The management of change in Hampton Roads Sanitation District Essay

The management of change in Hampton Roads Sanitation District - Essay Example Organization Development (OD) is one of the chief concepts that relates to the organizational change management. It can come under definition as â€Å"Organization development is a system-wide application of behavioral science knowledge to the planned development and reinforcement of organizational strategies, structures, and processes for improving an organization's effectiveness† (Boonstra, 2004). In other words, enterprises implement the process of organization development through proper and careful planning in order to improve and benefit their business processes, functions, employees and other stakeholders (Cummings & Worley, 2008). The process of improvement through organization development can be for either the entire organization and its processes or a smaller portion of the enterprise. This process starts from collecting the information and identification of the problems/concerns in order to create an understanding about the existing state of affairs of the organization. An appropriate solution, strategy, or guiding principle comes under establishment based on the recognized opportunities for change (McLean, 2005). The organizations focus and give emphasis to productivity, profitability, and quality of work since the company’s accomplishments and success lies behind these factors. Due to this reason, organizations are now investing maximally on their employees, as this has become an escalating trend in the contemporary business environment. (Jones  & Brazzel &  NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 2006). Likewise, the attitudes of the employees have also changed as they work to get a feeling of accomplishment and recognition. In the same way, the customers are also demanding quality products or services, fast delivery, competitive prices and other attributes compatible to innovation and complex environment that add the worth of the product. With all these aspects of organization, employees, and the customers, the importance of organization development or an organization has augmented, as the efficient organization wants to meet the current and future challenges in order to s urvive and sustain (Kondalkar, 2009). Several organizations have already experienced and still in the process of undergoing the organization development and change process. Amongst numerous enterprises, Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) is one of the organizations that have undergone the process of organization development. Company Background Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) is an organization with more than 650 employees at the wastewater utility with a huge customer base where the billing system is direct to the customers without involving any third party. HRSD is a regionally based organization in Virginia that supplies to several cities, counties and military facilities in the region of southeast of Virginia. Moreover, HRSD supplies the facility to an area that comes under the population of more than 1.5 million natives. The utility operates on a system with various major and few smaller treatment plants where it treats and transports

UK and US Financial Reporting Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

UK and US Financial Reporting Ethics - Essay Example There are several reasons that strongly support this argument. For sometime now, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its international counterpart (IASB), have made progress in reducing these disparities between U.S. GAAP and IFRS. (IFRS) accounting rules are set to be followed by all public companies falling under the European Union but about 100 other countries are either already applying or weighing them up. In light of the changing nature of the international market, it is important that comparable transactions between competing companies in different regions be reported in the same way or the differences be understood by these companies so as to be able to understand the financial performance of a competitor. â€Å"Ethical values provide the foundation on which a civilized society exists.† (Smith K, 2003). Managers are faced almost on a daily basis a multitude of decisions that have to take into account variables such as profitability, personal advant age and overall benefits to the community, in the overall context of the correctness of these decisions. However, if integrity is allowed to become one of the possible variables, then it is most likely that it will be the first to be sacrificed at the altar of expediency. The purpose of ethics therefore, is to encourage, " [persons] to abide by a code of conduct that facilitatespublic services" (Smith, K 2003). To that end, there are many accounting organizations that have come to realize the need to establish a practical set of ethical guidelines. The Institute of Management Accountants for example, have established an ethics hotline'. As part of the services offered, "ethics counselors offer confidential advice, solace and comfort to management accountants who may have no other place to turn to for help"(Smith, K 2003). It is not known whether there is are any similar arrangements within the United Kingdom, but there have been attempts to address the issue. This is evident from th e response of the United Kingdom Share Holders Association's response to the ' Ethics Standards Board Consultation Paper' of May 2002. In this response, it clarifies the inter-se relationship between professional and corporate responsibilities. The report highlights that, "professional status is an implied contract: to serve society over and beyond all specific duty to client or employee in consideration of the privileges and protection society extends to that profession" (Setting the Agenda for Ethics, 2002). Moreover, many companies are now appointing ethics officers, charged with monitoring the ethical standards of their company as well as for uncovering fraudulent activities. This trend is also partly due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act enacted in the United States in the wake of the Enron, WorldCom and other scandals. Scope for malpractice exists because accounting practices differ considerably from country to country and the nature of these practices can, and are, exploited through 'creative accounting'. The United States follows to concept of 'substance over form, while the European Union believes in giving a ' true and fair view' of a company's financial status. However, both concepts though in vogue, are subjective in nature and offer considerable scope for manipulation of figures. Depreciation in the United Kingdom for example, is determined according to custom, with "convention and pragmatism, rather than exact rules [determining methods of

Cross-cultural business issues Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cross-cultural business issues - Coursework Example Most of them concentrate more on basic commodities, and luxuries such as extra hard engines may have a poor market penetration. The national language is Chinese, and very few people understand English. This makes communication between the marketers and the Chinese nationals difficult. Translations from English to Chinese may lose some of the intended meaning and impact (Emery and Tian, 2010). Chinese people have a slow decision making and response tradition. They have to scrutinize every detail before making their judgment. The marketers take long before getting the response, which slows down the marketing process. Gender differences are experienced in china. Men are regarded as social figures of authority, influence, and respect. Male marketers are therefore more effective than female counterparts. Social relationships (Guanxi) are family ties, relationships with strangers, and relationships with familiar people. Marketers will be regarded as strangers at first. The Chinese people h ave little ties with strangers, and may fail to communicate with them. This will hamper effective marketing for the engines. However, these ties may improve with time when the two parties become more familiar with each other. Cross-cultural communication refers to the use of language during marketing. In china, the Chinese language is dominant, and a larger percentage of the population does not understand English. The marketing staff has to engage the Chinese in word of mouth. This occurs during discussions for customer expectations, satisfaction, and product quality. English marketers may fail to explain all engine qualities or collect all expectations from the customers. Translators are required, which increases the marketing cost and the process may take longer. Marketing also requires advertisements through billboards, television, radio, internet, and newspapers. The advertisements are in Chinese language or a combination of both. Translations from English to Chinese lose some o f the intended meaning affecting the impact of the products on the consumers. The locals have to develop friendship with foreigners before they interact with them according to guanxi. Cultivating these relationships may involve dining with them or attending their social gatherings. This prolongs the marketing period (Emery and Tian, 2010). Ethnocentrism refers to reluctance to accept foreign goods. The Chinese people are reluctant to accept foreign goods, and the company requires promotions, marketing slogans, and staff training. Slogans used should not conflict with their beliefs. Staff training helps the marketers understand the culture of the locals to avoid conflicts due to different perceptions. Female marketers have to engage with the male citizens differently compared to the male marketers. Effective communication requires empathy. The two parties must try to understand each other’s ideas, feelings, and experiences. The Chinese people may be reluctant to share their id eas, expectations or feelings with the Americans. The company will therefore take long to understand the customer expectations, and the products will take long before market establishment. Cross cultural ethical differences have significant impacts on marketing. Gift giving in china is a sign of respect and business etiquette. The gifts however require careful choice to avoid influencing the decisions of the recipient. In such cases, the gift is considered as a bribe,

Negligence in Sports Injuries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Negligence in Sports Injuries - Essay Example Where sporting events are concerned, the finding of negligence is complicated by the volenti non fit injuria principle, whereby the underlying premise is that those who participate in sports knowing the risks that may exist5, are in effect, consenting to a breach of duty of care and hence negligence claims may not hold good6. For example, in the case of Woolridge v Sumner7 where a spectator was injured, it was held to be the result of an error of judgment rather than negligence. It was also held that liability could be established only when it could be shown that there had been a reckless disregard for the safety of the spectator/s. The notion of "reckless disregard" as laid out by Lord Diplock is inherently based upon the premise that a player acts negligently when he foresees risks and yet proceeds with his actions despite the risk. Reckless disregard thus involves a breach of not only the duty of care owed to prevent a claim of negligence, but also a duty of skill. Thus, in the case of Woolridge, for example, Lord Diplock clarified that when a participant was aware of his lack of skill to perform a sporting feat and the risk his lack of skill might pose to spectators, he would be guilty of negligence to the spectator, if he still goes ahead and performs the act in question8. As a result, while negligence implies the owing of a duty of care, reckless disregard implies the owing of a duty of care and a duty of skill. Reckless disregard is in essence, negligence applied within a sporting context, with a higher threshold to allow for the inherent risks in sports which players voluntarily assume under the volenti fit non injura principle. Reed, in analyzing the judgment rendered in the case of R v Barnes9 has explained how, within the context of sports, reckless disregard occurs when a player inflicts harm or injury maliciously10. A defendant who is "reckless" is one who is able to foresee that there is a risk for bodily harm occurring through his actions and yet, chooses to ignore the risk and continue with the offending act. "Recklessness implies a greater degree of culpability or wrongdoing than negligence" because recklessness amounts to willfully exposing another person to harm and causing injury, rather than it occurring as a result of

The Green Community Essay Example for Free

The Green Community Essay Our world has grown significantly and will continue to grow, as our species continues to flourish, unfortunately this constant flourishing of humans, advancing of technology, and the declining in common values will lessen the sense of community in our world. Let’s say that there is a chance to live in a community that have the same common values as you do, this community would base their values on reducing their carbon footprint the name of this society is Ecovillage, the civilization would focus on citizenship, health, and education. In our society today, the communities with a common purpose are called an intentional community and they are commonly referred to as communes. Some of the intentional communities are the Cambridge Zen center, Catholic Worker Communities, and the common ground community. There are over 12,000 intentional communities in North America according to the website www. communa. org, many of them base their values on nature, therapy, and spirituality. Intentional communities are often associated with â€Å"Hippiesâ€Å", which makes them have a negative connotation. The communes in the sixties were mostly populated by young people who were working against society, they were often rioting against the war in Vietnam. Now days the intentional communities are people over forty years old, they have lived in the â€Å"normal world† and are looking for something better. The Ecovillage would focus on the preservation of our earth. There will be many differences in the life of a â€Å"normal life† then of those living in the Ecovillage. The building plans for the Ecovillage are the following, the buildings will be skyscrapers to prevent damage to the forests that would surround our urban city, each building will have grid-connected solar panels that will produce energy for the entire building, there will be a 15,000 gallon water tank and each family will be allowed to use 150/gallons of water, all clothes will be washed on the rooftops of the buildings where there will be a tub always clean and ready for use, food will be organically grown in the â€Å"green house office† located on the rooftop of the public school. School will be a priority for the community we will educate all students of the dangers of harming the earth, as some in some schools â€Å" funding was often inadequate† ( Alvord 301) funding will never be a problem. The community will be a success, with the help of the community members living their lives as normal as possible. The city will have limitations of how you should live. There are no restraints toward the religion, beliefs, and educational preferences. There will always be a sense of community. There will be â€Å"community days† that will help the members remember the purpose of living in the Ecovillage and to slow down the pace of everyone’s busy lives as Thoreau wrote â€Å" Why should we live with such a hurry and waste of life? † ( Thoreau 276) . They will be able to enjoy many activities such as: the gathering of people at seasonal markets, art and craft events, outdoor movies, tree-planting days, live music events, mosaic days, shared dinners, BBQ’s, and picnics. The community’s proposal will be â€Å"Care for the earth and care for the people. Self-sustaining eco-villages will require primary inputs in Health, Education, and develop localized wealth, good Citizenship and Environmental balance. This can only be achieved by optimizing natural resources through cost effective energy provisions, intensive agriculture, and communication. The ideas of all families will be put into account to make the Ecovillage like the communities that Etzioni wrote about in The New Community â€Å" Communities that balance both diversity and unity† ( Etzioni 294), when the goals have been reached the rest of the world is expected to follow the examples of the Ecovillage. The development of this city will significantly change the way of how humanity looks at how we live. This city will provide many people with an alternative way of living and many people will come to realize the cost effective and beautiful place that Ecovillage will provide. Ecovillage will be the best intentional community ever created.

Code of Ethics and Safety in Engineering

Code of Ethics and Safety in Engineering Abstract With a safe product, we have no worries of using it because there is no risk that going to occur. But we must know that nothing in this world is perfect. Any accident can happen to any one of us out there. Engineer always involve themselves with design and creation of new things which demand for a good quality and safer product. Safe Design must comply with the applicable law, requires knowledge and capability, must attempt to foresee potential misuses of the product, must meet standard of accepted engineering practice and must verify every final design. After the process that being followed by the engineer themselves, so it is up to the user to use it in the right way. This project is expected to give awareness to the engineering ethic course student on the term risk, safety and accident in the real world. INTRODUCTION What can we say about Engineering Code of Ethics in this topic? To be simple, it is related to the engineers to produce products that are safe for the society. It is also important that they are the main role in preventing accidents of their invention. We must know that nothing can be 100% safe and perfect, but still engineers are required to make products as safe as reasonably possible.[1] Firstly, we must know that safety is about freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger or loss. So, engineers have to follow the process or designing his product in order to make it safe as possible. Safe design is a process of hazard identification mainly at the design stage or controlling risk as early as possible to health and safety in the planning and design of products, systems or process. Through risk assessment, design option will be generated to eliminate Occupational Health Safety (OHS) hazards or to minimize OHS risks of injury to those who make the product and to those who used it.[3] In response to societal demands for safer products and workplaces, governments, businesses, engineers and others who are involved in innovation are requiring that safety be a fundamental principle in design. Design is a fundamental engineering activity. Engineer always involve in design, development and creation of new or improved products, process, systems and services. Hence, quality and safety in design should be fundamental in engineering concerns, not only to ensure that the code of engineering ethic is to be practiced but also to maintain a good reputation in engineering profession for better sense to develop products, processes and systems.[3] Safe design plays a big role in design objective, including practicability, cost and the functionality of the designed-product. Safe design is the process of successfully achieving a balance of these objectives. To ensure a total safety in a design, safe design needs an understanding of the each stage in the life of a designed product, starting with the initial conception to the end life of the product. Poor design can result in low productivity, higher maintenance, higher employment and workers compensation expenses and reduced asset life. These economic costs are in addition to human costs of injury, illness, disease and disability.[3] As we all know that accidents can always occur in anytime. It is usually happened on the user itself although the product that being used is already being design in term of safety and the usage too. It is case to case basis situation. It depends on whom to be blame. It may seem that engineers sometime bear no responsibility for any accident that happened. However, engineer must understand that the system or products that he is working on and to attempt to be creative in determining how things can be designed to avert as many mistakes by people using the technology as possible.[1] As we design something, we must also consider the manual and procedure for the use of the device or technology of the design. It is for the user itself. Engineers have to follow the design rules and in fact they have to pay the risk by designing something so that any accident can be averted. By generating the owners manual, maybe the user can use the device or the technology in the right way and it also can reduce the chances of getting any accident that can lead to death or injury. So engineers are born to help the people in the world by inventing the advance technology and designing it with the prospect of safety too. SAFE DESIGN CRITERIAS 1) Safe Design must comply with the applicable law All the design must meet their specifications and standards to ensure a good and safe design. Federal safety laws are different for each departments or industries. For example, International Maritime Organization (IMO) has an important part to play for adopting legislation for ships. IMOs safety legislation deals with the ship and passenger while The SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) do concern with passenger safety and with lifesaving equipment on passenger ships. While for electrical field, The National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) is a set of rules to safeguard people during the installation, operation, and maintenance of electric power lines. The NESC contains the basic provisions considered necessary for the safety of employees and the public. Although it is not intended as a design specification, its provisions establish minimum design requirements. PPL Electric Utilities Corp. (PPL) has developed design specifications and safety rules which meet or surpass all requirements specif ied by the NESC.[3] 2) Safe Design requires knowledge and capability In this case, engineers need to have and be able to demonstrate required knowledge about the design that he or she is about to build. They must have knowledge about the workplace hazards and any harmful effect because some of the design or project involves the prevention that may have potential to release hazardous material or energy. Such incidents will affect the environment such as toxic effects, fire or explosion and will drive to other consequences such as serious injuries, property damage and loss production. These are the basis possibilities that engineers must concern and implement ways to avoid any danger causes.[4] 3) Safe Design must attempt to foresee potential misuses of the product Engineers are professionally responsible for ensuring that their products or system are safe enough before they are established. They are legally bounded through law and regulations to ensure that their designs are safe from concept through disposal. To ensure a safe design, engineers must foresee the possibilities about the misuses of the products and implement ways to minimize the cautions of product misuses by the users. By adopting a safe design approach, it is possible to design-out health and safety hazards to create a design options that meet both clients need and our obligations as an engineer.[2] 4) Safe Design must meet standard of accepted engineering practice. Accepted engineering practice is a safety issues that involve fundamental ideas about how we view the world and what we believe is important and right. A designer has a responsibility to ensure that their conceptions do not put the others on risk. They cant just create the design by simply ignore insignificant risk even it consumes lots of cost. For example, it might be less important for a small house to install lightning protection but it is a must for such a large factories or tower to do so and to meet the standard of specification.[3] 5) Safe Design must verify every final design For good engineers, they must always find alternatives about how to improve their current products to improve safety effect besides implementing new ways of design. However, after designing, the products and finished devices must be tested rigorously to see whether the products are safe and meet the specifications needed. For fresh graduate engineers, they would be expected to work under the supervision and guidance of more experienced engineers, while they gain experiences. This is very important as fresh engineer will attempt to make more mistakes as they have lack of experiences.[2] DESIGNING FOR SAFETY Safety is generally interpreted as implying a real and significant impact on risk of death, injury or damage to property. In response to perceived risks many interventions may be proposed with engineering responses and regulation being two of the most common. Better safe than sorry by Bruce Erion, President of the National Broadcast Pilots Assn, a simple but crucial for designers to bear with. One version of the process for safety design, taken from the finding of Wilcox will be thoroughly elaborated. Some of the steps are including defining the problem and generate as well as analysing several solutions before implementing the design Consideration of safety should be an integral part of the design process at the various stages. Designers should assess the design as it progresses and if any significant hazard is identified the design should be altered to eliminate the hazard where reasonably practicable, or otherwise to reduce the risk where reasonably practicable [4]. As the design progresses from concept to detail, consideration of safety issues moves from general aspects to specific aspects. The most important contribution that a designer can probably make is at the concept and early design development stages of a project when project-wide and system hazards are being considered. Another important thing that an engineer needs to consider is to minimize the inherent danger in the process as could as possible. It is good if we can excluded any potential danger in our design rather that to cope with or otherwise avoided Hence, dangerous substances or reactions are replaced by less dangerous ones, and this is preferred to using the dangerous substances in an encapsulated process[3]. Trevor Kletz said that to eliminate the hazard completely or reduce its magnitude sufficiently to eliminate the need for elaborate safety systems and procedures. Furthermore, this hazard elimination or reduction would be accomplished by means that were inherent in the process and thus permanent and inseparable from it. Here we focus on the specific area of pertaining to engineering design. We believe that engineering design constitutes an interesting starting point for ethical issues in engineering, both for educational and research purposes [3]. The first step that designer need to consider is to define the needs and requirements and often involves determining the constraints. Consideration of safety should be an integral part of the design process at the various stages. Designers should assess the design as it progresses and if any significant hazard is identified the design should be altered to eliminate the hazard where reasonably practicable, or otherwise to reduce the risk. Before some design has been done, we must consider all the pros and cons before implementing every single one. We have to recognise if there any design trade off of the products. In order to build a stadium for example, Stadium A gives a more astounding structure but less safe compared to Stadium B that is very safe but the structural design is not that remarkable. Which one will we choose to build? Here, we need to generate several solutions in order to decide the best selection to choose but as a good designer, safety is always be the main priority Hence, after several solutions have been listed with their advantages as well as disadvantages, they need to be analysed. Safer products, processes and systems will result and that ultimately benefits business and society generally, now and in the long term, because it minimises injury and illness and provides for a better social and workplace environment. This step involves determining the consequences of each design solution and determining whether it solves the problem. The aspect of the design process is connected to, or brings about possible negative consequences, for people other than the designers involved; hence it is a must for engineer to test the solution whether they are safe enough before each of product has been released. Then after completing the solution testing, the design is ready to implement. In the nutshell, safety must come first in every design to avoid any unwanted accidents in the future and subsequent criminal or civil action against us RISK-BENEFIT ANALYSIS Risk-benefit analysis is the comparison of the risk of certain cases to its related benefits in the real world. Exposure to personal risk is recognized as a normal aspect of every daily routine life in human being. We accept a certain level of risk in our lives as necessary in order to obtain some particular benefits. In most of these risks one feels as though he or she have some sort of control over the real situation. For example, driving a car is a risk most people take every day. The controlling factor appears to be their perception of their individual ability to manage the risk-creating situation. However, analysing the risk of a situation is very dependent on the individual that doing the analysis. When individuals are exposed to involuntary risk or risk which they have no control, they tend to avoid the risk that they faced. Under these conditions, the individuals will favor to have the risk to be as much as one thousand times smaller than for the same situation under their pe rceived control.[7] Let us consider the adequacy of this way of dealing with uncertainty with the help of the simple conceptual model of risk management described by Figure 1. It characterises risk management as a non-monetized form of cost-benefit analysis. Figure1: simple conceptual model of risk management The model postulates that everyone has a propensity to take risks this propensity varies from one individual to another this propensity is influenced by the potential rewards of risk taking perceptions of risk are influenced by experience of accident losses ones own and  others individual risk taking decisions represent a balancing act in which perceptions of  risk are weighed against propensity to take risk accident losses are, by definition, a consequence of taking risks; the more risks an  individual takes, the greater, on average, will be both the rewards and losses he or  she incurs.[6] To make it simple, there are three kind of risk as shown in the figure 2. Figure 2: three kinds of risks Virtual risks are products of the imagination which work upon the imagination. The less conclusive the science relating to a particular risk, the more liberated are peoples imaginations. directly perceptible risks are managed instinctively and intuitively. Science illuminates many of the connections between behaviour and consequence, sometimes so successfully that previously invisible risks become directly perceptible. However estimates of such probabilities are usually of limited value to those seeking guidance about what to do in the face of uncertainty. There are at least as many problems attaching to the probability estimates as there are to the value estimates by which they are multiplied.[6] ACCIDENT Accident is an unexpected event that will be interrupt any completion of an activity, and that may be include injury or property damage. . Work accidents can occur due to unsuitable protective clothing and gear and insufficient training or non training. Injury can also be caused by careless co- workers and poor lighting. The employers should provide safe place of working, safe system of working and safe methods of working. When the accident was investigated, the important part is to find out what is the causes of the accident. It will use as a guideline in order to prevent similar accident in the future. The objectives of the investigation accident is actually to find out the facts that can guide to take the actions and not to find the fault. The investigation of the accident can be conducted by someone who have experienced in accident causation and have experienced about investigation technique. Besides that, the person must be have a knowledgeable about the working process or condi tion, the procedures and the person involve.[1] Most of the accident happen maybe because of some human error or else. For example, when doing the investigation, the accident is occur due to the worker carelessness. The accident happen still must be to investigate if there are not involve any injury or property damage because any hazards can be corrected for in the future apply. Accident can be considered into a several type which is procedural, engineered and the systemic. For procedural accident, it is the most common happen and it will give the someone to make a bad decision or choice and will not follow the established procedures. The procedural accident are quite well to understood and can be minimize with the appropriate way for example with the given training to the workers, more supervision, and must have laws or regulations .For engineered accident, it caused by flaw in the design. Failures in the choice of material, devices not operating properly, devices or parts not operating well under all circumstances. Engineered failure should be anticipated in the design stages and should be caught and corrected during testing. However, it not always to anticipate in every condition that will be encountered, and sometimes testing doesnt occur over the entire range of possible operating condition. Engineered accident cam be understood and alleviated as more k nowledge is gain through testing and actual experienced in the field.[1] For systemic accident, it is quite hard to understand and not easy to control it. They are characteristic of every complex technologies and the complex organizations that are required to operate them. For example in airline industry which have a very complicated system that involve many working people including baggage handler, machine, pilot, and so on. In designing some project, there are so difficult to detect any systemic accident since there are many small and seemingly insignificant factor that can be considered. As the designer and engineer, we suppose to understand the complexity of the system working and try to design something which the accident occur can be minimized. CASE STUDY CASE STUDY FOR SAFETY DESIGN Case Study 1 Safe Design: Employee received electric shock while trying to adjust damaged connector linking coin operated box to photocopier. 50mm connector jutting out at 90o on side of copier unsafe workplace-equipment layout obstructing access to electrical power outlet Preventive Actions Reopen case worksite preventive / brainstorming session with staff thru process of consultation, hazard ID, risk control measures. Re-layout photocopier and book shelf Case Study 2 Safe design: Nov 2004 Exhaust fumes from diesel engine at basement got into the air conditioning intakes on Floors 4 to 7, building was evacuated. When building was first built, there was no restriction to exhaust ventilation. With development, adjacent buildings were causing environmental restriction to existing exhaust ventilation systems, creating unsafe and uncomfortable workplace environment! Corrective action: Building owner to fix Preventive Actions: Development Act LG admin controls BCA building regulations controls Building Designers responsibility Case Study 3 Safe design: Jan 2005 Maintenance worker received electric shock after coming into contact with an LIVE evaporative cooling system isolation switch filled with water. Cause: Water droplets from the filter pad splashed onto the fan-motor power cable and gradually gained entry into the conduit and switch housing through gravity feed. Safe Design Consideration: Install a 90o elbow facing downwards at the cable entry point from the inside of unit to create the lowest dip point by design. Sealing the conduit entry point with silicone rubber or equivalent may not provide a permanent  barrier. CASE STUDY FOR ACCIDENT Case Study 4: Collapse of Stadium Terengganu Image of Terengganu Stadium Collapse In 2 JUNE 2009, the Stadium of Terengganu collapse after one year of being built. It was officially opened by the Yang di-Pertuan agong sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin. The roof of the stadium is named after him in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu collapsed in early morning of 2 June 2009 and causing damage to the few cars that was park in the vicinity. Fortunately no one was injured in this accident. The frame structure of the roof of the 50,000-seat stadium came crashing down around 7.30 am and none of the stadium staff were at the premises yet. 60 percent of the roof at the stadium that was built at a cost of RM270 million and opened on 10 May 2008, collapsed, including that above the royal box at the grand stand. Overall damage was estimated at RM35mil. Meanwhile, even after the debris from the 2,500-tonne roof has been cleared, the Terengganu government is  unable to say if the stadium is safe  as the impact of the collapse is not known. Some causes of the collapse of this new stadium were identified. It is maybe because of components used and work quality did not meet the specifications; design factor was not appropriate; roof was not constructed properly; quality control was not carried out at the project site; weak supervision during the construction process; lack of skilled workers; and shortage of experts and experienced consultants. A notice has been issued to the contractor to repair the 50,000-seat Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium which is the biggest stadium in the East Coast but no response so far[9]. Case Study 5: The Crash of Valujet Flight 592 Image of Valujet Flight 592 In May 1996, Valujet Flight took off from Miami International Airport, heading for Atlanta. Theis Valujet Flight offered cheap fares to Florida and other popular destinations. It cost savings were achieved in part by hiring other companies which is Sabre Tech to perform many of the routine operations that keep an airline flying including the routine task of replacing oxygen generator canisters in some of its DC-9s. The canisters are located above the passenger seats and are used to provide oxygen to the passengers through masks should the cabin pressure somehow lost. The canisters contain a core of sodium chlorate, which is activated by a small explosive charge. This small explosion is initiated when the passenger pulls the oxygen mask toward herself. A chemical reaction within the canisters liberates oxygen, which the passenger breathes through the mask. During use, the surface temperature of the canister can be as high as 500F, which is normally not a problem, since the canister is well ventilated. To ensure that the canister will operate properly when needed, the oxygen generator canisters must be replaced periodically. Valujet maintenance rules made it clear that when the canisters are removed, a bright yellow safety cap must be installed on them to ensure that the explosive charge is not inadvertently set off. Unfortunately, Sabre Tech didnt follow this rule while performing this work. Instead, tape was applied where the caps should have been gone, and the canisters were placed in five cardboard boxes and left on a shelf in the hangar. However, two of the Sabre tech mechanics marked on the paperwork that the caps had been installed and signed off on the job. Within minutes after leaving the runway, the DC-9s electrical system started to fail and the cockpit and passengers cabin began filling with smoke. The pilots immediately called the Miami tower for permission to return and began to descend and turn back toward the airport. However, the situation becomes worsened because of fire started melting the control cables and the pilots become shrouded in smoke. The plane suddenly banked sharply and descended rapidly. The descent was so fast and causes the traffic control radar in Miami no longer able to register an altitude for the airplane. Amazingly, either through the efforts of the pilot or because the autopilot come back on, the plane becomes leveled off again. The airplane was now at only 1000 feet above the ground. The air traffic controllers in Miami radioed the pilots and attempted to send the aircraft to the closer airport at Opa Locka, Florida. Instead, the plane was rolled sharply to the right and facing nose down crashed into the Everglades. The two pilots, three flight attendants and 105 passengers on board were killed instantly in this accident. The subsequent investigation into this accident indicated that the fire was caused by the accidental firing of at least one of many chemical oxygen generators that were being carried in this plan to send back to Valujet headquarters in Atlanta. This chemical oxygen generator is the canister that had been removed from another Valujet airplane. The heat generated by this canister caused a fire in the cargo hold beneath the cockpit that ultimately brought this plane down. The investigation showed that this accident is not a flow in the airplanes design, but rather was attributed to a series of the oxygen canisters. These canisters were improperly secured and supposedly shouldnt have been on the airplane at all. One of the most important duties of an engineer is to ensure the safety of the people who will be affected by the products that he designs. As we have seen, all of the codes of ethics of the professional engineering societies stress the important of safety in the engineers duties [1][8]. CONCLUSION There are so many small insignificant factors that engineer doing that occur the accident. It may seem that the engineer has no responsibility and not alert about the law of safety and regulation. However, the engineer must understand and learn the complexity and the system that he is working on and also to be creative in determining how things can be design to avoid the accident happen again. Many of the risks can only be expressed by probabilities and no more educated guesses. Furthermore, there are synergistic effects between probabilities especially in a new and innovative design. Because of that, the engineer must design a product as safe as possible. Base on the designing for safety, the risk can minimize much more easierThe risk can minimize if the engineer spending more time to recheck the design cycle before sell it. It is because of to make sure that the product safe to use. Even though the price quite expensive, especially in the design cycle before the product has been built or is on the market, but the engineer must make sure that the product have a safety prevention and high quality. The prudent and ethical thing to do is to spend as much time and expense the design correctly so as to minimize future risk of injury and civil actions. The method to help analyze and to determine a project to proceed is risk benefit analysis. This method can summarize that the only ethical way is to implement risk-benefit by sharing the benefit between the engineer and society. As a conclusion, the product not surely 100% safe, but the engineer must design a product more effectively and follow the ethical law as a guideline.

Human Resource Management Case Study

Human Resource Management Case Study Abstract Strategic Human resource management is a long term proactive planning by the Human Resource department on how organizational goals and missions will be achieved by the means of its labor force resources. This essay is based on Strategic Human Resource Management theories and practices as a requirement for our Human Resource Management unit HR633. For this assignment Baa Bar restaurant has been chosen where the interrelationship between human resource management and Baa Bar restaurant’s environment will be evaluated and discussed. The definition provided by Michael Armstrong and Long (1994) is discussed together with the matching model by Devanna, Fombrun and Tichy (1984) is also discussed. The relationship between these theories, ideas and model are evaluated with the context of Baa Bar restaurant current practice and philosophies. Introduction Human resource management is about management of people at all levels in the organizational structure in order to achieve an competitive advantage over other business with the help of implementing their own HR policies and practices which are in alignment with their goals and missions of the organization. Armstrong and Long expand the idea of Walker who defined strategic human resources management as â€Å"the means of putting together the management of human resources with the strategic content of the business† HRM is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment. Effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organizations goals and objectives (About.com,2014). Baa Bar The corporate mission of Baa Bar restaurant is to be well recognized as one of the top â€Å"A† grade family restaurant in both its local and International tourist market. (Personal communication: Mr Sohal, S., 4th July, 2014) Key objectives To train and develop current employees in response to equip them with the changing trends and markets for effective and efficient customer service deliverance To deliver a safe and secure working environment to its employees To be in alignment with the organizational goals and mission To promote fair and equal employment opportunity for all people despite their race, culture ,religion and gender of people Adhere to fair selection process for new recruitment To adhere to the minimum wage rate for its employees despite the race, culture, religion , or gender This department is responsible overall management of human resources who are seen as the biggest asset for any organization’s success. The HR department is responsible for staff recruitment, training them effectively, developing them and allocating them to their respective duties. Their strategies need to be in complete alignment with the mission and goals of the restaurant. They acquire the right person with the right job at the right time in right number through training and developing them through organizational training and workshops in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in all other departments of the organization. They are main responsibility is to recruit, develop, use and maintain the employees of the restaurant as there is a shortage of employee loyalty and employee come in the restaurant to gain workforce experience and leave for better opportunities. Therefore to put a measure to this problem the HR department of Baa Bar restaurant has formulated a writt en contract outlining the Baa Bar restaurant’s policies and practices that employees need to adhere while working for the restaurant. The new employees that are recruited to be placed on a three months probation period to show the restaurant their ability and capabilities and as a means that shows the restaurant that they are the people for that position. Furthermore the contract restricts employees from leaving the company without giving the restaurant time to advertise, recruit and train another replacement for that position. All the employees are provided with basic training in all spheres of the restaurant duties so that when the need arises to cover up or switch positions for another employee due to absenteeism or if any emergency arises, they have the knowledge and are equipped to carry out of those responsibilities efficiently (Scribd.com,2014). Baa Bar restaurant is a family owned small restaurant run by Mrs Sunaina khan as CEO and Mr Sohail Khan as the Manager /Human Resource Manager and Mr D. Patel as the Supervisor/floor Manager/Human Resource officer for the restaurant. It has other ten kitchen employees. The structure of baa bar restaurant has four levels, upper most is the CEO, second level is the Manager, third level is the human resource manager and at the bottom level are all the kitchen employees. The HR department is managed by the floor manager and the restaurants manager. All HR planning and strategies are formulated at the third level of the organizational structure Mr. Patel who carry out the planning process and forward it to the upper level ,to the manager and CEO ,for the final approval for all Human resource issues. Therefore the HR department has formulated some internal policies for their human resource requirements. The department has formulated yearly proactive plans to cater for the increased produ ction and so that work flow in the restaurant is constant and does not stop due to shortage of staff. Every year the restaurant allocates certain amounts of profit for Human resource development for current employees and recruiting new employees depending on the requirements of the yearly projects. Every year the restaurant allocates a budget of $100,000 for its HR department from which the depart allocates $55000 for casual 3 to 5 new employee that are recruited every year during the summer for two months, mid November to mid January, when it’s the peak season for the restaurant due to general public holidays and influx of heavy tourist market. The department advertises on the seek website, Baa Bar restaurants official website and in restaurant’s fortnightly newsletter. At times they also outsource to Frog recruitments to get casual labors on short notices (About.com,2014). HR department formulates an action plan for its own department as a measure to attain their outlined projects and goals in order to achieve their organizational goals and mission. HR works in accordance with the restaurants mission and goals and have employees lined up to fit in when the need arises so that the operations of the restaurants day to day activities do not stop. The HR department of Baa Bar restaurant act as the chain agents for the change as the change arises. The HR manager and the restaurants manager work together hand in hand, educating, developing, motivating, supporting, coaching and training the employees beforehand and during the transition period so that employee are well prepared and equipped for the change. For Example, the one of the outlined goals for 2014 is to expand the Baa Bar restaurant’s current sitting arrangement to a new outside courtyard dining to mark the restaurant’s 10th birthday on 23rd of November. The CEO, the Manager and HR Manager together with other department managers, had a meting with the front line workers and the kitchen staff and advised them about the planning and what strategies the managers will conduct in order to achieve the success of the project. They were also explained why the restaurant needs to expand and what is expected from the employees and how it is going to affect them. T hey were further explained on how their current role will change. The HR department came up with the idea on how to cater for the increased employee requirements and resources as the work load will increase dramatically. The HR came up with the action plan on how to cater for the increased work load. It has made provisions to recruit 5 new employees, 3 new waiters and 2 new kitchen hands to help in the kitchen. It has also made provision to send the existing waitresses and the bar tenders to attend workshops organized in house by outside representatives and also cater for further developments for kitchen hands and chefs to upgrade their skills and attain further education in their respective positions at the restaurants expenses (About.com,2014). 2.0. Policies and practices with reference to Devanna, Fombrum and Tichy The Matching Model According to Devanna, Fombrum and Tichy, (1984) Human resource management are the operational plans of the organization that emphasis on the strategic plans and are conducted by the top level people in the organizational structure. It further defines that the organizational mission and strategy should be entwined together with the human resource policies and practices like job designing, employee training and development etc.so that they are in constant flow with each other in order to achieve the organizational missions and strategies. Human resource management department needs to scan the external forces that effect the organization at whole. The external forces are political, cultural and economic forces. Political forces are the laws, legislations and policies placed by the New Zealand government and ministry of labor such as organizational health and safety regulations which Baa Bar restaurant need to abide by at all circumstances and average wage regulations, taxation, IRD deduction, child labor, illegal employment etc. such laws are placed by the concerned authorities in order to standardize the local workforce by safeguarding the employee as well as the restaurants interest. Therefore it effects the human resource management of the Baa Bar restaurant where it has to base it’s employee salary, benefits, etc. in consideration and then decide the numeration packages for them. It also has to place internal policies and practices to ensure that OHS regulations are adhered by all employees at all time. It has to provide proper equipment and gear for the kitchen staff and send them to proper training on what to do in case of emergencies like fire, food poisoning. All employees have to go through proper food handling and hygiene courses before they start their new jobs at the expense of the restaurant. Such regulations put constrains on the human Resource management budgets thus increasing the expenses of the restaurant. Therefore, the HR department has to keep updated with the new policies and regulations in order to be in aligning with the New Zealand’s law and order as the government has placed a severe consequences for being infringement if found the restaurant could even be ceased from operating (Scribd, Inc.,2014) Social forces have effect on HR management because the type of background that employees come from defines their work ethics, behavior, and attitudes towards their role in the restaurant. It also defines their level of commitment and responsibilities they display in their performances. An employee’s attitude towards their present and future personal goals defines them as where they want to be in their career which will show their attitude towards their work. It also highlights the background from which they come from and how they will interact and behave with other employees therefore HR rules and regulations need to provide certain guidelines and principles that all employees need to adhere to to reduce conflicts (Scribd, Inc., 2014) Human resource management also has to pay emphasis on the economical forces of the restaurant because the economy of a nation either it’s suffering a recession period or growth; it will define the availability of its people’s education and health which simultaneously have a major effect on the available labor workforce. Therefore recruitment, selection and placement and well being in the restaurant will be affected and needs to be taken in consideration while making HR policies for the restaurant. The restaurant needs employees who are able to work up to their maximum capabilities. A growth in the economy means that the people are able to afford higher education and qualifications which the restaurant can utilize to its maximum in their respective tasks towards the achievement of the organizational mission (Scribed.Inc., 2014). Likewise competition also affects the HR policies as and increase in competition increases the need for the restaurant to retain their key emplo yees with more benefits and renumuration as the demand for them increases. 3.0. Human resource contribution to organizational strategy and planning Human resource management and planning emphasis on scanning the current human resource and forecasting for their future need in order to cater as the need arises. The HR department assesses the employee performance, education, qualification and skills with their current roles and assess if they match and compliment each other or not with the means of staff appraisal and performance measure on every six months basis. The employees who are no performing at their expected level are given six months to progress on their performance and by the end of the year all employees are rewarded with bonus in accordance with their performance. Accordingly the HR department rearranges the structure by regrouping duties to create more positions vice versa which is more favorable towards accomplishment of the restaurants mission and goals. The HR department provides on job training for its new recruits and further development opportunities to be aligned with the current trending skills and qualificati ons as the restaurant sees its loyal employees as asset to the organization and their updating developments will provide a competitive edge for its competitors. It believes that whatever they spend on staff development will be reaped by the restaurant and help the restaurant to equip it better with its competitors and in return will benefit in increase in profit level. Furthermore HR department needs to recruit only those candidates who are best equipped with the required skills and qualifications and capabilities that suits that specific position (Scribed, Inc. 2014). The problem with the Baa Bar Restaurant’s human resource policy and practice is that the policies and practices that are formulated is from the top level management and there is no provision for lower level employee involvement and insight from them as they are the ones who are affected by all the policies. The human resource department needs to make provision for an employee representative who can act on behalf of the employees of the restaurant in order to get their support and involvement when formulating HR policies and practices. Conclusion Human Resource Management and Planning involves taking measures and equipping the human resource of the organization for their current and future opportunities in achieving the organization’s missions and goals by formulating and updating respective policies and practices. Policies and strategies are formulated in order to set a fair and justified standards for recruitment, training and developing, redundancy process. The HR department has to scan its external environments in order to be aware of their impact on the organization’s labor force. References About.com,(2014). Human resource. Retrieved from  http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_onestop.htm Armstrong, M. and Long, P. (1994). The reality of Strategic HRM. Institute of Personnel and development. London. Devanna, M.A, Fombrun, C. J. and Tichy, N.M. (1984). A framework for Strategic Human Resource Management, in Fombrun et al. (eds), Strategic Human Resource Management, New York, John Wiley. Scribed, Inc. (2014) External factors affecting human resource management. Retrieved from  https://www.scribd.com/doc/43375780/External-factors-affecting-human-resource-management-HRM