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The Perception of Error in Production Plants of a Chemical Organisation

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Abstract

There is considerable current interest in error-friendly corporate culture, one particular research question being how and under what conditions errors are learnt from in the workplace. This paper starts from the assumption that errors are inevitable and considers key factors which affect learning from errors in high responsibility organisations, focusing specifically on production plants in a chemical company. An attempt is made to conceptualize potential links between individual, collective and organisational levels of analysis on the one hand, and factors relevant to an error management culture on the other hand. This is followed by an empirical validation of the factors proposed by means of interviews with ten safety representatives and executives from production plants in a chemical company. A problem-centred interview technique was chosen focussing questions on a realistic near-miss event. The content analysis identified two relevant factors for constructive error handling in chemical production plants: a) the perception of an error as a learning opportunity, and b) psychological safety within work groups. On the basis of these findings, strategies are discussed for fostering an error management culture which allows learning from errors and provides suggestions for the handling of errors.

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Notes

  1. We follow the understanding of culture as “beliefs, ideologies, and values, and the ways these are transmitted through symbols, languages, narratives, and practices”, Schneider et al. 2011a, p. 373, with a recourse on Trice and Beyer (1993), see also Alvesson (2011).

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Acknowledgement

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Business School, University of Mannheim, L 4,1, 68161, Mannheim, Germany

    Jürgen Seifried

  2. Institute of Education, University of Zurich, Beckenhofstrasse 35, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland

    Eva Höpfer

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  1. Jürgen Seifried
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  2. Eva Höpfer
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Correspondence to Jürgen Seifried.

Appendix I

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Table 8 Category System and coding rules
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Seifried, J., Höpfer, E. The Perception of Error in Production Plants of a Chemical Organisation. Vocations and Learning 6, 159–185 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-012-9081-1

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