Improve your company's ability to avoid or manage crisesManaging the Unexpected, Third Edition is a thoroughly revised text that offers an updated look at the groundbreaking ideas explored in the first and second editions. Revised to reflect events emblematic of the unique challenges that organizations have faced in recent years, including bank failures, intelligence failures, quality failures, and other organizational misfortunes, often sparked by organizational actions, this critical book focuses on why some organizations are better able to sustain high performance in the face of unanticipated change. High reliability organizations (HROs), including commercial aviation, emergency rooms, aircraft carrier flight operations, and firefighting units, are looked to as models of exceptional organizational preparedness. This essential text explains the development of unexpected events and guides you in improving your organization for more reliable performance.
"Expect the unexpected" is a popular mantra for a reason: it's rooted in experience. Since the dawn of civilization, organizations have been rocked by natural disasters, civil unrest, international conflict, and other unexpected crises that impact their ability to function. Understanding how to maintain function when catastrophe strikes is key to keeping your organization afloat.
Explore the many different kinds of unexpected events that your organization may faceConsider updated case studies and researchDiscuss how highly reliable organizations are able to maintain control during unexpected eventsDiscover tactics that may bolster your organization's ability to face the unexpected with confidence
Managing the Unexpected, Third Edition offers updated, valuable content to professionals who want to strengthen the preparedness of their organizationsand confidently face unexpected challenges.
KARL E. WEICK is the Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Weick received the Irwin Award and Best Article of the Year award from the Academy of Management.Fast Company's Senior Editor Keith Hammonds calls Weick "the smartest business thinker that you've never heard of."
KATHLEEN M. SUTCLIFFE is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Business and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor Emerita of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. She was named Researcher of the year and has served on a National Academy of Science panel to assess the resilience of the Department of Homeland Security.
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 1 Mismanaging the Unexpected 1
Chapter 2 The Infrastructure of Mindful Organizing 21
Chapter 3 Principle 1: Preoccupation with Failure 45
Chapter 4 Principle 2: Reluctance to Simplify 62
Chapter 5 Principle 3: Sensitivity to Operations 77
Chapter 6 Principle 4: Commitment to Resilience 94
Chapter 7 Principle 5: Deference to Expertise 112
Chapter 8 Organizational Culture and Reliability 129
Chapter 9 Sustaining Sustained Performance 148
Notes 163
About the Authors 195
Index 197
