THE NEGOTIATED ORDER OF ORGANIZATIONAL RELIABILITY

A critical problem facing modern organizations in a variety of setting s is the erosion of slack. Given narrowing performance margins allowed many organizations, managers are tempted to ''lock in'' organizationa l performance through elaborated rules and procedures, formal authorit y assignments, and clearly differentiated job responsibilities. A case study of one organization seeking very high reliability in its perfor mance - a nuclear power plant-is offered ta demonstrate a contrary poi nt of view. Reliability, it is argued, can best be achieved not throug h attempts at organizational invariance but through the management of fluctuations in important organizational relationships and practices. This strategy enhances reliability while preserving the protective fun ctions of organizational slack