Provide Leadership Across The Organisation

Incident Investigation

Describe about the Provide Leadership Across The Organisation?

From the scenario mentioned it is observed that an incident related to workplace health and safety took place at the commercial office of Max Lionel Realty. The investigation revealed the fact that a client who was in hurry while trying to leave through the emergency exit fell and broke her wrist. The incident took place since it was blocked by the paper boxes. Moreover the agent ignoring the seriousness of the incident blamed the client but in reality it was observed that she slipped from the stairwell due to some oily substance on the stairwell.

Date of Incident:	Time of Incident:
Nature of Incident Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper	Slip/trip, Medical condition
Location of Incident	Commercial office of Max Lionel Realty at the emergency exit on the stairwell.
Description of Incident	The client was in a hurry and she decided to leave through the emergency exit and slipped on the stairwell and after investigating the fact it was noticed that there were some oily substance on the staircase.
Nature of Injury	Fracture
Body location of Injury	wrist
Treatment offered	The injured was taken to the Royal Women’s Hospital by ambulance

As per one of the witness it can be said that the incident mainly took place since the client was in hurry and was wearing high heels. However further investigation revealed that one of the individual observed that there were some oily substance on the staircase which might have led to the incident. The main reasons that can be observed behind the occurrence of the incident is the failure on the part of the managers to undertake WHS management system responsibilities i.e. incomplete record keeping, no consultation with the agents and no meetings with the WHS committee. 

Risk assessment involves various stages which are as follows:

Identification of the hazard

In this phase it becomes important to identify the potential hazards so that necessary measures can be taken in order to prevent the incidents from occurring (Goss, 2009). So in the above scenario it has been observed that the emergency exit have been crowded with boxes of paper and this resulted in an incident where a client fell from and was inquired. So here it might also happen that during any emergency it would lead to severe accident and the employees might also get hurt.

In this context it can be said that the employees are highly exposed to the perceived risk within the organization and they might hurt themselves while conducting their day to day business operations.

The individual employees may encounter severe accidents which might not only hamper their health condition but would also make a significant impact on the operation of the business.

Risk Characterization

Risk can be characterized on the basis of various aspects and thus it can be looked upon as health risk, financial risk, technological risk and market risk, business risk and economic risk (Hester and Harrison, 1998). In the above mentioned scenario the risk of accident at workplace can be looked upon as a health risk on the part of the employees which might result in business risk, financial risk and economic risk on the part of the organization.

Identifying and describing the hazard	Assessing the critical WHS risk	Determining the control measures	Can the risk be minimized and eliminated with the help of the control measures	If no what further controls are required?	Nominate the person responsible for implementation	Map the critical WHS risk to project lifecycle
Health Hazard	Accident at workplace	The individual staff members should be responsible for their tasks and measures should be taken to clear the places like emergency exits and staircases where accidents may occur	yes			HR manager	The risk should be mitigated at an early stage of the project
Financial hazard	The reputation of the company might get hampered and it can also be sued by the regulatory bodies	The control measures like various health and safety measures should be taken to prevent the probable accidents at workplace	yes			HR manager	Proper meeting should be conducted and the issue should be discussed and the WHS management system should be implemented effectively.

Organizational Mission, values and Strategic Directions

The mission of the organization is to provide a safe and healthy workplace and environment to work so that they can enjoy their work (Casey, 2012). The organizational values refer to the fact that the organization would focus upon conducting its operations abiding by the legal rules and regulations implemented by the WHS act in the context of maintaining the safety at workplace. The organization in order to maintain the safety at workplace focuses upon implementing the WHS management system, frequently consult with the agents to identify the potential risks, organize WHS committee meetings in order to assess the risks, assess the workplace hazards and then frequently update the risk register so that necessary measures can be taken for maintaining the health and safety of the employees.

Risk Assessment

An organization while conducting its operations is not only responsible for earning profits but also possess some responsibility towards the employees i.e. they are responsible for maintaining the health and safety of the employees at workplace. This can be looked upon as an important objective of the organization. On the other hand the standards and legislations also guide the organization in this aspect and implement various laws and regulations to be followed by the management for maintaining the health and safety and the organization (Hughes et al., 2013). Thus it can be said that there exist a link between the objective of the organization, the standards, legislations and responsibilities. Again the organization’s objectives, the legislations and the standards clearly define the responsibilities of the agents and managers in order to maintain a safe workplace. 

It is important on the part of the management of the organization to encourage the employees to take active participation in the decision making process. This would not only make the employees feel valued but would also provide them the confidence to share their feedbacks and suggestions with the management regarding the ways in which the organization can maintain and enhance the health and safety at workplace (Casey, 2012). Thus the managers should try to identify the potential risks at workplace and also abide by the health and safety standards, legislations in order to facilitate the employees with a healthy and safe workplace to work. This would motivate the employees and would also enhance their performance which in turn would facilitate in enhancing the overall productivity of the organization. Thus it is essential that the managers within the origination should strive towards adopting the participative leadership style.

Development of ethics Charter

The originations in order to conduct their business operations should focus not only upon earning high profits rather it should strive towards efficiently managing its responsibilities that it bears towards the employees. This is important because as the employer possesses certain expectations from the employees, the employees also possess certain expectations from the employer and thus there should be a mutually beneficial relationship between the employee and the employer (Brown, 2005). Moreover the employer or the organization should also ne ethically sound i.e. it should focus upon fair treatment towards the employees without making any sort of discrimination, provide a safe and healthy work environment, maintain its WHS responsibilities that it bears towards its employees and abide by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria Code of conduct to run its business operations. Maintain the ethics in business would facilitate in creating a positive perception in the minds of the employees which would enhance the level of motivation on the part of the employees and the employees would be highly motivated and satisfied at their workplace (Phillips, 2003). Thus the ethics charter would be based upon:

Taking care of the employees.
Maintaining the health and safety standards at workplace.
Ensuring the health and safety of the employees.
Ensuring all the health and safety equipments are present and are functioning.
Ensuring whether the emergency exits and the other functionalities to escape during crisis situation is functioning properly or not and whether they are well maintained or not as per the set standards.
Ensuring the implementation of WHS management system.

Organizational Mission, Values, and Strategic Directions

Thus various revisions have been made in the existing policies and procedures for incorporating the charter by the agents and in this context it has been made mandatory that each and every employee is responsible for providing feedback to their respective seniors regarding the functionality of the operations and report the potential risks if any. Moreover the managers should focus upon implementing the functional culture within the organization and adopt a democratic process which would facilitate in providing an opportunity to the managers and the employees to effectively interact with each other and discuss the issues and find the required solutions. Moreover the various stakeholders like the agents, the clients and the wider community should also be engaged while implementing the change in the organizational culture. The change in the culture of the organization would facilitate in successful acceptance of the ethics charter and would also facilitate in effectively maintaining the health and safety of the employees within the organization.

It is important on the part of the management of the organization to train the employees and the managers regarding their roles and responsibilities towards the effort of maintaining a healthy and safe workplace. Moreover they should also be trained regarding the WHS responsibilities and the legal and ethical responsibilities for effective maintenance of the health and safety at workplace. So according to the WHS laws, both the employees and the employer should be trained regarding their responsibilities. The responsibilities of the employees include the following:

The employees at work should strive towards taking all the precautionary measures in order to protect themselves and others from injury and follows the instructions of WHS. The precautions include:
The employees should wear all the personal protective equipment that is provided to them.
They should follow safe working procedures.
They should restrict themselves from misusing the equipments, signs; etc that is provided by the employer or that is used to keep the workplace safe.
The machines should not b changed or removed (Overstreet, 1976).
They should follow the guidelines and should not behave in a manner which might put others at risk.
They should be prompt in their action while responding towards a request for assistance by an injured person at work.
The employees should also be aware of their responsibility of reporting the WHS issues that include any sort of hazards, illness, near misses and injuries so that necessary measures can be taken promptly.

The managers should provide necessary training to the staff members for ensuring the fact that the employees are aware of the work practices and are clear regarding the procedures to be followed in order to maintain the safety at workplace.

The employees should be encouraged to participate in the decision making process while taking the decisions regarding the health and safety at workplace (Hepburn and Pierson, 1943).

The employer should facilitate the employees with all the personal protective equipments so that the employees can remain safe from the hazards which might occur at work.

The WHS management system should be checked on a continuous basis and the procedures followed should also be evaluated to identify whether the employees are actually safe from workplace hazards.

The employer and the managers should facilitate the employees with the adequate facilities for employees’ welfare and thus it takes into consideration wide range of activities starting from the toilet facilities to risk assessment (Mann, 2009).

Link between Organization’s Objectives, Standards, Legislation and the Responsibilities

The employers and the managers should be very much aware of the various legal obligations as per the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the NSW Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and should focus upon abiding by the implemented obligation while dealing with the health and safety aspects at workplace.

Workshop Agenda

Workshop on Managing Health and Safety at Workplace

18 March 2015

Thursday, 18 March 2015	Time (Approx.)
Morning Session : Opening and presentation of the workshop Welcome and Introduction	08.30-09.00
Session 1: WHS and Legislation – Various key elements relevant to protection of the employees at workplace: WHS legislation and Act- overview of the risks and hazards that might occur at workplace including the limit value Risk management Simplification of the authorization procedure and potential exemption from the authorization requirement in the context of occupational risks	09.05-09.30     09.35-09.50       09.55-10.10
Coffee Break	10.10-10.40
Session 2: Understanding structures for the implementation of various practices to maintain the health and safety at workplace Identifying the potential challenges and issues that need to follow up Identifying the ways in which health and safety at work can be improved	10.45-11.00 11.05-11.20
Discussion regarding the issues and the preventive measure to be taken	11.25-12.00
Lunch	12.00-12.30
Afternoon Session: Session 3: Identifying and resolving the interface issues and the outcomes of risk management Discussing the various policies and procedures to be followed  within the organization for minimizing the cases of health and safety incidents	12.35-13.00
Views of the individuals and the agents	13.05-13.30
Risk assessment	13.35-14.00
Discussion	14.05-14.30
Follow up and closure of the workshop	14.35-14.45

The workshop is aimed at achieving certain objectives and is mainly aimed at managing the health and safety of the employees at workplace. Thus the objectives include:

Minimizing the WHS incidents by 25%

Effective implementation of the WHS management system

Ensuring the fact that the managers are undertaking WHS management system responsibilities.

Ensuring the fact that Committee meetings will be held on a continuous basis i.e. once in month to identify if there some potential issues or not and if there exist any such issues then identifying the ways in which it can be resolved.

Making the managers and the agents aware of the various legislations and policies that need to be followed for effective maintenance of health and safety at workplace.

Thus the managers and the entire team should work in a coordinated manner and each and every issue should be reported to the mangers as and when required (Dealtry, 2001). This would facilitate in taking quick actions and the employees should abide by the laid policies and procedures which conducting their operations. Thus it is essential that a supportive culture should be established within the organization and the employees should be empowered and motivated and this type of culture within the organization can be achieved through participative leadership style.

Thus for effective implementation of the change the managers at all levels within the organization should be assigned some responsibilities which they need to take. So in this aspect the top level managers should be responsible for formulating the policies and procedures to be followed by the employees (Casey, 2012). The middle level managers should be responsible for conveying the message to the line managers and making them understand the exact expectations and the ways in which the things should be carried out. On the other hand the line managers should be responsible for informing all the employees regarding the policies and procedures and then they should also be responsible for collecting the feedbacks from the employees and report any sort of issues to the higher authority.

Again the set objectives can be achieved with the help of an effective combination of an autocratic and participative leadership style.

The organization while conducting its operation should strive towards gaining an overall understanding of the various legislations that would have a significant impact on its business operation. So in this context it can be observed that the organization should be very much aware of legislations like Disability discrimination and other human rights legislation amendment act 2009, fair work act 2009, equal employment opportunity act 1987, Australian consumer law, Australian human rights commission act 1986, Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011, etc. So these acts and legislations act as guidance for the organization in the context of maintenance of health and safety at workplace (Ryan, 1978).

Expectations of Managers for Building Commitment and Support by Managers

The team formed for implementation of effective health and safety standards and procedure at workplace should be adequately trained regarding the various aspects like how they should handle the crisis situation, the ways in which they can identify the potential risks, the ways in which they can prevent the potential risks and hazards and they should be empowered so that they can prompt actions as and when required.

Moreover in addition to the above facts it is also necessary on the part of the management of the organization to allocate some budget for the training and development of the team and thus the team budget is as follows:

Resource used in training	Total Cost
Training managers	$1440
Training Rooms	$1200
Paper	$25
Projector	$1200
Total	$3865

So it is observed that the organization is making huge investment for the training and development of the team and thus it becomes important on the part of the organization to analyze whether effective return on investment can be obtained or not. So the management should focus upon continuously evaluating and monitoring the progress of the team to identify whether the goals and objectives set are being achieved or not. 

Reflecting on my Leadership Skills in my Profession

While working as an Operations General Manager at Max Lionel Realty, I have dealt with the investigation of a WHS issue and then focused upon identifying the various aspects related to the incident. In the process, I effectively prepared the incident report, risk assessment and presented it to the HR department so that necessary actions can be taken in this regard. Moreover since I observed that the company failed to achieve its objective of reducing the WHS incident at workplace I also took the leadership in this context to impalement some significant changes in the culture of the organization and ensure the fact that the agents and the managers at workplace while conducting their operations comply with the ethical and legal requirements. Thus while implementing the change it was important on my part to effectively lead the change so that it can be implemented throughout the organization. Moreover in this process I also formulated a team and assigned responsibilities to the manager at all levels so that the all the necessary health and safety measures can be taken care of in an effective and efficient manner. The team was provided adequate training regarding the policies and procedures that need to be followed while conducting the business operations and they were also made aware of the various legislations and act in the context of providing a healthy and safe workplace for the employees and prevent WHS incidents. Thus the managers were assigned responsibilities that include planning the training program, delivering the training program, assessing the competence of the individual, again monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of training program to identify whether the specified objectives are beings achieved or not. Thus analyzing my roles and responsibilities, I can derive the fact I have been successful in conducting the task that was assigned to me and taking into consideration my leadership skills, I would like to comment that I possess adequate leadership skills which facilitated me in accomplishing the assigned tasks. The main reason include the fact that I was successful in forming and leading the team, leading the change within the organization, motivating the team members to effectively coordinate among each other and I can also say that I possess the team work skills and motivation skills which are looked upon as essential skills to be possessed by an effective leader.

My personal evaluation revealed the fact that I am good at leadership skills and I have effectively managed the tasks that were assigned. However it also becomes important to collect the feedback from my manager. This would facilitate me in identifying my strengths and weaknesses. So once I am aware of my strengths and weakness I shall focus upon enhancing my strengths and overcoming my weaknesses which would be beneficial for both my personal and professional growth. Thus on the basis of the response of the managers my strengths and weaknesses can be listed as follows:

Strengths

Weaknesses

·         I can easily adapt to the changes that take place in the organization. ·         I possess the potential of leading and implementing the change in an effective and efficient manner. ·          I possess effective communication skills i.e. both written and verbal communication. ·         I am hard worker and do not easily give up upon tough tasks. ·         I like facing challenges and enjoy accomplishing challenging tasks. ·         I am patient and do not easily get hopeless or frustrated. ·         I am also self learner and believe in the fact that self learning the best way of learning and acquiring the necessary skills. ·         I possess leadership skills i.e. leading the team, teamwork, coordinating the team and leading the change.

·         I observed that to some extent I lack in IT skills. ·         I am also not efficient at presentation skills. ·         I am not good at listening skills. ·         To some extent I lag behind in effectively managing the time.

Objectives The Skills to be achieved to overcome the weaknesses	Success Criteria Identifying the success Reviewing and Measuring my Improvements	Actions needed to be taken for acquiring the skills	Implementing the applying the learnt skills
Time Management	·         Strive towards completing the tasks on time ·         Focus upon visiting the places on time ·         I shall strive towards  effectively using my watch to identify whether I can accomplish the tasks assigned within the stipulated time period	·         Before starting the tasks I shall spend time upon planning regarding how to complete the tasks because effective panning would lead to effective completion ·         I shall strive towards adopting a strict routine and follow that strictly.	·         Focus upon arriving at places or for meeting or for appointments at least 10 to 20 minutes before.
Listening Skills	·         I shall focus upon listening to the information provided by other individuals at workplace to enhance my listening skills.	·         I shall also join listening classes to overcome my weakness	·         I shall strive towards providing feedback after listening to others in order to ensure that I am effectively listening to the information and message being conveyed.
IT skills	·         I shall strive towards operating computers without sealing any help	·         I would also join computer class to enhance my IT skills	·         I shall also focus upon learning the operation of the  updated software so that I can remain updated with advancements in IT technology.
Presentation Skills	·         I should focus upon taking initiatives to present my tasks and collect feedbacks regarding my presentation	·         I shall strive towards practicing presentation with the friends and colleagues to enhance my presentation skills.	·         I shall end up rigorous practicing presenting various topics which would facilitate in enhancing my presentation skills and overcoming my weakness.

Moreover the time frame of the action plan can be represented with the help of the Gantt chart as follows:

Main Activities/ Stages	Week 1 & 2	Week 3 & 4	Week 5 & 6	Week 7 & 8	Week 9 & 10	Week 11 & 12
Time Management
Listening Skills
Improving IT skills
Presentation Skills

Thus it is observed that various my manager has pointed out several weakness that I need to overcome and the above action plan reveals my planning regarding how I am striving towards overcoming my weakness and enhancing them within a particular time frame which would be beneficial for my personal and professional development. Thus my objectives and action plan can be looked upon as SMART.

References

Brown, M. (2005) Corporate integrity. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Bucic, T. et al. (2010) Effects of leadership style on team learning. Journal of Workplace Learning. [Online] 22 (4), 228-248.

Casey, G. (2012) Strategic reflections. Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press.

Dealtry, R. (2001) Managing intellectual leadership in corporate value. Journal of Workplace Learning. [Online] 13 (3), 119-124.

Goss, J. (2009) Risk assessment. [London]: BBC Books.

Hepburn, W. & Pierson, F. (1943) Collective Bargaining System-A Study of Union-Employer Responsibilities and Problems. Virginia Law Review. [Online] 29 (8), 1072.

Hester, R. & Harrison, R. (1998) Risk assessment and risk management. Cambridge, UK: Royal Society of Chemistry.

Hughes, R. et al. (2013) Becoming a Strategic Leader. Hoboken: Wiley.

Mann, K. (2009) Transforming employer responsibilities: the privatisation of occupational pensions. Journal of Comparative Social Welfare. [Online] 25 (2), 139-146.

Overstreet, B. (1976) Report of training and curriculum development for supervisory officer in organziation. Blen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America.

Phillips, R. (2003) Stakeholder Theory and Organizational Ethics. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Ryan, R. (1978) Legislations. Regulations. Standards. Environment International. [Online] 1 (4), 195-204.