Learning from others’ misfortune: Understanding managerial biases in the use of knowledge-capture processes to reduce operational risk

Robert D. Klassen, Professor of Operations Management and Magna International Inc. Chair in Business Administration at the Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario, Canada

Presented by the David O'Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise at the John Molson School of Business in collaboration with the Management Science Research Centre at McGill.

Friday, January 20, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. – noon
Concordia University MB Building, Room MB 6.240
1450 Guy Street (de Maisonneuve Blvd. West), Montreal, Quebec. View map

Risks arising from operations are increasingly being highlighted by managers, customers, and the popular press, particularly related to large-scale (and usually low-frequency) losses. If poorly managed, the resulting disruptions in customer service and environmental problems incur enormous recovery costs, prompt large legal liabilities, and damage customer goodwill and brand equity. Yet, despite conventional wisdom that firms should improve their own operations by observing problems in others’ processes, significant operational risks appear to be ignored and losses recur. Initial research in behavioral operations management points to potential shortcomings and biases of risk managers, in their role as gatekeeper, that might limit their own firm’s opportunity to learn from observing other firms’ misfortune. Senior managers can develop organizational systems and training to encourage risk managers to expand their knowledge-capture processes to increasingly learn from (and potentially avoid) the operational losses of other firms.

Robert D. Klassen

Klassen’s research explores the multi-faceted linkages between the natural environment, social issues and firm performance, termed the triple bottom line, with a particular emphasis on the pivotal role of manufacturing operations and supply chains.  He has over two-dozen refereed publications, including widely cited articles in such journals as Management Science, Journal of Operations Management, Academy of Management Journal, Production and Operations Management, and International Journal of Operations and Production Management.  At Ivey, he has taught the core Operations Management course in the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as electives in Sustainable Development, Services Management, Operations Strategy and Technology Management.  He has coauthored two textbooks, Foundations of Operations Management (Canadian ed.), and Cases in Operations Management: Building Customer Value through World-Class Operations.  He has also written over two-dozen cases and simulation exercises in the areas of operations strategy, process analysis, and sustainable development.



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For more information, please contact:

Andrew Ross
David O’Brien Centre for Sustainable Enterprise
John Molson School of Business
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514-848-2424 ext. 5131