IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i16p8511-d612900.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Involving Moral and Ethical Principles in Safety Management Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Lindhout

    (TPM Safety & Security Science Group (S3G), Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Genserik Reniers

    (TPM Safety & Security Science Group (S3G), Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
    KULeuven, Campus Brussels-Center for Corporate Sustainability (CEDON), 1000 Brussels, Belgium
    Faculty of Applied Economic Sciences and Engineering Mgmt (ENM), University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

Abstract

Some organisations, and some individual humans, violate moral and ethical rules, whether or not they are written down in laws or codes of conduct. Corporate transgressions, as this behaviour is called, occur because of the actions of those in charge, usually bright and dedicated people. Immoral and unethical conduct can adversely affect the safety of workers, the general public and the environment. A scoping review method for a literature search is used to explore morality and ethics in relation to health and safety management. Our findings show that controlling the risks associated with misconduct and corporate transgression is not usually seen as a responsibility allocated to safety systems but is left to general management and corporate governance. The moral and ethical principles, however, can be applied in safety management systems to prevent misconduct and transgression-related safety risks. Our results show that ethical leadership, ethical behaviour, sustaining an ethical climate and implementation of an ethical decision-making process emerge as key preventive measures. The discussion presents a proposed way to include these measures in safety management systems. Conclusion and recommendations underline that unwanted behaviour and transgression risks can be brought under control, starting from a set of best practices. Not only the managers themselves but also board members, independent external supervisors and government regulators need to embrace these practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Lindhout & Genserik Reniers, 2021. "Involving Moral and Ethical Principles in Safety Management Systems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8511-:d:612900
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8511/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8511/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William J. Mea & Ronald R. Sims, 2019. "Human Dignity-Centered Business Ethics: A Conceptual Framework for Business Leaders," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 53-69, November.
    2. Smith, Jeffery & Dubbink, Wim, 2011. "Understanding the Role of Moral Principles in Business Ethics: A Kantian Perspective," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(2), pages 205-231, April.
    3. Carroll, Archie B., 1991. "The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: Toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 39-48.
    4. Hughes, Robert C., 2019. "Paying People to Risk Life or Limb," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(3), pages 295-316, July.
    5. Celia Moore, 2008. "Moral Disengagement in Processes of Organizational Corruption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 80(1), pages 129-139, June.
    6. Diana C. Robertson & Erin Anderson, 1993. "Control System and Task Environment Effects on Ethical Judgment: An Exploratory Study of Industrial Salespeople," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(4), pages 617-644, November.
    7. Ersdal, Gerhard & Aven, Terje, 2008. "Risk informed decision-making and its ethical basis," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 197-205.
    8. Aven, Terje & Renn, Ortwin, 2018. "Improving government policy on risk: Eight key principles," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 230-241.
    9. Sergio Iavicoli & Antonio Valenti & Diana Gagliardi & Jorma Rantanen, 2018. "Ethics and Occupational Health in the Contemporary World of Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, August.
    10. Man-Fong Ho & Derek Drew & Denny Mcgeorge & Martin Loosemore, 2004. "Implementing corporate ethics management and its comparison with the safety management system: a case study in Hong Kong," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 595-606.
    11. Tahira M. Probst & Laura Petitta & Claudio Barbaranelli & Christopher Austin, 2020. "Safety-Related Moral Disengagement in Response to Job Insecurity: Counterintuitive Effects of Perceived Organizational and Supervisor Support," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 343-358, March.
    12. Paul Lindhout & Karel van der Werff & Genserik L. L. M. E. Reniers, 2020. "Improving Education and Training of Dutch Major Hazard Control Inspectors: A 15 Years Longitudinal Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-21, March.
    13. Laura Petitta & Tahira M. Probst & Claudio Barbaranelli, 2017. "Safety Culture, Moral Disengagement, and Accident Underreporting," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 489-504, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paul Lindhout & Genserik Reniers, 2022. "The “Transparency for Safety” Triangle: Developing a Smart Transparency Framework to Achieve a Safety Learning Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-21, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katinka Cranenburgh & Daniel Arenas, 2014. "Strategic and Moral Dilemmas of Corporate Philanthropy in Developing Countries: Heineken in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(3), pages 523-536, July.
    2. Ulf Schaefer & Onno Bouwmeester, 2021. "Reconceptualizing Moral Disengagement as a Process: Transcending Overly Liberal and Overly Conservative Practice in the Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 525-543, September.
    3. Yongbo Sun & Jiajia Zhang, 2019. "Acquiescence or Resistance: Group Norms and Self-Interest Motivation in Unethical Consumer Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-25, April.
    4. Alexander Newman & Huong Le & Andrea North-Samardzic & Michael Cohen, 2020. "Moral Disengagement at Work: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 535-570, December.
    5. Tahira M. Probst & Laura Petitta & Claudio Barbaranelli & Christopher Austin, 2020. "Safety-Related Moral Disengagement in Response to Job Insecurity: Counterintuitive Effects of Perceived Organizational and Supervisor Support," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 343-358, March.
    6. Agata Rudnicka & Janusz Reichel, 2012. "Improvement of social and environmental dimensions of quality in the context of ISO 26000 standard (Doskonalenie jakoœci organizacji w wymiarze spo³ecznym i œrodowiskowym w kontekœcie normy ISO 26000)," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 10(37), pages 84-93.
    7. Daewook Kim & Myung-Il Choi, 2013. "A Comparison of Young Publics’ Evaluations of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of Multinational Corporations in the United States and South Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 105-118, March.
    8. Mariya Georgieva, 2020. "About the Corporate Social Responsibility Beyond the Framework of Charity," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 9(1), pages 35-44, April.
    9. Lamar Pierce & Jason Snyder, 2015. "Unethical Demand and Employee Turnover," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(4), pages 853-869, November.
    10. Manolis, Chris & Nygaard, Arne & Stillerud, Bård, 1997. "Uncertainty and vertical control: An international investigation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(5), pages 501-518, October.
    11. Meyer, Margit & Waßmann, Jan, 2011. "Strategische Corporate Social Responsibility. Konzeptionelle Entwicklung und Implementierung in der Praxis am Beispiel 'dm-drogerie markt'," Research Papers on Marketing Strategy 3/2011, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Lehrstuhl für BWL und Marketing.
    12. Hangeun Lee & Seong Ho Lee, 2019. "The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Long-Term Relationships in the Business-to-Business Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-12, September.
    13. Juelin Yin & Yuli Zhang, 2012. "Institutional Dynamics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in an Emerging Country Context: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 301-316, December.
    14. Asif Khan & Chih-Cheng Chen & Kwanrat Suanpong & Athapol Ruangkanjanases & Santhaya Kittikowit & Shih-Chih Chen, 2021. "The Impact of CSR on Sustainable Innovation Ambidexterity: The Mediating Role of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Second-Order Social Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-25, November.
    15. Jared Peifer, 2014. "Fund Loyalty Among Socially Responsible Investors: The Importance of the Economic and Ethical Domains," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(4), pages 635-649, June.
    16. WANG Jifu & GUPTA Vipin & LYBOLT Liza & WANG Xiuli, 2022. "Corrected Game Model In Csr: Mnc Strategies And Chinese Practice," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 17(3), pages 269-287, December.
    17. Gupta, Shruti & Pirsch, Julie, 2008. "The influence of a retailer's corporate social responsibility program on re-conceptualizing store image," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 516-526.
    18. Diane Sharratt & Bitten H. Brigham & Martin Brigham, 2007. "The Utility of Social Obligations in the UK Energy Industry," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(8), pages 1503-1522, December.
    19. Cedric Dawkins, 2010. "Beyond Wages and Working Conditions: A Conceptualization of Labor Union Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(1), pages 129-143, August.
    20. Ewa Grzegorzewska-Ramocka, 2009. "Cele ekonomiczne i społeczne przedsiębiorstwa," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 7-8, pages 59-78.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8511-:d:612900. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.