Started this thread to Discuss what safety should be considered at the organisational level. Is it a strategic priority, a corporate core value or something else entirely?

Isodor,
I believe, safety goes deeper than a Corporate Core Value it must be seen as a Personal Core Value.

As you have said in another post Corporate Values are something seen by most as a nice to have, but is not neccesarily something an indivisual would believe in or adopt. However, a Personal Core Value is something the individual wont compromise no matter what position they're put in.

I do agree that safety should be a personal value but to play devils advocate for a moment.

As safety professionals working for a company are we pushing Personal "core values"?
I would think we should be seeking to align the Corporate Values with the Core values.
If these are to be differentiated then what happens when an employee's core values and the Corporate values clash?

And can this be seen as different from attempting to indoctrinate someone into a religion, even if the religion is one focused on preventing personal injury.

Manipulation of the corporate values I see no problem with as these are external to the concept of identiy and self. Manipulation of someone's personal beliefs and structured identity on the other hand opens a big can of worms in terms of ethics.
Where is the line in terms of acceptible practices?

I think the issue of safety in general goes even deeper than Core Values (personal or corporate).

I have been involved in OSH since the '80s and it has become part of my life. Even when I spent years at university, safety issues seemed to pop up all the time. You could find me in the Vice-Chancellor's ear quite regularly.

Safety is not something you put on with your hard hat. If you break your leg at home you are just as injured as if you did it at work. The effects on the company will be the same.

The problem is to get people to think that way.

If you haven't read
<em>Making Safety Work: Getting management commitment to Occupational Health and Safety</em> by Andrew Hopkins
then I recommend that you do.

Hopkins holds to the vital importance of having Top Management absolutely committed to the cause. Here is an excerpt from the conclusion to chapter 11:

<i>Safety specialists within organisations have a vital role to play in drawing management attention to questions of health and safety. There are many ways in which this can be done. The evidence of previous chapters suggests that one of the most effective is to invoke the fear of personal liability, where appropriate. Ensuring that senior managers' own personal fortunes within the company are in some way linked with their health and safety performance is also an effective way to gain management attention. Health and safety specialists should also find ways in which to play on the concerns of top managers for their own reputations, in particular by comparing them with their peers.</i>

Terrorizing the boss with the threat of court and imprisonment may sound a little cynical, but is it any more cynical than sweeping OSH under the rug with the <em>"That'll never happen!"</em> attitude?