Rbs staff grievance procedure

Rbs staff grievance procedure INTRODUCTION Grievance is a complaint held by a member of staff against the RBS as an employer, including a grievance against another member of staff acting on behalf of the RBS. The grievance procedure established by RBS does not apply to collective disputes neither it entertains disputes between members of staff in their private capacities. These procedures mean a ground for complaint against an action taken by another member of staff of the employer acting under the authority of management. RBS Grievance procedures consist of several stages. Throughout all stages of the procedure, every attempt is made to settle the matter by conciliation and negotiations. STAGE 1 INFORMAL DISCUSSION 1. A member of staff when thinking of raising a grievance should try to resolve the matter by a direct approach to the person under the authority usually a Line Manager. www.worthingtonslaw.co.ukf STAGE 2 ONE ON ONE WITH LINE MANAGER 2. If the matter after informal discussion remains unresolved, the aggrieved he or she should request a personal hearing with their line manager. STAGE 3 IN WRITING 3. Then the request shall be made in writing or should be lodged on a Internal Operational Complaint system and shall specify: the grounds for the grievance; Such other background information as may appear relevant and useful. 4. The line manager shall: If appropriate seek the advice of the Human Resources Department or should consult his supervisor or Manager. Should meet the aggrieved staff within five working days. Aggrieved staff and the line manager shall have a copy of the written request or the reference number for the lodged complain. (Marson: Business Law) 5. Another member of the staff as a witness if required can accompany the aggrieved staff at the hearing with line manager. 6. Line manager should then write the report of the meeting or minutes of the meeting or hearing and send it to HR or in case if HR department is not involved or consulted for advice should keep it as a record. Please note: In the case of a grievance against a line manager, this initial hearing shall be with the appropriate Head of Department. STAGE 3 INFORMING AND MEETING THE HEAD OF DEPARTMENT 7. If the matter still remains unresolved and is not in hands of line manager, the aggrieved staff then requests a meeting with the Head of Department. The copy of request shall be sent to Head of Department or the lodged complaint print as a request for meeting. 8. The Head of Department then arranges the meeting within ten working days of receiving the request. 9. He shall also then obtain a copy of the written report of the initial meeting or hearing with line manager and if any relevant papers or documentary proofs from the line manager. 10. One of the Human Resources department members should be present at the meeting with Head of Department to keep a written record of the hearing. 11. Even, while meeting the Head of the Department, another member of the staff as a witness (if needs) may accompany the aggrieved staff on his hearing with Department Head. 12. After the hearing, the Head of Department shall: write to the member of staff to record the outcome of the hearing; copy the letter to the line manager, Head of Human Resources and to the Vice Chancellor; Please Note: In the case of a grievance against the Head of Department the hearing shall be with a Pro Vice Chancellor. STAGE 4 APPEAL TO THE VICE CHANCELLOR 13. If the aggrieved staff wishes to raise the grievance against the decision of the Head of Department she or he may appeal to the Vice Chancellor. But, the appeal should be made within five working days of receiving the letter from the Head of Department. 14. A full written statement of the grievance should be submit to the Vice chancellor; which shall be: a comprehensive background and the facts of the grievance and the issue raised and should attach the relevant supporting documents and in case of the member of the staff witnessed, his or her statement and complete detail. 15. The Vice Chancellor then will copy the written statement and any supporting documents and send it to the member of staff against whom the grievance has been raised. 16. The member of staff will be given ten working days within which to submit written answer or justification against the issue rose, which will then be submitted to the aggrieved member of staff. 17. If the justification is not satisfactory enough or the aggrieved staff does not agree with then a meeting is held with ten days with Vice chancellor holds a hearing with both the member of staff, aggrieved and the one against whom the grievance is made. 18. The Vice Chancellor may delegate this stage of the procedure to the appropriate Pro Vice Chancellor. The conduct of the hearing shall be: Both the aggrieved member of staff and the member of staff against whom the grievance is made. if any facts are in dispute, either or both parties may nominate witnesses and they can accompany them in the hearing but they should be the member of the staff only. 19. The decision of the Vice Chancellor will be the final say in the case and will be notified to the member of staff within five working days of the hearing. Please note: If the grievance is against the Vice Chancellor personally the aggrieved member of staff may submit a written statement of grievance to the Chairman of the Board of Governors through the Secretary to the Board. The Chairman if decides after examining the statement can carry out investigation and if not then declines the request. CONCLUSION RBS follows these 4 stages as their grievance procedure and throughout all the stages, the people in authority i.e. Line Managers, Head of Department, HR, Vice Chancellor, Pro Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Board tries their level best at their stages to resolve the grievance raised by the aggrieved staff. Reference http://www.worthingtonslaw.co.uk/downloads/EmployeeDismissal.pdf Marson: Business Law http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199544455/resources/updates/statutory_dismissal.pdf

International Marketing MacDonald`s Essay

This paper will look at the development of the McDonalds Corporation in Kazakhstan and the obstacles that it has overcome. It will also look at the McDonalds Corporation in relation to its major competitors and analyze how the company has responded to its surrounding environment. In closing, we will look at the prospects for McDonald’s future and it will be clear that McDonalds will be able to maintain its dominant market position. It will continue to be a model that serves as a benchmark for others in the industry. We will go on to analyze the market segments, target market, advertisement of the corporation to the target audience and performance of McDonald’s Corporation. 1.0 Introduction McDonalds Corp., headquartered in Oak Brook Illinois, is the world’s number one fast food chain, serving about 49 million customers daily. The company operates and licenses more than 31,000 restaurants 30,000 McDonald’s in about 120 countries which generated a total $19.06 million in revenues for the fiscal year of 2012. McDonald’s brand is one of the ten most popular brands worldwide. Continuous marketing, promotional and public relations activities promote McDonald’s brand image in order to differentiate the Company from its many competitors. McDonald’s restaurant offer a menu that is uniform to all locations and emphasizes low value prices which includes its famous burgers, cheeseburgers like the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, french fries, salads, desserts, sundaes, soft drinks and other beverages. Its restaurants also provide breakfast menu that would include Egg McMuffin, bagel sandwiches, hotcakes, and muffins. Many new products were introduced in the last two years in accordance to the management’s decision to establish a new menu with more choices that is expected to bring a significant growth in sales as it was already shown by the financial results of 2012 which the highest increase in US comparable sales for the last 30 years. The successful manager constructs a marketing program designed for optimal adjustment to the uncertainty of the business climate. The inner circle represents the area under control of the marketing manager. Assuming the necessary overall corporate resources structures, and competencies that can limit or promote strategic choice the marketing manager blends price, product, promotion, channels-of-distribution, and research activities to capitalize on anticipated demand. The controllable elements can be altered in the long run and, usually, in the short run to adjust to changing market conditions, consumer tastes, or corporate objectives. Kazakhstan, from the Kazakh language, means a land of Kazakhs Stan – land. Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia, and is the ninth largest country in the world after Russia, China, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and Australia. It is situated north of Uzbekistan, northwest of Kyrgyzstan, northwest of Turkmenistan, east of China, and south of Russia. Kazakhstan shares the Caspian Sea with other countries on its western border. As its neighbors in the region, Kazakhstan is a landlocked country and the second largest republic of the Commonwealth of Independent States after the Russian Federation. Kazakhstan doesn`t have MacDonald’s in the market. However it is really good opportunity to bring the fast food to a new market and get to know the culture. There must be a reason behind not having world’s most famous fast food corporation in a big country. According to my research it is possible to bring new product to the new market and get success in that market. 2.0 Objectives 1. To introduce MacDonald`s to a new market in Kazakhstan city of Almaty 2. To open 20 franchise by the end of 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan 3. To increase sales in fast food in 5 coming years. 4. To increase the customers till 50% by the end of 1st year. 3.0 Issues The theoretical framework of this study is based on a number of relevant theories that are discussed in this part. The model which authors constructed in this study integrates cross-culture and 4P marketing strategy. It can be divided into two parts. Firstly, the authors will analyze some components of culture which lead to the phenomenon of cross culture, such as the different values, languages and customer behaviors. During this process, Hofstede‟s culture dimensions will be employed as the approach to understand cross-culture better. Secondly, based on the analysis of marketing standardization and adaptation, the marketing mix 4ps as main international marketing strategies will be used to achieve our research purpose. When marketers discuss international marketing, one of the important issues often considered is the cultural differences. In relation to international marketing, culture can be defined as â€Å"the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to direct consumer behavior in a particular country‟s market† (Doole and Lowe, 2008, p.73). Such components as beliefs, values and customs are often ingrained in a society and have obvious differences among different countries. Cultural differences manifest themselves in several ways. Hofstede (2001) distinguishes symbols, heroes, rituals and values. Among theseï ¼Å'the underlying values are invisible. Although values are always invisible and may be hard to measure, they often play an important role when the marketers try to make decisions, which help to enter a foreign market. Also, according to Mooij (2004), the values that characterize a society cannot be observed directly. They can be inferred from various cultural products (fairy tales, children‟s books, or advertising) or by asking members of society to score personal values by stating their preferences among alternatives, and then calculating the central tendency of the answers. When it comes to marketing, the value concept is often used in an ethnocentric way. Besides, values are learned unconsciously, people are only partly aware of them, and measuring values is not an easy job (Lowe et al, 1998). Often, the problems they face are a result of their mistaken assumption that foreign markets will be similar to the home market, and so they can do the business in a similar way. Doole and Lowe (2007) point out that the values of a culture satisfy a need within that society for order, direction and guidance. Culture sets the standards shared by significant sections of that society which, in turn, set the rules for operating in that market. Mooij (2003) considered that the managers of transnational corporations should provide appropriate products according to the local consumer values and buying behaviors of a certain market. The product strategy owing to cultural factors, usage factors and legal factors. Hall (1990) described some countries‟ culture is high-context culture. 3.1 SWOT Analysis 3.2 Strength MacDonald’s has a strong global presence with its nearest domestic competitor being only half its size, McDonald’s is the market leader in both the domestic and international markets. MacDonald’s benefit from cost reduction through economies of scale because of its enormous size and its huge global presence allows it to diversify risk involved with the economic performance of specific countries. In international markets, MacDonald’s is well placed to expand and take advantage of long-term economic growth. MacDonald’s also has a strong real estate portfolio. The company’s outlets are located in areas that are highly known for visibility, traffic volume and ease of access. MacDonald’s also has exceptional brand recognition. This strong brand recognition creates significant opportunities for the company. MacDonald’s is able to generate more sales because of its brand recognition. 3.3 Weakness The food industry is really saturated. As a result of this, MacDonald’s has to deal with the prospect of looming market saturation, which could make it difficult to add new outlets. The market is forecast to grow by around 2% per year. Lack of product innovation is another weakness of McDonalds. The last breakthrough for McDonald’s was the Chicken McNugget in 1983, but again the company’s new strategy seems to have successfully dealt with the problem through the popularity of its new salads and other new products. 3.4 Opportunity MacDonald’s sold its Donatos Pizzeria back to its founder in 2003 and discontinued Boston market operations outside of the US. The company will instead focus on Chipotle Grill which is the company’s most successful non MacDonald’s branded chain of restaurants. Also to increase profitability the company has slowed its expansion of McDonald’s restaurants so as to refurbish and change the image of current restaurants and adding new features such as Internet access. 3.5 Treats McDonald’s is exposed to changes in the global economy. The company’s aggressive international expansion has left it extremely vulnerable to other countries economic slowdown. Foreign currency fluctuation is also another problem global companies like McDonalds. The Fast food industry is becoming an increasingly competitive sector. MacDonald’s keeps up with competitors through expensive promotional campaigns which leads to limited margins to gain market share. McDonald’s is attempting to differentiate itself, with new formats and new menu items, but other fast food industry are doing the same too. 4.0 Marketing MacDonald`s in Kazakhstan 4.1 Marketing Mix The marketing mix can be adjusted on a frequent basis, to meet the changing needs of the target group, and the other dynamics of the marketing environment Barlon and Kimuli (2006). They are as follows: product, price, place, and promotion. Having identified its key audiences, a company has to ensure a marketing mix is created those appeals specifically to those people. The marketing mix is a term used to describe the four main marketing tools the 4Ps. By analyzing detailed information about their customers, as derived from ongoing market research, the McDonald’s Marketing department can ascertain information key to determining the correct marketing mix. * Which products are well received in Kazakhstan * What prices consumers are willing to pay * What TV programmers, newspapers and advertising consumers read and view * Which restaurants are visited Accurate research is essential in creating the right marketing mix which will help to win customer loyalty and increase sales. As the economy and social attitudes change, so do buying patterns. McDonald’s needs to identify whether the number of target customers is growing or shrinking and whether their buying habits will change in the future. Market research considers everything that affects buying decisions. These buying decisions can often be affected by factors wider than just the product itself. Psychological factors are important, e.g. the image a particular product conveys or how the consumer feels when purchasing it. These psychological factors are of significant importance to the customer. They can be even more important than the products’ physical benefits. Through marketing, McDonald’s establishes a promine nt position in the minds of customers. This is known as branding. 4.2 Product The important thing to remember when offering menu items to potential customers is that there is a huge amount of choice available to those potential customers with regard to how and where they spend their money. Therefore McDonald’s places considerable emphasis on developing a menu which customers want. Market research establishes exactly what this is. However, customers’ requirements change over time. What is fashionable and attractive today may be discarded tomorrow. Marketing continuously monitors customers’ preferences. At any time a company will have a portfolio of products, each in a different stage of its cycle. Some of McDonald’s options are growing in popularity while arguably the Big Mac is at the ‘maturity’ stage. 4.3 Price The customer’s perception of value is an important determinant of the price charged. Customers draw their own mental picture of what a product is worth. A product is more than a physical item; it also has psychological connotations for the customer. The danger of using low price as a marketing tool is that the customer may feel that a low price is indicative of compromised quality. It is important when deciding on the price to be fully aware of the brand and its integrity. 4.5 Promotions The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications. One of the methods employed is advertising, sometimes known as ‘above the line’ activity. Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, in cinema, online, using poster sites and in the press for example in newspapers and magazines. What distinguishes advertising from other marketing communications is that media owners are paid before the advertiser can take space in the medium. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, point of sale display, merchandising, direct mail, telemarketing, exhibitions, seminars, loyalty schemes, door drops, demonstrations, etc. 4.6 Place Place, as an element of the marketing mix, is not just about the physical location or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer.

Women’s Emancipation in the 21st Century

Name: Lola Purba SCN: 1223420 Subject: Writing Teacher: Ms. Jane Persad Women’s Emancipation in The 21th Century â€Å"†¦When you educate a man you educate an individual, when you educate a woman you educate a whole family†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Johnetta B, Cole wisely stated. Cole’s quotation draws an analogy that it is more important to educate women, because educating women means educating the members of family. For this purpose, women deserve education as men; likewise, women want to be treated equally as men. Thus, women’s emancipation has gained the same rights and opportunities as men to get the equal chances in life.The 21th century emphasis on women’s emancipation has caused an increase in women’s education, independency and workforce integration. Women’s liberation has brought them to obtain equality in education. The equal opportunity in education means that women have the same prospects as men to extend education up to high degree. M ark J. Perry (2010), professor of economics and finance in the Flint Campus of the University of Michigan, writes that women earned more doctoral degrees than men, 50. 4 % to 49. 9 % respectively.In other words, he explains that the number of women who reached doctoral degrees is fairly higher than men; however, it shows that women have a future prospect of high degrees education. This means that, the chance for women is not only having education but also obtaining high level education is widely open. Thus, women’s equality has broadened their opportunities to get better education. To be free from old social limitations and customs also allows women to attain independency. Women’s independency indicates that they have their own rights to choose what the best for their lives.Independency can be implemented by permitting women to take part in every chance in society. An example of independent woman in Indonesia was Raden Ajeng Kartini, the Javanese aristocrat, who was bo rn in 1879, in a small town on the northern coast of Central Java (one of the Indonesian provinces). She was the pioneer of women’s equality in Indonesia. She fought for women’s independency and symbolized the struggle against Dutch colonial arrogance. She protested against the conventional thoughts, which women were more likely staying at home and raising children.Later on, she provided schooling for women in Java because she wanted all the women could require education, and become independent, even though women were not allowed to be self-determining. As a result, her movement has enlightened womanhood in Indonesia to be independent. Her ideas and her actions have been a source of inspiration for the emancipation movement in Indonesia. Wide opportunity of education for women has made broad opportunity to implement the knowledge in the workplace. Women also have rights to be equal and actively involved in the workplace.For instance, in the recent days, they are truste d to have some important positions, such as presidents, parliament members, lawyers, or other jobs which are commonly dominated by men. Moreover, many organizations are seeking top-management positions, such as senior executive and decision-making roles to be taken by brilliant women. Hence, what are the benefits having more women in top-management positions? Initially, integration between work and family lead them to have good management. Secondly, the empathetic and ability-to-listen characters direct them in managing teams, mentoring and developing trust among the members.Thus, these abilities have led women to incorporate their knowledge in the place they work. To conclude, achieving education, being independent, and integrating their knowledge in workplace are the clear proofs of women’s equality in 21st century. Emancipation era has allowed women to be well-educated, independent and well-cooperated people. In the future, there will be more women’s domination enga ged in every chance in society. Isn’t it amazing to have more ‘super women’ with their brilliant ideas to make the world situation better?

Cultural Marxism Old New Ideas Essay - 770 Words

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