Impact of Employee Retention Essay

Griffeth & Hom (2001) have argued that employee turnover is assuming crisis proportions for many employers who struggle to retain people in the tightest labour market. Griffeth & Hom (2001, Pg 1) 52% of companies report that their turnover is increasing and quit rates are running high of 1.1% a month.† Turnover can be a real problem in many organisations. Companies spend a great deal of time and money recruiting and training employees and the cost of replacing staff members lost through turnover are great. The monetary cost of replacing one employee is generally estimated to range from 50 percent to 200 percent of the annual salary for the position, and may even be higher in very specialized fields. Furthermore, poor employee retention can have a negative impact on workplace productivity, job satisfaction, and also on the overall morale of the organisation. It is proven that a high turnover percentage can cost employers a great deal of financial distress. Depending on the size of the company, to many employers it can make the difference in staying or going out of business. Phillips (2003,Pg 4) noted that, â€Å"of late employee retention has captured the attention of the business, financial, and executive community as a critically important strategic issue that can have a dramatic effect on productivity and profits.† Cascio, 2000 and Johnson,1995 cited in Griffeth & Hom, Retaining Valued Employees (2001), are of the opinion that, human resources professionals and researchers project that the cost of one turnover incidence ranges from between 93% to 200% of a leavers salary, depending on his or her skill and level of job responsibility. Labour turnover has a negative impact on the organizations. Although every manager and team member is aware of problems associated with high turnover, a review of its foremost consequences puts employee retention in the appropriate perspective. Patricia (2002, pg 4, 5) noted that â€Å"employee turnover has a serious impact on organisations. Firstly high financial costs, which is both in terms of direct and indirect costs and the performance of companies has been inhibited in many ways by high turnover rates. Sometimes the costs alone causes turnover to become a critical strategic issue. Secondly, in terms of survival as an issue, where in a tight labour market in which the company depends on having employees with critical skills, recruiting and retaining the appropriate talent can determine the success or failure of the organisation. Thirdly in terms of productivity loses and workflow interruptions , where an employee who quits abruptly not only leaves a productivity gap but also causes problems for others on the same team and within the same flow of work. Fourthly in terms of loss of know-how especially with regards to knowledge industry, where a departing employee may have the critical knowledge and skills needed for working with specific software. This can be a negative impact at least in the short run. Fifthly, turnover can have a serious impact on the image of the organisations.† Patricia (2002) also noted that some of the other impacts of turnover on organisations may be with regards to loss of business opportunities, administrative problems, disruption of social and communication networks, and job satisfaction of remaining employees. Patricia (2002) noted that it is important to remember that turnover can have a negative impact on the individual, particularly if an employee is leaving because of problems that could have been prevented. Furthermore, Patricia (2002) noted that a voluntary turnover because of problems that could have been avoided creates a variety of consequences such as loss of employee benefits or job seniority, financial difficulties, loss of social network, relocation costs, wasted efforts and uncompleted projects, and even more in terms of career problems. Branham (2005) noted that employees quit because of the disengagement process and deliberation process. Branham (2005) also noted that there are 7 reasons as to why employees leave organisations. They are as follows: 1. The job or the workplace was not expected. 2. The mismatch between job and person. 3. Very little coaching and feedback. 4. Few growth and advancement opportunities. 5. Feeling devalued and unrecognised. 6. Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance. 7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders. There is no set level of employee turnover that determines at what point turnover starts to have a negative impact on an organisation’s performance. Everything depends on the type of labour markets in which you compete. Where it is relatively easy to find and train new employees quickly and at relatively little cost (that is where the labour market is loose), it is possible to sustain high quality levels of service provision despite having a high turnover rate. By contrast, where skills are relatively scarce, where recruitment is costly or where it takes several weeks to fill a vacancy, turnover is likely to be problematic for the organisation. This is especially true of situations in which you are losing staff to direct competitors or where customers have developed relationships with individual employees. Some employee turnover positively benefits organisations. This happens when a poor performer is replaced by a more productive employee, and can happen when a senior retirement allows the promotion or acquisition of welcome ‘fresh blood’. The more valuable the employees in question the more damaging the resignation, particularly when they move on to work for competitors. Moderate levels of staff turnover can also help to reduce staff costs in organisations where business levels are unpredictable month on month. When business is slack it is straightforward to hold off filling recently created vacancies for some weeks. Staw (1980 cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002), argues that turnover is not always bad. For instance, vacating employees or employees who quit can increase promotional opportunities for other employees or can infuse new ideas and technologies when new employees replace those who left. Dalton, Krackhardt and Porter (1981cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002), are of the opinion that certain kinds of jobs exits or quits among marginal performers are even desirable. Abelson & Bay singer (1994, cited in Griffeth and Hom (2002) that a certain quit rate might be tolerated as a cost of doing business in a particular industry. Stephen Taylor (2002, Pg 15) noted that for many HR specialists, rising staff turnover is seen as being an important organisational problem. It follows that improving retention rates should be high on the management agenda, and it is proper for resources to be devoted to achieving this aim. However a certain amount of turnover is actively welcomed by many managers. â€Å"Nonetheless, Griffeth & Hom (2001) have noticed that organisational-level research and corporate studies report that high exit rates generally worsen organisational effectiveness. Though there are diverse opinions from various authors, and taking the above argument into consideration, it is clear that employees play a fundamental role in the success of any organisation and therefore by retaining talented or rather key employees is a very important task that the managers should undertake. Phillips & Connell (2002) noted that, some organisations do a superb job of managing retention, whereas others fail miserably. The issues are not always externally driven but often lie within the organisation.

P G in China

In 2008, P&G has become a company with the 6th biggest market value, and has a sale of approximately $45 billion. In 1988, P&G entered the market in the Great China Area due to the potential customers and profits hidden behind it. Up to this date, P&G has established 0 joint ventures and proprietorship in major cities like Guanos, Beijing, Tannin, Shanghai, etc. In this dissertation, we will carefully analyze its international operations in the Great China Area and examine the factors that made its success. We will first analyze the reasons why it entered China in the first place by looking into different aspects of China's overall image.Then, we are going to look further into the operational strategy it uses to keep itself functioning. We will also examine the procedure of how it manages its staffing across the sea and hires local employees. Besides, we will talk about TTS marketing strategies in the Great China Area market by looking into the ops (Products, Price, Promotion and Pla ce) of P China and P Hong Kong. Reasons to enter the Great China Area It is reasonable and necessary for international corporations such as P to enter the Great China Area market. Reasons as following: Increase the sale; Decrease the cost; Increase the popularity; Meanwhile, it is also really important to analyze the risks for entering the market.Here is the risk assessment for entering the great China market. The risk assessment based on following six elements: political stability–the stability of politics and overspent, the more stable the better; market chances–the number of customers and the purchase power of customers, the higher the better; economic development and achievement–the growth of economic and the expectation for the future, the higher the better; legal impediment-?the restriction from the law, the less the better; physical impediment–the restriction from resources, the less the better; differences in terms of culture- -to what extent is t he domestic culture different from foreign cultures.The political stability in China: China is a socialist country and always controlled by en regime–the communist party of China. The government has high control in the country and do not need to worry about other regime within the country. Therefore, the political stability in China is good for investing. The market chances in China: China owns the biggest population in the world. The potential market in China is huge, especially when the need for imported goods grows so fast in recent years in China. The economic development and achievement in China: China keep growing fast in recent year and the growth rate keeps rising. In 2007, the GAP growth rate was 1 1. 4, and the GAP as 24. 6619 trillion dollars.In 2008, the GAP rise to 30 trillion dollars. According to the data in terms of GAP and the growth rate, the economic environment in China is appropriate. The legal impediment in China: China's legal system is new in the world after the reform. There are some bugs on laws exist in China and some people or company utilize it, and there are some unreasonable laws exist. However, the Chinese legality system keeps improving and the relative laws to foreign company are always good for investors. In terms of legality system of China, it is good for entering and investing. The physical impediment in China: the land area in China is 960 million square kilometers which ranks 4th in the world.China is also a main energy import and export country in the world, with the north temperate zone having the most. Overall, China owned lots of resources and has potential. The difference in terms of cultures: There are many differences between the eastern culture and the western culture. China is a socialist country and most western countries are capitalist country. The language is also a problem, Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world ND the Chinese culture is the oldest culture olives in the world. Now adays Chinese are willing to touch new culture and lean new technologies. The culture difference could be a problem meeting in China.Overall, China as a stable-politics country with high growth rate is a talented market and the risk for entering is acceptable. Operational strategies of P&G China Procter & Gamble (P&G) entered Chinese market in 1988, P&G and Hutchison Hampton LTD. Had a joint venture together and invested Procter & Gamble China LTD. Company with 70% and 30% company share respectively. P&G takes advantages from the joint venture P&G china Ltd. The company has more stable financial resources and larger economies of scale. More importantly, could share risk with its partner initially in an unfamiliar international market. P&G China set its headquarter in Guanos. It cooperated with its first partner for operation—–the Guanos soap factory Ltd.P&G China kept the factory core product, Joshua brand shampoo, and bought out its rest products and stop the producti on. This local partner is very helpful to P&G. Guanos soap factory has its own production factory, mature supply networks, good local brand reputation, some profitable reduces and local distribution and sale networks. Moreover, Guanos soap factory has connection with Guanos government which helps receive supports and benefits from government. From the current point, this is one successful case for international cooperation. P&G China did adequate marketing research for Chinese market. The company firstly chooses some product categories which has lower entry restrictions such as hair care products, skin care products.Meanwhile these product categories are very profitable and have huge growth space with perspective of market development and product development. This is one of the important reasons why China could continue growing in a fast speed after it entered China. In order to save cost, increase profit and better control operation, P&G was looking for more local partners to produ ce its products. So far, P&G owns or controls more than 1 0 subsidiary corporations around China area especially in big cities such as Beijing, shanghai, Changed etc. P&G learnt a lot from its first partner—- Guanos soap factory, the company selects its partners with requirements.That is the partner company should be in small size but could fill gaps in P&G's value chain. In this way, first of all, P could use its size and brand reputation easily control or take the major part in the corporation to keep its operating stability. Then, P could use partners resources for local production, distribution or even social networks and more. Two companies could arrange a co-specialization situation. However, P also had problems from its partners especially in the area of washing powder. For example, the cooperation with Beijing second daily chemical factory. The factory used to have its panda brand washing powder products.After the factory joined P and became P panda washing powder fac tory, the reduce and brand were kept. During the operation, the factory campaniles that P smaller its brand logo image on the product which may affect its brand reputation and consumer reputation. On the other hand, some employees left the factory and set up their own Company to produce similar products as panda brand washing powder product which involves within copyright issues. Similar problems happened when P China cooperate with Changed oil chemical factory. P china should do more research about the culture of Chinese companies. They are very protective about their own brand and reputation.They are afraid of losing control, and lots of facts show that they may use illegal methods to â€Å"protect† their profits. The lessons P learnt from failure cooperation will help them gain experience and better collaborate with Chinese companies. China could not be successful without its efficient and effective distribution and sale strategies. We mentioned, P has many local partners around China and the company used its size and big brands take over the control in the corporation. In this way, P can fully use local partners distribution network resources without influence. P has different progress and use different methods for underside market and urban market.The marketing teams are better specialized and tasks are more specific. The operation will be more efficient and effective for different markets. Work with distribution partners. The company has both whole sale partners and retailer partners. P formulates concrete policy to benefit both types of partners. And the company is currently seeking corporation with big franchisee retailers such as Walter. P has a complete and mature system to manage its distribution network. Logistics Management P has a chosen a reliable third party logistics service provider to be in hare of almost all of its products' distribution-?Bagging Logistics Group.With the special â€Å"door-to -door† service and the principle O f â€Å"Customer comes first†, Bagging has built a big logistics operating network throughout China for P&G, and by having thousands of well-trained workers performing the â€Å"door-to-door† service to consumers, it saves P&G 6 million every year of cost on logistics. Inventory Management Fist of all, having a good sale on its products implies that it has to control every kind of its goods at an acceptable quantity, for example, P&G cannot increase the production of Durable intensively just because it is earning none, because it has a high externally cost to the environment, which government will raise the price of it. If P&G is having too much inventory of Durable batteries while the price of it is increasing at the same time, the sale will see an instant drop, and this gap between production and consumers' will to purchase it would even lead to diminishing of the brand.Therefore, P has to conduct very serious speculation and forecast before it decides how much inven tory it is going to have. Vendor-Managed Inventory is the strategy P prefers to use when it comes to dealing with inventories in Great China Area, a market with tens of thousands of suppliers. The vendors has an agreed inventory of P's products kept in their through the communication with the provider through a information system, EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). In this information system, effective and useful information is exchanged between the producers(I. E. , P&G) and the vendors, so P&G will know when a vendor needs more inventory in his store and can make quick adjustment to it.In this process, a third party logistics providers can also be involved and adjust and demand and supply to ensure the vendors has the squired level of inventory, which greatly reduce the cost of the transferring of the inventory. Human resource management of China Richard Duper, the former CEO of P&G, once said: † If you leave our warehouses, money and our brand here, but take away our men, w e will be nothing; however, if you take away all our warehouses, money and our brand but leave our men, we will rise again. † P&G has entered Chinese market since 1988, more than 25 years. It currently has more than 7000 employees around great China area.Effective human resource management is one of the keys that made P&G China's success. But how exactly does P manage its staffs exactly? Systematic Advantage Localize its team: back in 1 988, P China has more foreign employees than Chinese, but now 98% of P China' employees are local people. Local teams could help better fit into local market and save labor costs. However, P&G still keeps its core positions for foreign employees. For example, the research and develop department, most positions in top management. In this way, P&G ensure it fully control the company and make strategy decisions. Efficient training system: P&G has standard and complete training system for its employees globally.The training helps every local employ ee understand the job itself and the company. Therefore, employee could better understand how could they contribute the company and have better career opportunities. Nice working environment and transparent rewards and punishment system: P&G try to build nice working environment for its employees. The company set standard for employee treatment and try to build friendly and fair company culture to raise its employ satisfaction. Therefore, employees are more motivated and they have higher loyalty for the company. Meanwhile, has a transparent rewards and punishment system in order to keep employees' motivation.Selection system: P has very complete employee selecting system and the company is willing to train inexperienced youths. It has connections with various education institutions around great China area. International Staffing Local hiring P owns more than 50 branches in China, and every branch is open for the first round of employment. P does not need the person to have the match ing experience for the job position that he is applying for, however, basic concept and professional skills is required. After filtering the original applicants, the remaining applicants will be sent to P's headquarter in Guanos for the second round, and also the last round of the interview.In order to make sure that the interview is unbiased and legitimate, at least 3 managers from headquarter in China are required for every interview. Also, given the fact that all the applicants need to spend a considerable amount of money, not matter living near or far from Guanos, all the expenses for every applicant are covered by China. The interview can be broken into four parts: Icebreakers, Questioning, Information Exchange and Final Appraisal. The Questioning stage is when the famous P&G's Eight Questions re asked. The questions are made by Human Resource Department in P's headquarter in US, however, the way they are tested is different in the Great Chain Area.According to our interview in P&G Hong Kong, the facial expression and the logics behind an applicant's answer are what matter the most while in the IIS the completion and structure of the answer are major considerations, as P is trying to make its employees match to standard for even surpass the standard P set for its employees around the world.. In the Great China Area, the hiring of staff also follows the same principle that he company is always trying to emphasize: The quality and moral of the person comes first. Fresh graduates from a first-class university in China, due to their flexibility and competitiveness, are the type of applicants that P China adores the most. The data has shown that 90% of the new employees are university graduates from all over China.Expatriate Once an applicant is officially an employee of P China, a series of complicated and motivating training await for them. Due to the flexibility of college students, it is usually very easy for them to absorb the management mode and thinking model quickly. As a result, spends an average Of $30 million on over 1 00 expatriated staffs every year from US in order to better instill the values of the company into employees' mind. For the expatriated employees, most of them are native American workers at managerial level, they are transferred to China mainly to train the â€Å"new born† employees, give managers at positions suggestions and be in charge of the interviews of applicants. Due to the great staff welfare policy P&G has, managers from U.S are given a big increase on their salary for â€Å"compensation†, as they have to be exposed to a completely different culture ND pay more tax give that they are working in two places. However, because of the increasing caliber and standard of Chinese managers, a lot of them are actually being sent to headquarter in Ohio, U. S for further development. Data has shown that an average of 100 Chinese managers and 10 managers from Hong Kong are sent to U. S every year. Ma rketing strategies of P&G China Products The products of household care category that P&G offered in the Great China Area vary according to different regions. For example, in the mainland market and Hong Kong market, the following items are available as shown: China Hong KongDetergent Ariel, Tide FAA Battery Durable Diaper pampers Pampers Indoor Fragrance Iambi Purr As can be seen from the data given, the types of household care products are quite different be;en China and Hong Kong. After our analysis, the following factors can give rise to this situation. Demographical Difference As a country With a huge population, China generates a great demand for basic household care product, I. E. , detergent. As a result, more kinds of detergent are expected in the Chinese market. Also, with more people from rural areas entering the city nowadays, detergents with a lower price (Tide, Ariel) compared to FAA are more accepted. Beside this, the increasing variety of people in China mainland ind icates a more diverse demand when it comes to daily-use products.Hong Kong, on the other hand, tends to have a much smaller and less diverse population, therefore the need generated for many kinds of detergent is not very intensive. Also, Hong Kong has launched some of its own local brands ( e. G. , FUD(Axe), Lagoon) for batteries and detergent that already established great trust among consumers, making it harder for P&G to have many brands to compete with them. Psychological Difference As said before, with the increasing variety of Chinese population, people are starting to have different demands and options on the kind of detergent they purchase as a result of the different kinds of fabrics and clothing materials they have. The increase of the demand implies that there need to be a more complex system of commodities, especially in detergent.However, when it comes to Hong Kong, as said before, the small population has somehow unified people's need for multiple brands; besides, it is worth-mentioning that as a city that represents the modern culture and financial business activities, Hong Kong folks tend to care more about their personal image appearing to others, and this is mainly why there exists the demand for an indoor fragrance product (Iambi Purr) in Hong Kong. Price Price is an extremely important and most uncertain factor in the market. A setting of a price is to increase a product's sale and generate profits for it. A good pricing strategy combines both the consideration of its own cost and consumers' affordability, and is a reflection of the variable market as well. Being a company known for its reasonable prices, P has unique pricing strategies for its household care products.First of all, having segmented the market, P launched different sizes of detergent and charge them with different price to cater needs for detergent and batteries from different levels. For Tide 360, three kinds of package are being introduced to the market: 2. 9 for egg(an a verage of Y 0. 97 /keg) ; YE. 9 for egg (Y 10. 5 /keg) and 15. 9 for 1. Keg (Y 9. 6 /keg). To capture the market in less developed areas, P has produced an â€Å"economical package† of 34. 8 for 5 keg ( 6. 96 / keg). What is more, due to the wider spread of thriftiness, P uses odd-even pricing more intensively in the Great China Area than it does the North America. In a supermarket, prices like Y 2. 9 , *11. 9 can often be seen when we look at some of the batteries and detergents sells, in order to make consumers consciously think that the price is collaboratively set after a series of considerations, and thus view the items as cheaper and a lot more worth- buying. Also, for products like Pampers, aims to use skimming pricing strategy to maintain its market place. Targeting at groups with higher income, this strategy makes Pampers more expensive than the rest, thus creating the feeling among consumers that Pampers are better than other reduces in terms of quality standards, e ffects and values. It is also worth- mentioning that with this strategy applied to shampoos such as Heads , Swanson, P has made an instant success, gathered larger group of consumers and increased the customers' loyalty by a great deal.Last but not least, P&G sets its price by paying a great deal of attention to the moving direction of its competitors, mostly from Milliner, to say in other words: is constantly adjusting its price according to the movement from Milliner in order to remain competitive in the field. In 2013, due to the economic downturn in the Great China Area, Milliner has been forced to lower its price in order to keep the original consumers they have. The price of a egg package Mom, a leading brand in detergent owned by Milliner, has decreased from YE to Y 33. 4 , half as expensive as it used to be. As a result of this practice, P&G decreases the price of Tide of the same package from 38 to Y 32 , a little bit less than Milliner, just to keep getting hold of the mar ket.As we can see from above, low price strategy is also an important strategy that helps P&G to stay firmly in the business. Note: American Dollar 1 = Y 6. 206; Canadian Dollar $ 1= *5. 780 Promotion As one of the strongest and most competitive commodity company in the world, what sort of promotion techniques should P&G have in order to generate new demand and face the challenges from the variable Chinese market? Increasing the number of its brands. Up to this date, P&G has over 300 brands covering fashion industry, health, household care products, cosmetics, perfume and food, etc. With a large coverage in the market, P&G does a great job in bringing in everyone's attention.Also, Sometimes, the brands in competition with each other are tooth from P, making profit for What is more, due to the trust built in customers in Chinese market, it is very easy for P to sweep out other local brands and develop at a steady pace. Advertisement For large companies aiming for the whole market, ad vertising is without a doubt a very useful â€Å"weapon† for the company's growth In long stand. A good advertisement cannot only bring the company massive profits, but can also build a good brand image for the company as a whole. Large amount Of investment In 2011, P&G spent Y 33. 26 billion in the Great China Area, over six times than what it had spent ten years ago.Besides, it is worth-mentioning that the total expenditure on advertisement in 2011 was *55. 89 billion , indicating that views the Great China Area as a very important market. It is shown that among ten brands with the most advertising expenditure in 2005, half of them are P&G's brands. Appropriate and effective content The common technique it uses is by comparison: the person in the clip will usually show the difference between P and other brands. Tide and Durable are typical examples for this; Also, P will have a professional presenting the daily problems, and then provide the solution by introducing a ewe pr oduct. Oral-B in the health category is an example of this technique.Both techniques successfully capture consumers' needs and make them want P&G's products even more. Good choice of people Having a person everyone loves in the advertisement certainly means more people will start thinking about the products, and P is always wisely choosing the person in the advertisement to make sure it generates a great effect in its potential market. Philanthropy as another advocating method In 2007, donated *7. 5 million to China Education Development Foundation, initiating the â€Å"Quantifications]ahoy† (National Healthy Education Plan); In 2010, spent another million on aiding China Social Welfare Foundation, mainly for letting children from less developed area have a better Children's Day (Novo. 10th); From 2007 to 2009, P&G has donated 4 million three times consecutively to Project Hope in order to help kids who cannot finish school in China; In total, P&G has donated to build 131 ele mentary schools in China from 1 991 to 2008, and it has been planning to build 200 by the end of 2010. Etc. Place On Gag 18th1988, entered China as a join venture with two soap companies and a foreign trade corporation in Guanos. After two months, Head& Shoulders, the first brand P&G has in the Great China Area, was launched, and in only two months, more than 95% Of the population in Guanos has known the brand. After twenty years of development, P&G has now become the biggest commodities company with a sale of almost 18 billion every year in the Great China Area, making China the second largest market throughout P&G's global operation.When P first entered China, China was still going through the stage of reformation and opening up. Gudgeon Province, where Guanos is at, was one of the few regions that darted trading with other countries, which provided a great deal of opportunity for foreign companies like and Milliner. Studies have shown that an estimated value of 26. 2 billion doll ar per year is created solely from foreign direct investment during the period between 1979 and 2007, while in 2007 the FED was even increased to 74. 8 billion dollar. Also, it cannot be denied that the caring policies towards the infrastructures and resource allocation are another major reason why P chose Guanos.With the construction of industrial areas and the introduction of less tax to companies, P saved a great amount of money on the start up cost, and thus was able to develop at a faster and steadier pace. Besides these, Guanos, as a terminal in the Peking- Guanos Railway, Guanos can provide P with a convenient distribution system and provide guarantee to the allocation of P's products throughout coastal areas in China. Summary P&G chooses enter China, an emerging market and place of resources. P&G keeps the growth of its economies of scale, increases revenue and decreases cost.

Introduction to HIV/AIDS

Introduction to HIV/AIDS NAMES OF MEMBERS K.J. TIKISO M.J. MOHOLOHOLO M.R. MATUKA J,M. MOHOLO M.O. MLOTUMI HIV and AIDS outline (Foreword): HIV and AIDs is the most threatening disease which everyone on this planet earth is scared to contact the virus, simply because there is no medication found to cure the virus yet. The disease leaves most of the children without parents and some instances with single parents. An unfortunate part about the disease is that some of the health workers don’t have choice to when it comes to which patients they can treat, e.g. Hospital workers and Emergency Service workers. The aim of these projects set as and educational (awareness) tool, identify methods of counselling and support services in the emergency medical service environment. Glossary of terms AIDS- Stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome which means the body loses its ability to fight infections; HIV weakens the immune system Anal intercourse -Penetration of the anus of a man or female Antibody- A specific protein made by a person’s white blood cells to fight a disease; for example, antibodies are produced against the different kinds of colds, flu and HIV. Anus- Opening at back of body through which waste matter is AZT A – drug that attacks the HIV/AIDS virus and slows down the disease. Blood transfusion receiving blood after a major accident or certain operations. Carrier – Someone who is infected with HIV/AIDS. Condom- A contraceptive usually made of thin latex rubber and worn on an erect penis; condoms greatly reduce the chances of both males and females catching sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS Confidential- Information that must not be told to others. Counselling- Talking to someone about their concerns and helping them deal with their problems; pre-test counselling involves talking to someone and explaining the consequences if the result is positive. Counsellor – Someone who listens to your p roblems and gives you advice. Co-workers- Means people you work with. Diarrhoea- Upset (runny) stomach Discharge- Pus or moisture that oozes from an infected area. Discrimination- Treating people unfairly or differently from yourself based on prejudice. Donating blood- Giving blood to be used in medical emergencies. Epidemic – A disease that spreads fast from one person to another person. Expiry date- Date limited for something to be used for certain period. False negative- Is a blood test for HIV that does not clearly show the presence of HIV in a particular person with HIV; this may happen if the test is done before the person has developed antibodies that will show up in a test. False positive- A blood test for HIV that shows the presence of HIV in a person who does not have HIV; this happens when the test finds antibodies to another organism. Female condom – A contraceptive usually made of thin latex rubber and worn inside the vagina; to reduce the chances of both males and females catching sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Germ- Tiny, living things that may bring illness. HIV- Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

How do designers in their work benefit or suffer from 'the network Essay

How do designers in their work benefit or suffer from 'the network society' (Manuel Castells) - Essay Example The internet has in the recent past become the fibre of the modern social life. According to the available statistics, the number of people who uses internet has grown from under 40 million in 1995 to more than 1.5 million in 2009 (Stalder 2006, p.79). Manuel Castells, a senior professor of sociology have been studying the changes that are brought about by modern technology in the society and have developed a theory of â€Å"Network Society†. The theory talks about society which is not controlled by distance and time (Castells 2007, p. 265). A network society is a society whose social structure is composed of networks which are empowered by communication strategies and micro-electronic-based information. According to Castells, network is an inter-connection between different nodes. Despite being a traditional human practice, network has in modern days taken a new form by becoming an informational network which is enhanced by internet. Due to the ever expanding use of technolog y in modern societal operations, designers in different entities have as well benefited from the emergence of network society. Despite the highly hyped benefits of networks societies, some designers have suffered severely from the modern technology. The essay below focuses on how designers in their work benefit or suffer from the network society. Benefits of Network Society to Designers The core aim of contemporary technology is to advance the living status of the general population. The objective of the technology is projected to be achieved by developing mechanisms that can reduce the amount of labour and increased the level of outcome. The emergence of modern technology has a substantial encouraging impact to modern designers. Modern network is extraordinarily flexible and has wide scope compared to traditional networks. The flexibility of a network society is therefore very helpful for designers in facilitating instant and dependable access to relevant social organisations and s tructures (Stalder, 2006, p.79). Networks in modern society are proliferated in all aspects of the social facets including: outperforming cooperates, outcompeting centralised bureaucracies and economy. This has reduced the complications that may be countered by designers in accessing several social and economic entities. Prior to the emergence of internet, designers were faced with intricate barrier in fulfilling their task and in managing their daily functions. This was especially the case in the situation when their operations are huge and more complex to be accomplished by one entity. However, modern development has brought about a network society that fits extensively in designers’ operations and interactions. Secondly, network society has also brought about exceptional combination between task and flexibility which has led to sophisticated form of human action. As a result, designers are at present in a better position to make well coordinated decisions with the inclusio n of all players in the society. The grouping between flexibility and task has as well led to effective execution of horizontal communication which is vital for efficient operation in designer profession. In addition, due to the existence of network society, the boundaries between other type of communication and mass media have in the recent past blurred. As a result, the weakening boundary between mass communication and other forms of communication such as social media and printed media

International aspects of business law Coursework

International aspects of business law - Coursework Example Increasingly international trade organizations such as the WTO and bilateral free-trade agreements such as those in place with the United States and E.U. can significantly shape and alter the economic environment in a way that financial planners must identify and manage for investment clients with advance preparation. The importance of international law to traders in this context of financial investment services and commodities trading particularly cannot be understated, as it is a direct aspect of risk management operations that form a part of due diligence in any overseas investment strategy. Financial planners and traders must identify the risk elements that international law governs as a variable in estimating the success and expected returns of a project in order to successfully manage investment services for clients in the contemporary era of globalization. The history behind the WTO, bank frameworks, and financial regulation are all chief matters of international aspects of bu siness law which affect trade. The application of international law to trading activity of commodities, equities, and bonds globally is a specialized field and different in many ways from the sectors of international law which govern trade, commerce, and other forms of business development activity. For example, international traders generally have little worry over the application of labour or environmental law to their activities globally, as these are related to the general commercial operations of a business and not the trading activity particularly. Traders find their business operations most significantly impacted in the import and export process when the goods involved are passing through an international border. Most nations do not tax transit cargo that passes through sea and air ports, however most nations do tax and regulate imports and exports domestically through the application of international law and accepted practice. In order for a trader or financial planner to un derstand the requirements and how they apply differently from country to country, the GATT Agreements, or General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, begun in international negotiations at the end of the Second World War and birth of the United Nations, are the most important references for international trade. The GATT Agreements stand as the most comprehensive and accepted standards of international trade laws among nations as negotiated directly through their envoys and representatives. Therefore, international traders and financial planners who require the complete country-by-country listing of trade and tariff requirements as established in international law should base their investigation in the publications of the GATT Agreements, or General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade, and the World Trade Organization (WTO), the modern descendent of the International Trade Organization (ITO). DZ Cass has written about the GATT and ITO/WTO systemization of international trade law in his essa y, The 'Constitutionalization' of International Trade Law: Judicial Norm-generation as the Engine of Constitutional Development in International Trade (Cass, 2001). In the articles, Cass suggests that the GATT Agreements and further negotiations of the WTO represent a process of creating a type of constitution for international trade where nothing but the chaos and conflicting interests of sovereign

Water pollution here in wisconsin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Water pollution here in wisconsin - Essay Example It is also to be noted that higher efforts and commitments to treating waste water by the authorities and industries responsible, the ever increasing volumes of wastes from the industries and settlements overwhelm the efforts of treatment (By Amy and,Christi, para 1-6). On the other hand, weaknesses in enforcing the legal framework to curb such pollutions coupled with the compromises that result from negligence in the individual industries complicates the process and thus resulting to the ever increasing problem of contamination of water sources. In general, water protection efforts within the city suffer a myriad of issues which includes deep rooted corruption, political pressures, lack of and compromise in health standards, poor inspection and monitoring processes, ineffective riles as well as problems of increased sedimentation. The outcome of such mass pollution of the water sources within the city can be attributed to so many problems basic to which is the health complication to the residents. The discharge of contaminated water into the water sources that serve the city and the suburbs around pose a great risk to the welfare of the people within Wisconsin. Besides the aquatic life in the rivers, streams, and the lakes within the city are exposed to great risk. Fish in particular would be exposed to such risks of death from the contaminated water and this would have adverse effects not only to the populations which rely on the fish for food but also towards the economy at large (Weigel and Dale 691-708). However, the main question that remains critical is on what role the government should play in fight against water pollution within the state and the associated effects? Besides, what are exact effects of water pollution in the city with special regard to aquatic life? Finally, how does fish from contaminated water pose a health risk to the populations living

E-Commerce laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

E-Commerce laws - Essay Example The proper functioning of the Internal Market in electronic commerce is ensured by the Internal Market clause, which means that information society services are, in principle, subject to the law of the Member State in which the service provider is established. In turn, the Member State in which the information society service is received cannot restrict incoming services. Examples of services covered by the Directive include online information services (such as online newspapers), online selling of products and services (books, financial services and travel services), online advertising, professional services (lawyers, doctors, estate agents), entertainment services and basic intermediary services (access to the Internet and transmission and hosting of information). These services include also services provided free of charge to the recipient and funded, for example, by advertising or sponsorship. (Electronic commerce) The European Union is maintaining momentum in its efforts to regulate the Internet and electronic commerce, especially with respect to conflicts of law in cyberspace. A directive establishing a common legal framework for electronic commerce within the European Union1 E-commerce Directive) was adopted in early summer 2000, enshrining the "country of origin" principle in the on-line environment. Effectively, this principle means that an on-line retailer established in one of the European Union member states is allowed to offer e-commerce services on-line throughout the European Union as long as it meets the legal requirements of its country of domicile. However, the legal certainty established by the E-commerce Directive is already under threat. The European Commission intends to revive an idea from 1967 regarding the creation of a Council Regulation2often called Rome II Regulation. Another closely related instrument is the regulation on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Brussels

Claude Monet Water Lilies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Claude Monet Water Lilies - Essay Example I could feel my heart beat quicken as I inched forward in line for my ticket, anticipating what I would see, how it would affect me, and how I would be changed in some way, as we all are, by seeing to what heights the soul of man can rise. As I entered the building and was captured by the walls of glass, modern, clean white lines of the galleries, the large public works of art throughout the building, with works hung on staircase landings (of all places!) and from the ceilings, meant to show how accessible and functional the modern works could be. I was drawn into one exhibit, on the second floor, though, that featured an exhibition of the French impressionist artist Claude Monet, entitled â€Å"Monet’s Water Lilies.† I was drawn into a room where three 20-foot paintings, his masterpieces of his study of Water Lilies, were hung in harmonious and dramatic style. The works were placed next to and across from each other, with their gigantic canvases echoing what Monet saw over many days and months in his garden in Giverny. At first glance, the works were a muted collection of simplicity, but the more I studied the works, the more I was overwhelmed at their aspects of color, the juxtaposition of the works, and the overwhelming sense of permanence I felt when sitting among these works. I was drawn into their immense size, wealth of subtle colors and scale of proportions that reflected the various moods created by light, water, sky, and nature, as they all worked together to create a sense of serenity and eternal feeling. It slowed me down to a point to where I had to sit and observe, and allow myself to see the detail throughout each painting. The simplicity yet complexity of the works drew me to them and left a permanence in my mind’s eye. The fact that they were located in a room which seemed built especially for these large works, allowed them to be seen as a reflection of each other, in a way enhanced the experience for me. As I observed, I noticed more and more layers of paint on the works, which showed a tremendous amount of effort that went into the work. Done in impressionist pastels, with a study of a pond dotted with reflections of water lilies, poppies, sky, grasses, and trees, reminded me that the more we look at even the most simplistic things, the more complex they are. The simplicity is reminiscent of the style of Japanese art with a harmonious relationship between man and nature, with each complementing each other. In this case, there were no men or human structures in the paintings, as we were meant to be the human element of the works, and almost become part of the painting, as we are filled with a sense of serenity, color, nature, and calmness. The muted lighting, subtle colors, reflections of sky--and of ourselves- allows the viewer to become part of that Giverny landscape-- part of Monet’s eternal world. The pure simplicity of the works, but the hidden complexity of the brush strokes, depth and layer of colors, echoes the haiku of the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho. As with Monet, his haiku are simple on the surface, but the artist draws the observer in with hidden complexities and depth of meaning and complexity of nature and human existence. As Monet uses the stroke of a brush to reveal his emotional depth and feeling, Bashu uses the written word to paint his canvas of emotion and searching of the human soul. Simplicity means complexity in both artists’

Analytical business report on what ethical consumerism means for Essay

Analytical business report on what ethical consumerism means for businesses - Essay Example primary research has shown that while most respondents supported ethical brands and were willing to work in ethical companies, they still were not ready to pay higher price for ‘ethical chocolate’ of the same taste and quality. During the past three decades the combination of words â€Å"ethical consumerism† has become increasingly popular. This paper aims to provide an overview of the concept of ethical consumerism, supported with both primary and secondary research. For a more specific analysis of ethical business, there was chosen an international chocolate manufacturer, the Hershey Company. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: Section 1 provides an overview of the concept of ethical consumerism, major issues and the benefits organisations gain from it; Section 2 provides a brief overview of the Hershey Company followed with the analysis of the company’s ethical business activity and its Corporate Social Responsibility; Section 3 reports the results of a primary research and discuses major findings; Section 4 is a concluding part of the report followed by recommendations presented in Section 5. Even though the concept of ethical consumerism is known in society for centuries, it is only within the last thirty years that is has been transformed from a minority concern to a mainstream phenomenon (Yeow, Dean, and Tucker, 2013). In the past decades, the level of awareness of consumers about the ethical, environmental and social problems in the world has increased dramatically. People became more responsible in selecting suppliers of the products and providers of the services. This behaviour led to an increased popularity of the concept of ethical consumerism. In academic world, the term of ethical consumerism is defined as â€Å"decision-making, purchases and other consumption experiences that are affected by the consumer’s ethical concerns† (Yeow, Dean, and Tucker, 2013: 88). In other words, while purchasing a product and service, consumers

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (CPM, ASPA, Research Paper

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (CPM, ASPA, TCMA, IG, ETC.) - Research Paper Example Increasing productivity does not merely mean to give the output or product in the industry in a very minute time rather it is the collection of number of quantitative and qualitative determinants which ensure the productivity. The first determinant to measure the productivity is the quality of the product that is produced by the work force. If the requirements of the customers are being met in the optimal way and the satisfaction graph of the client is increasing then definitely the work force, machinery and managerial group of that organization will be called as productive (Bradford, 1997). Increasing productivity through professional organization has been an emerging phenomenon of the present time as every organization cannot sort out the way to ensure the increase of productivity within or outside the premises of the work place. There are certain factors which have to be analyzed prior to the start of the process of increasing and augmenting productivity. The Professional associat ions make sure that the productivity factors are increased according to the demand and needs of the customers and the peculiar requirement analysis is done in order to fulfill the requirements of the organization and individuals (Alchian & Demsetz, 1972). The productivity factor largely depends upon the input given at the start. The input can be in the form of hired workforce, raw materials and hardware. The professional associations make sure that the productivity is increase by taking the perspective of the ratio and proportion of the input and output terms so that the efficiency also remain the focus of the organization. For example if the firm will produce the output of a very good quality within very less time then no doubt the productivity will said to be greater in the acute terms but the fact of the matter is that the efficiency is lessened because there is not inculcation of the cost effectiveness of the company and the company will shut down within a very less time frame. The productivity has to incur the production cost and the budgeting factors of the locality. The professional associations take all the stakeholders on board in order to make sure that no party is outside the hierarchical structure so that the productivity can be increase in a very effective and nominal way. There is a diverse choice of productivity increasing options in the modern world because the professional organizations are being deployed by almost every organization of good repute. One of the most acclaimed and renowned professional associations that are known for their great performance in helping to increase productivity of organizations and individuals are American society of administrative professionals (ASAP). This association helps the individuals and organization to work on different aspect of the professional and social life to increase and improve the productivity. As far as the professional services are concerned they conduct different training programs, webinars, w orkshops and seminars in order to educate people about nurturing their skills and building interpersonal relationships so that the

Transportation Paper Essay Example for Free

Transportation Paper Essay Every time I go to watch a television I always heard a lot of news about traffic congestion or traffic accidents. Especially when I go to watch foreign channels, most of the time the news was about traffic incidents or super heavy traffic. But there’s a lot of difference about the transportation in the US to other countries. For example in the Philippines, it is common on their everyday lives to have the situation like this as they go out on their house they are expecting for a heavy traffic on their way. But in the US it is not common. I mean not all the time traffic is present in the US. There is only traffic if there’s a special event or sometimes because of the unpredictable accident happened in the road. Some places in the Philippines have always traffic not because of special events or unpredictable accident but because of the road itself. For example some roads in the Philippines were not well constructed and so it causes heavy traffic sometimes a great accident. While in the US road is not a problem, actually all roads are well-constructed, full cement and straight roads. So it can’t cause any harm to the travelers or to any cars as well. But still even though the roads in the US were like these, it seems accident still present and problem to Americans. It’s not only about the traffic congestion in the countries; there are still a lot of problems. Some of these were the form of transportation itself. One of the biggest factors of transportation is the number of cars in a given place. Another great factors are the following way, street or any kind of thoroughfares. A certain hi-way can accommodate a certain number of cars. For example there’s a hi-way that can accommodate only 300,000-400,000 cars a day. But every time there’s a special event people were full blast, for example if they want to have a vacation, an outing or any private family activities they prefer. And so with these matter roads can’t accommodate that number of cars and so traffic congestion occurs. In the US there’s no big problem compare to the Philippines. It is because roads in US were so big and wide that can accommodate a large number of cars there or maybe I can say almost half the numbers of cars there. Compare to the Philippines, roads can accommodate only a very limited number of cars a day and so traffic congestion occurs regularly. Another big factor in the transportation is the discipline of the cars drivers or owner. Those drivers and owner of a car in the US were as discipline as they could. You can see it on news or maybe in some newspapers. And we can observe this also on our everyday lives. You can see that if there’s problem or traffic congestion in US, you can observe that cars were on their proper line. They do obey roads and traffic rules or something like that. While in the Philippines if we will go to observe the process of their transportation, especially with this kind of problem. You will see that most of the drivers don’t have a discipline. If there’s traffic accident or traffic congestion, cars are not on their proper position or lines. Some are going this way some on that way. One thing is important for all the drivers and for some aspiring drivers in US or in the Philippines. Discipline is what I’m talking about. Discipline is the most important thing to have for all the drivers. After this is the skill you have in driving. Of course it’s still important. Discipline in driving won’t work without the ability to drive. Followed by of course honesty in following rules and regulations in the roads. Some road rules or traffic rules or something like that. Whatever it is, drivers need to obey this. Without all these solution we still can’t prevent traffic congestion or something like these.   Another thing for all the drivers in the Philippines don’t forget to be careful in your driving. One day I heard news about this problem about driving after being drunk. It causes a lot of problem on that given place. Not only for the driver himself but more to others. And so accident is more prone to that kind of place because drivers don’t took any care on their driving. In the same matter I don’t hear a lot of things or problem like this in the US. Well maybe I think maybe it’s because many people in the US were so busy and no time for some parties or something like this. But even with this situation in the US still be aware Americans not to happen this in the US. Well for your own sake and for others as well. Well to summarize all on this essay maybe we can now prevent traffic congestions on our own country. US, Philippines or what country are you. Of course first we need to be discipline. Also we need to be skillful in this kind of Profession-driving. We need to obey rules and regulations in the road. And of course we need to be honest in that matter. And lastly we need to be very careful in our driving. and in addition to this we need to be responsible in our action. Works Cited â€Å"Traffic Congestion.† National Service Training Program.1st ed. 2003

The novel Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

The novel Frankenstein Essay This is a long sentence that helps to build up tension, which helps create drama and atmosphere. The long sentence makes you, the reader run out of breath physically and this is to feel and give you an idea about his nervousness now that he has created this monster. When Victor wakes up he finds the creature standing over him, he is not threatening, a grin wrinkled his cheeks, but Victor is repulsed by what he sees and runs away. It is here that the reader realises that the creature was not created to be evil but is rejected by Victor when he only wanted to be accepted. The next day brings no hope for Victor. The sky is comfortless and the weather is dismal and wet. Victor is dreading meeting the creature and the weather reflects his despair. Mary Shelly makes the opening paragraph powerful by using commas to separate the words. Victor begins to walk the streets where he feels haunted by a nameless horror and Mary Shelly builds up the suspense I did not dare to return to the apartment, felt impelled to hurry on, and again the weather reflecting the mood, drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky. Mary Shelly also uses a lot of imagery e. g. the white steeple clock and the court as an asylum. The references to black in this section symbolise the gothic connection. To enhance the feeling of pursuit between creator and creation Mary Shelly uses some lines from the Ancient Mariner: Like one who, on a lonely road, Doth walk in fear and dread, And, having once turned round, walks on, And turns no more his head; because he knows a frightful fiend Doth close behind him tread. This poem is recited as Victor is walking. It continues to help build suspense and Mary Shelly describes Victors walking as hurried and with irregular steps like a caged animal and suggesting something bad is going to happen. The next event is Clerval, Victors friend arriving. He had come to see his friend and to enrol at the university. This completely changes the mood Victor James Duckworth 10XB Coursework says nothing could equal my delight on seeing Clerval who brings Victor some happiness and calmness and thoughts of my father, Elizabeth, and all those scenes of home so dear to my recollection Clerval saves him from his horror and misfortune. It is also during this conversation with Clerval that we find out how ill Victor has become. Clerval says I did not before remark how very ill you appear; so thin and pale This is a good descriptive image of how Victor looks, how ill he has become and how hard he has been working. As soon as Victor begins to think of the events of the previous night and the creature again he begins to tremble excessively showing how his feelings are changing from happiness to dread and anxiety as he begins thinking of the creature again. Henry and Victor return to Victors apartment. Victor is terrified the monster might still be there. The suspense is built by Mary Shellys description of Victor. He walks with a quick pace, the thought of seeing the creature makes him shiver, he dreaded to behold this monster. Worried that Henry would see the monster Victor asks him to wait downstairs while he goes alone to his rooms. The description of Victors feelings building up to opening the door are full of foreboding, he threw the door open and Mary Shelly takes us back to childhood fears by Victor describing his actions as children are accustomed to do when they expect a spectre to stand in waiting for them on the other side. Victor steps fearfully in to find the monster gone. This changes the atmosphere completely; Victor finds the disappearance of his monster a source of joy. He describes himself as unable to contain myself, his flesh tingled with excess sensitiveness, and my pulse beat rapidly. He begins jumping over furniture his feelings become manic and falls down in a fit of exhaustion from the release of anxiety over his creation. At first Henry thinks it is happiness at seeing him again and news of the family but he soon sees the wildness in Victors eyes and knows something is not right. My dear Victor, what, for Gods sake, is the matter? Do not laugh in that manner. How ill you are! What is the cause of all this? Henry spends the rest of the winter and spring nursing Victor back to health. He does not want to worry Victors father or Elizabeth so he conceals the extent of Victors illness. During his illness Victor raves on about the monster, but Henry believed them to be the wanderings of my disturbed imagination. But because Victor continually goes back to the monster Henry begins to think that the illness is due to some uncommon and terrible event. It takes until the next spring for Victor to recover. Mary Shelly uses the imagery of spring reflected in Victor he is reborn and the season contributed greatly to his recovery. He begins to feel joy and affection and becomes cheerful as before I was attacked by the fatal passion. Henry can see that Victor is much better and begins to ask Victor if he may speak to you on one subject this immediately agitates Victor, he thinks Henry wants to talk about the monster. Henry sees Victors agitation and comforts Victor by saying I will not mention it. If it agitates you; but a letter had arrived from Victors cousin and because he had not replied for so long they were beginning to worry and would be happy to receive a letter from you in your James Duckworth 10XB Coursework own handwriting. They hardly know how ill you have been, and are uneasy at your long silence. I think the book is still as popular today as it was then because of the issues it deals with are just as important today as they were then e. g. morality. We are still pursuing knowledge to create life and we are even closer today to actually achieving this with cloning techniques, genetic engineering and artificial insemination. We are genetically modifying plants and are beginning to debate if it is moral to do this on animals. Scientists are beginning to manipulate DNA to eradicate genetic diseases. Many people think these developments are wrong and the book makes us question whether we should be playing God like this. There are also many examples in the newspapers of where medical knowledge has been kept from the public that has gone on to cause harm. For example the tobacco industry and smoking, the use of thalidomide all kept secret by the pharmaceutical companies. The book has many messages. The main one is to not play god. The main topics of the book are life and death, religion and science. I think the further we progress in science the more irrelevant religion will become because people will chose to believe science. This is because science proves its theories with facts and in religion you are meant to have beliefs without questioning the word of God.

Balancing Rights and Duties of Parties

Balancing Rights and Duties of Parties Introduction The letter of credit is the most commonly used method of payment for goods in international trade. This thesis highlights the imbalance of the rights and duties of the parties in a letter of credit transaction by emphasising deficiencies in the letters of credit system. In addition, on those areas where there is lack of justice and equity and which make the system of the letters of credit vulnerable for fraudulent activities. After briefly discussing the structure of the letter of credit system, it discusses the rights and duties of parties to such transactions and how the risk of the innocent buyer has increased under UCP and very often the buyer is paying for the goods he had not contracted for. It further discusses the independence principle and the doctrine of documentary compliance, that overprotection of the â€Å"independence principle†, and the lack of â€Å"reasonable care† on the part of banks provide opportunities of fraud to the sellers to obtain payment wit hout actually performing their duties to banks and buyers. It will also argues about the â€Å"fraud exception† to the independence principle, particularly the position of the fraud exception in England and the history of some decisions of English Courts. In the end it gives some suggestions to balance the rights and duties amongst parties in a letter of credit transaction. Chapter 1 Structure of a Letter of Credit Transaction Commercial letters of credit have been used for the centuries as a most common method of payment, in international trade. Letters of credit used in international transactions are governed by the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), authorizing another bank (advising or confirming bank), to make payment to the beneficiary (seller). The issuing bank, on the application of its customer (buyer), opens the letter of credit, and makes a commitment with the buyer to honour the credit on the presentation of the documents, conforming to the terms and conditions of the credit, by the beneficiary. Thus, the issuing bank replaces the banks customer as the payee. Elements of a Letter of Credit A payment undertaking given by a bank (issuing bank) On behalf of a buyer (applicant) To pay a seller (beneficiary) for a given amount of money On presentation of specified documents representing the supply of goods Within specified time limits Documents must conform to terms and conditions set out in the letter of credit Documents to be presented at a specified place Beneficiary Beneficiary is normally the provider of the goods or services and is entitled to payment as long as he can provide the conforming documents required by the letter of credit. The letter of credit is a distinct and separate transaction from the underlying contract (contract between seller and buyer). All parties deal in documents and not in goods. The issuing bank is not liable for performance of the underlying contract between the buyer and seller. The issuing banks obligation to the buyer-applicant is to examine all documents to insure that they are in compliance with the terms and conditions of the credit. To get the payment it is for the beneficiary to provide all the required documents. If the seller-beneficiary conforms to the letter of credit, the seller must be paid by the bank. Issuing Bank The issuing banks duty to pay and to be reimbursed from its customer becomes absolute upon the completion of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. Under the provisions of the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, the bank is entitled to have a reasonable time after receipt of the documents to honour the draft. The issuing banks duty is to provide a guarantee to the seller that if complying documents are presented by the seller, then the bank will make the payment to the seller, and will only pay if these documents comply with the terms and conditions set out in the letter of credit. Typically the documents requested include a commercial invoice, bill of lading or airway bill and an insurance document; but there are many others. Letters of credit only concerns with the documents, not with the goods. Advising Bank An advising bank is usually a foreign correspondent bank of the issuing bank which advises the seller-beneficiary. Generally, the beneficiary wants to use a local bank to insure that the letter of credit is valid. In addition, the advising bank is responsible for sending the documents to the issuing bank. The advising bank has no other obligation under the letter of credit. Therefore, if the issuing bank does not pay the beneficiary, the advising bank is not obligated to pay. Confirming Bank At the request of the issuing bank, the correspondent bank may confirm the letter of credit for the seller-beneficiary and obligates itself to insure payment under the letter of credit. The confirming bank is usually the advising bank. There are two main types of Letters of credit: (1) Revocable (2) Irrevocable Revocable Letter of Credit Revocable letter of credit is not a commonly used type of the letters of credit. This type of letter of credit can be revoked by the issuing bank at any time, without notification to the beneficiary, for any reason. Such type of letter of credit can not be confirmed by the correspondent bank and the bank will act as an advising bank only. A revocable letter of credit can not be revoked after the presentation of the documents, if the documents are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit and the payment has been made. Irrevocable Letter of Credit Use of irrevocable letters of credit is very common in international trade. Irrevocable letter of credit can not be revoked or changed without the consent of the beneficiary. Issuing bank will make the payment to the seller, if the seller presents the documents complying with the terms of the credit, as agreed between seller and buyer. Such a letter of credit can only be changed with the permission of both buyer and seller. If it is not clear from the letter of credit that whether it is revocable or irrevocable, it automatically considers as irrevocable. Irrevocable letters of credit are of two kinds: Unconfirmed credit In case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising bank does not confirm the credit to the seller and the issuing bank is the only party responsible for payment to the beneficiary. Advising bank will only pay to the seller after getting payment from the issuing bank and there is no risk for the advising bank. Confirmed credit In this type of credit, advising bank confirms credit to the seller. When the advising bank confirms that the documents presented are conforming to the terms of the credit, it will make the payment to the seller, and after that advising bank will contact with the issuing bank to get the payment. This type of letter of credit is commonly used, when the seller is unfamiliar with the issuing bank. Such a type of letter of credit is quite expensive because the banks have some liability. Step-by-step process In international trade as the buyer and seller are in different countries so when the buyer and the seller of the goods agree to conduct business, than because of the gap of time between delivery of goods and the payment, usually the seller wants a letter of credit as a guarantee of payment from the buyer. Than the buyer makes a request to his bank called the issuing to open a credit in the favour of the seller. at the request of the buyer, issuing bank issues a letter of credit in favour of the seller and forwards it to the corresponding bank called the advising or conforming bank., which is usually located in the sellers country. Advising bank than either confirms the credit or not, depending upon the type of credit, and forward it to the seller. Seller than ships the goods and collects the documents required in order to meet the requirements of the letter of credit and finally to get the payment in time. Seller presents the required documents to the advising or confirming bank in order to get the payment in time. Advising or confirming bank examines the documents presented by the seller to check that whether they are conforming to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. If the documents are in compliance, advising or confirming bank, in case of confirmed letter of credit, will make payment to the seller and will be reimbursed from the issuing bank and in case of unconfirmed letter of credit, advising or confirming bank will forward the documents to the issuing bank. Than the Issuing bank will, after examine of the documents, debit the buyers account if the documents are in compliance to the terms of the letter of credit. In the end, Issuing bank forwards the documents to the buyer. Most commonly used documents in a letter of credit transaction include: Commercial Invoice It includes a description of merchandise, price, FOB origin, and name and address of buyer and seller. The buyer and seller information must correspond exactly to the description in the letter of credit. Bill of Lading It is a document which shows the receipt of goods for shipment by a freight carrier. It is an evidence of the control of the goods and also acts as an evidence of the carriers obligation to transport the goods to their proper destination. Warranty of Title A warranty given by a seller to a buyer of goods that states that the title being conveyed is good. It is generally issued to the purchaser. Letter of Indemnity It is a letter specifically indemnifies the purchaser against a certain stated circumstance. Indemnification is generally used to guarantee that shipping documents will be provided in good order when available. Common Defects in the documents presented A discrepancy is some defect in the documents presented by the seller, which show their non-compliance with the terms of the letter of credit. Issuing bank can not change the terms and conditions of the letter of credit with out t he permission of the buyer. Therefore to avoid any delay in getting payment. Beneficiary should be careful in preparing the required documents. Common defects in the documents presented by the seller include: If the description of the goods is not consistent. There is some error in the insurance documents. If the draft amount is not equal to invoice amount. Loading and destination ports are not same as provided by the letter of credit. Merchandise description is not same as in the credit. If any of the documents required by the credit is not presented. Documents are generally inconsistent such as quality, etc. If the names of the documents required are not correct, as mentioned in the credit. Invoice is not signed as provided in the letter of credit. If prior to the presentation of the draft, Letter of Credit has expired. If the date mention in the bill of lading is different from the date stated in the credit. If there are some changes in the invoice which are not authorized by the letter of credit. In international sales, as the seller and the buyer are in different countries, there is a common problem of payment due to the difference of time between dispatch and delivery. Obviously, seller would like to receive payment for the goods when delivering them to the carrier and the buyer would prefer to delay the payment of the price until receipt of the goods. Therefore, a letter of credit solves this problem between the seller and the buyer. Generally, there are three separate transactions in a letter of credit transaction. The first is between a seller and a buyer, called an underlying transaction, by which the seller provides contracted goods to the buyer. The second transaction is between the buyer-applicant and the bank (issuer of the letter of credit), in which the bank issues a letter of credit to the seller-beneficiary. Finally, the letter of credit itself creates a relationship between the issuer and the beneficiary, in which, the issuer makes payment for goods upon the beneficiarys presentation of the required documents, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit as agreed between seller and buyer. The banks performance of payment is conditional on the delivery of conforming documents by the beneficiary. The banks are called issuers and are usually the applicants bank. Normally the issuing bank opens a letter of credit in its own name and requests its correspondent bank to notify the sel ler about the letter of credit. Sometimes, the issuing bank instructs the correspondent bank not only to notify the seller of the issuing banks undertaking but also to add a confirmation. In this case, the credit is known as a confirmed credit and the correspondent bank as a confirming bank. The payment obligation of the issuing bank depends upon the beneficiarys presentation of complying documents to the confirming bank or to any other nominated bank, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the credit. Under general practice, presenting â€Å"complying documents† means that they comply with the conditions of the credit â€Å"on their face†. From banking point of view, compliance â€Å"on their face† of the presented documents is sufficient. The â€Å"independence principle† (which will be discussed later) is the fundamental principle of the letter of credit system, which prohibits banks from looking beyond facial compliance of the documents, and t herefore exclude whether or not there is actual performance by the seller-beneficiary. In fact, letters of credit system has emphasised the independence principle to such an extent that banks are ignoring the performance of the underlying contract very confidently. As a result, all the risk is on the honest buyers, who are sometime paying for goods that they had not contracted for. Importance of the research The primary purpose of the letter of credit system is to facilitate international trade, rather than to provide an opportunity to the banks to make profit. As the fraud is very common in these days, but UCP is not designed to prevent fraud. The number of frauds relating to the letters of credit has increased over the years. Buyers are particularly vulnerable to such practices under the letter of credit system. This situation shows that there is some ambiguity in the letter of credit system and a lack of balance between the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction, which is being exploited very easily by fraudsters. Division of risk under a Letter of Credit Transaction As we have discussed above, a letter of credit transaction consists of three linked but independent contracts. The first step is that the buyer makes a contract with the seller for the sale of goods, called the underlying contract. Subsequently the buyer signs an application form requesting the bank to open a credit, which is an arrangement between the buyer and the bank. The third step is that the issuing bank informs the seller, who is the beneficiary of the letter of credit, of the credit and promises to pay against the stipulated documents provided the terms and conditions of the credit are met. The letter of credit allocates risk between the applicant and the beneficiary. By postulating a letter of credit, the beneficiary may greatly reduce the risk of not being paid and ultimately allowing the beneficiary of the letter to reallocate the risk of non-payment for delivered goods which do not conform to the underlying sale contract. Generally, banks are reluctant to dishonour a credit, since to do so may damage the banks reputation as a credit issuer. The cost of honour, however, falls on the honest applicant, not the bank. â€Å"If the beneficiary has breached the underlying transaction, payment under the credit to him will occasion loss, but that loss will not be the banks; it will be the applicants.† Increase in the applicants risk and decrease in the banks risk under UCP UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit, therefore there should be a balance regarding the rights and duties of the parties, but UCP contains rules that reduce bank risk. There is no provision asking for judicial intervention to compensate letter of credit parties in case of banks negligence. The provisions in favour of banks fall into two categories. The first provides sweeping immunity from liabilities that national legal systems may impose. Example of such a disclaimer is Article 15. Under Article 15, banks assume no liability for the genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents and therefore the issuer is immune from the liability for paying against forged documents, which on their face appear regular. Therefore, the payment by the issuing bank does not show that the buyer has received the goods, which he had contracted for. The security, which the beneficiary is getting under the letter of credit system is not the same with the security of the buyer. The second category of pro-bank provisions contains rules that set precise boundaries on what the banks must do, which reduces uncertainty about bank responsibility and provides clear guidance to bank employees. For example, the customer cannot stipulate non-documentary conditions of payment, and time limits on examination of documents are fixed rather than open-ended. In case of any loss, the buyer, which is the applicant for a credit, can take action against the seller for breach of contract or fraud, but has no right of action against the bank for banks negligence in examining the documents, which can be ineffectual for several reasons, such as insolvency of either the applicant or the beneficiary. Hence the burden of risk on the applicant is more than any party in a letter of credit transaction and in most of the cases, buyers are paying for the goods Chapter 2 UCP and letters of credit Originally UCP has been drafted by the Banking Commission of the ICC, which was comprised of the representatives of the banking community, which shows the dominance of the banks and banking experts. Their dominance in UCP drafting hints that in drafting UCP. ICC was acting as a private legislature. It looks that the rules contain in the UCP are much beneficial for the banks than any other party, and giving a limited chance to the judiciaries to interfere to protect customers from any careless behaviour of the banks. The authority to interpret the UCP rests in the ICCs Commission on Banking Technique and Practice, which can apply these interpretations to solve the problems arising in any case. Because of wide publicity and distribution of commissions answers, their interpretation can be considered as an official interpretation of the UCP. Commission can enhance, interpreting, and sometimes amend the provisions of the UCP. The banks which deal with the letters of credit, act upon these interpretations and any amendments. As in theory, commission is only answerable to ICC members, therefore the chances of any challenge to such interpretation is very low. Role of courts in a letter of credit transaction In Discount Records Ltd. v. Barclay Bank Ltd., the judge was reluctant to â€Å"interfere with bankers irrevocable credit and not least in the sphere of international banking†. The position is same in many other cases. The apparent reason for the reluctance of the judges to interfere looks that they are afraid from the threats of the banking experts that their decisions would have an unfavourable affect on international trade. The difficulties of the courts to balance the rights and duties of all parties to a letter of credit transaction have increased. In Mannesman Handel AG v. Kaunlaran Shipping Corporation, the Swiss bank argued that the bank was in rejecting the documents by the German company relying on the independence principle and the discrepancies appeared on the documents. The court was asked not to apply the good faith principle otherwise the court â€Å"would be calculated to undermine if not destroy the doctrine of strict compliance and to blur if not extinguish the distinction between transactions concerning goods and transactions concerning documents.† Normally the judicial decisions relating to the legal aspects of documentary credits base on either the express intentions of the parties or established business practice at the time, the parties entered in a contractual relationship. In cases where the UCP provisions are different from business practice, a court will apply the UCP if the UCP is incorporated in the contract of the parties. It shows that courts have assented to the entire documentary credit system being run by the banking industry and eventually abstaining the courts to intervene to balance the legal rights and duties amongst all the parties. Should the UCP have the status of law? Leading scholar Professor Ross Buckley says: â€Å"originally, the UCP was neither designed nor intended to be law. It was prepared as a set of standard terms to be incorporated by reference into letters of credit by those parties who chose to do so.† This has also been confirmed by the UCP in the preface of UCP 500, which states that the UCP is not legislation but a compilation of rules made by bankers for their own industry. Therefore there is a dispute as to whether the UCP is a code of the law, or just customary practices, or some mutually consented regulations relating to letters of credit. However in fact, UCP is the governing law of the letters of credit. Banks risk under UCP (exemption clauses) Article 15 and 18 (b) of the UCP 500, limits the liability of the banks in a letter of credit transaction and which have almost made it a risk free transaction for the banks. Article 15 says: â€Å"Banks assume no liability to or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any document(s) or for the general and/or particular conditions stipulated in the document(s) or superimposed thereon, nor do they assume any liability or responsibility for the description, quantity, weight, quality, condition, packing, delivery, value or existence of the goods represented by any document(s) or for the good-faith or acts and/or omissions, solvency, performance or standing of the consignors, the carriers, the forwarders, the consignee or the insurers of the goods or any other person whomsoever.† Article 18(b) further states: â€Å"Banks assume no liability or responsibility should the instructions they submit not be carried out, even if they have themselves taken the initiative in the choice of such other bank(s).† The UCP 500 places the applicant-buyer in an absurdly vulnerable position through its disclaimer clauses. To some extent there is a lack of duties on the part of the bank to verify the authenticity of the documents. Hence it might not be wrong to say that albeit there is a waste increase in the use of letters of credit, does not signify that the UCP is fairly drafted. Letters of credit and its users It is also very important that whether all the parties to the letter of credit, particularly applicant-buyer are conscious about the presence of these exemptions, e.g. by providing a copy of these exemption clauses of the UCP or by giving a notice of these exemption clauses. It is a rule that to enforce an exemption clause, a reasonable notice should be given to the other party but in practice, buyers are assume to have the notice of the UCP and that they are familiar with the provisions of the UCP. Further, the application for the issuance of a letter of credit and the letter of credit document itself only contain a simple sentence: â€Å"Subject to UCP for Documentary Credits†, without any attachment of the provisions of the UCP or any notice of such exemption clauses. Hence it is debatable that why the courts do not look, while dealing with the cases relating to the letters of credit, that whether a reasonable notice has been given relating to the exemption clauses and do n ot interfere to balance the rights and duties of the parties to a letter of credit transaction? Chapter 3 Doctrine of strict compliance and independence principle It is a basic rule of the letter of the credit transaction and which is widely recognised that the letters of credit are transactions independent of the underlying contracts on which they are based. According to this principle, the issuer has no concern with the underlying contracts between buyer and seller. Its concern is with documents only, rather than the goods or any type of services. Obviously there are some doubts about this principle, i.e. to what extent this principle should be applied. Which some tome may cause injustice to the applicant under certain circumstances. Independence Principle Generally, letter of credit is a contract between the issuer and the seller of the goods, which is independent of the underlying contract between the seller and the buyer. The independence principle is mentioned in Article 3 and Article 4 of the UCP. Article 3 states: â€Å"Credits, by their nature, are separated transactions from the sales or other contract(s), even if any reference whatsoever to such contract(s) is included in the Credit.† Article 4 further says: â€Å"In credit operations all parties concerned deal with documents and not with goods, services and/or other performances to which the documents may relate.† From the very beginning independence principle governs letter of credit transactions and very clearly states that the credits are completely separate from their underlying transactions and the issuer makes payment depending on the conformity of the documents presented according to the terms and conditions of the credit without considering the performance of the underlying contract by the beneficiary. Under this principle, bank is only under a duty to accept the conforming documents and should not get involved in the performance of the contract between seller and buyer. Further it has no concern about any debt obligations and other claims between the seller and the buyer. May commentators accept that for the workability of the letter of credit system, the strictest observance of this principle is indispensable. In this chapter we will discuss that how the banks deal with documents and about relationship between bank and other parties in a letter of credit transaction. As Lord Justice Jenkins stated in Malas (Hamzeh) Sons v British Imex Industries Ltd: â€Å"It seems to me plain that the opening of a confirmed letter of credit constitutes a bargain between the banker and the vendor of the goods, which imposes upon the banker an absolute obligation to pay, irrespective of any dispute there may be between the parties on the question whether the goods are up to contract or not.†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The issuing bank does not have any concern with the shipping of the goods or whether the goods are conforming or not whether the documents actually represent those goods which the buyer contracted for. This is because of the reason that the obligations of the banks in a letter of credit transaction are very limited. In this situation it is also debateable that whether under a letter of credit transaction, it would be fair to say that banks are not allowed to look beyond the presenting documents, while making payments? Status of applicant under UCP Article 1 of the UCP explains that the UCP binds all parties to the letter of credit unless otherwise provided but it is quite as who such parties are. Therefore the status of the applicant is doubtful, even it is not clear as to whether an applicant is a party to the UCP or not, and this is also to some extent obvious due to the absence of any provision in the UCP stating about the duties owed by the issuing bank toward the applicant. However courts have indicated on occasions that the contract between the bank and the applicant is similar to a contract of agency. Doctrine of strict compliance (a) Duty to pay only for conforming documents In a letter of credit transaction a bank is only bound to make payment if the beneficiary delivers the required documents. Simultaneously buyer knows that the amount will be released only if the documents are conforming according to the terms and conditions of the letter of credit. It is very much clear that the documents play a very important role in the letter of credit transaction. Their importance is so clear that without their presentation and conformity, the performance of the letter of credit transaction is impossible. Article 13(a) of the UCP provides: â€Å"Banks must examine all documents stipulated in the Credit with reasonable care to ascertain whether or not they appear, on their face, to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit. Compliance of the stipulated documents on their face with the terms and conditions of the Credit shall be determined by international standard banking practice as reflected in these Articles. Documents which appear on their face to be inconsistent with one another will be considered as not appearing on their face to be in compliance with the terms and conditions of the Credit.† (b) Standard of â€Å"reasonable care† Under this heading we will discuss that whether there is a any standard of reasonable care under the UCP or not and if there is a standard, toward whom, and in case of failure to exercise such care, what would be the consequences. Sub-Article 13(a) of the UCP, provides that the banks duty is to examine the documents required by the applicant with â€Å"reasonable care† to ensure that such documents are complying with the terms and conditions of the letter of credit â€Å"on their face†. To some extent, sub- Article 13(a) is ambiguous about its meaning. It is not clear that what exact standard should be exercised. UCP and even whole letter of credit system is quite about the standard of the duty of care imposed on the banks, towards whom bank should exercise such a duty of care, and what would be the consequences in case if the bank fails in exercising such a duty of care. Probably there is no answer to this question because of the fact that the rights of the applicant are not discussed under UCP. Validity of documents Article 15 of the UCP protects the banks by stating that â€Å"banks assume no liability or responsibility for the form, sufficiency, accuracy, genuineness, falsification or legal effect of any documents†. Banks are authorised to make payment without having any concern whether the documents presented by the beneficiary actually represent goods, for which the applicant contracted for. As explained above that the letter of credit is a written undertaking by the bank to make payment only if the beneficiary presents original and genuine documents as agreed by the parties. Similarly buyer also knows very well that the amount will be paid only upon the delivery of the conforming documents according to the terms and conditions of the credit. Hence the documents play a key role in the performance of the letter of credit transaction. Conformity is the only condition for the payment of the amount. In practice, a bank very often takes security for the payment it makes under the letter of credit transaction. Such a security is provided by the documents of title f