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Implementing health and safety strategies for business sustainability : The use of management controls systems
Wijesinghe, Dinushi Jayakumar, Vijayajothy Gunarathne, Nuwan Samudrage, Dileepa
Wijesinghe, Dinushi
Jayakumar, Vijayajothy
Gunarathne, Nuwan
Samudrage, Dileepa
Abstract
Despite a growing body of literature on organisational health and safety, little is known about how safety systems can be strategically implemented. This study, therefore, explored how organisations effectively adopt, implement, and sustain health and safety strategies. It employed a longitudinal case study method and utilised Simons' (1995) levers of control framework as a management control system. It looked specifically at the implementation of a safety strategy at a Sri Lankan mining company during three different time periods, using data from several sources. Due to the company's long-standing culture and lack of guidance, it had initially employed a diagnostic approach to monitor and achieve organisational safety. However, in the later phases, the company implemented several structural reforms in order to establish a safety policy with greater authority, responsibility, accountability, and communication. The interactive and diagnostic levers acted as a catalyst for change in the organisational safety transformation. They have also impacted the belief lever and contributed to achieving the boundary lever's goals. This study reveals how successfully executing a safety strategy allows an organisation to improve its corporate image while reaping both financial and non-financial benefits for the company and its employees.
Keywords
Health and safety, Longitudinal case study, Management controls, Mining Safety strategy, Sri Lanka
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Book
Volume
164
Issue
Page Range
1-14
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled
Notes
© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.