Health and Safety for Road Workers in Queensland

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What are some of the ways the Queensland Department of Main Roads could have overcome the resistance of road workers to the change?

The workers resisted the department’s move because it did not educate the workers on the various benefits of the new health protocol. Therefore, to address the workers’ resistance, the department could have arranged for a meeting with the workers and explain the various advantages and disadvantages of the new protocols, and stress that the advantages overweigh the disadvantages. Secondly, the department could have involved a number of workers in implementing the health protocols so that they could influence their fellow employees. Additionally, the department could have arranged for a transition period so that the workers could acquaint themselves with the new dressing codes (Millett et al 2010).

What were the outside drivers of change and who were the change agents in this scenario?

The outside drivers of change came from several sources. First, the World Health Organization (WHO) had provided figures to indicate that Australia had the highest rates of skin cancer globally as more than 380,000 persons are treated for the disease every year. Hence, covering more parts of the body by wearing long-sleeved shirts could lead to less exposure of the skin to the sun’s UV radiation. The change agent in this instance was the fact that construction workers have a higher risk of skin cancer because they are regularly exposed to UN radiation from sunlight and rays that reflect off surfaces such as concrete.

What were some of the functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on the people and the organization in this situation?

The functional effects of organizational culture on people was the department’s concern for the workers’ safety, a concern that led to the implementation of new health policies in consultation with The Cancer Council. This positive organizational culture was aimed at protecting workers and minimizing risks where possible. The dysfunctional effects of organizational culture include its mode of communication channel that is inflexible and stresses on loyalty and obedience to higher authorities. This organizational culture ultimately leads to workers’ resistance to the new health protocols.

Based on the description in the case study, would you consider that the department has a mechanistic organizational design or an organic organizational design?

Queensland Department of Main Roads has a mechanistic organizational design due to several features. First, it seems to work best in a stable environment as it is seen to be less accepting of change strategies. Instead of consulting the workers, the department implements the health protocols without consulting the workers, only relying on the WHO’s report on global rates of skin cancer. Further support for this organizational design stems from its communication channels, i.e. the department exhibits a vertical communication structure that mainly focuses on loyalty and obedience to higher authorities.

What would the reduction in the autonomy of workers do for their job satisfaction?

The reduction in the autonomy of workers has a negative impact on the worker’s job satisfaction. First, it lowers their work morale as they lose the freedom to choose certain job-related elements such as the freedom to dress in clothes of their choice. Besides, the department’s new policies contradict the worker’s tradition that “as soon as the sun comes out you take off your shirt” (Millett et al 2010). The reduction in the workers’ autonomy lowered the workers’ job satisfaction as they could only work according to the department’s specifications even on minor issues such as dressing.

How would you have improved the implementation of this policy?

One of the reasons for the workers’ resistance to the new policies was the failure of the department to consult them. This is evident by the fact that the new policies addressed long-term health complications such as skin cancer but failed to address short-term health risks such as heat stress in the summer. To improve the implementation of this policy, I would have consulted the workers and asked for their input regarding the new policies, both advantages, and disadvantages.

Reference

Millett, B., Boyle, M., Robbins, S. P., and Judge, T. (2010). Organisational Behaviour, 6th Edition. NJ: Pearson Education.

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