Do European Works Councils represent a major advance in employee Essay

Do European Works Councils represent a major advance in employee representation - Essay Example countries with central management of large multinational companies to discuss issues as complex as worker rights and any plans the company may be considering that would affect workers. Meetings also allow employees of one country to share information and experiences with colleagues from other nations. â€Å"Employee participation at a European level became a reality with the introduction of the European Works Council Directive† (Fitzgerald, 2004: 1). The purpose of the Councils: to provide workers within large multinational corporations, through their designated representatives, a direct line of communication to top management. With communication as key, various national councils insure that workers in all countries are provided accurate information about plans and policies of the transnational companies who employ them, and ensure worker representatives of established unions and national works councils the opportunity to consult amongst each other and develop a common response before policies and plans are implemented. Beyond these goals, three main views about why works councils primarily exist include benign goals as stated to improve communication and less benign goals of worker control over bargaining and negotiations and input into company policy when market failures occur that may negatively impact their employment. Based purely on description of purpose, the formation of the councils appear a valid and reasonable response to the advent and power of multinational corporations—impersonal behemoths larger than life with little sense of employee conditions or problems experienced at lower management levels. The success of the councils as regards employee representation is, as might be expected, mixed. This paper examines the reality of the success or failure of the councils, and to what degree they have advanced the cause of worker representation. Fitzgerald (2004) points out that the EWC Directive in its final form was viewed as a watered-down version of

Cineworld Group PLC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cineworld Group PLC - Essay Example Objective of the report The objective of this assessment is to highlight the relation between the performance and the corporate governance of the company. The company chosen for this assessment is Cineworld Group PLC. In 1995 Stephen Wiener founded Cineworld Group plc. Initially it was a private company but in the month of May in 1997 it became listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is the only listed cinema company in the UK. It consists of around 70% of the total UK box office market and owns 60% of the total number of screens in the United Kingdom (Cineworld Cinemas, 2012b). Critical evaluation of the corporate governance Cineworld Group PLC is a listed FTSE 250 company in London Stock Exchange. It follows the corporate governance code and conduct of United Kingdom for the companies below FTSE 350. The board of Cineworld Group PLC has eight members out of whom there are two Executive Directors and number of Non executive directors is six. Among the non executive directors five of them are independent and one non executive director works independently. There are three main committees namely remuneration nomination and audit. Each of this committee works in their respective fields. New committees are formed by the board to discuss some specific topics .The nomination committee helps in setting up the board. It evaluates the skill and experience of the board members and determines its size and composition. It also appoints and replaces directors whenever necessary. This committee also looks after the retirement of the board members. The three non executive directors are David Maloney, Thomas McGrath and Peter Williams. Thomas McGrath currently heads this committee. The general meeting of this committee is held twice a year. The committee for remuneration looks after the company’s policy that deals with the executive and personal remuneration and also with the remuneration of non executive directors and senior management who are below the Directors. The three non executive directors in this committee are Peter Williams, Martina King and David Maloney. Peter Williams is the chairman of this committee. The general meeting of this committee is held twice annually. The committee for auditing ensures the proper reporting of the financial statements of the company. It scrutinizes the financial statements and also reviews the internal and external audits. This committee helps in recruiting the external audits and looks after the proper functioning of the internal audits. It also reviews and finalizes the annual report. Peter Williams, David Maloney and Rick Senat form the audit committee. David Maloney is the Chairman of this committee. The general meeting of this committee is held twice annually. The main aim of the corporate governance board of Cineworld Group PLC is to abide by the UK corporate governance code. (Cineworld Cinemas, 2012c). Relation between performance and corporate governance Corporate governance is one of the key facto rs that ensure consistent growth of a company. Any company that aims for a steady increase in its profit and its shareholders wealth must have well functioning corporate governance policies. If we take a look at the financials of the Cineworld Group PLC and compare the year 2011 with the year 2010 we will see that this company has improved its financials significantly