When engineering systems fail - the disconnection between continuity plans and organisational behaviour

Management of the decision making process is paramount after a disaster. Symbolic disruption can affect the subsequent perceptions and information flows. If not attended to, disillusionment, which can surface six weeks after the disaster, can threaten the reputation of the engineer. The culture and defensive style of the organization has a profound influence on the recovery process. Three defensive styles are introduced with one of them, dialectic pairing, highlighted as being the most successful. Every organization has an underlying valency for one of these defensive styles. A working knowledge of the successful practices will enable the engineer to shift the balance within an organization so that dialectic pairing can emerge and improve the organisational resilience and decision-making. In this paper the author has proposed that building the successful decision-making practices into the day-to-day functioning of the organization will enhance the responsiveness of the organization in the event of a disaster.