Sponsored by DuPont Sustainable Solutions

Risk is a constant in our world, and so are risk-takers. Organizations are made up of risk-takers. When we talk about organizational development and change initiatives, what we are actually interested in is bringing about a change in these individual risk-takers.

Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Analysis organizational development model suggests that individual behavior is a function of personal factors and the impact of the social environment. The model explains why training-oriented change efforts aimed solely at individuals often fail. It has long been believed that if individuals are motivated enough or provided enough incentive to be safe, they will be safe. Motivation alone, however, is not sufficient to lead to lasting change.

The human mind has the ability to react or respond to risk quite rapidly in any given situation. Risk reaction is our intuitive, automatic, gut instinct based on our preconceived notions and past experiences dealing with similar risks. Risk response is our deliberate, considered choice on how to manage the risk. Both risk reaction and risk response are driven by perceptions. How do individuals perceive and interpret risk in their daily lives? How do we condition the mind to consider a group input to change individual decisions? How do we consistently apply risk response techniques in situations where we tend to use risk reaction? That will be the focus of this session.

Presenter

Padmakshi Parkhe O’Neil, Product Manager, DuPont Sustainable Solutions

Padmakshi has extensive experience in instructional design, organizational development and change facilitation. As a product manager for DuPont Sustainable Solutions, Padmakshi manages the design, development and delivery of sound and effective workplace learning solutions that combine the science of instruction with the art of design and production.

Padmakshi joined DuPont in 2013 as a design developer. She became the multimedia design manager in 2014, and moved into her current role in 2016. Before coming to the United States nine years ago, Padmakshi worked in the education and corporate sectors in India.

Moderator

Barry Bottino, Associate Editor, Safety+Health magazine.

Barry covers worker safety for Safety+Health.