An introduction to mindfulness and sensemaking by highly reliable organizations in Latin America

This introduction describes exploratory studies about the relevance of Karl Weick's HRO propositions in Latin American contexts. Eleven case studies constitute the core of the special issue. The research questions include the following issues. How do Weick's concepts apply to organizations that operate in this region? What are the lessons learned from these eleven mindful organizations? How can these insights inform the management practices of other business leaders in Latin America? The organizations described in these eleven cases, which have been chosen from a sample of 396 cases produced between 2001 and 2013 at INCAE, the leading producer of cases among the top graduate schools of management in Latin America, exhibit between two and five characteristics of highly mindful organizations: (a) preoccupation with failure, (b) reluctance to simplify, (c) sensitivity to operations, (d) commitment to resilience, and (e) deference to expertise. Despite not being quoted among scholars in Latin America, Weick's concepts of mindfulness and high reliability organizations (HROs) are relevant in a region bound by uncertainty.