Crisis Management Concept & Theory

Introduction

Crisis Management is defined as the application of strategies which was design to help organization in dealing with sudden and significant catastrophical events. Crisis occurs prior the results of an unpredictable event or as a unanticipated consequence of an event that has been considered as potential risk. In both cases, crisis almost invariable requires that decisions are to be made quickly and efficiently to limit or prevent damage to the organization. Therefore, one of the first actions that are considered in crisis management planning is to identify an individual that will serve as a crisis manager.

Crisis Management

Crisis management is a process which was design to lessen or prevent damages that could be inflicted prior crisis on an organization and its stakeholder. As a process, crisis management is divided into three different phases, these are; pre-crisis response, crisis response, post-response. Pre-crisis response is the phase which is concerned with preventing and preparing for when a crisis occur. Crisis response is the phase where management has to respond to a crisis. Lastly, the post-crisis phase is the phase that searches for different ways to be better prepared for a next crisis and to be committed to the follow-up information during this phase. However, the Pre-Crisis Phase is the part of the organization’s risk management program since it involves reducing known risk that could to a crisis. While preparing for a crisis, a crisis management plan needs to be to be established, followed by finding a team and training them, and carrying out exercises to test the management plan and management team (Coombs, 2007).

Crisis management can arise in an organization for several different reasons. The first reason concludes the breaking down of mechanical and technological machine failure leading to a crisis. Internet problems such as encryption in software, password errors can all result in crisis. Another reason is terrorism, theft, and violence inside workplace resulting in organization crisis. Natural disaster such as hurricane, earthquakes, or tornados could result in crisis management.

However, all organization crisis management requirements are different and vary. The most important aspect to Crisis Management Planning it to have different sets of process and procedures to be used as guidelines for crisis management. Pre-development plans and associated activities enable executives to effectively address a worst case long-term crisis.

More precisely, an organizational Crisis Management Planning mostly focuses on; identifying the crisis management team and other individuals who might assist the team in certain crisis. Identifying and establishing Crisis Management/Emergency which is to operate command center in order to direct the crisis event coordination with effected entities, such as communities, neighboring industries, and even identifies support entities such as fire departments, police, and hospitals (Folk, 2013).

Emergency Management

Emergency Management could best be described as a managerial function in charge of creating framework within communities in order to reduce vulnerability to hazard and deal with disasters. The mission of Emergency management is to protect communities by communicating and integrating all activities in which are productive in building, sustaining, and improving the competence to mitigate against, prepare for, response to, and recover from threatened or natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or other man-made disaster (Definition, Vision, Mission, Principles).

However, in the United States, emergency management has been descried as a “four phase process”. These includes; mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These concepts has been used since the 1930’s to help in describing, examining, and to understand disasters and to help organize the practice of emergency management. (David, 1997). These four phases has a widespread use of mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery in order to help describe a comprehensive emergency management which are the result of work done by the National Governors’ Association in the late 70’s.

The world trade center has been used on multiple occasions as an example of emergency management but emergency management but it has been a concern long before on the World Trade Center and the pentagon. Emergency management has been focusing on terrorism as one of the many threats that had to be addressed though they tend to focus on similarities between risks posed by terrorist from those posed by hazards rather than focusing on the differences. For some emergency managers, especially the ones in cities and urban counties, a greater emphasis on terrorism has seemed reasonable, being that terrorists choose large urban centers and symbols of Western culture as targets. For others, continuing to focus primarily on floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other hazards has seemed to be the reasonable course. Local emergency managers have been compelled since the year of 9/11 in order to divide their attention on severe priorities such as “war on terror” and more common war against natural and technological disaster (Jr., 2007).

Homeland Security

Homeland Security is an organization with the mission of keeping the United States safe. This includes; writing new policy and passing laws, preventing crimes, and preventing terrorism, of all things. In order to keep America safe, there has to be policies and system in place to stop attacks and prevent the US resources from being overwhelm. Homeland security also keeps the United States prepared for natural disasters. Homeland security specializes in different function. Some of the specialties are:

Immigration and Border Security

Cybersecurity

Counterterrorism

Disaster Response and Recover

Inside each of these organizations, there are more groups that specialize in homeland security. For example, counterterrorism has employees which deals with nuclear site security, aviation security, fraud and counterfeit, law enforcement and so forth. As a result, they all put together to form one goal which are; preventing terrorism and enhance security, enforce and administer U.S. immigration law, secure and manage U.S. borders, and enforce resilience to disasters.

Business Continuity

The purpose of business continuity is to ensure that essential functions can continue during and after a disaster (Rouse). Therefore, the concept