Organizational Reliability Model Verification in the Crisis Escalation Phase Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Agnieszka Bieńkowska,Anna Zabłocka-Kluczka,Katarzyna Tworek

doi:10.3390/su12104318

Agnieszka Bieńkowska, Anna Zabłocka-Kluczka + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104318

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Abstract

This article concerns the Organizational Reliability Model (ORM) verification in the crisis escalation phase caused by critical conditions of organization functioning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. ORM is constituted by three reliabilities, human resources, information technology, and management, which are mediators through which Type-1 and Type-2 reliability capabilities influence organizational reliability. Organizational reliability is a prerequisite for sustainability of contemporary organizations. The model was developed and verified for a variety of operating conditions. However, crisis induced by a Black Swan type of event creates conditions so critical that it calls for verification of known paradigms and models, as an element of crisis-state theory building. This is why this paper’s aim was to verify the ORM and explain the mechanisms of shaping organizational reliability in such conditions in order to contribute to both theory (verifying the organizational reliability paradigm among organizations in crisis) and practice (proposing mechanisms, potentially helping them survive). The ORM is empirically verified based on the sample of 115 employees from Italy operating under critical conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic (research carried out in the week of 18–22 March 2020). In order to verify the hypothesis, the path analysis was executed using SPSS AMOS. The results confirmed that in the extreme critical conditions causing crisis escalation for the organizations, there is a need to redefine the existing paradigms, including ORM. The results show that the HR reliability role in the ORM has drastically changed and the mechanism of its influence on organizational reliability is significantly different in crisis influenced by critical conditions of organization functioning. They also confirmed that IT together with HR is dependent on management to change the way of working and until that, its reliability may be counterproductive for the reliability of organizational as a whole. Therefore, obtaining sustainability in the crisis escalation phase requires redefining the mechanisms for securing organizational reliability.

Highlights

Organizational reliability is understood as the organization’s ability to maintain a proper organizational performance aimed at limiting the number of organizational errors [1]
The performed study allowed for the verification of Organizational Reliability Model (ORM) in crisis influenced by critical conditions of organizations’ functioning which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in the world in 2020
It shows that ORM is shaped differently under a crisis induced by a Black Swan type of event (COVID-19 pandemic), which confirms that management paradigms and models tend to be reshaped under such conditions

Summary

Introduction

Organizational reliability is understood as the organization’s ability to maintain a proper organizational performance aimed at limiting the number of organizational errors [1]. All of them are influenced by organizational reliability capabilities, divided into: (1) ordinary capabilities, which are necessary and sufficient for the organization to effectively execute day-to-day tasks in normal conditions (Type-1 reliability capabilities), and (2) additional/specialized capabilities which become necessary for the organization to function in abnormal conditions (Type-2 reliability capabilities) [1]. Conditions are considered normal when they do not endanger the functioning of the organization, even if they are changing (most contemporary organizations operate in a changing or even turbulent environment). The source of abnormal conditions is called a hazard, which can be understood as an unpredicted and potentially harmful situation that is present in the environment of the organization and can potentially influence its operations (but currently it is not happening) [1]

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