The Importance of a Safe and Healthy Work Environment
The only factor that has been essential to the success of every firm has been a safe and healthy work environment. The employer has a duty to make sure that everyone working there is in a secure and healthy environment. Every organization has a distinctive system all its own. This indicates that it represents its distinct business practices and the manner it oversees the workers' health and safety. There are numerous ideas that are connected to workplace safety and health management. This paper will compare and contrast the concepts of micro and macro thinking as they relate to the safety and health management in the workplace, and show which of the two aligns more to the safety management systems approach, with reasons (Taylor, 2005).
Micro Thinking: Interaction within the Workplace
The concept of micro thinking refers to how groups and employees interact in the workplace within an organization. According to Taylor (2005), the three major players of micro thinking include communication in the workplace, organizational culture and employee morale. To create a strong and high-performing workplace, a leader can employ a variety of approaches. In this scenario, there is effective communication among employees and managers to employees. This will create a positive atmosphere where employees can easily understand their roles, goals and tasks they are required to meet. The concept of micro thinking is more in alignment with the safety management systems approach since it fosters the workplace atmosphere thereby ascertaining the success of the business (Taylor, 2005).
Macro Thinking: Impact on the Larger Environment
The concept of macro thinking has more to deal with the way an organization impacts the larger environment, and possibly the marketplace. The micro thinking concept derives from the micro thinking since the factors in the micro environment such as the corporate culture. For instance, a positive and high-performing workplace will mean that customers will receive high-quality services or products. The concept of macro thinking also focuses on the strengths and weaknesses that an organization has while operating in the market in comparison with the competitors. This concept is less in alignment with the safety management systems approach since it does not give much weight to line management responsibilities, health and safety in a company, ill health prevention program among others (Taylor, 2005).
Reference
Taylor, B. (2005). Effective Environmental, Health, and Safety Management Using the Team
Approach. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley-Interscience.
