Learning from errors and error management in organizations: antecedents, processes, and outcomes

错误是无处不在的，并且在大多数（如果不是所有）组织中以及在所有组织级别上发生。考虑到错误的负面后果--从像工作损失这样的小麻烦到像切尔诺贝利灾难这样的大灾难--组织通常试图防止错误的发生也就不足为奇了。然而，尽管作出了所有努力，一些人为错误仍将占上风，无法完全避免。因此，与其狭隘地侧重于错误预防，不如在错误发生后采取积极的方法来管理错误，即错误管理，这对组织和在组织中工作的个人都很重要。根据这一主张，研究表明，一个强大的组织错误管理文化，其中包括开放的沟通错误和协调的错误处理，积极预测公司的成功。除了错误管理文化的这种全球性的积极影响之外，关于错误管理文化如何发挥其作用的机制以及如何以及在什么情况下从错误中学习的机制知之甚少。目前拟议的项目旨在利用各种研究方法和设置来填补这一研究空白。研究1a和1b的场景实验中，参与者对错误的情况下，不同程度的负面错误后果的反应，这些研究的重点是错误后果的严重程度的影响，准备从错误中学习。研究2a和2b是实验室（研究2a）和现场（研究2b）的实验中，3至4名参与者的小组工作在不同条件下的错误管理文化的团队任务，这些研究的重点是实验证明的错误管理文化和过程中的性能影响，特别是在团队工作中的错误沟通，可能会调解这种效果。最后，研究3a和3b结合联合收割机的复制和扩展的调查为基础的伪纵向研究的影响，错误管理文化（研究3a）的日记研究（研究3b）的重点将是日常的影响，错误的学习在工作中，以及对中介和调节这种影响的因素。总之，这些研究将加强我们对组织中错误管理和学习的理论理解，以及从错误中学习所涉及的过程--这些见解可用于制定有效的干预措施，促进错误管理和从错误中学习，最终有助于更安全、更有效地管理组织中的错误。

Errors are ubiquitous and occur in most if not all organizations and at all organizational levels. Given the negative consequences of errors--ranging from minor nuisances such as lost work to major catastrophes such as the Chernobyl meltdown--it is not surprising that organizations typically try to prevent errors from occurring. Despite all efforts, however, some human error will prevail and cannot be completely prevented. Instead of narrowly focusing on error prevention, therefore, an active approach to managing errors after they have occurred, namely, error management, may be important both for organizations and individuals working in organizations. In line with this proposition, research suggests that a strong organizational error management culture, which involves open communication about errors and coordinated error handling, positively predicts firm success. Apart from this global positive effect of error management culture, little is known about the mechanisms of how error management culture unfolds its effects and about how and un-der what circumstances learning from error occurs. The presently proposed project seeks to fill this research gap using various research methods and settings. Studies 1a and 1b are scenario experiments in which participants respond to error scenarios with varying degrees of negative error consequences; the focus of these studies is on the effect of severity of error consequences on readiness to learn from error. Studies 2a and 2b are laboratory (Study 2a) and field (Study 2b) experiments in which groups of 3 to 4 participants work on team tasks under various conditions of error management culture; the focus of these studies is to experimentally demonstrate performance effects of error management culture and on the processes, in particular, of error communication during team work, that may mediate this effect. Finally, Studies 3a and 3b combine a replication and extension of a survey-based pseudo-longitudinal study on the effect of error management culture (Study 3a) with a diary study (Study 3b) the focus which will be on day-to-day effects of errors on learning at work as well as on factors that mediate and moderate this effect. Taken together, the studies shall enhance our theoretical understanding of error management and learning in organizations as well as the processes involved in learning from error--insights that can be used to develop effective interventions that foster error management and learning from error which ultimately contrib-ute to safer and more effective management of errors in organizations.