Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2009
Abstract
The literature is silent about the occurrence and impact of unexpected results of managerial decisions in the financial services industry – a sector whose executives’ decisions have nonetheless “surprised” us unrelentingly in recent years. Building on prior work on High Reliability Organizations and the collective mindfulness that guides them, we sought to generate a grounded theory about why surprise outcomes of bankers’ decisions occur and how executives make sense of them. Semi-structured interviews with 23 high ranking U.S. banking executives yielding over 50 narrative accounts of decisions gone awry revealed that bankers are not skilled in detecting and managing the unexpected. Findings call for more “mindful mindlessness” on the part of bankers charged with decisions that impact businesses, communities and individuals.
Keywords
bankers, high reliability organizations (HROs), collective mindfulness, mindlessness, institutionalism, risk, organizational learning, change, routines
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., "Post-Decision Surprise: How Bankers Manage the Unexpected" (2009). Student Scholarship. 339.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/339