed his mind. Therefore, the defendant found the pany and he was the owner/director of this pany. The land was transferred to this corporation and the defendant declined to perform the transaction. As a result, the relief was sought by the plaintiff. In this case, the court stated that the remedy of specific performance can be granted against the contracting vendor, because it was in his authority to force the other person to convey the property in question. Therefore, specific performance was ordered against the director and the pany. The court held that the pany cannot escape or divest itself from the knowledge that has been gained by it through the director. The court stated that the pany was a creature of the controlling director or a device or a mask that the director holds before his face for the purpose of avoiding recognition by equity. However, there are certain circumstances where the court may arrive at the conclusion that the corporate veil needs to be pierced in a particular case. Therefore, while basic principle provides that under the corporation’s law, a pany is treated by the law as having its own separate legal identity. And as a result, it is considered to be distinct from its members. But as time passed by, the courts have e up with several exceptions to the application of this general rule. As a result, now under some circumstances, it is available to the court to set aside the fact that the pany enjoys a separate personality and concludes that the members of the pany can be held responsible for its actions. When such a decision is made by the court, it is said that the court had decided to lift the corporate veil (Khoury and   Yamouni, 2010). The facts of Gilford Motor pany Ltd v Horne (1933) are somewhat similar to the problem given in the present case. In this case, Mr. Horne was working as the managing director of the Gilford Motor pany. After he left the pany, he decided to incorporated his own pany. Therefore, after the entire production of his pany, he started to solicit the clients of Gilford Motor Co. on the other hand, there was a non petition covenant present in his employment contract. Therefore, the issue was if the actions of Mr. Horne's pany can be considered as a breach of the non petition covenant present in his employment contract. However, the court decided that this amounted to the breach of covenant and granting an injunction against Mr. Horne and his pany. In support of its decision, the court stated that the pany incorporated by Horne was merely a cloak that had been used by Horne for the purpose of breaching the non petition covenant. A somewhat similar decision has also been given by the court in J ones v Lipman (1962). Therefore in Gilford Motor Co v Horne, the defendant was the ex-MD of the plaintiff. However, there was a restrictive covenant present in his employment contract. In view of this clause present in the employment contract, he was refrained from joining a business in petition with his former employer. Therefore in order to avoid this covenant, the defendant formed a pany and he tried to transact his business through this pany. Therefore, at the first instance, the court held that this pany has been formed for the purpose of allowing the business to be carried on under the control of the defendant but without injuring the liability for the breach of the covenant. That was present in his employment contract. In this way, the court noted, the reality that this pany was being used by the defendant as a channel through which he was performing his business in breach of the covenant. In such a case, it can be said that the pany has been formed only as a cloak or sham due to the reason that in reality the business was being carried on by Chu. Due to the reason that the restrictive covenant prevented Chu from peting with the business of puters Pty Ltd. whether as principal or, while acting as an agent for another party, it was not relevant if the business belonged to him or the belonged to his wife, provided that the business was being carried on by Chu. The only significance of the interposition of the corporation was to maintain the pretense that the business was being continued by other person. Therefore, in such a case it can be said that there is no doubt on the basis of the present facts that the pany formed by Chu's wife was created for the purpose of acting as a channel through which Chu was going to carry on his business that will pete with the business of puter Pty Ltd. Although under the corporations law , it has been provided that a pany has to be considered as a separate legal entity that is distinct from those who manage the affairs of the pany, but in the present case, it can be said that it was one of the reasons behind the creation of the pany by Chu's wife was the fear that Chu may be held responsible for the breach of the covenant and with the help of the formation of this pany, he may be able to avoid liability if he acted through the pany. On these grounds, it can be said that this pany has been formed merely as a device or a stratagem for the purpose of acting as a mask to effectively carry on the business of Chu. In the present case also, puters Pty Ltd is required to establish in the court that the new pany, Systems Pty Ltd had been formed only with a view to evade the application of the restrictive covenant present in the employment contract of Chu according to which he cannot pete with puters Pty Ltd for a period of two years in New South Wales. Hence the court may decide that the corporate veil should be lifted in this case and the restrictive covenant in the employment contract of Chu needs to be enforced against the pany created by Chu’s wife, Systems Pty Ltd. At the same time, as puters had created a subsidiary pany and the benefit of the restrictive covenant can also be provided to this pany. C Kidd, (1985) ‘Partial Performance o Lump Sum Contracts: Proposals for Reform’, 59 Australian Law Journal 96   Daniel Khoury, Yvonne Yamouni, 2010, Understanding Contract Law, 8 th Edition, LexisNexis Butterworths Jane Swanston, (1981) ‘Discharge of Contracts for Breach’, 13(1) Melbourne University Law Review 69 M Dockray, (2001) ‘Cutter v Powell: A Trip Outside the Text’, 117Law Quarterly Review664; P Clarke, J. Clarke, 2016, Contract Law, mentaries, Cases and Perspectives, 3 rd Edition, Oxford University Press  

Why United States Flag Burning is Wrong Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why United States Flag Burning is Wrong - Essay Example They often use flag burning as a manner of protest in order to demonstrate the intensity of distaste that the harbor for various issues in America. Nevertheless, the flag is a part of America and an attack on it should be viewed as an attack on the country. While there have been various decisions by the US court system that both criminalize and allow for this shameful activity, the fact of the matter is that flag burning should be against the law. There was a case on flag burning in Texas that reached the Supreme Court. In Texas v. Johnson (1989), Johnson had been convicted for his crimes by the Texas court system. The flag has been burned as a way of protest during a march that had been held to express dissatisfaction with some of President Regan’s policies for corporations (Texas v. Johnson, 1989). In Texas, at that time, burning the American Flag was against the law. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court found that any law which restricted flag burring violated the First Amendment (Texas v. Johnson, 1989). Flag burning has been against the law at the federal level due to the Flag Protection Act of 1968, and many state and local governments held such laws as well. However, as a result of this case, the federal, state, and local governments could no longer uphold these laws. Then, in 1990, there was another case that dealt with flag burning. With the case of U.S. v. Eichman (1990) the flag burning parties had to be released . Time and time again, cases have been presented to the Supreme Court that sought to address the issue of flag burning. Yet, those who have been found guilty of flag burning have gotten away with it. This is not because the Supreme Court believes that it is okay to burn the flag, but because they have found it difficult to make flag burning against the law without violating the First Amendment, which states, â€Å"Congress shall make no law†¦abridging the freedom of

STRATEGIES ON HOW TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES IN AUTOMATING THE Essay

STRATEGIES ON HOW TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES IN AUTOMATING THE OPERATION OF GOVERNMENT PROCESSES - Essay Example In support of this overall objective it is the aim of the proposed thesis to determine the challenges that automation projects face in the course of its implementations. Another aim is to determine the most effective strategies that can be used to resolve the challenges listed. The final aim that supports the overall objective is to determine the possibility of success of the strategies listed. Finally in order to determine the relevance of this thesis, the proposed thesis shall determine the resulting success or failure of automation the processes of governments. Background Investment in e-government initiative is considers a significant investment by many governments worldwide (Hunter&Tan, 2006). It is unfortunate that many of these investments have been unsuccessful (Heeks, 2001). E-government simply is an electronic version of traditional governmental transaction and communication processes. As mentioned in the literature, many governments around the world attracted to adopt and implement e-government in order to improve their performance. Improve performance is a broad term that includes provide faster and better services at lower cost with a high level of confidentiality and quality. Also, such e-government investment creates many promising economical and innovative opportunities. Governments around the world provide their service to a large number of their citizens governmental bodies, and another public and private sectors (Alshehry, 2008). Thus, the traditional ways of managing government interrelated relationship with parties mentioned above have became a complex and exhausted process that need to be improved. Here, emerged the importance to adopt and implement e-government. Providing e-government services to citizens associated positively with citizen’s satisfaction by saving time, money, and effort (Kumar & Best, 2006). Also, e-government provides high level of transparency to all involved parties and increases the level of effectiveness and efficiency. Development of Research Problem E-government has been associated in positively building trust in the government through providing transparency and interactivity to people ( Welch, 2005). Also, e-government is associated with building and managing relationships (Layne& Lee, 2001) with citizens, public and private sector, and more which could create many of business opportunities. On another hand, an e-government initiative is still unmanageable and in its infant stage as mentioned by Layne& Lee (2001) including infrastructure, policy, interoperability. Successful initiative of e-government does not necessarily ensure the success of subsequent stages (Kumar & Best, 2006). Also, the failure rate in most of e-government projects relatively high (Lessa, Belachew, & Anteneh, 2011, Heeks, 2001). There are many challenges that hinder successful e-government projects. Thus, theses challenges need to be investigated. The focus need to be placed on understanding the factors that hi nder the success and delay its implementation. As mentioned in the literature, the full advantages of e-government implementation have not been reaped yet; the

Crisis Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Crisis Management - Essay Example Therefore, in an attempt to secure the countries against the harmful effects of floods, various governments have formulated tsunami management plans. These plans are meant to provide the course of action necessary to ensure a sound business continuity management when the business is subjected to risks by natural disasters like cyclones, floods, earthquakes or tsunamis. This paper discusses the tsunami management systems as developed in different countries in general with specific reference to the one employed in the United Kingdom (UK). Also, the roles and responsibilities of the government, media and the local community are analyzed in relation to the subject matter. The European states have taken a step further beyond providing protection against tsunamis by developing Flood Risk Management (FRM) System. (www.floodsite.net, 2007). The system fundamentally comprises three phases as identified by (www.apfm.info, 2005) given as follows: Practically, the advance preparation phase in the underdeveloped countries heavily relies on empirical methods of judging the possibility of tsunamis. The methods include but are not limited to observing behavior of the animals, water levels in dams and rivers and rains. Such notions persist in less educated societies in which a vast majority of people do not understand the technical language in which the flood forecasts are broadcast. However, history proves that their beliefs should not be underestimated. (Mott, 2005) mentioned in that prior to the tsunami of 2004, a strange change in the mood of zoo animals was noticed. The outdoor animals were observed screaming and running for higher grounds and the pets refused to move outdoors. (Mott, 2005). The risk conscious societies of the modern age are moving toward the development of a community based approach. The Community Flood Management Committee (CFMC) assesses factors needed to reduce the chances of tsunami occurrence and lays d own the

Cognative Behavioural Therapy CBT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cognative Behavioural Therapy CBT - Essay Example What is CBT? There are several types of cognitive behavior therapy acclaimed by the National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists, such as ‘dialectic behavior therapy, rational living and rational behavior therapy, or rational emotive behavior therapy’ (Dryden 2002, p. 18). The essence of these approaches is to make a patient be aware of triggers of his addiction. It is relevant to help patients to develop new strategies for dealing with stressing situations and coping with addictions, respectfully. During the process of a functional analysis, therapists makes the addict persons define their inner thoughts and ideas that occur inside of them during the process of drugs/alcohol consumption or after it. There is another option for therapists to develop a behavioral model relevant to the addicted individuals. Counselors should be able to identify risky situations when relapse may occur. In this case it is relevant to develop skills that may help a patient to overc ome this risk. With this regard, it is possible to make group sessions and teach clients skill elements by means of â€Å"roleplaying and real life practice exercises that will enable them to apply these skills to meet their own needs† (Marlatt 2007, p. 32). Clients should be ensured in receiving constructive feedback from counselors. A long-lasting behavioral change may occur when self-efficacy expectations are modified. CBT is efficient for clients who are actively involved in treatment process and are willing to be responsible for their future abuse prevention. In this case, during CBT a client obtains healthy behaviours instead of maladaptive habits: â€Å"As the individual undergoes a process of deconditioning, cognitive restructuring, and skills acquisition, he or she can begin to accept greater responsibility for changing the behavior. This is the essence of the self-control or self-management approach: one can learn how to escape from the clutches of the vicious cycl e of addiction, regardless of how the habit pattern was originally acquired† (Rasmussen 2000, p. 116). It is important for counselors to reread required sections of manual before each session and highlight necessary points, which have to be covered during a training session. It is important for a client to hear from counselor a natural speech and not just listening to manual citing. During each session, a counselor should inform the client about the most important issues for his daily life. At this point, client’s information and examples from his life should be used by counselors as illustrative material. Therefore, CBT is effective in case relevant measures are developed by a therapist. In order to develop a relevant treatment strategy, it is necessary to conduct more than 20 documented controlled trial tests, if to refer to data of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (The Official Website of the Institute). Generally speaking, it is also efficient to combine CBT wit h group support sessions and other types of support strategies. It is also important to develop a flexible approach to CBT treatment development. A flexible approach implies an individual development of CBT for every patient. The main advantage for CBT as a treatment for patients with addictions is its short time performance and a personalized treatment. Currently, CBT is widely used for patients with no psychotic disorders, or those who suffer from bipolar disorder. A shift to cognitive

Leadership------read the requirement i send you carefully Essay

Leadership------read the requirement i send you carefully - Essay Example Various research scholars such as Johnson (2000) and Howell and Costley (2001) have stated that organizations need to develop leadership skill among employees in order to provide direction, commitment and engagement to their work effort. This shows the increasing acceptability and desirability of leadership is various facets and situations in a business. According to John Maxwell (1997), â€Å"Leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.†In business terms, it can be defined as the ability to forecast or evaluate policies, long term planning and motivate the followers towards successful completion of the ongoing strategy. The objective of the current research is to identify and evaluate effectiveness and desirability of leadership. For this, attributes and traits of leadership in global as well as domestic environment will be discussed. Relevant examples will be demonstrated in order to strengthen the arguments. Importance of leadership Cultures can be explicitl y different, especially in terms of attitudes, values and behaviours or groups and individuals. This kind of divergence has various implications on leadership in companies (Dorfman, 1996). Majority of previous leadership studies have concentrated only on the leaders in terms of their styles, actions and philosophies as well as appropriateness and acceptance of various styles of leadership among them. However, increasing number of studies has revealed that different leader actions and behaviours are evaluated and interpreted differently. This difference arises because of the variation in cultural environment and in the ideas of individuals in terms of an ideal leader. Some approaches are favoured in some places while others are seen as less effective. The existence of these variations is due to the fact that the importance and meaning given to leadership concept varies across regions (Alas, Tafel and Tuulik, 2007). With the expansion of firms across borders and globalisation, numerou s opportunities and challenges have come into existence for leadership. With differing values and cultural beliefs, there is a bigger necessity for acknowledging and understanding leadership styles that are culturally linked (Avolio, Walumbwa and Weber, 2009). For making a leadership strategy effective, it is important to understand cultural sensitivities and be receptive towards it. In the present research, discussion will be covering the various domestic as well as international leadership skills and traits which aid understanding of the desirability and importance of leadership in the current scenario. Leadership theories and its influence in global and local firms Business around the globe displays various leadership styles. Typically, company culture plays an important role while choosing any leadership style in order to lead businesses and organizations. The leadership style and personality of the person hiring and conducting the recruitment also influences the choice of the t ype of leaders. The leadership style that is ultimately placed in charge determines the success of the company (Schein, 1992). It is also important to note that these styles vary in terms of culture and the functionality of the business. For example, local

How I will lead groups to become great teams Essay

How I will lead groups to become great teams - Essay Example As a member of the Large Learning Group, I noticed various issues that emerged in the process of our interaction and learning. To begin with there were various psychodynamic characteristics that emerged among the group members which are pertinent to any person with the ambition to lead and make decisions on large groups or team. The first lesson I learnt from the Large Learning Group is that it is pertinent for any group to define roles among the members. I will apply this strategy in my leadership program. I will begin by allocating roles to each member of the group; a process which will begin by identifying my roles and ultimately the roles of others. Allocation of roles is pertinent due to the fact that it allows the group members to focus on their specific duties and have a sense of direction. This process will be guided through proper communication and motivations as well as supervision in order to ensure that members follow direction and are enthusiastic in performing their duties. Proper communication also encompasses taking feedbacks from the group members in order to determine the challenges faced as they perform their duties and the development of solutions. Secondly, I also learned a common feature that existed between the Large Learning Group and the Peer Learning Group; the confirmation of authority. It is very crucial for any person aspiring to be a successful leader to be in a position to confirm his/her authority that is, it is imperative to determine and confirm your duties and responsibilities as well as the duties and the responsibilities of others. This step is arrived at by making agreements among the group members on each person’s responsibility as it will ensure that there are proper intra-group relationships and a harmonious flow of actions. As a leader, I am going to apply this strategy to ensure that the possibility of occurrence of conflicts is reduced and that

Macbeth - Directing Act 2 Scenes 1 and 2 Essay Example for Free

Macbeth Directing Act 2 Scenes 1 and 2 Essay From the directors point of view, this scene is very dramatic because of the impact on Macbeths decision in Act 1 scene seven. In this scene Macbeth almost decides that he has talked himself out of killing the king, but his wife Lady Macbeth has other plans and forces him into a decision that will lead to the death of the king. This affects the two scenes I will be directing because in these two scenes the decision is put into practice when Macbeth kills the king. So I have to direct the two crucial scenes that see the king murdered by Macbeth. The setting for act two scene one is in Macbeths castle. It is dark and Banquo and Fleance are in the courtyard discussing what time of day it is, and as to whether it is past midnight or not. They work out what time it is by seeing if the moon is down, and then the candles are blown out. Now it is at this point large gusts of wind are heard howling throughout the castle with thunder and lightning clashing down around the audience. Owls are heard calling and all manner of nightlife is heard. This effect is used so that the audience are made intense and unaware as to what is happening next and to create tension. The sounds would be achieved through sound effects being played over the speakers and sharp, crisp lighting would be used to symbolise the lightning. A background tune will be played very lightly to create a mood so scary it will keep the audiences fixed to the stage from the edges of their seats. When Macbeth meets Banquo, Macbeth tells him that he is sorry for not being as good a host as usual and Banqou reassures Macbeth that he has been an excellent host to the king. Then he brings up the subject of the witches. He says that he dreamed of the weird sisters the night before, and tells Macbeth To you they have showed some truth. Macbeth replies, I think not of them, which is a deliberate lie. It is true that we havent heard him mention the witches, but he has been thinking of nothing except how to make the prophecies come true. If I was the director I would introduce Macbeth by letting him enter from right and to walk on quietly, sneakily in fact with only soft dull lighting to imitate the moon light. He would be wearing a long black smock to represent the fact he was upset or in regret that he was about to commit a terrible deed. The black would be used because it is traditionally the colour of the night and Macbeth had to blend into the background and move like the night in order not to be spotted or noticed. Banquo would be wearing red pants and a silver lightweight vest created out of steel with the imprinted cross of Scotland on the vest. He would be wearing a polished steel helmet with a sword placed neatly in its pouch, left hanging on the brown leather belt fastened around his waist. He would also have a spear in his hand with a long shaft that would also be used as a walking stick. He would be dressed like this because as a general protecting Duncan king of Scotland he would be expected to wear the kings finest military uniform. As a director I would expect Macbeth to deliver his lines to Banquo in a nervous manner. I would have him stutter and muddle up his words he would also jolt and pause in mid-sentence to give the impression to the audience he is unsure and nervous as to the crime he is about to commit. The lighting in this part of the play as I have already touched on would be dull yet crisp to create a sense of atmosphere and to create a mood, which would help Macbeth, deliver his lines. The torchlight the servant would be carrying at this point would be quite sharp and a glowing effect would be used to create the fire effect. Macbeths facial expressions would be few and far between because I would want him to be pale and blank faced so that it looked like he had other things on his mind, more important and life threatening things. At the opening of Act 2 scene two, Lady Macbeth is stood near to Duncans room waiting for Macbeth to return. At this point, I would want to emphasise the crime that is about to be committed and to create strong tension between the audience and the stage. Ideally the audience would be sitting focused, eyes fixed on the events and I would want them to feel a sense of danger and betrayal the moment Macbeth kills the King. The effects used to create this feeling would be sudden cold gusts of wind lashing through the audience. A strong gust of smoke would slide swiftly along the surface of the stage creating a dark musty atmosphere. Sharp lightning would be seen jolting over the stage with deep blasts of thunder to follow. Lady Macbeth would be dressed in a long silk red dress to represent betrayal and guilt even though she does not show any. When Macbeth returns with the daggers, I think it would be a dramatic moment, so I would chose to have a powerful spotlight focusing on Macbeth as he staggers across the smoke filled stage to his wife. My decision for this is that I would like the whole audience to be fixed to Macbeths every movement. I would want this because I would want the audience just to think about him and the crime that he was just committed. Makeup would be used on Macbeth to make him look like a ghost he would be completely white except for the small dashes of red on his face that would represent the kings blood. His hands and the area around his waist would be completely covered in blood to give the impression that he had hacked the king to pieces. At the opening of act two scene one, Macbeth is confident that he is ready to kill the king. When he tells the lie to Banquo that he has given no more thought to the witches predictions, he should deliver these lines with a certain stutter including repeating and missing out some words. He would also stop and jolt in mid sentence. I think he should speak like this because it makes the audience think he is not sure about what he is about to do and he isnt sure as to whether he can or not. When Macbeth hallucinates he thinks that there is a dagger before him and he reaches out for it and of course cant grasp it. Macbeth is not sure, and wonders whether it is A dagger of the mind, a false creation. If I was the director, I would make Macbeth say these words with confidence then I would make him sound confused as to what he was saying. To give the impression his mind was thinking one thing but common sense was thinking about something else. As Macbeth speaks of the bloody business and how wicked dreams abuse/the curtained sleep, he appears much more confident. To indicate this, I would make him start of whispering the lines then slowly increasing the sound so by the time he had delivered the lines he was screaming them from the rooftops. I would expect his face to be blank, a dark spotlight would be shining on him, as he started shouting his lines he would smile and the spotlight would be turned up, eventually when he had finished Macbeth would be smiling, and the spotlight would be shining brightly. After Macbeth has murdered the king and he returns with the bloody daggers, he seems to be nervous and edgy. His repeated question whos there? What ho? indicates this. I would show this by making Macbeth speak his lines in a slow, shallow majestic voice with the words flowing slowly but surely one after the other with a short silent pause between each precious word. Macbeth considers the enormity of the crime that has been committed, and is terrified, as he knows that he can never be forgiven. He stresses how he could not say Amen after the murder, and how he thought that they heard a voice cry Listning their fear, I would not say Amen, when they did say God bless us. To make this point more dramatic, I would chose to make Macbeths voice cry lightly and sharp frequent drops of water would be seen running across his chin and dripping onto the stage. It would sound like he was in pain with sudden shrieks lashing through the audience as though he wants everyone to experience the heart breaking pain that he is going through. After the murder, Macbeth says I am afraid to think what I have done /look ont again I dare not. Perhaps Macbeth does feel genuine remorse for his crime, or maybe he is more afraid about what will happen to his soul when he dies. I think that he does show some genuine remorse because I think deep down he didnt want to kill Duncan but was in fact talked into by his wife and has now noticed the error of his ways. I could show this by making him drop to his knees and holding his head in his hands crying out for mercy from God. In act two scene one, I would choose to have Banquo to speak in a stern but tired way, as he is Macbeths friend. I would indicate to the audience that he is honest by making sure that he is looking loyal and worthy along with proud and upstanding when he is speaking to another character. Throughout the scenes, Lady Macbeth is revealed to be calm and calculated. When Macbeth returns from the scene of the murder, he says I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did not you speak?. I would reflect her unemotional state by having her speak nicely; soft and quiet. Her eyes would wonder as if she were thinking of something completely different. Lady Macbeth seems ill concerned with her husband when he talks of his inability to sleep. She warns him You do unbend your noble strength to think/ so brain of things. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them, and smear the sleepy grooms with blood. If I were the director, I would show her irritation by speaking to her with an abrupt sarcastic voice with a tone that suggests that shes speaking to an idiot. She will snap and snarl at Macbeth and look down on him. To conclude I have tried to answer each section as best I can. I have tried to incorporate the mood set by each characters lines by using lightning and sound effects as well as the way the actors portray their lines. My aim was to try to get the audience involved in the play without them actually acting, so that they could experience one to one the characters moods, so that they could really understand and get into the play. I would chose Ozzy Osborne to play Macbeth because he is older than some, dresses in black and has a certain element of disguise in him which I feel Macbeths actor needs to portray well. I would choose Halle Berry to play Lady Macbeth because her latest film Gothika was a perfect example of a spooky story of which she played her part extremely well.

Determinants Of Health Care Utilization Health And Social Care Essay

Determinants Of Health Care Utilization Health And Social Care Essay All people around the world could not access to health care service as there is a significant unmet need for health care. In order to improve the quality of human life, the health care providers and policy makers should have a better understanding of why people utilize or not utilize the health care services. In the changing of global environment such as population growth, increased health problems, higher demand for medical care and advanced medical technologies, health care expenditure is increasing in every country around the world. As health care expenditure has been escalating, financing for health care is becoming one of the challenges for governments especially in low and middle income countries. In many developing countries, the financial source for health care is dominated by private sector as house-hold out of pocket payment. However health insurance schemes are becoming an increasingly recognized tool in recent decades to finance low and middle income countries. As one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia, Myanmar health care financing mainly relies on private financing source in a form of out-of pocket payment. According to (NHA 2008-2009), 85% of total health expenditure comes from private household. In Myanmar, there are some financial schemes initiated by the government in order to protect the financial lost and impoverishment of the people. Among those health financing schemes, Social Security Scheme (SSS) plays a role to pool the risk of financial burden among insured workers. Myanmar government started the social health insurance in 1956 to provide social assistances and health care services to the insured workers. Regardless of the long period of implementation, the coverage of social health insurance is only 0.97% of total population and 1.96% of working population. There are 93 clinics in 110 townships to provide health care services to insured workers (Social Security Board 2012). The clinic time is from 8:00 am to 4:00pm which is during working hours of insured workers (Social Security Board 2012). The social security clinics locations are mostly not closed with the work places. The director of Social Security Board (SSB) mentioned about health care services in the news interview that, The current health care system is not enough for workers as the social security clinics cannot provide 24-hour service. Social security clinics cannot be found all over the country so workers in areas where there are no social security clinics can face difficulties.(The Myanmar Times, April 16-22, 2012). Apart from the difficulty in accessibility, the insured workers have to bear travelling cost and time cost to access health services from social security clinics. Moreover, there is very limited in equipments, medicines and facilities to provide enough health services to the insured workers. So some insured workers dont visit to social security clinics and get the medical care from nearby clinics and treat with traditional medicines. One of the SSB member expressed her experience from a boards clinic in Yangon as not be pleasant. She mentioned, There was a long queue of patients and I was particularly upset by the poor service from the doctors and nurses and I really dont trust them they dont have specialists, they have only general practitioners. I only went there to claim the cost of my medicines.(The Myanmar Times, April 16-22, 2012). Because of difficulties for workers to visit the clinics, health care teams from clinics have been trying to provide health care services in work places; however the very limited number of vehicle and cost of patrol are the big challenging issue for the health care providers. Despite of monthly contribution from their salary, because of hardly to access health care facility from social security, the insured workers could not get their benefit from social security board. However, Myanmar has been opening a new chapter of reform after 2010 general election and adopting democratic system in the country. As the country opening up, there are many reforms have been doing in order to move along with the ASEAN and global community. Myanmar SSS has been reformed to extend its coverage not only in formal but also to informal sectors. A new Social Security Law has been enacted in 2012 and will be implemented in 2013. Currently, the board has been preparing to introduce the new law for the insured workers. Along with the reform process, understanding the behaviors and factors affecting health care utilization is very important for the policy makers to improve the quality of services in order to attract the private workers to enroll in the scheme. By studying determinant health care utilization among insured private workers, we could observe that who pay for and who get benefit from the scheme. Apart from this we could also determine the most influencing factors which hinder and encourage the insured workers to utilize health care services from social security scheme. RESEARCH QUESTIONS General research questions What are the determinants of health care utilization among insured private workers under Social Security Scheme in Hlaing Thayar Township, Yangon, Myanmar in 2012? Specific research questions What are the barriers to access health care services for insured private workers under Social Security Scheme in Hlaing Thayar Township, Yangon, Myanmar in 2012? Research Objectives To identity the determinants of health care utilization among insured private workers under Social Security Scheme in Hlaing Thayar Township, Yangon, Myanmar in 2012 To identify the barriers for insured private workers to access health services from Social Security Scheme in Hlaing Thaya Township, Yangon, Myanmar in 2012 Scope of the study This study will be focused on insured private workers under the Social Security Scheme in Hlaing Thayar industrial zone, Hlaing Thayar Township, Yangon, Myanmar. The insured workers with the age of over 18 years and currently employed by private owned factories and firms will be included in this study. The cross-sectional data will be collected in February and March 2013. Hypothesis The age, gender, marital status, number of children, ethnicity, religion, educational status, occupation, income, distance from work place to health facilities, perceived travelling cost, hospitality of the health care personnel, satisfaction to the services, number of health facilities other than social security health facilities in the area, perceived health status and presence of underlying illness or disabilities influence the health care utilization among insured private workers under Social Security Scheme in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar Health care system Myanmar health care system is pluralistic with the mix of public and private providers. As the countrys administrative system has been changed, the key providers in health care services also have changed. However, ministry of health is still the major provider of the health care services through public health facilities while other ministries also provide some health care services (Ministry of Health, 2012). Ministry of Health is taking responsible to implement holistic health care including preventive, curative and rehabilitative care to the people according to social objectives of the country laid down by National Health Committee. There are 7 departments under Ministry of Health and Department of Health is one of the departments to provide comprehensive health care to all citizens. Apart from Ministry of Health, other ministries such as Ministry of Defense, Railway, Mine, Industry, Energy, Home and Transportation also provide health care to their employees. Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security established Social Security Board with 3 general hospitals and 93 clinics across the country to take care of insured workers under Social Security Scheme. Myanmar Pharmaceutical Factory which is under the Ministry of Industry supplies medicine and therapeutic agents for domestic market. One thing special for Myanmar health care system is that there is traditional medicine along allo pathic or modern medicine. Apart from public health facilities, local NGO such as Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association and Myanmar Red Cross Society and international donors are also provide some fragments of health services to fill up the gap in the community (Ministry of Health 2012). Financing of health care services are from three main sources; government as general taxation, private household contribution as out-of pocket payment, social security system and community contribution. External donation in form of assistances is also play a role in Myanmar health care financing. Community Cost Sharing Scheme Community Cost Sharing (CCS) scheme is established in 1992. It is simply a user fees system with the intention to charge curative cost for health care services from the rich and provide exemption to those who could not effort for their health care expenditure. According to SSC scheme, the cost for laboratory, radio imaging, private room, drug and medical equipments are asked to pay for those who can effort. The revenue from CCS scheme is broken down into three portions 1) 50 percent is for government revenue, 2) 15 percent go for purchasing medicine and medical equipments and 3) the last 15 percent use for maintenance. However, there are no clear criteria for the poor to provide exemption and many challenges are coming up in the implementation level.(Aye et al.) Revolving Drug Fund Revolving Drug Fund was introduced in 1990 by Myanmar Essential Drug Program. The program started in 9 townships as pilot project and then extended into 100 townships in 1995. The fund is started by WHO, UNICEF, Sasakawa Foundation and the fund is used as a seed grant.(Aye et al.) Trust Fund Trust Fund is another finance source for health care and the objective is to finance to poor patient who cannot pay the cost of health care at public hospitals. The policy for Trust Fund is ONE BED ONE LAKH; and it is raised 100,000 Kyat per bed to hospital by the donation from community. Trust fund are normally kept as saving count at bank and the annual interest from that is utilized according to trust fund management committee or hospital management committee(Aye et al.). Social Security Scheme Social Security Scheme (SSS) is the solely health insurance scheme in Myanmar. It was introduced in 1956 according to 1954 Social Security Act. The SSS is implemented by SSB under the Ministry of Labor which has recently transformed into Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security. The objectives of SSB are; to improve the health of the insured workers, to enhance their working ability and to boost productivity, to provide effective benefit in times of social contingencies such as sickness, maternity and employment injury, unemployment, old-age, and death etc, to support the insured workers and family members for living when the formers are unable to work and to make the social security scheme concern the entire population. In order to achieve these objectives, social security board is carrying its duty and functions by ensuring workers enjoy rights and protection granted under the various labor laws, providing social services for the workers, promoting higher productivity of l abors and participating in international labor affair ( Social Security Board, 2012). The premium for Social Security Scheme is mandatory contribution from employee and employer. The contribution is based on tripartite contribution by 2.5 % of the workers salary from employer, 1.5% from the employee and government supports the capital investments as necessary. The contribution is collected according to 15 wage classes. The coverage groups are state enterprise employees, temporary and permanent employees of public or private firms with five or more employees in certain establishments such as railways, ports, mines and oilfields. The employment with less than five employees, construction workers, agricultural workers and fishermen are excluded from the coverage of social security scheme (Social Security Board, 2012). At first, it is started from the cities and then extended into other towns gradually. One 250 bedded workers hospital in Yangon, one 150 bedded hospital in Mandalay and one 100 bedded TB hospital and 93 clinics have being run under the Social Security Board in order to provide health care services to insured workers.(Social Security Board, 2012). In benefit package, it is divided into cash sickness benefit, maternal benefit, and medical benefit. For cash sickness benefit, 50% of the insured workers average earning will be included from the first day of illness up to 26 weeks for one illness. Benefit of temporary and permanent disability and survival benefits are also included in cash benefit. As funeral grant, 40,000 (Kyat) is paid to the deceaseds surviving spouse and child. The maternal cash benefit includes 66% of insured workers average earning for 12 weeks (6 weeks before and 6 weeks after delivery). For medical benefit, free medical services are directly provided by Social Security Boards clinics. Medical services include the medical care at the clinic, emergency home care, specialist and laboratory services at diagnostic center, necessary hospitalization, maternity care and medicine(Social Security Program Throughout the World : Asia and the Pacific 2010, 2011). Literature review The literature review for this study will be broken down into empirical studies on health care utilization and determinants of health care utilization. Health Care Utilization A study in Canada(Curtis MacMinn, 2008) about health care utilization in twenty-five years of evidence to identify the relationship between the socio-economic status and utilization, controlling and demographic characteristics. The study describes pattern of health care utilization under public health insurance scheme. They investigated about physician, specialist and hospital care utilization between 1978 and 2003. The data from Canada Health Survey (1978), General Social Survey (1991), and Canadian Community Health Survey (2001 and 2003) were extracted to analyze the different in utilization over 25 years period. It shows that health care utilization is growing through time. The populations with lower level socio-economic status (income, education, or employment) have on average less likelihood of visiting physician than those with middle socio-economic status. Individuals with lower levels socio-economic status have lower utilization of specialist care than those with higher econ omic status. For hospitalization, poorer individuals have slightly longer stay than with middle and higher income groups. The results also shows that health care utilization of publicly insured individual have strongly related with the health status of them. A Vietnamese scholar(Nguyen, 2012) analyzed the impact voluntary health insurance on health care utilization in Vietnam by using a descriptive and modeling study with secondary data. He looked at the trend of voluntary health insurance members, categories, revenues and expenditures and health care utilization in the whole country for 5 years period (1993-1997). The study shows that the trend of health care utilization is increasing during 5 year period but the number of hospital visit of voluntary health insurance members is lower than those paying by out-of pocket payment. The results of the study only can predict the utilization rate based on the macro factors and could not include other factors that could affect health care utilization among insured individuals. Health insurance does effect the health care utilization and it is revealed in a study from Burkina Faso by (Gnawali et al., 2009). They investigated the impact of community-based health insurance on health care utilization in rural Burkina Fuso. The results show that the individuals who insured under community-based health insurance scheme utilized out- patient services 40% more than those who are not insured however in-patient utilization rate is not significantly changed. Moreover, the study explains that low income groups are less likely to enroll in the scheme and even though they are once insured, health care services utilization is still lower than middle and higher income groups. Health insurance has a statistically significant effect on utilization of health care. In Sri Lanka, (Priyanjith H. 2008) studied the factors affecting health care utilization with three common diseases; Bronchial Asthma, Ischemic Heart Disease, Viral Fever. He has conducted cross-sectional descriptive survey and the respondents were selected randomly. The results demonstrate that patients age, health care expenditure and household monthly income, number of dependents in the family and religion have significant relationship with utilization of health care facilities. Age, family income level, perception and religion (Buddhist and Sinhala) have positive influence on health service utilization while health care expenditure, distance to access health facilities, number of family members and dependents in the family negatively correlated with health care utilization. Determinants of health care utilization Socio-demographic Factors Age A study in Ethiopia by (Girma, Jira, Girma, 2011) shows that children the age under five-year old used health facilities 3.5 times than those above the age of 65. A study in Nigeria by (Aigbe Osariemen, 2011) concluded that maternal age is the main predisposing factor to utilize antenatal care service. The women with age of 15-19, 40-44 and 45 years old utilized unorthodox source (traditional birth attendants, home assistance and church) 63.6 %, 65% and 55.6% respectively and the middle age pregnant women with the age of 20-39 used unorthodox source between 30 to 40.5%. The middle age pregnant women have significantly lower rate of using unorthodox sources for antenatal care. The individuals older than 24 years old were significantly more likely to utilize health care services than younger age (Hu Podhisita, 2008). A study in New Mexico counties, USA by (Anderson, 1973) shows that age has negative effect on hospital admission rate. Gender In Nepal, when holding other variables constant, boys have 43% more likelihood to seek external health care given illness than girls (Pokhrel et al., 2005). Men were 0.46 times tendency to utilize health care services than women(Girma, Jira, Girma, 2011). In Myanmar culture, women are usually given equal chance and not regarded as socially inferior. There is strong relationship between gender and using health care facilities and women visited health services more than men among Myanmar migrant workers in Ranong, Thailand (Aung, 2008). Marital Status In Ethiopia, married individual were 8.1 times more likely to visit health facilities than those unmarried one. (Girma, Jira, Girma, 2011). Ethnicity A study by (Anderson, 1973) conclude that ethnicity is one of predisposing factors for health care utilization. Hospital bed-population ratios are higher in the counties with larger ethnic minority group. However (Hu Podhisita, 2008) reveals that if the ethnic groups have the same opportunities(predisposing, enabling factors), health care utilization will be likely similar. Educational status In Nigeria, the choice of antenatal care sources between orthodox and unorthodox is associated with the education of mother. They pointed out that the usage of unorthodox sources of antenatal care is 83% among with primary education level. The choice for orthodox source is 53% among the mother with secondary education and which is tripled with those of primary education(Aigbe Osariemen, 2011). In Curacao, Netherland, educational level is strongly related with utilization of dentist and physiotherapist. The results indicates that people with the highest educational level in the study utilized dental service a year almost five times than those with the lowest educational level(Alberts, J, Eimers, Den, 1997). Income Annual household income is associated with the level of utilization of health care services. Low income group was 0.26 times likely to use health care facilities (Girma, Jira, Girma, 2011) Accessibility to Health Care Services Distance to the health facilities A study by (Nemet Bailey, 2000) shows the relationship between distance and utilization that as the distance increase, health care utilization is reduced. Another study in Nigeria by (Aigbe Osariemen, 2011) concludes that distance to health facility from their residence is important factors for women to seek ante natal care. They found out that majority of women (76%) utilized the nearby health center which takes less than 30 minute with vehicular transportation from their residence while only 5.9% of women travelled to access health care services from facilities that need more than 45 minute to arrived. In Ethiopia, distance to the nearest health facilities is one of important factors on utilization of health facilities, the study concluded that the individuals who live in 10 kilometers or less to the nearby institution were 1.5 time more likely to use health facilities. Waiting time at health facilities Almost two-third (62.8%) of pregnant women who visited primary health care or private hospitals for antenatal care is for the reason of promptness of the services (Aigbe Osariemen, 2011). Perceived travelling cost In comparison, among the individuals who perceived travelling cost as cheap ,the health services utilization were 2.5 times likely to be higher than those perceived it as expensive. Need Factors Perceived health status A study in Ethiopia by (Girma et al., 2011) revealed health care utilization was associated with individuals perceived health status. They mentioned that in compared to individuals with good health status, those with poor and very poor health status, utilized 11.7 and 13.1 times more respectively. A study by (Fernandez-Olano et al., 2006) shows that perceived health status affected the health care utilization pattern among elderly people. It can be concluded that 36% of elderly users and 60.2% of non-users graded their health status as good and they reported their health status as fair 46% and 29% respectively. Presence of underlying disease or disability The individuals with disability are 3.3 times likely to use health care services and those who had health problems utilized health care 28 times(Girma et al., 2011). (Liu, Tian, Yao, 2012) studied the effects of health profile on health care services utilization in Taiwan. Health profiles were divided into 4 groups: Relatively Healthy, High Co morbidity, Frail Group and Functional Impairment and they found that, High Co morbidity group had more likely to utilize health care services heavily than Frail Group and Functional Impairment while Relatively Healthy regarded as a reference group. A study in Philippine shows that the need factors have strongly associated with the hospital stay. The patients with intensive cases stayed at hospital longer than ordinary cases(Loquias, Kittisopee, Sakulbamrungsil, 2006) Summary The literature review shows some variables influence the health care utilization of individuals. This study will be included the variables that could possibly affect health care utilization decision of insured workers under Social Security Scheme. RESEARCHMethodology Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework for this study is based on the Andersons Behavior Model for health care utilization. Many studies on health care utilization have been done based on Adersen Behavior Model. The model composes of three main factors; predisposing, enabling and need factors. Predisposing factors are the individuals tendency to utilize health care which include demographic characteristics (age, sex, marital status) and social structure (occupation, education, ethnicity, religion). Enabling factors refers to the ability of an individual to make use health services; they include the family and community resources that can affect health care utilization. Need factors is the individuals need for health care by representing perceived health status and present of chronic disease and disability. Predisposing Factors (Socio-demographic) Age Gender Marital status Ethnicity Religion Education status Occupation Enabling Factors Community Resources Distance to health facilities Waiting Time at the clinic Perceived Travelling cost Hospitality of health care personal Satisfaction to the service No. of other hospitals/ clinics near workplace Family Resources Income No. of children (family size) Health Care Utilization Go to social security health facilities Go to private health facilities Go to public health facilities Buy drug from drug store Need Factors Perceived health status Present underlying disease or disabilities Study Design Cross- sectional descriptive quantitative design will be used for this study in order to explore health care utilization pattern among insured private workers under Social Security Scheme in tow industrial zones ( Hlaing Thaya and South Dagon) in Yangon, Myanamr. Study Area Yangon is the largest city and formal capital of Myanmar with population approximately 6 million in 2008. The population growth rate of Yangon division is 2.2 percent per annum in 2008 which is higher than national growth rate. The population density is 666 per square kilometer in 2008. As Yangon is logical site for export- oriented lighted manufacturing, it attracts the people from rural to immigrate and settle in the city. Yangon is located on a peninsula near the confluence of the Yangon and Bago rivers, about thirty kilometers north of the Gulf of Martaban. The city has been extended recently to the east, west, and north both for residential and industrial zones. In Yangon Division, there are 45 administrative townships and 33 of them are in Yangon city municipal and administered by Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). The study will conducted in Hlaing Tharyar Townships in Yangon city municipal area. Study Duration The study will be conduct from February to March 2013. Study population The study will be conducted among the insured private workers under the Social Security Scheme in two industrial zones Hlaing Thaya Township Yanagon, Myanmar Sample size The sample size for this study will be calculated based on Yamane (1967: 98-99) formula. n= Nz 2 pq/Nd 2 +z2pq If we assume z =2 (1.96 for the 95% level of reliability), then n = N/ 1+Nd2 n = sample size N= population size d = precision (0.05) z = reliability coefficient p = proportion of the target population utilize health care (assuming that 50%) q =1-p (so q= 50% too) The population of insured workers in Yangon division is approximate 350,000. I calculated my sample size based on the total no. of population and I got 399.49 and 10% is added for non responded participants. So the sample size is 439.49 (340). Sampling techniques The multi-stage sampling method will be employed in this study. Hlaing Thayar industrial zone is purposively selected and the participants will be randomly selected from total study population. Including Criteria The workers from private sectors The workers who are insured under Social Security Scheme (SSS) The workers who are working in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone, Yangon The workers who are over 18 years old Excluding Criteria The workers who are not employed by private factors or firms The workers who are not insured under social security scheme The insured private workers who are not willing to participate in the interview Study variables Dependent Variable The dependent variable will be multinomial variables. Health care utilization will be categorized into 4 categories; 1) go to social security health facilities 2) go to private health facilities 3) go to public health facilities 4) buy drug from drug store. Independent Variables The independent variables are: age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, religion, educational status, occupation, family size, distance from work place to health center, waiting time, perceived travelling cost, hospitality of health care personnel, perceived health status, presence of underlying disease or disability Summarized table of independent variables # Variables Abbreviation Expected Sign 11 Age ( continuous variables) age +/- 22 Gender (dummy variable male=1, female=0) gen +/- 33 Marital status (category dummy variable ms + 44 No. of children (continuous variables) child 55 Ethnicity ( dummy variable Burma=1, other ethnicity=0) eth +/- 66 Religion(dummy variable Buddhist=1, Other religion=0) rg +/- 77 Educational status( category dummy variable primary=0, secondary=1, higher =1) edu + 88 Occupation (category dummy variable. occ +/- 99 Income( continue variable) inc + 110 Distance from work place to health facilities (continue variable) dis 111 Waiting time at health facilities(continue variable) wt 112 Perceived travelling cost (dummy variable expensive=1, cheap=0) ptc 113 Hospitality of health care personnel (dummy variable yes=1, No=0) hhp + 114 Satisfaction to the services (dummy variable yes=1, No=0) sts + 115 No. of health facilities other than social securitys health facilities ( continue variable) nhnw + 116 Perceived health status (category dummy variable excellent=1, good=1, fair=0, poor=1, very poor=0) phs + 117 Presence of underlying disease (dummy variable yes=1, No=0) pud + Multinomial Logistic Regression Model Log(Pr(Y=yi)/Pr(y=0))=ÃŽÂ ²0+ÃŽÂ ²1age+ÃŽÂ ²2gen+ÃŽÂ ²3ms+ÃŽÂ ²4eth+ÃŽÂ ²5rg+ÃŽÂ ²6edu+ÃŽÂ ²7occ+ÃŽÂ ²8 ln(inc)+ ÃŽÂ ²9dis+ ÃŽÂ ²10wt+ ÃŽÂ ²11ptc+ ÃŽÂ ²12hhp+ ÃŽÂ ²13sts+ÃŽÂ ²14nhnw+ÃŽÂ ²15phs+ÃŽÂ ²16pud +ÃŽÂ µi Pilot Testing The pilot test will be conducted in one of the townships in Yangon with the similar characteristic of insured workers before actual survey. The questionnaire will be revised and adjusted based on the results from pilot testing. Data collection tools The primary data will be collected suing the structured questionnaires. About 5 interviewers will be hir