Competencies of the resilient organization

I believe most people have ever experienced a traumatic event or one that is difficult to overcome in their lives. For example: the death of a loved one, being in an accident, being mugged, witnessing a murder, among many other tragic things.

How can we cope with all this? How do we react to these events? Can we adapt? Usually, the various people who have experienced any of the tragic events mentioned above, manage to adapt over time (this may vary depending on the person and the event that has been). But what is it that makes a person adapt and overcome this great state of tension and anguish? The answer lies in resilience, which we could interpret as the ability that people possess to be able to adapt and cope with these traumatic situations (later in this article several definitions will be given a little broader about this term).

It takes a lot of time and effort for a person to reach that state of resilience, in addition to a tenacious commitment that the person cannot leave.

This article contains various topics on resilience, steps for people to achieve it, where they can go if they feel that they cannot do it alone (since it is totally valid to ask for help in this type of event), daily activities that will make us unable achieve resilience, among other highly relevant issues.

Key concepts

To facilitate the reading process on the topic "Organizational Resilience and Resilience", some definitions that are considered important for the reader to know are cited:

“It is the ability of a person or a group to recover from adversity to continue projecting the future. Sometimes, difficult circumstances or trauma allow resources to develop that were latent and that the individual was unaware of until now. ” (Porto & Gardey, 2013)

“They are administrative structures and administrative systems created to achieve goals or objectives through human organisms or through the management of human and other talent. They are made up of interrelation systems that fulfill specialized functions. It is also a systematic agreement between people to achieve some specific purpose. ” (Wikipedia, 2018)

Organizational resilience.

"Organizational Resilience is the ability of an organization to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and adapt to increasing changes and sudden disruptions in order to survive and prosper." (The British Standards Institution, 2018)

Meaning through different experts.

The concept of resilience has changed its meaning over the years, with the different interpretation that the gurus give to the concept. Among the psychologists who have used this concept is Emmy Werner, in 1995 she refers to 3 frequent uses of the concept of resilience: good progress despite the high social danger; continue to have our abilities and skills despite witnessing a great deal of stress; and return to oneself after the traumatic event.

Another guru named Emily Hunter, in the year 1999, gives resilience meaning as "something continuous" between two extremes: "less than optimal resilience" and "optimal resilience". In the case of adolescents who have been subjected to psychosocial danger who act less than optimally, this type of response includes "aggressive ways of survival, high-risk behavior and emotional and social abandonment", so the prediction that it is more likely that they become adults who do not know how to adapt to adversity.

Michael Rutter, between the years of 1999 to 2000, gave the meaning to resilience as the "endurance" relative to psychosocial danger, without the result being a good thing, but rather more directed to the way or the process in which the subject face the danger. Rutter directed his research to three areas in particular: the analysis of populations that are in high danger, such as children who have parents with a mental problem; the studies on temperament carried out in the 60's and the analysis on discrepancies on a personal level to face the various events in our lives.

We can also find Suniya Luther, who during the period between 2000 - 2006, defined resilience as a positive evolution despite adversity, emphasizing the two parts that make it up: significant adversity and positive adaptation, which leads to to conclude that resilience is only calculated in a non-direct way through these parts. This thought is widely accepted by various experts on the subject.

Boris Cyrulnik, a psychiatrist, released this word that he extirpated from the texts of John Bowlby. It is a concept that sustains the resistance of different materials that can be bent or deformed without breaking and return to their previous shape before undergoing that action. An example that is handled is that of an arc that deforms when the force is applied, which will give the impulse to the arrow. When a subject or group has the ability to do it, it is expressed that they have an appropriate resilience and can overcome or benefit from the various obstacles.

Today, resilience covers different topics that can range from positive psychology, which covers topics such as the abilities, values and positive characteristics that people have, and not in their weaknesses and the study of their illnesses as conceived by psychology. habitual.

So trying to encompass all the aforementioned we can say that resilience is not only overcoming something, but that it will be reinforced and with better capabilities than before.

What is resilience?

It is known as resilience to the adaptation steps that any human being has in the face of adversity, presented in the face of trauma or sources of tension, such as personal relationships, family conflicts or some other situation that causes stress. Resilience means "rebounding" from a difficult experience, as if one were a spring. Research has indicated that resilience is common or common but not extraordinary. People often demonstrate resilience. An example of this is the response of people in the United States to the terrorist attacks caused on September 11, 2001 and their constant fight to rebuild their lives and overcome this terrible event.

Being resilient does not mean that people do not go through situations full of difficulty or anguish or that they do not feel anything when they arise. Sadness and emotional suffering are frequent in people who experienced adversities or traumatic situations in their lives. In fact, the path that resilience presents is full of difficulties that can disturb our emotions.

Being resilient is not a characteristic that people possess or do not possess. Resilience contains thoughts and actions that anyone can develop or learn.

Ten ways to build resilience.

According to (American Psychological Association, 2018) some ways in which individuals can build resilience are the following:

It is essential to maintain a good family or friendship relationship and in addition to being good, it must be healthy to live in an environment of harmony. Accepting the support and advice of the people who love us and surround us helps to strengthen resilience. People have found that being active in community groups or faith-based organizations helps us become people full of hope and positive thoughts. Helping people in need or offering our support when a problem arises can be beneficial to you.

It is impossible to prevent events that cause great tension from happening, but what is not impossible is to change the way these events are interpreted. You must see beyond the present and above all, be a person with a positive mindset, think that time will make things better. You have to see if there is any way you can feel better while dealing with difficult situations.

Sometimes the result of an adverse situation is that things do not go as expected or it is simply impossible to achieve our goals and dreams. Accepting that there are things or situations that we cannot control or change helps to focus on situations that we can alter.

Realistic goals must be developed. Doing something that brings us closer to our goals even if it seems significant, small steps are very important, also, these will bring us closer to our goals. Instead of focusing on tasks that seem complicated or impossible to achieve, we must question ourselves and focus on the things in which we have the power to do something, that is, that can be accomplished today and that will help us walk to the destination we want to reach..

In unfavorable situations it is best to act in the best possible way. Taking decisive action is better than avoiding tension or problems or wishing they would disappear.

On many occasions, when it is possible to overcome a difficult situation or different problems that have arisen in life, people can get to know each other and grow as a person. Some people who have experienced difficult situations or complications in their lives, have said that the management of their emotions and personal relationships have presented an improvement, in addition to beginning to see life with greater appreciation.

Building confidence in problem solving ability and self-confidence goes a long way in building resilience.

Even when very painful situations arise, you must consider the situation that causes tension in a broader context and maintain the long-term perspective in addition to avoiding exaggerating events.

Being optimistic allows you to expect good things to happen or positive changes in your life. Visualize and fight for what you want instead of worrying or suggesting yourself.

You have to pay attention to their wants and needs. Taking an interest in activities that you enjoy and that produce relaxation, exercising, all this helps to keep your body and mind ready to face situations that require resilience.

Components of resilience.

The union of several components will influence to be able to build our resilience. Various studies carried out by many experts point out to us that one of the important components for resilience are the relationships of love and support that we form in our environment, which can be with our family, partner, friends, coworkers, among others. Relationships that will give us a lot of love and support, that will help us to cross the path that will lead us to resilience, since they will give us the necessary support and security that anyone needs in those difficult times.

They also point out that other components that will help us build recilience are the following:

The ability to design objective techniques and procedures (that do not escape our reality) and follow the necessary methodology to be able to execute it. A positive perspective of our own being, always trusting in ourselves, in our abilities and that we are capable of making diverse Activities. Ability to communicate and cope with problems. The ability to control both positive and negative feelings and impulses that arise.

Together all these components (or most of them) will make the person be able to lead to resilience by themselves.

Places where we can go

Although many people can achieve resilience by themselves or with the support of family and friends, it is always advisable and totally worth seeking outside help in order to cope with these difficult situations and to overcome them.

(American Psychological Association, 2018) He mentions some examples in which we can find this kind of help:

This activity is usually widely used by people who suffer from some type of addiction, such as people who have problems with alcohol or some type of drug, but it is also widely used by people who have suffered a traumatic event and are looking to achieve resilience. It consists of being a group made up of people from a community, who share the same problem, who are struggling against various difficulties, such as losing a loved one, having witnessed an accident, among others. The people who are in these groups will be able to help each other and will receive the support of all, to realize that they will not face this difficult situation alone.

Written by gurus on the subject or people who have already been able to overcome these problems and seek to be able to help others through their written experiences, such as the case of people who have managed to cope with diseases that seemed invincible, such as cancer. These anecdotes and reliable information will motivate readers who want to know more about the subject and who want to find their recidivism.

Now with the large number of advantages that the internet brought with it, we have all the knowledge in the world within a click, we can find endless information, forums, articles and digitized books (sometimes they are free and available to anyone), among others. Although, not everything is perfect, we must always be careful that the information is reliable and not believe everything we read on any web page.

For many people, who feel they need to speak face-to-face with someone skilled in mental health issues, it is always wise to go to a psychologist, who will help you develop different appropriate tactics and procedures so that you can leave all those problems behind. It is highly advisable to go with one if we cannot do our daily activities, which previously seemed to us to be most normal and routine.

For many individuals, using the resources they have and have on hand may be what it takes and what they require to achieve their own resilience. But, as each head is a world and each one responds differently to the traumatic events that have occurred, it is always advisable to find support in our loved ones, with self-help groups to see that we are not alone and there are more people who have the same problems and difficulties, in addition you can always go with an expert on the subject, as in the case of the psychologist, who for many people will give you the tranquility and comfort they require to work hand in hand with the expert to find their way towards resilience.

Thoughts and behaviors that sabotage resilience.

Resilience will not prevent us from leaving that feeling of suffering, as it is not a defense that will protect us and keep us out of the problem. However, it will give us the ability to face our problems with greater integrity and will reassure us in times of stress.

As mentioned earlier in the article, resilience is a capacity that the human being can develop both individually and in groups. We all come into this world with the ability to be resilient. Our thoughts, like our organs, have a natural predisposition to find a balance in the midst of misfortune, to continue working as they normally do.

A study by the New York Medical Academy found that after the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, 7.5% of Americans had post-traumatic symptoms. But, 6 months later, only 0.6% continued to declare that they had these problems and had not been able to overcome them, which translates to the fact that most of the people had a recovery from these terrible events.

Unfortunately, even if we have a predisposition to become resilient, it does not mean that we will be. In fact, throughout our existence we will learn different things, thoughts and customs that collide with this ability. In practice, we could become a great burden to overcome misfortune.

(Suárez, 2015) He mentions some activities and behaviors that will make us sabotage ourselves when it comes to achieving resilience:

When a problem arises in our life, the first thing we think is that this is an obstacle to achieving our dreams and goals, but to be a resilient person, it is necessary to avoid those thoughts. Researchers from the University of Michigan demonstrated that resilient people are those who face the negative events that present themselves in their lives as a challenge, in this way a positive state of mind is generated, which allows facing adversity in the best way possible.

Assuming a catastrophic vision of what happened causes stress and concern, which will worsen the situation in which we find ourselves. Martyrizing ourselves thinking over and over that our problems have no solution or that we are not able to solve them, prevents us from finding adaptive solutions and causes us to oversize the scope and results of the event, leaving us in despair.

Life is full of changes and it is normal when these appear, some are positive and others are negative, but all come for a reason. We can see that one of the pillars of resilience is accepting adversity. It's about taking the best of that negative situation, integrating it with us and moving on. When painful events are denied, it is impossible to make sense of them other than that we cannot take the experience in our life story. In this way, all the pain it causes remains active and causes discomfort.

That is why although the changes unbalance us, it is important to be strong and go beyond that stage, see the good side of things and continue with our lives. Some people do not dare to do it because reflecting and analyzing these events causes sadness. But it must be taken into account that the inconclusive traumas generate a deeper pain.

Attributing blame to other people or to the system can serve as a cathartic method but over time, we will return to the same place without knowing what to do, it can even provoke frustration as you start to think that you have no control over your life. However, one of the differences between resilient people and those who are not is that they have a great sense of responsibility, that is, resilient people do not blame others for their problems.

These types of people do not try to find other culprits, nor do they torture themselves, but rather take responsibility for their actions. In this way they develop an internal control which allows them to feel that they have their life. This causes them to face problems in a better way and to act positively when problems arise.

A sense of humor is another of the many characteristics that resilient people possess. In fact, it is surprising how people who have gone through bad times or had to face very serious problems are those who always have a smile on their faces and who take life with the best sense of humor.

Humor not only provokes being a person with a positive state of mind that helps us face adversities, but it is also essential to reduce the part of the negative emotional shock. When you are able to face problems with the best face, when we laugh at ourselves or at our problems, situations become less dramatic and it becomes easier to accept their negative effects.

The book by the psychiatrist Viktor Frankl entitled "The man in search of meaning", narrates everything that he experienced in the Nazi concentration camps in the Second World War. Frankl noted that those people who managed to survive were the ones with the meaning to stay alive. Those who lost hope and the desire to continue fighting, simply let themselves die with the passing of days.

People who have no goals or dreams of their own are left without motivation to fight the problems that arise and against adversity, so they give up at first. That is why it is of great importance that from time to time, we reassess the goals we have in life and ensure that they continue to motivate us. Goals and objectives are the best engine to drive people when complications arise, so you should not allow others to decide for yourself.

To face problems it is necessary to be someone with confidence in our abilities. This does not refer to being someone positively wishful thinking or someone with a naive attitude, but we have to know ourselves thoroughly, have a knowledge of our weaknesses but also of the strengths we have.

Nurturing self-confidence is essential, but it is not about nurturing it with banal things, but to find opportunities that allow us to evaluate our abilities in addition to developing ourselves as people. Do not wait for the problems to come alone, consider new challenges that allow you to find out how far you can go.

One of the factors that protect against adversity is social support, that is, each of the significant people who are part of our lives and who give us their support when we need it most. It has been proven that without the understanding and support that interpersonal relationships provide, it increases the possibility that people develop depression or that their years of life decrease.

Obviously, in a society where one walks with great strides towards individualism or that promotes a sedentary life in which we focus on technology, it is very difficult to foster such interpersonal relationships. However, resilience is not only a skill that people develop little by little from the inside, it needs to be pointed out from the outside and in order to do it you have to build solid relationships.

What is organizational resilience?

At the beginning of this article, in the key concepts part, we were able to discuss a little about what resilience is in organizations, now it is about going a little more in depth, so that the reader can better understand what is Try all of this.

Institution, 2018)

Resilience for organizations goes beyond risk managementcompared to a vision that includes success and organizational health as a whole. A resilient organization is an organization that will not only be able to have a long life span, but will also grow, facing all the problems that will arise over the time it is on the market.

Organizational resilience is a demanding strategic process, but one that will allow the organization to prosper and not remain stuck in a world that increasingly demands more from organizations and their collaborators who work in them.

We cannot consider it as a practice that has to be done only once, but it will be long term and with enough time to put it into practice. Mastering the art of organizational resilience requires the organization to adopt habits and customs of successful organizations and change their practices if they are not correct, in order to improve their environment, by generating competitiveness and the ability to face difficulties in all areas of the organization. If all of the above is brought together, it will empower the organization's managers to confront the dangers that have been examined through trust, using 100% of the opportunities we encounter.

How the organization benefits from being resilient.

Not because an organization says it is resilient, it must demonstrate its fundamental characteristics in the way it works: that it adapts to any environment and has adequate leadership that it manages firmly.

An organization that is truly resilient will benefit from:

You will have the ability to successfully manage the different situations that may occur in your environment, even if this represents turning away from your main activities.

They will be aware that they can face dangers that have been estimated in advance through security and trust and will be able to provide an efficient solution to the opportunity or threat that arises.

Demonstrating optimal leadership through the different structures that make up our organization, based on a culture of companionship, transparency and innovation, will make all collaborators of any hierarchical level, remain loyal to the vision and mission of the organization.

Necessary elements of organizational resilience.

The British Standards Institution points out that the resilience of organizations has 3 essential pillars: product excellence, confidence in the process and the behavior of employees.

These 3 elements are mixed to give the consumer the best experience they can have with the organization. An organization that achieves this and if it is constant, with the passage of time not only will the loyalty of its consumers grow, but it will also increase their trust and with all the groups that surround it (skateholders ²).

² “Refers to a person, organization or company that has an interest in a given company or organization.

Stakeholders could be the workers of that organization, its shareholders, customers, providers of goods and services, providers of capital, neighborhood or affected neighborhood associations, unions, related civil and government organizations, among others ”(Wikipedia, 2018)

In this case, "product" means any (worth the redundancy) product, service, ideas, among others that a company offers to the market in order to receive profits. You start by asking yourself which market or other companies does this product serve. Are your capabilities and what we offer what is really needed in the market, does it meet the required characteristics? How can it be adapted?

Adding habits of excellence in the manufacture of products and / or services and transporting them to the market is a necessary element to achieve success. Companies require systemic quality management. They must always keep in mind that the right things must be done constantly through the confidence and capacity of their processes, they must also keep innovation in mind.

The collaborators, culture and values that any company possesses will dictate its organizational success. If the experience we have with the organization is pleasant, we will strengthen its reputation in the market, attracting more clients.

Three main competencies of the resilient organization.

An organization that is resilient has a full understanding of how the environment in which it works is performed and coped. This contains the finding of new operational improvements through its products, services and / or processes to meet what its consumers require at the time they want it.

Evidence is needed that can be shown that the company is not in its comfort zone and continues to try to improve in a sustainable way.

As an organization grows, the supply chain will expand more and more, depending on the level of the organization, and it may be to other countries, the ability to quantify and face the dangers that the supply chain entails throughout the chain, such as the acquisition of raw materials, production, distribution and sales is vital.

In the age in which we live, companies must be believed in safeguarding information of great importance. A resilient company must correctly manage its information both physically and digitally and also the intellectual information (the one that each collaborator owns), from its origin to its disposal. This requires the organization to take information security measures, which allow it to fight, store, enter and use it.

Organizational resilience index in the world

The British Standards Institution carried out last year, the first index of organizational resilience worldwide, which had more than 1,200 executives from various organizations and from various sectors. They valued the organizations they represent with 16 essential elements that are considered, they must be contained in the strategy of a resilient organization.

In order to prepare this index, some of the parts of the following standards were used as a basis:

Organizational resilience (BS 65000) Organizational governance (BS 13500) Risk management (ISO 31000) Pre-qualification of the supply chain (PAS 7000) The categories are: Leadership, collaborators, process and product.

Five stages of decline.

The graph of the five stages of decline was presented by Jim Collins in his book entitled "How the powerful fall", which indicates when an organization may be starting the crisis or when there is no longer a way to avoid it.

Five stages of Decadence

Graph of the five stages of decline, taken from "How the mighty fall" by (Collins, 2011)

Organizations, however effective they may be, must keep in mind that they do not have all the knowledge in the world. Some organizations, when they are the first to publicize a product or are the ones that create it, think that they will always dominate the trends with customers, or believe that their organization is the best of all and do not want to admit that there are problems both within as outside the organization.

In general, the desperate search for more is linked with an unbridled desire to try to reach more than we really can. Seeking the development of the organization is an achievement that many managers want to achieve, but this can be detrimental when the principles on which the organization was forged are not remembered, since some organizations only seek to grow for mere pleasure, which is not justified or makes any sense.

This is the stage that goes before reaching the crisis, it could be said that the denial of risk and danger is a defensive model that is activated in organizations to continue achieving what they have been doing, without being interested in whether it is wrong or no. It is a feeling that will make us believe that everything we have invested has not been for nothing, and gives us the strength to continue, regardless of whether we find anything when we finish.

The anxious search for salvation goes beyond being something of the organization, but it is a very human feeling when it already fell in the crisis stage. There are very few individuals who face an initial solution in the face of adversity, a truly planned initiative, which with a little sweat and being patient will be achieved.

Usually the first thing to do is to run a simple solution, which is very practical to implement, which has a characteristic that gives results very quickly. But that by not being studied or executed properly, it would end up being counterproductive for the organization.

When this stage is reached, it only means that you must completely renounce what you are doing, which does not mean that it is a “mediocre” measure in the face of problems; There are times when you quit because there is nothing more to do, that all the paths have been studied and the best is to leave it entirely. This last stage can be classified as the fall of the fourth stage, when the organization decides to stop sinking and chooses to leave it.

Scheme for a resilient organization.

Resilient Organization Outline

Graph of the five stages of decline, modified to the study of resilience, taken from "How the powerful fall" by (Collins, 2011).

Resilient organizations are essentially what is shown in the previous diagram, they are the ones that after entering the crisis part have a process of recovery and re-indication. They manage to reverse the downward path of the graph line, no matter how complicated it has been to confront.

Thesis proposal.

Make use of the BS 65000 regulation to achieve organizational resilience in the company Combustlan SA de CV

Thesis mind map.

Objective.

By means of the BS 65000 regulations, Combustlan SA de CV became a resilient organization and can prevail in the market, as well as facing various problems that may come in the future.

Thanks.

I thank my family, for giving me all the support and the drive to continue day by day, to the Technological Institute of Orizaba for opening its doors to me and allowing me to continue my studies with the Master in Administrative Engineering and Doctor Fernando Aguirre y Hernández for motivating me with their knowledge in the Foundations of

Administrative Engineering to carry out each of the assigned items.

Conclusion.

As it could be read in the article, it was understood that resilience is a concept that can be used for various elements such as: people, organizations, engineering, among others. But they share the root that it is to return to a state that was before experiencing a complicated event. Although it is usually a state that the human being naturally achieves, there are some people who cannot achieve it for different reasons, so there are various tools and techniques to achieve it, the same happens with organizations, they must be resilient if They want to be able to stay in the market for a long time and will be able to cope with the future problems that it will obviously have.

My personal conclusion is that all people should be very aware of this concept and all that it encompasses, since we do not know when it will be useful to us, and in the case of organizational resilience it is something that draws much attention for those of us who are Related to the administration of the organizations, if we manage to implement this ideology, I am sure that we will have a successful organization.

Bibliography.

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Sánchez, PA (2013). ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE: An approach. Universidad Del Rosario, 38-78.

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Tapia, GN (2012). Resilient companies and in relation to organizational value. Textile SMEs. Library "Alfredo L. Palacios", 29-93.

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"It is a structured approach to managing uncertainty related to a threat, through a sequence of human activities that include risk assessment, development strategies to manage it and risk mitigation using management resources." (Wikipedia, 2018)