Published 1992 | Version v1
Report Open

Organizational culture during the accident response process

Description

The ability of an organization to effectively move from an anticipatory to an ad hoc strategy may well depend on the organization having the ability to balance these two apparently dichotomous cultural styles. The organization which is most capable of making the necessary transition in an optimal manner may well exhibit some aspects of both cultural styles during normal operations. Data collected at one NPP does exhibit this pattern of results, with the organization exhibiting a clear hierarchical chain of command and perceived conventional behavioral expectations as well as exhibiting a more decentralized and collegial approach to decisionmaking, a team work orientation, and informal communications. Thus, it is expected that this organization possesses the capabilities to make a successful transition from an anticipatory to an ad hoc strategy. Data collected at a second NPP more strongly exhibits the traditional style suggested as being important during the anticipatory strategy, with more formal communications and bureaucratically controlled decision-making. This organization may experience difficulty if faced with the need to make a transition from an anticipatory to an ad hoc strategy. These conclusions are further validated based on observation of Emergency Preparedness Exercise Inspections, which suggest that the more anticipatory types of behaviors actually inhibit successful performance during an ad hoc response. The final validation of these hypotheses needs to be demonstrated with cultural data collected during emergency simulations. The mechanism to obtain such data during these types of situations is an area for future research

Availability note (English)

MF available from INIS under the Report Number; OSTI as DE92018164; NTIS; INIS; US Govt. Printing Office Dep.

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Additional details

Publishing Information

Imprint Pagination
5 p.
Report number
BNL-NUREG--47342

Conference

Title
American Nuclear Society annual meeting.
Dates
7-12 Jun 1992.
Place
Boston, MA (United States).

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
United States
INIS RN
24012508
Subject category
S99: GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS;
Resource subtype / Literary indicator
Conference
Quality check status
Yes
Descriptors DEI
EMERGENCY PLANS; MANAGEMENT; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; PLANNING; REACTOR ACCIDENTS; REACTOR SAFETY;
Descriptors DEC
ACCIDENTS; NUCLEAR FACILITIES; POWER PLANTS; SAFETY; THERMAL POWER PLANTS;

Optional Information

Contract/Grant/Project number
Contract AC02-76CH00016
Funding organization
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States).
Secondary number(s)
CONF-920606--37.