Strategic Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example A business strategy no matter how good it is, will succeed without the contribution of people. A proper analysis of data collected from human capital can help an organisation in developing business strategy process. In majority of the organisation people is regarded as the most important asset. To create value, an organisation has the task of utilising the knowledge, skills and also abilities of its people. Intangible value that is present in an organisation is its people. The HR personnel therefore have a greater task of managing the people of an organisation. An organisation will be able to achieve its objectives in the business front if strategic HRM is considered as a contributor in business strategy (CIPD, 2009). The case study is about Kazamy Manufacturing, a company having their business in both manufacturing and sales operation. Kazamy is different from other Japanese plants in this regard as most of them are involved only in manufacturing operation. Kazamy has established itself as one of the leading companies in Europe. It focuses on building a cordial relationship with their customers and also they enable their human resources i.e. their staffs to have a say in their marketing policy. Kazamy has given great importance to their manpower resources and utilised their knowledge and qualities in developing the company further. HR director of Kazamy joined in 1986. Since then he along with other members of kazamy hierarchy has worked hard in establishing their position in their business sector. Kazamy followed a strong HR philosophy. They didn’t want a traditional factory which is already present in UK. Their major policies were developed by the use of two principles. They firstly didn’t want to create a prototype Japanese plant existing in the rural Midlands area; secondly they strongly wanted to manage their manpower resource without the influence of any trade union. They valued

Leadership Approach Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Approach - Research Paper Example This paper discusses group performance study as an approach to studying leadership. Organizational group performance is the performance of various groups that are involved in the functioning organizational departments to achieve its goals. The efficiency of departmental groups contributes to the general success of the whole organization. Training employees in various groups helps them evaluate their performance by identifying the possible gaps in their skills or performance and plan on how to make effective improvements. According to Yuki (2010), for a group to be effective, all members have to work in unity to achieve results. Issues arising among the different members of the group are a hindrance on achieving results. These issues could be either task related, interpersonal related or either common. Measurement of group performance relies on the contribution of all group members working towards completing a similar task by application of interpersonal skills. A good leader should possess skills and knowledge to direct the group members in achieving the common goal. The out-come of the group measures the leaders’ level of performance. The performance of the entire organization is largely depended on the performance of the various groups of the organization. A successful leader should be in a position to control the various groups of the organization to achieve the goal of organization (Kottler & Englar, 2010). A leader chooses the most preferable method of leadership to apply to the group, which could either be autocratic or democratic. An autocratic leader makes the group’s decision with minimum or no consultations from the other members, while a democratic leader allows consultations of all group members and considers individual opinions regarding the issue at hand. Group leadership defines the purpose of the group, and every member is of the group feels proud to belong to the group. Members understand the roles

By reference to specific case-law and political examples, critically Essay

By reference to specific case-law and political examples, critically examine the extent to which this statement accurately reflects the development as well as the content of Public International Law today - Essay Example anda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia in Africa; Bosnia and Kosovo in Eastern Europe; state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in East Timor in Asia and extreme violence on the North American island nation of Haiti. These were the â€Å"new wars† at the end of the 20th century. Although ethnic conflict and humanitarian crises have existed since the dawn of time, for the first time ever images of extreme bloodshed, violence and even genocide were broadcast into the homes of the viewing public through international television stations like the Cable News Network (CNN), Fox and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Images of children being slaughtered, women raped and people brutalized were beamed into the living rooms of people all over the world, for all to see. For the first time, the public was confronted, on a near daily basis, with images of carnage and humanitarian crisis. People pressed their congressmen, parliamentarians and state representatives to act and, in varying degrees, a groundswell calling for a decisive role for governments in ending these humanitarian crises and conflicts emerged. Although some wanted direct military action, often French, British or American, in ending a particular conflict, most governments have traditionally favor ed other instruments of diplomacy: political pressure, economic sanctions and imposed settlement through international bodies such as the United Nations. While support for military intervention was certainly not the operative interventionist choice for most in the cases mentioned in the introductory paragraph above – for example, how many Americans or Frenchmen before the genocide could locate Rwanda on a map? – in each case presented above, the international community did consider some type of military intervention in ending the respective crises (Boettcher, 2004). Are human rights a key determinant of foreign policy? If so, how does the protection of human rights on a global

Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Technology - Essay Example thing, I have strongly disfavored my complete reliance on my laptop over a period of time but unfortunately I am totally dependent on this technological device for nearly all my tasks, routines and undertakings. My laptop becomes a real source of pain for me whenever I am doing something on the Internet and there is an issue that surfaces which has got nothing to do with my work in progress. Usually these problems stem from replacing an antivirus or asking me to run the scandisk otherwise the system threatens to go off the track – and off the track it always does! I get awful things in my mind all of a sudden and my reliance on this technological product takes the entire wrath from my mouth in an instant. I start becoming very edgy and my feelings become very strong in hatred against the laptop and indeed the whole field of science. Thus I am of the belief that my laptop should not be given this much importance within my life as much as I give to it at the present. This will solve quite a few problems for my goodness

Affordable Care Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Affordable Care Act - Essay Example This memo will investigate the impact of ACA on Employer-Sponsored Insurance (ESI) and will specifically examine various aspects of the Act that can discourage large employers’ to offer healthcare coverage to their employees. This can ultimately result in reduced access and quality of the healthcare services and increased costs. ACA is a law of primary importance for the people of United States because it aims to address many long standing issues with our health insurance policies including the coverage of children on parental policy, cessation of ‘donut hole’ for seniors, elimination of lifetime dollar limit on coverage, free preventive care and many other provisions with an aim to cover every segment of the society to maximum possible limit of coverage, even the uninsured people with a program to extend access to insurance and more funds to states to help them in extending Medicare facilities to low-income seniors. In essence, the program is a tremendous effort to fill the gaps of insurance coverage while safeguarding the rights of stakeholders. Still, there are areas which required attention of the legislators to device some amendments in the program in order to ensure and extend its impact on access, cost and quality of health care services. The employer sponsored insurance coverage is the hottest among the controversial issues associated with provisions of ACA that are supposed to be in effect by 2014. There are two major aspects of the ACA provisions, firstly the impact of Tax Credits to small businesses and its impact on coverage offers by the employer to low and medium salaried employees and secondly the impact on large employers after 2014 when the law will be in effect with all its provisions. The employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) is of immense importance to the American people because larger employers plays an important role in overall health insurance coverage and if these firms decided to drop the coverage its impact will certa inly deplore the positivity of the ACA. However, there is a clear divide among the experts and analyst over the estimates of large firms’ response in 2014. Some forecast a big drop in ESI and other estimate it to be stable. â€Å" While the overall ESI market is likely to remain fairly stable, modelers and other experts agree that some firm types and covered subgroups are likely to experience changes in coverage soon after 2014.† (Avalere, 2011). Although most of the surveys and analysis project a stable ESI market in post-2014 scenario, there are experts, firms and analyst who oppose with some valuable reasoning and proclaim that ACA provisions can cause a major shift in employers’ policy of health insurance offerings. â€Å"Overall, 30 percent of employers will definitely or probably stop offering ESI in the years after 2014.† (Singhal, Jeris, & Drew, 2011). This is certainly an alarming statement because of heavy reliance of nonelderly Americans on emp loyer-sponsored health services and no real solution of increased healthcare access and quality can prove beneficial unless it addresses this sector correctly and U.S. Department of Healthcare and Human Services is aware of the fact, â€Å"The U.S. employer-based health insurance market provides insurance coverage to nearly two-thirds of the population under 65. In addition, nearly 80 percent of the uninsured live in a family where at least one adult is employed. Therefore, building on these programs might be an attractive component of any

Fast Food Advertisements Essay Example for Free

Fast Food Advertisements Essay 1.Junk food advertising does not force parents to buy the food Just because junk food is advertised does not mean that parents should buy it for their children or give their children the money to buy it. It is important to recognise that parents have the final say, and also are ultimately responsible for what their children eat. We should place greater responsibility on parents, and if we are concerned that they are buying junk food for their children, we should attempt to address that problem. But, this has less to do with junk food advertising and more to do with informing the health decisions of parents. 2.If we apply the principle of individual responsibility, advertising is fine It is important not to hold businesses and advertisers responsible for the choices of individual consumers. If a consumer wants to purchase a good, the supplier should not be blamed for supplying it. The buyer wants to be pulled in by junk-food advertisements, and does not hold back their mind from unhealthy food. There are ads for health foods, buy consumers don’t want to buy vegetables or fruits, and therefore hold back their mind from buying them. It is solely how to consumers want to react to their own decisions, and has nothing to do with the supplier. If a producer advertises their good, they should not be blamed for the consumer finding their good attractive. There are people who don’t like junk food at all, and they control their minds like that. It is simple how the person controls their mind to think. Just like in movies, or in the real world, there is or always needs to be some components of good and bad. The people themselves decide on which group they want to be in. Sadly though, these days, majority of people decide to be in on junk-food. We must maintain the notion of individual responsibility, or people will start blaming each other for their own bad choices. 3.Parents must talk to their children about health eating habits The truth is that ‘there is certainly a place for junk food in every diet’. Elizabeth Berger, author of â€Å"Raising Kids with Character† says, â€Å"Parents must talk to their children about the healthy amount. In the real world, children will be exposed to all sorts of advertisements and their parents will not always be able to protect them. Therefore, their parents must begin to teach them while they are still children†. 4 .Children have little or no money It is not sensible to aim advertisements at children because they have little or no money, and can’t afford to buy the junk food anyway. Also, by the time children do have enough money, and are able to transport themselves to a fast-food place without their parents, they will have grown older and have the age to take the correct decisions for themselves. Even if they do take the wrong decision, then it is completely their own fault, as they are old enough and responsible enough to make their own decisions. Children that are much younger need their parents for help. Also, when you are growing older with some pocket money, learning to manage money for the correct causes and reasons is a part of growing up. 5.Discipline plays a big part Believe it or not, discipline plays a big part in this whole issue. Fast food advertising has no magical power to create unnatural desires for food. Children who nag are simply badly brought up. Poor parenting and undisciplined children cannot be solved by banning food advertisements during children’s television shows, as children have many other influences which can still stimulate these desires. 6.Children naturally like foods that are rich in fats, proteins and sugar. Their craving is not started off by advertisements. They give them the energy to play energetically and grow healthily. It is true that eating only such foods is bad for people, but this is again a problem of bad parenting rather than the fault of food advertisements. And off course, it advertising junk-food is banned, than children will grow naive, and as they enter into the real world, they will then become inundated with ads, because they will have not learnt the skills of ignoring ads when younger. 7.Fast food advertisements appear not only on TV, but you can also hear them on other sources, such as radios. Say the government does ban fast food advertisements during children’s TV shows. Children also watch many other programmes that adults also enjoy, but these programmes still have fast food ads during them, remember. Does this mean we should extend this ban to all television advertising? And, why stop at television when children are also exposed to radio, cinema, the internet and billboards in the street as well? But, any restrictions will be impossible to enforce, as television is increasingly broadcast by satellite across national borders and cannot be easily controlled – nor can the internet. 8.Banning advertisements is a severe restriction upon freedom of speech Companies should be able to tell the public about any legal products (such as fast-food). Children also have a human right to receive this information from a wide range of sources and make up their own minds about it. They are far from being brainwashed by advertisements, which form only a small part of their experiences; family, friends, school and other television programmes are much more important and all give them alternative views of the world.

Factors Influencing Public Policy

Factors Influencing Public Policy As for a good government, the valuable public policy, which refers to the government action or inaction to deal with particular issues, can be regarded as one of the evaluation criterions. Thus, it seems that the process of policy making, turning the government political vision into the actual programs and actions in the real world (Cabinet Office, 1999), becomes significant which should be put on much more emphasis. Especially, good quality policy making depends on high quality information, derived from a variety of sources-expert knowledge; existing domestic and international research; existing statistics; stakeholder consultation; evaluation of previous policies and new research(Cabinet Office, 1999). The high quality information here mainly refers to evidence which becomes more and more important part for the policy making. Even more, the increasing use of various kinds of evidence by government has determined the central role of evidence in policy making for 21st century. The te rm evidence-based policymaking naturally comes up at the same time. Actually, the rise role of evidence in policy making does have its own reasons. As the development of modern society, the growth of well-educated and well-informed public cast their interest to the exact information provided by the government and ask why. Thus in certain distance, it facilitates the government to explore the precise data of all types with the help of developed information technology(Davies, Nutley and Smith, 2000). Whats more, an increasing demand on accountability in government spurs on the significance of evidence in a democratic society. Due to the above reasons, in UK the Blair Government, who was elected on the basis of What matters is what works, announced that to produce policies that really deal with problems, that are forward-looking and shaped by evidence rather than a response to short-term pressure, that tackles causes; not symptoms(Modernising Government, 1999 White Paper), and demonstrated that it was a good time for the new government to begin evidenc e based- approach to public policy (Gary Banks AO, 2009), At the same time, they built a new relationship between social science and government as well as pointed out that public policy had to be driven by evidence. So, what exactly does evidence mean? UK Cabinet office defines it as analysis of the outcome of consultation, costings of policy options and the results of economic or statistical modeling(Cabinet Office, 1999) According to Chambers Dictionary, evidence consists of results of systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge (Davies, Nutley and Smith, 2000). Both two definitions can be divided into four kinds serving for policy making: descriptive data, analytic findings, evaluative evidence, and policy analytic forecasts(Carol Hirschon Weiss, 2001). Descriptive data is a tool to show objects condition, location, relation and direction of change. Consider, for instance, before the Hong Kong Government introduced the environmental levy scheme on plastic shopping bags, amount of data are collected to show the increasing danger brought by the plastic bags. 3-the average number of plastic bags is used by Hong Kong people per day. 13,503-the number of tons of solid waste is disposed of at landfills per day (EPD Hong Kong, 2009). 20 to 1000-the years are needed to decompose the plastic bag. From the exact data, government could clearly see the negative environmental affect caused by the plastic bag. Thus, governments policy is made on the basis of large and comprehensive data. The second kind is analytic findings which refer to the identified information conducted by an academic research and analysis system, discovering the relationship between factors and current situations(Carol Hirschon Weiss, 2001). Also in the same policy-the environmental levy scheme on plastic shopping bags, after academic analysis, we can conclude that the low environmental consciousness of public endangers the situation of indiscriminate use of plastic bags. The analytic findings are the direction for seeking positive solutions in the process of policy making. Evaluation serves for directly examining the existing policies in other countries or places, and then selectively choo sing for own use. Taiwan, as one of the pioneers in environmental protection, provides valuable experience for the Hong Kong Government enacting the plastic bag levy scheme. After evaluating positive and negative sides of Taiwans Restricted Use Policy on Plastic Shopping Bags and Disposable Plastic Tableware (Our Groups Essay on Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags, 2009), the HK Government adopts the same policy of restricted use of plastic shopping bags while temporarily abandons the unavailable policy on plastic tableware. The last one is policy analytic forecasts. In common situations, analyst will calculate and predict the potential cost and benefits of the coming policy. The report of prediction will influence the final release of the new policy(Carol Hirschon Weiss, 2001). In short, these four kinds of evidence are used as the basis of the government policy making. Nevertheless, no matter how important evidence is, in the process of policy making, its nature has several limitations and difficulties. According to Gary Banks research on evidence-based policy making, methodology the government choose, data deficiency or overload, evidence transparency, people who research and analyze evidence, and the limited time to do the data collection are all the potential factors to influence the effectiveness of evidence used in policy making(Gary Banks AO, 2009). Sometimes, quantitative data could be collected, but that does not mean they are the real valuable data needed. The increase use of plastic shopping bags has no necessary correlation with the heavy air pollution problem. Thus, the evidence for air pollution should directly from car emission, industrial emission, waste deposition, etc. People with diverse political value or interest could be not reluctant to accept the evidence which obeys their interest. Whats more, even for the policy makers, the y would like to set the mode of policy first and then look for confirmation evidence. In this sense, evidence only can be regarded as one of the crucial factors in policy making. It will be much more appropriate to call that evidence-influenced policy making( H.K. Wongs lecture note). In addition, other three main factors-political, economic and social factors, also have a intensive power to affect the complex process of policy making. Politics here concerns with political system and crisis. On one hand, as we know, the stable political system determines the usual way of the government policy making. From the first beginning of policy proposal to the consultation and to the final policy making, every step complies with a certain regulate with minor change. Moreover, the same as the steady political system, political ideology and beliefs also become the major elements to force the policy made(Philip Davies, 2004). On the other hand, crisis explosion becomes the direct primacord to urge the government to enact and implement a new policy in the immediate time. After the explosion of the global financial crisis, once the economic situation in Hong Kong got worse rapidly, and the Hong Kong Government carried out series of policy to stimulate the recovery and development of economy. In the 2009-2010 Budget, the government introduced several measures to ensure the stability of financial institutions and the market to bols ter public confidence in our financial systems, including the provision of liquidity assistance to the banking system and the establishment of a Contingent Bank Capital Facility(The 2009-2010 Budget of Hong Kong). Meanwhile, in order to decrease the unemployment rate caused by the financial crisis, the Hong Kong Government also sustained the provision of more than 60000 employment chances, increased the recruitment of civil servants, and closely cooperated with Guangdong Province to create more jobs(The 2009-2010 Budget of Hong Kong). Thus, it seems that in some certain situations, political factors are more available than evidence which needs time to collect and analyze. The economy is often closely connected with the politics. The long-standing development of economy should base on valuable policies. In every years policy address, economic policy is the most important one. According to the specific economic situations, the government have emphasised their policy on different aspects. For instance, when the Hong Kong market was heavily hit by the financial tsunami, the policy emphasis are placed on how to cope with it and how to recover this year. This is why the government make great effort to stabilize the financial system, support enterprises and preserve employment(2009-2010 Policy Address). Comparing to the previous year, there was no financial tsunamis hitting, the Hong Kong Government focused more on 10 large-scale Infrastructure Projects which aimed to improve Hong Kongs transportation and link up socio-cultural and business activities with more efficient transportation systems(2007-2008 Policy Address). When talking about economic factors, w e should notice that every policy is restricted within the government finance. As we know, if the budget of a policy is largely beyond the governments financial endurance after exact calculation and the cost effectiveness/efficiency system, the policy will be cut off. Social factors here include experience and judgement of policy makers, habit and tradition, pressure groups and consultants(Philip Davies, 2004). Normally, the experience and judgement of policy makers are precious conclusion on the basis on the previous policy success or failure, embodying rational capital and tacit knowledge(Philip Davies, 2004). They are consider as an influence factor. Actually, the use of experience and judgement often appears in the condition where the evidence is incomplete or non-existent(Grimshaw, et al, 2003). It can be regarded as a complement for evidence in the process of policy making. Habit and tradition constitutes another social factor affecting policy making. Some institutions stagnate due to the unchanging habit and tradition. They refuse to make and implement new policy to stimulate the development of themselves. To a certain extent, Changing traditional and habitual ways of doing things to accommodate the forces of rationality and modernity prese nts a major challenge for policy making(Philip Davies, 2004). The last social factor-pressure groups and consultants, increasingly influence the policy making in the current days. The fast development of think tanks in society, they have already deeply penetrated into the politics. Especially when a policy contradicts with think-tanks and pressure groups interest, their opinions are powerful enough to affect the policy making. In a word, all the above factors come together to influence the process of policy making. Evidence, political, economic and social factors supplement with each other, preparing for the fully consideration of policy making. However, factors come together here does not mean that every factor should become one necessary part in a policy. In most conditions, there are only two or three factors influence the policy making. Now, I will analyze how these factors come together to affect policy making within one case. Small Class Teaching in Hong Kong is a typical case which could prove many elements come together to influence policy making. As the development of modern knowledge-based society, more and more requirements are raised on education system and method. Especially, for the comprehensive development of younger generation, it is commonly supposed that small class with smaller number of students per class is much more helpful than the normal large class in primary and secondary school. As for the teachers in small class, they could reduce their heavy workload, pay more attention to every individual student and then teach students according to their ability. For the student, in small class they would have more opportunities to communicate with teachers and classmates, participant in class activities and get more immediate feedback of their own study from teachers(Group 2s Essay on Small Class Teaching). Since July 1998, an oral question on class size in primary and secondary schools was first raised by Hon Cheung Man-kwong in the Legislative Council. Till 2007, the Chief Executive finally announced that the small class teaching would be launch in 2009/10 school year in his 2007-2008 Policy Address. During the long period of policy making, in order to collect more resource as well as considering some controversy issues concerned with the small class teaching, the government conducted a pilot study in primary school with effectiveness strategies of class and group teaching in 2003/04 school year and another scheme in primary schools with high concentration of disadvantaged pupils with effect from 2005/06 school year. During the study, amount of feedback and quantitative data have been collected from teachers and students through the way of questionnaire. Qualitative data, carefully analyzed through systematic lesson observations and case studies, get a conclusion that schools and teac hers have not really benefited a lot from the small class teaching (Group 2s essay on Small Class Teaching). Even though the final result of the study has not been released to the public, from the aspect of evidence, it can be regarded as a good way to start. In addition, the evaluation and experience-learning on the basis of overseas experience is also a kind of evidence. The United State is a successful example on the implementation of small class teaching, who conducts specific cost-effectiveness analysis and fully considers the allocation of funds, the target popularity, the class size and so on(Group 2s essay on Small Class Teaching). From the aspect of social factors, most of academic and parents representatives concurred with the policy of small class teaching with the reasons that teachers should be professionally trained and care more about individual students need. Moreover, political parties such as Democratic Party and Liberal Party, also agreed with the implementation of this policy. Thus, a great major of stakeholders were unanimous the implementation of small class teaching which they believed students and teachers would benefit a lot from it. In this sense, the strong opinions for stakeholders have a certain impact on the whole policy process. From the aspect of political factors, in 2002, the Consolidating High Cost and Under-utilized Primary Schools policy was introduced by Education and Manpower Bureau, leading to a threaten to amount of teachers jobs. Thousands of teachers hold a march and protested against the policy in July 2003(SING TAO, 2003). This political pressure became one element to influence the making of small class teaching policy. Originally, the Hong Kong Government attempted to practice evidence-based policy making by conducting the pilot study, evaluating and analyzing the research as well as learning from overseas experience. However, political and social factors partially become the elements of affecting the policy making. Thus, evidence in this case is still the most important factor and the policy of small class teaching could be called evidence-influenced policy. To conclude, in the complex process of policy making, evidence as well as the political, economic and social factors constitutes the influence elements. On one hand, Evidence, by means of descriptive data, analytic findings, evaluative evidence, and policy analytic forecasts, occupies the most significant position in policy making. On the other hand, to some extent, the limitations and difficulties of evidence restrict the policys formation. It leads to the evidence-influenced policy, instead of evidence-based policy. Yet, the existence of the political, economic and social factors makes up the limitation of evidence in a certain distance. They all serve for the whole policy process. Reference Cabinet Office, 1999, Professional Policy-Making for the Twenty-First Century, Strategic Policy Making Team, London, Cabinet Office. http://www.civilservant.org.uk/profpolicymaking.pdf ( accessed on 18 November, 2009) Cabinet Office, 1999a, Modernising Government, White Paper, London, Cabinet Office. Carmen, Fiona, Helen, Gloria, Selin and Yvonne, November 2009, Group Paper: Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags Carol Hirschon Weiss, 2001, What Kind of Evidence in Evidence-Based Policy? Third International, Inter-disciplinary Evidence-Based Policies and Indicator Systems Conference, July 2001 http://www.cemcentre.org/Documents/CEM%20Extra/EBE/EBE2001/P284-291%20Carol%20Weiss.pdf (accessed on 19 November, 2009) Chau Kam Yan, Hon Heung-Kwan, Kung Tin Ho, Leung Lok-Sum, So Tsit, October 2009, Group Essay on Small Class Teaching Donald Tsang, 2007, Policy Address 2007-2008: A New Direction for Hong Kong, policyaddress.gov.hk, http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/07-08/eng/agenda.html (accessed on 20 November, 2009) Donald Tsang, 2009, Policy Address 2009-2010: Breaking New Ground Together, policyaddress.gov.hk, http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk/09-10/eng/index.html (accessed on 20 November, 2009) Environmental Protection Department Hong Kong, 2009. Environmental Levy on Plastic Shopping Bags. http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/env_levy.html (accessed on 3 November, 2009) Gary Banks AO, 2009, Challenges of Evidence-Based Policy-Making, Australia Public Service Commission, http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications09/evidencebasedpolicy.htm (accessed on 19 November, 2009) Grimshaw, J.M., Thomas, R.E., MacLennan, G., Fraser, C., and Ramsay, C.R., 2003, Effectiveness and Efficiency of Guideline Dissemination and Implementation Strategies, Final Report, Aberdeen, Health Services Research Unit. H.K. Wong, 2009, Lecture Note 3: The Rhetorics and Reality of EBPM Hum Davies, Sandra Nutley and Peter Smith, 2000, Introducing Evidence-Based Policy and Practice in Public Services, In What Works? Evidence Based Policy and Practice in the Public Services, Chapter One, 1-11, Bristol: Policy Press John Tsang Chun-wah, 2009, the 2009-2010 Budget, http://www.budget.gov.hk/2009/eng/speech.html (accessed on 19 November, 2009) Philip Davies, 2004, Is Evidence-Based Government Possible? To be presented at the 4th Annual Campbell Collaboration Colloquium, Washington D.C., 19 February 2004 http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/policyhub/downloads/JerryLeeLecture1202041.pdf (accessed on 20 November, 2009) http://www.singtao.com/archive/fullstory.asp?andor=oryear1=2003month1=07day1=21year2=2003month2=07day2=21category=allid=20030721a01keyword1=keyword2= (accessed on 20 November, 2009)