Article 1
What is the definition of a rare event in the article?
Events that occur outside the everyday experience of an organization and, as such, are frequently portrayed as unique, unprecedented or uncategorizable
What disaster happened at the B&O railroad museum?
A snowstorm dumped more than two feet of snow on the city of Baltimore. Two of the Roundhouse’s 22 roof sections had collapsed under the weight of the snow. The collapse damaged the gas system and triggered the sprinklers.
What is defined by organizational crisis?
A low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the organization’s survival and is characterized by ambiguity of cause, effect and means of resolution, as well as by belief that decisions must be made swiftly. A critical turning point that has the potential to dissolve or positively transform the business.
Explain first- and second-order problem solving
First-order problem solving is a response to a given failure that ensures the continuity of the operation or service without addressing the causes of the failure. Second-order problem solving is a response that not only corrects the immediate failure to ensure continuity of the operation, but also addresses the failure in a wider sense by either correcting its causes or alerting others to its occurrence.
What does Learning through rare events refer to?
Learning about the content of the rare event
Discovering and strengthening a set of organizing routines that facilitate the resumption of activity as the interruption winds down.
Actions taken during the event are strengthened, revised or extinguished.
What are response repertoires?
The stock of routines, habits, and roles that have been experienced, as well as the capability to recombine portions of this stock in novel ways.
What conditions must a situation meet to be a crisis?
The entire system needs to be disturbed in such a way that not only are operations fundamentally disrupted, but managers’ and other employees’ basic assumptions are challenged. There must be a serious threat to the very survival of the organization.
What is the difference between single-loop learning and double-loop learning?
And error-and-correction process reflects single-loop learning when detecting and correcting an error permits the business to carry on its present policies or achieve its present objectives. An error-and correction process is double-loop learning when the detection and correction of the error involve modifying the business’s underlying norms, policies and objectives.
What is meant by organizational performance in the case of the B&O museum? Name at least 2 measures
Numbers of visitors attracted, size of donations, formal memberships issued, year-to-year gains, expansion of the collection, and ability to retain and hire talented personnel
What happens when an audit occurs?
An audit occurs at a moment’s notice, where everything that was left unprepared becomes a complex problem, and every weakness comes rushing to the forefront.
What are some potential risks of a crisis? (Give us 2).
Further escalation of disruption within the business. Further deterioration due to related follow-ups by the media and/or the authorities, interference in its regular affairs. Damage to the image of both the organization and its managers/owners. Damage to its productivity.
What type of association is there between learning behavior from failures and present and prospective crisis-preparedness? (Positive/Negative) Explain how.
Businesses that adopt second-order problem solving are more proactively involved in preparations for a relatively wide spectrum of crisis events. (Positive)
What does organizational identity serve as?
It serves as a selection mechanism for learning: Organizing routines that affirm the organization’s identity are selected and strengthened; those that challenge the identity are weakened or extinguished.
Give us an audit of weakness and audit of strength for the B&O museum.
Audit of weakness: The roof collapse.Not the right employees. Communication infrastructure inadequate.
Audit of Strength: Improved relations with other organizations. Enacting timely, consistent, and coordinated communication with the media. Value of the museum to the larger community.
What does effective crisis management consist out of?
Individual and organizational adjustment of basic assumptions. Management of the behavioral and emotional responses which help to facilitate organizational recovery and readjustment.
How can managers design and shape a well-prepared system to survive a crisis, move forward and thrive?
Encourage employees to engage in learning fro failures. Paying more careful attention to identifying weak early warning signals. Intelligent leaders recognize that when patterns of signal arise, it is too late to prevent the crisis and therefore expensive recovery strategies must begin.
Why do the authors prefer “learning through rare events” over “learning from rare events” in the B&O article?
“Learning from rare events” implies that learning associated with a rare event occurs separately from the event and is subject to the simplifications of hindsight. These implications limit the sites of where we expect to find learning.
How do rare events strengthen organizing routines?
Interruptions create consciousness of things previously taken for granted, and this can trigger learning. Significant interruptions generate ambiguity and uncertainty, which require interpretation. Through interpretation, relating, and ultimately re-structuring these events to your organization will strengthen organizing routines.
Through which three types of vulnerabilities do businesses fail to anticipate predictable surprises?
Psychological vulnerabilities – Cognitive defects that leave individuals blind to approaching threats. Organizational vulnerabilities – Barriers within companies that impede communication and dilute accountability. Political vulnerabilities – systemic flaws in decision-making processes.
What is the main takeaway of this article?
Emphasizing the importance of both learning from failures and crisis-preparedness by examining the link between these domains, IT is important for busineeses to employ and structure learning behaviors from failures in order to respond more effectively to a crisis event.