Introduction Employers spend thousands of dollars to ensure workplace safety. However when an accident occurs, and company’s production and sales are at stake, many overlook operational best practices in business ethics. Today, companies are greatly impacted by society’s evolvultion toward a “good” place for everyone which is diverse in culture, religion, and socioeconomic background. This trajectory drives social changes, activists, and theorists who believe attaining “the good” is worth pursuing and has no boundaries. As Aristotle noted, the end goals of political and individual well-being are justice and happiness (Collins, 2015). In examining the “Trouble in the Truss Construction Shop” case study, a utilitarian approach was used to ethically formulate possible remedies to the Truss Construction Shop issue with employee safety. Explanation of the Issue or Problem One week ago, John Craftsman, a company employee severely injured his hand while pushing a piece of wood through a table saw during his shift at the Truss Construction Shop. Mr. Craftsman’s accident is the third accident to occur in the current quarter that has workers in the shop upset and claiming unsafe working conditions. The workers have reported to OSHA and the local newspaper that the company has failed to accept responsibility for employee safety. The quarrel over who is responsible for the accident that has caused unwanted publicity and could potentially jeopardize business sales. Varying
The second accident at the "Timken Steel Faircrest plant" company which a is an employee fall down more than 40 feet which led to several broken bones because of just a small mistake. The problem is when he made a maintenance on a crane he wasn't ware Certified safety harness which it could safe his live from the risk. I used to do a maintenance on more than one cran and my company doesn't allow me to go without waring a Certified safety harness because they have to keep all the employees a way from all the risk and even if they didn't told me to ware it, I will not go up to the cran without it, do the fact that no one knows what will happen and even if I am good at this job, I have to work safely. I agree that this company should teach all
In 2008, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. have failed to ensure a sustainable safety environment, put in place a health program, and maintain adequate record keeping on work-related injury and illnesses claims for certain locations in the state of Ohio. This employer has been made aware of OSHA requirements for its industry and has been cited many times for similar infractions. OSHA regulators have imposed stiff penalty fines that have cost Lowe’s Companies Inc. thousands of dollars. The record-keeping violations at the
Throughout history, there has been a multitude of events that have helped shape the Occupational Safety and Health doctrines that we have today. Some events have had small impacts, and others have totally reshaped how an entire industry operates. Although there are many incidents that we can talk about, we are going to focus on the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Within this subject, we will talk about the specific events that happened, what safety standards existed and what standards were penned because of the incident, and how the existing safety standards keep a similar tragedy from happening in the current era. With all of this information, we will have a better picture of how the world of Occupational Safety and Health evolves throughout
In contradiction to the downgrading tone presented in the previous discussion towards OSHA and its involvement in the meatpacking industry, the implementation of OSHA had some uplifting attributes even though it had minute significance to the cause as presented by the scholarly individual, Dr. Sears, and the two notable muckraker, Eric Schlosser and Upton Sinclair. In cohesion to the upbringing of change due to OSHA, Claire Epstein’s article, “Keeping OSHA Records” enhances the awareness of the regulatory incorporation’s care for the workers safety and documentation by stating “Employers with more than 11 employees who are not in partially exempt industries are required to keep OSHA recordkeeping logs to track information on OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses” (Epstein). But not only did OSHA begin collecting records of the employees, but in “OSHA Updates Guide on Training Requirements” by Professional Safety, OSHA supplies workers with news occurring to fellow members of the country-wide workforce, and in this case is an injury pertaining to “Harco” and his personal negligence and misunderstanding of faulty hardware in order to prevent similar injuries and to analyze the faults and fabricate new directions to have a safer time when in the workplace (Professional Safety). In addition to the article, Professional Safety provides a handbook for workers that may/may not suppress the confusion, but is a sole act of generosity. In comparison, The United States Department of
There were significant animosities between labor and management at the time of this accident. Perhaps the maintenance personnel would have been more thorough if labor relations would have been more amiable. There are many factors that could have interfered with the maintenance personnel performing the repairs properly ranging from form personal problems to job satisfaction. If the employee was subjected any undo pressures or distractions the employees performance may have been affected. This pressure could stem from many areas such as working conditions, to experiencing marital, family, or health problems.
It is alarming to know that each year there are over 4,500 scaffold injuries and 65 deaths (Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA], 2016). In addition, there is a high risk for construction workers to be struck from objects falling off scaffolds. With these facts in mind, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission’s (OSHRC) 2013 case of the Secretary of Labor v Performance Contracting, Inc. (PCI) raises questions as to why violations of OSHA’s scaffold standards are sometimes considered “other-than serious.” Understanding that OSHA gives the Secretary of Labor the tasks of rulemaking and enforcement of its rules, it also gives the task of carrying out the legal process to the commission which both parties accepted, as well as PCI “engaging as a business affecting interstate commerce” (Secretary of Labor v. PCI, 2013, pp. 2-3). Knowledge of the case’s background, parties involved, arguments presented, cases used to reach a verdict, and final ruling provide insight to the penalties assessed, significance, and personal opinion.
The biggest dilemma that we as humans face in the work place is what we as individuals see as personal values may not be the same values that everyone else holds. We are each our own individual and we have all been raised in different cultures with different values. We all come together within the work place to not just do a job, but to try and work together with people that are different from ourselves. When we find ourselves in a dilemma that goes against our ethics, one has to ask themselves, “how does this affect my values, and does it affect our values so much that we need to report it to a higher authority”. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” (Quotes About Ethics, 2012). If one see something that goes against their personal values and does nothing about it than they need to reevaluate their values. If it is something important to them, than they will do everything within their power to stop whatever they see is wrong.
Data from the Bureau of Labor statistics states that over 4.1 million people were injured on the job in 2006 and 5,488 were killed in 2007 (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). All levels of government have passed laws to regulate and maintain safety in the workplace. There are two basic levels of workplace safety laws that affect most workers. On a state level it is workers' compensation laws. On a federal level it is the Occupation Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010). When it comes to the various objectives, policies, and operations of these two levels of law, one will notice how
Injuries from equipment in the workplace can lead to a tense work environment in the aftermath. It is important for a company to know that employees can rely on equipment and be comfortable in their jobs. This critical thinking paper will entail an analysis of an incident on the job at Truss Construction Shop. The paper will include: identifying the problem, analyzing the information, considering other viewpoints, and developing well-reasoned conclusions.
According to the Bureau of Labor, statistics indicate that more than 4.1 million people were hurt or injured on-the-job in 2006 and 5,488 were killed in 2007 (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2010, p. 511). Laws and regulatory requirements are currently in place to standardize and promote workplace safety. Organizations with extensive safety programs have reduced number of accidents, decreased workers’ compensation claims and lawsuits and lesser accident-related expenditures (Gomez-Mejia, et al, 2010, p. 511). This paper discusses the effects of legal, safety and regulatory requirements in
Throughout this paper you will get a brief summary over Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as the Fair Labor Standards Act. Through professional experiences I have ran into many violations regarding unsafe work environments, retaliation, and not receiving the correct pay. Title VII, as well as OSHA prohibits retaliation against any employee, who has filed a complaint. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 gives employees the chance to file a complaint of unfair pay, in hopes to receive their lost wages. As one may recognize these violations come with many ethical issues such as, not putting employee’s safety first, not paying employees, and leading people to find the company as being untrustworthy.
Accidents in the workplace is a serious issue, and you pay dearly if an employee is injured or killed due to an unsafe or dangerous working environment, especially when it's caused by company negligence. You and your management team must understand the laws surrounding the safety of the workplace, and put education training in place for "what if" situations that protects your employees and
In another light, if Harry Hillman saw John Craftsmen “goofing around” with his co-workers prior to the incident, Hillman should be asked: (1) How long before injury did Hillman witness Craftsmen’s behavior? (2) Did Hillman mention Craftsmen’s behavior because he feels it reflects Craftsmen’s workmanship or ethic? If so, why didn’t Hillman address Craftsmen behavior before allowing him to proceed with any heavy machinery? This criteria needs to be checked considering Hillman is expected to have a significant amount of oversight on machinery and should be adhering to the strict liability precautions of Truss Construction Shop.
It is important that the employees are safe and happy at work and the business is profitable. When the actions of employees affect the workplace both morally and monetarily, there must be action taken to make a change. This is the point that has been reached at GoodValue. Employees are, willingly or unwillingly, being put in a potentially dangerous situation as a disgruntled ‘customer’, Bob Black, hands over custody of his children to his former wife with
Ethical dilemmas are virtually impossible to avoid if you are a participant in the workforce. The definition of an ethical dilemma stands as a situation that challenges two or more “right” values that arise in a conflict (Treviño & Nelson, 2014). As ethical persons, how may we overcome ethical dilemmas and finish on the “right” side? The research mentioned in Trevino’s and Nelson’s book, “Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to Do It Right,” suggests that preparing for specific ethical challenges before a situation occurs can adequately prepare the workforce to better handle real-world applications when an ethical situation transpires. The notion that ethics is teachable inspires the following case analysis. The case analysis involving chemical safety will discuss the facts and issues, stakeholders, decision alternatives, and real-work constraints. Focusing on each of the previously mentioned topics, I will describe the applications using Utilitarian, Kantian Ethics, and Rawlsian Justice Analysis’s.