| Sensemaking, the process of making sense and assigning meaning to events, involves the application of stored knowledge and experience (Weick, 1995). Knowledge structures are the repository for the stored information that enables sensemaking.; The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the characteristics of sensemaking as observed in collective knowledge structures. The study extends Weick's (1995) work by more specifically describing the elements of sensemaking and demonstrating them in a non-emergent situation in a nonprofit voluntary association. The study also provides descriptions of the content and structure of the group knowledge structure associated with Weick's (1995) seven characteristics of sensemaking.; The site for the study was a nonprofit trade association in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, in which governance was a shared responsibility that involved paid staff and representative member volunteers who served on boards, councils, and committees. The governing network fulfilled a leadership role. Association membership comprised hospitals and health systems in a defined geographic area.; Established methods of ethnography and naturalistic inquiry (Locke & Golden-Biddle, 1993; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Patton, 1987, 1990)---including observation, interview, and document review---were used to identify and describe the knowledge structures and contents of the elements of sensemaking. In addition, cognitive mapping was used to illustrate and verify the collective knowledge structure.; All seven of Weick's (1995) sensemaking characteristics were observed. However, they were found to be not mutually exclusive, and therefore have limited utility as research variables. Identity was the most frequently observed characteristic and was the dominant concept in the knowledge structure, suggesting that there may be a hierarchy within the characteristics of sensemaking that has not been fully identified. Dialogue, in the forms of talk and text (Boden, 1994; Taylor & Van Every, 2000), was shown to be the principle mechanism for making sense and for building and accessing collective knowledge structures. Dialogue also was shown to be instrumental in the development of organizational structure. |
