HLTH-811 High-Reliability Organizing
In 1988, a report commissioned by the US Navy observed that "when organizations operate technologies that are beneficial, costly and hazardous, they are pressed to take on goals of failure-free operations. There is a class of organizations that have accepted such goals and nearly always achieve them." The findings of this study, and similar ones in nuclear power plants and electric grids, demonstrated that certain organizational features are associated with sustained reliability. The lessons of these "high-reliability organizations" are now in wide application from anesthesia and oil exploration to aviation and wildland fire response. This course will explore the fundamentals of high-reliability organizing, including concepts like psychological safety, just culture, humble leadership, and organizational mindfulness. Special focus will be given to healthcare settings and applications.