Archive for category Ethics

A Provocative Scandal in the Lucrative Olive Oil Industry

Jewelers who give proper care about your particular needs, instead of their own personal income, are difficult to come by. Particularly in this economy. These folks inquire about relevant questions, remember the small details, and are candid and forthright to inform you about what you do need to hear, whether or not it dangers killing the sale.

I’ve been in touch with a bulk olive oil wholesale company since 2005, and they are a “pearl that I’m glad I’ve found” in the Olive industry. I’ve enjoyed candid conversations with their director of Consumer Services, who tells me about the many painstaking actions these folks go through in a concerted effort to uphold high quality assurance standards. In reality, their staff even embark on visits to Greece, Italy and Spain to visit with Olive growers. What’s amazing, is that not one of these actions is to make themselves to look like heroes to wholesale buyers. It isn’t even publicized or placed on their company’s website.

Recently, the New Yorker Magazine published a “whistle-blowing” write-up about the Bulk Olive Oil industry. This article provided instances of Olive Oil importers who claimed that the olives came from Italy, when truly they had been illegally imported into Italy from Turkey or Morocco, and then exported from there. Not only that, but the Extra Virgin Olive Oil was, contrary to olive oil standards, blended with hazelnut oil, or some other similar substitute, and after that labeled as being “Genuinely Pure” Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Italy. Naturally this sent alarm bells all through the industry, effecting wholesale oil suppliers and buyers alike. If you ask me, it has aided the ideal of breed, so to say, to rise to the top of the hierarchy of sought after companies to buy from.

Importers, like the one I’ve been dealing with since as far back as 2005, who are upright even though no person is looking, are now being praised for their high quality initiatives to sustain high standards. Does this remind you of the America of 40 years ago when a handshake was all that was expected to enter into a several million dollar deal? Nowadays you practically need a handshake, as well as a handful of legal agreements and sometimes over priced legal professionals to ensure that you’ve covered your bases.

One of the primary reasons that the Importer I was talking about delivers on everything they commit to, is to maintain a clean conscience. It reminds me of an old school sales manual from about 60 years ago, where the author describes that you must make sure you will always be totally truthful and forthright in all communication, because if you exaggerate something in order to make a sale, you’ll “know what you did, even if the customer doesn’t.” Those words have stuck with me since reading that.

If you happen to be a wholesale buyer of any particular commodity, I recommend that you don’t rest until your supplier shows you legit documentation from national or international verifying organizations and chemistry labs. After all, do you think you would buy an elegant diamond simply on the basis of its looks, or would you insist on seeing GIA or AIG certification? The same standards should be applied in the Olive Oil industry.

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Hotel Industry Workers in Great Demand in Canada

Canada is a hub of many industries which from time immemorial have been contributing to its growth. Out of these large variety, the hotel industry is one such sector. It has been at a time, one of the largest employers in the country. If one closely analyses it, it is one of those few areas which provide maximum growth to an individual. A person can grow up from ranks once getting employed in this profession. However of late the hotel industry of Canada is facing a sphere of problems of which labor shortage is one which has robbed the hoteliers of their sleep.

Labor shortage
The hotel industry has been yearning for workers for many years. The global economic recession further worsened the problem with the situation of labor shortage turning into a miserable plight. During this time from 423,000 the figure went down to 320,000 in case of the number of people serving the hotel industry of Canada. Though the economy has ameliorated in the recent times, but still as Tony Pollard who is the President of The Hotel Association of Canada believes, the hoteliers cannot afford to relax. It has been predicted by eminent professionals of this field that by 2015 Canada will face a mass dearth of workers in its hotels which would be beyond control provided action is taken at the right time.

Factors contributing to this crisis
Once which started as a small issue of less workers in few hotels of some provinces of Canada, today has evolved into a national problem faced by the entire hotel industry of the country. There are some factors which has accelerated the vacancies in the hotel sector:

• Demographic factors.
• Workers with good communication skills in English not easily available.
• Low wages and pay offered, thus not much satisfaction in terms of monetary basis.

All these can be held as reasons behind the difficulty faced by the employers to attract and be able to retain workers in their hotels.

Labor shortage leading to high labor costs
The increased demand of workers has culminated to a remarkable increase in the cost of building hotels and in the wages of the hotel workers. As per a survey around 44.6 percent of the total expenditure of a hotel goes to labor wages. Labor wages as such has always been one of the biggest expense irrespective of the categories or class of hotels. This point is further strengthened by a report which has stated that most of the Canadian hotels have recorded a rise of 2 to 4 percent per year in their labor wages in the last five years. This sudden inflation in the pay of the workers has added to the woes of the hoteliers thus making their search for workers an up hill task.

Measures to be taken to fulfill the demand
It is required on the part of the hoteliers to respond strategically as well as try out innovative ideas to deal with this demand of workers. Providing good opportunities for learning and development; support by the management; and organizing workshops for training the workers are some of the steps which should be put to use by the hotel industry which would act as a catalyst in attracting the workers. Immigrants are also a strong option which can be used to fill in the vacancies currently existing in the hotel industry of Canada.

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