The relationships between organizational and individual variables to on-the-job driver accidents and accident-free kilometres

Highway fatalities are the leading cause of fatal work injuries in the US, accounting for approximately 1 in 4 of the 5900 job-related deaths during 2001. The present study focused on the contribution of organizational factors and driver behaviours to on-the-job driving accidents in a large Western Canadian corporation. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was used which allows researchers to test a complex set of relationships within a global theoretical framework. A number of scales were used to assess organizational support, driver errors, and driver behaviours. The sample of professional drivers that participated allowed the recording of on-the-job accidents and accident-free kilometres from their personnel files. The pattern of relationships in the fitted model, after controlling for exposure and social desirability, provides insight into the role of organizational support, planning, environment adaptations, fatigue, speed, errors and moving citations to on-the-job accidents and accident-free kilometres. For example, organizational support affected the capacity to plan. Time to plan work-related driving was found to predict accidents, fatigue and adaptations to the environment. Other interesting model paths, SEM limitations, future research and recommendations are elaborated.     

A systems approach to organizational error

Abstract

The past two decades have seen a significant number of large-scale disasters in a wide range of hazardous, well-defended technologies. Despite their differences, the root causes of these accidents have been traced to latent failures and organizational errors arising in the upper echelons of the system in question. A model of the aetiology of these organizational accidents is outlined. The model describes two interrelated causal sequences: (a) an active failure pathway that originates in top-level decisions and proceeds via error-producing and violation-promoting conditions in the various workplaces to unsafe acts committed by those at the immediate human-system interface and (b) a latent failure pathway that runs directly from the organizational processes to deficiencies in the system's defences. The paper goes on to identify two sets of dependencies associated with latent failures and violations. Organizational errors increase the likelihood of operator error through the active failure pathway and, at the same time, enhance the possibility of adverse outcomes through defensive weaknesses. Violations have a narrower range of consequences. Non-compliance with safe operating procedures increases the likelihood of error by taking perpetrators into regions of operation in which neither the physical regime nor the hazards are well understood. Violations, by definition, also take perpetrators ‘closer to the edge,’ and thus increase the chance that subsequent errors will have damaging outcomes. The paper concludes by indicating two ways in which the model has been applied in industrial settings: (a) through the development of proactive measures for diagnosing and remedying organizational processes known to be implicated in accident causation, and (b) an accident investigation technique that guides investigators and analysts to the organizational root causes of past accidents.     

An examination of the relationship between cycle training,cycle accidents,attitudes and cycling behaviour among children

Around 40% of 10–11-year-old children receive cycle training every year in the UK, but concern has been expressed over the efficacy of training courses. One argument is that accidents occur too infrequently to be a viable evaluative criterion, and attitudes and behaviour have been suggested as alternatives. A questionnaire that measured a number of variables including accidents, attitudes, and behaviour was completed by 336 participants from two schools in the London Borough of Bromley. At least one cycling injury had been sustained by 58.3% of respondents, requiring hospital treatment in 19.1% of cases. Girls reported fewer accidents than boys. No relationship between training and accidents was found. A principal components analysis (PCA) of the attitudes items produced a ‘safe attitudes’ factor. Girls displayed ‘safer’ attitudes, but there was no evidence that training produced safer attitudes. A PCA of the cycling behaviour scales produced two factors, ‘safe cycling’ and ‘showing off’. Safe cyclists who obeyed basic safety rules were less likely to sustain cycle injuries, but showing off was not related to accidents. Girls were less likely to show off, but the safe behaviour gender difference did not reach significance. Training did not relate to either factor.     

The relationship between environmental management systems and organizational innovations

This study provides empirical evidence of the nature of the relationship between environmental management systems and organizational innovations. Using a sample of Spanish manufacturing firms, the study reports on the implementation of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14000 environmental quality standards and the relationship of such implementation with organizational innovations in the firm. The study presents several implications of interest for practitioners, academics, and policy makers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The relationship between organizational culture and the deployment of agile methods

Context

Systems development normally takes place in a specific organizational context, including organizational culture. Previous research has identified organizational culture as a factor that potentially affects the deployment systems development methods.

Objective

The purpose is to analyze the relationship between organizational culture and the post-adoption deployment of agile methods.

Method

This study is a theory development exercise. Based on the Competing Values Model of organizational culture, the paper proposes a number of hypotheses about the relationship between organizational culture and the deployment of agile methods.

Results

Inspired by the agile methods thirteen new hypotheses are introduced and discussed. They have interesting implications, when contrasted with ad hoc development and with traditional systems development methods.

Conclusion

Because of the conceptual richness of organizational culture and the ambiguity of the concept of agility the relationship between organizational culture and the deployment of agile systems development forms a rich and interesting research topic. Recognizing that the Competing Values Model represents just one view of organizational culture, the paper introduces a number of alternative conceptions and identifies several interesting paths for future research into the relationship between organizational culture and agile methods deployment.     

A path analysis model of individual variables predicting safety behavior and human error: The mediating effect of situation awareness

Situation awareness is often argued to be an indicator of safety performance. Several factors may influence situation awareness that need to be identified and analyzed. This study investigated the influence of some variables on safety performance and examined the mediating effect of situation awareness. This study was conducted on 601 workers of different industries in Iran. All variables were measured via a multi-sectional questionnaire in a self-report manner. Path analysis modeling was used for data analysis. To measure the validity of the model, the RMSEA, CFI, and R² coefficients were employed. The results revealed that safety knowledge and sleepiness had significant direct and indirect effects on safety behavior and human error. Fatigue had only a mediating effect on safety behavior and error via situation awareness. Safety locus of control had only a mediating effect on human error through situation awareness. Whereas better safety knowledge and an internal safety locus of control could boost siaituation awareness, daily sleepiness and fatigue had significant, detrimental effects on situation awareness. These variables explained 38% of the variations in situation awareness. A proportion of the effect of personal variables on safety behavior and human error was mediated by situation awareness; thus, situation awareness is the direct cause of some safe behaviors and human errors.     

The relationships between learner variables,tool-usage behaviour and performance

A variety of learner variables have been asserted to affect learners’ tool-usage behaviour. However, direct empirical evidence on which learner variables influence tool-usage behaviour and how is limited. In order to better understand the impact of learner variables on tool use, the current study investigates the relationships between learner variables, the quantitative aspects of tool-usage behaviour and its outcome (i.e., performance). More specifically, the focus is on how the variation in tool use is related to prior knowledge and goal orientation and how this variation affects performance. Tool-use data were extracted from log-file data collected in an open-ended learning environment [Clarebout, G. (2005). The enhancement of optimal tool use in open learning environments (Doctoral dissertation). Katholieke universiteit Leuven, Leuven.]. Results partly revealed the hypothesized relationships between learner variables, tool-usage behaviour (the proportion of time spent on tools) and performance. The results suggest that in order to have a more thorough understanding of the relationships between learner variables, tool-usage behaviour and learning outcomes, log-file data may need to be complemented with direct observations to acknowledge the qualitative aspects of the tool-usage behaviour (i.e., mixed method approach).     

The prediction of car driver size and position to enhance safety in crashes

The positions which car drivers adopt when driving will depend on their anthropometric characteristics, the range and type of adjustment available from the vehicle package and their preferred driving posture. The design and testing of systems to protect occupants in car crashes assumes that the size and position of the driver is ‘normal’ or ‘average’, although there is some accommodation for adjustability. If, however, the occupant protection system had information on the driver's chosen seat position, on whether the driver was particularly large or small and on whether the driver was sitting close to or further from the steering wheel, in a crash the system could tailor its performance and enhance the protection offered. This study investigated whether it was possible to predict the physical characteristics of the driver and the driver's position in relation to the steering wheel, from data that could be collected by sensors in the seat and seat mounting. In order to do this, anthropometric characteristics of drivers and their usual seated position in their own vehicle were measured and analyses were undertaken to identify whether there were any relationships between the driver-related and the vehicle-related measures. The results showed that it was possible to predict drivers' head and chest positions relative to injury-producing features of the vehicle such as the steering wheel (and hence the airbag) and to predict some physical dimensions of drivers.     

The influence of individual,family, and social capital factors on expatriate adjustment and performance: The moderating effect of psychology contract and organizational support

This research is conducted to get more understanding about the antecedents and consequences of expatriate adjustment. Expatriate adjustment is a very important factor for the expatriate and for the organization. As prior studies have explained that family, individual, and social capital factors significantly related to expatriate adjustment, but these studies did not integrate the antecedents and consequences of expatriate adjustment into a more comprehensive research model. Therefore, this study aims to integrate relevant research streams into a more comprehensive model of expatriate adjustment and empirically test the viability of the model. The results of this study illustrated that expatriates with higher emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, and experience abroad can adjust more easily in the new work environment. Also, family support and family adaptability have positive influence on expatriate adjustment. Expatriates who had prior experiences on parental demand and family to work conflict tend to be able to manage these problems more easily. Furthermore, social capital and mentoring behavior are also important factors that can enhance the success of expatriate adjustment which could further influence expatriate performance, innovative work behavior, knowledge transfer, and organizational performance. Finally, this study also identified that psychological contract and organizational support as two important moderators that can enhance expatriate adjustment and success.