How Propaganda Helped the Nazi Government to Control Germany Essay

The Nazis used propaganda in many different ways. They closed down all the opposing newspapers available to German people controlled by Nazis. This means that the Germans only read good things about the Nazis they couldn’t see all the malicious things they had been doing. Radio stations were to broadcast Nazi programmes featuring speeches by Hitler and German antisemitic music. There were many Nazi parades and rallies. There were posters everywhere, these emphasized the strengths and the positive things about Nazis, however, they could be easily ignored. Speeches by Hitler could be heard on loudspeakers in many places, this made people respect and admire him. Foreign films were banned and new antisemitic Aryan films were made, showing all the Nazi achievements and advertising antisemitism and Arianism. This also emphasized the strengths of Hitler, the Nazis and Aryan Germany. The Germans only saw the fabulous things about the Nazis, some people were oblivious to the horrible and wrong things going on and many people agreed with it. People didn’t like Jews. Hitler and the Nazis built on this hate, saying that they were to blame for Germany’s decline. Hitler wouldn’t let anybody see the whole picture, he used positivity, made Germans proud.The Nazis incinerated all non-German, Jewish and communist books. Hitler rewrote school books to say wonderful things about Aryans and the Nazis, this made the children admire him and the boys want to be like him.The Germans arrested all the people that said anything unwanted about Hitler or the Nazis. People were encouraged to denounce each other, neighbors, friends and family. They also arrested all the opponents such as communists, Jews and anti-Nazis. Anybody that might make people think bad of the Hitler and the Nazis were punished: arrested, sent to camps, a lot of people were exterminated. Free short-range radios were given out so Hitler could be in everyone’s homes and so the people can’t listen to BBC speaking the wise truth!

Economy’s production possibilities Essay

Problem Set 2 Complete all questions listed below. Clearly label your answers 1. What impact would a change that shifts an economy’s production possibilities curve outward have on the long run aggregate supply curve? How have improvements in computer technology affected production possibilities and the long run aggregate supply curve? Explain Answer: Growth of population and the labor-force participation rate Capital accumulation Improvements in technology 2. Construct the AD, SRAS, and LRAS curves for an economy experiencing: (a) full employment, (b) an economic boom, and (c) a recession. (Graphs can be hand drawn or done by computer; label all curves and axes clearly.) a=full employment; b=boom; c= recession 3. What is a budget deficit? How are budget deficits financed? Why do Keynesians believe that budget deficits will increase aggregate demand? Answer: A budget deficit occurs when the government spending exceeds government revenue in a given time period, usually one year. Budget deficits are financed by a country’s bonds. In the U.S., it’s financed by Treasury bills, notes and bonds. This is the government’s way of printing money. Actually, it is creating more credit denominated in that country’s currency. However, it has the same effect — it lowers the value of that country’s currency. As bonds flood the market, the supply outweighs the demand. The Keynesians believe that when aggregated demand exceeds productive capacity of the economy, the federal government can prevent inflationary overheating by reducing demand with a budget surplus generated by a combination of less spending and higher taxes. 4. When output and employment slowed in early 2008, the Bush Administration and the Democratic Congress passed a legislation sending households a check  for $600 for each adult (and $300 per child). These checks were financed by borrowing. Would a Keynesian favor this action? Why or why not? Answer: No, the Keynesian would not agree with this action because their opinion is generating a combination of less spending and higher taxes, not giving away money.

Safety Health and Environmental Report

INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT By MAXWELL MASUNDA MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY BSC HONOURS GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Registration Number R102163M Period Jan-Dec 2012 Department Health Safety and Environment Endorsed By Work Related Learning Supervisor __________________________ Signature Student’s Name Masunda Maxwell Registration Number R102163mStudent’s Signature ___________________________ Signature Company Stamp Period Jan – Dec 2012 Academic Supervisor Mr Mutekwa Table of contents Page Abstract†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Acknowledgements†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2 Abbreviations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION 1. 1Information about the organisation. Vision, Mission statement, Values and objectives of the organisation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 2Company’s organisational structure and the place of the particular department in which the student’s work was undertaken†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1. Communication and information systems†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 4Principal Services and their characteristics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 5Main markets served and their characteristics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 6Sources of competition†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1. 7Types of technology involved and their characteristics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 1. 8Impact of Government measures and policies, the Economy and changing environment and social attitude†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ CHAPTER 2—MANAGEMENT ISSUES 2. 1 Management style, values, priorities, responsiveness to external change and management success†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. . 2 Logistics, Production, Marketing and Managem ent approaches to technological development†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ CHAPTER3 3. 1 Roles and responsibilities of the student during the work related learning period†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3. 2 Performance criteria and targets†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3. 3 Opportunities and problems encountered†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 4 Theory studied and operational practises†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3. 5 Means of monitoring performance during work placement period†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. CHAPTER 4—EVALUATION 4. 1 Overall evaluation of the WRL period CHAPTER 5—RECOMMENDATIONS 5. Recommendations to Midlands State University; Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and The Wattle Company 5. 2 Other issues learned CONLUSION REFERENCES ABSTRACT The author commenced Work Related Learning on the 23rd of January 2012 at The Wattle Company (Nyanga Pine Division) in Manicaland Province and is expected to complete in December 2012. This report saves to give an outline of the tasks and activities carried out by the student during the above mentioned period of WRL programme in pursuit of achieving the requirements of the Bachelor of Science Degree in Geography and Environmental Studies at Midlands State University.DEDICATION I give special dedication to my mother and brothers who made my education a success. Your stewardship and heroism are sufficient to me. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My gratitude goes to the Midlands State University academic staff that has imparted their vast knowledge and has so much assisted me with words of wisdom, hope and courage during my industrial attachment. My appreciation goes to the management and the rest of staff at The Wattle Company for accepting me to be part of the Wattle family (Nyanga Pine Division).I also give gratitude to the unwavering support and guidance that l constantly got from my supervisor Mr. S Ziyambe (S. H. E Officer Nyanga Pine Division), throughout my industrial attachment period. My thanks also goes to the Human Resources Department specifically, Mrs S. Nyangairi(human resources administrator) and Miss Tsitsi ( H. R Departmental secretary) . Great thanks to Mr Mazungunye (Forest Resources manager-Nyanga Pine Division), Mr Kwenda (Plant Engineer) Mr Velani (forester Nyanga North), Mr Sigauke (Forester –Nyanga Pine Nursery), Mr.P. Chipango (Forestry Department Clerk), and all SHE Reps in all departments not forgetting all other employees and the external society for their professional guidance and supervision w ithin their areas of specialisation together with all the support and ideas that were shared to me during the course of my industrial attachment. I give credit to the compilation of this report to all the above mentioned professionals for believing in me and their constant support during difficult times and period of my industrial attachment.I extend my gratitude to the department of Geography and environmental studies Mr Jerie and his colleagues for the knowledge acquired which made practical learning easier not forgetting my supervisor Mr Mutekwa who visited us during the course of the industrial attachment and boosted moral. My heartfelt appreciation to my family especially my mother Mrs B. Paradzai, my brothers ; Noah, Michael and Macdonald and my friend, Tinashe Munodawafa for their unmerited support (Economic, social, moral and otherwise) throughout my Industrial attachment.I give all the glory to the Lord Almighty for a year full of life and fun not forgetting how educating i t was in every dimension. May the Lord God edify and bring continual success to you all. Abbreviations/Acronyms BBSBehaviour Based Safety BLRABaseline Risk Assessment EDEnvironmental Database EIAEnvironmental Impact Assessment ESREstate Stores Requisition HIRAHazard Identification Risk Assessment OHSOccupational Health Safety SHESafety Health Environment SHPSafety Health Procedure WRL Work Related LearningFRM Forest Resources Manager OHSE Occupational Health, Safety and Environment IBRA Issue Based Risk Assessment SWP Safe Work Procedure MP Management Procedure CAR Corrective Action Request LTI Lost Time Injury WMP Waste Management Plan EMP Environmental/Emergency Management Plan HOSHead of Section HOD Head of department CHAPTER ONE(1) 1. 0 Background of the Organisation The Wattle Company Limited was founded in 1945 in a bid to develop a wattle extract Industry in Zimbabwe. Land was purchased in the eastern districts of the Country and a central office was established in Mutare.The rationale for the development of wattle extract in Zimbabwe was twofold: †¢There was a general prediction of growth in demand for leather products hence, by implication of growth in demand for tanning extract. †¢There existed the perception of a permanent decline in supply of Quebracho extracts which, at the time, was the principal vegetable tanning extract in the world leather business. Wattle extract offered a profitable Substitute with a shorter-term investment horizon.These predictions were not fulfilled for the following reasons which also motivated the subsequent diversification into pine and eucalyptus; †¢The rate of leather consumption was negatively affected by the subsequent development of synthetic non-leather shoe materials; †¢The development of synthetic tanning materials (such as chrome salts) further reduced the demand for vegetable extracts; and †¢Quebracho remained a strong competitor to wattle extract. At the peak of wattle development in approximately 1959, The Wattle Company Limited had a capacity from its plantations of approximately double its sales demand.Consequently, The Wattle Company Limited commenced a Programme of diversification into other plantation crops accompanied by a parallel disposal of surplus land holdings. The Memorandum and Articles of Association of The Wattle Company Limited permits it, generally, to own and operate forestry and agricultural estates, to produce, process and deal in forest and agricultural products. The Company now specifically manufactures wattle extract, pine sawn timber, treated gum poles, eucalyptus sawn board and a residual product, charcoal. The Registered office of The Wattle Company Limited is situated at No. Durban Road, Mutare. 1. 1 Vision Achieve World class excellence in forestry resources management. 1. 2 Mission We will sustainably manage forest plantations, manufacture and be the supplier of choice quality sawn timber, wattle extract, charcoal, poles and service s to our customers in all our markets. We will build long term mutually beneficial relationships with all our customers, suppliers, employees, communities and shareholders. 1. 3 Values ?Integrity ?Quality ?Innovation ?Professionalism ?Transparency ?Teamwork ?Respect ?Empathy ?Passion 1. Company’s Organisation and the place of the particular department/ section in which the student’s work programme was undertaken The Wattle Company Limited is the main company the student was attached as a Senior Trainee SHE Officer. He was also attached in the SHEQ department at The Wattle Company, Nyanga Pine Division which is located 60 km out of Mutare. The department services(In SHEQ issues) other sister Estates such as Dunsinane Estate in Penhalonga, Nyakupinga, Mtarazi and Reneen Estates together with a Bush milling plant called Pine Products (Located in Mtarazi Estates) for Pine sawn timber production. 1. Communication and Information Systems The company uses a top to bottom appr oach. Group managers are responsible for the overall performance of the company as a whole, hence they oversee issues within all the three divisions of wattle but there are location managers and officers who are involved in the day to day running of the activities within their areas of jurisdiction. The company uses memorandums and Internet services which facilitates Emailing system as a means of information relay not forgetting to mention direct or peer to peer communication. The IT (Information Technology) at the head office is responsible for all machine ault repairs and controls the emailing system together with denying access/sharing of controlled documents with external sources. There is also a LAN (local area network) From Netone, Company Contract lines from Econet together with provision of monthly airtime for communication purposes to management reps . More so there is the use of GPS receivers, that is, Radios for all Foresters’ communication in the estates. All loca tion managers and Officers report to a location/divisional General Manager which is the highest office at divisional level as illustarated in the organogram below.ORGANOGRAM Fig. 2. 1 1. 6 Principal Products / Services and characteristics Wattle Company’s business success is centres on sustainable management of its forestry resources and is dedicated towards sustainable environmental management. The Wattle Company has received a number of accolades for its outstanding performance in environmental and forestry management. The Company operates under three strategic Business Units, Namely, †¢Nyanga Pine Division †¢Wattle Mimosa Division †¢Vumba Timbers Division It has four core businesses for production and marketing of †¢Pine Sawn Timber and manure Wattle Extract †¢Eucalyptus Poles †¢Charcoal Fig 3. Wattle Company Divisions Fig. 4. Wattle Company Hectare all divisions inclusive. The student was based at the Nyanga Pine division. NYANGA PINE DIVISIO N Nyanga Pine Plantations are located at Nyanga and Dunsinane Estates, approximately 65 kilometers and 35 kilometers north of Mutare, respectively. Available Resource Nyanga has a sustainable resource of 150,000m3 saw logs per annum for the pine plantations. An additional resource base from Art Corporation plantation which has been secured by the company is 76,000m3.Acquisition of the rest of the Art Corporation plantations is also expected to yield an additional 31,600m3 per annum. Figure. 3. Part of the resources available in the Nyanga Pine Division. Land holding in this Division is 18 973 hectares. Logs from these plantations are managed on a 20 to 25 year rotation and 450 hectares are harvested annually producing 150 000m? of saw slogs. The timber is harvested and transported to the sawmill using specialized equipment. As illustrated in fig 4 below. Fig. 5. A forwarder transporting logs PINE SAWN TIMBERThe Sawmill has a capacity of producing 72000cm3 of sawn timber per year and has 2 production lines. The frame saw line for big diameter logs and the multi-saw line which replaced the chipper canter line for small diameter and larger diameter logs. Fig 6 illustrates the frame saw line. Fig 6. 1 A log entering the frame saw line Fig 6. 2 A log out of the frame saw line The Wattle Company produces high quality sawn timber that has high demand both locally and internationally . Pine sawn timber is a soft wood. The pine sawn timber is kiln dried to standard moisture content of between 12 – 15%.This is achieved by adhering to stringent quality control measures starting from the source of our timber and in addition, our processes conform to the local Standards Association of Zimbabwe Board (SAZ) and South Africa Bureau of Standards ( SABS) yet also currently seeking ISO 9001 certification. The structural timber comes in solid form, finger jointed, planed all round and kiln dried. The lengths range from 0. 9 m to 6. 6 m. Fig. 7. Pine sawn timber stacked in the warehouse Structural timber is mainly used for construction, whilst Industrial grade timber is used for furniture and industrial purposes.These products are marketed and sold throughout the SADC region to different customers in their specific requirements. Bi- products – Crating, Pulpwood, and Pillar logs, Pine bark, Wood shavings and Saw dust are produced. The company also produces the industrial grade timber for the furniture manufacturers. Moreover the company also produces Manure from decomposing mixtures of sawdust and bark which is demanded locally, mainly by maize and cotton producers. Also the company offers other used products such as used tyres, used oil, scrap metal and old vehicles.Wood is another product produced for sale to outsiders with some provided to the general workers and the local communities who stay in electricity free houses. Principal services Wattle Company provides expertise to other fellow timber producing organisations, students in local high schools through conducting fire and tree planting campaigns together with students on industrial attachment in various departments found in the organisation. More so it offers health services such medical health care, HIV and AIDS counselling and testing and maternal care to employed/ non employees yet local people.It also offers employment to the local community and the country at large. The company is involved in the preservation of Natural resources such Fauna and flora, Historical cultural sites, such as Nyangani terraces and recreational areas such as Mtarazi Falls with help from its security. The Wattle Company, through its Nyanga Pine Division is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is an international organization that provides accreditation of forest management practices. FSC establishes standards as well as monitor the chain of custody and labelling of wood products. . 7 Main markets served and their environmental characteristics The Wattle Company is currently supplying the following markets, ? Botswana 33%, ?South Africa 35% ?Zimbabwe 20% ?Namibia 6% ?Zambia 3% ?Mozambique 3% Fig. 8. Timber market sizes in % Timber products produced at Wattle Company have created demand through spiral, repeat and referral marketing. The Product is produced from a well managed resource that adheres to specifications of international standards. The timber is mature and is suitable for major construction jobs which most construction companies prefer.The Wattle Company has created a competitive edge against its industry peers by upgrading its product through mouldering, as a differentiation strategy to its competitors who prefer to sell their timber as general grade. Wattle Company uses benchmarking as an analytical process through which the organization’s performance in the market is compared to the best in the country and the region. Positioned in a niche market it supplies 80% of its timber as structural which automatically means only tho se that are in the construction industry prefer the product. The company’s minimum order quantity is 48 cubes.The prices are factory that is they exclude freight cost since customer own transport is used. The Company’s Pine Sawn Timber is grouped and sold in two broad categories – Structural sawn timber for builders’ merchants and roof truss manufacturers. There is also the Industrial sawn timber for furniture and door manufacturers and pallet makers. Approximately 70% of the Pine Sawn Timber is exported while 30% is sold locally. All dispatches are made directly from Nyanga Pine Sawmill spearheaded by Wattle Company headquarters in Mutare where all payments are made.The Company is the third largest producer of Pine Sawn Timber in Zimbabwe and sells its product under the brand â€Å"NYANGA PINE†. Zimbabwean timber is proven by international test standard to be competitive in strength, workability and appearance with South African and European pine. 1. 8 Sources of Competition Competition in the region is not just coming from regional suppliers but also timber coming from as far as Chile, Brazil and Australia amidst softening demand in the market backyards.A case in point is the Namibian customer called the Mega build who is importing timber from as far as Australia; as a result, it creates pressure and price distortions and reduces the regional suppliers’ market share. The Zimbabwean primary wood processing industry is an oligopoly dominated by five players namely: Wattle Company, Border Timbers International, Allied Timbers, Mutare Board and Paper Mills, and Hunyani. Each of these companies has its own timber processing facilities and grows timber for own use.Three are major timber suppliers namely, The Wattle Company, Boarder Timbers and Allied Timbers, with the other two suppliers operating more than two sawmills each. The difference between The Wattle Company and its competitors has been the ability to stick to wor ld class standards and pro efficiency. Border Timbers is now the second biggest player in the industry but of late experiencing problems of diminishing resources. Wattle Company, Forest Company of Zimbabwe, and Border Timbers produce about 89% of timber in Zimbabwe and 1% is from Bush Millers. Threat posed by forest fires locally affects output in terms of quality.Recent fires in South Africa had weakened output prices. Only Wattle Company and Boarder Timbers are Forest Standard Commission (FCZ) certified giving Forest Company of Zimbabwe a disadvantage on the international market. Wattle Company is currently the smallest player in the industry but the most efficient. The competition in Zimbabwe Timber Industry hinges more on volume capacity than other factors such as quality, lead time and turn around. The wattle Company has edged its competitors by sticking to high quality structural timber creating a name in the regional construction industry.Environmental Management The Wattle C ompany Limited is a recipient of Timber Producers Federation of Zimbabwe’s Environmental Awards and has a documented Environmental Management System in place. Special Management is applied to the conservation of water catchment areas, high altitude grasslands, main forest communities and archaeological heritage such as the remains of Nyanga Terrace Culture, pollution prevention of estate soils by machinery oils and proper disposal of waste (paper, wood, glue, metal and clinic wastes). 1. 9 Types of technology involved and their characteristicsThere is a lot of modern machinery used for Pine sawn timber production from planting to marketing of the finished product. The information above is the general information of the whole Wattle Co divisions. However the growing of pine trees at Nyanga Pine division is for sawn timber. Nyanga Pine plantings are largely restricted to Pinus patula, but include P. taeda; P. elliottii, P. kesiya; P. tecunumannii and P. maximinoii and some of t hese species are being carefully considered now (Wattle Co Management Plan of the Pine Estates 2012).There is the use of Diesel powered chain saws an earth moving machinery for cutting or bringing down the trees respectively, followed by choking –which involves bringing the logs close to the road (for sorting according to diameters and loading using the telelogger) using tractors; cattle; the skidder and cable yarders (from inaccessible areas like in valley bottoms). More so haulage trucks are then used to transport logs from the harvesting sites to the Sawmill for processing. At the Sawmill, teleloggers are used to offload trucks and sorting is done as well.Cane hooks are then used to roll logs onto electric powered hauling chains (the process is highly mechanised)which feed the de-barker—for bark removal before proceeding to the frame Saw and Multi-saw lines for cutting to size. Conveyer belts carry the timber to the green chain section where manual loading of the Bo ogies is done followed by Kiln drying using The Ballman and Tekma Kilns which are Electric and Fire powered respectively. Traverses then carry the dried timber to the Dry mill section for cutting to size and packaging.Side loaders then load the timber as per orders before loading to trucks for departure to their respective destinations. Fig. 9. Process flow diagram of timber from harvesting to warehouse 1. 10 Impact of government Measures and policies, the economy and changing environment and social attitudes Government legislative bodies such as NSSA, EMA and SAZ have positively impacted on the organisation to be a workable environment through its NSSA compensation scheme in case of injuries. Subscribing to EMA and SAZ has coerced the organisation to improve its environmental management climate, market improvement and improved OHSE standards respectively.On the other hand through the Recruitment and Selection Policy, which requires locals to be considered first when employing peopl e, inexperienced people have been assimilated which greatly affect the quality of workforce available. The economic climate currently has improved performance of the organisation where a monthly profit of US$23000—US$30000 is obtained hence it has resulted in improvement in the salary scales. The favourable climate has also increased the market size by attracting more foreign customers aided by SAZ certification.Cash flow problems/Global liquidity shortages have negatively impacted the organisation forcing it to sell on credit thereby resulting in late payments of salaries and wages. Increasing mechanisation levels have also resulted in high job losses Changing educational environment has resulted in most locals shunning the lowly paid jobs in the forestry industry. More so qualified personnel is also leaving the organisation for greener pastures with even students are now shunning being attached there because of absence of any allowance.CHAPTER TWO(2) 2. 1. 0 Management styl e –Values and priorities, responsiveness to external change and management 2. 1. 1 Management style It is a top to bottom approach. The divisional activities are run from the headquarters by group managers. On site there is the GM, FRM, TLM, Accountant, HR assistant and SHE Officer. These HODs are the policy makers assisted by HOS who do the day to day running of the various departments reporting to the GM. The organisation has 6 departments namely: Clinic, HR, Forestry, Harvesting, Administration and SHE.HODs report also to group managers who directly report to the COO, who is the overall head of the company who delegates tasks to top management. A weekly progress meeting is conducted by top management and chaired by the COO. 2. 1. 2 Values and priorities Values and priorities of the organisation are set by the management team since there is a top to bottom approach to management of issues at the organisation. The organisational Policy is followed but it is mainly if not onl y effective upon the general hand wage earner and few lower grade staff workers. 2. 1. 3Management successionWorkers rotate departments depending on performance and not specialisation, for instance from HR to Production. Succession is handled by HR but that of management is handled at group level by group managers. There is also rotation of employees around the three divisions especially management/staff workers. 2. 1. 4 Responsiveness to external change Marketing surveys are done every month to determine market prices. Prices are then either lowered or increased depending on periodic reviews. Weekly performance meetings are conducted on site chaired by the COO, where supplies are usually stopped wherever late payments are observed.Also the increased competition on the market has forced the organisation to seek ISO9001 certification and implementation of BBS in a bid to lure the market by showing their concern to Quality and OHS issues respectively. Production of products as per cus tomer requirements and specifications in terms of width and thickness has also come as a response to external market changes in the timber industry. Also selling more and preferably to cash buyers has been effected to reduce the impact of cash flow shortages in the economy.The organisation also subscribes to the government gazette for updates on any changes in terms of legislations and other legal requirements. 2. 2. 0Logistics, production, marketing and management approaches to staffing and technological development. There is a silviculture department and a Forestry Resources Manager who is in charge of all the estates/ in charge of all the forest resources. This is the department which ensures sustainability and to ensure sustainability this department is responsible for all the plantings which include the harvested land or compartments as well as the burnt land.For example last year during the fire season about 900 ha were lost to forest fires but there is reestablishment of thes e compartments as well as the harvested compartments. Since the rainy season began about 800 ha were planted so far and if rain falls the company intends to finish planting all the palatable land. Planting back is a serious issue which is monitored at top management level as well as the Timber Producers Federation (TPF) which the company is part of. So the issue of sustainability is unquestionable at Nyanga pine division as illustrated above.As for harvesting there is a harvesting department headed by the Harvesting and Transport logistics Manager. When the compartment is ready for harvesting which is usually after 25 years the silviculture department hands over the compartment to the harvesting department with the forest planning department being involved as well. Usually every year the silviculture department hands over all compartments ready for harvesting then the harvesting department do APOs (Annual Plan of Operations) using the information provided. This is the first step don e by the harvesting forester and authorised by the Harvesting and Planning managers.Harvesting then commences following a harvesting procedure. When the compartment is finished it is handed over to planning for fibre waste assessment then back to silviculture for plantings. This is the cycle in short. The planning cycle is there for the sustainable management of the forest resources. Management is striving to cut costs through the acquisition of highly mechanised equipment like the Multi saw line which only requires 12 workers along the whole line as opposed to more than 30 workers on previous lines (chipper canter line).More so some departments are operating with one person with the aid of students on industrial attachment whom are not a cost since they are not paid, for instance, one SHE officer for Reneen, Nyakupinga, Nyanga Pine, Mtarazi and Dunsinane Estates and the Sawmill. Seasonal employees are temporarily employed especially during the planting and fire seasons for preparat ion of fireguards and ring weeding respectively. Marketing is done throughout the marketing manager who is based at the head office in Mutare. Sales are also facilitated through that same location.No marketing rep on site since it is only a production site since collections are done using receipts and with the aid of phone calls. A larger percentage of the product is sold internationally. 2. 1. 3 Management Issues and their relationship to environmental issues and performance of the organisation. Management is more concerned with production hence environmental issues are not of much concern or they are not given much attention since they are not funded for instance all industrial hygiene surveys were last done in 2009 and 2010 respectively.More over foresters also claim to be masters in SHE issues hence it brings friction between the different departments. The SHE department is only involved in voluntary compliance to standards such as ISO14001and ISO9001 among others since it is on ly SAZ certified. There is generally lack of management commitment to SHE issues hence little is being done in terms of environmental management though there is vast knowledge inhibited within the site SHE Officer which remains an untapped resource though beneficial to tudents on work related learning to whom it is relayed. CHAPTER THREE(3) 3. 0 Activities carried out and Initiatives made by the student After a month in the industry the most tasks were delegated to the student for learning process, development of a world class/competent SHE practitioner and for monitoring progress during the course of the industrial attachment period. Only decision making opportunities in sensitive issues were not tasked to the student. 3. 1. Safety health and environment (S. H.E) induction of newly recruited employees This process involves safety induction of new employees and visitors so that they practise safety every time and everywhere. It also shows the level of commitment of the organisation to SHE issues. After a month the student was given the role of conducting all inductions in the absence/presence of the supervisor. This further boosted confidence to speak amongst a group of people since it was going to be a routine task to train groups of workers. 3. 2. Land farming projectThis is a project for treatment of oil contaminated soils to normal or near normal state which emanates from unsurfaced parking bays like the telelogger bay in the Sawmill, garage and management parking bays. The project was to remain an ever running project since soil is continuously being polluted. The student developed the land farming project together with preparing the project budget, documentation and description, assigning responsibilities, training of the people involved, monitoring, and preparation of continuous improvement documents together with monitoring of progress. 3. 3.Environmental Inspections, audits and on job observations This facilitated compliance to SHE standards, complian ce levels to management procedures and task procedures, noting of at risk behaviour and conditions, Fire extinguishers, first Aid boxes and areas in dire need for improvement or meriting immediate attention. These aspects allowed us to police compliance to SHE standards and punishing of those who breach the laws using the code of conduct. The student was also part of the panel conducting all internal audits in other divisions of Wattle Company like the second quarter audit at Silver Streams in Chimanimani.More so the student conducted routine morning on job observations and inspections in the Sawmill and conducted monthly inspections by way of a checklist before surrendering the audit results to the supervisor for analysis and drawing of CARs. 3. 4. Conducting safety health and environment educational and legislative training programmes for 1200 employees (high and middle level management and shop floor workers) The student with the help from fellow student developed and prepared th e inspections and audit checklists for use internally and for use by all Wattle divisions.Since most trainings at the organisation are handled by the SHE department hence the student through the knowledge disseminated to him by the work supervisor, spearheaded trainings on BBS, MPs, chemical handling and other safety environmental and health related issues brought to his attention by external professionals, for instance, trainings on circumcision, diseases control, general hygiene and Training SHE Reps on how they were to conduct Observations. More so the student conducted Fire and environmental awareness to students in local schools.Also the student trained management and the shop floor workers on how to conduct safety talks together with highlighting their relevance. The student also had passion to disseminate knowledge acquired at college through training the fellow workmates on Safety, Health and Environmental Legislative requirements the organisation had to subscribe to. In add ition the student conducted refresher trainings on the SHE Policy, harvesting procedures and accident reporting. These were assisted by mock drills to monitor for instance mock drills.The student was part of the panel which spearheaded these together with assessing the level of preparedness the Company assumed in case an emergency occurred. The student also assisted in developing innovative procedures in the improvement of available sanitation practices to meet targets set by the SHE department in its SHE manual. 3. 5. Compile monthly SHE reports and Weekly progress reports These reports showed progress and company performance on SHE issues together with activities and challenges being faced in handling SHE issues.It was the duty of the student to prepare monthly reports using available statistics and information gathered. This is also a way of communication with top management on Departmental performance. More so weekly and monthly reports were prepared by the student to show the l evel of progress and material covered during the course of the work related learning process. 3. 6. Compliance promotion and enforcement of occupational health and safety (OHS) and environmental laws.Besides conducting trainings on legislations, the student also made follow ups on progress in issues discussed or trained on as part of policing compliance to CARs, set targets and expectations. Those found not complying with these were warned and the CARs were not closed until progress was noticed, with others being warned or called for hearings since at Wattle Company, it is a dismissible offence to disobey any safety regulation or set standard. 3. 7. Accident/Incident investigations, identifying route causes and providing recommendations to prevent recurrence of incidents.Accident investigations are a requirement by law and are also of importance so as to know the causes of accidents together with identification of problem areas. The student conducted incident investigations so as to determine the latent failures and conditions contributing to the occurrence of the accident so as to learn and avoid the occurrence of the same kind of incident through the provision of suitable recommendations and action plans. This further enhanced the level of scrutiny by the student in any issue. . 8 Preparation of the BLR Assessment Database/Register and the Environmental Database The student together with another fellow student prepared the BLRA for evaluating risks and exposure of workers to these risks per department. These were to be used as a basis for training during trainings on accident prevention, refresher training courses, and drawing of action plans together with noting down any new types of incidents developing together with taking note of their inherent causes or accelerators.The student also was part of the team that prepared the environmental database which was to be useful in Natural Resources management since it allowed the student to quantify the amount of w ater, fuel, electricity and Wood fuel consumed per month together with calculating the amount atmospheric pollutants the company was contributing through its use of oils, burning of waste in the incinerators and the use of diesel fuelled vehicles and machines. More so knowledge about the amount of water, electricity and wood allowed future planning for sustainable resource use to be done. 3. Training of SHE Representatives SHE Reps are the eye of any SHE department hence much of the trainings done were to equip them with the necessary skills to foster safe working in their fellow workmates. The student hence trained SHE reps on accident reporting procedure, conducting and completion of BBS observation checklists, conducting of safety talks just to mention a few. This was done since they were the ones constantly on the ground and also it was discovered to be easier to spread knowledge on SHE using people at the same level since they understand each other better. 3. 0 Conducting the H IRA process and taking down all potential hazardous tasks and related risks The student also conducted the HIRAs for all departments which was also useful in the preparation of the BLRA database. HIRA involves identification of hazards and estimating the risks thereby allowing the development of action plans to manage those risks before they occur 3. 11 Conducting of internal EIAs for small internal projects. The student conducted an internal EIA for Pine Products which is a sister company of Wattle (Nyanga Pine Division) specialising in the production of pine sawn timber as well.Here the student used acquired knowledge at college together with additional guidelines from an internal EIA checklist to assess the environmental, social, health and pollution (from waste generation and disposal) related impacts of the already running bush mill/Plant. This was also a form of compliance to national legislative requirements from EMA Act chapter 20:27. 3. 12 Conduct occupational and health ca mpaigns The student conducted campaigns on male circumcision together with liaising with the clinic on the behalf of PSI so as to provide a venue and set actual dates for the surgeries.More so the student conducted further training on Cancer, HIV and AIDS respectively since they were also part of the reasons why circumcision was being promoted to be done. 3. 13 Accident Register Updating The student also prepared the Accident Register for the years 2011 and 2012. Also weekly updating of the register was done by the student together with Trend analysis of accidents between current and previous years. This register assisted in noting any major changes in accident rates together with the reasons why that was happening.It allowed review of Policies and performance wherever there was need. 3. 14 Taking tours with new employees during inductions and or visitors around the plant or estates to view operations. The student also after inducting new employees took them for a tour around the pl ant and estates to familiarise them with SHE issues involved within those areas. Besides SHE issues the student was also knowledgeable about the product process flow since it was part of the reasons for the tour hence he had to share it with the visitor or new employee. 3. 5 Reviewing EMPs, WMPs, EMPs etc Besides preparing new documents the student was also involved in reviewing and updating of all obsolete documents. This was done according to the set review periods and was also auditable both externally and internally. 3. 16 Conducting Pre-shift talks. Also the student conducted Pre-shift talks to management and the shop floor workers as a way of enhancing safe working together with notifying on previous week’s incidents to all workers and training workers on prevention of the same incidents from repeating themselves.The student therefore developed and prepared the SHE Talk Calendar for the year 2012 as a guideline on weekly discussions in every department and section. More so the student policed whether these pre-shift talks were being conducted since some people had a tendency of ignoring or not attending hence the provision of Pre-shift talk registers. 3. 17 Completion and submission of NSSA WCIF 14 forms The student also completed the above mentioned forms for any LTI or accidents meriting a claim from NSSA, since every worker was insured to NSSA in case an accident would occur.The student and travelled weekly to Mutare for submission and collection of claims cards for use in treatment or receiving a claim from the bank. 3. 18 Development and Implementation of BBS Social Soccer League The student developed the BBS League as part of entertainment to the workers. In addition the student went to purchase the balls and acted as management team’s coach cum player in preparation of the league games. The student also included safety statistics as part of points awarding system together with updating of the log standings every week. . 19 Filing of SHE documents After preparation of any document the student had a filing day every week for filing of each internally or externally prepared that was useful in future. The student prepared a SHE filing system in soft copy and saved the documents on the machine. Further still the student prepared hard copies of the same documents and filed them separately using a filing index and number. These documents were useful during Audits since they were a requirement especially during external audits by NSSA, EMA and SAZ.Filing thus made it easier for document access whenever requested for. 3. 20 Acting as Secretary during SHE meetings The student also acted as a departmental secretary during SHE Monthly meetings and during management BBS training meetings. More so the student recorded the minutes and typed them together with circulating them back to all departmental HODs. PERFOMANCE CRITERIA AND TARGETS SET FOR WORK PLACEMENT PROGRAMME Performance Criteria There are basically two types of ap proaches being used by Wattle namely; a. Logical framework approachUnder this framework objectives are set on different programmes and strategies for implementation plans in place where objectives stated, compilation of data, SHE Policy commitment is key and is stated as well. The framework is implied in all significant issues, for instance, significant Safety or Health hazards and impacts are given set objectives and targets in a bid to reduce or eliminate their impact. The specialists in the field done the ground work and the affected groups only adopt prescribed approaches either pertaining to their safety or health. . Participatory approach This is used in managing key Environmental issues and System implementation and is mainly executed through a suggestion scheme, for instance, Zvandaona Nhasi Scheme in BBS implementation. It is open to everyone, that is, local heads and the community at large and is not selective in terms of gender of social class. The method involves listing down all suggestions of all participants. Management Objectively verifiable Suggestion indicators are enlisted using this approach.Community appreciation of projects like tree planting and wetlands management are used as a performance criteria tool. Usually the community or affected group are allowed to develop practical home grown solutions for verification and adoption by the organisation in spearheading issues to do with environmental pollution and its related impacts to their livelihood, animals and health. Targets Departmental SHE targets and management programmes are derived from significant hazards in that department. All significant hazards are then given key SHE commitment areas.Each department has its own hazard register rated differently as per frequency and exposure rates. Significant hazards are given objectives and targets, management programmes together with target completion dates. These hazards registers are reviewed every year. The SHE department inspects each dep artment to verify the effectiveness and coverage these departmental hazards registers. EXPERIETIAL LEARNING GAINED FROM WRL PLACEMENT-OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS FACED AND MEANS ADOPTED TO EXPLORE AND OVERCOME THEM Experiential Leaning gainsExposure to real work environment and assuming the role of a full time employee allowed the student to swallow pride from the respect he got from fellow workers some of whom were elderly people, at the same time allowing him to know about work ethics and expected workplace manners. An Assessment of the working environment was done at arrival at Wattle to see how people conducted each other. Adopting to the way of life at the same place came second since it was a rural setup in which the student was not acquainted to.Adaptation to the internal environment followed where the environment in which the student was working proved so complex and ever dynamic such that being flexible was one quality that had to be borrowed so as to be able to adapt to occ upational dynamics. Familiarising with the system allowed full and competent performance to be achieved. Required Adjustments to personal character were made to suit the colleagues around and the working environments together with challenges faced from time to time. Setting of chievable and realistic goals and the development of action plans in managing of problems and non conformities was a priority. Extreme pressure was experienced whenever there were recurrent incidents and during month ends when monthly reports had to be prepared. During such a period the student had to stay at work till late or attend a double shift of day and night. Collectively, experiential learning Boosted confidence of execution of duty as a competent SHE practitioner, a good communicator, a good listener and fast writer as required in capturing minutes in management meetings.Good communication skills were highlighted through the ability to handle conflicts among and between fellow workers and friends. The student also learned to be Punctual where there was an anomaly in which work started at 6:30 yet the student had to walk on foot for about 7km to work. The student never disappointed though at times he had to attend double shifts and leave work as late as 20:00 hrs in the evening. The student improved his personal skill and also acquired management skills especially in handling different tasks and attended to hearing panels.It also allowed the student to exercise power, delegated authority and to employ knowledge and skills gained at college. To this end, practical learning allowed the student to have practical exploration of work experience. It was also learnt that to succeed in any field, not only personal motivation but also the zeal to learn keeps you moving towards your aims and goals in life. Opportunities ?Prospects of employment since most of the SHE managers are nearing retiring ages, hence having been there gives me a comparative advantage. Business opportunities since th ere is vast arable land lying idle and the shops lack variety in terms of goods provided together with waste timber which can fetch a good market in the nearby town of Mutare. ?Linkages to various external stakeholders like EMA, NSSA and SAZ on a more personal note ? Freedom to pursue educational opportunities since the job of being a SHE officer gives you ample time to do other things since your duty is only to train and enforce. Problems faced and how the student adapted ?Work organisational politics was one major challenge which made other epartments hate SHE not knowing that there was no budget for the department and all its financial issues were handled by HR. The student never became part of the Trade unions in order to avoid being a victim. ?Other departments were unwilling to share information; hence the student went through his superiors in order to achieve his targets for the week. ?Working for nothing or without any motivation was also a challenge in which the student res ponded by developing the BBS Social Soccer League to forget about it.More so the student supplied some fruits from Honde and Mutare in order to make ends meet. ?There was no departmental transport for going on SHE inspections and trainings especially in far areas like the estates. Borrowing vehicles from other departments came as a solution. ?Fuel shortages for ambulance with reserves for production hence emergencies were attended to late. As the HODs of the clinic the students made a plan of keeping the tank full to its brim whenever the fuel was available. ?No SHE budget was available; hence the department was forced to rely on decisions by HR.The department relied on non cash strategies so as to perform his duties effectively. ?Distance from home to work was too long, that is about 7 km. The student resorted to walking as early as was possible to be at work in time since he was required to be there at 06:30hrs. ?Departmental integrity was also a challenge in cases where the fores ters claimed to be masters in SHE issues but denying responsibility whenever an incident occurred. They also lacked knowledge as what a SHE department was for including their roles and responsibility.The student resorted to being calm and forced them to make arrangements so that SHE trainings and inspections were done even when they did not value them. IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEORY STUDIED AND OPERATIONAL PRACTISES Theory learned at college tends to follow clearly outlined syllabuses, procedures and steps and are simple to understand whereas operational practises bridge the gap between theory and reality being complex and achievable after continual repetition together with having no defined steps followed except in task procedures only.Shortcuts are very common in the operational practise where sometimes they are observed to be safer than the prescribed steps. Theory only gives a theoretical description of tasks with operational practises giving the ex act execution of the task. Too shallow information is disseminated in specific areas/ there tends to be more generalisations in theories studied whereas operational practises bring about so much specific information and documentation. Theory deals with prediction of cases whilst in operational practises results are condition oriented though they differ with organisations.Not much or all of the material learned was usable during WRL since there is some specialisation in operational practises where one only works in one department doing the same specific tasks repeatedly. The operational practises proved to be more complex hence require rapid dynamism so as to adapt to the working environment which is politically, economically and socially demanding in nature. There were some slight similarities where issues learned like computing techniques in GES were usable in documents preparation, such as, Databases and PPE Matrices and trainings using Microsoft word, excel and slide show present ations.Communication skills (CS101) at college made proper communication affordable in the practical environment where training and interaction of diverse social groups was done from management to the shop floor worker. Basic theory however was vital since it made understanding and practical execution easier and faster. PERFORMAN MONITORING CRITERIA AND ASSSESSMENT OF DIRECTION AND SUPERVISION PROVIDED PLACE SUPERVISOR/MANAGEMENT TOGETHER WITH THE VISITING LECTURER’S ASSISSTANCE.The student was viewed as a full time employee by the WRL Organisation and was governed by the code of conduct which therefore forced him to perform to the required standards and expectations. Weekly and Monthly progress reports on issues covered were a mandatory from the student since they, together with tasks delegated were used to monitor progress of the student during attachment period. Weekly targets were also used which was based on a weekly plan. The student was also tasked to provide a persona l file for assessment by Group HSE manger every month.The student was expected to complete all tasks planned for during that week with those unmet tasks forwarded to the following week. The supervisor’s mentorship approach was to make the student to accomplish certain tasks without his assistance and this was used as a means to monitor progress of the student in terms of speed of grasping and understanding of concepts together with skills development. More so the student also prepared a Log book as part of the progress monitoring aid. This was assessed and signed by the workplace supervisor assisted by the visiting lecturer who assessed the book during the period of visit .The visiting lecturer assisted in explaining what exactly the student was to learn about during the WRL period together with assessing the relevance of what had been covered. He also gave light on the position of the college in other related issues such as accommodation and salary issues . Also an assessmen t of issues learnt and their relationship to the modules covered was done. Also the student was expected to produce a WRL Report at the end of the WRL period as part of progress monitoring as well. CHAPTER FOUR (4) 4. 1 Evaluation of the Work Related LearningThe full year of industrial attachment was a highly productive learning process that exposed the student to the real working environment where real safety, health and environmental situations that are often presented as theory at college were made real through this process. The working environment is never a student oriented environment so as to provide a growing environment for young, new and inexperienced personnel but it remains real with clear operational procedures and structures which gave the student the necessary practical experience required in developing future managers since the student was viewed as a full time employee.This was more than a just an academic fulfilment as the student was natured in his moral, social, observation and analytical skill together with improving his interpersonal communication skills. A greater percentage of the aims of the WRL were achieved as the student mastered most of the duties and roles to operate as a full time SHE Practitioner, though the student never had a chance to do some of the roles/activities due to cash flow problems which hindered activities such as industrial hygiene surveys (for air quality testing, Noise and Lung functioning tests) to be conducted in his presence.Some tasks took longer to be fully understood and readily practised than others. This was a result of other tasks being daily routines/generic issues for instance daily inspections and accident investigation with others being a once-off thing, for example, documents preparation like Databases preparation and preparation of other major documents like Waste Management Plan. Progress was mostly seen where the student initiated interest thus constantly researching and questioning the WRL ment or through his eagerness o learn, whereas in areas where the student showed little to interest no information was relayed since he always had work to do. The student’s expectations were to act as a student but realised that there are no students in the working environment where everyone is given equal opportunity and viewed at the same level, that is, all as adults and full time employees governed by a single company code of conduct. Most of the knowledge acquired at college was not usable in the working environment but rather new things which only took aboard a few of the theory learned at college were in operation.As a student I thought that my views were not considered in the decision making process but realised that some of my ideas and acquired knowledge saved a purpose especially where the student was consulted by top management on SHE issues in the absence of the supervisor. The Code of conduct makes the working environment Peaceful, workable and eliminates hostility a nd unsocial behaviour due to fear of dismissal. Colleagues in the SHE Department were so assisting and helpful in case of any problem be it social, economic or otherwise and made the student welcome by illustrating his importance to the organisation.On the other hand the student was not involved in decision making process of the whole organisation as some of the aspects remained a myth since the student was viewed partly as an outsider, hence confidential information remained inaccessible. 4. 2 Advantages and disadvantages to the Organisation brought by the student’s WRL experience Advantages ?The department could now function as a full department through increased manpower hence this made work easier through delegation of duties. ?Through the knowledge acquired and in the absence of the full time SHE Practitioner, the department could still run under the student’s influence.This also allowed the SHE Practitioner to go on leave since previously he could not be allowed for fear of lack of departmental functionality in his absence. ?It was also cost effective for the company to use the student since he was not paid anything though he was fully exploitable and competent. ?Also it was an advantage to the organisation having such a competent student on board since it would be easier to refer to/appoint him as SHE Practitioner in the near future since the field is a migratory field hence they faced a risk of losing current ones. ?The introduction of the BBS Social Soccer League by he student brought life and entertainment to the local community and workers at large. ?Most documents in us e were prepared by the student hence it was an advantage to the company. The student’s experience made enforcement of SHE standards and MPs easier hence assisting in lowering and elimination occupational injuries, diseases and negative environmental impacts. Disadvantages ?Though the student’s competency proved to be an advantage is also became a disadvan tage to the organisation since there was a reduction in manpower when the student was returning back to college.Most work that used to be handled smoothly was now loaded to one competent person. ?Development of Land farming and balls, kits and trophy for BBS Social Soccer League was an expense to the organisation since they were supposed to fund these for them to be a success. ?Nevertheless having experience is another thing but it remains the student’s choice to work for a company of his own choice hence the company can also be said to produce what does not benefit out of thereby making it a disadvantage as well. The time lost in training the student was a disadvantage to the organisation considering that they were not going to keep the student with them. Lunch out especially after management meetings was a cost to the organisation as well. CHAPTER FIVE (5) CONLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5. 1 Conclusions The student’s period of attachment at The Wattle Company Limited was a valuable experience which has natured him into gaining skills technically, professional and socially. The student has been exposed to different aspects of the SAFETY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT and has learnt a lot.The student’s Work Related Learning (WRL) period at The Wattle Company really transformed him into a responsible student who is capable of working competently in the industry. It really gave him hands on the real job experience and was able to familiarize himself with new ideas and aspects in the industry. He is now capable of carrying out his duties without constant supervision together with taking his responsibilities with caution and to his ability; hence has become self initiative in nature. 5. Recommendations to Midlands State University ?The university should develop cordial relations with companies so that there is general mutual understanding between the college and companies. This will assist both the students from the same institution having a comparative advantage on WRL Placement acquisition. ?The university must also reconsider on other external challenges away from work and increase the number of assessment visits to monitor conditions being lived under and challenges students are facing. The university must continue with the attachment program, as it is vital for skills development and gives advantage to the student when seeking full time employment as it acts as experience and leverage. 5. 3 Recommendations to GES Department ?It is very critical for the university to complement theory with more practice. It will be advantageous to the student if the university introduces courses, which are on demand in the industry for example BBS. Field visits to Organisations should be increased before going for work related learning so that students will get to know and prepare for what they are going to be facing when they are out there. ?The university should seek attachment places for students to make it easier because stude nts are ending up going for an attachment lat

Network Sevens situational comedy Will and Grace and romantic drama Essay

Network Sevens situational comedy Will and Grace and romantic drama The L word have both garnered critical and public praise for their use of significant homos - Essay Example l and Grace, and day-soap romantic drama in the case of The L Word, has a lot to do with the success of these shows and helping to make the lifestyles of gays and lesbians less suspicious, less mysterious, less threatening and have served to increase the gay and lesbian community’s base of heterosexual support for individual choice in same-sex relationships. Will and Grace follow on the success of shows like Mad About You, where the relationships were situational and the public at large, across gender identities, could relate to the events on a comedic level. More importantly, Will and Grace captured the â€Å"formula† for good humor. With its characters, like Karen (played by Megan Mullolly) the show is able to create a balance with peripheral characters so that the focus and expectation is not constantly on Will and Grace (Debra Messing) as characters in the show. There are the lives of the people in their lives going on about them, and this is important so that the show does not over-focus on the dating aspect of a single gay man and a heterosexual woman living in New York City. Drama, like comedy, requires a strength in the actor to the extent that the actor can successfully carry the character (Ulea, 2002, p. 3). Researcher V. Ulea describes drama this way: â€Å"A type of dramatic drama that represents main protagonists with average or above average and strong potential (2002, p. 4): The dramatic character is responsible for connecting with the viewer in a way that draws the viewer into the character’s space, and to react to the circumstances of the situation in a way that most of the viewing audience would react, or in a way with which the viewing audience can be understanding of or sympathetic of. According to Ulea, there can be cross-over between the genres, and it might yield something called â€Å"dramedy (2002, p. 5). This is when the ending is â€Å"assigned for cheerful, sad, or drama. Accordingly, the combination of powerful potential combined

The Theme of Sexuality in Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper

The Theme of Sexuality in Their Eyes Were Watching God - Research Paper Example novel, and Hurston describes it in the context of slavery to show that it was a regular and repeated aspect of the black woman’s experience in slavery, and occurred in the early formative age of adulthood in the place of a woman’s education. The relation of racist authority to rape in the narrative is that Janie’s father and grandfather are both portrayed as white, and the educational system is equated in lineage with the system of slave ownership. This is a fundamental social and political critique that is introduced through the common dialect of the Southern woman and related through her personal sexual experience. The historical base is expressed by Zora Neale Hurston through sexual relationships, and this interracial sexuality is paradoxical, integral, and structural in her writing throughout the novel. In this context of repression, Hurston presents only a brief glimpse of the hope for genuine love in youth, which is quickly replaced with a black folk tradition that is portrayed as repressive to womanhood in a manner equally to be resisted and run away from as slavery. The repression of family tradition is portrayed through forced marriage, which implied another type of rape and forced servitude of the woman. Janie’s compromise is to arrange a marriage on her own terms that supports her own self materially on her own terms, even if she has to leave everything she knows to do so. Thus she provides for her needs while giving herself a limited economic role in the society at large through her husband’s business. When this ends early through the death of Joe Starks, Janie has the ability to choose any man in her society from a position of independent stature. Rather than the professor or tycoon, Hurston presents Tea Cake as a model of the black male with whom Janie most identifies. Their love also accelerates into death, but in this instance it is from the increased slow burn of passions, rather than their extinguishment. In the end, the gossip of black

Management Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Style - Essay Example Currently, the management of the firm is focused on the creation of management structures that will enable the expansion of its core strength as a global technology, electronic and entertainment company. The current Chief Executive Officer is Kazuo Hirai. The responsibility of the C.E.O is to run the firm’s business operations globally. Sony Corporation is a design and production intensive firm. The founders of the firm provided the platform for the current design management style used by the current managers (Nagasawa, 2013). Design management style uses design, project management, supply chain techniques and strategy to control a firm’s creative processes. The style is suitable to Sony because it establishes a structure and organization for design. It also supports a culture of creativity. Design management is based on the objective of developing and maintaining a business environment where companies and organizations can achieve their mission and strategic goals through design (Chang, 2011). Sony uses this style because of its strategic advantages in the establishment and management of effective and efficient system. Design management covers all areas of a business. These range from operational and strategic activities to the discovery phases and implementation phases. The management style encompasses ong oing processes, strategies that facilitate innovation and business decision making. Most importantly, design management works in hand with operational, marketing and strategic management. Sony’s design management approach is focused on asset management. In this case, the firm highly values its assets, which range from its innovative products, human resources and projects (Borja, 2003). Design management approaches asset management with an objective of creating value. The style also approaches attitude management with an aim of adjusting employee’s mental attitudes (Nagasawa, 2013).

H.R.M Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

H.R.M - Essay Example â€Å"Thus, the HRM function positions itself in two ways: as the architect of new organizational structures and work systems, and as coach in management development processes and companion of employees in turnaround processes† (Van Marrewijk & Timmers, 2003, p.174) Organizational systems go through various changes over the years. A lot of factors trigger organizational leaders to come up with innovative strategies to keep their companies afloat especially in a sea of competition with others. Currently, the global financial crisis forces companies to re-think their operational systems as cost-cutting measures are being implemented for businesses to go on. As of yet, millions have been retrenched as unemployment rates continue to stagger. The once dynamic buzz in most offices has been replaced by occasional movement noises, frequent phone rings or for some, deadening silence. However, in some organizations, such is not the case. In an effort to save workers’ jobs, companies have come up with work alternatives that would cut costs while keeping their employees. Mostly it is the HR department that handles the job designs of employees. Instead of fully cutting the ties to employment, some workers have gone to work part time, flexitime, work from home or get into job sharing with some co-workers. These alternatives save the companies a lot of money on compensation and benefit expenses. Aside from that, many companies have adopted the â€Å"Hotdesking† arrangement which also cuts expenses for office space. Hotdesking has emerged as a new term for a work practice that started in the nineties. The term originated from old naval practices of â€Å"Hot bunking† where shifts of sailors share limited bunk space. It is also known as location independent working because workers are not assigned their own permanent work spaces and are just provided one as needed for the day (Gordano Knowledge Base, 2009). Hence, staff share work spaces on

Strategic Perspectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Strategic Perspectives - Essay Example Moreover, micro environmental analysis signifies that in the current scenario there is considerable lower level of threat of substitute for Tesla. Whereas, the application of fund towards the CSR activities, reputation management through high level of innovation, and conserving towards the ethical issues helps Tesla to overcome from the financial crisis situation. Nevertheless, the report identifies that diversifying the business activities in other segment; divestment or reengineering strategies in the loss making units, and enhancing the specification of vehicles based on customer perception will assist the company to earn competitive advantage in future. The prior aim of the report is to evaluate the provided case scenario of Tesla Motors in order to present the strategic position in the global environment. Additionally, in the current global competitive environment, the phenomenon of globalisation has significantly influenced various global business organisations and led them to undertake their business operation further than their domestic territories. Correspondingly, the international business accordingly response to the changing scenario through taking diversified strategic choices and decision making in order to maintain its competitive advantage in the global environment (Hill, 2006). Tesla Motors founded in the year 2003 named after Nikola Tesla one of the inventor of electric AC induction motor. Since, its formation company has attained unprecedented growth and expansion in their competitive position. Besides, company engage itself in designs, production, and distribution of electric cars and its components. Furthermore, du ring the year 2014, company earned US$ 3.198 billion revenue (1Tesla Motors, Inc., 2014). Correspondingly, the aim of the report is to evaluate and analyse the strategic prospective of Tesla Motors in the

Review of the Strategic Situation of Air Asia X Essay

Review of the Strategic Situation of Air Asia X - Essay Example The essay "Review of the Strategic Situation of Air Asia X" presents a review of the strategic situation of Air Asia X based on the case study â€Å"AirAsia X: Can the low-cost model go long haul?†. This essay also examines AirAsia X’s business environment, analyses AirAsiaX’s current strategy and appraises the strategy. The airline industry in Malaysia is highly developed. The state has emphasized on the industry’s infrastructure so that the services provided in the industry are kept at high quality. The airline industry in Malaysia is a close industry; there are only two competitors AirAsia X and the Malaysian Airline System. Since 2011, efforts have started for ‘a share swap’ between the two firms. The Chief Executive of Air Asia Group would acquire the 20% of the shares of MAS. The terms of this agreement have not been verified by both parties. In the beginning of 2012, the Maybank Investment Bank warned that the country’s airline industry should expect to face strong turbulences due to the recession developed in West. Since 2011, a decline in the industry’s profits has appeared, a trend that leads to concerns about the industry’s prospects in the future. In June 2012 IATA stated that the profits of the global airline industry for 2012 would be expected to be significantly reduced due to the increase in the price of oil and the debt crisis in the European Union. One of the most known frameworks for the analysis of a firm’s strategic decisions is the Five Forces model of Porter.

Health science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health science - Essay Example Repolarization: It is a case where neuron membrane potential returns to negative value, back to resting membrane potential. This is due to movement of positively charged K+ ions out of the cell which takes less than a second. Frontal lobe: It is the part of the lobe that controls important skills for humans, such as memory, emotions. Other responsibilities include primary motor function/ ability to consciously move our muscles and two key areas related to speech. Some of the things we say to our friends are misinterpreted where they come up with their own stories. Recently my co-worker requested me to accompany her to a dinner out of the city, which I declined with a good reason. The reason I declined the deal was because I was supposedly attending another concert, and being the organizer, I had to see that all went well throughout the event. Unfortunately we later met with the same colleague while in the company of another lady friend. Contrary to my expectations, the colleague assumed that I had turned down her deal for a better one. I was not in a position to explain what happened in that moment, but fortunately I did later. It is thus true that it is not what is intended, but what is perceived matters. A type 2 diabetes treatment for newly diabetic patients recently has grown in complexity. Some of the older therapies continue to be supplemented by the new ones. Emerging research compares effectiveness and safety while monitoring these patterns critically. Some of the emerging trends include new classes of devices adding and drugs, thus improving lives for type 2 diabetes patients. The condition can also be treated by learning how to exercise and chose the right diet. Doctors are becoming more vigilant in treating diabetes. The current medical expertise is helping type 2 diabetes patients to be diagnosed and treated earlier than they once did. These trends like new medications advanced eating habit and new drug research through available technology will

The Importance of Marketing to Organisations in the Twenty-First Essay - 1

The Importance of Marketing to Organisations in the Twenty-First Century - Essay Example In the cutthroat world of business, sustainable advantage is an oxymoron. Competition is worldwide, products are getting commoditized, and customers enjoy an overabundance of choices. And yet, particular business firms stand above the multitude of profit-generating corporations. As airlines declare bankruptcy, Jet Blue thrives and as private labels grabbed share from consumer packaged goods companies, Procter & Gamble delivers strong revenue and profit growth. What separates these leading companies from their less profitable peers? It is believed that marketing excellence makes the difference. These leaders thrash their competition through superior customer insights that have been translated into compelling value propositions and superior customer experiences. Marketing has never been more significant as business firms scuffle and skirmish to differentiate themselves from competitors and obtain organic growth and financial success. Some of the world’s most revered business corporations that include GE, Microsoft, and Intel, recognise the importance of marketing as a top line growth driver. At GE, where marketing was the â€Å"lost function† under Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt has invigorated the marketing organisation. While marketing is more influential and strategic at a few firms, the state of marketing at most firms is lacking. There are two evident problems with how marketing is practiced today—the role of the marketing organisation and the value that marketing is perceived to add to the firm’s bottom line.

Country analysis of The Democratic Republic of Congo Essay Example for Free

Country analysis of The Democratic Republic of Congo Essay This location allows grief from neighboring countries on the other hand it is in an ideal location by way of trade routes to other countries and access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Congo River. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also dense with valuable minerals making it regarded as one of the richest countries as ar as natural recourses go. However, it is one of the poorest countries in the world In 1998, the second Congo war began, this war was also known as The African world war. It directly involved nine other African nations: Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a few others. The war started because neighboring countries as well as citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo wanted to gain some of the minerals and natural resources from the nation originally creating a civil war which spread to other nations, sucking them in and starting a full out war between the countries. The war officially ended in 2003 however; battles and bitterness still resound and cause mass conflict between the African nations today. This war is said to be the worst conflict since World War II. Around five and a half million people have been killed so far due to this conflict. About 90% of the victims were not killed in battle. They passed on due to ravaging diseases such as malaria. They also died from pneumonia and malnutrition. These reasons for death were brought up by displaced populations living in unsanitary, heavily over populated conditions and were denied access to food, water, medicine, and shelter. This ongoing war has devastated a nation that in theory could be a rich, well off nation. The Democratic Republic of Congo has mass amounts of untapped raw mineral deposits. These deposits are worth 24 trillion dollars. This nation contains 30% of the worlds diamond reserves and 70% of the worlds coltan. There are also enormous reserves of gold, copper, and cobalt. The mineral extraction is done in a process known as artisanal and small scale mining. Mining has created severe problems in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There were many illegal organizations profiting off the mines. Because of this, the government shut down the eastern part of the country to mining. During the war, many of the commanders were making illegal trades with foreign countries with their minerals and natural resources. This trading was labeled as mass scale looting. When the mass scale looting died down soldiers were then encouraged to take part in small scale looting. This brought forth the active and extraction phase. Because of all this looting, there were large amounts of inflation. The Congolese government lost much of their profits from Uganda and Rwanda to transport their resources. They often exported diamonds and coltan out of the country. They would then repackage the diamonds and legally sell them as it they were from their own country. Rwandan soldiers made around 20 million dollars a month from smuggling resources out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These large mining operations attract migrant workers. Many people migrate to The Democratic Republic of Congo as well to escape the violence in the Great Lakes region. The number of immigrants has been rapidly decreasing over the years. The mass amounts of immigrants have taken over the work force there. In recent years immigrants are starting to migrate to the European nations rather than other nations in Africa. Due to the dense population and poor living conditions, poverty runs rampant through this nation. This also means there are large amounts of crime even though there is a police force, the Congolese national police force. One of the most prevalent crimes in this area is of rape and sexual slavery. The Democratic Republic of Congo is known as the rape capital of the world. With the recent war, the numbers of rape victims have drastically increased. Although the Congolese law rohibits rape these laws are almost never enforced. Rape was a main weapon used in the Second Congo war, which started this ongoing epidemic of sexual violence. Prostitution and human trafficking are prohibited and have a penalty of twenty years in Jail according to the law. However, there will be years where there is not a single investigation of either of these. Proving that the laws are not as heavily enforced in these areas, as they should be. There are also no laws against spousal abuse. This lack of law enforcement is brought up by the lack of a stable and secure government rom the ongoing war. Left with an insecure government the nation is slowly starting to repair itself. The Lusaka Peace Accords set up a government system in 1999. A president was finally elected in 2006. The economy is starting to take a turn for the bright side but it is still wrought with poverty and a failing economy due to the war and mining conflicts. Due to the violence and unstable government, there are few markets and public services. This does not allow farmers to be able to sell their own goods. It forces civilians to fend for themselves. Due to the lack of public services, here are very few hospitals and medicals centers. Disease runs rampant through this nation. Since this nation is so heavily populates diseases spread easily through the communities. There are vast amounts of major health problems in this region including; HIV, aids, malaria, polio outbreaks, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, the Ebola virus, hemorrhagic fever, and tuberculosis. Many of the illnesses are from poor living conditions, living in filth and with bugs. Diseases are spread through bug bites. Diseases like HIV and Aids are easily spread through a multitude of ways. Diseases re spread through the movement of soldiers and refugees, few HIV testing sites, mass amounts of untreated sexual diseases, human trafficking, sexual abuse, prostitution, and diseased blood transfusions. Due to the ongoing wars and conflicts, it has made it difficult to set up an organization for stopping the spread of these diseases. Because of how poor the civilians are, they have no money for medical help, which is expensive and required to be paid in advance in full cash. The Democratic Republic of Congo is not only rich with minerals but is also a great agricultural location. The general temperature ranges between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a region covered with rainforest and savanna areas. The farming is done mainly in the open savanna areas. Some of the major cash crops include peanuts, beans, bananas, plantains, rice, yams, and sugarcane. Cottee is also a major crop grown here. It is one of the most exported natural resource. Most of the farming is done through the Feronia Arable Farming division. Smaller farmers often use the slash and burn method of farming nearer the rainforest. This method however, is destroying the environment and the rainforest. Using the slash and burn method it takes around fifteen years before the burned field can recover and be used again making the farmers cut down more and more of the rainforest to sustain products and and income. The Democratic Republic of Congo is an up and coming nation it requires vast amounts of revision with the nations government system, the conflicts with other countries need to be amended, and laws should be more strictly enforced to create a working nation. The DRC has the potential to be one of the richest nations in Africa by way of its large mineral reserves and demand on the natural resources cultivated here. Major reforms need to be made before this country thrives.

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis

The Co-operative Group: Financial Auditing Analysis Pak Liu Background knowledge, evolution from origin and ethical issues Ever since the establishment of the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in 1844 together with the subsequent major merger incurred within its expansion period during 2000 to 2012. The Co-operative Group, colloquially known as the Co-op, has been burgeoning for the last 17 decades, contingent upon the Rochdale principle which espouses dividend returns to members. Pending between its 172-years life up till now, it had metamorphosed the core business from a solely wholesale operation to an 85%-engrossing food retail within the conglomerate; affiliating no longer with just the struggling lower income groups, but the more prosperous middle class. The sagacious quality possessed by previous chief directors to overlook the impact initiated by multiple-grocers buy to the retail market in the 1940s, in corporation with numerous business disposals and replacements, set cornerstones for the introduction of the Co-op brand in 2007. It has effortlessly entitled itself as the largest consumer co-operative in the UK. The businesss long-term economic scale, involving over 70,000 employees across the wide geographical spread of 4,500 locations within the UK, is sustained by the 8 million members who are democratically engaged in determining the co-operatives operational strategies via voting. Quoted from Co-ops annual report in 2007, Voting for corporate members is in proportion to trade with the society. Each individual member has one vote in the appropriate region of the society and each region has voting rights calculated on the same basis as a corporate member. Historically, the merger with UKs second largest co-operative, the United Co-operatives on 16th February 2007 was concurred by the majority. The degree of influence members that is delegated can sometimes protract the implementation of proposals such as the Policy and Programme for Post War Development, published by the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1944. In the meantime, members loyalty is bolstered through the incentivised dividend scheme; in the last quarter of 2016, approximately 15 million pounds were returned to members. However, potential member outflow is expected during the year of 2017, since the Group is unable to pay dividend until 2018. Even though the food retailing business is presently the largest division of the group, nevertheless its profitability and market share dwindled between the 1970s and 1980s, partially but prominently because of inflation leading to more affordable importations. Conjointly due to the inefficient national distribution network in the early 20th century, the Coventry National Contribution Centre is now served as the solution to which; resulting a huge preconceived transportation cost which discouraged purchases. It was further exacerbated by the paucity of preparations to accustom its shifted association with the middle-class customers. Inferior to externality, redevelopment projects during the 1970s devastated 18,000 stores to be closed since employees were moved from terraces to purpose-built estates, so a redundant provision of co-op stores was observed in certain areas. Until 2015, the Group had converted their focus on the 2,500 convenience stores; an extraneous 200 convenience stores were added to the fixed asset account utilising the fund from liquidating 100 supermarkets. The remaining 25% of the business is encompassed with sectors concerning funeral-care, banking, legal service, electrical products sale and joint-ventures such as insurance service and travel agency. An excessive 900 funeral homes, whilst some continue to use their own brands, had contributed a revenue of  £399 million in 2015 and positioned the funeral-care sector as the largest funeral director in the UK. During Co-ops expansion period, the funeral-care sector was appraised to have optimistic performance abreast with the Co-operative Pharmacy, which was soaring to become the third largest pharmacy group in the UK. Unfortunately, the investigation stretching back to 2008 exposing the  £1.5 billion capital blackhole in the Co-operative Banks account had arose a financial crisis in years of 2013 and 2014 for the Group. In purpose to reduce its debt level, the entire 800 Co-operative Pharmacy branches were sold to the Bestway Group for a substantial  £620 million. Other former businesses underwent disposal, serving to either minimise debt level or simply eliminate non-profitable divisions include the milk processing and distribution division Associated Co-operative Creameries (ACC) and the Co-operative Motor Group. Until recently, the Co-operative Travel also announced the intention to sell its 30% stake in the joint venture with Thomas Cook, putting the 100-years trade to an end. Barry Tootells scandal, resigned Banks executive, of failing to exercise due skill, care and diligence in managing the firm was calamitous to Co-ops reputation, which was once sabotaged because 38 Co-op stores in Sussex disappointed the fire safety requirements in 2007. From attempting to restore its long-established ethical image to becoming a Fairtrade champion, many initiatives have been commencing including providing nutritional information on Co-ops branded food, environmentally friendly household products productions, raising awareness of animal welfare standards and investment into generating renewable energy. Whereas the partnership between Miles Smith and the Co-operative Insurance will be continued. On the other hand, the national legal service provider founded in Bristol in 2006, furnishes a broad coverage of services straddling domestic and matrimonial law, testamentary constitution and related probate and conveyancing, as well as employment law and personal injury. Meanwhile, the Co-op Electrical is the pioneer in selling extended warranty insurance products at cost price. It also offers delivery service with a guaranteed timeslot of 60 minutes, confirmed on the day of delivery via SMS. KPMG had been the Co-operative Groups auditor for the previous 40 years until 2015. A profuse amount of audit fee of  £700,000 was paid, excluding the extraneous  £1.2 million consulting fee which involves a particular  £500,000 for tax planning.

The Lynmouth Floods

The Lynmouth Floods Case Study: Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the north edge of Exmoor. The village is on the converging point of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge 700 feet (210 m) below Lynton, to which it is connected by the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway. The two villages are governed at local level by Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council. Lynmouth is rural area with not much corporate activity going on. It is in the coastal part of the United Kingdom Island, which makes it a large tourist attraction spot. People usually come to Lynmouth for Tourism and the activities they do are mainly horseback riding, fishing and boat rides. Flood in 1952 On the 15th and 16th of August 1952, a storm of tropical started over in south-west England, precipitating 229 millimetres (9.0 in) of rain within 24 hours on a coastal area, Exmoor. It is thought that a cold front started a thunderstorm, and the storm worsened. An immediate surface run-off occurred and it caused a flash flood. Large amounts of floodwaters moved down the northern part, converging upon the village of Lynmouth; in particular, in the upper West Lyn valley, a dam was formed by fallen trees. This caused potential energy to form and after a while the water broke through the dam sending a huge wave of water and fragments down that river. Overnight, over 100 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged along with 28 of the 31 bridges, and 38 cars were washed out to sea. In total, 34 people died, with a further 420 made homeless. Overall the rainstorm lasted about fourteen hours and 300 million gallons of rain precipitated. Cause of the Flood The small but steep sided drainage basin in which Lynmouth was situated increased the risk of flooding in the area. The steep sides encouraged greater surface runoff and combined with the small drainage basin size meant any water could reach the river fairly quickly. This was made worse by the high drainage density of the area due to the impermeable rocks of the area around Exmoor which formed the source of the river; again increasing the amount of surface runoff following rainfall. Prior to August 15th 1952 Lynmouth had received above average rainfall for 12 out of the first 14 days of the month meaning the soils were already saturated and the river levels high. On August 15th a heavy thunderstorm resulted in 200mm falling in 14 hours, one of the three heaviest rainfalls recorded in the UK. This heavy rain combined with the saturated ground and rapid surface runoff resulted in a huge volume of water flowing down the river. As Lynmouth is situated at the confluence of the East and We st Lyn rivers the volume of water was increased further at this point and the was far beyond the capacity of the river channel causing the river to burst its banks. This resulted in devastating floods as the West Lyn which had been diverted during the construction of parts of Lynmouth retook its natural course, flowing straight through the village. Prevention Following the Lynmouth flood disaster, flood management plans were put in place to try and ensure such a disaster could not happen again by managing any excess rain water so that the River could handle it in the in the future. A number of flood management strategies were put in place: The mouth of the East Lyn was widened to increase capacity and allow water to quickly pass into the Bristol Channel The West Lyn was straightened to increase channel efficiency straightening the channel reduces friction and increases velocity, enabling water to travel through the channel as quickly as possible making it more efficient in coping with flood waters; The West Lyn was not redirected, instead being allowed to follow its natural course Floodplain zoning was used to identify areas around the river most at risk from flooding. Building restrictions were then put in place with areas close to the river which are most prone to flooding being left as open spaces such as car parks. Bridges were made wider and taller to allow flood water to tr avel quickly beneath them and to reduce the likelihood of debris becoming trapped and acting like a dam as had happened in 1952;Embankments were built by the river to increase channel capacity and reduce the likelihood of flooding; More trees were planted upstream in the source area to try and reduce initial surface runoff through interception and the soaking up of water. Tree roots also help to improve infiltration by opening up the soil and slowing down the rate at which water reaches the ground;