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Susanne Bahn is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Innovative Practice, School of Management, Faculty of Business and Law, at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Her…
Abstract
Susanne Bahn is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Innovative Practice, School of Management, Faculty of Business and Law, at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Her interests lie in Occupational Health & Safety practice and processes, risk management, middle management change processes, and vocational educational training in the construction and mining industries.
The purpose of this paper is to present a data collection tool that is not new, however, has been very effective as an assessment tool in a 2012 research study investigating the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a data collection tool that is not new, however, has been very effective as an assessment tool in a 2012 research study investigating the ability of new entrants to underground mining to effectively identify hazards within their work areas.
Design/methodology/approach
The study set about to determine if after a full days’ health and safety induction training entrants new to the mining industry could identify hazards contained in photographs of the work areas they would be working in the next day.
Findings
Using a picture-based survey as an assessment or data collection tool provides a fun way to access data. This is particularly useful when trying to engage participants who are unwilling to provide data, as in this case, after a full day's health and safety induction. The tool was viewed as a puzzle and therefore encouraged completion. In addition, if the tool is used to feedback the “answers” to the group after they have been assessed it also serves as a learning device.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the research have been published elsewhere and are not the topic of this paper; instead in this paper a picture-based survey tool is presented as a valid and useful data collection method for qualitative research.
Originality/value
The study results in terms of the use of a picture-based tool as an assessment is of value to those conducting health and safety induction training as it may achieve better engagement.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a change in staffing contractual arrangements, specific training in hazard identification, mentoring of supervisors and the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a change in staffing contractual arrangements, specific training in hazard identification, mentoring of supervisors and the introduction of a robust safety system could improve an organisation's safety culture. How safety conditions change under contracted out labour compared to direct labour and the influence that contracting out has on organisational safety culture is explored.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a case study methodology to detail how the change occurred over a six month period in 2011. As part of the analysis a model of the change process and push‐pull factors is offered.
Findings
As a result of the change, all areas saw some improvement. Work‐related injury statistics dropped significantly, supervisors were clear of their roles, actively monitoring their crews to ensure they worked in a safer manner than before, and staff were actively addressing work‐place hazards. With the safety system in place the organisation should be deemed compliant and diligent by the state auditing authorities. This study has also shown that using contractor workers together with in‐house workers that are managed under different safety regimes is problematic. The problems don’t occur due to the contractor's safety systems being less robust than the parent company's or that contract workers are themselves less safe; it is the added complexity of managing multiple safety regimes and the lack of trust of the robustness of each system that create conflict.
Research limitations/implications
The paper reports on the change process of one mining organisation in Western Australia as a case study from a managerial sample and is thereby limited.
Practical implications
This study demonstrates the difficulties in changing safety culture in an underground mining organisation. The paper argues the need for specialised training in identifying hazards by the staff, the mentoring of supervisory staff and the adoption of a robust safety system to support improved safety culture.
Originality/value
There is little research conducted in the resources sector researching changes in human resource supply and OHS management, in particular moving from contracted labour to hiring in‐house. This case provides an insight into how a change in staffing hiring arrangements, together with specific safety initiatives, has a positive impact on safety performance.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse human resource supply chains and the responsibility of occupational health and safety (OHS) management using Australian evidence from two…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse human resource supply chains and the responsibility of occupational health and safety (OHS) management using Australian evidence from two unrelated research studies in the resources sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on additional findings from the research projects using qualitative case study methodologies. The paper draws on interviews with the underground mining manager in study 1 and the OHS manager in study 2, together with current literature on supply chains and OHS responsibility in Australia.
Findings
The paper uses examples drawn from two research studies conducted in the resources sector in 2011 to present the notion that there has been a shift in responsibility and management of OHS from the top of the supply chain to the bottom.
Research limitations/implications
The paper draws on two unrelated studies that investigated different issues in OHS management. There is a need to undertake specific research to confirm the argument that suggests that the OHS management systems are improving for the bottom of the human resources supply chain in the resources sector.
Practical implications
Findings suggest that in the middle tier resources sector the bottom of the human resources supply chains have robust OHS management systems and induction training, contrary to the weakening of OHS management in typical supply chains in other sectors.
Originality/value
Unlike manufacturing, healthcare, the public sector and transport, there is little research conducted in the resources sector researching supply chains and OHS management. This paper provides limited evidence of a differing picture in the resources sector than other industries; however, it argues that further studies should be conducted.
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Susanne Bahn, Michelle Greenwood and Harry J. Van Buren
Purpose – This chapter presents a preliminary conceptualisation of the effects that unequal power relationships have on the integrity of social science research and the safety of…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter presents a preliminary conceptualisation of the effects that unequal power relationships have on the integrity of social science research and the safety of researchers.Methodology/approach – We begin by presenting a review of the current literature on risk to research outputs and researcher safety. In this review, we offer a conceptual framework of the factors of safety and autonomy of researchers developed in conjunction with extent stakeholder theory scholarship.Findings – We argue that, in the event of a threat to researchers’ autonomy while complying with university ethics committee requirements, or when faced with uneven power differentials between the researcher and various stakeholders, one of two actions may occur: (1) the researcher may alter the project in order to comply or (2) the researcher may feel so compromised that the research project is abandoned. In both of these instances, research that addresses power/structural inequalities is avoided. In the event of a threat to the researcher’s physical and emotional safety, three actions can result if the researcher is harmed: (1) the incident may not be reported, which in turn may result in further harm to the researcher; (2) counselling may be undertaken to resolve and debrief emotional stress; or (3) a worker’s compensation claim may be lodged.Social implications – As academics, research is the core business of the organisations of which we are members. The issues introduced and discussed in this chapter are serious; however, our conceptualisation requires further research. We outline why this set of issues is significant and deserving of more study than it has previously received.Originality/value of chapter – Previous research that links research in the area of protection for researchers and research autonomy is very limited in Australia, and therefore our conceptualisation provides value to the research agenda on this topic. We also propose that the issue of researcher safety and autonomy is common to most academic environments and merits further academic study.
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Llandis Barratt‐Pugh, Susanne Bahn and Elsie Gakere
The purpose of this paper is to explore the merger of two large State departments and the cultural change program orchestrated by the Human Resources (HR) department. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the merger of two large State departments and the cultural change program orchestrated by the Human Resources (HR) department. This study reveals the instrumental role played by some managers who accelerated the cultural change process through utilising formal and informal agencies of change in their management roles.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper explores a two‐year investigation of a major State organisation trying to reshape the culture and values of the organisation after a politically determined merger. This paper reviews the context for this change process, the associated concepts from the literature, and adapts Gidden's Structuration Theory to provide a model of manager action during the change process that may also be used to explore subsequent change practices.
Findings
The findings from the sequenced phases of data collection provide new evidence from a strategic HR perspective of the multiple ways managers act to embed a culture change for the emerging organisation.
Practical implications
The subsequent discussion centres on the diverse roles played by managers in the new disjointed and often dysfunctional culture to develop unified cultural change with their staff, with the change process being modelled in terms of Structuration Theory.
Originality/value
The paper uses the findings from an empirical study to indicate the agencies of change that managers can employ during organisational change processes. By doing so it provides both a pragmatic model for managers of change and through the typology of manager agencies of change makes an addition to the existing theoretical frameworks of change management.
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Professor Slawomir Magala is a full professor of Cross-Management at the Department of Organization and Personnel Management in Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus…
Abstract
Purpose
Professor Slawomir Magala is a full professor of Cross-Management at the Department of Organization and Personnel Management in Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University (RSM, 2015). His education stems from Poland, Germany and the USA, and has taught and conducted research in China, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Estonia, the United Kingdom and Namibia. He is a former Chair for Cross-Cultural Management at RSM and has achieved many things, from being editor-in-chief of the Journal of Organizational Change Management (JOCM), to receiving the Erasmus Research Institute in Management (ERIM) Book Award (2010), for The Management of Meaning in Organizations (Routledge, 2009). It has received honors for being the best book in one of the domains of management research. It was selected by an academic committee, consisting of the Scientific Directors of CentER (Tilburg University), METEOR (University of Maastricht) and SOM (University of Groningen). All these research schools are accredited by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a review of Professor Slawomir Magala’s contributions as editor of Journal of Organizational Change Management.
Findings
Slawomir (Slawek) Magala will be known for many contributions to social, organizational, managerial research, and it will be remembered that he has created a great legacy in the field of cross-cultural competence and communication on processes of sense making in professional bureaucracies. He has authored and co-authored many publications including articles, books, professional publications, book contributions and other outputs, and is an established professor of cross-cultural management at the Department of Organization and Personnel Management in RSM, Erasmus University. He will be known for his work as editor of Qualitative Sociology Review, and one of the founding members of the Association for Cross-Cultural Competence in Management, not to mention the Journal of Organizational Change Management. Many of his articles have appeared regularly in leading refereed journals, such as the European Journal of International Management, Public Policy, Critical Perspectives on International Business and Human Resources Development International. His greatest legacy is in the field of cross-cultural management, but branches out to many other management studies.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to his work in capacity of editor of Journal of Organizational Change Management.
Practical implications
This review provides a guide for positive role model of an excellent editorship of a journal.
Social implications
Magala’s legacy acknowledges this research and its power to create numerous papers and attract a lot of attention (Flory and Magala, 2014). Because of these conferences, these empirical findings have led to disseminating the conference findings with JOCM (Flory and Magala, 2014). According to them, narrative research has become a respectable research method, but they also feel that it is still burdened with a lot of controversies on with difficulties linked to applying it across different disciplines (Flory and Magala, 2014).
Originality/value
The review covers the creative accomplishment of Professor Magala as editor.
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The 19th annual Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (AAPAE) conference was held at St. John's College at the University of Queensland, 28 June–1 July 2012…
Abstract
The 19th annual Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (AAPAE) conference was held at St. John's College at the University of Queensland, 28 June–1 July 2012, and was hosted by Rev. Professor John Morgan. This was the third time that John Morgan hosted an AAPAE conference. The Association is very grateful for his support.