Karl Weick
Encyclopedia
Karl E. Weick is an American organizational theorist who is noted for introducing the notions of "loose coupling
", "mindfulness
", and "sensemaking
" into organizational studies
. He is the Rensis Likert
Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business
at the University of Michigan
. He earned his bachelor's degree
at Wittenberg College
in Springfield, Ohio
and his Ph.D.
in organizational psychology from Ohio State University
in 1962.
"Managers construct, rearrange, single out, and demolish many 'objective' features of their surroundings. When people act they unrandomize variables, insert vestiges of orderliness, and literally create their own constraints." [Social Psychology of Organizing, p243]
in an organizational context comes from his 1976 paper on "Educational Organizations as Loosely Coupled Systems"(published in the Administrative Science Quarterly), revisited in his review of subsequent uses of the concept, with JD Orton, in 1990's Loosely Coupled Systems: A Reconceptualization.
Loose coupling in Weick's sense is a term intended to capture the necessary degree of flex between an organization's internal abstraction of reality, its theory of the world, on the one hand, and the concrete material actuality within which it finally acts, on the other. A loose coupling is what makes it possible for these ontologically
incompatible entities to exist and act on each other, without shattering (akin to Castoriadis's
idea of 'articulation'). Orton and Weick argue in favour of uses of the term which consciously preserve the dialectic
it captures between the subjective and the objective, and against uses of the term which 'resolve' the dialectic by folding it into one side or the other.
, which is known as equivocality in organizational research that adopts information processing theory
. His contributions to the theory of sensemaking include research papers such as his detailed analysis of the breakdown of sensemaking in the case of the Mann Gulch
disaster, in which he defines the notion of a 'cosmology episode' - a challenge to assumptions that causes participants to question their own capacity to act.
Karl Weick explained that mindfulness is when we realize our current expectations, continuously improve those expectations based on new experiences, and implement those expectations to improve the current situation into a better one.
builds upon general systems theory, and focuses on the complexity of information management within an organization. The theory addresses how organizations reduce equivocally, or uncertainty through a process of information collection, management and use.
Articles
Loose coupling
In computing and systems design a loosely coupled system is one where each of its components has, or makes use of, little or no knowledge of the definitions of other separate components. The notion was introduced into organizational studies by Karl Weick...
", "mindfulness
Mindfulness (psychology)
Modern clinical psychology and psychiatry since the 1970s have developed a number of therapeutic applications based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation.-Definitions:...
", and "sensemaking
Sensemaking
Sensemaking is the process by which people give meaning to experience. While this process has been studied by other disciplines under other names for centuries, the term "sensemaking" has primarily marked three distinct but related research areas since the 1970s: Sensemaking was introduced to...
" into organizational studies
Organizational studies
Organizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...
. He is the Rensis Likert
Rensis Likert
Rensis Likert was an American educator and organizational psychologist best known for his research on management styles...
Distinguished University Professor at the Ross School of Business
Ross School of Business
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is the business school of the University of Michigan. Numerous publications have ranked the Ross School of Business' Bachelor of Business Administration , Master of Business Administration and Executive Education programs among the top in the country and the...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
at Wittenberg College
Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...
in Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in organizational psychology from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1962.
Enactment
Karl Weick uses this term to denote the idea that certain phenomena (such as organizations) are created by being talked about."Managers construct, rearrange, single out, and demolish many 'objective' features of their surroundings. When people act they unrandomize variables, insert vestiges of orderliness, and literally create their own constraints." [Social Psychology of Organizing, p243]
Loose coupling
Karl Weick's major contribution to the topic of loose couplingLoose coupling
In computing and systems design a loosely coupled system is one where each of its components has, or makes use of, little or no knowledge of the definitions of other separate components. The notion was introduced into organizational studies by Karl Weick...
in an organizational context comes from his 1976 paper on "Educational Organizations as Loosely Coupled Systems"(published in the Administrative Science Quarterly), revisited in his review of subsequent uses of the concept, with JD Orton, in 1990's Loosely Coupled Systems: A Reconceptualization.
Loose coupling in Weick's sense is a term intended to capture the necessary degree of flex between an organization's internal abstraction of reality, its theory of the world, on the one hand, and the concrete material actuality within which it finally acts, on the other. A loose coupling is what makes it possible for these ontologically
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
incompatible entities to exist and act on each other, without shattering (akin to Castoriadis's
Cornelius Castoriadis
Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek philosopher, social critic, economist, psychoanalyst, author of The Imaginary Institution of Society, and co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group.-Early life in Athens:...
idea of 'articulation'). Orton and Weick argue in favour of uses of the term which consciously preserve the dialectic
Dialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
it captures between the subjective and the objective, and against uses of the term which 'resolve' the dialectic by folding it into one side or the other.
Sensemaking
People try to make sense of organizations, and organizations themselves try to make sense of their environment. Weick pays attention to questions of ambiguity and uncertainty in this sense-makingSensemaking
Sensemaking is the process by which people give meaning to experience. While this process has been studied by other disciplines under other names for centuries, the term "sensemaking" has primarily marked three distinct but related research areas since the 1970s: Sensemaking was introduced to...
, which is known as equivocality in organizational research that adopts information processing theory
Information processing theory
The information processing theory approach to the study of cognitive development evolved out of the American experimental tradition in psychology. Developmental psychologists who adopt the information-processing perspective account for mental development in terms of maturational changes in basic...
. His contributions to the theory of sensemaking include research papers such as his detailed analysis of the breakdown of sensemaking in the case of the Mann Gulch
Mann Gulch fire
The Mann Gulch fire of 1949 was a wildfire in the Helena National Forest, Montana, United States, which claimed the lives of 13 firefighters including 12 smoke jumpers who were parachuted into the area to fight the fire, but were unable to control it....
disaster, in which he defines the notion of a 'cosmology episode' - a challenge to assumptions that causes participants to question their own capacity to act.
Mindfulness
Karl Weick introduced the term mindfulness into the organizational and safety literatures in the article Organizing for high reliability: Processes of collective mindfulness (1999). Weick develops the term “mindfulness” from Langer's (1989) work, who uses it to describe individual cognition. Weick's innovation was transferring this concept into the organizational literature as “collective mindfulness.” The effective adoption of collective mindfulness characteristics by an organization appears to cultivate safer cultures that exhibit improved system outcomes. The term high reliability organization (HRO) is an emergent property described by Weick (and Karlene Roberts at UC-Berkeley). Highly mindful organizations characteristically exhibit: a) Preoccupation with failure, b) Reluctance to simplify c) Sensitivity to operations, d) Commitment to Resilience, and e) Deference to Expertise.Karl Weick explained that mindfulness is when we realize our current expectations, continuously improve those expectations based on new experiences, and implement those expectations to improve the current situation into a better one.
Organizational Information Theory
Organizational information theoryOrganizational information theory
Based on the work of Karl Weick, Organizational Information Theory builds upon general systems theory, and focuses on the complexity of information management within an organization...
builds upon general systems theory, and focuses on the complexity of information management within an organization. The theory addresses how organizations reduce equivocally, or uncertainty through a process of information collection, management and use.
Publications
Books- 1969, The Social Psychology of Organizing, McGraw Hill.
- 1995, Sensemaking in Organizations, Sage.
- 2001, Making Sense of the Organization, Blackwell.
- 2001, Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity. with co-author Kathleen Sutcliffe, Jossey-Bass.
Articles
- 1976, "Educational Organizations as Loosely Coupled Systems." Administrative Science Quarterly 21:1-19.
- 1984, with Richard L Daft, "Toward a model of organizations as Interpretation systems". Academy of Management. The Academy of Management Review (pre-1986); 9; pg. 284; Apr 1984.
- 1988, "Enacted Sensemaking in Crisis Situation", in: Journal of Management Studies. 25:4, pp. 305–317, July, 1988.
- 2005, with Kathleen M Sutcliffe and, David Obstfeld, "Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking", in: Organization Science. Vol. 16, nº 4, p. 409-421, Jul/Aug, 2005.
External links
- Research Statement by Professor Weick
- Leadership When Events Don't Play By the Rules Short essay by Karl Weick
- Karl Weick page at OnePine
- Complicate Yourself interview with Karl Weick in Wired, April 1996
- Information Systems Theory page based on the work of Karl Weick, by some students at Ohio University.
- The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organisations - The Mann-Gulch Disaster