Workplace

Christina Responsive-Final Draft April 4, 2013 There is always a lot of controversy when it comes to tattoos. Most people instantly have an opinion of them; they are either for or against tattoos. What is not realized is the fact that there is a ton of time and effort put into the sketching and placement of a tattoo. People tattoo themselves as a way of self-expression and liberation. Unfortunately, in the business world, most executives do not believe there is such a thing as a tasteful tattoo and see them as a sign of rebellion.

Some people may argue that tattoos in the workplace are inappropriate, unprofessional, and even distracting. Although tattoos are not respected by certain demographics and may portray negative images that may be offensive, people should not be denied a career based on the personalized art they carefully chose to display on their bodies. Tattoos are not respected by most people in certain demographics. Displaying tattoos is considered taboo to them. There are also people within these groups who see tattoos as unholy and unrespectable.

They claim that the body is a temple and no ink should taint the skin in such manner. People of these groups also believe that tattoos are trashy and of bad taste. If tattoos are in a visible place on someone’s body, such as the hands or neck, that person can and will get discriminated against because of their tattoos. Some people may question whether or not this is fair. Unfortunately, people can be very judgmental. Everyone has opinions as to what is acceptable and what is not. Tattoos happen to be a topic that can cause people to be extremely aggressive towards one another.

In a business setting, tattoos portray a negative image and whoever has these tattoos will be viewed at first glance as someone who is unprofessional and uneducated. Some tattoos can be displayed in an offensive manner. If someone is displaying a tattoo that has derogatory language or some kind of hate symbol (such as a swastika), that is not acceptable. Most businesses shy away from hiring people with such body art because they think that these people will portray their company in a negative manner and it can be destructive to their business strategies when dealing with clients. Tattoos can cause more chaos han necessary when it comes to the workplace. However, people should not be denied a career because of the art they have on their bodies. Just because an individual has tattoos does not mean they are unprofessional or unworthy of a high-paying job. Colleges do not deny people an education because they have tattoos. If a person with tattoos has a higher education and a better background than someone without tattoos who is going for the same job, then the person with tattoos should get the job. But due to the nature of businesses, the person with less experience would most likely be the candidate picked based on appearance.

In the workplace, when people look at someone that is covered in tattoos they automatically discriminate against this person. It is almost as if they think that image determines their demeanor and professionalism. This person can be the most courteous and professional person in the world, but no one would ever know because this person was not given a chance due to their appearance and the judgment of others. Most people in the business world think that if a person is inked they also have a poor education, which I believe to be contradictory.

Artists are not often said to be uneducated, if anything, they are said to be inspirational and are highly respected. So, if artists and artwork is respectable, art that people decide to display on one’s own flesh should not be judged in such a terrible way. Most people have the tattoos that they have because tattoos display some sort of personal meaning to them. They very carefully pick what goes on their bodies; after all, it is going to be there permanently. Most tattoos have some kind of hidden meaning behind them, or very obvious meaning. People get tattoos in memory of loved ones who have passed so it is forever a part of them.

Others just get something beautiful, something that makes a statement to who they are or what it is they enjoy. These traits are what make everyone individuals; these tattoos set everyone apart from the rest of the world. If people were not allowed to be individuals it would be a very boring and predictable life. People with tattoos should not be discriminated against. It is understood that some people find them negative or offensive and some businesses do not take kindly to hiring people who have branded themselves with tattoos that are in visible spots on one’s body.

However, people who have such tattoos should not be judged. Tattoos do not make someone who they are; they don’t make people uneducated or unmotivated. There are many different reasons why people get tattoos, whether it is for some sort of memorabilia or to display what they enjoy. Tattoos set people apart from one another, and individuality should not be unacceptable in this day and age. People should be able to achieve the same opportunities whether or not they fit a specific profile. It is unfair to deny anyone rights due to the art displayed on their bodies.

INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF STUDY Work Related stress is a major cause of employee’s low productivity in an organisation. Encarta dictionary defines stress as strain felt by somebody mentally, physically, emotionally which may cause symptoms as raised blood pressure and depression. It is important to recognise and address properly job-related stress because it badly affects the employee’s mental and physiological health. As there is so many resources for employees to perform excellent in their jobs but there are also some factors that hinder their performance. These factors lead to their performance negatively.

Newman and Behr (1979) defined job stress as ‘a situation wherein job-related factors interact with the worker to change his or her psychological and or psychological condition such that the person is forced to deviate from normal functioning. Some reasons for stress at the workplace could be; inability to meet the demand of the job, building and maintaining an amiable relationship with colleagues, management of subordinate staff, imparting knowledge to others and taking works from them, excessive work pressure to meet deadlines, inability to be creative, change of job, sexual harassment.

These kind of work related stress results in poor performance by members of the organization. Attison (2002) says stress is a major factor in up to 80% of all work-related injuries and 40% of workplace turnovers. Despite tremendous advancement in science and technology and availability of various sources of luxury, majority of the workers in Ghana seem to be experiencing moderate to high degree of psychological stress in various spheres of their lives.

Job related-stress is also a serious cause of mental health and health-related injuries. David and Cooper (1981) discovered that workplace stress has been increasingly quoted as the main cause of accidents, job dissatisfaction and other psychological illnesses like heart attack, alcoholism and hypertension. WORK RELATED STRESS Well-designed, organised and managed work is good for us but when insufficient attention to job design, work organisation and management has taken place, it can result in Work related stress.

Work related stress develops because a person is unable to cope with the demands being placed on them. Stress, including work related stress, can be a significant cause of illness and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other issues such as more errors. Stress can hit anyone at any level of the business and recent research shows that work related stress is widespread and is not confined to particular sectors, jobs or industries.

Communication is a vital process in organizations and companies in today’s world. It has been defined as an activity that entails transmitting information through interexchange of views or messages by behavior, signals, writing, visuals, and speech. The process of communication requires a sender, the message to be sent, and a receiver. However, it is mandatory for the receiver to be aware of the sender’s intention to communicate. This means that a sender can be able to communicate with a receiver across vast distances (Wilson 2010).

Normally, the communication the process is complete after it is clear that the receiver understood the message as intended by the sender. Communicative commonality is integral to effective communication between communicating parties. Effective communication is not only needed inside an organization but also when dealing with external stakeholders. It enables organization to achieve competitive edge considering the fact that it through it that an organization remains responsive to consumer needs (Jones & George 2007). On the contrary, poor communication disrupts almost everything in an organization.

There are a number of barriers to effective communication (Huczynski & Buchanan 2010). This paper intends to highlight the barriers and how three organizations (Professional Sports, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust Hospital) have been able to handle the barriers to ensure effective communication. Barriers to Effective Communication Barriers to communication are factors that might hinder effective communication between parties in the workplace. According to Antony and MacVicar (2011), this includes language barriers, cultural barriers, organizational barriers, personal barriers, and interpersonal barriers.

Other barriers to effective communication include information technology and power. Professional sports organizations in Greece, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust hospital have had to deal with at least of the barriers. The three have employed different strategies to deal with them hence their continued success (Mullins 2005). NHS Trust Hospital Poor communication has hindered hospitals to serve customers in the desired manner. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the problem. According to Smith and Preston (1996), the nature of jobs executed by doctors and nurses has contributed to poor communication.

Nurses and doctors jobs are in most cases stressful leading to their informal communication among them. It is also common to find practitioners being less polite when addressing one another. Lack of understanding of one another’s role and knowledge has also contributed to the poor communication in NHS hospital (Smith & Preston 1996). Gender differences have also been a barrier to effective communication with stereotypes being the main cause. Men practitioners seem to have less respect for female practitioners hence conflicts in communication.

Research has shown that professionalism and status is also a major cause of poor communication in NHS hospital. More experienced nurses and doctors seemed to have fewer problems in building relationships and communicating effectively. This is as compared to less experienced doctors and nurses who experience a lot of problems communicating. Members of the same group in the hospital also find it easy to communicate. Smith and Preston (1996) argues that this ostensibly because of similar language, sense of belonging, and similar training.

NHS has tried to deal with the barriers through the application of a number of strategies. For instance, it has tried to create good relationships among practitioners. This has been done to ensure they are able to communicate with one another with ease. It has also employed training and teaching communication programs to enhance to encourage good communication among practitioners. It is clear that nurses and doctors in the organization have found it hard to get along with one another as a result of different training (Smith & Preston 1996).

It has also been suggested that the organization should implement good communication systems to aid practitioners in communication. The world has been experiencing technological advancements on a daily basis. The hospital needs to capitalize on this to be able to improve communications (Smith & Preston 1996). Bernard Mathews Farms Bernard Mathews Farms is also one of the organizations that have suffered as a result of poor or ineffective communication. Noise has been one of the major barriers to the organization’s effective communication. Specifically, the organization was affected by the noise created by the media.

To be more precise, press articles published negative information about the Bernard Mathews that led to the public have a negative attitude towards it. On the other hand, the organization failed to communicate to its stakeholders or respond to the allegation in a timely to be able to set the record straight. In the essence, this left the public confused on the matter leading to the organization losing its credibility. This also led to the company losing a competitive edge on the market. Employees were also demotivated seeing their company’s name being tarnished in the media.

As a result, it necessitated the need for the management to come up with strong strategies on how to enhance communication with its stakeholders (Bernard Matthews 2011). The company was committed to improving its communication not only with internal stakeholders but also external ones. Internal stakeholders include directors, managers, and employees. The company has been able to communicate effectively with its internal stakeholders through the production of multilingual weekly newsletter to all employees. This has been done to ensure employees are well aware of what is happening in the organization.

The same information is made available on its intranet site. Employees can also log in to be able to access new information. Similarly, the company also provides conducts face to face meeting aimed at informing managers on the progress of the company as well as new initiatives (Bernard Matthews 2011). The company has also employed different strategies to be able to communicate with external stakeholders. This includes customers, regulatory bodies, suppliers, the community, and the government. Essentially, the company was committed to winning back the trust of its stakeholders to survive the market.

One way through which this was achieved is advertising. The company has been able to use the television to advertise its products to ensure they stick in the minds of its customers. It has also made a follow to ascertain the impact of the advertisements. It is through this strategy that the company is able to explain to its customers the benefits of consuming its products. Ultimately, this also gives it the opportunity to address the negative publicity as it is able to inform stakeholders on what is really happening (Bernard Matthews 2011).

Social media and the internet has also been used by the company to be able to reach out to its stakeholders. For example, the company has four websites that serve different audiences. This includes a corporate website, consumer sites, Foodservice site, and a campaigning site. It has been able to use the same to market its products as well as make its new initiatives known to stakeholders. The company has also used the media and public relations to communicate circuitously with its consumers (Bernard Matthews 2011).

Professional Sport. Professional sport organizations have also faced many barriers that impede effective communication. Specifically, coaches have found it problematic to communicate effectively with their players during games. This can be attributed to them having limited time. Coaches find it hard to communicate with players as a result of the limited time they might have to transmit instructions. They have tried their best to handle the same. However, limited time remains a great obstacle (Athanasios 2005). Language has also created a barrier to effective communication in the company.

Professional sports teams are normally composed of players from different countries. As such, coaches might find it problematic to communicate with them. Ability of perception and attitude also hinder effective communication. It is common knowledge that players might decode messages differently hence some may not be able to get the right information. The negative attitude among players has also created a great barrier to communication considering the fact this affects communication not only to their superiors but also other players (Athanasios 2005).

There are also external factors that have hindered communication in professional sports in Canada. External factors are those that are not directly related to the players or their coach but still affect communication. For example, spectators, sports officials, and opponents also act as barriers to effective communications. This can be attributed to the noise they make during sports events (Athanasios 2005). Coaches try to ensure effective communication by asking their players to be calm and remain focused.

They also try to minimize the negative influence created by outside factors. Coaches have also dealt with the problem of languages through naturalization of players. Equally, they have also ensured that their messages are short and clear to ensure every individual perceives or understands them in the desired manner. Team cohesion, fatigue, and team environment affect their attitude towards one another. Coaches have tried to deal with this through ensuring team members have enough rest and spend more time with one another (Athanasios 2005).

Conclusion Communication is very essential for organizations. It is imperative for the management in different organizations to ensure effective communication for better performances. There are a number of barriers that hinder effective communication including personal barriers, language barriers, physical barriers, and gender barriers. Professional Sports, Bernard Mathews, and NHS trust Hospital have faced some of these barriers and have tried their level best to handle them to ensure their success.

CT301 Understand Health and Safety in Social Care Settings ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 3. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with health and safety legislation, To preserve life, To minimise the consequences of injury and illness, To treat injuries and illnesses effectively. 4. 1 Routes of infection may include: Blood circulation, Digestive, Respiratory, Body fluids. 4. 2 Own health or hygiene might pose a risk by e. g. : Causing a serious infection, Causing illness, Causing fatalities. 4. 3 Method may include: Using soap, Using running water, Using hot water, Thoroughly, Frequently,

Rubbing palms and interlacing fingers, After every contact with an individual, body fluids or tasks. 4. 4 Personal protective equipment – refers to any protective equipment or clothing that an employer must provide where risks have been identified. This may include: Gloves, Aprons, Masks, Hair nets. When to use may include: During personal care, Handling waste, A change of activity, To protect the carer, To protect the individual. 5. 1 Current legislation may include: Manual handling Operations Regulations, Health & Safety at Work Act. 5. 2 Principles may include: Avoiding hazardous manual handling,

Conducting a full risk assessment of load, task, environment and individual, Reporting immediately any difficulties, Adhering to agreed working practices, Using equipment correctly. 5. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with legislation, To minimise injury to individual, self or others, To safeguard own and others health and safety, To apply agreed working practices, To use equipment correctly. Disposing of food may include: Wiping all spillages quickly, Ensuring all left over food is disposed of quickly, Ensuring bins are emptied frequently. 11. 3 Common hazards could be:

Not cooking/heating food until piping hot, Re-heating food more than once, Using food that has passed its use-by date, Not following correct thawing instructions for food, Contamination through different foods spilling onto each other. 1. 1 Current legislation and subsequent amendments may include: Health & Safety at Work Act, The Management of Health & Safety Work Regulations, Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), Manual Handling Operations Regulations, The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), Personal Protective equipment regulations. . 2 Policies and procedures may include agreed ways of working as well as formal policies and procedures Main points may include: The significant risks in relation to the workplace and work tasks, Control measures for hazards, The arrangements for reporting accidents or health problems, The arrangements for first aid, fire and emergencies, Who the key person is for health and safety matters, How health and safety is communicated in the workplace, The arrangements to protect others. Individual refers to someone requiring care or support. 1. Responsibilities of the social care worker may include: To take reasonable care for own and others’ health and safety, To report to employer potential and actual hazards and risks, To take part in health and safety training, To understand and comply with health and safety instructions and procedures. Responsibilities of the employer or manager may include: To provide a safe place of work, To assess risks and take action to reduce them, To provide information, instruction, training and supervision, To provide safety signs, To provide adequate welfare and first aid facilities.

Responsibilities of individuals may include: To understand and comply with health and safety instructions and procedures, To take reasonable care for own and others’ health and safety. 1. 4 Tasks that the learner should not carry out without special training may include those relating to: Use of equipment, First aid, Medication, Assisting and moving, Emergency procedures, Food handling and preparation. 1. 5 Accessing additional support and information may include : Appointed person(s) responsible for health and safety, Line manager, Health and safety Executive (HSE),

Environmental Health department. 2. 1 Meaning of hazard may include: The potential to cause harm e. g. working practice. Meaning of risk may include: The likelihood of harm occurring e. g. through exposure to a hazard. 2. 2 Using a risk assessment may include: Identifying hazards, Evaluating risks, Taking precautions, Reviewing risks, Reporting and recording outcomes. 2. 3 Reporting potential risks may include: Recording findings on a risk assessment form, Communicating findings immediately to manager/appointed health and safety, representative. When to report potential risks may include:

Immediately, When existing control measures are inadequate, When additional control measures are required, When there have been changes to original risk assessment e. g. changes to working practices. 2. 4 Risk assessment can help by e. g. : Making the individual aware of the risks, Making the individual aware of the responsibilities employees and the employer have, Being used as the basis for safe working arrangements. 3. 1 Accidents may include: Falls, Burns and scalds, Slips and trips, Swallowing a hazardous substance. 3. 2 Sudden Illness may include: Cardiac arrest, Difficulty with breathing,

Stroke, Hypoglycaemia, Seizures, Loss of consciousness, Food poisoning. Procedures may include: Recording and reporting of accident or illness with full details, Registered person submitting notification to CQC and HSE, Informing individuals’ next of kin. 6. 1 Reasons may include: To understand individual’s needs and preferences, To meet individual’s needs and preferences, To apply agreed working practices, To move the individual safely and correctly, To minimise injury to individual, self or others. 6. 2 Care Plan – may be known by other names (e. g. support plan, individual plan).

It is the document where day-to-day requirements and preferences for care and support are detailed. Importance of care plan and fully engaging with individual may include: To understand individual’s needs and preferences, To meet individual’s needs and preferences, To move the individual safely and correctly, To involve individual as an active participant in process, To minimise injury to individual, self or others, As a way of ensuring that move is comfortable for the individual. 7. 1 Hazardous Substances may include: Cleaning materials, Disinfectants, Body fluids, Medication. . 2 Safe practices for storing may include: In correct and labelled containers only, Under correct conditions as per instructions, In a secure area. Safe practices for using may include: Reading instructions on label before using, Not mixing substances together incorrectly, Only using substances if trained to do so, Using PPE as instructed, Reporting any difficulties immediately, Safe practices for disposing may include: Under correct conditions as per instructions, By following disposal workplace procedure. 8. 1 Procedures to prevent fire may include:

No smoking, Not having fire doors propped open, Checking appliances are turned off, Checking plugs are switched off, Following a procedure checklist. Procedures to prevent gas leaks may include: Checking appliances are turned off e. g. cooker, fire. Procedures to prevent floods may include: Being aware of how to turn off main water supply, Ensuring taps are turned off after use e. g. bath, sink. Procedures to prevent intruding may include: Being vigilant of security of building i. e. doors, windows, Locking doors and windows, Not giving out key codes to others,

Following a procedure checklist. Procedures to prevent security breaches may include: Being vigilant of security of building i. e. doors, windows, Reporting any concerns, Following a procedure checklist. 8. 2 Procedures to follow in event of fire may include: Raise the alarm, Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Go to fire assembly point, Move self and others away from danger area if safe to do. Procedures to follow in event of a gas leak may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Do not turn any switches on/off,

Go to assembly point, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. Procedures to follow in event of a flood may include: Turn off main water supply, Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Do not turn any switches on/off, Go to assembly point, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. Procedures to follow in event of intruding may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Move self and others to a safe area if possible, Record incident.

Procedures to follow in event of a security breach may include: Dial 999 or inform health and safety officer/manager immediately, Move self and others away from building immediately, Record incident. 9. 1 Stress can have positive as well as negative effects, but in this unit the word is used to refer to negative stress. Common signs and indicators of stress may include: Feeling more tearful or sensitive, Loss of motivation, Changes in sleep patterns, Changes in eating habits. 9. 2 Circumstances may include: Increased demands from others, Changes in working practices or new working practices,

Changes in team members, Relationships, Unexpected changes i. e. financial, personal, work. 9. 3 Ways may include: Taking time out for yourself, Talking through how you feel with your line manager, Attending any stress management courses available, Engaging in relaxing activities whilst away from work. 10. 1 Handling medication may include: Ordering, Receiving, Storage administration, Recording, Disposal. 10. 2 Person responsible for medication may include: Trained worker, Designated person, Individual when self-medicating. 10. 3 Reasons may include: To comply with legislation, To ensure it is administered safely,

To ensure it is administered correctly, As workers are accountable for their actions. 11. 1 Current may include: Food Standards Act, Food safety workplace policy, Food safety guidelines. 11. 2 Storing food may include: Ensuring all food stored is covered over, Storing food on correct shelf/container in fridge/cupboard, Labelling with date all food stored, Storing cooked food when cooled down. Maximising hygiene may include: Keeping yourself clean, Wearing protective clothing, Keeping workplace clean, Using separate utensils and equipment for different types of food, Regular and through hand washing.

1. There are both advantages and disadvantages to social networking sites in the workplace. The main advantages include facilitating communication between employees which helps to enhance information transfer. Another key advantage to allowing social networking in the workplace is it increases business contacts by allowing an easy platform to communicate with potential customers and partners. The Society for Human Resource Management website, demonstrates my final point on why social media is beneficial in the workplace, they state “It improves business reputation and client base with minimal use of advertising. As social media sites continue to garner a huge amount of users, it has become more effective for companies to set up pages on these sites then to use traditional forms of advertising. Setting up a company page on Facebook and Twitter allows companies to advertise for free while attracting more potential customers then they ever could. There are also a few disadvantages associated with allowing social media sites in the workplace.

First, social media exposes users to spam and virus attacks from hackers which could harm a company’s technology and infrastructure. Second, allowing employees to use social media sites opens up the possibility of negative attention since employees are a direct extension of the company. Inappropriate language or content on an employee’s page can be detrimental to that person’s employer. The final disadvantage to allowing social media in the workplace is it could potentially result in loss of productivity if employee’s abuse there privileges. ttp://www. shrm. org/TemplatesTools/hrqa/Pages/socialnetworkingsitespolicy. aspx 2. Considering both the advantages and disadvantages, I do believe employees should be permitted to access social media in the workplace. Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter can be extremely beneficial to companies that are trying to connect to more customers and opportunities. Also, many of the disadvantages of social media in the workplace can be remedied by placing rules on how employees can act on these sites.

For instance, employers could restrict employees from checking Facebook more than once an hour, also employers could restrict employees from putting certain content on there social media sites especially things that could be damaging to the company. 3. To ensure that employees are not posting anything that could be destructive to the company, employers should monitor activities on social media sites. However if an employee uses Facebook or Twitter for personal reasons rather than business reasons, they should not be subject to monitoring.

For those employees that do use social media for work, monitoring is necessary because content spreads rapidly on social media, so negative content needs to be deleted before the possibility of widespread outrage. 4. When I am on the clock, I do not use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter because I do not even use these sites when I am off the clock. I do not currently operate a Facebook or Twitter page for myself so I do not have the temptation of wanting to check it during work.