• Login
    View Item 
    •   Vlerick Repository Home
    • Research Output
    • Articles
    • View Item
    •   Vlerick Repository Home
    • Research Output
    • Articles
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Vlerick RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsKnowledge Domain/IndustryThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsKnowledge Domain/Industry

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Contact & Info

    ContactVlerick Journal ListOpen AccessVlerick Business School

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Resilience in the face of uncertainty: Early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Publication type
    Journal article with impact factor
    Author
    Bryce, Cormac
    Ring, Patrick
    Ashby, Simon
    Wardman, Jamie
    Publication Year
    2020
    Journal
    Journal of Risk Research
    Publication Volume
    23
    Publication Issue
    7-8
    Publication Begin page
    880
    Publication End page
    887
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    The transboundary dynamics of COVID-19 present an unprecedented test of organisational resilience. In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS), a talisman of collective fortitude against disease and illness, has struggled to cope with inadequate provision of virus tests, ventilators, and personal protective equipment needed to fight the pandemic. In this paper, we reflect on the historic dynamics and strategic priorities that have undermined the NHS’s attempts to navigate these troubled times. We invoke the organisational resilience literature to address ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ of preparedness in readiness and response to the current pandemic. In particular, we draw on Meyer’s (1982) seminal work on ‘adaptation to jolts’, excavating current preparedness failings. We argue an overreliance on perceived efficiency benefits of ‘lean production’ and ‘just in time’ continuity planning superseded strategic redundancy and slack in the system. This strategic focus was not simply the result of a failure in foresight, but rather a failure to act adaptively on knowledge of the known threats and weaknesses spotlighted by earlier projections of an inevitable pandemic threat. In conclusion, we consider how the UK Government and NHS must now undergo a phase of ‘readjustment’ in Meyer’s terms, in light of these failings. We suggest that independent responsibility for national future preparedness should be handed to the NHS free from political interference. This would operate under the umbrella of a national emergency preparedness, resilience and response public body, enshrined in law, and similar in governance to the current Bank of England. This will help ensure that foresight is accompanied by durability and fortitude in safeguarding the UK against future pandemic threats.
    Keyword
    Covid-19, NHS, Coronavirus, Organisational Resilience, Emergency Preparedness
    Knowledge Domain/Industry
    Special Industries : Financial Services Management
    DOI
    10.1080/13669877.2020.1756379
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12127/6483
    ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
    10.1080/13669877.2020.1756379
    Scopus Count
    Collections
    Articles

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2022)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.