A Systems Approach to Crisis Preparedness and Organizational Resilience

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Class Sessions DYN 672

12. (Wed, Apr 30) 1st half: Crisis as Opportunity 

2nd Half: Crisis Era: Prophetic Or Alarmist? Is the end of the world as we know it on hand? Or are we “apocaholic”?

   Crisis Era?: Read (a) Jared Diamond (2005)  Collapse-How Societies Choose Failure or Success:Chapter 2 "Twilight at Easter" (b) Bill McKibben, Eaarth or (c) Michael Lewis (2006) The Big Short.

   Apocaholic?: (a) Matt Ridley "Apocalypse Not" Wired, Aug 2012 (cover story) (b) Solow, Robert M. "Is the End of the World at Hand?" Challenge Mar/Apr73, p39

 

13. (Wed, May 7) Last Class & Party  Project Presentations, Papers and Party 

 

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(Wed, Jan 22)   All University Classes Cancelled due to Snow

1. (Wed, Jan 29) Course Overview . Mini-cases: Survival, Crear Vale La Pena 

2. (Wed, Feb 5) In The Crisis. Case: Mastitis at Lacteos del Pacífico. More: articles and book chapters, see Session 2 assignment link.  Read Mitroff, Chs 3-7. 

3. (Wed, Feb 12) Workshop: Writing web pages at Van Pelt Library in the Weigle Information Commons Seminar Room (Room #124) 

4.  (Wed, Feb 19) Session 4: Crisis Decision Making (No specific preparation needed);  

(Wed, Feb 26) NO CLASS. work on Course Projects.

5. (Wed, Mar 5)  Resilience: Theory & Context Organizational Resilience Read (a) Freeman, Hirschhorn and Maltz "Moral Purpose and Organizational Resilience: Sandler O'Neill in the Aftermath of Sept 11, 2001 (b) Freeman, "Beyond Systems Thinking: Resilience as strategy for safety & sustainability" (c) Hamel, "The Quest for Resilience" (d) Sutcliffe and Vogus "Organizing for Resilience."

6. (Wed, Mar 12) Spring Break (Still meeting)

7. (Wed, Mar 19)  Salem Nuclear Power Class Trip Read material on (1) Normal Accidents; (2) High Reliability Organizations

8. (Wed, Mar 26) Individual meetings on Course Projects.

9. (Wed, Apr 2) Individual resilience / Beyond Resilience: Drawing strength from adversity --

Read:

Review  the cases on the Individual resilience webpage, especially Aimee Mullins

Recommended Reading:

10. (Wed, Apr 16) [s.1] Resilience Theory

 • General Resilience Theory

 • Ecological Resiliency

 • Biological Resiliency

 • Individual (Pschyological) Resilience: From Handbook of Positive Psychology, Eds. CR Snyder & SJ Lopez (2002, New York: Oxford University Press)

 • Review Organizational Resilience

Discussion questions: 

 [s.2]  Introduction to Systems Thinking, Systems Dynamics, and Organizational Dynamics A systems approach to crisis

11. (Wed, Apr 23) Modernity, Fragility and Resilience. The example of Industrial Agriculture and the case of YU Ranch 

Read:

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Previous Years

Fire on The Mountain case / Mann Gulch case

(1) and (2) building a theory of organizational resilience. Building Theory.

 Foodopoly talk, UPenn Bookstore

Visit to Stryker Farm  (an alternative to Industrial Agriculture )

OD student, Meg Ficca, presents her capstone, which provides a business solution to ameliorate one aspect of the US industrial health care crisis

 Movie Night: "Thirteen Days: Crisis, Resilience, Organizational Decision-Making, and a Systems Analysis of America"

 


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Date Page Created: Apr 26, 2014 Last Page Update: Apr 26, 2014