Workplace Violence
Management Control Needed

By Arhan Sthapit

WITH the organisations increasingly turning to team-management approaches to overcome challenges and address opportunities emerging in the business environment, workplace violence is also ironically on the rise across the world. From Nepal to the United States, managers are grappling with the challenge of eliminating workplace violence that, though, differs in nature and magnitude. In the US alone, experts say about two million people fall victim to workplace violence every year. The US Department of Justice estimates that workplace assaults claim more than one million victims every year. The workplace violence incurs annual cost of about US $ 20-35 billion to US businesses. It adversely affects the efficiency, productivity, organisational growth and corporate culture.

Types

Workplace violence manifests itself in many forms, ranging from verbal abuse to physical violence to quid pro quo, a type of sexual harassment when sexual favours are requested or demanded in exchange for tangible benefits-like promotion, pay increase-or to avoid tangible harm like loss of job, demotion, etc.

According to a recent Business Week report (USA 2000/1), 42 per cent workers 'witnessed others yelling and other verbal abuse'; it tops the list of the different types of workplace violence. The report recorded 29 per cent cases of 'being yelled at co-workers themselves', followed by 23 per cent incidents of 'being cried over work-related issues.' The cases of workers 'purposely damaging machines or equipment', and inflicting direct, 'physical violence' in the workplace stood at 14 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. There were 2 per cent cases of 'striking a co-worker.'

Traditionally, employee stress caused by uncaring managers, long service hours, unrealistic deadlines and unnecessary work interruptions is attributed to the rise in workplace violence. Office layout designs with small rooms or cubicles amidst the noise and commotion from those around the employees are other factors contributing to such violence. However, for modern management experts, the dangerously dysfunctional work environment is the root cause of the workplace violence.
There are a number of factors that constitute the dysfunctional work environment. These factors include the rapid and unpredictable change (in which instability and uncertainty plague employees), authoritarian leadership (with a rigid, militaristic mindset of managers), repetitive and boring work, and double standards in terms of policies, procedures and human resource development opportunities for employees.

Likewise, another factor is the 'destructive' communication style in which managers communicate in an excessively aggressive, condescending, or explosive style; it takes the form of excessive workplace teasing and 'scapegoating.' Chances of violence rise, as managers make no attempt to get proper help for 'emotionally troubled employees'.

Unresolved grievances tend to pile up dangerously when the management- because of personal favours or trade union pressures- protects 'dysfunctional and problematic individuals', only to increase work-related violence cases. Hazardous work environment as well as faulty operation process and equipment also results in a dysfunctional workplace where violence is most likely.

Managers must take timely and appropriate control measures to deter workplace violence. Nip the violence-contributory factor in the bud: it is the accepted mantra. To check the violence effectively, managers should be involved in a continuous controlling process that includes pre-control, concurrent control and post-action control (pre-control) measures.

The concurrent controls are exercised during the time the action is being taken. They are often more effective than post-action controls for the obvious reasons. The simplest form of concurrent control is personal observation which modern management gurus call MBWA (managing by walking around).
It helps managers identify potential problems and observe how employees treat and interact with each other. Managers-particularly on the frontline who directly deal with the workers, should establish a 'role model' in how they treat others whereby their subordinates learn the behavioural aspects.
Another concurrent control step is to install effective reporting systems like corporate hotlines or some other mechanisms for instantly reporting and investigating incidences that are likely to result in immediate workplace violence. This helps managers make quick and decisive intervention and even get expert assistance if violence erupts.

Organisations may also provide necessary equipment or procedures for dealing with violent situations, e.g., alarm-systems, cell-phones and code names or phrases, so as to check violence with a just-in-time (JIT) approach.

Effective feedback system is indispensable for post-action controls that are more meant for a curative purpose. The organisation communication system should be strengthened where employees are encouraged to communicate openly about such incidences and about what is being done. More elaborate post-control measures include investigating incidences and taking appropriate action as well as reviewing the entire organisational policies and changing them, if necessary.

Pre-control measures -for being preventive and pre-emptive- are always strongly recommended. As a pre-control measure, the management should forge its commitment not to dysfunctional, but to functional work environments. This includes a number of important preventive actions, which begin right from the time of hiring/selecting employees. Cautious and rational employee selection as well as human resource audit is advised. Likewise, managers should never ignore the violence-threats.

Useful Step

Another useful step is to educate employees and front-line managers about how to avoid danger if situation arises. The employee assistance programmes (EAPs) that help employees with 'serious behavioural and emotional problems' to get rid of them should prove instrumental. On the top of that, communicating the organisation's goals, policies, procedure and corporate culture clearly and effectively is the general advice that helps prevent workplace violence in the long run.

Cloning Conundrum

By P. Gopakumar

THE pace in which science and technology is moving makes it very difficult to predict anything. Science is also known for not delivering many times and at the same time, most unexpected of avenues yield good results. We have had several achievements and breakthroughs. Most new inventions have been greeted with skepticism and even outrage. Especially so is in the case of medical inventions from post-mortem to immunisation to x-rays. All said Alexander Fleming was crazy when he first announced his invention - penicillin. Since then mankind made advancements in many fields. Much more can be delivered with time, money and dedicated perseverance.

Sensitive

The most sensitive and controversial scientific breakthrough of our times - human cloning - has been creating great anger across the globe. A clone is an organism having the same nucleus genes as the other organism. A nucleus from a man's cell is put into a woman's egg stripped of its own nucleus and the resulting embryo implanted in her womb, the very same technique used to create the first cloned mammal - Dolly, the sheep.

The first cloned mammal, Dolly, the ewe was created on 2nd July 1996, at the Roslin institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Wilmut who is often humourously called the father of Dolly, the sheep, had been working for several years on this project. Finally, his relentless perseverance resulted in the creation of Dolly. Later she had a successor Polly. Dolly was mated with a Welsh ram. Now she is blessed with a little lamb called 'Bonnie'.

An international team of scientists cloned 50 mice that were genetically identical. Japanese scientists cloned a cow for trial purpose for better milk yield. Then some American scientists cloned three goats whose genes were selectively modified. Later the creators of Dolly, produced cloned pigs and sows. Organs of the genetically modified pigs can be transplanted into human beings. Then the first primate, Tetra, a rhesus monkey was born in Oregon, United States. Later a team of European scientists cloned an endangered breed of sheep, European mouflon mountain lamb.

It was Dr. Francisco Antinori, the controversial Italian embryologist, who set the stage for human embryonic cloning riddle. Dr. Antinori or Dr. Miracle, who planned to impregnate up to 200 women with cloned embryos, lives in Rome. So does the pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul second, who vehemently opposed the kind of work maverick Dr. Antinori does in his infertility clinic. While many took cloning as a scientific cancer, which will end up devouring us, and therefore must be eradicated, with drastic legal surgery if necessary, others view the controversial discipline as an extension of the inexorable ways to create more life.

While in the heated debates and arguments a French scientist who is a member of cult, claimed few days back that the group has produced the first-ever cloned human being - a baby girl. The baby was born by caesarian section. Clonaid, which is based in Las Vegas, was founded by the cults, Raelians. They believe that life on earth was established by extra-terrestrials and human beings were crated by cloning. If the claim is genuine, it will mark a new era in human reproduction. Scientists would need to map the baby's genetic code and the genetic code of the person of whom she is said to be cloned and prove that these two are identical.

Shock is the stock response to any unconventional innovations; banning cloning will take it to hideouts. The moment the revelation of an innovation, the initial response should be public outrage. Non-governmental agencies and governments rush to legislate against it. This will hinder discovery of new things. The moment you ban something, the activity will go underground, as happened in the case of prohibition: bootleggers thrived.

In the medical field, this is more risky and dangerous. For no one knows exactly how and what is happening. It is not really possible to have a blanket ban on cloning as the issue is highly sensitive and individual needs and circumstances differ largely. Let us suppose the only child of an elderly couple is suffering from brain death. Their only hope would be to clone their dying child by using his/her DNA since they cannot have another child in the conventional way. The couple should find a surrogate to bear the baby. For others who are medically unfit to have babies the conventional way, cloning offers a ray of hope.

Regulation

If human cloning is to be allowed, how should we go about it? The answer is to set up a regulatory authority to monitor research in the field. We are on learning curve, so new technology should not be junked but is allowed to be researched into with strict regulation.

Detour To Kathmandu

By Krishna Sharma

NEPAL'S image about its tourism and hospitality industry is not as dreadful as one used to tell his/her fellow beings in his/her respective nation. If you happen to arrive here as a tourist, your first hand experience would clear away all confusions thereby helping you meet your expectations.
If you come by airplane, you will land at the Tribhuvan International Airport, which is named after the 8th monarch of the country. Many places of the Kingdom including airports, roads, hospitals, schools and colleges are named after monarchs so that the royalties could be well remembered and a real tribute could be given to them. And if you step in the country via roadways, you will be traveling through highways named after the monarchs and great people. Tradition of putting the names of places or things after Kings and great people has long been practiced in this country.

If you are journeying on a plane bound to arrive at Nepal's only international airport in the capital city of Kathmandu, you might say, how wonderful valley Kathmandu is. You disembark from your plane. You go through customs. Since you are a tourist, you have wonderful things to see or experience. The employees there will have a kind faith on you so that you may feel like giving them something in cash or kind. If you give something to them, they will not examine your bags and you will easily emerge from customs into cold air that gives you a romantic feeling of happiness.

Then you see a lot of men approaching you, welcoming you to their taxi. Once you ask one of them to take you to your destination, he would quote you a price. You are driven to your hotel by his taxi, brand new Indian Maruti vehicle. Those roads that you would have a number of potholes are things of the past. Thanks to the last year's 11th SAARC Summit that had forced our Department of Roads to make them smooth as moth's nose. But you should be careful while choosing the driver. Your driver could be reckless. If he has tattoos on his arms and shoulders he would drive in the middle of the road when he thinks no other vehicles are coming in the opposite direction; would pass other cars on blind curves that run uphill, would drive at around 70 km per hour on narrow, curving city roads when the road sign says "Speed Limit". This might frighten you.

Those dust-blanketed scenes of public properties are now worth looking. Uneasy scenes of concrete jungle at Maitighar and other cross roads in the downtown Kathmandu have been transformed into beautiful traffic islands. Because the three wheeler Bikram tempos have been sent out of the Valley you can see everything clear. The blowing dust of the past, with which you could have seen plastic bags flying like kites and stray dogs running after them, is no more a common scene. But cleanliness is not maintained everywhere. The compound walls of any private or public building are anything but clean. They read various slogans of either political parties or student organisations affiliated to them.
At Jamal Junction you see a multi-faceted overhead bridge for pedestrians to cross the road. However, you will be taken by a complete surprise when you see them signaling at the vehicles to stop with both the hands while they crossed the road right from under the bridge. On the way you are confront with traffic jams every now and then. The electric traffic signals here and there are so confusing that your eyes remain wide open until you reach your destination and heave a sigh of relief.

If you are heading for a hotel or a guesthouse at Thamel, the major tourist hub in Kathmandu, you will be surrounded by small boys in patched up pants and dirty T-shirts who would want you to buy their curio goods for high prices. They will not leave you even after you show disinterest in them. At the hotel, you will be guaranteed complete hospitality and you will say to yourself "contrary to comments about it, Nepalese hospitality is still intact". But if you fail to give everybody tips or any remainings you will be given the least interest from the next day.

These are but few instances that hint at the bad shape of hospitality industry. It must now be noted that with big words in ads or seminars or papers or books on Nepal we are not going to give justice to our already ailing forex earner that could but shoulder a significant portion of national income if addressed well in time.