Research Articles Base: Labor Standards

Do we all get an “equal crack at the dough”?

Introduction               Income is the most important determinant of how much money a person has because it is measurable. It is one of the bases of an individual and a household’s quality of life. There is a positive relationship between income and quality of life, which means that the more money a person has, the higher the measures of quality of life. This is because money is the means by which individuals provide for their needs and wants. The determinant of the issue on income equality is the corresponding equality in the opportunity provided to individuals to earn the amount of money they desire. Settling the issue on equal opportunity to earn money involves the consideration of the differing views and synthesizing the different points to derive a conclusion.   Views on the Issue                           There are two perspectives on the equality of opportunities to earn money. First, the naturalist perspective propounds that all people have equal opportunities because of common natural characteristics and inclinations. Thomas Hobbs’ Leviathan shows that the fear of death and the desire to survive characterize all men so that when faced with impending death, man naturally develops the instinct to survive. (Ewin 37) John Locke states that all men are equal and independent in the state of nature (Boucher and Kelly 51). Jean Jacques Rousseau states that in the state of nature, men enjoy equality in the opportunity for survival (Boucher and Kelly 115). Contemporary view on the nature of man shows that every person has equal opportunities to engage in activities to earn money.   Every person has the physical and mental ability to determine moneymaking opportunities and to take advantage of that opportunity. However, this view does not believe the fact that there are physical and mental differences expressed by society’s distinctions of the physically and mentally challenged relative to the general population. There are also differences underlying the issues of gender and racial discrimination. Regardless of these differences, this view proposes that equal opportunities to make money persist because of the basic inclination of man to survive. The drive to survive constitutes the equalizing factor among all people regarding the opportunity to earn money.   However, this perspective looks at the ideal man and does not consider real specific conditions of different people. Income earnings of people exemplify the real situation of people in terms of opportunities to earn money. Current data shows that there is a gap between the rich and poor, which is continuously widening. The aggregate wealth of the top 50 riches individuals in the world exceeds the income received by 416 million poor people. There are 2.5 million people receiving only an income of a day constituting 40 percent of world population and 5 percent of global income while 10 percent of the world’s population receives 54 percent of global income. (Martens 3) In the United States, there is a distinct difference in average income based on race. The average income for whites reached ,964 while the median income for blacks is ,177. (DeNavas-Walt, Cleveland & Webster 3) Thus, the facts show that in actual human experience, there is a difference in the income received by individuals. The difference in income correlates to the factors preventing people from having equal opportunities to own money.   Second, the relativist perspective proposes that there is no equal opportunity to earn money because of the inequality in human relations. Differences in the physical and psychological characteristics of man determine the opportunities open to them. The view  originates from developing countries experiencing the difference in the income they earn from other states translating to the differences in income of their respective citizens. The core argument of the relativists is that opportunities are created (Garrison 1), relative to the natural existence based on naturalist perspective, by the innate inequalities in human relations in society.   Social values determine the opportunities open to people to earn money. Traditional perspective allots greater opportunities to men relative to women to study and find high-income jobs. Prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States and many years after that, white people were given greater opportunities to study and work in high-income professional jobs relative to colored people. These inequalities in opportunities are expressed in other relations. In reality, the opportunities to make money depends upon the extent that society permits individuals to take advantage of these opportunities. Regardless of the physical and mental ability of person to determine opportunities and take advantage of these opportunities, social norms may prevent people from earning money equally. There are many people with the physical and psychological ability to go to work but these people are unemployed. There are also people who are willing to work but are terminated due to financial considerations of their firm. These examples show that the opportunity to earn money is not equally present among different people.   Conclusion               People create opportunities to make money but the actualization or realization of opportunities is limited by societal norms because of the inequalities in human relations. The naturalist view that the natural drive of individuals to survive and the physical and mental abilities of people to take advantage of opportunities commonly exist among individuals but cannot be supported by real conditions of different people. The relativist view that people create opportunities but are limited by societal norms captures more actual situations. The inequality in opportunities to earn income is expressed by inequality in income and standard of living among different people. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Do we all get an “equal crack at the dough”?

Introduction Income is the most important determinant of how much money a person has because it is measurable. It is one...

The Pizza Hut Experience

Summary This paper is a study of a restaurant in UK specifically Pizza Hut. The paper focuses on the restaurant’s customer service as applied on its operation. The paper aims to present the company’s operational procedure; how the restaurant deals with external and internal customers. The strengths and weaknesses of the company in terms of customer service are also discussed. At the end of the study, the company’s overall customer service is evaluated. Introduction Pizza Hut is a large chain of pizza restaurant originated from USA. Pizza Hut restaurant opened in the United Kingdom on 1973 at Islington, London, 15 years after the First Pizza Hut opened on 1958 at Kansas, USA by Frank and Dan Carney. Currently, Pizza Hut is the UK’s leading pizza restaurant and delivery chain with about 500 restaurants across UK. Pizza Hut in UK is owned and operated by Whitbread Plc and Yum International who also own KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Worldwide and currently employs over 20,000 people in the UK. Operation As part of the food industry, Pizza Hut’s goal is to present its products when and where the customer wants , refining its products and develop new products to suit their customer’s tastes. With this goal, Pizza Hut gives emphasis on customer service. The company uses the term ‘customer mania’ to describe the importance that customer satisfaction impacts on the success of the company. Customer Mania is basically a program which is based on three principles: operational excellence, great marketing and real ‘sit up and take notice’ standards of customer service. The program aims to instil the basics of customer service to every team member of Pizza Hut. These basics include smiling and greeting the customer, presentation, good service and dealing with service problems themselves without looking for a manager.   Customer Mania emphasises four critical steps. The first step is to set sight on the right target by taking care of customers and creating a motivating environment for staff; the second is to treat customers the right way by determining the kind of experience Pizza Hut wants its customers to have as they interact with every part of the company; the third is to treat employees the right way by using strategies ranging from smart hiring, to training and development, to managing performance and creating a recognition culture; and the fourth is to build the right kind of leadership by letting staff decides and think with the support of the manager. All over the world, Pizza Hut holds a quarterly customer mania mindset session for its team members who include all the crews, managers and Restaurant Support Centre Team to reiterate and motivate employees on the importance of providing consistent product quality, service, ambiance and value for money to the customers. In this session, recognitions are given to employees who are outstanding in their service to the customers. Pizza Hut invests on skills, knowledge, training and development of employee for different positions. The company has program which includes annual performance appraisals designed to let Team members know exactly what the expectations are and what opportunities exist for improvement.  Information and skills are well-communicated internally among employees; the company allows open communication all the way to the top. At Pizza Hut, they treat each other as customers themselves so they exactly know what the customer wants and discuss them in every internal meeting wherein every idea of employee counts. Pizza Hut management gives importance to the ideas and opinions of the staff because they know that these staff are the front liners of the company who have direct contact with the external customers. Employees are provided by feedbacks regularly about their performance so they are aware if they did not meet the company’s standard at a certain period and if one does not meet his internal customers’ needs. The company also do not allow bureaucracy instead maintain its culture which is a recognition culture- motivating employees through recognition. Pizza Hut also created a coaching management system that is managers become restaurant coaches, teaching employees and providing them information rather than just giving commands to the staff thereby giving the staff chance for improvement. Internal competition was eliminated to promote commitment and creativity. Pizza Hut believes that its most valuable asset is its employees so Pizza Hut provides them the tools needed to elevate service to the customers. According to Pizza Hut, the role of its marketing is to ensure that the needs of the customers are met; it is what makes the business makes money. The company invest resources for research on customers’ needs and analysing customers’ feedback about what people think about pizzas; what do they like or dislike about pizzas; and what do they want from pizzas. The feedbacks and research are the basis of the company for innovation and development of new products. On 1995, Pizza Hut launches two customer satisfaction programs: the 1-800 Customer Satisfaction Hotline and the Customer Call-Back Program, which takes the pulse of 50,000 customers per week. A mystery shopping program gathers information every month on how each restaurant is performing against customer expectations.  The results of this survey are fed back to the restaurant within five days of the visit.             Pizza Hut operations are based on what the company called CHAMPS which define the very core of customer expectations. Champ stands for Cleanliness, Hospitality, Accuracy, Maintenance, Product, and Speed. This system of measure has been the company’s tool to ensure consistency of service and product quality and is align with ‘customer mania’ program. Generally, Pizza Hut operates in different concepts. The first is the Full Service Restaurants which offer a seated service and take-out. Home Service concept offers home delivery and take-out. There are specific menu to this concept and delivery if offered to customers living within the designated trade zones. The Restaurant Based Delivery concept offers dine-in, takeaway and delivery services to customers. The newest concept being developed by Pizza Hut is the Express: Eat-in and Takeaway. The concept is to establish Pizza Hut within food halls and leisure parks across the UK offering informal, quick services with a reduced menu.          With these concepts, Pizza Hut basically operates in two units – dine and delivery. They can not be categorized as fast food because their service is not as speedy as McDonald’s. It is more of a casual dining but not as classy as fine-dining restaurants, with a better ambiance and atmosphere than fast-food restaurants.              Pizza Hut offers its customers variety of choices on its menu as a strategy of targeting a wider market segment, establishing itself as a family restaurant. With the concepts mentioned above, Pizza Hut categorized its menu as Dine-in Restaurant menu and Delivery menu. It also has Kids Menu which is menu for children with free toys at selected meal and Collection Menu which features selection of Pizza Hut’s brands of pizzas such as the Big New Yorker, Stuffed Crust Pizza and The Italian. At Pizza Hut restaurants, they offer starters and side orders, pasta and salads, desserts, ice cream and pizza. It also serves drinks such as coffee, sodas, juices, tea and alcoholic beverages. Pizza Hut also comes up with the concept of the ice cream factory wherein for one payment, one can take as much ice cream as he wishes which appeals more to children. Some Pizza Hut in UK also features a salad bar and a buffet lunch that gives value to customer’s money.             As part of its customer service, most Pizza Hut restaurants provide facilities for people with disabilities. On its website, Pizza Hut provides a Disability Discrimination Act statement in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The statement stated that the company has improved its physical environment with more easily accessible facilities and has trained its employees to better understand and meet the needs of customers with disabilities.             In dealing with customers’ complaints, Pizza Hut provides telephone numbers customers can call to when they encountered problems regarding the services the company provided them. Feedback forms are provided at each table of Pizza Hut restaurants. The website of Pizza Hut also provides telephone numbers and address to be contacted with for customer complaints. As already mentioned, Pizza Hut’s Delivery guarantee offers compensation for failure to deliver products on time.             Once a customer complains about a product, the staff will try to rectify the situation by replacing the product if the order is wrong or the quality of pizza or any product is not satisfactory. However, if the customer is still unhappy, Pizza Hut will refund the customers money. Strengths       The strength of Pizza Hut is primarily its products. It has range of products that gives choices to consumers. It is what the consumers really wanted, to have a variety of choices especially with its brands of pizza. It also offers healthy choices with its salad and its menu indicates which items are suitable for vegetarians. Pizza Hut continuously reviews their products so its menu change from time to time in an effort to meet evolving customers needs and taste preferences.  The restaurant is also known for its innovation, differentiation and product creativity with its Italian- a thin crust pizza which has taken over 30% of mix sales and success both in dine-in and delivery units and the highly successful Stuffed Crust Pizza as an effort in providing customers value to their money. The delivery guarantee concept is also classified as one of the strengths of the company with regards to customer service. The delivery guarantee concept ensures the Pizza Hut delivers products on the time promised and if it fails to deliver on time the customer will get his next pizza for free. Pizza Hut also shows they give importance to customers by providing compensations to complaints and letting them have their feedbacks about the company.             Pizza Hut has gained its name through heavy media and TV promotions which inform the customers of what Pizza Hut can provide them. Pizza hut makes sure that the customers are well-informed and aware on new products, offerings and services it provides. Weaknesses             Based on experience, the primary weakness of Pizza Hut is its price. Pizza Hut has a higher price compared to other fast food restaurants like McDonald’s or the competitor pizza restaurant Domino’s. Because of higher price especially when dining-in which price includes tax and service charge, some people opted for the affordability of other fast-food restaurants. Pizza Hut is not restaurant to go to when tightening a budget. Evaluation                Overall, Pizza Hut is a restaurant that provides good customer service and makes excellent customer service a strategy for a competitive edge. It measure customer satisfaction through questionnaires, focus groups, market research and complaints, making its customers involved in the design of new products and services. Pizza Hut based its services on the needs of both the internal and external customers. Pizza Hut’s success can be measured with the three intangible values which are to understand the customer’s business, the willingness to commit to solving customer’s problems, and the education needed to deal with customers properly. Recommendation              Based on the weakness of Pizza Hut, it is recommended that the company should obtain more information about its competitors. It must identify who its major competitors are and the competitors’ objectives and strategy including their strengths and weaknesses. By studying the competitors’ moves, Pizza Hut can see beforehand external market threats for Pizza Hut. For example, if Domino’s or another pizza restaurant provides the customer something different other than those products Pizza Hut is offering and at lower prices compared to prices at Pizza Hut, or McDonald’s plan to add pizza on their menu, the consumer, following the typical consumer behaviour, will try the competitors’ products.             It is also recommended that Pizza Hut should continue producing innovative products to continue delighting the customers and it is what makes Pizza Hut different from the others. They may also create discount cards to loyal customers as a sign of appreciation thus giving these loyal customers reasons to come back to Pizza Hut.             Pizza Hut’s strategy of being customer-focused and service oriented has been so far the company’s competitive advantage in the food and beverage industry, providing its customers better dining experiences. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Pizza Hut Experience

Summary This paper is a study of a restaurant in UK specifically Pizza Hut. The paper focuses on the restaurant’s customer service as ...

Leadership and Management

Part I: Domain             Nursing’s Agenda for the Future included the work environment as one of the domains which needed strategies in order for the nursing profession to move on to greater heights. In the strategic plan presented by the Nursing’s Agenda for the future, the work environment is viewed as an area so basic to nursing’s future. Improving the work environment of nurses can optimize the quality of patient care and there will also be retention of the professional nursing staff.             The deterioration of healthcare work environments is a major problem of concern to the nurse leader or manager. A healthy work environment is necessary to bring about quality healthcare service to the clients. An unhealthy work environment would create a devastating impact not only to the nurses and the clients but most importantly on the effectiveness of the entire healthcare system.             The possible root causes for this apparent deterioration of healthcare work environments are outlined in the succeeding sentences. (1) The nurses are placed in leadership positions even if they are not adequately prepared and without adequate support for their roles. (2) Each individual nurse is assigned to handle many clients than they can handle. (3) Decision-making within the work environment is done only by one department, without consultation of all the other parties that are involved.             The resulting environment created by these situations brings about many negative results in the working environment. When inadequate leaders are placed in positions, there will be dissatisfaction and high turnover for nurse leaders and the staff as well. When each nurse is assigned to handle many clients, this would result in confusion and the clients are placed at risk for errors and injury. The nurses are also frustrated, angry and stressed out. Decisions that are made without consulting all the parties involved places everyone involved – clients, nurses, managers and other staff – at risk. The overall quality of care offered by the healthcare service would be diminished. The nursing staff and managers are the ones responsible for the problem. The lack of leadership skills is one major factor. In order to solve this problem, focus should be given to the nursing leaders and managers. Leadership training programs should be offered and nursing managers and leaders should be required to attend. These managers and leaders in turn should perform their responsibilities of teaching and guiding the rest of the staff in promoting a healthy work environment. Part II: Theoretical Foundations Change appears to be a driving force in society today and the American healthcare system is no exception. In addition to the need for change in today’s society, the importance of creativity in bringing about needed change must also be considered. An organization will quickly lose strategic advantages that it has worked hard to gain unless it invests in innovation and creativity, and consequently, change. With the particular problem concerning the deterioration of the work environment, a change is needed. This change would include on a large scale the leadership and management styles within the work environment. Aside from that, there should also be empowerment for all the parties involved in the work environment. Nursing organizations must empower their staff to deliver client-focused care. Empowerment is defined as “moving decision making down to the lowest level where competent decisions can be made”.  In the hospital setting, this would most commonly be at the point of direct client care or staff nurse level; however, this kind of empowerment requires an environment of autonomy where mutual trust and respect are encouraged. The empowerment process requires that staff be prepared to accept and effectively use expanded decision-making responsibilities. To start changing the work environment into a healthy one, there should first be mutual trust and encouragement in all the parties involved. Each and every opinion should be respected and given consideration in the decision-making process. There should also be an all-out support for this desire for change.             Effective leadership style is an integral part of creating an environment that nurtures the development of an empowered nursing staff, defines leadership as “a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.”           The major points of this definition are that leadership is a group activity, is based on social influence, and revolves around a common task. Although this specification seems relatively simple, the reality of leadership is very complex. Intrapersonal factors (i.e., thoughts and emotions) interact with interpersonal processes (i.e., attraction, communication, influence) to have effects on a dynamic external environment. The professional accountabilities of the empowered nurse includes having a sense of value about their work and willingness to provide the full scope of practice as well as ability to work as equal members of a comprehensive interdisciplinary team. In order to move into a fully empowered position, professional nurses need mentoring, education, awareness of political activism opportunities, and networking skills. In order to achieve all these, shared leadership should be employed. Shared leadership is a nursing management model that supports staff nurses in extending their influence about decisions that affect their practice, work environment, professional development, and self-fulfillment. As previously mentioned, leadership is a group activity. In shared leadership, every voice is heard and given consideration. Shared leadership is a collaborative team process in which team members share key leadership roles. Shared leadership is empowering employees to act autonomously, be decisive at the point-of-service, and create a shared vision aligned with organizational goals. Shared leadership development and autonomously practicing nurses appear to be the equation for success in delivering quality patient outcomes in today’s organized health care delivery systems. Employees must develop or refine new behaviors and skills in empowerment, facilitation, negotiation, systems thinking, and accountability on behalf of patients. Shared leadership is a way to strengthen continuous learning and enhance relationships between leaders/managers, staff and clients, which are the foundation upon which the nurses can develop a new type of relationship with management and with each other. This in turn could significantly improve the work environment. There is an emphasis on ‘relationships’ since these relationships can be tenuous at times as both managers and staff members adopt attitudes of contention and competition with each other. The demands of the health care environment have brought about changes that have not always contributed to positive work environments, and nurses have been concerned about the impact this has had on client care. Managers have had to develop ways to achieve expected outcomes and meet targets required by their organizations. To address all these issues, nurses need to focus on developing relationships that facilitate working with each other from strengths and not just criticizing weaknesses. Developing an empowering culture in which positive relationships are nurtured, leadership capabilities are developed, and professional practice is supported can improve the work environment and satisfaction of staff nurses. Simply put, collaborative work relationships should be actively enhanced and promoted in order to create a positive work environment. Part III: Planning             In the current work environment, the people should be ready for a new way to share the power and the responsibility that goes with it. They should be ready for partnering relationships, collaborative work relationships and shared leadership.  For this particular problem, shared leadership has to be employed. Shared leadership provides an organizational framework that offers the nursing staff maximal participation in decisions about work and the work environment. Every staff has to be given a chance what he or she thinks about a current situation and what they think can help such issues. When implementing new policies or rules, or even with simple matters, the staff should be allowed to contribute to the decisions to be made. Goals have to be set also. To support the nurses’ use of shared leadership behaviors in the clinical setting, the nurses will be mentored by the manager and clinical nurse specialist to apply the shared leadership skills during their daily work to achieve the goals that are set. To be included with the overall plan for achieving a positive and healthy work environment is the training of the nurses for empowerment. Training nurses for empowerment must include leadership techniques to prepare the nurse for the integrative and collaborative role. The environment in which the professional nurse works is influential in developing empowered behavior. since professional nurses do not function in a vacuum. They need an environment that encourages empowerment. The professional nurse cannot reach empowerment if there are unsatisfied needs within the working environment. Incorporated within the concept of empowerment is the individual’s willingness to see the vision and make the personal changes necessary to connect with that vision. It is how the concept of shared leadership works. All management staff plays an important role in leading the emergence of legitimacy of this “new professional authority.” The encouragement of individual nursing staff to establish individual goals that achieve more self-direction, more knowledge and self-confidence, and more networking ability by the process of shared leadership leads to a more committed employee. A more committed employee in turn contributes to a positive and healthy work environment.             In this proposed approach, negative consequences may also present. Shared leadership may present a conflict and ambiguity of roles. Some of the staff might revel in the shared power to the point that they will forget what the essence of shared leadership is all about. Some staff might also take advantage of such opportunity and this creates competition and jealousy within the staff. All of these wouldn’t be in line with the goal of creating a positive and healthy environment.             To minimize such problems, there should be an ongoing monitoring of the staff. Although they are given the rights to take part in decision-making, they should also not forget where they really belong. The staff should also be constantly reminded by the managers that this effort needs teamwork and this is done for the improvement of the work environment. Perhaps motivation would also work in minimizing this problem. Part IV: Evaluation             Outcomes have to be measured in order to know if the clients are satisfied with the services and products. In the case of the problem regarding work environment, outcomes have to be measured because the work environment plays a significant part in the job performance and satisfaction of the nurses. If the work environment continues to be negative or diminished, this could significantly affect the quality of care that nurses give their clients. The main gauge for identifying if the plan or solution proposed is successful is when there is a significant positive change in the relationships of clients, staff and managers/leaders. This fosters a positive and healthy work environment. The managers or leaders can identify if the plan or solution is working if they can see the results with their eyes – like increased work performance of the nursing staff.             Aside from that, the change can also be evaluated by     various tools for measuring outcomes which are available – like questionnaires and surveys that the staff, managers and even the clients can answer. Conclusion             In every profession, not only for the nurses, the work environment is deemed crucial for the provision of quality services. In the case of the nurses, the focus on work environment is very important since this could affect the performance of the nurses and this in turn can jeopardize the lives of their clients.             The Nursing’s Agenda for the Future supports the improvement of work environment as one of the domains that is necessary for further progression of the nursing profession as well as the quality of care that they offer to their patients.             In some healthcare setting, there is a deterioration of the work environment which contributes to the deterioration of patient care also. There is a need to improve this and in this paper I have proposed a shared leadership strategy to overcome this problem. Shared leadership is a collaborative team process in which the team members all share key leadership roles. A positive and healthy work environment needs the support of everyone working within the environment.             Implementing this program of improvement for the work environment should be constantly monitored so as to determine if progress is made, and if progress is made, there should still be monitoring so that this progress is maintained. Progress can be gauged if there is a significant improvement not only in the relationships of the nurses and other staff but also of the quality of patient care. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Leadership and Management

Part I: Domain Nursing’s Agenda for the Future included the work environment as one of the domains which needed strategies...

EMPLOYMENT LAW MODULE

Module:    Employment Law – Formative Assignment (40%)             Thelma and Jean are both employed by High Street Dressware Limited, a shop which sells second hand clothes. George the owner of the shop has always considered himself to be ‘ a bit of a lad’ and is known for making comments about the sexual attributes of the women who come into the shop. Thelma finds this unacceptable and has asked George not to make the comments in front of her or she will leave. Despite this request George continues to make the comments and also starts to make rude suggestions about Thelma’s ‘love life’.             Jean has now told George that she wishes to ware trousers to work in the winter when the shop gets very cold.  George refuses to let her do this because he states that the shop has a dress code and that skirts for women are more feminine and provide a better image for the shop. Jean does not agree with this and thinks that she can look equally smart in trousers. In addition she points out that the male assistants are allowed to wear jumpers under their suits in cold weather despite the fact that they look untidy.   Neither Thelma or Jean want to leave their jobs but seek advise on their legal position should they decide to continue to work for Geoge. Contents   1. Introduction                                                                                1 2. Discussion                                                                                  1 2.1 Employment Contract                                                              1 2.2 Employment Rights, Duties and Liabilities                            2 2.3 Sex, Race and Disability and Discrimination in the UK       3 3. Conclusion                                                                                   5 4. Reference                                                                                      6                  1. Introduction Thelma and Jean hold contractual employment relations with High Street Dressware Ltd and its owner George regardless of whether the contract is written or oral. Even if the contract does not include any stipulation on equal treatment this still attaches to the application of the contract by operation of law. By law, employers should treat their employees enjoying equal or equivalent position in the same manner. Jean has a cause of action against George when she asked to wear trousers as an added protection during the winter and George refused on the ground that there is dress code. This is reflected in Section 1 (1) (b) of the Act sets out the meaning of indirect discrimination. This is where an boss implements to a woman a condition or stipulation which is such that the quantity of women who can conform with it is significantly smaller than the quantity of men who can, and which the employer cannot demonstrate to be reasonable.   The situation was made worst by the George allowing male employees to wear jumpers under their suits during winter. The point here is that the guidelines made use by the employer is on face value is impartial, but in its consequence impacts more on women than men. There is an obvious difference in the treatment of male and women employees in allowing additional and change in clothing during the cold months of winter. Thelma’s cause of action is the sexual harassment she experienced from George when the latter made sexual remarks about other women and about her ‘love life’ creating an uncomfortable and degrading environment for her. Despite her verbal protest George still continued making remarks. This is reflected in Section 1 (1) (a) of the Act declares that it is unlawful discrimination for a manager to care for a worker less favourably on the basis of their sex. It is not material what the employer purpose or reason was. Even supposing their reason is benevolent, it may still possibly be discrimination. There can similarly be no defence of justification to direct discrimination. The member of staff presenting the grievance has to make an evaluation involving how she was treated and how a man would have been treated. She can either point out an actual coworker, or indicate supposedly to how a man would have been treated.   2. Discussion   2.1 Sexual Discrimination   Section 1 of the Equal Pay Act 1970 provides for the application of the equality clause to all employment relations including the treatment and work conditions of women relative to men when the latter have a similar, equal or equivalent work with the latter. The equality clause is also contained in the part 2, section 8 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which states that the terms of the contract more favourable to a man relative to a woman when the woman occupies an equal or equivalent position, shall be deemed to also apply to the woman employee. Even if the terms of the contract of the women employee contain less favourable benefits relative to the men, the contract will still apply equally as the contract of the men. This is because of the attached implied terms to the contract provided for by law.   Sex discrimination in the workplace is either direct or indirect.  Direct refers to the implementation of terms beneficial only to a given gender and indirect refers to the implementation of terms equally to men and women but from common practice these are detrimental to women. A case on sex discrimination (Chief Constable of West Yorkshire v Vento [2001] IRLR 124 EAT) covers the plight of a police constable who after her probationary period was not confirmed to her post. A complaint was filed in the employment tribunal and the court applied a comparator to determine if there was discrimination. There was sexual discrimination because the four male comparators with the same circumstances were confirmed to their post and there was no reasonable ground for not confirming the woman to her post.            Although there is no provision in the Sex Discrimination Act against sexual harassment case law has recognized the rights of employees against sexual harassment. The case of Reed & Bull Information Systems v Stedman (1999 IRLR 299 EAT) states that any provocative sexual remarks creating an offensive, degrading and humiliating environment constitutes sexual harassment when the woman to whom these remarks were addressed publicly express protest but the remarks still persist.     3. Conclusion   Based on the rights of employees under the contract and in statutory and common law, Jean and Thelma may file a complaint in the Employment Tribunal and cause the Equal Opportunities Commission to conduct an investigation. There are also grievance procedures under the Employment Rights Act 1998 and the Employment Act 2002 giving employees a venue to voice out their grievance and seek redress.     A lot of women may possibly be discouraged from making use of their rights under the Sex Discrimination Act, or proping up others who desire to implement their rights, for apprehension that they may possibly be victimised by their boss. The Act defends in opposition to this by causing it to become illegal for an employer to victimise a person for the reason that she has presented a discrimination claim, or provided proof in a discrimination suit, or carried out an accusation of sex discrimination.   To succeed in a victimisation case for instances with Thelma and Jean, it have to be revealed that the management of the employee was less encouraging than someone who had not acquired these steps, and that the treatment is a consequence of their trailing a discrimination suit, providing evidence or presenting accusations of discrimination. Accountability for sex discrimination typically rests with the employer, and similarly any other employee or worker who is instituted to have discriminated and for whom the manager has liability. This is recognized as vicarious liability. This envelops not only occurrences of discrimination essentially in the workplace, but may similarly broaden to out of work actions office hours.   If the supposed discrimination acquires the shape of the conduct of another worker, it is typically sensible to bring the tribunal application in opposition to the worker under consideration as well as the employer. Employers have a defence to a grievance of discrimination anchored on vicarious liability, if they can reveal that they acquired all rationally practicable strides to avert the discrimination from taking place. It is uncommon for employers to be successful with this defence. Nevertheless, even supposing that they do, the tribunal claim can be trailed not in favor of the individual worker.       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

EMPLOYMENT LAW MODULE

Module: Employment Law – Formative Assignment (40%) Thelma and Jean are both employed by High Street Dressware Limi...

Case Study Report on Addidas – Salomon

Synopsis             Addidas – Salomon, formerly called adidas, was founded in 1949 and was named after its founder Adolf Dassler. The company is widely known for its clothing and sports equipment, and mostly about its shoes.               Contrary to common knowledge, Adidas does not actually manufacture any of its products but instead contracts with around 950 suppliers worldwide. Though it is not case with its contract apparel factories, most of addidas’ footwear suppliers produce almost exclusively for addidas. Thus, this results to the firm greater influence among footwear factories to stipulate compliance with certain standards with regard to labor practices or issues such as safety, health, environment, and a host of many others.               Moreover, in order for the compliance to be met, most firms created and published codes of conduct and other like statements subsequent to targeted attacks by unions and activists.  Addidas – Salomon had been subject to the same attacks but also had discovered through its own internal mechanisms that some of its supplier operations were not operating at standards equivalent to its own operations.               With this, in 1998, adidas-Salomon published its Standards of Engagement (SoE) with the aim of ensuring that all of its suppliers’ factories are safe, fair places to work.  Updated in 2001, the SoE are patterned after the ILO conventions and the model code of conduct of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industries and reflect attention to the following labor, safety, health, and environmental issues.               Furthermore, the SoE are tools that assist companies and firms alike in selecting and retaining business partners that follow workplace standards and business practices consistent with the policies and values set. As a set of guiding principles, these also help identify potential problems so that the firm can work with its business partners to address issues of concern as they arise.               The SoE general principle is that business partners shall comply fully with all legal requirements relevant to the conduct of the firm’s business. The standard of adidad-Salomon is that it will only partner with companies that treat their employees fairly and legally with regard to wages, benefits, and working conditions. Among these guidelines are Forced Labor, Child Labor, Discrimination, Wage and benefits, Hours of work, Right of association, Disciplinary practices.               Moreover, business partners shall provide a safe and healthy working environment, including protection from fire, accidents, and toxic substances. Lighting, heating, and ventilation systems should be adequate and clean. When residential facilities are provided for employees, the same standards should apply. In environmental requirements, business partners shall comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations therein. And the firm would favor business partners who make efforts to contribute to improving conditions in the countries and communities in which they operate.               The most widely encountered problems in Asian supplier factories are the payment of recruitment fees, poor age documentation, wages lower than minimum wage, maximum working hours ignored, working rules not published, wages docked as punishment for violating some working rules, confiscation of passports, abuse of migrant workers, and illegal status of unions.               Moreover, once informed by its sourcing division that adidas-Salomon will be using supplier, adidas-Salomon’s SoE division schedules a first-time audit to determine compliance with the SoE. At the conclusion of this or other annual audits, suppliers are informed about areas needing attention, are given performance ratings for (1) health, safety, and environment; and (2) labor standards, and are ranked using the adidas-Salomon 5-star approach. It was during one of these first time audits that adidas discovered a pervasive problem with child labor in one of its new Asian suppliers.               Adidas face this particularly challenging dilemma when it performed a first-time audit in a footwear supplier in Vietnam. On the audit, the auditor found documents that did not seem to make sense and confirmed the inconsistencies through worker interests. At the conclusion of the investigation, the auditor identified just under 200 of the factory’s 2000 workers as underage.               The auditor found both child workers under 16 as well as juveniles (16 – 18 years and both groups were subject to the same responsibilities, pay, hours, and overtime requirements as other workers, in violation of adidas’s SoE. According to the SoE and its Guidelines on Employment Standards, child laborers are not permitted at all: Business partners may not employ children who are less than 15 years old, or who are younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15, Adidas also requires that juvenile workers must be assigned to age-appropriate, safe duties, with a maximum of seven hours per day with no overtime.               With this information in hand, the adidas auditor realized that the solution was more complicated than simply letting the supplier terminate all of these youths. However, during the time the SoE division was contemplating its response, several dozen child workers were immediately terminated without the knowledge of adidas. Adidas SoE staff now knew that something had to be done – and quickly – to avoid losing contact with other youth workers, which might force these kids into alternatives far worse than the work environment they were forced to leave.               Addidas senior production staff immediately told the factory manager that no more youths could be encouraged to leave, under any circumstances. Adidas felt incredible pressure to act without delay in establishing some parameters for the situation, even though a more drawn out process might have resulted in greater buy-in and participation from the factory, and a longer consultation period with the youths. Adidas hired a Vietnamese education coordinator through an NGO called Verite. At the same time, adidas drafted some basic notices to the children, on behalf of the factory. The notices explained that the factory would offer a program of educational classes and vocational training to the workers under 18.               The notice required them to discuss the issue with family members and to give their consent to enter into the program.  It was clear to the adidas SOE team members that most of the student did not have a full understanding of what was going to happen and many of them were naturally suspicious.               Moreover, working with Verite and the education coordination, adidas was able to develop what later became adidas global policy for managing similar situations. The supplier meets with the worker and tries to persuade them to go back to school. If the worker agrees to return to school, schooling fees and other costs are paid for by the factory until the worker completes compulsory education. Any continued employment is conditional on controlling the workers in a work study program of continued education. The factory continues to pay the average monthly wage for the worker until the worker finishes school. This will make up for any lost income that the worker’s family depends on in order to cover the basic needs of the family. The worker is required to provide the personnel manager proof of enrolment in school in order to continue receiving the monthly salary and school payments.               And for children up to 16 years of age, in cooperation with teachers from the local government schools, the factory put into place a full-day education program with coverage similar to that covered in local schools. Topics included math, literature, chemistry, physics, biology, and history. Children would arrive and depart from the factory at the same times they originally traveled, but would spend the workday in a large classroom in a space specifically designated for the program by the factory. Preprogram assessments were completed to accurately place each anticipated while the factory paid adidas retrospectively on a monthly basis for work performed. Under these arrangements, the risk was carried in full by adidas, but this arrangements, the risk was carried in full by adidas the leverage it needed in order to ensure compliance by the factory. In the final months of the program, an assessment by another NGO and local Vietnamese researches will be conducted. The assessment will be fully funded by adidas, but the results of, and any recommendations in, the assessment will be available.    Consequences                         And should a supplier of adidas is not in compliance with the SoE being set, the effective way for the firm to respond is to send some note sort of a warning to its partner and let them resolve in the most immediate time possible the dilemma that has been found. Adidas must be wary of course from this, and should look into more of the case than what is necessary.               And it would be necessary only for adidas to terminate its relationship or partnership with the factory should it breach the SoE more than once. Or they can terminate the whole thing should the company did some irreparable damages to the environment or putting people in great jeopardy.               The dilemma that adidas encountered in one of its partner in Vietnam was a good one. Adidas not only gave a second chance to the company to resolve the anomaly being done, they also pointed out to the company what should be the way as to how to solve.               Granting these kids and juveniles education was so humanitarian. And it’s a case of a win-win solution. Terminating these kids would not solve the problems, because in the first place, the very victim was them. Giving them education and the chance to still work in the company were a clear-cut case how to give them opportunities and more.               Moreover, having the partner company shoulder all the expenses was a good one. Not only had it reminded the company that it was there responsibility and obligation but it also serve as warning and learning. That way, having had to spend money over the damages they had created would.   Conclusion             The Standards of Engagement is necessary as it is important. It ensures that all of adidas and other firms that tapped or outsourced all of their products from another companies are safe, fair places to work. It also gives groundwork for the law of the land being carried out. Not only that, it also ensured that the company will produce the products set by the company.               The dilemma faced by one of the supplier of adidas in Vietnam is a lesson that should be learned. Having minors inside the workplace is prohibited under the law, and more so, in the SoE. Good thing that the adidas management acted rather objectively in such occasion because still considered fixing it up.               The stipulations stated therein in the SOE should be taken strongly by suppliers around the world. It should be taken seriously, lest they will be targeted by unions and activists seeking for the right ways and procedures. And if this happens it will cause a lot of money to the suppliers and in way, abrupt operations for adidas.               Cases like low wages, child labor, discrimination, illicit long hours of work, among others, have proven to be issues that stir not only in the company but outside the company’s premises as well, like the community, or worse, by the media. And when this happens, chances are, sues will be filed against the company. Even more worst when all these issues will be proven.  Not only it abrupt the production of the outputs it will also cause the company millions.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Case Study Report on Addidas – Salomon

Synopsis Addidas – Salomon, formerly called adidas, was founded in 1949 and was named after its founder Adolf Dassler. The c...

China Labor

% growth, 1995 – 2005   1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005* Cambodia 6.7 5.5 3.7 1.8 5 5.4 5.3 5.5 5.2 6.0 (e) 2.4 Indonesia 8.2 7.8 4.7 -13.1 0.8 4.8 3.3 3.7 4.5 5.1 5.4 Laos 7 6.9 6.9 4 5.2 5.9 5.5 5.9 5.3 6.5 (e) 7.0 Malaysia 9.8 10 7.3 -7.4 5.8 8.3 0.4 4.2 5.3 7.1 6.0 Myanmar 6.9 6.4 5.7 5.8 10.9 6.2 - - - - - Philippines 4.7 5.8 5.2 -0.6 3.3 4.0 3.4 4.4 4.7 6.1 4.5 Singapore 8 7.5 8.5 0.1 5.9 10.3 -2.0 2.2 1.1 8.4 4.5 Thailand 9.3 5.9 -1.4 -10.8 4.2 4.6 1.8 5.2 6.8 6.1 5.8 Vietnam 9.5 9.3 8.2 4.4 4.7 6.1 5.8 7.0 7.2 7.5 7.5 ASEAN 8.4 7.4 3.5 -9 3.1 5.9 1.9 4.8 5.3 5.8 5.5 Source: Asian Development Bank, World Bank and other sources Social / Cultural Trends There have also been social and cultural trends in China’s labor market that have been evident over the last 12 months. These include: (a) the irreversible rise of labor forces; (b) the rise of the labor forces blends perfectly with a tri-polar structure of political economy; (c) the increase in the roles of intellectuals; and (d) the beginning of a period of introspection. As implied in Table 1, countries such as Laos and Vietnam are just still beginning to feel the effects of their flourishing economies in the aftermath of political unrests.     Technological Trends It is a common knowledge that China’s labor market is still relatively new industry and is still in its early stages of development. However, it has shown signs of rapid growth and it is being estimated that there will be more than a million workers that will be shipped within the year. And it is further being expected that within the next years the tremendous growth and technological advancements will continue within China’s labor market. Mobile commerce and multimedia terminals are just some of the technological advancements already being expected. Therefore, the continued growth and development will also make it imperative for localization to occur within China’s labor market in the years to come (Dunning, 1993).   Legal Trends Intellectual property (IP) and IP Rights (IPR) creation, commercialization, and protection have been a significant source of comparative advantage of enterprises and economies and a major driver of their competitive strategies. Indeed, China is fully aware of the pressing need for a long-term policy commitment to collectively transform its labor force into one which is largely based on knowledge, driven by innovation and sustained by life-long learning (Bjorkman et al. 1997). China has pledged to accelerate the pace and scope of IP asset creation, commercialization and protection; to improve the regional framework of its labor market policies and institutions relating to IP and IPRs, including the development and harmonization of enabling IPR registration systems; to promote IP cooperation and dialogues within the region as well with the region’s Dialogue Partners and organizations; to strengthen IP-related human and institutional capabilities in the region, including fostering greater public awareness of issues and implications, relating to IP and IPRs. The new action plan on IPRs for 2004-2010 would cover all these aspects. Critical Labor Market Improvement Factors for China For China’s labor market to become a viable player in the industry, the following improvement factors are critical: ·        Financial Stability Financial stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of labor market management and development activities. It is important to remain updated with the latest labor market developments to be able to stay competitive in the market. ·        Labor Force Performance The effective performance of labor markets comes as a result of well-funded labor market management and development activities. The strong performance of the labor forces of China in the market could also be linked to their cost-effectiveness. However, China has to be aware of the positioning in terms of process so as to maintain satisfactory profits margin and remain competitive in the labor market (Best, 2001). ·        Marketing Strategy and Distribution High awareness among the labour markets has created the need for aggressive marketing, and access to strong distribution channels is critical for the introduction of new labour market policies. Benefits of Efficient Labor Market ·        Economies of Scale and Scope in labor market management and development. ·        Unique Quality Technology owing to heavy emphasis on Labor Market Management A country’s commitment to labor market management & development activities has always been one of the top strategies to remain competitive in the market. ·        Differentiated Labor Market Through the efficient performance of the differentiated labor market originating from the labor market management and development activities, the country is able to create its own specific advantages. The continuous pursuit of labor market management and development processes enables the country to produce a steady stream of originally differentiated labor market which makes it difficult for competitors to find substitutes. Because of this differentiated approach, the country is able to market their workers worldwide, which enables them in turn to maximize the returns on labor market management and development expenditures (Christensen, 1997). CHINA’S LABOR MARKET REFORMS Deriving from the analysis between China’s labor market, its management and capabilities of the labor forces involved, many strategic reforms would become imperative for China to implement. It is therefore essential to evaluate these strategic reforms as to whether they are appropriate to the issues addressed, whether they are feasible enough to be implemented and their acceptability to key stakeholders. China has made a move to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in capabilities of its labor market. While China’s labor market management involves focusing on its core competencies with labor market position following its resource base, they realized that they will be put into a disadvantageous position should they choose to neglect both the macro as well as the micro environment. Therefore, China has made efforts to be aware of the latest labor market changes, as well as changes in political, economic, legal and even demographic trends in order to develop the outside-in capabilities, such as labor market sensing, customer linking, channel bonding and technology monitoring (Hill, 2002). The advantages enjoyed by China’s labor market may come in the form of increased revenues. Knowing what its labor market demands and the latest trends could help China fully exploit its research and development capabilities to come out with labor market reforms which are not only cost-effective but also high in quality. The strategic option can even be used as marketing tool where the focus is on staying close to their workers and listening to their feedbacks. On the flip side of the coin, there will be huge mobilization of resources involved, and the associated risks bestowed on China’s labor market (Doz et al. 2001). Nevertheless, the mentioned strategic reform seems the most practical in the wake of globalization, since there is a sudden shift towards a more integrated and independent world labour market. The key stakeholders too should not have any objections so long as China’s labour market is not threatened. By virtue of China’s centralized control of its labour market, it is being expected that major barriers should not exist in carrying out such an option except additional time may be required given the scope and span of the labour market’s operations. Understanding the strategic importance of labor market management is something that China has to be familiar with. China normally practices a centralized and globally scaled configuration of operations and capabilities of their labor market. This allows information dissemination to be retained.   CHINA’S LABOR MARKET and the FUTURE China’s tie-up with various labor markets offers tremendous benefits in terms of access to their labor market management policies, infrastructure and even their resources. However, China must not lose sight of the core competencies of its labor market while pursuing these tie-ups. Otherwise, the image of their labor market might be put in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the collaboration of China’s labor market with its major competitors can be seen as a ridiculous move at first.  However, upon close examination, this move could pave the way for China’s labor market to improve even more their labor market management. The bottom line is both sides would be able significantly gain in such an alliance. China’s strengths in labor market development combined with the operations management capabilities of their competitors can transform them suddenly into an unbeatable force to reckon with. One possible setback, however, is the differences in the cultures of the labor markets involved. Another possible setback could be whether any of China’s competitors has the need to form alliances (Hobday, 1995). The third option also focuses on alliances, but this time with either one of the leading players specializing in labor market management. The benefits of these alliances should outweigh the costs in the long run. In terms of appropriateness, all three options are able to directly address the current issues mentioned. However, the question remains whether China and its labor market could be able to implement any of these options, and whether these options can be acceptable to the key stakeholders. Any alliances may also involve the sharing of expertise. China has traditionally relied on the inside-out approach. It is important to note that any merger transactions would have many implications on the labor market’s values and culture as well as the resources. The key stakeholders definitely would be concerned with such options and need to be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, China will be able to overcome this barrier in managing strategic changes in the process of implementing any of the above mentioned strategic options. CONCLUSION The results of the analysis carried out on the labor market of China indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that China’s labor market could still be expected to improve faster than average. The SWOT analysis of the capabilities and resources of China’s labor market revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its strategies. This is coherent with its traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for China’s labor market. The analysis of China’s labor market environment as well as its management and capabilities revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of China’s labor market. Also, China has to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic options.     REFERENCES   Amsden, A. 2001. The Rise of “The Rest”: Challenges to the West from Late-Industrializing Economies. New York: Oxford University Press.  Arora, A., Fosfuri, A. and Gambardella, A. 2001. Markets for Technology: The Economics of Innovation and Corporate Strategy. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Asian Development Bank Statistics, retrieved March 26, 2006 at <www. Adb.org Bartlett, C.A. and Ghoshal, S. 1989. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.  Baumol, W. 2002. The Free-Market Innovation Machine: Analyzing the Growth Miracle of Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.  Bjorkman, I. and Forsgren, M. 1997. The Nature of the International Firm. Copenhagen Business School Press.  Best, M. 2001. The New Competitive Advantage: The Renewal of American Industry. New York: Oxford University Press.  Christensen, C. 1997. The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New technologies Cause Great Companies to Fail. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.  Cahuc, P. and Zylberberg, A. 2004. Labor Economics. The MIT Press. Doz, Y., Santos, J. and Williamson, P. 2001. From Global to Metanational: How Companies Win in the Knowledge Economy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.  Dunning, J. 1993. Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy. Addison-Wesley.  Hill, C. 2002. International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Irwin.  Hobday, M. 1995. Innovation in East Asia. St Martins Press.  www.imf.org. Retrieved March 24, 2006 www.ceicdata.com. Retrieved March 24, 2006   APPENDIX Table 2. Population, Labor Force, and Employment, 1980–2002       1980 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 Population, in millions 987.1 1,143.3 1,211.2  1,265.8             1,276.3 1,284.5 Urban 191.4 301.9 351.7 458.4 480.6 502.1 Rural 795.7 841.4 859.5 807.4 795.6 782.4 Working age population (15–64)   594.1   763.1   829.0   888.0   894.3   903.0 Labor force 429.0 653.2 687.4 739.9 744.3 751.3 Participation rate (in percent)   72.2   85.6   82.9   83.3   83.2   83.2 Employment 423.6 647.5 680.7 720.9 730.3 737.4 Unemployment 5.4 5.7 6.7 19.1 14.1 13.9                 Sources: China Statistical Yearbook, various years; CEIC database; and authors’ estimates.                                                     Table 3. Total Wages of Staff and Workers and Related Index, 1978–2003                TOTAL WAGES (100 million yuan)                                      INDICES Year Total 　 　 Total 　 　 　     State-owned Urban State-owned Urban Units of   　 Units Collective- Units Collective- Other   　 　 owned Units 　 owned Units Types of   　 　 　 　 　 Ownership     　 　 　 　 　 　 　   1978 568.9 468.7 100.2 110.5 110.1 112.5              1980 772.4 627.9 144.5 119.4 118.6 123.3             1985 1383.0 1064.8 312.3 122.0 121.6 123.0 163.9   1989 2618.5 2050.2 534.4 113.1 113.5 109.6 157.7   1990 2951.1 2324.1 581.0 112.7 113.4 108.7 135.7   1991 3323.9 2594.9 658.6 112.6 111.7 113.4 153.0   1992 3939.2 3090.4 743.2 118.5 119.1 112.8 150.0   1993 4916.2 3812.7 849.9 124.8 123.4 114.4 240.2   1994 6656.4 5177.4 1023.3 135.4 135.8 120.4 179.7   1995 8100.0 6080.2 1182.0 121.7 117.4 115.5 140.0   1996 9080.0 6792.7 1241.0 112.1 111.7 105.0 119.4   1997 9405.3 7211.0 1253.4 103.6 106.2 101.0 123.6   1998 9296.5 6812.5 1021.6 100.2 95.8 83.1 156.9   1999 9875.5 7160.8 962.7 106.2 105.1 94.2 119.8   2000 10656.2 7612.9 919.0 107.9 106.3 95.5 121.3   2001 11830.9 8355.6 864.6 111.0 109.8 94.1 122.9   2002 13161.1 8948.6 828.1 111.2 107.1 95.8 129.6   2003 14743.5 9693.8 829.4 112.0 108.3 100.2 124.7     Sources: China Statistical Yearbook, various years; CEIC database; and authors’ estimates.                   Table 4. Employment, by Industry, 1980–2001   (Items, In Millions) 1980 1990 1995 2000 2001 Farming, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery 291.2 341.8 330.2 333.6 329.7 Mining and quarrying 7.0 8.8 9.3 6.0 5.6 Manufacturing 59.0 86.2 98.0 80.4 80.8 Electricity, gas, and water 1.2 1.9 2.9 2.8 2.9 Construction 9.9 24.2 33.2 35.5 36.7 Geological prospecting, water conservancy 1.9 2.0 1.4 1.1 1.1 Transport, storage, post and telecommunication 8.1 15.7 19.4 20.3 20.4 20.3 Wholesale, retail trade and catering services 13.6 28.4 42.9 46.9 47.4 Banking and insurance 1.0 2.2 2.8 3.3 3.4 Real estate, social services, health, and education 18.5 26.3 27.0 30.7 31.5 Government, party agencies and social organizations 5.3 10.8 10.4 11.0 11.0 Others 5.9 18.0 44.9 56.4 58.5     Sources: China Statistical Yearbook, various years; CEIC database; and authors’ estimates.             </div> Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

China Labor

% growth, 1995 – 2005 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005* ...