Wednesday, December 25, 2019

The Issue Of Marlboro s Ethical Violations - 938 Words

Marlboro is one of the most well known top brands of the maker Phillip Morris. In 1924, Marlobor was initially launched as a woman’s cigarette it was a filtered brand. In the earlier years, a filtered cigarette was considered to be safer than an unfiltered cigarette. One of Marlboro’s ethical violations is a breach of their own ethical code which states â€Å"We do not and will not market our products to minors, including the use of images and content with particular appeal to minors†. They tried to persuade young people to smoke through advertisements using bill boards, campaign ads on television and magazines, and promotional events, and concerts. One of their slogans was â€Å"Don’t be a Maybe, Be Marlboro†. These campaign ads have been introduced to over 50 countries excluding the United States. In October 2013, Germany restricted Marlboro from advertising any of their promotional images because they were encouraging too many underage chi ldren in their country to smoke. Other countries such as The Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia are not as strict as Germany regarding laws on smoking. In addition to their advertisement schemes, they were also in violation of the tobacco control laws. Many of the bi products in cigarettes are very addictive and deadly which is why those that smoke are at greater risk of acquiring health problems thought out their lifespan. Another ethical violation within the company was employing children as young as 10 years old to work for them. It wasShow MoreRelatedPhilip Morris Ethical Issues Essay2355 Words   |  10 PagesBUSI 385 Philip Morris International Inc. Cigarettes an Ethical Dilemma For a Prosperous Company By Matthew Murray Table of Contents Company Overview Company Success and Campaigns Tobacco Regulation and Effect on the Company An Ethical Look on an â€Å"Evil† Company Philip Morris and Positive Ethical Behavior Company Views and the Utilitarian Approach The Fact of the Matter for Philip Morris In Conclusion References Company Overview The Philip Morris foundedRead MoreBrand and Page25228 Words   |  101 Pagesthe local marketplace, and: a. invent new products for foreign customers. b. concentrate on services. c. apply for permission to copy domestic products. d. concentrate on image adjustment. e. focus on secondary issues (such as warranties). Answer: (a) Difficulty: (2) Knowledge: (F) Page: 351 4. In the area of global product policy, companies can pursue three strategies to penetrate foreign markets. The strategies include: a. extensionRead MoreCase Studies67624 Words   |  271 Pagessituations that managers and those with whom they work must analyse and resolve. As you will see, a strategic management case can focus on an entire industry, a single organisation or a business unit of a large, diversified firm. The strategic management issues facing not-for-profit organisations also can be examined using the case analysis method. Basically, the case analysis method calls for a careful diagnosis of an organization’s current conditions (as manifested by its external and internal environments)Read MoreStrategic Marketing Management337596 Words   |  1351 Pagesorganizations compete Identifying competitors’ objectives Identifying competitors’ likely response profiles Competitor analysis and the development of strategy The competitive intelligence system The development of a competitive stance: the potential for ethical conflict Summary CONTENTS vii Stage Two: Where do we want to be? Strategic direction and strategic formulation 7 Missions and objectives 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Learning objectives Introduction The purpose of planning EstablishingRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesStarbucks, we have moved Entrepreneurial Adventures up to the front of the book. We have continued Marketing Wars, which many of you recommended, and reinstated Comebacks of firms iii iv †¢ Preface rising from adversity. I have also brought back Ethical Mistakes, because I believe that organizations more than ever need to be responsive to society’s best interests. Altogether, this 11th edition brings seven new cases to replace seven that were deleted from the previous edition. Some of the cases

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Women in Nazi Germany - 1548 Words

The women in Nazi Germany had a very specific role set up for them. The specifications of their job consisted of revolving around their house duties, their husbands and their children. Most of the income in the family would come from the husband, while back at home, the women would tidy up and keep everything in place. The encouragement of marrying at a young age, and getting a proper family dates back to 1933, from when Hitler first rose to power, and the Law for the Encouragement of Marriage was introduced. This law specified that all newly married couples would get a government loan of 1000 marks which was about 9 months average income. This loan was not to be simply paid back. The birth of one child meant that 25% of the loan did not†¦show more content†¦The medals varied from bronze to gold, eligible mothers who have raised eight or more children have been awarded with gold. This sort of recognition would praise the women of Germany and would celebrate all of their acc omplishments which they were destined to do. In 1933, Magda Gobbles declared: German women were excluded from three professions: the army, as elsewhere in the world; the government; and the judiciary. If a German girl must choose between marriage or a career, she will always be encouraged to marry, because that is what is best for a woman†. Even if nazi ideology has worked smoothly in Germany, this would restrict the women in various ways, preventing them from becoming who they desire to be. As to many restrictions profession wise, the women in Germany were also prohibited of many other items, such as the use of make up. In 1933, meetings of NSBO (National Sozialistischer Betriebs Obman, the womens section of the German Workers Front) proclaimed that women who were â€Å"painted and powdered were forbidden at all meetings of the NSBO. Women who smoked in public – in hotels, cafà ©s, in the street and so on – will be excluded from NSBO†. Sexuality was banned unless it was for reproductiveShow MoreRelatedThe Role of Women and Children in Nazi Germany 1498 Words   |  6 PagesAdolf Hitler In 1933, Germany became the living hell for a lot people in Germany. They were persecuted for their color and religion by a well known man named Adolf Hitler and his devoted followers. Hitler changed the way people saw life and felt about it because of the hate he got after his horrible experience in World War I. He believed that they lost because German people had become weak and pathetic, He basically thought and said that they lost because of the Jewishs or any other race that wasRead MoreThe Role of Women in Nazi Germany Essay747 Words   |  3 PagesThe Role of Women in Nazi Germany ‘The role of women in Nazi Germany?’ what is it? In this essay I will explain to you what the role of women in Nazi Germany was all about and how Hitler came to power in Germany and made changes which affected what women did. Hitler made changes in the way people lived their lives. I will also use the sources to back up my answers. I will then decide if the Nazis believed men were better than women. Adolf Hitler first came to powerRead MoreRole of Women in Maoist China and Nazi Germany1707 Words   |  7 Pages Analyse the role of women in Maoist China and Nazi Germany. â€Å"Chairman Mao is regarded as a sexist for his dalliances with young women in his old age. But on one day in 1949 Chairman Mao and the CPC did more for the liberation of women than perhaps had ever been done before in history.† This signifies the attitude of Mao towards women who benefited hugely under his policy in China after he had gained power. However, Hitler’s approach how to deal with women is contrary and destructiveRead More The Impact of Nazi Policies on the Position and Role of Women in Germany, 1933-391014 Words   |  5 PagesThe Impact of Nazi Policies on the Position and Role of Women in Germany, 1933-39 The Nazi regime aimed to utilize the family for its own needs. Women were obligated to marry and have children, instead of having their own personal decisions. The functions of the family were reduced to the single task of reproduction. They aimed to break the family, and to place it as a breeding and rearing institution completely in the service of the totalitarian state. The main objectiveRead MoreThe Nazi Party And The Nazis1426 Words   |  6 PagesThe Nazi’s quest to unite Germany under the notion of ‘One People, One Empire’ affected and impacted many social groups in Germany. Women were utilized by the Nazi Party in ensuring the survival and ‘production’ of the future generations of Germany, and maintaining the ideal and traditional version of the Aryan mother and wife. There was also a lot of pressure directed towards artists and writers. Who in the eyes of the Nazi party, were meant to conform to art forms such as neoclassicism and traditionalRead MoreIb History Essay: Nazi Ideology1180 Words   |  5 PagesStrength and Weaknesses from the impact of Nazi ideology on Germany | | Jean-Vincent Mewald | 3/March/2012 | | Nazi ideology had a massive impact on the German people in the years from 1933-39. All aspects of the Germans where influenced by the Nazi ideology (culturally, socially and economical). Nazi ideology affected mostly the younger generation of Germans, as it was easier to manipulate them through school and youth groups. In addition, Nazi leaders thought it was of great importanceRead MoreThe National Socialist Party And The Downfall Of The Conquering Nazi Regime910 Words   |  4 PagesNational Socialist Party’s rise to power to the downfall of the conquering Nazi regime, the ideology of a racially and biologically superior Germany was a large motivating force for the actions taken by the regime’s leaders and its people. National Socialist supporters saw the fictitious Aryan race as the pure, master race of Germany, while minority races and religions, namely Jews, as well as any subculture that did not follow Nazi ideology or social norms, were deemed as inferior sub-hu mans. DespiteRead MoreTaking a Look at the Weimar Republic955 Words   |  4 PagesThe Weimar Republic existed in Germany between 1918 and 1933 (The Weimar Republic). The new Weimar Constitution of 1919 gave German women suffrage as well as access to educational initiatives like sexual hygiene and birth control (Pine, 199). Women got the chance to join political parties, trade unions, and immerse themselves in political life (Frevert, 175). The Weimar Republic wanted to give German women a chance at political success so they created the Ausschuss fà ¼r die Vorbereitung von FrauenRead MoreSuccess/ Failure of Nazi Policies on Women1439 Words   |  6 PagesNazi Policies on women The 1933 Law for the Encouragement of Marriage (newly married couples given loan of 1000 marks - for each child produced they got to keep 250 marks and did not have to repay.) These loans were for â€Å"vouchers for furniture and other household goods, provided, of course, that the women gave up work on marriage and devoted herself to motherhood† Women who had over eight children were given the Motherhood Cross (handed out on Hitlers mothers birthday) Abortion outlawed and contraceptivesRead MoreHitler s Influence On The Nazi Party1440 Words   |  6 Pagesto the Nazi state. The power and intelligence of the Nazi Party from 1933 to 1939 would forever change Germany and its way of life. Hitler was determined to influence the youth to support the Nazi movement and all the ethics and ideas that the party stood for. He was aware that it was crucial to encourage children and teenagers to be involved in order for the Nazi party to maintain their power for years to come. The Hitler-Jugend (Hitler Youth) was considered vital and became the sole Nazi youth

Monday, December 9, 2019

Investors and Contractors Assests and Procurement

Question: Describe about the Investors and Contractors for Assests and Procurement. Answer: 1. The major investment in mining company can be in the infrastructure assets and procurement of mining sites. The investment requirement in the infrastructure assets by the mining companies is huge and they need heavy machinery to be able to mine the ores and minerals present in the mining site. Also the company has to forecast the quantity of different machinery, cutting tools and machines to transport the minerals extracted from the sites to plants where they can be refined and converted to usable products. There are many companies which help in providing the financing for providing the necessary infrastructure. Also huge investments are required while bidding for the mining projects. The mining companies can earn a huge amount of money from the potential mining sites and hence invests in procurement of mining sites. Also there are firms which invest in sites and make them ready for mining and then these sites are sold to the mining company. This helps in reduction of risk of the mining companies and also makes it easier for them to start the project. (Chew, 2012) Lastly, mining companies invests in human capital and the training is provided to each employee working on the site and provides safety equipment to them. 2. The most important activities carried out from CFOs office are: Decision making: The CFO of a company helps in managing the financial risk of the company. The CFOs office decides the various investments of the company in various projects and funds. It is responsible for finalizing a project based on the return and risk involved it. The CFOs office is also in charge of the capital structure the company has and has to take decisions regarding the change in capital structure by increasing or decreasing the equity and leveraging on the debt to equity ratio to maximize the returns for the company. The CFO must also have valid reasons while making changes in the structure and should be able to justify the changes when subjected to scrutiny by the shareholders of the company. Assessment of the company: The CFOs office is responsible for the assessing the performance of the company based on the performance in the last year and taking necessary steps to achieve its goals. They take inputs from various departments and then combine the entire data to produce reports and help CEO in assessment of the company. They also translate the financial metrics into understandable format for the shareholders. CFOs office need to take care that no wrong or incorrect information is passed to the shareholders which can affect the prices of the shares of the company. Planning and forecasting: The CFOs office is also responsible for the planning and forecasting the future production of the company and helps each department in setting their goals and targets. They need to consider the low performing assets and find ways to improve its efficiency. If the CFO finds an asset to be non performing and will not be of any use to the company in near future, he can also dispose them off. The CFO uses scenario analysis and forecasting models to plan for different situations and remove all the contingencies from the same. The CFO is responsible for planning the long term sustainable growth for the company. (Biery, 2015) Thus the role of CFO is very important in setting the goals and objectives for the company. 3. While managing the funds of a public listed company, the managers should consider the impact their decisions will have on the investment made by the shareholders. The managers need to be more careful while dealing with funds of a public listed company as the money is not owned by them but the people and it is their responsibility to provide value to the investment made by the public. If the company takes care of its customers and is able to deal with the specifications required by them in time at appropriate cost then the company can make loyal customers which can provide more business to the company and earn more profits for the shareholders. Also while taking a decision, the manager of public listed company should take in to account the value their decision is going to add to the shareholders and if their decisions are going to impact the stakeholders. They should inform all the decision taken by them to the shareholders and try to add benefit to the shareholder and stakeholder at large. 4. Antipodes Mineral resources (AMR) is not only accountable to the owners of the firm but also to all the stakeholders involved with the company which includes customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders. AMR should take in to consideration all the stakeholders before taking any decision and the decision should be such that it is favorable to all of them. The company should generate profits for the owners of the company but it should also treat its employees with care as it is because of the continuous effort by the employees the company has been able to generate the profit. The company should treat its suppliers with care as it can provide competitive advantage over the competitors and the supplier will ensure that the company will have all the necessary supplies in time and at the best possible price and this can be beneficial for both of them. If the company takes care of its customers and is able to deal with the specifications required by them in time at appropriate cost then the company can make loyal customers which can provide more business to the company and earn more profits for the shareholders. Also the mining company should take care that the pollution created by the company does not affect the people living in those areas. Thus, Antipodes Mineral resources is not only accountable to the owners but to all the people affected by it. (Jensen, 2001) a. The cash flow on the project is given below Year Cash flow 0 -3000000 1 700000 2 700000 3 700000 4 700000 5 -1300000 6 700000 7 700000 8 700000 9 700000 10 900000 We need to find the NPV (Net present value) of the project. Net present value is defined as the present value of the future cash flow. It is obtained by discounting the future cash flow to present. It is given by NPV = Thus NPV = 136462.99 Thus NPV of the project is positive. So the company can go ahead with the project. C. Payback period is the time after which the revenue generated is equal to the investment. Thus in this case, payback period is in between 7 and 8 years. Pay back period = 7 + (100000/700000) = 7.14 years. (Investopedia, 2011) Discounted Payback period is the time after which the present value revenue generated is equal to the investment made. Year Cash flow Present Value Cumulative Value 0 -3000000 -3000000 -3000000 1 700000 636363.6364 -2363636 2 700000 578512.3967 -1785124 3 700000 525920.3606 -1259204 4 700000 478109.4188 -781094 5 -1300000 -807197.72 -1588292 6 700000 395131.751 -1193160 7 700000 359210.6828 -833949 8 700000 326555.1661 -507394 9 700000 296868.3329 -210526 10 900000 346988.9605 136463 Thus in this case, Discounted Payback period = 9 + (210526/ 346998.96) = 9.606 years The discounted pay back period is very high and the investors would prefer to invest in a project where the discounted pay back period is lower and could consider other options. References Chew, A. (2012). Investing in mining related infrastructure - what investors and contractors should know. Retrieved on September 16, 2016 from https://www.corrs.com.au/thinking/insights/investing-in-mining-related-infrastructure-what-investors-contractors-should-know/ Jensen, M. (2001). Value maximization, stakeholder theory, and the corporate objective function. Retrieved on September 16, 2016 from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-6622.2001.tb00434.x/full Investopedia. (2011). Net Present Value NPV. Retrieved on September 16, 2016 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/npv.asp Investopedia. (2011). Payback Period. Retrieved on September 16, 2016 from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paybackperiod.asp Biery, M. E. (2015). 4 Key Functions of a Chief Financial Officer. Retrieved September 7, 2016 from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242001

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Quality Assurance and Mr. Khan free essay sample

Introduction This paper is prepared based on a case study of garments industry. Mr. Khan started a garments industry. After running for 5 years, he reached at the breakeven point that is no profit and no loss. At the same time, he faced some problems regarding the sustainability of the garments. Here we tried to identify the problems that faced by Mr. Khan based on the on going garment sectors’ condition of Bangladesh. According to us, he did not face any budget problem but he faced performance problem and time problem. After identifying the problems, we tried to give some recommendations regarding the sustainability of his garments industry which are discussed here. 18 Flowchart of problems: 18 Problems identification: 18 The problems we have identified so far, are of mainly three types. The problems are as follows: 1. Performance problems: 1. 1 Poor communication Mr. Khan has poor communication with employees, customers(foreign local) and suppliers appears for several reasons lack of skills or lack of understanding of the importance of strong communication, employees dont get information in a timely manner, employees are given too much information that isnt relevant etc. We will write a custom essay sample on Quality Assurance and Mr. Khan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 1. 2 Poor infrastructural design Now a days, the most garments has poor transportation and communication system and building structure, entrance and exit system is bad in case of fire and other accident. 1. Low product quality Sewing defects, Color defects, Sizing defects and Garment defects are quality related problems faced by Mr. Khan which make the product quality low. It creates very bad impression and results in loss of business and reputation. 1. 4 Lack of management policy Today’s garments sector has huge problem with management like- lack of proper instruction, , lack of proper training, workers dissatisfaction with their facilities and payment. 1. 5 Lack of research Although a garment is a thrust sector, lack of proper research and development work remains a major inadequacy for long. The garments do not research about product, buyers and their competitors. 1. 6 Export import barriers 18 Garments are facing export and import barriers. In exporting, garments facing high duty and cota problems. In importing, garments are facing port and customs problems. 1. 7 Limited Export Market Mr. Khan is highly concentrated in two major markets- EU and USA. concentration in a few markets is risky. 1. 8 Excessive labor union Labor union raises their voice for wage increases, set working hours, bonus, on time payment and safety conditions. and productivity. 1. 9 Low productivity of workers The labor productivity of Mr. Khan is much lower. The majority of the workers come from slum dwellers with little or no education. This is one of the reasons of low productivity. Lack of training, motivation and low labor cost are also responsible for lower productivity. 1. 10 Failed to apply TQM (Total quality management) Mr. khan has failed to apply TQM (total Quality Management) in his production process. 1. 11 Lack of high technology Lack of standard machinery results in poor quality and defected garment products. In most of the factories there is theft cases of parts of machines and these are replaced with low quality parts to keep the machine operational. . 12 Limited knowledge in international marketing information Mr. Khan has limited access to current market intelligence and international trade information. Foreign buying houses have been dominating the marketing part of the business. But if these buying houses shift their bases to other countries, Bangladeshi exporters may face serious problems in findi ng their ultimate buyers. For that reason they strike which reflects on profit Limited exported in Germany, UK, France, Netherland, Italy and Canada. The high 18 1. 3 Inefficiency in port management The Chittagong Port is the most important entry and exit point for trade and commerce of the country. It is one of the most inefficient and corrupt ports which seriously hamper the competitiveness of Bangladeshi garment in the world market. The corruptions are- Frequent work stoppage by different service providers, transport workers, Excessive dock labor unionism, Politicization of Collective Bargaining Agents, Direct involvement of powerful local politicians, elite and musclemen, illegal gratification practices. 1. 14 High competition Mr. Khan is facing high competition for other local garments industries and efficient producers like Hong Kong, China, India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Caribbean countries. 2. Time problems: 2. 1 Global Recession The garment exporters are suffering badly due to the ongoing global economic crisis. For the worldwide recession, Mr. Khan is realizing low unit value from the overseas market and paying higher unit value for importing raw materials. 2. 2 Lack of resource when needed Resource like electricity, gas and water are not adequate. The raw materials are not also available in our country. Mr. Khan depended on others countries for outsourcing of raw materials which charged higher prices and increased the production cost. 2. 3 Lead time The buyers want the product within a limited time with a best possible price that Mr. khan could not meet up. 3. Money Problems: 18 3. 1 Fluctuation of international prices International price fluctuate heavily. As a result, cost of raw materials increases which ultimately increase the total price. 3. 2 High corporate tax rate In garments industry has to pay high tax on their production as well as VAT. 1. Performance problems: 18 Performance problems and solutions Effective Communication Wonderful nfrastructural design Poor infrastructural design Poor communication Low product quality Improving product quality Effective management policies Lack of management policy Conduct more research Lack of research Effective export import system Export import barriers Limited Export Market Markets exploration Mutual understanding Labor union Low product ivity of workers Increasing productivity of workers Effective use of TQM F ile toa p T M a d p ly Q (T ta q a mn g mn o l u lity a a e e t) Lack of high technology Limited knowledge in international marketing information Use of high technology Buying agent Ensuring efficient management of ports Inefficiency in port management Increasing Competitiveness High competition Recommendation of performance problem: 18 For the performance problems showing above, we are giving the following suggestions: 1. 1 Effective Communication Clearly communication appears to be the key to project success. Effective communication skills can create a more positive outcome. Stay focused on the present employee’s feelings, understanding one another bring solution to communication problem. Effective communication goes both ways- thinking and listening. At first Mr. Khan has to listen what employees and suppliers are saying, customers or buyers want. Don’t interrupt and get defensive. Just hear them and reflect back what they’re saying so they know they are heard. Then Mr. Khan will understand them better and they’ll be more willing to listen to him. Foreign Buyer Local raw material Suppliers Manufacturer (Mr. Khan) Figure of Business Structure Foreign raw material Suppliers Try to see from the view point of employees, customer sand suppliers. Communicate directly with customer and suppliers. Mr. Khan Director Director Line Agent Line Agent Line Agent Line Agent Line Agent Line Agent Figure of Team Communication 18 As messages are passed up or down through the layers of the organization, they pass through a number of different people who can add, take from, qualify or totally twist the original message. Mr. Khan has to begin communication with the directors who receive instruction directly from him. They are then asked to share this information with their group of front line agents. One way to make sure the directives or communication that directors pass down actually get to the front-lines the way he intended is to randomly conduct â€Å"round table† discussions. Pull 3-5 front line agents in for a discussion that is very informal and ask specific questions to get a feel for the messages Mr. Khan has passed down and to make sure the director is doing their job. To overcome fear Mr. Khan must work to develop trust among the employees. Trust develops when Mr. Khan will do what he says he is going to do and by doing his part to help the team succeed. Mr. Khan has to build trust and not violate the confidentiality of the employees who are openly and honestly sharing. Again, the key to honest feedback is to create a trustworthy relationship that employees believe will not come back to hurt them later. . 2 Wonderful infrastructural design To remove this problem Mr. Khan should establish in such type of area where transportation system is well. Mr. Khan’s garment should have large entrance and exit way and alternative way to exit in any kind accidents. For fire accident Mr. Khan’s garment should have enough fire distinguisher. If the garment has large entrance and exit and enough fire distinguisher then every employee will feel safe and will do their job with full attention. Governments can also impose some rule regulation on garments building stricter. 1. Improving product quality Before entering into international market, garment exporters have to carefully frame out the quality standards. There are a number of factors on which quality fitness of garment industry is based on such as performance, reliability, durability, visual and perceived quality of the garment. 18 The broad quality parameters (ISO 9000 series) have to follow for maintaining the export quality. Quality has to be taken care by Mr. Khan, because excuses are not entertained in international market for negligence for low quality garment products. So, Mr. Khan has to produce high quality product, use latest design and technological know- how. Apart from superior quality of the garment, its pricing, packaging, delivery, etc has to be also taken care of. Quality needs to be defined in terms of a particular frame work of cost. So, Mr. Khan needs to follow focus strategy. It means Mr. Khan has to focus on cost and quality at a time. Mr. Khan should know to negotiate a premium price after quality assurance is done. The garment shown in the catalogue should match with the final garment delivered and the garment quality should match the samples shown during taking the orders. It is important to perform according to the promises given to the buyer. Because in international market, quality reassurance is required at every point. Proper documentation and high standard labels on the garment are also important aspects as these things also create good impression. Quality is ultimately a question of customer satisfaction. Good Quality increases the value of a product or service, establishes brand name, and builds up good reputation, which in turn results into consumer satisfaction, high sales and foreign exchange. The perceived quality of a garment is the result of a number of aspects, hich together help achieve the desired level of satisfaction for the local customers and foreign buyers. Therefore quality control in terms of garment, pre-sales service, posts -sales service, delivery, pricing, etc are essentials. 1. 4 Effective management policies 18 For overcome this type of problem Mr. Khan should hire higher educated persons by providing high salary. Because they have the ability to give proper instruction to their workers like- what the buyers want, what quality of work he expect, how the work should do etc. Secondly, the workers are uneducated. For that they can not adopt with the new technology. For such kind of problem Mr. Khan needed educated workers so that they can easily adopt with new technology. On the other hand it is easy to provide higher training to the educated workers. Mr. Khan should setting a minimum wages and salary level and pays the salary and wages on time. And workers should give large space so that they can move easily. It will make the employee more motivated to their work and more devoted to the management policies. 1. 5 Conduct more research Research is needed for every company to sustain in the market. Mr. han should conduct more research also because of changing of time and demand of customers and buyers. The Mr. khan can hire research people to forecast the demand and quality of product. To forecast the buyers demand the research people can talk with the customers and buyers what kind of product and which quality of product they want. The Mr. khan should research about his competitors and their s trategy also. It can possible by observing the competitors very carefully. 1. 6 Effective export import system The governments increase the facility for exporting garments product with a low export duty and should give high dock facility. For cota system government should negotiate with that countries imposes cota on our garments product and can do an exchange deed with those countries. As the garments industry has a big contribution in our economy and we earn a huge amount of foreign currency so government should give extra emphasize on garments raw material by reducing customs formalities. 1. 7 Markets exploration 18 Efforts should be made to develop new markets, at least in large Asian countries such as Japan, China and India. This may help Mr. Khan to sustain his garments growth in the increasingly competitive global market. 1. 8 Mutual understanding Mutual understandings remove the labor union problem. While taking a break from the discussion is sometimes a good idea, always come back to it. If come up to the situation with a constructive attitude, mutual respect, and a willingness to see the other’s point of view or at least find a solution, then Mr. Khan will be able to make progress toward the goal of a resolution to the conflict. Instead of trying to ‘win’ the argument, look for solutions that meet everybody’s needs. Either through compromise or a new solution that gives both what they want most, this focus is much more effective than one person getting what they want at the other’s expense. 1. 9 Increasing productivity of workers Operations are more efficient when employees perform just one task or only certain aspects of a task in order for that job to be conducted at its highest level. Continuous efforts should be exerted to reduce the cost of doing business by increasing productivity. To enhance the productivity of labor, intensive training, worker satisfaction and proper motivation is essential. So, Mr. Khan has to provide on the job training for increase skill of production. He also has to meet the workers demand to satisfy them. Then the worker should be self motivated. Better working conditions with reasonable pay may improve the situation to attract mid to upper-mid level well-educated citizens of the society, which may help improve the productivity of labor significantly. 1. 10 Effective use of TQM Total Quality Management is a management concept . The basis of TQM is to reduce the errors produced during the manufacturing or service process, increase customer satisfaction, streamline supply chain management, aim for modernization of 8 equipment and ensure workers have the highest level of training. Mr. khan should use TQM not only achieve the objectives set out in its policy and strategy, but also, and equally importantly, sustain and build quality. Mr. khan should use TQM focuses on encouraging a continuous flow of incremental improvements from the bottom of the organizations hierarchy. It will make production smooth, increase production quality as well as management quality. 1. 11 Use of high technology Mr. Khan has to provide flawless machineries to achieve better output. Mr. Khan instead of going harsh against the workers must try to find out the real causes of low quality products and time wastage factors if they really want to bring qualitative changes in their products. 1. 12. Buying agent Mr. Khan should use a buying agent who can do all sort of job on behalf of the company and this will be very much handy, once company has enough experience doing foreign trade then it can do all the procedures itself. 1. 13 Ensuring efficient management of ports †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Operate the port for 24 hours a day Stop all toll collections that takes place at the entry and as well as within the port. Encourage the establishment of more off dock container freight stations (cfs) (both for exported and imported containers) Permit private sector to take over some of the functions of handling containers. This will reduce the space pressure on the port and minimize delays in handling raw materials. †¢ Simplify the administration of vessels entering the port and reduce the number of forms to be completed from 40 (now) to 7 (as in most ports). 18 †¢ Activate the proposed Asian Development Bank loan project and modernize Chittagong Port. The approach of the loan is to allow privatization of some port operations †¢ †¢ †¢ Revise the antiquated Shipping Act, procure more equipment, and construct the proposed new container port Banning all kinds of strikes within it Special export processing zones have been set up to ensure smooth functioning of factories for export processing. 1. 14 Increasing Competitiveness For increasing competitiveness Mr. Khan has to keep the cost of production lower than that of competitors, bring continuous innovation in technology, offering high quality product at reasonable and take different promotional activates . Time problems Time problems and solutions Global Recession Overcoming global recession Make Resource available Lack of resource when needed Lead time Manage lead time soundly 18 Recommendation of time problem: For the time problems showing above, we are giving the following suggestions: 2. 1 Overcoming global recession The BGMEA must look into it thoroughly and start thinking from now on without wasting time regarding how to tackle the situation and keep our products export on track which accounts for our foreign exchange. 2. 2 Make Resource vailable In garments factory electricity, gas and water are the most important. For this, Mr. Khan should make own bio-gas plant and own electricity plant for their garments and also can use big jars for sustain water. Government should also adequately distribute these. Mr. khan should store sufficient amount of raw material in warehouse to make the supply of raw material smooth and easy when needed. Mr. khan should also find out alternative way to sourcing raw material to buy raw 18 material in low cost when others price is high. Company should keep in mind the following factors to select a supplier whether to home or abroad: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Purchase price Technological capacity Distribution costs Reliability regarding just-in-time deliveries Service by the raw materials producer Quick response 2. 3 Manage lead time soundly Lead time is one of the main competitive factors among companies. The ability to deliver quickly influences export, sales and thereby revenue. It normally includes all activities from start to end. Lead time begins with the first receipt of a customer order and ends with customer receipt of the product or service. Mr. han should always make available raw material, use high technology, skillful workers and management team to finish the total process properly and meet the lead time. Customer lead time = [{Information lead time} + {Order lead time}] Total lead time = [{Information lead time} + {(manufacturing lead time) + (shipping time for import fabrics) + (S hipping time for export final product)} Mr. khan should reduce time in the following processes: 18 The proposed structure is: 3. Money problems Money problems and solutions Fluctuation of international prices Adopt with international prices High corporate tax rate Negotiation for reduce tax rate 8 Recommendation of money problem: For the money problems showing above, we are giving the following suggestions: 3. 1 Adopt with international prices When product price will fall in international market, then he should produce fewer products and minimize the import. If in this moment he produces more products and maximizes import, then for fluctuation in international market his product price will be fall. For this reason, he can not success his business and sustain will be impossible. To overcome this problem he should produce and import minimize product. Price Demand Production 3. 2 Negotiation for reduce tax rate 18 When any business organization firstly starts a business, then government do not charge any tax on that business for first five years. After five years government charge high corporate tax. To overcome high corporate tax rate Mr. Khan should maximize the profit because from profit government do not charge any tax. He can maximize the profit to develop his product quality. Conclusion Mr. Khan should continue the project for sustain his business and earn profit. We think he will overcome all of his problems if he follows our suggested way. 18 Appendix The own part done by each group members are given in the next page with name and id. 18

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Battle of Fort Washington in the American Revolution

Battle of Fort Washington in the American Revolution The Battle of Fort Washington was fought on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Having defeated the British at the Siege of Boston in March 1776, General George Washington moved his army south to New York City. Laying out defenses for the city in conjunction with Brigadier General Nathanael Greene and Colonel Henry Knox, he selected a site on the north end of Manhattan for a fort. Located near the highest point on the island, work began on Fort Washington under the guidance of Colonel Rufus Putnam. Constructed of earth, the fort lacked a surrounding ditch as American forces did not have sufficient powder for blasting out the rocky soil around the site. A five-sided structure with bastions, Fort Washington, along with Fort Lee on the opposite bank of the Hudson, was intended to command the river and prevent British warships from moving north. To further defend the fort, three lines of defenses were laid out to the south. While the first two were completed, construction on the third lagged. Supporting works and batteries were constructed on Jeffreys Hook, Laurel Hill, and on a hill overlooking Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the north. Work continued as Washingtons army was defeated at the Battle of Long Island in late August. American Commanders Colonel Robert Magaw3,000 men British Commanders General William HoweGeneral Wilhelm von Kynphausen8,000 men To Hold or Retreat Landing on Manhattan in September, British forces compelled Washington to abandon New York City and retreat north. Occupying a strong position, he won a victory at Harlem Heights on September 16. Unwilling to directly attack the American lines, General William Howe elected to move his army north to Throgs Neck and then on to Pells Point. With the British in his rear, Washington crossed over from Manhattan with the bulk of his army lest it be trapped on the island. Clashing with Howe at White Plains on October 28, he was again forced to fall back. Halting at Dobbs Ferry, Washington elected to split his army with Major General Charles Lee remaining on the east bank of the Hudson and Major General William Heath directed to take men to the Hudson Highlands. Washington then moved with 2,000 men to Fort Lee. Due to its isolated position in Manhattan, he wished to evacuate Colonel Robert Magaws 3,000-man garrison at Fort Washington but was convinced to retain the fort by Greene and Putnam. Returning to Manhattan, Howe began making plans to assault the fort. On November 15, he dispatched Lieutenant Colonel James Patterson with a message demanding Magaws surrender. The British Plan To take the fort, Howe intended to strike from three directions while feinting from a fourth. While General Wilhelm von Kynphausens Hessians were to attack from the north, Lord Hugh Percy was to advance from the south with a mixed force of British and Hessian troops. These movements would be supported by Major General Lord Charles Cornwallis and Brigadier General Edward Mathew attacking across the Harlem River from the northeast. The feint would come from the east, where the 42nd Regiment of Foot (Highlanders) would cross the Harlem River behind the American lines. The Attack Begins Pushing forward on November 16, Knyphausens men were ferried across during the night. Their advance had to be stopped as Mathews men were delayed due to the tide. Opening fire on the American lines with artillery, the Hessians were supported by the frigate HMS Pearl (32 guns) which worked to silence the American guns. To the south, Percys artillery also joined the fray. Around noon, the Hessian advanced resumed as Mathew and Cornwallis men landed to the east under heavy fire. While the British secured a foothold on Laurel Hill, Colonel Johann Ralls Hessians took the hill by Spuyten Duyvil Creek. Having gained a position on Manhattan, the Hessians pushed south towards Fort Washington. Their advance was soon halted by heavy fire from Lieutenant Colonel Moses Rawlings Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment. To the south, Percy approached the first American line which was held by Lieutenant Colonel Lambert Cadwaladers men. Halting, he awaited a sign that the 42nd had landed before pushing forward. As the 42nd came ashore, Cadwalader began sending men to oppose it. Hearing the musket fire, Percy attacked and soon began to overwhelm the defenders. The American Collapse Having crossed to view the fighting, Washington, Greene, and Brigadier General Hugh Mercer elected to return to Fort Lee. Under pressure on two fronts, Cadwaladers men soon were forced to abandon the second line of defenses and began retreating to Fort Washington. To the north, Rawlings men were gradually pushed back by the Hessians before being overrun after hand-to-hand fighting. With the situation rapidly deteriorating, Washington dispatched Captain John Gooch with a message requesting Magaw to hold out until nightfall. He hoped that the garrison could be evacuated after dark. As Howes forces tightened the noose around Fort Washington, Knyphausen had Rall demand Magaws surrender. Sending an officer to treat with Cadwalader, Rall gave Magaw thirty minutes to surrender the fort. While Magaw discussed the situation with his officers, Gooch arrived with Washingtons message. Though Magaw attempted to stall, he was forced to capitulate and the American flag was lowered at 4:00 PM. Unwilling to be taken a prisoner, Gooch jumped over the forts wall and tumbled down to the shore. He was able to locate a boat and escaped to Fort Lee. The Aftermath In taking Fort Washington, Howe suffered 84 killed and 374 wounded. American losses numbered 59 killed, 96 wounded, and 2,838 captured. Of those soldiers taken prisoner, only around 800 survived their captivity to be exchanged the following year. Three days after the fall of Fort Washington, American troops were forced to abandon Fort Lee. Retreating across New Jersey, the remains of Washingtons army finally halted after crossing the Delaware River. Regrouping, he attacked across the river on December 26 and defeated Rall at Trenton. This victory was followed up on January 3, 1777, when American troops won the Battle of Princeton.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Daily Fuel How quiet leadership makes a louder impact

Daily Fuel How quiet leadership makes a louder impact The desire for power is a common one, but once you obtain it, the real test begins. Both the public and private sectors are full of leaders more focused on their own personal brand than the impact they are making. Former Bush Administration official and Detroit Regional Chamber CEO Sandy Baruah explains what separates the best leaders from the show horses, but his message can apply to even the smallest of jobs. [Source: Daily Fuel]

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Inflation returns to Euro zone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inflation returns to Euro zone - Essay Example One of the main indicators of the inflation pressure is the producer prices. The reason is that unless these prices are absorbed by retailers using profit margins which then translate to consumer prices. Thus, other the bond buying program that had been introduced by European Central Bank in March, other measures undertaken to boost the economy of Euro zone is cutting down main interest rate and the deposit rate. However, it is still too early to stay in the comfort zone about this issue. It is still early to indicate the trajectory of the future policy since inflation will continue depending on the prices of oil. This is considering the weak euro area growth. Firstly, the dynamics of the oil prices continue to drive much of the inflation in 2015 mostly in the short term. In addition, despite the rise in May’s core inflation, more of the general momentum of inflation is likely to remain muted against an overall of still domestic demand of the euro area together with the capac ity in the labor market. Considering that most of the policy maker (Morris 1) spent most of 2014 fearing the worsening of deflation, then the worry is that if the prices are entrenched, then the consumers and other businesses are likely to delay their purchases. Thus, there are unlikely dips into the level of deflation with oil prices diluting the risks of deflation. The overall weakness of the euro and the improved economic activity of the euro zone are other important factors in diluting the risk of deflation.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

How its made Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How its made - Essay Example 23-29, 2005). Sandpaper first came out in the 13th century, invented by the Chinese when strong and tough materials of that age, such as shell pieces, seeds, and sand adhered to parchment rolls through natural gum obtained from the trees. In those days, people also made use of natural rough surfaces such as fish skin with scales to achieve results similar to that of sandpaper. However, the first invention, which looked much more like today’s sandpaper came out as glass paper, formed through pieces of glass and sand combined together on paper. By 1716, coated paper came forward in Paris, but the original invention of sandpaper goes back into 1834 in United States by Isaac Fischer, Jr., of  Springfield, Vermont. Its grade further improved when it took over another property of also being waterproof in 1916, changing from sandpaper to Wetrodry, which helped improve the grade quality without acting as a seal upon automotive paint refinishing. The most peculiar use of sandpaper is its application as a musical instrument by Leroy Anderson in his famous  Sandpaper Ballet (Capotosto, pp. 73, 1991). Sandpaper, no matter with its name specifically refers to surface of paper and sand, in reality denies the presence of both the materials, but is completely made of other organic or synthetic minerals and adhesives. There are many materials other than the simple usage of sand and paper, in the development of this multi functioning piece of paper, which give it its unique qualities. Most significantly, the abrading materials, which give it the aggressive wiping ability comes through the combination of many materials. These include flint, garnet (for wood work), emery (substance used for cleaning metal surfaces), aluminum oxide (giving the paper its metal oxide property), silicon carbide (only used in very fine grits),

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Intercultural aspect of conflict resolution Essay Example for Free

Intercultural aspect of conflict resolution Essay During the first day of the workshop, I did not completely understand the real meaning of culture. I did not even have a single definition for the term culture. Many questions came into my mind such as, â€Å"What is culture? What are the factors that create culture? What is the scope of culture? Does culture improve itself or not? Although, I started the inquiry on the concept of culture without certain answers for these questions, I had figured them out step by step during that day. I started to find answers for most of the questions that I faced. I finally understood what culture was and why different people with different cultures had different behaviors. By understanding the factors that influenced culture, I started to learn its importance to the parties who got involved in particular conflicts. Throughout that day, I comprehended why people with different cultures got involved in particular conflicts and what were their objectives. I started to give answers for these queries. They might need someone whom they can air their grievances or opinions with. Moreover, they might only wish that others would respect their culture as it was. In the role play, I learned that listening skill was very helpful in making the parties who were involved in the conflict feel better. Also, they should be given the chance to continue telling their stories without any interruption. I had also learned that I could be able to interact with them simply through body language such as moving my head up and down which tells, â€Å"I understand you. Keep going.† Furthermore, these skills would give me the chance to get as much information as possible and understand the parties’ cultures. Personally, I think that having much understanding of other cultures using the skills mentioned earlier would help me adapt with their behaviors and become more flexible when dealing with them.   Culture’s factors such as religion, climate and geography play very significant roles in parties’ behavior. These explain why different countries have different cultures. Finally, all ideas and skills that I had learned during the first day of the workshop let me pay a close attention on understanding other cultures, respecting their beliefs and values as I want other people do the same thing when they cross my culture. I would try to use these ideas and skills in my daily life – simply by listening to other people and respecting them.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Eleanor Roosevelt Essay -- biography biographies bio

I. Introduction William Jay Jacobs, the author of â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt†, was born in 1933. He has written many biographies of people like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, ad Eleanor Roosevelt. Jacobs especially admired Eleanor Roosevelt. He described her as a â€Å"woman of courage† who was able to â€Å"turn her pain into strength†. Jacobs says that by this biography and others, he is able to â€Å"reach a very special audience: young people searching for role models, trying to understand themselves†. Jacobs has written many biographies of different people because he hopes that his young readers can draw inspiration from â€Å"the great reservoirs of recorded history† The element of â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt† is biography. The author, William Jay Jacobs, used primary sources to write about another person’s life, making it a biography. Jacobs also used third-person point of view. He used words like â€Å"she† and â€Å"her† indicating that it was someone else who was telling the story. If Eleanor were writing it, then the story would have contained words like â€Å"I† and â€Å"me†. This would have shown that the story is an autobiography since Eleanor was writing about herself† The story also displays the element of biography when the author’s purpose of the story was to inform the reader about the true account of the subject’s life. The topic of this story is self-esteem and dignity. In the American Heritage Dictionary, self-esteem is described as â€Å"confidence, self-respect to oneself† and dignity is defined as â€Å"the quality or state of being worthy of esteem or respect†. To me, having self-esteem and dignity means to be proud of yourself and your abilities. This relates to â€Å"Eleanor Roosevelt† because Eleanor learned that when she became more proud and confi... ...n better told if it was Eleanor who was writing the story. She would have described her thoughts and feelings more accurately if she was the writer of the story. I would highly recommend this story to all middle-school age students. Eleanor Roosevelt is a good role model for all students to follow. From Eleanor, students can learn many things such as compassion, determination, and perseverance. Students can learn to work hard for their goals even if obstacles are in their way. Eleanor Roosevelt also teaches compassion when she worked hard at the war effort and said special words to each of the wounded soldiers. In this way, Eleanor brought comfort to the battle-hardened men. Students can also learn the most important theme throughout the story: â€Å"Even with all the pain ad misery in the world, you can turn then into strength and achieve your goals.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Individual autonomy and social structure Essay

In â€Å"Individual Autonomy and Social Structure†, Dorothy Lee discusses how in today’s society, it is â€Å"difficult to implement human dignity in the everyday details of living.† (pg.5, Lee) However, Lee discusses how by analysing different cultures and how they deal with similar situations, it is possible to come up with a solution for this society. The key social problem Lee addresses is the conflict between personal autonomy and the social structure. Personal autonomy is the ability one person has to determine their own actions and path. However, in the American social structure that Lee describes, American society believes that â€Å"the implication of personal autonomy may lead to lawlessness and chaos† (Lee). This would disrupt the Western social structure that is already in place, however, Lee points to many examples in the text, one of them being the Wintu Indians that show that structure makes autonomy possible and groups of autonomy make social structure. Lee refers to the Wintu Indians language, specifically the way the Wintu Indians speak to each other and refer to each other. In her research, Lee notices that the Wintu Indians way of referring to family members does not put them at a higher or lower level, but rather an equal level, which signifies respect. For example, if someone has a sister, they would not say â€Å"I have a sister†, instead, they would say â€Å"I am sistered†. Lee also notes that this respect is shown towards everyone. The Wintu Indians do not â€Å"permit† each other to do things, rather, when a child asks â€Å"Can I?†, they are not asking permission, but they are asking if it is a good idea. The way the Wintu Indians speak to each other shows that they are all in fact on the same level with each other. No one is above another – there is no hierarchy. The way they speak also shows that each individual is given the same respect, a child and an adult, a father and son, even a member of the village and the chief, are all respected the same. This is important as respect for a personal individual is the key for harmonization. In this chapter, Lee has shown that â€Å"law and limits and personal autonomy can coexist effectively† (Lee) by drawing examples from other cultures and their social structure. The key solution Lee

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Industry Life Cycle of Nokia Company

Social Sustainability Process Industry Social Sustainability Social Indicators for Sustainable Project and Technology Life Cycle Management in the Process Industry Carin Labuschagne1 and Alan C. Brent1* 1 Chair of Life Cycle Engineering, Department of Engineering & Technology Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa * Corresponding author (alan. [email  protected] ac. za) DOI: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1065/lca2006. 01. 233 Abstract Goal, Scope and Background.The importance of the social dimension of sustainable development increased significantly during the last decade of the twentieth century. Industry has subsequently experienced a shift in stakeholder pressures from environmental to social-related concerns, where new developments in the form of projects and technologies are undertaken. However, the measurement of social impacts and the calculation of suitable indicators are less well developed compared to environmental indicators in order to assess the pot ential liabilities associated with undertaken projects and technologies.The aim of this paper is to propose a Social Impact Indicator (SII) calculation procedure based on a previously introduced Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) calculation procedure for environmental Resource Impact Indicators (RIIs), and to demonstrate the practicability of the SII procedure in the context of the process industry in South Africa. Methods. A framework of social sustainability criteria has been introduced for the South African process industry.The social sub-criteria of the framework are further analyzed, based on project and technology management expertise in the South African process industry, to determine whether the criteria should be addressed at project or technology management level or whether they should rather form part of an overall corporate governance policy for new projects and technologies. Furthermore, the proposed indicators for criteria that are considered appropriate for project or technology evaluation purposes are constrained by the type of information that is available, i. e. he calculation methodology relies on the availability of regional or national social information where the project will be implemented, as well as the availability of project- or technology-specific social information during the various phases of the project or technology development life cycle. Case studies in the process industry and statistical information for South Africa are subsequently used to establish information availability for the SII calculation procedure, demonstrate the SII method together with the RII method, and determine the practical use of the SII method.Results and Conclusion. The case studies establish that social footprint information as well as project- and technology social data are not readily available in the South African process industry. Consequently, the number of mid-point categories that can be evaluated are minimal, which results in an impaired soci al picture when compared to the environmental dimension. It is concluded that a quantitative social impact assessment method cannot be applied for project and technology life cycle management purposes in industry at present.Recommendation and Perspective. Following the outcomes of the case studies in the South African process industry, it is recommended that checklists and guidelines be used during project and technology life cycle management practices. Similar to the environmental dimension, it is envisaged that such checklists and guidelines would improve the availability of quantitative data in time, and would therefore make the SII procedure more practical in the future.Keywords: Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA); Life Cycle Management (LCM); process industry; Resource Impact Indicator (RII); Social Impact Indicator (SII); social sustainability Introduction The last decade of the twentieth century marked significant steps to draw the social dimension of sustainable development into the open [1]. The inclusion of social aspects in the sustainability debate and practice has nevertheless been marginal compared to the attention given to the other two dimensions, especially from a business perspective [1,2,3].However, stakeholders are forcing companies to address the inclusion of social sustainability by shifting pressure from environmental to social related concerns [4,5]. The social dimension is commonly recognised as the ‘weakest' pillar of sustainable development due to a lack of analytical and theoretical underpinnings [5] and it is believed that the state of development of indicators or measurements for social business sustainability parallels that of environmental performances about 20 years ago [6].Nevertheless, there is a definite need for practical tools to introduce social sustainability into business evaluation processes [1,7,8]. This paper proposes a methodology to assess the social sustainability of projects and technologies in the process industry by calculating social impact indicators, and addresses the following two questions: 1) What social criteria must such an assessment methodology consider and measure? 2) How must these criteria be addressed and measured?To address the first question, a framework of social business sustainability criteria is defined, which is relevant for operational initiatives in the process industry. Social sustainable development indicators are then introduced, demonstrated and discussed, based on the defined framework. Int J LCA 11 (1) 3 – 15 (2006)  © 2006 ecomed publishers (Verlagsgruppe Huthig Jehle Rehm GmbH), D-86899 Landsberg and Tokyo †¢ Mumbai †¢ Seoul †¢ Melbourne †¢ Paris 3 Process Industry Social Sustainability Responsibility (CSR) literature and guidelines, and other international guidelines were undertaken (Table 1) [9].The analysis showed that a comprehensive social sustainability framework should define appropriate criteria to address the comp any's impacts on the social systems in which it operates, as well as the company's relationship with its various stakeholders. A sustainable development framework for operational initiatives was subsequently developed and proposed, the social dimension of which is shown in Fig. 1. Table 2 provides the definitions of the criteria at the different levels of the framework, which are described in detail elsewhere [9]. 1 1. 1 Social Sustainability Criteria FrameworkDevelopment of a framework for business management purposes in the process industry The current indicator frameworks that are available to measure overall business sustainability do not effectively address social aspects of sustainability at operational level in the process industry, especially in developing countries such as South Africa [9]. The question arises what the exact scope of social sustainability should entail from a business management perspective. An analysis of current available frameworks, Social Impact Assessm ent (SIA) guidelines, Corporate SocialTable 1: Analysis of the social criteria addressed by current frameworks and guidelines [9] Name and type of literature Health Education Environment Housing / Living conditions ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Criteria Society Security / Crime Facilities & Services Population characteristics Community characteristics Economic welfare / Employment ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Indicator frameworks United Nations 1 ? ? 3 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Global Reporting Intitiative2 IchemE Sustainability Metrics Wuppertal Indicators 4 European Conceptual Framework for Social Ind. SIA literature Interorganizational Committee on Guidelines and Principles6 Socioeconomic impacts for Energy Efficiency Project for Climate Change Mitigation7 South Sydney Council SIA 8 checklist SIA categories for development 9 projects in South Africa South African social criteria for CDM project evaluation10 Classification of social impacts 11 according to Vanclay Classification of social impacts 11 according to Juslen Classification of social impacts according to Gramling and 11 Freudenburg SIA Series’ Guide to Social Assessment12 Government actions European Greenpaper on CSR World Bank’s Social Analysis 14 Sourcebook SRI Indexes Dow Jones Sustainability Index FTSE 4 GOOD16 JSE SRI Index 17 18 15 13 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Pressures from international financing organisations ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dominini 400 Index Global Compact19 International standards and guidelines Global Sullivan Principles20 Caux Round Table OECD Guidelines SA 8000 23 21 22 AA 100024 Investors in People CSR standards Ethos Indicators 27 25 26 Ethical Trading Initiative ? 29 ? ? ? ? ? Standards of CSR28 Danish Social Index 4 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability Process IndustryTable 1: Analysis of the social criteria addressed by current frameworks and guidelines [9] (cont'd) Name and type of literature Society Community cohesion Indicator frameworks 1 United Nations 2 Global Reporting Intitiative ? 3 IchemE Sustainability Metrics 4 Wuppertal Indicators European Conceptual Framework ? 5 for Social Ind. SIA literature Interorganizational Committee on ? 6 Guidelines and Principles Socioeconomic impacts for ? Energy Efficiency Project for 7 Climate Change Mitigation 8 South Sydney Council SIA checklist ? SIA categories for development ? 9 projects in South Africa South African social criteria for CDM project evaluation10 Classification of social impacts ? 11 according to Vanclay Classification of social impacts ? 1 according to Juslen Classification of social impacts ? according to Gramling and 11 Freudenburg SIA Series' Guide to Social ? Assessment12 Government actions 13 European Greenpaper on CSR ? Pressures from international financing organisations World Bank's Social Analysis ? 14 Sourcebook SRI Indexes 15 Dow Jones Sustainability Index FTSE 4 GOOD16 17 J SE SRI Index 18 Dominini 400 Index International standards and guidelines 19 Global Compact 20 Global Sullivan Principles Caux Round Table21 22 OECD Guidelines 23 SA 8000 ? AA 100024 ? 25 Investors in People ? 26 Ethical Trading Initiative ? CSR standards 27 Ethos Indicators 28 Standards of CSR Danish Social Index29 1Criteria Society and company (interlinkage) Product Community Stakeholder Training, responsibility involvement participation / education of of company Engagement staff Equity Company internal Fair Human labour rights practices Employee health and safety ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (2001): Indicators of susta inable development: guidelines and methodologies. United Nations. Available from ;http://www. un. rg/esa/sustdev/ natlinfo/indicators/indisd/indisd-mg2001. pdf;, visited on 19 November 2003 Global Reporting Initiative (2002): Sustainability Reporting Guidelines 2002. Global Reporting Initiative, Boston Institution of Chemical Engineers, (2002): The Sustainability Metrics: Sustainable Development Progress Metrics recommend for use in the Process Industries. Institution of Chemical Engineers. Rugby Spangenberg JH, Bonniot O (1998): Sustainability Indicators – A Compass on the Road Towards Sustainability. Wuppertal Paper 81 Centre for Survey Research and Methodology (ZUMA) (2000): Conceptual Framework and Structure of a European System of Social Indicators.EuReporting Working Paper no 9, Mannheim Interorganizational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment (1995): Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment R eview 15 (1) 11–43 Vine E, Sathaye J (1999): Guidelines for the Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting, Verification and Certification of Energy-Efficiency Projects for Climate Change Mitigation. US Environmental Protection Agency through the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098 South Sydney Council (2004): The South Sydney Plan: Social Impact Assessment Checklist. ;http://www. sscc. nsw. gov. au/router? model=c=1704;, visited on 21 January 2004. Khosa M (2000): Social Impact Assessment of Development Projects. In: Khosa M (ed), Infrastructure Mandate for Change 1994–1999.Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Publishers, Pretoria Brent AC, Heuberger R, Manzini D (2005): Evaluating projects that are potentially eligible for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) funding in the South African context: A case study to establish weighting values for sustainable development criteria. Environment and Development Economics 10 (5) 631–649 Vanclay F (200 2): Conceptualising social impacts. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22 (3) 183–211 Branch K, Hooper DA, Thompson J, Creighton J (1984): Guide to Social Assessment: A framework for assessing social change. Westview Press, London European Commission: Employment and Social Affairs (2001): Promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility. European Communities, Luxembourg Social Analysis and Policy Team (2003): Social Analysis Sourcebook: Incorporating Social Dimensions into Bank-supported projects.Washington DC, The World Bank: Social Development Department SAM Indexes (2003): Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes Guide, Version 5. 0. SAM Indexes GmbH, Zollikon-Zurich FTSE (2003): FTSE4Good Index Series: Inclusion Criteria. FTSE The Independent Global Index Company, London Johannesburg Stock Exchange (2004): JSE SRI Index: Background and Selection Criteria. ;http://www. jse. co. za/sri/docs/;, visited on 9 January 2004 Domini Social Investments (2003): T he Domini 400 Social IndexSM. Available from ;http://www. domini. com/Social-screening/creation_maintenance. doc_cvt. htm;, visited on 31 December 2003 Kell G (2003): The global compact: origins, operations, progress and challenges.The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Autumn, 35–49 Global Sullivan Principles (2003): The Global Sullivan Principles of Social Responsibility. Available from ;http://www. globalsullivanprinciples. org;, visited on 27 December 2003 Caux Round Table (2003): Caux Round Table Principles for Business, English Translation. Available from: ;http://www. cauxroundtable. org/ENGLISH. htm;, visited on 20 January 2003 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (2000): The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 2000 Revision. OECD Publication, Paris Social Accountability International (2003): Overview of SA8000. Available from ;http://www. cepaa. org/SA8000/SA8000. tm;, visited on 4 March 2003 AccountAbility (1999): Overview of the AA1000 fr amework. AccountAbility Publication, London, available from ;http://www. accountability. org. uk/uploadstore/cms/docs/AA1000%20Overview. pdf;, visited on 29 December 2003 Investors in People UK (2003): The Standard. Available from ;http://iipuk. co. uk/IIP/Internet/InvestorsinPeople/TheStandard/default. htm;, visited on 29 December 2003 Ethical Trading Initiative (2003): Ethical Trading Initiative Homepage. Available from ;http://www. ethicaltrade. org;, visited on 29 December 2003 Ethos Institute for Business and Social Responsibility (2001): ETHOS Corporate Social Responsibility INDICATORS.Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabillidade Social, Sao Paulo Goodell E (ed) (1999): Social Venture Networks: Standards of Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Venture Networks, San Fransisco Danish Ministry of Social Affairs, KPMG, Socialforskningsinstituttet (2000): Social Index: Measuring a Company's social responsibility, Danish Ministry of Social Affairs, Copenhagen Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 5 Process Industry Social Sustainability Social Sustainability Internal Human Resources External Population Macro Social Performance Stakeholder Participation Employment Stability Human Capital Socio- Economic Performance Information Provision Employment Opportunities Employment Renumeration Employment Practices Health Economic Welfare Trading Opportunities Socio- Environmental Performance Collective Audience Selected Audience Stakeholder Influence Education Productive Capital Disciplinary & Security Practices Employee Contracts Equity Housing MonitoringDecision Influence Potential Stakeholder Empowerment Service Infrastructure Mobility Infrastructure Regulatory & Public Services Community Capital Legislation Enforcement Labour Sources Health & Safety Health & Safety Practices Health & Safety Incidents Capacity Development Sensory Stimuli Cultural Properties Social Pathologies Security Economic Welfare Social Cohesion Research & Development Career Development Fig. 1: Framework to assess the social sustainability of engineering projects and technologies [9] Table 2: Definitions of Social Criteria [9] Internal Human Resources focuses on the social responsibility of the company towards its workforce and includes all aspects of employment.The criterion addresses a business initiative's impact on work opportunities within the company, the stability thereof as well as Employment Stability evaluating the fairness of compensation. Disciplinary and secrecy practices as well as employee contracts are addressed under this criterion. These are evaluated to Employment Practices ensure that it complies with the laws of the country, international human rights declarations as well as other human rights and fair employment practice standards. The criterion focuses on the health and safety of the workforce and evaluates preventive measures as well as the occurrence Health & Safety and handling of health and/or safety incidents. Capacity Development The criterion addresses two different, aspects namely research and development, and career development.External Population focuses on the external impacts of the company’s operational initiatives on a society, e. g. impacts External Population on the availability of services, community cohesion, economic welfare, etc. Human Capital refers to an individual's ability to work in order to generate an income and encompasses aspects such as health, Human Capital psychological wellbeing, education, training and skills levels. The criterion addresses Health and Education separately. Productive capital entails the assets and infrastructure an individual needs in order to maintain a productive life. The criterion Productive Capital measures the strain placed on these assets and infrastructure availability by the business initiative.This criterion takes into account the effect of an operational initiative on the social and institutional relationships and networks of Community Capital trust, reciprocity and sup port as well as the typical characteristics of the community. Macro Social Performance focuses on the contribution of an organisation to the environmental and financial Macro Social Performance performance of a region or nation, e. g. contribution to exports. Socio-Economic Performance This criterion addresses the external economic impact of the company's business initiatives. Economic welfare (contribution to GDP, taxes, etc. ) as well as trading opportunities (contribution to foreign currency savings, etc. ) are addressed separately.Socio-Environmental This criterion considers the contributions of an operational initiative to the improvement of the environment for society on a Performance community, regional and national level. The extension of the environmental monitoring abilities of society, as well as the enhancement of legislation and the enforcement thereof, are included in this criterion. Stakeholder Participation focuses on the relationships between the company and ALL its stakeholders (internally and Stakeholder Participation externally) by assessing the standard of information sharing and the degree of stakeholder influence on decision-making. The quantity and quality of information shared with stakeholders are measured.Information can either be shared openly with all Information Provisioning stakeholders (Collective Audience) or shared with targeted, specific groups of stakeholders (Selected Audience). The degree to which the company actually listens to the stakeholders' opinion should also be evaluated. Two separate subStakeholder Influence criteria are included: Decision Influence Potential and Stakeholder Empowerment. Internal Human Resources 6 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability Process Industry The conclusion was reached that no social aspect of the ten projects could be found that could not be classified into the criteria framework. In addition, all of the social criteria did not manifest in each asset life cycle phase. However, ther e may be social aspects that did not manifest in either the case studies or the framework.Nevertheless, the basis on which the individual case studies were chosen makes these cases adequately representative of the current social environment in which construction, operation, and decommissioning occurs in the process industry. It is subsequently concluded that the framework is complete enough to be used as an initial basis to develop a social assessment methodology, which can incorporate social sustainability into project and technology management practices. The social sustainability framework was further validated by means of a Delphi Technique survey [12]. The survey focused on the relevance of the proposed social criteria for the evaluation of projects or technologies and attempted to answer whether the project team, a functional unit within an organisation, or an organisation's corporate governance framework should address the different social aspects.A total of 23 project managem ent experts in a process industry company in South Africa participated in the survey, which established the suitability of the social criteria, as well as the relevance of the criteria in terms of sustainable business practices. The outcomes of the survey support the conclusion reached by the case studies, but also suggest, according to the opinion of project management experts, that all the criteria are not relevant to project and technology management, but should rather manifest as part of corporate policy (Table 3) [11]. 1. 2 Verification and validation of the completeness and relevance of the social criteria of the framework The social sustainability framework was verified by means of case studies testing the completeness and relevance of its criteria.Since the aim of the framework is to assess the social sustainability of projects and technologies in the process industry, ten case studies were chosen that represent the three phases of the asset, or technology, life cycle with t he greatest potential to cause social impacts, i. e. the Construction Phase, the Operation Phase, and the Decommissioning Phase. The rationale for focussing on the three asset life cycle phases, as well as the interaction between asset and project life cycles, can be found in literature [10]. The case studies aimed to describe the significant social impacts that may occur during the life cycle phases in relation to the proposed framework, and to identify any social impacts that cannot be classified into the framework [11]: †¢ The construction of three process industry facilities: an incinerator, a mine, and a gas pipeline. The operation of four chemical manufacturing facilities, one in Germany, one in the USA, and two in different provinces in South Africa. †¢ The decommissioning of three process industry facilities: a cyanide manufacturing plant, an acrylic fibre manufacturing plant, and a mine. Project related documentation, pertaining to each of the case studies, was ev aluated and personal interviews were held with project responsible individuals [11]. It must be noted that in case study research it is not easy to generalise results, since statistical analysis cannot necessarily be applied. Cases are not sampling units and cannot be treated as such. Table 3: Delphi Technique survey results [11]Criterion Employment Opportunities Employment Remuneration Disciplinary & Security Practices Employee Contracts Equity & Diversity Labour Sources Health & Safety Practices Health & Safety Incidents Research Development Career Development Health Education Housing Service Infrastructure Mobility Infrastructure Regulatory & Public Services/ Institutional Services Sensory Stimuli Security Cultural Properties Economic Welfare Social Pathologies Social Cohesion Economic Welfare Trading Opportunities Monitoring Legislation Enforcement Information Provisioning Stakeholder Influence Project x The criterion should be addressed by†¦ Business Strategy x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Functional Department x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 7 Process Industry Social Sustainability CC = Characterisation factor for an impact category (of intervention X) within the pathway. As a first approximation no characterisation factors are assumed and social LCI constituents are considered separately.NC = Normalisation factor for the impact category based on the social objectives in the region of assessment, i. e. the inverse of the target state of the impact category. The information is obtained from social footprint data in the region of the assessment. And, Significance (or relative importance) of the impact category in a social group based on the distance-to-target method, i. e. current social state divided by the target social state (see section 1. 2). 2 Social Impact Indicator (SII) Calculation Procedure The main focus of this paper is the development and testing of a quantitative so cial sustainable development indicator calculation method.A life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) approach has been proposed before for the evaluation of the social impacts of life cycle systems from compiled LCIs [13,14]. An introduced LCIA methodology developed specifically for the South African context, termed the Resource Impact Indicator (RII) approach [15], is thereby used as basis for the development of social indicators. The environmental RII approach considers the current and target ambient state or ecological footprint through a conventional distance-to-target normalisation and weighting calculation procedure [15]. A similar calculation procedure is proposed for Social Impact Indicators (SII), using the four main social criteria (shown in Fig. 1) as Areas of Protection (AoP).Three of these criteria represent the main groups of social resources on which the company can have an impact, while the fourth criterion represents all relationships between the company and stakeholders . The general SII calculation procedure is described through Eq. 1. (1) Where: SIIG = Social Impact Indicator calculated for a main social resource group through the summation of all impact pathways of all categorised social interventions of an evaluated life cycle system. QX = Quantifiable social intervention (X) of a life cycle system in a midpoint impact category C, i. e. project or technology specific information with regards to social impacts. Table 4: Midpoint categories and evaluation methods [17] Social Impact Indicators (SIIs) Internal Human Resources Midpoint category SC = CS = TSTo develop the calculation method, the same case studies used for the verification of the social criteria (see section 1. 2) were used to compile a list of possible social interventions, i. e. a social Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of assessed operational initiatives in the process industry. However, the RII method makes use of mid-point categories. To define midpoint categories, the list of social i nterventions was mapped against the social criteria at various levels within the proposed social sustainability framework. A causal relationship diagram was consequently established for each of the four main social criteria, which define the midpoint categories. These causal diagrams are shown in the Appendix [16].Three measurement methods are proposed to express the defined midpoint categories in equivalence units (Table 4) [17]: †¢ Established risk assessment approaches, which require a subjective evaluation of the probability of occurrence, the projected frequency of the occurrence, and the potential intensity thereof; Measurement methods to establish equivalence units Quantitative Risk Quantitative Quantitative Risk Qualitative Quantitative Qualitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Quantitative Qualitative Quantitative Qualitative/Quantitative Quantitative External Population Stakeholder Participation Macro-Social PerformancePermanent internal employment positions Internal Health and Safety situation Knowledge level / Career development Internal Research and Development capacity Comfort level / Nuisances Perceived aesthetics Local employment Local population migration Access to health facilities Access to education Availability of acceptable housing Availability of water services Availability of energy services Availability of waste services Pressure on public transport services Pressure on the transport network / People and goods movement Access to regulatory and public services Change in relationships with stakeholders External value of purchases / supply chain value/Nature of Purchases Migration of clients / Changes in the product value chain/Nature of Sales Improvement of socio-environmental services 8 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability Process IndustryTable 5: Proposed Midpoint Categories for the four main social criteria together with proposed units of equivalence Social AoP Internal Human Resources Midpoint Category Permanent Internal Employment Positions Possible Health and Safety Incidents Internal Research & Development Capacity External Population Comfort Level/Nuisances Units of equivalence Number of employment opportunities equivalent to a specific position Fatality or Disability Injury Rate Cost spend on R capacity Risk of uncomfort/ Kilo tons of pollutants emitted per annum Intervention Information, i. e. project Social Footprint Information needed or technology information Number and type of employment Employment by type, i. e. osition and opportunities created or destroyed full-time/part-time, for municipality Risk of health and safety incidents with prediction of number based on similar previous undertakings Investment by project in R as part of project budget Predicted emissions that can smell or risk of emissions Industry fatal accident or disability injury rate Municipality budget on R or industry budget Emissions and noise le vel of municipality as well as acceptable levels by standards, e. g. SABS standards Predicted noise levels or risk of noise Aesthetics Level of perceived acceptability Risk of structure and location having a negative impact on aesthetics of community Perceived level of aesthetic acceptability by community Local Employment Fraction of employable community hours Number of permanent job type equivalents Calculation: permanent positions multiplied by conversion factor Employment by type for community or municipality Local Population Migration Access to health facilities Level of short-term demographic changes People per qualified doctorPredicted change in local population Predicted increase or decrease in ratio, focus only on public health sector Predicted impact on the number of literate adults The predicted need for houses which must be build multiplied by the average size Quantity of water used or supplied Quantity of electricity used or supplied Quantity of waste generated and/or qu antity of waste removed from municipal area Number of additional public transport seats required Tons of good transported on roads and or kilometre of road infrastructure provided Percentage of turnover or expenses spend locally Monetary amount spend on services, resources or information that will improve macro environmental performance Predicted Percentage improvement or deterioration in perceived stakeholder trust Demographic profile of community or municipal area National ratio of people per qualified doctor or international ratio Literate adults in municipality area or region Size of municipality area Access to Education Availability of acceptable houses Availability of water services Availability of energy services Availability of waste services Pressure on public transport services Pressure on transport network/ People and goods movement Macro Social Performance Literate adults Zoned residential area per capita Water of drinking quality per capita kWh of electricity per capita Capita per G:h landfill siteWater of drinking quality used by municipality Electricity usage by municipality Landfill sites (type and size) used by municipality Public Transport seats available in municipal area Ton kilometres per capita (in region or nationally) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per region and/or per industry. Monetary amount spent on Environmental Services by the region, i. e. provincial government or municipal council Perceived stakeholder trust based on community questionnaires or surveys Seat kilometres per capita Ton kilometres per capita External value of purchases Fraction of purchased locallymanufactures goods Improvement of SocioEnvironmental Services Cost spent on SE services per capita Stakeholder Participation Change in relationships with stakeholders Level of stakeholder trust Quantitative evaluation approaches, including, but not limited to, costs and direct measurements in society; and †¢ Qualitative evaluation approaches, which require appropriate subjective scales and associated guidelines, and have been proposed for the industrial ecology and streamlined LCA disciplines (see section 1. 2). The defined midpoint categories, which, from the validation survey (see section 1. 2), are considered appropriate at project or technology management level, together with pro- posed units of equivalence for evaluation purposes are shown in Table 5. The units of equivalence were determined from the characteristics of the social interventions identified from the ten case studies.The definitions of the midpoint categories make it evident that the normalisation and significance steps will be constrained by what is practicably measurable within a society where an operational initiative, i. e. project or technology (from an industry perspective), will typically occur. The availability of information is likely to differ be- Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 9 Process Industry tween developed and developing countries. Furthermore, the projection of the socia l interventions of a project or technology may be problematic or at least differ from case to case. Separate studies may be required for some of the social sustainability criteria, e. g. stakeholder participation, even at project-specific level, which may be problematic. Case Studies to Demonstrate and Test the SII Calculation Method Social Sustainability 3. 1 Construction of an open cast mine 3. 1. 1 Background The SII calculation method was applied to three case studies to determine the current feasibility thereof in terms of data availability. In the third case study, environmental Resource Impact Indicators were also calculated using the RII method [15]. All case studies are set in South Africa and project information was obtained from Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies as well as interviews with members of the respective project teams. Due to the hindsight application of the SII method no additional data could be collected from a project perspective.Social footprint information was obtained from: †¢ Statistics South Africa [18]; †¢ South African Department of Transport [19]; †¢ South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) [20]; †¢ South African Department of Health [21]; †¢ South African Department of Labour [22]; †¢ NOSA International [23]; and †¢ Municipal Demarcation Board South Africa [24] and individual municipalities, e. g. some municipalities have undertaken Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) in certain regions of South Africa. In the case studies, mid-point categories were evaluated in respect of whether both project and social footprint information are available, and if the respective information is comparable. It is noted that whereas LCA normally considers a product's life cycle, these case studies focus on the asset, or technology, life cycle (as described in section 1. 2) with the functional unit being one operational year of the asset.However, since the asset life c ycle and the associate product life cycle interact through the asset’s operational phase [10], the indicators could be translated to a typical product-manufactured functional unit. In 1996 a petrochemical company in South Africa announced its intention to develop an Open Cast Strip Mine on the banks of the Vaal River between the Gauteng and Free State Provinces. The project was motivated on the basis that the reserves of the company's main mine in the area had reached the end of its economic life and that this posed a threat to the future of a large chemical manufacturer in a nearby town, which was supplied by the mine from 1952.Ultimately, a threat to the existence of the chemical manufacturer is a direct threat to the existence of the town and in a sense the province since the manufacturer contributes 12% to the geographical economy of the region. The project was met with a lot of resistance from the public, especially owners of riverside properties. The project was stopped after a non-governmental organisation took the company to court and won a legal battle, which changed the mining legislation of South Africa. 3. 1. 2 Available project and social footprint information Tables 6 and 7 summarise the available project information and social footprint information that have been obtained from the Environmental Management Programme Report [25] and the specialist study on the macro social economic impacts [26]. 3. 1. 3 SIIs for the projectThe information presented in Tables 6 and 7 highlights the mismatch between available project and social footprint information. SIIs were calculated as far as possible where both appropriate project and social footprint information was available for midpoint categories (Table 8) using Eq. 1. The project will have an overall positive social impact, although job creation could not outweigh the negative impact on the comfort level on the neighbourhoods in a close vicinity to the plant. The overall positive impact is mainly d ue to the large contribution the project will make to the Gross Geographic Product (GGP) of a relative small area, which relies strongly on mining.Table 6: Available project social intervention information for the proposed mine Construction Employment Opportunities created Employment Opportunities destroyed Indirect Employment Opportunities Contribution to GDP (added or lost) Reduction in property values Increases in Ambient Noise levels (dBa) on Average Dust (mg/day/m2) 450 people [24:138] Operation 300a employment opportunities over a 20 year life span [24:121] Multiplier effect of 2. 8: 840a a 20 employment opportunities on farmsa [24: 267] Multiplier effect of 2. 8: 1260 R52 million per annum (in 1999/2000) [25:32] 9-19% (year 1–10) [24: 258] ;2 [24: 195] Between ;50–250 [24: 187] 2–6% (after year 10 till mine closure) [24:258] ; 2 [24: 238–239] ;100a [24: 231] a a These values are used as quantifiable social interventions (Qx) in the SII calculation procedure. The South African Rand is equal to approximately 0. 12 Euros (as at the end of October 2005). 10 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability Process IndustryTable 7: Available social footprint information for the region of the proposed mine Labour Force: Potentially Economically Active [25: 55] Total 736,721 100% Estimated ambient noise level (dBA) [24: 97] Time of day Morning Midday Evening Night Over 24 hours Sasolburg GDP (1991) due to kind of activity [25: 59] Mining & Quarrying Dust Pattern [25] March–July August–December January–February Dust Figures [25] September October (2 x sites) November (1 site) a b c Employed 308,826 41. 9% a Unemployed 149,335 20. 3% a Not-economically active 278,560 37. 8% Typical weekday 50. 9 46. 9 41. 4 34. 7 44. 6 b Typical weekend 49. 2 48. 0 46. 9 42. 3 46. 8 b R 259 677 000 per annumc Low Higher Lower 251–500 mg/day/m2 501–1200 mg/day/m 501–1200 mg/day/m 2 2 Moderate Heavy Heavy The sum of t hese values are the target state for the region. The current tate refers to only the value 308,826. The average of these two values are used as the target state for the region. The current state is assumed equal to the target state. Value used for target and current state for the region. The South African Rand is equal to approximately 0. 12 Euros (as at the end of October 2005) 3. 2 Operation of a chemical facility 3. 2. 1 Background The chemical facility is located on a 6,798 ha industrial site in South Africa. The construction of the site started in the early 1970s and was finished in 1980. It employs approximately 7000 permanent employees. The facility contributes 13% to the economy of the geographic region. 3. 2. Available operation and social footprint information †¢ A Strategic Environmental Assessment of the area; †¢ South African Census Information; and †¢ South Africa’s Compensation Fund Statistics. References of these sources are withheld to protect the company's identity. Table 9 summarises the available plant information and social footprint information that were obtained. 3. 2. 3 SIIs for the operation The following sources of information were used to calculate SIIs: †¢ The company's Sustainable Development Report; Table 10 shows the calculated SIIs using Eq. 1. Table 10 shows that the operation of the plant has in total a negative social impact. The positive contribution to GDPTable 8: Calculated Social Impact Indicators for the proposed open cast mine from the available case study information Area of Protection Internal Human Resources External Population Intervent. Employment Creation Permanent Positions b Noise & Dust 1 Generated 2 Nature of Sales Midpoint Category Permanent Positions Local Employment Comfort Level Intervent. Value 300 in total 2195200 hrs a Normalisation Value (Ts–1) –06 2. 183 x 10 1. 11 x 10 –09 Significance Value (Cs/Ts) 0. 674 0. 674 1 1 1 Midpoint Indicator Value 4. 41 x 1 0 –04 SII Value 4. 4 x10 –04 1. 65 x 10 –03 –7. 5 x10 –02 –01 External Value of 2. 0 x 10 Macro Social Purchases Performance No information available Stakeholder Participation –01 Final Social Impact Value 1. 5 x10 a Total of 1140 permanent positions at 40 hours per week assumed for 49 weeks (three weeks vacation, etc. ). b A target (and current) state is taken as the weighted average for the region, i. e. 916 mg/day/m2. 1 Since no characterisation factors for noise to dust or dust to noise is available, the midpoint. category was calculated as a weighted average with equal weights to each constituent. 2 The units of equivalence have been changed to contribution to GDP due to the information available. 2 dBA 2 100 mg/d/m R 52 mil. 2. 19 x 10 –03 1. 09 x 10 –03 3. 85 x10 –02 –4. 38 x 10 –01 –1. 09 x 10 –01 2. 0 x 10 –02 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 11 Process Industry Social Sustainabili tyTable 9: Available operational and social footprint information for the region of the chemical facility Interventiona Employees Plant Informationb  ± 7,000 Social Footprint Information Target: To have everyone employed excluding people who prefer to be not economically active. Govan Mbeki Municipality: Employed: 60,681 Unemployed: 40,189; Total Labour Force: 100,870. Employable Community Work hours – assuming all full-time employees – 40 hours – 49 weeks (3 weeks leave). 13 019 (target and current state assumed equal). Not available Not available Not available 197 kilo ton 138. 8 kilo ton 394 kilo ton 90 kilo ton (Permit: 101) 44,109. 2 kilo ton Atmospheric Emissions (concentration information from SEA) NOx 1 Hour Maximum NO2 concentration Average of 5 3 receptor points: 539.  µg/m Acceptable Target (WHO guideline): 200  µg/m3 (1-hour NOx average) Current State: 1 Hour Maximum NO2 concentration based on maximum predicted concentration: 801  µg/m3 Accep table Target (WHO guideline): 125  µg/m3 Current State: 24 Hour Maximum SO2 Concentration based on based on maximum 3 predicted concentration: 152  µg/m Target: (1:200 year firm yield) 150 million m per annum Current (predicted 1998/2000 average) 183. 6 million m3 per annum R 49,707 million Not available Not available 3 Indirect Employment Creation  ± 21,000 (applying the rule of 3 used in SIAs) Total Injuries Disabling Injury Rate (no/200,000 hours) Health & Safety Incidents (Spillages) Atmospheric Emissions: SO2 NOx VOC H2S CO2 541 0. 59 70 Not available Not available Not available Not available Not available SO2 24 Hour Maximum SO2 Concentration based on average of 5 receptor points: 127. 4  µg/m3 Water Usage – River Water 89,963 m 3 Financial Turnoverc Transportation Incidents Complaints a b R 7835 million 12 36 cOnly those quantifiable social interventions for which plant and social footprint information is available, are used in the SII calculation procedure. Al l plant information has been obtained from the Sustainable Development Report where the average of data available has been used unless otherwise stated. The South African Rand is equal to approximately 0. 12 Euros (as at the end of October 2005). Table 10: Calculated Social Impact Indicators for the chemical facility from the available case study information Area of Protection Internal Human Resources Intervent. Midpoint Category Permanent Positions Possible Health and Safety Incidents Local Employment Comfort Level Availability of water services External Value of Purchases Intervent.Value 7,000 541 Normalisation Value (Ts–1) 9. 91 x 10–06 7. 68 x 10 –05 Significance Value (Cs/Ts) 0. 602 1 Midpoint Indicator Value 4. 17 x 10–02 –4. 16 x 10 –02 SII Value Employment Creation Health & Safety Incidents 1. 9 x10–04 External Population Permanent Positions Atmospheric Emissions (SO2) Water Usage 41,167,000 hrs 127. 4  µg/m 89. 963 m 3 3 5. 06 x 10 0. 008 0. 007 –09 0. 602 1. 216 1. 224 0. 125 –1. 239 –0. 734 0. 158 –1. 85 Macro Social Performance Stakeholder Participation Nature of Sales R 7835 mil. 2. 01 x 10 –05 1 0. 158 No information available –1. 69 x10 –01 Final Social Impact Value 12 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability nd employment cannot outweigh the negative impacts on comfort level, people (in the form of health and safety accidents), and the water usage. The biggest social impact is the impact on comfort level due to atmospheric emissions, i. e. secondary environmental impacts. 3. 3 Decommissioning of a fibre manufacturing plant Process Industry In addition, environmental RIIs were calculated using standard RII values, which were calculated for selected process parameters [27]. Table 11 shows the available project and social footprint information. 3. 3. 3 Environmental and social impact indicators 3. 3. 1 Background Tables 12 and 13 show the calcula ted Social and Environmental Impact Indicators.The values in Tables 12 and 13 show that although a similar methodology was followed to calculate SIIs compared to RIIs, the indicator outcomes are vastly different. This highlights that the interpretation of indicators remains challenging. Assessing the overall sustainability performance of a project or technology by allowing trade-offs between the contributions and damages should be seriously considered before it is applied. Ultimately, the trade-offs between the different dimensions would be the responsibility of the specific decision-makers, and therefore reflect the preferences of the decision-makers. 3. 4 Conclusions from the case studies In the early 1990s a second-hand acrylic fibre plant from a manufacturing facility in France was dismantled and relocated in the KwaZulu Province of South Africa.However, the decreasing acrylic fibre market in South Africa, combined with a lack of import protection, led to the decision to decommi ssion the plant in March 2002. The plant manufactured its last products in May 2002, which were sold in August 2002. The plant was dismantled and the site rehabilitated by March 2003. 3. 3. 2 Available project and social footprint information Using the company's sustainable development report, the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the region, as well as the sustainable development indicator data of the municipal area in which the plant operated, the SII calculation procedure was applied to calculate the social impacts. As stated before it is not easy to generalise from case study research.However, the case studies showed that it is not possible to calculate all social midpoint category indicators, Table 11: Available project and social footprint information for the region of the fibres plant Interventiona Nature of Jobs Project Information 250 employment opportunities lost (5% relocated = 12 ) Social Footprint Information eThekwini unemployment: 591,024 eThekwini employmen t: 782,933 Target: To have everyone employed excluding people who prefer to be not economically active. Employable Community Work hours – assuming all full-time employees – 40 hours – 49 weeks (3 weeks leave). Indirect Employment Destruction  ± 750 (applying the rule of 3 used in SIAs) Work-hours lost due to injuries Disabling Injuries 475. 25 hours 6. Although social footprint information is available the definition of disabling injuries is not given and therefore information is not comparable. Not available Not available eThekwini Emissions 0. 488 kilo ton per annum 0. 111 kilo ton per annum 0. 005 kilo ton per annum 1,429,200 kilo litre per annum 54. 50 kilo ton per annum 54. 50 kilo ton per annum No information available eThekwini – with water loss: 168,090 ML – without water loss: 280,149 ML eThekwini: 9098 GWh per annum Not available Durban South Basin: 45,000 ton per annum Not available GDP of Kwa Zulu Natal: R 113,047 million Disabling In jury Rate (no per 200 000 hours) Health & Safety Incidents (Spillages) Atmospheric Emissions: SO2 NOx VOC Water Usage 2. 375 0. 75 per annumEnergy Usage Solid Waste: General/Domestic Non-Hazardous Industrial Nature of Sales c 48. 384 GWh per annum 5. 25 x 10 m per annum 2. 575 x 10 m per annum b 1,545 tons per annum 2. 675 x 10 m per annum Annual turnover of R 500 million 0. 5 per annum 3 3 3 3 3 3 Stakeholder Complaints a b c Only those quantifiable social interventions for which plant and social footprint information is available, are used in the SII calculation procedure. The South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's minimum requirements for waste density was used for the conversion. The South African Rand is equal to approximately 0. 12 Euros (as at the end of October 2005). Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 13 Process Industry Social SustainabilityTable 12: Calculated Social Impact Indicators for the decommissioning of the fibres plant from the available case study informati on Area of Protection Internal Human Resources Intervent. Employment Creation Permanent Positions Energy Usage External Population Water Usage Waste a Generated Atmospheric Emissions (SO2 & NOx)b Macro Social Performance Stakeholder Participation Final Social Impact Value a b c Midpoint Category Permanent Positions Local Employment Availability of energy services Availability of water services Availability of waste services Comfort Level External Value of Purchases Intervent. Value 262 1,983,520 hrs 48. 384 GWh 1,429,200 kl 1 545 t 0. 65 kt SO2 eq. R 500 mil. Normalisation Value (Ts–1) 7. 28 x 10–07 3. 71 x 10 –10 Significance Value (Cs/Ts) 0. 570 0. 570 1 1 1 Midpoint Indicator Value –1. 09 x 10–04 –4. 20 x 10 –04 SII Value –1. 1 x10–04 1. 1 x 10–04 3. 57 x 10 –09 5. 32 x 10–03 5. 10 x 10 –03 5. 47 x10–04 2. 22 x 10–05 2. 84 x 10–02 7. 98 x 10–06 3. 43 x 10– 02 1. 04 x 10–02 –3. 99 x 10–03 –4. 0 x10–03 a Nature of Salesc 1 No information available 5. 06 x10 –02 Based on information available the units of equivalence have been changed to domestic waste generated in tons. Comfort level is measured quantitatively in kilo tons SO2 per annum using CML characterisation factors.The units of equivalence have been changed to contribution to GDP due to the information available. The South African Rand is equal to approximately 0. 12 Euros (as at the end of October 2005). Table 13: Calculated environmental Resource Impact Indicators for the decommissioning of the fibres plant from the available case study information Process Parameter (annual quantities) Waste Electricity used Coal Used Steam used Water used 1,545,000 kg 174,182,400 MJ 46,368,000 kg 354,960,000 kg 1,429,200,000 kg Resource Impact Indicator Water 7. 29 x 10–02 7. 88 x 10 0 2. 60 x 10 7. 00 x 10 8. 84 x 10 4 4 5 Air 2. 33 x 10– 06 1. 79 x 10 0 2. 51 x 10 0 1. 81 x10 +04 2 4 Land 4. 2 x 10–02 1. 68 x 10 0 4. 41 0 1. 72 x 10 +02 2 Mined 0 8. 81 x 10 1 1. 67 x 102 1. 52 x 10 0 4. 07 x 10 +02 2 +05 either because of a lack of project information, or because of a lack of social footprint information. In addition, the units of equivalence cannot be fixed since they depend on the available information. This complicates indicator comparisons between various projects. The limitation of available social footprint information results in the fact that only some midpoint category indicators are possible, i. e. permanent positions, water usage, energy usage, nature of sales, and comfort level, which leads to an impaired social picture.In addition, the midpoint category indicators for water usage, energy usage and comfort level are much higher than permanent positions, thus resulting in a net negative social impact for any proposed development, which may not be a representation of the true social influence of the project or technology. 4 Conclusions and Recommendations sions of sustainable development [29]. The research therefore concludes that a quantitative social impact assessment method cannot be applied for project and technology life cycle management purposes in industry at present. It is emphasised that these conclusions were reached from a process LCA perspective, which is industry sector-wide.Research with a product LCA focus may lead to different outcomes. Although a comprehensive top-down approach was followed, a bottom-up approach may be more appropriate for product LCAs [30], as the selection of suitable criteria would be constrained to the specific scope of a LCA study. 4. 1 Further steps to quantify social impact indicators A case study independent analysis of available social footprint information in South Africa confirmed the main finding of this paper that social footprint information is not available for all midpoint categories [28]. It is regarded as an international prob lem that current available statistics are incapable of providing an integrated view of various dimen-It is proposed that social sustainability should be incorporated into project and technology life cycle management by means of guidelines and checklists. Similar to the environmental dimension, it is envisaged that such checklists and guidelines would improve the availability of quantitative data in time, and would therefore make the SII procedure more practical in the future. Although such guidelines and checklists have been developed from a theoretical perspective [28], practical guidelines and checklists from a project or technology life cycle management perspective are yet to be dem- 14 Int J LCA 11 (1) 2006 Social Sustainability onstrated. Further cases are subsequently required for demonstration and analysis purposes.While the guidelines and checklists may lead to a paradigm shift in industry towards obtaining and evaluating social impact-related information, it is also suggest ed that a lesscomprehensive list of social criteria is used as a starting point to develop social LCA-specific methodologies, possibly using those midpoint category indicators that were quantifiable in the case studies of this research, i. e. permanent positions, water usage, energy usage, nature of sales, and comfort level, or other midpoint categories that are currently proposed [30]. However, social issues are highly influenced by cultural perceptions, and it would be best to undertake such a task at national level.National indicator sets can then be compared and combined on an international level. 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