Comprehensive Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comprehensive Project - Coursework Example This provides a backup measure to cover the holes in the federal statutory codes when resolving a dispute. In the UAE, courts do not keep an accounting of cases gone to trial or decisions from those cases for building on previous case law. Building on case law benefits the person seeking relief from the courts as there is at least one other person who in a similar situation received a ruling in their favor. Case law would then support the argument made in the new case and provide a standard of proof necessary to make the original argument. In the UAE, this does not happen so every case must present with sufficient evidence and on its own merits before a judge. Judges have no expectation to render a decision based on previous decisions, meaning there is no precedent set outside of relying on the civil codes. Simply put, a judge can base his decision solely on the facts of the case in front of him and make a decision that is contrary to other decisions he or other judges have made in s imilar situations. For a contractor seeking relief in the UAE, understanding the civil codes and the federal laws is the best manner of protecting oneself. In the UAE Civil Law no. 2 of 1987 (the â€Å"civil code†) articles 870 to 896 specifically, provides the legal framework for the construction industry (Beamish, 2). The codes explain the expectations of both parties and the manner to find resolution without relying solely on a decision from the courts. In commercial transactions involving a contract, it is necessary for all parties to understand the significance this document has in their business dealings including the limitations of their agreement (Coburn). More importantly, both parties must understand what course of action is valid for them to undertake to ensure fulfillment of the contract including when one party will not pay for services rendered or materials provided. The UAE Commercial Transaction Law no. 18 of 1993 (the â€Å"CTL†), articles 6 and 11spel l out the criteria required to become a party to a construction claim (Al Tammi & Company, 1). By familiarizing oneself with the statutes is the best manner to understand the elements a contract should contain and what course of action to take, such as arbitration and a mechanics lien when the other party refuses to pay for services and materials (Al Tammi & Company, 1). The Civil Procedure Law of 1992 (the â€Å"CPL†) articles 203-219 specifically discusses the use of arbitration and the manner in which the arbitral awards are authenticated (Al Tammi & Company, 1). The amount of unpaid contractors in the UAE has increased in recent years costing â€Å"hundreds of millions of dirhams to hundreds of millions of US dollars† (Delmar-Morgan). These cases had been clogging up the court systems when arbitration of these cases became popular. Now, the arbitration cases have increased to a point where it is difficult to tend to the client’s needs in a timely manner. The se are not cases of a couple hundred or thousands of dollars or dirhams but millions. One case involving British consultants and engineers who were never paid equaled $636 million (Delmare-Morgan). WS Atkins, a company that designed Burj Al Arab waited for payment of $39.7 million (Delmar-Morgan). Through the arbitration process, WS Atkins expected payment by the first quarter of the next year, yet WS Atkins continued to wait for

Conflict within an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conflict within an Organization - Essay Example Inside and outside stakeholders, such as employees, management, and shareholders, however, competes over their share of the rewards and resources that the organization generates. To grow, change, and survive, an organization must manage both cooperation and competition among stakeholders (Gasparino & Raghavan, 2001; March, 1962). Organizational conflict is the clash that occurs when the goal-directed behavior of one group blocks or thwarts the goals of another. Conflict can be beneficial because it can overcome organizational inertia and lead to organizational learning and change (Coser, 1956; Robbins, 1974). When conflict within an organization or conflict between an organization and elements in its environment arises, the organization and its managers must reevaluate their view of the world. Conflict between different managers or between different stakeholder groups can improve decision-making and organizational learning by revealing new ways of looking at a problem or the false or erroneous assumptions that distort decision-making. For example, conflict at AT&T between the board of directors and top managers about the slow pace at which top managers were restructuring the company caused a radical change in managerial attitudes (Hymowitz, 2001; Bernstein et al, 2000). A new top-management team was appointed to increase the pace of change and to overcome AT&T's conservative approach. Similarly, conflict between divisional managers at IBM resulted in a major change in organizational focus, from a purely mainframe focus to a more consulting-oriented focus (Nugent, 2002). Beyond a certain point, however, conflict stops being a force for good and becomes a cause of organizational decline. Innovation is, of course, more or less impossible in such a setting. An organization in trouble spends a lot of time making decisions-time that it cannot afford because it needs to adapt quickly to turn itself around. Thus, although some conflict can jolt an organization out of inertia, too much conflict can cause organizational inertia: As different groups fight for their own positions and interests, they fail to arrive at consensus, and the organization drifts along; failure to change makes the organization go from bad to worse (Amason, 1996). At first, many organization theorists regarded conflict as wholly dysfunctional because it was believed to be the antithesis of cooperation. It was generally interpreted as a sign of a defective or an incomplete social structure. Therefore, early conflict theorists proposed that the appropriate response was the creation of structural mechanisms for dealing with issues that generate conflict. Committees, task forces, liaison roles, and many other forms of coordination were recommended for this purpose (Galbraith, 1977). The second phase of theorizing about organizational conflict developed around American organization theorist Louis Pondy's observation that, although conflict may be unpleasant, it is an inevitable part of organizing (1967). In Pondy's view conflict may still be regarded as dysfunctional, however, as a natural condition, conflict is unavoidable and should be accepted. This phase of study led to theoretical interest in the sources of conflict, and a search for understanding of its fundamental conditions. The natural view of conflict helped managers confront conflicts they could not alter