The Esperance lead exposure (see my earlier post) in Western Australia is an incident where some generic lessons can be learned. Some themes that are relevant are:
- Self-regulation – Governments around the world had been promoting self-regulation. This is a logical move as for governments to be involved in tight regulation of all issues, industries are stifled by bureaucratic red tapes, but how much regulation is necessary to prevent an incident like Esperance?
- Management of structural changes in organisations – The Department of Environment and Conservation undergone countless structural and organisational changes ever since 2001. The change appears to be triggered off by the Bellvue chemical waste fire. The changes left the organisation in a state of flux that turns out to de-stabilise the organisation so much that they could not perform their regulatory role effectively. How should we manage changes in regulatory bodies effectively?
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Culture – The Esperance Port Authority and Magellan Metals Pty Ltd appears to know that their operations are potentially hazardous to their workers and the community at large. Why did they continue with the transportation of lead? What drives such decisions? Is commercial pressure so high? What kind of corporate culture promotes CSR?