2. Define and describe the following in detail: organizational culture, ethical culture, safety culture.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Organizational culture is how a company or other organization actually is, functionally and environmentally. Culture consists of the values, decisions, actions, beliefs, goals, guiding principles, and other criteria that describe the internal climate of the organization. Organizational culture develops over a period of time and tends to follow practices and systems established by long-standing employees and leadership. Ethical culture or climate describes the organization’s overall climate with respect to ethical practices and beliefs. The establishment of a solid ethical climate is intentional and willful; it requires vision, effort, and dedication in order to be effective. A strong, desirable ethical culture will not develop by default. Rather, creating and fostering internal ethics must be made a priority by those in a decision-making capacity in an organization and demonstrated through consistency in actions, and development of corresponding policies, practices, and decision-making processes. The ethical climate will often follow the ethics of the leadership. Safety culture describes the organization’s overall climate with respect to safety practices and is also concerned with how serious the organization is with respect to safety. A good safety culture will help to ensure regulatory compliance and the protection of employees and assets. This includes protecting employees who report safety issues from reprisal. A proper safety culture is ethical and economically responsible.