Aramco project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Aramco project - Essay Example The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest Arabian state in Western Asia covering a land area of approximately 2,150,000 km2. it is the second largest in the Arab world after Algeria. Its neighboring states are Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast, and Yemen in the south. Currently the Kingdom has a population of 28.7 million people and is a world leader in the production an export of oil. The country’s national petroleum and natural gas production is called Saudi Aramco. The company is Arabian American and is based in Dhahran. Saudi Aramco is among the largest integrated energy production companies around the globe. Aramco was founded in the year1933, by the Standard Oil Company of California. Saudi Aramco’s is a story of the discovery and development of some of the greatest oil reserves ever known in the world and the rapid transformation of Saudi Arabia from a once desert kingdom to the modern nation-state that we know. Saudi Aramcos value as estimated by the New York Times is approximately $10 trillion and this makes it the most valuable firm globally. Saudi Aramco enjoys more than ten percent of the global market in terms oil supply and controls 98% of Saudi’s oil reserves which in turn represent 25% of the total global oil reserves. Considering that the petroleum sector contributes about 40% of Saudi Arabia’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Saudi Aramco is no doubt a cornerstone in the national economy. As such, Aramco is under intense pressure to remain competitive not only in the kingdom but also internationally. It I for this reason that the company requires a very efficient labor force. It has responded to this demand by developing and implementing a training program known as the Professional Development

Public Sector vs. Private Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public Sector vs. Private Sector - Essay Example As a result, they have a vested interest in seeing salaries rise for all employees. Another essential difference in collective bargaining between private and public sectors is related to location and labor value. Unlike private sector companies, public sector institutions are not capable of threatening to relocate for lower-wage costs (Guyton 213). This is evident in education where in response to union strikes, schools cannot possibly outsource employment overseas, as companies like Nike and have done. However, unions are able to use statistics from surrounding areas to pressure public sector companies to raise wages. Indeed union negotiations are one of the major distinguishing characteristics in private and public sector collective bargaining. Private salary disputes are restricted by the knowledge that customers are able to obtain products elsewhere, whereas in the public realm it is often difficult or impossible for patrons to go to the closet competitor (Boggs 9). Libraries are an example of this situation. The union representatives are often long-term officials who have experience in negotiations, whereas the officials they are dealing with are appointed or elected officials who often only spend short amounts of time in their positions. As a result, negotiations are somewhat slanted in favor of the public union representatives. While labor relations in the United States used to be more highly shifted toward private sector employee union membership, major changes have occurred in the intervening fifty-years. For instance, in 1956 American private sector union membership was 34.7%, more than three times as much as the public sector rate of 11.1%. In 2006, public and private sectors were seen to undergo and drastic change as union membership had shifted from 36.2% in the public sector to 7.4%. for the private sector (Guyton 210). When distinguishing public and private