...How Does Mandatory or Voluntary Overtime Affect the Quality of Patient Care? Pam Glasper Beaumont Hospital Wayne How Does Mandatory or Voluntary Overtime Affect the Quality of Patient Care? Registered Nurses (RNs) constitute an integral part of the patient care and recovery process. To many patients, nurses are the health care professionals they see most often. Additionally, patients seeking care in outpatient clinics may not be aware of the number of hours nurses work. However, short stay and long stay patients see the same nurses over many shifts. What they may not realize is how many hours RNs work in a given 24-hour period to provide continuous patient care. According to Bae (2012a), a 2004 research study found that “43% of U.S. RNs worked more than 40 hours per week and about 9% worked more than 60 hours per week” (p. 205). In most instances RNs work overtime to alleviate staff shortages in their units. According to Bae (2012b), staff shortage in hospitals is not a new phenomenon and many researchers in health care system contend that such chronic shortage of nurses has a direct and negative impact on patient care (Bae, 2010; Bae, 2012b, Bae, Brewer, & Faan, 2012). For example, in several of her research articles, Bae (2010, 2012a, & 2012b) cited several research articles where researchers have found that the long hours worked by RNs are at the root of many adverse patient outcomes. Anecdotal evidence should suggest that anyone working long hours over an extended...
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...may be limited. Thus this paper serves to argue that it is unwise for the Hong Kong government to establish the standard working hour system in Hong Kong because of the possible negative influence it may bring, for example, the negative effect on the economy, the increase in production cost, and the ineffectiveness to reduce the unemployment rate. The defects of the standard working hour system Increasing the production cost If standard working hour system is established, thus extra working time beyond the standard working hour is required to produce the same products. These hours could be accomplished by either inflicting overtime work on present workers or hiring additional workers. Either of the two alternatives would create odditional cost for employers. In another aspect, it seems that employers would prefer the former pattern to finish the work. A survey by Marchand, Rault and Turpin (1983) showed that after the implementation of a law to cut weekly working hours in France in 1982, the percentage of workers whose salary did not change was over 90%. The paper of Raposo and Ours (2010) about Portugal obtained a similar conclusion that monthly earnings remained almost...
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...widely discussed by workers, the government, legislative councilors employers. The paper is showing the background about working hour of Hong Kong and other country like South Korea , The Great Britain, how do long working hours influent employees on 3 aspect: health ,social life and recreation ,productivity. Also showing how do implementing of standard working hour influent employees and employers. After all, suggestions of implementing the standard working hour will be shown in order to make the implement easy and slow to avoid the big responses from the employers. Background of Hong Kong and other country In 2012, BBC News writer Wesley Stephenson issued a essay “Who works the longest hours?” that showed the average working hour of most of major countries all over the world. Stephenson quoted the statistics of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that British, Germans and the Netherlands are having the least working hours that not more than 1,650 hours averagely and annually. “South Korea top with a whopping 2,193 hours,” (Wesley, 2012). However, Hong Kong workers are suffering in the highest working hours at 2,296 (Price and Earnings Report 2012 conducted by UBS). The ILO expert on working hours, Jon Messenger said workers in Asia are having the highest proportion work more than 48 hours a week. However, the Hong Kong government report showed the average of Hong Kong is 49 hours a week. (All worked up, Time Out Hong Kong, Karen Shunqi Lin...
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...by different companies to reduce costs of business operation and enhancing profit by transferring portions of work to outside suppliers rather than completing it internally. This process is generally used in capital intensive manufacturing and technology companies to achieve higher returns on business by reducing cost significantly. Benefits of outsourcing include having skilled personnel, improved quality of products, augmenting production and mitigating risk in business process. The process works best between two organizations belonging to different types of economy. For example: an organization in USA (developed economy) gains substantially by outsourcing its production process to another company in China (developing economy). Outsourcing failure can be experienced in case of certain events. Setting unrealistic goals, inadequate contract details, inflexible contracts, outsourcing products critical to their competitive position, inadequate management review and having limited knowledge and understanding of the supplier’s process. One of the most important reasons behind the failures is the outsourcing company’s inability to comprehend existing scope of work and have a clear vision of the task to be achieved which leaves them unprepared for future contingency problems. Samsung Outsourcing Model Samsung Electronics Company - headquartered in Suwon, South Korea is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company. Samsung Electronics has been the...
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...Working Time Around the World John Maynard Keynes once made the bold prediction that the three-hour work day would prevail for his grandchildren’s generation. Seventy years later, the question of working time is as pertinent as it was at the inception of the 40-hour week. Not until now, however, has there been a global comparative analysis of working time laws, policies and actual working hours. Despite a century-long optimism about reduced working hours and some progress in legal measures limiting working hours, this book demonstrates that differences in actual working hours between industrialized and developing countries remain considerable – without any clear sign of hours being reduced. This study aims to offer some suggestions about how this gap can begin to be closed. Lee, McCann and Messenger trace the theoretical background of the concept of working time before examining recent trends in working time laws in developing countries and countries in transition. The study then shifts its focus to developments in selected countries, considering both broad trends in working time at a national level and the structure and dynamics underlying these trends. The authors provide a remarkable set of policy suggestions that preserve health and safety, are ‘family-friendly’, promote gender equality, enhance productivity and facilitate workers’ choice and influence over their working hours. This book will be of great interest to policy-makers engaged with working conditions or health...
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...Advancements in technology are doing more harm than good The problem is the advancement in technology is destroying and eliminating job opportunities for mankind. When people visit their local grocery store you can see that machines have replaced cashiers and even outperforming mankind. The rich are becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. Robots are cheaper and they execute factory jobs better than humans. In an article from The Desert Sun, The Boston Consulting Group supports the proposal that robots are taking over. “Companies are finding that advances in robotics and other manufacturing technologies offer some of the best opportunities to sharply improve productivity” (Harold Sirkin). “Robots will cut labor costs by 33 percent in South Korea, 25 percent in Japan, 24 percent in Canada and 22 percent in the United States and Taiwan. Only...
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...factories, despite laying down minimum standards of working conditions and pay, and having their standards independently audited. But the accusations, protests and bad press continue. The Case against Nike: In 1996 a CBS 48 Hours news reported from a factory near Ho Chi Min City (formerly Saigon, Vietnam) … The signs are everywhere of an American invasion in search of cheap labour. Millions of people who are literate, disciplined, are desperate for jobs. This is Niketown near what used to be called Saigon, one of 4 factories Nike doesn’t own but subcontracts to make a million shoes per month. It takes 25,000 workers, mostly young women, to “Just Do It”. But the workers here don’t share in Nike’s huge profits. They work 6 days a week for only $40 a month, just $0.20 an hour. After interviewing a young woman at the factory, the reporter continued … Her basic wage,...
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...manufactured in developing countries. Nike developed a strong working relationship with Japanese shoe manufacturers, but Nike moved on to other countries seeking after alternative, lower-cost producers. Today the company manufactures in China, Taiwan, Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Mexico as well as in the US and in Italy. Nike has around 700 contract factories, within which around 20% of the workers are creating Nike products. Conditions for these workers have been a source of heated debate, with allegations made by campaigns of poor conditions, with commonplace harassment and abuse. As its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Phil Knight lamented in a May 1998 speech to the National Press Club, “the Nike product has become synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime, and arbitrary abuse.”(HBS Case # 9-700-047) “Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices,” HBS Case # 9-700-047 Problem Statement Is Nike doing just enough to clear bad publicity or are they really fixing their factory issues? How can Nike work toward fixing the issues they have been having with their overseas factories for good? Literature Review When Nike was founded in 1972, the company contracted with factories in Taiwan and South Korea to manufacturer shoes and related goods. Over the next two decades,...
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...however, Apple had largely turned to foreign manufacturing. The shift to offshore manufacturing reached its peak with the iconic iPhone, which Apple first introduced in 2007. All iPhones contain hundreds of parts, an estimated 90 percent of which are manufactured abroad. Advanced semiconductors come from Germany and Taiwan, memory from Korea and Japan, display panels and circuitry from Korea and Taiwan, chip sets from Europe, and rare metals from Africa and Asia. Apple’s major subcontractor, the Taiwanese multinational firm, Foxconn, performs final assembly in China. Apple still employees some 43,000 people in the United States, and it has kept important activities at home, including product design, software engineering, and marketing. Furthermore, Apple claims that its business supports another 254,000 jobs in the United States in engineering, manufacturing, and transportation. For example, the glass for the iPhone is manufactured at Corning’s U.S. plants in Kentucky and New York. But an additional 700,000 people are involved in the engineering, building, and final assembly of its products outside of the United States, and most of them work at subcontractors like Foxconn. When explaining its decision to assemble the iPhone in China, Apple cites a number of factors. While it is true that labor costs are much lower in China, Apple executives point out that labor costs only...
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...factories in developing countries. In the face of constant accusations, Nike has developed a considered response but the criticism of Nike still continues. Nike produces footwear, clothing, equipment and accessory products for the sports and athletic market. It is the largest seller of such garments in the world. It sells to approximately 19,000 retail accounts in the US, and then in approximately 140 countries around the world. Just about all of its products are manufactured by independent contractors with footwear products in particular being manufactured in developing countries. The company manufactures in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Mexico as well as in the US and in Italy. The Global Alliance report on the factories in Indonesia gave the following workforce profile: 58% of them are young adults between 20 and 24 years old, and 83% are women. Few have work-related skills when they arrive at the factory. Nike has around 700 contract factories, within which around 20% of the workers are creating Nike products. Conditions for these workers have been a source of heated debate, with allegations made by campaigns of poor conditions, with harassment and abuse. Nike has sought to respond to these allegations by putting into place a code of conduct for all of its suppliers, and working with the Global Alliance to review around 21 of these factories, and to pick up and respond to issues. The main concerns expressed by workers relate to their physical working environment. A further report...
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...such as China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Korea. For decades, Nike has been embroiled in controversy where critics claim its products are manufactured in foreign factories with substandard working conditions and disregard to labor laws (Powell & Zwolinski, 2012). As a result, Nike has initiated numerous policy changes in an effort to silence these criticisms. While Nike has definitely made great strides in turning around its image, it continues to struggle with allegations from critics. Nike’s Responsibility for Working Conditions Should Nike be held responsible for working conditions in foreign factories that it does not own, but where subcontractors make products for Nike? Nike should be held responsible for the working conditions in foreign factories where subcontractors make products the company sells. Although Nike does not actually own the foreign factories, the workers are employees of Nike and Nike is the beneficiary of the products they are making. Thus, Nike is responsible (at least in part) of the working conditions endured by those that work there. Labor Standards of Foreign Factories What labor standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like should Nike hold foreign factories to; those prevailing in that country, or those prevailing in the United States? I do not think it is feasible to ask foreign factories to adhere to the same standards regarding safety, working conditions, overtime, and the like as those of the United States...
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...One of the most important things to remember is that workers voluntarily choose to work in sweatshops and this must mean something. Understandably they are choosing from a bad choice set, but if this is their top choice, we must recognize that we might have misunderstood or misrepresented sweatshops. In an attempt to understand why sweatshops might seem favorable, we need to step into the shoes of the workers. Firstly, these workers live in poverty with some of the most dire and harsh conditions in the world. Usually their default job is scavenging or begging on the streets, therefore they view jobs at a sweatshop as a route that will lift them from the abject poverty that they live in. Some of the reasons why sweatshops seem like a favorable option to people are the wages are higher that the average paid in those countries, work is not as tedious and dangerous as some of the other jobs, they work under a roof and not under the scorching sun and work at a garment industry is considered as a good social status and the job is stable than other...
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...paper will talk about the legal, ethical, and cultural challenges that Nike faces. The next will be about the many roles the host government plays in Nike business operations. The last part I will be summarizing the strategic and operational challenges the global managers of Nike are facing. In the 1970s Nike was located in Taiwan and South Korea but when the workers gained their freedom to organize their wages Nike looked elsewhere to find cheaper labor. That is when they decided to set up shop in China and Indonesia and this is where they have been since the 1980s. They are also located in Vietnam as well. Most believe the reason Nike decided to relocate to these countries is because of the cheap labor, the government in Indonesia has allowed the minimum wage to $2.46 a day but the reason this is such a problem is that the cost of living expenses is about $4.00 a day. So these people are working long hours for terrible pay and they do not even make enough to survive and the same can be said about the other countries as well just different low pay scale. There are even employees being fined in Korean subcontractors for talking during work hours. It is important to note that this is against Chinas labor laws. The situation that Nike dealt with in part is also the host countries fault, these countries do not have many laws in protecting employees and the laws they do have do not seemed to be enforced. Proof of that was in a report in 1997 in a factory making shoes for Nike,...
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...identified in Walmart company. In this case, the company has failed to fully expand into new markets with respect to national and international levels. Because of the economic effects such as traffic and problems concerning the environment, many parts across the US attempted blocking Walmart introduction. This was done due to the company's damaged reputation. When the company conquers and acquires a new location, it finally insists in new stores which are unethical to be opened. For example, the company shut down business in Germany and South-Korea claiming that they were under-performing (Roberts & Berg, 2012 ). 2. Lobor related lawsuits Every year, Walmart faces lawsuits concerning labor thus, this costs the company alot of expenditure on this section. Criticism about the company has been raised against providing work conditions which are ineffective and poor. Moreover, it pays low wages to employees and does not pay them when they work overtime and discriminate female. It is crystal clear that, the company's reputation has been spoilt...
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...initially desktop IMs are doing so well in the existing market due because they have lack of capabilities to compete with those entrants who target only at the mobile segment. For example, ebuddy was established in 2003 as a light version of desktop IM. They start up as a cross platform IM, which means that if you have user accounts in different IMs platform, you would only need to download ebuddy to chat with friends. For example, you have MSN and Yahoo! Messenger, you need not to download both Yahoo! and MSN chatting tools, instead you can use only ebuddy to chat in both Yahoo! and MSN. They entered mobile segment in 2009 but it appeared that it was not so attracted by the public. Overtime, different player in different geographical region dominates the market of mobile IM industry. Kakao Talk dominates in Korea, LINE dominates in South East Asia, Japan and Middle East, WeChat dominates in Chinese market and Whatapps dominates in some parts of Europe and North America region. These major players have their own large users database in their dominated regions and the other competitors are very difficult to penetrate into the market. One interesting issues we realized from this situation is that...
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