Errors in Organizations

Today’s headlines are filled with news about errors that produce service interruptions, product failures, injuries, and loss of lives. Consider the manufacturing errors that led to massive Toyota and Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recalls, medical errors that are responsible for thousands of deaths in U.S. hospitals each year, or the errors that contributed to the self-driving Tesla car crash, BP’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Fukushima disaster, or the recent train derailment in Washington state. Errors are ubiquitous not only in organizational life, but also in the economy, the environment, and in public policy. The wisdom of managing and learning from errors is incontrovertible. The goal in this Academy of Management Discoveries special issue is to broaden thinking on errors and to build a knowledge resource that is more visible, systematic, and influential on organizations. This endeavor is even more relevant in an era of rapid technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

• Add Humility to Your Error Management Toolbox
• Admitting Errors When Everyone Says They’re Perfect
• Six Ways for Leaders to Publicly Tell Tales of Failure