Organizational Resilience

In the age of knowledge, organizations survive and thrive only when they learn. All too often, when organizations are confronted with novel or changing situations, the process of learning breaks down and the result is catastrophic. In Organizational Resilience: How Learning Sustains Organizations in Crisis, Disaster, and Breakdown, D. Christopher Kayes explains why all organizational leaders should be concerned about learning and the dire consequences that may ensue if they are not. Kayes draws on the foundational ideas of philosopher John Dewey, then connects this philosophy to contemporary studies on learning, management, and organizations. Through a wide range of examples from the realms of government, finance, engineering, healthcare, and commercial air travel, he describes how learning can help organizations weather crises and outlines specific ways that leaders can learn from their experience. The first comprehensive review of how learning sustains organizations in challenging times, Organizational Resilience is essential reading for crisis managers, disaster-recovery team leaders, continuity-of-operations planning professionals, emergency-management professionals, and leaders at all levels who want their organizations to thrive.

Autorentext

D. Christopher Kayes is Professor of Management at the George Washington University School of Business. During his tenure as Interim Dean of the School of Business, he led the organization's financial turnaround. He is the author and coauthor of several books.

Inhalt

Preface Introduction: Learning as the Source of Resilience Part I: Experience as the Source of Learning in Organizations Chapter 1: Learning from Experience Chapter 2: The Structure of Learning in Organizations Chapter 3: Learning versus Performance in the Air France Flight 447 Disaster Part II: The Breakdown of Learning Chapter 4: A Review of Failure in Organizations Chapter 5: From Failure to the Breakdown of Learning Chapter 6: How Optimism and Positive Thinking Can Limit Learning Chapter 7: Goal Setting as an Unlikely Threat to Learning Chapter 8: Experience and Decision Making Part III: Building Resilience through Learning Chapter 9: Case Study: Learning From the Search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq Chapter 10: Revisiting the Universal Dilemma of Learning in Policy, Government, and Organizational Culture Chapter 11: Building Learning in Organizations References Index