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Author(s):
Karl E. Weick
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Hot Topic(s):
Topic(s):
Human Dimensions of Fire Management
Decisionmaking & Sensemaking
Leadership

NRFSN number: 16266
Record updated:

Crisis situations are often complicated by the very behaviors people use to manage crisis. Enactment suggests that how people think about the work they do shapes how they behave toward that work. This process allows people to see certain aspects of a situation while being blind to others. Enactment influences the course of a crisis situation because individuals are often over-committed to a pre-existing interpretation of an event or occurrence. Such over-commitment makes people focus on circumstances they feel they have the ability to deal with while ignoring others. This is dangerous since many of the factors leading to a crisis situation are unexpected and outside the scope of traditional training.

Citation

Weick KE. 1988. Enacted sensemaking in crisis situations. Journal of Management Studies 25 (4), p. 305-317.

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