McDonald's Takes the Blame for Obesity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonald's Takes the Blame for Obesity - Essay Example The following is an examination of Critical Concepts: Experts blame the adverts targeting children to be responsible for causing obesity. The most relevant concepts in the case against first food joints are their marketing policies. Perhaps the aim is to cripple the allure junk food produces through adverts which are particularly appealing to children. However, Ronald McDonald in the same light as Joe Camel is a bit of a stretch. Attacking the marketing strategies of business entities to me amounts to clutching at a straw. There are rules that govern the world of production and marketing. In a situation where a product has production rights, the production company has the right to market it. In view of the above sentiments, McDonald should consider rebranding its image but not to exclude Ronald McDonald. Marketers, especially in France argue that positive ad inclusions such as, â€Å"eat fruits daily, exercise, and drink a lot of water† appeal more to customers than severe hea lth warnings. For instance the caption, â€Å"cigarette smoking is harmful to your health, did not reduce the number of smokers in Europe or America. Therefore, adding health messages as proposed by the French is a constructive move. When McDonald includes the health messages in its ads it will go a step further to include healthy substitutes to its menu. Negative publicity led to drop in sales in McDonald’s. This caused McDonald to add healthy food to their menu such as porridge and salad. The move led to a 90% positive turnaround in sales. It should be noted that the increased sales result from consumption of â€Å"non-healthy† foods such as burgers and fries. Some European nations in their fight against obesity push for a ban on fast food advertisements that target children. However, it is imperative to note that advertisements not directed to children may still influence them. In a situation, where bans on advertising directly to children are in place such as in N orway, the food companies will still advertise for adults. Nevertheless, the bans are crucial because they eliminate at least one influence of obesity. Conforming to the ban is also a positive marketing strategy for McDonald’s. Consumers will see their efforts in implement change, and this will retain their loyalty to their products as mentioned above. Problems facing McDonald’s positive ad strategy. The state of obesity has not improved ever since the launch of positive ads by McDonald’s. This is not the company’s fault, but critics do not seem to think so. Governments and health regulatory institutions are up in arms against McDonald’s. For instance, Prince Charles of England out rightly attributes obesity to McDonald’s. In response to the above situation, McDonald responds just like most companies in the food production industry. Self regulation in regard to advertisement is a common strategy where the company reduces adverts directed at children. In the case of fast foods, the company specifically cuts down on use of celebrities and cartoon characters in advertisements. McDonald, however, is not fully committed to this strategy. In the U.K, its dominant market is children under the age of sixteen, and it does not intend to lose this market. McDonald instead favors positive health messages to run alongside their advertisements. That way McDonald’

Purely Competitive Vs Monopoly in two industries Essay Example for Free

Purely Competitive Vs Monopoly in two industries Essay There are two types of industry wherein a businessman could put his cash on: the monopoly and the purely competitive one. This paper explains the case if a worker in a purely competitive industry and a worker in a monopoly industry returns the same or different marginal revenues on the case that the labor market is purely competitive if they have exactly the same marginal product and their product price is the same. Citing the difference between the types of industry will give us an idea to decide with the case given: Differences between Monopoly and Competition (Hartcourt, 2001) Monopoly   The only producer of the goods The demand curve has a downward slope. â€Å" price maker†   Lowers the price to increase sales Competition Competes with companies producing the same products The demand curve is horizontal â€Å"price taker† Sells as much or as little at same price. Marginal revenue is described as the extra revenue that an excess product unit will bring to the industry (Schenk, 2002). Whether a worker is in either a purely competitive or a monopoly, and considering the case stated on the previous paragraph, both workers will return the same marginal product return since their marginal products, as well as the product price are the same. MPR = total revenue/quantity of units sold ( Hartcourt, 2001) If we think not that critically, the prices introduced by the workers from different industries are the same, and the number of units to be sold is also the same, the MPR will be the same. But from the bulleted descriptions of monopoly and competitive industry, the demands are different. For the monopoly, the demand is sloping downward; but form the competitive, the demand is the same as represented by the horizontal curve. For a competitive industry, the MPR is directly proportional to the price, but in a monopoly industry, the demand is decreasing, so the MPR will decrease also, leaving us the conclusion that the MPR’s for the two are different. References Hartcourt, Inc. (2001). Monopoly. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://www.wcc.hawaii.edu/facstaff/briggs-p/Microeconomics/Chap_15.pdf Schenk, Robert. (2002). Cybereconomics. From Elasticity to Marginal Revenue. Retrieved April 22, 2008 from Cybereconomics.

Case Study of Nissans Cogent Co-Development

Case Study of Nissans Cogent Co-Development In early 1990s Nissan started its NX96 improvement initiative focusing on quality(Q), cost(C), delivery(D), development and management(M). Thus Nissan could measure QCD performance levels of components from supplier, then set and achieve improvement targets. But that was not the case in development assessment due to diverse range of challenges in terms of widely varying nature of suppliers products and technologies, resulting in poor overall performance and threat for their competitiveness. These deficiencies of development in NX96 initiative were considered and replaced with NEXT21 (Nissan Euro eXcellnce Towards 21st century) incorporating new approach to design and development (DD). Nissans requirement from its supplier base was about 75%. Though suppliers had world class quality levels with defect rate of less than 10ppm, in publics perception Nissan remained below its competitors even after surpassing them in quality data figures. With these feedbacks, Nissan focused on attractive quality apart from basic quality. In 1995 Nissan formulated COGENT, Co-development re-generation tool, an initiative developed with partnership between NETC (Nissan European Technology Centre), Cranfield University and 89 of its suppliers. COGENT has a Latin origin meaning, Drive Forward Together, and runs hand-in-hand with NEXT21 programme. The aim of COGENT was to improve overall performance of product; that is to get best quality at cheaper price with faster delivery. The fact that 80% of quality performance determined at development phase brings in significant overall benefit at production stage justifies the need to focus on component DD itself. The specific goal of COGENT was to bring DD activities of suppliers in close alignment with that of Nissan itself. The objective was primarily to develop better understanding and more effective relationship between Nissan and its suppliers by having open communication at early stages of product development and also to maintain the momentum. Part 2: Overview of theories involved Supply chain management is the integration of each element of supply, design, production, and distribution from extraction of raw material to end customer delivery. (Rudzki et al. 2006). Managing supplier relationships is the vital part of strategic supply management as market changes and trends makes external suppliers a critical part of a firms value chain (Trent 2007). Through a good relationship, supplier development activities by means of collaboration with suppliers in various forms of partnerships, enables to improve overall effectiveness and efficiency of the supply chain as a whole (Ford et al. 1998). One of the important steps in supplier development during Integrative Development stage is Supplier Integration in New Product development (NPD). Suppliers are integrated into buyers supply chain network by means of supplier involvement in DD of new products, processes, and services (Krause 1999 Module note page: 45, Refer appendix Fig. A for supplier development Model Step#10). Early supplier involvement(ESI) is the process of relying on suppliers, either physically or virtually, to provide support early on during strategic planning, demand and supply planning, continuous improvement projects, project planning and development of new technologies and products. ESI is often associated with new product development and the factors that drive include the need for continuous improvement, the need to develop new products, services, and processes quickly and also save cost by doing the design right at first time, thus achieving reduced cycle times of concept-to-customer (Trent 2007). Though there are various expenses involved in supplier relationship management, buyer companies reap the benefits such as achieving are lower production costs by means of right first time design, improved material flow through reduced inventory, and reduced administration costs by means of integrated information systems (Ford et al. 1998). Overall benefits to the buyer company are reduction in material cost, reduction in development and manufacturing cost, reduction in development cycle time, improvement in quality, functionality, features and technology. Table1 presents findings from the study that focused on how different organisations involve suppliers during product and process development and reveal that ESI deliver better performance results (Trent 2007).   Early Involvement Reduction in material costs 20% Reduction in development cycle time 20% Improvement in material quality 20% Reduction in development costs 20% Reduction in manufacturing costs 10% Improvement in product functionality, features, technology 20% Table1. Median Improvements from ESI (Trent 2007:227) . In general, long-term relationships result in improvements in: Supplier involvement focus and ownership of product focus on continuous improvement implementation method focus on quality teamwork on new product introduction shared vision alignment of people and systems clearly defined responsibility and accountability (Burnes and Dale 1998). Part 3: COGENT Implementation and Achievements MDs of some of Nissans supplier companies were invited to NETC to discuss about key points of co-development, what was required to be done for them to achieve world class levels of design by year 2000 and how they would implement changes. NETC and Cranfield University worked together intensively with Nissans first tier suppliers for the first year, trying to communicate the very essence of COGENT. But they realized that the message was not reaching the wide supplier base fast enough. Thus fast-track COGENT was initiated. Suppliers were invited for a day long intensive event to work through three specific workshops that takes through the core messages of COGENT. The fast track COGENT concentrated in three areas for aligning different aspects of co-development aligning perceptions, aligning processes, and aligning project targets and key milestones. The steps followed for each areas of alignment were same where do we want to be, where we are now, how to get there, and implement and monitor improvement plan. Suppliers were asked to consider their current perceptions of their relationship with Nissan, analyse their own existing development processes and their plans to meet NEXT21 targets. Also, they were asked to start thinking about where they want to be in terms of world class performance levels of development and were discussed in each session of fast track COGENT, ultimately leading to the very important question how to get there. This enabled Nissan and suppliers to identify possible improvement activities to strengthen their development capabilities and also to prioritize areas of improvement resulting in a clearly defined improvement plan. Again the suppliers were encouraged to further prioritize their specific improvement actions and to begin generating improvement action monitor sheet from their findings. On completion of fast track activity each supplier is clear with what is being expected of them with a set of mutually agreed action plans for DD improvement. Thus success of COGENT can be monitored against their action to assess suppliers development performance. COGENT was primarily designed to invest more time and resources in starting of development phase itself, thereby avoiding the concern of re-design after testing and verification of trial design parts and also improve lead time. This eliminates majority of waste throughout the whole development cycle and also total resources used are comparatively less. Those suppliers who took part in COGENT initiative displayed outstanding achievement levels in NEXT21 performance appraisal. The fig.1 projects the rate of improvement that suppliers might have achieved by year 1998 to about 1% if they had continued with NX96 and where as NEXT21 targeted at 5%. However, average figures achieved by suppliers who took part in COGENT achieved 11% improvement. Part 4: Conclusion Through the workshop, Cranfield University created an environment to ease effective communication and understanding between supplier and Nissan, and to have a better combined work relationship in order to identify what Nissan and supplier needs to do to stay competitive in the global market. The entire process is not just to find out areas of improvement for supplier, but also a mutually beneficial joint effort of development for future to bring performance improvements and continuous improvement thereafter, which will help eliminate wastes at every stage, from concept to successful delivery. COGENT has enabled Nissan identify what is required to be done to overcome the flaws, under shared basic understanding of challenges and problems they are likely to face during the process of product DD in order to bring about the most effective co-development relationship. The approach as a whole, has not only given a face-lift for measuring success in DD, but also gave an opportunity for Nissan to align its suppliers development processes alongside its own. COGENT has enable Nissan work more closely and effectively in their relationship with its suppliers throughout the whole DD phase. Nissan and its suppliers together are developing future products with attracted quality to satisfy their customer by driving forward together. As more and more suppliers are introduced to COGENT through fast track, the achievements continue to represent a significant step change in performance. By 2000, 90% of Nissan vehicle sold were built in Europe and this demonstrates Nissans vital European operation which was achieved as a result of COGENT initiative, aiding Nissan gain competitive advantage in the automotive market. Part 5: Theory linked to practice Key Learning points In an effective supply chain management suppliers and customers work together in a coordinated manner by sharing and communicating rapid flow of information. Suppliers and customers must have shared goals and vision, and also must participate together in DD of products/processes of the supply chain to achieve their shared goals. In context of Total Quality Management (TQM), benchmarking is essential for assessing current performance to identify possible improvements. Benchmarking is measuring where the company is positioned now and using that as a guideline identify where the company wants to be in future by setting performance goals in each areas of supply chain (Module Note, page 51-54). During the course of mutually benefiting bilateral relationship in supply chain, one of the important steps is ESI in DD, which has a major role in minimizing total cost. This basic understanding brings in the need of co-development, where suppliers are involved in early stages of new product DD and hence most buyer companies are making ESI one of their most important supply management strategies. Effective integration of suppliers into the supply chain will be a key factor for manufacturers in achieving improvements necessary to remain competitive and to improve supply chain as a whole. Part 6: Future trends Automotive manufacturers in general have their own strategy for bring out best quality and cheapest cars in short time to the competitive market. In case of Nissan, they have a pool of potentially capable suppliers who meet the production requirements in terms of quality and delivery with reasonably good cost factors and are driving for continuous improvement towards the achieving further set targets by Nissan. With COGENT initiative, Nissan has started the integrative development by involving its first-tier suppliers in their NPD activities and is essentially the success story behind success of its new products in recent few years. The future trend for Nissan would be to establish performance improvements in second-tier suppliers and also possibilities to establish improvements in third-tier suppliers and so on. These supplier development steps will definitely help Nissan achieve a globally aligned supplier network in future ahead. Part 7: List of References Anon. (1999) Nissans cogent: the co-development regeneration tool. [DVD] Burnes,B, Dale,B (1998) Working in partnership. Hampshire: Gower Publishing Limited Ford,D, Gadde,L, Hakansson,H, Lundgren,A, Snehota,I, Turnbull,P, Wilson,D (1998) Managing Business Relationships. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons Ltd Handfield, Robert B.; Ragatz, Gary L.; Petersen, Kenneth J.; Monczka, Robert M (1999) Involving Suppliers in New Product Development.. California Management Review 42 (Issue 1), 59-82 M25EKM Supply Chain Management Module Notes : Module Leader Phil Southey Rudzki,R.A.,Smock,D.A.,Katzorke,M and Stewar,S.Jr (2006) Straight to the Bottom Line-An Executives Roadmap to World Class Supply Management. Indiana: J.Ross Publishing Trent,R.J. (2007) Strategic Supply Management: Creating the Next Source of Competitive Advantage. Indiana: J.Ross Publishing Part 8: Appendix 1. Fig.A. Supplier Model (Krause 1999 Module note page: 45)

Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart - Womens Role in the Ibo Society Ess

Women's Role in the Ibo Society In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women of the Ibo tribe are terribly mistreated, and viewed as weak and receive little or no respect outside of their role as a mother. Tradition dictates their role in life. These women are courageous and obedient. These women are nurturers above all and they are everything but weak.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A main character in the novel, Okonkwo has several wives. He orders them around like dogs. They are never to question what they are instructed to do; they are expected to be obedient. We see this early in the story, when Okonkwo brings Ikemefuna into his home. Okonkwo tells his senior wife that Ikemefuna belongs to the tribe and that she is expected to look after him. She in turn asks him if he will be staying with them for a long period of time. This sends Okonkwo into a fury. He snaps at her in a very degrading manner, "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie (meaning elders) of Umuofia?"(pg.12) Clearly she receives no respect. Later in the story we see this woman try to comfort Ikemefuna. She "mothers" him as if he is one of her own children. She tries to put him at ease and can almost instinctively feel how much he misses his own mother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In keeping with the Ibo view of female nature, the tribe allows wife beating. Okonkwo beats his youngest wife one-day because she was visiting with a friend and did not get home in time to prepare a meal for him. Another one of his wives tries to cover for her, when she is questioned as to whether or not the youngest wife has fed the children, before she left. Certainly she does this in effort to protect the youngest wife, knowing full well what she WOULD ... ...is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. And that is why we say that Mother is Supreme"(pg.116).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The only glory and satisfaction enjoyed by the women portrayed in Things Fall Apart was being a mother. They receive respect and love from their children. They are strong for their children. The women are viewed as very gentle and caring. They are expected to take care of their children with the best of their ability and are trusted totally by their children. This honorable presentation of women is used by Achebe to identify women's role in the Ibo society. This presentation is necessary to show that women indeed play an important role in society. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York, New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1994.

Life is Beautiful: A Summary

In the movie â€Å"Life is Beautiful†, Guido, the Jewish- Italian, is the protagonist of the film. The whole movie spirals around him at all times. In the second part of the movie, Guido and his son were obliged to board the death train that packed likes sardines towards the concentration camp. Guido clearly knew that once they had disembarked from the train, there will be hardly any chance for them to return to where they belonged. Since Guido and his son, Giosue, stepped onto the train, not only they journeyed into the concentration camp they also voyaged into mountains of white lies which lied deep in the wonderful fantasies.In my opinion, I think that Guido made a right decision in lying to his son that the Holocaust events were a just a game. There are many reasons that Guido was right about in concealing the truth over his son’s eyes. One of which is because his son, Giosue, did not have to be exposed to the unfair reality at such young age. The exposure to the cr uel reality would only tarnish his childhood. It will be a heavy encumbrance for Giosue to live through his childhood under the scornful and mocking eyes of the so-called superior Italians knowing that just due to the fact that he is a Jewish people.Like any other parents, Guido was no different in protecting his son from the ruthless and unwanted veracity. It is obvious in the movie that Guido made no effort in showing his love for Giosue while in the concentration camp. From hiding the truth about the Holocaust events to sharing his hard-earned portion of food with his son, Giosue was showered bountifully with paternal loves. Guido kept telling Giosue that they were in a game, a real-life competition which the winner would be rewarded a real tank. Guido managed to keep Giosue in awes because he knew that tank was Giosue’s favourite toy.By creating wonderful fantasies over the hopeless situation, Guido swallowed down every moment of bitterness in exchange of his son’s ecstasy of becoming the winner of the â€Å"game†. This way of concealment revealed that Guido loved his son very much. Even in a harsh and hapless condition, Guido still managed to flash his smile to reassure his son that they were the top contender to earn the reward. Obviously, he never wanted a single bit of cruelty and unfairness to corrupt Giosue’s childhood.In other word, he wanted Giosue to be like other hildren, relishing his childhood with bundles of toys and stacks of joyfulness. Indeed, Guido had to mask the truth for the sake of Giosue’s future. By telling Giosue that the Holocaust events were just a game, Guido gave Giosue the might to survive through the inhuman treatments in the concentration camp. In the meantime, thinking deeply, Guido also instilled discipline and perseverance into Giosue’s little mind. By creating rules for the â€Å"competition†, Guido was actually training Giosue to be disciplined and meticulous in order to w in the â€Å"first prize†.Guido made titanic sacrifices behind all of his lies about the concentration camps. Even with the gun pointing at him from behind, his cheeky antic –marching comforted and lightened up Giosue. Till the end, his walls of white lies and machinations shielded his son from the cruel reality. Guido died with his wondrous fiction without having to fret over the future of Giosue as his life and the lessons he had learned were very real. Is that right for Guido to tell his son that the Holocaust events were just merely a game? I certainly think that Guido was respectable and undoubtedly right in plotting his moves.He moulded his seamless imagination and full-heart-content love into amazing fantasies to shelter his son and protect his son’s future. It is what all great parents will do. In the movie, Guido used his vast imagination to make the best out of the wicked fate of him and his family. Guido was a downright optimistic and creative person. He made good use of the situation and events to show his imagination which often leads into bursts of laughter. Guido created fictitious world for those around him, especially his wife, Dora and his son, Giosue. He always referred Dora as â€Å"princess† and claimed to be a prince himself.When Guido mounted on a horse to rescue Dora, he was in fact entertaining the fantasy of the knight rescuing the damsel in distress. Nevertheless, he was literally saving her from her surroundings and actually was whisking her away on a horse. Although they both knew the truth, they were willing to entertain the fantasy and play the game. In this way, Guido formed a way for him to cope with reality and impregnated it with beauty and wild fantasy. Guido also cultivated several coincidences so that he could appear to have controlled fate and performed trick.He was not delighting in fraud or deception, he actually enjoyed creating another world of wonders for someone else. This accentuates the idea that a person’s perception is essential and fundamental to his manipulations and hence he affects how they handle the rest of the world. Guido’s perfect life was brought to a halt when he and his family were forced to board the one-way train, however his creativity and imagination were never cease to exist. Guido’s imagination not only aided him in winning Dora’s hands over her fiance as well as shielded his son, Giosue from the spears of discriminatory treatments.When Guido told Giosue that everything in the concentration camp was just a game, he was creating a fiction, in other words –lies, to keep Giosue’s spirits up. Although his fiction seemed exaggerated, he aimed to protect his son from the wicked reality. At end of the film, Giosue had survived the concentration camp with perseverance and courage. Eventually, Giosue claimed his first prize, a ride on the real tank. In the movie â€Å"Life is Beautiful†, fantasy is truly believed can become reality.

Australian Employment Law Essay Example

Australian Employment Law Essay Example Australian Employment Law Essay Australian Employment Law Essay Australian Employment Law Name: Institution: Australian Employment Law The feudal concept of status is part of the law of master and servant. The laws reflect a reliance of colonial laws regarding statutory regulations of labor. This law governed Australia for some time. The feudal system maintains a hierarchy and each person has his place in society. The status of someone’s position is determined at birth, and it is not possible to change it. Masters and servants are born to their position, and they have certain roles and responsibilities, which they must fulfill. Servants are expected to do their work and serve their masters faithfully. Masters on the other hand have the responsibility of ensuring that their servants are protected (Abbott, 2006). Although the use of the terms master and servant has faded, the essence of the concept has remained in the relationship between employer and employee. The applicability of the feudal system within the work environment differs in different countries. It may not be as pronounced as it was before, especia lly since many countries have made it possible for people to change their social status. Someone who started out as an employee has the possibility of becoming an employer. There are different aspects of the feudal concept of status, which remain in the workplace. The feudal system is a legitimate authority and the employer and the employee are aware of their obligations to each other. Any employment relationship requires that an employer has the power to give orders, which the employee should follow. Employers can change the employees’ duties to suit the needs of the organization, so long as they are not breaching any contract (Stewart, 2011). The employee submits to the employer at the work place. The law gives employers extensive control over the employees. The employers control the discipline of the employees. They have the power to discipline the employees for any misconduct. The law encourages the doctrine of employment at will. People have no obligation to be employed at a certain company, and they can always leave their jobs if they feel that they are not satisfied. Employers have the right to hire whomever they want. In the absence of a contract, employers can fire at will. They do not need any reason to terminate someoneâ€⠄¢s employment (Kaufman, 1997). Employers do not have to give several warnings before they decide to fire their employees, especially on issues relating to poor performance and misconduct (Stewart, 2011). Because of the master-servant relationship that exists between the employer and the employees, the workers have little power and control in their negotiations. The employees feel a need to join trade unions to increase their bargaining power, and to have more control over their welfare (Gardner Palmer, 1997). Lack of jobs and other opportunities have meant that people hold on to their jobs, irrespective of the challenges they are facing. Granted, every job has challenges that the employees have to deal with and overcome. However, under the feudal system, employees face greater challenges because of the level of control that their employers have over them. Because of the prevailing social order, the employers are superior to the employees, and they have a natural right to coerce them to do what they want. Some employees have to live on call any time of day, because their employers require them to do so. This may be in the contract, and if the employees signed the contract, then they have to follow it. Employers can call on their employees even when they are not supposed to be working, and the employees have to ensure that they are available if they intend to keep their jobs. Employees are obligated to serve their employers faithfully in the course of their employment. In some cases, this extends beyond their employment. Employees cannot run a business similar in nature to their employers business. After the end of their employment in a particular organization, former employees should not do anything that undermines their employer or his business. The employees should not recruit workers from their previous place of employment, and they should not entice their former employer’s clients to the new business. Moreover, employees should not remove or memorize any valuable information from their former place of employment. Such acts undermine their former employers and they are a breach of contract (Stewart, 2011). The state has the power to balance the rights and powers of the employers and employees by enacting legislation. However, some of the government legislations augment and increase the powers of the employers at the expense of the employees. For instance, the establishment of the Work Choices reduced employees’ rights and power by reducing the role of the trade unions. It had many regulations and boundaries, which determined how the employers and the employees interacted with each other. New employees did not have the option of deciding their preferred employment agreement, and it was not easy for them to negotiate their contract. The Employee Greenfields Agreement gave leeway to the employer to make an agreement without consulting anyone, and without bargaining and negotiating with the employees. The unions had less power to bargain and negotiate for the rights of employees under the legislation. Those who supported the law claimed that employers were in a better position to in crease productivity without interference from the trade unions or industrial tribunals. It increased the ability of the employers to coerce the employees. The legislation removed the power of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in intervening and arbitrating work disputes (Gardiner, 2009). The members of the capitalist class, or those who have the most wealth, also have the most power, not only in their places of work or in their industry, but also regarding national issues. Their influence determines the legislations made, especially when that legislation will affect their trade. The politicians depend on them, and they are keen to listen to their suggestions concerning different laws. They are the masters, and they continue giving orders and having people submit to them. They have become more powerful in that other than their immediate employees, other people listen to them and heed their instructions. Class divisions in the society have led to the exploitation of one class by the other. In a capitalist economy such as Australia, the workers produce more value than they are paid for by the capitalist (Mathews, 2007). References: Abbott, K. (2006). A review of employment relations theories and their application. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 1, 187-200 DSP (2006). Development of the Australian capitalist nation-state. Democratic Socialist Perspective. Retrieved from dsp.org.au/node/41 Gardner Palmer, G. (1997). The Employment Relationship. Australia: Macmillan Education AU Gardiner, M. (2009). His master’s voice? Work choices as a return to master and servant concepts. Sydney Law Review, 31 (53), 53-81 Kaufman, E. B. (1997). Government regulation of the employment relationship. Cornell University Press Mathews, G. (2007). Class in Australia today. Democratic Socialist Perspective. Retrieved from dsp.org.au/node/167 McMichael, P. (2004). Settlers and the agrarian question: Capitalism in Colonial Australia. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press Scott, B. (2011). Capitalism: Its origins and evolution as a system of governance. New York, NY: Springer Stewart, A. (2011). Stewart’s guide to employment law. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press Trainer, T. (2010). Marxist theory: A brief introduction. Retrieved from http://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/Marx.html