Public Sector Reform In Ghana Politics Essay

Public Sector Reform In Ghana Politics Essay Ghanas public sector serves as the largest employer of her labor force and also contributes significantly toward the countrys development. Contrarily, people generally tend to hold negative perceptions about the sector. However, in her bid to instill sanity and promote a good image of the system as well as ensure increased productivity of the sector, the Government of Ghana recently introduced several reforms within her public sector. This paper therefore explores the current public sector reform programs such as the wage reforms popularly dubbed Single Spine Salary structure (S-cube) that have been implemented in Ghana. The author however investigates whether or not these current reforms programs would be sustainable. INTRO DUCTI ON The catchphrase Public Sector Reforms has emerged over the past decades in both advanced and developing countries where governments have embarked upon sweeping reforms to improve efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector. Efforts at reforming the public sector is more pronounced in Africa where the sector in many of its countries is seen as a mere watchman rather than serving as a facilitator for the private sector to drive the pace of growth and development. As Fatile et al (2010: 145) aptly put it All African countries are caught in the web of Public Sector Reforms. Ghana, a country in Sub-Saharan Africa has witnessed its share of these reforms and continues to experiment with new ones. Like many African countries, Ghanas attempt at reforming its public sector can be traced back to the 1980s when it underwent the World Banks Structural Adjustment Programs. From that time until now, successive governments have consistently implemented reforms in its Public Sector which has been full of mixed results. Amongst these include, Civil Service Improvement Program (CSPIP), Public Administration Restructuring and Decentralization and Implementation Committee (PARDIC), the Civil Service Reform (CSR) and Public Sector Reform Program (PSRP) of the now defunct Ministry of Public sector Reform (Holm- Graves, 2011). Quite recently, the public sector of Ghana came under intense criticisms from the public with many citing the sectors inability to meet the needs of its employees, corruption, poor delivery of services, and a host of other issues as the ills plaguing the sector. These issues alongside global pressures have made the Government of Ghana to introduce and implement new reform initiatives ranging from pay reforms to improvement in service delivery. This paper as part of a larger project aimed at investigating the new reform programs that have been implemented in Ghana and to contribute to the broader discussion of public management literature focuses on the on-going pay reform program popularly known as the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) that is being undertaken to replace the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) which proved to be marginally successful (Cooper-Enchia, 2008). Unlike the GUSS which is the first comprehensive pay policy implemented in Ghana, the SSSS tries to bring more order to the pay setting process by promoting adequate comparability of similar jobs across public sector services and institutions (Cavalcanti, 2009). This paper therefore attempts to examine the sustainability of the on-going SSSS in Ghana. Due consideration is also given to the prospects and challenges faced in the implementation of this new pay reform program. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. The next section looks at public sector reforms in Ghana by narrowing the discussion to pay reforms that have been implemented in the country to put the paper in perspective. Section three provides an overview of Ghanas Single Spine pay reform program. Here, the prospects and challenges facing the implementation of the on-going program have been discussed. The final section of the paper discusses the way forward for the current reform program in Ghana. PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN GHANA: A HISTORICAL CONTEXT Historically, efforts at reforming the public sector in many countries have been diverse which can be largely attributed to the issues that occasion such initiatives. In Africa and other developing countries, public sector reforms have been heavily driven by worldwide decline in public finances and the need to get more for less (Caiden cited in Ayee, 2008: 2). These initiatives were promoted to improve the image of governments in the global arena and to mitigate the dead hand of bureaucracy. It is against this background that Ghanas public sector reform efforts have evolved. A closer look into past reform efforts in Ghana shows that initial attempts dates back to 1980s when many African countries implemented a wide range of reform programs with the support and supervision of the World Bank and other reform institutions (Owusu,2006). Ghana vigorously pursued these reforms with the aim of halting economic decline and stagnation to institutional reforms and poverty reduction. The Civil Service Reform Program implemented in 1987, a component of the series of the economic reform programs was the first reform program to be undertaken in the country. The implementation of the CSRP was aimed at reducing overstaffing and trimming redundant civil servants (Owusu, 2005). However, between 1994 and 2003, reform initiatives in Ghana took a new look with the establishment of the National Institutional Renewal Program (Owusu, 2003). Efforts at this stage were centered on improving the public sector through enhancing its efficiency. Recognizing the failures of all the reforms that were implemented from 1987-2003, the erstwhile Kuffour administration took a giant step to establish a Ministry of Public Sector Reform in 2005 to ensure the development of home grown reform initiatives which oversaw the implementation of a number of reforms in the public sector until it was eventually replaced with the Public Sector Reform secretariat under the Mills regime. Having undergone several reform efforts, Public sector reformers in Ghana have realized that many of the problems associated with poor performance, lack of professionalism and corruption are directly related to low salary levels and ineffective pay administration (Cooper-Enchia, 2008), thus, the introduction of the Single Spine Pay Policy which forms the crux of the paper. However, any discussion of this new pay policy calls for a critical look into past wage and salary reform attempts. Past Public Sector Pay Reform Attempts in Ghana Over the years, governments in Ghana have introduced several pay reforms and reviews in order to bridge the disparity and inequity gaps in its pay administration systems (TUC bulletin). Prominent among these efforts are reviews under committees and commissions such as Mills-Odoi (1967); Issifu Ali Committee (1973); Azu Gabbe Commission (1979), the National Committee for Wage and Salary Rationalization (1983) and the Gyampoh Salary commission (1992) (Ibid). All these efforts notwithstanding, the problems that these reviews sought to address still lingered on since most of these committees and commissions which were set up remained adhoc and short-lived (source). Moreover, the recommendations that the committees and Commissions made on the existing pay system were never implemented by the government. For instance, the NDC government accepted the recommendations of the Gyampoh Commission in 1992 to consolidate allowances into basic salary but failed to implement them (Kiragu et al, 2003). These gives credence to the fact that political will is key in ensuring the implementation and success of reforms and buttress what Polidano (2001) says account for the why reforms in government fail. Having failed in its bid to achieve the objective of rectifying the imbalances in the pay administration system, there was the need to develop a more realistic and sustainable mechanism to reform the public services pay structure. Therefore, a more comprehensive approach to reforming the public sector pay inadequacies known as the Ghana Universal Salary Structure ( GUSS) was introduced in 1997 to forestall the problems inherent in the existing pay structure. The GUSS, a 22 level salary structure was put across to be implemented in all public sector institutions in Ghana. However, the aim of universality underlying the implementation of the pay policy could not be achieved since some sections of the public service institutions were made to opt out of the policy without any sanctions melted out to them. Moreover, the central body which oversaw the implementation of the GUSS did not have any legal mandate that established its legality to implement the policy and were also not adequately resourced (Government of Ghana, 2009). THE SINGLE SPINE PAY POLICY Overview The Single Spine Pay Policy is a new comprehensive pay reform program introduced to replace the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS). It is anticipated that the Single Spine Pay Policy will be able to restore equity and transparency in Ghanas public service remuneration structure (Government of Ghana, 2009). The Policy is designed to cover all the public sector employees specified under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Those in these category include the civil service, the Judicial service, the Audit service, the Education service, the Prisons service, the Parliamentary service, the Police service, the Immigration service, and the legal service. Others include workers of the constitution and all other public services as Parliament of Ghana may by law prescribe to part of the policy. However, the policy excludes all public employees specified under Article 71 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana. The officials who fall under this classification include the speaker of Parliament, the Chief Justice and other justices of the superior court of Judicature, the Auditor- General, the chairman and Deputy Chairmen of the Electoral Commission, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and his deputies and the District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator; and the Chairman and Vice- Chairman and other members of the National Council for Higher Education, the Public services commission, the National Media Commission, the Lands Commission and the National Commission for Civic Education (Constitution of Republic of Ghana, 1992; Ankomah, 2010) The SSSS places public sector employees on a 25-level unified salary structure as compared to the 22-level salary structure under the GUSS. Moreover, since the SSSS attempts to put all public sector employees on a common structure, it utilizes the so called base pay (Cavalcanti, 2009) which is the minimum pay on the structure (Ankomah, 2010). Aside the common base pay, there are other remunerations such the Market Premiums as to induce certain category of professionals which is over and above the common base pay. Other commissions and allowances are also expected to be made specifically to certain group of public sector employees (Cavalcanti, 2010) It is worth mentioning that, the first time in Ghanas pay reform history, there have been an establishment of a Fair wages and salaries commission (FWSC) legally mandated by an Act of parliament (Act, 737, 2007) to oversee to the implementation of this pay reform policy (Ankomah, 2010; Cooper-Enchia, 2009; Government of Ghana, 2009). Rationale for Ghanas New Pay Policy There have been serious debates concerning Ghanas public sector pay over a long period of time. Issues that have been at the center stage of such debates concerns how to manage the pay disparities within the public sector and the rising cost of the public sector wage bill. For instance, although public sector salaries in Ghana constitute a major proportion of the government expenditure, it still remains very low and uncompetitive thus making the attraction and retainment of technical and managerial talents difficult (Ankomah, 2010). In addition, pay disparities continues to widen among public sector workers. It is against this backdrop that the Government has introduced this new pay policy. Hence, the Single Spine Pay Policy seeks to address the following key issues; Pay disparities that have emerged within the public services Rising cost of the public sector wage bill Large number of public sector pay negotiations Linkage of pay to productivity ( Government of Ghana, 2009) Aim and Objectives of the SSSS The overarching aim of the Single Spine pay policy is to ensure equity, fairness and transparency in the public service pay administration. Specifically, the objectives of the policy are to; Place all the public sector employees one vertical structure Ensure that jobs within the same job value range are paid within the same pay range (i.e equal pay for work of equal work ) Allow Government the ability to manage the wage bill more efficiently Ensure compliance and ease of monitoring the pay structures of self-accounting institutions Minimize industrial-relation tensions related to low pay and distortions across the public services; and Link pay to productivity ( Government of Ghana, 2009) Ghanas SSSS Implementation The implementation of Ghanas Single Spine Pay Policy commenced in July 2010 with the Police service being the first public sector institution to be migrated onto the new pay structure. The full scale implementation is scheduled to be undertaken within a five year period. Currently, all government employees specified under Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution of Republic of Ghana have been moved onto the structure. The stages that were followed in implementing the policy are listed below; Job analysis and evaluation Design of a grading structure based on the results of the job evaluation Placement of jobs on the grading structure Determination of the base pay and relativity through negotiations Design of the SSSS Placement if the individual jobholders on the SSSS Standardization of the allowances Negotiation of other conditions of service between Fair wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and Unions/ Associations in the nine service classification Development of public sector-wide performance system Monitoring and ensuring compliance (Ankomah, 2010;Government of Ghana, 2009 ) Emerging Challenges The implementation of the single Spine pay reform in Ghana like its predecessor policies have faced several challenges. Amongst the key challenges the policy has been beset with include the following; First, the migration of public sector workers onto the SSSS have been met with mixed results. While, the Police Service who were the first institution to be moved onto the new pay policy have hailed the policy as a good approach to ensure substantial increase in the salaries of all Ghanaian workers. Other Public sector workers share lukewarm attitudes toward the new pay policy. For instance, the health sector workers have consistently raised issues about internal relativity distortions and lack of transparency in the Job placement. They contend that the re-evaluation that was done prior to the placement of workers onto the SSSS was a total flaw (Ankomah, 2010). These same issues have also been advanced by other workers including Ghana Prison Service Staff, Civil Service and Local Government staff (Ibid) Another major challenge confronting the SSSS implementation has to do the payment of market premiums to certain categories of workers such as doctors, nurses, etc who are said to possess special skills set that are in short supply. It is argued that the absence of such professionals could throw the country into chaos (Abbey cited in Ankomah, 2010) A third critical issue that has been raised by the labor unions and associations particularly Civil and Local Government Service Association of Ghana as far as the implementation of the SSSS has to do with collective bargaining arrangements. Under the SSSS, there is only one umbrella negotiation committee, that is, the Public Services Joint Negotiation Committee that can negotiate Public Salary which comprises Fair Wages and Salaries Commission on one hand and organized labor / associations on the other hand Ankomah (2010). This threatens workers right as stipulated in the Labor Act, 2003 to collectively bargain and renders them powerless to fight for future improvements in their salaries and conditions of service. Poor management systems on human resources in Public institutions in Ghana have also been cited as a major challenge facing the implementation of the SSSS. According to Ankomah (2010), the current policy will require a thorough and complete assessment and review, which would demand a lot of competences and skills. Unfortunately, the human resource departments and units do not have the capacity to adequately manage this change. Moreover, the data base and Monitoring and Evaluation systems in the public institutions are not enough to cope with this new policy. WAY FORWARD CONCLUSION

Significamt Health Care Event

Significant Health Care Event Violet Sowell HCS/ 531 Feburary 4, 2013 Regina Phelps Significant Health Care Event In the paper the topic to be discussed is a significant healthcare event. There are many events that have an impact on healthcare. The significant event that will be discussed in more detail is managed care. The main points to be discussed in further details are how managed care relates to the changes in health care, has managed care impacted the historical evolution of health care, and based on beliefs and values do I agree with managed care’s significance.To fully understand the significant health care event managed care first needs to be defined. According to Shi, L. , & Singh, D. (2012), â€Å"Managed care is a system of health care delivery that seeks to achieve efficiencies by integrating the four functions of health care delivery discussed earlier, employs mechanisms to control (managed) utilization of medical services, and determines the price at which the services are purchased and, consequently, how much the provides get paid† (P. 8). Managed Care Relating to the Changes in Health CareHealth care costs are rising significantly throughout the years. In the 1990s rising cost in managed care grew rapidly resulting in consumers to keep up with these rising costs. Individuals who are paying health care insurance out of pocket are struggling to pay these costs. Conklin, T. stated, â€Å"Managed care-on the other hand-reflects a significant change in doing business that gradually reached most areas of the health care arena† (2002). With the changes in health care costs hospital admissions are reducing, increase of ambulatory care, out-patient surgeries, and home care (Conklin, T, 2012).Individuals’ deductibles and co-pays are increasing in result of managed care. There are many struggles that health providers face when working in managed care. Raiz, I. A. (2006), â€Å"The experiences of mental health providers workin g in managed care settings have paralleled those of providers working in the general health care field, as both are affected by market place trends† (P. 2). Different health providers are affected by the changes in managed care in one way or the other. Managed Care’s impact on Historical Evolution of Health CareI believe that that managed care impacted the historical evolution of health care. When managed care was developed in the United States the main purpose was to improve medical care outcomes as well as efficiency. Westert, G. P. , â€Å"During the second half of the twentieth century, managed care developed in the United States as a mechanism for constraining the growth of health care costs by controlling the delivery system† (2005). The federal government decided to offer managed care options through Medicare because of the growing expenses that the elderly have to through Medicare.Westert, â€Å"Reductions in health care utilization brought about by mana ged care in the western United States have been adopted in other areas of the nation and the world† (2005). After the increase of managed care through the 1980’s and 1990’s as well as the twentieth century managed care began to decline. The association between the plans and the health care providers began to weaken in the United States when dealing with managed care. Once managed care began rising in cost consumers and providers decided to look elsewhere. Managed care began to change so that the health care providers and consumers come back to use the plans.When managed care began to decline the increase of insurance deductibles for employee offered by the employers. Agreeing with Managed Care’s Significance based on beliefs and values Based on my beliefs and values I personally agree on managed care’s significance. Managed care has had up and downs throughout the years. The federal government has changed managed care to help the consumers and provi ders to ensure efficiency and effectiveness for the patient’s. Managed care offers employers the chance to raise deductibles in order to lower insurance premiums. ConclusionManaged care has made an impact on the evolution of health care beginning with the decline of health care cost to the increase in these costs. Managed care has been changed over the years to better improve the plans for consumers and providers. The federal government is working to find way to improve health care costs for the consumers so that the costs are affordable. References Conklin, T. P. (2002). Health Care in the â€Å"United States: An evolving system. Families & HealthCare. Vol. &, no. 1, Fall 2002. Retrieved from http://hdl. handle. net/2027/spo. 919087. 0007. 102 Riaz, I. A. (2006). The effect of managed care on professional psychology. Spalding University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 132-132 p. Retrieved fromhttp://search. proquest. com/docview/304917965? accountid=35812. (304917965 ). Shi, L. , & Singh, D. (2012). Delivering health care in America: A system approach. (5th ed). Boston, Ma: Jones and Bartlett. Westert, G. P. (2005). Current and future developments in managed care in the United States and implications for Europe. Retrieved from http://www. health-policy-systems. com/content/3/1/4

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Yet in the past, there have been times when the powers of evil have inevitably hijacked religion, turning those who have witnessed or experienced this treachery against external values based on faith, but rather internally based values by means of philosophical thought and reasoning through God’s gift of grace. Calvin’s view on an external, faith-based religion encompasses ideas of double-predestination and the rejection of free will, and man’s ability to choose the good through His grace. In comparison, the Mu’tazilites view on an internal and logically reasoned religion encompasses ideas of the gift of free will, and focuses on His justice through which all is meant for good. The ideals that surround these two belief systems lay on opposite ends of theShow MoreRelatedJohn Calvins Teachings Essay1025 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstood by Calvin. Third, I will discuss the purpose of reprobation. So what is the basis of Calvin’s view of predestination? 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Kant thought that a person could be blamed for an action if they could have acted differently; for exam ple if a person’s family is held at gunpoint and they areRead MoreThe Colonial Period Essay1337 Words   |  6 Pages The Colonial period is abundant in its source of influential people who help shape present society through questioning past beliefs. Martin Luther leads the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin expands on the idea of predestination. The Puritans live strictly by the word of the Bible, and the Quakers inspire many people to join them in their friendly lifestyle. All of these people contribute to our society today and brave the face of adversity. Martin Luther, born in 1483, comes from a poor upbringingRead MoreJohn Calvin on Gods Divine Providence Essay1360 Words   |  6 PagesJohn Calvin on Gods Divine Providence In John Calvins Institutes of the Christian Religion he spends a great deal of time expounding his doctrine of Gods Divine providence in all of creation. He explains not only how God continually governs the laws of nature, but also how God governs mans actions and intentions to bring about His own Divine Will. Calvin believes that Gods providence is so encompassing in creation that even a mans own actions, in many ways, are decreed by God. BecauseRead MoreThe Theological Definition Of Providence1280 Words   |  6 Pagesevery detail. Others hold that it is more general: He controls the â€Å"big picture†, but gives humans freedom to make their own choices.† There are many scriptures in the Bible to back up God’s providence in the world. However, the word providence is not actually written in the Bible, but it represents a biblical doctrine. Not only that, â€Å"there is no Hebrew equivalent for â€Å"providence,† used only of human foresight.â₠¬  Many other issues have to be considered when speaking on the providence of GodRead MoreProtestant Reformation And The Reformation1727 Words   |  7 Pagesvery important role of sparking questions and challenges against the Catholic Church. Renaissance humanism was the study of classic Latin and Greek literatures and philosophies, attempting to restore ancient morals and that emphasized the value of human beings. Similarly, Martin Luther sought to restore Christianity back to as it was in the apostolic church in which he believed that everything God required of us laid in the Scripture. Also, the strike of the Black Death during the 14th century hadRead MoreCalvanism Essay1318 Words   |  6 PagesEngland society. The Puritans had some of the most interesting beliefs of the early religious groups. Founded by the beliefs of John Calvin, the Puritans adopted a religion called Calvinism. Consistent with his scripture-based reasoning, Calvin eloquently described how civil and pa pal governments were different, yet uniquely related. In his classic reformation style, Calvin symbolically compared Catholic to Protestant theology by framing his theocracy not on the church as the government, but rather heRead MoreDiscussion on the Determination of Self Essay777 Words   |  4 Pagespresented with choices we are being deceived, and as B.F Skinner said, ‘human beings.. are not free, because all men are really puppets or robots. Man is a meat machine.’ He argues that as a puppet, we have no will of our own: our movements are entirely under the control of the puppet-master who pulls the puppet – strings. 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Although Calvin agreed with the main ideas that Luther preached he had a different approach on human salvatio n. He believed that redirect theological speculation from individual salvation to a larger question of humans place in the universe. In other words he pushed for the idea that people should recognize the great power of God. He also preached

Franchising Free Essays

Franchising is defined as a business model wherein the owner of the business (franchisor) gives the independent operator (franchisee) the right to distribute his product, apply his business techniques and use his brand and/or trademark in the conduct of the business. With such a business model, the business owner can maximize their business’ profit potential in a shorter time compared to other more traditional business models. In franchise business, it is not only the products or service that the franchisee can avail; it is more of the system-the business plan of the chosen franchise. We will write a custom essay sample on Franchising or any similar topic only for you Order Now It is fact that before franchise companies offer their business packages, they already conducted strenuous researches and studies to test the capability of the franchise to withstand the various factors that might affect the operation of the business. Simply put, franchise business offers a time-tested business plan. When entrepreneurs think of franchising, food is often the first thing that comes to mind. Most of the world’s biggest restaurant concepts are all franchised businesses. This chapter focuses on study and literature readings of franchising business specially food franchising. Different report related to this research will help researcher educate themselves to the different aspect of purchasing a food franchise. Since 1950s, food establishments have quickly become the most popular sector in franchising. In U. S. as the nation’s economic environment hold steady, franchising continues to exhibit its positive influence. According to William Rosenberg International Center of Franchising at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics, â€Å"Franchised Businesses create more value and perform better financially than their non-franchised competitors†. The study found that over the 10 year period, U. S. public restaurant franchisor have created more value than their non-franchising competitors. â€Å"Franchising firms minimize agency problems, and have access to cheaper capital, motivated managerial expertise, and better local market knowledge,† according to the report. Franchising has grown so fast since the 1950s that it is now pervasive in different economy around the world. In study commissioned by the International Franchise Association, PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimated that in 2001 there were more than 767,000 business establishment in the United States engaged in franchising, providing directly or indirectly more than 18 million jobs, over $506 billion in payroll, and over $1. 5 trillion of output. Franchising now dominates certain sectors of the U. S. economy, over 56 percent of quick-sevice restaurants are franchises. Franchising is also one of the fastest-growing U. S. xports, and it is now estimated that franchising will grow 12 to 14 percent per year in the future. The restaurant industry has earned a reputation for high risk and high rewards. Some industry analysts claim a dubious 90 percent failure in the first year. Franchise restaurants based on proven systems have a high success rate—about 62 percent over four years—than independent operators. In U. S. the average full-service restaurant in 2006 grossed $867,000. The restaurant industry is the U. S. largest employer after the government. The profitability of a food franchise always depends in their ability to provide satisfaction in their customers. Research indicates that consumers have strong preference about choosing where to eat—with 62 percent saying they look for â€Å"environmentally friendly† establishments, 70 percent want offerings not easily duplicated in their home kitchen; and 83 percent express approval of healthier eating options at quick service eateries. The Success of food franchise can be put down to strong customer focus; franchisees are selected and entrusted with a loved brand and the quality of product and service is never compromised. It is necessary that the franchisor offers its franchisees a comprehensive franchise system, with maximum support and training. Entrepreneurial Failure: The Case of Franchises†, by Steve Michael, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign, concluded that â€Å"Franchisees are less likely to fail if they have been trained effectively by the franchisor†. Franchises with the best, most robust training programs have the most successful franchisees. The length of the training program was significantly tied to the chance of failure. Those franchises with the shortest franchisee training programs were more likely to fail. Those with longer programs were more likely to succeed. Michael Newman, president and founder of ABC, based in Citrus Heights, California, agrees and says training of franchisees was paramount from the word â€Å"go†. â€Å"We realized very early on that everything is about training† says Newman. â€Å"Franchisees need good training in order to be successful out in the field. There are as many varieties of food franchises as there are types of foods. Investments can range from the very high end of hundreds of thousands of pesos for full-service restaurants, to a moderate capital outlay for vending machine. There are franchises that specialize in sandwiches, barbeque, burgers, pizza, ethnic foods, candy, ice cream, smoothies and many other types of foods. Food franchising is most often associated with restaurants and it is the best franchise because food and eating remain constant. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, survival needs is the first factor that man should satisfy. In here, nourishment of one’s body is essential, not just because man wants to eat but rather man needs to eat in order to survive. Aside from being a need for human survival, food is the best franchise to engage in because people spend much for food. Plus, human choices of what kind of food or menu to offer are almost endless. Another good thing about food franchise is that, there are a lot of affordable franchise packages that will fit your capital. Entrepreneurs can select from food carts, which is a good start-up, or by kiosks and cafes. This type of food franchise do not require investors to dole out millions or hundreds of thousands pesos. Franchising has recently been named as one of the most outstanding and most successful business models in the country today. It has become so popular that we now have more than a thousand franchise Philippines brands (from just about 50 franchising brands during the 1980s). No wonder, the Philippines is now being dubbed as the â€Å"Franchising Hub of Asia†. Food franchise here in the Philippines is a good earning potential since the products are usually affordable and the taste suits the Filipino taste buds. The very simple explanation for this is that Filipinos love to eat good food. Investors can put their franchise near the schools and universities, transport terminals and even within shopping malls. They can place their franchise anywhere, provided there is traffic or consumers who willing to pay for good tasting meals. There is no doubt, that food business or franchise is a stable industry despite the greet hit of economic recession. Entrepreneurs likely to think that competition in food franchise is stiff. Yes, of course. But their edge depends on the quality and taste of the food. They have to make sure that they deal with the best franchise company who offer good food at good price. Food products should be clean, properly processed, and served in an appetizing way. Naturally, man will spend good money for a great meal. So, it is a confirmation that food franchise can stay sturdy and growing even if other business entities face bankruptcy. Everyone can afford to skip buying latest gadget, but it is a sure bet that, they cannot afford to skip food. As long as there are people around, then food industry stays. Today, even if the economy is down, is still the best time to buy a food franchise. Food business in the Philippines is one of the best investments but it does not promise a 100 percent success. Successful business often start with an idea an entrepreneur hatches, slowly builds up and takes to market. Planning and controlling often occupy the top of every aspiring businessman’s to-do-list before they even starts leasing space and producing products. As it turns out, there are always exceptions to the rule, even in business. Take for instance Edgar Injap Sia. For him, taking advantage of a great opportunity outweighs all the planning known to man, which why he took up a vacant mall in his hometown of Iloilo City without a plan on what to do with. After a few weeks of conceptualizing, Sia decided to put up a restaurant offering an Illonggo staple called inasal in a ciy that was already teeming with versions of the same product. But due to his relentless work ethic, Sia’s Mang Inasal Restaurant became a critical and dominant success in the Visayas region in no time. After establishing a good foothold in that region, he then set his sights on conquering the holy grail of every Filipino businessman: taking his concept to Luzon, specifically the make-or-break capital city, Metro Manila. I was not very familiar with Manila, because I was born and raised in Visayas. I only visited once a year, and it was usually for very short stays. So I knew I was in for a quite a challenge taking Mang Inasal to Luzon,† he said. Out of nowhere, Mang Inasal branches in Metro Manila had sprouted like mushrooms. Mang Inasal’s Founder Edgar Injap Sia shares the secret on making up in the big league. First, be brave and be hold. Second, innovate and start something new. Third, be ready for backbreaking work. Fourth, refuse to give up. Fifth, go slow and steady. Sixth, join reputable organizations. Seventh, stand out. Eight, continue to look for opportunities. â€Å"Nothing is impossible with right attitude. Do not be intimidated by problems look at them as an opportunities for growth. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit of Mang Inasal’ Chairman and CEO, Edgar J. Sia II. In food franchise business commitment with the right attitude is one of the most important recipe. It is impossible to survive and succeed being a franchisee if you are not committed in your business. Source http://www.bison.com/press_ABCSeniors_06092008 How to cite Franchising, Essay examples

Self and Community Human Dignity

Question: Discuss about theSelf and Communityfor Human Dignity. Answer: Introduction Human dignity is the inherent and inviolable value of the individual for being a person, and not because of his or her ethnicity, religion, success, age, wellbeing or any other factor. Scripture states the origin of human dignity: God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27). Human beings are mage as a mirror image of God, and everyone is Gods children. All human beings desire good, intentionally and unintentionally. Common good are shared goods, with no decrease in intensity. A human beings dignity is an affair of participation. Humans possess dignity since they take part in a greater good. His participation in greater goods is higher than other living beings on earth, thus humans are considered exceptional and more dignified than the rest. Humans are at the tip of creation and represent the greatest degree of participation in good (Beattie, 2015). Human dignity violation is the humiliation, instrumentalization and degradation of human dignity. It is the diminishing action of a persons self-worth and treating that person just as a medium of goal achievement and devaluing him. It strips an individual of human characteristics and makes him feel inferior. Different forms of human dignity violation are there including torture, rape, slavery, social exclusion and labor exploitation (Schillling, 2016). Dignity is often assessed while checking for improved labor conditions, and it has been found most of the times that there is an absence of human dignity in the matter. There is a brink between acceptable labor standards and non-acceptable ones, as stated by International Labor Organization (ILO). International Labor Organization (ILO) first report on forced labor provided the number 12.3 million as a global estimate. The community has considered this modest enough and ignored the prevalence of the issue at that time. Human rights laws from the beginning have focused on fighting against human dignity violation and labor exploitation. Legislations from the beginning have opposed the exploitation of one persons individuality, humanity and labor rights by another. The laws have never discriminated based on ethnicity or gender and has always asked for equality (Shelton, 2015). There are different opinions based on the presence of labor exploitation in societies. Barnes (2013) opines that labor exploitation at times is mutually beneficial, especially when other options are unavailable, and then it no longer remains forced, but becomes consensual. He suggests the background situations be taken care of while reaping benefits from such actions. Until 2000, the UN Trafficking Protocol did not consider forced labor as exploitation. On the other hand, Lewis et al. (2015) opines that forced labor and other types of labor exploitation pose a risk to human lives and is a criminal offense according to the standards of ILO. ILO conducted a survey called Global Estimate of Forced Labor in 2012 that calculated about 20.9 million victims of forced labor. Out of them 9.1 million were victims because of human trafficking. Robinson (2014) has criticized trafficking for labor exploitation and recommends implementation of employment protection laws. TheCrimes Legislation Amendment Act(2013) made some amendments and made forced labor a separate offence. The ILO has put special emphasis on the fact that forced labor is not identified by the type of work performed, but by the employer-employee relationship. It has been understood that human dignity violation is a serious issue in todays society. Thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking, and it is required by the society to identify these serious issues and get involved to end this horrific practices for the sake of human dignity. Humans were created as an image of God, and not as monsters or sufferers. The only way to regain that image is to join forces and fight such evils and eradicate them from the society. References Barnes, M. R. (2013). Exploitation as a Path to Development: Sweatshop Labour, Micro-Unfairness, and the Non-Worseness Claim. Beattie, T. (2015). Dignity Beyond Rights: Human Development in the Context of the Capabilities Approach and Catholic Social Teaching.Australian e-Journal of Theology,22(3). Lewis, H., Dwyer, P., Hodkinson, S., Waite, L. (2015).Precarious lives: Forced labour, exploitation and asylum. Policy Press. Schilling, D. (2016). Reconsidering Human Dignity in a Confucian Context: A Review of Ni Peimins Conceptual Reconstruction.Dao, 1-11. Shelton, D. (2015).Remedies in international human rights law. Oxford University Press, USA. ucatt.org.uk. (2016). ucatt.org.uk. Retrieved from https://www.ucatt.org.uk/files/publications/Flex%20WP001%20-%20Prevention.pdf