Den robuste organisation - Udvikling af kollektiv og individuel robusthed gennem rammesætning, principper og refleksiv dialog

Abstract

Denne specialeafhandling undersøger, hvordan virksomheder kan øge deres organisatoriske robusthed, således at de proaktivt kan håndtere de udfordringer, som de i fremtiden vil møde. I de sidste år, har der været en øget diskurs omkring virksomheder som ønsker robuste medarbejdere. Men som professor og filosof Ole Foght Kirkeby (2017), problematisere kan det ikke være de ansatte der bærer ansvaret alene. Med dette speciale har jeg til formål at genintroducere begrebet resiliens med et ekstra fokus på virksomheders ansvar for at fremme kollektiv robusthed i deres organisationer, som kan øge de ansattes individuelle robusthed. Jeg argumenterer her for at dette vil kunne skabe en kausal sammenhæng, hvor den kollektive robusthed øget den individuelle robusthed, som dertil øger den kollektive robusthed, hvilket vil øge den organisatoriske robusthed og dermed stille organisation stærkere i forhold til at imødegå kritiske situationer. Specialet anvender det danske ord robusthed som overensstemmelse med det engelske ord resiliens med følgende definition: Organisationens evne til at overkomme en kritisk situation og herefter udvikle handlekapacitet gennem den herigennem tillærte erfaring. Dette ved, at organisationen påtager sig en proaktiv tilgang i relation til opbygningen af kollektiv- og individuel robusthed som øger organisationens krisehåndtering i form af situationsbevidsthed og håndtering, efterfulgt af øget tilpasningsevne. Som teoretisk fundament for skabelsen af en robust organisation anvendes Karl E. Weick og Kathleen M. Sutcliffe (2015) teori omkring High reliability organisations og deres fem principper for robusthed. Hertil anvendes De engelske psykologer, Cary L. Cooper, Jill Flint-Taylor og Michael Pearn (2013), som fundament for at øge den individuelle robusthed i den organisatoriske kontekst. Hertil søges der inspiration fra Sebastian Raetze, Stephanie Duchek, M. Travis Maynard og Michael Wohlgemuths (2021), Stephanie Duchek (2020), Cynthia A. Lengnick-Hall, Tammy E. Beck, og Mark L. Lengnick-Hall, (2011) samt Dmitry Leykin, Mooli Lahad, Odeya Cohen, Avishay Goldberg og Limor Aharonson-Daniel (2013). Undersøgelsen foretages i form af et pragmatisk funderet aktionsforsknings design, baseret på nyere forskning på feltet: Organisatorisk robusthed. Med en arkitekt virksomhed (n=16) som case undersøges det, hvordan der kan skabes viden omkring, hvilke processer og tiltag, der kan understøtte udviklingen af en robust organisation. Med udgangspunkt i et mix metode design gennemføres undersøgelsen baseret på tre forskningsspørgsmål: Undersøgelsen af fokuseret på tre erkendelses interesser, (1). Diagnostierende, (2) Forløbs perspektiv og (3) evalueringsperspektiv. Specialeafhandlingen finder at Weick og Sutcliffe (2015) samt Cooper et al (2013) teori fremstår relevant i relation til at øge robustheden, hertil fremkommer imidlertid manglende elementer som motivation, fællesskab og decentralisering, som også fremstår som centrale for at skabe robuste organisationer. Med udgangspunkt i Specialeafhandling fremstår tid og prioritering som en væsentlig faktor, hvorved det vurderes at det kræves øget tid for at implementerer en organisatorisk robusthed. Den empiriske data underbygger imidlertid værdien af processen og trin. Hertil fremstiller specialeafhandlingen med udgangspunkt i nærværende undersøgelse en model med syv faktorer, der kan danne fundament for øget empirisk forskning, i relation til hvordan den organisatoriske robusthed kan øges.

This master thesis aims to examine how organisations can foster resiliency and thereby in-crease their robustness and enable the organisations' capacity to meet and handle future challenges proactively. This will be explored in a case-study design with an architecture firm in Jutland. In recent years, there has been a discourse about companies wanting resilient employees. But as professor and philosopher, Ole Fogh Kirkeby (2017) problematizes, it can’t be the employees who carry the sole responsibility. With this thesis, I aim to reintroduce the concept of resilience with a focus on companies’ responsibility to foster collective resili-ence in their organisations. I argue here, that this could create a causal connection, where collective resilience increases individual resilience, which in addition increases the collec-tive resilience. This will have the benefit of increasing the organisational resilience and con-sequently make the organisation stronger regarding encountering critical situations. The thesis uses the Danish word „robusthed” in accordance with the English word resili-ence with the following definition: The organisation's ability to overcome a critical situation and then develop the capacity to act through the experience learned through it. The organi-sation takes a proactive approach involving building collective and individual resilience, as well as crisis management focusing on building situational awareness and managing, followed by increased adaptability. As a theoretical foundation for the creation of a robust organisation, Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe (2015)'s theory of High reliability organisations and their five principles of robustness are used. To this end, the English psychologists, Cary L. Cooper, Jill Flint-Taylor and Michael Pearn (2013), are used as a foundation for increasing individual resilience in the organisational context. Inspiration is sought from Sebastian Raetze, Stephanie Duchek, M. Travis Maynard and Michael Wohlgemuths (2021), Stephanie Duchek (2020), Cynthia A. Leng-nick-Hall, Tammy E. Beck and Mark L. Lengnick-Hall (2011), as well as Dmitry Leykin, Mooli Lahad, Odeya Cohen, Avishay Goldberg and Limor Aharonson-Daniel (2013). How is an architectural firm's organisational robustness affected through a process based on current research in robustness? The study is conducted as a pragmatically based action research design, founded on re-cent research in organisational robustness. It is focused on three epistemological interests, (1). Diagnostic, (2) Course perspective and (3) evaluation perspective. The empiric foundation is founded on an architectural firm with 16 employees as a case. Through a mixed-methods design based on field study, quantitative questionnaire, dialog based processes with all em-ployees in the organisation and interviews with the management team focus groups and sin-gle interviews. It is examined how knowledge can be created around processes and initia-tives that support the development of a resilient organisation. The conduction of this master thesis finds that Weick and Sutcliffe's (2015) and Cooper et al.'s (2013) theories appear relevant regarding increasing resilience, however, there are miss-ing elements. These elements are motivation, community and decentralization, which also appear to be central to creating resilient organisations. Based on the research design, time and prioritization appear to be significant factors, whereby it is assessed that creating a ro-bust organisation will require time and needs to be planned with a long-term perspective. However, the empirical data underpins the value of a process seperated in frames, principles and reflective dialogue, which is applied in the current case. In addition, the study presents a model with seven factors that can form the basis for future empirical research, concerning how organisational resilience can be increased.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Den robuste organisation - Udvikling af kollektiv og individuel robusthed gennem rammesætning, principper og refleksiv dialog

[The resilient organisation - Development of collective and individual resilience through frames, principles and reflective dialogue]