...250 OB ON THE EDGE The Toxic Workplace It’s not unusual to find the following employee behaviours in today’s workplace: Answering the phone with a “yeah,” neglecting to say thank you or please, using voice mail to screen calls, leaving a half cup of coffee behind to avoid having to brew the next pot, standing uninvited but impatiently over the desk of someone engaged in a telephone conversation, dropping trash on the floor and leaving it for the maintenance crew to clean up, and talking loudly on the phone about personal matters.1 Some employers or managers fit the following descriptions: In the months since [the new owner of the pharmacy] has been in charge [he] has made it clear that he is at liberty to fire employees at will . . . change their positions, decrease their bonus percentages, and refuse time-off and vacation choices. Furthermore, he has established an authoritarian work structure characterized by distrust, cut-backs on many items deemed essential to work comfort, disrespect, rigidity and poor-tono-communication.2 He walked all over people. He made fun of them; he intimidated them. He criticized work for no reason, and he changed his plans daily.3 251 What’s Happening in Our Workplaces? Workplaces today are receiving highly critical reviews, being called everything from “uncivil” to “toxic.” Lynne Anderson and Christine Pearson, two management professors from St. Joseph’s University and the University of North Carolina, respectively, note that “Historians...
Words: 3425 - Pages: 14
...A toxic organization is an organization that has not given much importance the heart and soul of its people as much as its need for profits. In a toxic workplace, people report for work but perform their jobs with minimum effort. They go to work just to be given their salaries and they get out of the office as fast as they can. In a toxic workplace, many employees have high absenteeism and turnover. They submit poorly performed work and perform inefficient service which results in high customer complaints. Sometimes employees comment negatively about their colleagues. At times, verbal intimidation can be observed. More conflicts can be anticipated which results in foul and tactless language. They aren't cooperative in achieving the goals of the organization. They are not willing to work longer or render overtime when needed and give many excuses. The ethical deficit or the lack of knowledge and application of good business ethics manifested by the members and employees of a toxic organization can negatively affect their productivity. Workers in an unethical workplace are more likely to steal from their employees, engage in fraud, or participate in threats. These unethical and negative behaviors have contributed for revenue loss, reduced productivity and tarnished reputations. This kind of working environment results to a toxic ethical climate that results in the remaining ethical employees questioning themselves of the ethical dilemmas that they are facing. They are constantly...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...ALBEMARLE CORPORATION Albemarle is a chemical company. There are approximately 4,000 employs and serves customers in 100 countries. Albemarle is a global supplier of specialty chemicals that benefit the world in which we all live. http://www.albemarle.com/Home-3.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albemarle_Corporation COMMUNICATION IN THE WORKPLACE ANTIFEBRIN PREPARATION Antifebrin which originally named after acetanilide, it is an odourless solid chemical/ flake appearance. Which also go buy other names such as N-phenylacetamide, acetanil, or acetanilid. Acetanilide can be produced by reacting acetic anhydride with aniline (C6H5NH2 + (CH3CO)2O → C6H5NHCOCH3 + CH3COOH). Acetanilide is used as an inhibitor in hydrogen peroxide and is used to stabilize cellulose ester varnishes. intermediate and camphor synthesis, these were the established uses in intermediation. Acetanilide used in pharmaceutical and intermediates as a precursor in penicillin synthesis. The uses of this organic material have decreased over the past few years due to its toxicity. However, it is still used for some industrial purposes. It has application as an inhibitor in hydrogen peroxide and this compound is also used for stabilizing cellulose ester varnishes. It is applied in the intermediation in accelerator synthesis of rubber. The organic compound is used for manufacturing 4-acetamidobenzenesulfonyl chloride which is one of the key ingredients for producing sulfa drugs. This compound...
Words: 505 - Pages: 3
...TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR PENTACHLOROPHENOL U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry September 2001 PENTACHLOROPHENOL ii DISCLAIMER The use of company or product name(s) is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. PENTACHLOROPHENOL iii UPDATE STATEMENT Toxicological profiles are revised and republished as necessary, but no less than once every three years. For information regarding the update status of previously released profiles, contact ATSDR at: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Toxicology/Toxicology Information Branch 1600 Clifton Road NE, E-29 Atlanta, Georgia 30333 PENTACHLOROPHENOL vi *Legislative Background The toxicological profiles are developed in response to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 (Public law 99-499) which amended the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund). This public law directed ATSDR to prepared toxicological profiles for hazardous substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National Priorities List and that pose the most significant potential threat to human health, as determined by ATSDR and the EPA. The availability of the revised priority list of 275 hazardous substances was announced in the Federal Register on November 17, 1997 (62...
Words: 9987 - Pages: 40
...selecting the most appropriate doctor. If were you confronted with asbestos and you also got sick because of this, you do have a right to stake claims for compensation. The risks and toxicity of asbestos were well-known from the 1930s, yet corporations continued utilizing it extensively through...
Words: 456 - Pages: 2
...Impact of Toxic chemical There are many materials used in the workplace that can be hazardous. However, in order for them to affect your health, they must contact the body or be absorbed into the body. When assessing the potential health effects from working with a particular material it is necessary to understand difference between "toxicity" and "hazard". 1. TOXICITY is the ability of a substance to produce an unwanted effect when the chemical has reached a sufficient concentration at a certain site in the body. The more toxic a material is, the smaller the amount of it necessary to be absorbed before harmful effects are caused. The lower the toxicity, the greater the quantity of it necessary to be absorbed. The toxicity of a chemical is generally measured by experiments on animals (quite often rats). If it is measured in terms of the amounts of material necessary to cause death in 50% of the test animals. These values are called LD50 (lethal dose) or LC50 (lethal concentration), and are usually given in weight of material per kg of body weight or airborne concentration of material per set time period respectively. 2. HAZARD is the probability that this concentration in the body will occur. Toxicity is an inherent property of the material. A material may be very toxic, but not hazardous, if it is handled properly and is not absorbed into the body. On the other hand, a material may have a very low toxicity, but be very hazardous. Example: 1. An open container...
Words: 2380 - Pages: 10
...included in the risk assessment that shows all the physico-chemical properties of Butynediol. The next table shows the classification for toxicity and the concentration limits. Despite these limits, it has not been classified as harmful to the environment. (Butynediol, n.d.) (EPA, n.d.) When you consider the ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion) method of Butynediol, you would find that the biggest factor is that it penetrates the to skin to the bloodstream. The “liver, kidneys, and blood” (PubChem, n.d.) are the target organs especially for employees who are exposed for long period of time. “The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, through the skin and by ingestion. Serious local effects by all routes of exposure.” (PubChem, n.d.) If a employee inhales this substance, they would experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, sore throat, uncontrollable coughing, and a strong burning sensation. For skin exposure, you would see redness of the skin, burns, and a strong pain in the affected area. For exposure via the eye, it could result in burns, soreness, and bright red eyes. If an employee accidently ingests Butynediol, they would immediately experience burning of the mouth and throat, painful throbs of pressure in the throat and chest areas, and powerful abdominal pain. Human data on acute toxicity is not available because of limited testing, so human limits are translated from the rat limits to human. For dermal exposure, there is a...
Words: 1670 - Pages: 7
...the air from a source. There are many concerns with air pollution and scientist have found many chemicals such as alkyl nitrates, methane, hexane and butane compounds the can irritate and burn skin and the eyes and can cause dizziness as well. With all of these samples that have been collected they have not shown levels above government safety regulations (Roosevelt, 2013). Oil pollution we know is dangerous for the environment our ocean is very important for life wildlife and humans as well. 4.9 million barrels of oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and this was damaging for our ecosystems that were living there, under some new research the dispersant that was used to clean up the spill was much worse and added to the problems and toxicity of the spill. Studies have shown that adding this type of cleaning solution to...
Words: 873 - Pages: 4
...with your interpretations: This week, we learn that resonant managers zero in on employee emotions, feelings and attitudes. The “soft side” of management is important, it is important to manage both your emotions and the emotions of your subordinates. In Toxic Emotions at Work, the author recognizes that there are times when organizations and leaders cause pain. This pain can be either intentional or unintentional. Frost says, “organizations by their very nature create a regular supply of emotional pain” (p. 245). Compassionate managers need skills to be efficient toxin handlers. Paying attention to the types of questions and musing over how individuals or the organization would answer is a great start to acknowledging emotional toxicity and pain. Organizations need to strive to increase capacity for compassionate responses within the culture. Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson offer The One Minute Manager. They do not believe that good management takes a lot of time, they base this assumption on these underlying premises: “quality of time spent with subordinates is more important than quantity; and in the end, people should really be managing themselves” (p. 270). The three strategies they recommend are one-minute goals, one-minute praisings, and one-minute reprimands. The authors admit that managers have to sincerely care about the people under them, but it is okay to have definite expectations about their behavior and production. Managers that use these techniques...
Words: 2419 - Pages: 10
...It is a health service which demands that employers, both government and private should show concern for practical measures of protecting the health of workers or employees (Adeniyi, 2001). Occupational health (OH) is a branch of health services specifically concerned with health, safety and welfare of workers of all categories. The health of the workers has several determinants, including risk factors at the workplace leading to cancers, accidents, musculoskeletal diseases, respiratory diseases, hearing loss circulatory diseases, stress related disorders, communicable diseases and others. According to World Health Organization (WHO) in Carl (1975): “….occupation health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupation. The prevention, among workers, of department from health hazards caused by their employment, risk resulting from adverse factors to health in the placing and maintenance of workers in an occupation environment adapted to his physiological and psychological equipment: and to the adaptation of work to man and each man to his...
Words: 1150 - Pages: 5
...equirements of Case Memo #2: * Draft memo using the prescribe format (subheadings/sections) under Syllabus>>Project Description; * All sections must be comprehensive, in-depth and fully justified; * Resources from previously assigned course materials or from your own research may be used to justify and support rationale; * All in-text citations and resources must be in APA style; * Submit the completed case in the Assignment Folder. The Case of the Plant Relocation You are the chief executive of Electrocorp, an electronics company, which makes the onboard computer components for automobiles. In your production plants, complex hydrocarbon solvents are used to clean the chips and other parts that go into the computer components. Some of the solvents used are carcinogens and must be handled with extreme care. Until recently, all of your production plants were located in the United States. However, the cost of production has risen, causing profits to decline. A number of factors have increased production costs. First, the union representing the workers in your plant waged a successful strike resulting in increased salary and benefits. The pay and benefits package for beginning employees is around $15/hour. A second factor has been stringent safety regulations. These safety procedures, which apply inside the plant, have been expensive in both time and money. Finally, environmental regulations have made Electrocorp's operations more costly. Electrocorp...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...Appendix Appendix Appendix 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12: 13: 14: 15: 16: 17: Routers of entry Health Effects Procedure for CHRA Registration as Assessor Format of the Chemical Register CSDS Requirements under CPL 1997 HR Determination & Exposure Sampling Strategy Occupational Exposure Limits Quantitative determination of inhalation exposure magnitude from airborne measurement result Estimation of Exposure Factors Affecting Inhalation Exposure Factors Affecting Dermal Exposure Solvent Drying Time Odour Level Thresholds Degree of physical activities & breathing rate Procedure for Estimating the Degree of Exposure FORMS Form A Form B Form C Form D Form E Form F : : : : : : List of chemicals Work unit description Task description Workplace exposure assessment Risk matrix Action to be taken Department of Occupational Safety & Health, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia December 2000 CHRA MANUAL 2nd EDITION PREFACE These guidelines may be cited as the Manual for the Assessment of...
Words: 19966 - Pages: 80
...home is a child care centre that provides day care for children under five years of age. ABC Chemicals employs 50 people whose duties include the day-to-day running of the business and decanting of the chemicals into smaller containers. Small spills during the decanting procedures are cleaned up with rags, which are disposed of at the end of the day inthe general waste dumpster in the rear yard of the premises. The dumpster is collected by a waste contractor on a weekly basis. The ABC Chemicals building was constructed in 2000 and has been fitted with limited emergency equipment. None of the workers has received any training in safe handling of chemicals or how to cope with emergencies and there is no emergency plan displayed in the workplace. ABC Chemicals is situated on a busy intersection and there have been several significant vehicle accidents in front of the premise. All empty chemical drums are stored in the rear yard against the back cyclone fence. These drums are collected on a monthly basis and as many as 250 drums can be stored there awaiting collection. Behind the cyclone fence is a large open, overgrown paddock with dry grass, which is owned by the local council....
Words: 1987 - Pages: 8
...The Case of the Plant Relocation The chief executive of Electrocorp, an electronics company, which makes the onboard computer components for automobiles, is facing increased production costs. Electrocorp’s production plants, use complex hydrocarbon solvents to clean the chips and other parts that go into the computer components. Some of the solvents used are carcinogens and must be handled with extreme care. Until recently, all of your production plants were located in the United States. However, the cost of production has risen, causing profits to decline. A number of factors have increased production costs. First, the union representing the workers in Electrocorp plants waged a successful strike resulting in increased salary and benefits. The pay and benefits package for beginning employees is around $15/hour. A second factor has been stringent safety regulations. These safety procedures, which apply inside the plant, have been expensive in both time and money. Finally, environmental regulations have made Electrocorp's operations more costly. Electrocorp is required to put its waste through an expensive process before depositing it at a special disposal facility. Shareholders have been complaining about the declining fortunes of the company. Many of Electrocorp's competitors have moved their operations to less-developed countries, where their operating costs are less than in the United States, and you have begun to consider whether to relocate a number of plants to offshore...
Words: 854 - Pages: 4
...Characteristic of a Good Manager versus a Bad Manager Managers dance on a fault line, they either have the behavior to influence workers to do what they otherwise may not be willing to do, and without creating a stressful situation, or they do not, and the cost will escalate and ripple for a long time. Good managers are essential to any successful organization. Some people are destined to become a good manager while others are not. The issue is that they have not developed the necessary skills and behaviors because they have not had any formal management training. Too often people are promoted into management positions but are not given the right support and development to fulfill their role adequately. A good manager has organizational skills, people management skills, and is professional, a bad manager struggles with these skills. The ability to be a good manager depends on superior organizational skills. To manage other people, you must know how to set priorities and allocate them according to each individual’s skills and abilities. A well organized manager can perform easily while showing confidence and control in the organization, and creating a productive environment for all workers. The organizational skills of a manager are also geared toward specific tasks, such as setting project deadlines and conducting performance evaluations, all of which contributes to a more efficient work system. Planning skills are needed for a manager to be successful. Coordinating...
Words: 1070 - Pages: 5
