Agility in Public Organizations: The Role of Temporary Routines
Abstract
Organizations need to be able to react and respond to external events in an agile manner. Those that are unable to often fail. Public sector organizations face many barriers to being agile. Public organizations are often considered rigid, slow-moving, and hierarchical, contradicting the principles of agility. To be agile, organizations must generate new routines, which research and practice acknowledge is challenging. This research, an exploratory qualitative, multi-case analysis, answers the question, "How did a public organization provide an agile response to changes in the external environment, despite known barriers?" The analysis shows that a bureaucratic organization was able to provide an agile response to the COVID-19 pandemic through the generation of temporary routines, highlighting the importance of routine champions, and introduces the concept of knowledge cyclones. The research contributes to literature on bureaucratic organizations and organizational routines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1225446
Entities
People
- Clare E. Morton
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School