ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the importance of organizations continually searching for signals or signs of changes that could lead to a crisis. It also discusses error management as part of an organization’s crisis management. An important starting point in the crisis-aware organization is accepting that we all make mistakes every and then and sometimes even often and regularly. Mistakes are a given part of complex, modern organizations. One example of an organization where mistakes happen continually is the hospital. Most of us have a perception of healthcare as an institution where rational, wise decisions are made and very few mistakes occur. This is, unfortunately, a misconception, as mistakes in healthcare are very common. There are two central theories regarding mistakes in organizations, which focus on macro factors such as leadership and organizational culture: the normal accident theory and the high reliability organization theory.
