Administration and Executive support Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Administration and Executive support - Essay Example On the other hand, other than key skills administrative assistants must have certain key qualities that will make them effective and efficient. Some of the key qualities include the ability to prioritize as well remain calm within the organization. In addition, an administrative assistant must have the quality of working under pressure whilst remaining focused. The reason behind such qualities is the fact that MA (administrative assistant) role is usually directly under the manager who may transfer their stress to the assistant or even pressurize them when operations are not going on as planned (Frisch, 2002). (b) Demonstrate with the use of a visual aid (individual Action plan), the different methods for developing your MA skills to help you to develop in your role in supporting formal meetings, projects and personal scheduling Document production, filing, and dispatch training will provide an opportunity to the administrative assistant to learn how to produce documents, file the same, as well as dispatch the documents to various departments or individuals within the organization Through secretariat courses, administrative individuals will be able to develop knowledge and skills that are involved in not only liaising but also performing various functions of a secretary, which directly correlates to the manager or role performed such as acting as personal assistant In the event that accounting and finance department are unable to handle petty cash within the manager’s office, the administrative assistant should be given the mandate to handle such cash. However, handling such cash requires accounting skills obtainable through accounting and finance courses (a) Define the term stakeholder and produce a table to identify and classify at least ten different stakeholder groups (both internal and external) for this organization. For each stakeholder identified, explain their power and influence. A stakeholder is defined as any person, group,

Reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reading - Essay Example First, the principle of syntax is a linguistic principle that grammatical explains how grammatical processes function primarily on given structures of sentences. This is not applicable in a single word or succession of words since the principle of dependency structure is a rule of universal grammar. In this rule, the principle of structure dependency mandates the applicable languages to incorporate sentences of the language in question in accordance with the structure instead of the sheer order of words. In syntax approach, one is able to examine that certain unified analyses of sentences in a given language can be empirically correct or in order. This means that syntax helps in teaching of reading in that unifications of statements is not per se desirable. In the proposition of linguistics, the syntax’s explanation is the arrangement or the processes through sentences undergo construction in a language (Rogers, 2006). This means is therefore dictated the rules and the princip les that govern the sentence structure of that given language in teaching. As a result, effective teaching of reading in any language in the application must adhere to the construction rules of grammar in syntactic approach not merely the arrangement of words. For example, it would be appropriate for a teacher to get right all the constraints that control acceptable word order within any given sentence. This also goes to the dominance of relation like a head noun + a relative clause. The syntactic sequencing of such words dictates that they ought to follow that order hence syntax. In teaching, learners cannot acquire this rule through the hearing of sentences of the language. Alternatively, the rule of syntax imposes itself in whichever language they encounter. This means learners only have to apply these syntactic rules in the languages that they only hear. For example, in English language, learners would reject a statement like ‘for Mary is dog that white’. The syntax rule is wrong even to those who have never encountered it before. It is therefore important to elaborate that structure dependency as a syntactic rule stipulates that it is a principle of knowledge that is built in human minds (Dalton, 2008). This makes it part of the language being learned in teaching of learning, not necessarily English. The semantics principle also features as the principle of compositionality. It is the study of meaning. In its entirety, it focuses on the relation between signifiers like words, phrases, signs, symbols, and what exactly they stand to express in a given sentence (Rogers, 2006). In philosophy of language, semantics helps in elaborating the meaning of a complex expression through its constituent expressions and the applicable rules used. For example, given a structure like ‘ Frankenstein is a man’, if one takes away the meaning lexical items away ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘man’, what remains back in the sentence is a an incomprehensible sentence. Therefore, semantics is a meaningful structure states that the absence of lexical items in syntactic constructions, what remains behind is for the learner to input the rules of composition. The capability to have syntactically correct structures and derive a logical meaning in a statement is what semantics entail in the principle of effective teaching of reading. Therefore, it would be logical to assert that every operation of the syntax closely associates itself with the semantics that

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 21

Case Study - Essay Example The analysis primarily comprises of the situations that result in to the decline or death of a brand and the appropriate approaches that can be applied to strengthen the survival of the brand and give it another chance of survival (Aaker, 1991). The death or decline of a brand is a complicated issue that a time leads to controversies, a good example sis the collapse of the Taurus brand after two decades. This brand by Ford Motors is a good example to indicate that the period of time that a brand stays in the market cannot be set, when the time for a brand to die or decline reaches, the entire process becomes irreversible. A good instance of how complex it is to revive a brand after its collapse id the example of the Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The main reason why it’s hard to revive a declining brand is precisely due to financial losses. However, research shows that it’s better to revive a declining or dead brand rather than developing a new brand, this is because the process of reviving a brand has reduced risks and expenses (Sunil & Chiranjeev, 2009). Branding is a technique that in many years has been applied to differentiate products and services from different suppliers. In the current day, the strength of a brand is contributed by its equity with its consumers. This is also defined as brand equity. Brand equity refers to the degree of difference effect that consumers product know how regarding a brand has on the reaction of a purchaser to the promotion activities. Today, some of the brands that have managed to maintain a very strong brand equity includes such as coca cola, HP, Sony to name but a few(Aaker, 1991). There are several reasons as to why brand die or decline, they include the introduction of the brand, its growth, the maturity of a brand and eventually the decline.in addition to these four factors, there are reason that a brand may die or decline, they include such as increase in prices of the brand with no increase in the

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate Essay

Impact of capital structure on financial performance of real estate firms listed in Chinese stock exchange - Essay Example ortant to obtain a brief understanding of the theoretical aspects related to the capital structure and its role in the performance of the company, which assisted significantly in the formation of specific research objectives. The next phase, of the research emphasized gathering of necessary data, wherein secondary sources that includes utilising the official website i.e. ‘Shanghai Stock Exchange’ have been utilised to extract data. Subsequently, the related data gathered using the secondary sources were analysed with the assistance of a quantitative approach using the statistical tools i.e. correlation and regression. Finally, an in-depth analysis was conducted based on the collected data to ensure valid and justifiable conclusions based on the obtained findings (Bergh & Ketchen, 2009). Correspondingly, this chapter of the dissertation intends to provide an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of how this research study was carried out through the collection of reliable data and information to derive the ultimate objective of research. The objective of the research study was to determine the impact of organisations’ capital structure over the financial performance of the business. In this regard, the financial performance of the 20 listed real estate companies, in the Chinese stock exchange, was taken into the consideration. In general context, based on the objective of the research, a study can be carried out using positivism, realism, interpretivism, or pragmatism philosophical approaches. However, particularly in order to achieve previously mentioned research aims and objectives, interpretivism philosophy was utilised in this research study. The reason behind using interpretivism philosophy in this particular research study is owing to its advantages in the collection of needful data and information, maintaining high level of reliability, validity, and generalisability of the facts representing the financial position of the companies. Furthermore,

Design and security of a small businness network - case study Essay

Design and security of a small businness network - case study - Essay Example The network layout of I.T soft requires an expandable and efficient network that will fulfill the requirements of the company. Advanced security features are also required in order to protect the VoIP traffic and preserve network availability. Project Scope and Objectives As I.T soft has decided to implement a new network. The network will use the latest technology in terms of both hardware and software, however cost considerations cannot be ignored as the company is an SME . The implementation of software technology includes the new innovative network that will support the following: Centralized Database access for sales/customer databases Email Internet access Company Website and Intranet VOIP They intend to run a local DNS server probably on their main domain server. They wish to provide a location for all users to store any company data Accounts and payroll data should only be available to the relevant staff. The customer database should be accessible to all staff, however they o ften have visitors to site who require network access, but the company are concerned about the integrity of their databases. Implementing a wireless environment to provide access to visitors They also require a training room, with networking and access to the internet. protect the integrity of their email and VOIP systems They need to provide access to internal data to staff working off-site. Requirement for tools and Suggestions in order to optimize network performance Requirements for monitoring the provision of their core services such as the availability and performance of their servers and VoIP system Tools to warn of any significant network changes Monitor any attacks on their systems Providing redundancy and failover Network Topology Star topology is recommended for the wired local area network. It is the most widely adopted topology. The star topology supports the centralized provision of network resources and services. The support staff can manage the network administrative and troubleshooting tasks centrally. Star topology helps to implement centralized security architecture for improved and enhanced security of the network. The network implementation cost can be saved by provisioning the core systems located centrally. The security controls and backup systems are also located centrally for better troubleshooting and management. Example of the star topology is available in Fig 1.1. Network Cables For deploying the local network for Camden site, CAT 5 cable is the best option. It supports both voice and data transmission. CAT-5 is in the form of twisted pairs. This cable consists of four copper wire pairs, connecting the network node with RJ 45 connectors.CAT-5 supports up to 100 to 1000 MHz speeds in a ‘full duplex’ mode (Category 5 Cable. 2007). The Camden site will corresponds to request related to internet applications, voice and video transmission, file transfer protocol and Emails. CAT 5 can support these features with ease. However , CAT 5 cable can support up to 300 feet equal to 100 meters in distance. A requirement of the switch is mandatory for every 300 feet. Routers A router is a core computing and packet processing devices in the computer network. Router connects two or more networks with different subnets, enabling the networks to expand on an enterprise level. Logically the router builds a routing table, where it stores all the route addresses. For example, the data packet

Population of China and Gender Imbalance Essay Example for Free

Population of China and Gender Imbalance Essay Chinas one child policy was established by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit Chinas population growth. It was designated as a temporary measure, to limit couples to just one child. Those who fail to follow the law are subjected to fines, pressures to do abortion, and forced sterilization. In 1979, the Chinese government embarked on an ambitious program of market reform following the stagnation of the economy after the Cultural Revolution. At the time, China was home to a quarter of the worlds people, who were occupying just 7 percent of worlds arable land. Two thirds of the population was under the age of 30 years, and the baby boomers of the 1950s and 1960s were entering their reproductive years. The government saw strict population containment as essential to economic reform and to an improvement in living standards. So the one-child family policy was introduced. The policy consists of a set of regulations governing the approved size of Chinese families. These regulations include restrictions on family size, late marriage and childbearing, and the spacing of children (in cases in which second children are permitted). The State Family Planning Bureau sets the overall targets and policy direction. Family-planning committees at provincial and county levels devise local strategies for implementation. Despite its name, the one-child rule applies to a minority of the population; for urban residents and government employees, the policy is strictly enforced, with few exceptions. The exceptions include families in which the first child has a disability or both parents work in high-risk occupations (such as mining) or are themselves from one-child families (in some areas). The policy has been estimated to have reduced population growth in the country of 1. 3 billion by as much as 300 million people over its first twenty years of existence. However, this rule has caused a bias against female infants; abortion, neglect, abandonment, and even infanticide have been known to occur to female infants. The use of IUDs, sterilization, and abortion are Chinas most popular forms of birth control. However, over the past few years, China has provided more education and support for alternative birth control methods. This shift in focus on implementing this family planning policy was partly in reaction to what happened in 2007 when there were reports that in the southwestern Guangxi Autonomous Region of China, officials were forcing pregnant women without permission to give birth to have abortions and levying steep fines on families violating the law. As a result, riots broke out and some population control officials may have been killed. The result of such family planning policy has resulted in the disparate ratio of 114 males for every 100 females among babies from birth through children four years of age. Normally, 105 males are naturally born for every 100 females. When the Chinese government introduced the policy in 1979 to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China, authorities claim that the policy has prevented 250 million births from its implementation to 2000. However, the policy is controversial both within and outside China because of the manner in which the policy has been implemented, and because of concerns about negative economic and social consequences. The policy has been implicated in an increase in of forced abortions and female infanticide, and has been suggested as a possible cause behind Chinas significant gender imbalance. Despite these negative reports, favorable feedback from this policy is heard from the families themselves. Since the introduction of the one-child policy, the total fertility rate in China has fallen from over two births per woman to approximately 1. 7 births today. In total, China estimates that it has three to four hundred million fewer people today, with the one-child policy, than it would have had otherwise. The reduction in the fertility rate and thus population growth has reduced the severity of problems that come with overpopulation, like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services (such as health, education, law enforcement), and strain on the ecosystem from abuse of fertile land and production of high volumes of waste. Another favorable feedback as a result of this policy is that it is reported that the focus of China on population control helps provide a better health service for women and a reduction in the risks of death and injury associated with pregnancy. Increased involvement of women in the labor force is also another positive feedback. Women have traditionally been the primary caregivers for children; however, with fewer children, they have more time to invest in their careers, increasing both their personal earnings and the national GDP. Another feedback that appeals to environmentalists is that, with the policy, there is decreased environmental impact. Chinas one child policy has the indirect consequence of reducing Chinas total ecological footprint and thus reducing strain on ecological resources. Despite these successes, however, the one-child only policy draws criticisms from many quarters. First, the one-child policy has been criticized by human rights advocacy groups and Western religious groups, including some evangelical Christians, as well as by pro-life advocates. Within China, criticism tends to be focused on potential social problems caused by the policy. A second type of criticism has come from those who acknowledge the challenges stemming from Chinas high population growth but believe that less intrusive options could have achieved the same results over an extended period of time. One very important concern was the human rights factor. The one-child policy is challenged in principle and in practice over violating basic human rights. Reported abuses in its enforcement include bribery, coercion, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and possibly infanticide. Even though in 2002, China outlawed the use of physical force to make a woman submit to an abortion or sterilization, it is not entirely enforced. In the execution of the policy many local governments still demand abortions if the pregnancy violates local regulations. Some critics also point to the possible economic and emotional costs the policy may bring to the people. As the one-child policy begins to near its next generation, one adult child is left with having to provide support for his or her two parents and four grandparents. This leaves the older generation with more of a dependency on retirement funds or charity, rather than their children in order to have support. If a child cannot care for their parents and grandparents, or if that child cannot survive, the oldest generation could find itself destitute. Another social problem seen is when some parents may over-indulge their only-child. The media referred to the indulged children in one-child families as little emperors. Since the 1990s, some people worry this will result in a higher tendency toward poor social communication and cooperation skills among the new generation, as they have no siblings at home. One important focus among sociologists is the issue of gender imbalance. China, like many other Asian countries, has a long tradition of son preference. Many argue that the one-child policy induces many families to use selective abortion, abandon female infants, and even kill female infants under the influence of the son preference. Some families even kill or starve the female infant and then try again for a male child. The commonly accepted explanation for son preference is that sons in rural families may be thought to be more helpful in farm work. Sons are preferred as they provide the primary financial support for the parents in their retirement, and a sons parents typically are better cared for than his wifes. In addition, Chinese traditionally view that daughters, on their marriage, become primarily part of the grooms family. Becaue of this gender bias the sex ratio at birth (between male and female births) in mainland China reached 117:100 in the year 2000, substantially higher than the natural baseline, which ranges between 103:100 and 107:100. It had risen from 108:100 in 1981 at the boundary of the natural baseline to 111:100 in 1990. According to a report by the State Population and Family Planning Commission, there will be 30 million more men than women in 2020, potentially leading to social instability. The correlation between the increase of sex ratio disparity on birth and the deployment of one child policy would appear to have been caused by the one-child policy.

Harassment Essay Example for Free

Harassment Essay Harassment at the workplace is one of the major issues that the hospitality industry faces. According to Yeung (2004), the hospitality industry has such peculiar characteristics that make ethical issues particularly important. Drawing on various studies conducted by among others Vallen and Casado, Weaver et al, Enghagen and Hott, and on the basis of his own studies, Yeung (2004) particularly identifies issues such as sexual harassment, and harassment on the basis of race and ethnic affiliation as one of the most outstanding issues in the hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), employee harassment within the hospitality industry is rampant, and takes the form of gender, racial, or ethnic discrimination. While cases of harassment in other industries are declining, in the hospitality industry employee harassment cases are on the rise (Perry, 2008). This can be attributed to various reasons, chief of which is the fact that the hospitality industry is characterised by a rich ethnic diversity. With many ethnic groups working together within the restaurant setting, for example, Perry (2008, p. 2) writes that â€Å"the friction that commonly occurs between the kitchen and waitstaff often manifests itself in insults and epithets which target race, ethnicity and gender. † Additionally, managers in the hospitality industry have taken to socializing with or dating non-management employees, many of whom are in their teens or pre-teen years, which has the potential of triggering off a sexual harassment lawsuit (Perry, 2008). Another equally important contributory factor to the high levels of employee harassment within the hospitality industry has to do with the dysfunctional rates of employee turnover within the hospitality industry. In the UK for example, Anonymous (2006) estimates that employee turnover is so high that by 2014 an extra 850,000 employees would be needed by the UK hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), the fact that many employees are leaving the industry, and many others joining the industry, makes it extremely difficult to tailor training programs such as gender awareness training, which has in turn led to the runaway rates of harassment cases. Yet another feature of the hospitality industry is that it is frequented by a lot of young employees, most of whom are in their teens, and for whom subjects as who is sleeping with who are popular topics with them, a factor that has in many ways helped spark off lawsuits even in cases where such claims have merely been rumors (Perry, 2008). According to Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009), harassment at the workplace is triggered off by events that are both external and internal to organizations. Harassment can occur in three ways. It can be a top down process (where subordinate employees are harassed by their managers or supervisors), lateral (where subordinate employees are harassed by their own peers), or a bottoms up process. According to Eaton (2004), within the hospitality industry, non-employees (guests) may also direct harassment at employees. Eaton (2004) states that while the law is very unequivocal when it comes to the need for establishments within the hospitality industry to both prevent and remedy sexual harassment in the workplace when carried out against employees by other employees or supervisors, when it comes to harassment against the employees by guests, it is more interested in what the hospitality operator did to remedy the complaint rather than what he did to prevent it. The law requires that the operators take â€Å"reasonable cause† to remedy such situations, but what is reasonable is left to the discretion of the judge or jury. Ajagunna (2006, p. 259) also states that guests may be harassed and draws on a study he conducted on the impact of harassment of tourists in Jamaica by â€Å"beach boys, street vendors, art and craft vendors, taxi operators and beggars† Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) identify various manifestations of harassment at the workplace ranging from physical assault to the understated extreme of psychological attacks. In between, we have forms such as constant criticism of the employees or unwarranted disparagement of their opinions. Verbal attacks, the use of demeaning language against an employee, disgraceful comments about the person, or isolation of the employee are other manifestations of harassment. Additionally, employees may be harassed by being made the subject of practical jokes, by being overworked, or being subjected to unreasonable pressure or being given unreasonable deadlines. Other common ways through which employees are harassed include sabotaging their work, imposing responsibilities that are way beyond their ability to perform, or being excessively monitored by their managers or supervisors. Causes of harassment In their evaluation of harassment at the workplace, Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) explain that harassment occurs when offenders get the chance to hit out at their victims because capable guardians are not present. In such an instance, junior employees are powerless against their supervisors or managers, who can then harass them at will. Towards this end, the writers identify various causes of harassment, the first one of which is race and ethnicity. While an employee’s race and ethnicity accentuates the disparities between him and his fellow employees in as far as status and power are concerned, it makes the employee an easy and soft target for harassment, especially in the event that the employee is a member of a minority group. These employees tend to be more isolated from the dominant groups leading to a high degree of harassment against them (Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). One’s gender also plays a big part in influencing harassment at the workplace, with female employees often bearing the brunt of unwelcome sexual advances which may be displayed through touching, the use of off-color jokes, the display of material with explicit sexual content, and so on (Roscigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). In particular, Eaton identifies two kinds of sexual harassment recognized by law: the â€Å"quid pro quo† type where sexual favors are either explicitly or implicitly solicited in return for a job or a job benefit, and the use of unwelcome physical or verbal behavior against an employee by virtue of his or her gender, and which is detrimental to him or her. Harassment also results from occupational and status disparities. Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) report that lower cadres of employees are often measly wages and allowances, and given that they report to supervisors who wield a lot of influence and authority, they are easy targets of harassment. Conversely, the authors write that employees who possess high levels of education are not easily amenable to harassment for the reason that they tend to be more conversant with employee protection rights as well as with grievance procedures (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) also identify high levels of job insecurity as a contributor to harassment at the workplace. They adduce documentary evidence to show that increasing job insecurity at the workplace has sparked off increases in workplace harassment. For example, an increasingly competitive environment has led to many organizations outsourcing some of their non-core functions, in the process laying off some of their workers and increasingly making use of contingent employees. According to Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009), many employers are exploiting the fear employees have of losing their jobs to make them agree to things they would ordinarily not assent to. The writers indicate that the use of explicit or implicit sack threats to get workers doing what their employers or supervisors want is rife. Contingent workers also perform work that is of low value, and are more amenable to intimidation by their employers (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Yet another cause of workplace harassment identified is that where employees harass their fellow employees because they are in competition and feel threatened that their fellow employees are better than them and are thus likely to make them look bad (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). In addition, the organization culture espoused or enacted by the hospitality establishment also plays a big rile in either contributing to or lessening harassment at the workplace. For example, an organizational culture that seeks to exercise high control of employees (through the use of techniques such as standard operating procedures and excessive supervision) is likely to result in higher incidences of harassment at the workplace as opposed to those which seek to empower rather than control. Another aspect of the organization that has been found to be critical in either ameliorating or worsening harassment is how well organized and articulate the procedures in the organization are, with chaotic procedures often contributing to higher levels of harassment (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). As mentioned earlier, Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodgson (2009) have attributed workplace harassment to powerlessness, where sufficiently motivated harassers take advantage of the absence of a capable guardian to harass their victims. An example of a capable guardian is the trade or labor union, which has helped reduce workplace harassment through their grievance procedures and their capacity to offer arbitration in dismissal cases. Rocsigno, Lopez and Hodson (2009) however report that in recent times the influence and sway of the trade union movement has considerably weakened a factor that has also had some effect in increasing harassment cases. Other capable guardians identified include the extent of accountability which employers or supervisors have towards their employees, and the strictures put in place by the organization to guarantee the rule of law within the organization (Rosigno, Lopez and Hodson, 2009). Impact of harassment Harassment at the workplace has very costly ramifications for establishments within the hospitality industry. According to Perry (2008), workplace harassment has been known to exact a huge financial toll on organizations. Establishments within the hospitality industry have been known to fork out millions of dollars to settle legal bills for the organization and claimants, as well as damages arising from harassment at the workplace. Perry estimates that the average cost of settling a harassment claim exceeds $300,000. An example is given of the Tavern on the Green, a hospitality establishment in New York’s Central Park which settled a sexual and racial discrimination suit brought against it by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for S$2.  2 million (Perry, 2008). Apart from the financial toll that employee harassment exacts from the organizations, it also affects employee productivity and morale. When employees feel harassed and harbor the perception that their employers are not interested in looking after their interests, their morale and job satisfaction suffers, leading to dwindling productivity. Harassment also leads to higher turnover rates, which also increases costs (such as recruitment and training costs) for hospitality establishments (Perry, 2008). According to Perry (2008), harassment cases also lead to the disruption of business and operations of hospitality establishments, since it forces some key personnel to take time off to help prepare the defense of the establishment. Moreover, harassment cases generate a lot of adverse publicity for the establishments, which has the capacity to bring them down, given the fact that hospitality establishments such as restaurants depend very much on having a good reputation (Perry, 2008). According to Vaez, Ekberg, and LaFlamme (2004), employees who fall victim to harassment normally predisposed to a higher risk of suffering from stress and psychological unease. They exhibit higher rates of absenteeism and typically have higher employee turnover rates than those employees who are not subjected to intimidation. High rates of absenteeism not only mean lost incomes for the employees (many of whom are paid on an hourly basis for the days they attend work), but also to lost productivity for the organizations. Vaez, Eckberg and LaFlamme (2004) also write that employees subjected to harassment normally suffer from lower levels of self esteem and confidence, and are more predisposed to suffering from sleep disorders, digestive problems, musculoskeletal illnesses, and phobias. This inevitably leads to higher medical expenses for both the employees as well as the organization. Measures to reduce harassment There are several measures which establishments within the hospitality industry can take in order to minimize the effects of workplace harassment. According to Perry (2008), hospitality establishments need to formulate written policies which clearly articulate that recruitment, hiring, firing and other HR practices will not be influenced by gender, age, religious, or racial considerations but will be purely based on merit. Having formulated such policies, the establishments need to ensure that the policy is enforced and to undertake regular audits to determine whether the policy is being followed or not. All employees should be made aware of the policy and must sign against it (Perry, 2008). As a way of minimizing workplace harassment to the bare minimum, hospitality organizations will also need to set up third party channels such as employee hotlines, where cases of harassment can be reported. Additionally, the organizations must also ensure that formal complaint procedures are in place and that they are known by all employees (Perry, 2008). According to Perry (2008), hospitality organizations need to offer training to their employees to educate them of the need to refrain from practices that can constitute harassment. Training the employees will not only help provide a valid defense but will also be useful in helping employees â€Å"to recognize their own unconscious motivations and how to avoid interacting in ways that can be offensive to other people† (Terry, 2008, p. 45). The training should cover all the harassment laws, and should be offered both to employees in management positions and subordinates. In the event that cases of harassment are reported, the organization’s response will also count for a lot. In such instances, the organizations must move with speed and investigate such complaints objectively and fairly, preferably by a person who is not a member of the management team such as an external consultant or the human resource head. As Perry (2008, p. 45) writes, Employers who have happy employees who respect each other and interact well are likely to retain them longer. Fair treatment goes a long way toward being the employer of choice.