Browsing by Author "Takano, Kenichi"

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A cross-cultural study of organizational factors on safety: Japanese vs. Taiwanese oil refinery plants
(2008-01-01)
Hsu, Shang Hwa
;
Lee, Chun-Chia
;
Wu, Muh-Cherng
;
Takano, Kenichi
;
工業工程與管理學系
This study attempts to identify idiosyncrasies of organizational factors on safety and their influence mechanisms in Taiwan and Japan. Data were collected from employees of Taiwanese and Japanese oil refinery plants. Results show that organizational factors on safety differ in the two countries. Organizational characteristics in Taiwanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of management commitment to safety, harmonious interpersonal relationship, more emphasis on safety activities, higher devotion to supervision, and higher safety self-efficacy, as we] I as high quality of safety performance. Organizational characteristics in Japanese plants are highlighted as: higher level of employee empowerment and attitude towards continuous improvement, more emphasis on systematic safety management approach, efficient reporting system and teamwork, and high quality of safety performance. The casual relationships between organizational factors and workers' safety performance were investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results indicate that the influence mechanisms of organizational factors in Taiwan and Japan are different. These findings provide insights into areas of safety improvement in emerging countries and developed countries respectively. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The influence of organizational factors on safety in Taiwanese high-risk industries
(2010-09-01)
Hsu, Shang Hwa
;
Lee, Chun-Chia
;
Wu, Muh-Cherng
;
Takano, Kenichi
;
工業工程與管理學系
Organizational theorists have recently begun to pay research attention to the workforces of emerging countries in Asia, especially the greater China regions. However, little research has focused on the influence of organizational factors on safety in these countries. This study hypothesized that organizational factors, characterized as safety leadership perspective (management commitment, blame culture) and safety climate perspective (harmonious relationships), would influence group-level safety management, which would in turn influence individual level safety awareness and practices. To test this hypothesis, a safety climate questionnaire was distributed to ten Taiwanese plants in high-risk industries. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the linkages among organizational level factors, work-group-level factors, and workers' safety awareness and practices. We found that safety leadership style and organizational harmony in Taiwanese high-risk industries can exert significant influences on work-group processes, which in turn have greater effects on individual safety awareness and practices. These findings and implications can serve as a basis for safety improvement in areas of the greater China region. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.