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The effect of corporate culture on injury and illness rates within the organization
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The effect of corporate culture on injury and illness rates within the organization
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THE EFFECT OF CORPORATE CULTURE ON INJURY AND ILLNESS RATES WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION by Judith Anne Erickson A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Public Administration) MAY 1994 Copyright 1994 Judith Anne Erickson UMI Number: DP31355 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Disseftatiori: PW M isW ng UMI DP31355 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106 - 1346 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CAUFORNIA THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES, CAUFORNIA 90089 This dissertation, written by Judith Anne Erickson under the direction of h.^x... Dissertation Committee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by The Graduate School, in partial fulfillm ent of re quirements for the degree of D O C T O R O F P H IL O S O P H Y Dean of Graduate Studies Date .AprlL.is,.. 19.94 DISSERT A TIO N COMMITTEE Chairperson 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction................................................1 Theory and Hypotheses......................................5 Production Versus Management Concern............. 16 Management Treatment of Employees.................18 Ethical and Moral Values 2 2 Management Support of Safety and Health 2 5 Management Communication 2 6 Legislated Employee Well-Being.................... 27 Injury Causation.................................... 29 Management Understanding of Safety and Health...31 Integration of Safety and Health..................35 Resource Allocation for Safety and Health.........37 Safety Management Advice........................... 38 Espoused Versus Actual Values Toward Safety 40 Organizational Priority of Safety and Health....42 Task and Environmental Design..................... 43 Employee Selection and Training...................44 Organizational Location of Safety ...........46 Method......................................................48 Sample Selection.................................... 48 Measures..............................................50 Survey Development Process.........................63 Data Collection.............. 66 Data Processing......................................67 Analysis 7 0 Findings 7 0 Testing of Hypotheses....................... 77 Discussion...............................*........... 93 Supported Hypotheses 9 3 Nonsupported Hypotheses........... 98 Hypotheses Confirmed But in the Opposite Direction........ 104 Factor Analysis.................................... 107 Limitations.........................................109 Future Research.................................... 110 Implications........................................112 References................... 114 Ill Appendix A Hypotheses with Associated Questionnaire Items..................................................... 12 6 Appendix B Survey Developed for This Study.......... 135 IV LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Factor Analysis of Management Values on the Safety and Health Function Within Organizations...... 52 Table 2 Correlation Analysis of Questionnaire Items for Factor 1...............................................55 Table 3 Correlation Analysis of Questionnaire Items for Factor 2...............................................56 Table 4 Correlation Analysis of Questionnaire Items for Factor 3...............................................56 Table 5 Percent of Respondents From Various Industries as Determined From Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes...............................68 Table 6 Organizational Entity to Which Safety and Health Professionals Report............................. 73 Table 7 The Economic Status of the Company as Perceived by the Respondent............................. 76 Table 8 Means and t test Results of Higher and Lower Incidence Rate Organizations............................ 77 Table 9 Contrast of Rating Means Between Organizations with Higher and Lower Incidence Rates for the Three Factors............................. 88 Table 10 Degree of Relationship Among the Three Factor Scores and the Incidence Rates..................90 V LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Number of Employees in the Organization 7 0 Figure 2 Number of Years as Safety and Health Professional.............................................. 71 Figure 3 Number of Years Employed by Current Organization.............................................. 71 INTRODUCTION It is generally noted in the literature (Derry, 1989; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Me Afee & Winn, 1989; Petersen, 1975; Turner, 1986; Watson, 1986; Zohar, 1980) that one of the ways in which a caring organization manifests its philosophy is the extent to which its policies and practices reflect concern for the safety, health, and well-being of its employees. From a research perspective, the assessment of a caring organization, or any other type of organizational culture, may be accomplished through an attitudinal instrument. Through a clustering of homogeneous attitudes measured by such an instrument, the concept of corporate culture may be implied. Most writers seem to agree that corporate, or organizational, culture is defined as a set of shared assumptions and values that provide a mechanism whereby organizational reality is defined. This culture emanates from and is maintained by the pervading management style. Unconscious and taken-for-granted, assumptions are reflections of individuals' world views of the nature of reality and truth, the nature of people, and human relationships with each other and the environment. These assumptions are expressed as the values, attitudes, and behavior of management and are 2 perceived as their definition of reality. For purposes of this study, the actions and behavior of management were considered an indication of their underlying values and assumptions. An organization's values are reflected in approved or sanctioned activities, behavior, opinions, and actions ("Corporate culture," 1980). Values represent the organizational standards of desired ends (Ranson, Minings & Greenwood, 1980) and actions to attain these end points (Stubbart, 1988). Implicit within values are the concepts of "ought" or "should"; they represent preferences (Sathe, 198 3) that indicate the "rightness of certain beliefs and practices over others" (Trice & Beyer, 1984, p.654). Often considered the "bedrock of corporate culture" (Posner, Kouzes & Schmidt, 1985, p.293), values represent an organization's standards that influence almost every aspect of the working environment. According to Fitzgerald (1988), each value implies other values and their opposites. Therefore, values are not independent of other values; rather, they are interrelated and to affect one is to affect one or more of the others. The purpose of this dissertation is to specify the nature of the relationship between relevant 3 organizational values and the injury and illness rates, or the incidence rates, of the organization. Thus, in the literature review which immediately follows, the reader will become aware of salient factors pertaining to the hypotheses that were developed that relate organizational values to injury occurrences. The primary emphases of this study are the perceptions and experiences of a specific population within various organizational cultures. An attempt was made to synthesize the literatures of corporate culture and occupational safety and health management. This approach is not arbitrary as, in practice, the two disciplines of business management and safety and health management are interdependent. By combining these two disciplines, which may differ in their perceptions of the safety and health function within an organization, new and wider perspectives may be developed. The research focus, therefore, is broader than that which deals solely with organizational phenomena. As Klein (1990) contends, integration, or the transcendence of boundaries, must occur in order to address particular problems. To relate the concept of corporate culture to the safety, health, and well-being of employees, this 4 investigator reviewed the following literatures: corporate culture and occupational safety and health management. THEORY AND HYPOTHESES The general premise of this study is that corporate culture has an effect on the incidence rates of an organization. There were two components to this premise: (a) management's values, which reflect the culture, shape management actions and behavior; these values, in turn, impact employee behavior and (b) certain management values result in higher incidence rates or lead to employee behavior or reactions that are likely to result in higher incidence rates. Culture, for purposes of this paper, has been defined as out-of-awareness shared assumptions that define reality and that guide and shape the values, beliefs, and behavior of organizational members. These basic unquestioned assumptions form the stability of the organization (Schein, 1985) and constitute its philosophy (Albert, 1985). Transmission of Values To speak of corporate culture is to imply that there is a certain ethos within an organization, a philosophy that is transmitted in some manner to define the beliefs and the reality of the organization. The end result is that members become aware of the 6 organization's meanings and learn what is expected of them and how to behave. Throughout the literature the emphasis of the transmission of culture is on what management does (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Kets de Vries & Miller, 1986; Lorsch, 1985; Peters, 198 0; Reynolds, 1987; Watson, 1986), what management pays attention to (Kilmann, Saxton & Serpa, 1986; Lorsch, 1985; Perrow, 1983 ; Schein, 1983, 1990), what it ignores (Kilmann et al., 1986), the measures and controls management utilizes , and how management responds to organizational crises (Schien, 1983, 1990). The shared set of meanings of a culture imply values that help determine a pattern for the organization's actions and activities (Chelte, Hess, Fanelli, & Ferris, 1989) . They serve as a sense-making mechanism of the organization (Baker, 1980; Barley, 1983 ; Martin & Siehl, 1983 ; Smircich, 1983 ; Trice, 1985) and affect organizational behavior and performance (Kilmann et al., 1986). The basic assumptions, values, and beliefs of culture are influenced by and consistent with the type and quality of rewards and the requisites necessary to obtain them (Pascale, 5/28/84; Posner et al., 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Uttal. 1983). This reward and punishment system creates and maintains organizational reality (Easterby-Smith, 1988; Gorman, 1987) to selectively reinforce certain beliefs and values (Ernest, 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985). As behaviors are repeated and rewarded, they become unconscious (Pascale, 1984). Through paying attention to the underlying significance of organizational experiences, people perceive what the organization values (Sathe, 1983 ; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985). In all organizations silent signals exist that carry the message of "what people will really be rewarded for doing" (Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985, p.195). Once attained in an organization, culture seems to maintain itself through the daily interactions of people whose behavior is influenced by subconscious, taken-for-granted and unguestionned assumptions. These shared models consist of both real and unreal components (Reynolds, 1987). Top management has a great deal of discretion in how it uses its behavior and attention (Peters, 1980). If management behavior is "consistent and persistent," there will be a "significant impact on assumptions" of the employees (Wilkins, 1983, p.35). However, inconsistent signals often cancel each other out (Baker, 1980). Manaaement-EmpTovee Relations Management practices are based on their assumptions about human nature (Koprowski, 198 3). Management-employee relationships may be fundamentally linear or hierarchical, collateral or group-oriented, or individualistic (Dyer, 1985), cooperative or competitive (Schein, 1983, 1984). People have certain ideas or feelings about what they need, want, and value in their work situations (Posner et al., 1985). They need to know that the organization cares about them and their well-being (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Peters, 1980; Sethia and VonGlinow, 1985). People can sense if they are just being used by the organization or if they are truly valued as individuals (Watson, 198 6). Safetv and Health Programs The primary mission of occupational safety and health professionals is to ensure the safety and health of the employees. This is achieved through identification, evaluation, control, and prevention of hazards. However, management generally focuses on 9 problem solving and infrequently on problem finding (Peters, 1980). Managers usually emphasize economic performance in relation to corporate objectives (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989) and reward results that are in accordance with these objectives (Scofield & Frank, 1989). Not all organizations consider safety and health a corporate objective. Only with total effort and the belief of everyone involved can an organizational strategy be implemented ("Corporate culture," 1980). This seems to be especially true for safety and health. The major factor for a safety and health program to succeed requires that management demonstrate visible active and continual commitment to it (De Joy, 1985, 1986; Ferry, 1990; Geyer, 1991; Hammer, 1985; Me Gowan & Norton, 1989 ; Petersen, 1975; Planek, Driessen & Vilardo, 1967 ; Schwartz & Davis, 1981; Simonds & Shafai-Sahrai, 1977; Smith, Cohen, Cohen & Cleveland, 1978; The Minerva Education Institute [TMEI], 1991; Watson, 1986; Zohar, 1980). A humanistic management attitude is believed to engender high commitment (Sherwood, 1988) and create and foster initiative (Watson, 1986). In such an organization, employees will perform to the best of 10 their abilities (Peters & Waterman, 1982; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985). Through management's commitment to employees, interaction will occur more frequently (Beyer & Trice, 1987). Relatedly, with active participation in health and safety matters the administrative distance between management and employee diminishes (De Joy, 1985). Guidance and counseling, with individual praise and recognition, replaces the negative side effects of enforcement and punishment and further promotes the safety effort (Me Afee & Winn, 1989 ; Zohar, 1980). Employees work more safely when they have knowledge of organizational results (Walton, 1985) or when they are given broader responsibilities and are involved in decision making (Cohen & Cleveland, 198 3). In their study, Galinsky and Stein (1990) demonstrated that when organizations are more accommodating to employees, it is more likely that the employees will respond in kind. Not all accidents can be prevented. However, if an organization is callous or indifferent to its environment, some sort of tragedy will probably eventually occur (Trice and Beyer, 1984). According to various authors, there have been numerous incidents and 11 accidents that have been attributed to the failure of management to exercise its responsibilities (Ferry, 1990; Hammer, 1985). A recent study by Feyer and Williamson (1991) demonstrated that the majority of workplace fatalities were either a direct or an indirect result of management decision making. According to Mitroff and Kilmann (1985, p. 197), "every type of unthinkable is traceable to the organization's failure to discover, evaluate, and revise a faulty set of assumptions that is held by the members of the organization." Nearly all such incidents can be foreseen; therefore, there is a basic moral responsibility for management to prevent their occurrence. In today's environment, managers are accountable and, therefore, should assume the responsibility for a safe and healthful workplace. Production pressures are not uncommon in many organizations. These pressures are oftentimes supported by equipment which, by their design, "encourage and even necessitate overriding procedural safeguards" (Perrow, 1983, p.530). The design of performance tasks or the work environment may predispose to accidents and injuries. Task frequency, repetition, and pace may result in excessive workload. 12 boredom, fatigue, and frustration which, in turn, can result in accidents. Employee behavior is a result of individual perceptions of the requirements of the work environment (Rasmussen, 1990). Work conditions are consciously designed by managers or work planners to define the possibilities of how and what can be accomplished. Therefore, workers do not have control over hazards that they do not understand or hazards that they may not even be able to detect, such as certain chemicals (Hammer, 1985). Tvpes of Cultures The complex set of values, beliefs, and assumptions that are present within an organization produce a distinct character and a distinctive competence (Peters, 1980; Martin & Siehl, 1983). It is likely that each organizational culture will be unique (Pascale, 1984). There does not seem to be any one type of culture that will ensure success (Barney, 1986; Dyer, 198 5: Ernest, 1985; Gordon, 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Waters & Bird, 1987). Rather, the "right" culture for an organization may depend more on realistic than idealistic considerations (Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985) such as the environment (Dyer, 1985 ; Gorman, 1987 ; 13 Waters & Bird, 1987), the stage of development (Dyer, 1985), or a certain time frame (Gordon, 1985). There are many types of Culture discussed in the literature. However, Schein (1990) and Wiener (1988) assert that simplistic typologies, albeit sometimes theoretically helpful, are generalizations about a highly complex phenomenon and may be oversimplifications. Cultural typologies generally include a set of moreorless specific characteristics manifested by management and employee action and behavior. These categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive or "pure" because of overlap between and among the various types. Many organizational culture typologies are predicated on a continuum regarding concern for people and concern for producton (Blake & Mouton, 1964; Edwards & Kleiner, 1988; Petersen, 1975). Other typology orientations include the type of industry (Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Weiss & Delbecq, 1987), the task environment (Riley, 1983), or organizational stages of development (Schein, 1985b). Despite the numerous possible cultural typologies of organizations, there appears to be one predominant 14 type of organizational culture in the United States. The bureaucracy, with its formal top do.wn orientation relies on control, structure, conservatism, and autocracy to conduct its business (Fitzgerald, 1988; Weiss & Delbecq, 1987). Its focus is primarily on short term goals, with an emphasis on efficiency. The rigid perspective usually adopted by these organizations maintains the status quo, thereby limiting alternative solutions to problems. The organization's emphasis is on response to superficial or surface symptoms and not to the underlying or root causes of situations (Rubin & Berlew, 1984). These organizations generally utilize the laws and codes of the external environment to establish bases and standards for action and use internally generated rules and regulations to direct their decision making (Cullen, Victor & Stephens, 1989). Organizations with this type of culture usually address health and safety issues only when legislated to do so (Morgan, 198 5). During the last 50 years cognitive rationality in in the management process has been emphasized (Gorman, 1987) . This rational view of management practices involves a finite information processing system that neglects aspects of what it means to be human such as 15 "psychological success, confirmation, and feelings of essentiality" (Argyris, 1974, p.13). Employees who perceive that they are being treated as if they are dependent, through the bureaucratic design and structure of their jobs and the organization, feel "isolated, alienated, and powerless" (Argyris, 1974, p.7). Without an alignment of organizational and individual values, hopes, and dreams, tension and conflict result (Martin & Siehl, 1983; Posner et al., 1985). There are two basic concerns underlying the foundation of an organization's culture: performance and people (Sethia and VonGlinow, 1985). The short term oriented philosophy does not appear to result in overall organizational success and is obsolete as a management style (Sherwood, 1988). Its emphasis is on reactionary responses in order to survive (Kiebala, 1986). Efforts of many organizations are now oriented to long term effects (Petersen, 1975). Their concerns are with what drives the organization: its philosophy, spirit, and values (Peters, 1980; Posner et al., 1985). Successful and prosperous companies are those that use 16 their resources, especially their human resources, wisely (Kiebala, 1986). There was no attempt to classify types of cultures in this study. Rather, specific management values, which reflected their particular cultures, were investigated. In accordance with the literature, management values are transmitted to the employees who respond to how they are treated and to what management values. Examples of management values include support for safety and health and concern for employee well being. This investigator anticipated that when management supports safety and health and is concerned with the well-being of employees, the organization experiences lower incidence rates. Throughout the following literature review the reader will observe, at numerous junctures, the articulation of substantive areas to be researched via hypotheses, and the specification of questionnaire items believed relevant to those hypotheses. Production Versus Emolovee Concern Organizational philosophies may be oriented to either production, employee welfare, or to some mix of the two (Blake & Mouton, 1964; Edwards & Kleiner, 1988 ; Petersen, 1975; Sethia & Von Glinow, 1985). The 17 traditional hierarchical organizational model, emphasizing production, relies on control mechanisms to achieve its goals and objectives (Drucker, 1988; Fitzgerald, 1988; Lawler, 1990; Ouchi & Price, 1978; Pascale, 1984; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990; Rubin & Berlew, 1984 ; Sherwood, 1988). Within this type of environment, employees are generally treated as a means to achieve production results (Garsombke, 1988; Liedtka, 1989 ; Meglino, Ravlin & Adkins, 1989; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990; Sherwood, 1988). However, dehumanizing and demoralizing management practices result in a workforce that, even though it may be compliant, is not committed to either the production process or to the organization (Argyris, 1974 ; Gorman, 1987; Kets de Vries & Miller, 1986; Turner, 1986). Through awareness of their surroundings and the attitude and behavior of management, employees are â– eventually able to discern the behaviors that will be ! rewarded (Easterby-Smith, 1988; Gorman, 1987 ; Mitroff & | Kilmann, 1985; Pascale, 1984; Posner et al., 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Uttal, 1983) and what is truly valued by the organization (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Barley, 1983 ; Sathe, 1983; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985). Therefore, they are able to determine the 18 relative importance of production and employee welfare within the organization. In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When management is perceived as caring for employee welfare less than production, higher incidence rates occur. o When demoralization is perceived among the workforce, incidence rates are higher. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Management stresses production over worker safety and well-being o Employee morale is low in my company Management Treatment of Emplovees The control mechanisms utilized in the traditional organization, such as close supervision and numerous rules and regulations, generally result in negative psychological effects on the employees (Cullen et al., 1989; Walton, 1985). Positive feedback and encouragement of employees is usually not demonstrated by management. With individuality and autonomy reduced, employees oftentimes feel dependent, alienated, and demoralized (Argyris, 1974; Ernest, 19 1985; Kilmann, 1985; Ouchi & Price, 1978). They manifest their feelings through apathy, management distrust, and absenteeism (Smith et al., 1978; Walton, 1985). They do not make suggestions, take risks or initiative, or display commitment to the organization (Perrow, 1983; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Skinner, 198 6). When employees, as responsible adults, are treated as dependent children by management, there is an incongruency between the value systems of these two populations (Marcic, Aiuppa & Watson, 1989; Martin & Siehl, 1983; Posner et al., 1985). This misalignment of personal and organizational values may result in the formation of subcultures within the organization (Ashforth, 1985; Gregory, 1983; Krackhardt & Kilduff, 1990; Liedtka, 1989; Martin & Siehl, 1983; Waters & Bird, 1987; Wilkins, 1983). Employees, therefore, may perceive that they do not belong, or fit, into the organization. When employees are treated with respect and as adults, innovation, cooperation, and initiative are encouraged (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Edwards & Kleiner, 1988; Ernest, 1985; Kilmann, 1985; Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985). This nontraditional 20 organizational approach results in an open milieu whereby employees are not hesitant to offer suggestions and management freely offers encouragement and positive feedback (Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985; Sherwood, 1988). Employees are aware of management's genuine interest in their welfare and respond accordingly. Organizational commitment, motivation to work safely, and lowered absenteeism and turnover ensue (Derry, 1989; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989 ; Me Afee & Winn, 1989 ; Turner, 1986; Watson, 1986; Zohar, 1980). There is some evidence that employee participation in decision making increases both organizational commitment and safe and healthful work practices (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Hollander & Offerman, 1990; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990). To accomplish the transition from the traditional organizational model to one that is more open and participative, management must be responsive, flexible, and innovative (Chelte et al., 1989; "Corporate culture," 1980; Kilmann, 1985; Lorsch, 1986; Peters & Waterman, 1982; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Sherwood; 1988: Westley, 1990). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: 21 o When it is perceived that employees are not treated as adults, employee decision making, innovation, suggestions, and organizational commitment decrease and incidence rates are higher. o When absenteeism and turnover seem to occur frequently, incidence rates are higher. o When employees perceive an incongruency (a lack of fit) between their values and those of the organization, incidence rates are higher. o When employees believe they are closely monitored, incidence rates are higher. o When employees perceive positive feedback and encouragement from management, incidence rates are lower. o When it is believed that company decisions are made solely by top management, incidence rates are higher. o When employees believe it is important for them to abide by organizational rules and regulations, incidence rates are higher. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Management treats employees as adults and with respect 22 O It's very important for employees to abide by company rules and regulations o Management offers positive feedback to employee suggestions o Turnover or absenteeism are common in my company o Management gives positive feedback to employees o Employees are truly committed to the company o Employees are closely supervised and monitored o Innovative thinking is rewarded by my company o Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making o All company decisions are from the top down o There are groups of employees in my company that do not seem to "fit" into the organization Ethical and Moral Values The traditional hierarchical model generally does not express a moral tone (Waters & Bird, 1987). However, management has an ethical and moral responsibility to ensure that employees and others are not exposed to risks or experience harm as a result of organizational activities (Cullen et al., 1989; McGowan & Norton, 1989 ; Sashkin, 1984). Managerial decision making is guided by personally-held values which, in turn, are based on 23 fundamental beliefs, or assumptions, which operate on the subconscious level (Ashforth 198 5; Beyer & Trice, 1987; Cullen et al., 1989; Dyer, 1985; Kilmann et al., 1986; Lorsch, 1985, 1986; Posner & Schmidt, 1987; Sathe, 1983 ; Schall, 1983 ; Schein, 1983 ; Wilkins, 198 3) . Expressed as values and behavior, subconscious and taken-for-granted assumptions determine an individual's view of the world and how it works (Burrell & Morgan, 1985 ; Sathe, 1983 ; Schein, 1984; Schwartz & Davis, 1981; Westley, 1990). Inherent among these assumptions are issues concerning the nature of reality and truth, human nature, and relationships with each other and the environment (Berger & Luckmann, 1966 ; Dyer, 1985 ; Gorman, 1987 ; Pascale, 1984 ; Petersen, 1975; Sathe, 1983 ; Schein, 1983, 1984 ; Smircich, 1983; Westley, 1990). The value system of the organization and that of individual managers may be shared or may be incongruent (Wiener, 1988). In the latter instance, conflict may ensue (Derry, 1989 ; Liedtka, 1989 ; Waters & Bird, 1987) or managers may choose to compromise their values (Posner & Schmidt, 1987) or they may be subconsciously influenced by the organization's values. In either case, the values of individual managers are not 24 expressed (Derry, 1989; Liedtka, 1989; Schwartz & Davis, 1981). This situation may result in organization-wide ethical problems (Hosmer, 1987). Inattention to moral questions is not good for the institution of business. The health and welfare of the workforce is such a moral question. Until the passage of the OSHAct in 1970 to ensure a safe and healthful work environment, employees were not necessarily protected from hazards. However, totally effective occupational safety and health efforts are still far from being realized. The safety and health of the employee is dependent upon the value system, and thereby the assumptions, of the management of the organization. In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize : o When it is perceived that management has an ethical concern for employees, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire item developed to address this hypothesis was: o Management expresses an ethical concern for the employees 25 Management Support of Safety and Health When management values visibly support an endeavor, this emphasis is transmitted to the employees who recognize its importance to management (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Ashforth, 1985; Baker, 1980; Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Kets de Vries & Miller, 1986; Kilmann et al., 1986; Lorsch, 1985; Pascale, 1984; Perrow, 1983; Peters, 1980; Reynolds, 1987; Schein, 1983, 1990; Watson, 1986). These factors are directly relevant to the occupational safety and health program since this function can be no better than the management competence of an organization (DeJoy, 1985; Petersen, 1975). When the safety and health function is valued by management, the actions and behavior of management demonstrate visible and explicit support for it (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983 ; DeJoy 1985, 1986; Ferry, 1990; Geyer, 1991; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989 ; Hammer, 1985 ; McGowan & Norton, 1989 ; Planek et al., 1967; Schwartz & Davis, 1981; Simonds & Shafai-Sahrai, 1977 ; Smith et al., 1978; TMEI, 1991; Watson, 1986; Zohar, 1980). This support is considered to be the single most important factor in the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful occupational safety and health program. 26 In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is believed that management has a proactive commitment to occupational safety and health, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire item developed to address this hypothesis was: o Management shows, through its action and behavior, that it is truly interested in the safety and health of the employees Management Communication Management has a great deal of discretion in the way in which it communicates with employees (Peters, 1980). Information may be retained or distorted or it may be open and explicit (Kilmann et al., 1986; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990; Riley, 1983; Schwartz & Davis, 1981; Sherwood, 1988 ; Walton, 1985; Weiss & Delbecq, 1987). If in the former mode, miscommunication, which is common in organizations, may occur (Gordon, 1985; Petersen, 1975; Sathe, 1983). When in the latter mode, employees learn what management values. One of the ways in which management communicates is through the use of status symbols (Dandridge, Mitroff & Joyce, 1980; Dyer, 1985; Jelinek et al.. 27 1983; Pettigrew, 1979 ; Riley, 1983 ; Siehl & Martin, 1984; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984; Walton, 1985). If predominant in an organization, such symbols may emphasize authority and inhibit communication. Attention is thereby displaced from the actual work of the organization (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Gorman, 1987 ; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990) In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o If employees believe that organizational communication is open and explicit, incidence rates are lower. o If status symbols concerning power and prestige are perceived as important to top management, incidence rates are higher. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Workplace communication is honest, open, and understandable o Status symbols (plush offices, private parking spaces, etc.) are important to top management Legislated Employee Well-being Traditional hierarchical organizations attempt to maintain the status quo and are resistant to change 28 (Deal & Kennedy, 1982; Fitzgerald, 1988 ; Luthans, 1989 ; Reynolds, 1987; Schein, 1990; Weiss & Delbecq, 1987). However, these organizations are currently being pressured and challenged to change from many sources (Lorsch, 1985, 1986; Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985; Sethia & VonGlinow, 1985; Uttal, 1983). A number of authors contend that most organizational change appears to emanate from the external environment ("Corporate Culture," 1980; Deal & Kennedy, 1982 ; Dyer, 1985 ; Jelinek et al., 1983 ; Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985; Schein, 198 5b). Those laws and regulations that are associated with occupational safety and health are within this category (Geyer, 1991). Those organizations that attempt to maintain the status quo usually do not address employee safety and health unless they are legislated to do so (Cullen et al., 1989; Geyer, 1991; Morgan, 1986; Ouchi & Price, 1978) . The safety and health programs established by such organizations satisfy the law but do not necessarily prevent the hazards to which employees are exposed (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Heath, 1989 ; United States General Accounting Office, 8/90; Watson, 1986). Rather, an effective safety and health program that provides a safe and healthful environment, in addition 29 to satisfying the law, requires the acceptance, understanding, and participation of all of the employees in the organization (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Petersen, 1975). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize : o If employees believe that the organization relies primarily on laws and regulations for occupational safety and health, incidence rates are higher. The specific questionnaire item developed to address this hypothesis was: o The first decision that management makes about safety and health is whether or not the decision violates any law Iniurv Causation Accidents and injuries within an organization are almost always traceable to the failure of management (Ferry, 1990; Feyer & Williamson, 1991; Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985 ; Petersen, 1975 ; Zohar, 1980). Therefore, it is top management's responsibility to ensure that the organization is free, insofar as is possible, from hazards to the employees (Ferry, 1990; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Hammer, 1985; Rasmussen, 30 1990; TMEI, 1991). Some managers believe that injuries are a cost of doing business (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Lowrance, 1976; Watson, 1986). In addition, many managers perceive injuries and accidents as being caused by the workers themselves because of the assumptions of human nature that are held by management (DeJoy, 1985, 1986, 1990; Heath, 1989; Petersen, 1991). This perception is also based, in part, on the virtually unsubstantiated 60-year-old claim that 85 percent of workplace injuries are attributable to unsafe acts by employees (DeJoy, 1985; Heinrich, 1931; Reber & Wallin, 1983). Those who believe that workers are responsible for injuries to themselves and others may attempt to change the behavior of the workers through various behavior modification techniques (DeJoy, 1985). However, a number of authors do not believe that this type of intervention is successful in the long term (Kilmann et al., 1986; Sathe, 1983). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is perceived that management blames employees for injuries, incidence rates are higher. o When it is believed that behavior modification techniques are used, incidence rates are higher. 31 The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Workers are blamed by management for injuries and accidents o Behavior modification techniques are used in my company to reduce injury and accident rates. Management Understanding of Safetv and Health Many managers within traditional organizations are oriented, through their education and training, to believe that there are single correct solutions to problems that are measured by a sole criterion: the bottom line (Mitroff & Kilmann, 1985). However, there are a number of situations that are not amenable to this simplistic analysis. Among them is the occupational safety and health function within an organization. Business school students are generally not made aware of the importance of the safety and health effort. Therefore, they are unable to recognize, evaluate, or control unsafe or unhealthful conditions in the workplace (American Risk & Insurance Association, 1990; Heath, 1989; Orth & Wilkinson, 1986; Petersen, 1991; Rasmussen, 1990; Walters & Heath, 1989). Likewise, they are unable to appreciate and 32 understand the effort that is put forth by the occupational safety and health professionals (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Scofield & Frank, 1989). Therefore, educating managers becomes the responsibility of the professionals. Generally, this is not easy to accomplish (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989) . Difficulties facing the occupational safety and health professionals with trying to elicit management support may be due to the educational and experiential differences between these two groups (Gregory, 1983; Wilkins, 1983). These differences may be to such an extent that safety and health professionals consider themselves an occupational community, or group, that is not totally in alignment with the predominant management philosophy of the organization (Beyer & Trice, 1987; Gorman, 1987 ; Krackhardt & Kilduff, 1990; Schall, 1983 ; Schein, 1984; Trice & Beyer, 1984 ; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984). Members of these groups generally share values, ethics, skills, and knowledge common to their profession (Gregory, 1983 ; Ouchi & Wilkins, 1985; Riley, 1983; Schall, 1983 ; Trice & Beyer, 1984 ; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984). Therefore, their primary perspective and commitment may be to their professions rather than to their employing 33 organizations (Schein, 1984; Trice, 1985; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984) . Professional norms and values may override organizational rules and procedures with reciprocal monitoring replacing organizational hierarchal controls (Beyer & Trice, 1987; "Corporate culture," 1980; Jones, 198 3; Lorsch, 1985; Trice & Beyer, 1984; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984). The difference of primary orientations between management and occupational safety and health professionals does not necessarily imply a situation of mutual exclusivity; one does not preclude the existence or the importance of the other. Rather, professional and organizational relationships may be cooperative as well as conflicting (Gregory, 1983 ; Van Maanan & Barley, 1984). However, if the latter situation prevails, occupational safety and health professionals may have limited acceptance and participation in the dominant organizational culture and attempts at interaction and coordination may be complicated (Gregory, 1983). The national need for the expertise of occupational safety and health professionals is expanding (Employment Development Department, 1990; Ferry, 1990). Scientific and technological 34 developments related to these professionals and their field are occurring at a rapid rate. To maintain currency in the field and to better serve the organization and its employees, these professionals should be encouraged by management to attend seminars, workshops, conferences, etcetera to maintain currency. Such meetings or conferences of professional associations strengthen the bonds of occupational identification and emphasize the commonality of issues and concerns, including the relativity of the specifics of the employing organizations (Beyer & Trice, 1987; Trice & Beyer, 1984). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is perceived that management is not supportive of safety and health, incidence rates are higher. o When it is believed that management encourages and supports the attendance of safety and health personnel at professional development meetings, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: 35 o I feel that management doesn't understand me when I talk about the importance of safety and health o I am encouraged by my company to attend seminars, conferences, continuing education courses, etc. Integration of Safetv and Health Safety and health professionals experience frustration when they are not able to convince management of the importance of their effort (Kiebala, 1986). One possible reason for this situation is the fact that these persons tend to be in organizational staff positions and, therefore, do not have recognized authority over others (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989) . Another reason is that the safety and health effort is generally perceived differently by management than are production-oriented organizational concerns (Hammer, 1985). However, the safety and health professional and his or her function are closely interrelated with nearly all other organizational functions; they cannot operate in isolation (Planek et al., 1967; TMEI, 1991). In reality, this effort is involved with every program, activity, and part of the organization at one time or another (Sathe, 198 3) . 36 Enlightened management is aware of the importance of safety and health integration throughout the organization and its relationship to corporate goals, long term planning, and strategy (American Risk & Insurance Association, 1990; Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; De Joy, 1985; Ferry, 1990; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Petersen, 1975, 1991; Planek et al., 1967; Sashkin, 1984; TMEI, 1991; Zohar, 1980). However, this function oftentimes is not integrated with those organizational functions with which it interacts (McGowan & Norton, 1989 ; Scofield & Frank, 1989; Zohar, 1980). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize : o When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is equal in importance to other organizational concerns, incidence rates are lower. o When it is perceived that safety and health professionals and their function are part of the overall production process, incidence rates are lower. o When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is integrated into all aspects of the organization, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: 37 O The safety and health function in my company is equal in importance to that of other company functions o Management considers me and my function as an important part of the overall production process of my company o Safety and health is integrated into all operations in my company Resource Allocation for Safetv and Health Organizational resource allocation for the safety and health function is oftentimes less than optimum (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989). When in competition for finite resources, other organizational demands will generally succeed before safety and health considerations (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Petersen, 1975; Scofield & Frank, 1989). However, organizations should be willing, regardless of cost, to do what is morally right and best for the organization and its employees (Cullen et al., 1989; Waters & Bird, 1987). In addition, there is some evidence that adequate support for the safety and health effort results in higher safety and health performance (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Hammer, 1985 ; Smith et al., 1978 ; TMEI, 1991). Allocation of resources, which is an indicator of power in an organization, will reflect 38 the relative importance that management places on a given function (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Rubin & Berlew, 1984), including that of safety and health (Riley, 1983) . In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is perceived that there is a sufficient allocation of resources for the safety and health effort, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire item developed to address this hypothesis was: o As a safety and health professional, I do not have the necessary resources to accomplish what needs to be done for the employees in my company Safetv Management Advice Enlightened management realizes the importance of the safety and health effort to lower costs and to increase production and profits (Geyer, 1991; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989 ; McGowan & Norton, 1989;). It also recognizes the knowledge and expertise possessed by safety and health professionals. The safety and health professionals* role in the organization, therefore, should be one of advisement to management to formulate 3 9 and enhance safety and health policy (Geyer, 1991; Minter, 1991; Planek et al., 1967). For example, through integration with the purchasing function, safety and health professionals can ensure that hazardous materials, parts, and equipment are rendered as free from harm as possible prior to employee exposure (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Ferry, 1990 ; Hammer, 1985; Petersen, 1975 ; Roland & Moriarty, 198 3). However, equipment purchases usually reflect the structure and orientation of the organization and not that of the operator who will be using the equipment (Perrow, 1983). To neutralize this orientation, the perspective and expertise of the safety and health professional should be employed. In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is believed that management seeks professionals' advice and expertise for any policies that could negatively affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees, lower incidence rates are lower. o When it is believed that safety and health professionals* advice is sought by management for new 40 material, parts, or equipment purchases, incidence rates are lower. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Management seeks the advice of safety and health professionals when formulating any policy that could affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees o Advice from safety and health professionals is sought by management for new or modified materials, parts, or equipment Espoused Versus Actual Values Toward Safetv Managers may often speak of the importance of organizational safety and health but simultaneously offer little or no visible support for this effort (Geyer, 1991). When the support is not forthcoming, employees become aware of the difference between management's espoused values, or organizational terms, and those that are actively held (Kilmann et al., 1986; Uttal, 1983). The espoused values, therefore, may be perceived as propaganda with resultant loss of management credibility (Petersen, 197 5; Siehl & Martin, 1984) . 41 When management reinforces statements with positive repeated and consistent public behavior, their values are more readily transmitted to the employees (Baker, 1980; Peters, 1980; Posner et al., 1985; Siehl & Martin, 1984 ; Vincoli, 1991; Waters & Bird, 1987). If management truly cares about the health and safety of the workforce, and its behavior reflects this concern, this value will be effectively transmitted (Hammer, 1985; Smith et al., 1978). Another expression of organizational values is a formal statement of organizational philosophy; this statement should include safety and health concerns (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Planek et al., 1967; Smith et al., 1978). Available for all employees to read, these written statements are evidence of basic organizational beliefs (Lorsch, 1986). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is perceived that management speaks of the importance of organizational safety and health in solely organizational terms, as espoused values, incidence rates are higher. o When employees know that the formal written statement of the organization's beliefs and values 42 includes direct reference to safety and health, lower incidence rates occur. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Management gives only lip service to the occupational safety and health effort o The formal written philosophy of my company includes direct reference to safety and health concerns Organizational Prioritv of Safetv and Health Management commitment to a safe and healthful workplace is evident when this topic is treated as a priority in various management and organizational meetings (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; De Joy 1985, 1986; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Posner et al., 1985; Smith et al., 1978; Zohar, 1980). When safety and health concerns are not considered a priority, while other factors are emphasized, the former effort may be devalued or abandoned (Drucker, 1974 ; Feldman, 1988 ; Watson, 1986). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is believed that management considers safety and health a priority, incidence rates are lower. 43 The specific questionnaire item developed to address this hypothesis was: o In management and other company meetings safety and health are considered priority agenda items Task and Environmental Design The design of performance tasks and the work environment may or may not be conducive to the safety and health of the employees (Scofield & Frank, 1989). If designed poorly, without considering the limitations of human beings, accidents and injuries may occur. Employee perceptions of work environment requirements result in behavior that is in accordance with their perceptions (Perrow, 1983; Rasmussen, 1990; Watson, 198 6). Therefore, poorly designed tasks or equipment may result in attitudes and behaviors which, consequently, result in accidents and injuries (Perrow, 1983) . There is some evidence that safety performance increases when the organizational environment is clean and well-designed (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983 ; Sherwood, 1988 ; Simonds & Shafai-Sahrai, 1977; Smith et al., 1978). These aesthetic factors would seem to be an indication of management's concern for the employees. 44 In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize: o When it is believed that the design of performance tasks and the work environment consider the employee, lower incidence rates occur. o The perception of a clean, well-designed organizational environment is associated with lower incidence rates. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Performance tasks and the work environment are designed for employee safety and health o My company takes pride and responsibility in the maintenance of a clean and safe environment Emplovee Selection and Training As evidence of its commitment, management practices and policies of employee selection and training should include safety and health considerations (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; De Joy, 1986; Ferry, 1990; Hammer, 1985; Heath & Ferry, 1990; Pascale, 1984 ; Petersen, 1975; Posner et al., 1985; Sherwood, 1988 ; Siehl & Martin, 1984 ; Smith et al., 1978; TMEl, 1991). Employees who are physically and mentally able to perform those organizational tasks for 45 which they are hired and who have knowledge of the possible risks associated with these tasks will perforin more safely (De Joy, 1985, 1986; Me Afee & Winn, 1989 ; Petersen, 1991). In addition to an initial safety orientation, employees should also receive periodic training to maintain skills and whenever their personal work conditions change (Hammer, 1985; Mangan, 1991; Planek et al., 1967). As a demonstration of management's commitment to the safety and health effort, safety performance should be included in employee performance appraisals (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; De Joy, 1985, 1986). In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize : o When it is perceived that employees are selected and trained for their specific occupational functions, there are lower incidence rates. o When it is perceived that safety performance is included in employees' performance appraisals, lower incidence rates occur. The specific questionnaire items developed to address these hypotheses were: o Employees are selected and trained for the positions for which they are hired 46 O Safety training is provided for workers and supervisors, new hires, and transfers o All new employees receive a safety orientation o Safety performance of individual employees is part of the evaluation criteria in performance appraisals Organizational Location of Safetv Manacrement The value management places on any organizational effort can be ascertained by the hierarchical placement of this function (Cullen et al., 1989; Lorsch, 1985). If management is truly committed to the safety and health effort, the function will either report to top management or it will be placed at the corporate level (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; De Joy, 1985; Hammer, 1985; Smith et al., 1978). There is evidence that in high safety performance organizations safety and health professionals are accorded higher rank and status (Ferry & Weaver, 1976; Zohar, 1980). However, this is generally not the reality of safety and health professionals (Geyer, 1991). Rather, their primary effort is directed at obtaining management support and commitment for an effective safety and health program. 47 In light of the foregoing, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize : o The perception that the safety and health function has a visible position in the organization is associated with lower incidence rates. The specific questionnaire items developed address this hypothesis were: o The safety and health function is in a visible management position o Safety and health professionals are at the corporate level or report directly to top management 48 METHOD This study attempted to ascertain the effect that corporate culture, or managerial values, may have on the occupational safety and health function within an organization. Hypotheses were developed that related general management values to the selected dependent variable, the incidence rate. Sample Selection The initial sample consisted of 156 randomly selected members of specific categories of the American Society of Safety Engineers. The categories selected represented persons who were employed in safety and health positions within one-locale organizations. Each respondent was from a different organization. It was assumed that these persons would frequently interact with both management and employees. Therefore, they would presumably be aware of the management values of their organizations, especially as the values related to the safety and well-being of the employees. The categories that were used included: Director/Manager/Department Head/Chief - Safety; Director/Manager/Department Head/Chief/Superintendent - Personnel;Director/Manager/Department Head/Chief - 49 Industrial; Director/Manager/Department Head/Chief - All Others; Administrator/Commissioner; Supervisor; Safety Specialists/Engineer; Inspector/Compliance Officer; and Technical/Surveyer/Hygienist. Those categories that were eliminated were believed by this investigator to be nonrepresentative of the population to be studied. The categories so eliminated included: President/Owner/Partner; General Manager/Executive VP - Safety; General Manager/Executive VP - Other; Branch/District/Division/Area/Regional Manager - Safety; Branch/District/Division/Area/Regional Manager - All Others ; Dean/Department Head/Professor/Assistant or Associate Professor; Consultant/Advisor/Analyst; Representative/Sales Representative; Other; and Unspecified. A random number generator was used on a population that consisted of 10,229 members, a reduction from the 23,345 members of the universe population. Three waves of mailings were conducted in order to achieve a greater response rate than could be obtained from one or two mailings. 50 Measures Independent Variables Thirty nine Likert-type questionnaire items were designed to elicit the respondent's perceptions of management's values toward the safety and health function within the organization. These questionnaire items were derived from specified research hypotheses that predicted that values of management do have an effect on the incidence rates of organizations. There were five possible responses to each of these 39 questionnaire items: 1, never; 2 , rarely; 3, sometimes ; 4, often; and 5, always. In an attempt to avoid response sets such as agreement with positive questions or acquiescence, both positively- and negatively-oriented questionnaire items were included. For example, organizations with incidence rates greater than the national average were expected to be associated with 14 positive responses (4=often or 5=always) and 2 5 negative responses (l=never and 2=rarely). There is the possibility that the questionnaire items are indicators of the same construct or are different aspects of the same construct. Therefore, to determine whether or not there are underlying patterns 51 of relationships, or intercorrelations, between and among the independent variables, a factor analysis was conducted. For the purposes of the current exploratory study, this technique was undertaken to detect and describe the presence of covariance among the independent variables. Scales were developed from the factor analysis to determine clusters of management values potentially associated with either high or low incidence rates, as predicted by the hypotheses. Three factors were identified. The Eigenvalues were 15.55 for the first factor, 2.17 for the second, and 1.09 for the third. An orthogonal rotation was conducted to maintain the independence of the factors and a three-factor solution was obtained. Factor 1 contained 16 questionnaire items. Factor 2 contained 13, and Factor 3 contained 10 items. The variance explained by each factor was 8.16 percent for Factor 1, 5.59 percent for Factor 2, and 5.06 percent for Factor 3, for a total variance of about 19 percent. Prior to the factor analysis, all questionnaire items anticipated to be highly rated by high incidence rate organizations, those that were not supportive of safety and health or the employees, were reverse coded. 52 Therefore, all factor loadings are positive. (See Table 1) See Table 1, p. 143 The commonality among the items for each factor resulted in the following designations, or "names": factor 1: management support for safety and health; factor 2: positive employee setting; and factor 3: management concern for employee safety and health. Characteristics of questionnaire items of factor 1; o Enforcement of organizational rules and regulations o Inclusion of safety and health references in the formal written organizational philosophy o Treatment of safety and health concerns as priority agenda items o Treatment of safety and health equal to that of other organizational concerns o Integration of safety and health principles within all company operations o Visibility of safety and health professionals 53 O Safety and health professionals in top management positions o Advisement by safety and health professionals for any policy or operation that could affect the safety and well-being of the employees o Encouragement of professional development for safety and health personnel o Design of safe and healthful work environment and employee tasks o Close supervision and monitoring of employees o Employment of behavior modification techniques to reduce injuries and accidents o Conduction of initial safety orientation o Conduction of ongoing safety training during employment o Evaluation of employee safety performance All of the foregoing characteristics seem to indicate that they are measuring the same thing: management support for safety and health. Characteristics of questionnaire items of factor 2: o Treatment of employees as adults and with respect o Open communication 54 o Positive feedback to employees o Encouragement of employee innovation o Encouragement of employee suggestions o Occurrence of absenteeism or turnover o Employee commitment to the organization o Employees' "fit" into the organization o Employee morale o Ethical concern of management toward employees o Pride in a clean and safe work environment o Proper employee selection and training o Absence of status symbols All of the foregoing characteristics seem to indicate that they are measuring the same thing : positive employee setting. Characteristics of questionnaire items of factor 3 : o Not all decisions are made from the top down o Employee participation in decision making o Understanding of safety and health professionals and their responsibilities o Consideration of safety and health as an important part of the overall production process o Compliance with safety and health not motivated primarily by laws and regulations 55 O Allocation of sufficient resources to safety and health o Treatment of employee worker safety and well being equal to production o More than lip service paid to employee welfare o Demonstration of genuine management interest o Workers not blamed for injuries and accidents These characteristics seem to indicate that they are measuring the same thing: management concern for employee safety and health. Factor 1 The Cronbach Coefficient Alpha for the index measured as the average mean of the 16 items comprising this factor was 0.92. The factor score had a mean of 3.75 with a standard deviation of 0.71. The correlation of each of the Factor 1 items with the total is seen in Table 2. See Table 2, p. 145 Factor 2 The Cronbach Coefficient Alpha for the index measured as the average mean of the 13 items comprising this factor was 0.90. The factor score had a mean of 56 3.60 with a standard deviation of .62. The correlation of each of the Factor 2 items with the total is seen in Table 3. See Table 3, p. 147 Factor 3 The Cronbach Coefficient Alpha for the index measured as the average mean of the 10 items comprising this factor was 0.83. The factor score had a mean of 3.51 with a standard deviation of .66. The correlation of each of the Factor 3 items with the total is seen in Table 4. See Table 4, p. 149 Consistent with the literature reviewed and the associated hypotheses, it seemed reasonable to hypothesize the following with regard to the three factors: 1. When it is perceived that management actively supports safety and health (factor 1), incidence rates are lower. 57 ; 2. When it is perceived that management provides a positive setting for employees (factor 2), incidence rates are lower. 3. When it is perceived that management manifests a concern for employee safety and health (factor 3), incidence rates are lower. Dependent Variable The dependent variable in this study was the Bureau of Labor Statistics-obtained incidence rates, which are the injury and illness rates of organizations. These rates are prepared by every organization annually, based on the calendar year, and reported on the Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (Log) OSHA No. 200 or OSHA No. 200-S. The incidence rate of an organization is the number of injuries and illnesses per 100 employees per year. The rate is calculated by multiplying the number of injuries and illnesses by 200,000, a standardization which represents 100 full-time employees for a calendar year, divided by the number of employee hours worked. For example, 11 injuries and illnesses may have been recorded by an organization in which employees worked a total of 13 0,000 hours during the calendar year. Calculation of the incidence rate is as follows : 58 11 X 200.000 = 16.9 130,000 Therefore, this organization would have experienced a rate of 16.9 injuries and illnesses per 100 fulltime employees. Incidence rates vary by industry as defined by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes. Prepared by The Office of Management and Budget in 1977, these four-digit codes identify an organization by its product or service. Read from the left, each digit to the right defines the industry more specifically. Through utilizing the 1990 Bureau of Labor Statistics injury and illness data (United States Department of Labor, 1992) , the incidence rate of each organization was identified as being above, below, or at the average incidence rate for its industry. A higher incidence rate of an organization, as compared to those organizations with the same SIC code, would indicate a less effective safety program. After the incident rate designation of each organization was determined, the analysis of individual questionnaire items was conducted. The SIC code of individual organizations was identified by questionnaire item number 1 on the survey 59 form; the incidence rate was designated by questionnaire item 14. The survey responses for the SIC code ranged from two to four digits; therefore, for standardization, only two digit codes were used to identify industries. The reported incidence rate was compared to the average for the organization's industry to determine if the respondent's organization's rate was above or below the 1990 national average for that industry. If the rate was less than or equal to the national average, the form was designated with a "1"; a "0" was assigned to the form when the rate was more than the national average. The incidence rate in this study was treated as dichotomous since incidence rate standard deviations for the reported SIC codes were not readily available. In addition, incidence rates vary by industry, thereby precluding their identical treatment. Therefore, standardization of the incidence | rates was not possible. The incidence rate was higher than the national average for 28.8 percent of the respondents ; 71.2 percent had incidence rates at or below the national average. 60 Descriptor Variables Twelve questionnaire items were designed to assess descriptive characteristics about the respondents, their organizations, and the general management style of their organizations. These questionnaire items, their response categories, and the rationale for their inclusion, are as follows: Number of employees in your company: less than 50; 50 to 99; 100 to 249; 250 to 499 ; 500 to 999 ; 1000 to 2500; and more than 2500. Incidence rates may be related to the number of persons employed. Number of years you have been a safety and health professional: less than 1; 1 to 5.11; 6 to 10.11; 11 to 15.11; 16 to 20; and more than 20. Lower incidence rates may be associated with an increased number of years of experience. How long have you been employed by your current company: less than 1 year; 1 to 3.11 years ; 4 to 6.11 years ; 7 to 10 years ; and more than 10 years. The length of time the person has been employed at his or her organization is primarily for descriptive purposes. However, there may be a relationship between tenure in a given organization and the incidence rates. 61 Do you hold a degree in a safety or health-related field: yes or no. Having been educated in the theory and practice of safety and health, a person with a degree would be assumed to be more knowledgeable and able in dealing with management and, therefore, would presumably be more effective in lowering incidence rates. Is your company public or private? This questionnaire item was for descriptive purposes. Do you hold a top management position: yes or no. This questionnaire item was for descriptive purposes. To what organizational entity do you report: top management; personnel/human relations; plant/facilities management; finance; other. The literature suggested that the incidence rates are lower when these professionals report to top organizational management (DeJoy, 1985; Hammer, 1985; Smith et al., 1978). In general, would you consider the management in your organization to be: proactive or reactive. Organizations that are proactive would presumably attend to employee safety and well-being regardless of the influence of legislation and regulations and would be expected to have lower incidence rates. 62 Has your company ever had an OSHA inspection because of a complaint: yes or no. An OSHA complaint does not unequivocally indicate that an organization is not concerned with the well-being of employees. This questionnaire item was a prerequisite for the next questionnaire item. If yes, what was the attitude toward the OSHA inspectors : cooperative or uncooperative. If OSHA inspectors visit an organization because of a complaint, the attitude of company representatives would appear to be an indication of the organization's concern for the safety and health of the employees. Therefore, organizations that are cooperative with OSHA inspectors presumably are motivated to correct any deficiencies whereas uncooperative organizations, such as those that may insist on a warrant, may have practices or hazards they wish to conceal. Cooperative organizations are expected to have lower incidence rates. In your opinion, is the economic status of your company : growing, stable, or declining. Economically declining organizations would probably be more bottom- line and inward-oriented and, therefore, would not be responsive to employee needs, including those of safety 63 and health. Such an organization is expected to have higher incidence rates. Organizations that are growing and are more outward-oriented and stable organizations are expected to have lower rates. Does your company have a regular maintenance program (i.e. equipment, machinery, vehicles, etc.): yes or no. An organization with a regular maintenance program presumably is oriented to a proactive stance whereby situations are identified and controlled or eliminated prior to becoming production or economic problems. Such an organization would be expected to address other organizational concerns, including the safety and health of employees, with the same forethought. Therefore, this type of organization would be expected to experience lower incidence rates. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted on these twelve questionnaire items. The chi square statistic was used to determine the existence of a possible association with higher or lower incidence rates, the dependent variable. Survey Development Process No appropriate instrumentation was discerned at \ the conclusion of the literature search. Therefore, an exploratory fifty-three item survey, incorporating 64 clusters of seemingly related questionnaire items, as suggested from the foregoing hypotheses, was designed for purposes of this study. Twelve descriptive items were followed by thirty nine Likert-type attitudinal scale questionnaire items. There were no open-ended questionnaire items. The remaining two questionnaire items concerned the organization's SIC code and incidence rate. Prior to general dissemination of the survey, a pilot study was conducted among fifteen safety and health professionals. This study was undertaken to assess clarity of the questionnaire items, appraise the proposed statistical and analytical procedures, and establish preliminary trends and expectations of results. Resultant changes based on the pilot study included: (a) using the word "company" instead of "organization"; (b) including the Bureau of Labor Statistics SIC codes with the survey form; and (c) providing the respondents with an example of incidence rate computation. Validitv and Reliabilitv Validitv For the purposes of this study, the sample was assumed to be representative of the universe of safety 65 and health professionals who are employed in a safety and health position at a one-locale organization. All of the respondents are members of the American Society of Safety Engineers, the primary professional safety association in the United States. Therefore, the findings of this study would ostensibly be generalizable to the entire universe of such professionals. In recent years the term culture, as applied to organizations, has been evident in the media. Respondents may have been exposed to these media and been made aware of the term and its definition and implications as perceived by various journalists and commentators. In turn, the respondents' perceptions may have been modified and, therefore, may affect their responses. Reliabilitv As persons working in an organization, the respondents' perceptions and beliefs and, therefore, their organizational realities, as evidenced by their responses, were considered reliable indicators of their organizational culture for purposes of this study. This assertion is supported by the literature (Denison, 66 1984; Krackhardt & Kilduff, 1990; Pascale, 1984 ; Weiss & Delbecq, 1987). To eliminate, insofar as possible, erroneous interpretations of questionnaire items by the respondents, an attempt was made to provide clear and unambiguous instructions for survey completion. Undesirable response sets such as acquiescence, social desirability, respondent image, or consistency and systematic variance whereby responses are biased in one direction, were eliminated insofar as possible through nonsequential positive and negative response alternatives of the Likert-type questionnaire items. Data Collection Description of Process A cover letter, personally signed by the investigator, explained the purpose, importance, and meaningfulness of the study. A list of the SIC codes and an example of incidence rate computation were provided for the convenience of the respondents. A stamped self-addressed envelope was enclosed. Respondents were requested to respond to the survey within 19 days. A follow up postcard was mailed two weeks later. A third mailing, in another two weeks. 67 was identical to the initial mailing with the exception of the composition of the cover letter. There was a 62.9 percent response to this survey. The first mailing resulted in 21.9 percent of the responses; the follow up postcard elicited 2 0.6 percent; and the third mailing netted a 2 0.4 percent response. Anonymity of all responses was assured. However, a business card, or another form of identification, was requested from those persons who wished to receive a copy of the survey results. Respondents were promised that any identification would be immediately separated from the completed survey. Data Processing Business cards or other forms of personal identification were immediately separated from returned survey forms. Survey forms were identified by a three-digit number ranging from 001 sequentially to 241, the actual number of surveys returned. The percentage of respondents to the survey from various industries is shown in Table 5. 68 See Table 5, p. 150 Of the 241 returned surveys 156, 40.7 percent of the total sample or 64.7 percent of the received surveys, contained incidence rate and SIC code data. The three waves of responses were assessed to determine if the percentage of incidence rate designations were similar. The percentages of the lower incidence rates from each of the three mailings were 71.7 percent, 71.9 percent, and 69.2 percent. The incidence rate percentages do not appear to look different with each wave of responses to the three mailings. Moreover, it can be reasonably assumed that the responses from the nonrespondents would have been not unlike the respondents. The remaining 85 of the 241 returned surveys constituted 22.2 percent of the total sample or 3 5.3 percent of the received surveys. Of these, 44 were lacking data concerning the SIC code and/or the incidence rate and 41 were from respondents in categories of ASSE members not included in the sample. This latter group consisted of insurance company professionals who interact with numerous organizations. 69 persons employed by consulting firms, and individuals who have retired. The mailings were based on a current membership list. However, such lists are generally not entirely reliable since people change employment or retire. In addition, there may be erroneous coding of employment designations on membership lists. For the current proposal, a confidence level of .01 was considered to be highly statistically significant; a level of .05 was considered statistically significant; and a level of .10 was considered to be suggestive of statistical significance. 70 ANALYSIS The analyses used to examine the descriptor variables included descriptive statistical and chi^ analyses. High incidence versus low incidence rate organizations were contrasted via t tests for each of the questionnaire items stemming from the 32 hypotheses. Also, t tests were conducted for each of the three factors to determine if there were significant differences between the high and low incidence rate organizations. A logit analysis was conducted to determine the degree of relationship between the dependent variable (the incidence rate) and the three factor analysis scores. FINDINGS Descriptor Items The following figures and tables summarize the characteristics of the respondents. Questionnaire item 2 : Number of employees in your company. (See Figure 1) See Figure 1, p. 151 A post hoc analysis of the relationship between the number of employees and the incidence rate indicate 71 that the incidence rate of organizations was not statistically significantly associated with the number of employees (chi^ = 6.74, df = 6, n = 156, p >.10). Questionnaire item 3 : Number of years you have been a safety/health professional. (See Figure 2) See Figure 2, p. 153 A post hoc analysis of the relationship between the number of years a person has been a safety and health professional and the incidence rate indicated that there was a statistically significant association (chi2 = 11.34, df = 5, n = 156, p < .05). Companies with safety and health professionals with 16 or more years of experience tended to have lower incidence rates. Questionnaire item 4 : How long have you been employed by your current company? (See Figure 3) See Figure 3, p. 155 Questionnaire item 5 : Do you hold a degree in a safety or health-related field? 72 A degree in a safety or health-related field was reported by 4 3.2 percent of the respondents; 56.8 percent of the respondents indicted that they did not hold such a related degree. A post hoc analysis of the relationship between a degree versus no degree and the incidence rate indicated an association that was statistically significant (chi^ = 7.27, df = 1, n = 155, p < .05). However, the significance was in a direction opposite to that which was expected. Of those with higher than average company incidence rates, 60 percent held a degree ; 40 percent did not. To further understand this finding, an additional post hoc analysis was conducted comparing degree versus no degree with questionnaire item 9, "In general, would you consider the management in your company to be proactive or reactive." The analysis indicated that this association was highly statistically significant, (chi2 = 7.62, df = 1, n = 154, p < .01). Those who reported the management in their organizations to be reactive were more likely to have a degree whereas those without a degree were more likely to report their management as proactive. 73 Questionnaire item 6: Is your company public or private? Sixty percent of the respondents represented the private sector; forty percent were from the public sector. A post hoc analysis of the relationship between public versus private organizations and the incidence rate indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in incidence rates between public and private sector organizations ( chi^ = 0.13, df = 1, n = 155, p > .10). Questionnaire item 7; Do you hold a top management position? Top management positions were held by 3 0.8 percent of the respondents whereas 69.2 percent did not hold such position. Questionnaire item 8: To what organizational entity does the safety and health function report? (See Table 6) See Table 6, p. 157 A post hoc analysis of the relationship between the organizational entity to which the safety and 74 health function reports and the incidence rate indicated no statistically significant association (chi^ = 3.81, df = 4, n = 155, p > .10). Over 70 percent of those reporting to either top management or personnel/human resources, 52.9 percent of those who report to plant/facilities management, and approximately 69.2 percent of those who report to other organizational entities, experienced incidence rates at or below the national average. Therefore, in this study, reporting to top management rather than to other organizational entitites was not significantly associated with lower incidence rate organizations. Questionnaire item 9 ; In general, would you consider the management in your company to be proactive or reactive? The majority of the respondents, 63.2 percent, considered management to be proactive whereas 3 6.8 percent reported a reactive management style. A post hoc analysis of the relationship between proactive versus reactive management and the incidence rate indicated a statistically significant association (chi^ = 8.56, df = 2, n = 155, p < .05). As expected, proactive organizations experience incidence rates at 75 or below the national average, whereas reactive organizations experience higher incidence rates. Questionnaire item 10: Has your company ever had an QSHA inspection because of a complaint? QSHA inspections because of complaints were experienced by 58.3 percent of the respondents; 41.7 percent had not had this experience. A post hoc analysis of the relationship between an QSHA inspection versus no QSHA inspection and the incidence rate indicated no statistically significant association (chi^ = .20, df = 1, n = 156, p > .10). QSHA inspections because of a complaint are equally likely to occur in high or low incidence rate companies. Questionnaire item 11: If yes, what was the attitude of your company toward the QSHA inspectors (cooperative or uncooperative)? All respondents reported that the organizational attitude toward QSHA inspectors was cooperative. Questionnaire item 12 : In your opinion, is the economic status of your company growing, stable, or declining? (See Table 7) 76 See Table 1, p. 158 A post hoc analysis of the relationship between the respondents * perceived economic status of a company and the incidence rate indicated no statistically significant association (chi^ = 1.77, df = 2, n = 154, p > .10). The three groups reported incidence rates at or below the national average from 68.2 5 percent (stable) to 74.07 percent (declining) to 81.25 percent (growing). Questionnaire item 13 : Does your company have a regular maintenance program (i.e., equipment, machinery, vehicles, etc.)? A positive response to this questionnaire item was reported by 83.9 percent of the respondents; 16.1 percent reported negatively. A post hoc analysis of the relationship between a regular maintenance program versus no such program and the incidence rate indicated no statistically significant association (chi^ = 1.98, df = 1, n - 155, p > .10). 77 Testing of Hypotheses Means and t test Results The differences between the means and t test results of the higher and lower incidence rate organizations can be seen in Table 8. See Table 8, p. 159 1. When management is perceived as caring for employee welfare less than production, higher incidence rates occur. Questionnaire item 16, "Management stresses production over worker safety and well-being," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 2. When demoralization is perceived among the workforce, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 49, "Employee morale is low in my company," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 3. When it is perceived that employees are not treated as adults, employee decision making, innovation, suggestions, and organizational commitment decrease and incidence rates are higher. 78 Questionnaire item 22, "Management treats employees as adults and with respect," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01) . Questionnaire item 36, "Management offers positive feedback to employee suggestions," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). Questionnaire item 42, "Employees are truly committed to the company," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). Questionnaire item 45, "Innovative thinking is rewarded by my company," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .05). Questionnaire item 48, "Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 4. When absenteeism and turnover seem to occur frequently, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 37, "Turnover or absenteeism are common in my company," was not significant (p > . 10) . 79 5. When employees perceive an incongruence (a lack of fit) between their values and those of the organization, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 52, "There are groups of employees in my company that do not seem to 'fit' into the organization," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 6. When employees believe they are closely monitored, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 44, "Employees are closely supervised and monitored," was significant in the opposite direction of the hypothesis (p < .05). 7. When employees perceive positive feedback and encouragement from management, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 38, "Management gives positive feedback to employees," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 8. When it is believed that company decisions are made solely by top management, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 47, "All company decisions are from the top down," was not significant (p > .10). 80 9. When employees believe that it is important for them to abide by organizational rules and regulations, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 30, "It's very important for employees to abide by company rules and regulations," was highly significant in the opposite direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 10. When it is perceived that management has an ethical concern for employees, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 34, "Management expresses an ethical concern for the employees," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 11. When it is believed that management has a proactive commitment to occupational safety and health, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 20, "Management shows, through its action and behavior, that it is truly interested in the safety and health of the employees," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 81 12. If employees believe that organizational communication is open and explicit, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 28, "Workplace communication is honest, open, and understandable," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 13. If status symbols concerning power and prestige are perceived as important to top management, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 32, "Status symbols (plush offices, private parking spaces, etc.) are important to top management," was not significant (p > . 10) . 14. If employees believe that the organization relies primarily on laws and regulations for occupational safety and health, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 40, "The first decision that management makes about safety and health is whether or not the decision violates any law," was not significant (p > .10). 15. When it is perceived that management blames the employees for injuries, incidence rates are higher. 82 Questionnaire item 21, "Workers are blamed by management for injuries and accidents," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .05) . 16. When it is believed that behavior modification techniques are used, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 51, "Behavior modification techniques are used in my company to reduce injury and accident rates," was highly significant in the opposite direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 17. When it is perceived that management is not supportive of safety and health, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 19, "I feel that management doesn't understand me when I talk about the importance of safety and health," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 18. When it is believed that management encourages and supports the attendance of safety and health personnel at meetings for professional development, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 24, "I am encouraged by my company to attend seminars, conferences. 83 continuing education courses, etc.," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .05). 19. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is equal in importance to other organizational concerns, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 15, "The safety and health function in my company is equal in importance to that of other company functions," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 20. When it is perceived that safety and health professionals and their function are an important part of the overall production process, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 23, "Management considers me and my function as an important part of the overall production process of my company," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 21. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is integrated into all aspects of the organization, incidence rates are lower. 84 Questionnaire item 41, "Safety and health is integrated into all operations in my company," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 22. When it is perceived that there is a sufficient allocation of resources for the safety and health effort, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 26, "As a safety and health professional, I do not have the necessary resources to accomplish what needs to be done for the employees in my company," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < . 01) . 23. When it is believed that management seeks professionals' advice and expertise for any policies that could negatively affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 35, "Management seeks the advice of safety and health professionals when formulating any policy that could affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 85 24. When it is believed that safety and health professionals' advice is sought by management for new material, parts, or equipment purchases, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 39, "Advice from safety and health professionals is sought by management for new or modified materials, parts, or equipment," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 25. When it is perceived that management speaks of the importance of organizational safety and health in solely organizational terms, as espoused values, incidence rates are higher. Questionnaire item 25, "Management gives only lip service to the occupational safety and health effort," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 26. When employees know that the formal written statement of the organization's beliefs and values includes direct reference to safety and health, lower incidence rates occur. Questionnaire item 50, "The formal written philosophy of my company includes direct reference 86 to safety and health concerns," was not significant (p > .10). 27. When it is believed that management considers safety and health a priority, incidence rates are lower. Questionnaire item 18, "In management and other company meetings safety and health are considered priority agenda items," was suggestive of significance in the direction of the hypothesis (p < . 10) . 28. When it is believed that the design of performance tasks and the work environment consider the employee, lower incidence rates occur. Questionnaire item 46, "Performance tasks and the work environment are designed for employee safety and health," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 29. The perception of a clean, well-designed organizational environment is associated with lower incidence rates. Questionnaire item 33, "My company takes pride and responsibility in the maintenance of a clean and safe environment," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .01). 87 30. When it is perceived that employees are selected and trained for their specific occupational functions, there are lower incidence rates. Questionnaire item 17, "Employees are selected and trained for the positions for which they are hired," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (P < .05). Questionnaire item 31, "Safety training is provided for workers and supervisors, new hires, and transfers," was not significant (p > .10). Questionnaire item 43, "All new employees receive a safety orientation," was not significant (p > . 10) . 31. When it is perceived that safety performance is included in employees' performance appraisals, lower incidence rates occur. Questionnaire item 29, "Safety performance of individual employees is part of the evaluation criteria in performance appraisals," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .05). 32. The perception that the safety and health function has a visible position in the organization is associated with lower incidence rates. 88 Questionnaire item 27, "The safety and health function is in a visible management position," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < . 05) . Questionnaire item 53, "Safety and health professionals are at the corporate level or report directly to top management," was significant in the direction of the hypothesis (p < .05). t tests of Factor Scores t tests were conducted for each factor to determine whether or not there were significant differences between the high and low incidence rate organizations. Lower incidence rate organizations, in contrast to higher incidence rate organizations, gave statistically significant higher ratings to the three factors. (See Table 9) See Table 9, p. 165 Factor 1: Management support for safetv and health The hypotheses were supported by the responses to 62.5 percent of the questionnaire items associated with this factor, the least predictive of the three factors. There were 14 hypotheses associated with this factor. 89 Of the nine supported hypotheses, five (hypotheses 19, 21, 23, 24, and 28) were highly significant (p < .01), three (hypotheses 18, 31, and 32) were significant (p < .05), and one (hypothesis 27) was suggestive of significance (p < .10). Two hypotheses (hypotheses 26 and 30) were not supported (p > .10) and three (hypotheses 6, 9, and 16) were significant in the opposite direction. Factor 2: Positive emolovee setting The hypotheses were supported by the responses to 84.6 percent of the questionnaire items associated with this factor, the most predictive of the three factors. There were 10 hypotheses associated with this factor. Of the nine supported hypotheses, eight (hypotheses 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 29, and 30) were highly significant (p < .01) and one (hypothesis 3) was significant (p < .05). Two hypotheses (hypotheses 4 and 13) were not supported (p > .10). Factor 3 : Management concern for emolovee safetv and health The hypotheses were supported by the responses to 8 0.0 percent of the questionnaire items associated with this factor. There were 10 hypotheses associated with this factor. Of the eight supported hypotheses, six 90 (hypotheses 1, 11, 17, 20, 22, and 25) were highly significant (p < .01) and two (hypotheses 3 and 15) were significant (p < .05). Two hypotheses (hypotheses 8 and 14) were not supported (p > .10). Logit Analysis A logit analysis was conducted to determine the degree of relationship between the dependent variable and the three factor analysis scores. A logit analysis, rather than a multiple regression analysis, was performed since the dependent variable, the incidence rate, was dichotomous. The results of the logit analysis can be seen in Table 10. See Table 10, p. 166 The findings are as follows: Factor 1 The probability that the questionnaire items associated with the hypotheses of factor 1 would predict the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate, is as follows : parameter estimate = .3482, p > .10 This analysis is in accordance with the previous finding that the questionnaire items associated with 91 the hypotheses for this factor were least predictive of the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate, among the three factors. Factor 2 The probability that the questionnaire items associated with the hypotheses of factor 2 would predict the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate, is as follows: parameter estimate = .7280, p < .01 This analysis is in accordance with the previous finding that the questionnaire items associated with the hypotheses for this factor were most predictive of the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate, among the three factors. Factor 3 The probability that the questionnaire items associated with the hypotheses of factor 3 would predict the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate, is as follows: parameter estimate = .5474, p < .05 This analysis is in accordance with the previous finding that the questionnaire items associated with 92 the hypotheses for this factor were predictive of the value of the dependent variable, the incidence rate. 93 DISCUSSION Overall, management in lower incidence rate organizations understood the importance of a successful safety and health program within the organization and actively promoted this effort. Management also understood that employees, as individuals, are an integral component of the safety and health program. In general, it would appear that the values held by management in higher incidence rate organizations had a direct negative effect on the incidence rates of these organizations. Most of the hypotheses in this study were supported: twenty eight hypotheses were confirmed, one hypothesis approached statistical significance, seven were not confirmed, and three were confirmed but in the opposite direction. The twenty eight supported hypotheses, along with a summary statement of same, are immediately provided; these are followed by the remaining unsupported hypotheses with associated discussion. Supported Hvpotheses 1. When management is perceived as caring for employee welfare less than production, higher incidence rates occur. 94 2. When demoralization is perceived among the workforce, incidence rates are higher. 3. When it is perceived that employees are not treated as adults, employee decision making, innovation, suggestions, and organizational commitment decrease and incidence rates are higher. 5. When employees perceive an incongruency (a lack of fit) between their values and those of the organization, incidence rates are higher. 7. When employees perceive positive feedback and encouragement from management, incidence rates are lower. 10. When it is perceived that management has an ethical concern for employees, incidence rates are lower. 11. When it is believed that management has a proactive commitment to occupational safety and health, incidence rates are lower. 12. If employees believe that organizational communication is open and explicit, incidence rates are lower. 15. When it is perceived that management blames the employees for injuries, incidence rates are higher. 95 17. When it is perceived that management is not supportive of safety and health, incidence rates are higher. 18. When it is believed that management encourages and supports the attendance of safety and health personnel at meetings for professional development, incidence rates are lower. 19. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is equal in importance to other organizational concerns, incidence rates are lower. 20. When it is perceived that safety and health professionals and their function are an important part of the overall production process, incidence rates are lower. 21. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is integrated into all aspects of the organization, incidence rates are lower. 22. When it is perceived that there is a sufficient allocation of resources for the safety and health effort, incidence rates are lower. 23. When it is believed that management seeks professionals' advice and expertise for any policies that could negatively affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees, incidence rates are lower. 96 24. When it is believed that safety and health professionals* advice is sought by management for new material, parts, or equipment purchases, incidence rates are lower. 25. When it is perceived that management speaks of the importance of organizational safety and health in solely organizational terms, as espoused values, incidence rates are higher. 27. When it is believed that management considers safety and health a priority, incidence rates are lower. 28. When it is believed that the design of performance tasks and the work environment consider the employee, lower incidence rates occur. 29. The perception of a clean, well-designed organizational environment is associated with lower incidence rates. 30. When it is perceived that employees are selected and trained for their specific occupational functions, there are lower incidence rates. However, of the three questionnaire items associated with this hypothesis, only the responses to questionnaire item 17, "Employees are selected and trained for the 97 positions for which they are hired," supported the hypothesis. 31. When it is perceived that safety performance is included in employees' performance appraisals, lower incidence rates occur. 32. The perception that the safety and health function has a visible position in the organization is associated with lower incidence rates. Based on the supported hypotheses of this study, some general characterizations of organizations with higher or lower incidence rates may be made. In lower incidence rate organizations: (a) the safety and health function was treated as a priority, equal to other organizational concerns; (b) safety and health was integrated within the organization; (c) management openly treated employees as adults and with respect, providing positive feedback and encouraging suggestions; (d) communication was open and explicit; (e) caring about employees"was evident ; (f) the organization was clean and well-designed, including the work environment; (g) employees were selected and trained for their positions and were expected to perform safely; (h) safety performance was included in employees' performance appraisals; (i) safety and 98 health professionals held visible positions in the organization and were contacted by management for advice concerning safety and health policies and for any new or modified processes, equipment, etcetera that could affect the safety and well-being of the employees; (j) management supported the attendance of safety and health professionals at continuing education courses, conferences, and seminars to maintain currency in their field. In higher incidence rate organizations: (a) top management valued production more than employee welfare; (b) the safety and health function was not understood; (c) inadequate resources were provided for the safety and health effort; (d) managerial reference to safety and health consisted of espoused, rather than actual, values ; (e) some groups of employees did not seem to fit within the organization; (f) the workforce was demoralized; (g) management tended to blame employees for injuries and accidents rather than to assume any responsibility for these occurrences. Nonsupported Hvootheses 4. When absenteeism and turnover seem to occur frequently, incidence rates are higher. 99 The literature suggested that if persons are terminating their employment or are not reporting for work, it would seem that the organization is not oriented to the employees, including their safety and health (Derry, 1989; Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; McAffe & Winn, 1989; Turner, 1986; Watson, 1986; Zohar, 1980) . The difference in the means was in the direction of the hypothesis, but was not of sufficient magnitude to be statistically significant. Higher turnover and absenteeism may reflect the current economic situation in this country rather than of safety and health concerns within an organization. Many employees are losing their jobs because of downsizing as organizations attempt to maintain economic stability. Therefore, absenteeism might occur as employees seek other employment. If this were the case, the findings would not support the hypothesis. In addition, there is the possibility that there may be other factors underlying the causes of employee absenteeism or turnover. 8. When it is believed that company decisions are made solely by top management, incidence rates are higher. 100 The literature suggested that organizational commitment and safe and healthful work practices increase when employees participate in decision making (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Hollander & Offerman, 1990 ; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990). The difference in the means was in the direction of the hypothesis, but was not of sufficient magnitude for statistical significance. In contrast to this finding, questionnaire item 48, "Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making," was highly significant in the direction of the hypothesis. It was expected that the findings of these two questionnaire items would complement each other. 13. If status symbols concerning power and prestige are perceived as important to top management, incidence rates are higher. Even though not statistically significant, the difference in the means of the two groups was in the direction of support for the hypothesis. The literature suggested that status symbols may emphasize authority and inhibit communication, thereby displacing attention from the actual work of the organization (Akin & Hopelain, 1986; Gorman, 1987; Petersen, 1975; Reilly & DiAngelo, 1990). In future studies the questionnaire item may be reworded for emphasis and 101 clarification, i.e., "Status symbols (plush offices, private parking spaces, etc.) seem more important to top management than safety and health." 14. If employees believe that the organization relies primarily on laws and regulations for occupational safety and health, incidence rates are higher. The direction of the responses was opposite to that of the hypothesis. The literature suggested that safety and health programs may satisfy the law but may not prevent the hazards to which employees are exposed (Grimaldi & Simonds, 1989; Heath, 1989 ; United States General Accounting Office, 8/90; Watson, 1986) However, it may be that the various laws and regulations pertaining to occupational safety and health are the key requirements for an effective occupational safety and health program. Such an orientation would not necessarily preclude the implementation of additional programs to supplement the safety and health effort. The intent of this questionnaire item was to determine whether or not an organization would rely solely on laws and regulations and would not take additional initiative to enhance employee safety and health within an organization. The original wording of the 102 questionnaire item did not fully allow this interpretation. A rewording of the questionnaire item such as the "only," rather than the "first," "decision that management makes about safety and health is whether or not the decision violates the law" might have elicited a different response. 26. When employees know that the formal written statement of the organization's beliefs and values includes direct reference to safety and health, lower incidence rates occur. The literature suggested that a visible reference to safety and health concerns within the formal written company policy assists in the reduction of the incidence rate (Cohen & Cleveland, 1983; Planek et al., 1967; Smith et al., 1978). However, responses to this questionnaire item revealed no such association. The literature suggests that unless management actively contributes to the organizational safety and health effort, there may be a loss of management credibility (Petersen, 1975; Siehl & Martin, 1984). Therefore, a possible explanation for this result may be that inclusion of safety and health concerns within the formal company policy may be an indication of espoused, rather than actual, organizational values. 103 30. When it is perceived that employees are selected and trained for their specific occupational functions, there are lower incidence rates. Two of the three questionnaire items associated with this hypothesis did not support the hypothesis. Of these, one dealt with ongoing safety training and the other was concerned with initial safety training. The literature suggested, in addition to an initial orientation, that employees should be trained whenever there are changes in the work environment (Hammer, 1985; Mangan, 1991; Petersen, 1975; Planek et al., 1967). Examples of such changes would include: introduction of new equipment, processes, or facilities; transfer of employees from one department or area to another; employee promotions ; and the enactment of laws or the promulgation of regulations. The difference in the means was in the direction of the hypothesis. There are various characteristics such as relevance, duration, quality, etcetera, associated with training that may vary among organizations. Inclusion of these aspects of training in the questionnaire item may have provided more clarity for the respondents. The literature suggested that all new employees should receive a safety orientation. Even though not 104 statistically significant, the difference in the means of the two groups was in the direction of the hypothesis. A possible explanation of no statistical significance of this hypothesis may be the fact that no operational definition of safety orientation was included with the questionnaire item. Another possible explanation is that a single initial safety orientation, without proper employee selection and training, is not adequate to achieve lower incidence rates. Hvpotheses Confirmed But in the Opposite Direction 6. When employees believe they are closely monitored, incidence rates are higher. The literature suggested that higher incidence rate organizations would give higher ratings to this questionnaire item (Cullen et al., 1989; Walton, 1985). In addition to rating this questionnaire item significantly higher, the lower incidence rate organizations also gave significantly higher ratings to those questionnaire items that were concerned with visible and genuine management support for the safety, health, and well-being of employees and the overall safety and health effort within the organization. Therefore, it would appear that this questionnaire item 105 did not elicit the responses intended. The issue may be one of interpretation since close supervision seemed to be perceived as a positive factor by the respondents whereas it was believed by this investigator to be associated with higher incidence rates. This ambiguity may have been avoided had parenthetic examples been included with the questionnaire item. 9. When employees believe it is important for them to abide by organizational rules and regulations, incidence rates are higher. The literature suggested that higher incidence rate organizations would have numerous rules and regulations (Cullen et al., 1989; Walton, 1985). As with the previous hypothesis, the lower incidence rate organizations rated the related questionnaire item significantly higher. As with the close supervision issue, this questionnaire item did not elicit the responses anticipated. Once again, the issue may be one of interpretation since rules and regulations seemed to be perceived as a positive factor by the respondents whereas it was intended by this investigator to be associated with high incidence rates. The intent of this investigator was to demonstrate a relationship between numerous or 106 excessive rules and regulations and the incidence rate. This ambiguity may have been avoided had parenthetic examples been included or had the questionnaire item been reworded for emphasis, i.e., "Employees must abide by numerous rules and regulations in my company." 16. When it is believed that behavior modification techniques are used, incidence rates are higher. Lower incidence rate organizations gave statistically significant higher ratings to this questionnaire item contrary to what was suggested by the literature (DeJoy, 1985). This questionnaire item may have been too general for definitive interpretation. Behavior modification programs may range from simple incentive systems to formal interventions provided by outside consultants. No operational definitions of behavior modification were provided for the respondents. In addition, the literature suggested that behavior modification techniques may not be successful in the long term (Kilmann et al., 1986; Sathe, 1983). There was no temporal reference in the questionnaire item concerning the use of behavior modification techniques within the organization. Additional research on this issue may provide more definitive findings. 107 Factor Analysis In this dissertation a factor analysis was conducted to detect any clustering of variables concerning management values related to injury and illness rates of an organization. The following discussion contains two main caveats. First, this study concerned management values and actions. Even though identified by three separate factors, the factors that influence behavior often interact. Therefore, it cannot be said with certainty that any of the factors occur in isolation. The second caveat concerns the actual number and naming of the factors. Considering that this study was exploratory, neither the number nor the names of the factors can be considered static. Either may change with subsequent studies. All of the hypotheses developed for this dissertation were formulated to delineate and predict those management actions and behavior that would affect the incidence rates of organizations. The factor analysis that was performed demonstrated relationships among these hypotheses (through their associated questionnaire items). 108 Factor 1 The hypotheses associated with the questionnaire items which comprised factor 1 seemed to be related to management support for safety and health. The elements within this factor suggest that management behavior may reflect organizational policies, which would seem to reflect the organizational culture. Factor 2 The hypotheses associated with the questionnaire items which comprised factor 2 seemed to be concerned with a positive employee setting. The manner in which management treats employees and the resultant employee responses seem to be indicated by this factor. How management treats employees would seem to be an expression of the values of the organizational culture. Factor 3 The hypotheses associated with the questionnaire items which comprised factor 3 seemed to involve management concern for employee safety and health. The concern of management for employee safety and health would seem to reflect the concern of the organizational culture. 109 Limitations Injury and illness rates, or incidence rates, are the criteria for measuring the safety performance of an organization. However, many sources indicate that there are inaccuracies associated with this recordkeeping system (Personick, 1991; Reber & Wallin, 1983; Windau & Goodrich, 1990). Examples of these inaccuracies include absence of data, over or underreporting, and erroneous entries such as falsified data. However, despite these caveats, the incidence rates are the sole measurement criteria of occupational injuries and illnesses and are utilized by investigators as an accepted means to compare and contrast similar organizations. Occupational illness data collection and analysis present an additional problem because these conditions are oftentimes not adequately recognized and reported. This situation occurs, for example, with long latency periods before evidence of disease symptomatology or the existence of multiple factors in disease etiology. Therefore, the difficulty of relating illnesses to the workplace is generally believed to result in an underreporting of these conditions. However, this situation is not assumed to effect the generalizability 110 of the findings of this study because such illnesses accounted for only approximately five percent of the total 6.8 million occupational injuries and illnesses reported in 1990 (Personick & Jackson, 1992). An item of concern is the potential response of the respondents, safety and health professionals, to intentionally attribute higher incidence rates to negative management characteristics in an attempt to absolve themselves from responsibility for these rates. Therefore, the respondents might have had a personal interest in misrepresenting their responses. Another item of concern is the perception, or possibly unintentional bias, of the safety and health professional toward management. Higher incidence rates may result in a perceived, but not reflect an actual, lack of top managment support. As such, the higher incidence rates may negatively influence the safety and health professional's perceptions of management support. Future Research A major indicator of the effectiveness of an organizational safety and health program is reflected in that organization's incidence rate. A number of respondents, including some of those who participated Ill in the pilot study, reported difficulty in obtaining incidence rates for their organizations. Without this knowledge, there is no way to ascertain the injury and illness rate of an organization relative to similar organizations (i.e., same SIC code). Therefore, there is no way to judge whether or not the safety and health program is meeting its primary objective: a safe and healthful workplace. Possible reasons for this situation, including the relationship between management and the safety and health professionals, may be a subject for further study. Persons with a degree in safety and health were expected to be associated with lower incidence rate organizations. However, the opposite relationship was found: those with a safety- or health-related degree were associated with higher incidence rate organizations. A possible explanation for this finding was manifest in the highly statistically significant association of degreed persons employed by organizations with reactive management. It may be that reactive management in higher incidence rate organizations, rather than adopt attitudes and practices to ensure the safety and well-being of employees, might employ degreed safety and health 112 professionals as a potential means to reduce incidence rates. This finding might be explored with additional research. The literature (Ferry, 199 0) strongly suggests a positive relationship between a regular maintenance program and lower incidence rates. However, this finding was not statistically significant in the study. Additional study of this relationship is recommended. Implications Designed to be profitable, organizational management determines the means to attain maximum profitability. However, the profit margin of a high incidence rate organization is diminished due to medical and workers' compensation costs related to employee injury and illness. To reduce these costs, and to lower the incidence rate, safety performance within an organization must increase. Organizational safety and health programs may be mandated by state or federal policies. However, such policies cannot, by themselves, ensure the effectiveness of such programs. Based on the results of this study, lower incidence rates are obtained through two simultaneous routes: (a) visible and continual management support for the safety and health 113 effort and (b) management concern and support for the employees. 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Management treats employees as adults and with respect Q 36. Management offers positive feedback to employee suggestions Q 42. Employees are truly committed to the company Q 45. Innovative thinking is rewarded by my company Q 48. Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making 127 4. When absenteeism and turnover seem to occur frequently, incidence rates are higher. Q 37. Turnover or absenteeism are common in my company 5. When employees perceive an incongruency (a lack of fit) between their values and those of the organization, incidence rates are higher. Q 52. There are groups of employees in my company that do not seem to "fit" into the organization 6. When employees believe they are closely monitored, incidence rates are higher. Q 44. Employees are closely supervised and monitored 7. When employees perceive positive feedback and encouragement from management, incidence rates are lower. Q 38. Management gives positive feedback to employees 8. When it is believed that company decisions are made solely by top management, incidence rates are higher. Q 47. All company decisions are from the top down 128 9. When employees believe it is important for them to abide by organizational rules and regulations, incidence rates are higher. Q 30. It's very important for employees to abide by company rules and regulations 10. When it is perceived that management has an ethical concern for employees, incidence rates are lower. Q 34. Management expresses an ethical concern for the employees 11. When it is believed that management has a proactive commitment to occupational safety and health, inicdence rates are lower. Q2 0. Management shows, through its action and behavior, that it is truly interested in the safety and health of the employees 12. If employees believe that organizational communication is open and explicit, incidence rates are lower. Q 28. Workplace communication is honest, open, and understandable 13. If status symbols concerning power and prestige are perceived as important to top management, incidence rates are higher. 129 Q 32. Status symbols (plush offices, private parking spaces, etc.) are important to top management 14. If employees believe that the organization relies primarily on laws and regulations for occupational safety and health, incidence rates are higher. Q 40. The first decision that management makes about safety and health is whether or not the decision violates any law 15. When it is perceived that management blames the employees for injuries, incidence rates are higher. Q 21. Workers are blamed by management for injuries and accidents 16. When it is believed that behavior modification techniques are used, incidence rates are higher. Q 51. Behavior modification techniques are used in my company to reduce injury and accident rates 17. When it is perceived that management is not supportive of safety and health, incidence rates are higher. 130 Q 19. I feel that management doesn't understand me when I talk about the importance of safety and health 18. When it is believed that management encourages and supports the attendance of safety and health personnel at meetings for professional development, incidence rates are lower. Q 24. I am encouraged by my company to attend seminars, conferences, continuing education courses, etc. 19. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is equal in importance to other organizational concerns, incidence rates are lower. Q 15. The safety and health function in my company is equal in importance to that of other company functions 20. When it is perceived that safety and health professionals and their function are an important part of the overall production process, incidence rates are lower. Q 23. Management considers me and my function as an important part of the overall production process of my company 131 21. When it is perceived that occupational safety and health is integrated into all aspects of the organization, incidence rates are lower. Q 41. Safety and health is integrated into all operations in my company 22. When it is perceived that there is a sufficient allocation of resources for the safety and health effort, incidence rates are lower. Q 26. As a safety and health professional, I do not have the necessary resources to accomplish what needs to be done for the employees in my company 23. When it is believed that management seeks professionals' advice and expertise for any policies that could negatively affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees, incidence rates are lower. Q 35. Management seeks the advice of safety and health professionals when formulating any policy that could affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees 24. When it is believed that safety and health professionals' advice is sought by management for new material, parts, or equipment purchases, incidence rates are lower. 132 Q 39. Advice from safety and health professionals is sought by management for new or modified materials, parts, or equipment 25. When it is perceived that management speaks of the importance of organizational safety and health in solely organizational terms, as espoused values, incidence rates are higher. Q 25. Management gives only lip service to the occupational safety and health effort 26. When employees know that the formal written statement of the organization's beliefs and values includes direct reference to safety and health, lower incidence rates occur. Q 50. The formal written philosophy of my company includes direct reference to safety and health concerns 27. When it is believed that management considers safety and health a priority, incidence rates are lower. Q 18. In management and other company meetings safety and health are considered priority agenda items 133 28. When it is believed that the design of performance tasks and the work environment consider the employee, lower incidence rates occur. Q 46. Performance tasks and the work environment are designed for employee safety and health 29. The perception of a clean, well-designed organizational environment is associated with lower incidence rates. Q 33. My company takes pride and responsibility in the maintenance of a clean and safe environment 30. When it is perceived that employees are selected and trained for their specific occupational functions, there are lower incidence rates. Q 17. Employees are selected and trained for the positions for which they are hired Q 31. Safety training is provided for workers and supervisors, new hires, and transfers Q 43. All new employees receive a safety orientation 31. When it is perceived that safety performance is included in employees* performance appraisals, lower incidence rates occur. 134 Q 29. Safety performance of individual employees is part of the evaluation criteria in performance appraisals 32. The perception that the safety and health function has a visible position in the organization is associated with lower incidence rates. Q 27. The safety and health function is in a visible management position Q 53. Safety and health professionals are at the corporate level or report directly to top management 135 APPENDIX B CORPORATE CULTURE: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH SURVEY Part I: Please give one answer for each of the following questions. Please answer every question. This survey is completely anonymous. 1. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code (SIC code list is attached) 2. Number of employees in your company a. Less than 50 _____ b. 50 to 99 ______ c. 100 to 249 ______ d. 250 to 499 _____ e. 500 to 999 ______ f. 1000 to 2500 ______ g. More than 2 500 _____ 3. Number of years you have been a safety/health professional a. Less than 1_________ b. 1 to 5.11_____ _____ c. 6 to 10.11_________ d. 11 to 15.11_________ e. 16 to 20_____________ f. More than 2 0 How long have you been employed by your current company? a. Less than 1 year _____ 136 b. 1 to 3.11 years ______ c. 4 to 6.11 years ______ d. 7 to 10 years ______ e. More than 10 years _____ Do you hold a degree in a safety or health related field? a. Yes b. No Is your company: a. Public b. Private 7. Do you hold a top management position? a. Yes _____ b. No ______ 8. To what organizational entity does the safety and health function report? a. Top management_________________ ______ b. Personnel/human relations ______ c. Plant/facilities management ______ d. Finance ______ e. Other (Please complete) ____________________ In general, would you consider the management in your company to be: a. Proactive b. Reactive 10. Has your company ever had an OSHA inspection because of a complaint? a. Yes b. No (If no, skip to No. 12) 137 11. If yes, what was the attitude of your company toward the OSHA inspectors? a. Cooperative ______ b. Uncooperative ______ 12. In your opinion, the economic status of your company is : a. Growing _____ b. Stable _____ c. Declining _____ 13. Does your company have a regular preventive maintenance program (i.e. equipment, machinery, vehicles, etc.)? a. Yes b. No 14. Please supply the following information about your company's 1990 incidence rates: (Assistance with computation and an example are provided on the back page of the SIC codes) a. Number of lost workday injury and illness cases (Columns 2 and 9 of OSHA Log 2 00) b. Number of hours all employees worked in 199 0 c. Incidence rate Part II: The following questions concern how you, as a safety and health professional, perceive the management philosophy of your company toward the safety and health function. Please be honest. Your responses are totally anonymous. Answer the following questions in this manner: 1 = Never 2 = Rarely 138 3 = Sometimes 4 = Often 5 = Always To What extent do you believe that the following questions represent your company? Please check one answer for each question. 15. The safety and health function in my company is equal in importance to that of other company functions: Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 1 2 3 4 5 16. Management stresses production over worker safety and well-being: 17. Employees are selected and trained for the positions for which they are hired: 18. In management and other company meetings safety and health are considered priority agenda items : 19. I feel that management doesn't understand me when I talk about the importance of safety and health: 20. Management shows, through its action and behavior, that it is truly interested in the safety and health of the employees: 21. Workers are blamed by management for injuries and accidents : 139 22. Management treats employees as adults and with respect: Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 1_____ 2_______ 3____ 4________ 5___ 23. Management considers me and my function as an important part of the overall production process of my company: 24. I am encouraged by my company to attend seminars, conferences, continuing education courses, etc. : 25. Management gives only lip service to the occupational safety and health effort : 26. As a safety and health professional, I do not have the necessary resources to accomplish what needs to be done for the employees in my company: 27. The safety and health function is in a visible management position: 28. Workplace communication is honest, open, and understandable : 29. Safety performance of individual employees is part of the evaluation criteria in performance appraisals : 30. It's very important for employees to abide by company rules and regulations: 140 31. Safety training is provided for workers and supervisors, new hires, and transfers: Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 1______ 2_____ 3_______ 4____ 5______ 32. Status symbols (plush offices, private parking spaces, etc.) are important to top management : 33. My company takes pride and responsibility in the maintenance of a clean and safe environment : 1 2 3 4 5 34. Management expresses an ethical concern for the employees : 35. Management seeks the advice of safety and health professionals when formulating any policy that could affect the safety, health, or well-being of the employees : 1 2 3 4 5 36. Management offers positive feedback to employee suggestions : 37. Turnover or absenteeism are common in my company: 1 2 3 4 5 38. Management gives positive feedback to employees : 1_______ 2____ 3_____ 4_____ _ 5______ 39. Advice from safety and health professionals is sought by management for new or modified materials, parts, or equipment: 141 40. The first decision that management makes about safety and health is whether or not the decision violates any law: Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 1______ 2_____ 3_______ 4____ 5______ 41. Safety and health is integrated into all operations in my company: 42. Employees are truly committed to the company : 1_____ 2_____ 3_______ 4______ 5____ 43. All new employees receive a safety orientation: 1_____ 2_____ 3_______ 4____ 5______ 44. Employees are closely supervised and monitored: 1_____ 2_____ 3_______ 4____ 5______ 45. Innovative thinking is rewarded by my company: 1_____ 2_____ 3_______ 4____ 5______ 46. Performance tasks and the work environment are designed for employee safety and health: 47. All company decisions are from the top down: 1_____ 2_______ 3____ 4______ 5______ 48. Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making: 49. Employee morale is low in my company : 1 2 3 4 5 142 50. The formal written philosophy of my company includes direct reference to safety and health concerns : Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always 1_____ 2_____ 3_______ 4______ 5____ 51. Behavior modification techniques are used in my company to reduce injury and accident rates: 52. There are groups of employees in my company that do not seem to "fit" into the organization: 53. Safety and health professionals are at the corporate level or report directly to top management : Comments Thank you for participating in this survey. If you would like a copy of the results, please attach your business card or another form of identification. It will be separated from your completed survey immediately upon receipt. 143 Table 1 Factor Analysis of Management Values on the Safetv and Health Function Within Organizations Independent Variables Factor Loadings Factor 1 1. q31 safety training provided 2. q43 safety orientation 3. q41 safety integrated 4. q27 safety function visible 5. ql5 safety equals other functions 6. ql8 safety priority agenda 7. q50 safety philosophy written 8. q51 behavior modification 9. q35 management seeks advice for policy 10. q29 safety in evaluation 11. q4 6 work designed for safety 12. q44 employees closely supervised 13. q39 advice sought for new/modified 14. q53 safety in top management 15. q3 0 abide by rules 16. q24 attend seminars Factor 2 1. q42 employees committed 2. q49 employee morale low 3. q45 innovation rewarded 4. q3 3 pride in safe environment 5. q2 2 employees treated as adults 6. q38 management gives positive feedback . 7522 7302 7277 7155 6396 6210 5990 5949 5737 5641 5341 4949 4874 4815 4496 4011 7285 6939 5873 5777 5577 5577 144 Table 1 (Continued) 7. ql7 employee selection .5469 8. q28 open communication .5271 9. q34 ethical concern .5201 10. q36 positive feedback to suggestions .5059 11. q52 groups do not fit .4984 12. q37 turnover common .4397 13. q32 status symbols important .2806 Factor 3 1. q23 professionals considered important .5809 2. q25 lip service to safety .5759 3. q20 management shows interest in safety .5756 4. q21 workers blamed for injuries .5692 5. ql9 management does not understand .5586 6. ql6 production stressed over safety .5178 7. q48 employee participation in decisions .4532 8. q26 lack resources for safety .4455 9. q40 law violation as safety decision .2607 10. q47 top down decisions .1792 Table 2 Correlation Analysis of Ouestionniare Items 145 for Factor 1 Independent Variable Correlation with Total 1. q31 safety training provided . 633 2. q43 safety orientation . 612 3. q41 safety integrated .804 4. q27 safety function visible .767 5. ql5 safety equals other functions .744 6. ql8 safety priority agenda . 664 7. q50 safety philosophy written .614 8. q51 behavior modification .62 6 9. q35 management seeks advice for policy .702 10. q29 safety in evaluation . 598 11. q4 6 work designed for safety . 642 12. q44 employees closely supervised .541 146 Table 2 (continued) 13. q39 advice sought for new/modified . 575 14. q53 safety in top management . 497 15. q30 abide by rules .536 16. q24 attend seminars .479 Table 3 Correlation Analvsis of Questionnaire Items 147 for Factor 2 Independent Variable Correlation with Total 1. q42 employees committed .657 2. q49 employee morale low .753 3. q45 innovation rewarded .698 4. q3 3 pride in safe environment .757 5. q22 employees treated as adults .716 6. q38 management gives positive feedback .758 7. ql7 employee selection .586 8. q2 8 open communication .732 9. q3 4 ethical concern .756 10. q3 6 positive feedback to suggestions .759 11. q52 groups do not fit .508 12. q37 turnover common .337 148 Table 3 (Continued) 13. q32 status symbols important .351 Table 4 Correlation Analvsis of Questionnaire Items 149 for Factor 3 Independent Variable Correlation with Total 1. q23 professionals considered important . 666 2. q25 lip service to safety . 724 3 . q20 management shows interest in safety . 695 4 . q21 workers blamed for injuries .567 5. ql9 management does not understand .595 6. ql6 production stressed over safety . 623 7. q48 employee participation in decisions . 620 8. q26 lack resources for safety .521 9. q4 0 law violation as safety decision . 083 10 . q47 top down decisions .235 150 Table 5 Percent of Respondents From Various Industries as Determined From Standard Industrial Classification rsiC) Codes Industry (SIC Codes) Respondents Mining (10-14) 4.5% Construction (15-17) 10.9% Manufacturing (2 0-39) 45.5% Transportation and Public Utilities (40-49) 12.8% Wholesale and Retail Trade (50-59) 3.2% Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (60-69) 6.4% Services (70-87) 11.6% Government (91-97) 5.1% 100.0! 151 Figure Caption Figure 1 Number of Employees in the Organization 152 N 30 Number of Employees in the Organization 153 Figure Caption Figure 2 Number of Years as Safety and Health Professional 154 30 EU 25 I 20 Æ 15 ^ 10 iilii E E U Number of Years as Safety and Health Professional 155 Figure Caption Figure 3 Number of Years Employed by Current Organization 156 K 15 - â– than Number of Years Employed by Current Organization 157 Table 6 Organizational Entity to Which Safety and Health Professionals Report Entity Percent Who Report Top Management 55.5 Personnel/Human Relations 23.9 Plant/Facilities Management 11.0 Finance 1.3 Other 8.4 100.1^ ^Does not equal 100% due to rounding 158 Table 7 Respondent Economic Status Percent of Respondents Growing 41.6 Stable 40.9 Declining 17.5 100.0 -59 m c o •H -P rd N •H C rd O U O ( U -P S ( U Ü c ( U •H Ü C u i P I C rd S J •H a (w o m -P fH ; 3 d i a +J d i ( U +J < 4 - 1 o c o •H -P Ü ( U u •H Q < 4 - 1 O § s < 4 - 4 o s S d i •H 0 1 0 ) S o t3 ( U I —I •H td -p I ÇU < 4 - 1 T3 0 ) I— I > p Q > 1 5 O P I § •H a 'ü T3 T3 T3 T3 T3 T3 Q) ( U ( U ( U ( U ( U ( U -P -P -P -P -P -P -P Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü â€¢H •H •H •H •H •H •H 'Ü 'Ü T3 T3 T3 Q) Q) ( U 0 ) <D <D ( U P P P P P P P 04 04 04 04 04 04 04 rH T — 1 rH rH rH in rH O o O O O o O • • • • • • • V V V V V V V CO in in in in in in in rH rH rH rH rH rH rH VO O OV VO 00 CO O < y > O < y > 00 in o n n in CM CM CO (N o CM rH VO rH 00 VO (N • • • • • • (N m m CO CO o rH VO o 00 o 00 m in o CM CT» o (N m m m m (M CO 00 ( U I —I Eh rd 0 1 g a 0 1 •H 0 1 ( U a -p 0 1 o a g -p VO (N (N a CN a m a VO m CM in CO 160 o o o o o o iH 00 o co 03 O fO 03 00 o o o 00 o fO 00 m o rH 00 161 I—I o in in rH ro in n in in rH rH rH CM < r > CM o ro rH rH 00 00 CM CM CO CM CO 00 CM CM CM CM CO CO CO 00 00 CM CM CO CO rH 162 o o o n m M M oo 00 n M M 00 M 00 00 n M M m M 00 n M M m n M M -H 00 vo ON n OJ OJ OJ M M M OJ O OJ 00 163 -H O O o o o o o o m m fO o o co (N O O 00 CM m CM o CM 00 O m CM o fO fO CM CM CM 164 to n n OJ CM OJ n OJ n n n iH OJ CO OJ OJ 165 Table 9 Contrast of Rating Means Between Organizations with Higher and Lower Incidence Rates for the Three Factors Factor ll Factor 22 Factor 33 M SD M SD M SD High Incidence Organizations 3.43 0.65 3.25 0.65 3.18 0.67 Low Incidence Organizations 3.88 0.69 3.74 0.55 3 .65 0. 60 ^t = 3.70, df = 154, p < .01, one-tailed 2t = 4.69, df = 154, p < .01, one-tailed ^t = 4.29, df = 154, p < .01, one-tailed 166 Table 10 Degree of Relationship Among the Three Factor Scores and the Incidence Rates Factor 1^ Parameter Estimate Chi2 Probability Factor 1 .3482 2.50 P > . 10 Factor 2 .7280 10.02 P < .01 Factor 3 .5474 6. 00 P < . 05 ^df= 1, n = 156
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Erickson, Judith Anne
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The effect of corporate culture on injury and illness rates within the organization
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