Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Environmental Sciences Essay The water law framework in our country is attributed by the coexistence of a number of different principles, rules and acts adopted over several decades extending from common law principles and irrigation acts from the colonial acts to the recent regulation of water quality and pollution. The basic underlying reasons for water law reforms are both physical and institutional. Over the past few decades water has gradually become sparse in many parts of the country. This can be attributed to increased pollution of finite water resources and also increased use of water by all categories of water users as a consequence of economic and population growth. The Water Act of 1974 was Indias first attempt towards dealing comprehensively with the environment related issues. Water is a subject in the State List under the Constitution. Consequently, the Water Act which is a central law came into being under Article 252(I) of the Constitution which empowers the Union Government to make laws in a field reserved for states. All the states have approved the implementation of Water Act 1974. In spite of this there is a lack of umbrella legislation at the national level because of which different state and central legal interventions do not coincide often. Water Prevention And Control Of Pollution Act, 1974 Salient Features The Water Act establishes a Central and State pollution control boards. The Central Board may advise the Central Govt. on water pollution issues, coordinate the activities of state pollution control boards and devise a comprehensive plan for the control and prevention of water pollution. In case of any conflicts between the Central and the State boards, central board prevails. This act is applicable to streams, inland waters, subterranean waters, and sea or tidal waters. Standards for the discharge of effluent or the quality of the used water being released into the water sources are to be prescribed by the state boards. Any person or any industry for that matter has to take the consent of the state board before proceeding towards establishing any industry, operation or process or any treatment or waste disposal system. The Act specifies other important functions of the state boards as follows: Devising a comprehensive programme for prevention, control and abatement of water pollution in respective states Encouraging, conducting, and participating in investigations and research of water pollution problems Inspecting facilities for sewage and developing economical and reliable methods of its treatment State board in its capacity may take emergency measures if it foresees accidents or events that might pollute the water bodies. These measures include activities like removing the pollutants, alleviating the damage and issuing orders to the polluter prohibiting effluent discharges. Under section 33A state boards can issue directions to any person, office or authority, including orders to close, prohibit or regulate any industry, operation or process and to stop or regulate the supply of water, electricity or any other service. Not complying with a court order under section 33 or a direction from the board under section 33A is punishable by fines and imprisonment as per section 41. In order to assist the Water Act, the Water Pollution Board constituted under the Pollution Act, has been empowered under the Cess Act to levy a cess/tax for meeting the financial requirements for its working. This cess is for the purposes and utilization under the Water Act. The Cess Act grants a rebate in the cess payable to those who install a plant for the treatment of sewage or effluents. This is one of the steps to encourage establishments to set up effluent treatment plants and process the effluents before releasing them. However it is to be noted that Cess Act cannot be deciphered individually and should be taken into consideration only in relation with the Water Act. While it is quite evident that water laws are the need of the hour but these water law reforms can only contribute to solving water management issues but fail to solve issues related to human rights, social, environmental and health aspects of water. Textile industry The textile industry in India mainly depends upon exports and manufacturing. Export income from textiles account for around 30% of Indias export revenues and 3% of Indias Gross domestic product. This industry has grown a lot over the past few years especially after the economic liberalization in 1991 where the country was opened to free trade under the auspices of Dr Manmohan Singh. The table below gives the major strength and weaknesses of the textile industry in the country Strengths Weaknesses Production Capacity Increased global competition Cheap Labor Dumping Efficient production facilities Huge Decentralized sector Large domestic markets High production costs Large Export Potential Poor Supply chain management Flexible manufacturing Systems Outdated technologies To grow at a rate of around 15% in the coming years the sector needs to keep in mind the following points which shall go a long way in ensuring that growth is maintained at healthy rate and is also sustainable. Threat of competition in Domestic Market Ecological and Social Awareness Ecological and social awareness are going to play a huge role in determining who is going to reap profits in a sustainable manner keeping in view the sensitivity of the stakeholders who are most of the times the losers when large scale development takes place. The industry is likely to face pressure from the media, the Government and the common people to follow international norms and regulations which shall prohibit it from using natural resources like Water which is a key ingredient in producing textiles. The way this industry uses water and how much it pollutes the various sources shall be determined by external factors. Developed markets have extremely high standards of consumer consciousness on issues such as polluting Dyes, Usage of Child Labor, Unhealthy working conditions of the mill workers etc. Standards like SA 8000 have now been started to get implemented in the industry at a large scale. This has also led to pressure on companies to limit sourcing from countries which violate the practices mandated under the norms of SA 8000. The Indian industry needs to improve its working practices and the fallout of the new international developments in this particular area. In such a scenario large players can take advantage of this and indulge in practices which promote sustainability. Proper water Use by textile mills and recycling and purifying water and then reusing it for industrial purposes can also serve the purpose in the long run. Textile Industry and water Pollution Textile Industry is one of the most polluting industries in the country and in terms of consumption of water it constitutes around 3.2% of total consumption of water for various processes like scouring, sizing, and bleaching, dying and other associated processes. It is one of the most growing sectors in the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to the total GDP of the country. Water pollution is done by each and every process in the whole manufacturing of textiles, The table below gives an exhaustive list of the various processes and the nature of effluents and pollutants which are released as a result of the above. Process Pollutants Nature of Effluents Desizing Starch, Glucose, Resins, Fats and Waxes High Biochemical oxygen demand Kiering Caustic Soda, Wax, Grease, Soda Ash, Sodium Sillicate Strongly Alkaline, High Biochemical oxygen Demand Bleaching Hypochlorite, Caustic soda, Hydrogen peroxide and acids Low biochemical oxygen demand and strongly alkaline Mercerization Caustic Soda Strongly alkaline, low biochemical oxygen demand Dyeing Reducing agents like sulphides, acetic acids and soaps Fairly high biochemical oxygen demand ,strongly colored Printing Dyes, starch, gums oil, china clay, mordants, acids and salts Faily high biochemical oxygen demand, Oily appearance Finishing Special finishes, starch, salts, tallow Low Biochemical oxygen demand, less alkaline The polluted water is very harmful for human beings living in and around the area where the pollution takes place as the turbidity of the water is very high and toxic elements present in the water which have a detrimental effect on humans and animals make such water unfit for consumption. The stakeholders which reside alongside areas which are affected by this menace face severe health hazards and face decrease and productivity and life span as a result of the above. Effects on Aquatic Life and Other living creatures High PH levels in water makes it alkaline, alkaline water is not fit for aquatic creatures like fishes and it also causes incrustation in sewers and may also damage crops by hampering their natural growth rate. Spoiling the natural color of water hampers the passage of sunlight and thus prevents photosynthesis in the aquatic plants and other marine life existing inside water. The effluents and oils present in the pollutants which are passed into water increase the turbidity of water and gives it a bad appearance and foul smell. Oily scum interferes with the oxygen transfer and colloidal matter clog the pores of soil. High levels of dissolved solids are detrimental to sewers as it causes incrustation in sewers. High level of sodium is also harmful to crops. Dissolved oxygen in water is an essential element in marine life and therefore the amount of oxygen required to correct the effluent is expressed in the form of biochemical oxygen demand or BOD. Steps to curb Water Pollution To curb pollution due to these textile mills in the areas around them the following measures can be taken in order to increase measures leading to long term sustainability as a corporate strategy which is wholly aligned to the business goals of being profitable in the long run and acquire market share in the future. Reduction in waste water volume: The water used in processing of textiles is reduced to a considerable extent such that the effluent concentration is limited to a specified small volume of water and it does not start impacting larger volume of water. Counter flow processing Water re-use technique which uses the same water before discharging it into the water body so that effluent concentration is limited to a small volume and more water is saved in the process. Reduction of process chemicals: The process chemicals create more than 90% of the pollution in textile industries. This also brings down the production cost in terms of the chemicals used. It can be achieved through reusing various chemicals when processes are completed. For Example: Caustic soda is recovered from the mercerizing and sourcing and is consequently filtered and dialyzed so that it can be reused. Process modification would involve slight modifications in the various processes used during manufacturing in order to create lesser pollution and reduces unnecessary wastage of water. Certain alternate chemicals can also be used during manufacturing so that recovering those chemicals become easy and it thus can be used in further manufacturing processes. Pre-Release Stage Water Treatment Before water is released into the nearest water body it is essential that it is treated properly in order to ensure that there is significant reduction in the level of pollutants in water before it gets released into the water body. The following steps are necessary in order to ensure proper water condition before release into the nearest river or stream or lake. Primary Treatment: It involves concepts of removal of suspended solids by sedimentation, floatation or coagulation techniques using alum and electrolyte. Secondary Treatment: This involves oxidation of organic matter by aeration either by chemical of biological methods or by both. This is done in presence of micro organisms in presence of chemicals such as Urea. Pollutants resistant to biodegradation such as detergents and petrochemicals are removed by non biological means and are again treated with bleaching powder before releasing them into the water body. Tertiary Treatments: Tertiary treatment contains of three main methods like Chemical Coagulation which involves a mixing tank with the effluent and the coagulant mixed and its PH adjusted to an optimum level. The resultant coagulated material is separated by sedimentation or flocculation. Carbon absorption Technique which is effective in removing pigments and dyes using carbon which is activated and has large surface area. Reverse osmosis where cellulose acetate is used to create a semi permeable membrane and subjected to pressure which is usually greater than the osmotic pressure of the effluent. This process can remove 95% of the dissolved solid content as the solution passes from area of higher concentration to lower concentration. Now to discuss the applicability of these methods to curb water pollution in Textile industry and also to do the cost benefit analysis of the same we shall discuss a relevant case of Tiruppur Textile Industry. Case discussion: Tiruppur Textile Industry Background South Asia lately has become the hub of Industrialisation and the unchecked growth is leading to severe environmental problems. Industries have sprung up as clusters which is why the issue of environmental pollution becomes even more relevant in highly water polluting industries like textile dyeing, leather tanning, paper and pulp processing, sugar manufacturing, etc. The runoff released by these industries leads to contamination of surface and ground water sources and eventually impacts the livelihood of the poor. In a usual scenario, the above mentioned industrial units function at a small or medium scale, are a huge employment opportunity for the locals and have the potential to generate foreign exchange because all these industries are export oriented and more than half of their produce is shipped abroad. Given the vast coverage of these industries, the pollution control mechanisms have been awfully weak in these units. The pollution control authorities have been lenient in imple menting the law and ensuring prevention of water pollution caused due to these industries mainly considering the socio economic benefits that they provide and also the low financial capacity of the small scale units. It is a huge capital investment for the relatively smaller industrial units to set up effluent treatment plants and the return on investment is very low. Since they provide employment, therefore these agencies have not tightened the noose on them. This stance of the Pollution Control Boards further discouraged the polluting industries to formulate and implement pollution management and reduction strategies either by efficient effluent treatment or process changes by adopting newer and cleaner technologies. In this report we have attempted to analyse the environmental impact of the production process followed in a textile unit with reference to Tiruppur, a major textile cluster in South India. A cost benefit analysis of the implementation of cleaner production processes and setting up of treatment plants has also been done to depict the return on investment for these textile units. Textile Industry And Its Benefits Tiruppur, located in Tamil Nadu, is a leading cotton knitwear industrial hub in South India. The industrial activities have experienced a rapid growth during the last two decades due to decentralization and flexibility. At this point of time more than 9000 small-scale textile related units are operating with a volume of investment more than US $ 200 million. The city of Tiruppur contributes 56% of the total cotton knitwear exports from India. The industry provides socio-economic benefits to the local community and to the nation in the form of employment, income, and foreign exchange. More than 2 lakh people are directly employed by this industry. The export value from Tiruppur during the year 2002 was about US $ 957.5 million. An equal amount is sold in the domestic market. The economic opulence of Tiruppur on this industry and the local community is employed either directly or indirectly in this industry in one way or the other. Textile Process And Pollution The textile manufacturing process on the whole is a polluting activity with the major contributors being the bleaching and dyeing (textile processing).During 1981, in Tiruppur , only around 70 textile units were operating. This number drastically rose to 450 ten years later and further to 866 in 1997. With due credit to efforts of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) against the release of untreated effluents some units had to be shut down because of non-conformity to the pollution prevention standards in the state. In 2004 there were a total of 702 textile processing units functioning in Tiruppur. These units together used around 85 million litres per day (mld) of water and discharged a similar quantity (83 mld) as effluents, which are laced with a significant volume of chemicals used at the wet processing stage. The point worth noting here is that the amount of water used as input is almost same as the amount of water that is released in the water bodies which actually me ans that if there is a possibility to treat the effluents, the resultant residual water can be used as a recycled input and thus costs can be decreased. These units collectively produced a quantity of 15,000 tonnes of cloth per month. The incessant release of untreated effluents for more than 10 years has resulted in accumulation of harmful suspended and dissolved solids in the soil, ground water, etc. at Tiruppur and surroundings. During 1980 to 2000, the cumulative pollution load discharged by the Tiruppur units is as follows: Total Dissolved Solids(TDS) : 2.35 million tonnes Chloride: 1.31mt Sulphate: 0.13 mt Total Suspended Solids: 0.098 mt Chemical Oxygen Demand: 0.09mt Biological Oxygen Demand: 0.03 mt Oil and Grease: 0.001mt Impact of Textile Effluents On The Environment From the research conducted on water pollution in Tiruppur area, it is clearly evident that the accumulation of chemicals had added to the woes. All ground water studies showed that open wells and bore wells in and around Tiruppur exhibited high levels of TDS (ranging from 3000mg/l to 11,000 mg/l) and Chloride (ranging from 2000 mg/l to 5000 mg/l) due to industrial pollution and these values were much higher than the background level for this region. The available groundwater in this region was rendered unsuitable for domestic, industrial or irrigation consumption. The surface water studies indicated that the Noyyal river (the river passes through Tiruppur and receives the major share of untreated effluents), reservoir, downstream of Noyyam, (Orthapalayam) and irrigation tanks have been adversely affected by industrial pollution and the surface water is unfit for consumption purposes. A study to measure the quality of soil also indicated the pollution concentration and most of the ar ea the soil is alkaline (pH >8.5) or tending to alkalinity (pH 8-8.5). The Damage Cost Imposed By Pollution Due to high water pollution many adverse effects in the ecology of the Tiruppur area are observed. Agricultural water, drinking water and various fisheries in Tiruppur area and downstream villages have been affected. The water which has been polluted by the textile industry is injurious (EC>3mmhos/cm) to agriculture in an area of 146.3 square km and critical (EC 1.1 to 3 mmhos/cm) in 218.3 square km. Because of this, crop productivity in these villages has declined substantially which has affected the welfare of farmers. Recently farmers took action and filed a case against the industry. The total cost to agriculture was estimated at US $50 million. Drinking water in these villages has also been affected and the municipality has to bring additional water from neighboring villages. In affected villages, special water supply schemes have been issued by the Water Board. Also, a lot of the short fall is being met by bringing water from distant sources of water which leads to the wastage of a lot of time and effort. Considerin all of this, the total damage cost due to pollution of drinking water comes down to US$23.8 million. The fisheries activities in various downstream regions like the Noyyalriver, tanks and reservoirs have been affected as well. Fish mortality rate has increased which has led to a stoppage of fish culture. US $.15 miilion comes out to be the loss in value of fish and besides that, the possibility of the toxicity of existing fish is also high, consumption of which can lead to serious health problems. This high level of pollution has had an adverse effect on the operations of the industry itself. Since most of the industrial wells in this area have only coloured, or very highly polluted water, major water supply is brought in through tankers from peripheral areas. The cost incurred by the industry to maintain this additional source of water supply is US $165 million. Besdies this, the continued buying of water leads to the development of a water market, which causes the water levels in the peripheral villages to go down, affecting the livelihood of villagers. On many occasions, protests have been done by villagers against the water transfer. A mega water supply project is being undertaken by the Tiruppur Area Development Corporation. The total cost of this project is estimated to be US $269 millions and will have to be financed by government agencies and the consortium. Under this scheme, it has been planned that 185 mld of water, which would be both industrial and domestic, would be transferred to Tiruppur from River Cauvery, which is an interstate and a very controversial river in India. If this project would succeed, the industry will need to pay more than what they are currently paying for water, which could result in a huge cost increase for textile processing. Besides these quantifiable terms, human health and aquatic eco-system of river, tanks and reservoir, livestock etc. also get affected by water pollution, but their cost has not been taken into account as it is not easy to express in monetary terms. Status of Effluent Treatment On seeing various adverse effects and hence assessing the seriousness of pollution from textile affluents, the Courts finally gave an order against the continued functioning of various polluting units without being accompanied by effluent treatment plants in 1997. After this order, the state pollution control agency has increased the amount of pressure on all the textile manufacturing units towards effluent treatment. The units which were too small to comply with these regulations and survive were closed. Presently out of the existing 702 units, 278 units are treating upto 38 mld of water effluents through Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CEPTs) which are 8 in number and 424 units are treating upto 45 mldof chemical effluents using Individual Effluent Treatment Plants (IETPs). For effective effluent treatment, US $ 10 million has been spent for various fixed costs, which the Government subsidizes heavily. Besides these, an additional US $ 6.7 million has already been incurred as ann ual running costs. The cost analysis has shown that the variable cost per unit of effluent treatment is much higher than the capital cost both in the IETPs (which is 86% of total cost) and CETPs (which is 73%). Unfortunately the current treatment system is not sufficient for reducing the large amounts of TDS, particularly the acids like Chloride and Sulphates. The average concentration of TDS in the treated effluents is 300 of the TNPCB standard of 2100 mg/l. The same is true of Chloride, which averages more than 300% of the CETP existent standard. Learnings from the case Thus we can see that the management of environment at the Tiruppur textile industry has been difficult and the various difficulties faced by the various actors (State Pollution Control Board, Water Resources Organisations, Local Government , Industrial Organisations, NGOs etc.) or interested parties in this regard or in finding a solution for this problem. If these difficulties had been effectively dealt with, the environmental impacts could not have continued at this level. The above analysis on various RO plants and CPT for the textile units has clearly shown the long run advantage to the industries apart from reducing the various social costs. These technologies can be implemented by all large-scale units who possess the capacity for investment and have long-term vision about the business. But the affordability of affluent treatments among existing large number of small and medium units remains a big challenge. The textile manufacturing industry is predominantly an export oriented business which faces high competition. So any investment done on RO or CPT here impacts the cost of production by increasing it in the short run which is especially true for the smaller units. Also being able to find such big investment, which is approximately more than 10-20 times the overall capital investment, is almost impossible. But the introduction of a much cleaner production for textiles and the availability of advanced treatment technology is the viable long term solution towards further improvement of environmental standards. Realizing the same facts, (i.e. the existing economic benefits of the Tiruppur industry, social costs of pollution, various constraints in effective management of pollution among small scale units, and the need for a having a critical solution for the pollution problem), an integrated process of pollution management can be attempted at by different actors who are related to Tiruppur textile business. In such circumstances the role of various foreign buyers and the consumers of Tiruppur garments are greatly significant. If a very strong demand for garments which are pollution free or come with a green label is observed from them along with a willingness to pay more, definitely it would provide pressure to introduce cleaner technology by the various industries operating in this domain. A few very small units will have no other option but to close down, since making such an investment may not be viable for them. Other units however can think of various steps like unit modification individually or even have joint units. Most critical are proper technical guidelines for these units and financial support is needed for the units from various domestic and foreign research institutions and other donor agencies. In parallel, sincere collaborative efforts from joint industrial associations, pollution law enforcement agencies, industrial consultants and experts, etc. are also required. Only than the textile industry in Tiruppur would be a ble to achieve the ideal objective of sustainable development. Recommended Strategy for companies in textile industry The companies in Textile industries can be divided into two: Major players with financial strength to invest in greener technologies and small player which need assistance even to maintain regulatory standards. Hence the strategy will also differ based on the type of company. Strategy for small players A broad categorization has been done based on the revenue. Below Rs. 10 million the company can be said a small company. It is imperative for a small company to follow regulatory standards at least. While government is finding difficult to close all such factory due to labor intensive nature of such industry it is always a long term risk hence the standards should always be maintained. Hence their strategy is to achieve the minimum standards by increasing the cost as less as possible. The immediate high investment in green technology may throw them out of market. Following strategy must be followed by the company. To have least impact on increment in costs the company might seek financial assistance from government subsidy or jointly making investments. To get knowledge assistance it could collaborate with various stakeholders. Strategy for big players: A major player could afford a significant investment for the long term overall benefit. The strategy should be to gain competitive advantage by achieving Cleaner process technology and establishing efficient effluent treatment plants. These will have high investments in short term but will give major cost advantage and high value of intangibles, other important aspect is to have a differentiation based on greener features. This way a high premium could be charged against the product and much higher overall profitability could be achieved.

Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

In Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding, an airplane load of school-age boys are stranded on a deserted tropical island after their plane is accidentally shot down during World War II. Since there are no adults, the boys try to organize themselves with a chief, hunters, and a few people to watch a signal fire for any ships that might pass. Factions develop with the original group and the hunters. The child who is chosen to be the chief is Ralph. As the leader of the hunters, Jack, creates his own group, Ralph grows and matures as a result of his internal conflicts. At the start of the novel, Ralph is very immature. Like most children, he is excited to find out that there are no adults to watch him and tell him he couldn't do something. At the moment Ralph was told this information from his friend Piggy, he takes off all of his clothes and starts to swim in a pool of water on the beach. When Ralph does this, he is like a child left alone to play his favorite games. He does not care about anything at first because he has a strong belief that his father, who is in the navy, will send someone to rescue them. In the meantime, Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell. If you blow into a conch shell a certain way, in makes a loud, low-pitched sound. Piggy tells Ralph about this, and Ralph uses the sound from the conch to call an assembly. All different aged boys appear on the shore where Ralph blows the conch. When it is thought that all of the boys are there, they begin to have a meeting. First, they elect a chief. They choose Ralph as their leader over a boy who was in the choir and his old school named Jack. After Jack losses, Ralph makes Jack the leader of the hunters. As Ralph tries to make law and build his society, all of the others seem to loose interest in helping one another and go off on their own and play. This happens when Ralph tries to build shelters; everyone builds the first one, then only four build the second one and only Ralph and a boy named Simon build the third and final one. Ralph is currently in the maturing process. He doesn't understand how to be a good leader, but he i s respected by everyone one the island.

Effective Employee Selection and Its Importance Essay

One of the most important decisions comes when having to select an employee to fill a job vacancy. In the current labor market, highly qualified applicants are scarce and, among the existent ones, it is hard to spot the ideal candidate. Sometimes it is so urgent that a position be filled, that a person may win the job by default, or sloppy selection criteria may be applied. A â€Å"quick fix† may ease workload for a while, but it might prove lethal for the business viability itself in the long run. Therefore, a larger attention in the selection process can provide the business with employees who will finally produce the desired results. The analysis of the employee selection process is a fairly new practice. During the 70’s, any systematic attempt to sort out skills was often unpopular (Lee, 50). This began to change during the 80’s and into the 90’s, when an estimated 80% to 90% of companies used pre-employment testing (Brindow and Spencer, 80). As Chris Lee states, â€Å"we are returning to a focus on individual competence [†¦] objective standards are coming back in both education and employment† (Lee, 49). Another survey by researchers Randall, Cooke and Smith established that 95% of employers who tried testing for screening sales candidates were still using it (Randall, 53). All the data shows the inclination of the modern businesses to highly stress on everything that will maximize the effectiveness of employee selection and, consequently, employee performance. Processing an applicant for a job normally entails a series of steps, which are determined by the size of the organization, the types of jobs to be filled or the number of people to be hired. The selection stage should be backed up by an effective recruitment process, which greatly depends on job analysis and job description. Job analysis is â€Å"a process to identify and determine in detail the particular job duties and requirements and the relative importance of these duties for a given job. Job Analysis is a process where judgements are made about data collected on a job† (HR – Guide). Its purpose is to establish and document the â€Å"job relatedness† of employment procedures such as recruitment, selection, training, compensation and performance appraisal through its product, the job description. During the selection process, the job description is used in creating an accurate  advertisement for the job and attracts the proper candidates, that is, the persons that most probably will fit for the specific job. A realistic job preview, based on an accurate job description and specification (the qualifications demanded for the job), will help applicants understand what the job entails and make more informed decisions as to whether they want to apply for the job or not. According to Gregorio Billicopf of the University of California, â€Å"selected applicants who understand both the positive and negative sides of a job, are most likely to stay and succeed†. (Billicopf, 18). After the recruitment process has been concluded and the applicants have sent their resumes, the first step of the selection process should take place; screening the resumes. CV’s provide basic information for use in the next step of the selection process and are used to screen out the unqualified applicants. For instance, if the position requires the ability to use a word processor, the resume provides a clear picture whether the person owns this ability or not. Resume screening is a standard procedure in most organizations during the selection process, despite their size, activity or culture. After the resume screen – out, the remaining applicants will be invited for an interview, which is the most important step in the selection process. It supplements information obtained in other steps in the process to determine the suitability of an applicant for a specific opening. Organizations use several types of interviews. The structured interview is conducted using a predetermined outline that is based on the pre-mentioned job analysis, while unstructured interviews are not based on any outline, and use open – ended questions. The structured interviews should be preferred over the unstructured ones, as the former helps the interviewer maintain control of the interview that all pertinent information on the applicant is covered systematically by also providing the same type of information on all interviewees. On the other hand, unstructured interviews may provide a more relaxed atmosphere, but they â€Å"lack of systematic coverage of information and are very susceptible to the personal biases of the interviewer† (Byars & Rue, 141). Organizations use three additional types of interviewing  techniques to a limited extent; the stress interview, which puts the applicant under pressure while the interviewer adopts a hostile attitude toward the interviewee in order to detect who is highly emotional and who is not, the board or panel interview, in which two or more people conduct an interview with one applicant, and the group interview in which several applicants are questioned together. A successful interview requires training in the skills, techniques and requirements of successful interviewing. All these will include an effective preparation for the interview, such as scheduling a time and location for it, review of all paperwork of the applicant and the current position description and specification and making a list of interview questions that will help in collecting the information needed for the decision. When the applicant arrives, the interviewer should help him / her feel at ease by showing him / her polite and friendly attitude and let him / her know about the organization. During the interview, the answers the applicant will give will prove to be valuable source of information. Carefully selected open – ended questions should be asked so that the answers given will help determine the suitability of the applicant to a particular position. Additionally, this will encourage the interviewees to supply more in depth information. But still, this should follow a specific and consistent outline in order to ensure a uniform method of questioning, which will be applied to all applicants. It is also important to allow silence for thinking and reflection by the applicant, so that he / she slowly reveals his / her basic competencies, which often determine the interviewee’s advantage over the rest of the applicants and affects the hiring decision. A basic competency is a knowledge, skill or behavior essential for one to function as an effective member of the specific organization and is an essential part of the selection criteria developed and reviewed before the interview questions are written (Univ. of Michigan, 38). Finally, it is important to record actual answers to questions as opposed to evaluative or conclusive comments. This will minimize subjectivity and biases, factors that may prove lethal during the hiring process, because the persons adopting them will most  probably end up with the wrong decision and an unsuitable new employee. Even though the interview will certainly tell a lot about the candidate’s qualifications, the only reliable way these qualifications can be measured are tests. The applicants can be tested before, during or after the interview. Tests can be classified as power versus speed tests, as well as written, oral or practical tests. They can measure knowledge, ability, skills, aptitude, attitude, honesty and personality (Billikopf, 20). Whatever the type of the test used, however, the integrity of test questions needs to be guarded. Many tests have undergone validation and reliability studies. The type of test to be used during the selection process depends on the size of the organization, its activity as well as the nature of the position that is to be filled. Aptitude tests measure a person’s capacity or potential ability to learn and perform a job. Some of the more frequently used tests measure verbal ability, numerical ability, and perceptual speed, spatial and reasoning ability. Psychomotor tests measure a person’s strength, dexterity and coordination. Job knowledge tests measure the job related knowledge possessed by a job applicant. Proficiency tests measure how well the applicant can do a sample of the work to be performed. The last ones are the most frequently used by employers worldwide, in all types of organizations. Other types of tests are interest tests, which are designed to determine how a person’s interests compare with the interests of successful people in a specific job, personality tests which attempt to measure personality traits, polygraph tests with the use of the polygraph, a device that records physical changes in a person’s body as he or she answers questions, and physical examinations (drug and AIDS testing or even genetic testing). The last ones are normally required only for the individual who is finally offered the job, and the job offer is often contingent on the individual passing the physical examination. â€Å"The exam is given to determine not only whether the applicant is physically capable of performing the job but also his or her eligibility for group life, health and disability insurance† (Byars, 143). Because of the expense, physical examinations are usually one of the last steps in the selection process. The final step in the selection process is choosing one individual for the job. There are usually more than one qualified persons, but if the previous steps in the selection process have been performed properly, the chances that a value judgment based on all the information gathered will be successful improve dramatically. Because people sometimes falsify their credentials and backgrounds, though, it is important to check references. Additionally, people sometimes interview well but have a record of not actually performing as well as they have led the interviewer to believe. Therefore, it is important to check out any areas in which there are doubts or uncertainties. Reference checks are also a form of insurance. â€Å"The hour or two it takes to conduct a reference check is far less time than the time it will take to deal with performance, attitude or behavior problems† (Univ. of Michigan, 36). The people that the responsible person for the selection has to contact are former supervisors, people whose names the candidate has given as work references to establish the working relationship, people that the employer knows personally who have worked with the candidate and people recommended by any of the above who are said to know the candidate’s work. However, some employers may hesitate to provide negative information about a former employee out of fear of lawsuits. Only people known and trusted can be relied on to give an accurate picture of a potential employee, and, even then, people have different perceptions and personalities, factors that must be considered when weighing employer references. After the evaluation process has been completed, the one most suitable applicant will finally be selected. Recruiting and selecting the right people for the organization is a challenge, and every situation is unique. Innovation, persistence and the ability to communicate the strengths of the business and the benefits of the positions offered, will attract high quality employees. Selecting among them will be hard, but if the selection process steps are implemented properly, the final decision will prove to be really beneficial to the organization. No matter who makes the final decision – the human resource department, the manager of the department or even the owner of the firm -, this decision should be backed up by the correct procedure, otherwise the consequences  could be extremely costly, if not lethal. All managers should be trained on the selection process for the benefit of the organization. WORKS CITED Billikopf, Gregory. â€Å"Labor Management in Agriculture: Cultivating Personnel Productivity†. University of California. 2003. p. 2-5, 18-23. Brindow Peter, Spencer Leslie. â€Å"When Quotas Replace Merit, Everybody Suffers†. Forbes. Feb 1993. p. 80. Byars Lloyd, Rue Leslie. â€Å"Human Resource Management†. 8th edition. Mc Graw – Hill. p. 141-144Job Analysis: An Overview. The HR – Guide. Oct 2002. May 2006. < http://www.job-analysis.net/G000.htm>Lee, Chris. â€Å"Testing Makes a Comeback†. Training Vol. 25. Dec 1988. p. 49-50. M-Pathways Employment Steering Committee Sub-Group Report. â€Å"Conducting a Successful Employee Selection Process†. University of Michigan. Apr 2001. p.20-35. Randall, James. â€Å"A Successful Application Of The Assessment Center Concept To the Salesperson Selection Process†. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. May 1985. p. 53.

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