1. Reframing Organizations, 5th ed.

2. Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations
Chapter 2
Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations

3. Simple Ideas, Complex Organizations
Common Fallacies in Organizational Diagnosis
Peculiarities of Organizations
Organizational Learning
Coping with Ambiguity and Complexity

4. Common Fallacies in Organizational Diagnosis
Blame people
Bad attitudes, abrasive personalities, neurotic tendencies, stupidity or incompetence
Blame the bureaucracy
Organization (a) stifled by rules and red tape, or (b) lack clear goals, procedures and job descriptions
Thirst for power
Organizations are jungles filled with predators and prey

5. Error in Organizations: The Tragedy of 9/11
System Failures Helped Terrorists Succeed
Mindset error: defense systems hadn’t planned for domestic air attack, even though the possibility had long been recognized (they didn’t anticipate a “black swan” because they’d only seen white ones)
Coordination error I: FBI/CIA (terrorists were not, but should have been, on airport security watch lists)
Coordination error II: FAA/NORAD (weak lateral communication hindered the two agencies from working together during the emergency)

6. Error in Organizations: Helen Demarco
Osborne announces revitalization plan
Demarco and colleagues agree: it can’t work but we can’t tell him
“Study” to buy time and develop strategy
Option B: low benefits at high costs
Technical jargon as camouflage
Demarco feels frustration, failure

7. Peculiarities of Organizations
Organizations are complex
Organizations are surprising
Organizations are deceptive
Organizations are ambiguous

8. Sources of ambiguity Not sure what the problem is
Not sure what’s going on
Not sure (or can’t agree) on what we want
Don’t have the resources we need
Not sure who’s supposed to do what
Not sure how to get what we want
Not sure how to know if we succeed or fail

9. Organizational Learning
Peter Senge
We learn best from experience, but often don’t know consequences of our actions
System maps
Barry Oshry
Asymmetric relationships (top – middle – bottom – customer)
“Dance of blind reflex”

10. Systems model for vicious learning cycle

11. Organizational Learning (II)
Chris Argyris and Donald Schön
Individual fears and defenses prevent facing and discussing key issues
Avoid “undiscussable” topics, which are often important but “sensitive”
Tiptoe around organizational taboos
Double bind: can’t solve problems without facing what we’ve been trying to hide
Chris Argyris
Donald
Schön

12. Coping with Ambiguity and Complexity: Friendly Fire in Iraq
What you see what you expect -- and what you want
US fighter pilots expected enemy helicopters
Aerial combat is fighter pilots’ holy grail
Pilots saw what they expected and what they wanted

13. Coping with ambiguity: conserve or change?
Advantages of relying on existing frames and routines
Protect investment in learning them
They make it easier to understand what’s happening and what to do about it
…but we may misread the situation, take the wrong action, and fail to learn from our errors
Change requires time and energy for learning new approaches but is necessary to developing new skills and capacities

14. Conclusion
Complexity, surprise, deception and ambiguity make organizations hard to understand and manage
Narrow frames become rigid fallacies, blocking learning and effectiveness
Better ideas and multiple perspectives enhance flexibility and effectiveness