Safety remains as one of the critical issues of concern for any given workplace environment, as it becomes essential for leaders to focus much of their attention on trying to create a safe environment for their employees. Over the years, researchers have been on the forefront in highlighting some of the strategic approaches that leaders ought to take in their bid to create a safety culture in their respective workplace environment (Ali & Shariff, 2017). The key variable to consider in creating a safety culture is leadership, which not only seeks to guarantee efficiency in the administration approaches taken but also aims to define the safety guarantees for employees. The focus for this report is to engage in an analysis of safety approaches made with New Jersey's essential utility, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), to define the extent of success and failure focusing on its safety culture.
Case Study
While working in a public utility company, CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission, safety was considered as one of the critical issues of concern attributed to the exposure of employees to increased risks. My supervisor came across the article, Transforming Safety Culture , which seeks to describe approaches that Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) undertook towards creating a safety culture within its company. After a thorough analysis of the approaches taken in this particular company, it was essential for me to provide my supervisor with an evaluation of the safety approaches using relevant organizational theories. The focus of the assessment is to highlight the specific areas that may have contributed to the success of the safety culture approach, as well as, highlighting the areas, which I believe did not match the set-out expectations.
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Areas of Agreement
An in-depth analysis of the safety approaches highlighted within the article focusing in Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) highlights specific areas that would be of value in creating a safety culture within any given organization. It is essential to engage in an evaluation of these areas to determine the extent to which they contributed to the success of the implementation process focusing on the transformation of the safety culture in the company. Some of the critical areas noted include.
Safe Behaviors and Good Intentions
One of the critical areas that I would agree with from the article revolves around the idea of having to create a transformation in the behaviors with the intention of creating safe practices, as well as, spurring good purposes as part of building expected success. Simon & Cistaro (2009) note that Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) has set up the same behaviors that match gas and electricity companies operating within different areas of the United States. Ultimately, this exposes the company to a vast array of risks considering that it becomes somewhat challenging for the company to define its path towards creating a productive safety culture. The transformation towards building a safety culture focused on this particular element of safety within the organization. The principal focus was highlighting the position that security would only be achieved by adopting a pattern of behavior that would seek to change how the employee perceives the issue of safety.
I would agree with this area considering that the behaviors that employees undertake when dealing with issues of safety within an organization would act as the essential elements to consider in building or projecting a safety culture. The employees play a central role in defining the success of the safety culture, as they act as determinants of whether the culture adopted presents a meaningful approach towards promoting safety (Van Nunen, Reniers, & Ponnet, 2018). One principal theorist that would support this position is Adam Smith, who sought to develop the neoclassical theory, which highlights the need for having to establish a pattern of behavior when intending to promote change. The method may apply to this particular case considering that the transformation of the safety culture within Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) focused on the idea of changing the pattern of behaviors. The change reflected on the need for having to understand the importance and value of safety within an organization setting, thus, paving the way for good intentions to meet the set goals.
Leadership Commitment to Change Safety Culture
The second critical area that I would agree with, based on its presentation within the article, is on the issue of leadership, which is a crucial variable to consider when adopting a safety culture in any given organizational setting. Simon & Cistaro (2009) identify responsible leadership as one of the critical tools that seek to determine how an organization would position itself when trying to set up a safety culture that supports set out provisions. Transformation of the safety culture within Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) depended wholly on the need for having to seek grassroots leadership. The leadership would be of value towards highlighting some of the key expectations for the company in trying to create a safety culture for the employees working in the organization.
In my view, this is an accurate position based on the fact that leadership allows individuals to reflect on the expected changes from different perspectives especially when trying to advance the idea of positivity in the mode of administration. Consequently, that means that the quality of leadership implemented within an organization would act as a critical determinant of the ability to transform towards adopting a safety culture. The Administrative Theory, developed by Henry Fayol, highlights several fundamental principles of leadership that seek to determine the overall levels of success in promoting effective leadership. In this case, the theory would support the position associated with creating a progressive safety culture considering that it seeks to highlight the overall structure of administration expected when working on influencing employees towards a safety culture. The theory would support this position, as it suggests that the success element of leadership depends wholly on the ability to have to influence others towards a given change.
New Safety Structure
The third critical area, based on the information in the article that seeks to support the position of efficiency in creating a safety culture within an organizational setting revolves around the new safety structure described. Simon & Cistaro (2009) provide readers with a new safety structure, which has been exhibited in figure 1, that seeks to highlight the structure that the employees are expected to adopt in their bid towards creating an active safety culture. The safety structure evaluates some of the critical positions associated with the safety structure, which are essential towards determining the overall structure of success. Additionally, the new safety structure also embarks on an analysis of the roles associated with the different safety elements adopted within the organization.
I would agree with this position considering that the expected levels of success achieved when implementing a safety culture depends wholly on the efficiency of the safety structure created. It is essential to reflect on the need for having to highlight a safety structure that employees would relate with, as this would project their overall levels of understanding on what it means to achieve set out goals and objectives. In my view, the safety structure is essential in trying to create a roadmap that the organization would adopt in trying to develop or promote safety among its employees. From that perspective, it is evident that the presentation of this safety structure, as part of the organization, is one of the critical elements that seek define the overall levels of success expected when dealing with new safety culture.
Adoption of a Utility-Wide Vision
The crucial fourth area that presents an avenue for success is the idea of creating and adopting a utility-wide vision towards ensuring that the people involved understanding the need for having to promote or progress a safety culture. Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), being a public utility company, has a responsibility of ensuring that it protects the interests of its employees regarding their safety standards. Simon & Cistaro (2009) identify that the organization reflects on its engagement with external partners in the culture's change process as a way of defining some of the critical areas where the organization would need to change its safety approach. That is a crucial aspect to consider, as this would help in determining the specific areas that the organization needs to believe in its safety culture.
I would agree with this position considering that I believe that the idea of creating a utility-wide vision would mean that every area of the company would understand the value associated with adopting a safety culture. The contingency theory of leadership, developed by Fred Edward Fiedler, would apply in this case considering that it highlights the need for having to evaluate direction from the perspective of the vision that one may have in an organization. In this case, the concept expected for the leadership within the organization is on adopting a safety culture that reflects on the values of safety as it relates to the organization. Additionally, it is essential to take note of the fact that the vision must be adopted on an organizational-wide perspective. That would mean that the leadership would reflect on its position in trying to create an active position in the safety culture.
Looking Beyond the Safety Programs
The crucial last area that I would agree with as part of understanding the critical success factors of the safety culture created revolves around the idea of looking beyond the safety programs and recognizing the value of the employees. Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) does not only focus on the safety culture as a determinant of whether the company would achieve expected success when implementing the safety culture. Instead, it focuses on the employees as a critical element of value that seeks to build overall capacity for the company to gain control of its safety culture. The ultimate effects that this is expected to have is that it will help create some form of confidence on the part of the employees.
My view of this position is that it not only seeks to define or highlight the need for a safety culture but also considers employees as key stakeholders in the process of transformation. That creates the need for having to engage and empower the employees' unions about their position in trying to achieve expected levels of success in the adoption of an active safety culture. That means that the employees would shift their focus towards the idea of safety, as has been progressing within the organization, depending on the connection that they develop with the leadership (Pater, 2018). On the other hand, it is essential to take note of the fact that the success of the safety culture adopted would depend wholly on the need for having to create or progress some form of understanding on what it would mean to support or advance expected levels of success regarding safety.
Area of Disagreement
On the other hand, it is essential to take note of the fact that some of the critical regions suggested within the article do not present an accurate position on what a public utility company ought to do in a bid to creating a safety culture. These areas include:
Tailoring Interventions to Culture or Sub-Culture
I would disagree with the idea of adapting the interventions associated with the safety culture towards a given culture or sub-culture while taking into consideration that the responses would be implemented within a multicultural environment. Consequently, this means that it becomes hard to determine which of the cultures would be more superior when compared others or evaluating how the cultures differ regarding their expected positioning within the intervention. The long-term effect of this is that it will translate to an ultimate avenue for failure taking into account that this would not be viable in a multicultural environment.
Developing of Authentic Partnerships
Although I would agree with the idea of developing partnerships, the essential element to note that I would disagree with is that the company should only focus on authentic organizations to determine the success of the safety culture. The issue of safety affects all critical areas associated with the public utility company, thus, meaning that the adoption of an active safety culture must reflect on all partnerships in every aspect of the company. That means that the company must be willing to engage with all its stakeholders from where to define its position on the issue of safety. The expected outcome from this is that the company would be in a primary position from which to improve its capacity and abilities to deliver positive results.
Conclusion
In summary, safety is one of the critical issues of concern for any given company or organization, as it seeks to define whether the company or organization has set up effective safety approaches. Researchers have been on the forefront in highlighting some of the strategic approaches that leaders ought to take in their bid to create a safety culture. The article, Transforming Safety Culture, describes approaches that Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) undertook towards creating a safety culture within its company. Some of the areas that I would agree with as part of the company’s safety culture include safe behaviors and good intentions, leadership commitment to change safety culture, new safety structure, adoption of a utility-wide vision, and looking beyond the safety programs. On the other hand, I would not agree with the idea of tailoring interventions to culture or sub-culture and developing of authentic partnerships.
References
Ali, S., & Shariff, A. M. (2017). Development of Conceptual Key Factors Model for Safety Culture. Global Business and Management Research , 9 (1s), 63-72.
Pater, R. (2018). Generating Vitality in a Safety Culture. Professional Safety , 63 (3), 27-29.
Simon, S. I., & Cistaro, P. A. (2009). Transforming Safety Culture Grassroots-led/Management-supported Change at a Major Utility. Professional safety , 54 (04), 28-35.
Van Nunen, K., Reniers, G., & Ponnet, K. (2018). Measuring and improving safety culture in organizations: an exploration of tools developed and used in Belgium. Journal of Risk Research , 21 (5), 622-644.
