Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Degree - What You Need to Know

By John G White

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

Also known as a BSBA, this program is completed in four years of study. The general credit requirement for a BSBA is one hundred and twenty hours of study. Like a Masters in Business Administration, a BSBA is a broad examination of all levels and aspects of the business world.

This degree allows student to pick a specialization in one aspect of business to concentrate on during their final year of study. Each university program has varied specializations, but in general a student can choose form accounting, finance, legal studies, management, marketing, economics, international business, or management information systems.

After earning this degree, all students should have practiced and honed these essential business skills, management, employee relations, policies, finance, and leadership.

Often viewed as the first step to earning a Masters in Business Administration, this degree provides a student with a great foundation and background. It shows the potential employers you are well educated with the business world, and you are often qualified for entry level business office management positions, supervisor jobs, or other types of employee management positions.

Graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration find themselves with a background and understanding of basic business practice, as well as a specialized concentration of study they choose themselves. What they choose to specialize is a direct indication of what type of work they may end up in after earning their degree. Working for a business can prove to be lucrative, and there is no shortage of jobs in the business field. If you are looking to begin a career within the business sector, this program is one you should consider.

Compromise Agreements Tax Implications

By Fiona E Martin

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

Compromise Agreements are legally binding agreements between an employer and an employee, sometimes referred to as a termination settlement. They allow for a clean break of the employment relationship where the employee waives their right to bring claims in return for compensation.

The first £30,000 of compensation is generally tax free. However, this is not the case with every Compromise Agreement. How much of a payment is taxable depends on the basis on which it is paid. So if you are giving or receiving compensation in a Compromise Agreement it pays to look at ways to make it as tax efficient as possible. Here are some of the options.

Salary and benefits to date
All payments made up to the point the contract of employment ends are subject to normal tax and national insurance deductions.

Payment in lieu of holiday
Payments in lieu of holiday are taxable.

Pay in lieu of notice
Where such payments are allowed for in the employee's contract of employment or employee handbook they are taxable. Where they are not, they may be paid gross and count towards the £30,000 exemption.

However, where an employer routinely makes payments in lieu of notice - even if it is not part of the employment contract - HM Revenue & Customs may consider tax should be deducted.

Payments for restrictive covenants and confidentiality obligations
An employer may restrict an employee from acting in competition, or approaching customers or employees after they leave. If the contract contains enforceable restrictive covenants, the employer can rely on these if it has not breached the contract when terminating the employment.

However, if the contract does not have these provisions, or they are unenforceable, the employer can seek new restrictions. To make these binding in law a "consideration" must be paid - usually a small sum of £100-£200. This is taxable and liable to national insurance contributions. The same applies to payments associated with a confidentiality clause.

Compensatory and ex-gratia payments
The first £30,000 of compensatory, ex gratia (non-contractual) payments for loss of office or employment is tax exempt.

Redundancy Compromise Agreement
Statutory and contractual redundancy payments fall within the £30,000 exemption.

Pension contributions
Direct payments into a pension scheme are not taxable unless they exceed annual and lifetime contribution allowances.

Outplacement costs
Contributions to the cost of outplacement counselling or training are not taxable. Usually paid directly by the employer, they do not count towards the £30,000 exemption.

Legal costs
The employer usually pays the employee's legal costs. This does not count towards the £30,000 exemption as long as the fees are solely in connection with termination of employment.

Sums exceeding the £30,000 exemption
If the Compromise Agreement compensation exceeds the £30,000 exemption, tax is deducted at basic rate on the additional amount.

Do I Really Need A Workers Compensation Lawyer?

By Howard Batt

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

The law with regard to workers compensation in New Jersey can be very complex. It is a specialty area and finding an attorney to deal with it may be bit more difficult to achieve. It is in fact worth it to keep looking to find the best. This very specialized and complex area of law is one of the most important to you as a worker who has been injured.

Do you need an attorney to help you with your workers compensation claim? Realistically you probably do. In New Jersey an employee may not always be given all that he or she is entitled to so far as their compensation claim. Employees who have been injured at work need the assistance of an advocate for their cause.

Realistically, many companies are going to seek out ways to prevent you from having full claims. While it sounds unfair the fact is that it's true. The reality is that the employers and companies who are working against you have their own attorney and are at least being given legal advice to assist them in the case.

If you are denied your compensation, you have the right to appeal. You will have 14 days in many states in order to file an appeal against the denial notice that you receive. In some cases you will need an attorney to help you file a motion to compel the insurance company to review your case and to admit or deny it based on the merits.

An attorney will help you to navigate the red tape that it may take in order to assure that your financial future is secure and that you aren't harmed in any way by the accident and injury that took place at work.

In addition to helping you to file an appeal an attorney can help you to get through the investigation of the entire accident. They will want to be certain that the accident that you had was one that actually took place on their premises and that involves an investigation into the accident. You need to make sure that your rights are protected.

Your employer has attorneys who work hard for their business. You need an advocate who will also work hard on your behalf to make sure that you have what you need and that your financial tomorrow are all secure. The New Jersey workers compensation laws can be difficult to work with. If you're not an expert in the field of workers compensation, find someone who is and make sure that you have representation that you can count on. The difference that it may make in your overall workman's compensation progress and outcome could be more than worth what you have to pay your attorney.

The Employer's Responsibilities for Treating an Injury

By Howard Batt

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy  

Under workers compensation laws, can an employer refuse the employee medical attention at time of injury? The answer to that question is no, they may not deny you treatment, but you are the one who is responsible for making sure that you get it in some cases.

Your employer is a partner in your financial future, but sometimes when you're injured at work that may change. Very often, sometimes without intent, employers tend to look down on employees who are injured at work and the employee will feel somewhat less likely to report an injury or ever to seek treatment.

Failing to report an injury means that you are not qualified to receive any type of treatment for the injury under the law and that your employer is not necessarily constrained to offer you any type of remuneration after the fact, even if you find out later that your injury is more serious than was originally thought.

If you report your injury to your employer immediately you have the best chance of receiving your workers compensation without any real problems so it is encouraged that you report your injury and seek treatment within 24 hours and it is the law that you must report it within 7 days if you are to achieve any type of treatment or compensation for it.

Your responsibility is to notify your employer as rapidly as possible after your accident and to make sure that it is documented at work so that everyone knows that you received your injury in the workplace. This makes for granting you workers compensation far more easily accomplished.

Your employer has the responsibility to provide you with medical treatment if you request it immediately following the injury. If your injury is an emergency, then you can be sent to an emergency room for treatment. If the accident is not emergent in nature on site treatment may be provided by a nurse or an EMT or Paramedic, with follow-up treatment at a physician or hospital.

The worker has the right to prompt medical treatment and the employer has the responsibility to provide it. It may be in an emergency room immediately after the accident, and then the employer may be notified if it is an emergency injury.

If the injury is not emergent or life threatening, the employee has to notify the employer first of the injury and then seek medical care after speaking to the supervisor or employer.

The competent employer will not only offer medical care for their employee but will go with them to the medical facility in order that they know best what the physicians say is the prognosis and the diagnosis, as well as to know when the employee will be permitted to return to work.

Your employer does have the obligation in most states to see to the treatment of your injury and if the injury is of a serious nature, it is mandated that treatment take place immediately.

While your employer may offer you the physician who ordinarily treats the company employees you do have the right to request another doctor. In some states they are not obligated to offer that, however some permit it if you have requested to not use the company physician in advance, well before your injury has taken place.

Employment Law Solicitors: How to Choose the Right One for You

By Meena C Shah
  
Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

You've just been informed that you are being dismissed because your job has been made redundant. While this may probably be the worst thing that has happened to you as an employee, it isn't the end of the world. Under the employment law you are entitled to certain claims from your former employer as a result of your redundancy. However, if you are like most individuals who have also been made redundant, it is most likely that you are not familiar with employment law. You need the services of an employment law solicitor.

Most people are often too intimidated to even consider seeking the services of an employment law solicitor. This has a lot to do with the fear of the costs involved with hiring a solicitor. Good solicitors are willing to provide you with a free consultation either on the phone or in person to help determine whether you do have a case worth pursuing. If you do have a case, the employment solicitor will provide you with an estimate of the costs and expenses before proceeding. Stay away from solicitors who want to charge you immediately without first hearing your side of the story.

Now that you have decided on seeking professional help, the next step of course is to choose the best employment solicitor to hire.

With all the available employment law experts and solicitors around, the main thing of course is for you to get the best for what you can afford. This is not of course to say that you should scrimp on your budget. Remember expertise does come at a price. Often the inexpensive services come from solicitors who may lack the experience or knowledge necessary for you to get the most out of your claims. Always look for the solicitor's credentials first then decide whether you can afford their services.

Another good way to choose the right employment solicitor for you is to check out the internet. Good solicitors will have a website that is both comprehensive and informative. You should be able to know the extent of the services that they have, experience, even sample case reports to know if they are able to handle your particular case. A website says a lot especially about the way a group of solicitors or a firm is organized. If you understand their website and are interested, chances are you will like the kind of services they can offer you.

Aside from a good website, good solicitors will also be easy to contact. Good employment law solicitors should provide you with all the necessary information for you to contact them and not just hide behind a fancy name for a firm. They should be able to provide you with a toll-free telephone number, a complete address so you can mail them or visit them directly at their office, an email address and an easy to fill out inquiry form.

Finally, your chosen employment solicitor should be able to talk to you in layman's terms and not try to impress you with heavy legalese jargon. You're trying to find help to understand something not find someone who will confuse you more.

Remember, employment law solicitors are there to help you make something positive out of your negative situation so strive to always find the ones who can help you make the most out of your redundancy.

Understanding the ISO 9001 Audit Checklist

By Justin Knightley

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

If an organization has recently embarked on the journey of implementing ISO 9001:2008, a generic ISO 9001 audit checklist can be very helpful in determining gaps in compliance. As the system matures however, generic checklists lose their effectiveness and it becomes critical for the organization to delve deeper in terms of conformance when assessing the effectiveness of operational controls and specific processes.
Why use an ISO 9001 Audit Checklist?
Internal auditors often use an ISO 9001 audit checklist to determine compliance since the ISO 9001 audit checklist covers each requirement of the standard as a question. This type of questionnaire is very useful for internal auditors, because it helps them to discover how a specific requirement is implemented. The auditor has only to check that the defined procedure meets the requirements and if the procedure is preformed correctly.
The shortcoming of this approach is that the audit often fails to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the process being audited. What happens if the process does not meet procedure? Should you change the process to be compliant with the procedure, or should you verify whether the process is effective and change the procedure? These are questions to consider in any procedure-based audit.
Instead, use the ISO 9001 audit checklist only as a guide and allow the auditor to delve freely into whatever process is deemed critical. This model will produce more meaningful findings, but, there is a risk that auditors focus on auditing processes that are familiar to their particular specialty. Furthermore, as time goes by, completing the checklist could become mandatory and overburdened with detail resulting in less time for in-depth auditing.
Process Auditing and Checklists
Process audits are undertaken to verify whether a process meets the planned goals and objectives and to identify opportunities for improvement. The main thing to understand when auditing a process is the actual process concept. One does not need to know or understand the details of a specific process to be able to audit it, although it does help. A good auditor should be able to audit any process without knowing anything about it by monitoring the process inputs to determine whether the desired process outputs have been achieved.
As with other ISO standards which require internal auditing, audit checklists based on the standard have minimal benefit when it comes to auditing a process. It is best to develop a specific audit questionnaire based on actual management system policies, processes and procedures. This allows a more in-depth approach that identifies not only failures in the processes but also potential failures, while also ensuring the internal auditors are much more rigorous during their enquiries.
Controlling the Audit Checklist
The basic ISO 9001 checklist template should be controlled but the actual audit checklist for each process is subject to change and should not be controlled.

Step by Step Guide to Employee Satisfaction Surveys

By Martin Day
  
Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy   

The benefit of running an annual employee survey has for a long time been widely accepted but many organizations have been put off by the amount of effort that is required.

Many organizations who have bit the bullet and conducted their own internal employee satisfaction surveys have often relied on word-processors to allow them to design and compile a survey, then gone through the effort of printing and distributing the survey and spent time chasing and collecting the completed surveys and then even more time transferring the survey response information into a meaningful management report.

Fortunately with the introduction of the Internet and hosted survey websites like www.surveygalaxy.com what was once a time consuming, resource hungry, long winded and cumbersome process is now slick, quick and easy.

This document provides a step by step guide to help implement a survey that will bring considerable benefits to any organization.

Step 1 - Identifying The Need

The reasons an organization would need a survey are as wide and they are long. Listed here are a few of the common reason why employee satisfaction surveys are conducted.

Event Driven

If your organization is about to embark, or is going through, a change management program employee surveys can assist in managing the change, measuring the effectiveness of the change, help to deliver a 'message' and gather valuable feedback throughout the change cycle.

For organizations that are experiencing rapid growth employee surveys can monitor internal communications and management structures to ensure that employees are aware of their reporting and management responsibilities.

Where an organization is suffering from poor moral brought on by either internal or external influences an employee survey can be used to identify the specific concerns of employees so those concerns can be properly addressed.

Where there is an increase in turnover of staff employee surveys can help an organization identify the underlying cause of employee unrest and through their findings help find solutions.

Periodically

As part of a periodic assessment, surveys will help an organization review their personnel and monitor on an individual level job satisfaction, training and career development.

Employee surveys also offer senior management the opportunity to look at the soft underbelly of their organization to confirm that their 'top down' view of the organization matches the reality and 'bottom up' perspective.

With the help of employee surveys an organization can establish good employer/employee communication that will in turn bring both direct and indirect benefits.

Step 2 - Management Buy-In

Management buy-in is always desirable for any initiative and many will argue that it is essential to ensure a successful employee survey, however, in some instances the findings of an employee survey can lead to kick-starting a management that has grown complacent and detached from their employees.

Some organization may be fortunate in that the senior management recognize and drive the need for employee surveys, while in others the management may need to first be convinced of the direct and indirect benefits an employee survey will bring.

The level of management commitment to an employee survey will have some bearing on the nature of the survey and to some extent will help determine what questions are to be asked and the manner they are asked.

A management that is supportive of the initiative may require feedback on specific areas of the business or they may give the go ahead because they feel confident that the results will only confirm that the level of employee satisfaction throughout the organization is high.

In nearly all cases it is good practice to at least try and get management to buy-in to the employee survey from the very start as they have a lot to gain and are in a position to effect any change that is later identified as being required.

Step 3 - Designing The Survey

Designing a good survey will take some time and effort but by following the basics of survey design and concentrating on the 'need to know' questions and removing the 'nice to know' a survey will rapidly take shape.

Determining the exact questions that should be asked will be entirely dependent on the individual organization, its structure and the previously identified primary need and objectives of the employee survey.

When considering what questions to ask consideration should be given to how the results are to be analyzed. For example there may be a desire to ask for individual comments but these types of answer formats can be very time consuming and cumbersome to analyze and should therefore be avoided or used sparingly.

With online surveys it is generally better to do a few smaller surveys than one very long survey as the longer the survey the higher the drop out rate will be.

Step 4 - Proof Reading And Testing

Grammar, Spelling And Clarity

Before publishing the survey make a careful check for spelling and typing mistakes and incorrect grammar. If available it is always better to have someone who has not been involved in designing the survey to proof read the survey with clean eyes, if no one is available try to take a break before checking through the survey again.

Say What You Mean And Mean What You Say

When checking the survey you need to consider the survey from the viewpoint of the respondent, you may know what you mean by each question but will the questions be clear to the employee?

Allow The Employee To Answer Truthfully

For closed questions where the employee will be required to choose from a number of available responses have you allowed the employee to answer accurately? Make use of responses like 'Don't know', 'No comment' or 'Not Applicable' where you have made the question mandatory but the employee may not be able to answer.

Consider allowing the employee to include an 'Other' answer but also appreciate that 'Other' answers will add to the complexity when analyzing the survey results.

Don't Require A Response To Questions That May Not Have One

Check that for any questions that you have made mandatory you do require an answer, for example open questions such as asking for additional comments should not be mandatory unless you definitely require the respondent to write a comment.

Check You Will Be Able To Analyze The Data

Check through the survey again but this time looking at how the results of the survey will be analyzed. Consider how you are likely to want to analyze the survey data, have you asked the right questions to be able to perform detailed analysis? For example if you wanted to view the detailed response data from the perspective of the different genders, or maybe departments, check you have asked the employee to indicate their own gender and/or department.

Don't Ask Anymore Questions Than You Need To

Consider all the questions in the survey and look for questions that are not 'need to know'.

Test The Link And Try Completing The Survey

Publish the survey and then send the survey's link to a number of people who will be willing to test the survey. By completing the survey yourself you will get a feel for how the respondent will view the survey. From your own and others feedback stop and make adjustments to the survey as required.

Repeat this process until you are happy with the survey.

Check The Data

Take time to view the online summary results of the test data and confirm that the data is being collected in a manner that can be properly analyzed and that will give meaningful results.

Step 5 - Promoting And Deploying The Survey

Where all or the majority of employees have access to the internet or company intranet deploying the online survey is as easy that ABC, either via email or by establishing a link to the survey from your own website or Intranet.

Where there are some or many employees that do not have direct access to the internet there are a number of alternatives that can be used from issuing the survey in printed form, providing a shared terminal or giving them an incentive to complete the survey at home.

Anonymous Responses?

There is a choice to allow all surveys to be completed anonymously. Allowing a survey to be anonymous may encourage employees to speak their minds enabling the survey to provide 'a warts and all' report, in turn giving management an opportunity to address underlying problems before they become serious.

However, allowing anonymous comments also allows employees to be more cavalier and flippant with their responses. Some organizations would therefore only want to consider comments where employees are prepared to stand by their convictions and that will also provide an opportunity to follow up the specific concerns of individual employees.

The decision to allow anonymous responses or not will, among other factors, be down to the individual organization, the specific nature of the survey, the surrounding circumstances, the management style and the existing employer/employee relationship.

Step 6 - Monitoring The Survey

While the survey is in progress you will be able to view the summary results online and also monitor in real-time the number of surveys that have been both started and completed.

If after a few days the number of completed surveys falls short of the expected target it is advisable to send periodic reminders to employees asking them to complete the survey.

Step 7 - Analyzing The Results

There are no hard and fast rules for analyzing the data. Much depends on the individual survey, the questions asked and the number of responses.

Most surveys will benefit from many of the results being displayed in graphical as well as tabular form.

When first analyzing survey data often a number of 'headline' results will immediately stand out that will provide you with a general overview and, providing the right questions have been asked, give you an instant assessment of the mood throughout the organization as a whole.

Where the results give areas of concern a more detailed analysis may be advisable. For example if employees were asked if they felt the organization provided equal opportunities to both genders and 25% gave a negative response it would be useful to know the gender split of the organization and also to look at what the gender split was of the 25% that answered negatively. Was the negative view shared by employees of both genders, evenly spread throughout the organization, or of a particular gender from a particular department?

There is a method of reporting that presents the result data in tabular and/or graphical form allowing those who are interested in the results to view the raw data.

Often used as a compliment to the first, another method is to interpret the results and provide an analysis of the data and offer a view as to what the meaning is behind the results, what circumstances may have contributed to the results being as they are and, where the results indicate a negative, what initiatives could be taken. Such analysis if done by a single individual is likely to be very personal, if done by a committee it is still likely to be objective and therefore open to interpretation.

Step 8 - Further Action

Probably the most important step is the last. An employee survey will either confirm that the perfect organization exists or it will highlight areas that are less than perfect by identifying individual and common concerns.

It may be that further more detailed surveys are required that target specific areas. For example the survey may reveal that employees working in a particular department are collectively unhappy, but the reasons for their dissatisfaction may not be clear. A smaller, specifically targeted follow-up survey may help reveal the root causes.

When employee surveys are periodically run an organization that has taken steps to address issues will see their efforts reflected in subsequent survey responses. Almost all organizations have some problems and it helps an organization's moral to see that a channel is available that will allow problems to be highlighted, addressed and resolved.

Summary

These guidelines are intended to help an organization conduct successful employee satisfaction surveys, they are however, only a guide.

Each organization is different in style and structure and the organizations 'personality' will go someway to influencing the tone and nature of the survey and organizations will have many different circumstances and primary reasons for conducting a survey.

By utilizing existing technology and conducting surveys online you are now able to monitor the heart beat of an organization, quickly, easily and, by using websites like Survey Galaxy, at minimal cost.