Sensemaking in Organizations (Foundations for Organizational Science)

by Karl E. Weick

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Product Description
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. The rational model, however, ignores the inherent complexity and ambiguity of real-world organizations and their environments. Karl E. Weick's new landmark volume, Sensemaking in Organizations, highlights how the "sensemaking" process--the creation of reality as an ongoing accomplishment that takes form when people make retrospective sense of the situations in which they find themselves--shapes organizational structure and behavior. 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. Expertly written, Sensemaking in Organizations is the volume that students, scholars, and professors of organization and management studies must have.

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Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars

0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3 out of 5 stars

Sensemaking fails to translate theory into practice, 2001-06-25
Weick's book is thoroughly researched, drawing its insights from psychological and organisational studies.

It offers new views on how organisations operate, and how they generate meaning. It points out that reality is not something outside the organisation, but something that is constructed by people within the organisation - an empowering insight. Weick also extensively discusses where and how this 'making of sense' happens.

But the book fails largely in linking this theory to practice. After making sense of 'Sensemaking', (which requires some mental acrobatics!), I still don't know how a leader can influence the sensemaking process to the benefit of the organisation. I'm still left with the basic question: So what?

32 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars Powerful insight into how people work together, 1997-08-19
This book has a very academic tone but it has some powerful implications for anyone in business. The book makes a number of points that are not intuitive but that are very powerful. For example, he talks about the advantages of speed, confidence, and plausibility in problem solving and why they may be more important than accuracy

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