Sustaining Harmony in Workplace: The New frontiers

Dr. Elijah EzenduFIMC, FCCM, FIIAN, FBDI, FAAFM, FSSM, MIMIS, MIAP, MITD, ACIArb, ACIPM,

PhD, DocM, MBA, CWM, CBDA, CMA, MPM, PME, CSOL, CCIP, CMC, CMgr

In view of ensuring a balanced and sustainable growth (inclusive growth) for business survival and competitiveness, the setting up of an effective mechanism towards ensuring speed and reliability in settling disputes is one of the primordial concerns of new governance. Labor-management partnership and cooperation is now being promoted in setting up of an effective workplace dispute resolution or effective grievance machinery (GM) at the workplace for speedy resolution of issues and conflicts.

Source: Celia Viernes-Cabadonga, Towards Attaining Harmony at the Workplace.

New Frontiers for Sustaining Harmony in Workplace

• International Standards Implementation• Ethical Compliance• Online ADR• Social Experimentation• Participatory Leadership• Connective Heuristics in Workplace

Examples of International Standards Implementation for Workplace Harmony

• International Labour Standards of International Labour Organisation

• SA8000• Guide to Human Rights Impact

Assessment and Management

International Labour Standards of International Labour Organisation

Since 1919, the International Labour Organization has maintained and developed a system of international labour standards aimed at promoting opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity. In today's globalized economy, international labour standards are an essential component in the international framework for ensuring that the growth of the global economy provides benefits to all.

Source: International Labour Organisation

SA8000SAI works to protect the integrity of workers around the world by building local capacity and developing systems of accountability through socially responsible standards. SAI established one of the world's preeminent social standards—the SA8000®standard for decent work, a tool for implementing international labor standards that is being used in over 3,000 factories, across 66 countries and 65 industrial sectors. Many more workplaces are involved in programs using SA8000 and SAI programs as guides for improvement.

SAAS-accredited independent certification bodies certify facilities that conform to the requirements of SA8000. SA8000, created in 1997 by Social Accountability International, is an international standardized code of conduct for improving working conditions around the world. Based on the principles of thirteen international human rights conventions and developed through a multi-stakeholder process, SA8000 is a tool to help apply these norms to practical work-life situations. SA8000 contains eight core elements including health and safety, working hours, child labor, forced labor, discrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages, and discipline.

Sources: Social Accountability International & Social Accountability Accreditation Services

Guide to Human Rights Impact Assessment and Management

This tool is the result of collaboration between the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), in association with the United Nations Global Compact. It is designed to be a practical tool that enables companies to identify, understand, and evaluate actual or potential human rights impacts of a project at each stage of development and operations. This approach links human rights assessment to existing management processes.The Guide can help companies as:•A risk-management tool to understand, anticipate, and manage a project's potential human rights impacts.•An engagement tool providing a framework to engage stakeholders in a structured discussion about human rights issues related to a project.•A decision-making tool creating a complete picture to facilitate decisions about project design and management of human rights issues

Source: International Finance Corporation

Legal Compliance versus Ethical Compliance

Organizations tend to choose between legal compliance and ethical compliance mentality. Legal compliance mentality focuses on observance of laws pertaining to health and safety, environmental protection, bribery and corruption, taxation, consumers, corporate governance, workers and human rights.Ethical Compliance mentality directs proactive activities towards furthering sustainable development while acting in pursuit of business excellence

Ethical Compliance as Harmony Driver

The practice of ethical compliance in an organization promotes continuous comprehensive assessment of all corporate philosophies and policies about employees, work, workplace, work environment, conditions of service, holistic compensation, career progression, talent development and retention, with the aim of achieving optimal resilience in corporate ethical framework, thus promoting harmony.

Corporate Code of Ethics Corporate Ethical Culture

1. Act-centered approach Agent-centered approach

2. Focus on individual Focus on individual, team and the whole organisation

3. Operational engagement hinges on acceptability or non-acceptability of individual behaviours

Operational engagement hinges on evolving character of employees and the organisation

Corporate Ethical Culture in Action

Corporate Ethical Culture boosts and aligns the Corporate Character and Aggregate Employee Characters to a Converging Point of Mutual Understanding, while preventing Ethical Deficit.

Ethical deficit occurs when the character of individuals in an organization and the corporate character are both diverging from the putative standard ethical values.

Relative Composition Mapping of Compliance Systems

Legal Compliance

Ethical Compliance via

Code of Ethics

Ethical Compliance via

Ethical Culture

Online ADR

• Online Negotiation• Online Workplace Mediation• Online Peer Review Panel• Online Corporate Ombudsperson

Social Experimentation

Social Experimentation can be used in organizations to build interlocking social bonds traversing every organizational layer, integrating people into social systems, fusing features and structures to form a common identity and impeccable accord, and yielding an effectively socialized family.

List Examples of Social Experimentation Programmes

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Participatory LeadershipIt begins with a transparent atmosphere that nurtures honest, open communication and an environment that invites employees to continue to learn and discover new things. It empowers employees by providing them with decision-making responsibility. Involvement in decision making by those who must carry out the decisions improves the understanding of the issues involved. People are more committed to actions where they have been involved in the relevant decision-making.

Source: Daina Middleton, Participatory Leadership

Participatory Engagement

Participatory Engagement involves achieving 100% employee-participation in identification of engagement components and structure as well as implementation; then using individual participatory appraisal and performance distribution indices to kindle engagement programmes towards upholding human dignity and harmony.

Source: Elijah Ezendu, Workplace Excellence

The Wings of Participatory Harmony

Source: Elijah Ezendu, Workplace Excellence

Participatory Leadership

Participatory Harmony

Participatory Engagement

Participatory Performance

Participatory Evaluation

Exploratory Wing Outcome Wing

13 Pillars of Corporate Harmony by Elijah Ezendu

Exercise

How does Participatory Evaluation influence Leadership Thrust and Participatory Harmony?……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Connective Heuristics in Workplace

This is a system of regularly combining multiple forms of experimentations, assessments and solution development across every organizational layer, team, unit, section and department in order to continuously improve standard of workplace harmony.

Exercise• Does your organization deploy connective

heuristics in the workplace for promoting and maintaining harmony?…………………………………………………………………..

• List the unique benefits of applying connective heuristics in the workplace as harmony driver.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………........................................................................................................................................................

Dr. Elijah Ezendu is Award-Winning Business Expert & Certified Management Consultant with expertise in HR, OD, Competitive Intelligence, Strategy, Restructuring, Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Interim Management, CSR, Leadership, Project & Programme Management, Cost Management, Outsourcing, Franchising, Intellectual Capital, eBusiness, Social Media, Software Architecture, Cloud Computing, eLearning & International Business. He holds proprietary rights of various systems. He is currently CEO, Rubiini (UAE); Hon. President, Worldwide Independent Inventors Association; Special Advisor, RTEAN; Director, MMNA Investments Limited. He had functioned as Chair, International Board of GCC Business Council (UAE); Senior Partner, Shevach Consulting; Chairman (Certification & Training), Coordinator (Board of Fellows), Lead Assessor & Governing Council Member, Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria; Lead Resource, Centre for Competitive Intelligence Development; Turnaround Project Director, Consolidated Business Holdings Limited; Lead Consultant/ Partner, JK Michaels; Technical Director, Gestalt; Chief Operating Officer, Rohan Group; Executive Director (Various Roles), Fortuna, Gambia & Malta; Director, The Greens; Chief Advisor/Partner, D & E; Vice Chairman, Refined Shipping; Director of Programmes & Governing Council Member, Institute of Business Development, Nigeria; Member of TDD Committee, International Association of Software Architects, USA; Member of Strategic Planning and Implementation Committee, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria; Adjunct Faculty, Regent Business School, South Africa; Adjunct Faculty, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria; Editor-in-Chief & Chairman of Editorial Board, Cost Management Journal; National Executive Council Member, Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria; Member, Board of Directors (Several Organizations). He holds Doctoral Degree in Management, Master of Business Administration and Fellowship of Several Professional Institutes in North America, UK & Nigeria. He is an author & widely featured speaker in workshops, conferences & retreats. He was involved in developing Specialist Master’s Degree Course Content for Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Nigeria) and Jones International University (USA). He holds Interim Management Assignments on Boards of Companies as Non-Executive Director.

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