Managing the Unexpected: Sustained Performance in a Complex World

THE CLASSIC GUIDE FOR IMPROVING YOUR COMPANY'S ABILITY TO AVOID OR MANAGE CRISES

Floods, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, bank failures, recessions, and environmental disasters. Organizations are challenged with the unexpected on a routine basis. But why do some organizations manage to function in the face of unanticipated change while others fail?

Since it was first published in 2001, Managing the Unexpected has become the definitive resource that offers a guide for any organization that wants to maintain function and structure when confronted with the unexpected. Thoroughly revised, the third edition of the groundbreaking Managing the Unexpected contains new examples and updated information that reflect the catastrophic events that have challenged organizations in recent years, such as the financial crisis and bank failures and major environmental disasters.

Drawing on illustrative examples from high reliability organizations (HROs)?emergency rooms in hospitals, flight operations of aircraft carriers, and firefighting units?Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe reveal how these organizations developed the ways of acting and styles of learning that give them the confidence to manage the unexpected better than other organizations. This revised edition also offers an in-depth look at the five principles that lay the foundation for highly reliable organizations.

Filled with useful advice and compelling examples, the third edition of Managing the Unexpected offers any institution a guide for becoming an organization that is highly reliable and able to withstand unanticipated disruptions.