Norfolk Southern: Health and Wellness 1. Background Norfolk Southern Railway Corporation was formed in 1982. This company has been around under many other names throughout the history of the United States, with the constant mergers and acquisitions in railroading history. In northern Indiana the railroads were originally New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad, these two lines merged to become Penn Central. Penn Central went bankrupt and the United States government merged them with other railroads to form Conrail. In the early 2000’s the government then sold portions of Conrail to the largest railroads in the country and Norfolk Southern purchased the Chicago Line which runs through northern Indiana. This is only a small portion of the company’s history but is the part that is important in context to Norfolk Southern Elkhart yard, where I am currently employed. 2. Human Resource Need The human resources situation that needs to be evaluated at Elkhart Yard would be a sub set of Risk Management and Worker Protection, more specifically the health and wellness of employees. Many of the employees at Norfolk Southern have a tendency to be overweight or even The second ideal is healthy weight, this includes access to “tools and resources that any employee can use to help reach and maintain a healthy weight” (HealthAhead). The final portion of this program is Healthy in a Click, this is a computer based program offering access to information regarding living a healthy lifestyle including, recipes, wellness topics, and ways to challenge each other to fitness related goals (HealthAhead). This program is clearly working to help avoid downtime as the corporation has shown a 12% decrease in health related absenteeism, which can result in a huge gain regarding overall output per employee (GE Goals and
Two railway companies competed in this venture: The Central Pacific company laid track eastward from Sacramento, California and at the same time The Union Pacific company began laying track westward from Omaha, Nebraska and when the two lines met, the transcontinental railway would be complete. Each company wanted to cover more ground than the other – not just out of pride and competitiveness, but ...
Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.
Although not a natural resource, railroads were considered one of the key factors in almost every widespread industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time. He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unio...
Railroads first appeared around the 1830’s, and helped the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Westward expansion; however, these were weak and didn’t connect as far as people needed, thus causing them to be forced to take more dangerous routes. On January 17th, 1848, a proposal was sent to Congress by Asa Whitney to approve and provide federal funding...
Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.
Employee wellness programs, also known as a “worksite wellness program”, are programs that are designed to promote and support the health, safety, and well being of a company’s employees. Wellness programs are meant to improve the health of the staff, their morale, and in turn also help improve their productivity. There are many components that make up employee wellness programs, for example; Health Screenings, Health Fairs, Fitness classes, Smoking cessation classes, and even wellness issue workshops. Employers have begun adopting these programs in hopes of helping their employees while they are at an age when health interventions can still help transform their long-term health choice. This paper will focus on trends found between employee weight and productivity, and the impacts these could have on a business overall.
There is no refuting that the railroad companies transformed business operations and encouraged industrial expansion. The raw materials required for construction of the transcontinental railroad directly resulted in the expansion of the steel, lumber and stone industries. (Gillon p.652) The railroad stimulated growth in manufacturing and agriculture providing an efficient manner to ship raw materials and products throughout the country. Which in turn, increased consumerism and introduced t...
"Railroads were the first big business, the first magnet for the great financial markets, and the first industry to develop a large-scale management bureaucracy. The railroads opened the western half of the nation to economic development, connected raw materials to factories and retailers, and in so doing created an interconnected national market. At the same time the railroads were themselves gigantic consumers of iron, steel, lumber, and other capital goods". (Tindall, Shi)
One of America’s oldest railroads, known as the first common-carrier railroad, was chartered on February 28th 1827, by a group of Baltimore businessmen. The main objective of the railway was to ensure traffic would not be lost to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, which was proposed and ground broken the same time as the railroad. The new railroad was a big invention, which allowed people and freight to travel by train. This was a huge improvement for the United States, since everything was becoming more advanced in other countries. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is the great railroad that owns up to the big title of “The First Common Carrier.” The B&O railroad has a rich history dealing with its background, building, competition, growth tactics, numerous raids, and involvement in the Civil War.
Engaging employees and families in healthy work programs, regular check-ups and illness prevention strategies are smart investments.
I was tired of being overweight, feeling tired all the time, and I wanted to get my confidence back, I knew in order to do that I would have to make a lifestyle change. I had no prior knowledge of health and nutrition, so I wanted to increase my knowledge of the basic areas of health and wellness to implement in my daily lifestyle. My hope was to create a strategy that could be implemented in my daily life that could give me a solid base for starting my weight loss
Creating an individual health and wellness plan helps you plan for your future of creating and /or maintaining a positive, safe lifestyle by addressing underlying issues. “No matter how hard we try and no matter what skills we bring to bear, some problems remain out of our control. When this is the case, we can tell the truth: ‘It’s too big and too mean. I can’t handle it.’ In that moment, we take a step toward greater health” (Ellis, 2015, p. 320). Problems and their solutions within a health plan can be evaluated through five different categories: Diet, Exercise, Rest, Safety, and Health Support. Today we will discuss how I was personally affected in each of those areas and how I plan to implement a solution.
With the health care costs reaching high number there is no wonder we have a large number of absenteeism. So many wait to the last possible painstaking work day to decide to see a doctor about their aliment, and all of that could be prevented. Preventing oneself to have to take time off from work is one way to keep costs low. There are so many areas that need to be addressed when it comes to what is going to slow us down as a company. According to estimates by Dr. Jaime Claudio(1991), a corporate wellness consultant for Health Plus, a provider of health-care insurance, a comprehensive eating awareness and weight- management program designed to improve long-term habits could generate an 80% reduction in the incidence of potential problems caused by obesity in the workplace. These problems include hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and diminished work efficiency. Obesity is not the only eating disorder that is a problem, there is bulimia and anorexia. Smoking, drinking, substance abuse, and stress are problems that are brought into the workplace and stop productivity. We have to be aware of issues that are there but are not usually thought of as an illness.
The SMART goal of the obesity program is to reduce the obese population in Pitt County by creating a healthier diet program. Different objectives will be needed in order to reach this goal. The first objective is that from July 2016 through December 2016 100 community members will participate in the health department’s health promotion activities. This objective aligns with the reinforcement construct of the Social Cognitive Theory. By repeatedly participating in the activities, the 100 community members will be rewarded with the knowledge they receive and also motivation to change their behavior. By having an enjoyable time, they will be rewarded and want to keep coming back to the activities. The second objective is that following the 6-month duration; the majority of the participants will lose 2-10% of their original body weight by changing to a healthier diet. The reason the participants need to lose 2-10% of their body weight is to either prevent or reduce the chances of gaining other health diseases associated with obesity, including coronary artery disease and Type 2 Diabetes. This objective aligns with the self-efficacy construct. By losing a little bit of body fat, the participants will believe in their ability to lose weight, and continue to do so. The third objective is that on June 17 and June 24, informational brochures will be distributed to the community members to create awareness and reminders to join the obesity program, and gain knowledge about the health condition of obesity. This objective deals with the behavioral capability construct of the Social Cognitive Theory because the participants will gain the knowledge and skills needed to change their behavior through the brochures.
Because Franklin County is so large, initial goals would be applied to a neighborhood setting before implementation across the county. To make a positive impact on health and decrease heart disease within the community, these goals are meant to decrease barriers to exercise and provide motivation for exercise participation. Two of the short-term goals address the barriers of time and cost. The other two short-term goals provide convenience and support and recognize that people are motivated differently