Employment-At-Will Doctrine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Employment-At-Will Doctrine - Essay Example For instance, under the doctrine the employer can terminate additional work benefits, reduce employee’s vocational time or even, revise the salary agreements (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013). Scenario 1: John’s actions damage the company’s image and thus, they are not admissible to ignorance. John did not consider the effects of his actions and thus, it is legally right for the company fire him. According to the employment-at-will doctrine, the employer can just fire the employee without notice and thus, firing John without notifying him will not bring any legal liability on the company. The ethical theory that best supports my decision is consequentialism. Scenario 2: In this scenario, I would not fire Jim. This is because; the employment-at-will doctrine has an exception referred to as retaliation, which states that if employees engage in activities such as claiming minimum wage or overtime compensation, then the doctrine shall not hold (Nation al Conference of State Legislatures, 2013).Therefore, to limit the liability in this case, I would listen to the claims of the salespersons and changing the commission consider changing the schedules. Scenario 3: Ellen should be fired. This will not impose any legal liability on the company since; she cannot claim the retaliation exception (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2013). The company could even decide to sue her based on libel and slander. However, to reduce the costs incurred, I would just fire her. My decision in this case is supported by the virtue ethics (Graham, 2004). Ellen has no virtues if she can act so maliciously to get her things done. Scenario 4: I would not fire Bill since there are no legal grounds to fire him. This is because; he has not committed any conflict of interest by using the phone. As long as using the phone in his business does not jeopardize its use in the company, and then the company cannot terminate his employment. Scenario 5: Install ing key logger software in the company computers is a way of protecting the company’s business and it is beneficial to both the employees and the company. Therefore, protesting such an important issue would only imply that the secretaries have hidden motives, which would be jeopardized by the installed software. I would fire these secretaries since; considering their protest would put company’s data at risk. In addition, the secretaries are not following ethics of principle, which states that principles are just a matter of reasoning and logic. To reduce the liability suffered in this case, I would ensure that I employ other secretaries with immediate effect. Scenario 6: I would fire Joe since it is legally permissible to do so. The employee has committed acts that harm the company’s operations. The company has the right to sue him without notifying him since; it has legal reasons and thus, no liability would arise from dismissal of the employer. In addition, Jo e has no grounds to sue the company since; although his privacy was invaded, it was concerning the company. My decision in this case is supported by ethics of cognitive moral development, which assert that as an individual grows he or she should be able to use critical thinking tactics to solve problems (Graham, 2004). Critically in this case, Joe definitely would not have used a company’

Obtain a copy of the annual report for Intercontinental Hotel Group Coursework

Obtain a copy of the annual report for Intercontinental Hotel Group PLC for the year ended 31 December 2011 - Coursework Example Financial performance and position of the Group â€Å"The big picture is 9 hotel brands, over 153 million guests annually, more than 672,000 rooms in over 4,500 hotels in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world† (IHG website, 2012), The nine renowned brands being Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, EVEN Hotels, Hualuxe Hotels and Resorts. Performance of the Brands The performance of all the brands during 2011 compared to the previous year has improved (Exhibit – I). Total gross revenue has increased by 8% to 20.2 bn in 2011 compared to $18.7 bn in 2010 for the group as a whole. Exhibit - I $ in bn. However, the performance in terms of cost and profitability in respect of the brands could not be worked for comparison due to inadequacy of details furnished in this respect. Performance can be analyzed with reference to classific ation of the business into Franchised, Managed and Owned & Leased. 12 months ended 31 December in $m 2011 2010 % Change Revenue Franchised 502 465 8.0 Managed 124 119 4.2 Owned and leased 204 223 (8.5) Total 830 807 2.9 Operating profit before exceptional items Franchised 431 392 9.9 Managed 52 21 147.6 Owned and leased 17 13 30.8 500 4 26 17.4 Regional overheads (49) (57) 14.0 Total Operating Profit 451 369 22.2 It could be observed that operating profits vary considerably due to incidence of expenses and overheads at varying levels. For example, in franchised revenue is up by 8% and operating profit is up by 9.9%, where as in managed hotels it is 4.2% and 147.6% and owned & leased hotels (-) 8.5% and 30% respectively . Key Performance Indicators The key performance indicators measure the group’s progress in the business. The KPIs over the past three years and their growth have been good. Year 2009 2010 2011 Net Rooms Supply 632325 0647161 658348 Gross Revenue ($ bn) 16.8 18 .7 20.2 CSR (Green engage hotels) 911 1122 1722 2011 2010 Earnings per share (EPS) 1.30 0.98 Revenue per available room: Revenue per available room is up by 6.2%. (Annual Report, p. 2) The Group’s reportable segments segmental information The reportable segments in the business have been classified based on the geographical locations of the hotels. There are five segments viz. Americas, Europe, AMEA (Asia Middle East and Africa) and Greater China and the central segment. Operating profit has increased in all the geographical segments. Since the central segment carries the burden of general support services provided by it to all the segments, the figures are not comparable. RevPAR growth in the Americas at 7.5% and Europe at 4.7% respectively has contributed significantly for the overall performance of the business. It is important to note that gross revenue includes revenue related to Franchised, Managed and Owned & Leased. 2011 2010 % Change % Change in revenue Operating Pro fit Americas 451 369 2.2 2.9 Europe 104 78 33.3 2.4 AMEA 84 82 2.4 1.4 Greater China 67 54 24.1 15.2 Central (147) (139) (5.8) 7.7 Operating Profit Before Exceptional Items 559 444 25.9 8.6 It could be observed that as in the case of franchised, managed and owned and leased classification of the business, % change in operating profit is inconsistent with the % change in revenue due to incidence of expenses and overheads in different reportable segments at varying levels. Impact of exceptional items on profitability The operating profit