Monitoring system: Rio Tinto
The report MUST cover the following issues: 1. A description of the business in question (the business) 2. An overview of the business and its main operations 3. A description of the part of the business that forms the base of the report (if you are not writing about the total business) 4. An evaluation of the business to determine what Phase the business is currently at (A) 5. An estimation of what Phase the business could be elevated to (B) 6. A time-lined development plan to convert the business from (A) to (B) 7. A Monitoring system to ensure the business remains at (B) Some key points that should be identified or used in the MSA • INTRODUCTION. Introduction to monitoring systems and the development of indicators in general. In this section students should review the literature on the characteristics of good monitoring systems and the features that contribute to effective indicators. This part of the MSA could be in essay form but it may be useful to use a Table or Tables to summarise indicator characteristics. All three dimensions of sustainability (economic, ecological, socio-cultural) must be addressed. (guide: 2-4 pages) • THE ENTERPRISE. Description of the enterprise/business. This part of the MSA should describe which phase the business is at right now (in your qualified opinion) (Point A) and give your justification. From this information you should then work out what phase it could get to (Point B). You then need to work out the framework of a plan as to how it can get from A to B. You may look at the whole business or you may look at a part of the operations only, or you may look at just one dimension like the ecological or economic side (guide 2-3 pages) • SUSTAINABILITY DIMENSIONS. Consider 1, 2 or all 3 sustainability dimensions as they apply to this enterprise. In this section students should identify and describe the range of socio-cultural, economic and environmental dimensions that apply to the operation of the chosen enterprise and explain how each is relevant. Some dimensions may apply more to specific enterprises but specific detailed treatment of at least one dimension must be examined in detail. This part of the MSA could be a mixture of report and essay formats. (guide 2-3 pages). • INDICATORS FOR MONITORING. Develop a list of indicators to monitor the dimension(s) you have chosen. The description of each indicator must include what the indicator is, how it will be measured and reported, and any limitations or challenges associated with it. It is likely to be an effective use of space to incorporate the required information in an initial one page summary Table using the columns: Indicator name, its definition, its measurement, key challenges/limitations and then base the essay discussion around the points in this Table (2-3 further pages). • REFERENCES. References (APA style). Please ensure in-text referencing is used correctly • SUMMARY. Ideally what you have written should be concisely summarised so that the reader can get the gist of your ideas, approach and your methodology without having to read the whole MSA • CONCLUSION. The MSA needs to end with a well constructed conclusion that finalises the MSA in a logical and well reasoned manner Note: Students should not copy KPI s (key performance indicators) or ISO series targets from an organisation where they work or which they know well. If you feel you cannot avoid doing this with places you know well, please undertake your report on an organisation quite unfamiliar to you. The aim of the task is to make students think through the process of constructing indicators. Important Note: please find any Australian company which easy to get information about it, and then analyse it. -Write about monitor and develop monitoring system. -please use an academic references (articles, books) and do not use web sites at all. -use more than 20 references. -There is a file about six phases, write about them, and identify in which level the company is now, and how can the company reach phase six. - Also its important to write about the indicators and sustainability dimension, there is a couple of file attached to understand them. - its important to follow the criteria sheet which is attached - u should put heading in the essay - a good sample is attached , please see how the sample is written. -Write in the first page about Executive Summery. - please send to me the topic to approve it before u start writing thanks
Aspect: Employment LA1
Total workforce by employment type, employment contract, and region.
Aspect: Training and Education
LA10 Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category.
Labor Practices & Decent Work Performance Indicators
LA2 Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender, and region.
LA3 Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees, by major operations.
Aspect: Labor/ Management Relations
LA4 Percentage of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.
LA5 Minimum notice period(s) regarding
significant operational changes, including whether it is specified in collective agreements.
Aspect: Occupational Health and Safety
LA6 Percentage of total workforce represented in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees that help monitor and advise on occupational health and safety programs.
LA7 Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism, and total number of work-related fatalities by region.
LA8 Education, training, counseling, prevention, and risk-control programs in place to assist workforce members, their families, or community members regarding serious diseases.
LA11 Programs for skills management and
lifelong learning that support the continued employability of employees and assist them in managing career endings.
LA12 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews.
Aspect: Diversity and Equal Opportunity
LA13 Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.
LA14 Ratio of basic salary of men to women by employee category.
LA9 Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions.Health and safety topics covered in formal agreements with trade unions.
The ILO Decent Work Agenda is framed within the context of fair globalization, which aims to achieve both economic growth and equity through a combination of social and economic goals. The Agenda has four elements:
• Employment;
• Dialogue;
• Rights; and
• Protection.
The structure of the Labor Indicators is broadly based on the concept of decent work. The set begins with disclosures on the scope and diversity of the reporting organization's workforce, emphasizing aspects of gender and age distribution.
The approach to dialogue between the organization and its employees, and the degree to which employees are organized in representative bodies are covered by Indicators LA4 (which complements Indicator HR5 on Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining) and LA5.
The physical protection and well-being of people at work is covered by Occupational Health and Safety Indicators (LA6, LA7, LA8, LA9), which address both the scope of programs as well as statistical performance on health and safety.
The scope of employee benefits and contributions toward a broad social goal of diversity and equal treatment is addressed by LA14 (Pay Equity), LA13 (Diversity) and LA3 (Benefits). Indicators in the Economics category also provide relevant information. The support organizations provide to employees to enhance personal skills and potential (which also improves the organization's human capital) is represented in Indicators LA10, LA11, and LA12.
Definitions Total workforce
The total number of persons working for the reporting organization at the end of the reporting period (i.e., the sum of all employees and supervised workers as defined above).
Worker
Generic term for any person performing work, regardless of the contractual relationship.
An individual who is, according to national law or practices, recognized as an employee of the reporting organization.
Supervised worker
An individual who performs regular work on-site for, or on behalf of, the reporting organization but is not recognized as an employee under national law or practice.
Independent contractor
An individual legally recognized as being self-employed.
Collective bargaining agreements
There are two types of collective bargaining agreements, aimed either at employers or workers. Those aimed at employers are agreements in writing regarding working conditions and terms of employment concluded between an employer, a group of employers, or one or more employers' organizations. Those aimed at workers are agreements between one or more representative workers' organizations, or, in the absence of such organizations, the representatives of the workers duly elected and authorized by them in accordance with national laws and regulations.
Employee categories
General breakdown of employees based on the function or department within the organization (e.g., senior management, middle management, professional, technical, administrative, production, maintenance, etc.) derived from an organization's own human resources system.
General References
• ILO Convention 135, 'Workers' Representatives Convention', 1971.
• ILO Convention 87, 'Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise', 1948.
• ILO Convention 98, 'Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining', 1949.
• ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998.
• ILO Decent Work Agenda, 1999.
• ILO Tripartite Declaration Concerning Multinationals and Social Policy, 1977, amended 2000.
Employee
Relevance
Monitoring system: Rio Tinto
Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Table of Contents
TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188303" Introduction PAGEREF _Toc378188303 \h 3
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188304" Characteristics of good monitoring systems PAGEREF _Toc378188304 \h 4
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188305" The enterprise 6
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188306" Company Background PAGEREF _Toc378188306 \h 6
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188307" Sustainability phase PAGEREF _Toc378188307 \h 6
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188308" Suitability dimensions PAGEREF _Toc378188308 \h 8
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188309" Economic performance of the mining industry PAGEREF _Toc378188309 \h 8
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188310" Environment performance of the mining industry PAGEREF _Toc378188310 \h 8
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188311" Evaluation of dimensions PAGEREF _Toc378188311 \h 9
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188312" Community PAGEREF _Toc378188312 \h 9
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188313" Environment PAGEREF _Toc378188313 \h 10
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188314" People PAGEREF _Toc378188314 \h 10
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188315" Economic Performance PAGEREF _Toc378188315 \h 11
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188316" Indicators for Monitoring PAGEREF _Toc378188316 \h 11
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188317" Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc378188317 \h 14
HYPERLINK \l "_Toc378188318" References PAGEREF _Toc378188318 \h 15
Introduction
Monitoring systems of sustainability have gained widespread recognition, as reports on sustainability have tended to follow legal conventions (Dittrick, 2007). In Australia, the oil and energy sector has particularly been in the limelight because of the need to enhance sustainable development in the midst of growing importance of the mining, oil, gas and energy sectors of the economy. Similarly, monitoring systems also determine the policies adopted and hence affect the economic outlook of the country. In most cases, international organizations receive more attention because of the impact of their activities on the economic environmental and social aspects of the society.
Performance indicators of sustainability have evolved over time, but reporting is hampered by different organizational structures (Keeble et al., 2003). Data collected on these indicators across a wide range of issues but the agencies tasked with data collection have to be credible (Percy, 2012). Data on unemployment, health and the environment provide a snapshot on whether organizations comply with regulations and have efforts towards achieving sustainability. Nonetheless, indicators of sustainability are relevant to the extent that they take into account the environmental, economic and social context. The main reason for this is that sustainability indicators typically represents information on related factors, and a clearer image emerges when these indicators have economic, social and environmental. Thus, measuring and evaluating sustainability focuses on comparing sustainability against indicators and giving recommendations on possible areas of improvement where possible.
Disclosure of non financial information is a relatively new concept in the corporate world. Nonetheless environmental issues have been intertwined with human rights aspects and hence mining companies increasingly adopt sustainability reports (Perez & Sanchez, 2009). This trend has been ongoing from the 1990’s as big companies embraced the value of presenting non financial information, but the mining industry was not initially enthusiastic about presenting non financial information touching on social relations and the environment (Perez & Sanchez, 2009). The ratification of various international agreements has had a positive impact towards adoption of sustainability reports, because these agreements spell out the best practices that companies and industries should adhere to. Consequently, mining industry players are now more enthusiastic about sustainability reports as they are more comprehensive and rate efforts towards non financial performance.
Characteristics of good monitoring systems
Sustainability relates to the improving the wellbeing of a community or society and as such the combination of social, economic and natural capital determines whether sustainability indicators are effective (Davidson, 2011). The reliability of sustainability indicators requires tracking progress over time on order to compare results and measure the sustainability of resources for the future. Nonetheless, sustainability also entails quality and the changes that result to capital use and management. At the same time, sustainability indicators in Australia take into account domestic conditions and international standards. Nonetheless, data constraints still pose a challenge on use of sustainability indicators.
Indicators are quantifiable and they show a condition and understandability is one of the most relevant characteristic for measuring. An indicator that is understandable is one that can easily be understood to a wider audience for them to be more relevant. Thus, in formulating sustainability framework it is essential to have understandable indicators that look into the necessary properties of such a framework model. This should not only be relevant to policy makers, but to the community at large for the policies to be relevant. In any case, when indicators are easily understandable it is easier to communicate comparisons of results with the set standards relevant to the indicators.
The reason for selecting indicators depends on various factors and is unique to each situation. Thus, an indicator ought to be simple, but also comprehensive in a way that minimizes the likelihood of arbitrariness. Equally, the goal of selecting sustainability indicators should be agreeable by various stakeholders and adopted b y organizations (Hecht, 2003). In other words, policy formulation should attain goal of an undertaking, while also ensuring that there is sustainable development. Upon choosing the indicators, there should be coherence in a multi dimensional framework, and this ensures that all the indicators are legitimate and complement one another. Ultimately, the indicators should enhance assessment, as evaluation goes on continually whether is modification and change to reflect adherence and compliance to standards.
Another characteristic of an effective monitoring system is that it should have relevant indicators (Moffat, 2008). Thus, the purposes of the indicators should be effective in evaluating the monitoring system and hence useful in drawing conclusions on level of sustainability. Equally related to relevance is reliability, and this shows that users of the indicators must have trust in the use of the indicator. An indicator is reliable to the extent that they show results that are believable. Lastly, the indicators have to be timely and provide adequate data for them to useful in the monitoring system. Thus, the information is relevant and can be acted upon for a given period of time. Nonetheless, suitability of indicators and good monitoring systems also appear when there is no data, but there is a bias towards indicators that show data.
The enterprise
Company Background
Rio Tinto is a British -Australian company that deals with metal production and extraction of minerals (Hiscock, 2012). The company is a big player in the mineral sector of Australia. Furthermore, it is a major employer in the country and hence the company’s impact on sustainable development affects the community where it operates and its employees. Thus, the company is committed to improving safety standards and health of its areas of operation. Similarly, the company upholds standards in its global operations and a diversity of assets provides opportunities for continued growth of the company, and investors are also focusing on sustainable development in choosing where to put their money (McGeachie, 2013) and (Krosinky et al., 2011).
Rio Tinto is the second largest iron ore producer, and demand of iron ore from Asia has pushed production to record levels (Stewart, 2013). Thus, even with a fall in the price of minerals there is increased investment in the production of iron ore. This places a bigger role in the company’s management on nursing that there is sustainable development. Even tough, the company also seeks to reduce costs of production ensuring sustainability should be top priority. Workers strike present a problem towards achieving sustainability (Stewart, 2013a), and hence there is a need to improve employee relations, and retrenchment also complicates relations with employees even when there is need to improve on sustainability (Stewart, 2013 b)
Sustainability phase
Even though, the senior management is committed towards upholding environmental standards, they measures undertaken are not adequate to address environmental degradation. The mining industry leads to environmental degradation, and measures to reduce pollution are seen as an added cost. Thus, the company is in phase 4 of efficiency on compliance, and there is a need to move into the fifth phase of strategic sustainability (Kirkwood, 2012). The company seeks to address community needs, but it is necessary to have more pro active strategies that seek to reduce the environmental hazards of mining. In essence, this goes beyond mere rhetoric and policy to partnering with the community in addressing adverse environmental and health impacts of the company’s operations.
In order to move into the fifth phase of sustainability it is essential to adhere to international standards, and compare social economic and environment indicators of sustainability. Consequently, the company should ensure that business operations should be conducted in a responsible manner more than ever before. Even though, the company regularly reports that it adheres to sustainability, the company has been reluctant to integrate standards into the operations of the business. In other words, improving the social well- being of the community where it operates requires regular monitoring to ensure compliance. At the same time, it is necessary to collect more data to give an overview on environmental, social and economic performance on a yearly basis.
To move the company to the fifth phase of sustainability, there will be an improvement in the ecological social and economic aspects of Rio Tinto. Thus, there will be a monitoring team instituted to oversee the company’s activities on a yearly basis. At the same time, the company needs to adopt sustainability across all levels of the management for this to be readily acceptable by other staff. At the same time, Rio Tinto should cooperate with the government in order to ensure sustainability. The mining industry is geared towards profits, but the recognition that the depletion of minerals is not sustainable should enable the company to collaborate with the host communities on how to bring come up with employment opportunities.
Suitability dimensions
Economic performance of the mining industry
The economic performance of the mining industry has a direct impact on the economy of Australia, given the country’s reliance on the industry. Rising demand and process have led to the rise of the global economy in the recent decades (Giurco, 2011). This is mostly because of increased demand from china, as the growth in Chinas GDP has resulted to a surge in demand for metals and minerals (Mah, 2011). However, the slowdown in China’s economy is a cause of concern to the mining industry. In essence, the mining industry is likely to have negative spill over from reduced growth in China. The symbiotic relationship between the mining industry and China is likely to have a direct effect on Australia more than any other country, as Australia did not feel the aftermath of the global down turn because of the boom in mineral and metal production (Davis, 2010). China is increasingly playing a more prominent role in the natural resource sector of Australia, and there is a need to assess t...