Karl E. Weick and the dawning awareness of organized cognition

Abstract

Purpose – Cognitive perspectives have emerged from many years of struggle for recognition, and grown into a dominant theme in psychology. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what Karl Weick expressed as important themes in this struggle, made major contributions to the content of cognitive psychology, and helped to make cognition relevant for organizational behavior. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reviews key developments in the history of psychology, points out central issues, and summarizes Weick’s contributions. Findings – Weick brought sensemaking into sharp focus as a major activity of people and organizations. His writings established information processing as the core of organizational activities. He also showed how sensemaking affects organizational reliability. Originality/value – Weick is one of the authors whom management scholars cite very often because he has been a thought leader. The paper places Weick’s work in historical context and points to his major contributions.