KARL WEICK’S

SENSE-MAKING MODEL
COMM303 Introduction to Organizational
Communication

Kayo Ichimura Tracy

Weick’s opinion about the
organization
 Organization could be…
In complex and unpredictable environment
 The job of the organization

Making sense of the environments

 How?

Through interaction =“equivocal reduction”

Equivocal Situation
 The situation/ event happens
Person A

Interpreted in different ways

Person B Situation Person C

 How to reduce the difference

Weick’s approach
Person D
Weick’s model of organizing

 Enactment---creates environments
 Selection---collective sense making
 Retention---reinforces selections and options
Weick’s extension of the model

 Retrospective Sense Making

 Loose Coupling
 Partial Inclusion
Retrospective Sense Making

People think… Weick says…

They plan first People act first

Act according to their Examine their action

plan
“Recipe”
You don’t see till it’s done
 Recipe:
7 properties of sense making
1) Identity construction
2) Retrospection
3) Enactment
4) Socialization
5) Continuation
6) Extracted cues
7) Plausibility
Loose Coupling

People think… Weick’s opinion is…

Less connection Less connection

between coworkers
 Less relying
Less success  More flexibility

More success
 Partial Inclusion:
balance between work and other activities

Everyone is in multiple systems

(e.g. workplace, home, church, and sports)

Amount of commitment to workplace