¶ … strategy that is being developed to control the incidents of workplace accidents in the organizations. In addition to that, it also highlights the steps for the implementation of the proposed strategy. This paper also puts lights on the statement, 'Unions do not happen, they are caused by management' and discusses the role of management in the creation of unions. Group Assignment 2: Case Analysis

Occupational health and safety is regarded as an important issue by all the employers, workers and organizations in any economy. A working environment that consists of good occupational health and safety conditions not only enhances the productivity of the workers but also boosts their morale. If the businesses employ good organizational health and safety policies and practices then they face less workplace accidents, increased rate of employee retention and an elevation in their good will and corporate image. This enables them to benefit from reduced costs that are associated with delay in production process, employee recruitment and purchase of new equipment. It also enables the employers to avoid the pressure, uncertainty and workload that the other workers of the organization confront as a result of a workplace accident. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

The businesses that aim at developing and employing good organizational health and safety practices and policies create a safer working environment for their workers. The creation of a better and safer working environment not only benefits the employers, employees and their families but also the community and the economy as a whole. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

The organizations can maintain a commitment to better and improved organizational health and safety policies and practices by measuring their performance outcomes, as these outcomes can be evaluated and monitored over time. The commitment to such practices demonstrates that the organization is willing to secure and safeguard the health and safety of its workers. The organizational health and safety performance of the organization can be measured and evaluated by the following strategy; ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

Strategy for the Reduction of Workplace Accidents

The strategy aims at creating a workplace that is free of deaths and injuries that occur in the course of employment. The strategy has the following targets; ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

To maintain a consistent reduction in the occurrences of work related deaths and fatalities. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

To reduce the number of work related injuries. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

The policy has also set a number of priorities. These priorities include the reduction of the impact of the risk at the workplace; to train and enhance the abilities of the business operators and managers to manage the occupational health and safety in an effective and efficient manner; to prevent the occupational diseases in an effective manner and to strengthen the power and influence of the employees to have an evident impact on the organizational health and safety outcomes. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

The strategy will basically focus on particular risks of injuries and workplace fatalities and deaths so that the policy can achieve its objectives in an effective manner. The risks covered under this injury include; falls, trips and slips that stress the body of a person, risk of workers being hit by any moving object and the probability of the workers to hit any object with their body. These risks are focused in the strategy as they account for most of the musculoskeletal injuries. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

The strategy also focuses on a number of diseases including, musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorders, noise-induced hearing loss, infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory disease, contact dermatitis, cardiovascular disease, and occupational cancer. ("National OHS strategy," 2012)

Steps Included in the Implementation Process

This section elaborates the steps that shall be included in the implementation process in order to put the developed strategy in force so that the safety of the work environment could be elevated and the better occupational health and safety practices could be incorporated in the organization. ("Health management plan," 2009)

Consultation, Commitment and Good Communication

The implementation process in relation to the strategy begins with rich consultation among the employees and the commitment and the alignment of the goals of the strategy with the overall organizational goals. Good communication is also essential for better and effective implementation of the strategy. With the help of communication the top management can communicate the aims and objectives of the strategy throughout the hierarchal structure of the organization in a better and effective manner. ("Health management plan," 2009)

Identifying Roles and Responsibilities

After the consultation and communication...

The organization shall also start the required training programs in order to train the staff in relation to the assigned roles and responsibilities. The organization shall also monitor the activities of the staff continuously so that the degree of effectiveness of their performance can be measured easily. ("Health management plan," 2009)
In summary the implementation process shall include the ongoing and continuous consultation among the employees, identification and development of roles and responsibilities, training and development of the staff and development of a plan that could be used to monitor the performance of the staff. After the implementation of the strategy the organization shall compare the outcomes of the strategy with established standards in order to measure the effectiveness of the policy. ("Health management plan," 2009)

Unions Do Not Happen, They Are Caused By Management

The history of the organizational development and growth clearly indicates and highlights the reasons of formation of workers' unions, including: a) the expansion and development of organizations thereby increasing the number of workers, b) the increase in the number of workers weakened the employee employer relationship, c) communication with the employers became difficult and the employee powers and influences were reduced. Therefore, in order to re-exert the employee effectiveness and to get their voices heard and requirements met, the employees moved towards formation of groups known as unions. ("Shmoop Editorial Team," 2008)

Another reason for the formation and strengthening of the labor unions was the difference between the labors and employers point-of-view. Where on one hand the management and the employers are of the point-of-view that they should be the one to decide about the hiring, firing, pay scale and working hours of the workers. They consider the workers / employees as a 'commodity' having a price (normally the current market price). The workers on the other hand are of the view that they should not be treated as a commodity and should be given freedom to negotiate the benefits and working times associated with their position. ("Shmoop Editorial Team," 2008)

With the development of organizations the workers began to lose their strength and powers (influence over the management decision) and management started acting on its philosophy of treating workers as a commodity. Since the workers, individually, are at a disadvantage of losing in any negotiation with the employer because of having fewer options and low influence. The workers, in order to retaliate and get their needs and wishes met formed unions which represented more strength and solidarity (including power to influence management decisions), so that they can influence management decisions regarding their pay scale, other benefits and working timing majorly. ("Shmoop Editorial Team," 2008)

The formation of unions has greatly contributed to the benefits of the workers at the workplace and industries. It has clearly led to the increase in the pay scale (increase salaries of the workers), improved working conditions and improved and convenient timings. But the unions have also caused many disadvantages for the organizations that include bureaucracy, inappropriate use of power, inefficiencies (in the form of strikes, lock outs etc.), presenting undue requirements and fighting unnecessarily with the management, etc. ("Shmoop Editorial Team," 2008)

Unions have their importance and have played a role in the development of the industries. They at times play negative roles such as refusing the change (in technology or working environment) that was necessary for the betterment of the organizations, or by effecting efficiency by adhering to the norms and opposing management even when they are right. The unions also play constructive part in the formation and development of organizations by forming partnerships with the management to increase sales, growth, volumes and creativity. ("Shmoop Editorial Team," 2008)

Another issue with the unions is that they constantly challenge and retaliate against management decisions and practices. They have their own set of rules, regulations and laws and they act according to those. The fundamental concept behind the formation of the unions was the show of power and strength by solidarity. And in order to live up to their mark the unions go against everything management says. (Wright, 2009)

The history of the labor unions also identifies the fact that with the improvement in the labor laws and work place mechanics the power of labor unions have begun to decrease. The members of labor unions start leaving the unions because they started getting what they wanted with getting into more conflicts and games of power. (Wright, 2009)

The labor unions also started to move towards decline because the members…