Concept Analysis

4.3.1 Concepts Identified by Leximancer

Commencing with the process of the extraction of the findings, it is important to

reiterate that Leximancer was utilised to develop an unbiased depiction of the concepts identified from reviews of the simulations, case study vignettes and transcriptions of the interviews with the subject matter experts. This initial section discusses what the

concept maps showed and creates the framework for further depiction of the findings. In the first stage of the development of the concept map, a ‘low detailed’ approach was adopted to capture the core themes, and then a ‘high detailed’ map was created to highlight in detail the themes captured within each of the clusters. As discussed in the methodology, the colour coding depicts the frequency of the concept, with the red bubble being the ‘hottest’ concept followed by orange, then purple through to the greens. It is from this high detailed chart that the connectivity of the findings to be extracted is obtained.

The concept map provides an illustration of the importance of the team and the crisis leader to the process. This linkage with the utilisation of the tools is also illustrated by the correlation to collection of the information that is required to effectively guide the problem solving. Interestingly, culture is confirmed as an element that was raised on multiple occasions throughout the research, with an emphasis on the impact that culture can have across diverse territories on the dynamics and capabilities of the team. There was a strong interconnectivity between the concepts stemming from the term ‘crisis’, which by default is the central concept.

The common links extended to the importance of the ‘team’ and the ‘people’ and their ability to work together by using the tools or artefacts in managing the response together with a specific linkage of the people to ‘culture’. Within the elements also sat commentary on the role that each of these elements played with respect to deviation. At this point it is important to reinforce that due to the word ‘crisis’ being the central theme and node of this research, with the focus on the process deviation from the ostensive routines, it was omitted as a term from the specific analysis.

Figure 20 depicts the synopsis of the key words and the level of the hits, taking into consideration that in some instances the word stream has been consolidated. For example, the word ‘crisis’ was structured in the system in such a way as to incorporate associated words utilised in TCCS such as “incident’, ‘issue’ and ‘event’, which have a common thread as categories in the research focus. These are distinct categories and related to the classification of event types which will lead to the activation of a crisis team within TCCS. The extensive nature of the ‘hits’ for crisis (1,549) stemmed from it being the central theme. As all discussions branched off it, it was important to remove the focus from the word. The visuals and the theme connectivity as depicted in the ‘low detail concept map’ and the more detailed connectivity as shown in the ‘high detail concept map’, both in Figure 21, confirm that the findings should focus on the themes as they relate to: the artefacts (tools and checklists); the team and the elements of

experience, structure, personality (people), response and training; the role within the teams of the coordinator; and the impact of culture, be that business or social culture. Intrinsically linked to ‘crisis’ is the concept of risk management. The findings will

examine perspectives as to the role that risk management plays in both a reactive and a proactive sense.

Dealing with these concepts generically first, it is important to examine the findings as they relate to the role of the tools and the utilisation of the key artefacts. In the context of the ostensive routines these are contained within the crisis management plans and they are supported by specific artefacts. These comprise the various tools and checklists. It is evident from the findings that there was both an acceptance of and a heavy

weighting placed on the importance of their use in driving the successful resolution of the crisis. In this stream, there was a linkage to ensuring their utilisation in a timely manner, which ensures that the problem is correctly identified and provides for effective root cause analysis. This theme grouping will also examine the commentary as it relates to the observed reasons for the occurrence of process deviation.

The focus of the findings will then shift to address the elements of the team structure and the need for the crisis team to have effective synergies and experience. Within this theme sits the role of the crisis leader, described in the language of TCCS as the IMCR coordinator, and the influence that they have, or should have, in driving utilisation of the artefacts to ensure process deviation minimisation. The findings will also show that a team under effective crisis leadership is central to the undertaking of the performative routines, with training and repetition central to the enhancement of individual and collective skills. When dealing with the individuals, and the team collectively, personality has a critical role to play and this is addressed specifically in the

commentary of the subject matter experts. On the periphery of the findings linked to roles sits the concept of culture. This point is illustrated in the blue ‘concept’ bubble with an overlapping to the green ‘role’ bubble that captures the crisis team member’s role and level.

Interestingly, across the SMEs there were differing orders of theme prioritisation. Some SMEs argued that the tools were the first priority in setting the context of the response. Others stipulated the importance of the team and the tools as the core element (SME12, 2017) that provided the framework for the corrective resolution. There was a common focus on crisis leadership and, irrespective of the prioritisation, the findings

demonstrate the intrinsic links between: the ostensive routines; the people performing those routines, whether as members of the crisis team or as crisis leaders; the team

dynamics driven by the influence of personality and culture; and, finally, the roles of training and individual experience. With this context now established, the findings will be discussed within the parameters of these overarching streams and their related key linked areas.