Blood Diamonds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Blood Diamonds - Research Paper Example (Gavin, 14) Conflict diamonds are sold in order to raise money for armed conflict weapons and civil wars. Profits from this trade are worth billions of dollars. This profit is used by warlords to purchase firearms during the rebel wars. Countries affected include Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. These wars have resulted to an estimated 3.7 million deaths. (Storm,26) Although the wars are now over and fighting rate has declined, the con of blood diamonds still persists. The diamonds mined in this rebel- held zones reach the international diamond market by, smuggling the diamonds into neighboring countries and exporting them into the international diamond market, as a legitimate diamond trade. The hullabaloo surrounding conflict diamonds was reported in the 1990s. During this period, there were civil wars in Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Republic of Congo. The world realized the harm of conflict diamonds during the extreme conflict in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s. In the 1990s, blood diamonds made about 4% of the international diamond market as reported by the World Diamond Council’s Website. Two memorable events to control the diamond market took place during the late 1990s. Firstly Robert Fowler the Canadian Ambassador to Angola published a debatable report. This report listed all the countries involved with blood diamond trade. The report alarmed international organizations and made them aware of the illegal diamond trade that was going on. This response triggered the second memorable event. Kimberly Process Certification Scheme is a system which aims to regulate the diamond trade. This ensures the diamonds going through the process must be labeled as conflict free. The source and ownership of the diamonds need to be validated.(Bieri, 45) Kimberly Process Certification Scheme is supported by the United Nations, governments and non- governmental organizations. This scheme aims to eliminate the trade of black

Examine the Movements of their Employees at Work Essay

Examine the Movements of their Employees at Work - Essay Example It is this monitoring that has raised ethical issues causing detrimental effects to both employer and employee. Whereas employers justify their actions with the right to get value from their employees and resources, employees’ have objected with the reasoning that their personal privacy is being unlawfully breached. Background Employee monitoring can be defined as the act of surveillance and monitoring employees’ actions during stipulated working hours by use of employer equipment (Stanton & Stam, 2006). It entails the use of computers to record, evaluate and observe an employees’ use of computer, plus communications like web sites visited and emails sent or received besides telephone calls made. However, it is legal for employers to use computer programs to monitor employees (Duquenoy, Jones & Blundell, 2008). Employee surveillance has gained prominence as a prerequisite and in the same breath a contentious issue due to the complexity and prevalent use of techno logy at the work place. Employers are worried with employees’ proper behavior and conformity to work related regulations. Hence some critics believe employee monitoring is an inalienable responsibility. To others it is an invasion to privacy. Managers employ different ways of monitoring employees’ internet use, emails and their location to capitalize on employee productivity, uphold the integrity of the firm and to defend the interest of clientele and work mates (Duquenoy, Jones & Blundell, 2008). When managers start to probe into employees’ private life, mistrust and acrimony are built between employees’ and managers. Many workers have lost their employment and a lot more companies have had to face lawsuits filed against them because people believe that the use of internal company communications should remain confidential (Bassick, 2007). Managers and owners of private firms have had several reasons to scrutinize the activities of their employees. Some a re driven by the displeasure when employees misuse company money and waste time to carry out non-work related tasks. Others would want to confirm any suspicion of criminal, fraudulent or unwanted conduct by their employees; observe application of safety and health regulations; make certain to compliance of internal employment policies; verify the quality of work done; protect staff from harassment or unjust treatment in the office and so forth (Lane, 2003). Managers base their actions on the basis that they have a right to examine employee productivity and to guard against fraud and theft. This will ultimately lead to employee monitoring (Lane, 2003). Some of the areas prone to abuse in the work places include use of company resources like vehicles, technology adapted at workplace like electronic communication, and adherence to acceptable working hours. In this report, I will review employee monitoring on their use of electronic communication at the workplace, more so the ethical di lemma facing managers and employees. Hence the questions of how far should managers go to examine employee movements? With the arrival of advanced technological capabilities, many professional and personal tasks are becoming quicker and more convenient to carry out. For instance, email has been viewed as a convenient substitute to making telephone calls because it is perceived as private. In the real sense it is public because it leaves a record long after it has been deleted (Bassick, 2007). Thus a skilled person can easily retrieve it from a networked communication system.