Safe and Respected at Work - Case Study Example

Running Head: SAFETY AND RESPECT AT WORK Safety and respect at work Name Institution Date Introduction The population of Immigrants in Australia has over the years experienced an influx and also decline depending on the regions of origin of the immigrants. For instance in the 1970’s many immigrants originated from regions such as the Philippines, Cambodia, South East Asia, Vietnam and East and south Europe. In recent years however as recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009), there has been a decline on the proportion of immigrants from east and south Europe, which was recorded to have fallen from 4.7% in 1998 to 3.9% in 2008. However there are indications that Australia is becoming increasingly diverse due to a rise in the number of Immigrants from other regions. The Bureau of statistics recorded that people from regions such as Sudan increased by 22%, Bangladesh 12.9%, India (10.4%) and Zimbabwe 10.0% (ABS 2009, 25-31). Basing on the rise of immigrants even within our Company, as the manager of a new Shepparton food processing firm, it is vital to ensure that employees gain a feeling of respect and safety within their working environment. This particular presentation is aimed at evaluation the strategies that I would use develop and implement a policy that would meet the stated objective of making employees feel safe and respected. As highlighted by 2009 ABS report, a significant number of immigrants presently are from regions that experience challenges such as political conflicts which include Sudan, Iraq and Zimbwe. What is evident is that these categories of people have diverse culture and features that differ with most of the Australian residents for instance some of the underlying issues that differentiate them include aspects such as religion, race and culture. Migrants face numerous challenges within the workplace environment such as adjusting to language difference, adjusting to work and relations with fellow employees. The devised policy will address the major challenges that affect immigrants within the workplace environment and how these challenges can be solved in order to meet the stated objectives. Policy Framework A longitudinal survey carried out on Australian immigrants in order to analyse the determining factors in the growth and level of earnings of adult male immigrants within their first three years in Australia indicated that the level income for immigrants with higher economic skill were higher as compared to refuge based migrants. The analysis further outlined that economic assimilation of immigrants does not occur as often (Barry, etl 2005). As indicated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the region is experiencing an influx of immigrants who are mainly refugees. In most cases these individuals have minimal skills concerning food processing, which subjects them to minimal wages. The motivational theory provides a platform of explaining the relationship between human resources and performance especially in the service sector. Employees believe that they will be rewarded if they reach a certain class of performance. As a result the action plan to deal with the problem of lack of skills which contributes to minimal level of wages for immigrants can be tackled through provision of high quality training and creation of a supportive environment for the investment of the knowledge and the skills that are inherent in the elected workforce. Communication is an essential aspect that assists an individual to participate in the dialogue that takes place within an organization. Communication challenges are also vast amongst most immigrants. Communication difficulties manifest themselves in three ways; weak English language skill, lack of the ability to use language that is professional specific. Data obtained from the 52 prevalent migrant groups in Australia indicated that this minority groups face challenges within the labour market due to poor proficiency of the English language (James and Ron, 1999). The strategy to solve the challenge of poor language skills for the immigrant workforce is through the identification of key determinants of successful language utilization, which include education and fluency. The plan to assist immigrant workers with effective language skills involves provision of after work English language course during weekends that can assist them improve their language proficiency. At the same time it is essential that as a manager I have relevant skills to comprehend and recognize diverse cultural styles of expression and also be able to respond effectively for the purpose of reaching or establishing a mutual agreement with the immigrant employees. Mustafa (2009: 226) outlines that one of the greatest challenges that immigrants face within the work place is the aspect of discrimination and exclusion which basically results to psychological effects for the immigrants. Companies tend to discriminate immigrant employee on basis of being different. Such negative practices lead to loss of power and confidence, a feeling of being destructed, undervalued and overlooked; as a result the employees tend to also isolate themselves from other work mates and the authority. Exclusion and discrimination is actually a dominate discourse that covers various aspects such as distancing from the foreign employee, unfair treatment by the authority, loneliness and being intimidated due to power imbalance. Therefore as a manager there is need to device a strategy that can alleviate the discrimination and exclusion of immigrant workers, in order for the workers to feel safe and respected, as a result they can be more productive which will further increase the performance of the company. Rhokeun etal (2010), unveils an article concerning the impacts of group incentives on employee involvement as an incentive of enhancing employee commitment, after examining data derived from 4,000 employees in 29 manufacturing firms, the findings indicated that group incentives were more effective in labour intensive organizations. The course of action entails maintaining a status quo through the strategy of team work interaction approach. Mustafa (2009: p201) highlights that the strategy entails the use of mixed groups in the delivery of a particular task. Longitudinal research on organizations have indicated that adopting the team climate factor within an organization is effective in developing relationships among the workforce, as a result through interpersonal interaction members of the team are able to express their goals , plans and also articulate their feelings which is an essential element of building good relations and also respect. The aspect of being proactive among employees from disadvantaged groups is also an essential element of empowerment. Various field studies have indicated that positive proactive initiatives results to enhancing persistence, intrinsic motivation and ability to take risks among employees. Research further demonstrates that that managers who encourage their workforce to be more vocal trigger an environment of increased respect and cooperation which is guided by shared goals of the organization. In addition if employees are more proactive, they attain psychological ownership of the organization. Psychological ownership promotes a sense of belonging, self identity and accountability (James 2008). In order to assist the immigrant employees to be more proactive the strategy I would apply is to establish a system of channelling views. This can be done through organizing open forums were the immigrant workers can meet the management frequently and channel their view points. The open forums can use a spectrum of methods ranging from acts of self expression that is descriptive, which can further result to the development of strategic alliances which can influence the culture of the organization (Greg, 2005:45). The aspect of understanding the culture of a particular workplace is another great barrier that faces immigrants. And with practices such as discrimination and exclusion of these workers it can be difficult for them to effectively adapt to the working environment basing on the fact that fellow employees may tend to ignore the need of assist the immigrant workers integrate themselves properly within the work environment. In order to address this particular concern, I would enforce specific mechanism which specifically relate to work place culture which includes organizing of small work shops and workforce training whereby the immigrants can have overview of the activities and procedures of the firm. David etal.(2010,289).highlights that not all individuals have the will to remove some discriminatory tendencies or traits within their perspectives and actions thus, forcing employees who are Australian citizens to assist immigrants to be well integrated into the working culture would not be a very effective strategy as a result the organization of small work shops and forums would be a useful strategy. Implementation of the Policy Engaging the entire Management is a vital; all stake holders of the business should be made aware of the policy so that they may assist in its assessment and development. The Program should be a partnership that works towards the same goal of assisting immigrants fit within the organizations culture. Involving the entire management is an effective endeavour that is a stating point for building a broader implementation of the action plan (Margaret 2004, 102). Championing support of the project by other employees is a crucial factor. The challenges that face newcomers within the work environment are usually complex, which mainly require the support of the already existing employees who in most cases are usually Australian citizens, as a result it essential to present the proposals of the policy to other employees in order for them to be aware of the new plan, because they majorly interact with the immigrants at field levels. Involving External Agencies in implementing the policy is essential in facilitating effective running of some aspects of the proposed action plan. For instance as highlighted above, in order to assist immigrants improve on their language skills, English lessons will be offered during the weekends, therefore the contributions of the public and private voluntary agencies would be vital Greg 2005, 56). Development and support of the policy through Integrating Services is also another vital aspect of implementing the project. A variety of services have been outlined within proposed the policy. It can be necessary to integrate language training with cultural training, Secondly training on career development, with Language training. At the beginning the strategy would be considerably challenging however it would be an effective measure of meeting all needs of the immigrant employees .Greg (2005, 56) gives a suggestion that the integration of services can actually increase effectiveness. Conclusion Immigrant employees in Australian also make great contributions to the economy, as a result it is important to establish systems of working environments which can effectively accommodate them just like the ordinary citizens. As the manager of the food processing firm, the adoption of a new policy to cater for their well being in terms of establishing a safe working environment and also the development of respect is an effective mechanism of improving their welfare. References Ashforth, B.(1989). Social diversity theory and the organization. Academy management Review . 20-29 Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009) Migration, Australia, 2007-08, Catalogue No. 3412.0, pp. 80 Barry R. Etl.(2005).’’ Immigrant earnings: a longitudinal analysis’’ Journal On Management. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Bray, M., Waring, P. and Cooper, R. (2009) Employment Relations: Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill, Sydney. David, L etal.(2010, ). Advances in Industrial and Labour Relations. Emerald Group Publishing.280-290. Eileen, A &Douglas K. (2010).Employee involvement and group incentives in manufacturing companies: a multi-level analysis. 227 - 243 Retrieved Greg, R. (2005).Managing employee relations: develop interpersonal communications and conflict-management skills to better manage employee relations. Business Services Industry., James F& Ron J. (1999). ’’Disadvantage, Discrimination and the Occupational Differentiation of Migrant Groups in Australia’’. Industrial Relations Journal. Margaret, S. (2004).The psychology and management of workplace Diversity. -Blackwell.100-134 Mustafa F.( 2009). Equality, diversity and inclusion at work: a research companion. Edward Elgar Publishing. Rhokeun etal ( 2010). Psychological ownership: theoretical extensions, measurement and relation to work outcomes. Journal on Management. Read More