Reflections on enacted sensemaking in the bhopal disaster

Abstract

An updated analysis of the Bhopal disaster suggests that problems of abduction, awareness, reliability, and certainty were more serious than was first thought. Expanded analysis shows that the tight coupling between cognition and action, normally associated with enacted sensemaking, broke down at Bhopal. The breakdowns included a low standard of plausibility, minimal doubt, infrequent updating of both mental models and current hunches, and mindless action. The modest enactment that did occur prolonged rather than shortened the crisis. © 2010 The Author. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and Society for the Advancement of Management Studies.