Defensive routines (organisational)

One of the most powerful ways people deal with potential embarrassment is to create organisational defensive routines. Argyris (1994: 102-103) defines these as any action or policy that prevents human beings from experiencing negative surprises, embarrassment or threat, and simultaneously prevents the organisation from reducing or eliminating the causes of the surprises, embarrassment, and threat. Organisational defensive routines are anti-learning and overprotective.