Question

What is "RELUCTANCE TO SIMPLIFY" as it pertains to implications for leaders and managers in high hazard and non-hazard organizations?

Answer 1

Reluctance to Simplify is a reliability-enhancing concept which emphasizes on the organization's capability to avoid making any pre-occupied assumptions regarding the causes of a failure (either hazard-related or otherwise). Managers and leaders subscribing to this doctrine take deliberate steps to create a more nuanced and complete picture (Weick & Sutcliffe, 2007). Organizations following the concept of reluctance to simplify believe that failures are systemic, rather than localized, and could probably lead to a widespread causal chain of events with potentially catastrophic consequences (Weick et al., 1999). Leaders and managers recognize that their organizations must filter information and doing so may lead them to disregard key sources of problems. High reliability leaders not only self-practice this concept but also help employees handle temptations to simplify by installing system checks and balances, adversarial reviews, and multiple perspectives.

Reference

Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. 2007. Managing the unexpected: Resilient performance in an age of uncertainty, (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. 1999. Organizing for high reliability: Processes of collective mindfulness. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings, (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, 21: 81–123. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.