Draft:Dov Zohar

Dov Zohar (דב זהר; born 29 December 1945) was a Full Professor at the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. He is widely celebrated as the "father of safety climate", a concept he introduced in his 1980s seminal work "Safety climate in industrial organizations: theoretical and applied implications". Zohar's work on Psychosocial safety climate and safety culture has been instrumental in shaping safety policies, procedures, and practices across various industries, marking him as one of the most highly cited professors in Organizational Psychology, is the 19th most cited professor at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, and the most cited professor in the Faculty of Industrial Engineering. In addition to his primary role at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Zohar has held visiting professorships and scientist positions at prestigious institutions including the Gallup Leadership Institute, University of Nebraska, the University of Toronto, and the University of Maryland.

Early life and education
Dov Zohar (דב זהר; born 29 December 1945) was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He is the son of Meir and Pola Zohar (מאיר זוהר). He received his B.A. in Psychology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel in 1970. Zohar later pursued his M.Sc. in 1972 and Ph.D. in 1975 from the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland.

Academic career
Upon completing a Ph.D. at the University of Maryland in 1975, Zohar joined the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management at the Technion, where he would embark on a distinguished career that spanned over four decades. Zohar's contributions to the field of organizational psychology were transformative. He was a pioneer in the concept of safety climate, which he invented in the 1980s. His work on safety climate theory and psychosocial safety climate extended to various industries, including manufacturing, construction, medicine,  trucking, and many more - where he helped improve safety policies, procedures, and practices. He developed industry-specific safety-climate scales and innovative Supervision-based Safety (SBS) interventions that significantly enhanced workplace safety. These contributions earned him recognition as one of the most highly cited professors at the Technion. For his large contributions to the field of organizational phycology, Zohar was awarded the 2008 Lifetime Career Achievement Award in Occupational Health Psychology – American Psychological Association (APA) and CDC.

Safety Climate
Dov Zohar is a distinguished figure in the field of organizational psychology, best known for his seminal contributions to the concept of safety climate. His groundbreaking 1980 paper in the Journal of Applied Psychology established the theoretical framework for safety climate and introduced a measurement scale that has become a cornerstone in the field. This work catalyzed further research, leading to the development of numerous safety climate measurement tools, including specific scales for military applications and multilevel safety climate scales.

Central to Zohar's research is the role of leadership in shaping safety climate. He posits that leadership, particularly at the supervisory level, is pivotal in creating a positive safety climate within organizations. This perspective led to the development of the Supervision-based Safety (SBS) intervention model, which emphasizes the modification of leadership behaviors to enhance safety climate and, consequently, improve safety outcomes. The SBS model has been successfully implemented in a variety of organizational contexts worldwide, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing safety practices and reducing workplace accidents.

Moreover, Zohar's influence extends beyond the confines of safety climate to encompass broader organizational climate research. He has advocated for the simultaneous examination of multiple climate facets—such as quality, security, and inclusion climates—highlighting the interconnectedness of these dimensions within organizations. This holistic approach has inspired current research directions, encouraging scholars to explore the complex interplay between various aspects of organizational climate.

In sum, Prof. Dov Zohar's extensive body of work on safety climate has not only laid the theoretical and methodological foundations for the field but has also provided practical frameworks for improving workplace safety. His contributions have had a lasting impact on both the academic community and organizational practices, underscoring the critical role of leadership and the multifaceted nature of organizational climates.

Past Appointments

 * 2005-2006: Visiting Professor, Gallup Leadership Institute, College of Business Administration, University of Nebraska.
 * 2003-2005: Visiting Scientist, Institute for Work & Health, University of Toronto, Canada.
 * 2000-2002: Program Chair, Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion.
 * 1980-2002: Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion.
 * 1991-1992: Visiting Professor, School of Management, University of Calgary, Canada.
 * 1990-1991: Visiting Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, U.S.A.
 * 1983-1986: Director, Research Center for Human Factors and Work Safety, Technion Research Institute.
 * 1980-1981: Research Fellow, The Tavistock Institute, London.
 * 1977-1979: Lecturer, Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion.

Awards and Honors

 * 2008: Lifetime Career Achievement Award in Occupational Health Psychology – American Psychological Association (APA) and CDC.
 * 2008: Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Fellow.
 * 2003: Best Intervention Research Award – Centers for Disease Control (CDC) & National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
 * 1996: Outstanding Lecturer Award - Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
 * 1981: Jerome H. Ely Award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Human Factors - Human Factors Society (special citation for receiving the award a second time).
 * 1980: British Council Scholarship for Advanced Research - The British Council, London.
 * 1979: Jerome H. Ely Award for Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Human Factors - Human Factors Society.

Books
Prof. Dov Zohar has contributed to a number of important works in the field of occupational safety, organizational culture, and psychology. His chapters in key books include:


 * Zohar, D., "Safety Climate: Conceptual and Measurement Issues". In: J. Quick &amp; L. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Health Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2003, pp. 123-142.


 * Zohar, D., "The Influence of Leadership and Climate on Occupational Health and Safety". In: D. Hofman &amp; L. Tetrick (Eds.), Health and Safety in Organizations: A Multilevel Perspective. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Frontiers Book Series, 2003, pp. 201-230.
 * Zohar, D., "Work Safety". In: C. Spielberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology (Vol. 3). San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2004, pp. 719-724.
 * Zohar, D. &amp; Hofmann, D., &quot;Organizational Culture and Climate&quot;. In: S. Kozlowski (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press (in press).

Personal Life
Dov Zohar was diagnosed with melanoma and was given a prognosis of six months to live. He participated in one of the first immunotherapy clinical trials, where he responded exceptionally well to the treatment. This significant medical intervention prolonged his life, highlighting the potential of immunotherapy in cancer treatment. In 2023, he died from unrelated causes, and is survived by his wife and three children.