Applications of laser technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Applications of laser technology - Essay Example This device has undergone centuries of modifications and up gradations to receive its current state. The term laser is actually an acronym, meaning (L) Light (A) Amplification by (S) Stimulated (E) Emission of (R) Radiation. It is a device which emits light with certain properties that makes it so important for various processes. It stimulates light, which is part of the natural electromagnetic spectrum. The light emitted by a laser device has certain properties which differentiates it from normal light emissions. The light emitted by a laser is monochromatic, that is its wavelength is extremely pure and coherent as well. The light waves emitted by the device are all in a single phase and diverge to a negligible extent. When the beam is focused on a particular point, it exceeds the brightness of the sun thus allowing it to be applicable in several significant procedures. It has taken several procedures and advancements for laser devices to reach their current status. The first actual laser was developed by a well renowned scientist Theodor Maiman who worked at the Hughes Research Laboratory. The first laser he developed was only a level 3 laser developed by a Ruby rod silvered at both ends. However, the working principles had already been derived by Albert Einstein centuries ago with the help of Plank’s laws of radiation. The working principles had been further upgraded by scientists such as Charles H. Townes who had developed a predecessor of Lasers, known as Masers which were developed by Microwaves (Galvana, 2002, p.286). With the development of lasers through time, it has been updated into several hundreds of forms. The various significant types of lasers mainly include diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers, helium neon lasers, air cooled ion lasers, and semi-conductor diode lasers etc. have gained particular significance in recent years of scientific development. The application of these lasers is the biggest aspect to be considered. Medical Applic ations of Lasers Due to further development of science and the adjustment of lasers according to the requirement of the procedure, scientists have put lasers in use of many vital medical processes. Due to its precise, pure and accurate nature surgeries have become even further accurate and authentic. There are several procedures that include lasers as the most vital part of the entire process. The application of laser in medical processes has provided a special breakthrough in the field of optics. LASIK is an extremely important procedure that has been developed for the correction of a person’s cornea in order to cure his eye sight. LASIK stands for Laser in Situ Keratomileusis and has become one of the most renowned processes in modern times. This medical procedure basically consists of three steps. Firstly, the measurement of the cornea is noted which will be extremely important in reshaping the cornea via laser. Then the patient is sedated and his eye lids are held still w ith the help of a scalpel. Then with the help of the laser, which has a high pulse to pulse stability and intensity, the cornea is changed back to its stable shape. Recent advancements have been made which reduces the chance of any error due to eye movement by the reduction of the time required for the procedure (Thyagarajan and Ghatak, 2010, p.471). The use of lasers has also proved extremely vital in case of

Management between the hard work, intelligence and wisdom Research Paper

Management between the hard work, intelligence and wisdom - Research Paper Example The project will help create a model to be used by managers in providing intelligent solutions to organizational problems and wise management guidelines to help managers make the best decisions for their organizations. This project will base the research on a sample of organizations in Kuwait, Dubai and Istanbul. The study is designed to make inferences that can apply to a wide population that is, the whole world. Management is a field of study that keeps on changing each and every other day. There is a need to keep on revising the current trends, the traditional practices and researching on the future techniques that are going to be applied in management of organizations. Management is a key factor to performance for almost every organization in the whole world. Use of wise techniques in providing intelligent solutions to organizational problems will highly help organizations to achieve their goals successfully. The project will entail a detailed research for primary data in Kuwait, Dubai and Istanbul and secondary data from books, journals and other publications that contain data relevant to the study. The data will be carefully analyzed and presented as findings. Conclusions and recommendations about the findings will then be made. This will be both quantitative and qualitative recommendations. The goal of this project will be to introduce the concepts of wise management and intelligent solution as a management tool. The goal is considered SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) due to the following reasons; the recommendations are to show a guideline of generating intelligent solutions to problems and making wise management decisions (Taylor, 2009). The study will show the levels of management and how the strategies inferred are going to be allocated to various levels of management. The goals are attainable since the study is wide and from different locations thus, the recommendations will consecutively be realistic. The projects goals will have a time frame of six months starting from the commencement of the project. The goal highlighted above is indirectly the hypothesis of the study. LITERATURE REVIEW Management is faced with a lot of challenges and obstacles in practice. The study will reveal how the challenges and obstacles affect the organizations and how to tackle them. For example, in Kuwait, people are very tribal and self centered. Managers will find it difficult in organizing, coordinating and controlling them. They will prefer dealing with people of their own tribe, people they know and many other social issues. This necessitates a study to improve the sharpness of managers in terms of skill and experience. Organizations are always ready to offer good salaries and allowances to managers in exchange for their quality service. This study will help potential managers to understand the importance of quality/wise techniques in making management decisions. This will benefit organizations like governmen t, civil service, financial firms, commercial firms, educational institutions, NGOs and many other institutions. Ever since the 19th century, many organizations have adopted the traditional five techniques of management. They were: planning, organizing, implementation, inspection and human resource management. Changes in business and other areas have created demand for further studies in the sector.

Job Order versus Process Costing Techniques Research Paper

Job Order versus Process Costing Techniques - Research Paper Example Costing is one of the counting techniques used by companies’ manufactures goods and services to ascertain the labor, material expenses, and overheads incurred in operations. This is very crucial costing enables a company to know with certainty the materials needed, labor requirements and the overheads incurred for planning purposes. Costs are first accumulated after which they are assigned to products and services. Job-order and process costing are the two main product costing techniques usually employed for accumulating and assigning costs to services and products. Process costing, according to Finkler, Ward, and Baker, are a costing technique, which involves assigning all units produced within a given period to the same cost (34). Job-order costing, on the other hand, is a costing system that ascertains separately the costs incurred for producing the units for each job (Finkler, Ward, and Baker 34). The two costing techniques have certain differences, which makes them suitab le for certain companies and not in others. To begin with, before assigning costs to products and services, it is always necessary to accumulate the costs involved in the operation. This ensures that the company effectively determines all the overheads, labor, and material expenses involved in the operation. The two systems have several differences that distinguish one from the other. Firstly, in job-order costing system, jobs are given varying degrees of attention and skills from each operation or production department (Kinney and Raiborn 207). In contrast, in process costing system, the out-put units produced are given equal attention from each operation or production department.... Thirdly, in job-order costing system, costing is done to meet specifications of individual customers. This implies that products and services are produced in line with the requirements of a given customer. Therefore, in the job-order system, production is normally preceded by sales. In contrast, in process costing system, sales are preceded by production since production is for generating inventories for future sales. Therefore, under process costing system, there is no need of attempting to identify labor, material, and overhead costs with the specific orders made by customers. This is because each order forms just one of the many filled from a continuous flow of almost identical units from the line of production. Therefore, in process costing, costs are accumulated by departments, but not by orders, which are then assigned uniformly to all units passing through the department during a specified time. According to Finkler, Ward, and Baker, costs are not accumulated using job cost sh eets (Oliver 56). Fourthly, the two costing systems differ in accordance with how the unit costs are determined during operation. In this regard, in the job order costing system, unit costs are ascertained continually as soon as each job is completed. Process costing system, in contrast, involves periodic determination of unit costs. Additionally, in job-order costing system, material required for jobs depend on the order received. As such, the stock held is small in job costing. In process costing, on the other hand, materials required for output are known with certainty. Therefore, the material stock kept on hand tends to be higher than the job-order costing. In addition, most jobs, in job-order costing are directly traceable to other jobs, implying that a

Political Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Campaign - Essay Example We reiterate our stand that cloning is against our social ethics and moral principles and equals to questioning God (Yaro's article, third Para ). The advocates of cloning will one day be punished by the God. We promise you that, if voted to power, we will bring a permanent Federal Law banning the practice of cloning through a Bill in the Congress which has failed to pass despite its introduction several times in the past. ( Laws on human cloning, third Para ). Cloning indicates the scientific advancement man has achieved over the years and stands as a tall witness for the supremacy of science. The creation of Dolly (The first successful clone of a sheep, first Para.) was only a first step in the right direction the scientific community had moved in the area of cloning. The advocates of its ban have no right to talk of ethics and morals as these issues are not their exclusive domains. One wants to know how cloning affects the tradition, morals and ethics. God had created humans and other living beings but did not stop at that. God encouraged us to invent so many things and cloning can be one of them.

Rites of Passage Essay Essay Example for Free

Rites of Passage Essay Essay Jetty Rats is a novel written by Phillip Gwynne that all young boys should read. It deals with the rites of passage and issues that all boys are faced with at some point in their lives. It is presented in an entertaining book but realistic which makes it easy for readers to understand. The issues and rites of passage discussed in this essay include family, friends, experiencing a first kiss (with Jasmine) and obtaining a first ‘real’ job (funeral). The story is told from the prospective of Hunter, (main boy) a thirteen year old boy with a dream of catching a record breaking Mulloway and getting more famous and richer then Rex Hunt. The first problem is the family. When Hunter was eight years old his dad went missing while fishing on the rocks. He had broken the golden rule of rock fishing: â€Å"Thou Shalt Not Fish On Your Own†. Hunter was certain his father would return after the accident he would â€Å" wait for him. Sit underneath the ‘VACENCY’ sign until mum tells me to come inside†. He didn’t want accept the fact that his father was gone forever until the end of the story when he finally decided to throw out his dad’s rusty old razor, even though his mum had tried to throw it out before but he kept getting it back. The writer has included this problem in the story in a realistic way. He explained the pain Hunter and his mum went through during the tough years, which made the story easier to understand. The writer has also expressed the importance families have stick together through tough times where there is no hope.

Strategic Management Case Study: Apple

Strategic Management Case Study: Apple 1.0 introduction Strategic management is the art and science of formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that will enable an organization to achieve its objectives. Strategic management includes a systematic recognition of specifying the firm’s objectives, nurturing policies and strategies to achieve these objectives, and acquiring and making available these resources to implement the policies and strategies to achieve the firm’s objectives. Strategic management, therefore, integrates the activities of the various functional sectors of a business, such as marketing, sales, production etc., to achieve organizational goals. (Lamb, 1984) 1.1 Company background Apple Inc. is an American corporation that designs and manufactures computer hardware, software and other consumer electronics. The company is best known for their Macintosh personal computer line, Mac OS X, extremely loyal user-base, iTunes media application and the iPod personal music player. The company headquarters is in Cupertino, California, CEO and co-founder is Steve Jobs and the company boasts 284 retail locations spanning 10 different countries. Apple was established on April 1st, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne to sell the Apple I personal computer kit. Steve Jobs was said to own 45% of the company, Steve Wozniak with 45% and Wayne with the remaining 10%. While Jobs and Wozniak were young with little to no assets, Ronald Wayne was older with personal assets and was scared to put these at risk. Apple products have been able to achieve the highest rate of sales compared to its competitors in the world, and the company was able to significantly control the electronics market in the world throughout their products. 2.0 strategic analyses Strategic analysis is the process developing a strategy for a business, throughout researching about the business and the environment in which it operate. Strategic analysis involves two scenarios internal to organization and external to the organization. It is important to also remain focused on the destiny or goal and then make relevant analysis internally as well as externally, as the strategic analysis is something which is very wide in nature. (MiHyang, 2010, NCVO newsletter, 2009). The strategic analysis tools gives magical solutions for the company’s head office, so that they can analyze the current internal and external business scenario for advanced planning. The tools that Apple can use are as shown below. 2.1 General environment General environment are the factors and circumstances such as economic, legal, political and social. That affects everyone in the industry generally or the market more or less similarly. Although a business cannot control what takes place in the general environment, evaluating the general environment can allow businesses the opportunity to predict changes and identify future opportunities during a manager’s analysis of the general environment. General environment includes two theory branches. The SWOT analysis which detects the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats an organization may face in the future or is facing in the present. The other theory is the PEST which may affect the general environment of the company. 2.2 PEST analysis As well as the internal factors that can affect an organization’s performance, there are also a number of external factors that affect the organization success in the business world. Many organizations use the PEST analysis in determining the impact of these factors on the organization. Pest analysis consists of four factors political, economical, social, and technological. To achieve the highest benefit from this analysis, organizations must understand the role of each factor. As a company apple Inc. concentrates a lot on PEST analysis and Porter’s five forces. Actually these two theories are considered very important for any successful company. As a company apple cannot control its relationships with other countries such as, china, and Korea. Any political conflicts between United States of America and any of these countries will cause horrible effects on Apple Inc. Since is producing many of its products outside America in Chinese and Korean factories. Any economical crisis will highly have an impact on Apple Company. Although inflation rates will also affect the company, as well as the U.S.D value in international market will also affect the company. Socially the world has changed a lot in the last 5 years with the help of Apple’s advanced technology. Apple contributed in this social change. Apple is required to improve and develop their technologies more and more, so that they can get the highest benefit from the social changes that occur in the world. Apple is a prestige for any high class person, so they should always stay like that. Nowadays technology is improving quicker than before. Apple is considered one of the innovative companies in the world right now, so they always should utilize any development in the technology to innovate and introduce more products to the world. 2.3 Competitive environment The competitive environment is the dynamic system in which your business competes. The status of the whole system controls and sometimes limits the amount of flexibility in your business due to the world economic status. Economical crisis, shortage, and unexpected disasters affect the competitive environment. There are two types of competitive environments direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are competitors who produce the same products as yours. They compete with you directly in order to achieve higher revenue than your company. The other type of competitive environment is the indirect competitors. Most of the organizations face competition from suppliers of different products or services. 2.3 Value creating Activities Value creating activities is the set of actions that increase the value of the product, or the service. In order to gain a competitive advantage, throughout this process the product or the service of an organization will achieve a marginal value. If these set of activities are applied properly the organization will gain a competitive advantage on their product or service. 2.3.1 Value chain analysis According to Michael porter a value chain is the set of actions that build up worth at every stage in producing the product. The cost of the product settled by the company is the total of all the expenses paid throughout all stages of producing this product. Value chain analysis is a tool applied by organization, so that they can figure out how to create a great worth for their consumers. 2.3.2 Application to Company The value chain analysis will help in determining the rate of development in Apple Inc and will also detect how Apple uses their resources. This value chain component tends to prove apple’s abilities in the technological branch. Apple was the first company to introduce a digital lifestyle hub. The history of apple is full of technological achievements. Apple operating system is considered more safe and stable than windows. Apple tends to be the best and the first in the technological products achievements. Since Apple rejected to license its operating system to other organizations, the bundled packages of the company developed hardware and software that became the basis of Apple’s production process. Apple considers productivity as an important branch of the designing process. When apple achieved a good market share growth and had a base of loyal consumers who are waiting for apple to introduce a new product, so that they can replace their old product with the new one. Apple saw that it is time for expensive P.C to enter the market. Apple concentrated on achieving more growth than before, so that they can produce a better ‘mousetrap’ all the way through its history. Customer service is one of the main things that make Apple Inc. special in the market. Actually they tend to satisfy the consumer even after buying the product by giving the consumer after sale services and warranty. Apple’s efficient customer service is one of the reasons why loyal consumers never change to another companies selling the same technology. Legally in a changeable innovative market, it is well-known for apple company that it is important to protect their copyrights and maintaining the patent, so that no one of their competitors can use any of the inventions that apple have record it under their name. In the year 2012 Samsung company was fined about 1 billion$ in favor of Apple Inc. because they used two of the invention that apple have record them as a patent. This proves that apple as a company is able to protect their rights from the competitors’ utilization. 2.4 Resource based view RVB is a tool that is used to evaluate the value of organization strategic assets. The resource based view tool is based on the idea that the efficient use of all resources that an organization collects helps in determining its competitive advantage. 2.4.1 Resources Organization resources are all the resources that allow and help a firm to apply and perform its activities. All resources that a firm has may not be strategically related. There are specific resources that are capable to put a firm in position of competitive advantage. There are four components that an organization should have in order to achieve a competitive advantage. These four components form the VRN characteristics. 2.4.2 Core Competencies (Prahald Hamel) Core competencies are a group of supplementary information, abilities, attitudes, and resources in a firm which makes performing a critical process better than other process. 2.4.3 Distinctive capabilities According to john kay distinctive capabilities are a related aspect of organization resources. Organizations with distinctive capabilities have features which other cannot imitate. To achieve a competitive advantage a company must have three distinctive capabilities architecture, reputation, and innovation. 2.4.4 Application to company Apple main resources are its brand name and marketing strategies. Apple has a good reputation in the market, although their high quality products in the market results in having a big base of loyal customer. Apple software also is one of the most resources that the company has. In a nutshell apple as a company have both tangible and intangible resources, but the intangible resources is the main reason for the company success. Apple Core Competencies analysis Adapting a viral marketing strategy from social networking websites was a great step which achieved success in making apple closer to the consumers. Customer loyalty is one of the most important competencies in Apple Company. The company was able to manage keeping their customers loyal to them by attracting them through creating such innovative products, so that customers will always wait for the new products. What makes apple so special is their high ability in protecting their new product details, although there is no any information can be leaked about apple products before introducing them. This proves that apple employees are so loyal to their company by maintaining secrecy about any information regarding new products. 2.5 Organizational performance Organizational performance is tool used to analyze an organization’s performance compared to its goals and objectives. Organizational performance consists of three essential outcomes financial performance, market performance, and shareholder value performance. 2.5.1 Measuring Coo-prate Performance Measuring corporate performance tool is used to evaluate the accomplishments of settled goals in an organization. It also detects any failure in achieving a specific goal. This tool also predicts the future performance. 2.5.2 Meeting the Needs of Stakeholders Achieving success in applying a certain strategy is evaluated through the amount of satisfaction of stakeholders and whether there needs are met or not. To satisfy stakeholders there is a short term and long term success of any business. 2.5.3 Application to company (appendix) Throughout balance sheet a company can measure its coo-prate performance, so that they can get know whether they are gaining profit or not. 3.0 strategy formulation Strategy formulation is the course of action that indicates actions that should be taken by an organization in order to achieve a specific goal. There are some certain steps that should be applied in a chronological order. These steps are as following: value assessment, vision and mission formulation, strategy design, performance audit analysis, gap analysis, action plan development, contingency planning, and implementation. Using these steps in the chronological order shall help an organization in achieving their goals. 3.1 business level strategy Business level strategy concentrates on the position of the firm in the market in compare to its competitors. It also explains the steps and actions taken by the firm in order to value their customers in order to gain a competitive advantage by utilizing essential efficiencies they have in specific products or services markets. There are four main important strategies that are used by organizations in order to gain competitive advantage over competitors. The four generic strategies are as follows: cost leadership, differentiation, focused low cost, focused differentiation. Business strategy level gives a great opportunity for an organization to gain a competitive advantage on its competitors if applied correctly. 3.1.1 Generic competitive strategy In the year 1980 Michael porter developed three generic strategies that are used by an organization in order to gain competitive advantage. These three generic strategies are: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. 3.1.2 Corporate strategy Corporate strategy is the actions a firm takes in order to achieve business success in the future. It also concentrates on the company adaptations and anticipations toward changes in the business environment. In order to apply corporate strategy it requires concentration on the firm’s activities and the nature of the business it is doing. As well as its position in the market and how wild the competition is with its competitors. 3.1.3 Growth strategy Mostly organizations always have plans for expansion in their business in order to increase revenue. Although there are specific techniques a firm must use in order to apply their growth strategy. The technique an organization use in order to apply growth strategy mostly depends on their financial status, how strong is competition between their competitors, and the rules and regulations of the government in this country. The most common growth strategies are market expansion, market penetration, diversification and acquisition, and product expansion. 3.2.2 Application to Company Apple growth strategy depends on increasing its market demand on its products through product differentiation, through producing unique and attractive products to customers. The company was able to achieve success through this strategy by keeping its brand loyalty in its highest levels. Apple concentrates on certain level of customers. Customers who wish to pay more, so that they can receive high quality products. Through product differentiation apple was able to achieve success and become one of the leading organizations in the world’s market. 4.0 Strategy Implementation Strategy implementation is considered the toughest stage in the strategic management process. Strategy implementation requires managers to apply these strategies and convert it to actions that will achieve success and high performance. 4.1 International Strategy (Organizational and environmental factors) International strategy is a strategy in which an organization introduces and sells their product in other foreign markets. The main reason for applying this strategy is because of the new opportunities an international market introduces to an organization. 4.1.1 Globalization Framework MNC’ stands for Multi National Corporation. MNC’ are organizations that have assets in other countries within its original home land. These organizations may have factories and departments in other countries, although they have a specific main head office in which they manage the organization. MNC’ organizations main goal is to maximize the wealth of shareholders. 4.1.2 Entry mode Strategies Entry mode is a strategy that allows and helps in adjusting the proper time for an organization to introduce their product in another foreign country. Applying this decision is one of the hardest processes in an organization. It may affect the company either negatively nor positively in many ways. 4.1.3 Diamond of National Advantage Porter’s diamond national advantage strategy states that the national the national advantage of a country depends on certain factors. Porter used a diamond shaped diagram to explain and state his theory. He explains the role of the national field that governments create for their business advantage. 4.1.4 Application to company Apple expanded their business through opening many retail stores around the world, having partnerships with other telecommunication companies all over the world. One of the reasons apple expanded in the last years was because of their innovative products which met the customer’s needs Although the company was able to manage their product’s cost through concentrating on certain level of customers specifically high level customers. 4.2 Corporate Governance Corporate governance is rules and policies settled in which an organization is controlled and directed. It also draws structure for an organization to achieve its goals. Actually it includes all the branches of management from planning and controlling to performance evaluation and company disclosure. 4.2.1 Board of Directors Board of directors is a committee chosen by elections in which its main role is to take the responsibility for managing a nonprofit organization. This committee is responsible for holding the funds and assets and any other property that belong to others. Board of Trustees oversees management and counseling issues facing the organization. 4.2.2 Executive Compensation Actually compensation for executive manager is not the same as compensations for normal employees. This happens in mostly all organizations. The executive compensation includes the CEO, CFO, the vice president, and the upper- level managers. These employees are treated in a quite different way from other employees. Their salary and compensation are negotiable and are stated and recorded in the contract. The contract records their salary, compensation, and bonuses. 4.3 Application to company Apple’s board of directors main mission is to assure that the shareholder’s interests are being served. They set standards to ensure the company’s success through maintaining high standards of responsibility and ethics. 5.0 Conclusion Strategic management gives an organization a creative ability in shaping and drawing its future in the market. It gives an organization the ability to launch and create a plan rather than responding to actions, so that they control their destiny. Nowadays any manager or a business owner controlling an organization has recognized the importance of strategic management and the benefits gained from it. Organizations that apply strategic management in their company plans will have high performance levels than companies that aren’t applying this strategy.

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK)

Causes and Effects of Absenteeism in Local Government (UK) 1.0- ABSTRACT Absenteeism can happen through authorised and unauthorised absence and these can be grouped into: situational, personal and attendance factors. Causes: headaches, hang-over cold flu, unchallenging jobs and poor management are common causes of absenteeism and managers generally suspicious of employees reasons for absenteeism. Effects: Unplanned absence is disorganising, frustrating and expensive for organisations. UK absenteeism rate in European is similar to Denmark, (see p11-12). Absenteeism is positively correlated with employee motivation and satisfaction. Combating absenteeism: absence can be minimised by providing challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and maintaining a zero tolerance to absence. Return-to-work interviews are empirically proven method of reducing absenteeism in local government. Adding, studying industries with lower absence rate may prove a useful tool for minimising absenteeism in local government. This report acknowledges that limitations such as privacy and Human Rights laws protects workers privacy from being invaded by organisations, HR managers ought to know there limitations. 2.0- INTRODUCTION Absenteeism is the avoidance of or failure to attend ones place of work hence unable to perform a contractual working obligation owing to absence. In other words, absenteeism is unplanned or planned absence created by an employee intentionally such as deliberately avoiding work through non-attendance for personal reasons or unintentionally like maternity leave, bereavement and ill-health. This research essay shall be confining the report to intentional or self created absenteeism which can be disruptive, expensive and difficult to manage, (Armstrong, 2006). Undoubtedly, this form of absenteeism is the worst nightmare of all managers because of having to deal with the same workload with limited workforces. According to Benington, (2000) site in (McHugh, 2001) the UK local government has become a ‘‘last chance saloon meaning failure to ‘put-up will require government takeover or privatisation. Furthermore, CBI, (2004) cited in Taylor (2005), acknowledged that absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly. Presenteeism is the opposite of absenteeism and it means ‘110% attendance with the view to impressing ones boss. The most regular mentioned ‘causes of absenteeism reported by employees especially in local government are: headaches, cold, flu, stress, back pain, food poisoning and family issues. It must be stated that other causes such as repetitive jobs, poor management, leadership, and organisational climate are factors. 3.0- LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1- CAUSES OF ABSENTEEISM Public sector absenteeism has attracted much research especially in the local government probably because of better monitoring systems such as extensive documentation than the private sector. Noteworthy is the fact that there are no universally agreed causes of absenteeism however; there are some regular cited ones are claimed to contribute to absenteeism. According to Taylor, (2005), a research company called My Voice asserted that 56% of employees admitted to taking a ‘sickie. That is calming absence from work under false pretence. Interestingly, the real reasons stipulated by the survey for the absence includes: hung-over, stress and hatred for the job itself. Consequently, managers are generally suspicious of employees claiming absence on sick grounds based on the above survey. It is an undeniable fact that such findings breeds mistrust between managers and their employees. Obviously, one can understand why managers might be frustrated by employees absence because it brings disorder to management plans and the execution of scheduled activities. Gennard, Judge, (2005) are of the view that death, paternity leave, inability to return from planned holidays and ‘ alleged sickness are the main causes of absenteeism. It is abundantly clear that bereavement does cause absenteeism but on limited scale however, this report is less concern with that form of absenteeism because it is natural rather than intentional. Paternity leave being a cause of absence might sound baffling however, this report maintains that paternity leave even though a planned absenteeism, might potential cause some form authorised absence for reasons like a sudden developments- such as mother falling sick, babys health, family and family visits and gatherings. This report maintains that the possibility of this form of absenteeism being abused is not unlikely. Adding, planned holidays might degenerate into unplanned absence due to certain unforeseen circumstances. This is likely to affect those who take holidays abroad. This form of unplanned absence might be caused by flight delays and cancellations due to political issues like wars and protest as happened in Thailand, natural disasters such as disease outbreak, for example the pandemic ‘‘H1N1 Swine Flu which first broke out in Mexico and for that matter the quarantine of infected victims had to be done, earthquakes as happened in Indonesia. According to Armstrong, (2006), the causes of absenteeism could be broadly attributed to three (3) factors namely: ‘Situational factors, Personal factors and Attendance factors: ‘Situational factors include the nature of the job itself; is it repetitive and boring or interesting and challenging enough? Obviously, a repetitive job may generate stress and job resentment. The sort of leadership and organisational climate employees operate under may generate absenteeism. While agreeing to some extend that these situational factors might generate absenteeism, it is worth acknowledging that some people hate change and will always struggle to maintain the status quo. These people may rather prefer doing a repetitive job than a challenging one. ‘Personal factors are: the worth of an employee, his or her personality, age and sex may contribute to an employee absence. This research report concedes to the fact that these stated factors are influencer of absenteeism in local government based on a valid research: Barmby et al, ‘survey (1999) cited in Taylor (2005), p316 recorded that men were unlikely to be absent from work than their female counterparts and even more profound was the fact that England has lower absenteeism than any were else in the UK. Quite obviously, the wage disparity across the UK has a lot to with it hence the lowest rate (absenteeism) in England than anywhere else in the UK. Lastly, attendance factors include; the sort of incentives allocated to rewarding good employee behaviour like regular attendance as well as sickness policies. It is an undeniable fact that most people respond positively to incentives and rewards both in kind and in cash. According to Jacqueline A.-M et al, (2003), the ‘psychological contract plays a significant role in contributing negatively or positively to employee performance and attitudes in the local government. Absenteeism is gradually gaining the publicity it deserves in the local government according to CBI, (1999); Local Government Auditor, 1999) cited in (McHugh, 2001). This report is of the view that organisations either private or the local government can no longer afford to remain in a vacuum but rather to face up to the challenges like the unpredictability of the marketing environment. This means all local governments and organisations are compelled to make the necessary savings they can get from all areas in order to survive in this aggressive but compelling marketing environment called ‘the survival of the fittest. In fact, there has never been a century that has imposed and forced change on all manner of organisations like the 21st century. The present business environment is one that constantly says keep changing or you will be made obsolete. Furthermore, Johansson, Palme, (2002) proposed that a positive attitude to ‘a short- term sickness and taxes encourages absenteeism. In other words, encouraging ‘nanny culture such as paying for sick leave encourages local government workers to take off sick for private reasons other than genuine sickness. In short, such policies however well intentioned may rather be taken for granted and instead abused. IDS, (2001b, pp2-3) cited in (Taylor 2005), p329 proposed that the public sector workers records higher absenteeism than the private sector because, there are less punitive measures taken against public servants than their private sector counterparts. This research lends support to some extend to the argument however, contrary to the point; local government organisations do take longer time to act due to bureaucracies but does not necessarily mean that punitive measures are not exercised in the public sector as claimed. Adding, this report supports the view that absenteeism is more prevalent in the private than the public sector. This is due to the fact that public employees receive better treatment and are valued fairly than their private sector counterparts (the psychological contract), (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). This report observes that certain councils are renowned for recording high rate of absenteeism for instance, Northern Ireland councils than those in England, (McHugh, 2002). In summary, there are disparities between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as regards to absenteeism. And in Europe as a whole, the UK is not doing badly according UK government statistics. Also, it is an undeniable fact that poor record keeping encourages absenteeism. If organisations and for that matter local government organisations like the NHS, keeps up-to-date records of all employee absence, it would discourage absenteeism because most people hate being monitored. Proper documentation and monitoring of employee absence is likely to generate the needed attention absenteeism deserves leading to a collective action against the perpetrators of absenteeism. Conversely, it is not an exaggeration that the costs of keeping up-to-date information on employee attendance are expensive and complicated because of the technology involved such as biometric data collecting systems like the ‘Swipe in Swipe out, ‘phone book-ins and finger and hand scanning are expensive systems which are not without disadvantages. For instance, an employee may give his or her card to a colleague to wipe them in discretely and on the other hand, an employee may genuinely forget to swipe in and out. 3.2- EFFECTS OF ABSENTEEISM The effects of absenteeism are difficult to quantify though various researches have attempted valuing it. Absenteeism costs the UK government  £12 billion pounds yearly, (Taylor 2005). That figure can be a full year budget for most developing countries especially in Africa and Asia. Adding to the above, Davis, Geddes, (2000); Blair, (1998) cited in (McHugh, 2001), p43 was reported to have issued a warning to local councils to stop wasting local government funds by providing ‘value for money services by combating preventable issues like absenteeism. Quite earnestly, absenteeism is an avoidable cost which if managed properly has benefits for all organisations both public and private firms. The US economic is on record for losing $40 billion dollars a year on absenteeism, (Dalton, Mesch, 1991; Unckless et al 1998) mentioned in (Gaudine, Saks, 2001).That money is enough to provide employment for hundreds of people especially under this current economic turbulence. Another disadvantage of employee absence, despite it being costly for the local government is that it also disrupts management plans and decisions according to Armstrong, (2006). Managers are usually provided with a specification tasks with limited time-frame within which to report back to their superiors for assessment. Consequently, an unplanned absence may significantly affect managers flexibility, time and the speed at which the work and for that reason, may cause irritation for management as a whole. Lastly, an employees sudden absence may stir up negative feelings among his fellow work- colleagues. It is a convincing fact that more often, managers are unable to fill in or organise a quick replacement for an absent employee but rather, overburden their subordinates with the same magnitude of workload. Nevertheless, they (managers) still expect their workforce to deliver the same level of performance without considering the manpower shortage. Consequently, this leads to the development of hatred and resentment among work colleagues which is not healthy for the organisation and for that matter the local government because, synergy may be lost in the process (working against one another rather than as a team or 2+2=5). Is absenteeism a function of employee motivation or dissatisfaction breeds absenteeism? This research report argues that a good psychological employment contracts is a recipe for a better employee attitude as in the case of local government employment than the private sector (Jacqueline A.-M et al, 2003). Obviously most government jobs are fairly stable and permanent hence the issue of job security is guaranteed as opposed to the private sector. Moreover, Martocchio, (1994); Johns, Nicholson, (1992) cited in McHugh (2001, p44), claimed that an employees commitment and dedication are a function of his or her motivation in the organisation. This report shall concede to this fact because people generally response positively or otherwise to incentives and rewards depending on their situation (perception). Ehrenberg et al, (1991) claims that students absenteeism impact on their academic performance especially during examinations. Now, if this assertion is true then, one can justifiably maintain that employee absence affects their work in terms of quality, speed and concentration. CIPD, (2006), cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p339 found that absenteeism was high in food and drink sector, and in local government; however, NGOs, Media and the leisure sector had lower absence rate. Arguably, it is not surprising that voluntary and leisure organisations had better attendance because they are satisfying jobs with high commitment and goal congruence. According to the CBI, (AXA, 2005) and (CIPD, 2005) mentioned in (Torrington et al, 2008), UK absence is similar to Denmarks but lower than Norway, Sweden and Finland. This statistics were rather surprising to because, these three countries above beaten by the UK are usually among the top 10 countries for quality living hence they should have beaten the UK. 3.3- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ABSENTEEISM AND MOTIVATION? Kass, et al, (2001) empirically concluded that unchallenging and uninteresting jobs profoundly determine the performance (poor) of an employee, their longevity in the organisation and even more importantly the frequency of absenteeism he or she exhibits. This reported utterly concedes to the above fact that boredom breeds laziness and the attitude of it because people who are boredom prone such as activists and kinaesthetic learners (hyperactive) performance may be hampered by unchallenging tasks and subsequently but inevitably lead to worker absenteeism. Interestingly, Wyatt, (1929) cited in (Kass, et al 2001, p318), concurred that performance, motivation and employee attitude to work are correlated (positively). This means that an employees performance is a function of the level of motivation he or she enjoys from the job. In other words, an unmotivated employee will obviously demonstrated a lackadaisical attitude to his or her job and for that matter the company. Furthermore, in Maslows theory, ‘man is an insatiably need driven animal who is always seeking for the fulfilment his or her present need but in a successive order of prominence, (Croft, Norton, 2005). Ultimately, Maslows needs theory shares light on employees behaviour in the sense that, it categorically emphasises studying and listening to the workforces in order to avoid being ‘out of touch and concluding that what motivates Mr. A will motivate Mr. B, as it were and even more importantly the theory advises a full analogy of an employee before concluding on sort of incentives that will induce a desired behaviour. The Hawthorne study supports that recognition of a workgroup motivates performance and arguably the Hawthorn enquiries are in line with Abraham Maslows needs theory. Another useful theory for analysing the relationship between motivation and performance is Herzberg et al (1957) two factor theory: Motivators- responsibility, recognition and achievement and Hygiene factors-wages or salaries, job security and supervision, cite in (Armstrong, 2006). The absence of hygiene factors results in worker dissatisfaction claims Herzberg. In other words, hygiene factors do not creates satisfaction by themselves but rather, their absences leaves employees dissatisfied according to Herzbergs theory. Now if Herzbergs theory is anything good to go by, an employees absence (regular) should trigger an investigation and a subsequent identification of the causes. For instance, employee absenteeism can be due to lack of job satisfaction because of repetitive and boring jobs, due to lack of recognition for the employees achievement also, poor leadership in the form of supervision may equally cause dissatisfaction. Herzbergs two factor theory failed to anticipated the change in the psychological employment contract which has shifted power away from the employer to employees consequently, Herzbergs assertion that money is not a motivator is debatable (untrue) today and for that matter, it leaves the famous two factor theory for criticism. Adding, it is an undeniable fact that money is a real motivator taking into account the actual causes of this current financial turmoil or the current recession across the world. It is emphatically clear that this recession was engineered by greedy people whose sole motivation was nothing rather than big bonuses, pay packages or simply put, money to be precise. If these outrageous financial institutions heads, bankers and money lenders were not motivated by money then what else brought this financial ‘meltdown to this world? Furthermore, Vroom et al (1960s) cited in (Croft, Norton, (2005), p16, states that persons motivations defines the measure of input he or she will expands. This means that the package (employment contract), the job itself and the organisational climate all have a definite role in contributing to the performance of an employee in a company. This report utterly agrees with this view because workers generally expect interesting and challenging jobs, good leadership, a fair pay for their work done and of course recognitions for their efforts. Consequently, the infulfilment of these expectations inevitably results in all sorts of attitudes and behaviours such as absenteeism. Porter and lawler, model (1968) mention in (Armstrong, 2006) is arguably complementary to Vrooms thought because it advocates that two instruments were central to the contribution of workers in an organisation: value of reward and the relationship between their efforts and the outcome taking into account the individual capability and expectations, (Armstrong 2006). In other words, when rewards are carefully crafted strategically taking into consideration the abilities and expertise of the individual then good performance is an inevitable outcome because there will be goal congruence between organisation and the individual which leads to superior organisational performance known as competitive advantage. Sometimes this sort of strategic fit between organisations and employees does make a company an ‘employer of a choice- a company which most people would love to work for due to several factors like good employee treatment, fairness and the organisational climate (good) for instance, British Airways, Microsoft Corporation, NASA (space centre) and the BBC. 4.0- COMBATING ABSENTEEISM. According to Taylor (2005), punitive solutions, using rewards and tackling the root causes of absenteeism is the answer to minimising absenteeism. Obviously, the use of the ‘carrot and stick method is being advocated and finding out the real triggers of absenteeism as well. However, this requires proper documentation and monitoring of employees attendance which can be expensive. Most research supports the view that using punitive styles like basing promotion and rewards decisions on employee attitudes (attendance) reduces absenteeism. This strategy creates and communicates a clear message to employees that their future especially in that organisation is a function of their contribution and commitment which convincing. Gennard, Judge (2005) also agreed that ‘return-to-work interviews are the most effective means of reducing absenteeism because it assertively notifies the worker that such attitudes would be punished if necessary. This strategy integrates investigation of the case with documentation as well as communicating to the perpetrators that they are being monitored which I think, must be applauded. According to Armstrong, (2006), absenteeism can be eradicated through management commitment, trust, and return to work interviews. Management commitment is about harnessing management support and commitment to abrogating absenteeism while nurturing and development trust through transparent policies, regular dialogue and communication between management and their subordinates. In resounding, local government absenteeism can be reduced by tackling stress by way providing training and development to management and leadership with the aim of inculcating and developing good leadership and people skills into leaders. Furthermore, boredom can be prevented from inducing absenteeism by making jobs interesting and challenging like providing job enrichment, job enlargement and the empowerment of workers. Rewarding attendance (100%) has been empirically proven to reduce absenteeism from 10-8 days, (Silcox, 2005d) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008). Finally, even though this report labours to avoid the ‘stick method of reducing absenteeism, it is conceding to note that return-to-word interviews are empirical proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are profoundly effective in reducing employee absence in both the public and private section organisations. 5.0- CONCLUSIONS Absenteeism is problem faced by all organisations and the causes include: hang-over, headaches, boring jobs and poor management however, management believes that most ‘alleged causes are non-genuine which costs organisations money. Some writers claimed that absenteeism is more prevalent in the public sector than the private sector. This report disagrees with that argument because, undeniably, absenteeism is positively related to motivation consequently, since the public sector gets be employment contract than their private sector counterparts, absence must be less prevalent than private organisations. Punitive measures such as return-to-work interviews are particularly effective in reducing worker absenteeism. Conclusively, this report maintains that absenteeism cannot be eradicated but rather minimised because providing a challenging jobs, rewarding attendance and good leadership cannot change personal habits cultivated over decades. Adding though return-to-work-interviews is an effective means of reducing absenteeism; the process cannot intrusively used due to privacy concerns. For instance, (IRS, 2002a) cited in (Torrington et al, 2008), p 349 emphasised that the Human Right Act, 1998 awareness is important. The report recommends a specific study into low absenteeism sectors: non-profit organisations, voluntary sectors, Media and recreational sector to ascertain the real causes of employee absenteeism. REFERENCES 1. Michael Armstrong, A Hand Book of Human Resource Management Practice, 2006, 10th Edition Kogan Page, London, UK. 2. Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Randy A. 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