Faculty of Business Environment and Society 2 Essay

Faculty of Business Environment and Society 2 - Essay Example based on the principle that managing employees in a multinational environment increases complexities for the managers unless there is a uniform set of policies to govern the diversified workforce. In this regard, Du Plessis and Beaver (2008) mentioned that companies operating in multiple markets across the world should not engage in changing the pay and work conditions of the employees as it may create discrepancies among the employees of various sector. This statement will be analysed in the following sections of the essay in reference to the changes and the challenges in managing the human resource departments of the multinational organisations. Buckley and Monks (2004) noted that previously reward and compensations structures of a company were formed depending on the financial stability and the profit earning ability of companies with short-term focus. However, now as firms are trying to formulate strategies for developing long-term benefits and employee needs and expectations perform an important role in this system. According to the studies of Greer (2010), the role of the human resource management processes is to ensure that an organisation has the necessary resources for achieving their organisational objectives. The primary considerations behind the HRM strategies should be to focus on the requirements of the organisation and align the interests of the employees with the organisational needs. Kozami (2008) stated that in the contemporary scenario, the business processes of the firms include the aspect of sustainable business practices along with improved productivity and performance from the workforce of the firms. He nce, in order to motivate and encourage the employee, compensation and rewards structures are used as a primary method. Considering the approach of work structure of the multinational firms, cultural diversity is an integral part of their work force which also enhances the need for the managers for designing the HRM framework based on the

Ethanol Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethanol - Research Paper Example The study involved 19 American Corn producing states and the effect of corn farming for ethanol production were analyzed based on 12 environmental factors. The study also considered the factors known as ‘eutrophication’ that is simply described as "an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter in an ecosystem" (Evans). Based on their study, it is revealed that E85 (blend of 85% ethanol and 15% of gasoline) fuel causes worse environmental impact than pure unblended gasoline. To be precise, E85 shows, on average, 23% higher impact in relation to gasoline. Moreover, if greenhouse gas emissions from land use are taken into account, the impact on environment is found to be 33% higher than gasoline. The researchers in their findings used the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory. The model determines "the amount of fuel required for the average gasoline and flex-fuel vehicle over a di stance of about 0.62 miles (1 kilometer)" (Evans). E85's benefits and drawbacks are compared with gasoline that is produced from imported crude oil and refined in the country. The authors point out that in previous studies the impact of irrigation, fertilizer uses, and pesticide application for feedstock growth has not been taken into account and without that real impact of ethanol on environment cannot be estimated accurately (Yang et al.). On land-use change, Searchinger et al. argues that when American farmers divert corn for ethanol production that means some other land within the US or outside must cultivate corn required as feed stock for human consumption assuming total consumption remains stationary. It can be construed that bio-fuel production is bound to drive agriculture in some other parts of the world. With new areas converting to agricultural use, a carbon debt is bound to occur. Searchinger et al. estimate emissions using agricultural model of land-use change and they have found that corn-based ethanol production enhances green house emission by 100% over 30 years. Authors conclude that as long as biofuel is grown on farmland, it can not imporve our carbon foot print (Searchinger, 2008). It is important to note that the Federal government in the US is providing large subsidies to farmers so that corn-based ethanol production could be enhanced. The objective is to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent. Does that mean that the US government is providing subsidy to worsen the environment instead of improving it? Michael Grunwald argues that bio-fuels take away the agricultural land and destroy the forests, and grasslands that are storehouse of huge amounts of carbon. In Indonesia, in a bid to grow palm oil trees for bio-diesels people have reduced wilds to such an extent that the country has been now third largest emitters of carbon. Same is the case with Malaysia where palm oil farming for bio-fuel production has taken surge reducing agricultu ral land for human consumption. In the US, 20 percent of corn is sold to ethanol production creating scarcity of corn for human and cattle feed consumption (Grundwald).