Peter Smith June 2010

A Report to Justify Why RoSPA Meets the Blue Group Research Criteria.

I devised a series of research criteria, relating to six desirable aspects which would be
considered important when choosing to join an organization or not. Using this
framework, the intention of this report is to argue and justify how my individually chosen
organisation (RoSPA) meets the criteria.

Listed below are the aspects considered to be of the highest importance

Succession Planning
Strategic Role
Healthy Challenging Work Environment / Job Satisfaction.
A reasonable Reward System in Relation to the Labor Exchanged.
Location.
Security.

Research Methodology

This research has been conducted entirely over the internet, whist also being supported by
academic principles from the course so far. Using the framework provided, it was my
intention to research company web-sites for information about the company’s policies,
values and beliefs, whilst also reviewing job adverts which may have provided deeper
analysis on how individuals in the company are expected to behave and perform.
With this in mind, it was also my intention to consider limitations of the research
methodology. Firstly, research has only been based upon opinion and perception. This
relates to how the evidence fits the criteria, and also the applicability on how academic
theories fit the evidence. Secondly, research has only been conducted over a small scope
of media, because of time limitations. For example, further research may want to consider
interviews or review independent company reports.

The Organisation

Furthering my original research in the initial blog, I decided to continue researching not
for profit organisations. RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) is a non
governmental and not for profit organisation, working in support of health. Its sole
purpose is to reduce the number of accidents that occur, either at home, work or on the
road. Reasons for choosing this particular field are because of a strong personal desire to
work for an organisation that changes or helps people’s lives.

Research
Peter Smith June 2010

Succession Planning
Initially the start of my research focused upon the first aspect of the criteria, Succession
Planning. It was my intention to gain a “feel for” whether the organisation displayed
“actual” evidence of practicing succession planning, rather than finding a specific
statement, explaining that a formal succession plan exists, “somewhere”! From the
evidence provided on the web-site, RoSPA reported the use of best practice people
management skills, through their certification to the Investors in People Award (I.I.P).
During a 1999 press release, RoSPA stated that the award had reinforced the success of
the organisation’s recruitment, training and development programmes
(rospa.com/news/releases/1999), an aspect at the forefront of the research criteria.

In an effort to justify the significance of the I.I.P credential, I then researched the main
purpose of I.I.P on their home web-site. I.I.P is a public body that provides certification
programmes against a nationally recognised people management standard. Its vision is to
increase the productivity of the UK’s economy by improving the way in which
organisations manage and develop their people (investorsinpeople.co.ukAboutIIP 2009).
I.I.P manages this programme through a standardised certification model, which is
detailed below. Businesses who wish to gain certification to the award are required to
implement policies and procedures to the requirements of the standard, and then use I.I.P
to independently audit the effectiveness of implementation. If the business can provide
satisfactory evidence that their programmes conform to these requirements during the
audit, the business will gain certification to the award.

Investors In People Model for Excellent People Management.

(investorsinpeople.co.ukFramework 2009)

Note: Ignore the “jig

saw pieces”, they are
not mandatory.
Peter Smith June 2010

Following a brief review of the I.I.P model, it became apparent that direct correlations
could be applied to McKinsey’s 7 S’s of Innovative Organisations (1997 Writers on
Organisations P 111 – 117), observe below. Mckinsey’s model was originally designed
to provide a framework to manage change, however I feel this also applies to innovative
succession planning and learning.

A comparison between the I.I.P Model and McKinsey’s 7 S’s of Innovative

Organisations.

McKinsey’s 7 S’s I.I.P Model

Strategy Strategic Planning
Structure This is designed to be flexible.
Systems The procedures relating to the standard
Style (Of Management) Effective Management
Skills (Corporate Strengths) Developing People
Staff (People) Managing Performance
Shared Values (Culture) Culture and Communication

Analysis of this model provides further justification of I.I.P’s relevance to academic best
practice.

I was also interested to understand how I.I.P sustains organisational commitment, once
the award has been issued. I.I.P structures its certification programme through annual
assessments. Failure to provide evidence of sustained practice can result in the
suspension of the award (investorsinpeople.co.ukFramework 2009). Because of this,
RoSPA has to provide a long-term strategic commitment to programme and cannot
neglect their responsibilities easily. In a brief statement by Linda Turner, the
organisations HR Officer, it was stated that, "Our training and development plan was
developed in conjunction with our business plan so that training is no longer an ad-hoc
activity but is clearly linked to corporate aims and objectives and addresses the personal
objectives of our staff” (rospa.com/news/releases/1999). Based upon this evidence, I
strongly argue that RoSPA has serious attitude towards succession planning and the
requirements of the research criteria have been satisfied for this element.

Strategic Role
Working in a strategic role was the second criteria. Initially my research aimed to find an
example of the organisations structure. This would have provided an understanding on
weather a hierarchy or matrix form existed, helping to conclude how many strategic
opportunities were likely be available. Burns (2007 Organisational Theory page 105)
describes employees who work in functional structures are more likely the display signs
of mechanistic culture, such as performing set roles and escalating issues outside their
scope of authority, where as employees who work in a matrix organisation are more
likely to display signs of organismic culture, such as providing flexibility and having
more opportunities to diversify.
 Peter Smith June 2010

Unfortunately the organisational structure for RoSPA was not published on their web-
site, however desired personal attributes were detailed in relating job adverts. These
provide a clue of what person would best fit the organisation’s culture.

RoSPA recently advertised for a full time Media Editor (www.timesonline/jobs.co.uk

2009). Unfortunately this was not a strategic role however the statements below did
provide vital evidence of what types of attributes the individual would be expected to
have and, what type of culture they were likely to be working in.

Comparisons of the Personal Characteristics Expected in RoSPA Job Adverts and

Attributes of Burns Organismic Culture (2008 OU Section 8.7)

Characteristics Described in RoSPA Job Advert Burns Attributes of Organismic Culture

This aspect is possibly more relevant to mechanistic Unfamiliar and Unstable Conditions
culture. RoSPA appears to hold a monopoly over other
governing bodies responsible for health and safety.
“Rresponsible for overseeing the whole publication from Common tasks
selection of content to writing relevant and accurate
copy, proofreading and checking design layout before
print” (Autonomy)

It is assumed this is the case however there is no Continual redefinition

evidence to support this.
“You will work as part of a small editorial team” (No Horizontal Communication
mention of immediate superior)
It is assumed this is the case however there is no Knowledge Diffused
evidence to support this.
“A talented, self-motivated person” (Possibly no High Commitment
manager to provide motivational help)
“Experience of working independently and prioritising Network Structured
your own workload to meet tight deadlines” (This
suggests that the individual will be responsible for
negotiating their own resources and finding information
where they can, such as ideas and information sharing
across a network).

“Strong organisational and communication skills” Information and Advice Sharing

Peter Smith June 2010

Using this information, it suggests that RoSPA works partly within a network and
functional structure. This is because evidence suggests that the employee will be required
to work in a close team on a number of projects, however no evidence is available to
suggest that the individual would be working cross functionally. Therefore it can be
assumed that the department is networked, but the overall organisation is structured
functionally.
Because of this, it is likely that opportunities to work in a full time strategic role would be
minimal, however the opportunities to work on strategic projects would be high, due to
the levels of autonomy granted to the department. I personally argue that this would
satisfy my need for strategic involvement.

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction is an entirely personal aspect. My personal feeling is that it encompasses
the realisation of an ambition or a goal. During week two (2008 OU Section 2.2), we
were asked to consider ways in which we achieve a purpose using the diagram below.

Ways of Thinking About Achieving a Purpose.

Purpose

To enjoy a challenging and rewarding

Work and Personal Life.

Role Role

1. Employee 2. Learner

Work for promotion into a Work towards a second

Director position, preferably degree in a different
in sales, marketing, Strategy discipline to my previous
and Systems or Operations study.

Role
Role
4. Life Goals
3. Ambition
To secure a basic sustenance to
Set up my own business live a rewarding life, such as
consultancy by the time I am 35. travel, socializing, family and
various other life experiences
Peter Smith
Revisiting this diagram was useful in determining which aspects contribute to my own
personal feelings of satisfaction.
Using the table below, the analysis has been split in to two sections, home life and
professional life. Then using examples of RoSPA’s working practices, comparisons have
been drawn against my own personal values.
Comparisons of RoSPA’s Working Practices in Relation to my Personal Values.
Professional Motivators
“Work for promotion into a
Director position, preferably in
sales, marketing, strategy and
systems or operations”
“Work towards a second degree in
a different discipline to my
previous study”
Personal (Life) Motivators
“To secure a basic sustenance to
live a rewarding life, such as travel,
socialising, family and various
other life experiences”
“Set up my own business
consultancy by the time I am 35”
June 2010
Evidence of RoSPA Work Practices that Support this
Motivator.
Previously we have determined that RoSPA uses a
nationally recognised framework for succession
planning. On this occasion I was searching for examples
of succession and more specifically, people who have
excelled from this. It is my current ambition to work at
the highest level, however I am only motivated to do this
in an organisation with high professional standards.
A recent press release on the RoSPA web-site
(www.rospa.com/news/releases/2009) , stated that
Janice Cave, the Director of Public Affairs had received
an MBE for her services to Health and Safety. This
accolade is evidence of RoSPA’s willing to let their
people work to the highest standards.
No evidence of graduate programmes could be found on
the company web-site, suggesting that development is
possibly provided “in house”.
Rewards are discussed in a separate criteria of this report,
however I did research evidence applicable to promoting
a healthy work and life balance. I was interested to find
that RoSPA publishes statements relating to this area.
Information on the company web-site
(www.rospa.com/occupationalsafety/occupational_healt
h 2009) suggests that RoSPA takes a serious attitude
towards occupational health., for example statements
such as “Factors such as long hours, workload, uncertain
expectations and very significantly, lack of control over
work tasks, can lead to intense feelings of being unable to
cope with such pressures and if prolonged this can lead to
short as well as longer term damage to physical as well as
mental health”, reinforce that a work, life balance is
critical for ensuring employees remain healthy and
committed.
This aspect would conflict with RoSPA’s values and
therefore is not relevant to the analysis.
Peter Smith June 2010

With the exception of two elements from my “life purpose analysis”, most of the criteria
provide evidence to support correlations with my personal values, concluding job
satisfaction is likely to be achieved if I was to work at RoSPA.

Reasonable Rewards
As with job satisfaction, rewards are a personal appraisal of how satisfied the individual
feels they been rewarded for the labour they have exchanged. My personal values are not
linked to high levels of affluence; however I do feel that I deserve a fair salary for what I
do.
Using the Editor’s job advert (detailed in the strategic role criteria) as an example, my
research focused on understanding how fair the salary (22K) was, in relation to the
national average in not for profit organisations. Web-sites such as Pay Scale.com, provide
independent reports on what is considered to be the national average salary for specific
roles and industries.

After answering a number of questions specific to the Editorial jobs, Pay Scale.com
determined that the national average salary for a part time Editor was 23K, very close to
RoSPA’s offer of 22K, observe below.

National Average Salary Analysis for Copy Editors in Not For Profit Organisations
(www.payscale.com 2009).
Peter Smith June 2010

Based upon this knowledge, I am confident that RoSPA would offer a fair salary if I was
to join the organisation.

Location
Location is important to me because of the time this consumes away from home. I
previously described how my values are centered towards a healthy work and life
balance, obviously a long commute would conflict with this.
Currently I work in Birmingham City Center, which is a 35 minute commute. I am
personally satisfied that this traveling time is acceptable, and would only consider
travelling to an organisation with a similar travel time.

RoSPA is also located in Birmingham, which helped provide a direct correlation between
where I currently work and RoSPA’s location. Using the AA web-site (www.theaa.com
2009), I constructed the table below, detailing the distances and times from my home to
both organisations.

Comparisons of Travel Times and Distances (Current Employer and RoSPA.

Organisation Travel Time Travel Distance

Organisation Currently 35 minutes 16.4 miles

Employed.

RoSPA 25 minutes 12.9 miles

From the analysis it can be concluded that RoSPA is a more attractive location than my
current employer’s location. This is because the commute time would be 10 minutes
quicker, however anyone who has experienced rush hour traffic in Birmingham might
argue differently.
Peter Smith June 2010

Security
Job security is linked to market volatility, as described by Porter in his Five Forces Model
(2008 OU Section 15.9).

Porters Five Point Model

01) Threat of
New Entrants

05) Industry
04) Bargaining Jockeying for 02) Bargaining
Power of Position among Power of
Suppliers. Current Customers.
Competitors

03) Threat if
Substitute
Products /
Services.

Unfortunately I have had to base this part of the analysis on assumption of what forces
might apply to the not for profit industry, as I couldn’t find any relating literature to
support my comments.
Peter Smith June 2010

Relationships Between RoSPA’s Industry Environment and Porters Five Forces Model.

Porters Force Relationship to RoSPA

01) Threat of New To my knowledge RoSPA has no competitors in the health and safety field.
Entrants Various consultancies do offer health and safety support, however non of
them have direct links to governments, which may cause new market
entrants influencing pressures.
02) Bargaining Customers have minimal bargaining power, they can either choose to seek
Power of advise or not. However in most cases, government legislation force
Customers. businesses to do so, because of the severe consequences if they don’t.
RoSPA is one of the few organisations that specialises in this field.
Therefore customers have minimal options of where to get their advise
from, thus reducing their bargaining power.
03) Threat if Most advice within RoSPA is free. Because alternatives such as private
Substitute Products consultancies will charge for this, it is unlikely that customers will seek this
/ Services. alternative.
04) Bargaining Suppliers to RoSPA are the governments who declare legislation.
Power of Governments are powerful, however on occasions they can be influenced.
Suppliers. RoSPA may bargain with local governments when conditions dictate they
should, but RoSPA holds no power in enforcing changes.
05) Industry It is unlikely that RoSPA has any immediate competitors, however If
Jockeying for competing organisations did exist, it is more likely that they would
Position among collaborate in an effort to create stronger influencing groups.
Current
Competitors

The evidence above, suggests that RoSPA’s environment is relatively stable, and that job
security is unlikely to be an issue from market forces alone, However, it is also worth
considering the effect an organisational merge could have on job security before we
conclude jobs are entirely secure.

Overall Conclusion

Based upon the information provided in the research section of this report, I strongly
argue that RoSPA provides sufficient evidence to conclude that they comply with the
requirements of the research criteria.
Peter Smith June 2010

References

• Writers on Organisations “Pages 111 - 117: Thomas J. Peters and Robert H.

Waterman: 1997.

• Organisational Thory “Page105: T Burns”. 2007.

• Web-site: www.rospa.com 2009.

• Web-site: www.investorsinpeople.co.uk 2009.

• Web-site: www.timesonline/jobs.co.uk 2009

• Web-site: www.payscale.com 2009.

• Web-site: www.theaa.com 2009.