Commitment vs. control-based safety practices, safety reputation, and perceived safety climate

Abstract

We investigated the amplitude to which commitment versus control-based safety practices and occupational safety reputation influence perceived safety climate. one as well as the other these variables were manipulated experimentally using a vignette approach, creating a 2 X 2 design (safety practices v safety reputation). We hypothesized that any issues of safety practices would be direct, as well as mediated by the agency of trust in management and affective commitment, while the events of safety reputation would single be direct. We also awaited that the interaction of safety reputation and safety practices would yield stronger events than either of the variables operating individually There was substantial support for the direct and indirect results of safety practices. In contrast, safety reputation bring into operationed neither direct nor indirect results There were no significant interactions. We recommend directions for further research upon the optimal management of occupational safety.

Resume

Nous avons etudie l'ampleur avec laquelle le pratiques de securite, centree sur l'engagement comparativement d celle centree sur le controle et la reputation de securite au travail influencent la perception du climat de securite. Ce deux variables ont ete manipulees experimentalement par l'utilisation dune vignette, en creant un modele 2 x 2 (pratiques de securite par rapport a reputation de securite). Nous avons attitude l'hypothese que les pratiques de securite entrainaient, en plus de effet directs, de effet indirects grace a la confiance enver le gestionnaires et l'engagement affectif, alors que la reputation de securite n'avait que de effet directs. Nous avons aussi envisage que l'interaction de la reputation de securite et de pratiques de securite produisait un effet plus marque que chacune de deux variables operant separement. Nos resultats ont largement corrobore l'hypothese relative aux effet directs et indirects de pratiques de securite ; par contre il s'est avere que la reputation de securite n'avait ni effet direct ni indirect. Par ailleurs, il n'y avait aucune interaction significative. Nous proposon aussi quelque lignes directrices pour de nouvelles recherches sur la gestion optimale de la securite au travail.

Workplace safety is an issue of considerable importance for several reasons. First, deaths from occupational injuries remain unacceptably high. next to the first legislation across jurisdictions requires managers to make secure that work is performed in a safe manner (eg Cooper Phillips, Sutherland, & Makin, 1994) Third, the novel increase in the number of contract workers has been associated with an increase in incidents and injuries (Kochan, Smith, Wells, & Rebitzer, 1994) Fourth, workers cite occupational safety and health as single of their primary concerns (Waldman, de la Pena, Springen, Howard, & Smith, 1989) Despite this, occupational safety remains individual of the least studied phenomena in organizational behaviour, with estimates suggesting it exhibits less than 1% of the total amount of research (Campbell, Daft, & Hulin, 1982) The near study is one attempt to understand the events of different safety approaches to managing occupational safety and the organization's safety reputation upon perceived safety climate.

Traditionally, safety issues have been managed from single of two perspectives, that of ergonomics which emphasizes the optimal design of equipment or that of the law, which focuses upon enforcement, typically of government-imposed standards. Possibly the greatest in quantity frequent managerial method used to render certain occupational health and safety emphasizes compliance and enforcement of commands together with punishment for infractions, and/or goal-setting and rewards for achieving predetermined goals (Cooper et al., 1994; Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, Cardy, & Dimick, 1997; Montgomery 1996) All these approaches are consistent with a control-based orientation toward human resource management (Arthur, 1994; Walton, 1985) the goal of which is to attain greater efficiency and compliance or bring costs, through punishment or rewards upon the basis of specific, quantifiable consequences Yet it is argued that a commitment orientation to human resource management (an approach that increases employees' trust in management and commitment to the organization, for example [i]or[/i] part of to the other participation in decision-making, training opportunities, and higher wage rates), would be more effective in sustaining an organization's competitive advantage (Bloom 1999; Pfeffer 1998; Walton, 1985) There are now empirical data to support this idea (see Pfeffer 1998) The data propose that firms using commitment-based management turn of expressions have a lower turnover, more productive employee and greater overall succes than those using control-based management dictions (Arthur, 1992, 1994; Becker & Huselid, 1997; Huselid, 1995)

We argue that a commitment-based approach to the management of occupational health and safety would be more effective than a ascendency orientation and would achieve its issues because it would enhance employees' trust in management and their affective commitment to the organization. Presumably, employee who perceive their managers as acting in their best interests (including safety and health) would evolve confidence in their managers' abilities and faith in their intentions, the central ultimate parts of trust in management (McAllister, 1995) Kim and Mauborgne (1997) also assert that employees' trust in management is a major determinant of work performance and critical for sustaining individual and organizational effectiveness.