Employment Law Legal Process Paper Essay Example for Free

Employment Law Legal Process Paper Essay To handle a complaint of discrimination effectively, an employer should have a basic understanding of the process and procedures used by the EEOC to enforce the federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination. By knowing in advance what to expect, an employer can best prepare its defense. EEOC ProcessAny individual who believes that his or her employment rights have been violated may file a charge of discrimination with EEOC. Charges may be filed by mail or in person at their nearest EEOC office. Once an employee or applicant files a charge, the EEOC then serves notice on the employer, usually by mail, that a charge has been filed against them. This notice normally includes a copy of the actual charge filed by the employee or applicant. All laws enforced by EEOC, except the Equal Pay Act, require filing a charge with EEOC before a private lawsuit may be filed in court. There are strict time limits within which charges must be filed. A charge must be filed with EEOC within 180 days from the date of the alleged violation, in order to protect the charging partys rights. This 180-day filing deadline is extended to 300 days if the charge also is covered by a state or local anti-discrimination law (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Employers must understand that the persons who evaluate and decide the outcome of employment discrimination cases (the EEOC investigator, federal or state judge, and/or jury) have keen senses of fairness and expect that employees will be treated in a fair manner. As a result, employers are exposed to substantial liability for any acts, including perceived acts, of discrimination in the workplace. Employers should take any charge of discrimination seriously and the employer must keep in mind that, at a minimum, it needs to have a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for taking the action in question. In addition, an employers response will be evaluated by persons who have a different perspective than the employer. What may appear to an employer, as a benign, routine employment action, can be perceived by a jury as the most pernicious, discriminatory deed. With this in mind, an employer should structure its response to show that its action was not only legal, but also fair (Bureau of National Affairs, 2002). Resolving the Discrimination ChargeThe filing of the charge triggers an EEOC investigation into whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe that the employer did in fact illegally discriminate against an individual. An employer may be asked to submit a written statement of position to explain its version of events. At some point in the investigation, a fact-finding conference might be held (Bureau of National Affairs, 2002). Relatively informal, a fact-finding conference is attended by the charging party, respondent and necessary witnesses. No official record is made and witnesses are not placed under oath. Most employers bring counsel to the conference. After concluding its investigation, the EEOC makes a determination as to whether there is reasonable cause to believe that the alleged discrimination occurred. The investigation starts with a review of all documents in the employees personnel file, and should be expanded to include, among other things, a review of applicable company policies, at least one interview with potential witnesses, and a review of internal documents for any prior incidents similar to the action on which the complaint is based. The lack of effective anti-discrimination policies can be damaging to an employers case. On the other hand, a well-publicized, strictly enforced, non-discrimination policy can prove invaluable to an employer defending against a charge of discrimination. By reviewing its policies, an employer also may discover that the complaining employee did not follow proper company procedure in reporting the complaint. All of this information can be used by the employer in responding to the complaint. A reasonable cause determination indicates that it is more likely than not that illegal discrimination took place. A no reasonable cause determination means that the EEOC has not found sufficient evidence to support a finding of discrimination. While a no cause finding does not bar the complaining party from subsequently filing suit in state or federal court on the same claim, as a practical matter most employees do not pursue their claims after the EEOC issues a no cause finding. If the evidence establishes that discrimination has occurred, the employer  and the charging party will be informed of this in a letter of determination that explains the finding. EEOC will then attempt conciliation with the employer to develop a remedy for the discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). If the case is successfully conciliated, or if a case has earlier been successfully mediated or settled, neither EEOC nor the charging party may go to court unless the conciliation, mediation, or settlement agreement is not honored (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). If EEOC is unable to successfully conciliate the case, the agency will decide whether to bring suit in federal court. However, no statements made by any party during the conciliation process can be used in any subsequent lawsuit. If EEOC decides not to sue, it will issue a notice closing the case and giving the charging party 90 days in which to file a lawsuit on his or her own behalf (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). CONCLUSION Employees who believe that they have been discriminated against by an employer, an employment agency, or a labor union have the right to file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Employers need to ensure that discriminatory practice or action, if it did occur, is stopped, and that it does not occur again. By properly handling the charge at its early stages, an employer can reduce significantly, or possibly eliminate the potential liability. The Bureau of National Affairs, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2006, from http://www.bna.comU.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved September 11, 2006, from http://www.eeoc.gov

To Kill A Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Characters grow and develop and allow us to become a part of their lives in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. This is true because the story is told from the perception of a young girl called Scout. We get so close to Scout because the whole story is told from her point of view. We share her experiences as she would go through them, we are with her when some of the most important events in her life happen to her, life changing events that can change a person, like being attacked by Bob Ewell and watching her father defend Tom Robinson in court. We learn everything she learns, like why the Ewells and the Cunninghams live the way they live and why Atticus defended Tom Robinson in court. In only the first few pages of the book we learn so much about the town of Maycomb and the people in it, through Scout’s narration. As the book progresses on, we see her grow up and mature, and begin to understand things that she didn’t understand in the beginning e.g. her neighbor Boo. In one of the first few chapters Atticus tells Scout that ‘you never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’ When he told her this she didn’t understand and take on board what he meant. As the story develops we witness all the events unfolding leading to her standing on Boo Radley’s front porch and fully understanding what Atticus had said. It is here that we realize that Scout has changed and now has different views of the town and the people in it to what she had in the beginning of the story. Jem also grows and develops as a character by the end of the book. We get close to Jem in the story because being Scout’s older brother, he is always with her. Jem is ten in the beginning of the story and the story continues until he is thirteen. He starts out very curious and always asking questions (not as much as Scout though) but he is older. We also witness him go through the same life changing events as Scout, but he has a different perception of them, like when Mrs. Dubose dies, it isn’t a big deal to Scout, but to Jem he learns what real courage is and that is undoubtedly what starts to change him from a boy to a young man.

Mt 460-02 Management Policy and Strategy

Unit Seven Scotts Miracle-Gro Case Study Analysis XXX Kaplan University MT 460-02 Management Policy and Strategy Dr. Carrie A. O’Hare April 22, 2013 Unit Seven Scotts Miracle-Gro Case Study Analysis Introduction The submitted report identifies Scotts Miracle-Gro’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 140). Key issues will be explored concerning Scotts Miracle-Gro’s external environment and solutions developed to maximize its opportunities or minimize its biggest threats. This comprehensive analysis will used to add value to the company and its consumers.Synopsis (Background) of the Situation The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (Scotts), based in Marysville, Ohio, was formed by a 1995 merger of Miracle-Gro and the Scotts Company (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-1). The merger made Scotts the largest company in the North American lawn and garden industry as well as the world’s leading supplier and marketer of consum er products for do-it-yourself lawn and garden care (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-1). The Scotts Company was founded in 1868 by Orlando McLean Scott as a purveyor of weed-free seeds.By 1879, Scotts had diversified into distribution of horse-drawn farm equipment and also started a mail-order farm seed distribution channel. Scotts began offering grass seeds for lawns in 1907, distributing through retail channels beginning in 1924 (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-1). In 1928, Scotts introduced Turf Builder, the first fertilizer specifically designed for grass and started its spreader business with the introduction of drop spreaders in 1930; broadcast spreaders were rolled out in 1983 (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 6-1). Scotts acquired Republic Tool & Manufacturing Company in 1992 and gained competencies in total quality control over spreader manufacturing (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-1). Ownership of the firm changed hands several times, beginning in 1971 when ITT bought Scotts from the Scotts family. In 1986, a leveraged buy-out (LBO) made Scotts a private company again for a time, until 1992, when its stock started trading on the NASDAQ (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-2).Miracle-Gro was founded in 1951 by Horace Hagedon (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-2). Unlike Scotts, Miracle-Gro had no internal production; all production was outsourced to contract manufacturers. Before the 1995 merger with Scotts, Miracle Gro was already a leading brand in the lawn care chemical industry (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-2). By early 2000, Scotts Miracle-Gro products were No. 1 in every major category and in virtually every major market in which they competed (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-2). Key IssuesThe three key issues facing Scott’s are increased domestic production costs, dependence on large scaled customers, and profitability below market average. The comparatively high plant and labor costs of the Temecula plant continues to be an issue to the growth of Sco tt’s Miracle-Gro. The key issues revolve around the idea that that is has become expensive to produce fertilizer spreaders and lawn seed by Scott’s Temecula plant. Another weakness that has been identified is Scott’s over dependent to customers, such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, which account for 61% of the company’s sales (Mays, 2012).These large consumers have demanded a change in policy and production by â€Å"leaner inventories to end their fiscal years as well as to move shipments closer to the start of the lawn and garden season (Mays, 2012). Scott’s also has experienced lower sales in the international segment, tumbling 21 percent, while also missing revenue targets in 2011 due to sales declining by -2%, an 8% miss (Mays, 2012). Define the Problem The main problem to Scott’s survivability and health is the increasing cost of production for the Temecula plant, which manufactures products for Scott’s Miracle-Gro.These increasing costs are driven by the higher labor costs. These increased costs are also in conjunction with higher prices for raw materials, energy costs, and higher state taxes. Alternative Solutions The three possible solutions to alleviating this issue is outsourcing, hiring lower waged workers, or slightly lower wages and offer bonuses for meeting certain milestones. Outsourcing to China may not be the best solution because it would raise costs in the distribution channel, which is not a desirable outcome for the long-term.Also hiring an outside work-force willing to accept a lower wage could jeopardize quality but the new employees can be instructed on how to provide quality when manufacturing the products which would generate a short term increase in costs for training. The other alternative is to move the plan to more friendly manufacturing state and slightly lower current employees’ wages if it is considered that they are higher, and also to identify areas where money can be saved .This would retain human capital which has led to productivity improvements which have averaged six per cent per year (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-4). In this section, you demonstrate your expertise by identifying a couple of different ways to solve the problem you identified in the previous section! Selected Solution to the Problem The most economical and viable solution would be to move production outside of California. Areas where costs can be saved are in the distribution of the products and in the procurement of raw materials.Scott’s should search for areas where expenses can be lowered and costs cut but that does not diminish employee morale and job satisfaction which can negatively impact productivity. The state that has been selected is Utah which has right-to-work law on the books which means lower labor costs, Utah also has a favorable regulatory climate and Utah’s 5% flat corporate tax rate is one of the lowest in the country (Badenhausen, 2012). Implemen tation Internal Stakeholders|   | External Stakeholders | Accounting- Assess budget |   | Customers- e. . Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot| Operations- Calculate costs of operational processes |   | Suppliers – Local and current raw material suppliers| Procurement- Calculate the costs of purchasing material |   | Regulatory agencies- Local government agency| Human Resources- Calculate wages and benefits of current employees, management, and executives. Identify training for new plant. Create benefit package to retain current employees. |   | Natives- Local community| Legal Department- Develop and review contracts for new facilities and suppliers.   | | Information Technology- Develop network for supply chain, operations and sales. Maintain integrity of database|   | | Initiating Process Group- Time frame- Within one month * Project Integration Management * Reason- Develop Project Charter * Project Communications Management * Reason- Identify Stakeholders Planning Pro cess Group Time frame- Within one month (to run concurrent to the initiation process) * Project Scope Management: (Within two weeks) Reason- Define Scope (Moving plant operations and distribution) and Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) * Project Procurement: (Within two weeks after project is defined) * Reason- Plan Procurements (Where, who, and how much raw materials will cost if plant is moved) * Project Risk Management: (Within two weeks after project is defined) * Reason- Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks, Plan Risk Responses, and Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis * Project Human Resources Management: (Within two weeks after project is defined) * Reason- Develop Human Resource Plan- (Calculate wages and benefits of current employees, management, and executives. Identify training for new plant. Create benefit package to retain current employees. ) * Project Quality Management: (Within two weeks after project is defined) * Reason- Plan Quality- Ensure the effective design of processes that verify customer needs, plan product life cycle and  design, produce and deliver the product or service. Project Cost Management: (Within one month of project scope) * Reason- Estimate Costs and Determine Budget * Project Time Management: (Within two weeks after project is defined) * Reason- Define Activities, Sequence Activities, Develop Schedule, Estimate Activity Durations, and Estimate Activity Resources * Project Integration: (Within one month of project scope) * Reason- Develop Project Management Plan Executing Process Group Time frame- Within six months of completing the planning phase * Project Quality Management: * Reason- Perform Quality Assurance (5% improvement from previous year) * Project Procurement Management: * Reason- Conduct Procurements (10% reduction in procurement) * Project Human Resource Management: Reason- Acquire Project Team, Develop Project Team, and Manage Project Team * Project Communications Management: * Reason- Distribute Informati on and Manage Stakeholder Expectations (30% reduction in labor costs and 20% increase in distribution speed) * Project Integration Management: * Reason- Direct & Manage Project Execution Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Time frame- Within six months * Project Scope Management * Reason- Verify Scope, Control Scope * Project Procurement Management * Reason- Administer Procurements * Project Risk Management * Reason- Monitor & Control Risks * Project Communications Management * Reason- Report Performance * Project Quality Management Reason- Perform Quality Control * Project Cost Management * Reason- Control Costs * Project Time Management * Reason- Control Schedule * Project Integration * Reason- Monitor & Control Project Work and Perform Integrated Change Control Closing Process Group Time frame- Within nine months of completing the planning phase * Project Scope Management * Reason- Verify Scope, Control Scope * Project Procurement Management * Reason- Administer Procurements * Project Risk Management: * Reason- Monitor & Control Risks * Project Communications Management * Reason- Report Performance * Project Quality Management * Reason- Perform Quality Control * Project Cost Management Reason- Control Costs * Project Time Management * Reason- Control Schedule * Project Integration * Reason- Monitor & Control Project Work and Perform Integrated Change Control * Project Integration Management * Reason- Close Project or Phase * Project Procurement Management * Reason- Close Procurements Recommendations The biggest threat facing Scotts Miracle-Gro is â€Å"high plant and labor costs of the Temecula plant† (Pearce & Robinson, 2011, p. 26-4). This has led to lower sales both domestically and internally diminishing their market share and global standing. Conclusion This concludes an in-depth analysis of Scotts Miracle-Gro.The major issue that has been identified and addressed is high internal costs of production at Scotts Temecula plant. A solution has been developed and implemented to alleviate above market expenses and to cut costs by moving production outside of California. China and other overseas markets have been excluded because quality issues would be raised and decreasing cost with just labor wages will not provide the solution to the problem, but will create other problems. A short term project plan has been identified in the report to be presented to executives and implemented by functional management. The implementation portion includes developing a project charter and identifying stakeholders within one month.A tepid budget will be created using figures submitted from the operations, procurement, human resources, and information technology departments during this process. The planning phase will also be concluded within one month developing a project scope and creating a WBS while also conducting a risk assessment of the move versus remaining in California. In addition this process will require the creating of a huma n resources and procurement plan. In three months Scott’s should be able to execute the plan provided which includes quality management of improvements of five percent above last year , procurement management reduce costs of raw material purchases, and human resource management to help reduce labor costs by ten percent.Information technology should have a network set up in this timeframe to protect integrity and integrate services between operations, sales, and distribution. The objectives should be established for the short-term and they will be monitored to determine if they are followed accordingly. This key issue is important and moving operations should not be the end-all-solution but the beginning of a continuous solution to achieve maximum consumer satisfaction and profitability. When appropriate measures are taken and if the corporate officers communicate and discuss the issue considering all the details, the best solutions will be reached to obtain long term objectiv es. References Badenhausen, K. (2012, December 12). Utah tops Forbes 2012 list of the best states Ffor business. Forbes. com.Retrieved from forbes. com: http://www. forbes. com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/12/12/utah-tops-list-of-the-best-states-for-business/ Mays, G. C. (2012, February 08). Can Scotts Miracle-Gro hit its lofty 2012 sales forecast or will it miss the target again? Seekingalpha. com. Retrieved from seekingalpha. com: http://seekingalpha. com/article/351541-can-scotts-miracle-gro-hit-its-lofty-2012-sales-forecast-or-will-it-miss-the-target-again Pearce, J. A. , & Robinson, R. B. (2011). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (12th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Appendix A SWOT Analysis Template for Scotts Miracle-GroStrengths * Large market share * Consumer loyalty| Weaknesses * Increased overhead costs * Greater dependence on large consumers| Opportunities * Lawn services * Increasing online consumer spending * Globalization| Threats * Competition * Government Regulation * Increasing prices of energy| Project Grading Criteria | Grade| Content, Focus, Use of Text/Research| Analysis and Critical Thinking| Writing Style, Grammar, APA Format (when assigned)| %| 50%| 30%| 20%| 90-100%| Response successfully answers the assignment question(s); thoroughly uses the text and other literature. | Response exhibits strong higher-order critical thinking and analysis (e. g. , evaluation). Sentences are clear, concise, and direct; tone is appropriate. Grammatical skills are strong with almost no errors per page. Correct use of APA format when assigned. | 80-89%| Response answers the assignment question(s) with only minor digressions; sufficiently uses the text and other literature. | Response generally exhibits higher-order critical thinking and analysis (e. g. true analysis). | Sentences are generally clear, concise, and direct; tone is appropriate. Grammatical skills are competent with very few errors per page. Correct use of APA format when assigned. | 70-79%| Response answers the project assignment(s) with some digression; sufficiently uses the text and other literature. Response exhibits limited higher-order critical thinking and analysis (e. g. application of information). | Sentences are occasionally wordy or ambiguous; tone is too informal. Grammatical skills are adequate with few errors per page. Adequate use of APA format when assigned. | 60-69%| Response answers the assignment question(s) but digresses significantly; insufficiently uses the text and other literature. | Response exhibits simplistic or reductive thinking and analysis but does demonstrate comprehension. | Sentences are generally wordy and/or ambiguous; tone is too informal. Grammatical skills are inadequate, clarity and meaning are impaired, numerous errors per page. Inadequate use

Please in Japanese

Dont forget your manners when traveling to Japan! Onegai is an important word to know since it means please in Japanese. Japanese Characters 㠁Šé ¡ËœÃ£ â€žÃ£â‚¬â€š 㠁Šã  ­Ã£ Å'㠁„。