Tea Culture between Asian and Western Countries Essay

Tea Culture between Asian and Western Countries - Essay Example British afternoon tea was the most popular during ceremonies. Anna the Duchess of Bedford was the inventor of the afternoon teas. At the time it was only the wealthy individuals who could manage to buy tea. The wealthy individuals could then invite their friends so as to celebrate the festivities. The tea was later stored in the Chinese porcelain and served with other delicate goodies like sandwiches, cakes, scones, tarts, cream, biscuits and bread. Tea from India was stored in silver tea-pots which was later poured into bone-china cups. This was symbolic in terms of the economic wealth of an individual. The Britons also had the high tea which was taken during dinner time and tea breaks which was normally during mornings as part of their strict customs. In all the occasions, the European took tea when celebrating with friends and families.In Chinese, the tea was taken in a special environment. During the large parties and the imperial tea festivities, it usually involved many partici pants.

Current Issues in Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Current Issues in Finance - Essay Example There is an obvious conflict of interest in expecting information that might ultimately produce pressure by external sources to modify or forego otherwise economically gainful – and for the most part legal - activities, and corporations have been reluctant to adopt non-mandatory disclosure related to such items. â€Å"There has, however, also been a long history of organisations independent of the accountable organisation producing social and/or environmental reports about the accountable organisations. These are typically known as external social audits† (Gibson, Gray, Laing, and Dey, 2002). â€Å"Social audits act as a ‘balancing view’ in the face of the considerable resources that organisations have at their disposal to put their own point of view and to offer their own emphasis on their activities† (Gibson, et al., 2002). Gibson, et al, undertook to find out how much of the desired information was already disclosed, albeit hidden, in the usual annual and various other company-produced reports. They found corporations already supply much of the information being sought. Using a simple â€Å"cut and paste† approach extracted much information relevant to social and environmental issues. The product of such an effort is called a â€Å"Silent Account†. It is a concise selection of information, without commentary, assembled without being taken out of context, and then evaluated. It often reveals more than the corporations suspect, and can be a valuable source of raw data from which to explore issues to follow up. The information used for the compilation of a â€Å"Shadow Account† is compiled in a similar way, without commentary or analysis, but entirely from public but non-company produced sources. No effort is made to distinguish between good news and bad news, and it’s a given that â€Å"It is very likely...that a number of the items in the Shadow Report are, in

Ethics and Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics and Leadership - Research Paper Example The ethical issue concerning the employees of global fashion plant was that the owners and management of the company were observed to render insignificant consideration to think about the volatile effects due to their actions. The leaders of that plant were observed to lack in terms of awareness regarding ethical managerial conduct that states the minimum behavior required from them towards the employees. The code of conduct can be classified as Deontology which can be defined as actions that are in accordance with moral principles or certain rules. It further states that rules or principles are derived from rationality that is justified to each and every employee. In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact on the working environment of the organization inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as many apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty-five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights).... In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact over the working environment of the organisation inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as much apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 1996). Thus, it can be observed that the process performed by the management at Kathie Lee’s plant violated the standards o f human and labour rights in its Honduras plant where they made the workers work more than the standard time specified by the labour organisations, only to meet the orders demanded by Wal-Mart. The ethics imbibed in the behaviour of the superiors play an imperative role while motivating or maintaining a happier working environment. It can specifically be described as a character trait of a human-being that is required to flourish and lead a healthier life which can also be quite beneficial to facilitate a productive working environment encouraging employees to participate in the overall growth of the company (Hindman & Smith, 1999). Thus, a leader of an organisation should possess virtuous skills in their behaviour towards the subordinates. In the case of Kathie Lee’s

Concept of true and fair view Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Concept of true and fair view - Essay Example It is perceived to be realized by abiding by all additional minor accounting standards. True and fair view is the rule that is utilized in guidelines ranging from financial standard and auditing to an organization’s law acts. The phrase is applicable to the process an auditor will execute a verdict on the accounting activities of a corporation (Elliot & Elliot 2004, p. 21). The true and fair value concept is significant because it is employed in guaranteeing and examining if accounts indicate the correct business activities. In addition, the true and fair value concept has helped in abolishing mechanical utilization of accounting principles (Arnold, Hope, Southworth & Kirkham 1994, p. 17). The users of the true and fair value concept include auditors and accountants. Both the auditors and accountants use this concept to set down accounting statement whether they are internally-focused management accounts or external financial accounts. Auditors use the concept to design and perform with extreme determination that will help reveal any significant or material misstatements or errors (Friedlob, & Plewa, 1996, p. 67). Firms that utilize the true and fair value concept are those that are registered in the London Stock Exchange, for example, ABB, an international organization dealing in mechanics and primarily in the automation and power technology sectors, and Heathrow Airport Holdings, which operates four airports in Britain (Glautier & Underdown 1994, p. 51). There are a number of issues relating to the true and fair value concept. One, the accounting books should have noted all the business dealings accurately. The concept should record correct business dealings to ensure proper functioning. Two, the accounting books should be made according to the appropriate standards of accounting and have adhered to accountancy principles given by a number of regulatory agencies (Kotter &Cohen 2002, p. 35). This should reflect the adequate accounting standards in finance.

Dancing at lughnasa play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dancing at lughnasa play - Essay Example Andrea Corr is a character who has left me confused despite the fact that this play is part of my daily activity. I am in dispute with my conscience whether Corr is a pop or folk singer. I also wonder whether I can rate her as a good actor or not because he only tries to transmit enraptured virtuousness characters. While the characters are on the stage, there is mood swing. In one split I find myself laughing rumbustiously, the next time my eyes are full with reeking tears. I realised that at all epochs no matter what the mood happens to be at every minute the play feels amazingly true. â€Å"Marcon† is another character I believe is depicted as wireless owned by the sister. Through personification it amuses as the character seem to be almost magical and know how to control and to adjust to sisters. Marconi’s role is very interesting and indeed has the command of a character in exploring and enhancing the other characters. Contrary to many who go to the theatre exactly knowing what they are going to see and here, Last Friday I left home with my sister to go to the theatre as a play which I have heard many talk of â€Å"Dancing at Lughnasa† was to be presented. I can say I was anxious to see the characters and the real thing my sister has always talked of. When the stage was opened one of the characters called Michael came forward and introduced the play, His way of introduction was impressing as the audience cheered. It was difficult for me to find out the relationship between Michael and other characters and identifying the themes in the play. I was so much pleased with the way Andrea Corr introduced the song in the play even though I did not understand the role of a song in the play, in fact I was not aware the type of song Corr was singing. This confused me further. Marcon was the character who puzzled me as could play different roles like changing to be sisters. The characters ability to swing the moods of the audience was another part that

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Example for Free

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Question is What are we made of and what survives after death of the body. If anything survives how much of the original identity of that person survives and in what form? People try to answer this by: Believing in a superior being who has communicated a promise Gathering data about LAD near death experiences, past life memories that suggest reincarnation, the para-normal Accepting no life after death we are matter and return to matter and become part of the wider world again Exploring ideas about the nature of body and soul Some Christians believe death is the event that makes sense of our previous lives and the meaning of death itself is changed in the promise of eternal life. John Hick, it should not evoke the sickening fear with which we face what we know to be evil It is a fuller stage in the outworking of the Creators loving purpose for his children. SOURCES Revealed Knowledge The Bible, Quran, Torah etc which tell us of the events others have experienced and what they claim and to those who accept them as revealed knowledge this gives certainty. Christians believe that Jesus was and is God Incarnate, so if he promises eternal life to his followers, he must be trusted. Similarly Muslims trust the Prophet Mohammed as Allahs chosen messenger and as he has spoken of paradise, then there must be such a place. Inferential Knowledge Reasoning that the ideas expressed explain so much that they must be true even if theres no proof = a belief. Hindus do not have any promise in scripture, but they trust their God loves them and so will e god to them upon death. In neither case is there absolute proof the believer trusts that it is true. Religious views Christian Old Testament good and bad alike to go to Sheol as ghostlike individuals Job 14.7-12 Theres hope is a tree is cut down as buds can grow from the trunk but man lies down and does not rise again. However he also believes that if he has a personal relationship with God which is beyond the trials of this life he will be with God at the end. New Testament the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the belief in LAD,. Jesuss promise to the good thief crucified with him This day you will be with me in paradise only appears in the Gospel of Luke indicates that he believes in the possibility of paradise for the righteous and the repentant. However the translation of paradise could also refer to a pleasant place. Jesus referred to heaven as the place where God lived Our Father which art in heaven Book of Revelations contains visions of Saints whose bloody robes have been washed clean in the blood of the lamb (Christ) in a heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. It is clear there is a heaven after death, which is separate from the last judgment, also known as the second coming, which will happen at the end of time. The term eschatalogical gap refers to the gap between whats in the bible and the precise details of the afterlife Purgatory Roman Catholics only people have to atone for sin before they can enter heaven no scriptural evidence for this idea Limbo not in current use, but Catholics used to believe the unbaptised or good people whod never heard of Jesus would go here. Protestants believed such people would go straight to hell as God would have called those to be saved. One reference in Peters letters The spirits who are in prison Reincarnation some Christians have accepted this in the past but not currently in use. Catholics in particular value appearances by Mary (Lourdes, Fatima etc) and other saints after their death as confirming an after life. Quakers religious body without creeds and so base beliefs on experience, life experience varies and therefore so do views on LAD. Three main views bit these are not fixed, all beliefs are personal. 1. The good we have done (and possibly the evil) lives on after we have gone in the lives of those affected this might be as memories or as the impact of deeds 2. Survival of the Human Spirit as a continuation of this life in a spiritual body (St Pauls term). Some also believe in reincarnation 3. Acceptance of heaven and hell as destinations after death but belief in a Loving God and redemption through Christ means hell cannot be eternal Personal conclusions about LAD are based on individual experiences of the Love of God in this life in spite of the experience of suffering. Therevada Buddists Nirvana achieved in this life, without substrate and so continuing to live in bodily form is described as a set of qualities in The Questions of King Milinda. He asks Nagasena whether he can compare it to anything in this world to help him understand. Nagasena says it cant be compared to anything, but its qualities can. E.g As a lotus is unsustained by water, so Nirvana is unsustained by all the defilements Islam God has a plan for the whole universe and all human beings At the day of judgement to whole universe will be destroyed and the dead raised to stand before him That day will be the beginning of an unending life on which every individual will be judged and rewarded by God according to their deeds. The Quran argues that life after death is vital of make sense of morality. If there is no afterlife then a belief in God is irrelevant. Hindus believe in certain heavenly states, notably Goloka, Krishnas heaven for devotees, but there is little justification in scripture. Hindus believe as a God loves his people he must be good to them when they die. The Resurrection of the Body Key Christian belief is that the individual survives as an individual. Also that the individual is judged as a individual Jesuss resurrection and ascension is the model we will follow as he was sent to show us the way, the truth and the light.. The Apostles and Nicene Creed both affirm belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come Tey also refer to the communion of saints which refers to the Church as one body uniting those in heaven and those on earth. The point of the Creed is to reinforce belief in the face of challenges Christians believe that man can be saved as a whole, body and soul man can glorify God through his body as he is made in the image of God, the body can become a sacrifice to God and also a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, (Corinthians 6.19-20,Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?). Also Christ at the Last Supper gave his Body and Blood as a means of salvation, so the human body is important On the same day as jesuss resurrection Matthews gospel reports dead prophets rising from their graves indicating a bodily resurrection. Paul speaks of us dying and rising with Christ in Baptism as a spiritual experience (Romans 6.5-11) but he is clear that the body will be resurrected after death however in 1 Corinthians 15-50 he also says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Irenaeus and Tertullian both interpret this to mean that flesh is resurrected for judgment and that the Spirit must be present in the flesh to enter heaven. The Creed also affirms belief in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthains 15.35-50 Paul is asked How are the dead raised? He uses the analogy of a seed and a bulb to show that something completely different can arise from a source. At h time there was a commonly held belief that the flesh would be resurrected the corpse Paul tried to make it clear that the body refers to the whole personality and person, both inner and outer. Through Adam we are part of the physical sphere and through Christ we are part of the spiritual sphere Christ was man and God together we are physical body and spiritual body together. Paul does not describe the spiritual body.

Royal Mail Strategies and Responsibilities

Royal Mail Strategies and Responsibilities Royal mail is the United Kingdoms national postal service which was founded in 1516. Royal mail is having its operations all over UK as well as in International areas having more than 176000 employees. Royal mail do have parcel service, letter service, Airmail service, Business support services, money transfers and lot of services they keep on adding day by day. It is the subsidiary firm of the Royal Mail Group LTD. According to the Royal mail its highly skilled employees are its assets and the customers are the life blood of the firm. This essay describes about the following factors:- Royal Mails three strategic levels Corporate Strategic Responsibility Human resource strategies (Definition) Human Resource Strategies between 2005-2010 Swot Analysis New Human Resource strategy of the Royal Mail The Royal Mails response to the Competition and the to the recent Credit Crunch Conclusion 1.The Royal Mail do have three levels of strategies:- Corporate level -which deals with the overall organization. Ex: Geographical regions, Market selection. Business level strategy is mentioned for each type of business carried out by the Royal mail. Functional level- The Finance, Human Resource Management, Production, Marketing, Research and Development comes under this section. The Corporate strategy of Royal mail is designed in such a way that it shows their ability to cope with the market changes in a positive and negative manner. It is the hardships of the employees and their standard customer services makes the Royal mail to get a competitive advantage over its competitors like TNT, DHL etc. Royal Mail which was once said to be the Monopolist in the field of Postal services lost the title of Monopoly in the beginning of 2006. It had 99% of the market share in its hands. Royal mail do have a view to make their corporate Strategic responsibility to become a part of their strategic management process. They are:- 2. Corporate Strategic responsibility includes:- The support of the workers from the workplace which forms the backbone of the Royal mail. The management also deals with the workers in a more friendly manner without any kind of discrimination. Being workers said to be the assets of the firm, Royal Mail takes good care of their workers and regarding the working conditions too. To make its actions designed to have a strong positive effect on its workers, customers and to its suppliers. Achieve a net zero carbon footprint by 2015 and to support their clients to do their activities to have a positive advantage towards the environment and to attain a competitive advantage. With their Corporate responsibility in mind Royal Mail wishes to be different from its competitors Royal mail had created their corporate strategy by taking into consideration of their Organizational objectives and their achievement. It is in the Functional level the Human Resource Strategies arrives. The definition of the Human Resource strategy and the Human Resource Strategies of the Royal Mail from 2005-2010 are mentioned below. 3.Human Resource strategy (Definition):- Before moving to Human Resource Strategy we should know what is meant by the term strategy?.Strategy usually means selecting the best decision from a stream of decisions. According to Lundy and cowling (1998,p16), strategy is: The art of war, generalship, especially the art of directing military movements so as to secure the most advantageous positions and combination of forces. The Human Resource Management team in the Royal Mail directs the workers by motivating them and providing them proper training in order to achieve the Organizational goals and to get a competitive advantage over its rivals. The term Human Resource Strategy is well defined as Human Resource management (HRM) is a strategic approach to managing employment relations which emphasises that leverage peoples capabilities is critical to achieving sustainable competitive advantage, this being achieved through a distinctive set of integrated employment policies, programmes and practices. [Bratton and Gold,4e,p3] 4.The Human Resource Strategies from 2005 2010:- Human Resource Management forms the most important function in an Organization as the workers are considered to be the valuable assets of the firm. The right kind of people in right position at the right time is the objective of the HR Manager. It is said that normally in a day HR Manager usually spends 20% of their working hours in dealing with the grievances of the employees without affecting the Organizations routine activities. HR Executives should have an ability to deal with their staffs in a fair and friendly manner rather than imposing more control on them. The Royal Mail take the efforts made by their workers into good consideration and rely on the fact about their career development rather than simply a job. The Royal Mails Human Resource strategies in the period from 2005 to 2010 is mentioned below which includes several threats they faced and the steps undertaken to face those threats. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2005:- One of the most important actions of the Royal Mail can be seen in the beginning of 2005 which employed candidates from the socially excluded groups. The candidates who were recruited performed very well in the selection process as well as in the Organization too. New recruits by this process were placed in position as post man, delivery van drivers, letter sorting who were ex-service men or those who are homeless. This Pilot program helped the Royal Mail in lowering the cost and labour turnovers and proved as the firm with best employee satisfaction. The employees thus had a long term commitment and had a self motivated approach to work hard for the firm to achieve its goals. The employer expectation of high commitment and the employee expectation of taking care of their social needs made the workers of the Royal Mail to be loyal to the firm and improved the ratio of trust towards the firm. The voluntary organizations like the Royal Association of Disabled and Rehabilitation, Busine ss action on Homelessness etc helped the Royal Mail to get candidates of socially excluded groups. The Human Resource team played a very important function in sorting out the list of disabled candidates and selecting the best candidates through a standard selection process. The Human Resource Manager who have the Management as an art aspect means having inborn talents will have those skills to recruit those people who can contribute to the maximum of their extend towards their Organization. The Royal mail team supervised by Mr. Adam Crozier made record annual profits in 2005 which helped to give 1074 pounds of bonuses to its workers. These were achieved by the employee performance,better customer service by properly trained staff and their performance related pay strategy of the Human Resource team. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2006:- The Human Resource team in the Royal Mail were able to provide instant solutions to the grievances of the employees. The starting of the year 2006 was not as good for the Royal Mail as it faced a postal strike in Belfast. Nearly 200 postal workers stopped their work for 2 weeks which made a very negative impact on the Royal Mails services to the customers. The customers were said to contact the office directly for any important matters and most of the letters and documents were blocked in some places remained undelivered. The Communication Workers Union says that the strike was due to the bad and unfair practices of the managers towards the workers in Belfast and the core issue is not accepted by the Royal Mail. Important delivery including specialized services were stopped temporarily and the management took immediate action to solve the problem. The Workers in strike were assured that they will not be treated badly when they return to their work and necessary actions will be taken against those who were found guilty. The Human Resource team in the Royal Mail took the issue seriously and they guaranteed that the workers will be treated fairly and without any discrimination. The psychological contract which says high motivation and high commitment should be taken into consideration which made the Human Resource Manger to deal with the situation in a friendly and wise manner. It was this year the Royal Mail lost its position as a Monopoly in the postal Industry and started facing wide spread competition. The management agreed that their will be no reduction in the work force, high job security will be provided with raise in pay scales to the staffs. The Christmas season of 2006 also made the customers of the Royal Mail to suffer due to the strike of 800 workers which caused huge volume of undelivered documents in the office. The managements decision to change some full time post to part time when an job opening arise was objected by the trade union by saying tha t it is against the National agreement. The matter was raised very seriously and the Royal Mail responded to it by saying that the decision will be with the consent of the worker agreement. The strike was stopped by reaching to the point that the new job openings in the Royal Mail will be carried out by the management with the combined hands of the trade union to make decision regarding whether to treat the vacancy full time or part time and the management assured that no staff will be forced to change his full time job status to part time. The closing of the sorting office in Paddington, London in the same year was explained by the Royal Mail as a step taken in order to improve their customer satisfaction and productivity against the wide spread rumours about some illegal actions of the postal workers. The 950 workers who worked their were temporarily kept away from their duties and some of them were given transfer offers. The workers commitment in a firm not only depend on their s alary but also on other factors like work atmosphere, employee- employer relationship, colleague character etc. The sacking of 5 workers who treated their women colleague very badly in one of the Royal Mail branch shows the immediate response taken by the Human Resource team in those matters which affects an employee to perform well in an Organization and to reduce those activities which affects the reputation of the firm. The Human Resource team has made recently certain improvements in the health and safety measures for the workers due to the huge fine the firm had to pay regarding the death of an employee, which was made as a health and safety issue by the court. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2007:- The Privatization of the Royal Mail was the main problem discussed by the Human Resource team in the Royal Mail and the workers point of trust towards the firm tends to decrease day by day affecting their performance in the work. The Communication Workers Union was opposing the issue but some managers say the Privatization will help the future of the Royal Mail. A deal was agreed between the management and the labour union in 2007 followed by stopping the workers strike. The new policies changed the working time and new technologies were introduced which was implemented in each and every branch of the Royal Mail improved the productivity and performance of the workers. The new modern way of thinking and acting was successful in the Royal Mail. Also Mr. Mark Higson the managing director of the Royal Mail added that the future of the Royal Mail Pension scheme will not form any part of the agreement. The Human Resource Strategy of making the employees feel they are a part of the firm made the management to come to a point of distributing around 20% of its shares to the employees was opposed by the Government and the plan was turned down. The Human Resource team and the other managing partners have plan to explore the unused markets and to identify new opportunities to make the Royal Mail to offer quick and friendly based customer services. The Human Resource Department also do have plans to provide Occupational pension schemes for their employees in future. The Human Resource Manager also responded to the worst situation of poor quality service by the Royal Mail in Scotland and he promised to provide better customer service the coming year. The contract lose with the online service provider Amazon hits very badly towards the Royal Mail and its bad position to face more rigorous competition. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2008:- In order to face the competition and the consideration of the future of the Royal Mail, the Human Resource Department made plans to reduce the number of workers and providing better benefits for those who remains. The Workers and the union feared about the reduction of the full time jobs and including more part time workers. The Privatization of the Royal Mail which the British public doesnt like was also considered as the main issue by the trade unions and the management. The Privatization will cause more job losses says the union members but the Royal Mail needs finance to support its future plans says the Management. The Management also planned to change the offices from old buildings to new ones in which the trade unions responded and they said that the change of offices will cause problems in sorting of letters, loosing some customers and they feared about loosing jobs too. Also plans were prepared by the Human Resource team to raise the salary scale of the executive Directors o f the Royal Mail who are the main key players in obtaining maximum profit. The Devanna model which shows performance appraisal, Human resource development and reward systems should be given due consideration. Many office branches of the Royal Mail were shut down and the remaining workers should be motivated by their performance and the management should create trust from the side of the workers which in turn gives high commitment. The Soft HRM feature of high commitment and high motivation as well as the Hard HRM feature of managing the workforce in a more rational way should be undertaken by the Royal Mail. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2009:- To Prevent the customers complaint about the closing of the post offices the Human Resources team implemented a plan to provide mobile post office services to the customers by Van. The Royal Mails plan to make 30% privatization was opposed by the public and the Government continuously, if privatized it will cause raise in prices, job losses and the customers as well as the workers trust in the Royal Mail will reduce. The Human Resources team introduced new uniforms to the workers which is suitable for the climate and having big pockets to place the hand held computers which the customers prefers to sign and trace items was considered as a part of the improvement in the delivery system of the Royal Mail. The year also faced a strike on the pay cuts, salary freeze of the workers. The Communication Workers Union said that even cutting the wages or freezing the salary will not help the Royal Mail instead it should implement new ideas in technology and new advanced machinery to support th e workers. All over the strike is making the customers to move away from receiving the services from the Royal Mail. In the matter of improving their services, the Royal Mail and the Microsoft had joined hands to hands by introducing the new e-mailing service without having computers. The HR strategy of how to compete with their rivals has made the above decision to implement in the Royal Mail. Human Resource strategies of the Royal Mail in 2010:- The Privatization of the Royal Mail is the main consideration of the Royal Mail as the firm is running out of Finance, huge pension deficits and inefficiency in operations. The private fund is needed for the smooth function of the Organization, says the Managing director of the Royal Mail. The Human Resource Manager is taking keen steps in promoting the existing workers with good training but most of the workers had lost the trust with the Royal Mail. The privatization will cause more job losses, price for the products will be raised and the top level managers will get more benefits; a trade union leader says in a meeting. The workers says that if the new management can help them in providing benefits and good promotional appraisal packages to them, it is better to get privatized. The natural constraints like volcano ashes also affected he Royal Mails service in some part of the United Kingdom. The Psychological contract between the employee and the employer is broken. The employees social and other needs are not fully met and the huge sacking of employees made them to loose commitment towards the firm which leads to inefficiency, reduced services, low productivity and down turn of profits. The Royal Mail is still considered as the provider of the best service among the European nations with lowest service charges. The Human Resource team have plans to increase the state pension age for men. The Royal Mail is trying in many ways to improve its services by providing different varieties of stamps, weekend services, superior customer service but the competition and its bad financial position is weakening its movements to go forward. Even though it is known that the entry of new firms into the Postal Industry is very difficult due to entry restrictions, the Royal Mail is facing very tough competition. The firms like TNT, DHL and many of the online services are serious treats to the Royal Mail. The day when the Royal Mail lost its Monopoly in 2006 marked the beginning of competition as a headache to the Royal Mail. Another problem which the Royal Mail faces is the reduction in the volume of the letters but the postal workers tells that the number is increasing day by day. The Royal Mail like all other firms had undergone a SWOT ANALYSIS to understand its positives and Negatives internally and Externally. TheSWOT analysis is done to identify their threats and opportunities, strengths and weaknesses. 5.SWOT ANALYSIS:- The Swot Analysis is usually conducted by the management which gives the Royal Mail a good indication of its Strength and Weakness internally and its Opportunities and Treats in the outside market. The highly skilled hard working staffs having high commitment motivated by the efficient management and the firms large and other financial resources forms the Strength of the Royal Mail. Some complaints have been raised regarding the letters not reaching the destination and stealing of the letters/parcels by its staffs affects the Royal Mails prestige and the strikes which are made by the trade unions in Royal Mail forms its major weaknesses which hardly hits its reputation and directly states that employees are not satisfied with the management actions. The Royal Mail do have new opportunities to identify more customers and Business clients and providing support to them which will have a competitive advantage over its rivals. The Competitors like TNT, DHL, UKMAIL and the possibility of more rivals to enter the Industry forms the main threats for the Royal Mail. The wide usage of internet, online banking, online delivery and e-mailing has reduced its number of customers to a large extend has made huge reduction in the volume of mails in the Royal Mail is also considered as big threats. The Royal Mail still stands as the Standard postal service in the United Kingdom with its valuable staffs and its improved services like First class service, weekend service etc. Royal Mail also provides online supports and International postal services. The Administration of the Royal Mail includes series of committees like The Audit and Risk committee, The Management board, Pensions committee, Remuneration committee, Nomination committee and Social and Responsibility Committee. The new Human Resource Strategy and policies are being Introduced by the Royal Mail in order to face these threats and for the motivation of the workers. 6.The new Human Resource strategy to support the Royal Mail in the present bad condition:- Steps have been taken in the all the levels of the Organization to support the firm from the credit crunch and competition. To the workers:- Workers are provided with improved new range of training and guaranteed performance related pays. The employees who are considered as a valuable assets in the Royal Mail were provided with revised employee policies and procedures and long term job security and motivation. In order to improve its reputation and to obtain a good employee- employer relationship some additional steps were also taken. They are:- The new plan for temporary redundancy and early retirement are going to be enforced as soon as possible. Existing contracts will be renewed and new standardized contracts will be provided to the employees. The introduction of new machinery and techniques helps the workers to achieve world class standard in performance. The new revised Pension scheme plans are going to implement for those employees in the Royal Mail pension scheme. The working hours, the minimum wages are also revised. The safety of the staffs are taken in great consideration. Improved working conditions, first aid facilities, stress relief exercises, changing their job tasks over a period of time, self appraisal process, promotional and increments are also introduced to the new plan. To the firm:- The modernization of the firm with improved customer service support is the main objective of the firm. The co-operation of the Management with the workers and the trade union added with signing an agreement in new policies and procedures of the firm supported by the trade union is going to happen. The improved efficiency and productivity with unmatched competition by providing lower price and better quality services to its clients. To the Trade Union:- The firm will give suitable position for the trade union in its management activities. Support from the trade union in motivating the workers to cope with the Organizational rules and regulations and to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. To develop new communication levels between the trade union and the management. 7.The Royal Mails respond to the Competition and to the recent Credit Crunch:- The Royal mail which was once called as a Monopoly firm now faces serious competition and holds a bad reputation due to its continuous strikes , shutting down of the offices and complaints regarding its employees. Even though any firm can compete with its rivals in two ways, one way by reducing its prices and the other is by improving its quality of service/product. The Royal Mail provides high quality service to its customers and also the lower service/product price compared with its competitors helps the Royal Mail to attain a sustainable competitive advantage. The Human Resource team is making its level best efforts to prevent such issues but the employees relationship with the management is unclear. One of the main issues is the privatization of the Royal Mail which make the staffs to loose trust towards the firm making them de-motivated. The corporate strategy is well defined and the Human resource planning and its strategical process is some what following the corporate strateg y. Making a friendly relation with the CWU and a strong psychological contract between the workers and the Management is very much needed for the smooth functioning of the Royal Mail. The recent credit crunch has made the Royal Mail to close most of its offices and to sack many of its employees. The economic downturn in the UK is being faced by the Royal Mail in some extend due to its highly skilled, flexible core employees. The peripheral workers who were highly skilled were also taken into good consideration by the Royal Mail. The customers still rely on the Royal Mail due to its better quality services and lowest prices compared to its competitors the TNT, DHL, UKMail etc. The name of the above model is The Five Forces Framework which is developed by [Porter 1980] shows the fact from where does the competition come from?. We can combine this model with the Royal Mails competitive nature. It has elements like 1.Potential entrants mentioned as new competitors of the Royal Mail. 2.Rivalry from existing firms like TNT, DHL etc which are faced by the Royal Mail with its high quality products/services and of its highly skilled workforce who are trained and developed by their talented Human Resource team. The substitutes can be shown as the e-mail, online transfers and online mail ordering groups. Threat from the customers in the form of bargaining power, their change of demand, their potential for forward integration (which is implemented by the firm with the availability of suitable Human Resources). Threat from the Suppliers includes their bargaining power, switching costs, market dominance of the suppliers, the potential for backward integration (which is implemented by the firm with the availability of suitable Human Resources). The suppliers include the printing and stationery, technology, clothes, transport and travel agents. The Royal Mail uses the Generic Strategies frame work of Mr. Porter(1985) to define how they faced these competitions. The basic idea which is derived from the framework is:- Any firm can compete with other by lowering their prices Competing in the matter of quality makes each firm different Focusing on the main market and its customers can gain competitive advantage over its rivals. The Human Resource strategy of identifying the competitive areas and setting plans for how to compete helped the Royal Mail to face all types of competition and to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. The Human Resource Management team of the Royal Mail have a good background from the Top Ranked Business Schools added with their inborn talents and experience helps the Royal Mail to compete with their rivals in a more technical way which is difficult for the competitors to identify and which makes the Royal Mail to have a strong base in the UK postal industry. The top quality products/services with the top quality employees makes the Royal Mail to move forward with confidence. The Human Resource strategy of implementing new techniques and training services with the performance related pay aspect for the workers can be seen in the Royal Mail. Last year the Royal Mail received three bronze awards from the World Class Manufacturing Association for its performance, health and saf ety care of its workers. The Royal Mail consider each and every worker in the matter of safety and performance and they say that if they can make one worker to perform well, it will make another to perform well and it goes on and the whole workers will perform well gives high productivity and profits to the firm. 8.Conclusion:- The essay can be concluded by stating that the Royal Mail have to face the credit crunch and the present difficulties in order to hold a strong position in the UK postal Industry. The Royal Mail do have a strong corporate responsibility strategy and Human Resource strategy which is properly planned and helpful to the employees as well as the to the firm for further development. The Human Resource Strategy from 2005 2010 shows the problems faced by the Royal Mail and the Strategies used by them to solve these problems. The privatization and the pension deficits are the main problems faced currently by the Royal Mail in which the management have certain plans to overcome the situation. The new entrants and the present rivals are competing very roughly with the Royal Mail and they are faced by the Royal Mail by its good quality services and its lowest service/product prices.