Safety

Becton Dickinson has been in the middle of the controversy regarding the manufacturing, sale, and monopoly of safety syringes used by hospitals, clinics, and doctor and dentist offices.  When the epidemic of AIDS and other lethal and infectious diseases spread across the nation, healthcare workers were still using a conceptualization of the original type of syringe created over 150 years ago. The healthcare workers realized that they were no longer safe and fought to get safer standards and equipment for use in the workplace. By 1998, the federal patent office has given patents to over 1000 designs for safety syringes.  However, only a few were on the market and their initial cost was exorbitant. Even with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) enactment of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard in 1991, and the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, little has been truly done to protect the healthcare workers.

A prime example was in 2002 when it was approximated that 1600 healthcare workers could contract HIV through needle sticks in that year,  with a rough estimate cost of $255,000 for the direct and indirect costs associated with that one needle stick. The fact that Becton Dickinson purchased a number of the patents for safer syringes, they only offered on size when they finally started to manufacture the syringe.  The 3cc was fine for a few tasks in hospitals and clinics, but the 5cc and 10cc were used more often. Becton Dickinson did not offer the shielded syringes in this size, and by buying patents and negotiating with medical supply companies they did not need to make any other size.

They continued to sell their original syringes.  These actions defined by the utilitarian approach shows that the company was doing what was good for the company.  In essence, Becton Dickinson was basing their decisions on the corporate population rather than the public. After court battles and settlements the Becton Dickinson Company has finally begun to manufacture all types of safety syringes.  While they are not recommended, they are made and sold. The fact is that while Becton Dickinson was fighting to keep the new safety syringes from the public, Retractable Technologies, Inc created a better and safer syringe with top recommendations for safety and ease of use.  If Becton Dickinson would have acted ethically and manufactured and researched safety syringes, they would be at the top of the industry.

Reference

1. Armstrong, S. E. (1991, November/December). The Cost of Needle-Stick Injuries: The Impact of Safer Medical Devices.  Nursing Economics. 9(6).  pp. 426-433.
2. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hch&AN=12182254&site=ehost-live
3. Holding, R. (April 14, 1998).
4. http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS
5. Holding, R., & Carlsen, W. (April 13, 1998).
6.  Epidemic Ravages Caregivers / Thousands die from diseases contracted through needle sticks.  San Francisco Chronicle. , p.A1. Retrieved January 10, 2009, from Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center via Gale.

In the given Amtrack case study provided, which involved a train in an accident that caused forty seven deaths can  be perceived as an ethical issue that is based on whom to blame on some situation which arise and uncertain.

The ethical issue lie on who to blame among the main stakeholders, where the main stakeholders in this situation include the engineers, the national transportation safety board, conductor and assistant conductor CSX Transportation Inc and also WGN company.

The main decision makers in the case include the media, the United States government and also the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Amrack company had a cooperate social responsibility of ensuring that it promoted the social welfare of the community in which its operated a part from the benefits that it got from its operations.

The company had a cooperate responsibility of following the legal procedures which are set by the relevant authorities in ensuring improved social welfare of the community (Loudon, 1986).

For example the company was expected to adhere to the measures which were set by National Transportation Safety Board in improving the passengers safety when on board, but the company otherwise decided not to follow the rules by not  equipping the train with the sensor which was meant to detect the bridge damages.

The company may have also perceived the equipping of the train with the sensor as a cost which was meant to make them loose economically, therefore decided to do without the device at the expense of endangering the passengers lives.

The company also has a cooperate social responsibility in protecting the human lives on board, which it traded by not fixing the sensor to the train implying that they valued money more than human lives.

Philanthropy is another social cooperate responsibility that involves the donating an aid to a charitable cause in improving the welfare of the community that a company is operating in, and this should depend on the wealth level of the donating company.

Law provides a basis for an ethical decision on the legal, economic, ethical and philanthropic issues of cooperate social responsibility. Law provide that the companies should adhere to the set standards of operating which are intended to improve the welfare of the community and this include the rules for the protection of humanity and the environment.

The companies are expected to observe some safety measure during their operation to ensure that the participates in their operation, both the workers and the users of their products are safe.

The law also provide that companies are expected to instill the safety measures despite the cost of implementing the safety measures. Companies are likely to avoid taking some safety measures because of the costs involved in the implementation, therefore law is meant to ensure that the safety measures are in place.

Companies are certain to value profits more than the human lives therefore posing an ethical problem (Bentham, 2007). Law is needed in protecting humanity because it will ensure that companies are protecting humanity despite their much interest in profit maximization.

Most cooperation are profit maximizing and for that reason they do not like spending in charitable activities toward the improvement of the community welfare as a cooperate social responsibility, otherwise they perceive the donations as a waste of resources.

This situation call for the act of law to ensure that the companies provide for charitable activities aimed at improving the welfare of the community in which they operate in so as so make their operations reflective of the society in which they operate in (Hess and Bales, 2007).

Law is therefore meant to make them contribute to charitable activities in proportion to the companies’ wealth, hence the promotion of philanthropy.

Conclusion and Recommendations.

From the Amtrack case study, the main ethical issue is the conflicting interests in society which gave an opportunity for the occurrence of the accident. The Amtrack company is concern with lowering its operating costs at the expense of human safety who use the company train. The National transport safety board is also concerned with the safety of the passengers.

Due to the conflicting interests in the society as portrayed in the case, there occurs the need for having set rules which are meant to cater for the interests of all persons in society.

The rules which are part of the country of the country’s law should be set in a manner in which all the parties’ interest are considered and judgement made on  the basis of mutual benefits.

The positive implication of the recommendation is that order will be restored in society as everybody will be expected to behave in a manner in which is expected to promote the general good of everybody. The negative implication of the recommendation is that some entities in societies will feel restrained in achieved their interest at the expense of the other entities’ welfare.

The possible criticism over the recommendation is that, it is difficult to exactly draws a balance over interests because the interest of individuals’ are varied thus a unattainable.

The best possible way to address the criticism is to make a judgement based on the premise that one is expected to behave in manner in which he  or she  may expect to be treated when in a situation like that of his or her neighbor in promoting the general happiness.

Reference

Bentham J., 2007, An Introduction to the Principals of Moral and Legislation, Dover Pubns, pp 14 Loudon M., 1986,  Philanthropic Economy, E. Churton, pp 13 Hess A. and Bales J., 2007, Design Professional and Constarctive Manager Law, American Bar            Association, pp 28

Legislative frameworks for Health and Safety and risk management within our work setting include: ?The Health and Safety at work Act 1974. This is in place to ensure that all people are kept safe at work or entering a workplace. We have the Health and Safety policy in place to protect all people. The staff are given a copy and this is reviewed to ensure that the nursery if keeping within the guidelines. ?Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. This is to make sure that all staff has access to first aid within the workplace.

At Roselodge we have a first aid kit on each floor and the kitchen. This is checked regularly by the Health and Safety Officer to keep the stock correct. ?Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995. This is in place to give settings responsibility for reporting any injuries and illnesses to the HSE or local authority. Any of these are reported within the nursery and we ensure that accident forms are completed correctly and that everyone is aware of the illnesses and exclusion periods.

Control of Substance Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002.

This is to ensure that workplaces minimise the risk of substances being hazardous to health. This is covered within the Health and Safety policy and all staff are made aware of the substances and how to correctly store these around the nursery. We have COSHH reports in case of an emergency with any of the COSHH products within the nursery. ?Data Protection 1998. This is to ensure that all personal information is kept safe and confidential. We have a confidentiality policy in place which all staff are made aware of. This is a written policy and reviewed.

All information stored on paper is locked away and electronic information is password protected. ?Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. This is to keep people safe and be provided with the appropriate protective clothing when dealing with a situation that could cause cross infection, free of charge. ?Food Safety Act 1990, Food Hygiene Regulations 2006. This is to ensure that risks with food handling are minimised. Food Safety policy is written and people are made aware. Hygiene facilities are available through-out the nursery and procedures are adhered to at all times.

Staff dealing with food has attended training on Food Safety.

Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004. This sets boundaries and gives help to local authorities so that they can regulate official intervention in the interest of children. We ensure that the children are kept safe and any concerns are deal with appropriately and efficient. Our setting has over 5 employees and to keep with the Health and Safety Act 1974 we have written policies in place and people are made aware. We review these annually or more regular if needed.

We have recently updated the policies to come in line with the Early Years Statutory Framework. We have risk assessments that are reviewed annually or if an incident occurs then more regularly. It is stated within the staff contract and job description that all must comply with the written Health and Safety policies in place. The staff are regularly updated on Health and Safety in the staff meetings. All staff follow the procedures and if there is a case that they do not then it could be a risk of losing their job or causing injury to themselves or others.

HSE inspectors can enter the workplace at any time. If finding a problem or breach of the law is made, then we would need to follow the HSE Enforcement Policy statement: ?Informal – minor incident. We would be advised to comply with the law and be given written confirmation with the legal requirement and the best practice advice. ?Improvement notice – served when a serious breach of the law has been committed. The inspector discusses the improvement notice and clarifies the issues. Notice will be given and that will state what issue is, when it needs to be completed and why it has been served.

21 days is given to remedy or time for the workplace to go to an industrial tribunal if they wish ?Probation notice – situation which could be a risk to serous personal injury. The issue will be immediately halted and job stopped and the staff will not be able to carry this out again until the issue has been rectified. Risk assessment and risk management are essential within a childcare setting. It is important for all involved to be aware of how to minimise risk and control risk, this supports the children to then be able to assess and take controlled risk within the workplace.

These assessments are completed and reviewed annually, new risk assessments are made when necessary. Health and Safety checks are completed daily at the start and end of the nursery day. If any risks or hazards are highlighted, these are dealt with immediately or the hazard is removed so not to cause an injury to anyone in the workplace. It is essential that all staff are aware of how to control risk and understand how to support risk taking safely. This is done in house training and discussions also through external courses.

1.1 – Outline guidelines, procedures codes of practice relevant to personal work – The procedures, guidelines and codes of practice relevant to work are: Procedures: Reporting of accidents at work, fire drills, and reporting absence from work as well as first aid procedures. Codes of practice: Good customer service, quality assurance, freedom of information and privacy of personal data. Guidelines: How to answer the phone, dress code, how to handle email, how to store and retrieve information, how to use office equipment and ensure any actions reduce risk to health and safety Guidelines, procedures and codes of practice that relate to personal work are very important as each of them gives information on how to perform the job effectively and safely. Failing to follow these could potentially hurt someone or even more cause problems for the company.

1.2 – Explain the purpose of planning work, and being accountable to others for own work – Planning work can be more efficient. Setting priorities in order to do the most important things first is a good way to keep on top of deadlines. If we are accountable to others for our own work then each step can be examined to see that your work is up to standard. It also gives more responsibility for the work being done as it shows the person setting it trusts you with the work.

1.3 – Explain the purpose and benefits of agreeing realistic targets for work – The purpose for agreeing realistic targets for work is to keep everyone on task and focused on what work has been set, this way everyone can work more effectively and reach targets instead of struggling. The benefits of this includes being fast and reliable with completing the tasks at hand.

1.4 – Explain how to agree realistic targets – The targets being agreed to must be realistic so that the person doing the job has a good chance of completing them, this will allow the person to work without stress. However if the targets are set too high then the person trying to complete the job will feel under pressure and if the targets are too low then it will eventually get boring and it wouldn’t help you develop anything out of it.

1.5 – Describe ways of planning work to meet agreed deadlines – A good way to meet any agreed deadlines would be to make a list of work that needs to be done with any required dates for completion and prioritise the order is most important. It’s also a good idea to check that you have all the information and resources you need to complete the tasks.

1.6 – Explain the purpose of keeping other people informed about progress – It’s important to keep other people informed about the progress of work being done because if there is any problem to meet my deadlines then then you can turn to someone for advice and help to reprioritise the work. As well it is important because the person the work is for can miss their deadlines if it’s not completed on time.

1.7 – Explain the purpose and benefits of letting other people know work plans need to be changed – The purpose of letting other people know work plans need to be changed is because they need to know about changes because it may affect their other work and it allows them to make alternate arrangements for the work to be done if necessary.

1.8 – Describe types of problems that may occur during work
– The types of problem that can occur during work are:
· Equipment breaking.
· Interruptions; such as colleagues asking things.
· Not being kept informed or provided with the information needed to complete the job. · Absence of other colleagues.

1.9 – Describe ways of seeking assistance with getting help to resolve problems – A way to get assistance with resolving any problems could be to report them to either a colleague/manager to see if they have any advice on how it can be solved as they might have more experience. However if nobody could help you, you can also use the company’s website or internal intranet site to see if there is any guidance on there to solving any problem you may have.

1.10 – Explain the purpose and benefits of recognising and learning from mistakes – The purpose of recognising and learning from mistakes it to make sure you don’t make them again, people will recognise the mistake and then will be in a position to try and correct it. Other people could also help to ensure that the same mistake isn’t made again by providing extra support. Also it is a lesson for the future, which can be taken away to other places.

The question on whether on whether bottled water is safer for drinking than tap water is marked with many controversies and therefore it is a subject of discussion. This paper seeks to discuss reasons as to why bottled water is not safer than tap water. The National Resource Defense Council confirmed that the rules regulating bottled water were not sufficient to guarantee the people’s safety. The food and drug administration was responsible for the bottled water at national levels and allowed carbonated water (NRDC, 2008).

Further to this, bottled water is not often tested for bacterial or any other contamination and this creates loop holes for unsafe water to be bottled. Bottled water has been confirmed by the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) through a four year research review to be not necessarily safe. This research study was inclusive of the safety standards that regulate the bottled water industry in comparison with the national rules governing the tap water.

The NRDC after carrying out test on over 1000 bottles come to the conclusion that a reasonable percentage of all bottled water was just tap water, which was not treated (NRDC, 2008). The fact that different water bottling companies exist and carry their bottling procedures differently need to be appreciated right at the beginning of this paper otherwise its content could be generalized unnecessarily. This is because as per the National Resource Defense council, some companies’ product was found to satisfy the safety rules but others proved to be contaminated by harmful chemicals which were put with an aim of improving test.

Research studies have shown that plastic bottle which are commonly used for bottling water have some chemicals which can disassociate and leach into the water. These chemicals are known to affect testosterone which is a vital hormone in human beings. References Natural Resource Defense Council. (2008). Bringing Safe Water to the World. Retrieved August 11, 2010, from http://www. nrdc. org/international/safewater. asp

Cindy Breen is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in food service manage and part of the program is serving as intern with Campus Food Systems. One of the tasks Cindy is required to perform is preparing a report addressing work accidents in the food service areas. The report will address health and safety hazards as well as work related incidents of which there have been 46 to this point in her findings. Additionally, Cindy’s boss Jack has also implied that her grade for the internship as well as a good job recommendation is dependent on how she handles the accident report (Ivancevich, 2010).

Even though Cindy is faced with deciding whether to do as her boss has requested, she should make the right decisions for the university, its employees and herself. In order to create a safe and healthy workplace, Cindy has to inform her boss she refuses to omit any incident or minimize accidents from the report just because her boss (Jack Platt) is more interested in the bottom line—profits and productivity. In fact some employers, injuries and illnesses as a routine part of the job and the only thing that matters is the bottom line—profits and productivity (Friend & Kohn, 2010).

In light of the fact that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) allows employees to call and request inspections anonymously, Cindy must call OSHA and request an inspection of CFS. The accidents in which several employees had cut their hands on the meat slicer was due to safety hazards such as poorly maintained equipment and unsafe machinery. The incident involving a case of severe salmonella poisoning of a student, needs to be reported to not only OSHA, but the President of the school immediately. The student became so ill he spent three months in the hospital due to the health hazard of handling diseased seafood.

While the students are not allowed to handle raw seafood, violations of this rule occur frequently which results in high absenteeism and turnover of full-time personnel (Ivancevich, 2010). Given Cindy’s level of angst concerning the high number of incidents and accidents that have occurred over the last year and that her boss wants her to falsify the report, she needs to address her concerns and findings to take her findings to President of the school and persuade him to take action immediately to prevent these accidents/incidents from happening again and to protect the school from possible lawsuit.

Additionally, she needs to notify the state and OSHA officials concerning this issue (Ivancevich, 2010). Cindy has several options available to her to improve and health and safety of the CFS work environment. These options/approaches include prevention and design; training and motivation; audits and inspections; and giving managers and supervisors the authority to make changes within the work place to prevent accidents and injuries (Ivancevich, 2010).

Prevention and design approach designs additional safety into the workplace through safety engineering (Ivancevich, 2010). Another option is for Cindy to recommend the establishment of a safety team to advise management on the consequence of not improving work place health and safety in terms of economic, legal and moral reasons. One of the responsibilities of CFS’ safety team would the training of the employees—demonstrating a healthy and safe working setting by showing them how to deal with hazardous characteristics of a liquid that is flammable.

Besides, a safe and healthy work environment is the right thing to do for other employees, themselves and the company unlike Jake who doesn’t care about the safety of employees by encouraging omissions on the report (Friend & Kohn, 2010). The CFS safety team would also be responsible for developing communicating and information strategies to inform employees and prevent injuries while reducing risks. The safety team would also conduct in-depth analysis of incidents and accidents so as to identify risk factors (Stellman, 1998).

Given the fact that most supervisors of workers are responsible for occupational health and safety in the work place, supervisors and managers must have the power to redesign work processes within their area to accomplish this. The flip side of this is the financial loss due to injuries/accidents which may adversely affect the bottom line (Friend & Kohn, 2010). Cindy Breen cannot simply brush away her findings like her boss (Jack Platt) would like for her to do.

Regardless how hard you try and hide unethical practices and behaviors, the truth always comes out. Unfortunately it is always at the expense of not only the school, but employees and students alike. Whether Cindy minimizes her accident/incident report is ultimately up to her to make the right ethical decision. Jack Platt needs to be relieved of his job for the unethical behavior of falsifying documents that are to be sent to OSHA.

The economic valuation principles highlights the bottom line of any energy efficient or cost saving measure that will determine whether to proceed with a specific implementation (Anon n. d. ). The company ensures that in all cases when necessary they prevent, minimise, mitigate and remediate potential harmful effects of the Group’s operations on the environment (Rio Tinto 2010). The company has been very much proactive with the program of Greenhouse Challenge and since 2001 they even voluntarily submitted its annual greenhouse gas emissions inventory.

Since Rio Tinto Alcan Gove’s operations as a whole expends a lot of energy they continuously identify energy efficiency improvement projects prior to the of the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act (Australian Government Dept of resources, energy and Tourism 2009). According to the company on their Sustainable development review, their focus on providing sound governance and high standards of conduct in which they felt that this would give a competitive advantage over the industry.

They are an active member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) for the purpose of providing leadership on scientific and policy matters, consistent communication with all stakeholders and promote applying the sustainable development principles to promote best practice performance standards (Rio Tinto 2010). Just recently an example of this activity was displayed.

When the company plans to invest $340 million in a molybdenum facility, in which has the capability of processing a lower-grade molybdenum concentrate to be processed more efficiently than through conventional roasters, basically this facility is much more safer and reliable to use for its employees and produces a more high quality product that even its by-products can be utilized which will be also beneficial for Rio Tinto (Utah Pulse 2010). 2- What will be the impact on the consumer of the product or service

The impact based on these strategies and policies employed internally by Alcan Gove will actually benefit all consumers for its products and services. By being cautious regarding safety and mitigating risks for environment, Rio Tinto displays its integrity by building this foundation of compliance with relevant local laws and regulations and international standards. Consumers tend to choose a company that offers a good quality product that also has done measures to ensure that overall business operations reduces or better yet prevent risks to safety and damaging effects on the environment.

3-How might consumer behaviour affects the business’s profitability in general terms Consumer behavior definitely has great effects on any overall business profitability. People’s needs and expectations drive demand, and based on statistics on industries especially for developing economies the growth rate in terms of this market can be related to potential significant sales for Alcan Gove (United Nations 2005).

Another thing that may impact demand is the perception of Alcan Gove’s consistent measures to ensure safety for its employees and reduction on environmental impacts, this will create a reflection on how concerned the company is on its surroundings which translates better to the behavior of overall consumers to purchase from them. 4-How could the business respond to these changes to minimise their impact and maximise the benefit to stakeholders

The company should maintain their strategy on sustainable development, and guarantee that their operations and products as well will be continuously used and developed appropriately throughout their lifecycle. Another strategy that can be employed is on reduction of environmental footprint of their operations, which includes making sure that balancing the impact of overall operations with enhanced environmental outcomes, economic development and overall efficiency of operations.

For various types of stakeholders, instant and significant monetary gains may not be expected as early as now, but with the continuous improvements focusing on sustainable development and steady growth, stakeholders will reap those rewards soon. References Anon (n. d). Economic Evaluation Principles. [Online] Available from <http://www. unescap. org/esd/energy/cap_building/renewable/documents/sppd/Presentati on%20docs/pdf1/day3/SESSION%208/Economic%20Evaluation%20_Notes_. pdf>. [27 May 2010] Rio Tinto. (2010). Environmental stewardship.

[Online] Available from < http://www. riotinto. com/ourapproach/17194_environmental_stewardship. asp> [27 May 2010] Australian Government Dept of resources, Energy and Tourism (2009). Alcan Gove Pty Limited, Energy Efficiency Opportunities Public Report 2009. [PDF] United Nations (2005). World Population Prospects. [PDF] Utah Pulse. (2010). Rio Tinto to invest $340m in molybdenum facility. [Online] Available from <http://metalsplace. com/news/articles/33646/rio-tinto-to-invest-340m-in-molybdenum- facility/> >. [27 May 2010]