Organizational Sensemaking Research Articles

Sensemaking in organisations — towards a conceptual framework for understanding strategic change

When an organisation is facing dramatic change, shared and individual meanings are challenged and exposed to reconstruction. Thus, if we are to understand organisational change it is necessary to understand the meanings that prevail among the organisational members, as well as the processes whereby these meanings change and coincide. This paper develops a sensemaking perspective in order to generate a conceptual framework for increasing our understanding of strategic change in organisations. Four ideal types of meaning constitute the core of this framework. With the help of these ideal types, various meaning statuses that may be present within an organisation are described. In order to grasp the transformations from one ideal type of meaning to another, four processes of transformation are identified. A strategic change process in a university hospital is analysed. In this change process different ideal types of meaning are identified. A process of a transformation from one ideal type to another, driven by strong and powerful symbolic processes, is also identified.

Is The Sense We Take Equal To The Sense We Make? A Discussion on Sensemaking and Power in Organisations

AbstractSensemaking is recognised as one of the key contemporary approaches to organisation studies. It not only responds to current debates in the field, but also appears to offer a way out of the unproductive and misguided paradigm wars of recent times. The sensemaking literature, however, addresses power implicitly. Sensemaking and the power-knowledge nexus is discussed, giving rise to an argument that suggests the sense people make in organizations may not be entirely their own. Rather, the sense people make may be largely constituted for them in the sense criteria (historical antecedents - constituted knowledge and codes of order) and the political context of the setting in and of, which they are making sense. Implications for managers and future research in regard to how people come to make the sense that they do are contemplated.

Is The Sense We Take Equal To The Sense We Make? A Discussion on Sensemaking and Power in Organisations

AbstractSensemaking is recognised as one of the key contemporary approaches to organisation studies. It not only responds to current debates in the field, but also appears to offer a way out of the unproductive and misguided paradigm wars of recent times. The sensemaking literature, however, addresses power implicitly. Sensemaking and the power-knowledge nexus is discussed, giving rise to an argument that suggests the sense people make in organizations may not be entirely their own. Rather, the sense people make may be largely constituted for them in the sense criteria (historical antecedents - constituted knowledge and codes of order) and the political context of the setting in and of, which they are making sense. Implications for managers and future research in regard to how people come to make the sense that they do are contemplated.

Systems of organizational sensemaking for sustained product innovation

Abstract We map out the systems of sensemaking people use to link market and technology knowledge into new products, in innovative versus non-innovative organizations. Systems of sensemaking are organized “webs of meaning” that govern the knowledge people make sense of, and the sense they make. Innovative sensemaking systems link more knowledge because they: (1) frame linking as hands-on practices of value creation; and (2) loosely couple three tensions between tacit and articulated knowledge across organizational levels to draw in, exploit, and recreate knowledge for innovation. We contrast sensemaking systems in innovative versus non-innovative organizations, and draw implications for theory and practice.

Building an ideological fortress: the role of spirituality, encapsulation and sensemaking1

An ethnography explores the role of religious values and beliefs in building an “ideological fortress”: a worldview that is seemingly impervious to attack. Specifically, this study develops the metaphor of an ideological fortress and how spirituality serves as “bricks”, “wall”, and “mortar” in that fortress. Used in these ways, religious values and beliefs facilitate member sensemaking by helping to socially encapsulate members, and by patching up inconsistencies within the ideology (i.e., “ideological holes”). Implications for the role of spirituality in organizational sensemaking and control are discussed.

Human Resourcing in Practice: Managing Employment Issues in the University

Participant observation in two universities is used to throw light on processes of sensemaking engaged in by managers concerned with human resourcing issues. Analysis of managerial sensemaking in the case study organizations is carried out using concepts from earlier sociological theorizing about human resource or personnel management, treating these theoretical ideas as resources for use in the researchers' own sensemaking. It is shown that theoretical ‘sense’ can be made of the managerial or ‘lay’ sensemaking in the universities in terms of a need to handle various tensions which are inherent in all employment management work in industrial capitalist societies. And it is argued that there is clear continuity between what is currently occurring and has occurred in the past. This interpretation is shown to differ from that of an alternative approach in social science sensemaking, that which uses the notion of a new paradigm of ‘HRM’.

Sensemaking in organizations, by K. E. Weick. (1995). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 321 pp., $44.00 cloth, $19.95 paper

Sensemaking in organizations, by K. E. Weick. (1995). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 321 pp., $44.00 cloth, $19.95 paper

Sensemaking in Organizations.

Sensemaking in Organizations.

Interpretation in Organizations: Sensemaking and Strategy

The interaction of an organization with its environment constitutes its strategy. The process by which an organization gathers and interprets information regarding its environment determines, in part, the strategic response. This process, far from being objective and rational, is subject to interpretation. This article discusses how the process and content of interpretation, or organizational sensemaking, may influence organizational-level behaviour, i.e. strategy.

Comparing Spoken Attributions by German and UK Engineers: Evaluating the Success of a Culture Change Programme

This article examines how the analysis of spoken attributions can be used to explore organizational sensemaking. A case study is presented to illustrate differences and similarities in the attributions produced by engineers taking part in a culture change programme within a multinational manufacturing organization. Semi-structured interviews with six UK and five German engineers elicited 419 attributions which were coded using a modified version of the Leeds Attributional Coding System. Findings indicate that, in comparison with German engineers, UK engineers produced more global attributions for the change programme and perceived it as having a company-wide influence upon employee behaviour. In addition, although UK engineers produced more attributions describing the company as causing negative outcomes, similar attributions from German engineers were more stable, suggesting that the company was perceived as having a more permanent influence. The potential uses and limitations of this approach within a cross-cultural context are discussed.

Sensemaking in Organizations

The Nature of Sensemaking Seven Properties of Sensemaking Sensemaking in Organizations Occasions for Sensemaking The Substance of Sensemaking Belief-Driven Processes of Sensemaking Action-Driven Processes of Sensemaking The Future of Sensemaking

Sensemaking in OrganizationsSensemaking in Organizations, by WeickKarl E. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Academy of Management ReviewVol. 21, No. 4 Book ReviewsSensemaking in OrganizationsShrivastava Paul, Dennis A. Gioia and Ajay MehraShrivastava PaulBook Review EditorThe Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA., Dennis A. GioiaBook Review EditorThe Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. and Ajay MehraBook Review EditorThe Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.Published Online:1 Oct 1996https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1996.9704071868AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsDownload CitationsAdd to favoritesTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail View articleAbstractThe article reviews the book “Sensemaking in Organizations,” by Karl E. Weick.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Vol. 21, No. 4 Permissions Metrics in the past 12 months History Published online 1 October 1996 Published in print 1 October 1996 Information© Academy of Management ReviewKeywordsBOOKS -- ReviewsORGANIZATIONAL behaviorNONFICTIONWe would like to thank Martin Kilduff for helpful comments on an earlier version of this review.Download PDF

Organizational Culture and Individual Sensemaking: A Schema-Based Perspective

Organizational culture encompasses both individual and group-level phenomena. However, to date, the individual-level dynamics of organizational culture have remained relatively neglected. This paper addresses this neglect by focusing on culture's manifestation in individuals' sensemaking structures and processes. Building off the social cognition literature, I propose that organizational culture's influence on individual sensemaking is revealed in the operation of a patterned system of organization-specific schemas. Schemas refer to the cognitive structures in which an individual's knowledge is retained and organized. In addition to being knowledge repositories, schemas also direct information acquisition and processing. They guide answering the questions central to sensemaking efforts: “What or who is it?,” “What are its implications; what does it mean?,” and “How should I respond?” After a brief review of schema theory, the categories of schema knowledge relevant to understanding sensemaking in organizations and the cultural influences on their emergence are examined. The conscious and unconscious operation of these schemas in the actual process of making sense of organizational stimuli is framed within a schema-directed, intrapsychic, mental dialogue perspective on social cognition. Specifically, I propose that in the social setting of organizations, individuals make sense out of their experiences based in large part on the outcomes of contrived mental dialogues between themselves (e.g., “I think it means this and I would be inclined toward this response”) and other contextually-relevant (past or present; real or imagined) individuals or groups (e.g., “What would my boss and peers think about this? What would they want me to do?”). The content of the argument provided for others is guided by the individual's schemas for those others. I close the paper by discussing the ways in which this schema-based perspective enhances our under-standing of the individual experiences of cultural sharing, subcultural boundaries, and psychological attachment.

The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch Disaster

This is a revised version of the KatzNewcomb lecture presented at the University of Michigan, April 23-24, 1993. The 1993 lecture celebrated the life of Rensis Likert, the founding director of the Institute for Social Relations. All three people honored at the lecture-Dan Katz, Ted Newcomb, and Ren Likert-were born in 1903, which meant this lecture also celebrated their 90th birthdays. I am grateful to Lance Sandelands, Debra Meyerson, Robert Sutton, Doug Cowherd, and Karen Weick for their help in revising early drafts of this material. I also want to thank John Van Maanen, J. Richard Hackman, Linda Pike, and the anonymous ASQ reviewers for their he lp with later drafts.

Translation as problematic discourse in organizations

Abstract Translation as an organizational activity is critical to the effective functioning of many institutions and is becoming ever more commonplace as our society grows increasingly multilingual and culturally diverse. This study examines translation in terms of its influence on organizational members' sensemaking and consequent social and task functions of the institution. An integrated theory of translation provides a foundation for identifying three major categories of problematics involving translation in workplaces: inaccuracies, losses of common sociocultural contexts, and changes to power relationships. Data from a hotel business meeting in which an executive's discourse in English were simultaneously translated into Spanish is analyzed to illustrate the problematics and to derive guidelines for organizations with multilingual workforces.

Understanding Classroom Environments: An Organizational Sensemaking Approach

A social psychological approach to understanding the social environment in classrooms is developed. Causal mapping techniques were used to investigate classroom environments and sensemaking within classrooms. Using unbiased interview techniques, concept structures for classrooms were developed. The research demonstrates that a homogeneous conception of classroom environments is flawed; students used highly individualistic concepts or labels to describe their classroom environments. The diversity of the cognitions represents the unique meaning that each student attributes to his or her classroom environment, defined by and mediated through relationships among students.