Abstract
The role of organizational factors in the generation of adverse events, and the manner in which such factors can also inhibit an organization's abilities to learn, have become important agenda items within health care. The government report 'An organization with a memory' highlighted many of the problems facing health care and suggested changes that need to be made if the sector is to learn effective lessons and prevent adverse events from occurring. This paper seeks to examine some of these organizational factors in more detail and suggests issues that managers need to consider as part of their wider strategies for the prevention and management of risk. The paper sets out five core elements that are held to be of importance in shaping the manner in which the potential for risk is incubated within organizations. Although the paper focuses its attention on health care, the points made have validity across the public sector and into private sector organizations.