Hopkins, A. (2006), “Studying organisational cultures and their effects on safety” Safety Science 44 875–889

Studying organisational cultures and their effects on safety

Abstract:

How do organisational cultures influence safety? To answer this question requires a strategy for investigating organisational culture. By far the most widely used research strategy is the perception survey. An alternative is for researchers is to immerse themselves in one or more organisations, making detailed observations about activities and drawing inferences about the nature of the organisation’s culture (the ethnographic method). A third technique makes use of the wealth of material that is assembled by inquiries into major accidents.