The perils of the plan

Highly reliable organizations (HRO) are organizations that understand that producing reliable outcomes requires the ability to sense the unexpected in a stable manner and the ability to deal with the unexpected in a variable manner. HROs manage infrastructures much differently than most organization...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCMA Management Vol. 79; no. 1; p. 14
Main Authors Seaman, Al, Williams, John
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hamilton Society of Management Accountants of Canada 01.03.2005
Subjects
Aircraft
Decision making
Failure
Flexibility
Managers
Mindfulness
Nuclear power plants
Planning
Strategic planning
Success
Total quality
Canada
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Summary:Highly reliable organizations (HRO) are organizations that understand that producing reliable outcomes requires the ability to sense the unexpected in a stable manner and the ability to deal with the unexpected in a variable manner. HROs manage infrastructures much differently than most organizations. Most organizations keep their activities constant and vary their processes of managing the unexpected. Unfortunately, those who invest heavily in plans and standard operating procedures tend to become less mindful of uncertain risks, and respond only to actions that are built into their repertoire of consistency. HROs, in contrast, focus on inefficiency, failure, diversity, and surprise. When HROs practice good management, they behave in ways that free their perceptions from expectations. Thus they see more, and sooner. Mindful managing is the basis of HROs and is encompassed in the five foci outlined below: 1. preoccupation with failure, 2. avoid simplication, 3. sensitiviity to operations, 4. commitment to resilience, and 5. deference to expertise.
ISSN:1926-4550