Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty, 2nd Edition Available Now

Business Wire, Nov 9, 2007

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c74097) has announced the addition of "Managing the Unexpected: Resilient Performance in an Age of Uncertainty, 2nd Edition" to their offering.

High reliability organizations (HROs) such as ER units in hospitals or fire fighting units, are designed to perform well under extreme stress and pressure. Using HROs as the model for any 21st century organization, Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe show executives and upper level managers the competencies their organizations need to develop in order to handle surprises and crises effectively and with a high degree of reliability without sacrificing speed.

Since the first edition of Managing the Unexpected was published in 2001, the unexpected has become a growing part of our everyday lives. The unexpected is often dramatic, as with hurricanes or terrorist attacks. But the unexpected can also come in more subtle forms, such as a small organizational lapse that leads to a major blunder, or an unexamined assumption that costs lives in a crisis. Why are some organizations better able than others to maintain function and structure in the face of unanticipated change?

Authors Karl Weick and Kathleen Sutcliffe answer this question by pointing to high reliability organizations (HROs), such as emergency rooms in hospitals, flight operations of aircraft carriers, and firefighting units, as models to follow. These organizations have developed ways of acting and styles of learning that enable them to manage the unexpected better than other organizations. Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of the groundbreaking book Managing the Unexpected uses HROs as a template for any institution that wants to better organize for high reliability.

About the author(s):

Karl E. Weick is the Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. His book The Social Psychology of Organizing was designated by Jim Collins in Inc. magazine as one of the nine best business books ever written.

Kathleen M. Sutcliffe is associate dean and the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Topics Covered:

Managing the Unexpected: What Business Can Learn from High-Reliability Organizations

Expectations and Mindfulness

The Three Principles of Anticipation

Principles of Containment

Assessing Your Capabilities for Resilient Performance

Organizational Culture: Institutionalizing Mindfulness

How to Manage Mindfully

For more information, visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c74097.>

COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning