PAPA 6154

ORGANIZATION SENSEMAKING, HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND MANAGING COMPLEXITY

SPRING 2014

TUESDAY: 6:00-8:45 CPAP-Thomas Conner House

Dr. Reginald ShareefEmail: rshareef@vt.eduOffice Hours: 5:45-6:45 TCH

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES

Modern organizations can be understood as complex adaptive systems. This

understanding leads us to new insights about managing complex public organizations,

particularly how leaders “make sense” of rapidly changing external environments and

utilize strategic adaption to maintain the organization’s relevance/societal legitimacy.

We will discuss the salient leadership implications of both (a) Organization

Sensemaking (as an Organization Theory/ Change process) and (b) the High Reliability

Organization (HRO) as a real-world adaptive management system. Most of the required

class readings on Organization Sensemaking and HROs are based on the work of

University of Michigan Organization Theorist Karl Weick.

When I first started my doctoral studies at CPAP in Fall 1980, all students had to

to read - -and hopefully understand - - Gibson Burrell’s and Gareth Morgan’s

Sociological Paradigms and Organizational Analysis. The book sought to classify

existing sociological theories based on four major paradigms: functionalist, interpretive,

radical humanist, and radical structuralist. It was in the discussion of the interpretive

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paradigm that I was first introduced to Karl Weick. This paradigm “Seeks to explain the

stability of behavior from the individual’s viewpoint.” Researchers in this paradigm try to

observe “on-going” processes to better understand individual behavior and the spiritual

nature of the world.

While the interpretive paradigm suggests that “making sense” of human behavior

and changing environments is “socially constructed”, Weick’s Organization

Sensemaking theoretical construct offers seven diagnostic guidelines for inquiry that

(a) define what sensemaking is and (b) how sensemaking works. These seven

properties are (1) grounded in identity construction; (2) retrospective; (3) enactment of

sensible environments; (4) social; (5) ongoing; (6) focus on extracted cues; and (7)

driven by plausibility rather than accuracy.

Weick’s most recent work utilizes the sensemaking construct in the creation of

High Reliability Organizations (HROs). Creating complex adaptive systems present

several fundamental challenges to organization leaders: recognition of the turbulent and

unpredictability of the operating environment; the importance of nonlinear relations in

defining reality; the importance of socially constructed symbolism in the sensemaking

process; and the crucial relationship between leadership, sensemaking and action.

As such, we will emphasize (a) Weick’s seven properties of sensemaking,

(b) boundary-scanning and organizational threats; (c) distinctions between de ja vu

events and cosmology episodes in the sensemaking process; (d) why the leader’s

language and behavior are the catalyst for “triggering” strategic organization change,

and (e) the HRO as an adaptive organizational culture.

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The objective of this class is to cultivate a strong “praxis” (the merging of theory

and practice) orientation to the Organization Sensemaking sub-discipline for future

Public Administration scholars and managers.

REQUIRED TEXT: (1) Managing the Unexpected (2nd ), Weick/Sutcliffe (Jossey-Bass,

2007). I will provide the relevant pages from my book copy of Weick’s 1995 book

Sensemaking in Organizations.

REQUIRED JOURNAL READINGS (these will be provided):

1. Gioia, D., Thomas, J., Clark, S., and Chittipeddi, K. (1994). Symbolism and

strategic change in academia: The dynamics of sensemaking and influence.

Organization Science;

2. Weber, K. and Glynn, M. (2006). Making sense with institutions: Context,

thought, and action in Karl Weick’s theory. Organization Studies;

3. Weick, K., Sutcliffe, K., and Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of

sensemaking. Organization Science;

4. Weick, K. (1993). The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann

Gulch Disaster. Administrative Science Quarterly;

5. Weick, K. (1996) Prepare your organization to fight fires. Harvard Business Review;

6. Weick, K. (2003). Sense and reliability: A conversation with celebrated

psychologist Karl E. Weick. Harvard Business Review;

7. Shareef, R. (1991). Ecovision: A Leadership theory for innovative organizations. Organization Dynamics;

8. Shareef, R. (2007). Want better business theories? Maybe Karl Popper has the

answer. Academy of Management Learning & Education;

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9. Shareef, R. (2010). What business schools can learn from public management - -

and vice versa. Journal of Public Affairs Education; and

10.Shareef, R. (working paper). Symbolism, sensemaking and strategic change:

Public value as a mid-range theory in legal studies’ antitrust field.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS (Doctoral Students):

As the required reading list indicates, the primary source of documents are

readings that enable us to explore Organization Sensmaking’s theoretical construct and

how to identify HRO cultures/structures in contemporary public agencies. Additional

readings on these topics will be required to complete the final paper.

Students will self-select into two-person groups at the beginning of the semester

to complete the three-paper course requirement. First, a written paper and class

discussion of two articles - -one during the first half of the semester and one during the

second half - - from each group is required. The paper will summarize the article and

relate the theoretical construct to an environmental threat that currently challenges a

HRO public agency like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

I have found the CDC is an excellent public agency HRO to study. For example,

students from a Spring 2013 Organization Sensemaking Senior Seminar at Radford

University did case study analysis of the CDC’s boundary-scanning adaptation to the

evolution of (a) antibiotic- resistant “super bugs” in American health care facilities and

(b) an antibiotic- resistant strain of gonorrhea that has been detected in Japan, France,

and Spain but not, to date, in the United States. Other HROs include Special Operation

Forces in the U.S. Military, FBI’s counterterrorist Hostage Rescue Teams (HRT), local

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police department SWAT teams, urgent care facilities and hospital emergency rooms in

the medical field, etc.

These discussion papers should not exceed 10 pages (double-spaced), written in

APA style, and emailed to the class/me in Word (utilizing VT’s class listserv) at least 24-

hours before the class period. Each of these writing assignments/praxis-discussion

papers will count for 1/3 of the final grade.

Second, each group has to complete a major paper identifying (a) a

contemporary environmental threat to a public organization and (b) answering the

question of why the agency’s response to the environmental challenge is based on both

Organization Sensemaking and HRO principles. The group can select the specific

public agency. Class discussions, readings from the assigned reading list, and

additional readings on the Organization Sensemaking and HRO topics will be covered

in this paper. The paper should be 30-40 pages in length (including the Reference

section) and the APA style will be used. The paper will be sent to me via email

attachment in Word. This paper will also count 1/3 of the final grade.

Doctoral students should approach the final paper with the professional and

personal objective of the research possessing the strong potential for becoming a

publishable manuscript (with future additions).

Course Requirements (MPA Students): There are two MPA students in the class and

they will form a group. These students also have three assignments: (a) a written

paper and class discussion - - during the first half of the semester - - on the first three

chapters of the HRO book including development of a case study that relates the HRO

concepts discussed to a real-world public organization; (B) a written paper and class

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discussion - - during the second half of the semester - - on the final four chapters of the

HRO book including development of a case study that relates the concepts discussed to

a real-world public organization; and (c) a group presentation at the end of the

semester. The two written papers will be sent to the class/me at least 24 hours

prior to presentation. Each of these requirements counts 1/3 of the final grade.

ATTENDANCE: I do not have an attendance policy. However, excessive absenteeism

will have an adverse impact on your group’s (a) performance and/or (b) presentation

outcome. You should come to class prepared and ready to participate.

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