Control over workplace safety discussed
Not what you're looking for?
Wherein Does Control Over Workplace Safety Belong?
Reading this interesting blog about workplace safety it struck me, is the issue of safety an HR function? When you think about it, the HR department may or may not be directly involved in so many aspects of product production and distribution such that I puzzle about the limits of the Human Resource Departmentâ's ability to deal with safety issues. In a factory setting, how easy is it for HR directors, sitting in the corporate offices, to understand and then direct safety issues from the comfort of their desk. This is a caricature of course. The online article that centers this case muses that HR directors need to be more proactive than reactive, though 'more proactive' seems tautological to me; you are either are proactive or you are not - are there degrees of proactivity? Maybe.
Evaluate the article linked below and look at each recommendation. Don't try to hit every recommendation as there is not enough room to do so.
Pick two, or at most three, of the recommendations and explain why you think the issue is vastly more complex and more difficult than the author makes it seem. Or you may agree and expand on why the author is actually correct.
Be very clear about the role human resource departments play in this process. The goal here is to push the limits of the HR function and ask ourselves when that type of department will hit its limitations in dealing with workplace safety issues. Workplace safety is a 'human' issue, and one dealing with humans as a resource. But HR is also an administrative function not typically directly attached to the production of the product where, in safety terms, the rubber meets the road. So please critique two or three of these recommendations, explain what you think makes sense and what does not with an eye towards the organizational structure.
Be sure, of course, to put this in terms of the MORAL point of view. This is not simply a question of 'can HR get the job done', so much as, does the modern corporate structure, where HR often is the center of workplace safety policy, protect employees' right to a safe workplace and provide for the greater good. Keep the focus on the moral outcome of the function.
Reading:
Role of Management in Improving Workplace Safety and Health
http://slidesandnotes.blogspot.com/2011/02/role-of-management-in-improving.html
Be sure to keep the focus on the moral point of view and show why the recommendations do or do not promote the common good and respect the right to a safe workplace.
Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary
The control over workplace safety is discussed. The current competitive business world are examined.
Solution Preview
The Human Resource Manager
The effectiveness of a Human Resources body that looks after the welfare of the employees leads to better performance in the organization. The Human Resource should perform administrative support for its staff members to ensure that they are comfortable in the work environment. Organizations that have a decentralized Human Resource entity that ensures that each functioning area of the company has their own Human Resource manager assigned to it, records high employee performance as compared to those which have centralized operations ( Role of, 2011).
In the current competitive business world, the HR managers develop strategies that will enable their companies to operate in conditions that are safe for all the employees. It is a moral responsibility for the organization to keep the working environment safe. The HR manager should know that it is their sole responsibility to implement all the safety and health matters that have been placed under the Strategic Human Resource management plan. This is because when the safety and health procedures are in place, the employees are assured that their lives are an important concern to the organization. This will make them to feel safer and committed to their assigned tasks. Assured Work place safety is a great motivator to employees and will see the organization attain its set objectives (Vital Importance, 2011).
Workplace Safety
When an organization addresses the needs of work place safety, it is bound to save costs for the company in terms of the lost hours of working, increased insurance premiums, expensive legal suits and medical treatment. It is a requirement by the law for the organization to maintain healthy conditions. All companies should have zero tolerance for any risk possibilities in the work place.
Health and safety as a HR activity gives the manager the chance to take action in the way of protecting the employees in the work place. In the process of creating these safety conditions certain strategies are to be placed in the organization. They include; the design system of the work environment, the management commitment to the safety issues in the work place, the ...
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Lean your Process
This quiz will help you understand the basic concepts of Lean.
Employee Orientation
Test your knowledge of employee orientation with this fun and informative quiz. This quiz is meant for beginner and advanced students as well as professionals already working in the HR field.
Production and cost theory
Understanding production and cost phenomena will permit firms to make wise decisions concerning output volume.
Team Development Strategies
This quiz will assess your knowledge of team-building processes, learning styles, and leadership methods. Team development is essential to creating and maintaining high performing teams.
Organizational Leadership Quiz
This quiz prepares a person to do well when it comes to studying organizational leadership in their studies.