Awareness_and_Understanding_of_the_Target_Audience

AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE. There will be many considerations to deliberate at our meeting next week. I have attached a bubble diagram where I have attempted to identify the important factors in promoting a positive health & safety culture. I think that the two most important subjects are the influencing of human behaviour and effecting cultural change. My personal opinion is that we will need to consider and understand our target audience. This aspect is probably the most difficult of all as there are many employers and employees; all of whom have differing leadership / management styles, and cultures, etc. Not wanting to re-invent the wheel or even patronise anyone, I have added some notes below as food for thought prior to our meeting. It is not my intention to offend but only to add my thoughts on the forthcoming meeting and subject matter. If you have the time please read on. Organisational Factors Jobs are allocated, and individuals perform their tasks, within the context of the organisation. The organisation itself is, therefore, an important factor in conditioning the behaviour of individuals and groups at the workplace. The two key elements in this are the management of the organisation and its culture. • The style of management dictates the way in which people work — the priorities which are seen as important (speed, quality, working safely, etc.), the type of controls operated and the degree of individual responsibility allowed, the way in which people are motivated, the support offered to individuals through instruction and training, etc. • The organisation's culture sets the tone for the individual and group behaviour — the priorities which they see as important, the involvement and attachment people have to the organisation, their ability to influence its operations, etc. Both these factors are central to health and safety. Both management and the culture should promote employee involvement and commitment at all levels, emphasising that deviation from established health and safety standards is not acceptable. Attitude, Aptitude and. Motivation These three factors are the main elements which determine how individuals perform. Attitudes An attitude is a person's point of view or way of looking at something, and gives him or her a tendency, readiness or predisposition to act or react in a particular way in a given situation. We are not born with attitudes — rather, they are learned. They come from our personal reaction to information and events, which gives us our beliefs and feelings about a particular subject. Many are formed when we are very young and some — particularly feelings — are so strong that they stay with us and affect us for the rest our lives. The formation of attitudes is strongly affected by those around us and the conditions or situations in which we find ourselves. The range of influences is complex, but it includes the following: • The groups to which we belong — most notably, in early life, the family, but also friendship groups, work groups, etc. • Education. • Life experiences — particularly the most profound personal ones such as bereavement, etc., but also those experiences which we observe (say, on TV) or read about. We are aware, too, that our attitudes change over time as a result of the influence of the above factors. For example, it is very often the case that young people have more liberal attitudes than older people, but as they enter work and acquire family and financial commitments and responsibilities, they tend to become more "conservative". Whilst attitudes do not necessarily condition behaviour, they are a significant determinant of it. Management will, then, want to ensure that attitudes are positive towards the key objectives in the workplace, including health and safety. However, they can be deep-seated and difficult to change — for example, older workers are often reluctant to accept change on the basis that "it has always been done this way" and new working patterns and practices represent a challenge to their accepted attitudes towards their work. The most successful methods of achieving attitude change in adults have been those that involve a relatively high degree of involvement by the individuals concerned in some form of small group decision-making process. This process not only provides an opportunity to explore and assess new attitudes, but also allows individuals to test them out among others. This may lead to a (public) commitment to attitudes which strengthens the intention to produce changed behaviour. Being part of a group may also reduce fear of attitude change, especially if other members of the group will be similarly affected. Other methods of attempting to change attitudes and behaviour might include the use of threats and (monetary) rewards. These may well change behaviour, but they are less likely to alter attitudes and beliefs. The use of threats, particularly, may result in apparent changes — "yielding" to the new expectations — rather than a commitment to the new beliefs. In the short term, a manager may get the behaviour wanted, but it is unlikely to last. Aptitude Aptitude refers to an individual's ability in respect of something — their knowledge and skills, and general ease of learning and understanding, about it. People have different aptitudes. For example, some people have an aptitude for using computers or for manipulating numbers or for using words effectively, whilst others do not seem to have these abilities. Whilst it is undoubtedly possible for everyone to learn them, it appears that it comes easier to some more than others. Aptitude testing is used extensively to determine the suitability of individuals for particular types of job and, whilst this may exclude some who may be perfectly able to learn the necessary knowledge and skills, it is a useful indicator for helping to fit individuals into the most appropriate jobs. Motivation Motivation is what induces an individual to act the way he or she does. It is a tendency of an individual to take action to achieve a particular goal. The question of what motivates workers to perform has been the subject of a great deal of research and there a number of theories — for example: The hierarchy of needs, People have a number of different needs arranged in a hierarchy and, as each is satisfied, the need to satisfy the next level up becomes the motivating factor. The Identification of motivating factors Recognition, responsibility, achievement, advancement, the work itself; which, when present, increases satisfaction from work and provides motivation towards superior effort and performance. These are distinct from other factors (which he termed "hygiene" factors) which increase dissatisfaction when absent, but when present do not result in positive satisfaction and motivation. These include type of supervision, salary/wages, working conditions, company policies, rules, etc. Expectancy theory, which deals with the complex relationship between the expected outcomes from a particular course of action, the desirability of that outcome and the effort required to be put in order to achieve the outcome. There is, then, no simple answer to what motivates people. As individuals, we are all motivated by different things. In general, it is thought that these go beyond simple punishment and reward, although these may still feature, and that material rewards are not wholly effective as motivators. Far more important are such factors as the opportunity for power, pleasant working conditions, satisfaction in a job well done, good social relationships and a feeling of belonging. However, motivation is affected by the job involved, the circumstances at any one time, and the individuals involved. In terms of health and safety, we can see this by considering the motivation of a person to wear personal protection equipment (PPE) at all times. This may be by being aware of the positive benefits of avoiding injury or the fear of disciplinary action. However, it is more likely to be done if he earns recognition from others for doing so (or avoids criticism for not doing so). Again, I have only produced this to aid our thought processes when we sit around the table next week. I look forward to meeting all of you.