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Department of Business

HROB 3030

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY Winter 2013

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 4:30 - 5:20 p.m.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Instructor: Rhonda Gordon Office: J.D. MacLachlan Building, Room 205 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: By appointment Secretary: Helen Sherwood, Room 202

J.D. MacLachlan Building, Ext. 52672

mailto:[email protected]

Course Description and Objectives:

Occupational health and safety is an essential part of organizational success and an important element of

an organization’s responsibility towards its human resource capital and other key organizational

stakeholders. The management of occupational health and safety issues and initiatives is an integral part

of organizational performance. This course takes a balanced approach to the management of occupational

health and safety in a business environment including a focus on the employee, employer and government

roles.

Human resources professionals are expected to take a leadership role in ensuring occupational health and

safety is integrated into organization’s operations. This course will introduce potential Human Resources

Managers to the increasingly important role of organizational and employee responsibility for

occupational health and safety.

The main objective of the course is to create a knowledge base in Occupational Health and Safety from

which students can develop management and organizational competence. This course has been designed

primarily to enhance student knowledge of management issues regarding Occupational Health and Safety

issues, practices and processes in Canada, with a focus on Ontario. This course will also provide the

students the opportunity to explore the role of corporate social responsibility and reputation in the

strategic management of occupational health and safety.

A) Why and Who? An Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety Management

• Describe relevant legislative framework and regulations.

• Identify key stakeholders and explore their role in health and safety issues.

• Discuss the role of health and safety in employee relationship management and retention.

• Discuss the strategic importance of occupational health and safety management to the

organization.

B) How? Managing Occupational Health and Safety Management

i. Knowledge related learning objectives

• Describe duties, responsibilities, and rights of employers and workers.

• Describe key legal, regulatory, organizational, management, and employee issues in

occupational health and safety including:

Occupational Health and Safety legislation and implementation

Workers compensation claims management and reporting

Organizational processes including workplace accident investigation, occupational

health and safety training, identifying sources of hazards, assessment and prevention,

and crisis and emergency management

Health, wellness, and employee assistance programs

ii. Skill related learning objectives

• Analyze common workplace environments to identify physical, chemical, biological,

and psychosocial hazards.

• Describe and assess prevention training strategies associated with

physical/chemical/biological hazards, psychosocial hazards, and stress mitigation.

• Perform basic health and safety policy auditing and development.

• Evaluate best practices associated with the use of safety teams and safety committees.

iii. Attitude related learning objectives

• Discuss the role of ethics in occupational health and safety policy development and

maintenance.

Course Materials and Resources:

This course uses a variety of materials and resources. One of your primary resources will be the course

website (http://courselink.uoguelph.ca). All announcements, required and recommended readings,

assignments and updates will be posted here. You will also be able to access any handouts you may have

missed through this site. Check this site often.

1. Kelloway, E.K. and Francis, L. (2011). Management of Occupational Health and Safety, Fifth

Edition. Nelson Thompson

2. Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario and Industrial Regulations

On-Line Communication:

� I will be communicating with you via your central email account <uoguelph.ca> from time to

time. You are required to check this account on a regular basis. Please be advised that I cannot

edit my mailing list to your hotmail/yahoo etc. account.

� All student e-mails will be responded to as quickly as possible. If you don’t hear back from me, please

re-send your email (it likely means that I didn’t receive it).

Course Philosophy and Approach:

My goal is to create a learning environment where students can interact with the instructor, each other,

and course material to explore and discuss management and organizational related issues to generate ideas

and solutions. To encourage this, I will provide questions to generate discussion and you will be expected

to participate in these discussions. Classroom learning will also include exercises and activities. I believe

that learning occurs when there is creation of value and when there is a need to ask questions that

challenge our assumptions. I expect students to engage in the learning of course material through critical

analysis and use multiple perspectives in their exploration of the course topics and issues.

The course is based on an active 12-week semester. In my view the most effective and efficient use of

classroom time aims at reinforcing or clarifying what the student has tried to learn on an individual basis

before entering the classroom. For this reason, it will be assumed that the student has carefully read the

assigned material PRIOR to the class.

In this course, some of your time will be spent in group interaction. This enables you to share ideas and to

improve communication skills. Through interaction, you will discover for yourself the meaning of

concepts, the subtleties inherent in everyday business situations, and the rationales for various solutions to

managerial problems. To achieve effective interaction, I have three expectations:

1. Attendance.

Because interaction is central, and also because your fellow group members will be relying

on you for ideas, I expect you to attend every class. Valid reasons for absence include serious

illness and family emergencies. Studying for exams and completing assignments are not valid

reasons to miss class.

2. Preparation.

You are expected to read assigned material in advance and to be fully prepared for class

discussion. You may be called upon to begin the class and to contribute to discussion at any

time. Unsupported opinion will not substitute for informed discussion.

3. Contribution.

This course is highly interactive and you will be asked to participate in class activities and

exercises which may include debates, role plays, case studies and presentations. To enhance

learning and application, students are expected to go beyond the course material and integrate

knowledge from events in the media, readings and otherrelated and relevant resources.

Course Evaluation:

Group Presentation (proposal worth 5%; presentation worth 25%) 30%

Midterm Examination (in-class) 25%

Final Examination (take home) 20%

In-Class Group Exercises 25%

1. Group Article Presentation (30%)

Presentation:

30 minutes.

Creativity is encouraged and rewarded!

Over the course of the semester, your group will be required to present to the class a current event (as

portrayed by a news article) that is relevant to the current weeks’ material or material that has been

covered already during the course.

The event (article) must have occurred within six months from the time of presenting.

The article must be projected/sourced for the class to reference.

You must quote all of your sources in APA formatting.

In the presentation, answer the following 3 broad questions:

1. What is the current event and how is it relevant to the material in the course?

2. How has it helped you understand the course material in a better or deeper manner?

3. How could this current event be relevant to you and your classmates when you graduate and enter

the working world? Why?

Evaluation of Presentation:

1. Relevance to course

2. Relevance to students

3. Degree of audience participation

4. Creativity

Scheduling:

Scheduling of presentations will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis. A sign-up sheet will be

available during the first few classes. It is imperative that each group schedules their presentation no later

than January 31st. Almost every week, articles and situations relevant to the course can be found in the

media. All articles must be approved by the instructor prior to being presented to the class.

Proposal:

A proposal outlining your choice of article and a brief description of the content that your presentation

will cover is due in class on March 4th. This will allow the Instructor time to ensure that no groups are

presenting the same article, as well as to ensure that groups are on track regarding the content of their

presentation. Proposals will be worth 5% of your overall grade.

Groups:

Working in groups is part of our everyday lives. Doing so competently is a skill that will help each of

you throughout your career. It is imperative that groups find a way to work together. Each group

member is expected to contribute in equal measure throughout the group presentation (preparation and

presentation). It is expected that groups will find a way to make this happen. You will be working in

groups of approximately 6 – this could be cause for some group dysfunction. It is imperative that you are

aware of this and work to ensure that your group works positively together. If you are experiencing any

group dysfunction it is expected that you seek the assistance of the Instructor well before your

presentation date so that any issues can be resolved prior to your presentation date.

2. Midterm Examination (25%)

The midterm examination will be based on multiple choice, and short and long-answer questions.

3. Final Examination (take home) (20%)

The final examination will be based on multiple choice, and short- and long-answer questions.

4. In-Class Group Exercises (25%)

Several in-class group exercises will be completed in class. These will be done on a random basis

(this means that you will not know in advance when these in-class group exercises will occur). If

you are going to miss a class due to illness (proven with a doctors’ note) or due to a school-

related reason (ie. university sanctioned event), you must email the Instructor PRIOR to class in

order to be credited with any missed in-class group exercise marks for that class.

CLASS SCHEDULE

January 7th

Week 1 Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety

Discussion: Course Outline

Importance of the field and its stakeholders

Readings: Montgomery & Kelloway, Chapter 1

Movie: Launching a Safe Start

Cases: Production or safety? (text, page 21)

Do we need health and safety? (text, page 21)

January 14th

Legislative Framework

Week 2 Discussion: Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario

Cases: Workplace Tragedy (text, page 49)

Work Refusal at General Hospital (text, page 49)

Readings: Montgomery & Kelloway, Chapter 2, p. 23-33

Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario

Industrial Regulations

WHMIS

Discussion: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

Movie: WHMIS movie + quiz (not marked – learning purposes only)

Readings: Montgomery & Kelloway, Chapter 2, p. 33-44

Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System

January 21st Worker’s Compensation

Week 3 Discussion: Workers’ Compensation

Cases: The Employers’ Duty (text, page 75)

A Stressful Job (text, page 75)


Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, Ontario.

Hazard Recognition, Assessment and Control

Discussion:

Cases: Industrial Hazard Assessment (text, page 117)

Danger in the Grocery Store (text, page 117)


January 28th

Physical Agents

Week 4 Discussion: Physical Agents

Cases: Monty’s Problem (text, page 101)

Expensive Jewelry (text, page 102)


Chemical and Biological Agents

Discussion: Chemical and Biological Agents

Cases: Mass Hysteria (text, page 164)

Unexpected Gas (text, page 164)


February 4th

Psychosocial Hazards

Week 5 Discussion:

Cases: A Stressful Job (text, page 164)

Violence on the Job (text, page 165)


Midterm Review: Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Movie: Things You Need To Know

February 11th

Midterm Exam (in class)

Week 6

February 18th

READING WEEK – No Class

February 25th

Workplace Violence

Week 7 Discussion:

Cases: Harassment or Not? (text, page 215)

Health Care Risks (text, page 15)


Training

Discussion:

Cases: The New HR Manager at A1 Manufacturing (text, page 247)

A Young Worker’s Quandary (text, page 247)


March 4th

Motivation

Week 8 Discussion:

Cases: Noncompliance with Safety Standards (text, page 273)

Safety in the Bakery (text, page 273)

Working to Change Safety (text, page 273)


Emergency Planning

Discussion:

Cases: Biological Terrorism (text, page 295)


March 11th

Incident Investigation

Week 9 Discussion:

Cases: Incident Investigation (text, page 322 - 323)

Office Incident (text, page 323)


Disability Management and Return to Work

Discussion:

Cases:


March 18th

Workplace Wellness

Week 10 Discussion:

Cases: Mandatory Aerobics (text, page 376)

Evaluating the Benefits of WHPs (text, page 376)

Job Sharing in a Telecommunications Firm (text, page 377)


GROUP #1 PRESENTATION




March 25th


Week 11 GROUP #6 PRESENTATION



Distribute Final Exam (take home)

April 1st GROUP #9 PRESENATION

Week 12 GROUP #10 PRESENTATION



Final Exam Due

Note: The schedule of learning activities may require modification from time to time. Any changes will

be announced in class and/or on the Courselink site.

Method and Timing of Evaluation:

Your performance will be evaluated based on the following:

Grading

Reports will be marked and returned to students within two weeks of the due date by way of the course

website. Grades will be posted on the course website for all work completed within a maximum of two

weeks after the report due date. I will be available to discuss your reports after you have reviewed your

graded report. If you would like to discuss your report, please email me a bullet point list of issues you

would like to discuss so we can have a comprehensive and focused conversation.

• All course grading will adhere to the University grading resolutions that outline its standards for

determining and assigning grades. The text for all 11 grading resolutions, as approved by Senate, appears

in the current Undergraduate Calendar in Section VIII, by clicking on “Grades” , then “Grading

Procedures” headings

http://www.uoguelph.ca/undergrad_calendar/c08/c08-grds-proc.shtml

o 80 - 100 (A) Excellent. An outstanding performance in which the student demonstrates a superior grasp

of the subject matter, and an ability to go beyond the given material in a critical and constructive manner.

The student demonstrates a high degree of creative and/or logical thinking, a superior ability to organize,

to analyze, and to integrate ideas, and a thorough familiarity with the appropriate literature and

techniques.

o 70 - 79 (B) Good. A more than adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a thorough

grasp of the subject matter, and an ability to organize and examine the material in a critical and

constructive manner. The student demonstrates a good understanding of the relevant issues and a

familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

o 60 - 69 (C) Acceptable. An adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a generally

adequate grasp of the subject matter and a moderate ability to examine the material in a critical and

constructive manner. The student displays an adequate understanding of the relevant issues, and a general

familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

o 50 - 59 (D) Minimally Acceptable. A barely adequate performance in which the student demonstrates a

familiarity with the subject matter, but whose attempts to examine the material in a critical and

constructive manner are only partially successful. The student displays some understanding of the

relevant issues, and some familiarity with the appropriate literature and techniques.

o 0 - 49 (F) Fail. An inadequate performance.

Final Exam

The final exam will cover all course material (e.g., textbook, lectures, and in-class material such as

videos). Please note that, although the lectures will focus only on certain key topics in each chapter, you

will be responsible for all material presented in the assigned chapters. In other words, even though a

particular topic covered in the textbook was not discussed in class, you may still be tested on it. The

format of the exam will be a mix of applied multiple choice questions and applied short answer/long

answer questions.

If you are registered with the Centre for Students with Disabilities and will require some form of

accommodation in the completion of the required learning activities for this course, please meet with me

during the first week of classes.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/undergrad_calendar/c08/c08-grds-proc.shtml

Policies and Regulations

All students are expected to abide by the University’s academic regulations in the completion of their

academic work, as set out in the undergraduate calendar (see

http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/index.shtml). Some regulations are

highlighted below:

Academic Misconduct:

The University of Guelph is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and

directs all members of the University community – faculty, staff and students – to be aware of what

constitutes academic misconduct and to do as much as possible to prevent academic offences from

occurring. The University of Guelph takes a serious view of academic misconduct and it is your

responsibility as a student to be aware of and to abide by the University’s policy. Included in the

definition of academic misconduct are such activities as cheating on examinations, plagiarism,

misrepresentation, and submitting the same material in two different courses without written permission.

To better understand your responsibilities, read the Undergraduate Calendar at:

http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-amisconduct.shtml You are

also advised to make use of the resources available through the Learning Commons

(http://www.learningcommons.uoguelph.ca/) and to discuss any questions you may have with your course

instructor, teaching assistant, Academic Advisor or Academic Counselor.

Students should be aware that faculty have the right to use software to aid in the detection of plagiarism

or copying and to examine students orally on submitted work. For students found guilty of academic

misconduct, serious penalties, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the University can be

imposed.

Academic Consideration:

Students who find themselves unable to meet course requirements by the deadline or criteria expected

because of medical, psychological or compassionate circumstances beyond their control, should review

the regulations on Academic Consideration in the Undergraduate Calendar

(http://www.uoguelph.ca/undergrad_calendar/c08/c08-ac.shtml) and discuss their situation with the

instructor, Program Counsellor or Academic Advisor as appropriate.

Religious Holidays:

Should a student need to miss scheduled tests, mid-term examinations, final examinations, or

requirements to attend classes and participate in laboratories for religious reasons, please advise the

instructor within two weeks of the distribution of this course outline so that alternate arrangements can be

made. For further information see

http://www.uoguelph.ca/registrar/calendars/undergraduate/current/c08/c08-accomrelig.shtml

Code of Conduct – The Top Ten

As a student in the Department of Business, College of Management and Economics at the University of

Guelph, you are a member of a scholarly community committed to improving the effectiveness of people

and organizations, and the societies in which they reside, through groundbreaking and engaging

scholarship and pedagogy. We seek to promote a comprehensive, critical and strategic understanding of

organizations, including the complex interrelationship between leadership, systems (financial and human)

and the broader social and political context. And, we prepare graduates for leadership roles in which

organizational objectives, self-awareness, social responsibility and sustainability are primary

considerations.

In keeping with this commitment, we expect all of our students (indeed – all members of our community)

to act in a professional and respectful manner to fellow students, staff and faculty, as well as to members

of the broader university and local community. This expectation is very much in keeping with your

preparation for a professional career.

The following conduct is expected of all of our students:

1. Come to class prepared to learn and actively participate (having completed assigned readings, learning

activities etc.).

2. Approach your academic work with integrity (avoid all forms of academic misconduct).

3. Arrive on time and stay for the entire class. If you happen to be late, enter the classroom as quietly as

possible. At the end of class, apologize to the faculty member for the interruption. If you have to leave

class early, alert the faculty member in advance.

4. If you know in advance that you are going to miss a class, send an email to the faculty member letting

him/her know that you will be absent, with a brief explanation.

5. While in class, refrain from using any written material (e.g., newspaper) or technology (e.g., the

Internet, computer games, cell phone) that is not relevant to the learning activities of that class.

Turn off your cell phone at the start of each class.

6. Listen attentively and respectfully to the points of view of your peers and the faculty member.

Don’t talk while others have the floor.

7. Raise your hand when you wish to contribute and wait to be called upon. Challenge others

appropriately, drawing on reason and research rather than unsubstantiated opinion, anecdote and/or

emotion. Keep an open mind and be prepared to have your point of view challenged.

8. When sending emails to faculty, apply principles of business writing; use a professional and respectful

style (use a formal salutation, check for spelling and grammatical errors, and avoid slang and colloquial

short forms).

9. When making a presentation, wear business dress.

10. Provide thoughtful feedback at the completion of all courses (we are committed to continuous

improvement but need your input to help us decide what to focus on

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