GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND SAFETY FORUM

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GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND SAFETY FORUM

• 26 June 2007
• Logan Campus

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TOWARDS A HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT
CULTURE

• Leading the way in Health and Safety Leadership
  culture and performance management as drivers of
  safer workplaces
• Bernard K ALTHOFER AFAIM
• M Ed (Leadership and Management) MA (Justice
  Studies) BA (Justice Studies)
• Graduate Certificate in Applied Management
• Cert IV in Assessment and Workplace Training

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DISCLAIMER

• The views expressed in this paper are those of
  the author and do not and should not be taken to
  be the views of any corporate, private or public
  sector organisation
• A version of this paper was presented at the
  Queensland Safety Conference in 2006

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ABSTRACT

• Move to create safer workplaces
• Leadership and managerial practices
• Diverse range of organisational cultures
• Failure to effectively use performance management
  systems and processes does not help individuals
  meet workplace health and safety obligations

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INTRODUCTION

• Key issues
• Performance management
• Only as good as people involved
• Leadership
• Organisational culture
• Cultural beliefs impact on implementation
• Change agents
• Everyone has a role
• Workplace implications
• Poor practices do not help
• Conclusions
• Issues to consider

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PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

• Pronounced revival in the 1990s - pressures of
  globalisation, increased competition, greater
  aspects of scrutiny Kramar etal (2002)
• Leaders have an opportunity to support
  performance management Kramar etal (2002)
• Performance management has potential to enhance
  performance of the organisation Kramar etal
  (2002)
• Strong leadership to communicate and reinforce
  value of performance management Kramar etal
  (2002)
• Leaders at all levels model appropriate behaviour

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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS

• Effective performance systems have linkages to
  strategic plan and to work unit (Delahaye 2000)
• Critical strategic questions powerful
  management tool to increase organisational
  performance (Dunphy and Hackman1988)
• Clear performance standards being established and
  discussed -observations and discussions,
  evaluation and employee development (Kramar etal
  2002)
• Good managers motivate with power of vision,
  passion of delivery, compelling logic of
  reasoning (Nicholson 2003)
• Intractable employees take up disproportionate
  amount of time and energy (Nicholson2003)
• Common pitfalls with a negative impact on
  implementation of performance appraisal system
  no system works perfectly (Kramar etal 2002)

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LEADERSHIP

• Leadership and management concepts confused -
  Administrator
• Complexities of organisational culture ignored
  Slater (2003) Kotter (1996) Bennis (1997)
  Katzenbach (1996) Albrecht (2003)
• Leadership is about creating and maintaining
  climates and conditions for achievement of goals
  and attainment of high performance
  (Sawatzki1997)
• Leaders exist to make things happen (Barker2002)
• Essential nature of leadership is its power to
  influence behaviour of people (Barker2002)
• Leadership is about change (Weekes2003)
• Leadership is like pornography you know it when
  you see it (Onsman2002)

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ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

• Complex internal and external variables
• Corporate culture can be referred to as a set of
  values, beliefs and behaviour patterns that form
  the core identity of organisations and help in
  shaping the employees behaviours (Rashid et al
  2003)
• Dominant values espoused by an organisation or a
  set of values and assumptions this is how we do
  things around here
• Culture is the personality of an organisation
  the glue or invisible mortar that holds the
  entity together (Barker 2004)
• Need for shared understanding of core philosophies

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IMPACT AND ROLE OF CULTURE IN CHANGE PROCESSES

• Need to address complexities of organisational
  culture
• Acknowledge influence of the elite members of
  particular sub groups, clubs, organisations,
  those with political ideals, values or beliefs
• Rules of the game the way things are done
  around here unwritten ground rules Schein
  (1992)
• Unwritten ground rules (UGRs) dictate what is and
  what is not acceptable (Simpson2004)
• Need to understand UGRs for successful change
  management to occur
• Dominant, submissive and dormant cultures
• Lack of trust in management, staff conflict,
  politicking, favourtism, lack of professional
  development, egos and self aggrandisement,
  resistance to change (Onsman 2003)

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CHANGE AGENTS

• Cynicism about change
• involves real loss of faith in the leaders of
  change and is a response to a history of change
  attempts that are not entirely or clearly
  successful (Reichers et al 1997)
• Cynicism about implementation of systems and
  processes to meet demands of political masters
• Managers or others who are announcing change will
  be more believable if they are generally well
  liked, seen as knowledgeable about the subject
  matter, possessed of high power and status in the
  organisation and trustworthy (Reichers et al
  1997)
• Leaders need to lead by positive example

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WORKPLACE IMPLICATIONS

• Legislative obligations and responsibilities to
  provide safe working environments
• Performance management systems need to meet
  organisational and individual needs
• Added risks where there is non compliance or lack
  of accountability
• Personal values and beliefs influence performance
  management some may misrepresent facts
• Corporate performance crime structurally
  coerced action because it represents the most
  reasonable response to a sanction containing
  organisational demand set beyond a legitimately
  attainable threshold (Sharpe 1995 )
• Most managers recognise importance of culture
  few understand it in simple and practical terms
  (Simpson2004)

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HAZARD OR RISK OR BOTH

• AS/NZS 480120013 defines a hazard asA source
  or a situation with a potential for harm in terms
  of human injury or ill-health, damage to
  property, damage to the environment, or a
  combination of these.
• AS/NZS 48012001 5 defines risk (in relation to
  any potential injury or harm) asThe likelihood
  and consequence of that injury or harm occurring.
  NOTE Wherever the term risk occurs in this
  Standard this should be taken to mean
  occupational health and safety risk.
• AS/NZS 48012001 5 defines safety asA state in
  which the risk of harm (to persons) or damage is
  limited to an acceptable level.

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ISSUES TO CONSIDER

• What is your leadership culture?
• Is everyone considered to be a leader?
• How does your culture drive your leadership?
• Positive or negative leadership
• Does your leadership culture drive your
  performance management and performance
  appraisals?
• Is performance management a critical issue for
  your leaders?
• How does your leadership culture and performance
  management and performance appraisal impact on
  your safety culture?

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ISSUES TO CONSIDER

• Does your risk management plan include
  leadership?
• Does your health and safety management plan
  include leadership and management?
• What controls do you have in place to manage
  leadership and performance management and
  performance appraisal?
• How have your performance management and
  appraisal systems been effectively implemented?
• Staff satisfaction surveys e.g. QPASS, stress
  audits

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CONCLUSION

• Understand complexities of changing attitudes,
  behaviours and cultures
• Positive and negative cultures can have an impact
• Perceptions built on rumour, mistrust, suspicion
  or dissatisfaction with processes impact on
  positive leadership culture
• Leaders have choices about healthy and productive
  work environments
• Safer workplaces contingent on integration of
  positive leadership culture - relentless and
  uncompromising pursuit of health and safety
  performance management and performance appraisals

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PROFESSIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY LEADERS?
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COMMENTS

• Do you have suggestions or observations.

THANK YOU