Page 8 • Continued from previous page perspective, resilience generally refers to “the extent to which an economy can withstand or bounce back from the negative effects of external shocks” (Briguglio 2014, 14). A country can build its economic resilience through macroeconomic stability, market efficiency, good political governance, social development and environmental governance. What are the implications for organisational resilience? Organisational Resilience: Brief Survey of the Literature As the world becomes more complex, financial, economic, social and environmental crises have challenged the capacity of the public sector to effectively fulfill its mandate. There is a body of work that has emerged on organisational resilience, which is “the ability to effectively absorb [and] develop specific responses to and engage in transformative activities to capitalise on disruptive surprises that potentially threaten organisational survival (Lengnick-Hall et al, 2011). Bracci and Tallaki (2021, p. 333) observe that, “Scholars have investigated resilience in relation to crisis and disaster management (Boin and Lodge, 2016); the transformational characteristics of resilient organisations (Fitzgerald and Lupton, 2015); the value-sets implemented to respond to austerity fiscal shocks (Stark, 2014); and resilience as a strategic level of change (Rochet et al, 2008).” Bracci and Tallaki (2021) have argued that in spite of the attention resilience receives in relation to public policy and public management, very few studies have analysed the internal mechanics of public sector organisations to see what is producing their resilience. They considered management control systems (MCSs) as the drivers of organisational change and explored their role as determinants of resilience in the public sector. Their study found that MCSs support adaptive behaviour and assist decision-making by providing knowledge and ready-to-use answers to cope with external shocks. Bracci and Tallaki (2021) also found that “MCSs played an essential role in shaping anticipatory and coping capacities. At the same time, financial shocks fostered the investment in MCSs, cyclically strengthening or developing new anticipatory and coping capacities” (p. 332). There is a useful framework developed by Barbera et al (2017 cited in Bracci and Tallaki 2021, p. 335) which combines external or environmental conditions and internal capabilities to foster resilience: Anticipatory capacities relate to tools and capabilities that enable organisations to identify and manage vulnerabilities and recognise potential shocks before they arise; Coping capacities become visible in times of disruption through coping actions. They refer to three capacities: Buffering capacities refer to the ability to absorb shocks without changes to structure or function and adapting capabilities refer to the ability to absorb shocks without changes to structure or function. Adapting capacities refer to the ability to implement incremental changes to extant structures and functions without changing underlying principles, culture and values. Transforming capacities refer to the ability to implement radical changes, encompassing structures, functions, goals and values necessary for financial self-sufficiency. • Continues on next page
9 Publizr Home