[MBA] The culture in your company emphasizes making money more than it does safety...

The culture in your company emphasizes making money more than it does safety.  However, you know that a safe workplace will save the firm money in the short run and the long run.  How would you make a case to senior management that developing a culture of safety would yield high returns for the company? Note: Resources that may provide useful data are:  The Safe Workplace, a website of the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program at http://www.safe-workplace.com/safety-blog/labels/ASSE.html and Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics at http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/work.html.

Workplace Safety was not a big topics in previous days. Most companies attempts to get more revenue and use labor to the maximum possible extent. Gradually labor right and safety is being issue for better performance of companies. International organizations like ILO, WTO and many conventions are playing major role in securing employee and employers head. Instead companies are concerned mainly on making money more than it does concern safety. This case attempts to analyze earlier phase and current scenario that to be presented to senior management about developing culture of safety yield high returns for company.

Workplace Safety and performance

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is about protecting safety, health and welfare of workers involved in work for any company or workplace. OHS attempts to protect workers from short term, long term and gradual degradation on health on the course of their daily activities. Many people are suffering of work place hazard and injuries and dies daily in a great number. We get news about blasting of gold mines, coal mines and construction sector where workers are dying in large number due to lack of or insufficient safety measures. A research in Australia revealed that in every 2/3 minutes an Australian workers are being injured seriously. For the single year of 2009/10 567,500 workers were injured but only 30% of them received compensation from employer (Safe at work). Work place hazard kills 7,000 people every year with diseases committed during work place. Australian safe work report reveals that 4.8% of total GDP is expended to compensate, cure those injuries and fatalities.

Benefits of safe workplace and insurance

- Employees are morally up feeling they and their family are secure

- Expense for care is less than for cure

- Many conventions, agreements and release notes are demanding workplace safety

- Good work environment will improve company productivity

- Corporate social responsibility is also fulfilled once workplace and environmental safety is considered

Achieving workplace safety

We cannot achieve workplace safety in a short period and run. For this management should have clear vision of how to perform operations and budgeting on regular basis. Companies are investing certain percentage of annual profit for creating safe workplace as well as rescue fund. Measures to be taken varies from nature of workplace. For example in mines, providing safe equipments, training on emergency will make good sense. For construction and grill factory using spectacles, clothes and helmet is compulsory. Tools and equipments used for construction and/or development sector should be handled carefully for this employer should provide necessary training and instruction for workers involved in those tasks.

References:

Lepak, D. &Gowan, M. (2010). Human resource management: Managing employees for competitive advantage. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall

Osha.gov,. (2015).Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics. Retrieved 16 October 2015, from https://www.osha.gov/oshstats/work.html

Safe at work,. (2015). What is OHS?. Retrieved 16 October 2015, from http://www.safeatwork.org.au/about-us/what-ohs