Chiquita Bananas Essay Example for Free

Chiquita Bananas Essay Chiquita is blamed for the actions of two terrorist organizations that extorted money from the company. Victims and their families of the attacks performed by these two terrorist organizations are looking for compensation from Chiquita, claiming that the company is responsible for making those attacks happen. Chiquita has to make a decision whether or not to take the responsibility for the actions performed by the two organizations. Key Facts/Background FARC and AUC (two Colombian organizations currently designated by the U. S. as terrorist organizations) purportedly threatened Chiquita’s executives to hurt employees in the Colombian plant if the company failed to provide the payments for their â€Å"protection. † Chiquita continued to do so until two years after the U. S. designated AUC as a terrorist organization. The U. S. government fined Chiquita for giving â€Å"protection money† to FARC and AUC. Now the victims and families of FARC and AUC are coming forward to claim compensation for damages they incurred due to actions that were financed in part by the money provided by Chiquita. If the law that permits victims and their families to sue providers of support to the terrorist organizations passes, Chiquita may face multiple lawsuits for providing this support to FARC and AUC, which may amount to millions of dollars. The law is not yet in place but the problem that Chiquita is facing is already here. Stakeholder Analysis Based on the case one of the main stakeholders is Chiquita. Giving money to FARC and AUC in the first place was not only illegal (after 2001) but also not aligned with, what could be perceived as company’s dedication to protect its employees—giving money may have (and actually did) encourage the AUC to continue to threaten Chiquita just like FARC did. The company did not show that they are constant and coherent in their vision of corporate and social responsibility. They did not care about the communities they operated in as much as they cared about their own well being. The issue is that the payments were already made and the company admitted to it, which ended with a plea agreement with the U. S. government. Now, the challenge is whether or not to admit that Chiquita is responsible for actions of FARC and AUC because â€Å"extortion† money has been paid. This may result in either lawsuits or settlements for all the damage incurred by the two terrorist organizations, which in turn will result in definite lowering of the bottom line and losing credibility. At the same time (just like with the Tylenol case) if Chiquita acknowledges by itself the wrongdoing, it may recover its image of socially responsible company and show that it is aligned with their beliefs of protecting people (just as they protected their employees, they should protect all the people who are affected by their actions). If Chiquita will wait until law is passed and then fight over the responsibility, it will be costly, but also the company will loose all the credibility they built with the customers and shareholders over the decades. The U. S. judicial system is another main stakeholder. If the law is passed, the courts in U. S. will be tasked with making a decision of whether Chiquita is indeed liable for, what the company was believing to be, paying the extortion and â€Å"protection† money to safeguard their employees against harm from FARC or AUC. Here the court may be in a dilemma, since the illegal activity that Chiquita engaged itself in was believed to be because it was trying to protect lives of their employees. Now, with one more law in place—to compensate those who suffered from FARC and AUC—the dilemma will boil down to determining if what Chiquita believed to be the reasoning behind these payments, was indeed it. If yes, could we punish Chiquita for trying to protect their employees? The other main stakeholders are the victims (and their families) of FARC and AUC’s actions. They are trying to bring to justice people who are responsible for their suffering. Now, the challenge is that they are trying to bring to justice a company that was not directly but rather indirectly harming them. The reasoning behind this is the belief that the money Chiquita paid was indeed used in hurting those people. The victims and their families have right to demand justice. The question remains, of who actually should be brought to justice. Options Analysis Based on the current situation (company already admitted to paying the money, internal documents that the money did provide benefits exceeding the protecting of the employees were unveiled, threat of lawsuits), Chiquita has couple limited options, which are based on justice and duty. First option is to come out now and take the responsibility for the actions of FARC and AUC. The law may not be in place yet, but this decision may show that Chiquita is standing by its promise to protect people affected by its actions. This option definitely addresses the claims of victims and their families—they will get the compensation they are seeking. Chiquita will face multiple lawsuits and will be harmed financially, which affects shareholders of the company. In this case the reasoning behind the payments is brought in place—whether it was for corporate gain or protection of employees. Another option would be to refuse paying compensation to victims of FARC and AUC based on the fact that Chiquita did nothing directly to harm them. Moreover, they were protecting people by paying the terrorist. If the law holding the company responsible for these actions is not in place, the company and the U. S. justice system are â€Å"off the hook† and the victims and families can’t seek to have their claims fulfilled. If the law holding the company responsible is in place, then Chiquita is going to be brought to justice and both the justice system and the victims will have their legal claims fulfilled. Recommendation It comes down to determining whether the company benefitted in other ways than protecting their employees from paying for the â€Å"protection† from FARC and AUC. From the information provided in the internal documents it seems like it did. Even without the internal documents, Chiquita did benefit financially from being present for all those years in Colombia (Chiquita in Colombia Case, p. 4: according to AUGURA, â€Å"productivity on Latin and Central American plantations were three times greater than in the Caribbean, and costs to import were 50% lower†). The company had the direct benefit in paying the FARC and AUC for their â€Å"protection. † Doing business in Colombia was lucrative and giving it up was (at that time) more damaging than paying terrorist. That’s why my recommendation to Chiquita is to come forward and admit to their wrongdoing and pay the claimants for their damages. It will be hard to run a company with such past, but this lesson will (hopefully) help avoid such issues in the future (not only for Chiquita but also other companies who are doing business internationally in unstable political and security environments). Action Let’s say someone is threatening to kill me unless I give him or her my car. I know he or she may kill someone else with it—I wouldn’t give it up even if I paid with my own life for it. If my family is threatened—I give it up, since I am responsible for more people. If the situation repeats over many years and every month I give up the car to protect myself and my family, more and more people are being killed. Do I admit to what that someone does? Am I responsible for this? I would want to think that not. But if there is a case of repeat actions like this, I would have to take that responsibility. And that’s why Chiquita should act on their core social responsibility values they preach. Synopsis By giving money to FARC and AUC, Chiquita approved of the actions of the two organizations. The solution is to now take the responsibility for these actions.

Olestra :: essays research papers

Olestra Technically speaking, it was to be the something that was supposedly going to change the world. Stock analysts even proclaimed it as being the "single most important discovery in the history of the food industry", and would generate over a billion dollars annually in sales becomming Procter and Gambles, the creators, best selling product. What is not to like about a product which replaces the fat content in previosly named junk food such as potato chips? Apparently quite a bit. Olestra was first invented in 1968 as a way of increasing an infants intake of fat. This is when they stumbled upon a special chemcial which was actually the hexa, hepta, and octa-esters of fatty acid of sucrose. These molecules are so big and fatty, that the body cannot be metabolized by the body by enzymes and bacteria in the intestine, and as a result is not digested or absorbed. Instead of increasing fat intake, this chemical replaced it. Almost 30 years later, Olestra was finally given approval by the FDA to be used in food, however, with the condition of a warning label indicating the product can induse upset stomach and loose stools, as well as inhibiting the absorbtion of vitamins A, D, E and K. For a product that was supposed to be perfect, what happened? Studies conducted prior, first with mice, had somewhat alarming results which indicated that in addition to the first two problems stated, Olestra can cause cancer. The reason for this is that the product interferes with the bodies natural absorbtion of carotenoids which are found in fruits in vegetables, which help the body fight against cancer. Studies in humans showed that people who consumed 2 grams of Olestra per day had 15% lower level of carotenoids in their body than those who didnt eat them. A regular sized bag of chips made with Olestra however, contain over 15 grams. Further studies showen that when given Olestra doses every day included in every meal , levels dropped over 60%. Once Olestra hit the market, the FDA recieved more than 1000 reports of the food causing adverse reactions, yet Procter and Gamble still maintain the product is harmless. To perhaps nobodies surprise, "fake-fat" containing products recieved initial high sales, but quickly plummeted due to both the media and word of mouth on its affects, as well as the warning label and relative high price.

Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management

Supporting Good Practice in Performance and Reward Management 3PRM Activity 1 Performance management Performance Management is both a strategic (about broad issues and long-term goals) and an integrated (linking various aspects of the business, people management, individuals and teams) approach to delivering successful results in organisations by improving the performance and developing the capabilities of teams and individuals.Two main purposes of performance management are; * To help the employees in identifying the knowledge and skills required for performing the job efficiently as this would drive their focus towards performing the right task in the right way, which in turn helps work towards the business objectives as their tasks are generated and focussed around the organisations goals. Promoting a two way system of communication between the supervisors and the employees for clarifying expectations about the roles and accountabilities, communicating the functional and organisat ional goals, providing a regular and a transparent feedback for improving employee performance and continuous coaching and development. The most important stage and component of any performance management process which forms the basis of performance is Appraisals.Appraisal systems are a formal method of monitoring and reviewing individuals’ performance. This is important as they enable the individuals to gain a clear picture of how they are doing and to identify areas where they may need additional support or training. They also ensure that the work of the individual is focussed towards the overall objectives of the organisation and whether they are on track to meet their objectives they have been set. There are three main components of performance management; Planning – This is done in form of appraisals. Performance planning is jointly done by the appraisee and also the appraiser in the beginning of a performance session. During this period, both the manager and staf f decide upon the targets and the key performance areas which can be performed over the next year. * Monitoring – Regular monitoring of performance is one of the key component to performance management it is usually done in the form of informal appraisals and these should also occur though regular contact and one to ones.It gives an opportunity to monitor the achievements of objectives for staff, keeps a check on how the individual is getting on in relation to the tasks, identifies any problems which can prevent the individual from achieving their work objectives. * Review/evaluating – Managers should be giving feedback on a regular and continuing basis. This is the stage in which the employee acquires awareness from the appraiser about the areas of improvements and also information on whether the employee is contributing the expected levels of performance or not.The employee receives open feedback and along with this the training and development needs of the individua l is also identified. The appraiser adopts all the possible steps to ensure that the employee meets the expected outcomes for an organisation through guidance, mentoring and representing the employee in training programmes which develop the competencies and improve the overall productivity. This stage also is an opportunity for strengths to be identified and how these can be utilised to support the business objectives further. Motivation and performance managementThe relationship between motivation and performance management is a close one, they work along each other. Motivation is the key to an individual's degree of willingness to exert and maintain their efforts towards the organisational goals. Motivation levels are likely to have an effect on performance. If an individual has high motivation, it is likely to increase their performance. Although this may not always be the case. Here is a list of some of the things that motivate individuals; * Money * Reward schemes * Sense of ac hievement * The environment * Professional Development * Benefits Etc. There are many motivational theories here I will explain two of them. Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation at the workplace shows the difference between two factors of motivation. The two factors being satisfiers, which are the main causes for job satisfaction (motivation), from hygiene factors which are the main causes for job dissatisfaction (demotivation to stay in the job). Examples of motivating factors are achievement, recognition, responsibility and the work itself. Hygiene factors include: working conditions, salary, relationship with colleagues, supervision, etc.An organisation needs to influence satisfiers through performance management using range of tools such as: job descriptions, supervision, performance appraisals, continuous development/training, rewards and career development. Maslow’s theory of motivation is called the â€Å"hierarchy of needs†. Maslow believes that pe ople have five main needs in the following order of importance; 1. Physiological – the need to eat, drink, sleep, reproduce. 2. Safety – the need for shelter and to feel secure. 3. Love/Belonging – the need to feel part of a group and to be accepted. . Esteem – the need to feel good about themselves and the need to be recognised for achievements. 5. Self-actualisation – the need for personal fulfilment and the need to grow and develop. Maslow's hierarchic theory is represented as a pyramid, with the lower levels representing the more fundamental needs, and the upper levels representing the growth/being needs, and ultimately the need for self-actualisation. According to the theory, the higher needs in the hierarchy become evident only after all the needs that are lower down in the pyramid are met. RewardsMost organisations use rewards within their performance management system to motivate individuals. Two main purposes they do this are; * To help at tract individuals – The better rewards that the organisation gives the more people are going to be attracted to work for them so more people will apply for jobs there. * Retain the individuals – Rewards for good performance is motivation for staff to stay with the organisation it helps make them feel valued in turn makes them work harder. Rewards are not just financial but non-financial too. Rewards can be things such as; * Pay rise/ bonus.Some bonuses are based on performance of an individual, the team or the organisation and is usually target / objective focused. * Recognition. This could be through increased responsibility, praise during one to ones, a certificate of recognition, etc. * Flexible hours and time off – This could be a generous holiday period or increased holiday to reward employees for long service. Also some organisations use flexible working as a reward. Data needed for managing performance All materials need to be prepared for managing perfor mance (appraisal meetings) these would include internal and external data, although most are internal.An internal piece of data for example would be if it was a sales organisation they would bring along the report for the percentage of sales the individual has made and this would be compared to the targets set. The comparison would show how well individual has done to meet these this would then be discussed in the next stage. Other examples would include notes agreed tasks and records of performance, achievements, incidents, reports, previous performance appraisal documents and a current job description.An example of an external piece of data would be benchmarking, where the manager would collect data from other organisations to analyse and compare the sales the individual has made, this would show how the employee's participation is developing not only themselves, but also the constitution as a whole, compared to the other organisations, earlier collected data from. Another example would be feedback from external customers or other organisations. Managing Performance The key aims of performance management are to continuously improve the performance of individuals and that of the organisation.It involves making sure that the performance of employees contributes to the goals of their teams and the business as a whole. Part of the management is to review the individuals performance whether it be good or poor performance. The aims of the meetings for performance management are to encourage and motivate not to undermine. Factors to be considered whilst managing good performance would be reward for the individuals’ performance, how to keep the individual motivated to keep up the good work and any training needs to help develop further.Factors to consider whilst managing poor performance would be thinking about how to deal with discussing the performance as these can be difficult conversations for managers, thinking about why the performance is poor and think ing about how to improve the individuals’ performance, what measures can be put in place and how this can monitored. Most organisations have their performance reviews at once a year in the form of appraisals and have 6 month reviews. Although managers should keep their staff informed of their performance and giving feedback throughout the whole year.This can be done through one to one’s or regular meetings. The purposes of the performance reviews are * to check how the team member is getting on in relation to the tasks and objectives agreed, * to identify any problems which may be preventing the individual from achieving their work objectives, * to highlight opportunities for improving work processes, * to build confidence and self-esteem within the individual * to plan future work, set tasks and agree objectives * to agree ways to support the individual in the future, * to discuss the individuals feedback and how they feel about their job.The process of appraisals App raisal systems vary in different organisations, some have standardised procedures, some have few guidelines and leave it to the manager to plan and implement. There are three main stages of an appraisal preparation, the meeting and the follow up. * Preparation – Both the manager and the individual need to prepare for the appraisal by reviewing the individuals performance including the overall performance, the quality of the work and checking if targets have been met. * The meeting – The manager needs to make sure that a suitable venue is planned and available, private and free from interruptions.Within the meeting the manager needs to set the tone which will influence whether the discussion is helpful to both manager and individual they need to make sure that the individual is relaxed. Then both the manager and individual going through the appraisal document discuss * Performance and identify areas of good performance and the weaker investigate the reasons for the weak ness and highlight the areas for improvement * clarifying, defining, redefining priorities and objectives making sure that they are specific to the organisations objectives * motivation through agreeing helpful aims and targets motivation though achievement and feedback * training needs and learning desires – assessment and agreement * identification of personal strengths * career and succession planning – personal and organisational * team roles clarification and team building * organisational training needs assessment and analysis * the individual and managers mutual awareness, understanding and relationship * reinforcing organisational philosophies, values, aims, strategies, priorities * additional responsibilities, employee growth and development * counselling and feedback * manager development The follow up is the review by the manager where they need to complete the documentation by writing up what had been discussed. Making sure that the write up is agreed and s igned by the individual. Managers need to keep continuous monitoring and evaluation on the individual throughout the year and ideally hold a review within that time. Activity 2 The hopeful outcome of the meeting was to discuss with the individual their performance over the last six months, including what went well and what hadn’t gone so well. Why things had gone well or not so well and if there was anything to improve performance or training needs.The outcomes of the appraisal with Hannah were that over the last six months as the manager I felt that Hannah has been doing well and providing a good service. Her only downfall is that sales have gone down but this was due to Hannah having a month off work with a broken leg. This was discussed within the meeting using the Appraisal form and was met with targets to be achieved. The appraisal form used was effective as it covers all areas of performance including how the individual felt about the previous six months it also covers how the manager felt they performed.It discusses what they have enjoyed most and least, quality of their work, management of workload, targets and identifies if any training is needed. These things covered are important as it lets both the manager and individual know how the individual is doing within the organisation and whether they need any further development or training. This is a motivator to the individual as they can gain job satisfaction that they are going in the right direction and helping towards the overall aim and objectives of the organisation.This appraisal system could be improved by having more input from the individual so they can have their say on what they have done and how they feel they have done which maybe the manager has not recognised. This would help the individual to feel they receive the recognition they deserve for the work they have input. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) should be incorporated to the form as the targets need to be SMART otherwise it would be unfair for the individual to set unattainable targets to meet as they won’t meet them which will affect their performance reviews.

Personal Narrative for Msw - 1643 Words

Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve peoples lives. Social workers help people function the best way they can in their environment, deal with their relationships, and solve personal and family problems. Social workers often see clients who face a life-threatening disease or a social problem. These problems may include inadequate housing, unemployment, serious illness, disability, or substance abuse. Social workers also assist families that have serious domestic conflicts, including those involving child or spousal abuse. Social workers often provide social services in health-related settings that now are governed by managed care organizations. To contain costs, these organizations are emphasizing†¦show more content†¦There I noticed the great lengths these social workers went through to help people like ourselves that were in need. Our social worker helped us obtain benefits like medical insurance, food stamps, even a monthly stipend. She even helped my mother by giving her the opportunity to go to a vocational school and then to get job training and lastly help her find a job. Thats when I turned to my mother and said to my mom when I grow up I want to become a professional that dedicates their lives to help other people in need and that I would be looked upon as someone they can talk to that they can trust. As a child I took the initiative and started volunteering at the Liga Contra el Cancer Foundation which helped cancer patients that were needy. I was a cangrejito at first collecting money at local streets and selling chocolates door to door. Then as I got older I was part of the Juniors Club which supervised the cangrejitos at the local streets and organized all mailings for donations being made by callers. We sent the donors a thank you card for contributing to our organization and helping the cancer patients. At Thanksgiving we helped the homeless by providing them food and shelter. 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