Business Ethics case-Nike Sweatshops Case Study

Business Ethics -Nike Sweatshops - Case Study Example The labor unions of such countries were also said to gain significant influence. Countries such as Vietnam, China, and Indonesia were considered to offer cheaper labor to the company Nike, Inc. and also prohibited labor unions. But when the workers of these countries demanded additional benefits and rights, the company closed all its factories in such countries and moved to other countries to continue its operations at a lower cost. The company Nike, Inc. was highly criticized throughout the 1990s for selling such goods which were considered to be manufactured in sweatshops. In the year 1991, an activist named Jeff Ballinger published a report which highlighted the poor working conditions and low wages in the country of Indonesia (Esbenshade, 2004). He published an article which stated that an Indonesian worker was considered to work for the company’s subcontractor for only 14 cents an hour which was considered to be less than the minimum wages that was prescribed in Indonesia . Numerous disturbing stories were said to come from the factories of the company Nike, Inc. throughout the world. The major issues were considered to be forced overtime, child labor, and wages which were considered to be well below the poverty line. There were also other issues such as poor air quality, exposure to chemicals considered as dangerous and physical abuse from the overseers of factory. It was considered that groups such as Global Exchange, Education for Justice, and students who were considered to be against sweatshop labor were mainly considered to lead the efforts against the company Nike, Inc. in this regard. Team Sweat was established with the main objective of tracking the protests that were considered to be made against the organization. It is considered as an international coalition of workers, investors, and consumers to put an end to the injustices that were considered to be in the sweatshops of the organization Nike, Inc. around the world. Jim Keady

Estimation With Cost Significant Elements In Malaysia Construction Essay

Estimation With Cost Significant Elements In Malaysia Construction Essay The construction estimation is an important content of the feasibility study of the projects. The accuracy of the cost estimation directly affects the decision of project, scale of construction, design scheme and economic effects, and affects the proceeding of projects. It is significant for the management and control of the project estimation to process the estimated practically, speedily, and exactly. Construction cost is an important element that should be monitored at different phases of the process of a building construction. It is also a factual process designed to give a reliable estimation or prediction of its financial cost. Cost estimating is a fundamental activity which combines a mechanical process and a subjective expertise undertaken to assess and predict the total cost to execute the construction works. It consists of an application with an appropriate method to estimate and to measure the final quantities of the building. The purpose of construction cost estimation is to provide information for constructors which include areas in the procurement and pricing of construction, establishing contractual amount of payment, and quantity control. Cost models serve a variety of purposes. It can be defined as the symbolic representation for a system, expressing the content of that system in terms of the factors which influence its costs (1). It is a procedure developed to reflect, by means of derived processes, adequately acceptable output for an established series of input data (2). Besides that, techniques used in the cost modeling can also forecast the estimated cost of a proposed construction project (3). Therefore, every method, technique or procedure used by quantity surveyors for cost estimation or cost forecast may be termed as cost models. All procurement systems require a contractor to predict the cost of a project, and to determine a price for the work within the constraints of time and to maintain the required quality without compromising to the wellbeing of other projects. In the traditional procurement system, Bill of Quantities (BQ) is an essential part of tender document that lists all the items of work to be co mpleted in a project which is to provide a mean of comparing bids from several contractors on a like for like basis. Since BQ has become an important tool for project costing and tendering it is also a document for architects and other consultants to have a sense of control on their projects in term of cost and finance. Today BQ are also used for cost planning, projected cash flows and budget, for valuation of interim payments and variation orders, and for settlement of final account. The objective of this paper is to present a formal method, the Cost Significant Element (CSE) method to accelerate the tendering process in the construction industry. The CSE has existed in the industry for a long time and has been used by many project stakeholders to deliver the project and to meet the specified targets and objectives set by the clients. Previous Studies The construction projects in Malaysia are getting more complicated and their scales are getting larger as the industrial development directly affects the construction sector. Hence it is getting more difficult to complete the projects within quality standards, budgeted cost limits and on time. Most of the time, decisions to be taken may be delayed due to the risk and uncertainties met by managers during the construction process and as a result some difficulties are arisen. One of these difficulties is caused by the lack of cost data whenever needed and in demanded quality. Therefore, the budgeted cost limits are often exceeded. However, it is well-known fact that the earlier cost planning is started on resulting in the more suitable outcome are obtained. In construction industry, Cost significant Element (CSE) method is a way to build up a simple cost estimate model by using historical bills of quantities (BQ) which the document that states how much is to be spent on each functional element of a proposed building in relation to a defined standard of space and quality. It is also an organized breakdown of cost data into the standard elements of a building. CSE facilitate the comparison between projects and the development of recording cost data for future cost planning in a simple way. It is important to identify the cost significant item in the research on CSE method. A research project has been carried out in Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Architecture intending to estimate most probable building cost in the early stage of the construction process taking the advantage of recent developments in the information and communication technology (ICT) [Orhon, 1996], [Tas and Yaman, 2002]. The main objectives of this research were collecting building construction cost data, processing data and transforming it into building cost information, storing and retrieving the cost data and information, connecting private and public sector data as well as information through a database, saving time and minimizing mistakes, by avoiding reproduction of the information that has already been stored somewhere in the sector. BQ is the traditional method that is commonly used by construction companies to predict the cost of a project in the detailed design phase and throughout the construction period. It will usually result in similar significant items being identified across different bills, but with each item having a minor difference. In order to overcome this problem, once the identification of cost of the elements, quantity or resource significant items is completed, the BQ items are aggregated into significant work elements. Whereas, it is one of the most important components of the tender documents along with technical drawings, specifications, conditions of contract, etc. Once a project is defined in detail, every item of work needed to complete the project is listed and priced by estimators. BQ for building work is counterproductive and leads to ambiguities and differences in interpretation, creating a potential for dispute. An acceptable level of simplification can be achieved through the aggreg ation of work items, presently required to be measured separately (Edwards and Edwards, 1995). The process of developing cost significant models has tended to consists of several steps. These include finding the cost significant items, grouping similar items together, and calculating a cost significant factor. The cost significant items to be identify in a project uses a technique proposed by Shereef (1981) where items are considered as significant when their value is higher than, or equal to, the mean bill value. Other than that, research at the University of Dundee has consistently shown that BQ analyses using this technique are successful in identifying the 20% of significant items that constitute 80% of the cost (Horner and Zakieh, 1993). However, it has long been recognized that in the value of the research work identified in the second stage of this process will not associate to the full cost of the trade. In Paretoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s principle (commonly called 80:20 rule), when 80:20 rule is utilized the assumption is made that the 20 per cent of items are contributing 80 per cent of the value, and consequently the cost of the work packages identified in stage two equate to only approximately 80 per cent of the total cost of the trade. A model factor has to be applied to the total value of the work elements to determine the cost of the trade as a whole, to include a value for the 80 per cent of items not costed during this process. This factor is termed the cost model factor and is calculated by establishing the average proportion of the total cost of a trade that is accounted for by the significant work elements. The total cost of a trade can then be established by dividing the total cost of the si gnificant work elements by the cost model factor (Munns and Al-Haimus). Research Methodology In order to achieve the objectives of the study, there are two approaches to be carried out in this research. Firstly, primary data collected from a number of the construction companies in Johor Bahru area of Malaysia. Primary data are those data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience. It shows the advantage towards the accuracy of data since the specific information has been collected by the person who is doing the research. Twenty-five high cost double storey terrace housing projects historical BQ were collected in the data analysis. In this particular research is to develop a building cost estimation model based on cost significant work elements. Several important steps came to establish this model. These were including finding the cost significant work items in BQ, grouping similar work items together to select work packages, and calculating a cost significant value factor (CSVF). Cost significant element models rely on the well documented finding that 80 per cent of a billà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s value is contained within the 20 per cent of the items which are most expensive (Barnes 1971; Skinner 1981; Ashworth Skitmore 1983; PSA 1987). Projects which have similar features, the cost significant items are roughly the same. This model has covered the criteria that need to be considered and getting the result to prove the 20:80 rules in the estimating practice. In developing the model, literature reviews are adopted as secondary sources, and as such, it does not report any new or original experimental work. Cost-significant items can be grouped together, using a variety of techniques, into a smaller number of cost-significant element work packages, which within any given category of project consistently represent a fixed proportion of the total cost, usually close to 80 per cent. The total value of the project can then be calculated simply by multiplying the total price of the cost-significant work packages by an appropriate factor. The value of the factor varies slightly that to determine from an analysis of historical data (Poh, P.S.H. Horner, R.M.W.). Accuracy of the result in this model can be varied by coarsening or refining to match the quality of data available at each stage in the projectà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s life when calculating of the cost significant model factor.

Great Teachers and Educational Leadership Qualities -Parent Student Rel

Great teachers & educational Leadership qualities: motivation, school discipline & teaching skills of teacher late Orhan Seyfi Ari A truly great teacher with his teaching and educational leadership can inspire even education reforms. The globally popular teaching skills and educational leadership qualities make great teachers. How do a truly great teachers' teaching inspire pupils and students? His behaviour management in school discipline is empathic. His teaching skills are with educational leadership qualities. In teacher student relations great teachers motivate. In parent teacher meetings great educators help. Truly great teachers can make educational history with education reforms, social history, enable social pride... 'His students made the state and the nation proud' (On a great educator's, the late, Orhan Seyfi Ari's passing away -Atun, Leader of Parliament TRNC 1992) How do great teachers do that? What made Orhan Ari a great teacher? This educator's exceptional teaching skills and educational leadership qualities made him one of the great teachers. Orhan Ari's teaching skills and educational leadership qualities were so great, writers and poets hailed him, people named streets after him. What were these major globally popular teaching skills and educational leadership qualities that made him a great teacher? Orhan Ari's teaching skills and educational leadership qualities in education related dealings kept parents, colleague teachers, students properly happy. This great teacher's teaching skills and educational leadership were enhanced by his wit and honesty. His sincere concern and help enabled educational reforms -made him a truly great teacher who continues to socio-culturally inspire. ... ...ife' -Nicholas press, London 2002) Truly great teachers' globally popular educational leadership qualities and teaching skills can make educational history. This great teacher's educational leadership qualities enabled education reforms -made him popular within and without his community. In retirement from teaching he was invited to visit and inspect schools overseas, when this great teacher passed away, retired from teaching years before, at his funeral with his former students and pupils school children carried flowers. Great teachers are remembered. Great teachers' popularity lasts. With teacher and teaching awards, in an unfinished monograph, this great teacher, Orhan Seyfi Ari, saw as greatest reward... 'My spiritual reward.. my beloved 'children', my pupils, have achieved success... The feeling of having been loved by them as I have loved them.'

Lydia Peelle †Mule Killers Essay

In this short story â€Å"Mule Killers† by Lydia Peele we meet three generations of a family, grandfather, father and son as well as the different women in the story. The story is told in present time by the son as a first person narrator, but almost everything in the story is a flashback of the father’s story about his youth. The story is constructed in parts; you get introduced to the lives of the father and the grandfather with no introduction of what has happened before, and then, the story jumps to the end in the present, without letting the reader know what has happened in between and what will probably happen after the story ends. The story takes place on a farm on the countryside near Nashville in the Southeast of United States. Though the story, you get an impression of an isolated society where the church is central and people has got quiet and ordinary lives while they work hard to make a living from their farms. The language in â€Å"Mule Killers† is observing, which we can see in the description of Eula: â€Å"(†¦)her hair swept up off her neck, thick purple-black and shining, the other girl’s hanging limply down, onion paper pale(†¦)† In the story we hear the father tell the son about the events that changed their lives: how he met the mother of his son and also had to give up on his dreams of love and how the lovestory of what should have been innocent turned out to be the thing that shaped his future. The tragic love story represents the way the farmland was changed in the future. Firstly, the shift from mules to tractors in the farming symbolises several things. For the grandfather, the shift to tractors and the following accident marks a new time that he does not accept and he does not take him. This we get an example of in this line: â€Å"you’re gonna see a future I can’t even stretch my mind around. Not any of it. I can’t even begin to imagine. † For the father, the loss of his mule Orphan, which was one of the things that he really cared about represents the end of his childhood. The mules is a symbol of the future and the killing of them is a bad sign for the future and also is the point of no return in this short story. The shift from child to grown-up is the main theme in this story, but also the fathers struggle to live up to his fathers ideals of what a man is, is an important aspect in the story. In his trying to be and act like a grown-up he supresses his fears and his sadness and also the things he love: music and the mules. So it’s like he cannot cultivate these interests any longer. Another important theme in the short story is time. During the story you get a feeling of time passing by. The father goes from being a young man to having a son, who is twice as old as the father was when the son was born, the farming changes and goes from using mulls to tractors.

Store and Recover Information About Object Using Binary Serialization in C#

Report Store and Recover Information about Object Using Binary Serialization in C# What is Binary Serialization: Serialization is the process taking an object and converting it to a format which can be transported through net work or store into a storage medium, the storage medium could be file, database, or memory. The . NET Framework provides two types of serialization, XML serialization and Binary serialization. There are also three formats provided by the Microsoft . NET framework to which objects can be serialized. The formats are binary, SOAP, and XML.Binary serialization can either the binary or the SOAP formatter, are suitable for storing object Information in . NET applications, and you don’t need share the information with non-. NET programs. When I mention Binary serialization below I mean â€Å"Binary serialization† using binary formatter, as short expression. Why use Binary Serialization: The binary serialization working chart is: [pic] The chart also can p resent the other two format of serialization. so why we use Binary serialization instead of use the other two? What the advantage and disadvantage of binary serialization?The binary serialization is the most compact and light of the three formats and it is the fastest one of the three formats. Also the binary serialization can serialize all the state of the object, including type information. Therefore when the object is deserialized, you get an accurate and fully functional copy of the original, which xml will not It ignores private member fields and properties. The main limitation of using binary serialization is that binary serialization depends on platform, while XML and SOAP do not adhere to that limitation.Therefore only when all your applications which use serialization are . net framework applications, you can use binary serialization, otherwise uses other two formats instead. Using Binary Serialization in C#: The code to using Binary serialize is very simple. The step is: 1 ) create an instance of an BinaryFormatter class (using the interface iForamatter) 2) pass it an object and an open stream 3) iFormatter. Serialize methodwrites the object's state to the stream. Below I will show a very simple code to serialize an object call aPerson to a file.To make a class serializable we must mark it with the serializable attribute at before the class code The code is: [Serializable] public class Person then we need 2 namespaces for using serialization in our application: using System. Runtime. Serialization. Formatters. Binary; using System. Runtime. Serialization; then use the code below to Serialize: //create an instance of an BinaryFormatter class(IFormatter is a interface) IFormatter formatter = new BinaryFormatter(); //create a stream Stream stream = new FileStream(â€Å"filename†, FileMode. Create, FileAccess.Write, FileShare. None); //pass stream and object to the stream formatter. Serialize method for doing Serialization formatter. Serialize(stre am, aPerson); //finished close the stream stream. Close(); The deserialize just as simple as serialize, the code are: IFormatter formatter = new BinaryFormatter(); Stream stream = new FileStream(â€Å"MyFile. dat†, FileMode. Open, FileAccess. Read, FileShare. Read); Person clone = (Person) formatter. Deserialize(stream); stream. Close(); Some Important not for Serialization: ? the constructors are not called when an object is deserialized. the Serializable attribute cannot be inherited. ? there are some Security issues of serialization you can visit The Security and Serialization (http://msdn. microsoft. com/library/? url=/library/en-us/cpguide/html/cpconsecurityserialization. asp)topic in the Framework Documentation further reading: This report just explains the very basic idea of Binary serialization for further study the following links will help. Serializing Objects: http://msdn. microsoft. com/library/default. asp? url=/library/en-us/cpguide/html/cpovrSerializingObjects. sp C# Object Serialization by Budi Kurniawan http://www. ondotnet. com/pub/a/dotnet/2002/08/26/serialization. html References: Serializing Objects: http://msdn. microsoft. com/library/default. asp? url=/library/en-us/cpguide/html/cpovrSerializingObjects. asp http://www. c-sharpcorner. com/Language/serializingObjectsinCS. asp ———————– Deserialization Binary Serialization network Deserialization Binary Serialization Copy of Your Object A File, Database or memory Storage medium Another Application Your object Your Application