The analytic power of sensemaking has been widely applied throughout the organizational literature. Pdf sensemaking in organizations download ebook for free. Read online sensemaking in organizations foundations for organizational science pdf. Weick published in administrative science quarterly volume 38 1993. You are being thrown into the middle of a sensemaking conversation with only. He is one of the leading figures in the american academy of management and he is seen by many as one of the most influential thinkers and writers in the field.
The answer is that sensemaking and organization constitute one another. A whole book has been written about those implications. The concept was introduced to organizational studies by karl e. Weick the teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decisionmaking and the concept of strategic rationality. Indeed, reading the latest book by karl weick one has the impression that a spectre is haunting organizational. The teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decision making and the conception of strategic rationality. Weick s the social psychology of organizing, first published in 1969, and revised in 1979 weick, 19691979, is considered a classic in the field of organization and management studies anderson, 2006. Brings together the best most influential articles written by one of the gurus of sensemaking karl weick. Weick is the rensis likert college professor of organizational behavior and psychology and professor of psychology at the university of michigan. Resilience, sensemaking and internal crisis communication.
The nature of sensemaking seven properties of sensemaking sensemaking in organizations occasions for sensemaking the substance of sensemaking beliefdriven processes of sensemaking action. Weick, with 3721 highly influential citations and 255 scientific research papers. In this paper we take the position that the concept of sensemaking fills important gaps in organizational theory. The rational model, however, ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of realworld organizations and their environments. However, the rational model ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of realworld organizations and their environments. It revolves around the persons ability to structure a framework of the world he is acting in and by placing stimuli in this framework meaning can be created.
Weick s sensemaking karl weick 9 takes a social psychology approach to sensemaking. Although sensemaking in organization studies is associated primarily with the pioneering work of weick 1969, 1993, other key contributors to this literature include a range of scholars who have studied actors quotidian practices of meaning making e. In it weick also addresses the complexity of the term itself. Although sensemaking in organization studies is associated primarily with the pioneering work of weick 1969, 1993, other key contributors to this literature include a range of scholars who have.
Some of the topics weick thoroughly covers are the concept, uniqueness, historical roots, varieties and occasions, general properties, and the future of sensemaking research and practice. Although sensemaking in organization studies is associated primarily with the pioneering work of weick 1969, 1993, other key contributors to this literature include a. These experiences typically involve changes or discrepancies from what is routine or normal or expected. Its worth reading just for the preface, which is delightfully welcoming for a volume of organizational theory. Karl weick s new landmark volume, sensemaking in organizations. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the publication of. Sensemaking in organizations, by k e weick 1995 thousand oaks, ca. This volume brings together the bestknown and most influential articles on sensemaking in organizations by one of its most distinguished exponents, karl weick. In this landmark volume, karl e weick highlights how the sensemaking process shapes organizational structure and behaviour.
Abstract taking weick s theory of sensemaking as illustrative of a. Pdf on mar 1, 1997, barbara czarniawska and others published sensemaking in organizations. Sensemaking is the process through which people work to understand issues or events that are novel, ambiguous, confusing, or in some other way violate expectations. As an activity central to organizing, sensemaking has been the subject of considerable research which has intensified over the last decade. Via sensemaking krijgen gebeurtenissen en ervaringen betekenis en worden ge.
The process is seen as the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves. A sensemaking approach to creativity affords a fresh perspective on loa issues. Weick, 1995, which, put simply, is how people think sensemaking. Expertly written, sensemaking in organizations is the volume that students, scholars, and professors of organization and management studies must have. Helps readers develop a thorough understanding of the sensemaking process essential for effective. Sensemaking in organizations consists of a preface and eight chapters that set out the origins, principles, and applications of weick s sensemaking concepts. Organization studies 2015 and is available for download at.
Weick acts as a centripetal force that binds if it does not cohere fully much of this research. Yet, while weick s 1993 seminal article on the collapse of sensemaking in organizations has been widely cited in the educational literature, it has rarely been applied to the problem of school failure in the face of organizational change. Organization emerges from an ongoing process in which people organize to make sense of. While there is no single theory of sensemaking, many researchers use the concept to study how people understand i.
The teaching of organization theory and the conduct of organizational research have been dominated by a focus on decisionmaking and the concept of strategic rationality. Sensemaking or sensemaking is the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences. A crucial point of departure in studying sensemaking processes, is that organisation members spend a lotof time negotiatingamong themselvesan acceptableversion of what is goingon weick, 1979, p. Thus sensemaking involvesand indeed requiresan articulation of the unknown, because, sometimes trying to explain the unknown is the only way to know how much you understand it. Overall, there are important commonalities between sensemaking and uncertaintymanagement,aswellasdifferences.
Sensemaking is central because it is the primary site where meanings materialize that inform and constrain identity and action. These frameworks could be categorizations, anticipations or assumptions. Future research sensemaking has become a valuable theoretical perspective for exploring organizational communication. In a further explanation, weick identified a number of specific experiences that likely lead to equivocality and sensemaking for organizational members. Organizing and the process of sensemaking organization. Making sense of sensemaking in organization studies. Finally, sensemaking calls for courage, because while there is a deep human need. While characterizing sensemaking, weick implies when done without particular care, sensemaking process. Reprinted from the collapse of sensemaking in organizations.
Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The seemingly transient nature of sensemaking belies its central role in the determination of human behavior, whether people are acting in formal organizations or elsewhere. He has written numerous books and articles, including sensemaking in organizations 1995, and the social psychology of organizing second edition 1980. The paradox of sensemaking in organizational analysis. The social psychology of organizations en sensemaking in organizations. Sensemaking involves turning circumstances into a situation that is comprehended explicitly in words and that serves as a springboard into action. Karl weick is the rensis likert college professor of organizational behavior and psychology, and professor of psychology at the university of michigan. In this landmark volume, karl e weick highlights how the sensemaking process shapes organizational. Traditionally, creativity research has depicted the key levels of analysis as being individual, group, and organizational, with creativity at higher levels typically being an aggregation of creative output at lower levels e. Sensemaking occurs because organizational experiences are constantly changing.
Pdf available in scandinavian journal of management 1. Thus, sensemaking is fundamental for any person to create meaning and act upon that meaning. Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems weick, 1976. Thosedifferencesmayprimarilybe differencesinemphasis. Sensemaking in organizations 1e editie is een boek van karl e. According to weick, sensemaking involves placement of stimuli into a framework.
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