Aspects of Law and Regulations Relating To Management of Employees, People and Customers - Essay Example

LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEES, PEOPLE AND S of Aspects of Law and Regulations Relating To Management of Employees, People and Customers In recent years, the changing needs and expectations in leisure, sports, and tourism industry has made it necessary for managers in the industry to have knowledge in various aspects such as law, finance, and social issues. Grayson (1996, p. 11) says that it is specifically important for leisure managers to have reasonable understanding of laws and regulations required to meet the needs and expectations in the industry. In addition, they need to have a good mastery of these laws in order to minimize the legal risks that may occur as a result of lack of such knowledge (Kinetics, 2005, p. 8). In order to ensure that professionalism and control is maintained in the leisure industry, countries and regions have enacted legislations and regulations. This discussion will focus on identifying aspects of law and regulations and management of employees, people and customers. The discussion will use a case study of a person (staff) hiding in a changing cubicle and was reported to be ill and requiring medical assistance. The following aspects of law and regulations and management of employees, people and customers are discussed below; Risk Assessments, Public Awareness, Culture of Blame, Availability of Specialist Advice, Health and Safety, Sizeable Awards for Damages, Professionalism of Sport, Growth of Regulatory Environment, and Duty of Care. Risk Assessments Seibert (2003, p. 12) defines risk assessments in leisure industry as careful examination of what factors in leisure places and activities may cause harm to people, so as to determine or weigh up whether one has to take certain level of precautions or put more effort in preventing harm. Grainger-Jones, B (1999, p. 28) notes that risk management can take several dimensions such as financial implications, identification of hazards in workplace and taking appropriate actions, possible accidents and ill health, and the legal requirement that relates to risk assessments in the leisure industry as decided in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc. Risk assessment as a legal and regulation aspect in leisure industry is important in the following ways. One, to meet the legal requirement of risk assessment in workplaces so as to put in place measures to control them. Two, it helps prevent ill health and accidents to workers and public members. Three, risk assessments help prevent or reduce the harm caused by risks such as damaged equipments, loss of life and court costs among others (Seibert, 2003, p. 60). According to Collins (1993, p. 48), laws and regulations stipulate that the following 6 steps to risk assessment must be adhered to: identification of hazards, who might be affected by the hazard, likelihood of hazard occurring, severity of hazard, risk rating, and measures to minimize risk. In the case study a situation of somebody apparently hiding in the changing cubicle has been reported; such a complaint has to be dealt with urgently because of the most imminent risk involved. Such a situation can harm the business premises, customers and members of public. The risk assessments establish that even though the person is of ill health and require medical assistance, he poses great risks to the business and members of the public. The ambulance service is called since the person is found of hill health and needs medical attention in order to forestall any harm to the business and the public. Public Awareness Being a critical industry that deals directly with human beings and their needs, public awareness aspect is very important. The aspect of public awareness ensures leisure managers, employees, people, and customers are aware of their rights and prohibitions when enjoying their leisure time or in a leisure environment (Crompton, 2009, p. 89). Public awareness main aim is to ensure sustainability in the leisure industry in addition to creating the legal basis for any incidents whose awareness has already been publicly created (Virden & Budruk, 2011, p. 5). In the case study provided, one of the staff was found hiding in a changing cubicle in the unisex changing rooms. It has been indicated clearly at the entrance of the changing cubicle that the cubicle is meant for changing and should not be used for any other purpose(s). As such, it was wrong conduct on the part of the staff that was hiding there as decided in Gomez v. Builders Square. However, since it is established that that particular staff member is ill and requires medical assistance, exonerate him from any wrongdoing. That notwithstanding, public awareness aspect is very important in not only providing information but also in forming the legal basis upon which persons who violate laws and regulations in the leisure industry are charged against (Doyice and John, 2010, p. 37). Culture of Blame Just like in many other industries, leisure industry is also subject to culture of blame as people attempt to avoid responsibility on violation of certain laws and regulations governing the industry. Cotterell (1993, p. 15) argues that in most cases, bosses often pass blame to employees if a given law or regulation has been violated within the organization. Also, employees in some instances pass the blame to each other. As a result, the culture of blame makes it quite impossible to determine what exactly went wrong. In addition, the culture of blame often stifles creativity, and erodes teamwork and trust. Since it is nearly impossible to avoid some violations of law and regulations in the leisure industry, it is important that the aspect of culpability be made very clear in the law and regulations of the industry (Hronek, 2002, p. 90- 91). In reference to the case study, it is not easy to apportion blame to any particular person. This is because the incident is as a result of illness. However, the culture of blame may arise if the situation is not handled properly and if necessary and urgent decisions are not made. Availability of Specialist Advice There various issues involved in the leisure industry that most of the leisure managers lack adequate expertise and knowledge. Therefore, there is need for specialist advice to ensure the success of the business and avoid risks and losses. According to Kinetics (2005, p. 58), specialist advice in the leisure industry may be in a number of areas such as accounting, health, and law among others. Some law and regulations in the industry demand that certain specialist services must be provided or be used; for instance, it is required that businesses in the industry comply with accounting regulations such as auditing and taxation which may often need specialist advice. In reference to the case study, the specialist advice that was necessary was medical advice considering that one of the staff was ill and required medical assistance. This advice was necessary because the health of staff is paramount for productivity and to prevent any potential harm that may arise as due to unhealthy staff (Grainger- Jones, 1999, p. 22). Health and Safety According to health and safety is an act aimed at attaining more provision in safeguarding the safety, health and welfare of people at the work place.1 It is also aimed at ensuring that as the people work, they do not get exposed to risks that may jeopardize their health and also their safety. This Act also protects against the emission of dangerous substances while in the working environment. Consequently, the Act aims at preventing the consumption of dangerous commodities while at the work place (Oughton, 2010: 269). With reference to the incident, the staff and customers need to be protected as pertains to their safety at the workplace. This aspect of law and regulation was breached by the individual who was found in the unisex cubicle and was found to be ill and thus required medical assistance. As the health and safety law and regulation, the management needs to protect all its employees and staff and hence sustain their health while at the work place (Robinson, 2004:1). Consequently, health and safety is a requirement by law and hence all organizations are bound to abide by its provisions. With reference to the incident stipulated in the case study and as per the requirements of the health and safety act, the management was required to carry out a risk assessment. Through this risk assessment, appropriate action needed to be taken and was evidenced by clearing the other people off the cubicles as they prepared to take care of the ill individual in the unisex cubicle. However, this would have financial implications on the management since some of the customers might sue for negligence and also for the inconvenience caused by the incident. This therefore necessitates the need for management to adhere to the health and safety Act governing the health and safety of staff and customers of the organization2. Professionalism in Sport Sport has for a long time been a leisure activity and has been a hobby activity for most individuals. However, in the recent past, sport has been commercialized and has become a profession to many individuals especially for the managers who train and supervised the people engaging in sports (Hartley, 2009: 1). This has led to legalization of sport as there are requirements that have to be met prior to engaging in a sport and consequently rules that have to be followed. This has in turn mounted pressure to individuals, hence compelling them to use enhancing medications so as to be competent in the sport. In reference to the case study, professionalism of the sport is elaborated when the individual found in the unisex cubicle is found to be ill and requiring medical assistance. Professionalism of sport as a law and regulation governing the leisure and sport department requires that employees engaging in sports are protected by their sport managers (Sherry, Shilbury and Wood, 2007: 267). Professionalism in sport is a culture that is propagated by managers and the staff involved in sports. With reference to the incident that occurred, there are rules that if applied by the management, could have prevented the incident from happening with the staff. One is to create a culture through that encourages continuous improvement and excellence (Taylor 2011: 1). Consequently, activities that would have led to the individual being successful should have been evaluated and embarked on. Since the individual had talent t o pursue a particular sport, this talent could have been nurtured and exploited to the uttermost. The individual also ought to have had passion to pursue the particular and if all these factors had been put into consideration, they would have reasonably prevented the incident from happening. The management would have discovered that one of his staff was ill and take appropriate action in due time (Goldsmith, 2009: 1). Duty of Care The management of any organization is bound by law to provide duty of care to its staff and customers and thus is held responsible for any activity where it can be proved that the management was negligent in carrying out its activities. The rule of duty of care compels the managers to ensure that they accord their staff with the best services and also prevent them from befalling to any harm this entails the use of posters for directions, the use of alert and warning signs in writing that cannot be missed by anyone (Hess, 2002: 457). Duty of care is considered in assessing damages caused and hence serves as a basis of deciding if the management or the staff should be compensated and who among them is liable for breach of contract. Duty of care is emphasized in all areas and strategies should be put in place to ensure that the staff are accorded due care in case of adversities. In the case study as pertains to the incident theta occurred, the management should have put strategies in place that aided in identifying the symptoms of a staff who is not feeling well. This would have aided in reducing the panic that occurred to the other staff when medical assistance was sought since the management should offer duty of care to all customers (Forster & Kayan, 2009: 210). Sizeable Awards for Damages Award for damages encountered in a sporting event is determined by assessing the severity of the losses encountered by each party. Consequently, the court also reviews if the management and the staff engaged in any negligence that can invalidate the compensation. In contract law, there are mainly two types of compensation; damages and restitution. In the context of the case study, the staff can litigate the damages with a prospect of being awarded either of the compensation (Reich, 2007: 705). Restitution is an award for damages that could be offered to the staff for the inconvenience caused as a result of the incident that occurred. This entails a situation where the parties are compensated to their original state before the incident. This can however prove difficult if the staff delays in suing the management for the incident. This is the case in Leaf v International Galleries3 where the plaintiff delayed for 5 years in suing that the paint sold was not genuine. The court ruled that the delay was long and hence rescission as a remedy was denied. In this case scenario, rescission will only be possible if the aggrieved staff files a claim against the management for negligence within the due time frame4. Damages are another compensation mechanism that the court may rule in favour of the staff. This ruling is usually made especially if the negligence and inconvenience was small and it will not be fair to both parties to rescind the contract. In this case, the court finds it note worthy to pass damages where the staff gets compensated for any losses occurred but the contract is still binding to the parties involved, in this case scenario, the company would compensate the staff for the damages caused as a result of relying on the effectiveness and efficiency expected to be portrayed by the management but not portrayed. Reference List Collins 1993, Recreation and the Law, E & F N Spoon. Cotterell, L 1993, Performance; the Business and Law of Entertainment. 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