Klaus J. Zink

Defining stakeholder involvement in participatory design processes.

A participatory approach could be used to implement work place or organizational improvements. However, the question is which participants should be involved and how. In this paper the theoretical involvement in different steps of a linear stepwise approach is described and compared with the latest projects of 300 practitioners. From a theoretical point of view ergonomists and employees play an essential role in the improvement process and are involved in most stages of a change process. Designers play an important role in idea generation and prototyping. Top management and middle management are important in the first step to set goals that are consistent with the strategy of the enterprise. Middle management is also needed in the steps where improvements are selected. This theoretical prediction is affirmed. However, middle management appeared to be also involved in implementation. The role of ergonomists is in practice limited in later stages in implementation, which is not preferred by the ergonomists.

Designing sustainable work systems: The need for a systems approach

There is a growing discussion concerning sustainability. While this discussion was at first mainly focused on a society level--and sometimes regarding especially environmental problems, one can now see that this topic is of increasing relevance for companies worldwide and even the social dimension of this three pillar approach is gaining more and more importance. This leads to some questions: Is sustainability already a part of human factors thinking or do we have to further develop our discipline? How can we define sustainable work systems? What are the topics we have to consider? Do we need a new systems ergonomics perspective regarding whole value creation chains and a life-cycle perspective concerning products (and work systems)? How can we deal with potential contradictions about social, ecological, and economic goals?

From total quality management to corporate sustainability based on a stakeholder management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of total quality management (TQM) from the very beginning to the present and to give a proposal for a redefinition for the future.Design/methodology/approach – To reach this purpose, experiences and problems from the past are described and corporate sustainability as a new frame discussed.Findings – Many attempts to imitate the “Japanese Way” in Western companies failed, because they were only using some instruments (often focused on product quality) and not understanding the necessity of a fundamental change of culture. Globalization and international competition lead to the introduction of National Quality Awards and their use by a growing number of companies. But the term of “quality” was not promoting these concepts, therefore all international award models do not use the term quality any longer. And as TQM has also been driven by consultants, many companies gave up this approach. As the contents of TQM are still a necessity for any org...

Stakeholder orientation and corporate social responsibility as a precondition for sustainability

Abstract The demand for sustaining excellence is related to a lot of issues. In the past, many activities of companies have primarily been led by programmes. As a result, at the very beginning it has been obvious that a programme has a lifespan – and then the next programme will follow. This is not a good precondition for sustainable success. Therefore, different approaches had to be found to gain sustainability based on a continuous improvement process. But again, there are limits if not all relevant target groups are in the focus. As a consequence, this paper deals with the relevance of a stakeholder orientation in a frame of corporate social responsibility as a precondition for sustainability.

Do we need sustainability as a new approach in human factors and ergonomics

The International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee ‘Human Factors and Sustainable Development’ was established to contribute to a broad discourse about opportunities and risks resulting from current societal ‘mega-trends’ and their impacts on the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, e.g. in work systems. This paper focuses on the underlying key issues: how do the sustainability paradigm and human factors/ergonomics interplay and interact, and is sustainability necessary as a new approach for our discipline? Based on a discussion of the sustainability concept, some general principles for designing new and enhancing existent approaches of human factors and ergonomics regarding their orientation towards sustainability are proposed. Practitioner summary: The increasing profile of sustainability on the international stage presents new opportunities for human factors/ergonomics. Positioning of the sustainability paradigm within human factors/ergonomics is discussed. Approaches to incorporating sustainability in the design of work systems are considered.

Ergonomics in the past and the future: from a German perspective to an international one

Looking at the past there are more or less fragmented approaches in ergonomics as well as in management. Especially in Germany, the ‘Lean Management wave’ weakened ergonomics in industry. On the other hand, there is a growing demand for holistic concepts—and ergonomics can by definition be understood as holistic. Many of the newer approaches in management include ODAM or macroergonomics elements. In building up a stronger relationship between macro- and micro-ergonomics, the whole discipline could be promoted. This also requires the fulfilment of some preconditions like systematically gathering and presenting ‘best practices’, which show that ergonomics pays off.

Human factors, management and society

Human factors/ergonomics seems to have an image; namely it is often seen in terms of worker protection laws. Further, these laws may be viewed as bearing costs while benefiting only employees. The intent of this paper is to show that this perception does not meet the truth at all. First, it discusses the potential of this applied science and the results that can be gained. The benefits for management and society are then presented.

From industrial safety to corporate health management

Occupational health and safety is one of the most important topics of ergonomics. In many countries the practical issues are addressed in worker protection laws or rules and most companies have some sort of occupational health and safety system. As with many other ergonomics approaches, such activities are often necessary because of legal requirements. Such efforts are often viewed by management as primarily cost intensive. To change this image, it would be helpful to have a more positive, management-oriented approach. Corporate health management as a module of an integrated management system can fulfil this goal.

Defining elements of sustainable work systems - a system-oriented approach

Based on a system-theoretic discussion of sustainability, this paper aims to develop a conceptual model of a sustainable work system which is consistent with the definition of ergonomics by the IEA in 2000 (but also with earlier definitions) as well as with the triple bottom line understanding of sustainable development - comprising the management of human, social, ecological and economic capital in a balanced manner.

The contribution of quality of work to organisational excellence

Based on a lot of changes in the world of work, the discussion about quality of work or quality of work life has to be re-opened. Especially in Europe, the following megatrends have to be considered: globalisation, dynamic of markets, demographic changes, changes of values (also after the financial crises) and technological progress. Technology and short-term orientation lead to a growing intensity of work accompanied by growing demands regarding flexibility and adaptability combined, at the same time, with unsecure jobs. Restructuring can no longer be understood as a temporal crisis; it is an ongoing process and puts the physical and psycho-social health of all organisational members at risk. This will influence the tasks of human resource management (HRM) and even more the possibility of reaching organisational excellence.