Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2009
Abstract
We propose qualitative research to understand how financial institution management makes sense of decision outcomes that do not meet expectations, under what circumstances these experiences are likely to occur, and to what extent they lead to mindful management of the unexpected. This research will facilitate greater understanding of the factors that make some organizations far more capable and function far more reliably than others in coping with the unexpected, the unknowable and the Black Swan (Taleb, 2007), with resultant positive influence on firm performance. The conceptual framework for this research focuses on individuals engaging in managing for high performance in settings where the potential for surprises (from internal operating activity or external market challenges) in today’s highly uncertain and demanding business environment is extremely challenging. The interview sample will focus on executive management in mid-size regional banking institutions ($100million to $25billion in assets) having responsibility for strategic and operational decisioning made with regularity in organizations. The prevalence of material decision failures (Nutt, 2002; Hickson, 2001) acts to inhibit firm performance, while organizations that have no choice but to function reliably to avoid disaster and severe harm (e.g. nuclear power plants, aircraft carriers etc.,), are operating very mindfully in managing the unexpected and are termed high-reliability organizations (HROs). Organizations with high-reliability maintain a collective mindfulness (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001) and adopt five key operating practices that are designed to anticipate and contain those incipient weak signals that can grow into disasters and decision failures. Organizations that can develop a collective mindfulness can be better positioned to maintain awareness about the environment in which they operate. Understanding the influence of mindfulness on organizational performance will provide insight into the ways organizations can move beyond being mindless to mindful behavior and reduce post-decision surprise events (Weick et al., 2001) and ultimately be far more successful.
Keywords
financial management, post-decision outcomes, surprise, mindfulness, collective mindfulness, sensemaking, attribution, abduction, high-reliability organizations
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Eastburn, Ronald W., "Making Sense of Surprise Outcomes: Implications for Managing the Unexpected" (2009). Student Scholarship. 293.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/293