Question

4. "The first duty of business is to survive and guiding the principle of business economics is not the maximization of profit ... it is the avoidance of loss" (Peter Drucker).

a. Explain the meaning of the above statement related to the study of ergonomics, OSH (Industrial K3), productivity and quality of work in the industry. How can you associate work accidents with industry competitiveness (idle / delay, profit vs loss, etc.)?

b. As is the case with production / operational management; the implementation of K3 management (SMK3, OSHA, ISO 1800) is equally important and has strategic value for the industry. Agree to you, give an explanation and do not forget to give a concrete example.

4. "The first duty of business is to survive and guiding the principle of business economics is not the maximization of profit ... it is the avoidance of loss" (Peter Drucker).

a. Explain the meaning of the above statement related to the study of ergonomics, OSH (Industrial Occupational Health and Safety), productivity and quality of work in the industry. How can you associate work accidents with industry competitiveness (idle / delay, profit vs loss, etc.)?

b. As is the case with production / operational management; the implementation of -Occupational Health and Safety management (Safety and Health Management System, OSHA, ISO 1800) is equally important and has strategic value for the industry. Agree to you, give an explanation and do not forget to give a concrete example.

Answer 1

a)According to Mr. Peter Drucker, first duty of the business is to survive rather than conquering. Avoidance of loss should be taken care before thinking about the maximization of the profit. Every business faces the same challenge which is to stay in business. If there is no profit margin, there is no business.

Ergonomics is defined as the study of how people work in their environment. Ergonomics is the science of fitting employees with the organizational environment to produce optimum comfort and productivity. Companies profit and loss depends on the productivity and commitment of the employees. That will be driven by the facilities they received for their company. Non productive staffs might cause loss for the business. Before focusing on the profit maximization, ergonomics have to be taken care for the avoidance of loss.

Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) relates to safety, health and welfare issues in the workplace. Improving a company's occupational health and safety standards ensures good business, a better brand image, and higher employee morale. Good OSH is good for business, poor workplace safety and health will cost money. That will be a big problem for the survival of the business. For avoidance of loss, workplace safety and health should be in good condition, that leads to numerous benefits such as; Improved productivity through less sickness absence, Cutting healthcare costs, Keeping older workers in employment etc that might leads to the survival business.

A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs is called as productivity. Productivity of the business that leads to profit can make the business survivable in the market. Factors like old technologies, bad organization safety and health, poor management, inadequate resources and workplace stress to the employees can cause decrease in the productivity. Good business can be generated through moderate productivity, not through over productivity or low productivity. Productivity management can helps in loss avoidance which helps the business to survive.

The focus on using high quality of work to improve processes reduces waste and saves time, leading to reduced expenses that can be passed along to clients in the form of lower prices. Companies that successfully implement quality are able to reduce variability, providing the consistency that customers value. This creates customer loyalty and earns their continued business. These leads to survival and guiding of the business, increasing customer satisfactions and number can avoid loss.

Work accidents can be happened due to poor safety and health management in the workplace. Workplace injuries lead to lost work time, pain and suffering, reduced productivity, and a number of other problems for injured workers and their employers. In some cases, poor workplace safety practices cause or contribute to these injuries. Identifying and eliminating unsafe practices can help reduce accident and injury rates.Workplace accidents cost employers a significant amount of money. Direct costs include money paid for the medical expenses and rehabilitation costs of injured employees.Workplace accidents also have indirect costs, which are more difficult to quantify. Reduced productivity after an accident also has an effect on employer profits. So work accidents can lead to loss, delay the productivity which will badly affect the industrial competitiveness.

b) Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Management

Workplace safety refers to the working environment at a company and encompasses all factors that impact the safety, health, and well-being of employees. This can include environmental hazards, unsafe working conditions or processes, drug and alcohol abuse, and workplace violence.

A well designed and executed occupational health and safety (OHS) program is often said to be good for business as well as being a key legal and social obligation (making sure that employees in any size or type of business go home in the same condition that they came to work). Furthermore, so-called “best-practice” organizations not only recognize the basic value of good OHS, but see that extra efforts to ensure that its people are not harmed or made ill in any way at work (even at a minor level) is also an essential part of a truly excellent enterprise.

These best practice organizations therefore believe that occupational health and safety: helps demonstrate to all stakeholders that a business is socially responsible, protects and enhances an organization’s reputation and credibility, helps maximize the performance or productivity of employees, enhances employees’ commitment to the organization as a whole, builds a more competent, happier and healthier workforce, reduces business costs and disruption, enables organizations to meet customers’ OHS expectations, and encourages the workforce in general to stay longer in active life.

The combination of operating in a market driven economy, alongside a society that is more aware of risks, means that many enterprises now therfore realize the significant gains that can be made from integrating well-designed OHS performance into their wider business model and strategies. These wider benefits includes: improvement in the image, brand value and wider reputation of the enterprise,delivering on corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments, maintaining and promoting investor confidence and developing positive stakeholder engagement at all levels.

Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Management is very important and have high strategic value for the industry.

Example: Standardization in the field of services

Especially where services have a strong focus on the customer (e.g. Beauty Salon Services - Requirements and recommendations for the provision of service), there is a fine line for the standardization of services in order to avoid that the standards conflict with national OSH provisions.

The aim is that of improving the quality of the service for the customer, and explicitly not that of improving the safety and health of the employees or those providing the service. Provisions governing the safety and health of workers at work are subject to national legislation. Examples of requirements that must not be standardized in service standards include: requirements concerning the use of personal protective equipment, equipping of workplaces with technology protecting from certain hazards, OSH medical examinations, training in OSH issues or the definitions of workplace limit values