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Chaudhari, Vasudha; Littlejohn, Allison and Cross, Simon
(2022).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003177098-20
Abstract
Uncertainty is an inherent component of the modern-day workplace. Professionals need to learn to navigate their work lives through these uncertainties. Thus, learning to manage continuous change and uncertainty is key to professionals carrying out their practice successfully. Uncertainty perception and learning at an individual level remain largely unexplored in the current literature. Chapter 17 addresses that gap by examining how professionals perceive the environmental uncertainties in terms of their antecedents and consequences and the commonalities and differences of perceptions between experts and practitioners. The findings suggest that although uncertainty is experienced by all professionals irrespective of their level of expertise, there are distinct differences in the way uncertainty is perceived by experts and practitioners. Lack of knowledge, fluctuations in the market, role of technology, and lack of communication were the commonly perceived antecedents of uncertainty. Market crash, regulatory changes, and reassessment of risk models were reported as the commonly perceived consequences of uncertainty. While experts perceived lack of trust as an antecedent of uncertainty, practitioners perceived it to be consequence of uncertainty. Chapter 17 presents those similarities and differences in perception of uncertainty and discusses the implications of these findings for practice.