International Technical Meeting on Safety
Culture Oversight
Safety Culture and Organizational Change
Management
Isaac José Obadia
CNEN/Brazil
Topics
• Underlying Assumptions for Nuclear Safety • Nuclear Safety Context
• Safety Perception • Safety Culture
• Holistic Management Approach
Underlying Assumptions for Nuclear Safety
1. Safety is a Key Factor for Nuclear Organizations.
2. An Enhanced Safety Culture is Crucial for Nuclear
Safety.
3. Safety Culture Enhancement Implies in Organizational
Changes.
UA = Cultural unconscious and taken for granted driving forces which promote organizational values and individual attitudes
Nuclear Safety Context
• “An accident anywhere is an accident everywhere” (El Baradei, 2003).
• All nuclear countries are co-responsible for safety.
• Nuclear industry would not withstand another accident. This would bring catastrophic consequences.
• “The future of the nuclear industry will only be as strong as its weakest link”
(Talbot K, IAEA, 2004).
Collective global consciousness and
commitment towards nuclear safety GS-R-3 / GS-G-3.1/GS-G-3.5IAEA Safety Standards
Safety Perception: some difficulties
• Safety is a process (and not a product) related attribute.
• Differently from quality, safety is still not perceived as a process aggregated value (it is taken for granted – perception is focused on the product and not on the process).
• Safety is manifested as a non-event: the lack of safety is manifested by the occurrence of unwanted events such as incidents and accidents.
• Safety improvement requires a proactive and preventive management approach. “Act before the fact.”
UA 2: An Enhanced SC is Crucial for Nuclear Safety.
Underlying Problem:
Safety is a shared or a espoused value within the organization ? Safety Culture Characteristics Safety is a clearly recognized value Leadership for
safety is clear Accountability for safety is clear
Safety is integrated into all activities
Safety is
Culture is an unspoken language to which we react as if in response to some secret complex code that has never been written down but is understood by all (Hall as cited in Baumont, 1995)
Culture manifestations levels
(Hofstede, 1991)
Are visible to the external observer and constitute practices of the culture.
But their cultural meaning are invisible, being understood only by those who belong to the culture.
Are unconscious and not directly perceived from outside. Can only be deduced through the way people act in certain circumstances.
Practices Symbols
Heroes Rituals
Values
Organizational Culture
• Are the shared values (what is important) and common beliefs (how things work) that interact with the organization’s structures and control systems to produce behavioral norms (the way things are done here)
(Uttal, 1983).
• Is the mind collective program that distinguishes one organization from another (Hofstede, 1991).
• Is socially, dynamically and continuously constructed by the groups of people which constitute the organization;
• Is a characteristic of the organization which is manifested by its individuals attitudes and behaviors;
• Is intangible, however requires tangible measures to be changed; • Is difficult to change due to its inherent stability (paradigms);
Sociotechnical Model
For Complex Hazardous Organizations
Integrated Management System Organizational Culture Leadership Systematization Management Effectiveness Learning
Holistic Management Approach
Leadership Practices Shared values Paradigms Assumptions IMS IAEA (GS-R-3) Human Factors Organizational Factors Technical Factors Knowledge Skill Attitude Motivation Behavior Ergonomics Infrastructure Resources Strategy Processes Procedures Practices I&C System Equipment Components Reliability Maintenance Quality Assurance Environment Socio-Political,
Cultural and Economic Context
Complex Interfaces
Organizational Culture Levels
(Schein, 1989)ARTIFACTS
(Visible but often not decipherable)
SHARED VALUES
(Greater level of awareness)
BASIC UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS
(Taken for granted, invisible)
Visible products, practices, organizational structures organizacionais, Strategies, objectives, philosophies Beliefs, perceptions,
unconscious thoughts and feelings accepted as true
“An accident in any NPP is catastrophic to people, organization and nuclear
sector Safety First
Organization and personnel attitudes, behavior and decisions
toward safety
Shared Values
X
Espoused Values
Shared Values: are those values effectively embodied in an
organizational philosophy; are congruent with observed behavior.
Espoused Values: are those values that may be incongruent with
the observed behavior. Until they become a shared value, they
represent aspirations to the organization. They predict what people will say but are out of line with what they would do.
Leadership attitudes not aligned with the espoused values
creates mismatches between leaders and individuals
organizational culture assumptions (Leaders speech X attitudes)
Leadership attitudes and organization decision making process
based on espoused values is a way to transform them into shared values.
Motivation and Attitude
Ø Represents the forces acting on or within a person that makes the person behave in a specific goal-oriented manner (safety).
Ø Provides job satisfaction and transcendence of personal mission.
Ø Is manifested by personal attitudes (towards safety).
Considerations on the Individual Level
• We, as individuals, are Desire-Driven, by nature
• In the absence of the desire, no action is performed
• Building our desire for safety individually leads to a common (organizational) desire for safety
• The more individuals of an organization (in all levels) build a desire for safety, the more safety becomes an effective
shared value of that organization, and the more safety culture is enhanced.
Motivation = Motive (Desire) for Action
Attitude: represents an individual difference which affects personal behavior.
Working attitude: depends on motivation and organizational commitment.
Organizational commitment: is a personal dedication characterized by the belief and acceptance of the vision and values of the organization. Construction of Shared Vision and Shared Values
People excel and learn not because they are told to do so, but because they desire to do so.
Levels of working attitude: Commitment, Enrollment, Genuine compliance, Grudging compliance, Non-compliance, and Apathy (Peter Senge).
ü Is well understood and accepted by the organization personnel.
ü Allows individuals to know what their contribution is and how to achieve it. ü Is ownership builder and provides a feeling of belonging.
Shared vision Shared values Organizational Commitment Working attitudes Motivation
Safety/Performance
Leaders’ attitudes concerning safety issues are a
fundamental contribution to transform safety from an
espoused value to an effective shared organizational value.
Safety culture
shall not be seen as a part of the
organizational culture, but rather
as that organizational
culture which has safety as a perceived, effectively
shared and prevailing value.
REMARKS
Safety Culture Improvement Programs shall be part of a Comprehensive Organizational Management System – Integrated approach.
• Safety Culture is a “mix” of an intangible complex social concept (culture) and a tangible issue of hazardous technology organizations (nuclear safety).
The Safety Culture concept:
Requires a desired behavioral condition within the organization!
(Management structure and corresponding individual behavior and attitudes toward safety)
Implies in an organizational change process !
How to effectively and continuously achieve the desired changes in the organization?
Underlying Issue:
UA 3: Safety Culture Enhancement Implies in Organizational Changes.
Present State Organizational Performance Improvement Management Economics Quality Environment Safety Health Social Responsibility
Organizational Change
Desired State How to manage the change process ?External and/or internal drivers
Strategic Vision
Present State Desired State Desejado State A State B Leadership: Decisions / Attitudes Organizational Culture Management system (IAEA, ISO, etc.)
Type of Intervention Change Process Organization External Environment
Context of the Organizational Change Process The organizational culture
is a constraint to organizational change We can not be what we are not
The change is a victim of the change implementation process
Management of the organizational change process ? Construction of new values by example Expertise on the management system model Risk management
Context of the Organizational Change Process
Change is Made by People
New Attitudes and Behaviors have to be Adopted
Organizational Culture Change
The Cultural Net
Unless the paradigm is affected, no long lasting organizational change will occur.
Most of the organizational
change programs concentrates only in the superficial (visible) cultural aspects (petals).
Organizational Culture Change
Organizational Culture Change
• The desired (safety) culture can not just be imposed by rules or standards.
• It has to be continuously constructed, expressed and reaffirmed throughout organization day to day routine.
• It is a function of personnel perception on how things really happen in the organization (shared values), and not of the prescribed work systems or aspirations (espoused values).
• Changes have to occur in the underlying assumptions level
Managing Organizational Change
• Organizational culture is influenced by new systematic practices and their results (Hofstede, 1991). Practical and tangible way to influence culture.
Organizational Culture Integrated
Management System
The management practices affect attitudes and behaviours, and consequently, the underlying assumptions of the
organizational culture.
Organizational culture affects which management practices will be emphasized.
