Punitive Culture
At one end of the spectrum is the punitive culture one that simply prohibits human error.Here there will be little reporting of human error because it is "illegal" and employees want to protect their jobs; therefore, little opportunity is available for learning from and preventing errors.
Also, there will be little deterrent effect because, as stated earlier, human errors are unintentional by definition.
Blame-Free Culture
At the other end of the spectrum is the blame-free culture one that reserves no right of disciplinary action regardless of the individual's conduct.Consider, for example, an intoxicated driver or a driver who intended to cause an accident. A blame-free standard is quickly shown to be both impractical and unacceptable.
What hospital or blood center could establish an event reporting process that served as a safe haven for those who knowingly put patients at risk?