Date of Conferral
2021
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Kenneth Gossett
Abstract
Shipyard safety programs have uncertainty and vulnerability. Shipyard program managers are concerned with safety to mitigate negative business system performance because of unplanned safety events. Grounded in the contingency theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies managers use to mitigate liability claims associated with the high numbers of injuries and fatalities in dangerous work environments. The participants were three program manager representatives in the American Southwest who use successful strategies to reduce injuries and fatalities in the shipyard industry. The data were collected using semistructured interviews, public documents and analyzed using a six-step thematic process from which the following three themes emerged: (a) safety incentives, training, and policies; (b) safety action, procedures, and innovation; and (c) safety production, protocol, significance, monitoring, assessments, and controls. A key recommendation is for managers to reinforce and reward staff efforts directed to addressing safety issues rather than waiting for accidents to occur and then punishing those they blame for the mistakes that occurred. The implications for positive social change include the potential for reducing ship repair safety incidents and risk, which could lead to lower liability claims, safe workplace dynamics, fewer injuries, increased business transparency, and, most of all, fewer fatalities.
Recommended Citation
Porter, Markeith, "Preventing Injuries and Fatalities in Inherently Dangerous Work Environments" (2021). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 12517.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12517
