Conducting Gap Analysis in Relation to Psychological Health and Safety

Directions:
This assignment should be typed on the provided 4151 Assignment Outline Worksheet and uploaded using the Assignments link above in either a MS Word or PDF format.
The following directions provide additional information, but the overall outline is detailed in the provided 4151 Assignment Outline Worksheet and this is where you will put in your information.
An assessment rubric can be downloaded here (opens in new window). It is recommended that you review the rubric prior to completing the assignment so you will know what is expected.
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to provide practical experience in conducting a gap analysis in relation to psychological health and safety. Throughout the course, extensive background information has been provided in terms of the process of conducting a gap analysis. You will choose an organization (typically one you work with), to assess for PH&S needs and then you will suggest ONE initiative that can help to address PH&S needs you identify.
1. Describe the Organization You Are Choosing to Assess.
On the 4151 Assignment Outline Worksheet, provide approximately ½ a page description of the company you are conducting the gap analysis on. Choose the information that you feel is necessary (for example: main purpose of the company, approximate number of employees, recent changes, overall corporate or safety culture, etc.)
First Step: Assessment of PH&S in Your Workplace
A central part of implementing initiatives into your workplace is to understand where your organization is currently at with regards to PH&S. Assessing the current status of your organization is the first step of your assignment. The assessment process should assist you in understanding the areas of highest risk within your organization. The following are options that can be used to conduct the assessment. You may choose to do multiple forms of assessment and include informal interviews as well, but you are required to choose only ONE of these two options. In general, if you want a hands-on approach you may wish to choose the surveys. These allow you to interact with co-workers and discuss the project. If you want a hands-off approach (for example, if this is a past employer or one you don’t want to have aware of the project) you will most likely want to choose the organizational reviews.
Survey - Initial Scan - 5 people for a total of 5 surveys given out and completed ( Guarding Minds at Work or other)
Organizational Review - 2 Psychosocial Factors (Guarding Minds at Work found on their website under resources. There are 13 Psychosocial factors but you will only be choosing the two you feel best apply to complete for this assignment.
Once your assessment has been completed please analyze the results of the assessment as described in step 2. This will be done within the 4151 Assignment Outline Worksheet.
2. Describe Your Assessment Results.
This section should be approximately ½ to 1 page. The analysis should list the assessment method used, summarize the overall findings from the assessments and detail the areas of greatest risk within your organization. You can choose whether or not to use a graph to display your findings, but the description should clearly convey your results and their implications.
Second Step: Initiative (Best Practice) for Your Organization
Based on the risks highlighted by the assessment process, choose ONE initiative that you feel would be useful to bring forth to your organization. Summarize this initiative and provide rationale for why you feel this initiative will properly address the risk factors identified. Detail how this action relates to some of the best practices presented within the content of this course.
3. Provide a Summary Describing Your Chosen Initiative:
Be sure you begin this section by clearly explaining exactly what your initiative is. This summary should also provide rationale for why this initiative addresses the risk factors identified, and should detail best practices relating to the initiative. The initiative should be in keeping with your organization and be a realistic alternative (i.e. if your company is suffering financially, it should not be an expensive initiative to implement). This section should also be in paragraph form and be approximately ½ a page in length
Third Step: Implementing Change in Your Organization
The final step in this assignment involves developing a plan for implementation. It is important to be sure you have thought through the process of implementation prior to presenting any initiative to senior leadership. Planning an initiative all the way through to implementation allows you to think through all of the components of your planned initiative. It also shows a comprehensive understanding of the issues and the processes needed to address the issue.
Creating a Quality Framework:
To begin this process, you should review the worksheet entitled Selection of Effective Actions: Applying a Quality Framework. This worksheet provides an example of a Quality Framework and a Program Logic Model. These are process tools that can be used to plan implementation of your initiative.
4. Create a Quality Framework for Your Chosen Initiative.
Include a section in your final assignment that details your selected action (initiative) in a Quality Framework similar to the one shown in the worksheets. You should create a chart within your assignment to show the information.
Creating a Program Logic Model
Also found on the Selection of Effective Actions: Applying a Quality Framework worksheet, is information regarding a Program Logic Model. This is a valuable tool that can be used to better understand inputs and outputs. It also has you think through ways to measure short- and long-term outcomes so you will be able to determine when your initiative goals are being met.
5. Create a Program Logic Model.
Complete a Program Logic Model in your assignment. You should create a chart within your assignment to show the necessary information. It should look similar to the chart shown on the worksheet.
Hint: Be sure your short- and long-term outcomes are measurable. You can’t tell if “everyone is happier”. This would e difficult to show as positively occurring or not (what if some are happier and some are not. How can you know for sure if they are happier and it is not just a biased view). A more measurable outcome would be “increased employee satisfaction as demonstrated by increased follow up survey results”. This outcome is measurable.
Screenshot of table
Gaining Leadership Support
The final process is to ensure you have the support of senior leadership to be able to implement your initiative. Senior leadership is integral to the success of your initiative as they will be needed to provide required resources and supports.
6. Request Support from Senior Leadership for Your Initiative.
To conclude your assignment, briefly summarize the key information you would bring to senior leaders to gather support for your initiatives. This section should describe the key information that would be presented to senior leaders to gain their support. Be sure to think about the types of information that would motivate a senior level audience. This section should be approximately ½ a page long and can include bullet points if you choose.
7. Provide References
Please include your sources used in this section. This will include Guarding Minds at Work and UNB course materials. APA format is preferred.