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Community models of resilience emphasize the intrinsic relationship between community resilience and the organizations that help constitute that community. In times of disaster, high reliability organizations (HROs) are central to immediate processes of recovery: Fire and rescue organizations are first responders during natural or man-made disasters, police are called upon to keep order, and the military may be called upon to help restore infrastructure and build peace. The ability of HROs to accomplish these goals depend on their ability to operate at full capacity. However, HROs themselves may also face crises that require these organizations to be resilient in their own right. This paper advances a grounded theory approach to culture change and resilience to show how one HRO (Fire and Rescue) is striving for organizational resilience in the face of their own internal crisis – in their words, an “epidemic” of cancer. However, efforts to reduce risk are complicated by organizational culture and occupational practices that challenge proposed adaptive changes. A model of risk reduction and resilience for HROs is advanced, and implications for communication and change efforts explored.
Tyler R. Harrison, U of Miami
Fan Yang, University of Alabama at Birmingham
David Anderson, U of Miami
Susan E. Morgan, Rutgers U
Jessica Wendorf Muhamad, U of Miami
Natasha Schaefer Solle, U of Miami
Erin Kobetz, U of Miami
David Lee, U of Miami
Alberto Caban-Martinez, U of Miami