Your firm manufactures pesticides for farmers. Your co-worker has noticed multip

Question

Your firm manufactures pesticides for farmers. Your co-worker has noticed multiple times that the boss habitually violates safety protocols while using a particularly noxious pesticide. The boss is careless handling the pesticide container and keeps leaving the open container around. When left open for too long, the pesticide releases vapors that cause dizziness and nausea. When the co-worker brings this to the boss's attention, the boss becomes very defensive and threatens the co-worker with job termination if he does not keep quiet. His argument is that leaving the bottle open has never affected him adversely and so he feels it is not an issue at all. In reality however, the boss's negligent behavior is a direct violation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines and safety measures. To make matters worse, the boss enters in the daily safety sheet that "the product has been handled by him with care."

Removing yourself from the scenario, take an objective look at a person in a similar situation. Identify the areas in which the person would commit mistakes in decision-making in this scenario. Describe the effects of these mistakes.

Explanation / Answer

In this scenario, the boss is making mistakes in decision-making by ignoring the safety guidelines out of habit. There are several areas in which the person would commit mistakes in decision-making in this scenario. Some of them are non-compliance to occupational safety and health guidelines; not heeding the advice of the co-workers; being defensive about the issue, rather than acknowledging the severity of it; threatening the co-worker with job termination if he does not keep quiet; failing to realize the adverse effect of such decisions on oneself.

The effect of the mistakes such as ignoring the OSHA guidelines is health issues causing dizziness and nausea to other co-workers and the person himself. The effect of not heeding the advice of co-workers and also threatening them with job termination is that the co-workers will be discouraged to bring up the matter to attention; the other effect of threatening them with job termination is insecurity of losing the job among the co-workers. This may also lead to dissatisfaction; demotivation and the co-workers may also start violating the OSHA guidelines by themselves.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse Y
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.