Introduction
Safety is organizational requirement that helps in reducing risks to employees and customers. Organizations need to determine appropriate criteria that help in enhancing safety culture. Safety culture entails prioritization of safety measures within an organization through showing an obligation of security at different levels in the organization. Safety culture is part of the core values that all employees and customers should observe by performing their obligations. It incorporates characteristics and attitudes in an organization and individuals towards the creation of safety priorities and their significance. Safety initiatives are favourable with the existence of a workplace culture that reduces errors and complications. Identification of criteria allows management to alleviate the threats that face employees or clients within the organization.
Literature review
According to Antonsen (2009, p. 19), implementation of safety policies depends on the management systems introduced. The article tries to emphasize that procedures may reveal the desired safety culture, but the employees are not keen to follow the guidelines. This requires the actions of all parties to ensure that the criteria set are appropriate in promoting safety. This is because the values of an individual or the whole organization help in identifying attitudes that enhance organizational culture. For instance, it is easy to recognize weak safety culture through the actions of employees at all levels of the organization. Audit systems reveal that most safety cultures fail because of unsuitable management systems within which some features do not accomplish the anticipated objectives. The management needs to install systems that eliminate risks by improving the performance of the organization. As a result, employees should understand the systems applied as well as values, principles and approaches that shape actions (Hopkins, 2005, p.64). This is because by recognizing and addressing the principles within the safety culture, they are handling the possible causes of safety complications. The author further suggests that the leadership of an organization has the function of recognizing standards, which enhance organizational, safety culture. However, the duty of nurturing and upholding a sound safety culture flows through the organization since everyone should perform towards this initiative. This means that all stakeholders need to identify suitable criteria that will propel the organization to perform without risks. The management serves as an instrument that empowers individuals to achieve their safety duties. This works, with the existence of constant checks of performance, to ensure that there is open and effective communication (Vilcox & Mohan, 2007, p. 27).
Roughton & Mercurio (2002, p. 44) state that communication is among the aspects that help in identifying criteria, which improve safety culture. Communication assists in the creation of awareness about the set safety procedures since it is provided for demonstration of viable actions of safety measures. The majority of organizations conducts training to promote the new policies of safety culture so that all employees are conversant with them. The seminars are essential can also help in determining issues in the system that were unnoticed. Communication and consultations at work place are integral to realizing a safe work environment by offering and acquiring information about hazards and risk controls. Communication also influences attitudes and conducts that provide employees with relevant information on safety culture (Roughton & Mercurio, 2002, p. 51). This means that organizations that use safety cultures depend on communications founded on mutual trust and by shared perceptions of the relevance of safety. Employees cooperate when the work environment provides a framework for consultation and communication, which creates encourages individuals to report hazards or incidents. It is prudent that engaging workers in decisions about changes and responding to their concerns helps to establish an understanding between employees and management. Such strategies encourage personnel to work safely without encountering risks. Providing employees with relevant information and training broadens their knowledge that facilitates the acquisition of new skills to behave and operate safely. It is essential to introduce working culture that promotes sharing of ideas or opinions towards integration of an organizational culture. The author recommends that organizations should incorporate working cultures that support safety culture in order to enjoy working a safe working. This helps because all duties revolve around working conditions that improve performance and output of all individuals (Hughes & Ferrett, 2009, p. 73).
However, Angelica (2007, p. 121) claims that there are aspects that influence safety cultures in organizations that must be put in place. This is because organizations operate on different systems that are unique in their activities. The workplace elements that contribute towards instituting a good safety culture entail personal and organizational aspects. For instance, attitude influence the development of a safety culture in a work place that suits the organization and the individuals. Another aspect entails a commitment to adopt safety and health as core values in organizations. This attitude is evident across organizations from the management levels to the employee’s level and includes the new member in the firm. Safety and health are continuous strategies that serve as investment ventures since they improve the performance of organizations. Integrating safety and health into the systems involves a change of attitudes of all concerned parties to enable them identify weaknesses. This also improves strategy to resolve safety and strength performance. Significantly, the environment also encourages trust between individuals to overcome challenges of identifying a safety culture. This sets the atmosphere of reporting hazards or risks that take place in the business management. This enables the management to understand the happenings in the company through feedback programs for employees. It is essential not to hold people accountable for risks encountered if there are inappropriate structures put in place (Welman & Kruger, 2005, p. 48). However, the organization should reward those who performed according to the procedures of safety culture. As a result, developing a safety culture requires changes made from the administrative level. It takes place through meetings, strategic planning sessions or safety and health committees where communication of the changes happens. This is because processes that bring about collaboration between all levels of a group can only support its culture. It is easier to encourage a safety culture than to introduce changes to efficiency, quality and effectiveness.
Some safety culture procedures may fail to function due to resistance from staff or inappropriate supervision by the management. It is vital to improve safety culture on a regular basis to limit the occurrence of errors and risks within the organization. Safety culture not only limit risks, but also control of operational costs and productivity of constant operations. This offers a good prospect to streamline operations and control systems towards elimination of environmental and safety issues (Cooper, 1997, p. 96). All individuals should be able to implement and monitor systems to ensure the flow of operations without the presence of safety practitioners. Assessment of safety measures needs understanding all the essential aspects of the instruments of safety. For instance, being able to solve problems and make sensitive decisions in times of disasters without waiting for the safety practitioners helps in controlling hazards. This is because some practitioners may lack the ability to respond to problems due to lack of management tools and techniques. Therefore, high quality and demonstrable safety leadership are among the attributes of identifying safety cultures. Another criterion involves the presence and quality of the organization’s risk control systems. For instance, after completion of the risk assessments of all organization’s operations, it is suitable to control safety at the operational level. However, determining the extent of risk assessment and appropriate control measures needs a record of risk activities as indicators of a positive safety culture (Cooper, 1997, p. 101).
Importance of safety culture
Safety culture improves productivity of employees due to the safety of the work environment. Absence of errors or risks encourages employees to accomplish the objectives of an organization. Safety culture also helps in identification of incidents that may derail performance and productivity within an organization. For instance, when employees resist changes or establishment of some policies, safety culture helps in resolving those weaknesses. The use of safety management systems is crucial because they show the competence in a firm towards safety and health actualization. The values of the firm help shape the principles and outlooks of the individual, which are significant in influencing individual actions (Taylor, 2010, p. 90). Providing employees with relevant information and training broadens their knowledge that facilitates the acquisition of new skills to behave and operate safely. This also improves strategy to resolve and strength safety performance. For instance, it is easy to recognize weak safety culture through the actions of employees at all levels of the organization. Safety and health are continuous strategies that serve as investment ventures since they improve the performance of organizations. This implies that all organizations should establish functional safety culture that improves the work rate of employees and reduces risks. This is because disaster department encompasses all individuals within an organization without holding the management accountable for hazards or losses (Ridley, 1999, p. 23).
Conclusion
Safety culture helps organizations in several ways such as a reduction of risks, hazards and control of operational costs. It is the responsibility of all individuals to ensure that implementation of safety culture policies is up-to-date. This helps in fostering trust and positive attitudes within the workplace. Identification of suitable criteria to enhance organizational culture entails various attributes. For instance, high quality and demonstrable safety leadership are among the attributes of identifying safety cultures. Another criterion involves the presence and quality of the organization’s risk control systems. For instance, after completion of the risk assessments of all organization’s operations, it is suitable to control safety at the operational level. As a result, employees should understand the systems applied as well as values, principles and approaches that shape actions. Communication and consultations at work place are integral to realizing a safe work environment by offering and acquiring information about hazards and risk controls. Communication also influences attitudes and conducts that provide employees with relevant information on safety culture. The workplace elements that contribute towards instituting a good safety culture entail both personal and organizational attributes. For instance, attitude influences the development of a safety culture in a workplace that suits the organization and the individuals. Another aspect entails a commitment to adopt safety and health as core values in organizations.
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