Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many organisations have reached plateaus in their safety performance and are constantly exploring new methods to improve. Traditional safety practices e.g. engineering solutions, safety management systems, and other administrative controls do not enable organisations to make the required step change in safety performance. Safety culture is a new safety “buzz word” and is promoted as a phenomenon that could assist organisations in improving safety performance in their endeavour to safety excellence. It is however, a relatively new concept and research in this field was completed during the past two decades only. Safety culture is a multi-dimensional, dynamic and complex concept. An improved understanding of the safety culture concept is required to enable organisations to determine the value of pursuing safety culture enhancement in their quest for superior safety performance.