Businesses Saving Green By Going Green – Who Would Have Thought?
The trend of being eco-friendly is growing fast and now businesses can go green and save some green at the same time.
For businesses there are many costs that can be cut with the use of high-speed Internet. To make the office computers more energy efficient, the best place to start would be to figure out how much is being used in the first place. When the energy amount is figured out, reducing that amount can be implemented in different ways. Server consolidation is one of many options available to cut down energy use. By replacing a large quantity of computers with smaller, more powerful and energy-efficient units, the energy use can come down. Another option available to businesses would be to replace desktop PCs with notebooks which could reduce the consumption of power by 75 per cent or more.
Document management is another process by which businesses can cut costs. By reducing the amount of paper that is used to print off reports, with the help of document managing software, there is less paper to buy.
For large businesses the implementation of video conferencing or Web conferencing is a way to bring together members from all over without having to fly anywhere. Video conferencing allows two or more locations to interact via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. This option greatly reduces the cost of travel while cutting harmful emissions. In the past, video conferencing was grouped in with a boardroom-style image but it is not restricted to large meetings anymore. Video conferencing can be used on any desktop with the proper software.
Web conferencing, which has become a growing trend as well, is very similar to the concept of video conferencing – just without the video. Web conferencing has many features that include polling and exit surveys which can gather valuable data to determine how effective the Web-based seminar or ‘webinar’ was. The ‘webinar’ is a way to deliver a message to a large group of people at the same time. Meetings can be recorded and saved later for viewing or distributing, and text chat can be used for live question and answer sessions.
Another option is the idea of virtualization, which essentially tricks multiple copies of an operating system into thinking they are running on real hardware when in fact an additional software layer is used to enable multiple virtual machines to co-exist on one physical computer. This method means that multiple virtual servers can run on one physical server with greater efficiency.
But there are also simple ways to reduce costs and emissions in the office which could include arranging equipment into properly isolated hot and cold aisles which would reduce cooling costs.
With these options available it would seem that many companies would be on board, however, that is not the case. Many companies have yet to make the switch because of the inconvenience that may come with switching to a green option. However, the time that is used to go green could result in many worthwhile financial benefits.
Henny Van Droven
http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/businesses-saving-green-by-going-green-who-would-have-thought-732365.html
March 8th, 2010 at 7:03 am
What are my options after a false positive for marijuana?
I recently went temp to hire at the best paying job i ever had. I took a drug test that showed positive for no good reason. My work was superb and i had moved up in the ranks and was going on business trips and planning my six Sigma green belt project that would save the company 225k/yr. After much research, I have discovered that I was using 3 things that could potentially cause a false positive. I was taking Ibuprophine for headaches for several weeks, my boss himself actually gave me some of these. I was also using a tanning product that contained Hemp. Who would have thought? As well as the fact that I ate asparagus the night before my test. I know this sounds like a crock, but I am telling the truth. If there are so many exceptions to the drug test, why is it so highly regarded as accurate? Of the long list of false positive contributers, I hit 3. I know there are more people that this has happened to. What can I do? Please help. I have 7 kids and need a job. I want my job back.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
i’d contact a lawyer
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March 8th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I recommend:
Calling up your HR department and request for a re-test. Explain to them that you have a strong case for the first test result being erroneous. With any test, there is always a potential for a wrong result, including human minstakes. FYI, there is also a hair test you can do that will evaluate your use of banned substances in the past few months (assuming you have certain length of hair). You can even agree to being randomly tested for the next year. Most reasonable companies should give you a second chance.
If they will not, then your recourse would be to threaten to seek legal course of action. Just be ready to act on the threat if needs be. Companies generally would prefer not to spend hundreds of thousand of dollars to defend a lawsuit if it can be settled for the cost of a test.
All the above is based on the assumption that you REALLY didn’t use any banned substances (yes, I believe you).
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March 8th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
you are going to need medical evidence to support your claim, or see if the company has a policy to dispute the test result and allow a second test
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March 8th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
First of all when a drug tests returns positive you are supposed to not only advise the employee or prospective employee but give them the opportunity to explain themselves and re-take the test (99.9% done that same day or following morning.) Fact, the unreliability of drug test are any where between 10 to 30%! A handful of States have enacted laws restricting drug testing in the private sector. Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, and Hawaii have adopted laws that limit the circumstances under which employees can be required to submit to drug tests. Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Utah have adopted legislation that regulates drug testing in some fashion.
Go to the website I posted below to read up on the laws of your State. You may have cause to file legal action.
Drug Testing Laws
To research your state’s drug testing laws and potential consequences, start by clicking on State Drug Testing Laws in the sidebar. …
jobsearchtech.about.com/library/weekly/aa090301-2.htm
http://jobsearchtech.about.com/library/weekly/aa090301-2.htm
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