Showing papers on "Crisis management published in 2004"

A Critical Review Of Emergency Evacuation Simulation Models

Abstract: The paper presents a critical review of selected simulation models including (1) flow based, (2) cellular automata, (3) agent-based, and (4) activity-based models, as well as of three simulation models that incorporate social scientific processes--FIRESCAP, EXODUS, and the Multi-Agent Simulation for Crisis Management. It concludes by pointing out the so far ignored insights that could be derived from the fields of social psychology and social organization. A number of predictions regarding the effects of social organizational variables on the timing and movement of evacuating groups are presented. Proceeding of Conference “Building Occupant Movement During Fire Emergencies,” June 10-11, 2004. Gaithersburg, Maryland: National Institute of Standards and Technology, (forthcoming).

Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates

Abstract: Fien, R., Vossekuil, B., Pollack, W., Borum, R., Modzeleski, W., & Reddy, M. (2002). Threat assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and to creating safe school climates. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and U.S. Secret Service, National Threat Assessment Center. http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac/ssi_guide.pdf

Crisis Management and Tourism: beyond the Rhetoric

Abstract: Summary Undoubtedly, the tourism industry is one of the most susceptible and vulnerable industries to crises. Recent major events that had devastating impacts on the industry ranges from natural disasters to epidemics, and from mismanagement to terrorist attacks. These kinds of episodes are not confined to any geographical region, as crises respect no political or cultural boundaries. Two major recent events illustrate this point: the BSE crisis in the UK in the 1990s, which was followed by the foot and mouth disease in 2000 and 2001, crippled the industry in several regions of England. Most recently, the events of September 11th in New York and Washington changed the way the industry operates forever. Crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, it has been observed that tourism management capability and ability to deal with complex and critical situations are limited. This paper discusses the concept of crisis management and its relevance to tourism. It presents an overview of the general trends...

Governing by Looking Back: Historical Analogies and Crisis Management

Abstract: This article offers a conceptual framework that broadens and enhances our understanding of the role of ‘history’ in contemporary governance and the attempts by policy-makers to ‘manage’ critical issues. Building upon the literature on historical analogies in policy-making, we distinguish three dimensions that clarify how the past may emerge in and affect the current deliberations, choices and rhetoric of policy-makers. We apply this in a comparative examination of two cases of crisis management where historical analogies played an important part: the Swedish response to (alleged) submarine intrusions in 1982, and the European Union sanctions against Austria in 1999. We induce from the case comparison new concepts and hypotheses for understanding the role of historical analogies in public policy-making and crisis management.

Lessons from Crisis Research

Abstract: As national governments slowly—very slowly—become aware that an institutionalized crisis management capacity is critically important, new forms of crisis appear on the horizon: cyberterrorism, genetic engineering and health scares, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, infrastructural collapses, and changing weather patterns, to name but a few. At issue is whether our governments are prepared to deal with modern crises in close cooperation with international partners. Moreover, can the wide variety of academic research traditions be brought together to assist policymakers and politicians in increasing their crisis management capacity? We see frequent evidence of how crises outstrip the coping capacity of national governments. The modern crisis does not recognize or respect national borders; it thrives on fragmentation and variety. Its complexity defies governmental efforts to understand its causes, pathways, and potential remedies. The modern crisis does not confine itself to a particular policy area (say health or energy); it jumps from one field to the other, unearthing issues and recombining them into unforeseen megathreats. The modern crisis is not boxed in by set dates that mark a clear beginning and ending; it is an embedded vulnerability that emerges, fades, mutates, and strikes again (see ‘t Hart and Boin 2001). The currency of the modern crisis is not solely, or even primarily, expressed in the number of dead and wounded; it also attacks the legitimacy of the state, undermining its crisis management capacity. The modern crisis is, thus, a clear challenge to national governments (‘t Hart, Heyse, and Boin 2001; Rosenthal, Boin, and Comfort 2001). Yet, their capacity to deal with crises—modern or classic—has been undermined by a prolonged phase of environmental flux. The combination of extended ambitions and economic hardship has driven Western governments toward radical reform programs that have not necessarily improved the effectiveness of government interventions. The …

Understanding the French 2003 Heat Wave Experience: Beyond the heat, a Multi-Layered Challenge

Abstract: The 2003 heat wave killed nearly 15,000 people in France. It was a stealth killer. “We did not notice anything”, as the Minister of Health declared to the Parliamentary Commission. It is of crucial importance to understand the keys to this collective failure, which has much in common with the Chicago experience in 1995 –the lessons of which had not been grasped nor learned. A four-layered challenge explains the fiasco. The emergency challenge, which is not the realm of bureaucracies outside the “9/11” bodies. The crisis management challenge, largely documented since the 80s and the 90s, but still poorly known by most organisations, in France and elsewhere. The unconventional crisis challenge, emerging more and more today with “outside-of-the-box” scenarios – and for which very few are ready to prepare, in any country in the world. The “texture” challenge, when the whole fabric of our complex systems (rather than just some specific segment) is suddenly deeply affected — an entirely new front-line in the crisis world, which urges to switch from a mechanical or an architectural to a more “biological” approach to read, seize, and handle emerging csrises. The 2003 heat fiasco compels us to prepare for far more than climate-related crises. It calls for a fresh and bold look at our crisis paradigms. As General Foch said: “Gunfire kills, but so do outdated visions”.

Preparation for Crisis Management: A Proposed Model and Empirical Evidence

Abstract: This article explores the forces restricting effective crisis management in a crisis ridden industry. Models of crisis preparedness have typically been developed based upon research in US or Western business. This study is based upon the Egyptian industry which, until the 1990s was state owned and heavily state supported. Changes in government policy, combined with external forces, not in the least the loss of markets in the previous Soviet bloc, had plunged the industry into serious crisis. Crisis is a cultural embarrassment to most Egyptian managers and this, combined with the depth of economic difficulties faced by the industry, makes it extraordinarily difficult for any level of crisis preparedness to be achieved. Based on interview and questionnaire data, this article extends existing models of crisis preparedness to better accommodate conditions in crisis prone industries outside the West. New dimensions in the proposed model are the stress on national culture and how this limits the range of managerial responses. This in turn requires the active development of an organisational culture to counteract these limitations.

Assuring homeland security : continuous monitoring, control and assurance of emergency preparedness

Abstract: This paper examines the potential relationships of Auditing and Emergency Preparedness with respect to the domain of the design of Emergency Response Information Systems. It proposes normative objectives for the integration of all these areas in the design of future organizational systems. It also proposes a series of steps to evolve in this direction and create a new interdisciplinary professional community to guide research and development for this field of endeavor.

Crisis simulations: exploring tomorrow's vulnerabilities and threats

Abstract: In the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks, crisis management has become reprioritized in both the public and the corporate sector. The authors argue that crisis simulations can and should be a crucial feature of preparatory efforts to deal with crises. Drawing from crisis management literature, and their own experience with crisis simulations, they explore how different types of crisis simulations can help crisis managers to prepare for "traditional" disasters as well as modern crises and contingencies.

In Search of Archetypes in Crisis Management

Abstract: Despite their unstable nature, crises are frequently defined as opportunities for managers to make strategic decisions in terms of bringing new configurations into play. According to this perspective, research is undertaken to discover new forms taken on by organisations during times of crisis. Relying on the experience of Local Centres of Community Services in Quebec during the ice storm of 1998, the results of this research permitted us to demonstrate three archetypes of crisis management collectivists, integrators and reactive types, each with the specific characteristics and imperatives as defined by Miller (1987). These consist of leadership, strategies, structures and environments. The research also permitted us to establish participants' appreciation of the performance of their organisation and of the managers dealt with the crisis. Finally, we will discuss the importance of applying theories of configuration in the field of crisis management and several promising areas of research in this field.

Preparation for Crisis Management: A Proposed Model and Empirical Evidence

Abstract: This article explores the forces restricting effective crisis management in a crisis ridden industry. Models of crisis preparedness have typically been developed based upon research in US or Western business. This study is based upon the Egyptian industry which, until the 1990s was state owned and heavily state supported. Changes in government policy, combined with external forces, not in the least the loss of markets in the previous Soviet bloc, had plunged the industry into serious crisis. Crisis is a cultural embarrassment to most Egyptian managers and this, combined with the depth of economic difficulties faced by the industry, makes it extraordinarily difficult for any level of crisis preparedness to be achieved. Based on interview and questionnaire data, this article extends existing models of crisis preparedness to better accommodate conditions in crisis prone industries outside the West. New dimensions in the proposed model are the stress on national culture and how this limits the range of managerial responses. This in turn requires the active development of an organisational culture to counteract these limitations.

Safety and Security in Tourism: Relationships, Management, and Marketing

Abstract: * Security and Tourism: Towards a New Understanding? * The Effect of Risk Perceptions on Intentions to Travel in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001 * Freud, Tourism, and Terror: Traversing the Fantasies of Post-September 11 Travel Magazines * New York Restaurant Industry: Strategic Responses to September 11, 2001 * The Impacts of Terrorism: Perceptions of Faculty and Students on Safety and Security in Tourism * Terrorism, Economic Uncertainty and Outbound Travel from Hong Kong * Tourism in Nepal: Shangri-La's Troubled Times * After the Lombok Riots, Is Sustainable Tourism Achievable? * Tourism Eclipsed by Crime: The Vulnerability of Foreign Tourists in Hungary * A Local Reading of a Global Disaster: Some Lessons on Tourism Management from an Annus Horribilis in South West England * Crisis Communication and Recovery for the Tourism Industry: Lessons from the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreak in the United Kingdom * Malaysia's Response to the Asian Financial Crisis: Implications for Tourism and Sectoral Crisis Management * The Importance of Food Safety in Travel Planning and Destination Selection * New Zealand Travel Agent Practice in the Provision of Advice for Travel to Risky Destinations * The Need to Use Disaster Planning Frameworks to Respond to Major Tourism Disasters: Analysis of Australia's Response to Tourism Disasters in 2001 * Crisis Management and Tourism: Beyond the Rhetoric * Crisis Management in Small-Scale Tourism * Index * Reference Notes Included

Role improvising during crisis situations

Abstract: This research describes the various ways key responders improvise their disaster-related roles during the emergency period of large-scale crises. Using archival data from the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center in the USA, this paper presents an empirically-derived classification of role improvisations occurring in natural disasters, technological crises, and civil disturbances. Five types of role improvising are identified: procedural changes, status changes, normative-order changes, equipment changes, and location/facility changes. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the classification scheme for the practice of emergency management and for future studies of role improvising in both routine and non-routine social settings.

Strengthening regional financial cooperation in East Asia

Abstract: The 1997–98 financial crisis prompted East Asian economies to realise the potential benefits of installing stronger cooperative mechanisms for crisis prevention, management and resolution. This paper argues that a regional financial architecture needs to be firmly established in East Asia, outlines recent developments in financial cooperation in the region, and provides possible directions for the future. We recommend a more effective surveillance process and consider the option of creating a common pool of foreign exchange reserves to allow flexible financial support at times of crises and contagion while minimising the problem of moral hazard. The arrangement must be consistent with the global framework; in particular, it must involve international creditors from outside the region for crisis management and resolution. We suggest that exchange rate regime choice should be coordinated at the regional level, with a long-term vision of regional monetary integration.

Malaysia's Response to the Asian Financial Crisis: Implications for Tourism and Sectoral Crisis Management

Abstract: Summary Tourism is a fragile industry and the damage caused by a crisis may have serious implications for a national economy. Crisis management is the means by which the impact of a crisis may be minimised and recovery assisted. This paper analyses the Malaysian response to the Asian financial crisis in the context of tourism and considers whether there is the potential for crisis management at a sectoral level, and if so how it should be developed and implemented. It concludes that although both the public and private sector recognise the need for such a measure, issues such as funding and the identification of appropriate indicators need to be resolved.

Six steps to better crisis management

Abstract: Crises can threaten the continued existence of an organization. In today’s highly uncertain and turbulent business environment, managers must develop stronger crisis decision‐making skills. This article outlines a practical six‐step approach to improving organizational crisis‐preparedness. It also suggests that crisis management is a critical component of contemporary strategic management. Managers can be expected to do a better job in dealing with crises if they follow the recommended six‐step approach and make a conscientious effort to integrate crisis management into the process of strategic management.

Managing a health-related crisis: SARS in Singapore

Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a new and potentially fatal virus, the discovery and spread of which created a tourism crisis in parts of Asia in 2003. Based on an analysis of secondary...

In Search of Archetypes in Crisis Management

Abstract: Despite their unstable nature, crises are frequently defined as opportunities for managers to make strategic decisions in terms of bringing new configurations into play. According to this perspective, research is undertaken to discover new forms taken on by organisations during times of crisis. Relying on the experience of Local Centres of Community Services in Quebec during the ice storm of 1998, the results of this research permitted us to demonstrate three archetypes of crisis management collectivists, integrators and reactive types, each with the specific characteristics and imperatives as defined by Miller (1987). These consist of leadership, strategies, structures and environments. The research also permitted us to establish participants' appreciation of the performance of their organisation and of the managers dealt with the crisis. Finally, we will discuss the importance of applying theories of configuration in the field of crisis management and several promising areas of research in this field.

The increasing role of public relations as a crisis management function: an empirical examination of communication restrategising efforts among destination organisation managers in the wake of 11th September, 2001.

Abstract: The 11th September terrorist attacks on the USA have greatly impacted on the tourism industry, causing managers to restrategise their communication programmes. This national investigation illustrates the increasing role of public relations as a crisis management function. The study sought to determine if public relations activities are increasing and advertising activities are decreasing among tourism managers in the wake of 9/11. Examined within a crisis communication framework, the situational theory developed by Grunig served as the theoretical underpinning for the study. In particular, the study examines how messages are being restructured, primary publics are being refocused and communication tactics (channels) are being retooled among convention and visitors’ bureau (CVB) managers (destination organisation managers). Employing a web-based survey to randomly selected CVB communication managers throughout the USA, findings indicate that since the attacks use of public relations tactics for promotional...

On Financial Crises

Abstract: In the wake of September 11th, the crisis field has gained a great deal of relevance in both academic and practitioner circles. Suddenly, policymakers and managers have become interested in crisis research findings, funding is forthcoming, and academics of many a feather are flocking to the scene. Crisis used to be a ‘sexy’ topic, but it is now red hot. The crisis field is marked by ill-defined boundaries. It is made up of specialized academics drawn from many disciplines (i.e. disaster sociology, public administration, political science, international relations and management). They tend to define crisis in terms of some basic threat to the core values of a system, necessitating urgent response under conditions of severe uncertainty. It is this catch-all character of the crisis definition that allows for communication between these academics and makes for what I here refer to as a ‘generic’ crisis field. So what interesting research findings has this field yielded? This is best discussed and evaluated on the basis of two crucial questions, which, incidentally, signal the societal relevance of this research field. The first question asks why a social system – a firm, a town, a nation or a global network – experiences a crisis. The second question asks why some systems manage to minimize the crisis impact where others suffer severe damages. A general consensus is emerging in the crisis field with regard to these questions, and can be summarized in a handful of principles. The first principle, which can be considered the bottom line of this research consensus, holds that crises will always be with us. We may learn from previous out-of-the-box events and develop tailor-made coping repertoires only to discover that the nature of crisis is continuously changing. The implications are sobering: crisis prevention is a good idea, but it will never make us safe from new crises. Increased airport safety may be great, but it will not protect us from future terrorist attacks. The second principle is deduced logically from the first. If crisis prevention is essentially impossible, organizational and societal resilience must be the proper way to prepare for and deal with crises. The idea of resilience, perhaps explained best by the late Aaron Wildavsky (1988) in his classic Searching for Safety, directs our energy toward the design of organizational structures that facilitate flexible and resourceful answers to unknown future problems. This translates into a formidable challenge. Whereas modern organizations are typically geared toward routine production – effective and efficient – this principle of crisis management demands inherent redundancy. However, this is not something stockholders, stakeholders or voters tend to reward. British Journal of Management, Vol. 15, 191–195 (2004) 191

For whom the bell tolls: imagining accidents and the development of crisis simulation in organizations

Abstract: This article explores how organizations can prepare for crisis events by training crisis management teams (CMTs) using real-time, simulated crises. The article focuses on the impact of such training on the performance of CMTs and the manner in which such training can improve the capability of the organization to deal with adverse events. The article argues that effective learning from crisis is an important factor in shaping the processes by which organizations can prevent crises from incubating. By simulating crisis events based on an external audit of the organization's vulnerabilities, it is possible to surface many of the assumptions and beliefs that are held concerning the organization's procedures and protocols. It also explores how crises incubate and subsequently evolve. This allows for an examination of how the organization can move toward the creation of a crisis-prepared culture. The article reports the findings of ongoing ethnographic research with a number of companies.

Crisis management for the tourism sector: Preliminary considerations in policy development

Abstract: Crisis management is increasingly being applied in the context of tourism and, although there has been some research into crisis management at a macro-level, most of this focuses on the response to, rather than the anticipation of, a crisis. This paper explores the issues associated with the establishment of a crisis management policy for the tourism sector prior to a crisis and especially considers the management of the pre-crisis period. The areas addressed include the evaluation of the importance of the tourism sector to the economy, risk assessment and then the challenges presented by the identification and monitoring of indicators, aspects of implementation and funding of a policy, and the development of a crisis plan. It suggests a model to clarify the different components that would need to be addressed for the establishment of a policy and how they relate to each other. It concludes that to develop an appropriate policy would be extremely complex and questions whether or not the maintenance of the...

Crisis Management During the SARS Threat: A Case Study of the Metropole Hotel in Hong Kong

Abstract: No one could have predicted the outbreak of SARS and its impact on the tourism business. Within a fortnight, hotel occupancy dropped by more than 80% to a single digit record. The hotel industry in...

Is Symmetrical Communication Ethical and Effective

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore two questions:(1) Is symmetrical communication in public relations practice inherently ethical?(2) Does symmetrical communication contribute to public relations effectiveness and organizational effectiveness? Three surveys are undertaken to test seven research hypotheses for the purpose of cross-validating research findings. The results suggest that symmetrical communication is inherently ethical. Moreover, symmetrical communication indeed contributes to several performance measures, which include positive market performance, overall organizational effectiveness, conflict resolution, crisis management, favorable organizational reputation, and positive media exposure, with the last two measures only partially supported.

Project Troubleshooting: Tiger Teams for Reactive Risk Management:

Abstract: Large long-term projects with many stakeholders generally entail unforeseen risks and events that cannot, in principle, be predicted. Given the impracticality of pre-planning for every possible con...

Crises as Ill‐Structured Messes

Abstract: The field of crisis management has been seriously impeded by its failure to develop appropriate frameworks for the study of crises. This state of affairs is due at the very least to two major issues: (1) outmoded and invalid views of the nature of crises, and (2) the widespread use of outmoded and inappropriate concepts of inquiry. It is our contention that crisis management deals with problems that are inherently ill-structured. The eminent social systems philosopher and scientist, Russell Ackoff (1999), has coined the term “mess” to describe such problems. A mess is a system of problems that are highly interactive (that is, strongly coupled), but it is not the sum of the separate problems themselves. A mess is the product of the interactions among the problems that constitute it. A crisis, then, is an ill-structured mess—a highly interactive set of problems, each of which is ill-structured. The problems that constitute a crisis are themselves complex systems, which, in turn, are members of other complex systems and so on and so forth. The end-result is that the field of crisis management is itself inherently ill-structured or a mess (Mitroff and Linstone 1992; Mitroff 2003). Moreover, the failure of crisis management experts to realize and to accept these ideas is responsible for much of the confusion and lack of progress in the field. Like Arjen Boin in the previous piece in this forum, we call for a serious reconsideration of the concepts that form the basis for the study of crisis management. Although, as the reader will soon see, we disagree with his emphasis on arriving at a common definition of key concepts. By definition, well-structured problems are the only kinds of problems about which stakeholders—both those who affect and those who are affected by them—can attain widespread agreement regarding …

The missing ingredient is the value of flexibility

Abstract: Simulations currently play a key role in facilitating competency training for incident commanders of the emergency services. The article briefly reviews current practice in incident command training and considers the effectiveness of simulation usage and practice for crisis management more generally.

Operation Concordia: developing a ‘European’ approach to crisis management?

Abstract: Launched in Macedonia in March 2003, Operation Concordia was the first EU military crisis management operation In accordance with the Berlin Plus arrangements concluded days before its launch, Operation Concordia was conducted using NATO assets Although these assets were not strictly necessary for a limited operation such as Concordia, the prior conclusion of Berlin Plus was a political necessity for the EU–NATO relationships Concordia also signified a deepening in the Union's relationship with the Balkans, where the EU is now the lead international organization, deploying a full range of civilian and military crisis management instruments in support of the Stabilization and Association Process