Latex Products In The Work Pla :: essays research papers

Over the last decade, many employees have developed allergies related to the use of latex. “The employees affected have mainly been found in healthcare, food services and in beauty services.'; As employees in these areas, as well as other areas have learned of the potential risk from the contraction of disease leading to death, caused by the exposure to bodily fluids, they have realized that the use of products to stop the exposure is absolutely essential. This has substantially increased and spread the use of latex products, mainly gloves. “The use of so many is very costly, so many employees turned to third world countries who produce a cheaper, untreated latex, which although it cannot be blamed alone for the development of latex allergies, does contribute to the problem.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The repeated use of latex in the work place can lead to allergies that affect the worker’s ability to function both at work and at home. “The allergies developed can result in degree from a minor irritation to an anaphylactic shock. Out of the many types of allergic reactions only two types, Type I and Type IV have been observed as being related to latex. Type IV reactions have proved to be a response to additives used by the manufacturer. They are uncomfortable, but not life threatening. This is the opposite of Type I reactions. Type I reactions are caused by an antibody called IgE which recognizes the cause of the allergy from previous exposure.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “The Type I allergens in latex products exist naturally. They remain in the latex during processing. Three proteins found to be involved with the latex allergies are Kd-14, Kd-20 and Kd-27. The proteins can be airborne through powder residue on the gloves, so they can be transmitted through the air. The proteins are also water-soluble. The reactions from Type I include eye, nose, and respiratory symptoms. If left untreated the reaction may be life threatening.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  “The death count associated with Type I reactions up until 1995 is 16 due to latex.'; These deaths prove that the latex allergies that are being developed are a serious risk to employee health, and the matter needs to be dealt with seriously. Both employers and government need to take charge of the issue to ensure the safety of the employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The employer needs to provide policies and procedures to reduce the exposure to latex. Until recently latex gloves were the automatic protection worn by all employees dealing with people, or products for people, and in many places this is still the case.

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study By: Katrina Robinson Bus520 Leadership and Organizational Dr. Leonardo Serrano Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Outline the Leadership Style of Branson and its effectiveness to the U. S today Richard Branson and Effective Leadership Incorporation of Branson’s Leadership at School or Work. The Leadership Style of Branson and its effectiveness to the U.S today Richard Branson, the chairman and CEO of the Virgin Group has come up with a type of leadership centered on employees. He has embraced transformational leadership model as a style of leadership. Transformational leadership is a leadership style that focused on effecting revolutionary change in organizations through a commitment to the organization’s vision. Transformational leadership includes engendering trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect amongst followers throug h application of charismatic vision and behavior.Transformational leadership encourages change through intellectual stimulation aimed at self-reflective change of values and beliefs. Vision is critical for transformational leadership because employees are more comfortable when they understand the vision and direction of the company going forward. Transformational leadership impacts individuals' self-growth. Transformational leadership develops followers who can perform beyond their own and others' expectations.Transformational Leadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite and convert potential followers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. Transformational leadership focuses on social values and appears in times of distress and change. Sir Richard Branson has empowered his employees to attain a given vision of the company. This has led to the rise in productivity and the morale of the worker.It has also increased utility and the wide professional and individual growth of the company. Sir Richard Branson is an iconic and legendary figure within business circles. His Virgin companies span the globe, while his thirst for brand domination and sense of adventure tell a story of an intriguing and thought provoking life sprinkled with danger, high risk tactics, pushing the boundaries of the possible and an encompassing purpose that is built upon fairness and change. In terms of leadership model addressed in Chapter 10 and 11, Branson exemplifies a transformational leader.Transformational leadership involves anticipating future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities, developing others to be leaders or better leaders, and building the organization or group into a community of challenged and rewarded learners. Visionary, inspiring, daring, and ethical are words that describe transformational leaders. They a re risk takers who seize or create new opportunities. They are also thoughtful thinkers who understand the interactions of technology, culture, stakeholders, and external environmental forces (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, page 329).He is not as much concerned about industry-specific expertise as he is with recruiting employees with strong communication and teamwork competencies that mesh with the Virgin culture. He truly feels that getting other peoples input and listening to what people have to say are a core value to him. He carries a notebook in his pocket all the time just in case he hears something interesting from people that he interacts with on any level. He loves to take high-risk decisions if in the end he feels it's worthwhile. According to the authors, passion is essential for task accomplishment.Passion is often more present in entrepreneurial leaders and Sir Richard Branson should be regarded as a passionate leader. On the Virgin group website (5) the company mentions â €Å"giving birth† to companies and â€Å"holding their hand† through the organizational development. This is by all means a supportive standpoint, far away from the quarterly run businesses of many. An example of his courage might be when he under heavy competition in the US decided to sell out Virgin Records to save the financials of Virgin Atlantic.In that deal he also decided to switch bank due to poor support and advice for Virginia Records. An example of Branson’s willingness to take risk is his venture into space tourism with Virgin Galactic. That business is by no doubt regarded as extremely courageous and risky but at the same time driven by the same reasons as any other business, profit. Branson has worked closely with Scaled Composites to develop a tourism spacecraft (9). As he puts it, it was a very risky act that could have gone totally wrong (10), (13).However Branson is not a stranger to risk management, according to an article in Time (6). He comm only starts out small and shares the risk with other investors. His companies are also loosely connected according to the article, to minimize risk for each party. Richard Branson’s ventures portray creativity, venturing into airliners using new creative measures such as touch-screen ordering of food and comfortable planes. This comes in an era where most other airliners are figuring out how to remove the last remaining frills to cut costs.Another developed skill is the possibility of delegating work to his colleagues and management staff and taking a step back. He spends a lot of time in the early days of a new business, drawing the big picture and helping the management setting the business plan and the way forward. When this is done he takes a step back and lets the management get a stake in the business and drive it forward. †The company must be set up so that it can continue without me†. Sir Richard is very thorough in hiring the right people. He is known for bringing in good managers and getting them to stay.If they don’t perform at an existing assignment he brings them into another venture where the person is more likely to perform according to his capabilities. †Look for the best and you’ll get the best†, is his words. Firing people is seldom an option to Sir Richard. This situational leadership model would combine both directive and supportive behaviors. Directive behavior would influence the culture by explaining what needed to be done; helping to organize the how, where, and when of getting it done, and ensuring a more hands on approach to the tactical nature of the plan.Supportive leadership, in combination, would provide both encouragement and coaching, and would act to facilitate problem solving and the large amount of issues that require change management. Both approaches could be used by Virgin, some more often than others, but would be a variable model of directive (high and low) depending on the pa rticular situation at hand. Essentially, this style chooses the right leadership style for the right person – and varies depending upon that individual’s ifts, views, background, and personality (The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory, 2012) If this model were adopted by Branson, he would have both the responsibility and ethical requirement to continually assess situations at hand, find the most appropriate placement on the above grid for that issue, and then act accordingly. Of course, at his level the â€Å"issues† would likely remain strategic and rather broad, and it would not always be possible to â€Å"never† direct change, or â€Å"always† direct change.Instead, it would be the appropriateness of individual situations and people that would place this model into Virgin’s strategic and tactical locus of operation (Farrington, 2012). Let us imagine for a moment that the technology has improved enough in aeronautics and space travel that it is possible to develop regular trips to a Space Station, or, at the very least, a launch and trip on a shuttle that would orbit the earth and allow passengers to experience space, a view of the planet, and an educational experience. It is quite natural to assume that the Virgin group might be seminal in the development of this type of new tourist activity.The easiest way to integrate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into the daily job would be to first and foremost examine the job and find the most exciting possibilities and potential for it and then to communicate that to colleagues, staff, and management. If in a managerial position, allow employees to come up with creative solutions to problems meet as a group and indicate a goal or challenge, ask for ideas, and then take some time to consider them, allowing employees to participate in this effort and help them feel empowered and part of the team.Part of being a good leader, according to Branson, is al so the ability to know when to back away from a task. â€Å"As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation,† he says. â€Å"I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me. † In my opinion, the most important factor of good leadership is relating to other people. If you’re good with people†¦and you really care, genuinely care about people†. Leadership teams are generally composed of management brought together to span the boundaries between different functions in the organization. In order for a product to be delivered to market, the heads of finance, production, and marketing must interact and come up with a common strategy for the product. At top management levels, teams are used in developing goals and a strategic direction for the firm as a whole. Technology is impacting how teams meet and function.Collaborative software and conferencing systems have improved the ability for employees to meet, conduct business, share documents, and make decisions without ever being in the same location. While the basic dynamics of other types of teams may still be relevant, the dynamics and management of virtual teams can be very different. Most theories view leadership as grounded in one or more of the following three perspectives: leadership as a process or relationship, leadership as a combination of traits or personality characteristics, or leadership as certain behaviors or, as they are more commonly referred to, leadership skills.In virtually all of the more dominant theories there exist the notions that, at least to some degree, leadership is a process that involves influence with a group of people toward the realization of goals. I will say on the front end that, in my opinion, leadership is a dynamic and complex process, and that much of what is written these days tends to over-simplify this process. Trait theory postulates that people are either born or not born with the qualities that predispose them to success in leadership roles.Skills theory states that learned knowledge and acquired skills/abilities are significant factors in the practice of effective leadership. Situational theory states that is, to be effective in leadership requires the ability to adapt or adjust one’s style to the circumstances of the situation. Contingency theory states that a leader’s effectiveness is contingent on how well the leader’s style matches a specific setting or situation.The underlying beliefs of path-goal theory (grounded in expectancy theory) are that people will be more focused and motivated if they believe they are capable of high performance, believe their effort will result. The key in transformational leadership is for the leader to be attentive to the needs and motives of followers in an attempt to help th em reach their maximum. Transactional theory is a theory that focuses on the exchanges that take place between leaders and followers.It is based in the notion that a leader’s job is to create structures that make it abundantly clear what is expected of his/her followers and also the consequences (i. e. rewards and punishments) for meeting or not meeting these expectations. References Hellriegel, D. , ; Slocum, J. (2007). Organizational Behavior. Mason, OH: Thompson Higher People and Planet. (2012, January). Retrieved from Virgin. com: http://www. virgin. com/people-and-planet/our-vision The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Theory. (2012, January). Retrieved from Mind Tools: http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newLDR_44. htm

Human Rights Norms And The Prohibition Of Torture Essay

Question 1 (i) Do States have universal jurisdiction to prosecute offenders? Human rights norms – and the prohibition of torture in particular - belong to the category of jus cogens. That status means that they are peremptory norms so  ´its derogation is not permitted and can be modified only by a subsequent norm of general international law having the same character’ (Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, art. 53). When a violation of any of these peremptory norms occurs, States should have jurisdiction to prosecute and punish offenders in its territory even where the violations have been committed outside its territory and there are no other connecting factors . This is further explained in Prosceutor v. Anto Furundzija (ICTY 1998) where was demonstrated that one of the consequences of the jus cogens character is that every State has the right to prosecute and punish the authors of crimes of torture present in a territory under its jurisdiction . Therefore, the question raised seems to lead us to a positive answer as States have universal jurisdiction to prosecute any person who contravenes that prohibition. The Prosecutor case also exhibits three relevant features of the prohibition of torture which are in common to the other principles that protects fundamental human rights: The first feature is the obligation to the States not only to prohibit and punish torture but also to pre-empt its perpetration. A State is in violation of its obligations wheneverShow MoreRelatedThe Appeal Of The Mccain Feinstein Amendment935 Words   |  4 Pagesother words, the amendment approaches the problem from a different perspective in contrast to previous prohibitions. Rather than expressing a broad prohibition, it restricts interrogators to a definitive list of approved techniques (Feinstein, D 2015). This approach, thus, essentially avoids the ambiguity that has become an enduring quality of international human rights law in relation to torture (Cole, D 2015; Levinson, S 2015, pp. 2017-2018). In succinct terms, if a technique is not authorised,Read MoreThe Human Rights Of The United Nations2236 Words   |  9 PagesI Introduction The term ‘human rights’ is difficult to define, but generally they are regarded as those fundamental and inalienable rights which are essential for life. They are rights inherent, interdependent, and indivisible to all human beings. This means they cannot be granted or taken away and include rights such as civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Each act of torture and ill-treatment, inflicted by one human being upon another, permanently scars all those touched byRead MoreUniversal Human Rights And Universal Rights1312 Words   |  6 PagesUniversal human rights are those that apply to everyone no matter where they come from, who they are or what they do. They are held by the individual person and protect them from other people and/or collectives (Bell,1999). Human rights instruments found today are also compared to those in religions and ancient civilisations that have contributed towards the understanding of human dignity (James, 2007). There are many arguments on whether human rights are universally achievable and if they have alreadyRead MoreHuman Rights Law Course Work2128 Words   |  9 PagesHuman Rights Law Course Work 1.0 Introduction The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Convention’) stands as the world’s most successful legal instrument and foundation for international legal process in the protection of Human Rights. Drafted two months after the founding of the Council of Europe, in the aftermath of the atrocities of World War II, it was fundamental to the future and stability of the region to introduceRead MoreFemale Circumsion1179 Words   |  5 Pages‘unjust’. The most shared problem is that which such practice creates a situation where lives of people are put at risk. An eminent practice which is taken into attention is female genital mutilation. This writing shall discuss clashes between human rights and cultural relativism with my personal stance about these two ethical dilemmas. Female genital mutilation is considered as unlawful act by many people while in several cultures it is a common cultural practice. â€Å"Female circumcision is mainlyRead MoreBusiness Ethics - Philosophy of Human Rights6492 Words   |  26 PagesPhilosophy of Human Rights Reading 1. Denis Arnold, â€Å"The Human Rights Obligations of Multinational Corporations† I have had the opportunity to teach a number of courses on the philosophy of human rights. To supplement the Arnold reading, I thought that I would give you some basic background regarding the central philosophical and legal debates over the nature of human rights. What are human rights? Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhereRead MoreEssay about The Human Right Violations at Abu Ghraib2003 Words   |  9 PagesThe Human Right Violations at Abu Ghraib In 1949, the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was created to prohibit immoral, cruel and degrading punishment toward prisoners during wartime. The United States ratified this covenant and became a member of the Geneva Conventions. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, a series of human abuses occurred from October through December of 2003 where American military personnel have conducted acts of brutality and immoral behavior towardRead MoreThe International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights1669 Words   |  7 Pagesexplores the concept of non-derogable human rights as the basis for drawing a distinction between fundamental human rights (of jus cogens nature) and other core human rights (of jus dispositivum nature), and as argued in the paper, this classification sets an innate hierarchy, which when interpreted as such, can minimize conflict and in the worst, aid in resolution. The origin of this argument stems from Article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) - arguably the most importantRead MoreThe Ethical Treatment of Prisoners3418 Words   |  14 Pagesï » ¿The ethical treatment of prisoners is a surprisingly contentious topic, considering how much is known about the conditions and contexts in which human beings function optimally, both physically and mentally. However, ethical discussions frequently have very little to do with what best allows human beings to thrive and function, but instead concern themselves with formulating rules and standards of acceptable behavior, usually out of the mistaken belief that these rules or standards represent someRead MoreThe Death Penalty Is The Constitutional Right Of A Human Being1793 Words   |  8 Pagespenalty has a lot of ethical and moral matters tied to it. In a world of individuality there is a divide on the people, for the death sentence and those against it. Many view i t as a barbaric and cruel punishment that violates the constitutional right of a human being. Whilst other view it as a just punishment for serious crimes. This paper will look at the history of the death penalty in Australia in body one. Then in body two, lead on to a recent case known as the ‘Bali nine’ which was experienced