2.2 The Difference Between Safety Culture and Climate
Ostroff et al (2013) states that “Corporate culture and climate focus on how corporate participants observe, experience, and make sense of their work environment and are basic building blocks for describing and analysing organisational improvements. Although culture and climate have been approached in traditional ways and have their roots in different disciplines, they are both about understanding behaviour in organisations”. In this literature review it is important to have an understanding of the different interfaces between the elements involved. Figure 2.1 indicates the relationship of each process and procedure involved in this literature review.
In an article by HTC Consulting (2011) they describe the analysis of Culture & Climate very well. “Culture might be described as the foundation upon which any organisation is built. It develops over the longer term and consists of the values stated and understood beliefs, norms and traditions which guide how the organisation does its business and in turn how people behave.
In simple terms, culture could be described as the personality of the organisation and, often, the culture of a particular enterprise can be traced back to those personal values held by the founder, or it is a reflection of the senior management in the business”.
In an article by Marsh (2010) the author suggests that “A colleague of mine likes to say: “You get exactly the safety standards you are prepared to accept – no more and no less”, so, while there are lots of “magic methodologies” out there, they all need to be fired from a six-shooter called “genuine management commitment”. All the magic bullets require time, effort, follow-up and often a good deg...
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...demonstrating findings in exact opposition to those of Heinrich. This nationwide research demonstrates that more than 85 % of employees rate safety, among all labour standards, as first in importance. The study, “Public Attitudes toward and Experiences with Workplace Safety,” was conducted from 2001 to 2010 by The National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago. This paper was helpful, but somewhat contradictory to accepted perceptions.
2.4 Organising H&S
An effective management structure (see figure 2.2) and arrangements should be put in place to deliver the policy, with staff being motivated and empowered to work safely and protect long-term health.
Cameron et al (2003) states on page 18 that “Coping successfully with the changing conditions of twenty-first century environments, for example, requires constant adaptability and flexibility”
Figure 2
McGuire, C. (2011, April). Workplace Safety 100 Years Ago. Safety Compliance Letter(2524), 1-6. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=60166397&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Cultural Climate – The climate needs to move from an environment of indifference to customers’ needs. Also, because NCO monopolized the computer technology market and customers paid excessively for services. Employees lacked the motivation to meet customer demands. Therefore, it was noted that the environment needed to move from one of one indifference to one of meeting their customers’ needs. The environment will switch focus to working directly with customers’; allowing questions, feedback and customers will become part of the implementation team.
When it comes to safety most people think they are safe, and they have a true understanding on how to work safe. Human nature prevents us from harming ourselves. Our instincts help protect us from harm. Yet everyday there are injuries and deaths across the world due to being unsafe. What causes people to work unsafe is one of the main challenges that face all Safety Managers across the world.
In his book Organizational Culture and Leadership, Schein defines the culture as: “The climate and practices that organizations develop around their handling of people, or to the espoused values and credo of an organization”.
In conclusion, Occupational Health and Safety management has numerous benefits such as reduce accidents and injuries, improved working condition, compliance with legislation, better internal communication, increase competitiveness and quality, consistent and proven approach to managing OHS risks, improve the quality image of a company and reduce cost. But it is not easy to achieve an effective management system, particularly attitude of workers towards Health and Safety. There are also some weaknesses or gap that has to be identified in order to achieve successful OHSMS. Attitudes that had been influenced by management or organisational structure often become the reason of failure in a system (Yorio P.L and Wachter J.K, 2012).
Culture can be defined as “A pattern of basic assumptions invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and therefore to be taught to the new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Schein (1988). Organizational culture can be defined as a system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members. It includes routine behaviors, norms, dominant values, and feelings or climates. The purpose and function of this culture is to help foster internal integration, bring staff members from all levels of the organization closer together, and enhance their performance.
These above ingredients of culture are gained from birth which means anyone is much influenced by their family, religion, school, and workplace and from friends. Culture mainly stands for supporting role for almost overall success of organization not only that but also it reflects in the outcomes of an organization such as, quality and productivity, obligation and performance. Organizational culture has always been a question for everyone on how the culture and power are associated to an organization.
Leaders have influence the organizational climate and can change the command culture. However to accomplish that they have to first understand the existing organizational culture within which they are operating. Culture is the behavior characteristic of a particular group. In an organizational setting, leaders have to be mindful of this cultural factors in the context that is sensitive to the different backgrounds of team members to best leverage their talent. There are three levels of culture. First level is the Artifacts. This is the surface level. It includes all phenomena that one sees, hears, and feels when one encounters a new group with unfamiliar culture. Second level is the espoused values. These reflect the original values. Third level is the basic underlying assumptions. These are what were once hypothesis, supported only by a hunch or a value, come gradually to be treated as reality. Climate, in the other hand, is a prevailing trend of public opinion or attitude in a given organization at a given time.
One of the biggest challenges managers face in motivating employees is the ability to meet their safety needs. Because of the weak economy and high
The concept of organizational cultures was first raised in 1970s, and soon became a fashionable topic. Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, values and behaviours of the group. Theorists of organizations believe that organizational culture represents the pattern of behaviours, values, and beliefs of an organization. Hence, studies around organizational culture have been seen as great helpful and essential for understanding organizations and their behaviours. Additionally, organizational culture has been considered to be an important determinant of organizational success. Therefore, leaders and managers pay more than more attentions on this topic, focusing on constructing and managing organizational cultures.
The concept of organizational culture is one of the most debated topics for researchers and theorists. There is no one accepted definition of culture. People even said that it is hard to define culture and even more change it. It is considered a complex part of an organization although many have believed that culture influences employee behavior and organizational effectiveness (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa 1985; Marcoulides & Heck, 1993; Schein, 1985a, 1990).
Many times the Safety Officer, if you will, is accused of not being a team player. Being chastised for doing ones job is not the most effective way to promote a safety minded environment. Also on the other side of the coin the Safety Officer must implement or correct s...
Organisational culture is one of the most valuable assets of an organization. Many studies states that the culture is one of the key elements that benefits the performance and affects the success of the company (Kerr & Slocum 2005). This can be measured by income of the company, and market share. Also, an appropriate culture within the society can bring advantages to the company which helps to perform with the de...
With the lack of workplace safety practices, there can be tremendous effects on families and the community. This can come in the form of unwanted media attention
Zanko, M & Dawson, P 2012, ‘Occupational health and safety management in organizations: A review’, International Journal of Management Reviews, vol. 14, no. 3, p 328-344, viewed 2 April 2014, http://ro.uow.edu.au/commpapers/2832/.