REVOLUTION
TITLE : Access For People With Disabilities
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Members For Revolution
Name : Ang Bee Feng
Matrix No : 87223
Role : Manager
Name : Goh Xue Lee
Matrix No : 87246
Role : Editor
Friday, March 7, 2008
Personal Roles
Ang Bee Feng
My name is ANG BEE FENG. I am the manager of our CSR project. As a manager, my duties is to manage the activities throughout the whole project to make sure that these activities are carried out in time and to ensure our project will be completed on time. Since the due date of the project were set by our Coach: Dr.Ellisha, I used backward scheduling to determine the start date and to manage the time available for us to allocate to each activities. I realized that the time available to us is limited so our group had decided to meet at least once a week for our CSR project during our first meeting. After discussing with my group members, we segregate the duties in four areas, Manager, Editor, Creative/Presentation manager, and Solutions-based Idea Manager. I am the manager of this CSR-Project.
Starting from articles finding, each of us was responsible to find 10 articles and 2 case studies. After that, we come out with 20 articles range from year 2000 to 2007 and 5 case studies that we think are most suitable to show the trends on the topic of our CSR-Project and included them in our project. After reviewing and analyzing the 20 articles and the case studies, I wrote a summary to describe the trends happening within the local and international scene with respect to our CSR topic.
We chosen Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd as our study company decided to propose it with the solutions model to its processes from CSR-perspective. We discussed and prepared one set of questionnaire for interview purpose by narrowing the area of our study by focusing on the field of “Employment of People with Disabilities” because we think that we should be more specific in our investigation. After that, we made an appointment and interviewed with the organization at Crystal Suit obtain more understanding of it operation in depth. Based on the information we get from interview, we analyzed the organization policies in respect to our topic and finally we identified there are 5 weaknesses regarding to the issues of “Employment of People with Disabilities” as we mentioned in our project. We discuss and assigned the weaknesses to our group members with one for each of them. And I was responsible to analyze weakness 3 (Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice) in depth and to provide a solution model and recommendations on the organization’s employment policies.
In order to provide make it easier for understanding the employment process of the organization, I decided to establish three types of improvement tools (in diagram) which i think is more suitable to support and describe the organization’s policies in respect to our topic. They are “Service Blueprint”, “Fishbone Diagram”, and “House of Quality”. I assigned “Fishbone Diagram” and “House of Quality” to two of my group members and I was responsible to develop the “Service Blueprint”. I prepared two set of service blue printing to differentiate the model of the existing system and the expected system of the employment process of the organization after adapting the recommended improvement solution model. They are “As-Is” Blueprint and the “Should-be” Blueprint. I use the “As-Is” Blueprint to analyze the non value-adding steps and potential failure in the existing employment process of the organization. Though, the “Should-Be” Blueprint is used to provide a guide for improving the process and to show the system improvement after introducing the solution model in the employment process.
After we complete all the elements required, we combine and edit the report in a standard format. Finally, we were processed to the design of the digital poster for our CSR-Project and decided all the contents and elements that we wish to include in our web log, we passed the draft of the poster for one of our group member for her to develop the digital poster. However, there was a new standard given by our coach regarding to our poster and the web log components. We realized that the poster that we designed was not fulfilling the standard and we need another new poster.
Because there was time constraint for us to meet and design the poster, I was responsible to design and develop a new poster that including all the components that needed by our coach. Finally, I completed the poster on time and printed it out. I passed it to my group member so that she can upload it on our web log.
Hew Yoke Sun
I’m Hew Yoke Sun, whom have served as Solution Based-Idea Manager in this CSR project. It is a quite challenging obligation for me. It is because it involved some of the difficult tasks which I never experience before such as I need to study and analysis the problems which we had identify during our meeting before and identify adequate ways to solve the problems and finally discuss with the group member in order to select the best solution for the problems.
Before conducting the interview with Dream Catcher Manager, our group had review the company profile and identifies some relevant questions to quest the Manager during the interview session. Besides, we also had conducts a short survey by having a simple face to face communication with the Dream Catcher employees and record all the feedback from them. Thus, each of us has to deal with Dream Catcher employees individually.
Furthermore, each of us is responsible to search out ten relevant articles (foreign and local) and analyst five study cases which consistence with our CSR project. After that, we discuss together and select the most suitable articles and study cases for our CSR project while during our group meeting. In addition, I’m also taking responsible to give suggestions or solutions for the insufficient benefits towards employee with disability.
Other than that, each of us also need to select and elaborate one appropriate types of operational processes/system which we consider need to integrate and use in developing an innovation to particular aspects of Dream Catcher Sdn Bhd. Me myself have been assigned to evaluate and explain the lean management operational processes for Dream Catcher Sdn Bhd. To make our project become more precise and clear each of us also need to choose and explain an improvement tool for our CSR project. As a problems solution manager, I’m choosing to drawn a fishbone diagrams to outlines the five weakness and solutions which we had identify during out group discussion.
Lastly, our whole group had conducted three more groups meeting to design and create our poster and web blog. Each of us had spoke out our own ideas and suggestion while in designing our poster and web blog and later we come out our final poster and web blog. All of us had executed our own obligation by following our schedule and we are successful completed our CSR project on time.
Boey Kuan Kee
My role for this revolution group is Creative/Presentation Manager. At the beginning, I was assigned to find 10 articles from local newspaper concerning disable employees throughout the year or 2000 – 2007. After successfully searching the articles, I have done one case study about the Royal Selangor company accomplished their corporate social responsibility.
Besides that, I had done two weaknesses and two solutions for a company name Dream Catcher on their beneficial to their disable employees. Cream Catcher is a company that located in Crystal Suite that hired a few disable workers. We eventually make an appointment with the manager and went up for a short interview to understand more on their department.
I have done Total Quality Management too. Inside the content of TQM, I try to put in as many contents as I can about TQM. Under TQM subtitles are diagram for Plan-Do-Act-Control, ISO and so on.
I have created a web blog too. With the web blog I have upload our progress project. I was responsible for decorating and editing the web as I am a Creative/Presentation Manager. After my team members finished goods I will start uploading them to the web for our lecture’s reference.
As for the digital poster, I have played my part in contributing idea and ways to make it look more attractive. As to finalize everything, our group usually set a meeting to edit the printout and to discuss about things to be uploaded to web blog.
Goh Xue Lee
The topic of our group’s CSR project is “Access for People with Disabilities”. There are three components under this project which are Component I: Mapping Trend, Component II: Developing and Component III: Project Deliverables. All components have been followed up on time. Each of our group members has been held by a position, whilst I am the editor in this project.
First of all, I find 10 quality articles which are related to our topic-“Access for People with Disabilities” from the local business-related magazine- Malaysian Business via internet. After that, we select 20 best-quality articles ranging from the year 2000 till present and 5 good case studies from the combination of all members’ articles and case studies. We start to do research and choose an organization which we would like to propose innovation to its processes from Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) perspectives based on the topic chosen above. We decide to select Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd as the organization. After going through discussion then we come out a questionnaire which go into narrow topic in “Access for People with Disabilities”. We also prepare five questions to be asked in the interview. I go through and study the company’s profile and background before go for an interview so that we know more about the company’s background and its operations in-depth. We interview the Operations Manager of Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd at Crystal Suite.
After interviewing with Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd Operations Manager, we obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. We then identify and analyze the weaknesses of Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd from CSR perspectives based on the employment of people with disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment policies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges. In this part, I responsible to provide a solution to the first weakness: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs). In my opinion, I feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities.
Next, I choose the value creation as the operational processes and concepts which I would like to integrate and use in developing an innovation to its processes from CSR perspectives based on the employment of people with disabilities. In order to link the solutions to the operational process-value creation (how the solutions provided create value to Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd), I have to review all members’ recommended solutions with link to the others three operational processes/system and concepts. After that, I come out with a conclusion and completed designed House of Quality with the recommended solutions. As we know, the House of Quality provides several benefits. I design it to summarize the recommended solutions to Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd to improve the weaknesses of employment of people with disabilities. It will also help the company improving its reputation as the company pays more concern in CSR perspectives.
As an editor, I review and check the progress report so that the provided information is on the trend. I also have to make sure that the format of the project is consistent with the instructions given by coach and there are no any misstatements and grammatical error.
Before come to the end, we meet once to design the digital poster and update our web log by uploading the updated information. We are faithfully completing our CSR project on time as the entire group members are put more effort and finish their tasks on time. This is such an effectiveness and efficiency way to smooth the flow of the project.
Finally, I also want to thank to our coach for helping and advising us by providing many appreciated suggestions and improvement towards our CSR project. Thank you, Dr. Ellisha.
My name is ANG BEE FENG. I am the manager of our CSR project. As a manager, my duties is to manage the activities throughout the whole project to make sure that these activities are carried out in time and to ensure our project will be completed on time. Since the due date of the project were set by our Coach: Dr.Ellisha, I used backward scheduling to determine the start date and to manage the time available for us to allocate to each activities. I realized that the time available to us is limited so our group had decided to meet at least once a week for our CSR project during our first meeting. After discussing with my group members, we segregate the duties in four areas, Manager, Editor, Creative/Presentation manager, and Solutions-based Idea Manager. I am the manager of this CSR-Project.
Starting from articles finding, each of us was responsible to find 10 articles and 2 case studies. After that, we come out with 20 articles range from year 2000 to 2007 and 5 case studies that we think are most suitable to show the trends on the topic of our CSR-Project and included them in our project. After reviewing and analyzing the 20 articles and the case studies, I wrote a summary to describe the trends happening within the local and international scene with respect to our CSR topic.
We chosen Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd as our study company decided to propose it with the solutions model to its processes from CSR-perspective. We discussed and prepared one set of questionnaire for interview purpose by narrowing the area of our study by focusing on the field of “Employment of People with Disabilities” because we think that we should be more specific in our investigation. After that, we made an appointment and interviewed with the organization at Crystal Suit obtain more understanding of it operation in depth. Based on the information we get from interview, we analyzed the organization policies in respect to our topic and finally we identified there are 5 weaknesses regarding to the issues of “Employment of People with Disabilities” as we mentioned in our project. We discuss and assigned the weaknesses to our group members with one for each of them. And I was responsible to analyze weakness 3 (Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice) in depth and to provide a solution model and recommendations on the organization’s employment policies.
In order to provide make it easier for understanding the employment process of the organization, I decided to establish three types of improvement tools (in diagram) which i think is more suitable to support and describe the organization’s policies in respect to our topic. They are “Service Blueprint”, “Fishbone Diagram”, and “House of Quality”. I assigned “Fishbone Diagram” and “House of Quality” to two of my group members and I was responsible to develop the “Service Blueprint”. I prepared two set of service blue printing to differentiate the model of the existing system and the expected system of the employment process of the organization after adapting the recommended improvement solution model. They are “As-Is” Blueprint and the “Should-be” Blueprint. I use the “As-Is” Blueprint to analyze the non value-adding steps and potential failure in the existing employment process of the organization. Though, the “Should-Be” Blueprint is used to provide a guide for improving the process and to show the system improvement after introducing the solution model in the employment process.
After we complete all the elements required, we combine and edit the report in a standard format. Finally, we were processed to the design of the digital poster for our CSR-Project and decided all the contents and elements that we wish to include in our web log, we passed the draft of the poster for one of our group member for her to develop the digital poster. However, there was a new standard given by our coach regarding to our poster and the web log components. We realized that the poster that we designed was not fulfilling the standard and we need another new poster.
Because there was time constraint for us to meet and design the poster, I was responsible to design and develop a new poster that including all the components that needed by our coach. Finally, I completed the poster on time and printed it out. I passed it to my group member so that she can upload it on our web log.
Hew Yoke Sun
I’m Hew Yoke Sun, whom have served as Solution Based-Idea Manager in this CSR project. It is a quite challenging obligation for me. It is because it involved some of the difficult tasks which I never experience before such as I need to study and analysis the problems which we had identify during our meeting before and identify adequate ways to solve the problems and finally discuss with the group member in order to select the best solution for the problems.
Before conducting the interview with Dream Catcher Manager, our group had review the company profile and identifies some relevant questions to quest the Manager during the interview session. Besides, we also had conducts a short survey by having a simple face to face communication with the Dream Catcher employees and record all the feedback from them. Thus, each of us has to deal with Dream Catcher employees individually.
Furthermore, each of us is responsible to search out ten relevant articles (foreign and local) and analyst five study cases which consistence with our CSR project. After that, we discuss together and select the most suitable articles and study cases for our CSR project while during our group meeting. In addition, I’m also taking responsible to give suggestions or solutions for the insufficient benefits towards employee with disability.
Other than that, each of us also need to select and elaborate one appropriate types of operational processes/system which we consider need to integrate and use in developing an innovation to particular aspects of Dream Catcher Sdn Bhd. Me myself have been assigned to evaluate and explain the lean management operational processes for Dream Catcher Sdn Bhd. To make our project become more precise and clear each of us also need to choose and explain an improvement tool for our CSR project. As a problems solution manager, I’m choosing to drawn a fishbone diagrams to outlines the five weakness and solutions which we had identify during out group discussion.
Lastly, our whole group had conducted three more groups meeting to design and create our poster and web blog. Each of us had spoke out our own ideas and suggestion while in designing our poster and web blog and later we come out our final poster and web blog. All of us had executed our own obligation by following our schedule and we are successful completed our CSR project on time.
Boey Kuan Kee
My role for this revolution group is Creative/Presentation Manager. At the beginning, I was assigned to find 10 articles from local newspaper concerning disable employees throughout the year or 2000 – 2007. After successfully searching the articles, I have done one case study about the Royal Selangor company accomplished their corporate social responsibility.
Besides that, I had done two weaknesses and two solutions for a company name Dream Catcher on their beneficial to their disable employees. Cream Catcher is a company that located in Crystal Suite that hired a few disable workers. We eventually make an appointment with the manager and went up for a short interview to understand more on their department.
I have done Total Quality Management too. Inside the content of TQM, I try to put in as many contents as I can about TQM. Under TQM subtitles are diagram for Plan-Do-Act-Control, ISO and so on.
I have created a web blog too. With the web blog I have upload our progress project. I was responsible for decorating and editing the web as I am a Creative/Presentation Manager. After my team members finished goods I will start uploading them to the web for our lecture’s reference.
As for the digital poster, I have played my part in contributing idea and ways to make it look more attractive. As to finalize everything, our group usually set a meeting to edit the printout and to discuss about things to be uploaded to web blog.
Goh Xue Lee
The topic of our group’s CSR project is “Access for People with Disabilities”. There are three components under this project which are Component I: Mapping Trend, Component II: Developing and Component III: Project Deliverables. All components have been followed up on time. Each of our group members has been held by a position, whilst I am the editor in this project.
First of all, I find 10 quality articles which are related to our topic-“Access for People with Disabilities” from the local business-related magazine- Malaysian Business via internet. After that, we select 20 best-quality articles ranging from the year 2000 till present and 5 good case studies from the combination of all members’ articles and case studies. We start to do research and choose an organization which we would like to propose innovation to its processes from Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) perspectives based on the topic chosen above. We decide to select Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd as the organization. After going through discussion then we come out a questionnaire which go into narrow topic in “Access for People with Disabilities”. We also prepare five questions to be asked in the interview. I go through and study the company’s profile and background before go for an interview so that we know more about the company’s background and its operations in-depth. We interview the Operations Manager of Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd at Crystal Suite.
After interviewing with Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd Operations Manager, we obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. We then identify and analyze the weaknesses of Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd from CSR perspectives based on the employment of people with disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment policies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges. In this part, I responsible to provide a solution to the first weakness: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs). In my opinion, I feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities.
Next, I choose the value creation as the operational processes and concepts which I would like to integrate and use in developing an innovation to its processes from CSR perspectives based on the employment of people with disabilities. In order to link the solutions to the operational process-value creation (how the solutions provided create value to Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd), I have to review all members’ recommended solutions with link to the others three operational processes/system and concepts. After that, I come out with a conclusion and completed designed House of Quality with the recommended solutions. As we know, the House of Quality provides several benefits. I design it to summarize the recommended solutions to Dream Catcher Consulting Sdn Bhd to improve the weaknesses of employment of people with disabilities. It will also help the company improving its reputation as the company pays more concern in CSR perspectives.
As an editor, I review and check the progress report so that the provided information is on the trend. I also have to make sure that the format of the project is consistent with the instructions given by coach and there are no any misstatements and grammatical error.
Before come to the end, we meet once to design the digital poster and update our web log by uploading the updated information. We are faithfully completing our CSR project on time as the entire group members are put more effort and finish their tasks on time. This is such an effectiveness and efficiency way to smooth the flow of the project.
Finally, I also want to thank to our coach for helping and advising us by providing many appreciated suggestions and improvement towards our CSR project. Thank you, Dr. Ellisha.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Case Study
Case Study for Royal Selangor Company
As we can see from the Royal Selangor Company, this organization had offered free time job from their website under corporate accounts. Those who are interested can enroll themselves to be part time worker with the company. Although this company offered a very simple job, but they do have benefits not only for the public but also for the disable people as well.
According to the job description, it is easy to be qualified working with them through affiliate programmed. The company requires the affiliate workers to own a website, a computer and an internet service. This criterion can easily qualify any disable person because the jobs do not need any physical strength. Thus, disable people can sign up for the job and earn their living through online working. Although the earning might seem a little bit low, but the disable can take it as an extra income. They will get their pay every three months depending on how many products they have sell. However, the payment will be raise from time to time if you hit the quotas.
No set up fees are required. Moreover, the company will provide the workers with guidance. They can approach the customer’s service personnel to find out more information and all this procedure can be done at home. The convenience that the company gives is simply amazing. They have done their part in corporate social responsibility by offering jobs to the disable as well. They do not limit their workers in affiliate programmed and by doing so many disable people can start joining and start their roles immediately.
Case Study of Perspectiva
From the case study of Independent Living Institute, we are clearly understand that Regional Society of Disable People ‘Perspektiva’ is one of the organization which active in helping people with disabilities.
Perspektiva aims to promote independence and an improved quality of life for disabled people in the Russian community and is committed to:
(1)supporting grassroots disability organizations in Russia and CIS working for equal rights and an improved quality of life for people with disabilities;
(2) assisting disabled people to acquire new skills and knowledge in living independently and in becoming fully participating members of society;
(3) changing misconceptions and negative attitudes about disabled people and breaking down physical and psychological barriers through public awareness education.
Every 2 years Perspektiva holds International Disability Awareness Film Festival "Breaking Down Barriers" in Moscow. The Festival which took place on November 11-14, 2004 at the Salyut Film Theater that is supported by the Moscow Department of Culture. This project was jointly carried out with the Moscow Mayor’s office, the Russian Ministry of Culture and other local and partner disability NGOs. The festival showcased 112 films: features, documentaries, public service announcements and animation. The films from over 20 countries, including Russia, the US, Canada, Iran, Georgia, France, Hungary and India, competed for 14 awards . The awards were selected by a distinguished jury of Russian film makers and critics, chaired by the documentary film maker Sergei Govorukhin
Besides, they had also launch their activities by focusing in 3 areas:
(1) "Protecting the Human and Legal Rights of Russians with Disabilities" Project, implemented in Moscow and several Russian cities;
(2) promoting employment opportunities for disabled people in Moscow and several other Russian cities;
(3) "International Network of Disabled Youth Activist Teams Promoting Equal Access to Education" Project, implemented in two Russian regions as well as in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
Their non governmental, non-profit, organization works at the international level and they also consider themselves as part of the international Independent Living and Disability Rights Movement. Their organization is mainly run, controlled and represented by disabled people. They have expertise, or are interested in cooperating with other organizations, in the areas of strengthening the organizational capacity of disability organizations through leadership training, youth empowerment programs, disability rights and advocacy projects aimed at disabled youths.
Lastly, they may be able to refer disabled persons to wheelchair accessible housing or transportation or other services in their city. They have traineeships or volunteer positions that people with disabilities are welcome to apply for and the positions are open to applicants from abroad.
Cleveland Police
Cleveland Police can be an organization which has a comprehensive strategy for employment of people with disabilities. They recognize that their staffs are their most important asset and therefore have procedures in place to ensure that all staff are treated fairly.
They aim is to become an employer of choice for disabled people and wish to demonstrate that they are an organization where disabled people are retained and promoted as key contributing employees.
According to them, an effective Disability Equality Scheme not only needs to apply the General Duty to the services it provides, but must also employ the same principles to managing its own workforce. The way in which they recruit and treat their own staff is paramount if they are to meet the challenge of inspiring confidence. Positive achievements in this area will not only send out a clear message of our determination to succeed but will also help us to better reflect the communities we police.
They will continue to ensure that disabled people are valued, and create an environment where there is a strong sense of belonging, dignity and respect. In line with the social model of disability, they will look at the strengths of the individual when making decisions on reasonable adjustments, employment, training and career development. They will continue to recognize that each individual has different needs and make every effort to identify and remove any barriers that may prevent them from achieving their full potential.
As a result, they have a clear picture of their employment structures and composition. One important aspect of obtaining a full picture is to ensure there are sound information gathering systems to capture information about the recruitment, development, progression and retention of all of their disabled employees
They aim to encourage an increase in the level of job applicants with a disability who view Cleveland Police as a true option. Besides, the organization also has an IT version of the Joint Employers Forum and Home Office booklet ‘Welcoming Disabled Customers.’ This resource is licensed for three years and will be updated accordingly. By placing this resource on their force intranet system they will be providing an accessible and lively introduction to all staff. The booklet sets out the experiences and preferences of disabled customers, offers practical advice on how to offer quality service to disabled customers an is SCORN compliant i.e. the number of staff using the e-learning package can be calculated. A useful addition that they have added to this resource is the inclusion of a covering page that their Disability Equality Scheme and in particular the General Duties.
Case study of Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah (LPBBSH)
The Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND) was first mooted in October 2004, by the Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah (LPBBSH) under the leadership of YABhg. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Hj Mohd Ali, as one of its primary welfare activities within the building of BBSH. In keeping with BAKTI's second objective i.e. `TO ORGANIZE SUITABLE CHARITABLE PROGRAMMES', MIND was set up to meet the information needs of people with disabilities (PWD) so they can lead useful lives as Malaysian citizens whilst we progress into a developed nation as envisioned by our leaders.
Dato’ Dr Zaliha Omar who was then the Head of the Medical Rehabilitation Unit, University of Malaya Medical Centre was appointed as the Honorary Consultant and project leader, by virtue of her expertise in Rehabilitation Medicine and her extensive experience working alongside PWD. Information gathering and dissemination had been a regular paired activity at the premier Rehabilitation Medicine Facility for over 20 years.
In fact, it had played a very important role in meeting the needs of the exponentially growing population of patients with disabilities who are being managed there. What started off as a hand-written `555’ booklet with oversimplified information on patients needing rehabilitation aids and assistance, matched against potential donors and volunteers, in 1984, gradually grew into a hard copy collection of potentially useful information on a wide spectrum of diverse needs of people with disabilities, their families and their careers.
By 1999, much needed disability-related information had been gathered but it was no longer manageable manually. At that timely moment, Mr. Liew Chee Keong who was paralysed below the neck, who had acquired computer skills, offered to volunteer and work on a computerise version of an information collection and provision system that would provide opportunities for people with disabilities to improve and sustain their quality of life. Persistence, perseverance and patience with the daunting and challenging task finally paid off when BAKTI appointed Dato' Dr. Zaliha Omar as the project leader. It was then that she rapidly drew on the enthusiasm of her eager volunteers who were of diversed background, to start building up MIND.
In aspect of Vision, The Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND) is established to enable Malaysians with disabilities and their families to enhance their quality of life through having access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related to healthcare, rehabilitation, education, employment, adaptive technologies and equipment, transportation, barrier-free environment, government and non-government assistance, etc. and to contribute to ICT advancement. While it’s Mission is to promote, participate in and monitor the implementation of the state-of-the-art ICT relevant to people with disabilities (PWD) in Malaysia.
As we can see from the Royal Selangor Company, this organization had offered free time job from their website under corporate accounts. Those who are interested can enroll themselves to be part time worker with the company. Although this company offered a very simple job, but they do have benefits not only for the public but also for the disable people as well.
According to the job description, it is easy to be qualified working with them through affiliate programmed. The company requires the affiliate workers to own a website, a computer and an internet service. This criterion can easily qualify any disable person because the jobs do not need any physical strength. Thus, disable people can sign up for the job and earn their living through online working. Although the earning might seem a little bit low, but the disable can take it as an extra income. They will get their pay every three months depending on how many products they have sell. However, the payment will be raise from time to time if you hit the quotas.
No set up fees are required. Moreover, the company will provide the workers with guidance. They can approach the customer’s service personnel to find out more information and all this procedure can be done at home. The convenience that the company gives is simply amazing. They have done their part in corporate social responsibility by offering jobs to the disable as well. They do not limit their workers in affiliate programmed and by doing so many disable people can start joining and start their roles immediately.
Case Study of Perspectiva
From the case study of Independent Living Institute, we are clearly understand that Regional Society of Disable People ‘Perspektiva’ is one of the organization which active in helping people with disabilities.
Perspektiva aims to promote independence and an improved quality of life for disabled people in the Russian community and is committed to:
(1)supporting grassroots disability organizations in Russia and CIS working for equal rights and an improved quality of life for people with disabilities;
(2) assisting disabled people to acquire new skills and knowledge in living independently and in becoming fully participating members of society;
(3) changing misconceptions and negative attitudes about disabled people and breaking down physical and psychological barriers through public awareness education.
Every 2 years Perspektiva holds International Disability Awareness Film Festival "Breaking Down Barriers" in Moscow. The Festival which took place on November 11-14, 2004 at the Salyut Film Theater that is supported by the Moscow Department of Culture. This project was jointly carried out with the Moscow Mayor’s office, the Russian Ministry of Culture and other local and partner disability NGOs. The festival showcased 112 films: features, documentaries, public service announcements and animation. The films from over 20 countries, including Russia, the US, Canada, Iran, Georgia, France, Hungary and India, competed for 14 awards . The awards were selected by a distinguished jury of Russian film makers and critics, chaired by the documentary film maker Sergei Govorukhin
Besides, they had also launch their activities by focusing in 3 areas:
(1) "Protecting the Human and Legal Rights of Russians with Disabilities" Project, implemented in Moscow and several Russian cities;
(2) promoting employment opportunities for disabled people in Moscow and several other Russian cities;
(3) "International Network of Disabled Youth Activist Teams Promoting Equal Access to Education" Project, implemented in two Russian regions as well as in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
Their non governmental, non-profit, organization works at the international level and they also consider themselves as part of the international Independent Living and Disability Rights Movement. Their organization is mainly run, controlled and represented by disabled people. They have expertise, or are interested in cooperating with other organizations, in the areas of strengthening the organizational capacity of disability organizations through leadership training, youth empowerment programs, disability rights and advocacy projects aimed at disabled youths.
Lastly, they may be able to refer disabled persons to wheelchair accessible housing or transportation or other services in their city. They have traineeships or volunteer positions that people with disabilities are welcome to apply for and the positions are open to applicants from abroad.
Cleveland Police
Cleveland Police can be an organization which has a comprehensive strategy for employment of people with disabilities. They recognize that their staffs are their most important asset and therefore have procedures in place to ensure that all staff are treated fairly.
They aim is to become an employer of choice for disabled people and wish to demonstrate that they are an organization where disabled people are retained and promoted as key contributing employees.
According to them, an effective Disability Equality Scheme not only needs to apply the General Duty to the services it provides, but must also employ the same principles to managing its own workforce. The way in which they recruit and treat their own staff is paramount if they are to meet the challenge of inspiring confidence. Positive achievements in this area will not only send out a clear message of our determination to succeed but will also help us to better reflect the communities we police.
They will continue to ensure that disabled people are valued, and create an environment where there is a strong sense of belonging, dignity and respect. In line with the social model of disability, they will look at the strengths of the individual when making decisions on reasonable adjustments, employment, training and career development. They will continue to recognize that each individual has different needs and make every effort to identify and remove any barriers that may prevent them from achieving their full potential.
As a result, they have a clear picture of their employment structures and composition. One important aspect of obtaining a full picture is to ensure there are sound information gathering systems to capture information about the recruitment, development, progression and retention of all of their disabled employees
This approach will assist in:
- Making sure that disabled people who meet the essential minimum requirements for jobs are interviewed;
- Making reasonable adjustments to the working environment to allow disabled applicants to be appointed;
- Making sure that practical support is given to employees who develop a disability continue to support our in-house Disability Network ;
- Making sure that recruitment staff are suitably trained ;
- Taking Positive Action where appropriate ;
They aim to encourage an increase in the level of job applicants with a disability who view Cleveland Police as a true option. Besides, the organization also has an IT version of the Joint Employers Forum and Home Office booklet ‘Welcoming Disabled Customers.’ This resource is licensed for three years and will be updated accordingly. By placing this resource on their force intranet system they will be providing an accessible and lively introduction to all staff. The booklet sets out the experiences and preferences of disabled customers, offers practical advice on how to offer quality service to disabled customers an is SCORN compliant i.e. the number of staff using the e-learning package can be calculated. A useful addition that they have added to this resource is the inclusion of a covering page that their Disability Equality Scheme and in particular the General Duties.
Case study of Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah (LPBBSH)
The Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND) was first mooted in October 2004, by the Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah (LPBBSH) under the leadership of YABhg. Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Hj Mohd Ali, as one of its primary welfare activities within the building of BBSH. In keeping with BAKTI's second objective i.e. `TO ORGANIZE SUITABLE CHARITABLE PROGRAMMES', MIND was set up to meet the information needs of people with disabilities (PWD) so they can lead useful lives as Malaysian citizens whilst we progress into a developed nation as envisioned by our leaders.
Dato’ Dr Zaliha Omar who was then the Head of the Medical Rehabilitation Unit, University of Malaya Medical Centre was appointed as the Honorary Consultant and project leader, by virtue of her expertise in Rehabilitation Medicine and her extensive experience working alongside PWD. Information gathering and dissemination had been a regular paired activity at the premier Rehabilitation Medicine Facility for over 20 years.
In fact, it had played a very important role in meeting the needs of the exponentially growing population of patients with disabilities who are being managed there. What started off as a hand-written `555’ booklet with oversimplified information on patients needing rehabilitation aids and assistance, matched against potential donors and volunteers, in 1984, gradually grew into a hard copy collection of potentially useful information on a wide spectrum of diverse needs of people with disabilities, their families and their careers.
By 1999, much needed disability-related information had been gathered but it was no longer manageable manually. At that timely moment, Mr. Liew Chee Keong who was paralysed below the neck, who had acquired computer skills, offered to volunteer and work on a computerise version of an information collection and provision system that would provide opportunities for people with disabilities to improve and sustain their quality of life. Persistence, perseverance and patience with the daunting and challenging task finally paid off when BAKTI appointed Dato' Dr. Zaliha Omar as the project leader. It was then that she rapidly drew on the enthusiasm of her eager volunteers who were of diversed background, to start building up MIND.
In aspect of Vision, The Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND) is established to enable Malaysians with disabilities and their families to enhance their quality of life through having access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related to healthcare, rehabilitation, education, employment, adaptive technologies and equipment, transportation, barrier-free environment, government and non-government assistance, etc. and to contribute to ICT advancement. While it’s Mission is to promote, participate in and monitor the implementation of the state-of-the-art ICT relevant to people with disabilities (PWD) in Malaysia.
This project also holds five objectives such as follows:-
- Availability - to promote the use of computers amongst PWD for networking within the Malaysian community and beyond
- Accessibility - to facilitate access to health-care, rehabilitation, education, vocational and social services relevant to the needs of PWD and their families
- Awareness - to make society at large aware of the existence of PWD amidst them, who deserve to lead a quality life like everyone else, through ICT
- Acceptability - to change perceptions and attitudes of members of society on PWD towards acceptance that they are potentially useful members of society, given the opportunity to do so, particularly through ICT
- Adequacy - to identify relevant international websites suitable for PWD and "glocalise" them to enhance the quality of life of Malaysians with disabilities and their families.
The Malaysian Information Network on Disabilities (MIND)’s goals are:-
- To promote community involvement in enhancing the quality of life for PWD and their families through ICT
- To support and sustain efforts by MIND to establish a sound computing network system for PWD and their families
- To increase knowledge on ICT for PWD and their families as well as health-care, rehabilitation and social-care providers
- To facilitate informational access to health-care, rehabilitation, education, vocational and social services for PWD-related care services
- To promote linguistic proficiency in English language so that PWD and their care-providers can effectively access MIND and its linkages which are in the English language.
MIND has four strategies which are:- - To make life for PWD as comfortable and joyful as possible through the influence of information on relevant authorities e.g. to make public transportation accessible to everyone, regardless of disability
- To promote MIND activities in the community-based-rehabilitation (CBR) projects
- To solicit volunteers of diversed background to join the MIND team in developing and sustaining the BAKTI-MIND project
- To sustain the efficient management of MIND which will continue to be relevant to the needs of PWD and their families as well as providers of health-care, rehabilitation, education, vocational, and social-care services.
Case Study for HSBC Canada
HSBC is committed to making connections with organizations supporting persons with disabilities to increase referrals of qualified candidates. They continue their initiatives to increase relationships and share information about working at HSBC.
Their intranet houses a policy and Employee Guide on Workplace Accommodations. A central budget continues to support workplace accommodations, and HR works closely with their Real Estate, Purchasing and Technology groups on accommodations issues.
A ten-position complement pool focused on hiring persons with disabilities and aboriginal people is centrally maintained to facilitate integration into permanent positions, and encourage hiring of candidates from sources identified through our diversity hiring resources.
HSBC is a member of the Business Advisory Council for Douglas College – Opportunities Enabled Program, which trains motivated people with physical disabilities for a computer based career, with support from IT businesses. The BAC membership is comprised of IT executives including their HTS business who get involved with student interview selection, continuous curriculum review, and internship placements, etc.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Group Introduction
University Sains Malaysia
School of Management
School of Management
Semester 2(2007/08)
Operations Management – ATW223
Group Name: REVOLUTION
TITLE:
Progress Report for “Access for People with Disabilities”
Dr: Ellisha
Group Member:
Ang Bee Feng 87223
Hew Yoke Sun 87250
Goh Xue Lee 87246
Boey Kuan Kee 85668
OUR FIRST DIGITAL POSTER BEFORE EDITING THE NEW ONE
This is our poster concerning the disable people. This poster bring the meaning of supporting disable people, show our concern to them and make thme feel wanted to contributing in this society.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Access of People with Disabilities/Employment of People with Disabilities (PWD)
Component I: Trend Mapping
As required in guideline of assignmet, we have found 20 quality articles regarding to this topic from The Star newspaper, Fortune, and Malaysia Businesses. The topic for the articles include Reserved spots ar only for Disabled, Employer Attitudes towards Workers with Disabilities and their ADA Employment Right, An Intergrated Approach to Disabled ( 1 Octorber 2002 ), Disability Action Plan could mean Real Improvements for Disabled People ( 20th January 2005), Strategy to Improve Life Chances of Disabled People ( 19th January 2005), Investment in Disabled People’s Skill could Boost the Economy, OECD Urges Poland to Help Disabled People to Find Work, and etc.
Besides that, for the case study, we use 2 local and 3 foreign-based companies. The companies include HSBC Canada, Cleveland Police, Perspectiva Organization, Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah ( LPBBSH), and the Royal Selangor. All of the articles and the case studies were used to support our trend mapping.
Today there are more disabled people in employment than ever before. Indeed, since 1997 the employment rate of disabled people has risen twice as much as for the population as a whole.
This is a great achievement and shows the investment made by this Government in employment programmes and services. The investment of the foreign countries such as Jobcentre Plus, the New Deal and Pathways to Work has really made a difference.
In oversea, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) has helped break down the barriers that have kept many disabled people out of work in the past. This Government has repeatedly strengthened the law, delivering the biggest extension of disability civil rights this country has ever seen.
On October 3, 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new enforcement guidance that analyzes benefit discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA).
In Malaysia, some companies have started employing disabled persons in greater numbers as they are proven to be loyal and productive. Some of the good examples are, Tan Chong Motors (M), OYL Sdn Bhd., Chip Pac (M) Sdn Bhd. In Penang itself, some good examples are Leong Bee Soo Bee (LBSB) Sdn. Bhd, Agilent Technologies Sdn. Bhd., International Footwear Sdn. Bhd. and Pen Apparel Sdn. Bhd. There are also some architecture firms who employ deaf persons as draughtspersons, whilst some are self-employed eg. Batik painting
Besides, from the article on 7 November 2006, we found that OECD urges Poland to help disable people to find job. According to the new OECD report, Poland should act quickly to make it easier for disabled people to find work as part of a major reform of its disability policies. It proposes steps the governments should take to cut the number of people claiming these benefits and help them back into the labor market.
By providing disabled people with the support they need to get a job, we have helped many of them improve their lives.
And from December 2005 the DDA was extended once again to require public authorities, such as hospitals, schools and local councils, to promote equality for disabled people. The Disability Equality Duty has taken the DDA a step further by requiring public bodies to make sure they include and consult disabled people when they design their services, rather than considering their needs as an afterthought.
In addition to that , the specialist disability programme, delivered by Jobcentre Plus, offers grants towards the cost of providing support, for example, by helping to pay for any special equipment a disabled person may need to function in the work place. Since the scheme began in 1994, more than 120,000 people have benefited from more than £400m of grants.
As a conclusion, the world has done a lot of beneficials activities towards the dissabilities people especially in employment. Besides that government from the global has coperate well with one another to create and enforce regulations for the disable to maintain their priorities. Lastly, society should pay more concerntration towards the disable peolple. Society or organizations should help the disable by involving themselves into charity or by helping them with their needs and demands instead of discriminate them.
Component II: Developing
We had interview with the Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD and obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. After interviewing Dream Catcher’s Operations Manager, we analyse the company base on the employment of disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment polocies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges.
Weaknesses 1: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs).
Solutions:
In our opinion, we feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems. Besides that, Dream Catcher should offer an extensive range of disabled access solutions from all types of Vertical and incline platform lifts, to automatic door entry systems, toilet M packs, induction loops, through to architectural ramp systems.
The ADA defines a public entity as a place that serves food or drink, provides lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and just about every other private business or program that offers a service to the public.
Under Title IV of ADA covers telephone communication. Phone companies must provide 24-hour relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses that offer telephone services to the general public must also provide it to people who use devices for the deaf known as teletypewriters, or TTYs. In addition, it requires that if federal money pays for a public service announcement, it must be closed-captioned, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Weaknesses 2: No charity has been done for the society.
They did not carry their responsibility completely by showing their care towards this society. Society needs help from organizations for certain demands especially in finance. Thus they should implement more charity work for the society.
Solutions:
They should do donation to society that needed their help badly. For example, donation to the disable associations, mentally retarded associations and other associations. They can donate in either financially support or through donating things that meet their needs and demands.
Donation through buying them things or materials are equivalent useful. They can donate them some useful equipment like computers, study tables, stationeries, and so on. This will not only help the disable by providing them more useful materials but the company is maximizing their wastage as well.
Besides that they can give scholarship to their workers or disable workers who are unable to pursue their studies. There are a lot of disable people who has their hidden talent but could not bring out their talent due to financial problem. Thus, the company should well-trained their disable workers or any other workers who are not able to pursue their studies..
The company can donate or contribute a partial of revenue to the PWDs workers. Donating partial of revenue means that the company can conduct a campaign announcing that half of the selling profit will go to charity. This activity that conducted by company will usually get good response from people who are able to help the unable. Many people are more than willing to help when it comes to charity. This activity will not only help the company to enhance their image and reputation but they are helping the poor society to raise fund.
Weaknesses 3: Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice
The company’ policies and practices are more premised on the incapacity of people with disability to work than on their capacity to work. Disability is equated with inactivity rather than activity. A particular aspect of this is the operation of the income support system for people with disabilities and the manner in which this does not, in practice, recognize: (i) the possibility of a capacity to work and an interest in obtaining employment on part of people with disabilities currently not in employment; and, (ii) the diversity among people with disabilities not in work in terms of their capabilities for work, work aspirations, and the range and types of support needed to realize their aspirations.
Solution:
In our opinion, the Department of Human Resources should develop policies and procedures to govern statewide human resources management practices. Although the recruitment process is managed centrally by the Department of Human Resources Employment Services Division, interviewing and hiring decisions are the responsibility of the agency/department hiring official. For example, the Department of Personnel in Washington developed state-wide policies that individual agencies implemented. Washington also included a mix of centralized recruitment for some job classes and individual agency recruitment for others.
We proposed four main part that sahould be ammended in the Employment Policies of company as follow:
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
The company may held a programs that specifically train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for state jobs. The program targets individuals with developmental disabilities and those with significant disabilities
Besides, reasonable accommodations also can be made for the application and interview process, which may mean conducting the interview somewhere that is accessible to a person in a wheelchair or providing a sign language interpreter for someone who is deaf. In promoting the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions).
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Employers is required to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities. One way that an employer can promote compliance with this legal obligation is to have in place written procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of everyone involved in the reasonable accommodation process and that enable tracking and prompt resolution of accommodation requests. Company may establish a “ Written Reasonable Accommodation Procedures” with attending procedures which carefully outline the Reasonable Accommodation request and appeal process. In addition to that, the compamy can tracking requests for Reasonable Accommodation. Tracking information about reasonable accommodations can help employers evaluate their performance in responding to accommodation requests and implement measures to improve performance where necessary. Among other things, tracking may enable a state agency to determine how long it takes to respond to requests for different types of reasonable accommodations; whether there are particular types of reasonable accommodations that the employer has been unable to provide; whether there are agency components that have not granted requests for reasonable accommodations; and the reasons for denials. Where, for example, there have been repeated delays in the processing of reasonable accommodation requests, an agency can investigate the reasons for the problem and take the steps necessary to correct it.
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Employers must make sure that, once hired, individuals with disabilities have the tools they need to succeed and the same opportunities for advancement as other employees. In addition to practices specifically designed to provide opportunities for advancement, this part also considers how periodic training can work to prevent discrimination.
Periodically, the company should held an activities that specifically promote the retention and advancement of employees with disabilities. There should be some training provided to the employer, manager, and supervisor to increase the awareness in the “equality emplyment” and avoid discrimination among the normal emplyee and the abnormal employee.
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
In addition to traditional vocational rehabilitation services, to promote the employment of people with disabilities in both the public and private sectors, the most significant practise that we would like to mention including legislative and executive action, internships, and public/private partnerships.
For example, our government should establish a new agency within the state for persons with disabilities with the mission to devoted entirely to assisting persons with disabilities with improving their quality of living through, among other things, improved housing, employment, and transportation opportunities. Besides, creation of a clearinghouse that provides employers with a single point of contact for recruiting applicants who have disabilities and for technical assistance.
The company also can involve itseft in the internship programme as well as identified partnerships they have with business and/or community organizations to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities.
As a conclusion, we are encouraged by our initial findings concerning state best practices aimed at recruiting and hiring qualified individuals with disabilities. These practices include not only the establishment of some training and hiring programs specifically for individuals with disabilities, but more significantly, efforts to increase the number of qualified applicants with disabilities for jobs available to the general public. Based on information reported by the states, it appears that individuals involved in the hiring process have access to more than adequate training on subjects such as interviewing people with disabilities and preparing job descriptions. The job announcements that we have examined thus far do not describe jobs in a way that would inadvertently screen out qualified individuals with disabilities. In fact, some job announcements and job descriptions specifically reference the availability of reasonable accommodations for the application process and on the job.
The use of written procedures for providing reasonable accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking the disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal processes following denials of reasonable accommodations are also positive trends
Finally, the states we have surveyed from the resech on this topic and we know that the community have taken a significant number of steps to increase the employment of people with disabilities generally. We know that the employment of people with disabilities is a state priority.
Weaknesess 4: Insufficient Benefits toward Employee with Disabilities
After a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
Solutions:
After interviewed with Dream Catcher Operation Manager and had a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
From our view of point, we suggest that the company should improve the benefits for employee with disabilities as follow:
Transportation
The company should provided transportation service for employee with disabilities who are unable to use public transportation. It is because the transportation is a critical aspect of allowing people with disabilities to ride between their accommodation and working area. The transportation should equip with wheelchair lifts and is accessible to the disabled. By having these types of improvement, it will facilitate employee with disability when they access to the working area.
Reasonable Accommodations
Dream Catcher should make “reasonable accommodations” to increase workplace accessibility for job applicants and employees with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. By providing reasonable accommodation to disabled employee, we believe that it will decrease the difficulties to disabled employee especially those from out station.
Medical Benefits
Dream Catcher should provide healthcare services to disabled employee, such as implement Working Disabled Program to enable employee with disabilities to participate in the workforce without losing their Medical coverage. Besides, initial medical treatment for a work-related injury/illness must be provided by Dream Catcher in order to compensate employee who are being treated for a work related incident. The yearly medical checkup should be also providing to every employee in order to ensure their health condition.
Weaknesses 5: Gap between workers. Gaps between workers with employers.
In a company not every workers can get along with one another. Problems arise when they are not given the opportunity to get to know their colleagues better. Judging people from their outlook has been a natural sense to every human being. Thus in order to avoid and over come this problem, the company should always come out with something creative to bring the workers get up closed and create a better environment to the working atmosphere.
Solutions:
The company should have more activities specially organize for the workers only. By doing this the company is giving opportunity to the workers to get to know each other better. When the workers start mixing together they will create a special bond and this will eventually closed up the gap between the workers.
The company can organize monthly lunch instead of waiting once a year for annual dinner. Monthly lunch will help to gather all the workers to meet up and get close or even closer than before.
Besides that, company can organize outings for the workers as well. For example the company can have drinking session after work or maybe coffee with the company workers. By conducting such activities, the company is helping their own organization to build up a strong relationship with one another. During the activities the workers can discuss about the potential growth of the company or perhaps this activity is giving them an ease of mind after working so hard one whole day. It is of course encouraged able for the company to be the main domain and make sure their fellows have good relationship with one another. It is very important to build a healthy working atmosphere before expecting big productivity from workers.
Conducting those activities will also help the disable workers to feel wanted and welcome to become a member of the organization.
The company must be consistent with the outings, gatherings and activities. This is because all this activities aim is to maintain good and healthy relationship within the organization. In order to maintain this relationship, company plays an important role by bringing them together and get close with one another.
Processes Impronement
The low employment rate of people with disabilities reflects a failure of government social policies. Societies hide away some disabled individuals on generous benefits. Others isolate them in sheltered work programmes. Efforts to help them find work in the open labor market are often lacking. The shortcomings affect moderately disabled individuals, as well as those with severe handicaps, but are particularly true for people over age 50.
In our opinion, government, regulation, corporation, as well as communities should collaborate in order to help more disabled person to involve in workplace. They may underpin the necessary elements of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. The examples of key pillars include:
1) Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
2) Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
3) Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
4) Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
a) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
b) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life; 5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
1. Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable.
Key Recommendations;
* Introduce a tax credit for people with disabilities moving from welfare to employment.
* Increase the income threshold for the Medical Card by introducing a disability allowance in calculating the income threshold.
* Allow for the retention of the Medical Card for all persons with a disability taking up employment for a period of one year (regardless of the income threshold for eligibility).
* Introduce an employment assessment dimension into procedures for qualifying for income support for people with disabilities.
* Introduce a cost of disability payment.
Other Actions
Rationalize the number of illness/disability related welfare payments.
Recognize partial (in) capacity.
2. Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Key Recommendations
Ø In relation to the existing package of educational and training programmes, increase the level of participation by people with disabilities in education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of employment demand.
Ø For people with disabilities participating in basic or prevocational programmes, ensure that there is progression to education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of occupational/employment demand.
Ø Introduce a work placement module for people with disabilities participating in educational and training programmes.
Ø Participation by people with disabilities in Community
Employment should be more closely linked with the employment and career aspirations of people with disabilities, and access to education and training designed to enhance the labor market relevant skills of people with disabilities should be integrated into the operation of the programme. Post programme support should be provided to ensure that the benefits arising from participation in CE can provide a platform for accessing employment in the open labor market.
Other Actions
Ø Put working and target driven progression pathways in place within the education and training system to facilitate the progression of people with disabilities.
Ø Set realistic performance targets concerning progression and employment placement for state and other providers.
Ø Examine the efficacy of existing arrangements from a labor market perspective and act based on objective findings.
Ø Provide more in-work type training opportunities for people with disabilities in order to ensure relevance and currency but also to impact on attitudes, stereotyping and potential discrimination amongst employers and fellow employees.
Ø Set and pursue participation, progression and employment related targets.
3. Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Key Recommendations
Ø Priorities public sector recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.
Ø Priorities public sector accommodation of disability.
Ø Use public sector contracting to leverage change.
Ø Use grant giving to leverage change.
Ø Package and market supports for employers to employ people with disabilities.
Ø Promote flexible working arrangements to accommodate diversity.
Ø Undertake a sustained and targeted information/education campaign to promote awareness of capabilities of people with disabilities and their visibility as a source of labor supply.
4. Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
c) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
d) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in adult life;
Key Recommendations
Ø Introduce a social guarantee programme that commits the state to ensuring that school leavers without Leaving Certificate qualifications receive further education and training to at least Level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.
Ø Ensure that vocational/occupational/employment assessment and guidance are provided as part of the process of qualifying for income support; (ii) support, on an early intervention basis, is provided (by the state and, where relevant, employers) to enable persons acquiring a disability to develop an individualized employment entry/re-entry plan.
Other Actions
Ø Promote/legislate for employer responsibilities for employee retention.
Ø Provide packaged supports to individuals and employers.
Ø Train managers in retention strategies.
Ø Provide support to help people cope with workplace stress.
Ø Need to train for and practice ‘disability management’ in the system.
Ø Explore international innovations such as Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot in the UK and the system shifts that have resulted in increased employer responsibilities in the Netherlands.
5. Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
Key Recommendations
Ø Devise and implement an action plan for engaging with people with disabilities.
Other Actions
Ø Ensure early intervention with people with disabilities.
Ø Provide staff training for personnel in national employment service.
Ø Provide services in the area of occupational assessment, counseling, guidance as part of national employment service.
Ø Incremental introduction of benefit subject to assessment and guidance particularly for young people who can currently access full benefits from age 16 on the basis of purely medical criteria.
Ø Integrate information and contact points – ‘one-stop-shop
Quality Management
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs.
Total Quality provides an umbrella under which everyone in the organization can strive and create customer satisfaction at continually lower real costs. Quality assurance through statistical methods is a key component in a manufacturing organization, where TQM generally starts by sampling a random selection of the product. The sample can then be tested for things that matter most to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated, secondary measures of the production process are designed, and then the causes of the failure are corrected. The statistical distributions of important measurements are tracked. When parts' measures drift into a defined "error band", the process is fixed. The error band is usually a tighter distribution than the "failure band", so that the production process is fixed before failing parts can be produced. This process is to make sure good outputs reach the customers to avoid complaints or any harm to consumers. This is one way of carrying our an organization corporate social responsibility.
Besides that quality management must have a good management system in order to balance up a process or an activity. Management system help to produce products or services to meet the objectives it has set itself such as :
a) satisfying customers needs
b) complying with regulations
c) meeting environmental objectives
A good quality management will have a management system standard where an organization will prepare a model to follow in setting up and operating a management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as being the international state art of award. The model has 4 components in a process. The components are Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA). This is the operating principle of ISO’s management system standards. Below shows the model of PDCA and the further elaboration on each process.
From the model there are four processes that need to be done step by step in order to produce quality products or services. Before an organization can produce a good products or services, they must have quality management to manage the whole output processes. First process is plan. Organizations must established objectives and make plans. This process is to analyze an organization’s situation, establish overall objectives, set interim targets, and make plans to achieve all those objectives.
Secondly is the Do process. This step is to implement the organization plans. Thirdly is Check process. Check process measure the results as an output. Usually an organization will measure or monitor the achievements to see whether the main objectives have work on smoothly as planned. Lastly is Action process. Organization will correct and improve in plans. All mistakes that occurred will be learned and corrected so that they will not repeat the same mistakes again.
Not to forget, in quality management there is a principle to be applied to the organization. This principle is known as quality management principle.
2) Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
3) Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.
4) Process Approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.
5) System Approach to Management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.
6) Continual Improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
7) Factual Approach to Decision Making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. Thus organization should gather more data and information take make a good decision making.
8) Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.
Management Quality Standards
As for management quality standards, there are two types of ISO which are best known standards and their impact to the world.
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's best known standards ever. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 (1996 and 2004 versions) are implemented by some 887 770 organizations in 161 countries. The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfill:
§ the customer's quality requirements, and
§ applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
§ enhance customer satisfaction, and
§ achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:
§ minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
§ achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
In quality management, good planning, applying the eight principles and never forget the management quality standard are those management that need to be implemented to organization in order to produce good quality of products and services. With good products and services, eventually this will satisfy the customer’s needs and demands.
Lean Management
The Dream Catcher is company which provides Professional Training Courses in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Although the company is just provided service to its customers, it still generates a lot of waste such as process waste, information waste, work waste, and human energy waste.
As we all know, Lean Management accomplish waste reduction by improving process productivity, reducing inventory, improving quality and increasing worker involvement. Thus it is favorable that Dream Catcher integrates lean management in their company in order to provide quality services to the society. For instance, by applying lean system in the human resources department the company can eliminate human energy waste such as talent employee or employee with disabilities. It is because lean uses employee involvement in all aspects of the business to ensure that nothing is overlooked and the implications of decisions are understood at all levels.
The implementation of lean management principles in Dream Catcher’s service businesses may increase efficiency and reduce project costs if it is able to capitalize on its newly available resources and attract additional work. Besides, by successful integration of lean principles in Dream Catcher can improve its business operations in term of environmental consideration. There are five fundamental concepts have been established to define the philosophy and implementation of lean management:
Other than that, the application of Lean Thinking and Lean Management aligns and integrates long term business improvement strategies to day to day continuous improvement targets, ensuring along the way that can allow Dream Catcher remain above all else customer focused, flexible and ready for the challenges ahead. Lean can advocates Dream Catcher make smart use of resources, technology, equipment and the skills and knowledge of employees, suppliers and customers. Thus, Dream Catcher can operate in the most efficient and most effective condition, with lowest costs and minimal waste.
A firm’s competitiveness rests on its ability to match functional strategies-and the day-to-day decisions they guide-to business strategies so that they can successfully compete. For operations decisions, this means recognizing the value attributes important to customers as well as the competitive priorities of cost, quality, dependability of delivery, flexibility, and response time making strategic decisions that enhance competitive priorities. For supply chain decisions, enhancing competitiveness involves make-or-buy decisions, determining whether supply chain management is designed for cost reduction or value enhancement, sourcing decisions, logistics network decisions, supply chain services outsourcing decisions, supply chain security decisions, and decision regarding technology. Any strategic decision that affects the operations of a supply chain member affects the supply chain itself.
From the information that we get from Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD, we realize that the company provides insufficient facilities for the People With Disabilities(PWDs) in the workplace. In order to create value to , the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. The PWDs can park their transports at the specific parking slots provided by the company. It’s also save their time compared to park their transports which are far from the company when the company’s car park is full. It is not convenient and will take long time for them to reach the company.
Besides that, the company is also no involvement in giving charity for the disabled people. The company should donate to society by providing useful materials and minimizing company wastage. Dream Catcher can also offer scholarships to PWDs for furthering study. From that, the company can discover talent PWDs, then they are employed to create value to the company. The company can also donate partial of revenue to help the poor society. It’ll also enhance the reputation of the company.
We discover that there are few weaknesses in the company’s employment policies and practice. Dream Catcher should implement recruiting and hiring plan to train and hire talent PWD. The company should also protect PWDs’ right by avoiding discrimination, increasing awareness in equality employment and promoting retention. As we know, retaining qualified personnel can even more difficult than hiring them. The company should make every effort to provide creative and challenging work opportunities and, when possible, to offer open channels to management-level positions. From the plan, PWDs can know more about their strengths in their career. Moreover, the company should also provide the best practices to assist PWDs in their responsibilities. Their capabilities and productivities are directly influencing the company’s operations flow.
Dream Catcher is also provide insufficient benefit towards PWD. The company should offer accommodation benefit, transportation options and medical benefit to PWDs. The PWDs can improve their living, save the cost of living, save time, health condition being ensured, employees be compensated and being given medical recover by receiving these benefits.
Moreover, we realise that there is a gap between the PWD with colleges. In order to reduce or overcome this gap, the company should implement company’s gathering such as special activities for enhancing relationships and creating special bone between PWDs with colleges. Added, the company can also hold monthly lunch to tie up each employee.
F1: The possibility that the qualified and capable PWD not recruited as their visibility not as a source of labor supply.
F2: The PWD that selected from recruitment are omitted from being called
F3: Interview is conducted by inexperienced official or those who prejudice towards PWD.
F4: Qualified and capable PWD not hired.
In responding to the potential failure points, we would like to propose to the company several recommendations that can help to improve the process. In our opinion, to promote the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions). In addition to that, the suggestions that we have recommended in the section of Process Improvement also create control to the process. They included:
1) Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare
system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially
rewarding, and sustainable;
2) Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment
system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are
equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to
benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
3) Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the
recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
4) Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
a) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
b) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life;
5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
b) “Should-Be” Service Blueprint for Recruitment and Retention of People with Disabilities (PWD) in Dream Catcher
Application Form Received
Recruitment
Performed in HR Department
Candidates
Called for
Interview
Candidates Interviewed
F1
F2
F3
F4
Candidates
Hired
Employee with Disabilities is Trained
Employee with Disabilities is Fair Rewarded
Promote Flexible Working Arrangement
The “Should-Be” blueprint is developed after an analysis on the existing system to provide guide for improving the employment process of the company. We include the processing 3 additional steps that we think will contribute to value creation. Even the process improvement does not eliminate the potential points at all, but, it does help to mitigate the risk of the failure.
2. Fishbone Diagram
Charity
Facility
Benefits
Employment Policies
Gap
2. Fishbone Diagram
3. House of Quality
House of Quality for “Access for People with Disabilities”
Sufficient Facility
Do Charity
Amendment of Employment Policies & Practice
Provide More Benefits
Improvement of Gap between Workers with Employers
Direct Relationship
Component III: Project Deliverables
We are in the the processes of developing a weblog. We plan to upload our progress report and the related picture while it is ready to be visited. We are willing to upload our innovative CSR-Opeartional solutions, case studies, articles, as well as appendices on the weblog.
INTERVIEW WITH AN ORGANIZATION
Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHDBlock B, Krystal Point, Jalan Sultan Azlan ShahTel: +604 640 7111Fax: +604 640 7110
1. Does your organization provide any type of benefits for People with Disabilities (PWDs)?
2. Are there any facilities provided for PWDs at your place or any of your branches, e.g. ramp, lift, comfort room, etc.?
3. Are there any financial aid that can be given such as scholarships, sponsorships and/or donations & how do the PWDs go about requesting such aids?
4. Will your organisation be willing to accept PWDs to work in your institution?
5. Does your organisation provide any training for PWDs?
As required in guideline of assignmet, we have found 20 quality articles regarding to this topic from The Star newspaper, Fortune, and Malaysia Businesses. The topic for the articles include Reserved spots ar only for Disabled, Employer Attitudes towards Workers with Disabilities and their ADA Employment Right, An Intergrated Approach to Disabled ( 1 Octorber 2002 ), Disability Action Plan could mean Real Improvements for Disabled People ( 20th January 2005), Strategy to Improve Life Chances of Disabled People ( 19th January 2005), Investment in Disabled People’s Skill could Boost the Economy, OECD Urges Poland to Help Disabled People to Find Work, and etc.
Besides that, for the case study, we use 2 local and 3 foreign-based companies. The companies include HSBC Canada, Cleveland Police, Perspectiva Organization, Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah ( LPBBSH), and the Royal Selangor. All of the articles and the case studies were used to support our trend mapping.
Today there are more disabled people in employment than ever before. Indeed, since 1997 the employment rate of disabled people has risen twice as much as for the population as a whole.
This is a great achievement and shows the investment made by this Government in employment programmes and services. The investment of the foreign countries such as Jobcentre Plus, the New Deal and Pathways to Work has really made a difference.
In oversea, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) has helped break down the barriers that have kept many disabled people out of work in the past. This Government has repeatedly strengthened the law, delivering the biggest extension of disability civil rights this country has ever seen.
On October 3, 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new enforcement guidance that analyzes benefit discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA).
In Malaysia, some companies have started employing disabled persons in greater numbers as they are proven to be loyal and productive. Some of the good examples are, Tan Chong Motors (M), OYL Sdn Bhd., Chip Pac (M) Sdn Bhd. In Penang itself, some good examples are Leong Bee Soo Bee (LBSB) Sdn. Bhd, Agilent Technologies Sdn. Bhd., International Footwear Sdn. Bhd. and Pen Apparel Sdn. Bhd. There are also some architecture firms who employ deaf persons as draughtspersons, whilst some are self-employed eg. Batik painting
Besides, from the article on 7 November 2006, we found that OECD urges Poland to help disable people to find job. According to the new OECD report, Poland should act quickly to make it easier for disabled people to find work as part of a major reform of its disability policies. It proposes steps the governments should take to cut the number of people claiming these benefits and help them back into the labor market.
By providing disabled people with the support they need to get a job, we have helped many of them improve their lives.
And from December 2005 the DDA was extended once again to require public authorities, such as hospitals, schools and local councils, to promote equality for disabled people. The Disability Equality Duty has taken the DDA a step further by requiring public bodies to make sure they include and consult disabled people when they design their services, rather than considering their needs as an afterthought.
In addition to that , the specialist disability programme, delivered by Jobcentre Plus, offers grants towards the cost of providing support, for example, by helping to pay for any special equipment a disabled person may need to function in the work place. Since the scheme began in 1994, more than 120,000 people have benefited from more than £400m of grants.
As a conclusion, the world has done a lot of beneficials activities towards the dissabilities people especially in employment. Besides that government from the global has coperate well with one another to create and enforce regulations for the disable to maintain their priorities. Lastly, society should pay more concerntration towards the disable peolple. Society or organizations should help the disable by involving themselves into charity or by helping them with their needs and demands instead of discriminate them.
Component II: Developing
We had interview with the Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD and obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. After interviewing Dream Catcher’s Operations Manager, we analyse the company base on the employment of disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment polocies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges.
Weaknesses 1: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs).
Solutions:
In our opinion, we feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems. Besides that, Dream Catcher should offer an extensive range of disabled access solutions from all types of Vertical and incline platform lifts, to automatic door entry systems, toilet M packs, induction loops, through to architectural ramp systems.
The ADA defines a public entity as a place that serves food or drink, provides lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and just about every other private business or program that offers a service to the public.
Under Title IV of ADA covers telephone communication. Phone companies must provide 24-hour relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses that offer telephone services to the general public must also provide it to people who use devices for the deaf known as teletypewriters, or TTYs. In addition, it requires that if federal money pays for a public service announcement, it must be closed-captioned, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Weaknesses 2: No charity has been done for the society.
They did not carry their responsibility completely by showing their care towards this society. Society needs help from organizations for certain demands especially in finance. Thus they should implement more charity work for the society.
Solutions:
They should do donation to society that needed their help badly. For example, donation to the disable associations, mentally retarded associations and other associations. They can donate in either financially support or through donating things that meet their needs and demands.
Donation through buying them things or materials are equivalent useful. They can donate them some useful equipment like computers, study tables, stationeries, and so on. This will not only help the disable by providing them more useful materials but the company is maximizing their wastage as well.
Besides that they can give scholarship to their workers or disable workers who are unable to pursue their studies. There are a lot of disable people who has their hidden talent but could not bring out their talent due to financial problem. Thus, the company should well-trained their disable workers or any other workers who are not able to pursue their studies..
The company can donate or contribute a partial of revenue to the PWDs workers. Donating partial of revenue means that the company can conduct a campaign announcing that half of the selling profit will go to charity. This activity that conducted by company will usually get good response from people who are able to help the unable. Many people are more than willing to help when it comes to charity. This activity will not only help the company to enhance their image and reputation but they are helping the poor society to raise fund.
Weaknesses 3: Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice
The company’ policies and practices are more premised on the incapacity of people with disability to work than on their capacity to work. Disability is equated with inactivity rather than activity. A particular aspect of this is the operation of the income support system for people with disabilities and the manner in which this does not, in practice, recognize: (i) the possibility of a capacity to work and an interest in obtaining employment on part of people with disabilities currently not in employment; and, (ii) the diversity among people with disabilities not in work in terms of their capabilities for work, work aspirations, and the range and types of support needed to realize their aspirations.
Solution:
In our opinion, the Department of Human Resources should develop policies and procedures to govern statewide human resources management practices. Although the recruitment process is managed centrally by the Department of Human Resources Employment Services Division, interviewing and hiring decisions are the responsibility of the agency/department hiring official. For example, the Department of Personnel in Washington developed state-wide policies that individual agencies implemented. Washington also included a mix of centralized recruitment for some job classes and individual agency recruitment for others.
We proposed four main part that sahould be ammended in the Employment Policies of company as follow:
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
The company may held a programs that specifically train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for state jobs. The program targets individuals with developmental disabilities and those with significant disabilities
Besides, reasonable accommodations also can be made for the application and interview process, which may mean conducting the interview somewhere that is accessible to a person in a wheelchair or providing a sign language interpreter for someone who is deaf. In promoting the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions).
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Employers is required to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities. One way that an employer can promote compliance with this legal obligation is to have in place written procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of everyone involved in the reasonable accommodation process and that enable tracking and prompt resolution of accommodation requests. Company may establish a “ Written Reasonable Accommodation Procedures” with attending procedures which carefully outline the Reasonable Accommodation request and appeal process. In addition to that, the compamy can tracking requests for Reasonable Accommodation. Tracking information about reasonable accommodations can help employers evaluate their performance in responding to accommodation requests and implement measures to improve performance where necessary. Among other things, tracking may enable a state agency to determine how long it takes to respond to requests for different types of reasonable accommodations; whether there are particular types of reasonable accommodations that the employer has been unable to provide; whether there are agency components that have not granted requests for reasonable accommodations; and the reasons for denials. Where, for example, there have been repeated delays in the processing of reasonable accommodation requests, an agency can investigate the reasons for the problem and take the steps necessary to correct it.
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Employers must make sure that, once hired, individuals with disabilities have the tools they need to succeed and the same opportunities for advancement as other employees. In addition to practices specifically designed to provide opportunities for advancement, this part also considers how periodic training can work to prevent discrimination.
Periodically, the company should held an activities that specifically promote the retention and advancement of employees with disabilities. There should be some training provided to the employer, manager, and supervisor to increase the awareness in the “equality emplyment” and avoid discrimination among the normal emplyee and the abnormal employee.
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
In addition to traditional vocational rehabilitation services, to promote the employment of people with disabilities in both the public and private sectors, the most significant practise that we would like to mention including legislative and executive action, internships, and public/private partnerships.
For example, our government should establish a new agency within the state for persons with disabilities with the mission to devoted entirely to assisting persons with disabilities with improving their quality of living through, among other things, improved housing, employment, and transportation opportunities. Besides, creation of a clearinghouse that provides employers with a single point of contact for recruiting applicants who have disabilities and for technical assistance.
The company also can involve itseft in the internship programme as well as identified partnerships they have with business and/or community organizations to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities.
As a conclusion, we are encouraged by our initial findings concerning state best practices aimed at recruiting and hiring qualified individuals with disabilities. These practices include not only the establishment of some training and hiring programs specifically for individuals with disabilities, but more significantly, efforts to increase the number of qualified applicants with disabilities for jobs available to the general public. Based on information reported by the states, it appears that individuals involved in the hiring process have access to more than adequate training on subjects such as interviewing people with disabilities and preparing job descriptions. The job announcements that we have examined thus far do not describe jobs in a way that would inadvertently screen out qualified individuals with disabilities. In fact, some job announcements and job descriptions specifically reference the availability of reasonable accommodations for the application process and on the job.
The use of written procedures for providing reasonable accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking the disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal processes following denials of reasonable accommodations are also positive trends
Finally, the states we have surveyed from the resech on this topic and we know that the community have taken a significant number of steps to increase the employment of people with disabilities generally. We know that the employment of people with disabilities is a state priority.
Weaknesess 4: Insufficient Benefits toward Employee with Disabilities
After a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
Solutions:
After interviewed with Dream Catcher Operation Manager and had a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
From our view of point, we suggest that the company should improve the benefits for employee with disabilities as follow:
Transportation
The company should provided transportation service for employee with disabilities who are unable to use public transportation. It is because the transportation is a critical aspect of allowing people with disabilities to ride between their accommodation and working area. The transportation should equip with wheelchair lifts and is accessible to the disabled. By having these types of improvement, it will facilitate employee with disability when they access to the working area.
Reasonable Accommodations
Dream Catcher should make “reasonable accommodations” to increase workplace accessibility for job applicants and employees with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. By providing reasonable accommodation to disabled employee, we believe that it will decrease the difficulties to disabled employee especially those from out station.
Medical Benefits
Dream Catcher should provide healthcare services to disabled employee, such as implement Working Disabled Program to enable employee with disabilities to participate in the workforce without losing their Medical coverage. Besides, initial medical treatment for a work-related injury/illness must be provided by Dream Catcher in order to compensate employee who are being treated for a work related incident. The yearly medical checkup should be also providing to every employee in order to ensure their health condition.
Weaknesses 5: Gap between workers. Gaps between workers with employers.
In a company not every workers can get along with one another. Problems arise when they are not given the opportunity to get to know their colleagues better. Judging people from their outlook has been a natural sense to every human being. Thus in order to avoid and over come this problem, the company should always come out with something creative to bring the workers get up closed and create a better environment to the working atmosphere.
Solutions:
The company should have more activities specially organize for the workers only. By doing this the company is giving opportunity to the workers to get to know each other better. When the workers start mixing together they will create a special bond and this will eventually closed up the gap between the workers.
The company can organize monthly lunch instead of waiting once a year for annual dinner. Monthly lunch will help to gather all the workers to meet up and get close or even closer than before.
Besides that, company can organize outings for the workers as well. For example the company can have drinking session after work or maybe coffee with the company workers. By conducting such activities, the company is helping their own organization to build up a strong relationship with one another. During the activities the workers can discuss about the potential growth of the company or perhaps this activity is giving them an ease of mind after working so hard one whole day. It is of course encouraged able for the company to be the main domain and make sure their fellows have good relationship with one another. It is very important to build a healthy working atmosphere before expecting big productivity from workers.
Conducting those activities will also help the disable workers to feel wanted and welcome to become a member of the organization.
The company must be consistent with the outings, gatherings and activities. This is because all this activities aim is to maintain good and healthy relationship within the organization. In order to maintain this relationship, company plays an important role by bringing them together and get close with one another.
Processes Impronement
The low employment rate of people with disabilities reflects a failure of government social policies. Societies hide away some disabled individuals on generous benefits. Others isolate them in sheltered work programmes. Efforts to help them find work in the open labor market are often lacking. The shortcomings affect moderately disabled individuals, as well as those with severe handicaps, but are particularly true for people over age 50.
In our opinion, government, regulation, corporation, as well as communities should collaborate in order to help more disabled person to involve in workplace. They may underpin the necessary elements of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. The examples of key pillars include:
1) Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
2) Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
3) Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
4) Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
a) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
b) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life; 5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
1. Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable.
Key Recommendations;
* Introduce a tax credit for people with disabilities moving from welfare to employment.
* Increase the income threshold for the Medical Card by introducing a disability allowance in calculating the income threshold.
* Allow for the retention of the Medical Card for all persons with a disability taking up employment for a period of one year (regardless of the income threshold for eligibility).
* Introduce an employment assessment dimension into procedures for qualifying for income support for people with disabilities.
* Introduce a cost of disability payment.
Other Actions
Rationalize the number of illness/disability related welfare payments.
Recognize partial (in) capacity.
2. Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Key Recommendations
Ø In relation to the existing package of educational and training programmes, increase the level of participation by people with disabilities in education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of employment demand.
Ø For people with disabilities participating in basic or prevocational programmes, ensure that there is progression to education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of occupational/employment demand.
Ø Introduce a work placement module for people with disabilities participating in educational and training programmes.
Ø Participation by people with disabilities in Community
Employment should be more closely linked with the employment and career aspirations of people with disabilities, and access to education and training designed to enhance the labor market relevant skills of people with disabilities should be integrated into the operation of the programme. Post programme support should be provided to ensure that the benefits arising from participation in CE can provide a platform for accessing employment in the open labor market.
Other Actions
Ø Put working and target driven progression pathways in place within the education and training system to facilitate the progression of people with disabilities.
Ø Set realistic performance targets concerning progression and employment placement for state and other providers.
Ø Examine the efficacy of existing arrangements from a labor market perspective and act based on objective findings.
Ø Provide more in-work type training opportunities for people with disabilities in order to ensure relevance and currency but also to impact on attitudes, stereotyping and potential discrimination amongst employers and fellow employees.
Ø Set and pursue participation, progression and employment related targets.
3. Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Key Recommendations
Ø Priorities public sector recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.
Ø Priorities public sector accommodation of disability.
Ø Use public sector contracting to leverage change.
Ø Use grant giving to leverage change.
Ø Package and market supports for employers to employ people with disabilities.
Ø Promote flexible working arrangements to accommodate diversity.
Ø Undertake a sustained and targeted information/education campaign to promote awareness of capabilities of people with disabilities and their visibility as a source of labor supply.
4. Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
c) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
d) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in adult life;
Key Recommendations
Ø Introduce a social guarantee programme that commits the state to ensuring that school leavers without Leaving Certificate qualifications receive further education and training to at least Level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.
Ø Ensure that vocational/occupational/employment assessment and guidance are provided as part of the process of qualifying for income support; (ii) support, on an early intervention basis, is provided (by the state and, where relevant, employers) to enable persons acquiring a disability to develop an individualized employment entry/re-entry plan.
Other Actions
Ø Promote/legislate for employer responsibilities for employee retention.
Ø Provide packaged supports to individuals and employers.
Ø Train managers in retention strategies.
Ø Provide support to help people cope with workplace stress.
Ø Need to train for and practice ‘disability management’ in the system.
Ø Explore international innovations such as Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot in the UK and the system shifts that have resulted in increased employer responsibilities in the Netherlands.
5. Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
Key Recommendations
Ø Devise and implement an action plan for engaging with people with disabilities.
Other Actions
Ø Ensure early intervention with people with disabilities.
Ø Provide staff training for personnel in national employment service.
Ø Provide services in the area of occupational assessment, counseling, guidance as part of national employment service.
Ø Incremental introduction of benefit subject to assessment and guidance particularly for young people who can currently access full benefits from age 16 on the basis of purely medical criteria.
Ø Integrate information and contact points – ‘one-stop-shop
Quality Management
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs.
Total Quality provides an umbrella under which everyone in the organization can strive and create customer satisfaction at continually lower real costs. Quality assurance through statistical methods is a key component in a manufacturing organization, where TQM generally starts by sampling a random selection of the product. The sample can then be tested for things that matter most to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated, secondary measures of the production process are designed, and then the causes of the failure are corrected. The statistical distributions of important measurements are tracked. When parts' measures drift into a defined "error band", the process is fixed. The error band is usually a tighter distribution than the "failure band", so that the production process is fixed before failing parts can be produced. This process is to make sure good outputs reach the customers to avoid complaints or any harm to consumers. This is one way of carrying our an organization corporate social responsibility.
Besides that quality management must have a good management system in order to balance up a process or an activity. Management system help to produce products or services to meet the objectives it has set itself such as :
a) satisfying customers needs
b) complying with regulations
c) meeting environmental objectives
A good quality management will have a management system standard where an organization will prepare a model to follow in setting up and operating a management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as being the international state art of award. The model has 4 components in a process. The components are Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA). This is the operating principle of ISO’s management system standards. Below shows the model of PDCA and the further elaboration on each process.
From the model there are four processes that need to be done step by step in order to produce quality products or services. Before an organization can produce a good products or services, they must have quality management to manage the whole output processes. First process is plan. Organizations must established objectives and make plans. This process is to analyze an organization’s situation, establish overall objectives, set interim targets, and make plans to achieve all those objectives.
Secondly is the Do process. This step is to implement the organization plans. Thirdly is Check process. Check process measure the results as an output. Usually an organization will measure or monitor the achievements to see whether the main objectives have work on smoothly as planned. Lastly is Action process. Organization will correct and improve in plans. All mistakes that occurred will be learned and corrected so that they will not repeat the same mistakes again.
Not to forget, in quality management there is a principle to be applied to the organization. This principle is known as quality management principle.
There are eight quality management principles on which the quality management systems standards of the revised ISO9000:2000 series are based. These principles can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance.
The eight quality management principles are as followed;
1) Customers Focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
The eight quality management principles are as followed;
1) Customers Focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
2) Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
3) Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.
4) Process Approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.
5) System Approach to Management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.
6) Continual Improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
7) Factual Approach to Decision Making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. Thus organization should gather more data and information take make a good decision making.
8) Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.
Management Quality Standards
As for management quality standards, there are two types of ISO which are best known standards and their impact to the world.
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's best known standards ever. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 (1996 and 2004 versions) are implemented by some 887 770 organizations in 161 countries. The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfill:
§ the customer's quality requirements, and
§ applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
§ enhance customer satisfaction, and
§ achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:
§ minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
§ achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
In quality management, good planning, applying the eight principles and never forget the management quality standard are those management that need to be implemented to organization in order to produce good quality of products and services. With good products and services, eventually this will satisfy the customer’s needs and demands.
Lean Management
The Dream Catcher is company which provides Professional Training Courses in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Although the company is just provided service to its customers, it still generates a lot of waste such as process waste, information waste, work waste, and human energy waste.
As we all know, Lean Management accomplish waste reduction by improving process productivity, reducing inventory, improving quality and increasing worker involvement. Thus it is favorable that Dream Catcher integrates lean management in their company in order to provide quality services to the society. For instance, by applying lean system in the human resources department the company can eliminate human energy waste such as talent employee or employee with disabilities. It is because lean uses employee involvement in all aspects of the business to ensure that nothing is overlooked and the implications of decisions are understood at all levels.
The implementation of lean management principles in Dream Catcher’s service businesses may increase efficiency and reduce project costs if it is able to capitalize on its newly available resources and attract additional work. Besides, by successful integration of lean principles in Dream Catcher can improve its business operations in term of environmental consideration. There are five fundamental concepts have been established to define the philosophy and implementation of lean management:
1) specify value - Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by services provided.
2) identify the value stream - Identify all the steps in the value stream for each services provided, eliminating every step and every action and every practice that does not create value;
3) flow - Make the remaining value-creating steps occur in a tight and integrated sequence so the service will flow smoothly toward the customer.;
4) pull - As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.; and
5) perfection - As these steps lead to greater transparency, enabling managers and teams to eliminate further waste, pursue perfection through continuous improvement.
Furthermore, by applying lean management skills Dream Catcher will realize tangible and measurable benefits, reduce costs not just selling price, reduce delivery time, set-up time, eliminate waste, drive continuous improvement, improve quality, improve customer ratings and perceptions, increase overall customer satisfaction, improve employee involvement, morale, and company culture, lastly Dream catcher also can transform its key business processes.
Furthermore, by applying lean management skills Dream Catcher will realize tangible and measurable benefits, reduce costs not just selling price, reduce delivery time, set-up time, eliminate waste, drive continuous improvement, improve quality, improve customer ratings and perceptions, increase overall customer satisfaction, improve employee involvement, morale, and company culture, lastly Dream catcher also can transform its key business processes.
Other than that, the application of Lean Thinking and Lean Management aligns and integrates long term business improvement strategies to day to day continuous improvement targets, ensuring along the way that can allow Dream Catcher remain above all else customer focused, flexible and ready for the challenges ahead. Lean can advocates Dream Catcher make smart use of resources, technology, equipment and the skills and knowledge of employees, suppliers and customers. Thus, Dream Catcher can operate in the most efficient and most effective condition, with lowest costs and minimal waste.
In conclusion, as service industries Dream Catcher should integrated lean management and apply the five fundamental concepts of lean management to reduce waste and enhance its business operations.
Value Creation
The prerequisite to profitability that stands out more than any other is value. Value is what the customer pays for and value creation is the most important contribution of operations management. Businesses seek products and services that can enhance value for their customers, whereas consumers seek those that meet their own needs. Value is transferred through products and services, from supplier to customer to consumer, within large networks of businesses called supply chain.
Value Creation
The prerequisite to profitability that stands out more than any other is value. Value is what the customer pays for and value creation is the most important contribution of operations management. Businesses seek products and services that can enhance value for their customers, whereas consumers seek those that meet their own needs. Value is transferred through products and services, from supplier to customer to consumer, within large networks of businesses called supply chain.
A firm’s competitiveness rests on its ability to match functional strategies-and the day-to-day decisions they guide-to business strategies so that they can successfully compete. For operations decisions, this means recognizing the value attributes important to customers as well as the competitive priorities of cost, quality, dependability of delivery, flexibility, and response time making strategic decisions that enhance competitive priorities. For supply chain decisions, enhancing competitiveness involves make-or-buy decisions, determining whether supply chain management is designed for cost reduction or value enhancement, sourcing decisions, logistics network decisions, supply chain services outsourcing decisions, supply chain security decisions, and decision regarding technology. Any strategic decision that affects the operations of a supply chain member affects the supply chain itself.
From the information that we get from Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD, we realize that the company provides insufficient facilities for the People With Disabilities(PWDs) in the workplace. In order to create value to , the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. The PWDs can park their transports at the specific parking slots provided by the company. It’s also save their time compared to park their transports which are far from the company when the company’s car park is full. It is not convenient and will take long time for them to reach the company.
The PWDs also can enhance accessibility after having proper working equipments. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems. Besides that, Dream Catcher should offer an extensive range of disabled access solutions from all types of Vertical and incline platform lifts, to automatic door entry systems, toilet M packs, induction loops, through to architectural ramp systems. After the new facilities have been furnished in the company, PWDs can implement their responsibilities smoothly.
Besides that, the company is also no involvement in giving charity for the disabled people. The company should donate to society by providing useful materials and minimizing company wastage. Dream Catcher can also offer scholarships to PWDs for furthering study. From that, the company can discover talent PWDs, then they are employed to create value to the company. The company can also donate partial of revenue to help the poor society. It’ll also enhance the reputation of the company.
We discover that there are few weaknesses in the company’s employment policies and practice. Dream Catcher should implement recruiting and hiring plan to train and hire talent PWD. The company should also protect PWDs’ right by avoiding discrimination, increasing awareness in equality employment and promoting retention. As we know, retaining qualified personnel can even more difficult than hiring them. The company should make every effort to provide creative and challenging work opportunities and, when possible, to offer open channels to management-level positions. From the plan, PWDs can know more about their strengths in their career. Moreover, the company should also provide the best practices to assist PWDs in their responsibilities. Their capabilities and productivities are directly influencing the company’s operations flow.
Dream Catcher is also provide insufficient benefit towards PWD. The company should offer accommodation benefit, transportation options and medical benefit to PWDs. The PWDs can improve their living, save the cost of living, save time, health condition being ensured, employees be compensated and being given medical recover by receiving these benefits.
Moreover, we realise that there is a gap between the PWD with colleges. In order to reduce or overcome this gap, the company should implement company’s gathering such as special activities for enhancing relationships and creating special bone between PWDs with colleges. Added, the company can also hold monthly lunch to tie up each employee.
Lastly, Dream Catcher can organize outing. By conducting such activities, the company is helping their own organization to build up a strong relationship with one another. During the activities the workers can discuss about the potential growth of the company or perhaps this activity is giving them an ease of mind after working so hard one whole day. It is of course encouraged able for the company to be the main domain and make sure their fellows have good relationship with one another. It is very important to build a healthy working atmosphere before expecting big productivity from workers.
Improvement Tools
1. Services Blueprinting
a) “ As-Is” Service Blueprint for Recruitment and Retention of People with Disabilities (PWD) in Dream Catcher
1) Application Form Received
2) Recruitment
Performed in HR Department
Candidates
Called for
Interview
Candidates Interviewed
Candidates
Hired
F1
F2
F3
F4
Decision
Potential Fail Point
Event in Process
F
The service blueprinting above is developed to model existing system in the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities in Dream Cather. This service blueprint clearly specifies 4 potential failures that can result in the failure of the operation. The potential failures re listed as follow:
Improvement Tools
1. Services Blueprinting
a) “ As-Is” Service Blueprint for Recruitment and Retention of People with Disabilities (PWD) in Dream Catcher
1) Application Form Received
2) Recruitment
Performed in HR Department
Candidates
Called for
Interview
Candidates Interviewed
Candidates
Hired
F1
F2
F3
F4
Decision
Potential Fail Point
Event in Process
F
The service blueprinting above is developed to model existing system in the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities in Dream Cather. This service blueprint clearly specifies 4 potential failures that can result in the failure of the operation. The potential failures re listed as follow:
F1: The possibility that the qualified and capable PWD not recruited as their visibility not as a source of labor supply.
F2: The PWD that selected from recruitment are omitted from being called
F3: Interview is conducted by inexperienced official or those who prejudice towards PWD.
F4: Qualified and capable PWD not hired.
In responding to the potential failure points, we would like to propose to the company several recommendations that can help to improve the process. In our opinion, to promote the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions). In addition to that, the suggestions that we have recommended in the section of Process Improvement also create control to the process. They included:
1) Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare
system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially
rewarding, and sustainable;
2) Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment
system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are
equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to
benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
3) Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the
recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
4) Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
a) reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
b) improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life;
5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
b) “Should-Be” Service Blueprint for Recruitment and Retention of People with Disabilities (PWD) in Dream Catcher
Application Form Received
Recruitment
Performed in HR Department
Candidates
Called for
Interview
Candidates Interviewed
F1
F2
F3
F4
Candidates
Hired
Employee with Disabilities is Trained
Employee with Disabilities is Fair Rewarded
Promote Flexible Working Arrangement
The “Should-Be” blueprint is developed after an analysis on the existing system to provide guide for improving the employment process of the company. We include the processing 3 additional steps that we think will contribute to value creation. Even the process improvement does not eliminate the potential points at all, but, it does help to mitigate the risk of the failure.
2. Fishbone Diagram
Charity
Facility
Benefits
Employment Policies
Gap
2. Fishbone Diagram
3. House of Quality
House of Quality for “Access for People with Disabilities”
Sufficient Facility
Do Charity
Amendment of Employment Policies & Practice
Provide More Benefits
Improvement of Gap between Workers with Employers
Direct Relationship
Component III: Project Deliverables
We are in the the processes of developing a weblog. We plan to upload our progress report and the related picture while it is ready to be visited. We are willing to upload our innovative CSR-Opeartional solutions, case studies, articles, as well as appendices on the weblog.
INTERVIEW WITH AN ORGANIZATION
Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHDBlock B, Krystal Point, Jalan Sultan Azlan ShahTel: +604 640 7111Fax: +604 640 7110
1. Does your organization provide any type of benefits for People with Disabilities (PWDs)?
Yes. Our organization does provide benefits to the PWDs workers. Benefits that we provide them are salary component which we are paying 12% extra as a charity for them. We provide insurance premium as well and also we will send a guidance to guide them when they first enroll to our company.
Yes. We do have a special toilet for the disable workers.
No. We have not come out with a proper plan about sponsorships.
4. Will your organisation be willing to accept PWDs to work in your institution?
Certainly, we are more than willing to accept them if they match the skills requirement.
5. Does your organisation provide any training for PWDs?
When they first enroll we will provide a guidance to guide them with their tasks.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Revolution Introduction
University Sains Malaysia
School of Management
School of Management
Semester 2(2007/08)
Operations Management – ATW223
Title: Access for people with Disabilities
Dr: Ellisha
Group Members:
Boey Kuan Kee 85668
Ang Bee Feng 87223
Hew Yoke Sun 87250
Goh Xue Lee 87246
Friday, February 22, 2008
Project Progress
According to the guideline given we have followed all the instruction and this is our progress so far. We have complete almost everything and we welcome feed back from anyone. Your feed back is very much appreciated and we will try to attend your feed back as soon as we can.
Access of People with Disabilities/Emplyment of People with Disabilities (PWD)
Component I: Trend Mapping
As required in guideline of assignmet, we have found 20 quality articles regarding to this topic from The Star newspaper, Fortune, and Malaysia Businesses. The topic for the articles include Reserved spots ar only for Disabled, Employer Attitudes towards Workers with Disabilities and their ADA Employment Right, An Intergrated Approach to Disabled ( 1 Octorber 2002 ), Disability Action Plan could mean Real Improvements for Disabled People ( 20th January 2005), Strategy to Improve Life Chances of Disabled People ( 19th January 2005), Investment in Disabled People’s Skill could Boost the Economy, OECD Urges Poland to Help Disabled People to Find Work, and etc.
Besides that, for the case study, we use 2 local and 3 foreign-based companies. The companies include HSBC Canada, Cleveland Police, Perspectiva Organization, Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah ( LPBBSH), and the Royal Selangor. All of the articles and the case studies were used to support our trend mapping.
Today there are more disabled people in employment than ever before. Indeed, since 1997 the employment rate of disabled people has risen twice as much as for the population as a whole.
This is a great achievement and shows the investment made by this Government in employment programmes and services. The investment of the foreign countries such as Jobcentre Plus, the New Deal and Pathways to Work has really made a difference.
In oversea, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) has helped break down the barriers that have kept many disabled people out of work in the past. This Government has repeatedly strengthened the law, delivering the biggest extension of disability civil rights this country has ever seen.
On October 3, 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new enforcement guidance that analyzes benefit discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA).
In Malaysia, some companies have started employing disabled persons in greater numbers as they are proven to be loyal and productive. Some of the good examples are, Tan Chong Motors (M), OYL Sdn Bhd., Chip Pac (M) Sdn Bhd. In Penang itself, some good examples are Leong Bee Soo Bee (LBSB) Sdn. Bhd, Agilent Technologies Sdn. Bhd., International Footwear Sdn. Bhd. and Pen Apparel Sdn. Bhd. There are also some architecture firms who employ deaf persons as draughtspersons, whilst some are self-employed eg. Batik painting
Besides, from the article on 7 November 2006, we found that OECD urges Poland to help disable people to find job. According to the new OECD report, Poland should act quickly to make it easier for disabled people to find work as part of a major reform of its disability policies. It proposes steps the governments should take to cut the number of people claiming these benefits and help them back into the labor market.
By providing disabled people with the support they need to get a job, we have helped many of them improve their lives.
And from December 2005 the DDA was extended once again to require public authorities, such as hospitals, schools and local councils, to promote equality for disabled people. The Disability Equality Duty has taken the DDA a step further by requiring public bodies to make sure they include and consult disabled people when they design their services, rather than considering their needs as an afterthought.
In addition to that , the specialist disability programme, delivered by Jobcentre Plus, offers grants towards the cost of providing support, for example, by helping to pay for any special equipment a disabled person may need to function in the work place. Since the scheme began in 1994, more than 120,000 people have benefited from more than £400m of grants.
As a conclusion, the world has done a lot of beneficials activities towards the dissabilities people especially in employment. Besides that government from the global has coperate well with one another to create and enforce regulations for the disable to maintain their priorities. Lastly, society should pay more concerntration towards the disable peolple. Society or organizations should help the disable by involving themselves into charity or by helping them with their needs and demands instead of discriminate them.
Component II: Developing
We had interview with the Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD and obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. After interviewing Dream Catcher’s Operations Manager, we analyse the company base on the employment of disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment polocies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges.
Weaknesses 1: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs).
Solutions:
In our opinion, we feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems. Besides that, Dream Catcher should offer an extensive range of disabled access solutions from all types of Vertical and incline platform lifts, to automatic door entry systems, toilet M packs, induction loops, through to architectural ramp systems.
The ADA defines a public entity as a place that serves food or drink, provides lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and just about every other private business or program that offers a service to the public.
Under Title IV of ADA covers telephone communication. Phone companies must provide 24-hour relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses that offer telephone services to the general public must also provide it to people who use devices for the deaf known as teletypewriters, or TTYs. In addition, it requires that if federal money pays for a public service announcement, it must be closed-captioned, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Weaknesses 2: No charity has been done for the society.
They did not carry their responsibility completely by showing their care towards this society. Society needs help from organizations for certain demands especially in finance. Thus they should implement more charity work for the society.
Solutions:
They should do donation to society that needed their help badly. For example, donation to the disable associations, mentally retarded associations and other associations. They can donate in either financially support or through donating things that meet their needs and demands.
Donation through buying them things or materials are equivalent useful. They can donate them some useful equipment like computers, study tables, stationeries, and so on. This will not only help the disable by providing them more useful materials but the company is maximizing their wastage as well.
Besides that they can give scholarship to their workers or disable workers who are unable to pursue their studies. There are a lot of disable people who has their hidden talent but could not bring out their talent due to financial problem. Thus, the company should well-trained their disable workers or any other workers who are not able to pursue their studies.
The company can donate or contribute a partial of revenue to the PWDs workers. Donating partial of revenue means that the company can conduct a campaign announcing that half of the selling profit will go to charity. This activity that conducted by company will usually get good response from people who are able to help the unable. Many people are more than willing to help when it comes to charity. This activity will not only help the company to enhance their image and reputation but they are helping the poor society to raise fund.
Weaknesses 3: Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice
The company’ policies and practices are more premised on the incapacity of people with disability to work than on their capacity to work. Disability is equated with inactivity rather than activity. A particular aspect of this is the operation of the income support system for people with disabilities and the manner in which this does not, in practice, recognize: (i) the possibility of a capacity to work and an interest in obtaining employment on part of people with disabilities currently not in employment; and, (ii) the diversity among people with disabilities not in work in terms of their capabilities for work, work aspirations, and the range and types of support needed to realize their aspirations.
Solution:
In our opinion, the Department of Human Resources should develop policies and procedures to govern statewide human resources management practices. Although the recruitment process is managed centrally by the Department of Human Resources Employment Services Division, interviewing and hiring decisions are the responsibility of the agency/department hiring official. For example, the Department of Personnel in Washington developed state-wide policies that individual agencies implemented. Washington also included a mix of centralized recruitment for some job classes and individual agency recruitment for others.
We proposed four main part that sahould be ammended in the Employment Policies of company as follow:
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
The company may held a programs that specifically train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for state jobs. The program targets individuals with developmental disabilities and those with significant disabilities
Besides, reasonable accommodations also can be made for the application and interview process, which may mean conducting the interview somewhere that is accessible to a person in a wheelchair or providing a sign language interpreter for someone who is deaf. In promoting the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions).
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Employers is required to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities. One way that an employer can promote compliance with this legal obligation is to have in place written procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of everyone involved in the reasonable accommodation process and that enable tracking and prompt resolution of accommodation requests. Company may establish a “ Written Reasonable Accommodation Procedures” with attending procedures which carefully outline the Reasonable Accommodation request and appeal process. In addition to that, the compamy can tracking requests for Reasonable Accommodation. Tracking information about reasonable accommodations can help employers evaluate their performance in responding to accommodation requests and implement measures to improve performance where necessary. Among other things, tracking may enable a state agency to determine how long it takes to respond to requests for different types of reasonable accommodations; whether there are particular types of reasonable accommodations that the employer has been unable to provide; whether there are agency components that have not granted requests for reasonable accommodations; and the reasons for denials. Where, for example, there have been repeated delays in the processing of reasonable accommodation requests, an agency can investigate the reasons for the problem and take the steps necessary to correct it.
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Employers must make sure that, once hired, individuals with disabilities have the tools they need to succeed and the same opportunities for advancement as other employees. In addition to practices specifically designed to provide opportunities for advancement, this part also considers how periodic training can work to prevent discrimination.
Periodically, the company should held an activities that specifically promote the retention and advancement of employees with disabilities. There should be some training provided to the employer, manager, and supervisor to increase the awareness in the “equality emplyment” and avoid discrimination among the normal emplyee and the abnormal emplyee.
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
In addition to traditional vocational rehabilitation services, to promote the employment of people with disabilities in both the public and private sectors, the most significant practise that we would like to mention including legislative and executive action, internships, and public/private partnerships.
For example, our government should establish a new agency within the state for persons with disabilities with the mission to devoted entirely to assisting persons with disabilities with improving their quality of living through, among other things, improved housing, employment, and transportation opportunities. Besides, creation of a clearinghouse that provides employers with a single point of contact for recruiting applicants who have disabilities and for technical assistance.
The company also can involve itseft in the internship programme as well as identified partnerships they have with business and/or community organizations to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities.
As a conclusion, we are encouraged by our initial findings concerning state best practices aimed at recruiting and hiring qualified individuals with disabilities. These practices include not only the establishment of some training and hiring programs specifically for individuals with disabilities, but more significantly, efforts to increase the number of qualified applicants with disabilities for jobs available to the general public. Based on information reported by the states, it appears that individuals involved in the hiring process have access to more than adequate training on subjects such as interviewing people with disabilities and preparing job descriptions. The job announcements that we have examined thus far do not describe jobs in a way that would inadvertently screen out qualified individuals with disabilities. In fact, some job announcements and job descriptions specifically reference the availability of reasonable accommodations for the application process and on the job.
The use of written procedures for providing reasonable accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking the disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal processes following denials of reasonable accommodations are also positive trends
Finally, the states we have surveyed from the resech on this topic and we know that the community have taken a significant number of steps to increase the employment of people with disabilities generally. We know that the employment of people with disabilities is a state priority.
Weaknesess 4: Insufficient Benefits toward Employee with Disabilities
After a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
Solutions:
From our view of point, we suggest that the company should increase the benefits for employee with disabilities. Such as the company should provided transportation service for employee with disabilities who are unable to use public transportation. Other than that, the company also can provided reasonable accommodation for employee with disabilities. It is because a reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. Lastly, yearly medical checkup should be providing to every employee with disabilities, in order to ensure their health.
Reasonable Accommodations
Dream Catcher should make “reasonable accommodations” to increase workplace accessibility for job applicants and employees with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. By providing reasonable accommodation to disabled employee, we believe that it will decrease the difficulties to disabled employee especially those from out station.
Medical Benefits
Dream Catcher should provide healthcare services to disabled employee, such as implement Working Disabled Program to enable employee with disabilities to participate in the workforce without losing their Medical coverage. Besides, initial medical treatment for a work-related injury/illness must be provided by Dream Catcher in order to compensate employee who are being treated for a work related incident. The yearly medical checkup should be also providing to every employee in order to ensure their health condition.
Weaknesses 5: Gap between workers. Gaps between workers with employers.
In a company not every workers can get along with one another. Problems arise when they are not given the opportunity to get to know their colleagues better. Judging people from their outlook has been a natural sense to every human being. Thus in order to avoid and over come this problem, the company should always come out with something creative to bring the workers get up closed and create a better environment to the working atmosphere.
Solutions:
The company should have more activities specially organize for the workers only. By doing this the company is giving opportunity to the workers to get to know each other better. When the workers start mixing together they will create a special bond and this will eventually closed up the gap between the workers.
The company can organize monthly lunch instead of waiting once a year for annual dinner. Monthly lunch will help to gather all the workers to meet up and get close or even closer than before.
Besides that, company can organize outings for the workers as well. For example the company can have drinking session after work or maybe coffee with the company workers. By conducting such activities, the company is helping their own organization to build up a strong relationship with one another. During the activities the workers can discuss about the potential growth of the company or perhaps this activity is giving them an ease of mind after working so hard one whole day. It is of course encouraged able for the company to be the main domain and make sure their fellows have good relationship with one another. It is very important to build a healthy working atmosphere before expecting big productivity from workers.
Conducting those activities will also help the disable workers to feel wanted and welcome to become a member of the organization.
The company must be consistent with the outings, gatherings and activities. This is because all this activities aim is to maintain good and healthy relationship within the organization. In order to maintain this relationship, company plays an important role by bringing them together and get close with one another.
Processes Impronement
. The low employment rate of people with disabilities reflects a failure of government social policies. Societies hide away some disabled individuals on generous benefits. Others isolate them in sheltered work programmes. Efforts to help them find work in the open labor market are often lacking. The shortcomings affect moderately disabled individuals, as well as those with severe handicaps, but are particularly true for people over age 50. …
In our opinion, government, regulation, corporation, as well as communities should collaborate in order to help more disabled person to involve in workplace. They may underpin the necessary elements of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. The examples of key pillars include:
Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life;
5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
1. Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
Key Recommendations
Introduce a tax credit for people with disabilities moving from welfare to employment.
Increase the income threshold for the Medical Card by introducing a disability allowance in calculating the income threshold.
Allow for the retention of the Medical Card for all persons with a disability taking up employment for a period of one year (regardless of the income threshold for eligibility).
Introduce an employment assessment dimension into procedures for qualifying for income support for people with disabilities.
Introduce a cost of disability payment.
Other Actions
Rationalize the number of illness/disability related welfare payments.
Recognize partial (in) capacity.
2. Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Key Recommendations
In relation to the existing package of educational and training programmes, increase the level of participation by people with disabilities in education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of employment demand.
For people with disabilities participating in basic or prevocational programmes, ensure that there is progression to education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of occupational/employment demand.
Introduce a work placement module for people with disabilities participating in educational and training programmes.
Participation by people with disabilities in Community
Employment should be more closely linked with the employment and career aspirations of people with disabilities, and access to education and training designed to enhance the labor market relevant skills of people with disabilities should be integrated into the operation of the programme. Post programme support should be provided to ensure that the benefits arising from participation in CE can provide a platform for accessing employment in the open labor market..
.
Other Actions
Put working and target driven progression pathways in place within the education and training system to facilitate the progression of people with disabilities.
Set realistic performance targets concerning progression and employment placement for state and other providers.
Examine the efficacy of existing arrangements from a labor market perspective and act based on objective findings.
Provide more in-work type training opportunities for people with disabilities in order to ensure relevance and currency but also to impact on attitudes, stereotyping and potential discrimination amongst employers and fellow employees.
Set and pursue participation, progression and employment related targets.
3. Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Key Recommendations
Priorities public sector recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.
Priorities public sector accommodation of disability.
Use public sector contracting to leverage change.
Use grant giving to leverage change.
Package and market supports for employers to employ people with disabilities.
Promote flexible working arrangements to accommodate diversity.
Undertake a sustained and targeted information/education campaign to promote awareness of capabilities of people with disabilities and their visibility as a source of labor supply.
4. Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in adult life;
Key Recommendations
Introduce a social guarantee programme that commits the state to ensuring that school leavers without Leaving Certificate qualifications receive further education and training to at least Level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.
Ensure that vocational/occupational/employment assessment and guidance are provided as part of the process of qualifying for income support; (ii) support, on an early intervention basis, is provided (by the state and, where relevant, employers) to enable persons acquiring a disability to develop an individualized employment entry/re-entry plan.
Other Actions
Promote/legislate for employer responsibilities for employee retention.
Provide packaged supports to individuals and employers.
Train managers in retention strategies.
Provide support to help people cope with workplace stress.
Need to train for and practice ‘disability management’ in the system.
Explore international innovations such as Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot in the UK and the system shifts that have resulted in increased employer responsibilities in the Netherlands.
5. Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
Key Recommendations
Devise and implement an action plan for engaging with people with disabilities.
Other Actions
Ensure early intervention with people with disabilities.
Provide staff training for personnel in national employment service.
Provide services in the area of occupational assessment, counseling, guidance as part of national employment service.
Incremental introduction of benefit subject to assessment and guidance particularly for young people who can currently access full benefits from age 16 on the basis of purely medical criteria.
Integrate information and contact points – ‘one-stop-shop
.
Quality Management
Quality Management
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs.
Total Quality provides an umbrella under which everyone in the organization can strive and create customer satisfaction at continually lower real costs. Quality assurance through statistical methods is a key component in a manufacturing organization, where TQM generally starts by sampling a random selection of the product. The sample can then be tested for things that matter most to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated, secondary measures of the production process are designed, and then the causes of the failure are corrected. The statistical distributions of important measurements are tracked. When parts' measures drift into a defined "error band", the process is fixed. The error band is usually a tighter distribution than the "failure band", so that the production process is fixed before failing parts can be produced. This process is to make sure good outputs reach the customers to avoid complaints or any harm to consumers. This is one way of carrying our an organization corporate social responsibility.
Besides that quality management must have a good management system in order to balance up a process or an activity. Management system help to produce products or services to meet the objectives it has set itself such as :
satisfying customers needs
complying with regulations
meeting environmental objectives
A good quality management will have a management system standard where an organization will prepare a model to follow in setting up and operating a management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as being the international state art of award. The model has 4 components in a process. The components are Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA). This is the operating principle of ISO’s management system standards. Below shows the model of PDCA and the further elaboration on each process.
Model of PDCA
From the model there are four processes that need to be done step by step in order to produce quality products or services. Before an organization can produce a good products or services, they must have quality management to manage the whole output processes. First process is plan. Organizations must established objectives and make plans. This process is to analyze an organization’s situation, establish overall objectives, set interim targets, and make plans to achieve all those objectives.
Secondly is the Do process. This step is to implement the organization plans. Thirdly is Check process. Check process measure the results as an output. Usually an organization will measure or monitor the achievements to see whether the main objectives have work on smoothly as planned. Lastly is Action process. Organization will correct and improve in plans. All mistakes that occurred will be learned and corrected so that they will not repeat the same mistakes again.
Not to forget, in quality management there is a principle to be applied to the organization. This principle is known as quality management principle. There are eight quality management principles on which the quality management systems standards of the revised ISO9000:2000 series are based. These principles can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance.
The eight quality management principles are as followed;
1) Customers Focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
2) Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
3) Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.
4) Process Approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.
5) System Approach to Management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.
6) Continual Improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
7) Factual Approach to Decision Making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. Thus organization should gather more data and information take make a good decision making.
8) Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.
Management Quality Standards
As for management quality standards, there are two types of ISO which are best known standards and their impact to the world.
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's best known standards ever. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 (1996 and 2004 versions) are implemented by some 887 770 organizations in 161 countries. The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfill:
the customer's quality requirements, and
applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
enhance customer satisfaction, and
achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:
minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
In quality management, good planning, applying the eight principles and never forget the management quality standard are those management that need to be implemented to organization in order to produce good quality of products and services. With good products and services, eventually this will satisfy the customer’s needs and demands.
Lean Management
The Dream Catcher is company which provides Professional Training Courses in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Although the company is just provided service to its customers, it still generates a lot of waste such as process waste, information waste, work waste, and human energy waste.
As we all know, Lean Management accomplish waste reduction by improving process productivity, reducing inventory, improving quality and increasing worker involvement. Thus it is favorable that Dream Catcher integrates lean management in their company in order to provide quality services to the society. For instance, by applying lean system in the human resources department the company can eliminate human energy waste such as talent employee or employee with disabilities. It is because lean uses employee involvement in all aspects of the business to ensure that nothing is overlooked and the implications of decisions are understood at all levels.
The implementation of lean management principles in Dream Catcher’s service businesses may increase efficiency and reduce project costs if it is able to capitalize on its newly available resources and attract additional work. Besides, by successful integration of lean principles in Dream Catcher can improve its business operations in term of environmental consideration. There are five fundamental concepts have been established to define the philosophy and implementation of lean management: 1) specify value - Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by services provided.; 2) identify the value stream - Identify all the steps in the value stream for each services provided, eliminating every step and every action and every practice that does not create value; 3) flow - Make the remaining value-creating steps occur in a tight and integrated sequence so the service will flow smoothly toward the customer.; 4) pull - As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.; and 5) perfection - As these steps lead to greater transparency, enabling managers and teams to eliminate further waste, pursue perfection through continuous improvement.
Furthermore, by applying lean management skills Dream Catcher will realize tangible and measurable benefits, reduce costs not just selling price, reduce delivery time, set-up time, eliminate waste, drive continuous improvement, improve quality, improve customer ratings and perceptions, increase overall customer satisfaction, improve employee involvement, morale, and company culture, lastly Dream catcher also can transform its key business processes.
Other than that, the application of Lean Thinking and Lean Management aligns and integrates long term business improvement strategies to day to day continuous improvement targets, ensuring along the way that can allow Dream Catcher remain above all else customer focused, flexible and ready for the challenges ahead. Lean can advocates Dream Catcher make smart use of resources, technology, equipment and the skills and knowledge of employees, suppliers and customers. Thus, Dream Catcher can operate in the most efficient and most effective condition, with lowest costs and minimal waste. In conclusion, as service industries Dream Catcher should integrated lean management and apply the five fundamental concepts of lean management to reduce waste and enhance its business operations.
Value Creation
Value means different things to different people. Operations and supply chain decisions are such an integral part of any company’s competitive success that many long-term resource decisions are strategic in nature. A business must continue to create value for its customers. This must occur even as the customer desires change and even as the business environment changes.
As we had been taught by lecturer, there have three components under the three bottom line such as profit, social and environment. From the standpoint of organization-Dram Catcher, it has compliance with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as it employs people with disabilities. By employing People with Disabilities, it is also creating value to the company such as good reputation, profitability and others. In the community aspect, Dream Catcher has improved and enhanced disabled employees’ life style with offer job to them. It would also boost up the economic environment as a result of enhancing disabilities’ life style. This is because the disabilities are also earning income and using their income to buy their necessary goods and services. This situation has boost up the economic environment.
Component III: Project Deliverables
We are in the the processes of developing a weblog. We plan to upload our progress report and the related picture while it is ready to be visited. We are willing to upload our innovative CSR-Opeartional solutions, case studies, articles, as well as appendices on the weblog.
INTERVIEW WITH AN ORGANIZATION
Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD Block B, Krystal Point, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah Tel: +604 640 7111 Fax: +604 640 7110
Does your organization provide any type of benefits for People with Disabilities (PWDs)? Yes. Our organization does provide benefits to the PWDs workers. Benefits that we provide them are salary component which we are paying 12% extra as a charity for them. We provide insurance premium as well and also we will send a guidance to guide them when they first enroll to our company.
Are there any facilities provided for PWDs at your place or any of your branches, e.g. ramp, lift, comfort room, etc.? Yes. We do have a special toilet for the disable workers.
Are there any financial aid that can be given such as scholarships, sponsorships and/or donations & how do the PWDs go about requesting such aids? No. We have not come out with a proper plan about sponsorships.
Will your organisation be willing to accept PWDs to work in your institution? Certainly, we are more than willing to accept them if they match the skills requirement.
Does your organisation provide any training for PWDs? When they first enroll we will provide a guidance to guide them with their tasks.
Access of People with Disabilities/Emplyment of People with Disabilities (PWD)
Component I: Trend Mapping
As required in guideline of assignmet, we have found 20 quality articles regarding to this topic from The Star newspaper, Fortune, and Malaysia Businesses. The topic for the articles include Reserved spots ar only for Disabled, Employer Attitudes towards Workers with Disabilities and their ADA Employment Right, An Intergrated Approach to Disabled ( 1 Octorber 2002 ), Disability Action Plan could mean Real Improvements for Disabled People ( 20th January 2005), Strategy to Improve Life Chances of Disabled People ( 19th January 2005), Investment in Disabled People’s Skill could Boost the Economy, OECD Urges Poland to Help Disabled People to Find Work, and etc.
Besides that, for the case study, we use 2 local and 3 foreign-based companies. The companies include HSBC Canada, Cleveland Police, Perspectiva Organization, Lembaga Bangunan BAKTI Siti Hasmah ( LPBBSH), and the Royal Selangor. All of the articles and the case studies were used to support our trend mapping.
Today there are more disabled people in employment than ever before. Indeed, since 1997 the employment rate of disabled people has risen twice as much as for the population as a whole.
This is a great achievement and shows the investment made by this Government in employment programmes and services. The investment of the foreign countries such as Jobcentre Plus, the New Deal and Pathways to Work has really made a difference.
In oversea, The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) has helped break down the barriers that have kept many disabled people out of work in the past. This Government has repeatedly strengthened the law, delivering the biggest extension of disability civil rights this country has ever seen.
On October 3, 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a new enforcement guidance that analyzes benefit discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Equal Pay Act (EPA).
In Malaysia, some companies have started employing disabled persons in greater numbers as they are proven to be loyal and productive. Some of the good examples are, Tan Chong Motors (M), OYL Sdn Bhd., Chip Pac (M) Sdn Bhd. In Penang itself, some good examples are Leong Bee Soo Bee (LBSB) Sdn. Bhd, Agilent Technologies Sdn. Bhd., International Footwear Sdn. Bhd. and Pen Apparel Sdn. Bhd. There are also some architecture firms who employ deaf persons as draughtspersons, whilst some are self-employed eg. Batik painting
Besides, from the article on 7 November 2006, we found that OECD urges Poland to help disable people to find job. According to the new OECD report, Poland should act quickly to make it easier for disabled people to find work as part of a major reform of its disability policies. It proposes steps the governments should take to cut the number of people claiming these benefits and help them back into the labor market.
By providing disabled people with the support they need to get a job, we have helped many of them improve their lives.
And from December 2005 the DDA was extended once again to require public authorities, such as hospitals, schools and local councils, to promote equality for disabled people. The Disability Equality Duty has taken the DDA a step further by requiring public bodies to make sure they include and consult disabled people when they design their services, rather than considering their needs as an afterthought.
In addition to that , the specialist disability programme, delivered by Jobcentre Plus, offers grants towards the cost of providing support, for example, by helping to pay for any special equipment a disabled person may need to function in the work place. Since the scheme began in 1994, more than 120,000 people have benefited from more than £400m of grants.
As a conclusion, the world has done a lot of beneficials activities towards the dissabilities people especially in employment. Besides that government from the global has coperate well with one another to create and enforce regulations for the disable to maintain their priorities. Lastly, society should pay more concerntration towards the disable peolple. Society or organizations should help the disable by involving themselves into charity or by helping them with their needs and demands instead of discriminate them.
Component II: Developing
We had interview with the Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD and obtained an understanding of the company in the process of the employment of people with disabilities. After interviewing Dream Catcher’s Operations Manager, we analyse the company base on the employment of disabilities perspective. We noticed that the welfare provided by the company towards the people with disabilities is insufficient. We realize that Dream Catcher’s operation flow has few weaknesses. From the weaknesses that we get, we have gone through discussion and research to find out some solutions to overcome the weaknesses. The weaknesses include of insufficient facilities provided for the PWD in the workplace, no involvemnt in giving charity for the disabled people, weaknesses in emplyment polocies and practise, Insufficient benefit towards PWD, and the gap between the PWD with colleges.
Weaknesses 1: insufficient facilities towards People with Disabilities (PWDs).
Solutions:
In our opinion, we feel that the company should provide new facilities, best suitable equipments that allow movement of people and goods in and around new or refurbished buildings to PWDs, specific parking lots, proper working desks and chairs which are suitable to PWDs, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems. Besides that, Dream Catcher should offer an extensive range of disabled access solutions from all types of Vertical and incline platform lifts, to automatic door entry systems, toilet M packs, induction loops, through to architectural ramp systems.
The ADA defines a public entity as a place that serves food or drink, provides lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and just about every other private business or program that offers a service to the public.
Under Title IV of ADA covers telephone communication. Phone companies must provide 24-hour relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses that offer telephone services to the general public must also provide it to people who use devices for the deaf known as teletypewriters, or TTYs. In addition, it requires that if federal money pays for a public service announcement, it must be closed-captioned, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Weaknesses 2: No charity has been done for the society.
They did not carry their responsibility completely by showing their care towards this society. Society needs help from organizations for certain demands especially in finance. Thus they should implement more charity work for the society.
Solutions:
They should do donation to society that needed their help badly. For example, donation to the disable associations, mentally retarded associations and other associations. They can donate in either financially support or through donating things that meet their needs and demands.
Donation through buying them things or materials are equivalent useful. They can donate them some useful equipment like computers, study tables, stationeries, and so on. This will not only help the disable by providing them more useful materials but the company is maximizing their wastage as well.
Besides that they can give scholarship to their workers or disable workers who are unable to pursue their studies. There are a lot of disable people who has their hidden talent but could not bring out their talent due to financial problem. Thus, the company should well-trained their disable workers or any other workers who are not able to pursue their studies.
The company can donate or contribute a partial of revenue to the PWDs workers. Donating partial of revenue means that the company can conduct a campaign announcing that half of the selling profit will go to charity. This activity that conducted by company will usually get good response from people who are able to help the unable. Many people are more than willing to help when it comes to charity. This activity will not only help the company to enhance their image and reputation but they are helping the poor society to raise fund.
Weaknesses 3: Weaknesses in Employment Policies and Practice
The company’ policies and practices are more premised on the incapacity of people with disability to work than on their capacity to work. Disability is equated with inactivity rather than activity. A particular aspect of this is the operation of the income support system for people with disabilities and the manner in which this does not, in practice, recognize: (i) the possibility of a capacity to work and an interest in obtaining employment on part of people with disabilities currently not in employment; and, (ii) the diversity among people with disabilities not in work in terms of their capabilities for work, work aspirations, and the range and types of support needed to realize their aspirations.
Solution:
In our opinion, the Department of Human Resources should develop policies and procedures to govern statewide human resources management practices. Although the recruitment process is managed centrally by the Department of Human Resources Employment Services Division, interviewing and hiring decisions are the responsibility of the agency/department hiring official. For example, the Department of Personnel in Washington developed state-wide policies that individual agencies implemented. Washington also included a mix of centralized recruitment for some job classes and individual agency recruitment for others.
We proposed four main part that sahould be ammended in the Employment Policies of company as follow:
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
Part I: Recuiting and Hiring
The company may held a programs that specifically train and/or hire individuals with disabilities for state jobs. The program targets individuals with developmental disabilities and those with significant disabilities
Besides, reasonable accommodations also can be made for the application and interview process, which may mean conducting the interview somewhere that is accessible to a person in a wheelchair or providing a sign language interpreter for someone who is deaf. In promoting the pratical in top management, all managers and supervisors should receive training that includes specific information about how to prepare job descriptions and conduct job interviews of applicants with disabilities. Hiring managers and supervisors, as well as interview panel members, should receive training addressing interviewing and development of position qualifications (i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities required for specific positions).
Part II: Reasonable Accomodation
Employers is required to provide reasonable accommodations to the known physical and mental limitations of qualified individuals with disabilities. One way that an employer can promote compliance with this legal obligation is to have in place written procedures that clearly define the responsibilities of everyone involved in the reasonable accommodation process and that enable tracking and prompt resolution of accommodation requests. Company may establish a “ Written Reasonable Accommodation Procedures” with attending procedures which carefully outline the Reasonable Accommodation request and appeal process. In addition to that, the compamy can tracking requests for Reasonable Accommodation. Tracking information about reasonable accommodations can help employers evaluate their performance in responding to accommodation requests and implement measures to improve performance where necessary. Among other things, tracking may enable a state agency to determine how long it takes to respond to requests for different types of reasonable accommodations; whether there are particular types of reasonable accommodations that the employer has been unable to provide; whether there are agency components that have not granted requests for reasonable accommodations; and the reasons for denials. Where, for example, there have been repeated delays in the processing of reasonable accommodation requests, an agency can investigate the reasons for the problem and take the steps necessary to correct it.
Part III: Protecting the Rights of Individuals With Disabilities on the Job
Employers must make sure that, once hired, individuals with disabilities have the tools they need to succeed and the same opportunities for advancement as other employees. In addition to practices specifically designed to provide opportunities for advancement, this part also considers how periodic training can work to prevent discrimination.
Periodically, the company should held an activities that specifically promote the retention and advancement of employees with disabilities. There should be some training provided to the employer, manager, and supervisor to increase the awareness in the “equality emplyment” and avoid discrimination among the normal emplyee and the abnormal emplyee.
Part IV: Other Best Practices That Promote the Employment of People with
Disabilities
In addition to traditional vocational rehabilitation services, to promote the employment of people with disabilities in both the public and private sectors, the most significant practise that we would like to mention including legislative and executive action, internships, and public/private partnerships.
For example, our government should establish a new agency within the state for persons with disabilities with the mission to devoted entirely to assisting persons with disabilities with improving their quality of living through, among other things, improved housing, employment, and transportation opportunities. Besides, creation of a clearinghouse that provides employers with a single point of contact for recruiting applicants who have disabilities and for technical assistance.
The company also can involve itseft in the internship programme as well as identified partnerships they have with business and/or community organizations to promote the employment of individuals with disabilities.
As a conclusion, we are encouraged by our initial findings concerning state best practices aimed at recruiting and hiring qualified individuals with disabilities. These practices include not only the establishment of some training and hiring programs specifically for individuals with disabilities, but more significantly, efforts to increase the number of qualified applicants with disabilities for jobs available to the general public. Based on information reported by the states, it appears that individuals involved in the hiring process have access to more than adequate training on subjects such as interviewing people with disabilities and preparing job descriptions. The job announcements that we have examined thus far do not describe jobs in a way that would inadvertently screen out qualified individuals with disabilities. In fact, some job announcements and job descriptions specifically reference the availability of reasonable accommodations for the application process and on the job.
The use of written procedures for providing reasonable accommodations, methods of documenting and tracking the disposition of requests, and the provision of appeal processes following denials of reasonable accommodations are also positive trends
Finally, the states we have surveyed from the resech on this topic and we know that the community have taken a significant number of steps to increase the employment of people with disabilities generally. We know that the employment of people with disabilities is a state priority.
Weaknesess 4: Insufficient Benefits toward Employee with Disabilities
After a short review of the Dream Catcher’s profile, we discovered that Dream Catcher has provided insufficient benefits toward employee with disabilities. For instance, the company does not provided transportation options for employee with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers which may cause them have problems getting to work.
Besides, there had no sufficient accommodation benefit offered to employee by Dream Catcher, this will make employee with disabilities had problem of finding render house which near their working area especially for those who came from out station.
Furthermore, we also encountered that Dream Catcher does not offered enough medical benefits for employee with disabilities. For example the company does not provided yearly medical checkup for every disable employee but they only offer this benefit for employee who hold high position such as senior manager, manager and so on.
Solutions:
From our view of point, we suggest that the company should increase the benefits for employee with disabilities. Such as the company should provided transportation service for employee with disabilities who are unable to use public transportation. Other than that, the company also can provided reasonable accommodation for employee with disabilities. It is because a reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. Lastly, yearly medical checkup should be providing to every employee with disabilities, in order to ensure their health.
Reasonable Accommodations
Dream Catcher should make “reasonable accommodations” to increase workplace accessibility for job applicants and employees with disabilities. A reasonable accommodation enables qualified employee with disabilities to perform essential job function. By providing reasonable accommodation to disabled employee, we believe that it will decrease the difficulties to disabled employee especially those from out station.
Medical Benefits
Dream Catcher should provide healthcare services to disabled employee, such as implement Working Disabled Program to enable employee with disabilities to participate in the workforce without losing their Medical coverage. Besides, initial medical treatment for a work-related injury/illness must be provided by Dream Catcher in order to compensate employee who are being treated for a work related incident. The yearly medical checkup should be also providing to every employee in order to ensure their health condition.
Weaknesses 5: Gap between workers. Gaps between workers with employers.
In a company not every workers can get along with one another. Problems arise when they are not given the opportunity to get to know their colleagues better. Judging people from their outlook has been a natural sense to every human being. Thus in order to avoid and over come this problem, the company should always come out with something creative to bring the workers get up closed and create a better environment to the working atmosphere.
Solutions:
The company should have more activities specially organize for the workers only. By doing this the company is giving opportunity to the workers to get to know each other better. When the workers start mixing together they will create a special bond and this will eventually closed up the gap between the workers.
The company can organize monthly lunch instead of waiting once a year for annual dinner. Monthly lunch will help to gather all the workers to meet up and get close or even closer than before.
Besides that, company can organize outings for the workers as well. For example the company can have drinking session after work or maybe coffee with the company workers. By conducting such activities, the company is helping their own organization to build up a strong relationship with one another. During the activities the workers can discuss about the potential growth of the company or perhaps this activity is giving them an ease of mind after working so hard one whole day. It is of course encouraged able for the company to be the main domain and make sure their fellows have good relationship with one another. It is very important to build a healthy working atmosphere before expecting big productivity from workers.
Conducting those activities will also help the disable workers to feel wanted and welcome to become a member of the organization.
The company must be consistent with the outings, gatherings and activities. This is because all this activities aim is to maintain good and healthy relationship within the organization. In order to maintain this relationship, company plays an important role by bringing them together and get close with one another.
Processes Impronement
. The low employment rate of people with disabilities reflects a failure of government social policies. Societies hide away some disabled individuals on generous benefits. Others isolate them in sheltered work programmes. Efforts to help them find work in the open labor market are often lacking. The shortcomings affect moderately disabled individuals, as well as those with severe handicaps, but are particularly true for people over age 50. …
In our opinion, government, regulation, corporation, as well as communities should collaborate in order to help more disabled person to involve in workplace. They may underpin the necessary elements of a comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. The examples of key pillars include:
Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in
adult life;
5) Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
1. Remove disincentives and benefit traps arising from the operation of the welfare system and ensure that transitions to employment are possible, financially rewarding, and sustainable;
Key Recommendations
Introduce a tax credit for people with disabilities moving from welfare to employment.
Increase the income threshold for the Medical Card by introducing a disability allowance in calculating the income threshold.
Allow for the retention of the Medical Card for all persons with a disability taking up employment for a period of one year (regardless of the income threshold for eligibility).
Introduce an employment assessment dimension into procedures for qualifying for income support for people with disabilities.
Introduce a cost of disability payment.
Other Actions
Rationalize the number of illness/disability related welfare payments.
Recognize partial (in) capacity.
2. Enhance the capacity and effectiveness of the education, training and employment system – active labor market policy – to ensure that people with disabilities are equipped to compete for employment in the contemporary labor market and to benefit from future patterns of occupational growth;
Key Recommendations
In relation to the existing package of educational and training programmes, increase the level of participation by people with disabilities in education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of employment demand.
For people with disabilities participating in basic or prevocational programmes, ensure that there is progression to education and training programmes that are effectively linked to contemporary and future patterns of occupational/employment demand.
Introduce a work placement module for people with disabilities participating in educational and training programmes.
Participation by people with disabilities in Community
Employment should be more closely linked with the employment and career aspirations of people with disabilities, and access to education and training designed to enhance the labor market relevant skills of people with disabilities should be integrated into the operation of the programme. Post programme support should be provided to ensure that the benefits arising from participation in CE can provide a platform for accessing employment in the open labor market..
.
Other Actions
Put working and target driven progression pathways in place within the education and training system to facilitate the progression of people with disabilities.
Set realistic performance targets concerning progression and employment placement for state and other providers.
Examine the efficacy of existing arrangements from a labor market perspective and act based on objective findings.
Provide more in-work type training opportunities for people with disabilities in order to ensure relevance and currency but also to impact on attitudes, stereotyping and potential discrimination amongst employers and fellow employees.
Set and pursue participation, progression and employment related targets.
3. Ensure that both the public and private sectors implement policies to support the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, which are rooted in knowledge of the capabilities of people with disabilities;
Key Recommendations
Priorities public sector recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.
Priorities public sector accommodation of disability.
Use public sector contracting to leverage change.
Use grant giving to leverage change.
Package and market supports for employers to employ people with disabilities.
Promote flexible working arrangements to accommodate diversity.
Undertake a sustained and targeted information/education campaign to promote awareness of capabilities of people with disabilities and their visibility as a source of labor supply.
4. Devise and implement a preventative strategy:
reduce early school-leaving among young people with disabilities;
improve retention in employment following the onset of a disability in adult life;
Key Recommendations
Introduce a social guarantee programme that commits the state to ensuring that school leavers without Leaving Certificate qualifications receive further education and training to at least Level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.
Ensure that vocational/occupational/employment assessment and guidance are provided as part of the process of qualifying for income support; (ii) support, on an early intervention basis, is provided (by the state and, where relevant, employers) to enable persons acquiring a disability to develop an individualized employment entry/re-entry plan.
Other Actions
Promote/legislate for employer responsibilities for employee retention.
Provide packaged supports to individuals and employers.
Train managers in retention strategies.
Provide support to help people cope with workplace stress.
Need to train for and practice ‘disability management’ in the system.
Explore international innovations such as Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot in the UK and the system shifts that have resulted in increased employer responsibilities in the Netherlands.
5. Develop a systematic process of engagement with people with disabilities in order to assist them articulate and realize their employment aspirations.
Key Recommendations
Devise and implement an action plan for engaging with people with disabilities.
Other Actions
Ensure early intervention with people with disabilities.
Provide staff training for personnel in national employment service.
Provide services in the area of occupational assessment, counseling, guidance as part of national employment service.
Incremental introduction of benefit subject to assessment and guidance particularly for young people who can currently access full benefits from age 16 on the basis of purely medical criteria.
Integrate information and contact points – ‘one-stop-shop
.
Quality Management
Quality Management
Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management strategy aimed at embedding awareness of quality in all organizational processes. TQM has been widely used in manufacturing, education, government, and service industries, as well as NASA space and science programs.
Total Quality provides an umbrella under which everyone in the organization can strive and create customer satisfaction at continually lower real costs. Quality assurance through statistical methods is a key component in a manufacturing organization, where TQM generally starts by sampling a random selection of the product. The sample can then be tested for things that matter most to the end users. The causes of any failures are isolated, secondary measures of the production process are designed, and then the causes of the failure are corrected. The statistical distributions of important measurements are tracked. When parts' measures drift into a defined "error band", the process is fixed. The error band is usually a tighter distribution than the "failure band", so that the production process is fixed before failing parts can be produced. This process is to make sure good outputs reach the customers to avoid complaints or any harm to consumers. This is one way of carrying our an organization corporate social responsibility.
Besides that quality management must have a good management system in order to balance up a process or an activity. Management system help to produce products or services to meet the objectives it has set itself such as :
satisfying customers needs
complying with regulations
meeting environmental objectives
A good quality management will have a management system standard where an organization will prepare a model to follow in setting up and operating a management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as being the international state art of award. The model has 4 components in a process. The components are Plan-Do-Check-Action (PDCA). This is the operating principle of ISO’s management system standards. Below shows the model of PDCA and the further elaboration on each process.
Model of PDCA
From the model there are four processes that need to be done step by step in order to produce quality products or services. Before an organization can produce a good products or services, they must have quality management to manage the whole output processes. First process is plan. Organizations must established objectives and make plans. This process is to analyze an organization’s situation, establish overall objectives, set interim targets, and make plans to achieve all those objectives.
Secondly is the Do process. This step is to implement the organization plans. Thirdly is Check process. Check process measure the results as an output. Usually an organization will measure or monitor the achievements to see whether the main objectives have work on smoothly as planned. Lastly is Action process. Organization will correct and improve in plans. All mistakes that occurred will be learned and corrected so that they will not repeat the same mistakes again.
Not to forget, in quality management there is a principle to be applied to the organization. This principle is known as quality management principle. There are eight quality management principles on which the quality management systems standards of the revised ISO9000:2000 series are based. These principles can be used by senior management as a framework to guide their organizations towards improved performance.
The eight quality management principles are as followed;
1) Customers Focus
Organizations depend on their customers and therefore should understand current and future customer needs, should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations.
2) Leadership
Leaders establish unity of purpose and direction of the organization. They should create and maintain the internal environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organization's objectives.
3) Involvement of people
People at all levels are the essence of an organization and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organization's benefit.
4) Process Approach
A desired result is achieved more efficiently when activities and related resources are managed as a process.
5) System Approach to Management
Identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system contributes to the organization's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its objectives.
6) Continual Improvement
Continual improvement of the organization's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organization.
7) Factual Approach to Decision Making
Effective decisions are based on the analysis of data and information. Thus organization should gather more data and information take make a good decision making.
8) Mutually Beneficial Supplier Relationship
An organization and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value.
Management Quality Standards
As for management quality standards, there are two types of ISO which are best known standards and their impact to the world.
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families are among ISO's best known standards ever. ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 (1996 and 2004 versions) are implemented by some 887 770 organizations in 161 countries. The ISO 9000 family addresses "quality management". This means what the organization does to fulfill:
the customer's quality requirements, and
applicable regulatory requirements, while aiming to
enhance customer satisfaction, and
achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of these objectives.
The ISO 14000 family addresses "environmental management". This means what the organization does to:
minimize harmful effects on the environment caused by its activities, and to
achieve continual improvement of its environmental performance.
In quality management, good planning, applying the eight principles and never forget the management quality standard are those management that need to be implemented to organization in order to produce good quality of products and services. With good products and services, eventually this will satisfy the customer’s needs and demands.
Lean Management
The Dream Catcher is company which provides Professional Training Courses in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Although the company is just provided service to its customers, it still generates a lot of waste such as process waste, information waste, work waste, and human energy waste.
As we all know, Lean Management accomplish waste reduction by improving process productivity, reducing inventory, improving quality and increasing worker involvement. Thus it is favorable that Dream Catcher integrates lean management in their company in order to provide quality services to the society. For instance, by applying lean system in the human resources department the company can eliminate human energy waste such as talent employee or employee with disabilities. It is because lean uses employee involvement in all aspects of the business to ensure that nothing is overlooked and the implications of decisions are understood at all levels.
The implementation of lean management principles in Dream Catcher’s service businesses may increase efficiency and reduce project costs if it is able to capitalize on its newly available resources and attract additional work. Besides, by successful integration of lean principles in Dream Catcher can improve its business operations in term of environmental consideration. There are five fundamental concepts have been established to define the philosophy and implementation of lean management: 1) specify value - Specify value from the standpoint of the end customer by services provided.; 2) identify the value stream - Identify all the steps in the value stream for each services provided, eliminating every step and every action and every practice that does not create value; 3) flow - Make the remaining value-creating steps occur in a tight and integrated sequence so the service will flow smoothly toward the customer.; 4) pull - As flow is introduced, let customers pull value from the next upstream activity.; and 5) perfection - As these steps lead to greater transparency, enabling managers and teams to eliminate further waste, pursue perfection through continuous improvement.
Furthermore, by applying lean management skills Dream Catcher will realize tangible and measurable benefits, reduce costs not just selling price, reduce delivery time, set-up time, eliminate waste, drive continuous improvement, improve quality, improve customer ratings and perceptions, increase overall customer satisfaction, improve employee involvement, morale, and company culture, lastly Dream catcher also can transform its key business processes.
Other than that, the application of Lean Thinking and Lean Management aligns and integrates long term business improvement strategies to day to day continuous improvement targets, ensuring along the way that can allow Dream Catcher remain above all else customer focused, flexible and ready for the challenges ahead. Lean can advocates Dream Catcher make smart use of resources, technology, equipment and the skills and knowledge of employees, suppliers and customers. Thus, Dream Catcher can operate in the most efficient and most effective condition, with lowest costs and minimal waste. In conclusion, as service industries Dream Catcher should integrated lean management and apply the five fundamental concepts of lean management to reduce waste and enhance its business operations.
Value Creation
Value means different things to different people. Operations and supply chain decisions are such an integral part of any company’s competitive success that many long-term resource decisions are strategic in nature. A business must continue to create value for its customers. This must occur even as the customer desires change and even as the business environment changes.
As we had been taught by lecturer, there have three components under the three bottom line such as profit, social and environment. From the standpoint of organization-Dram Catcher, it has compliance with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as it employs people with disabilities. By employing People with Disabilities, it is also creating value to the company such as good reputation, profitability and others. In the community aspect, Dream Catcher has improved and enhanced disabled employees’ life style with offer job to them. It would also boost up the economic environment as a result of enhancing disabilities’ life style. This is because the disabilities are also earning income and using their income to buy their necessary goods and services. This situation has boost up the economic environment.
Component III: Project Deliverables
We are in the the processes of developing a weblog. We plan to upload our progress report and the related picture while it is ready to be visited. We are willing to upload our innovative CSR-Opeartional solutions, case studies, articles, as well as appendices on the weblog.
INTERVIEW WITH AN ORGANIZATION
Dream Catcher Consulting SDN BHD Block B, Krystal Point, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah Tel: +604 640 7111 Fax: +604 640 7110
Does your organization provide any type of benefits for People with Disabilities (PWDs)? Yes. Our organization does provide benefits to the PWDs workers. Benefits that we provide them are salary component which we are paying 12% extra as a charity for them. We provide insurance premium as well and also we will send a guidance to guide them when they first enroll to our company.
Are there any facilities provided for PWDs at your place or any of your branches, e.g. ramp, lift, comfort room, etc.? Yes. We do have a special toilet for the disable workers.
Are there any financial aid that can be given such as scholarships, sponsorships and/or donations & how do the PWDs go about requesting such aids? No. We have not come out with a proper plan about sponsorships.
Will your organisation be willing to accept PWDs to work in your institution? Certainly, we are more than willing to accept them if they match the skills requirement.
Does your organisation provide any training for PWDs? When they first enroll we will provide a guidance to guide them with their tasks.
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