Abstract
AbstractThere is increasing awareness that uncertainty cannot be “managed away” to ensure safety. However, how uncertainties can be handled more effectively is still a debated question. In this chapter, I offer a new approach to uncertainty regulation in organizations, which includes opening and closing behaviors aimed at reducing and increasing uncertainty respectively in an attempt to align stability and flexibility requirements for effective and safe performance. I then apply this approach to decisions on rules and operating standards as one of the most fundamental tasks of risk and safety management. By proposing the use of flexible rules and participatory processes for writing, implementing, and monitoring rules, I aim to answer two fundamental questions that have plagued effective rule management: How can rules successfully guide behavior even if substantial amounts of uncertainty about the right course of action in any given situation remain? How can rules instigate autonomous motivation for rule compliance? I close by suggesting steps that organizations can take to explore and implement the proposed new approach to uncertainty.
Publisher
Springer Nature Switzerland