Impact of the Public Sector Reform on Employee Relations Essay Example for Free

Impact of the Public Sector Reform on Employee Relations Essay In the 1950s to the 1960s, the Conservative government of Britain had a strong compulsion to adopt a neoliberal stance on economic policies. Certain industries which were nationalized by the Labour Party after the Second World War were privatized. State spending on health, education, and welfare were cut; this was so since too much spending would necessarily result in low economic performance of the whole country (although variation was possible). Military spending were doubled to contribute to the overall economic output of the country. This was continued during the leadership of Lady Margaret Thatcher (1979-1990) and her successors. Nevertheless, although allowing a significant reduction of government spending in the welfare sector, the Conservative government instituted some reforms to upgrade government programs on health and the bureaucracy itself. The Local Government Act of 1993, Health Care Complaints Act of 1993, the Parliamentary Commissioner Act of 1994, the Local Government Act of 1974, were some of the examples of the readiness of the Conservative government to put efficiency and cost effectiveness the emblem of a government in service (to the people). These acts passed by the Conservative government were meant to streamline the bureaucracy, increase the powers of the local governments (establishment of new boroughs and counties), extend the powers of the parliamentary Commissioner in investigating cases involving local authorities, improve the health care service by allowing the private sector to invest in government health programs, and put a mechanism to effectively negotiate grievances in the government and its related entities (like government owned corporations). These programs and policies were meant to create a bureaucracy with the intense participation of the private sector. They were programs economic in character. Programs were directed to the service of the public but with the capital from foreign and private individuals playing as the motor of development. The image of these programs seemed to be a positive one; intense partnership between the government and the private sector in the service of the public. With the coming of the Labour party in power, some changes were presented in the halls of the parliament. There was a step to extend the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner in matters allowed by parliament (the three Ombudsmen – the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Local Government Ombudsmen, and the Health Service Ombudsman). An act was established also established to increase public sector employment; a move almost totally ignored by the Conservative government in the 1960s. It is expected that due to the changes hitherto described above public sector employment would increase by 360, 000 in the next three years, and almost a million in the following decade. The number of teachers, doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and policemen increase by more than 100, 000. An increase would be expected in other professions (which is around 200, 000). Although a general cut was implemented by the Labour government in the civil service programs, they were compensated by an additional increase of public sector employees. In sum, the reduction was implemented to increase public sector employment since public sector employment is one of the most effective ways of boosting economic performance (due to its manageability). Needless to say, however, these changes proposed or implemented by both the Conservative and Labour governments of Britain have had certain effects or impacts on employee relations. The Health Service Act implemented by the Conservative government proposed a two-valorem system of negotiation between complaints presented by the two parties involved. This action proved to be not very effective as a conflict resolution mechanism for employees. The present Labour government established a so-called conciliator with the aim of: a) to bring the parties involved together for the general purpose of negotiation and settlement of complaint, b) to create activities deemed possible for the attainment of a settlement, and c) to assist the parties involved to reach for a fair agreement. This three-party system of negotiation (which were imitated by other countries) became an effective force in resolving conflicts in the public sector (the employees). The number of resolved cases or agreements had increased since the coming of the Labour Party in power, a huge debacle for the opposition. The creation of metropolitan boroughs and counties made by the Conservative government (acts enumerated above) had also some impact on employee. It fairly promoted intense economic activity in these new districts. Public sector employment had a slight increase. Herein, therefore, it became the duty of the government to institute a law which will protect the interests of the public sector employees. The creation of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act of 1967 and an amended bill in 1974 defined the limits of the Ombudsmen in reviewing cases or complaints presented to them by government employees (against local authorities or other employees). The effect was good for the public sector employees since the number of complaints and perceived problems in the government bureaucracy was reduced. This was not really a good measurement of performance since the number of public sector employees at that time was small; the civil service jobs share in the total number of jobs was about 62 %. Due to the increasing number of public sector employees, the Labour government refined the laws mentioned above. The Ombudsmen were granted right by the parliament to investigated cases independently, with more flexibility and rigour. A general program of action was also presented by the Home Secretary to reform the Parliamentary Commissioner, giving the latter some air of independence when reviewing not only cases involving possible crime committed by members of parliament) to the general public but also to the increasingly significant public sector employees. It was recognized that delays would be averted if this plan of action was implemented, and therefore a possible amiable relationship between employees result. Nevertheless, a revised attached code of ethics was also created to define the limits, behavior, and general attitude of government and public sector employees to lessen if not avoid conflict or mismanagement of delegated or defined duties. The Labour Party in the present can boast of its success both in streamlining the bureaucracy (same policy of the Conservative Party in the 1950s to the 1960s) and providing a ground base of cordial public sector employment system (employment and conflict resolution). One public sector employee noted that the propensity or possibility of having conflict with her peers appears to be zero. This is one indication of the success that the Labour Party can present to the general public. However, such conclusion is not totally accurate. The Conservative Party was able to create brilliant programs that were responsible for the increase in the public sector employment. The program of devolution gave the local governments the right to shape the economic policy of the districts involved. The air of supra liberalism during the Conservative years promoted intense migration from Third world countries. The public sector itself became a hotspot for foreign nationals, of which the British public can depend for their special services. It seemed from the start that conflicts will generally increase because of the heterogeneous character of the public sector employees, but the speculators proved wrong. The code of ethics prepared by the British MP’s became a great piece of political scourge to the Labour Party. Not only that conflicts decreased in the government and the public sector decreased, the ruling government experienced a high trust rating from the two sectors, and of course a high applause from the business sector. The consecutive electoral victories of the Conservative Party (during the leadership of Margaret Thatcher) proved the case. Nevertheless, certain variables have to be considered when reviewing electoral victories for it is itself a locus of different circumstances of advantages. There is one great difference, however, when we talk of the Conservative and Labour policies on public sector employees. It is generally accepted that impersonality should be the hallmark of a bureaucracy and of course the whole economic activity of the country. In the Conservative years, impersonality was always implemented in the government, with strict penalties for noncompliance. However, government officials were not aware that the policies they implemented (as enumerated above) had certain effect on the public sector employees. Employees became resonant of public policy. They became more politically involved in public discussions. And as such, became more impersonal in their dealings with the government and their clients. Economic activity, according to one economist, may well be possible under the environment of impersonality and laxity of economic requirements. This became a starting step for Britain to increase its migration rate. The increasing number of public sector employees heralded a change or revision in the policies of the Labour Party in terms of public sector employment. As mentioned above, the proposed and implemented policies on negotiation and extension of powers of the types of Ombudsmen were generally meant to increase the efficiency of the government to solve disputes arising between employee and employee, employee and employer, and between employee and government officials. Remember that the public sector had increased because of migration. The current composition of the public sector employees deserve a more efficient and complex system of work arrangements. This was generally only an adaptation made by the ruling government, since the composition of the public sector employees during the 1950s to the 1970s is generally different from today. Nonetheless, only two factors in the public sector employees that became the point of reference of a government in power: its size and composition. Although this may be a narrow generalization, the circumstances that followed afterwards prove such assertion.

Relative Dating Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Fundamental Principles of Relative DatingRelative dating involves placing events in their proper chronological sequence, that is, in the order of their occurrence (Dutch 1998). This type of dating tells us which geologic event happened first, but does not give an exact date to which something happened. There are several different methods that are used in relative dating. These are the fundamental methods that are used in the field by geologists' and earth scientists to gather information about the relative age of rock bodies and other cool geologic stuff. These principles are the principle of superposition, the principle of original horizontality, the principle of cross-cutting relationships, and the principle of inclusions.The principle of superposition is defined as in the environment of an undisturbed layer of sedimentary rocks; the layers on the bottom are older than the layers towards the top. The pictures I have taken show very good examples of this. By using the principle of superposition we can know that the layers toward the bottom are older than the layers toward the top. The rock body shown in the pictures attached, started out as one layer, as millions and millions of years passed more layers of sedimentary rock were placed on top of each other one after another, each layer was deposited at a later time than the one before it. The youngest layer is on the top, and the oldest layer is on the bottom. This principle was founded by the Danish anatomist Nicolas ...

Mediquip: “Science of Selling Is in the Process”

It has oft been thought that the science of selling is in the process. This mantra is precisely what failed the protagonist of the Mediquip case. As with any scientific method, success revolves around a defined process that, when correctly executed, achieves an optimal result. Kurt Thaldorf failed to formulate and follow the correct selling process and resulted in a loss of sale.The following examines Kurt’s failure and attempts to identify changes in his processes that more likely than not, could have contributed to sale success. Sale Starts Before Ever Meeting the Customer Kurt failed to conduct the proper due diligence before he contacted Lohmann University Hospital. This was his first oversight. He received notice of the customer’s interest in his product and had adequate time to procure facts about the customer that would have confirmed the hierarchy within the hospital responsible for buying Mediquip’s CT scanner.Kurt was not overtly apathetic in his perfor mance, though it did not appear that he was intrinsically motivated. He relied on the records of past sales to the customer, and when he found none, proceeded first to the employee at the hospital (Professor Steinborn) who had first inquired about his product, without ever confirming the employee’s role in the decision-making process. Kurt failed to identify all members of the DMU either before, or during, his first interview.A result of Kurt’s oversight, communication within the customer organization was inaccurate and created a power struggle between the three parties responsible for making the purchase decision. Kurt’s failure to engage and analyze the true DMU resulted in his reliance on secondary information gleaned from interaction with secretaries (gatekeepers) – which likely was neither accurate, nor trustworthy and his own assumptions. This was evidenced in his records, when he left meetings believing he had made a positive impact on the DMU, wit hout any clear evidence of positive persuasion.The Prescription Phase Kurt failed to identify the latent needs of the customer, the DMU’s true motivations, or the benefits in buying a CT scanner from Mediquip beyond those offered by its competitors. This lapse led to a failure in identifying the features, advantages and benefits of the Mediquip scanner with respect to each DMU member’s needs during the prescription phase of the sale, and ultimately resulted in conflicts within the buying unit.Kurt was responsible for communicating with three members of the DMU – the professor (initiator & end user), the physicist (influencer & end user), and the hospital administrator (buyer) – with whom he was deficient in identifying the specific goals of each member. As a result, Kurt offered multiple price reductions in an attempt to satisfy the administrator’s needs, but failed to identify the administrator’s latent need to feel like he was getting the best deal.By offering multiple price reductions he devalued the technical superiority of his product and made the administrator feel as though he may be getting swindled. Kurt should have identified the administrator’s concern for pricing and need to feel as though he was getting the best value for his dollar. He should have identified the benefits of Mediquip, in an apples- to- apples comparison to its competitors, showing the long term cost savings associated with the purchase through ease of upgrades and increased processing speed.Once all beneficial characteristics of the Mediquip CT were identified, only then offered the best price possible. Finally, during the prescription phase, Kurt would have benefited had he met with all members of the DMU. Because he overlooked the need to identify each DMU member’s concerns, he failed to bring them together to facilitate a consensus of Mediquip’s advantages. Kurt could have served as a mediator helping to solve polit ical conflicts within the DMU and thereby creating additional value for his customers.Closing the Sale At the point where Kurt could have invoked open dialogue between the three DMU members, he would have availed himself of the SPIN technique. He could have identified the situation – a need for a new CT scanner. He could have asked open-ended questions, engaging the DMU, and simultaneously identified their concerns and needs. He could have addressed the problem – not merely the idea of not purchasing a CT scanner, but of purchasing an out-of-date model, a discount product, or the benefits of the higher-priced premiumMediquip scanner. Kurt missed the opportunity to identify the implications of not fulfilling their need. He could have questioned the administrator of the potential loss of patients, or lack of reimbursement from insurance companies who would not compensate for a machine that is not as accurate as the Mediquip standard. Lastly, Kurt could have proposed a so lution to the customer hospital’s concerns by suggesting Mediquip held the answer. Kurt was deficient in formulating and implementing his sales process.He failed in due diligence, prior to meeting with the client, during the prescriptive phase, and ultimately when he overlooked the importance of meeting with the DMU, as a group. He was unsuccessful in building up the value side of the cost equation, as it related to each member of the DMU, and continually chose to focus on cost reduction strategies rather than emphasizing the value of Mediquip’s CT machine. Kurt’s failure to follow the sales process cost Mediquip a new customer, a future potential business partnership and ultimately the sale of a multi-million dollar machine.

Robert Warshow s The Immediate Experience - 1619 Words

Robert Warshow, author of The Immediate Experience: Movies, Comics, Theater and Other Aspects of Popular Culture, was at once a student and teacher of experience. He was a lover of popular culture in all forms, a â€Å"New York Intellectual†, and a disenchanted writer searching for the cultural value in everything he saw, read or experienced. (denby 2001, xiii) Through reading his collection of critical essays one can see Warshow as a Jewish man, with strong opinions about communism and its affect on society, a movie buff, and a critic enamored with experience. Experience both from the perspective of the artist, as well as the observer of the art. From the beginning of his life, it seems, Robert Warshow was a man destine to be a political-intellectual, immersed in both history and the tensions of the moment. (denby 2001, XV) Growing up in New York early in the twentieth century, and being the son of Adolph Warshow who at one point ran for congress on the socialist ticket, Robe rt gained early insight into the political strain of the time. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Warshow found himself an editor and writer for the social-democratic, anti-stalinist magazine The New Leader. After the war, he began working for Commentary as an editor, but also publishing his own work. This was a pivotal job for him, as Commentary was widely known and read by other intellectuals of the time. (denby 2001, xii) While Warshow grew during this era, as a critic of popular culture, hisShow MoreRelatedThe Popularity of Gangster Films in the Early Nineteen-Thirties2065 Words   |  9 Pagesgroup within society who could make upward mobility believable, tells much about how legitimate institutions had failed - but that mobility was still at the core of what Americans held to be the American dream[5]. In the early 1930s productions began within Hollywood of what were commonly described as social problem pictures[6], these films dealt specifically with the social difficulties of the period such as unemployment/labour struggles (Black Fury1935), racial Read MoreThe Crucible Narrative2336 Words   |  10 Pageshistorian Chadwick Hansen, much of Coreys property had already been seized, and he had made a will in prison: His death was a protest ... against the methods of the court. [8]This echoes the perspective of a contemporary critic of the trials, Robert Calef, who claimed, Giles Corey pleaded not guilty to his Indictment, but would not put himself upon Trial by the Jury (they having cleared none upon Trial) and knowing there would be the same Witnesses against him, rather chose to undergo what Death