Sunday, December 11, 2011

Ethics of Hour and Wage Regulations in Singapore and Taiwan



Taiwan

Environmental Regulations

Labor Standards Act

Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act supersedes the Minimum Wage Act of 1956. It was enacted in 1984. The act “makes provisions for working hours, work leave, and the employment of women and children. Furthermore, the law offers protections against unreasonable work hours and forced labor” (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2011). Deloitte (2010), defines that specific parameters for the maximum working hours as 42 hours per week (or 84 hours biweekly) and no more than 46 hours of overtime a month.  The most recent minimum hourly wage adjustment was in the October 1997-September 1998 period. The rate was set at NT$66 (US$2.19).


Labor Insurance Act

The Labor Insurance Act was passed into Taiwan Law in 1958. The act mandates insurance coverage provisions be provided to private sector employees. “Teachers and employees working in government agencies who are not eligible for teachers' or civil servants' insurance are also covered under this law” (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2011).



Additional Notable Regulations

-        Employment Promotion Measures law-1985

-        Labor Safety and Health Law- 1991

-         Employment Services Act- 1992

-         Labor Inspection Law

-        Collective Agreement Law

Ethics

I believe that these environmental regulations are sufficient for the people that are working in Taiwan. They are very similar to those that we have here in the United States of America. “According to the International Labour Organization (ILO)1, the standard weekly working hours (excluding overtime) cannot exceed 48 hours per week and eight hours a day” (Maplecroft, n.d.) so they are also very close to the standards given internationally. They may even be more sufficient and ethical because they have a limit to the hours that their people can work. The U.S. does not have limitations on the number of hours that can be working per week. The regulations seem reasonable and fair.

Singapore

Environmental Regulations

            Legislation on Wages

 “Minimum wage systems are implemented in Australia, the United States (US), France, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China, the United Kingdom (UK). Singapore does not have such a system” (LIU & WU, 1999).

Employment Act

The Employment Act of 1968 sets guidelines for the maximum number of hours an individual can work. An employee cannot be asked to work for more than 12 hours in a day under the Employment Act. The standard hours worked weekly for people living in Singapore is 44. Overtime work is limited to 72 hours a month. It also sets the overtime pay rate as one and a half times the regular pay rate.

Ethics

I don’t think that the regulations that are set in place in Singapore are sufficient enough to protect all of the workers. People could be asked to work for next to nothing and they have no rights against that. I believe that they should set up some sort of a minimum wage to make the regulations of the country more ethical for the workers that live there.










References




Maplecroft. (n.d.) Working Hours. Retrieved from http://human-rights.unglobalcompact.org/dilemmas/working-hours/.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Is Too Much Control Counterproductive?


Project management control monitors, measures, and evaluates progress. When something isn’t going right, the control process is there with a solution to correct whatever is going wrong and get the project back on track. Control manages the budget of a project as well. Control is a necessary step if any project manager wants to maintain the balance between scope, time, and cost.
The only thing that guidelines do is offer guidance on certain situations. For a project to be executed successfully, there have to be far more checkpoints. Following guidelines wouldn’t check the progress of a project, track if the budget is on track, or other things that need quality controls and metrics.
When executing a large project, it important to have that management there to tell you what needs to happen and when it needs to happen and what needs to be done. Each situation would have to be dealt with in a specific way. The proper standards and guidelines that would have to be established for the team to references would be huge, and that’s if every little detail was even able to be identified. Team members would spend more time caught up in text trying to figure out what to do because everything is going wrong than they would actually working to execute the project.
Too much control is not counterproductive. Control helps members of the team to execute the project properly. It monitors and measures the work being done and send up red flag when something goes wrong. If it is corrected as soon as possible, less time will have been wasted. Control helps to ensure that all of the work that is being done is productive and necessary to the end goal.

Change Management: How to Meet Your Project Scope on Time


-----Original Message-----
From: Kimble, Samantha L TOPLIANCE CORPORATION
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2011 1:50 PM
To: Doe, Jane L TOPLIANCE CORPORATION
Subject: RE: Online Sales Program Project Management
To ensure successful execution of the project plan, I have defined clear goals and conveyed them to the team members. The team has a real aptitude for website development and knows what tasks need to be completed as well as the timeline for when each task. The entire team was involved in creating the timeline and deciding who should be tasked to each individual assignment. We brainstormed to ensure that everyone’s area of expertise was utilized. Doing this gave the team a greater feeling of involvement in the project and increased proficiency.
Because they were involved in the planning, they take ownership of the project and it has caused each member to be more actively involved in ensuring the project gets done the right way. The team has a real can-do attitude and is excited to see the website develop into, what we hope will be the number one source of sales for TopLiance Corporation. We want to bring sales numbers to levels this company has never achieved with sales agents alone.
Milestones have been put into place to control the project and the projects quality. Measuring the progress of the project helps ameliorate the website. Metrics have been defined for the duration of each task to ensure timeliness, budget requirements, and quality expectations are met. Any quality issues will be addressed using Root Cause Analysis.  Performance and status reports will be provided to senior management biweekly.
The scope of the project will only be allowed to change if absolutely necessary. The requirements for the scope change would have to be essential. No cosmetic changes will be tolerated. A change management system will be in place to access the impact and help allocate time to any changes that absolutely must be made. I feel that the best way to prepare for any potential change is to ensure we are on track at all times so that we can best deal with any delay that may be caused.
The closing process will begin when the projects deliverables are completed. First, I will conduct audits to assess the completion and efficiency of the project. The website will then need to be transferred to a department that will oversee its upkeep and deal with any further technical issues. Select team members may also need to transfer with the website to help with any questions they have initially have. A small closing celebration will be organized to thank everyone for their hard work before the remainder of the team members are released to their next project assignments. I will complete the project file and ensure no essential information was left out before sending a final report to our stakeholders.
I feel that we have taken every step necessary in preparing for the successful completion of TopLiances online sales program. I am very excited to get started and look forward to working with you in the future. Let me know if there are any other questions that you need answered.
Thanks!
Samantha Kimble
Project Manager, TopLiance Corporation
Samantha.Kimble@TopLianceCorporation.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doe, Jane L TOPLIANCE CORPORATION
> Sent: Friday, December 09, 2011 1:33 PM
> To: Kimble, Samantha L TOPLIANCE CORPORATION
> Subject: Online Sales Program Project Management

>          Please provide an outline on how you will assure the successful completion of the  
> project. I am concerned that if the scope of the project changes, your team will not meet the  
> deadline.
>          v/r
>          Jane Doe
>          Director, TopLiance Corporation
>          Jane.Doe@TopLianceCorporation.com

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Mergers & Acquisitions


The Federal Trade Commission
The internet has been very helpful with connecting businesses to their customers. Marketing and advertising over the internet has become increasingly popular over the last several years. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission has to enforce tons of laws everyday on internet marketing and advertising. The Federal Trade Commission Act was passed to prevent deceptive and unfair practices against consumers. Section 5 of the Acts defines deceptive practices as anything misleading as well as anything that would have an effect on the consumers’ decision about the service or product.
The Federal Trade Commission Act states that all claims made in advertisements must be substantiated. When it involves matters that concern safety, health or performance, it is even more important that the claims are valid.  The Federal Trade Commission Act assures that consumers are told the truth and aren’t misleading in any type of advertisements that they are sent over the internet. They hold all sellers responsible for all claims that they make about their products. The act says that all disclaimers and disclosures must be clear and concise, and that the consumer can notice, read, hear, and understand them. 
The Federal Trade Commission makes sure that people who are promised refunds if they are dissatisfied receive them. The Federal Trade Commission Act also hold third party advertising agency, catalog marketers, and website designers accountable for their actions as well.
The Federal Trade Commission is involved in protecting consumers’ privacy online. A few of the other laws that the Federal Trade Commission has implemented are The Fair Credit Billing Act, The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, The Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and The Consumer Leasing Act. Some of the other areas that The Federal Trade Commission oversees are environmental claims, telemarketing, 900 numbers, testimonials and endorsements, warranties, guarantees, negative option offers and offers for free products.
The long term affect that all of the rules and guidelines that the Federal Trade Commission implements assure the fair treatment of consumers. They help to keep consumers from being mislead or ripped off. They have continued to protect consumers receiving online advertisements and reassure them that they are safe.
Generic Competition
            Generic prescription medications are “copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug” (Stoppler M.D., 2009). Generic prescriptions can be offered at a significantly lower price because they do not have to pay the overhead incurred from researching developing, and marketing the drug.  Once the patent that gives the original company exclusive rights the sell the medication expires, generic companies can begin to replicate the drug and lower prices. This takes a substantial amount of business away from the drugs original developer. A drug maker would want to stymie generic competition because they take their business away. If the original drug maker did not have to compete with generic drug makers, they would see a substantial increase in earning. The United States has the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring that all of the foods and drugs that are sold in the U.S. are safe and won’t cause any harm to the people purchasing them. “The United States is one of the few countries in the world in which the government doesn’t control or negotiate the price of prescription drugs” (O'Connor, 2011).
“The high barriers to entry in the international pharmaceutical industry caused by liability issues have effectively prompted industry-monitoring mechanisms and have created voluntary corporate standards, developing the idea of ‘corporate social responsibility’ ” (Castner, 2007). The most common barrier into the global industry include economies of scale (manufacturing, marketing, and sales), distribution product differentiation (in products, brands, and relationships), financial requirements, access of distribution channels, regulatory policy, and switching costs (technical assistance, new equipment, and employee retraining).
Telecommunications Companies and Merger Concerns
            One major concern that arises when plans to merger are announced is whether or not a monopoly is going to be created. An example of a merger like this would be the recent situation occurring with AT&T and T-Mobile. It is undesirable for a company to “capture such a great share of the market that they have the ability to determine prices for consumer products” (Lewis, n.d.). Another concern of one company dominating the telecommunications market is technological stagnation. Technological stagnation occurs when there is no longer an incentive to develop new technologies because there is less competition and therefore less of a need to compete. Labor markets would also be negatively impacted by the mergers because of the consolidation of the industry and a continued push to be more efficient.
It is unethical to allow one company to dominate the market because you eliminate fair competition.  It also would not allow for the lowest price to be available for the consumer because there would no longer be competition throughout the industry.  Ethics can be greatly compromised in the mergers and acquisitions area of business. “Professor Joseph Badaracco, an authority on business ethics, cites two central concerns in this area: the first is whether the merger will create economic value for shareholders; the second involves a company's implicit contracts with its stakeholders” (Emmons & Perry, 1997).


References
Castner, M. (2007, April 19). The Global Pharmaceutical Industry. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from International Trade and Contemporary Trends: http://www.duke.edu/web/soc142/team2/social.html
Emmons, G., & Perry, N. O. (1997, June). HBS Bulletin. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Blockbuster Deals: http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/1997/june/deals.html
Lewis, J. (n.d.). Small Business. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Telecommunications Companies and Merger Concerns: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/telecommunications-companies-merger-concerns-25885.html
O'Connor, A. M. (2011, January 10). Health. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Is Buying Discount Drugs in Foreign Countries a Good Idea?: http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20456461_2,00.html
Stoppler M.D., M. (2009, September 28). MedicineNet. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from Generic Drugs, Are They as Good as Brand Names?: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=46204