5. Ethical and Social Responsible Management of Operations?

Question 1

1. Ethical and Social Responsible Management of Operations?

Answer 1

The continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to economic development, while at the same time improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large.

Social responsibility considerations include:
• Waste minimisation schemes.
• Reduction of carbon emissions.
• Provision of enhanced quality of life for employees through provision of safe working environments that respect employee rights.
• Taking responsibility for the environmental, social and economic impact of the organisation’s activities.

Question 2

Typical ESM issues in the input element of operations?

Answer 2

• Procurement (supply) of inputs from ethical and socially responsible suppliers.
• Fair dealing with suppliers

• Environmentally sustainable inputs—The most environmentally aware organisations attempt to implement the three R’s of:
■ reduce—cut back use
■ re-use—get the most from inputs
■ recycle—convert waste.

Energy as an input The amount of energy, particularly electricity, used in production is an important issue for environmentally aware organisations.

Staff-friendly facilities and technology

Question 3

Typical ESM issues in the process element of operations?

Answer 3

Use of labour– Most businesses face competitive pressures that translate into greater demands on staff for productivity improvements. In pursuit of productivity, management should apply modern human resource techniques and certainly not old-fashioned intimidation or ‘sweat shop’ pressure.

Occupational health and safety

Respect for the exclusive rights of other parties

Disposal of waste materials

Customer relations—In service industries the operations process is close to the customer. Service delivery should aim at quality service for all customers; all customers should receive equitable treatment from the organisation.

Question 4

Typical ESM issues in the output element of operations?

Answer 4

Benefit to society—The output of an operations process should be of benefit to society.

Product safety and customer health—Products should not present any threat to the safety or health of consumers.

Product reliability—Products should always be of reliable quality.

Sensitivity to community—On rare occasions, goods or services are produced that can be offensive to groups in our multicultural community.

Product marketing—The output of operations should be marketed honestly.

Question 5

2. Environmental Management Systems (EMS)?

Answer 5

Series of policies and practices that focuses on an organisation’s approach to environmental issues.

1.
What it will affect:
A) How well the organisation will meet its ethical obligations in regard to its effect on both the natural and social environments.

B)The efficiency of the organisational operations systems. Environmentally friendly practices and processes usually involving reduction of waste and cleaner production processes that use fewer inputs.

2.
The ISO has standards relating to EMS. These operate like other quality assurance standards, with organisations applying for certification in environmental management.

For ISO accreditation an organisation must demonstrate an EMS which:
• Involves participation by the whole organisation.
• Targets all stakeholders.
• Has identified all of the environmental impacts of the organisation.
• Demonstrates proactive policies in their implementation, organisational commitment, vision, processes and procedures.