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Decision Dynamics in Two High Reliability Military Organizations

Author

Listed:
  • Karlene H. Roberts

    (Walter A. Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, 350 Barrows Hall, Berkeley, California 94720)

  • Suzanne K. Stout

    (University of Texas, Dallas, Mail Stop J051 Box 830688, Richardson, Texas 75081-0688)

  • Jennifer J. Halpern

    (Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853)

Abstract

In this research we extend theoretical development about decision making in organizations in which many kinds of errors cannot be tolerated. Catastrophic consequences can be associated with faulty decision making in reliability-seeking organizations, a situation which does not occur in most organizations studied in the past. Observations are drawn from two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. We find decision processes which appear to change often in these organizations. Important decisions can be made by a number of men even at the lowest levels of the organization. Task-related factors such as technical complexity, high interdependence, and catastrophic consequences associated with rare events and more cognitive factors such as accountability and salience affect decision processes. A model is presented that accounts for dynamic change in decision processes in these organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Karlene H. Roberts & Suzanne K. Stout & Jennifer J. Halpern, 1994. "Decision Dynamics in Two High Reliability Military Organizations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(5), pages 614-624, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:40:y:1994:i:5:p:614-624
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.40.5.614
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    Cited by:

    1. J. S. Busby & A. M. Collins, 2014. "Organizational Sensemaking About Risk Controls: The Case of Offshore Hydrocarbons Production," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(9), pages 1738-1752, September.
    2. Ignacio J. Martinez-Moyano & David P. McCaffrey & Rogelio Oliva, 2014. "Drift and Adjustment in Organizational Rule Compliance: Explaining the “Regulatory Pendulum” in Financial Markets," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 321-338, April.
    3. Johannessen, Idar A. & McArthur, Philip W. & Jonassen, Jan R., 2015. "Informal leadership redundancy: Balancing structure and flexibility in subsea operations," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 409-423.
    4. Thiemo Fetzer & Oliver Vanden Eynde & Austin L Wright, 2024. "Team production on the battlefield: Evidence from NATO in Afghanistan," PSE Working Papers halshs-04610715, HAL.
    5. Peter Madsen & Vinit Desai & Karlene Roberts & Daniel Wong, 2006. "Mitigating Hazards Through Continuing Design: The Birth and Evolution of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 239-248, April.
    6. Mendonça, David & Wallace, William A., 2015. "Factors underlying organizational resilience: The case of electric power restoration in New York City after 11 September 2001," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 83-91.
    7. Anke Müssig, 2009. "The Financial Crisis: Caused by Unpreventable or Organized Failures?," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Kavala Campus, Greece, vol. 2(1), pages 51-70, June.
    8. Niclas Erhardt & Carlos Martin-Rios, 2016. "Knowledge Management Systems in Sports: The Role of Organisational Structure, Tacit and Explicit Knowledge," Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 1-21, June.
    9. Sandra Bertezene & David Vallat & Philippe Michel & Jacques Martin, 2023. "Deciding in turmoil: Four University Hospital Centres in the Covid-19," Post-Print hal-04212906, HAL.
    10. Patricia Ann McKay & Christine A. Vogt & Laura Schmitt Olabisi, 2017. "Development and testing a diagnostic capacity tool for improving socio-ecological system governance," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 156-183, June.
    11. Bellamy, Linda J. & Chambon, Monique & van Guldener, Viola, 2018. "Getting resilience into safety programs using simple tools - a research background and practical implementation," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 171-184.
    12. Fan, Chin-Yuan & Fan, Pei-Shu & Chang, Pei-Chann, 2010. "A system dynamics modeling approach for a military weapon maintenance supply system," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(2), pages 457-469, December.
    13. T. Anderson & J. S. Busby & M. Rouncefield, 2020. "Understanding the Ecological Validity of Relying Practice as a Basis for Risk Identification," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(7), pages 1383-1398, July.
    14. Léna Masson & Julienne Brabet, 2018. "The paradoxes of externalization strategy in a safety critical industry," Post-Print hal-01765294, HAL.
    15. Setiadi Umar & Gibson N. Chunwe, 2019. "Advancing environmental productivity: Organizational mindfulness and strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 447-456, March.
    16. Lampel, Joseph & Bhalla, Ajay & Jha, Pushkar P., 2014. "Does governance confer organisational resilience? Evidence from UK employee owned businesses," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 66-72.
    17. Banerjee, Preeta M. & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2007. "Organization at the Limit: Lessons from the Columbia Disaster," Working Papers 07-0101, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.
    18. Siegfried Rouvrais & Sophie Gaultier Le Bris, 2016. "Breadth Experiential Courses to Meet Programme Outcomes for Engineers," Post-Print hal-01573838, HAL.
    19. Carlo Borzaga & Chiara Carini & Ermanno Celeste Tortia, 2022. "Co‐operative enterprise anti‐cyclicality and the economic crisis: A comparative analysis of employment dynamics in Italy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 551-577, September.

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