Learning Objectives. Reading Assignment. Supplemental Reading. Unit Lesson. Learning Activities (Non-Graded) Key Terms

Transcription

1 UNIT I STUDY GUIDE Gaining Commitment in a Safety-First Corporate Culture Reading Assignment Introduction: Establishing a Safety-First Corporate Culture Chapter 1: Gain Commitment to a Safety-First Corporate Culture Chapter 2: Expect Safety-First Attitudes and Practices Supplemental Reading See information below. Learning Activities (Non-Graded) See information below. Key Terms 1. Competitiveness rationale 2. Compliance rationale 3. Employee morale costs 4. Ethics rationale 5. Mentoring 6. New-employee orientation 7. Peer pressure 8. Role modeling 9. Safety expectations 10. Superior value Learning Objectives Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Explain the meaning of superior value, peak performance, and continual improvement, and how these three concepts are important when establishing a safety-first corporate culture, especially in the area of competitiveness. 2. Explain persuasion strategies used by safety professionals, what they involve, and why they are necessary. 3. Recall and discuss the rationales for establishing a safety-first corporate culture and potential problems if one is not established. 4. Explain how each of the following can be used to communicate safetyfirst expectations to employees, supervisors, and executives: strategic plan, role modeling, corporate policy, job descriptions, and performance appraisal process. 5. Explain how mentoring, peer pressure, and morale work in support of safety-first attitudes and practices. 6. Explain how to use the organization s strategic plan to communicate safety-first expectations. Unit Lesson The term culture can be used in many different contexts. A good working definition might be something as simple as a group of people who share common beliefs. When applied to an organization, the group becomes the employees of a company. In fact, you could apply this thinking to departments within a company. They too, might each have their own culture. If we add the term safety and instead use safety culture in our discussion, we are starting to focus on what this course is all about. With this statement, keep in mind that culture has many different contexts. It is not solely applied to workplace safety. For example, if you are an employee in a company that produces hydraulic components, you must necessarily be concerned not only about safety, but also about production, as well as many other topics. Safety is not, and should not be, a stand-alone element of a company s overall culture. Think back to when you started a new job. Do you recall any indicators of the culture? Perhaps you received new employee training, during which you were told this is what we believe in so many words. Unfortunately, culture is much more difficult to discern than just having someone speak about it. Some would argue that it is the less obvious aspects of an organization that are more accurate indicators of culture than anything that is written or spoken. So, if we think about safety culture, what does that look like? Are there posters or signs hanging up with all sorts of safety slogans? Examples include We Value Safety, Through These Doors Walk the Safest and Most Productive People In The World, and so on. However, other than seeing a sign, how would BOS 3751, Training and Development 1

2 you be able to tell that the organization truly had a safety-first culture? An unattributed source once said the following: Culture is what the organization does when no one is looking. How true that is! Certainly, there are some pretty obvious indicators of a safety-first culture that we could mention. When you see an EHS professional walking through your department performing an inspection, which can be viewed as a visual indicator of a safety-first culture. Likewise, when a coworker tells another to don his/her personal protective equipment, which could also indicate a safety-first culture. When you have a working community of employees who feel empowered to stop a production process in order to address and mitigate unsafe work conditions, which would be the ultimate expression of having a sound and engaged safety culture. Without a doubt, implementing and maintaining a safety-first corporate culture is a team effort. Safety is a participatory activity everyone must join in for it to be effective, from top management down. At every level of the organization, people must embrace the safety-first mindset. This mindset must permeate everything the organization does. Safety must be present in every activity, from how products are produced, to how contractor activities are monitored. One philosophy states that safety starts at the top, with the President, Chief Executive Office, Director, or other leader of the organization. Unfortunately, organizations frequently find out that what is said and what is done are two entirely different endeavors. Mid-level management support of safety is also critical. Oftentimes, day-to-day implementation of a safety program occurs at this level, so getting buy-in from this group of individuals is vital. There is no disputing the necessity for having employee involvement in a safety-first culture. Employees are closest to the work, and therefore, also closest to potential hazards, so their participation is crucial for success. Upper Management Commitment is a mantra that is often used in the world of occupational safety. Part of this commitment is visibility. It is not enough for the CEO to issue a written statement in an to all employees that states I am committed to safety. The CEO s commitment to safety must be visible through actions as well as words in order to be perceived as real by the rest of the organization. Each organization will be different, in terms of opportunities for upper management to be visibly involved in the safety program. One example of visible management: direct participation in walk-through inspections. There are several underlying rationales for implementing a safety program and having a safety-first culture: competitiveness, cost, ethics, and compliance (Goetsch, 2010). Competitiveness: Companies are in the business of competing in order to make a profit. They often compete at a global level. Keeping employees safe enables and encourages increased productivity and efficiency. This can sometimes be a real challenge, however, given the different countries and cultures encountered. For example, the importance of safety often differs dramatically in a third world country as opposed to the United States. Cost: Cost savings is a frequently cited reason for having a safety program, and the numbers can speak for themselves. When adding up the direct and indirect costs of injuries, it is easy to see the value of accident prevention. BOS 3751, Training and Development 2

3 Ethics: This rationale plays a major role in safety considerations. If you polled a group of safety professionals and asked them to rank the reasons why they are in the profession and why safety is important, the majority would say, It s the right thing to do. In other words, there are strong ethical reasons for having a good safety program. Put another way, it simply does not make sense to have employees come to work healthy and not leave work in the same condition. Compliance: This may be one of the most obvious reasons cited for having a safety program and safety-first work culture. If one considers the numerous regulations promulgated by OSHA and other agencies, along with the potential for fines and penalties associated with noncompliance with these rules and regulations, it is easy to see that employing a safety professional is money well spent. If you think about it, implementing a safety program is a really huge sales job. Safety professionals have a variety of customers when it comes to selling the value of a safety program and developing a safety-first corporate culture. As with any type of communication, there are a variety of techniques that can be used. Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all when it comes to how best to communicate the importance of safety. A first consideration would go to the receivers of this information and the many differences there may be among them that would have to be taken into account. For example, consider the variety of attitudes, values, educational levels, and language proficiencies that might be involved, to name only a few! A savvy safety professional is wise enough to take all of these factors into consideration when devising a strategy for selling the safety program. Another element of a safety-first corporate culture is expectations. Think about it. When you start a new job, your boss lays out what the expectations are for you in your position with the organization. Examples include be prompt, comply with project deadlines, do not use company resources for personal use, and so on. Should safety expectations also be included in that discussion? Most would argue that they should. Safety expectations can also be conveyed via job descriptions. Supervisors, who are ultimately responsible for ensuring employee safety, must assess each employee s performance relative to expectations stated in a job description. In addition, many organizations will have quantifiable performance statistics that are a part of annual performance reviews. This strategy will not only apply to employees, but also to supervisory personnel. At the corporate level, most Fortune 500 companies have safety as a part of their strategic plan. The reason for this is simple. Most proactive organizations understand the relationship between safety and competitiveness. Put another way, world class safety and global competitiveness go hand in hand. As a result, safety is commonly identified as a core or corporate value, right along with other important business values, such as customer service, profitability, and environmental stewardship. Day-to-day monitoring of safety performance is very common. For example, peer-to-peer interaction on daily safety performance forms the basis for a safety philosophy called behavior-based safety. BOS 3751, Training and Development 3

4 A final thought: safety should be part of continuous improvement. It should not just be reactive, but instead, should be preventive and proactive. It is always better to prevent an accident than it is to react after one happens. Supplemental Reading The CSU Online Library contains a wealth of information on safety-first cultures. For example, the article Mentoring Matters, by Richard Dunnett, discusses mentoring in a small business environment. This article can be found in Business Source Complete database in the CSU Online Library. Another article in the Business Source Complete database, entitled A safety culture that is rewarded, enforced, honored, by Chris Curtis, focuses on a particular award-winning safety program and also discusses safety programs from the perspective of how they can contribute to a company s success. Learning Activities (Non-Graded) Colleague-to-Colleague Discussion After you complete your reading assignment, read the Colleague-to-Colleague Discussion Cases found on pages and Answer the discussion questions as completely as you can, using concepts and other information learned in the reading assignment. Think about how what you learned might apply to your organization and how they might help you make your organization more safety conscious. The purpose for this activity is to help you study and learn the concepts being taught in this unit. Were any concepts difficult for you to understand or apply? If so, contact your instructor for further explanation. This is a non-graded activity, so you do not have to submit it. PowerPoint Presentation Create a seven to 10-slide PowerPoint presentation on safety-first corporate culture, explaining what it is and what is needed in order to establish and maintain one. Why is it important to have such a culture? What do organizations that already have an established safety-first culture do that sets them apart? This is a non-graded activity, so you do not have to submit it. Article Critique The assignment for this unit is to investigate a professional journal to find an article that addresses one or more of the following topics: 1. Mentoring 2. Role modeling 3. Peer pressure 4. Safety orientation The article should not be more than three years old. You are encouraged to utilize the Research Databases found in the CSU Online Library. Include the following information in your critique of the article: BOS 3751, Training and Development 4

5 Summary of the main points Explanation of whether or not the article supports the above concept(s) as presented in the text Description of any flaws you find in the author's reasoning or procedures Whether you agree/disagree with the author's conclusions and why Other specific information about the article that relates to the unit objectives Your review should be in APA format and at least two pages in length, not counting the cover page or the reference page. All sources, including the textbook, should be cited and referenced using APA format. BOS 3751, Training and Development 5