Deepwater Horizon, Part 2: Sensemaking in Industrial and Communicative Crises

Part 2 shifts from the Macondo well to the public narrative explaining the crisis . The crisis split into two halves as soon as oil started to flow across the Gulf: communicative and industrial.  How the well collapsed became as important as making sense of what sort of crisis was unfolding. Was the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe a rare occurrence, a technical malfunction, a safety culture failing, proof of a more serious issue with deepwater expansion? Every answer presented a distinct interpretation of accountability. Each of them gave the impression that certain solutions were vital and others were incidental. Each one gave institutional actors the option to maintain, modify, or give up on a specific description of their own expertise. I examine how plausibility shifts following a tragedy using sensemaking, responsibility, and crisis communication theory. People can act more confidently during an emergency if they have plausible justifications. Those same explanations then turn into official statements, which have to face examination from devastated families, affected populations, news outlets, scientific experts, judicial officials, and policymakers. Finally, I look at Weick's notion of resilience, as well as improvisation, virtual role systems, wisdom, and conversation useful skills to move forward.  If you enjoy these episodes, please subscribe and share. Thank you for listening.   Show note: “Press Conference examples” are scripted and do not represent historical events. The “announcements” audio is thus for representation of concepts only.