Considering Brickworks Annual Report For Workforce Performance

Question

Task: There are two core components to this activity: to develop a draft report framework (plan) as an in-class activity and then using that framework (plan) create an individual report based on the organisation’s/companies organisational performance relating to: organisation culture change and innovation, employee engagement, performance and reward. Assessment Description
PART A (In-Class Draft Report Framework)
In Week 3/4 you will need to select an Australian organisation/company of your choice from the Australia’s top 200 listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). You can find the list of companies at https://www.asx200list.com/
PART B. (Individual Report)
By looking at the organisation’s/company’s website, business articles and Annual Reports, you will be
able to see whether it is possible to access enough information about its organisational practices to
address the following:
1. How is your selected organisation/company trying to improve the performance of its workforce?
• Include at least one performance related initiative and one way in which its success could
be measured
2. How is your selected organisation/company trying to improve its culture?
• Include at least one culture-based initiative and identify the type of culture prevalent within
the organisation/company
3. How is your organisation trying to improve their rates of employee engagement?
• Include at least one employment-based initiative and the likelihood of success?
The in-class component will provide you with an opportunity to assess your choice of organisation/company and its Human Resource practices.

Answer

Part A
Selected Framework for the Organization
Brickworks has been selected as the subject Organization in the present discussion on Brickworks annual report whereas, the six-sigma methodology has been selected as the framework for the business process. Brickworks is one of the leading brands in the building Industry. It had it branches on Australia and North America. It is involved in manufacturing best and diversified building material to satisfy its clients. Brickworks always try to produce innovative products by adopting the latest technological methods in its Organization. It also aims to build a comfortable workplace for its employees so that they can give their best. Brickworks are engaged in renovating its style on product development. They equally engage employees to take their opinion on the renovation. It has a specified design team that is always involved in producing innovative building products to meet the client's demand. As the client requirements are changing with time, Brickworks also changing its style on the products.

The six-sigma methodology has been chosen to increase the Performance and quality of the Brickworks in the building Industry. Six Sigma can prove to be the best framework to improve the quality framework of the Company (Hussain & Paharia, 2017). Performance and quality are the two key factors in which the building industry is depend upon. Every Company in the building Industry looks for improving its quality and Performance on the market. Processing quality products in the market helps to attract clients and useful feedback from them (Hussain & Paharia, 2017). Quality products are also depending on employee's dedication on producing that product. Thus, employee performance considering the Brickworks annual report needs to be analyzed for the sustainable growth of the Company.

Part B
Introduction
The report has been presented to discuss the initiatives that are taken by the Brickworks in different aspects basis the Brickworks annual report. Brickworks is one of the leading companies in the Building sector. The Brickworks always engage in delivering innovative building materials according to their client's needs. Currently Brickworks is having share price of $13.12 in the global market (brickworks.com.au, 2020). Brickworks is taking initiatives to improve its workforce Performance to sustain in the competitive market. Improving workplace culture is also an important aspect in the Company which is directly related to productivity. An initiative has been taken by the company to improve the workplace culture. An efficient workplace culture helps to increase the productivity of the Company. Employee Engagement is another aspect that must not be overlooked, and practical initiatives have been taken. It helps to engage the employees in all the operations of the Company. Employee Engagement helps to achieve the annual target of the Company as specified in the Brickworks annual report.

Initiatives are taken to improve Performance
The workforce performance of the Company can be improved by several methods. The four methods have been discussed below: -

1. Implementing the GRI- Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is one of the effective methods to improve the workforce performance of the Company(Afzal, et al., 2017). The GRI mainly consists of three dimensions, namely- Economic, Social, and Environmental. These three dimensions of GRI help to handle Brickworks annual report the issues regarding the workforce Performance of the Company (Afzal, et al., 2017). Brickworks always follow GRI reports to improve its workforce performance. The leaders of the Brickworks have adopted sustainable methods to address such issues and increase the workforce Performance of the Company.

Figure: -Table showing the three dimensions of GRI (Afzal, et al., 2017).

2. Eliminating Delay- Delay is one of the most critical barriers in the construction Industry. The maximum Projects of the Construction Industry got failed due to delay in the Process(Arditi, et al., 2017). It is done due to the lack of cooperation between the employees and the leaders. Frequent change Management is one of the main reasons for the delay in the Project. The Brickworks annual report signifies that the company has updated their organizational culture to decrease the delay in their system. It is a revolutionary step taken by the Company. It will help to grow the Brickworks’ business rapidly in the market.
3. Improving Organizational Culture- In the construction Industry, Organizational Cultural plays a primary role in improving workforce performance. A company like Brickworks has always tried to improve the organizational Culture in their system(Nguyen & Watanabe, 2017). The lack of cooperation in organizational Culture leads to many permanent issues. As a result, the Company's growth gets effected as seen in the Brickworks annual report and it could also collapse in worst cases. Brickworks have taken unique step to improve organizational culture that helps to increase the workforce Performance effectively (Nguyen & Watanabe, 2017). Organizational Culture has a significant influence on the workforce performance of the Company. An improved workforce Performance leads to the rapid growth of the Company in the international market.
4. Addressing the Health Issues- the Workforce Performance of the Company can never be improved if there is no work productivity from the employees. The employees can fit for work only if there is no health issue in them. Brickworks conduct regular health checkups of the Employees(Carson & Davies, 2019). Regular health checkups evaluate the health issues of the Employee. By this way, the workforce performance can be improved. This initiative has benefitted both the Company and the employees significantly (Carson & Davies, 2019). The employee will get great enthusiasm to work, and thus, the workforce Performance can be improved.

What initiatives are taken to improve Culture basis the Brickworks annual report?
The workplace culture of the Company can be improved by several methods and affects the Brickworks annual report. The four primary methods have been discussed below: -

1. Reducing environmental waste - In the construction industry, the processing of products affects the environment significantly. The environmentalist in the Company also tries to adopt environmental methods. However, they did not succeed all the time. Thus, reducing environmental waste must be one of the initiatives of the workplace culture(Ajayi, et al., 2016). Brickworks have taken a unique initiative by instructing their employees to keep clean the surroundings. It will help the employees to adopt environmental methods while processing the product. Employees can adopt those methods in their daily lives also. It will improve their health conditions (Ajayi, et al., 2016). A friendly environment helps to make a person fit from all perspectives.
2. Improving Sustainability- Sustainability is one of the significant parts of the workplace culture that plays a significant role in building Brickworks annual report. It is depended on three dimensions, namely- environmental, economic, and social. The three mentioned dimensions are the three key factors of sustainability. Maintaining equilibrium in these factors results in sustainable workplace culture(Pero, et al., 2017). The environmental dimension mainly focuses on the ethics of workplace culture. The employees get motivated to work in a balanced Culture. The economic factor looks at the salary satisfaction of the employees. The social factor looks upon the cooperation between the employees (Pero, et al., 2017). The leaders in Brickworks always follow sustainability in their organization by improving the three dimensions of sustainability.
3. Focusing Health and Safety- Health and safety are some of the main aspects of workplace culture that has a unique slot in Brickworks annual report. Brickworks have taken initiatives that focus on the health and safety of Employees. The employees are the main reason of productivity in the Organization(Sherratt, 2018). Thus, the health and safety issues must be addressed first by the Company. Brickworks have achieved equilibrium through these initiatives. The Company's products can get affected if the employee’s health is overlooked by the Organization (Sherratt, 2018). Thus, taking this initiative helps to produce a sustainable workplace culture in the Company.
4. Adopting Leadership Goals- Injuries and accidents have become regular activities in the construction industry. For reducing the accidents, the Brickworks have developed leadership goals to look upon the safety of the employee’s basis the Brickworks annual report (Suresh, et al., 2018). The employees will also get motivated by receiving the care from the Company. The Brickworks have adopted leadership theories that mainly focus on the safety of the employees. The employees can give their best if leadership theories protect then form injuries. The employee performance can also get increased if the accidents are reduced in the workplace (Suresh, et al., 2018). Thus, the initiative has benefitted both the employees and the Brickworks annual report to form a positive workplace culture.

Initiatives are taken to improve Engagement

1. Measuring the rate of Engagement- The rate of Engagement of the employees must be evaluated by the Company so that the Performance can be increased. The employees are not only engaged in work-related factors but also in other factors as the rate of Engagement by the employees with management is also a significant factor(Mullins, 2018). Another factor, namely the Engagement of employees with policies, is also taken into count. Brickworks always arrange meetings to discuss the Company policies with the employees.
2. Rewarding the Actors/Employees - Employee engagement can be increased if the main actors of the Company are rewarded. The main actors of the Company are nothing but their employees who give their full dedication and lift up the Brickworks annual report. Rewarding the employee increase the motivation of the employee to work more for the Company(Havenvid, et al., 2017).Brickworks have got a huge success by rewarding the dedicated employees . It helps the Organization to grow if it gets effective Performance from the employee.
3. Decreasing the Fatality Rate - Fatality rate is one of the main barriers to Employee Engagement. Reducing the fatality rates at the workplace helps to engage the employees in increasing Company's growth(Zaira & Hadikusumo, 2017). Considering the Brickworks annual report, the fatality rates can be decreased by adopting safety methods by the Company. Brickworks have taken initiative to decrease the fatality rates. As a result, the company have got a huge success in the market. The workflow progress also has increased by decreasing fatality rates.
4. Measuring Employee Performance - Employee is the main asset of an organization. In the construction Industry, Employees play a primary role in increasing the productivity of the Company(Detsimas, et al., 2016). Thus, the employees of the Organization must be provided with proper training to improve their skills. Brickworks always give basic training to its new employees. It will help an employee to engage more in the Organization through its skills (Detsimas, et al., 2016). The employee’s productivity rate can also get increased through this initiative. As a result, it will fell a positive effect on the Organization.

Conclusion
From the Brickworks annual report analysis, it can be concluded that four significant initiatives can be taken in every aspect to improve the overall Performance of the Company. Brickworks have improved their performance in the market through the current initiatives. Brickworks being a leading brand in the building sector always use latest technologies to forecast their ideas. They mainly focus on innovative ideas that can affect the company positively. They follow a signature while making the new product. The product must be useful for the client in respect of cost and quality. The initiatives have motivated the employees to produce innovative products to satisfy the client’s needs. The initiatives will also help to achieve the annual target of the company. Brickworks can also expand its area of business through these initiatives. The initiatives are useful for the Company from every perspective.

Bibliography
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Ajayi, S. O. et al., 2016. Reducing waste to landfill: A need for cultural change in the UK construction industry. Brickworks annual report Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 5, pp. 185-193.

Arditi, D., Nayak, S. & Damci, A., 2017. Effect of organizational culture on delay in construction. International Journal of Project Management, 35(2), pp. 136-147.

brickworks.com.au, 2020. reports. [Online]
Available at: https://www.brickworks.com.au/investors/reports
[Accessed 17th april 2020].

Carson, V. & Davies, K., 2019. Managing company responsibility for mental health in the New Zealand construction industry.

Detsimas, N., Coffey, V., Sadiqi, Z. & Li, M., 2016. Workplace training and generic and technical skill development in the Australian construction industry. Journal of Management Development.

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Nguyen, L. H. & Watanabe, T., 2017. The impact of project organizational culture on the performance of construction projects. Brickworks annual report Sustainability, 9(5), p. 781.

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