300051 The Risk Organisation (S) (SoSe 2011)

The concept of ‘risk’ has become a central concern of organisational management. Organisation theory reflects upon risk in two ways: Firstly, organisational studies have long been interested in how organisations have adapted to manage the negative externalities and internalities associated with their activities. These have been variously driven by a need, for example, to minimise harm to others, such as in the case of nuclear power plant safety. Secondly and currently, risk management is no longer applied to identify hazardous events, but it rather shapes the way in which organisations frame, think about, and address management problems. It is not hard to see why this risk management has, at least superficial, appeal. Risk management offers a suite of forensic ideas, concepts and tools for rationally gathering, analysing and responding to information about potential future adverse events. Indeed, any organisation that does not concern itself with what the future brings is for many the equivalent of ‘flying blind’. Risk management expands rational decision making into the future.

We read and discuss the main contributions of organisation theory on risk management and focus on recent attempts to explain how the risk as organising concept shapes the organisational development.

Bibliography

Suggested Reading:

Perrow C. (1984) Normal Accidents. Living with High-Risk Technologies. New York: Basic Books
Luhmann, Niklas (2008) Risk A sociological Theory. New Brunswick. Aldine Transcation (chapter 10)