This assessment item requires you to critically read, reflect and comment on the supplied readings and will form part of the skills you will learn as an emerging professional.

You will be asked to reflect on the theory and research on the notion of High Reliability Organisations (HROs) as a concept which inform organisational practices of safety, reliability and resilience.

You are therefore required to:-

(a) Convey your reflection on HRO theory including what you as a safety professional think of this resilience concept and why; (10%)

(b) Deliver your view points and opinion which demonstrates a critical reading of HRO’s theory, through your referencing to the supplied readings or other literature (10%);

Your written piece will therefore consist of both reflection on the theory and critical reflection on the reading of the articles supplied (or sourced elsewhere) around this concept.

You must use correct Harvard style in-text referencing when referring to reading material and supply a reference list. The assessment word limit is 1000 words and no more than 2 pages plus a reference list.

The grading criteria are below:

• Conveys Reflection on High Reliability Organisational Theory (10%)
  
• Delivers view points or opinions based on the critical reading of the HRO material presented (10%)

This assessment enables you to gain experience in reviewing and assessing survey tools used to measure organisational resilience.

In this unit you were presented with two organisational resilience survey tools, from which you are required to choose one for review.

You will chose either the 4 Potentials of Resilience Survey (RE Theory) or the 5 Principles of Resilience Survey (HRO/Organisational Resilience Theory) for your assignment.

You will then analyse and review the appropriateness of the survey's application in real-world practice.

You are required to prepare a report which:-

(a) Recognise the purpose of the survey and its relevance to measuring organisational resilience based on the theory which supports it i.e. RE theory or HRO/Organisational Resilience theory;

(b) Understand when and how the survey could be used in a real-world application;

(c) Evaluate how the meaning of any results obtained by the use of such surveys might inform strategic leadership decision making;

(d) Make recommendations on the use of the survey by discussing your own critical thinking on the usefulness (benefits and limitations) of the survey from a safety professional viewpoint, based on what you have discovered in your reading this term;

(e) Reference appropriate material to support your written arguments.

Your review of the literature to support your writing should include a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and your review should be 1,500 words.

NB: You are NOT required to administer the survey within an organisation, this is purely a theoretical exercise.

(a) Recognise the purpose of the survey and its relevance to measuring organisational resilience (20%);

(b) Understand when and how the survey would be used in a real-world application (20%);

(c) Evaluate how the meaning of any results obtained by use of such survey might inform strategic leadership decision making (40%); 

(d) Discuss your own critical thinking on the usefulness of the survey from a safety professional viewpoint, based on what you have discovered in your reading this term (15%); and

(e) Reference appropriate material to support your written arguments (5%).

A detailed assessment rubric will be provided in Moodle during the term.

Continuing with and building on your knowledge of your chosen topic from Assessment 2 (measuring HRO or RE), you are required to write a report in which you use critical reflection of the theories covered in this unit to understand how resilience might be enhanced in real-world practice.

Chose your topic from the two topics listed below on which to base the focus of your report. You are required to write a report which examines either:-

1. Strategic Leadership for Managing Organisational Resilience Potentials (RE Theory): Discuss your understanding of how leaders in organisations can enhance the 4 Resilience Potentials (Respond, Monitor, Learn and Anticipate), as proposed by Hollnagel's Safety II in Practice concepts; or
2. Strategic Leadership for Managing the Unexpected (HRO/Organisational Resilience Theory): Discuss your understanding of how leaders in organisations can enhance the 5 Principles of Resilience (Preoccupation with Failure, Reluctance to Simplify, Sensitivity to Operations, Commitment to Resilience, Deference to Expertise), as proposed by Weick and Sutcliffe (in your textbook) in relation to managing the unexpected.

You are also required to incorporate in your report recommendations on how organisations can enhance resilience based on your critical review of the theory from an evidence-based practice concept.

You are required to undertake self directed research on your chosen topic by reviewing the latest literature on the topic. Your literature review should include a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed journal articles and should be 1,500 words.

The grading criteria for the formal report are below:

• Provides a discussion and critical review of the theory under examination (HRO/Organisational Resilience or RE) using historical and current writing/research on the subject (30%).
• Provides an thorough examination on what the literature/research is saying on how leaders can enhance organisational resilience based on strategic leadership efforts (30%).
• Demonstrates the ability to make formal recommendations (incorporating your knowledge from Assessment 2) on how organisations should ehance organisational resilience. Use critical reading and thinking skills from a safety profession evidence-informed based practice perspective (30%).
• Uses correct Harvard style referencing and demonstration of advanced academic report writing (10%).