The Importance of Health and Safety in the Workplace
The following essay has studied the different CSR measures that are adopted by the management of Boots, a well known pharmacy company of the United Kingdom. To be very precise in nature the company is a pharmacy chain that has its branches in UK, Ireland, Norway Thailand and many other nations of the globe. Headquartered in Nottingham in the UK, the company employs more than 70,000 people in UK and Ireland (www.boots.com 2018). As mentioned earlier the essay has been formulated to evaluate and determine the different types of the approaches that are undertaken by Boots Limited to ensure the health and safety as well as the equity and diversity in the workplace (Yang and Matz-Costa 2017). The study has determined all the elements that relates to the different measures taken by the management of the company to ensure safety and diversity of all the employees of the company and increase their reputation.
The management of the mentioned company considers the health and safety of the customers and the employees to be their topmost priority. The management considers this more because they believe in the trust that is endowed on them by the customers, visitors as well as the employees of their store (Dony and Smith 2017). The main strategy of the following business organization is to thus constantly keep an update of the market and make the necessary amendments in their business approach and business structure. The management constantly changes them and fits into new roles to adapt to the changing demands and wants of the market as well as the customers (Yang and Matz-Costa 2017). The following measures of the management of the business are adopted by implementing some robust measures that helps to make the safety of the people more strong than ever. Some of the main safety measures followed by the management of the mentioned pharmacist company are as follows;
- Protection of the colleagues, customers and visitors- The main task of the management is to make sure that they maintain the health, security and safety of the employees. This is done to provide the employees with a better workplace and ensure that they work with a totally free mind (Singh 2018). On the other hand providing the customers and other visitors with the assurance of a cent percent security helps them to create trust and mutual understanding which in turn ensures profitability for the business organization.
- Principles of the Approach-The safety and security principles are maintained and managed by the organization through the management of a number of different principles and regulations that are formulated by them and are a must follow for the organization (Shea et al. 2016). Some of the main characteristics of the policies and regulations are as follows;
- The office, stores and the production center must be equipped with firefighting devices
- The employees must be trained to act smartly and efficiently during the times of crisis
- The customers must be treated in a proper and calm manner, use of rough and arrogant behavior must be avoided
- There is a zero tolerance policy for the employees who attempt or commits any form of arrogant and unwanted behavior towards the customers or any other employees as well as the supervisors and the managers
- The customers must be given the highest preference and the management must ensure that the customers are provided with the perfect quality of products and services along with expert advice on the best methods and best techniques of remedy
- Importance of both safety systems and behaviors- It is unproductive in nature to expect the high alertness of all the employees during the time they spend at the workplace. Thus it is the task of the management to formulate a systematic task and work their way through each area and process in the workplace that may be considered as harmful to the staffs and the employees of the organization (Shea et al. 2016). The management of Boots performs this as a result of the risk assessment which considers on how effectively the risk is identified and how they are managed and mitigated by the organization effectively and efficiently. On the other hand most of the different behavioral outbursts results in accidental unsafe mentalities. The behaviors of the employees must be managed and regulated by the organization to ensure the acceptance of the company to the customers.
- Strengthening the culture of safety-The management of the mentioned pharmaceutical company is legally obliged towards the providence of a safe and secure place for the work of the individuals. It is also necessary for taking care of the employees who implement these safety measures as well as the customers of the organization (Shea et al. 2016). On the induction of a new employee into any department of the organization involves making the particular employee aware of the safety guidelines and the people who are in charge of implementing the different safety measures in the company. Apart from the health and safety measures the management also;
- Takes responsibility for the reasonable care and health of the employees and the staffs by insuring them or providing them with safe working environment
- The company also provides necessary safety measures to those persons who may be affected by the actions of the company while implementing the particular health and safety measures
- ensure that the employees must co-operate with the management to make sure that they are not vulnerable to any kind of risks
- make sure that the employees or any people in the management do not interfere and try to change the existing safety system on his own and must not misuse with the equipments that are provided for health, safety and welfare
- To ensure that the employees does not provide any wrong advice or provide any wrong medicine to the organization
- Ensuring we learn from other investigations- According to leading news daily, the management of Boots is under tremendous pressure due to different kinds of issues that have recently rose up in the Workplace. However the earlier records of the mentioned pharmacist company have been has shown other trends. The company rarely makes any form of mistakes in dispersing the medicines. It is estimated that the company dispenses and delivers around 220 million items every year which is both massive and is unmatched by any other similar companies in UK. However there are allegations on the packaging of the medicines in amateur hands. Apart from these there are also allegations against the management of the mentioned company on employing much less number of staffs than originally required (Ross 2018). Thus such kind of unethical practices are barriers to ensuring safe and sound practices in the workplace and must be removed at the earliest to increase their acceptance in the company.
- To seek ways to perfect the approach to health and safety- The management of Boots ensures the presence of a perfect strategy that meets the health and beauty care expectations of the people. The company encourages the managers and supervisors to be innovative and find new ways for ensuring the safety and security of the organization. The management has also to make sure that a regular communication is in place which helps the employees and the people to stay coordinated in nature (Ross 2018). This in turn helps to increase the productivity of the company.
The term diversity refers to the exploration of the different social, cultural, economical and political differences in a safe and positive nurturing environment. It refers to the understanding of one another by surpassing the simple level of tolerance to ensure the true value of the people and their differences. Each of the different individual’s in the organization brings with him a diverse set of perspectives, work and life experiences as well as different religious and cultural differences (Rice 2015). The power of diversity can be unleashed and the benefits can be reaped when all the employees learn to recognize the differences and respect the value of each of the individuals. Such a difference will help the organization to be one of the very best in the business. On the other hand Inclusion is an organizational effort and the practices where in each group or the individuals who have a completely different background are culturally and socially accepted and welcomed and are treated equally. The following differences can be both self evident like national origin, age, caste, race, religion, gender and many more as such. The successful inclusion performed by the management of the organization brings positive results to the organization as because the employees have the feeling that the organization provides them with the necessary importance that they deserve (Rice 2015). This helps them to improve their performance and makes them more motivated towards the organization.
Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Both Diversity and inclusion are a sizeable challenge to any of the organizations. The challenge is more to such organizations which are seen to be previously less diverse in nature and have earlier failed to attain the necessary goals to make the organization one of the best in business (Rice 2015). Therefore the management of the business enterprises tries to treat each and every of the employees fairly to make sure that the talent in each of them is utilized to the full extent by implementing the corporate policies in the business structure. This helps to establish a supreme diversity in the business.
The management of Boots has formed a number of different teams that are always engaged to perform the different Human Resource related activities that includes the likes of recruiting, retaining, selecting, promoting and engaging in leadership roles to help the company achieve the right set of goals. These teams are appointed irrespective of any special choices or groups and are mainly appointed to promote diversity and create a friendly workplace for the employees (Maznevski Schneider and Jonsen 2016). The uniqueness of the company is the dominance of the women in the each and every rank. It is that most of the teams in the company have a large number of women in them with numbers ranging from more than 50%. Thus this particular strategy to recruit and appoint more and more women in the workplace is a boon for the management as because they have been able to support and promote women empowerment in their offices.
The management has also introduced the “Dignity at Work” policy ensures that the organization remains within the line of legislation. The following policy is envisaged with the laws and regulations of United Kingdom and is dedicated to serve the common population of United Kingdom who are the customers of the following pharmacy (Martin 2014). The company also celebrates a diversity and inclusion day that makes it different from the others in the block. The workshop day also helps the management of the enterprise to identify the topmost priorities of the business by discussing with all the people who are concerned. This includes;
- The introduction of a diverse e-learning package
- The delivery of a work experience program that are traditionally hard to reach by the company
- The program also chalks out different types of career enabled programs for the employees of the company that helps in the proper organization of the company.
The woman centric approach of the company is also highlighted in its recent appointment of women in the IT networking team. According to the management of the organization the organization appoint the women in the team to open the floodgates for the women to venture into this particular sector as well as empower them (Martin 2014). The following strategy also aims to reduce the gender inequality present in the cosmopolitan society. The company also carries out different surveys to analyze and determine the impact that is made by the organization on implementing the different types of equity and diversity rules of the company. The race for the benchmarking of the progress is important for the success of the business as it helps the business to identify its progress in terms of diversity and ensure a smooth and efficient workplace. Therefore the agreement of the company to the particular point has shown;
- Understanding diversity and becoming more aware of the following as an area of the opportunity
- By thinking about diversity in the recruitment, development and talent and also by the development of an effective communication.
Recruiting and Empowering Women in the Workplace
It is important for the management of all the different business organizations to exploit the meaning of the existing market of the enterprise. The consideration of the industrial organization and the resource based views in the literature of the strategic management (Martin 2014). The successful human resources strategy complements the mission and goals of the company. This factors that influences the different tactics or strategies of the human resource are not static in nature. The management of the mentioned pharmacist of UK continuously monitors and keeps regular vigil on the internal and external factors that have a clear impact on the strategies of the organization. The internal and external factors of Boots consist of;
- Competition-The competition in the modern business industry is extremely high and there is no place of slackness. Presence of both large and medium scaled companies in United Kingdom has made life tougher for Boots. Some of the main competitors of Boots are 3M Health Care Ltd., Allen and Hanburys Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Inc and many more as such. On the other hand the company does not have to publish advertisement in each case when the organization recruits candidates as because the candidates will visit the website of the organization on their own accord and search for any such recruitment drive(Madsen and Nielsen 2017). The Human resource of boots has a tough task in hand as because they have to select and recruit the best and expert candidates to make sure they have the competitive edge over their rivals in the market.
- Compensation- The labor supply in boots drives the amount of compensation that it offers to attract and retain the employees of the business. The amount of compensation is generally less in markets where unemployment is high and a lot of candidates are available for recruitment (Loeppke et al. 2015). The mentioned pharmacy company applies this policy in oversaturated markets like Thailand. The HR management of the business must continuously evaluate the compensation structure so that they stay competitive and retain the best employees of the market (Hammer et al. 2015). The HR must make sure to focus on the internal compensation structure and the demographics of the region.
- Employee Relations- The different policies and procedures have a clear impact on the Human Resource policies of the organization. The different legislative bodies have the task cut out to maintain the organizational development. Ensuring a sound and safe policy for the maintenance of the employee relations is utmost important for the business enterprise. The policies and regulations of the organizations should be maintained in such a way that it helps to create a sustainable and friendly workplace with the presence of a diverse range of employees (Lay et al. 2017). The strategy of the organization thus has a huge impact upon the business as because it helps in the growth of a proper trust and relationship. Apart from this the HR manager must also monitor the employees and find out whether anyone is esteemed to leave the organization or someone is bound to retire and many more as such.
- Legislations- Legislations has a great deal of impact on all the HR activities of the organization. The different laws and regulations of UK have to be followed by the mentioned company (Harvey and Allard 2015). The maintenance of the different records, employer accounts, employer data, employee data and all other information have to be stored accordingly for working in accordance with all the laws and regulations of the country. The company must also ensure the implementation of the health and safety act to protect all the employees in the workplace and must also make sure to use the best possible policies according to the wants and choices of the customers. The HR professionals must make sure to stay updated with all the new regulations followed in United Kingdom and train the managers and the supervisors according to their responsibilities (Harmening and Lunz 2015).
Therefore it can be said that the organization has to implement the strategic goals in such a way so that it has an impact on the business of the mentioned pharmacist company in a positive way. The effect of the internal and external factor on the strategies has been described quite clearly in this part of the essay.
Conclusion
The following report has highlighted the different safety procedures, diversity procedures and the importance of the HR strategies of the organization. The essay has highlighted most of the important elements that is related to the strategic topics discussed in the essay. The essay has been able to meet all the different aims and objectives as prescribed earlier. The key discussions of the project have been written off in a well established manner. The inclusion of the internal strategic viewpoints of the HR management has provided a greater scope to the project. The project thus has been able to determine the different types of elements covering the following topic. A thorough analysis of the following study will be helpful for the readers to gain a much detailed and efficient understanding of the different types of CSR initiatives of the organization. The wide scope of the project will be useful for the future researchers to continue their study on the same topic by using the different types of information from this particular project. Therefore to conclude the following essay it can be said that the aims and objectives of the following study has been well met through the work conducted in the essay.
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Dignity at Work Policy
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