Swindells book Essay Example For Students

Swindells book Essay Throughout Stone Cold, slang and very harsh, angry, even violent language is used: Link is very upset through all his ordeals. Also with the book being based in London most of the character are written in the cockney dialect. Humour is used in Swindells Stone Cold for Shelter. He jokes, Link the Stink and The Camden Horizontals-referring to his dead army (his murdered victims) lying down under the floor boards. Swindells uses short, direct get to the point sentences, as this is what the modern reader wants; more is left to the imagination. Charles Dickens chose rather not to use aggressive and violent language, as you have to remember that this book is written for all the family in the Victorian age. But Dickens still uses dialect for each character and also slang is used a lot (shown in Badun and Workus), so it is written as the people of that time would speak. Compared to Swindells short direct sentences, Dickens uses long very descriptive sentences, leaving nothing to the imagination. Take for example the first line in the book is 7 lines long! We will write a custom essay on Swindells book specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The Dodger had vicious propensity, too, of pulling the caps from the heads of small boys and tossing them down areas, while Charley Bates exhibited some very loose notions concerning the rights of property, by pilfering diver apples and onions from the stalls at the kennel sides, and thrusting them into pockets which were so surprisingly capacious, that they seemed to undermine his whole suit of clothes in every direction: this shows the style of writing in the Victorian times. I will now translate this into modern language making it easier to compare to a caption from Stone Cold. The Dodger had a nasty way of pulling the caps off the small boys and throwing them on the floor, while Charley Bates, Showing off he was a thief, stole apples and onions from the market, and hid them in his pockets which were so daftly large that his clothes looked out off proportion. Now lets look at this compared to a quote from Stone Cold.  Hes about fifty for a start, and hes one of these old dudes that wear cool gear and try to act young and it doesnt work because theyve got grey hair and fat bellies and they just make themselves look pathetic. We can see from this comparison that Dickens looks at the details probably most other Authors would overlook; Swindell writes the typical details of how people look: but this is how Link would talk so it is no less valuable. Swindells book as I said at the beginning is written with a moral, to deter young adults not to take to the streets. So the book is quite short and has only one story line. In no way does Swindell glamorise the streets, and he never lets Link into a life of crime (but Oliver goes straight into a criminal gang); also Link never gets into drink or drugs: all these precautions are to make sure that the homeless life does not seem attractive in any way. Stone Cold also doesnt end with a happy ending. This is to show to the reader that once you are on the streets, it hard to get off. It also leaves the future of Link in the hands of the reader. Dickens is writing to mainly entertain, so he has to bring extraordinary coincidence and exciting events into the story; so Oliver is taken in to a life of crime, really for entertainment but also to show what street society and poverty was like at that time. Oliver Twist was written in 53 chapters, it was published in a weekly magazine (a chapter a week) and was the soap of the day; this is why the story has many twists and turns (example Mr. Bumbles Romantic life), as do the soaps of nowadays have many sub-plots. Dickens was writing to enlighten the public of what was going on in the world rather than with a moral, as the people who would be reading this would not even think about living on the street. Oliver Twist does have a happy ending: the bad guys die and Oliver is reunited with his family, because after reading the story a Victorian audience would expect a happy ending; but Nancy does die bringing some sorrow to the story. .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .postImageUrl , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:hover , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:visited , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:active { border:0!important; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:active , .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc88896b7ad821c339969bdc5eaac1ebf:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Blood Brothers by Willy Russell EssayDickens put sympathy in the minds of his reader without them knowing; he tackled a difficult subject by writing an entertaining and gripping story about it. Modern soap operas still do take on current affairs issues to get very emotional stories, as some people can relate to these. Gail in Stone Cold was also trying to find an emotional story to give to her readers but ended up being caught up in a very dangerous and life changing experience. I believe Gail began doing the story mainly for money, but as the story continues she begins to get closer to the dangers and horrors of life on the street and she wants to expose the tragedies which are happening; but she can never leave her true life behind.  Dickens writes very descriptively with long paragraphs describing each characters looks and features. He does this, as there was no television. With TV, programs need no descriptions as you can see the characters. So working as the soap of the day he needs every reader to have the same image in his or her head. This style of writing is not modern like the way Stone Cold is written which is done with very short and few descriptions, and frankly leaving more to the imagination and for you to decide (also Swindell even leaves the ending of the book up to you). I prefer to read the modern style (Stone Cold), as I find I begin to lose interest in the long descriptiveness of Dickens style. Even though Dickens novel is full of extraordinary coincidences and events they feel at home in this book: whereas the few over the top happenings are not well suited in Stone Cold.  I felt after reading both books, Oliver Twist was the best, even though I found it harder to read. I feel I didnt enjoy Stone Cold as much as it got too depressing and emotional. I look for enjoyment in a book rather than a moral and meaning.

essay guinness Essays

essay guinness Essays essay guinness Paper essay guinness Paper The University of Westminster Westminster Business School Module Title: Principles of Marketing COURSEWORK TWO REFLECTIVE ESSAY Student Name: Jonas Franck-Winther student ID: 145858611 Seminar Leader Name: Ilya Girson word count: 1085 Date: 5/12-2013 1. Principles of marketing The essence of marketing is value creation, where the goal is a long-term satisfaction by building relationships and attracting new customers by offering better value than the competition. Because marketing is based on exchanges where the objective is for all parties in the exchange to feel satisfied and gain some kind of value Cobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Customer value is determined on how the customer perceives the benefits of a product and the sacrifice that is associated with the purchase, so when the perceived performance matches or exceeds expectations it provides customer satisfaction Cobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Customer satisfaction can lead to customer loyalty and profitability, because it can cost up to five times more to attract a new customer than to maintain an existing one. Loyalty is a reaction that a customer shows, when they repeatedly return to the same supplier, because they are atisfied with the products or services they receive Cobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). Hence, whether the aim is to build relationships with customers or to offer short-term incentives to customer loyalty, then you need to focus on your marketing strategies by applying an effective marketing mix Cobber and Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). The classical marketing mix consists of product, price, promotion and place. These four key elements are used to create a competitive advantage, which is the achievement of superior performance through differentiation to provide superior customer value r by managing to achieve lowest delivered cost. So an effective marketing mix is aeslgnea Dy ensurlng tnat It satlsTy customer needs, creates a competltlve advantage, is well mixed of the four elements and matches corporate resources Cobber and Ellis- Chadwick, 2013). 2. Guinness principles of marketing Guinness marketing is focused on the consumers by offering what they want, which are quality. The company want to deliver high quality standards and uses it as an advantage to stand out on the market by offering a stout beer, which is made from heir own raw materials, on high-level of equipment and having employers with well- trained capability (Vanguard, 2013), because they believe that you cannot make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you (Sohn, 2013). They have also increased their focus on the marketing of Guinness brand name in 2013 by E34 million to boost its quality association on the beer market, so the drinkers get a feeling of quality when they taste a Guinness. This strategy is based on their market research, which confirm that consumers associate a quality int with a quality pub and 80% of male drinkers believe getting the quality of serve right is more important in draught beer than in any other drink category (Charles, 2013). Therefore Guinness manages to implant a special place in the collective consumer conscience, which leads the consumer into thinking about the great heritage and consistency in quality they possess, wherever it is sold (Diego, 2013). This can be seen in their advertising and communication of slogan, which says that Good things come to those who wait, which is referring to the time it takes to pour a erfect Guinness. Furthermore they launched a new marketing slogan called Made of More, which states that Guinness is better than their competitors on the beer market, because they are providing more than Just the experience of a great beer. This slogan is also related to the old history of the company by the special way of pouring a Guinness and its traditional look (Guinness a, 2013). Another key element of the Made of More advertising is reaching the consumers values on many different levels by telling stories, that reflects human values and present the brand in clear way, which distinguish themselves from their competitors and breaks the industry stereotype, who usually focus on football, party and hot women in their advertising (Taube, 2013). The human values from their advertising signals the importance of doing things together with your friends and how Guinness should be enjoyed in social contexts (Guinness a, 2013). To summarize that, Guinness wants to ensure that the whole company signals high quality on everything of what they do and reflect human values in their advertising to distinguish themselves from their ompetitors, so they can have a competitive advantage and establish a value brand (Vanguard, 2013). 3. Analysis marketing principles of Guinness The analysis is based on the understanding of the principles of market and the marketing principles of Guinness. Guinness is a marketing-orientated company, who follow the principles of marketing by getting close to their customers and demands, so tney can unaerstana tnelr needs ana acnleve pront ana oDJectlves Dy satlsTylng the customers better than the competition. This marketing strategy is very suitable or Guinness and works very well, since they are the best selling stout beer in the world and have a competitive advantage on the stout market that distinguish them from their competitors on the beer market (Guinness b, 2003). The competitive advantage is based on their product, promotion and place in the marketing mix by offering a high quality product that meets the customers demand, which match a report from brand index on Samuel Adams day, where the customers on the beer market have ranked Guinness as number two in quality out of all major beer brands (Marzilli, 2013). The promotion of Guinness also breaks the beer industry stereotype by using new innovative advertising on the communication of beer market, which distinguishes them from their competitors by relating the beer to human values. Furthermore Guinness place is brewed in 50 countries and sold in countries, which gives a solid distribution channel worldwide and move them closer to their customers. Based on that, Guinness has achieved a differential advantage through a strong brand personality and they have built a loyal relationship with their customers. 4. Conclusion This reflective essay concludes that the principle of marketing is based on creating consumer value to maintain and attract new consumers by satisfying their needs. Guinness marketing strategy is focused on the consumers demand by offering a high quality stout beer and making innovative advertising that breaks the beer industry stereotype by reflecting human values, which distinguish them from their competitors on the market. Thereby, Guinness has achieved a competitive advantage by having an effective marketing mix, which makes them the best selling stout beer in the world. 5. References Books: David Jobber and Fiona Ellis-Chadwick (2013). Principles and practice of marketing. 7th edition. United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill Education. Online articles: Our strategy is to have the best and necessary brands Guinness Director. Vanguard, 2013. Vanguard News. [ONLINE] Available at: vanguardngr. com/2013/01/ our-strategy-is-to-have-the-best-and-necessary-brands-guinness-director/ God and Guinness: The Missional Drink that Changed the World. Paul Sohn. 2013. Marketing Week. [ONLINE] Available at: http://paulsohn. org/god-and-guinness-the-missional- rink-changed-the-world/ Guinness reinvents Surfer Ad for Quality marketing push. Gemma Charles. 013. Marketing Week. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// www. marketingmagazine. co. uk/article/1210008/guinness-reinvents-surfer-ad-quality- marketing-push Guinness launches E12m bid to push quality to push quality credentials. Sebastian Joseph. 2013. Marketing Week. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// www. marketingweek. co. uk/news/guinness-launches-12m-bid-to-push-quality- creoentlals/4UU/ / /Y. artlcle Guinness. Diego. 2013 Dlego P AvallaDle at: d iageo. com/en-row/ourbrands/infocus/Pages/lnFocus-Guinness. spx Guinness a. 2013. Guinness Advertising. ONLINE] Available at: http:// www. guinness. com/en-gb/AdsGallery. html? adsclass=classic=world An incredible New Guinness Ad Breaks The Industry Stereotype. Aaron Taube. 2013. Business insider. [ONLINE] Available at: businessinsider. com/new- guinness-ad-breaks-the-mold-2013-9 Guinness b. 2013. Guinness facts. [ONLINE] Available at: guinness-storehouse. com/en/FactSheets. aspx Samuel Adams tops beer brands. Ted Marzilli. 2013. YouGov. [ONLINE] Avaiable at: http:// today. yougov. com/news/2013/09/25/samuel-ada ms-tops- beer- brands/

Main Issues surrounding women in Sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Main Issues surrounding women in Sports - Essay Example However, there is also a belief that these screwed up views of female athletes are actually coming to an end in the 21.st century. One of the main issues that surround these female athletes is the way that these athletes are portrayed as sex objects instead of athletes in the media. The athletes prowess in the sport is often swept under the rug because they would rather present the women in an ambivalent light. Thereby not threatening the male athlete counterpart in terms of game knowledge and skill. If possible, these women are pictured as the girl next door or hyper-heterosexual in order to reinforce the traditional female roles of daughter, girlfriend, wife, and mother. But of all of these presentations, the worst two have to be the sexy babe and soft- porn images as depicted in the cover and article photo layouts in sports magazines. There is only one reason as to why the female sports players are presented in this manner and it has everything to do with gender equality and sexual orientation dynamics. For centuries, women have been viewed as the weaker sex and therefore, the second class citizens in their countries. Their influence in society is often limited by economic, social, and political institutions thereby suppressing the media images of women that do not depict them in anything more than feminine or sexual. The need to present women in a non-threatening manner to men (non-sports activity related) is the medias way of assuring those who may be affected by the female athletes success, that a woman can be athletic and excel in her sport of choice and yet remain traditional and fulfill her obligations as expected by society when not actively participating in her sport. Another problem faced by female athletes in their media portrayal is related to the nouns used to describe their mindset while in competition. Whereas men are introduced as young men or young men in order to

Institutional Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Institutional Investment - Essay Example The discussion will, however, start by providing background information on the two plans. These plans are abstractly simpler and involve the employer (and in some cases the employee) making regular contributions to the retirement account of the employee. The amount of contributions is predetermined, usually a specified fraction of the salary. This fraction is, however, subject to alterations in the course of the employee’s career. In this plan, the both contributions are tax-deductible although the investment income accumulates tax-free. In most cases, the employee decides on his/her choice of account investment. This may include investing in stock markets, bonds or any security that pleases them. At retirement, the employee can either receive an annuity or a lump sum, and the size of this money depends on the value of the accumulated funds in the employee’s retirement account (Poterba et al., 2007). The employee bears the risk of their investment and thus the employer has no any extra obligation beyond contributing to their employee’s retirement pla n account. The valuation of defined contribution plans is simple and involves measuring the market value of the assets created in the retirement account. In most cases, the employee is guided in their personal financial planning by their defined contributions plan’s sponsor (Clark 1999). Unlike the defined contributions plan which focuses more on the value of retirement account’s created assets, defined benefits plan focuses on the flow of benefits received by the employee at retirement. Typically, a defined benefits plan uses the employee’s wage history and the years of service as the determinants of the value of the benefit (Huberman, Iyengar & Jiang 2007). Upon retirement, the employee receives a defined monthly amount that is guaranteed for their life and that of their spouse. In some cases, the plan allows room

Responsibility of Ethics Essay Example for Free

Responsibility of Ethics Essay Ethical standing among community members and business persons is held in high regard.   The matter of trust needs to be had at all times so that people know that their information is safe.   When ethical issues arise, somewhere, somehow there has to be someone who is able and willing to stand up and report the unethical issue.   All professionals are bound by ethics and the responsibility to report wrong doing. In this case, the widow’s attorney is charging the widow 12-14% more than his average percentage with respects to his other clients.    Normal everyday ethics suggest that not only is he acting in bad ethics but obviously is taking advantage of this widow.   Charlie, even if not mandated by law or administrative rule, should inform the widow.   This would be the right and respectful thing to do but is Charlie mandated by any code of ethics to act on this information and inform her is the real question. Charlie, even though he is not the person creating the ethical situation, is bound by ethical codes to inform this widow at the very least but more appropriately the governing agency, of the actions of her attorney.  Ã‚   As stated in the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct for CPA’s â€Å"members should act with integrity, guided by the precept that when members fulfill their responsibility to the public, clients and employers interests are best served.† (ET Section 53 Article II—The Public Interest, ET Section 52 Article I—Responsibilities, ET Section 54 Article III—Integrity    ET Section 56 Article V—Due Care of the AICPA). The biggest ethical issue is honesty, integrity and the personal gain issues.   The attorney stands to gain a substantial amount of money, well more than what he should for his services.   The code of ethics for attorney’s alone is violated is drastic ways.   Some states have statutes on how an attorney charges their client and some rely of good ethical behavior but this aside, attorneys are to charge only what is fair and consistent with how they charge everyone else. This attorney is violating a huge public interest and the widow can file a complaint and the attorney stands to lose his liscense to practice law.   Charlie can also intervene and simply make a phone call to the governing agency as this particular information that he knows, is not bound by the confidentiality laws as this information was derived not by the widows words but by the admittance of the attorney in which there is no confidentiality as there is no client issue due to the fact that Charlie is not asking for advice and the lawyer is not giving it. Works Cited AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.   2006-2008.   http://www.aicpa.org/About/code/sec50.htm New Jersey Judiciary. Office of Attorney Ethics. 2001 http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/oae/OAEEthicsPamphlet.pdf

Life After Football :: Personal Narrative Writing

Life After Football Experiences change our lives everyday. We learn from our mistakes or successes in order to define who we are. Everything we do, and all that happens to us, changes who we are. However, there are those experiences that stand out above all others, the ones that have a drastic impact on our life styles, the ones that change how we view the world, and how we view our own lives. Our day-to-day lifestyle changes and we are forced to find new ways to do things, forced to change our views on who we are. The one specific moment that I can pinpoint in my life that created a drastic change of who I am today occurred last year in late August. It was the first week of school and all I was really focused on was the football game coming up on Friday. I had spent most of my summer weight training and practicing for the upcoming season and I got drastically better than the year before, and was ready for anything. Little did I know what was waiting for me in the game to come. An experience that I never imagined would ever happen to me. An experience that never even crossed my mind†¦until Friday came. I managed to get through my first week of school without much trouble. I was ready for the game. I went through my normal pre-game after school. I decided to put on some new spikes on my cleats, since my other ones were pretty dull. This was an action that I will question for the rest of my life. The school we were playing was just down the canal bank that passed by our school, so we marched down in full force Now on the field we stretched out. Everything was the same as so many times before. We went into the locker room for the 15 minutes till the game started. I got into my crazy mindset, and started rocking back and forth, thinking of how much pain I would invoke on my opponents, and how I would go about doing that. I ran through all of the plays in my head at least once.

Law Employer/Employee Relationship Essay

To determine whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor under the common law, the relationship of the worker and the business must be examined. All evidence of control and independence must be considered. In an employee-independent contractor determination, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and degree of independence must be considered. Independent Contractor or EmployeeUnder federal and state laws, an independent contractor must be just that, independent. He or she must provide a product or service without punching a time clock or being told how to do the job. Independent contractors are described as persons engaged in occupations who contract to perform work according to their own methods, without being subject to control of the employer except for the result. Before an employer can determine how to treat payments it makes for services, the employer must first know the business relationship that exists between employer and the person performing the services. The person performing the services may be an independent contractor or an employee. Simply because an employer refers to a worker as an independent contractor or he or she has agreed to the arrangement in a written contract does not mean that the individual is correctly classified as an independent contractor. Likewise, the fact that payments are issued by accounts payable rather than the payroll department also does not mean that the person is an independent contractor. The nature of the relationship between the individual and the employer is the true determinant, and misclassification can result in serious consequences for an organization. In Mary’s case, the scenario is vague and may need a little more information in order to give an accurate assumption on whether or not Mary is a contractor or an employee. Mary was hired for a special programmer project as a contractor and just as the project was nearing completion, a new project came into play. For this new project, Mary was required to use company materials and equipment while adhering to company schedules, which makes it seem as though she was being treated as an employee. Mary, at one point being an independent contractor, has now developed a relationship with the employer, the more likely there is an employer/employee relationship,  and the tables at this point have turned. Not only has Mary been working for the company for a number of years, Mary is now working under the supervision of a supervisor, using company materials and equipment, not to mention that she now has to adhere to the company work schedules. Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done (Internal Revenue Service, 2004). Employer / Employee RelationshipThe employer/employee relationship between Mary and Little Lamb has changed over the course of time. With respect to Mary’s services, are they regularly available to the general public? They should be, and if Mary does not attempt to make the availability of his/her services known to the general public, her relationship with Little Lamb could be viewed as an employer-employee relationship. The primary issue here is who is running the ship. Does Little Lamb have the right to hire or fire, determine the wage or salary to be paid, and decide on the time, place, and manner in which the work is to be done? If so, then the employer-employee relationship exists. Also, even if Little Lamb does not directly control Mary’s activities, but has the right to do so, the notion of control still exists. Under the common-law (20) criteria test, an employer-employee relationship is present between Mary and Little Lamb Company. Employment at-willOne critical employment law issue affecting employee handbooks and policy manuals is employment at will. Employment at will is traditional common law perspective that an employee may seek work and quit at any time, and likewise, that the employer may hire and fire at any time for any reason or no reason. Employees always have the right to quit their jobs, no matter how inconvenient their departure may be for the employer. The employer’s right to fire or terminate the employee is not quite so simple and clear-cut. Some employees work under a written contract that specifies exactly the circumstances under which they can be terminated. If the agreement sets out a termination procedure, then it is a breach of contract to terminate the employee without following the procedure. Further, in states where at-will employment does exist, it is littered with statutory  exceptions. That means you cannot terminate workers if the discharge infringes on a protected right or goes against public policy (Falcone, 2004). Many employee terminations are based on a need to downsize, rather than on the employee’s individual poor performance (D. Shilling 1998). When employees are classified as reduction in force, it should be clarified that they are not at fault. Downsizing also affects a company’s public profile, and its ex-employees can become either good-will ambassadors or the complete opposite. Mary’s release was legal under the doctrine of employment at-will, providing she was an employee. Employment-at-will status does not provide employees with job security, and an employee can be fired on a moment’s notice for any legitimate reason, or for no reason at all. On the other hand, if Mary was a contractor, then Little Lamb would have broken the employment contract which would be illegal. There are five key exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine:Employment contracts: If a contract exists, you must adhere to its terms and conditions, including notice requirement, least you breach the contract. Where an employment contract exists for a fixed period of time (for example, three years) and is silent concerning grounds for terminating the contract, many state courts have ruled that employers have an implied obligation to discharge only for just cause. Similarly, unionized employees are governed by the terms and conditions of a collective bargaining agreement-they are not at-will employees. Statutory considerations: Dismissals are illegal when based on age, sex, national origin, religion, union membership or any other factor protected by law. Potential problems arise any time you fire someone in a protected class. Public policy exceptions: You cannot terminate an employee for such activities as filing a workers’ compensation claim, whistle blowing, engaging in group activities that protest unsafe work conditions or refusing to commit an unlawful act on the employer’s behalf. Implied contract exceptions: You may be bound by promises published in your employee handbook or oral promises made at the hiring interview requiring â€Å"just cause† to terminate. In addition, you are prohibited from discharging long-term employees just before they are due to receive anticipated financial benefits (known as an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing). Because of these limitations, you must attempt to protect the at-will employment status at all costs. And that requires regular reminders about the at-will relationship you have with employees, as well as progressive discipline (Falcone, 2004). Conclusion The law governing the relationship between an employee and an employer begins when an offer for employment is made by an employer to an employee. Labor law regulates the entire relationship between employer and employee and the initial hiring process, job duties, wages, promotions, benefits, employment reviews and termination of the employment relationship. It also includes litigation on the basis of unfair labor practices and discrimination. Sometimes there is a question of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The courts will usually look to the relationship and determine whether the employer had the right to control how the employee performed the job. If that is unclear, the court may look to the nature of the relationship between the employee and the employer. If the employee is substantially economically dependent upon the employer, then ultimately the bottom line would be that there is an employee-employer relationship. References: Castagnera, J. (1988). Personnel Law Book. Greenvale, New York: Panel PublishersFalcone, P. (2004). A legal Dichotomy. Retrieved September 24, 2006 from: http://www.shrm.orgInternal Revenue Service. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved September 25, 2006 from: http://www.irs.govShilling, D. (1998). Human Resources and the Law. Printice hall. Paramus, New Jersey.