Disaster Dynamics: Understanding the Role of Quantity in Organizational Collapse
通过构建数学模型,研究非新奇事件的数量如何积累并导致组织从弹性自调节状态转向脆弱自放大状态,从而引发灾难,为预防组织危机提供理论和实践建议。
This article examines the role that the quantity of non-novel events plays in precipitating disaster through the development of a formal (mathematical) system-dynamics model. Building on existing case studies of disaster, we develop a general theory of how an organizational system responds to an on-going stream of non-novel interruptions to existing plans and procedures. We show how an overaccumulation of interruptions can shift an organizational system from a resilient, self-regulating regime, which offsets the effects of this accumulation, to a fragile, self-escalating regime that amplifies them. We offer a new characterization of the conditions under which organizations may be prone to major disasters caused by an accumulation of minor interruptions. Our analysis provides both theoretical insights into the causes of organizational crises and practical suggestions for those charged with preventing them.