In his 1990 paper, The contribution of latent human failures to the breakdown of complex systems Jame Reason presented us with three classifications of organizations. As usual, his work and results were spot on! The three (3) categories are:
- Pathological organizations
- Calculative organizations
- Generative organizations
When we read these descriptions, as well as what Westrum (1988) provided us in how organizations differ in their responses to safety-related information, we can begin to understand our opportunities to improve our facility’s culture, if not the entire organization.
