Btc Pipeline Turkish Delight or Russian Roulette

INTRODUCTION Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is an oil pipeline that transports crude oil Caspian Sea to the Turkish coast, over three countries. BTC Company is a joint venture company responsible for the construction and operation of the whole $4bn pipeline, led by BP as majority shareholder. Spread across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey largest cross-border infrastructure construction project in the world dubbed the â€Å"contract of the century†. Financing was agreed after over two years of appraisal of the potential environmental and social impacts relating to the project. An underlying strategy is to reduce dependency on OPEC oil producers in the turbulent Middle East and to avoid Russia seen by America as a resurgent†¦show more content†¦ASSESS THE APPROACH FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF UTILIARIANISM AND DEONTOLOGY? According to utilitarianism,an action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people affected by the action Based on cost†benefit analysis Rule utilitarianism * looks at classes of action and ask whether the underlying principles of an action produce more pleasure than pain for society in the long run Stakeholder | Cost | Benefit | BP and BTC amp; co | * $25m +$20m programs * Opportunity cost * Failure of local actors * Subjected to a corrupt environment * Misuse of revenue * Complaints from locals | * Good Reputation * Helping society * Compliance | Financiers | % of investments go to CSR |

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy Free Essays

Macie Marr Mrs. Curran English 4/5 1/12/13 The Bhopal gas tragedy The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world’s worst industrial disasters. It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. We will write a custom essay sample on The Bhopal Gas Tragedy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. Others estimate 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning and many valves and lines were in poor condition. In addition to this, several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service as well as the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes was nonoperational. Other issue was that, Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC which was much more than what safety rules allowed. During the night of 2–3 December 1984, water entered Tank E610 containing 42 tons of MIC. A runaway reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines. The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200  °C (392  °F) and raised the pressure. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. About 30 metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes. The gases were blown in southeastern direction over Bhopal. The initial effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height, children and other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations. Many people were trampled trying to escape. Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations. Bodies were dumped into the Narmada River, less than 100 km from Bhopal. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried. Within a few days, leaves on trees yellowed and fell off. Supplies, including food, became scarce owing to suppliers’ safety fears. Fishing was prohibited causing further supply shortages. Within a few days, trees in the vicinity became barren, and 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of. On 16 December, tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the remaining MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal. The Government of India passed the â€Å"Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act† that gave the government rights to represent all victims, whether or not in India. The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. The causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis. Immediate relieves were decided two days after the tragedy. Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period along with ration cards. Madhya Pradesh government’s finance department allocated 874 million (US$15. 91 million) for victim relief in July 1985. Widow pension of 00 (US$3. 64)/per month (later 750 (US$13. 65)) were provided. They government also decided to pay 1,500 (US$27. 3) to families with monthly income 500 (US$9. 1) or less. As a result of the interim relief, more children were able to attend school, more money was spent on treatment and food, and housing also eventually improved. From 1990 interim relief of 200 (US$3. 64) was paid to everyone in the family who was born before the disaster. In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Numbers of awarded cases were 574,304 and number of rejected cases 455,213. When the factory was closed in 1986, pipes, drums and tanks were sold. The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there, as are storages of different residues. Isolation material is falling down and spreading. The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals. In 1982 tube wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned and tests in 1989 performed by UCC’s laboratory revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish. Several other studies had also shown polluted soil and groundwater in the area. Till this day chemicals abandoned at the plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater. Whether the chemicals pose a health hazard is disputed. Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by the gas leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals and by 1982 water wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned. UCC states that â€Å"after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities. How to cite The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Papers

Understanding Organization Surroundings of Organization

Question: Discuss about the Understanding Organization for Surroundings of Organization. Answer: Part 1: Improving organisation: Organisational culture includes values and principles, which makes a successful contribution in the communal and psychological surroundings of an organisation. According to Alvesson and Sveningsson (2015) organisational culture represents the collective values, beliefs and principles of organisational members which takes into the considerations standards, systems, symbols, language and habits. To improve an organisation culture it is imperative to deal with the issues, which affects the work force. Thus, poor company culture injects low self-esteem, high turnover, failure of productivity and a significant loss of profit. Below stated are the ways to improve the organisational culture; Articulating organisations mission and vision: A leader should accurately understand the mission and vision before a staff could observe how they contribute to its business. These visions consist of the companys mainstay values, which help, in defining the performance and operational excellence (Bedarkar et al. 2016). The challenge lies in articulating such concepts in short and concise statement which the employees to understand the operational functions. Addressing problems and concerns: Employees will be up with improved culture when they are able to share concerns or issues that come in work place. Employees must feel that the management is willing to listen to the concerns and issues or developments prior to the management damages or causes the customers to defect from competition (Nica 2013). Addressing issues helps the staff in progressing towards a organisational resolution. Inviting new ideas and accepting the faults: It is evident that all new ideas do not necessarily originate from higher-level authority. Employees should be invited to contribute to the fresh ideas and perspectives as employees interact with customers regularly on day-to-day business activities to uniquely understand what is working for the organisation. In order to improve organisational culture, encouraging out of the box thinking will provide a learning opportunity for all the employees. Actor-network theory: Actor network theory can be defined as an approach towards social theory and research, which originates in the field of science studies by treating objects as a part of social networks. Although such theory is best known for its controversial incidents however, it is also associated with the powerful assessment of conservative and crucial sociology. The theory maps out the relation amid material and concepts as a constructive approach, which avoids essential description of events or innovations (Hung 2016). As a part of practical implications, strategies to relate different elements together into the network help in resolving the relations by eliminating social conflicts. It is also assumed that network of relations are not intrinsically coherent and might contain conflicts of interest. Social interest denotes that humans and non-humans actors and network takes the shape by virtue of their relations with one another. As soon as the actors engage with a network, it is caught up in the web of relations and forms a part of entelechy. The theory does not makes an attempt to explain the reason behind the existence of such network however, it is more interested in the infrastructure involving the actor networks as the procedure involving their formation and decline apart. Part 2 The Dutch Belgian Group banks were facing huge cultural and political issues after the advent of an International Takeover. An organizational culture is a system of values, assumptions and other interpretations which helps in guiding the members of an organization, as per the requirement of the environmental aspects of such establishment. The Dutch part had always been a tough fighter and had succeeded in resisting their enemies. Whereas, the Belgian part had undertaken survival strategies like surrendering, back stage politics and active participation in diplomacies (Coffee 2016). Dutch part was referred to as the Seers and Belgian as Savants. The Seers were seen to be a most interesting part, in comparison to the political Savants. The secretive nature of the Belgians was not improving the status and development of the organization. They were not active and willing towards engagement of planning of economy, studies of feasibility and other performance measures. There were open disapprovals in the meetings and no written documentation was maintained on the part of the management, which is against the theory of maintaining a secured organizational culture and ethics (Coffee 2016). The theory of organizational culture aims at setting up of clear goals and objectives, which the Belgian group lacked and they did not, had any intention of improving such part from their organization to become effective and efficient while operating. The Savants were looking after the lunch of the members and in the incorporation of large quantities of wine for the resources to gain efficiency (Huhtala 2013). The organizations must have concentrated on forming social networks, and not declining the role of public in the up gradation of the organization. According to the Actor Network Theory, an actor on mixing up with non-actor content like technologies, animals etc can generate a healthy and developed network for the society as a whole. The risk management system of the Seers, the Dutch part was being asked to be shut down by the Belgians, so that the Savants would be successful in the transfer of such risk management strategies. Thus, the Actor Network theory was to be followed on by the organizations, to remove or stop any clash of both systems and managements (Van der Duim 2016). The Dutch had been able to attract the interviewees, as they made economic situations unlike the politicking and backstabbing policies of the Belgians. As a part of a good organizational structure, there should be inclusion of good and attractive physical symbols like logos, designs. There must be good rewards and punishments, traditions as a part of behavioural symbols and verbal symbols like names, stories, histories etc. (Ali, Songa and Otieno 2015). In addition, rituals and other such performances, which included routine, work in workplaces, cooperation and social relations within and outside the organization. The power and control procedures should also be undertaken by an organization, but with care and considering strategically. The cultural differences were huge on the part of Savants as they did not maintain smart dressing, no flexibility in the hours of working and thus the people had to stay up late (Ali, Songa and Otieno 2015). Roger found that there were cultural differences amongst the employees. The culture of the people working in the Belgian branch was starkly different from those working in the Amsterdam branch. The cultural difference that was present was in the context of what people wore clothes. The cultural differences were also present in the functioning of the people amongst the two countries. A study conducted in Greece (Uzkurt et al. 2013) found that cultural differences do exist in the banking sectors. While the Banks in Greece followed a hierarchical structure the people working in the banks preferred a friendly clan culture. The study showed that a strong organizational culture amongst the employees was very important for the performance as well as effectiveness of the banking sector. Roger also found that at the Belgium headquarters of the bank the employees were very particular of the timing of the bank. Seers employed less female managers. Most of the female employees at Brussels were PAs. A study done by Pryce and Sealy (2013) found that women are not adequately represented in the top management in the banking sector. The organizational culture of the banking sector has been criticized for the male dominated environment. It has been found that male employees dominate the responsible positions in the banking sector. The positions that male employees occupy are senior levels and those, which carry some amount of responsibility. It is supposed that male employees are better at providing strategic directions to the firms. This male dominated organizational culture has prevented the growth of the female employees at top positions, and they remain at assistant level jobs. Job satisfaction is a key factor in organizational growth (Alvi et al. 2014). Roger found that the organization promoted good hospitality at the company canteen. The quality of food and wine was good. The canteen served all types of food, specially those preferred by the employees. The canteen serves as a meeting point of the employees at Seers. Job satisfaction and hospitality of the organization are related to each other. For the purpose of job satisfaction the organizations provides different types incentives. These incentives can be in the form of hospitality also. Roger found two different types of organizational cultures in the organizations. The Dutch employees preferred an open and honest type of organizational culture. The Belgians preferred a polite and humble nature. He also found that the Belgians respected authority in the organizational structure. A study by Simiyu and Waithaka (2015) found that organizations could have different types of cultures. The cultures prevalent in an organization are situational and are based on the type of people working in the organization. The employees working in the organization define the type of culture present in the organization. The study felt that the involvement of the employees in promoting the culture was important from the business strategy point of view. This type of culture also gives rise to peer-to-peer solving of different problems and growth of organizational beliefs. Reference List: Ali, Z., Songa, J. and Otieno, S., 2015. Savant Journals 2052-1480. Alvesson, M. and Sveningsson, S., 2015.Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge. Alvi, H.A., Hanif, M., Adil, M.S., Ahmed, R.R. and Vveinhardt, J., 2014. Impact of organizational culture on organizational commitment and job satisfaction. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(27), pp.30-39. Bedarkar, M., Pandita, D., Agarwal, R. and Saini, R., 2016. Examining the Impact of Organizational Culture on Customer Centricity in Organizations: An Analysis.Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management,9(2), pp.19-28. Coffee, J.C., 2016. The Globalization of Entrepreneurial Litigation: Law, Culture, and Incentives. Huhtala, M., Feldt, T., Hyvnen, K. and Mauno, S., 2013. Ethical organisational culture as a context for managers personal work goals.Journal of Business Ethics,114(2), pp.265-282. Hung, J.C., 2016. The entrepreneuring process of cultural and creative industry clusters activate depleted communities: From the Perspective of Actor-Network Theory. Nica, E., 2013. Organizational culture in the public sector.Economics, Management and Financial Markets,8(2), p.179. Pryce, P. and Sealy, R., 2013. Promoting women to MD in investment banking: multi-level influences. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 28(8), pp.448-467. Simiyu, J. and Waithaka, S., 2015. The effect of knowledge management factors on implementation of business strategy among commercial banks: a case of banking institutions in chuka town, kenya. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 4(08), pp.260-284. Uzkurt, C., Kumar, R., Semih Kimzan, H. and Eminoglu, G., 2013. Role of innovation in the relationship between organizational culture and firm performance: A study of the banking sector in Turkey. European Journal of innovation management, 16(1), pp.92-117. Van der Duim, R., 2016. Actor-network theory.Encyclopedia of Tourism, pp.8-9.

Blue Spider Project Case Studies free essay sample

Gary Anderson failed to communicate effectively both internally and externally. Internally, Gary had been consistently not updating the status of the project or any decision made to other functional managers. For example, when Gary started testing the new material JXB-3, he didn’t notify the testing manager and as a result, work that was no longer required were done which not only increased the cost of the project but also made the testing manger being upset as he needed to play catch-up and reallocate his resource. Gary Anderson repeated the mistake of having poor communication with internal staff when he didn’t notify the production manager of the rescheduling of the verification mix and forced the production of the mix to be performed during overtime which again increased the cost of project and caused the production staff making a mistake in the mix. More importantly Gary failed to maintain a strong external communication with the customer right from the start of the project. We will write a custom essay sample on Blue Spider Project Case Studies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the beginning of the project when Gary was ‘living’ in the research lab, it was basically impossible for the customer to contact Gary if they wanted an update of the project or had any questions. The customer didn’t have a clue of whether Park had started doing any work yet and they would be very concerned as Lord’s contract worth much more. Gary had broken the trust from Lord at the start of the project and as a result, Lord decided to demand more frequent communication from Gary which increased Gary’s work burden and the cost of the project. Once again Gary haven’t learnt his lesson on communication and done the same thing again when he didn’t informed Lord of using the new material – JXB-3 in the interchange meeting which Gary supposed to exchange information with the customer. This suddenly change of using the new material eventually upset Lord and the Army (The prime customer) and as a result Lord lost even more trust in Parks and Gary and required Gary to have weekly interchange meeting which led to even more work for Gary. Another aspect that increased the risk of the project was fact that Park wasn’t honest in the tender by not stating the fact that the design they had couldn’t meet the required specification, Park already considered forcing the customer to change the specification as the project progress. This meant even before the project started, Gary was faced with the problem of developing an alternative test matrix that would meet the specification requirement which involved many hours of additional work that wasn’t budgeted. Another issue was that Gary was provided the opportunity to be the project manager because of his strong technical Ramp;D background. He had no prior project management experience or skills to manage a project. Gary failed to become like an ‘outsider’ to maintain a proper balance between technical and administrative responsibility. In the beginning of the project, Gary still thought that he was an engineer and focused too much time on Ramp;D in the lab. This was due to the fact that Gary has too much pride in his technical skills and thought he was best engineer in the plant therefore he wasn’t willing to delegate the technical responsibly to the chief project engineer as he wanted to proof that he was more capable. Gary did no administrative work at all. He had other project office personnel running the weekly team meeting and presenting the administrative data. Those administrative tasks should be managed by Gary which will give the customer more confidence that the project manager was closely monitoring the progress of the project. Before the customer meeting, Gary didn’t send the agenda or any relevant hand-outs and as a result customer didn’t know what to expect in the meeting and also had no time to digest the technical data that was presented leading to customer dis-satisfaction. There were also no minute taken for all meetings meaning that anyone who were unable to attend the meeting were kept in the dark in regards to status of the project. Another factor that increased the risk of the project was that Henry Gable wasn’t a suitable sponsor of the project; Henry Gable had a high interest in the project as he could potentially receive bonus based on the performance of the project. He also didn’t fully trust Gary to run the project on his own and asked his engineer to frequently report the progress of the project to him. Henry Gable wasn’t supportive since the beginning of the project; Gary could never manage to get hold of him for meetings. In additional Henry Gable ntervened the project many times without consulting with Gary first. Without telling Gary, Henry Gable asked project team member to execute tasks that were not part of the program and charged it against Gary’s project. Examples were the testing the new material JXB-3 and the accelerated aging tests. As result, it made Gary harder to manage the project as he had to make last minute changes and account for unexpected cost. A major ris k that also caused problem in the project was the financial error that Gary made.

Timeline of US-North Korean Relations

Timeline of US-North Korean Relations Take a look at the US-North Korean relationship from 1950 to the present. 1950-1953 WarThe Korean War was fought on the Korean Peninsula between the Chinese supported forces in the north and the American supported, United Nations forces in the south. 1953 CeasefireOpen warfare stops with a ceasefire agreement on July 27. The peninsula is divided by a demilitarized zone (DMZ) along the 38th parallel. The north is the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the south becomes the Republic of Korea (ROK). A formal peace agreement ending the Korean War has not yet been signed. 1968 USS PuebloThe DPRK captures the USS Pueblo, an American intelligence gathering ship. Although the crew is later released, the North Koreans still hold the USS Pueblo. 1969 Shot DownAn American reconnaissance plane is shot down by North Korea. Thirty-one Americans are killed. 1994 New LeaderKim Il Sung, known as the Great Leader of the DPRK since 1948 dies. His son, Kim Jong Il, assumes power and is known as the Dear Leader. 1995 Nuclear CooperationAgreement reached with the United States to build nuclear reactors in DPRK. 1998 Missile Test?In what appears to be a test flight, the DPRK sends a missile flying over Japan. 2002 Axis of EvilIn his 2002 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush labeled North Korea as part an Axis of Evil along with Iran and Iraq. 2002 ClashUnited States stops oil shipments to DPRK in a dispute over the countrys secretive nuclear weapons program. DPRK removes international nuclear inspectors. 2003 Diplomatic MovesDPRK withdraws from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. So-called Six Party talks open between the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea. 2005 Outpost of TyrannyIn her Senate confirmation testimony to become Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice listed North Korea as one of several Outposts of Tyranny in the world. 2006 More MissilesDPRK test fires a number of missiles and later conducts a test explosion of a nuclear device. 2007 Agreement?Six Party talks early in the year lead to a plan for North Korea to shut down its nuclear enrichment program and allow for international inspections. But the agreement has still not been implemented. 2007 BreakthroughIn September, U.S. State Department announces North Korea will catalog and dismantle its entire nuclear program by the end of the year. Speculation follows that North Korea will be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. More diplomatic breakthroughs, including discussion of ending the Korean War, follow in October. 2007 Mr. PostmanIn December, President Bush sends a handwritten letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. 2008 More Progress?Speculation runs high in June that President Bush will ask that North Korea be removed from the U.S. terror watch list in acknowledgment of progress in the six-party talks. Removed From ListIn October, President Bush formally removed North Korea from the U.S. terror watch list.

Google or Comcast Antitrust Investigation Essay

Google or Comcast Antitrust Investigation - Essay Example Google was accused of competing unfairly by introducing applications that were only compatible with their products. Google was also accused of colluding with Internet Service Providers. Most providers were proving the search engine as the default application, something that was considered as favoritism. The accusations did not go well with some of the industry players who felt that Google was engaging in unfair competition. Critics argued that the move was to eliminate smaller firms that did not have sufficient resources. However, the stakeholders of the two companies refuted the claims by arguing that the two organizations were in a different line of operation. The anxiety ignited the need for US department Justice to start an investigation to investigate the company for antitrust behavior. The strategic alliance between Google and other software companies was considered to be a formation of a powerful monopoly. Consequently consumer feared that the companies will introduce monopoly pricing where they could control price fixing since they had the market power (The Guardian, 2015). Consequently, Google was summoned by the European Commission for behaving like a monopoly in the Android engine market. It was alleged that Google was taking advantage of the significant market share to isolate other application developers. The case of Google was not different from that of Microsoft that was once fined a considerable amount of money by incorporating Internet Explorer with its operating system.

Something to change in our university Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Something to change in our university - Essay Example In this regard, there is a lot that NYIT is doing well to help international students adapt to education in the United States. For instance, NYIT has made orientation a mandatory program for all students, regardless of whether they are native of foreign students. This program is designed to ensure that the students have a smooth transition to the university. The students get to explore the campus and learn about the valuable resources that are available to them. They are also taught about the activities and general campus life that they should expect to experience while studying at NYIT. The orientation programs give them the opportunity to participate in social events, familiarize themselves with the campus environment, and meet other members of the institution. NYIT is also doing well by working in collaboration with other agencies with the aim of helping international students adapt to education in the United States. One such agency is Education USA. This agency is known for assisting international students learn about the educational opportunities available to them in the United States. NYIT ensures that international students meet with their international student advisors upon arrival at their specific campuses. The advisor is very instrumental in helping the students ensure that they have complied with the admission requirements before they are allowed to report to class. Despite all the above, there are a number of services that have been both difficult and unsatisfactory for me and other students I know. For instance, requiring international students to provide a notarized affidavit of support and bank statement to demonstrate their financial ability is somewhat unfair and an infringement of privacy because I believe that a student applies for admission knowing that the ability to pay fees is not in question. This can be improved by simply requiring one to state who shall be responsible for paying their fees. Also, the