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Application of Theory of Action to Safety Management: Recasting the NAT/HRT Debate
Author(s) -
Bain William A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of contingencies and crisis management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.007
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1468-5973
pISSN - 0966-0879
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5973.00106
Subject(s) - action (physics) , accident (philosophy) , reliability (semiconductor) , management theory , reliability theory , sociology , epistemology , risk analysis (engineering) , computer science , law and economics , business , engineering , management science , philosophy , reliability engineering , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , failure rate
Two influential schools of thought that deal with the management of hazardous technology are Normal Accident Theory and High Reliability Theory. This paper presents another avenue for studying safety management by applying Argyris and Sch?n’s theory of action. Theory of action provides a detailed explanation for why well‐intentioned individuals and organizations often behave ineffectively. When applied to safety, it yields specific insights into why learning and safety performance typically fall short of desired results. This paper presents an overview of this approach and it does so by turning to the debate between the proponents of Normal Accident Theory and High Reliability Theory. Application of theory of action informs both of these dominant schools as it provides specific insights into why safety is often undermined. This approach thereby recasts the debate between these two and argues that they should be seen as complementary, not competing, perspectives.