Business continuity and crisis management Essay - 2

Business continuity and crisis management - Essay Example BCM plays an important role in every organization that uses it. One major aim of having a BCM program on any business to is to give it the capacity to have a quick and effective response to global crises such as cyber attacks mostly through data breaches, natural disasters and ensure the business interests of the organization are protected. (Blyth, M. 2009). What this means is that BCM is not only about crisis management, but it also includes disaster and business recovery, incident and emergency management. The ISO 22301, which is a system of business continuity management, places emphasis on a few areas that are crucial in BCM.First, it suggests that there is a great need to have an understanding of the needs of continuity and preparedness. Moreover, there is need to understand why it is necessary to establish a BCM policy and objectives in an organization. It adds that the effectiveness of the entire process relies heavily on this understanding. Secondly, there is need for an orga nization to implement and operate controls that can manage its overall continuity risks. It therefore, suggests that it would be meaningless to have a BCM policy when the organization is not ready to implement it. (Bajgoric, N. (n.d.). Thirdly, the organization should constantly review and monitor the effectiveness of the BCM program to ensure it is working according to its goals. Finally, the regular assessment of BCM will lead to objective measurements that are important in continual improvement.

Business Communication Essay Example for Free

Business Communication Essay ?Introduction In this assignment I am required to explain the different types of business information used by the business organisation that I have chosen for example; verbal, written, non-verbal, non-written, multimedia etc. I will also be writing their sources and purposes and analysing the different types of information. I will then evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make strategic decisions. The business that I have chosen is Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s is a public limited company (PLC). It is the second largest chains of supermarkets in the United Kingdom in the retailing business. Sainsbury’s was first established with a shop in Drury Lane, and then became the largest grocery retailer in 1922. Sainsbury’s provides food and drink, home and garden, technology, toys, entertainment, clothing and much more for their customers. This comes under the tertiary sector business that provides a valuable service that customers and other businesses are prepared to pay for. From where they had first started throughout the years they have expanded it by selling different varieties of products to satisfy their customers as well as giving them new products to purchase. Types of Information Source Purpose Analysis Verbal- Face to face communication about sales reports between staff and sales manager (meetings). Internal Source- Marketing Department. This is because this department deals with sales as they can give information about the results of research undertaken by Sainsbury’s. Face to face discussions could be used by the marketing department to explain/update by communicating sales promotions. Using this opportunity through the meeting the sales manager will also have an overview of how well the employees are doing their job. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have face to face meetings about sales reports often, so that the company itself knows what needs to be improved and how they are progressing currently. Marketing department helps  this type of verbal communication by updating the company using promotions and sales so they can achieve more profit for themselves and shareholders. Verbal-A telephone conversation about a customer enquiring about a product (staff helping a customer through telephone line checking if the product that customer wants is in stock). External Source- Customer Services Department. This is because customer services deals with customer’s issues or any enquiries they might have to do with the products or the store they can speak to a Sainsbury’s representative. A telephone conversation could be used by the customer’s services department to inform future developments on customer’s response to existing products and services. However Sainsbury’s doesn’t just deal with products, they deal with different types on insurances, mobiles, recruitment and so on. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have telephone conversations with customers because this way they are able to know customer’s opinions about certain topics and anything they would like to enquire about it e.g. products, services Sainsbury’s provide. The customer services department helps this type of communication by informing staff and managers about future developments. Verbal-Speeches about expanding on areas that need s improvement (increasing an amount of tills to avoid customers waiting for a long period of time in the queue). Internal Source- Production Department. This is in this specific department because with production they are able to know what areas need improving and so along with past and future levels of production, this department knows how to deal with it in detail. They are able to know what kind of costs Sainsbury’s will be dealing with in order to expand tills which will then move on to the marketing department. Speeches about expanding on areas that need improvement could be used by inviting support for activities so that Sainsbury’s can avoid bad service coming from their employees. This means an explanation needs to be given to employees and others as it is important for them to know why this new improvement in the business is happening. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have speeches on areas that need improvement because in order for the company to expand and improve, improvement on  amount of tills to avoid customers not only helps improve the company but attra cts more new and existing customers too. Also the production department can help as they can specify what areas need to be developed and write in detail about the costs and spacing will be needed to create the new tills for the store. Written-Web-based information about employment and recruitment (information of the company’s website about vacancies available). Internal Source- Human Resources. This is based in this department because human resources can provide information about the staffing and training within Sainsbury’s. Web-based information displays many benefits of multimedia technology. Web-based information about recruitment can be used by human resources to update knowledge and offer employment through multimedia technology. Sainsbury’s website gives different varieties of choices of job roles. They also provide specific searches to allow the people look for a specific store to work in and the kind of the job role they want. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have web based information about employment and recruitment because this helps the company employ people to work for them. It gives a chance for people to use the website find out what kind of vacancies the company has going on and what sort of rules too. It is important that the human resources department deals with this type of communication as they are aware of what kind of resources is needed to create/improve the website. Written-On screen information about sales, advertising, products and promotions on certain products (e.g. food, homecare, TU clothing etc). Internal Source- Marketing Department. This is sectioned in this department because marketing campaigns, promotions and information about the market, Sainsbury’s can take care of this department well. On screen information about sales and promotions could be used by inviting support for activities for a primary purpose of making a profit. By inviting support for activities they can increase more sales on other products to make more profit. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have on screen information about sales, advertising and promotions on products because with promotions on products the company not only will be able to expand by attracting more customers, b ut they will also be gaining more profit which means more shareholders too. It is important that the marketing department deals with advertising, sales and promotions, because they can give information about the results of research they  undertake, which means they can see what their competitors are doing and how their own company can make improvements. Written-Emails for queries regarding certain topics customer’s would like to discuss (Sainsbury’s bank, recruitment and website technical queries etc). External Source- Customer services department. This is based in the customer services department because consumers are able to discuss what kind of issues they want to with the company. Emails for queries regarding certain topics customers would like to discuss, could be used by informing future developments. This is because a business cannot develop and grow more than how much Sainsbury’s is wanting and aiming for if they do not hear what their customers have to say and so emails is one of the communication techniques so that Sainsbury’s can know their views on certain things. It is important that the company lets customers have access to emailing Sainsbury’s for any kind of queries customers would like to discuss. This is because their opinions and allowing them to express their views will help Sai nsbury’s improve/expand. If Sainsbury’s do this customers will feel satisfied that their opinions are being heard and action is being taken. Also it is important that the customer services department deal with this type of communication because Sainsbury’s can give consumers the information they are wanting to know about existing products or even providing a service. Non-Verbal-Deaf person wanting to know which isle in the store is a product in (asking a staff member). External Source-Human Resources. This is located in this department because employees within the stores can help customers who are deaf and wanting a product within the store hence asking help from a staff member. A deaf person wanting to know where a product is in the store could be used by inviting support for activities as information is very important and needs to be required through communications in order to support the business and keeping it running and successful. However for deaf people Sainsbury’s can hire employees that can communicate with deaf people using sign language. It is important in Sainsbury’s that a deaf person wanting to know where certain things are the employees of this company can help them. By doing this Sainsbury’s are able to show that they provide a service that many other stores might not offer. It is important that it is located in the human resources department because employees who can do sign language can help give information towards the customers who are deaf. Some of these  employees might need training for this and human resources department are able to sort that out for them. Multi-Media- PowerPoint presentation showing sales figures (how much profit they have made within 2 months). Internal Source- Finance Department. This is in this department because they will have information relating to Sainsbury’s performance including profit and loss figures, balance sheet and the costs of running Sainsbury’s. PowerPoint presentation showing sales figures could be used by updating knowledge for seeing how much profit they have made during a period of time. This is because so they can know what needs to be done IF they are making less profit. It also updates knowledge to see how well they are doing within sales figures. This is important in Sainsbury’s because PowerPoint presentations that show sales figures allows the company to know how much profit they have made and how well they are doing currently. It is important that the finance department deals with this because they will have an amount of information that includes costs, sales and how much profit the company is making.

Minorities in Special Education Essay -- Learning Teaching Ethnicity P

The education system is arguably the most beneficial system in the world; however, it also contains many controversial practices. Proper funding, discrimination, and curriculum are just some of the problems in today’s education system. Everyone has a different opinion about what is best for our children and it is impossible to please everyone. As long as the educational system is in tact, then there will be confusion and debate within the system and its’ administrators. The only thing that can be done is attempting to make it so that everyone will benefit equally, but this is much more difficult than one would assume. I will focus on the aspect of discrimination on minorities within special education and more specifically the following questions: Does the special education system discriminate against minorities? If so, how? What can be done, if anything, to correct or improve this system? Special education is a large part of the education system, which includes the mentally retarded, people with learning disabilities, the emotionally disturbed, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc. Many people fail to include this system as one that can possibly involve discrimination, but those enrolled in special education has increased among all racial classifications. Between 1980 and 1990, the entire population enlisted in special education has increased. European American increased by 6%, African Americans increased by 13%, Hispanic Americans increased by 53%, and Asian Americans/Pacific Americans increased by 107.8% (Ford, Obiakor, p. 8). In the end, it is these students who ultimately experience low rates of employment, low income, and growing rates of incarceration. Another survey indicates t... ...er how hard teachers try to make students learn, if the students don’t want to, then they won’t. The only sure fire way to decrease the so-called discrimination is to make students dedicated to learning and thus make it one of their top priorities. If not, then there will continue to be many problems and an increasing number of cases concerning discrimination within the education system. Bibliography Page Losen, D. and Orfield, G., ed. (2002). Racial Inequality in Special Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. Obiakor, F. and Ford, B., ed. (2002). Creating Successful Learning Environments for African American Learners With Exceptionalities. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Ormsbee, C. (2001). "Ending Discrimination in Special Education/Achieving Educational Equity (Book Review)." Intervention in School & Clinic; Sep2001, Vol. 37 Issue 1, p48.

Negative Images of African Americans in the Media

Mass media is a powerful force in American pop culture. Images seen on billboards, television, magazines, and the big screen create lasting impressions. Sometimes these impressions have a negative impact. Mass media can be very detrimental to society if it is not criticized. Many groups of Americans are negatively affected by the images and content of mass media. African Americans are at the top of this list. Images of African Americans in television, music, and film are often less than stellar.Black men are often portrayed as drug pushers, pimps, thugs, and dead beat dads, while black women are portrayed as poor, lazy, and promiscuous. This needs to stop! That is a given! Question is, how are these negative images going to be stopped? Several steps should be taken in order to prevent these negative images in the media. The origins of these images need to be examined, and modern racism and prejudice need to be exposed. There may be some accuracy to the negative images of African Amer icans in the media, but that is no excuse.The media should focus more on uplifting people. African Americans have historically had a disadvantage when compared to their white counterparts. This should not be exploited for entertainment purposes. African Americans are often placed in roles that portray them as poorly educated. This dates all the way to minstrel shows! This is still a problem today! Americans are more comfortable laughing at blacks as appose to understanding blacks. The main problem with images of African Americans is that they are one dimensional.African Americans are diverse and come from a variety of backgrounds. If an African American is portrayed as a druggie or a convict, then there should be some reasoning behind this. People don't become drug addicts for the fun of it; they become drug addicts because they want to numb themselves from the pain and suffering of their everyday lives. Black men and women don't become criminals because they are horrible people. Th ey become criminals because they are taught that they have no other option!African Americans have to stand up for themselves and fight against the media. That is the only way things will change. While doing this, they may have to criticize other African Americans. This should be done with love. Black rappers, singers, and actors should be held with some responsibility. Black leaders like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby have spoken out about this. Rappers, including Ludacris and 50 Cent have been criticized for their lyrics.It is unclear if they are rapping about their experiences in order to expose their struggles, or if they are exploiting the black struggle with their lyrics. Violence, sexuality, and the lack of education are unfortunately a part of African American society. The media should show this. Rappers and singers should perform songs about this. Black actors should play roles that depict this. Black actors, singers, and rappers should not exploit these disadvantages. Instead they should use their craft to create solutions to these problems. Drugs and violence should not be glamorized!

Cost Club Week Essay

The issues against discharging an employee with any reason can be very harmful to any business. This opens the door for a lawsuit to any organization because, an ex-employee could file a lawsuit against the employer for alleging that they had been discharged wrongfully. The civil right law act in 1964 provides protection to the employees against wrongfully discharge. This describe that companies cannot terminate their employees basis of race, gender, skin, religion, color etc, (Employment law for business, 2007)†.) For example, if their at-will relationship exists between the employee and employer this does not mean that employer may terminate the employee, in a discriminatory manner. This mean the organization has to follow the legal principles before discharging their employee. There are so many laws that protect the individuals even though we are an, at- will state. The Federal anti-discrimination law prevents employees from wrongful discharge by the employer (Lawson, 1998)†. This scenario does not say that the employees were not let go due to the basis of any reason. This lawsuit against the organization for wrongful discharge could be very risky for the Cost Club since there were no reasons for terminating their employees. Reduction in Employee Costs There are many ways to reduce company cost. One thing a company can do is to outsource their HR. This will help reduce the cost of the employee benefits  program by bring in an outside company like GNA Partners. The GNA Partners have many ways to save the company money but, may bring cost to the workers. The GNA Partners provide negotiation insurance rates, which the plan cost are determined by what age group the employees fall into. Next the company can choose higher deductible plans, which this reduces, the cost of benefits plan. †¢ The business can offer robust benefits package by making their employees contribute. †¢ Using different types of workers like temporary workers, contract employee, part-time employees, employees and, non-employees work hours. These job types can be helpful to accomplish the seasonal demand of the organizations plus can cause the increase within the organizational performance. The organization knows all different categories of workers who can hire to save money for definite and indefinite period. Organization understands that temporary workers directly reports to the employer and receive their reimbursement from the company. When a company hires a contract employee, temporary and, part-time employee they know that they do not have to pay this employee benefits or high rates. Like vacation, sick, and part-time workers are usually define a workers, who have shorter working hours other fulltime workers. The rules, policies and, procedures for the part-time employee are not the same as the regular employees but quite different from the temporary workers† (Part Time and Temporary Employees, 2009). According to â€Å"Bennett-Alexander, & Hartman, â€Å"by hiring independent contractors, the cost of overtime is eliminated (the federal wage and hour laws do not apply to independent contractors) and the employer is able to avoid any work-related expenses, s uch as tools, training, or traveling. The employer is also guaranteed satisfactory performance of the job for which the contractor was hired because it is the contractor’s contractual obligation to adequately perform the contract with the employer, while the employee is generally able to quit without incurring liability (Employment law for business, 2007)†. For example, the company manage is an employees work who sets an employee’s schedule, along with deciding the method the employee uses to perform their work. An independent contractor is a person who provides particular services to an organization. Whether it be a short or long-term assignment. This is very effective low cost and saving the companying money because; temporary, contract or part-time employment arrangements provides several benefits to any business. Injury and Damages According to Tort Law, the Cost Club will be liable for the misconduct of employees with the customers. Tort laws are laws that offer remedies to individuals harmed by the unreasonable actions of others. Tort claims usually involve state law and are based on the legal premise that individuals are liable for the consequences of their conduct if it results in injury to others (McCarthy & Cambron-McCabe, 1992). Tort laws involve civil suits, which are actions brought to protect an individual’s private rights. The second situation, the employee is liable for physical harm to the customers’ property. Therefore, the company who hires the employee will be held liable for their employees negligent. The last situation, the business will not be liable for the acts of a real estate agent, because, the real estate agent is not controlled by the business. Therefore, the Cost Club should let their customers know they, are not responsible or that the real estate agent is an independent and organization contractors and that they have no control on his or her activities so, Cost Club will not be liable for the tort of him or her (Tort Liability Basics: Strict, Vicarious, and Joint Liability, 1999). Resolving Disagreement Processes Resolving disagreement between company and its employees, the can †¢ Set up a subject box  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Have a meeting once a week with the manager, and employees to discuss the problem that may arise between co-workers and managers. †¢ Includes third party as the mediator between employees and company. †¢ Grievance procedure, corporate due process, mediation etc., †¢ Clear as the formal complaint by the employees that they are behaved wrongly by the management decisions (Open door policy) These steps can be very effective to resolve between most companies’ problem. Which, if not settled could cause a big problem like violation of law, and just a perception of unfair treatment by the employees and managers. This method has to be effective in order to achieve long-term success and to facilitate and to accommodate between the employees and the company. Employment Law Concepts for Selection Employment law concepts for selection would include several legal implications. According to Bennett-Alexander, & Hartman, â€Å"the Civil Rights  Act 1964 prohibits the employers from discrimination among the potential employees on the basis of race, gender, color, region etc. in its recruitment and selection process. The next step is once the employee is hired, the company should make sure they follow steps are, training, appraising, compensating, and implementing employment decisions that determine such things as promotions, transfers, and layoffs† The selection procedure should also be job related and concern with the business necessity. The company should always follow the State HR Laws, and all the employees should be treated fairly and equally (Employment Tests and Selection Procedures, 2008). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act should also be considered in the selection procedure by the management. Reference: Beatty, J.F. & Samuelson, S.S. (2009). Introduction to Business Law (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning. Bennett-Alexander, D. D. & Hartman, P. L. (2007). Employment law for business (5th ed.). New York: McGraw–Hill. Retrieved October 29, 2012 from University of Phoenix, rEsource. Part Time and Temporary Employees. (2009). Retrieved October 29, 2012 from http://employment.findlaw.com/employment/employment-employee-overview/employment-

Free Essays on Monsanto In Europe

Stakeholders are defined to be individuals, groups and organizations with an interest in the activities and outcomes of a company. A firm's stakeholders include employees, consumers, the community and government. If we to determine Monsanot’s stakeholders according to the marketing mix we can say that the main stakeholders for Monsanto’s products in Europe are; - The customer (consumer) market including the public and the end buyer of the products (here the GM crops). It also includes retailers and local communities. - The influence markets which comprise government and pressure groups such as the environmentalists (Greenpeace). It also includes the media. - Supplier markets including farmers, farmers’ unions and raw material suppliers. Each of those stakeholders has a different interest in Monsanto. The concerns and objectives of different stakeholders and stakeholder groups are frequently in conflict; for example consumers (customers) and food retailers as well as suppliers’ main interest would be profit making whether form a direct transaction with Monsanto such as the retailers or a better prices and quality of goods being the interest of the end user (the consumer). On the other hand safety and health as well as quality are other interests for the consumers. Greenpeace and other environmentalists groups’ main interest would be in insuring that environmental is kept safe and not harmed, the natural diversification is not harassed and the air, land and water are not polluted. Other health institutions would be interested in being sure that human health is not negatively affected by the GM crops. Government on the other hand are concerned in being sure that laws and regulations are followed and no violation whatsoever is done weather to the local law or the international laws that the government is bound to. From the begining Monsanto was wrong in assuming that what applies to one market is definitely ... Free Essays on Monsanto In Europe Free Essays on Monsanto In Europe Stakeholders are defined to be individuals, groups and organizations with an interest in the activities and outcomes of a company. A firm's stakeholders include employees, consumers, the community and government. If we to determine Monsanot’s stakeholders according to the marketing mix we can say that the main stakeholders for Monsanto’s products in Europe are; - The customer (consumer) market including the public and the end buyer of the products (here the GM crops). It also includes retailers and local communities. - The influence markets which comprise government and pressure groups such as the environmentalists (Greenpeace). It also includes the media. - Supplier markets including farmers, farmers’ unions and raw material suppliers. Each of those stakeholders has a different interest in Monsanto. The concerns and objectives of different stakeholders and stakeholder groups are frequently in conflict; for example consumers (customers) and food retailers as well as suppliers’ main interest would be profit making whether form a direct transaction with Monsanto such as the retailers or a better prices and quality of goods being the interest of the end user (the consumer). On the other hand safety and health as well as quality are other interests for the consumers. Greenpeace and other environmentalists groups’ main interest would be in insuring that environmental is kept safe and not harmed, the natural diversification is not harassed and the air, land and water are not polluted. Other health institutions would be interested in being sure that human health is not negatively affected by the GM crops. Government on the other hand are concerned in being sure that laws and regulations are followed and no violation whatsoever is done weather to the local law or the international laws that the government is bound to. From the begining Monsanto was wrong in assuming that what applies to one market is definitely ...

Roger & Me Summary and Response essays

Roger & Me Summary and Response essays In Roger s decision to close down these factories ultimately left roughly half of Flints population on government support. The majority of the population was unable to obtain new jobs in Flint because the factories had supported most of the economy. What few alternative jobs there were in Flint were already taken by laid-off factory workers. In addition, many former factory technicians were under qualified for other jobs. Those that could have gone elsewhere in search of work felt too much loyalty to the town to leave it. The effects of this mass unemployment on families and the city was a sub-standard quality of life and a rising crime rate. Moore chronicles some of the duties of Deputy Fred, who handles evictions. In one scene, Deputy Fred must evict a family on Christmas. In an attempt to climb out of economic melt-down, the city of Flint hires an agency which builds a luxury Hyatt, commercial center, and amusement park in order to attract tourists. All three of the facilities, built with the citys money, close down because of lack of interest. All the while, GM has left Flint without any tools with which to climb out of its recession. Michael Moore maintains that GM had an obligation to the citizens of Flint to ensure that the former GM employees didnt face poverty. Job retraining could have enabled ex-GMs to find alternative work. Extended severance pay would have helped factory workers maintain their way of life while they looked for work. Roger Smith also could have cut his losses and opened up new factories in Flint to keep people employed. However, none of t ...