Impact Of Employee Satisfaction On Finnegan Construction Sustainability

Question

Task: You are required to watch the following YouTube clips from the GRI Secretariat:
1. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards: The Future of Reporting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGqE4OO0_7g&t=3s
2. Introducing the GRI Standards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDe8Kkh1BrU&t=2s
You must also read the case study below based on fictional company Finnegan Constructions.
You must then prepare a sustainability assessment report for Finnegan Constructions.

Answer

Introduction
Finnegan Construction is a company in the Stanwell district of Australia that is in the construction business which builds flats for the local people of the area. Recently there has been a change in the work environment of the company. To increase the Finnegan Construction sustainability and retention of employees several steps have been taken by the company to increase employee satisfaction.

Rationale
It is important to make the work environment pleasant so that Finnegan Construction sustainability will get increased economically, socially and environmentally.

Aim
The employees should have a respectful and happy environment to work.

Objectives

1. To increase the wages of workers at the company
2. To give an additional holiday monthly to the employees.
3. To stop harassment of aged employees due to age discrimination.
4. To stick to law and order

Assessment of Finnegan Construction sustainability
Economic Sustainability
Financial implications and risks and opportunities due to climate change
If the employees are humiliated continuously in the workplace then it is quite obvious that the financial implications on the company Finnegan Construction sustainability will be hampered. The work environment needs to be economically balanced. If the employee turnover increases in Finnegan constructions, then the company will not be able to deliver and hand over big projects to the clients within the given period (Afzal, et al., 2017). This will result in financial and economic loss of the company. Climate change here means a change in the work environment when the employee turnover increases for being insulted. The work environment changes when employees do not get inspired and motivated to work efficiently. They will not be inspired and dedicated to work if they are insulted and harassed in the workplace which happened in Finnegan constructions previously (Ait Sidhoum & Serra, 2018). When the employees feel uncomfortable and discriminated in the workplace, then they lose concentration to work properly and this will result in slowing the work speed in the company. Due to lack of employees, the company will not be able to complete the assigned projects and deliver on time and hence, it will lose customers that affect Finnegan Construction sustainability (Wei, et al., 2017). Finnegan constructions had to pay 4,400 dollars as compensation to an employee where the employee was humiliated and discriminated against. The company faced a huge loss for this. An organization will suffer a huge loss if it loses its customers for not completing the assignments on time. Thus, the employees of Finnegan constructions had to be motivated and engaged in work all the time so that they do not lose their interest to work instead of humiliating and insulting them in the company (Al?Hadi, et al., 2019). Regular meetings and anti-discrimination policies had to be held by the company to interact with the employees and they had to be appreciated to increase the employee retention of the company and see to it that the employees do not feel uncomfortable and finish the work within the given deadline. The employees had to be kept satisfied by engaging them more into work so that they feel comfortable in the workplace to work more efficiently. The team leaders have ensured that they keep the employees satisfied so that the employees do not stop working so that they can regain their customers again and boost Finnegan Construction sustainability (Bansal, 2019). The Finnegan Construction sustainability has been improved to keep the employees engaged in work and increase productivity by maintaining the financial stability of the organization.

Confirmed incidents of corruption and actions taken

Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior, anti-trust, and monopoly practices
Legal actions for anti-competitive behavior- A complaint was lodged by an employee of Finnegan constructions to various authorities of the government because the company has misused the power of the market and behaving illegally in the market. Hence, the "Australian Competition and Consumer Commission" took legal actions against the company and proceeded further in the Federal court. ACCC told the contractors and suppliers of Finnegan constructions to withdraw any business with a new company.

Anti-trust- It is the duty and responsibility of all the humans to protect the planet they live in (Starik, et al., 2016). A complaint against Finnegan Construction sustainability was lodged to the Department of Energy and Environment because the company was carrying out business operations that were harming the environment leading to the degradation and depletion of resources. After investigating by the department, the company was asked to pay a charge of 200,000 dollars as a fine for harming the ecology and destroying the plants and animals of that area.

Monopoly practices
All companies (different brands with the same kind of products) should co-exist in the market at the same time. No company has the right to introduce monopoly action in the market (Epstein, 2018). Legal actions must be taken against the company if it practices a monopoly.

Environmental Sustainability
Energy consumption with the organization
It was observed that Finnegan Construction sustainability have used an excessive amount of energy resources which has resulted in environmental degradation. This is because the company uses only non-renewable sources of energy that are energy consumption by electric lights, air conditioners, and fans. It has been found that the company uses air conditioners and fans even during the winter and electric lights during the daytime. The energy consumed by the organization is far more than other organizations (Grayson & Hodges, 2017). Hence, this has to be reduced by either using renewable sources of energy like energy from sunlight or reducing electricity consumption by using it whenever required. The fuel consumption by the company also has to be reduced by not using the fuel unnecessarily and thus, protect the resources and energy from getting depleted. The company can use LED lights to save energy consumption. 50 percent of the fuel consumption has to be saved in the next three months. The company needs to be an energy-efficient company.

Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity
The activities, products, and services provided under Finnegan Construction sustainability have led to a significant loss and degradation of habitat, death of species, air, and water and soil pollution destroying the ecology and ecosystem. There has also been a huge impact on the health of human beings, income, and livelihoods. An employee complained against the company that while clearing the land 0.45 hectares by the company for the construction purpose, the ecology was disrupted and the flora and fauna got affected badly as well. The company was fined 200,000 dollars. The members of the company have to be educated first on various topics of the environment and they should be taught the reasons for protecting the environment and how the activities affect the environment (Heikkinen, et al., 2018). Finnegan constructions claimed that they are working with different groups of environment and Stanwell council for not harming any species while clearing a portion of land by proving the fact that a few endangered frogs that existed in that area have not ever been killed or harmed by the company. Governments have to make proper legislation and amendments in the Local Environmental Plan or LEP to preserve the natural resources and protect the habitat. Thus, it is noted in the study of Finnegan Construction sustainability that the flora and fauna or the ecosystem should not be harmed or killed for conducting any operations related to construction (Jamali, 2016). Regular meetings in the residential areas and community development programs should be held regularly for creating the housing affordable in the society and meeting the needs of the community to prevent the habitat from getting distorted. The LEP should be amended in such a way that bushfires get reduced in a particular area.

Noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations
All the companies including Finnegan constructions need to follow the Local Environmental Plan which is environmental law in Australia. Regular amendments and changes have to be made to the LEP to protect the environment along with the Stanwell Council. This law is working along with the respective authority to minimize the threat of bush fires and climatic change due to the huge effects of warming in the environment. The amendments to the LEP need to be made in such a way that the positive effects can be seen in the environment within the sixth week. It has to be ensured by the LEP that there are huge distances between the boundaries of land and buildings to keep the ecology safe and protected from bushfires.

Social sustainability
New employee hires and employee turnover
In a company where the employee turnover is higher, new employees have to be hired to replace the previous employees. If this action is not taken properly, then the work speed will slow down and the company will not be able to complete the projects within the given time. New employees have to be hired by Finnegan constructions as well to replace the employees for reducing employee turnover (Ross, 2017). The projects have to be completed faster to get back the customers and this is possible only if the company hires new employees. It was seen that Finnegan constructions had employed 12 new employees in the organization when the employee turnover increased in the company. The pay rates of the employees have to be increased to attract new employees and increase employee retention in the organization (Kasbun, et al., 2017). The pay rates of the workers have been increased to hire new employees. This is the most effective way the company has adopted to retain the working staff of the organization in order to affect Finnegan Construction sustainability. This will increase the productivity of Finnegan constructions and improve the work en

Potential solutions in Crisis Situations
Some employees have been found humiliated by other employees based on age differences. An employee named David was humiliated by other employees for the age difference. The work environment got affected badly for this (Pillai, et al., 2017). This increased the employee turnover of the company and hit Finnegan Construction sustainability. Five employees and two business partners responsible for this were suspended without pay to improve the work environment. Anti-discrimination and policies and training sessions have been adopted by Finnegan constructions to reduce the level of discrimination and humiliation in the organization (Ong & Djajadikerta, 2017). Regular incentives and increments have been given to the employees by Finnegan constructions according to the performance of the employees. An appropriate method of communication between the employer and employees has been adopted by the organization which has helped them complete the job on time. The employees are encouraged and motivated by the managers so that they can complete the tasks efficiently and the team managers behave properly with the employees (Ong, et al., 2016). The wage rates have been increased by the organization so that the employees remain dedicated to complete the task on time. A comfortable work environment has been created so that the employees remain comfortable with each other and not discriminated against.

Operations for the engagement of the local community and impact assessments
Finnegan Construction sustainability has kept many local societies engaged by accomplishing and implementing impact assessments and programs for the development of the society in the residential areas. The initiatives taken by the company were organizing programs for community development, holding regular meetings in residential areas and Environmental Impact Assessments to meet the community requirements of creating housing in the society affordable.

Conclusion
The above-mentioned factors on Finnegan Construction sustainability can change any crisis scenario in an organization effectively. The company has already taken a lot of steps to control and correct the situations to create a positive environment in the workplace. A better working environment can increase the productivity of both the employees and the company. Initially, there were issues like worker wage dissatisfaction, respect issues, misuse of power to gain a monopoly in the market, acceptance of a bribe, environmental damage of environment which had led to a face loss of the company. The company has planned the solutions according to the employee’s requirements in the workplace to improve the work progress and quality. The company has improved a lot by establishing the following changes:

1. They did not damage the ecosystem.
2. By increasing the renewable resources by 50 percent and more.
3. By including local people in the company work to boost the economy of the place.
4. They started the rezoning area that is usually prone to bush fire.

Reference List
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Ait Sidhoum, A. & Serra, T., 2018. Corporate sustainable development. Revisiting the relationship between corporate social responsibility dimensions. Sustainable Development, 26(4), pp. 365-378.

Al?Hadi, A. et al., 2019. Corporate social responsibility performance, financial distress and firm life cycle: evidence from Australia. Accounting; Finance, 59(2), pp. 961-989.

Bansal, M., 2019. A Study Of Sustainability Disclosure Practices In Select Petroleum Companies Of Brics Countries.

Epstein, M. J., 2018. Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. s.l.:Routledge.

Grayson, D. & Hodges, A., 2017. Corporate social opportunity!: Seven steps to make corporate social responsibility work for your business. s.l.:Routledge.

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Pillai, K. V. et al., 2017. Companies’ Accountability in Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of SDGs in Five Countries. In: Sustainable development goals in the Asian context. s.l.:Springer, pp. 85-106.

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Starik, M., Stubbs, W. & Benn, S., 2016. Synthesising environmental and socio-economic sustainability models: a multi-level approach for advancing integrated sustainability research and practice. Finnegan Construction sustainability Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 23(4), pp. 402-425.

Wei, J., Wei, Y. & Western, A., 2017. Evolution of the societal value of water resources for economic development versus environmental sustainability in Australia from 1843 to 2011. Global Environmental Change, Volume 42, pp. 82-92.