Forward the Foundation Chapter 10

6 The weather was holding up over the undomed area of the Imperial Palace grounds-warm and sunny. It didn't often happen. Hari remembered Dors telling him once how this particular area with its cold winters and frequent rains had been chosen as the site. â€Å"It wasn't actually chosen,† she said. â€Å"It was a family estate of the Morovian family in the early days of the Kingdom of Trantor. When the Kingdom became an Empire, there were numerous sites where the Emperor could live-summer resorts, winter places, sports lodges, beach properties. And, as the planet was slowly domed, one reigning Emperor, living here, liked it so much that it remained undomed. And, just because it was the only area left undomed, it became special-a place apart-and that uniqueness appealed to the next Emperor†¦ and the next†¦ and the next†¦ And so, a tradition was born.† And as always, when hearing something like that, Seldon would think: And how would psychohistory handle this? Would it predict that one area would remain undomed but be absolutely unable to say which area? Could it go even so far? Could it predict that several areas would remain undomed or none-and be wrong? How could it account for the personal likes and dislikes of an Emperor who happened to be on the throne at the crucial time and who made a decision in a moment of whimsy and nothing more. That way lay chaos-and madness. Cleon I was clearly enjoying the good weather. â€Å"I'm getting old, Seldon,† he said. â€Å"I don't have to tell you that. We're the same age, you and I. Surely it's a sign of age when I don't have the impulse to play tennis or go fishing, even though they've newly restocked the lake, but am willing to walk gently over the pathways.† He was eating nuts as he spoke, which resembled what on Seldon's native world of Helicon would have been called pumpkin seeds, but which were larger and a little less delicate in taste. Cleon cracked them gently between his teeth, peeled the thin shells and popped the kernels into his mouth. Seldon did not like the taste particularly but, of course, when he was offered some by the Emperor, he accepted them and ate a few. The Emperor had a number of shells in his hand and looked vaguely around for a receptacle of some sort that he could use for disposal. He saw none, but he did notice a gardener standing not far away, his body at attention (as it should be in the Imperial presence) and his head respectfully bowed. Cleon said, â€Å"Gardener!† The gardener approached quickly. â€Å"Sire!† â€Å"Get rid of these for me,† he said, tapping the shells into the gardener's hand. â€Å"Yes, Sire.† Seldon said, â€Å"I have a few, too, Gruber.† Gruber held out his hand and said, almost shyly, â€Å"Yes, First Minister.† He hurried away and the Emperor looked after him curiously. â€Å"Do you know the fellow, Seldon?† â€Å"Yes, indeed, Sire. An old friend.† â€Å"The gardener is an old friend? What is he? A mathematical colleague fallen on hard times?† â€Å"No, Sire. Perhaps you remember the story. It was the time when†-he cleared his throat, searching for the most tactful way to recall the incident-â€Å"the sergeant threatened my life shortly after I was appointed to my present post through your kindness.† â€Å"The assassination attempt.† Cleon looked up to heaven, as though seeking patience. â€Å"I don't know why everyone is so afraid of that word.† â€Å"Perhaps,† said Seldon smoothly, slightly despising himself for the ease with which he had become able to flatter, â€Å"the rest of us are more perturbed at the possibility of something untoward happening to our Emperor than you yourself are.† Cleon smiled ironically. â€Å"I dare say. And what has this to do with Gruber? Is that his name?† â€Å"Yes, Sire. Mandell Gruber. I'm sure you will recall, if you cast your mind back, that there was a gardener who came rushing up with a rake to defend me against the armed sergeant.† â€Å"Ah yes. Was that fellow the gardener who did that?† â€Å"He was the man, Sire. I've considered him a friend ever since and I meet him almost every time I am on the grounds. I think he watches for me, feels proprietary toward me. And, of course, I feel kindly toward him.† â€Å"I don't blame you. And while we're on the subject, how is your formidable lady, Dr. Venabili? I don't see her often.† â€Å"She's a historian, Sire. Lost in the past.† â€Å"She doesn't frighten you? She'd frighten me. I've been told how she treated that sergeant. One could almost be sorry for him.† â€Å"She grows savage on my behalf, Sire, but has not had occasion to do so lately. It's been very quiet.† The Emperor looked after the disappearing gardener. â€Å"Have we ever rewarded that man?† â€Å"I have done so, Sire. He has a wife and two daughters and I have arranged that each daughter will have a sum of money put aside for the education of any children she may have.† â€Å"Very good. But he needs a promotion, I think. Is he a good gardener?† â€Å"Excellent, Sire.† â€Å"The Chief Gardener, Malcomber-I'm not quite sure I remember his name-is getting on and is, perhaps, not up to the job anymore. He is well into his late seventies. Do you think this Gruber might be able to take over?† â€Å"I'm certain he can, Sire, but he likes his present job. It keeps him out in the open in all kinds of weather.† â€Å"A peculiar recommendation for a job. I'm sure he can get used to administration and I do need someone for some sort of renewal of the grounds. Hmmm. I must think upon this. Your friend Gruber may be just the man I need. By the way, Seldon, what did you mean by saying it's been very quiet?† â€Å"I merely meant, Sire, that there has been no sign of discord at the Imperial Court. The unavoidable tendency to intrigue seems to be as near a minimum as it is ever likely to get.† â€Å"You wouldn't say that if you were Emperor, Seldon, and had to contend with all these officials and their complaints. How can you tell me things are quiet when reports seem to reach me every other week of some serious breakdown here and there on Trantor?† â€Å"These things are bound to happen.† â€Å"I don't recall such things happening so frequently in previous years.† â€Å"Perhaps that was because they didn't, Sire. The infrastructure grows older with time. To make the necessary repairs properly would take time, labor, and enormous expense. This is not a time when a rise in taxes will be looked on favorably.† â€Å"There's never any such time. I gather that the people are experiencing serious dissatisfaction over these breakdowns. It must stop and you must see to it, Seldon. What does psychohistory say?† â€Å"It says what common sense says, that everything is growing older.† â€Å"Well, all this is quite spoiling the pleasant day for me. I leave it in your hands, Seldon.† â€Å"Yes, Sire,† said Seldon quietly. The Emperor strode off and Seldon thought that it was all spoiling the pleasant day for him, too. This breakdown at the center was the alternative he didn't want. But how was he to prevent it and switch the crisis to the Periphery? Psychohistory didn't say. 7 Raych Seldon felt extraordinarily contented, for it was the first dinner en famille that he had had in some months with the two people he thought of as his father and mother. He knew perfectly well that they were not his parents in any biological sense, but it didn't matter. He merely smiled at them with complete love. The surroundings were not as warm as they had been at Streeling in the old days, when their home had been small and intimate, a virtual gem in the larger setting of the University. Now, unfortunately, nothing could hide the grandeur of the First Minister's Palace suite. Raych sometimes stared at himself in the mirror and wondered how it could be. He was not tall, only 163 centimeters in height, distinctly shorter than either parent. He was rather stocky but muscular-and not fat, with black hair and the distinctive Dahlite mustache that he kept as dark and as thick as possible. In the mirror he could still see the street urchin he had once been before the chanciest of great chances had dictated his meeting with Hari and Dors. Seldon had been much younger then and his appearance now made it plain that Raych himself was almost as old now as Seldon had been when they met. Amazingly, Dors had hardly changed at all. She was as sleek and fit as the day Raych had first showed Hari and Dors the way to Mother Rittah's in Billibotton. And he, Raych, born to poverty and misery, was now a member of the civil service, a small cog in the Ministry of Population. Seldon said, â€Å"How are things going at the Ministry, Raych? Any progress?† â€Å"Some, Dad. The laws are passed. The court decisions are made. Speeches are pronounced. Still, it's difficult to move people. You can preach brotherhood all you want, but no one feels like a brother. What gets me is that the Dahlites are as bad as any of the others. They want to be treated as equals, they say, and so they do, but, given a chance, they have no desire to treat others as equals.† Dors said, â€Å"It's all but impossible to change people's minds and hearts, Raych. It's enough to try and perhaps eliminate the worst of the injustices.† â€Å"The trouble is,† said Seldon, â€Å"that through most of history, no one's been working on this problem. Human beings have been allowed to fester in the delightful game of I'm-better-than-you and cleaning up that mess isn't easy. If we allow things to follow their own bent and grow worse for a thousand years, we can't complain if it takes, say, a hundred years to work an improvement.† â€Å"Sometimes, Dad,† said Raych, â€Å"I think you gave me this job to punish me.† Seldon's eyebrows raised. â€Å"What motivation could I have had to punish you?† â€Å"For feeling attracted to Joranum's program of sector equality and for greater popular representation in government.† â€Å"I don't blame you for that. These are attractive suggestions, but you know that Joranum and his gang were using it only as a device to gain power. Afterward-â€Å" â€Å"But you had me entrap him, despite my attraction to his views.† Seldon said, â€Å"it wasn't easy for me to ask you to do that.† â€Å"And now you keep me working at the implementation of Joranum's program, just to show me how hard the task is in reality.† Seldon said to Dors, â€Å"How do you like that, Dors? The boy attributes to me a kind of sneaky underhandedness that simply isn't part of my character.† â€Å"Surely,† said Dors with the ghost of a smile playing at her lips, â€Å"you are attributing no such thing to your father.† â€Å"Not really. In the ordinary course of life, there's no one straighter than you, Dad. But if you have to, you know you can stack the cards. Isn't that what you hope to do with psychohistory?† Seldon said sadly, â€Å"So far, I've done very little with psychohistory.† â€Å"Too bad. I keep thinking that there is some sort of psychohistorical solution to the problem of human bigotry.† â€Å"Maybe there is, but, if so, I haven't found it.† When dinner was over, Seldon said, â€Å"You and I, Raych, are going to have a little talk now.† â€Å"Indeed?† said Dors. â€Å"I take it I'm not invited.† â€Å"Ministerial business, Dors.† â€Å"Ministerial nonsense, Hari. You're going to ask the poor boy to do something I wouldn't want him to do.† Seldon said firmly, â€Å"I'm certainly not going to ask him to do anything he doesn't want to do.† Raych said, â€Å"It's all right, Mom. Let Dad and me have our talk. I promise I'll tell you all about it afterward.† Dors's eyes rolled upward. â€Å"You two will plead ‘state secrets.' I know â€Å"As a matter of fact,† said Seldon firmly, â€Å"that's exactly what I must discuss. And of the first magnitude. I'm serious, Dors.† Dors rose, her lips tightening. She left the room with one final injunction. â€Å"Don't throw the boy to the wolves, Hari.† And after she was gone, Seldon said quietly, â€Å"I'm afraid that throwing you to the wolves is exactly what I'll have to do, Raych.† 8 They faced each other in Seldon's private office, his â€Å"thinking place,† as he called it. There, he had spent uncounted hours trying to think his way past and through the complexities of Imperial and Trantorian government. He said, â€Å"Have you read much about the recent breakdowns we've been having in planetary services, Raych?† â€Å"Yes,† said Raych, â€Å"but you know, Dad, we've got an old planet here. What we gotta do is get everyone off it, dig the whole thing up, replace everything, add the latest computerizations, and then bring everyone back-or at least half of everyone. Trantor would be much better off with only twenty billion people.† â€Å"Which twenty billion?† asked Seldon smiling. â€Å"I wish I knew,† said Raych darkly. â€Å"The trouble is, we can't redo the planet, so we just gotta keep patching.† â€Å"I'm afraid so, Raych, but there are some peculiar things about it. Now I want you to check me out. I have some thoughts about this.† He brought a small sphere out of his pocket. â€Å"What's that?† asked Raych. â€Å"It's a map of Trantor, carefully programmed. Do me a favor, Raych, and clear off this tabletop.† Seldon placed the sphere more or less in the middle of the table and placed his hand on a keypad in the arm of his desk chair. He used his thumb to close a contact and the light in the room went out while the tabletop glowed with a soft ivory light that seemed about a centimeter deep. The sphere had flattened and expanded to the edges of the table. The light slowly darkened in spots and took on a pattern. After some thirty seconds, Raych said in surprise, â€Å"It is a map of Trantor.† â€Å"Of course. I told you it was. You can't buy anything like this at a sector mall, though. This is one of those gadgets the armed forces play with. It could present Trantor as a sphere, but a planar projection would more clearly show what I want to show.† â€Å"And what is it you want to show, Dad?† â€Å"Well, in the last year or two, there have been breakdowns. As you say, it's an old planet and we've got to expect breakdowns, but they've been coming more frequently and they would seem, almost uniformly, to be the result of human error.† â€Å"Isn't that reasonable?† â€Å"Yes, of course. Within limits. This is true, even where earthquakes are involved.† â€Å"Earthquakes? On Trantor?† â€Å"I admit Trantor is a fairly nonseismic planet-and a good thing, too, because enclosing a world in a dome when the world is going to shake itself badly several times a year and smash a section of that dome would be highly impractical. Your mother says that one of the reasons Trantor, rather than some other world, became the Imperial capital is that it was geologically moribund-that's her unflattering expression. Still, it might be moribund, but it's not dead. There are occasional minor earthquakes-three of them in the last two years.† â€Å"I wasn't aware of that, Dad.† â€Å"Hardly anyone is. The dome isn't a single object. It exists in hundreds of sections, each one of which can be lifted and set ajar to relieve tensions and compressions in case of an earthquake. Since an earthquake, when one does occur, lasts for only ten seconds to a minute, the opening endures only briefly. It comes and goes so rapidly that the Trantorians beneath are not even aware of it. They are much more aware of a mild tremor and a faint rattling of crockery than of the opening and closing of the dome overhead and the slight intrusion of the outside weather-whatever it is.† â€Å"That's good, isn't it?† â€Å"It should be. It's computerized, of course. The onset of an earthquake anywhere sets off the key controls for the opening and closing of that section of the dome so that it opens just before the vibration becomes strong enough to do damage.† â€Å"Still good.† â€Å"But in the case of the three minor earthquakes over the last two years, the dome controls failed in each case. The dome never opened and, in each case, repairs were required. It took some time, it took some money, and the weather controls were less than optimum for a considerable period of time. Now, what, Raych, are the chances that the equipment would have failed in all three cases?† â€Å"Not high?† â€Å"Not high at all. Less than one in a hundred. One can suppose that someone had gimmicked the controls in advance of an earthquake. Now, about once a century, we have a magma leak, which is far more difficult to control-and I'd hate to think of the results if it went unnoticed until it was too late. Fortunately that hasn't happened and isn't likely to, but consider-Here on this map you will find the location of the breakdowns that have plagued us over the past two years and that seem to be attributable to human error, though we haven't once been able to tell to whom each might be attributed.† â€Å"That's because everyone is busy protecting his back.† â€Å"I'm afraid you're right. That's a characteristic of any bureaucracy and Trantor's is the largest in history. But what do you think of the locations?† The map had lit up with bright little red markings that looked like small pustules covering the land surface of Trantor. â€Å"Well,† said Raych cautiously, â€Å"they seem to be evenly spread.† â€Å"Exactly-and that's what's interesting. One would expect that the older sections of Trantor, the longest-domed sections, would have the most decayed infrastructure and would be more liable to events requiring quick human decision and laying the groundwork for possible human error. I'll superimpose the older sections of Trantor on the map in a bluish color and you'll notice that the breakdowns don't seem to be taking place any oftener on the blue areas.† â€Å"And?† â€Å"And what I think it means, Raych, is that the breakdowns are not of natural origin but are deliberately caused and spread out in this fashion to affect as many people as possible, thus creating a dissatisfaction that is as widespread as possible.† â€Å"It don't seem likely.† â€Å"No? Then let's look at the breakdowns as spread through time rather than through space.† The blue areas and the red spots disappeared and, for a time, the map of Trantor was blank-and then the markings began to appear and disappear one at a time, here and there. â€Å"Notice,† said Seldon, â€Å"that they don't appear in clumps in time, either. One appears, then another, then another, and so on, almost like the steady ticking of a metronome.† â€Å"Do ya think that's on purpose, too?† â€Å"It must be. Whoever is bringing this about wants to cause as much disruption with as little effort as possible, so there's no use doing two at once, where one will partially cancel the other in the news and in the public consciousness. Each incident must stand out in full irritation.† The map went out and the lights went on. Seldon returned the sphere, shrunken back to its original size, to his pocket. Raych said, â€Å"Who would be doing all this?† Seldon said thoughtfully, â€Å"A few days ago I received a report of a murder in Wye Sector.† â€Å"That's not unusual,† said Raych. â€Å"Even though Wye isn't one of your really lawless sectors, there must be lots of murders there every day.† â€Å"Hundreds,† said Seldon, shaking his head. â€Å"We've had bad days when the number of deaths by violence on Trantor as a whole approaches the million-a-day mark. Generally there's not much chance of finding every culprit, every murderer. The dead just enter the books as statistics. This one, however, was unusual. The man had been knifed-but unskillfully. He was still alive when found, just barely. He had time to gasp out one word before he died and that word was ‘Chief.' â€Å"That roused a certain curiosity and he was actually identified. He works in Anemoria and we don't know what he was doing in Wye. But some worthy officer managed to dig up the fact that he was an old Joranumite. His name was Kaspal Kaspalov and he is well known to have been one of the intimates of Laskin Joranum. And now he's deadknifed.† Raych frowned. â€Å"Do you suspect another Joranumite Conspiracy, Dad? There aren't any Joranumites around anymore.† â€Å"It wasn't long ago that your mother asked me if I thought that the Joranumites were still active and I told her that any odd belief always retained a certain cadre, sometimes for centuries. They're usually not very important, just splinter groups that simply don't count. Still, what if the Joranumites have kept up an organization, what if they have retained a certain strength, what if they are capable of killing someone they consider a traitor in their ranks, and what if they are producing these breakdowns as a preliminary to seizing control?† â€Å"That's an awful lot of ‘what if ‘s,' Dad.† â€Å"I know that. And I might be totally wrong. The murder happened in Wye and, as it so happens, there have been no infrastructure breakdowns in Wye.† â€Å"What does that prove?† â€Å"It might prove that the center of the conspiracy is in Wye and that the conspirators don't want to make themselves uncomfortable, only the rest of Trantor. It also might mean that it's not the Joranumites at all but members of the old Wyan family who still dream of ruling the Empire once again.† â€Å"Oh boy, Dad. You're building all this on very little.† â€Å"I know. Now suppose it is another Joranumite Conspiracy. Joranum had, as his right-hand man, Gambol Deen Namarti. We have no record of Namarti's death, no record of his having left Trantor, no record of his life over the last decade or so. That's not terribly surprising. After all, it's easy to lose one person among forty billion. There was a time in my life when I tried to do just that. Of course, Namarti may be dead. That would be the easiest explanation, but he may not be.† â€Å"What do we do about it?† Seldon sighed. â€Å"The logical thing would be to turn to the security establishment, but I can't. I don't have Demerzel's presence. He could cow people; I can't. He had a powerful personality; I'm just a-mathematician. I shouldn't be First Minister at all; I'm not cut out for it. And I wouldn't be-if the Emperor weren't fixated on psychohistory to a far greater extent than it deserves.† â€Å"You're kinda whipping yourself, ain't you, Dad?† â€Å"Yes. I suppose I am, but I have a picture of myself going to the security establishment, for instance, with what I have just shown you on the map†-he pointed to the now-empty tabletop-â€Å"and arguing that we were in great danger of some conspiracy of unknown consequence and nature. They would listen solemnly and, after I had left, they would laugh among themselves about ‘the crazy mathematician'-and then do nothing.† â€Å"Then what do we do about it?† said Raych, returning to the point. â€Å"It's what you will do about it, Raych. I need more evidence and I want you to find it for me. I would send your mother, but she won't leave me under any circumstances. I myself can't leave the Palace grounds at this time. Next to Dors and myself, I trust you. More than Dors and myself, in fact. You're still quite young, you're strong, you're a better Heliconian Twister than I ever was, and you're smart. â€Å"Mind you, now, I don't want you to risk your life. No heroism, no derring-do. I couldn't face your mother if anything happened to you. Just find out what you can. Perhaps you'll find that Namarti is alive and operating-or dead. Perhaps you'll find out that the Joranumites are an active group-or moribund. Perhaps you'll find out that the Wyan ruling family is active-or not. Any of that would be interesting-but not vital. What I want you to find out is whether the infrastructure breakdowns are of human manufacture, as I think they are, and, far more important still, if they are deliberately caused, what else the conspirators plan to do. It seems to me they must have plans for some major coup and, if so, I must know what that will be.† Raych said cautiously, â€Å"Do you have some kinda plan to get me started?† â€Å"Yes indeed, Raych. I want you to go down to the area of Wye where Kaspalov was killed. Find out if you can if he was an active Joranumite and see if you can't join a Joranumite cell yourself.† â€Å"Maybe that's possible. I can always pretend to be an old Joranumite. It's true that I was pretty young when Jo-Jo was sounding off, but I was very impressed by his ideas. It's even sorta true.† â€Å"Well yes, but there's one important catch. You might be recognized. After all, you're the son of the First Minister. You have appeared on holovision now and then and you have been interviewed concerning your views on sector equality.† â€Å"Sure, but-â€Å" â€Å"No buts, Raych. You'll wear elevated shoes to add three centimeters to your height and we'll have someone show you how to change the shape of your eyebrows and make your face fuller and change the timbre of your voice.† Raych shrugged. â€Å"A lotta trouble for nothing.† â€Å"And,† said Seldon with a distinct quaver, â€Å"you will shave off your mustache.† Raych's eyes widened and for a moment he sat there in appalled silence. Finally he said in a hoarse whisper, â€Å"Shave my mustache?† â€Å"Clean as a whistle. No one would recognize you without it.† â€Å"But it can't be done. Like cutting off your-Like castration.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"It's just a cultural curiosity. Yugo Amaryl is as Dahlite as you are and he wears no mustache.† â€Å"Yugo is a nut. I don't think he's alive at all, except for his mathematics.† â€Å"He's a great mathematician and the absence of a mustache does not alter that fact. Besides, it's not castration. Your mustache will grow back in two weeks.† â€Å"Two weeks! It'll take two years to reach this-this-â€Å" He put his hand up, as though to cover and protect it. Seldon said inexorably, â€Å"Raych, you have to do it. It's a sacrifice you must make. If you act as my spy with your mustache, you may-come to harm. I can't take that chance.† â€Å"I'd rather die,† said Raych violently. â€Å"Don't be melodramatic,† said Seldon severely. â€Å"You would not rather die and this is something you must do. However†-and here he hesitated-â€Å"don't say anything about it to your mother. I will take care of that.† Raych stared at his father in frustration and then said in a low and despairing tone, â€Å"All right, Dad.† Seldon said, â€Å"I will get someone to supervise your disguise and then you will go to Wye by air-jet. Buck up, Raych, it's not the end of the world.† Raych smiled wanly and Seldon watched him leave, a deeply troubled look on his face. A mustache could easily be regrown, but a son could not. Seldon knew perfectly well that he was sending Raych into danger.

Ethics and Values and 2g Scam

Ethics and Value Management Project Report Table of Content 1. Abstract 1. 1 Introduction 2. Ethical Issues 3. Ethical Dilemma’s 3. 1. Dilemma faced by A. Raja 3. 1. 1. Role of A. Raja 3. 1. 2. Ethical Theories 3. 1. 3. Cost and Benefit analysis 3. 1. 4. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma 3. 2. Dilemma faced by Corporates 3. 2. 1. Role of Corporates 3. 2. 2 Ethical Theories 3. 2. 3. Cost and Benefit analysis 3. 2. 4. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma 3. 3. Dilemma faced by Government 3. 3. 1. Role of Government 3. 3. 2. Ethical Theories 3. 3. 3. Cost and Benefit analysis . 3. 4. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma 3. 4 Dilemma faced by Media 3. 4. 1. Role of Media 3. 4. 2. Ethical Theories 3. 4. 3. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma 4. Recommendations for avoiding recurrence of the issue 4. 1 Plan to avoid recurrence of such a scam 5. References 5. 1. Websites 5. 2. Books 1. Abstract 1. 1. Introduction: The  2G  spectrum  scam  involved politici ans and government officials in India illegally undercharging  mobile telephony  companies for  frequency allocation  licenses, which they would then use to create  2G  subscriptions for  cell phones.The shortfall between the money collected and the money that the law mandated to be collected is estimated to be  176,645  Crore  (US$32. 15 billion), as valued by the  Comptroller and Auditor General of India  based on  3G and BWA spectrum auction  prices in 2010. However, the exact loss is disputed. The Supreme Court declared allotment of spectrum as â€Å"unconstitutional and arbitrary† and quashed all the 122 licenses issued in 2008 during tenure of  A. Raja(then  minister for communications & IT) the main official accused in the 2G scam case.In 2011,  Time  magazine listed the scam at number two on their â€Å"Top 10 Abuses of Power† list. 2. Ethical Issues With the outbreak of the 2G spectrum scam, the following ethical issues on t he part of the Government, Regulatory bodies, media and industry came into the forefront. * Spirit of collective responsibility not conserved: An ethics of co-responsibility is required and can only be implemented through mechanisms well beyond the legal system. In the 2G scam, almost all of the entire media and nation has put the name of Mr A.Raja as the responsible person for the corruption but the actual decision of telecom policy was passed through the cabinet. * Too much power in hands of very few: This is what actually happened in case of 2G scam. The entire decision making power rested in the hands of selected bureaucrats. * Middle men used for access to those in power: Middlemen were used to by company officials and other illicit channels to reach the ministers. People in power were lured by money. Those who did not bend to the power of money were either transferred or were threatened. Neutrality of media questionable: In the  2G Spectrum Scam  Case, instead of providing valuable insights, the media is trying to become the judiciary. The media has targeted easy scapegoats, revolving their stories around a selected few because even they know that it is difficult for them to target certain big names like the Tatas, Ambanis and Ruias. * Personal greed puts business ethics at stake:  Raja was the mastermind of this whole scam and his personal greed made him do all the corrupt things. The 2 fundamentals of business i. e. air dealing and transparency was completely kept aside to enjoy the false fruits. * Wrong use of power leads to a great turmoil:  Raja being the Telecom minister, tried to influence the senior officials of DOT by all means. Those who didn’t get influenced were either transferred or removed from their posts. 3. Ethical Dilemma’s 3. 1. Dilemma Faced By A. Raja: Mr A. Raja was in a dilemma whether he should disclose the name of every main conspirator of the plot, or should he wait for his fellow mates having a reputed pos ition in the government and corporate world to help him get out . 1. 1. Role of A. Raja A Raja has received  3,000  crore  (US$546 million)  as bribe for bringing forward the cut-off date for applications for spectrum from the initial 1 October 2007 to 25 September 2007. At the time of taking decision he might have got influenced of the dilemma related to it but money made him blind and despite of knowing the risk associated and at the stake of his personal values, he took the decision of performing the 2G Scam. There was also a clear conflict of interest among promoters, shareholders and other stakeholders of company.The conflict of public shareholders and stakeholders put them in very interesting position. There was also a dilemma when the case uncovered which was more or less can be termed as the prisoners dilemma as should he tell the names of all the person associated or only few because it was a very high end case consisting of many renowned politicians and bureaucrats 3. 1. 2. Ethical Theories: Depending on the dilemma faced by different people in this case there are different ethical theories that can be applied.Mainly we can apply 2 theories: * Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism is a theory in normative ethics holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes utility, specifically defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. In this theory person compares the benefits with its cost and take decision accordingly. * Hedonism: It is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure (pleasure minus pain).Ethical hedonism is the idea that all people have the right to do everything in their power to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible to them. It is also the idea that every person's pleasure should far surpass their amount of pain. 3. 1. 3. Cost ; Benefit Analysis: Going by the theory of utility, A. Raja might have done the benefit cost analysis as follows: Benefits Loss | | A. Raja will be getting lots of money | A. Raja can be caught, but the chances are very less because in India politicians are never caught | With money there will be power.Moreover he will be a friend of big corporate personalities. | Shareholders will get affected with this decision| The huge benefit of under-pricing or unfair subsidiary was given to the mobile telephone services| The person who is not a shareholder or customer of any mobile telephony company has sold his share in spectrum on cheap prices and lost his money which would have been spent for the development of his nation| The subsidy was given to all industry majors, who regularly lobby against the subsidy to basic human need like food, water, education and shelter. When call rates were high, there would be an exclusion of masses from this information revolution. This is a simple math not a magic formula to fool all stakeholders| The huge benefit of under-pricing or unfair subsidiary was given to the mobile telephone services| | So, he might have found that he can easily escape by doing this scam and chosen to give away the licence at cheaper rate. Going by the Hedonism theory the pleasure that power and money will bring to him will be much more than that of pain so he thought of choosing the wrong path of earning money. . 1. 4. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma: The 2G Spectrum scam is at the final stage. Now as all the politicians, Bureaucrats, Major Telecom company officials have been exposed. But if would have followed the following simple tests or models they would have definitely selected the ethically right path and avoided the consequences that followed. * Peter Drucker’s Model: â€Å"Above all, do no harm†. Peter Drucker wanted to convey to any individual that if any of his/her decisions harms any other person then that decision is unethical. Raja had thought of this philosophy then he would have avoided his action s and maintained transparency in allocating 2G spectrum. * The government officials would have brought the issue in front of the judicial system if they followed this simple principle. Corporate executives would have refused help from A. Raja as profit making is ethical but profiteering is not * Warren Buffet’s first page of the4 Newspaper’s Test: If all the people imagined the newspaper headlines that were published all throughout 2010, 2011 and 2012, they probably would have not done what they did.Some examples are included below: 1. Court issues notice to CBI on A. Raja's 2G spectrum scam plea 2. Why did not PM act on A. Raja: SC 3. A. Raja informed Manmohan Singh about change in policy: Siddharth Behura 3. 2. Dilemma Faced By Corporates: The basic dilemma faced by the Corporates was whether to abide by the law of the country and obtain the licenses they were capable of obtaining in an ethical manner or whether to unethically obtain licenses in order to increase cus tomer base and earn instant profits.On account of Utilarianism, benefits they achieved were that they were able to attain the shares at much lower cost and thereby incurring huge profits and it also thus provided them with an competitive edge over their competitors as they were able to outrun them that too in such short duration. Also if they did not buy these licences some other companies will buy and attain profits so without considering the harmful repercussions they went on with buying with the licences. 3. 2. 1. Role of Corporates: India found itself in the centre of such protests in 2010-2011 over the scam in 2G spectrum allocation to telecom companies.The 2G scam went a long way to show how the Indian economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, is dominated by a small set of tightly connected power players. Industry observers felt that if not checked soon, the deep-rooted problem of crony capitalism in the country could adversely affect India’s growth and develop ment. They wondered how the accountability could be fixed and the unholy nexus broken. The distributive justice states that equal people should be treated equally. There is nothing wrong in, corporate making profits but it should not be at the cost of other people.When the corporates involve in a scam like this, the tax payers are burdened which is not fair. Ultimately it is the tax payer, who pays for each Scam. Corporate as a part, of the society has got some social responsibility which means, they have every right for making profit but not profiteering by harming the society. Their rights should not harm the interest of the common man. The corporates by involving in the scam are not only cheating the common man but its own people like its shareholders. Transparency in the long run pays of great results.Here being ethical should not only an instrumental value to the corporates, but should be an intrinsic value. Business ethics plays a very important role. th legal frame work may n ot be always be ethical but here observing the legal standards provides an important ethical dimension. The business values like transparency, fairness and justice are universal. Observing these values as an intrinsic value would benefit the business in the long run. When business is ethically strong, it will have the same impact on its employees. When employees are ethically strong, consumer satisfaction will be high and so the business has to sustain. Corporations involved were: Allianz Infra, Aircel, Dishnet wireless, loop mobile, Reliance communications, S Tel, Swan telecom, Tata Tele Services, Unitech Group, Videocon Telecommunications Limited, Vodafone Essar, Virgin Mobile India. * Corporate Personalities involved were: Anil Ambani (Reliance Group-ADAG), Ratan Tata, Shahid Balwa (DB Reality and Etisalat DB Telecom), Vinod Goenka (Dinamix Group), Venugopal Dhoot (Videocon Group), and Prashant Ruia (Essar Group). 3. 2. 2. Ethical Theories: * Utilitarianism: Going by this theory, the corporates involved Utilitarianism i. e. aximising their profits, specifically defined as maximizing happiness and reducing suffering. For them what is good is that which produces pleasure, happiness, contentment or welfare and what is right is that which maximizes one or more of these things. Utilitarian’s call the method for maximizing good the principle of utility and they use the term optimific to describe the achievement of this maximization. The Corporates on their part in order to maximise their profits instantly and in an easy manner went on 2G scandal, without considering the ramifications. 3. 2. 3. Cost and Benefit Analysis: Swan Telecom paid Rs. , 537 crore for 2G licences in 13 circles, they soon sold 45 per cent equity in this company to Etisalat for Rs. 4,200 crore. Unitech obtained licences in 22 circles for Rs. 1,658 crore and then sold 60 per cent equity in the company to Telenor for Rs. 6,100 crore. Thereby, providing them with instant benefits. 3. 2. 4 . Recommendation for Resolving the Dilemma: * Peter Drucker’s model: â€Å"Thou shalt not steal† and â€Å"Primum Non Nocere. † Which in English means, above all (or first) do no harm. According to Peter Drucker wanted to convey that an individual’s decision is unethical if it harms any other person’s.Thus, abiding by the Peter Drucker model to resolve this ethical dilemma involved the corporate personalities involved should have rejected the proposal offered by A. Raja as achieving profit is fairly ethical but what turned out in this case was ‘profiteering’ which is unethical. 3. 3 Dilemma faced by the Government: In this context ethical dilemma was on the part of the government after the case got uncovered as it involved many politicians, bureaucrats, & ministers so either to put charge on all of them showing the vulnerable state of the nation or to allege a single minister for the same. 3. 3. 1. Role of Government:The list had many well known ministers like Dayanidhi Maran(Union cabinet minister for textiles), P. Chidambaram(Union cabinet ministers for home affairs), Andimuthu Raja (Union cabinet minister for communication & information technology), Kanimozhi Aravindhan (Member of Rajya Sabha) and also many renowned bureaucrats like Siddharhta Behura, Pradip Baijal, R K Chandolia. 3. 3. 2. Ethical Theories: * Utilitarianism: Going by the this theory, it states that actions and policies should be evaluated on the basis of the benefits and costs they produce for everyone in society and also referred to as consequentialism.It holds that morally right course of action in any situation is the one that, when compared to all other possible actions will produce the greatest balance of benefits over costs for everyone affected. * Hedonism: A school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure (pleasure minus pain). In this context goi ng by the above mentioned theory in order to maximize the net profits its better on the part of government not to disclose anything and spare from the pain that can incur f they do so. 3. 3. 3. Cost and Benefit Analysis: In the context of 2G scam the cost and benefit analysis can be done as follows: * Cost: The major threat was the impact on stock market and investment in India. The mobile phone market is the world’s fastest growing making it a must-invest market for any major global operator but after looking at the corruption level and the people involved they might not willing to come over and invest. Moreover it will also shatter the trust factor of the citizens and they will not have any faith in the government. Benefit: Disclosure of all the names involved in the scam will lead to a situation of distrust. In a globalized world such a situation will negatively affect the Indian corporate scenario and may even jeopardize the economy as a whole. Going by the above mentione d theory it was certainly better on their part to go for benefits and not to disclose any names. 3. 3. 4. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma: To resolve the dilemma’s 3 steps can be followed, they are: * Step 1: Analyze the consequences Assuming that the resolution to the ethical dilemma is to be found within the confines of law.Ethical dilemma that arise should be resolved at least within the bare minimum of law and legal framework as otherwise it will lead to a sort of mafia business. One has to look at the consequences that would follow one’s proposed actions. And when one has several options to choose from, there will be an array of consequences connected with each of such options, both positive and negative. Before one acts, answers to the following questions will help find the type of action that can be contemplated; 1. Who are the beneficiaries of your action? . Who are likely to be harmed by your action? 3. What is the nature of the ‘benefitsâ€℠¢ and ‘harms’? (the answer to this question is important because some benefits may be more valuable than others. Letting one enjoy good health is better than letting one enjoy something which gives trivial pleasure. Likewise, some ‘harms’ are less harmful than others. ) 4. How long or how fleetingly are these benefits and harms likely to exist? * Step 2: Analyze the actions Once option is identified, concentration should be on the actions.Find out how the proposed actions measure against moral principles such as ‘honesty, fairness, equality, respect for the dignity and rights of others, and recognition of the vulnerability of people who are weak, etc. ’ Then there are questions of basic decency and general ethical principles and conflicts between principles and the rights of different people involved in the process of choice of the options that have to be considered and answered in one’s mind. After considering all these possible factors in the various options, it is sensible to choose the one which is the least problematic.Step 3: Make a decision After considering all factors that lead to various options, choose an option and analyze it carefully and then take a rational decision. 3. 4. Dilemma faced by Media: It is media’s duty to show the truth to the public, moreover it also considered as a trustworthy source which helps in creating awareness regarding the actual happenings in the world. The Media persons accused faced the ethical dilemma of whether to diligently follow the duties of a journalist and uncover the real truth or be loyal to their friends. 3. 4. 1. Role of mediaThe 2G spectrum scam, which has snowballed into a major controversy involving Indian politicians and businessmen, became hotter for journalists to handle when it allegedly involved two of their senior members. Media sources such as OPEN and Outlook reported that two senior journalists Barkha Dutt (group editor of NDTV) and Vir Sanghvi (editorial director of Hindustan Times) knew that corporate lobbyist Nira Radia was influencing the decisions of appointment of telecom minister. Radia wanted A Raja to be made telecom minister. The two magazines made public the telephone conversations between Nira Radia, Barkha Dutt & Vir Sanghvi.Radia's phones were being tapped by the Income Tax Department. Critics allege that Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi knew about nexus between government and the media industry but still they supported this corrupt activity and suppressed news reporting the discovery of the corrupt practice. In November 2010, OPEN magazine carried a story which reported transcripts of some of the telephone conversations of Nira Radia (a political lobbyist) with senior journalists, politicians, and corporate houses, many of whom have denied the allegations.The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced that they have 5,851 recordings of phone conversations by Radia, some of which outline Radia's attempts to br oker deals in relation to the 2G spectrum sale. The tapes appear to demonstrate how Radia attempted to use some media persons to influence the decision to appoint A. Raja as telecom minister. Vir Sanghvi, editorial director of Indian national daily Hindustan Times and India’s television news channel NDTV’s group editor Barkha Dutt are apparently featured in the transcripts.They are heard promising to fix things for Radia, who is known to be close to the sacked minister A Raja, and her clients besides her political cronies. While Sanghvi allegedly took notes from Radia on what he could point out in his weekly Sunday column of Hindustan Times even as Radia asked him to write against Reliance Group's Anil Ambani and the high court decision on the gas pricing issue. Barkha Dutt had allegedly assured Radia of getting ruling Congress party’s general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad to talk to the supremo of his party’s chief ally in the government M.Karunanidhi to fi x portfolios for the ally according to wishes of Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi. One thing to be noticed in this case was, initially the news gained prominence following sustained pressure on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook against an attempted blackout orchestrated by many prominent Indian TV channels and newspaper. Initially, only handful of newspaper like Deccan Herald and The Indian Express wrote about the tapes. Some newspaper like HT Media, mint and NDTV told that the authenticity of these transcripts cannot be ascertained.Not Touching Corporate Biggies: Now media is deliberately trying to highlight a few names like those of Shahid Balwa, A Raja, Kanimozhi, Sanjay Chandra, Karim Morani, and Vinod Goenka while not touching corporate biggies such as Tatas and Ambanis. It is quite clear that in this 2G spectrum case, only a few are conspired to be indicted in the case while others are clearly kept out. Instead of providing valuable insights, the media is try ing to become the judiciary.The media has targetted easy scapegoats, revolving their stories around a selected few because even they know that it is difficult for them to target certain big names like the Tatas, Ambanis and Ruias. It is a well-known fact that the trial for 2G Spectrum case is going on, and nobody can be proved guilty unless and until it is proved in court, but, without taking it into account, our media has started blaming people and highlighting a only few names without mentioning the rest of the suspects. 3. 4. 2. Ethical Theories: Utilitarianism: If we apply utility theory on media then cost in hiding the facts was that people will not trust the media if they come to know that facts were hidden from them but the benefits were that they will not spoil their relations with big politicians and corporate biggies. So benefits were more than the cost, as it is said that common man has very short memory and you can cheat them. But as pressure started building from opposi te party and moreover opposite party had their friends in the media, the names of big politicians came into picture.But then also media maintain its silence on corporate biggies. 3. 4. 3. Recommendation for resolving the Dilemma: Laura Nash’s model: Following the 12 questions that Laura Nash has raised in her model would have stopped media from taking the first step. Some of the 12 questions that would have helped the accused persons to clear their thought processes are: * How would you define the problem, if you stood on the other side of the fence? * To whom and with what are your loyalties? What are your intensions in making this decision? * How does these intentions compare with the likely results? * Whom could your actions injure? 4. Recommendations for avoiding Recurrence of the Issue Modern scams are victimless in that the victims are not obvious. The victims of these crimes are the taxpayers and citizens of the country to whom this money and assets belong. The only pe rmanent way for us to stop scams is to work on both prevention and deterrence. 4. 1. Plan to avoid recurrence of such a scam 1.Increase disclosure requirements by the government on all contracts and concessions involving public money or assets. 2. Improve the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight on government and executive by making parliamentary committees stronger as well as more transparent to the public. 3. It should be ensured that the Criminal Penal code has amendments to deal with and enable rapid prosecution of white collar crimes and scams. Judiciary should be independent and free of any external influence. It should be capable of taking strong action against the corrupt politicians.While severe punishment is given to a poor village officer when he takes a bribe of Rs10, politicians who cheat the public and earn crores are many a time let free by the court of law. 4. There is a requirement of complete overhaul and changes in our criminal justice system that is still des igned around petty crime and criminals. There is a need for new and stronger laws for dealing with sophisticated financial crimes of the day. One such example is removing the Section 311 that requires prior sanction from the government to prosecute its officers. 5.Media played a very important role in forming an opinion among the citizens therefore there should be effective parliamentary oversight of the government and such oversights be transparent and available to media and citizens. 6. The government must have outside legal and advisory help while negotiating contracts and not rely only on bureaucrats. There should be a creation of a new cadre of independent regulators, backed by parliamentary statutes that oversee most of these sectors. 7. For example, bureaucrats must be chosen as regulators only in exceptional cases of high integrity and capability.Such Independent Regulators must also have oversight on them to ensure that there is no regulatory capture. 8. Ensure that governm ent policy is always about the public and not about private and personal interests. 9. Legislation must be initiated to regulate lobbyists and business chambers, to prevent advocacy changing to corruption and to protect against policy capture instead of policy advocacy. 10. Ensure government policies are not always bombastic rhetoric and full of loopholes for exploitation. This will minimize administrative/political discretion. 1. Another way to stop corruption is to avoid the coalition form of governance. A single party must be allowed to rule the country independently without seeking the support of innumerous minor parties. In the 2G spectrum case, the accused, A. Raja is a representative of DMK which is supporting the congress. In such a situation, an able and efficient prime minister like Manmohan Singh could not take action but had to inadvertently support him as otherwise DMK would have withdrawn their support and thus follows an utter rout for the congress.Lastly and most imp ortantly both media and the general public must create awareness that the government is a trustee of public money and assets and the people are the real owners. If trustees violate the trust, people should not sleep, but must react. A permanent solution, thus, to such scams and corruption is alert citizen and conscientious media. 5. References 5. 1. WEBSITES * http://aishmghrana. wordpress. com/2012/09/01/conflict-of-interests-among-stakeholders-in-2g-allocations/ * http://www. icmrindia. org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Ethics/Indian%202G%20Spectrum%20ScamExce2. tm#Can%20Accountability * http://www. isidelhi. org. in/hrnews/HR_THEMATIC_ISSUES/Corruption/Corruption-2011. pdf * http://www. scribd. com/doc/71816181/2g-scam-project * http://www. processexcellencenetwork. com/process-improvement-case-studies/columns/drucker-on-business-ethics/ * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Radia_tapes_controversy * http://www. slideshare. net/amyberi/2g-spectrum-scam-casestudy * http://realityche ck. wordpress. com/2010/12/03/wheres-our-story-media-on-2g-spectrum-scam-shyness-or-something-more/ 5. 2. BOOKS * Business Ethics: An Indian Perspective by A. C. Fernando

Relection Paper of Book Called Tuesday with Morrie Essay

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Why is ethically correct to criticize competitors through comparative advertisement - Essay Example Ever since its approval, comparative advertisements has been compared to a double edged sword in which it promotes one product whereas demotes the other. An ideal comparative advertisement provides the customers with honest and sincere information in order to compete with a product so that the consumers can make a better choice while purchasing the commodity. Various researches proved that comparative advertisements help to create awareness among consumers, hence, the less popular brands become popular and the market for the popular brands tend to decrease. Comparative advertisement is considered unethical when the comparison provides the consumer with fake information and misleads the customer on purpose. Hence unethical comparative advertisements may also result in lawful proceedings. In accordance with one court any oblique remark, any indirect proclamation or any suggestions that may mean more than one thing are considered unethical. It is also considered wrong if an advertisemen t flatters their product in comparison to other. Furthermore, any sort of name calling, insulting and finger pointing are considered wrong and should be avoided at all possible costs when indulging in comparative advertisements. To keep a check and balance on comparative advertisements and to keep it within limits various organizations in the United States such as American Association of Advertising Agencies, the National Association of Broadcasters and the FTC have issued do’s and don’ts of comparative advertisements. One such example is of NBC, which says that the companies should not discredit, disparage or attack the competitors, products or industries in an unfair way (BoveÃŒ e & Arens, 1982). A list of guidelines by The American Association of Advertising Agencies is made up of ten points which ensures that a comparative advertisement remains within the ethical boundaries. The first point

MKTG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

MKTG - Essay Example A-fib has affected about two million people in the United States. It spreads fast whereby there are uncoordinated heartbeats. This disease can lead to development of blood clots that can move to the brain and lead to stroke (Fang, 21-30). Fang (48) asserts that pradaxa should not be taken by people who bleed strangely. One should be advised more by the physician on how to take the drug if he or she is bleeding abnormally. On the other hand, people who are affected by reactions by pradaxa should not take it. A patient who wants to take pradaxa should inform the physician the following issues: the first one is if the patient has any kidney trouble, if he or she has any further medical situation, if the patient is either pregnant or breastfeeding. Research has shown that pradaxa can pass from the mother who is breastfeeding or pregnant to the child and harm the infant in one way or the other. Patients, who have bleeding complications and have been affected by ulcers of the stomach, should not use pradaxa. Prior to undertaking any dental process or surgery, a patient who is taking pradaxa should inform the surgeon or dentist. He should also inform the physician on the medicines that he is taking. This is because some medicines might increase bleeding and affect the functions of pradaxa (Fang, 61-68). It should be taken as the doctor has given prescriptions. It should not be taken more than how the patient has been told by the doctor. Pradaxa can also be taken with no food or with it. Normally, the drug is packed or given in a bottle. Fang (72) says that one should make sure that he finishes a used bottle before moving to an unused one. An opened bottle of pradaxa should be used within a period of four months. It can cause sensitive reactions to other people’s bodies. This is by either having itches or rashes, pains in the chest, tongue and face swelling and even breathing difficulties. It can lead

Leadership and HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership and HRM - Essay Example Deregulation in many of the European countries have led to less collective arrangement for employees and more employee benefits at an organizational level . Most of the recognized organizations all over the globe have: (Rioux, Bernthal, Wellins,) `Best Practices` within an organization has often been linked to the Human Resource system that is being adopted by any particular organization. Human resource systems refer to the electronic tools that are used to assess and perform HR related information and functions respectively. Human resource system enables the HR staff to execute all the HR related activities such as personnel actions and job announcements. Marriot International has adopted various innovative HR practices which has earned it the reputation of â€Å"the best place to work† in the hospitality industry. Marriot`s spirit to serve has in fact guided its various HR initiatives. The company has reaped several benefits because of its employee friendly HR practices. J. William Marriot had set `The Hot Shoppe` in Washington in 1927 where hot food was served along with root bear. In 1937 Hot Shoppes ventured into airline catering services at Washington Airport. Over the next three decades Hot Shoppes diversified its business into many other service management sectors and in 1967, its name was changed to Marriott Corporation. In 1982, Marriot acquired Host International and became the largest operator of airport terminal food, beverage and merchandise facilities in the US. With the acquisition of Saga Corporation in 1986, Marriot became the largest food management company in the US. Marriot has also diversified into moderate price segments of hotels under the brand name of `Courtyard`. Today Marriot is a product of the metamorphosis that began fifteen years ago. Five major trends that can define the organisation are: Marriot has always been known for the

Individual Development Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual Development Paper - Essay Example The ability to understand what the other is going through helps in all the segments of our waking life and livelihood like management, sales, marriage and parenthood. Strengthening this aspect of my emotional intelligence would really mean that I have already taken care of the earlier three aspects of emotional intelligence. Goleman opines that empathy builds on self-awareness. People who cannot read their own emotions are alexithymic, they are confused and bewildered about their own and other peoples' feelings. I suspect that I am a bit of an alexithymic myself. Once during my adolescence my house was flooded, I remember that I did not react at all and continued doing whatever I was doing instead of panicking and controlling the situation. At that time I thought I was rather cool, but now I realize that I was too detached and cold (not cool as I had earlier thought). Had I been empathetic I would have perhaps cried yet swung into action for either throwing out the water or stemming the source. This cold trait has surfaced time and again in my dealing with my business employees as well. I am not able to comprehend when they drop work due to personal emergency. It seems to me that work has less priority in their life than their domestic troubles. I am able to now understand why my subordinates find it difficult to confide in me, why I am usually am the last to know about the problems brewing in the environment. Root cause of this shortcoming is that I need to have empathy towards others. The plan is to improve my cognitive skills which will include: Set a role model. There are a number of people I know who are naturally empathetic towards others. I will have an inner voice mapping my emotions or lack of them against those of the role models. It would be easy to emulate them initially whenever I feel emotionally blank. Self-motivation- I will reinforce my behavior by constantly conducting an inner conversation with myself, to help me manage challenges or difficult situations. Learning social cues - I will try to see my self as part of a larger social fabric and try to react to situations from community's point of view. Recognize facial expressions, tone of voice and gestures and anticipate other person's state of mind. Others too- Try to understand from others perspective too and see if my state of mind is broad enough to take a just decision or too narrow that I am considering only myself in the outcome. Listen sympathetically - Not to interrupt or contradict till the speaker has finished and his /her message is understood completely. Maintain eye contact, gesture warmly and keep relaxed at all times. The key to know if my plan has worked is the enhancement of following traits in my personality: More responsible and assertive without being abusive More popular and dynamic Enjoy meeting others and help in solving their problems Greater understanding of others perspective and being more concerned Better at resolving conflicts, rather than being the cause of conflicts. Subordinates become friendlier and confide in me. The basic competency needed to develop empathy is self awareness. It means that I have to have the ability to recognize my own feelings. I have to be open and clear about my emotional reactions to different situations. I have to be motivated to develop empa

OSHA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

OSHA - Essay Example I would gain the necessary knowledge and fully understand how it applies to the business industry I am in. More so, I would, absolutely, provide the necessary training to all employees; that way everyone is on the â€Å"same page.† If everyone is clear in what is necessary, expected, and why it is important then, very likely, the business would operate efficiently, effectively, and safely. Regardless of the industry your business falls under, agricultural, construction, health care, mining or manufacturing, there are available resources for understanding and implementing the proper health and safety requirements for your business. The most important element to making certain that the necessary OSHA requirements are being met is through guaranteeing that the safety and health policies within the company are enforced Larger business, in particular may not be aware that their managers, supervisors, and employees are not following or enforcing the requirements. This can become a problem because OSHA can appear for an impromptu inspection; no prior warning is required. For this reason, I think I would be very vigilant and actively involved in making certain that all rules and procedures are being followed. Also, although I am not a fan of a â€Å"snitch mentality† among the workers, I would make certain that there were safe and anonymous way for anyone who witnesses serious negligence in regards to safety or its policies; the anonymity will prevent fear of retaliation and give the business the opportunity to step into the situation and fix the problems. I think that if I provide the training, lead by example, and follow all procedures then the business I am responsible for will remain OSHA friendly. OSHA is an organization filled with the research, hard work, and effort of thousands of Safety Professionals.("Industry-Specific Resource: OSHA" 1) The safety professions, in simplest terms, are those

The Things They Carried Essay Example for Free

The Things They Carried Essay 1. Jimmy’s love for Martha is in a very real and literal sense in his mind. This love was constructed in part from a brief encounter they had in the past and established and elaborated on, by his loneliness and battle fatigue brought on by the war. I believe he has constructed this relationship with her because of this. It’s not entirely clear in the story if his love is genuine or merely a catalyst or distraction to transport him away from the world he now lives in, where there is no love or morality only death, pain, and destruction. 2. Jimmy seems to mostly think of Martha when he is feeling alone, when things have become still, or the war has become too much and he has to escape. This is why when his platoon member is in the tunnel, he thinks of her because he knows the place he is in and the danger he could face. It all becomes too much and Jimmy needs to escape for a time. 3. Ted Lavender’s death could be described as a result of carelessness. Maybe in the story he is described of being fearful to the point he was self medicating to numb himself to the reality that surrounded him. On the other hand later in the story the author eliminated the fact of â€Å"in times of war men will sometimes do anything escape†, maybe in some respect Ted was inviting death as means of relief. 4. I believe Jimmy uses this excuse to justify actions and behavior of ordinary men and sometimes even boy’s place an extraordinary and incredibly stressful situations. It excuses him because he falls into the same category of everyone else in the same situation. There are times when men regardless of differences can come together because they all understand a common thread. On the other hand Jimmy’s ranking of Lieutenant places him in a position of leadership and the tie that holds and protects the lives of other and must disassociate himself from excuses to do this. 5. The soldiers make jokes about the war to minimalize what is happening. If you can laugh about something it cannot be that bad. It is also a form of comradely and escapes. 6. The author uses and develops the idea and descriptions of weights in this story to convey to the reader the burden both literal and psychological the soldiers had to endure. Because the author goes into such great detail illustrating to the reader you can almost feel it upon yourself. 7. Jimmy sacrifices his heart at first for one sided love then his duty as a leader and protector of his men. I think he does this because he is human and looking for the same thing everyone else is, a sense of home and normalcy. 8. Jimmy changes in the end of the story by letting go of something that had been weighting him down, pretends to see the love of someone who did not live him back, and has accepted the fact of this situation. It seems he has lost his escape in loving Martha but has gained a sense of closure and will probably help him save his sanity and allow him to be a better soldier and leader. 9. I think the war will seem more real to jimmy now because he is totally immersed in it. He no longer has that place he can go to, to escape. Thinking of Martha and pleasant things and times surrounding her allowed him to be saved from the everyday stresses tragedies, dehumanization’s, and hell of the world of war all around him.

Methods of Value Engineering

Methods of Value Engineering CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION In future the proactive and effective manage of cost, contracts, communication and claims – the four Cs- will consistently become more important to developers and facilitators involved in physical structures and properties. The Quantity surveyor should understand the challenges and opportunities presented by the needs of client in relation to cost, contracts, communication and claims and perhaps focus their development on the important links between the functions. Changes and developments in the industry and market will also influence the way in which these functions are managed. For those professionals who deliver these services to the industry, the focus should be on client satisfaction and a positive experience for all concerned. Establishing a link in effectively managing the process to ensure success should be the primary aim of the manager. This should be done in close partnership with all functionaries, engaged in the process. Planning, controlling and co-ordinating budgets and cost plans, as well as communicative results will limit claims and facilitate the process of contract management. The contract should also facilitate partnerships and the system should be aimed at satisfying needs, seeking opportunity and perusing growth. CHAPTER 2: AIMS OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of this paper is to study the subject of value engineering (now know as value management) from QS (ME) perspective. Based on the parameters; cost, contracts, communication and claims the value engineering study is done and the challenges faced by the quantity surveyor is also discussed. The objective of the study can be summarized as follows. To study the subject of value engineering and its methodology. To study the value engineering importance in cost management and the quantity surveyors role. To study how the selection of contracts can add value to the project and the quantity surveyors contribution to that process. To study the quantity surveyors communication strategies to achieve the expected value and clients objectives. To study how the knowledge of quantity surveyor can add value (in terms of money, time and effort) during disputes. CHAPTER 3: VALUE ENGINEERING THEORY METHODOLOGY 3.1: Methodology Value engineering methodology evolved in the 1940s when the transition was made from the search for an alternative to the search for means of fulfilling the functions of an alternative. Shortly afterwards it was observed that function-oriented alterations in working methods often result in improving quality along with eliminating unnecessary cost (Palmer et al., 1996). Since its introduction, the methodology has been well developed to be applied in construction industry, as it enables realization of life cycle cost and cost effectiveness of projects (Omigbodun, 2001). VE in the construction industry is mainly an organized effort to challenge the design and construction plans of projects to provide the required facility at the lowest overall costs, consistent with requirements for performance, reliability and maintainability (DellIsola, 1988). Delays in construction projects may be due to lack of meticulously devised plans (Ghorbani and Shokri, 2005) and consequently budget deficit (M irmoham madsadeghi and Aghdami Thani, 2005). Through all-pervasive utilization of the VE methodology such obstructions may be avoided. This judgement is made on the grounds that VE can improve plans and designs along with thriftiness in budget expenditures. Researches (e.g. Mirmoham madsadeghi and Aghdami Thani, 2005) show that this negligence is often due to limited access to experts and lack of knowledge about the method and its benefits (Table 1). One may realize that these two factors may predispose VE teams towards other obstruction factors (Mirmoham madsadeghi and Aghdami Thani, 2005). This obstacle may be surmounted with recourse to artificial intelligence (AI) models. Case-based reasoning (CBR) from AI may be utilized to enhance efficiency of VE study through outlining a model of the expert knowledge for a VE workshop. The inherent analogical nature of a CBR model would facilitate access to more comprehensive and systematically classified information during a VE workshop. Inasmuch as VE in the construction industry encompasses a cognitive process, such a reasoning method could be indispensable and could affirm promising results. Furthermore, classified background knowledge of the knowledge base may enhance the creativity of the VE study team, and transform their creativity to capability from an instinctive behaviour of mind. 3.2: Value Engineering Theory VE may be defined as a creative, organized approach whose objective is to optimize cost and/or performance of a facility or system (DellIsola, 1988). The focal points of the notion are function analysis and creativity. Through defining functions and classifying them, it spots functions with more potential of increasing value. Thereafter with the creative approach alternative ideas would be recommended to replace original design. An established framework for fulfilling assigned tasks of the methodology has been defined as the VE job plan. The job plan is defined through special phases ranging from five to eight in various versions, all following the same concept (Assaf et al., 2000). A typical version, comprising five phases, is selected in this study (Philips, 2003): (1) Information phase: information acquisition, function analysis and selecting areas with poor value for detailed study. (2) Creative phase: generating ideas as an alternative to meet the requirements of an understudied function. (3) Analytical phase: evaluation of ideas and selecting the best practical ideas. (4) Development phase: developing prominent ideas and selection of the best idea. (5) Presentation phase: recommending a VE change and improvement proposal in a most challenging format. Teamwork is an essential phenomenon in the VE job plan, resulting in crossing organizational lines (DellIsola, 1988). The ideal groups for VE should embrace different disciplines (Phillips, 2003): Design groups comprising project engineers, designers, draftsmen and mainly engineers who are responsible for construction. Operators groups comprising supervisors and construction engineers. Experts in costs groups with e.g. cost evaluators and accountants. Development groups comprising construction experts, commercial and financial experts. Organizer groups such as trouble-shooters or construction managers. CHAPTER 4: MANAGEMENT OF COST 4.1: Aims Goals of cost management The basic goals of cost management and pricing of a project or product relate to the link between price and intrinsic value, affordability in relation to needs or investment, and managing the procurement process. The cost managers should therefore understand that they need to work with clients from the very inception of a project, even earlier and then through out the process to ensure the best results. This does not mean that a cost planner or cost manager is a cost cutter, far from it a cost manager should take responsibility ( with designers, client and other roll players) to ensure the interest of the client, community and environment are served ( Ferry and Brandon, 1991:5). Grover Cleveland (cited in Nel, 1992:43) stated the following about the property investment: No investment on earth is so safe, so sure, so certain to enrich its owner. However, one also has to take best value into account as well as to put available funds to best use. This includes gearing, cost design or design to cost, cost planning, cost control, architecture, location environment etc. Sound investment has proven its value, been a safe guard against ill fortune, produced income, provided security and shown itself to be away of producing wealth( Nel, 1992:43). Utilizing funds to best effect will improve these benefits even further. The cost manager needs to understand that the type of construction required for a building will also influenced the performance of the building over time, including the functional performances of the users environment (mole, cited in Venmore- Rowland, Brandon and Mole, 1991:307). The cost managers should be continuously involved from the design to the co-ordination and auditing, to ensure best cost results, specifically in commercial property, where investment is required to yield the best financial returns. Other areas of cost management that need attention are cash flow, the timing of payments, interest rates and the availability of funds at specific times. These aspects also influence the total financial outlay and eventual returns on a property investment. Kenley (2003:3) stresses the potential value of improved and strategic cash flow to enhance the profitability of the construction industry, with the further potential to offer reduced costs to the client and improved contractor performance. Cash flow forecast and management should therefore be part of the cost managers service to ensure that the developers receive the full benefits of pro-active attention. The cost managers (Quantity Surveyors) involved must go beyond a re- active service. It should also include a service that takes the following aspects of value into account. Physical: a quality building Psychological; a pleasant looking building which is good to live in, places of the soul Real quality: cost effective but with specifications that fit the purpose. Durability: taking life cycle costs and whole life cycle costs into account. Design: design to cost, cost design and appearance. Affordability: budget and returns are important. Timelessness: short term fashions as opposed to design that will withstand the pressures of current whims. The cost manager, while communicating alternatives and options to the designers and the client should remember the role of relative quality, affordability, returns, as well as the latters link to design and specification. 4.2: Quantity Surveying and cost management methods and tools Although cost management may be seen as an obvious and simple process, in reality it is not. All aspects associated with a project have a direct impact on costing and how it is managed (knipe et al., 2002: 257). The quantity surveyor is ideally placed to manage this complex process. If the methods are followed correctly and the tools used effectively, cost management may produce exceptional results. 4.2.1: Cost Design This process is based on design aimed at satisfying the parameters dictated by cost, cost of acquisition, operation and management. The process may also be described as cost design where such design is defined as designing a project in economic terms, taking into account the cost and cost benefits of each element of the project in an effort to balance the interrelationship of all cost elements and the reason for its existence ( Knipe, 2002:276; Verster and Berry 2005:20-40). 4.2.2: Value Management Value management is a systematic approach and process earlier referred to as value engineering, to ensure delivery of a function or product at the lowest cost without detriment to quality, performance or reliability (Ashworth, 2004: 409-421; Green 1992). Value management is a continuous process that should occur throughout the project but is most effective when implemented right from the inception of the project. More over, it should also include the following aspects: Orientation: Understanding the issues Information: Identification of functions, needs, budgets, project constraints and timing. Speculation: The creative development of ideas and alternatives Analysis and evaluation: Elimination and filtering of ideas. Development: Examination in detail Selection: The final proposal Conclusion: Presenting the findings to the client. Value management is one of the effective tools available to quantity surveyors who are in a position to play an important role in ensuring that the client and designers actually consider all value and cost related aspects of construction, design specification and development options. 4.2.3: Cost Planning Cost planning is used to ensure that the developer knows in the early stages of a project what the anticipated final cost of the total development may be, including the cost of land, legal issues, demolitions, buildings, professionals, furniture, connections, tax, financing and management. Building cost is only of the items, but the quantity surveyor should include all costs in the cost plan of the final cost. The cost planner should have a clear understanding of cost and budget targets to enable him to adjust the developer about possible future over-runs and pro- actively to provide alternative solutions (Ferry and Brandon, 1991:9). One of the most effective tools that the quantity surveyor uses to assist with the planning and design process is the elemental cost plan. The theory behind the analysis of building costs per element is that the total cost is a sum of the cost of individual so- called elements such as walls, roofs, foundations, etc ( Morton and Jaggar, 1995:41-43). 4.2.4: Cost Control Linked to auditing, cost control is an activity that is aimed not only at reactive reporting of decision results, but also at accounting for the decisions and visions of the client and advising the client how best to achieve desired outcomes (Knipe et al., 2002:257). Cost control happens through out the deployment process, from the briefing stage to completion. 4.2.5: Cost Checking This process is necessary to ensure that the client is always informed about the actual performance of the building in cost terms in relation to the budget or cost plan. The actual cost of each element or section of the building as the detailed designs are developed is checked against the cost target or cost plan, or specific elements in the cost plan( Seeley, 1983:14). 4.2.6: Cost Analysis Cost analysis supports the quantity surveyors service to the client and can provide the quantity surveyor with useful cost information and data. The forms of cost analysis are identified by Ashworth (2002:69), namely; Identification of major cost items Analysis of the annual user cost of building ownership Identification of those groups of items(elements) of cost importance 4.2.7: Cost benefits analysis The aim of cost benefit analysis is to establish the real benefit of expenditure not only in financial terms, but also in terms of time and energy expended by human resources, and the social benefits (Ferry and Brandon, 1991:12-13). 4.2.8Life cycle costing The life cycle costing also known as cost-in- use describes the modelling techniques aimed at coping with the mixture of capital and running cost of buildings and effect on ownership of a building. The quantity surveyor must be very sensitive to the influence of all cost factors so that the client receives advice that is practical, applicable, timely and effectively 4.2.9: Cost reporting The Quantity surveyor must ensure that continuous, accurate cost information, analysis, cost results and cost influences are reported to the client and design team. 4.3: Conclusion Using the above tools, techniques or methods and implementing them effectively will result in a better product at a better price with lower maintenance cost and an increased return potential over a long period of time. Money is the most limited resource and the challenge is to utilize it optimally. Though the quantity surveyor is ideally positioned continuously to play an active role, he should also be more involved in strategic decisions to empower clients even more. CHAPTER 5: CONTRACTS AND THE QUANTITY SURVEYOR 5.1: Aims and goals of construction contract A contract is a document that spells out the rights and obligations of parties and the administration of this interaction while protecting the parties against the risks that emanate from various relationships, action s and production. Many alternative ways to procure contracts exist, but experience has shown that a partnership approach as opposed to a two -sided procurement method is preferable. The secret of success may be in the organization of rights, obligations and administration, in such a manner that mutual support by the parties and effective professional service to the contracting parties are important factors to be included in the contract. Although the legal systems in countries are very specific to each country, there are important aspects that need to form part of any construction contract in any country ensure harmony, the parties understanding o f duties and the effective administration of obligations: Objectives: Offer acceptance and performance Preparation: Documents Design responsibility Agents Site representation Regulations Works risk Indemnities Insurances Securities, guarantees etc Execution: Preparation Access to the works Access to the works Setting out of the works Assignment Nominated and selected sub contractors Direct contractors Completion: Practical, works and final completion Defects liability periods Sectional completion Revision of dates Penalties Payments: Interim payments to the contractor Adjustments Recoveries Final accounts Cancellation: By the employer or the contractor and the rights related to Default and disaster Disputes: Litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. The above headings taken from an agreement show the general terms that should be included in a construction contract, but one needs to remember that many project- specific variables also need to be included in the agreement. The contract documents, apart from drawings and specification, should also include the following: Preliminaries the management of the contract Trade preambles basic standard specifications Bills of Quantities depending on the method of procurement used, but compiled in accordance with an acceptable and agreed standard. Guarantees. 5.2: Procurement options Although the quantity surveyors service is traditionally linked to the production of bills of quantities, the profession has evolved to play a pro-active role in any procurement alternative and contractor selection process. Once the quantity surveyors service, in relation to pre-contract cost advice , is concluded, the very important next service phase of procurement advice and action should be addressed. Basically, procurement can be divided into two main alternatives, these are: Price-in-advance methods Cost-reimbursement methods Various other procurement methods for diverse needs and reasons are used, such as cost plus, construction management, design and manage, and measured term contract. The primary considerations for contractor selection or procurement, however, are the following: the influence of cost, time and design as well as the clients needs and budgets. For this reason, the quantity surveyor may promote the multi-procurement method to enable the client to control the effects of time and cost, continuing to allow space for sustained design, development, effective professional service and contractor involvement. The method relives on producing procurement documents timely, on a provisional basis, based on provisional design information. This enables the procurement of a main contractor who will manage many other selected or nominated sub -contractors who will be procured during the development of the building, as detailed information becomes available. The secret of this method is that mutual unders tanding and a very close working relationship between all role players must exist. The quantity surveyor performs a very important task in the execution of the project. 5.3: Conclusion The proper selection of an appropriate procurement method and the introduction of effective contract terms that will enable the contracting parties to focus on the work at hand should derive from pro-active, knowledge -based advice to the client, taking all aspects and circumstances of the proposed project into account Contracts, ensuring a partnership approach and imposing order on the rights and the obligation in proper manner, generally cover all risks and ensure effective contributions by the client, contractor and professionals. CHAPTER 6: THE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNICATION 6.1: The goals of a communication strategy 6.1.1: Contract communication Contract terms should be communicated to parties and people involved so that they have no or little doubt about the meaning of words or terms. For this reason, the following aids are used by courts to interpret contracts: Avoidance of absurdity Upholding the contract or clause as opposed to ineffectual or void interpretations Equitable interpretations The intention s of the parties The recitals are subordinate to the operative part of the contract The grammatical meaning of the words used The contract will be interpreted as a whole in respect of the purpose and scope The technical meaning of words The written contract itself as opposed to verbal explanations It is clearly understood that the contract guides the official communication related to rights, obligations and administration of the contract and by all the parties involved. It is therefore important that the quantity surveyor should understand all issues related to contract communications. 6.1.2: General communication In the information era, however, the strategic resource is information, knowledge and creativity. There is only one way a corporation can gain access to these valuable commodities through people its most important resource (Naisbitt and Aburdene in Puth, 1994: 25) The above quotation illustrates how important it is to work with people, not only informally but also formally by means of contract documents, and in the process communicate well with them. People are the most important resource and thus the most important aspect and source of success. 6.2: Communication using management and leadership methods While contract communication is generally used as a formal and official communication method to ensure that the rights and obligations of parties are protected and enforced, management and leadership communication, as an approach or method, are very important elements in ensuring results. 6.2.1: Management communication Management communication is the number one problem in business today. While technology has advanced in leaps and bounds, managers and academics understanding of the substance of the process. Communication is seen as the life-blood of organizational management; therefore, the manager and professional must have an adequate knowledge of the nature and role of communication although it is difficult to do well or understand the influence of communication (Ewing in Puth, 1994: 3). The effective communicator should have a well-founded understanding of substantive transformation as a basic approach. Management is inherently a problem-solving job ( Whetten and Cameron in Puth, 1974: 109), indicating the importance of communication while obvious criteria for solving problems are expertise, knowledge, skills and experience , using sound management principles to transmit function -and- outcome expectations. 6.2.2: Leadership communication Leadership is based on communication. Leaders communicate not only information, but also attitudes and assumptions (Emshoff and Denlinger in Puth, 1994: 146). Since professionals often find themselves in leadership positions where clients and other parties rely on their expertise and skills, the professional must also be able to communicate and be concerned with: Coping with change Understanding competition and markets Be able to inspire followers Be a good example and influence people to achieve goals Emshoff and Denlinger in Puth (1994: 147) suggest that many corporations today are over-managed and under-led. Professional leadership is needed and should be the concern of all professionals. Autry and Mitchell (1998: 214) suggest that a wise leader should embrace the paradox of: By not forcing, he leadsBy not dominating, he leadsBy not leading, he leads Leadership asks for communication with subordinates, partners, professionals and other functionaries. Leadership is expected of any professional because of his position, knowledge and pro-active service. The lessons to be learned from the above are that communication is not forceful, not dominating, but accommodating. 6.3: Conclusion Colin Bower warns against a specific form of leadership, in his words: Leadership is never a neutral value – far from it, it polarizes and divides he continues the cult of leadership is not more than the most thinly and inept disguised cloak of tyranny. He argues that we do need leaders in battles and expeditions, but because of these times, it should not mean that they are always needed and that leaders fudge issues and paper over cracks by substituting evangelical qualities for good organization, agreed objectives and rational propositions. He concludes with an idealistic picture of competent individuals acting as his or her own leader (Bower, 2005: 2). It remains clear that leadership could be all of the above, but that effective communication and partnerships with individuals may lead to success. CHAPTER 7: MANAGEMENT OF CLAIMS AND DISPUTES 7.1: The goals of claims and dispute resolution The goals o f claim and dispute resolution are firstly to establish the right of any party to submit a claim, and secondly to enable the other party to consider the claim in terms of its validity, contractual terms and possible outcome. Lodging or considering a claim do es not mean that a dispute exists, but should the rejection of a claim occur, a different interpretation of a claim exist, a difference of opinion obtain, one has to note that a dispute may then be lodged. Dispute resolution should then assist the parties in resolving such an impasse in a cost effective, satisfactory and timely manner. 7.2 The methods used to resolve disputes For the purpose of this paper, the methods to be discussed are cancellation, adjudication, mediation and arbitration. 7.2.1 Conciliation In an effort to resolve a dispute, satisfactory results are never guaranteed, not even in a court of law. It is therefore perhaps important to use inexpensive ways and methods to try and resolve a dispute. Results have shown that conciliation does have a remarkable measure of success in regard to solving differences before they can become disputes. The parties decide who the conciliator will be. The conciliator should, however, be a person with good communication skills and knowledge. The objective is to bring the parties together in a forum to investigate their contentions and assist the parties to formulate their own settlement, by indicating the consequences. Improved communication should be ensured through joint and separate meetings. The conciliator may also be requested to formulate an own opinion. In the end, parties are still left with the option to continue with litigation or arbitration. Conciliation, however, has the following foci and advantages: Control the parties control the process Consensus the parties aim at the best commercial solution Continuity the relationship will continue Confidentiality- no harmful public exposure The following diagram illustrates the difference between litigation and all ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) processes: The quantity surveyor, with good communication skills is ideally positioned to play an important role in respect of conciliation because disputes usually revolve around payments, valuations, certificates and penalties. 7.2.2: Adjudication Adjudication is an accelerated form of dispute resolution in which a neutral, impartial and independent third party deals with the dispute as an expert and not as an arbitrator, and whose determination is binding unless and until invalidated or overturned b y an arbitration award. The adjudicator shall not give advice to the parties or their representatives concerning any aspect of the Agreement in respect of which he has been appointed other than in accordance with stated Rules[Joint Building Contracts Committee (JBCC) 2005 4.1 Adjudication rules, cl. 1.1, 3.2] The procedure may be as follows: Either party shall submit full details of a dispute arising in terms of the agreement, together with copies of all relevant documents The other party may submit a written response The adjudicator shall: act as an expert and not as an arbitrator adopt the most cost and time -effective procedure The adjudicator may also: convene and conduct a hearing determine the payments and costs of the dispute on the basis of the submitted documents only meet with the parties decide on his own jurisdiction make use of specialist knowledge open up documents related to the dispute refuse admission to any persons other than the parties It is important to note that a n adjudication award is not binding on the parties, but is most definitely a process that will limit the costly processes of arbitration and litigation. Quantity surveyors and cost engineers are ideally positioned to play a very active role in adjudication. 7.2.3: Mediation