Pandemic crisis management

Nidžara Osmanagić Bedenik

doi:10.33765/thate.10.4.3

Abstract

The first recorded COVID-19 case emerged in China and, within a few months, it has spread to 210 countries globally, thrusting people into danger, uncertainty, fear, and of course physical and social isolation. The impacts of this pandemic are significant for every aspect of our lives. Crises include risk and chances at the same time. As Shakespeare said, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so“. This paper focuses on threats and opportunities of the pandemic crisis for humans and planet Earth. Crisis is defined as an unplanned and unwanted process of limited duration and impact, which endangers primary goals, and produces ambivalent outcome. Crisis management encompasses three phases: avoiding the crisis, identifying its symptoms when they occur and finding ways out of the crisis. There are several research questions related to that. First, could the COVID-19 crisis be avoided? Or at least could its onset be recognized early? Second, how can the pandemic crisis be measured in terms of its intensity and depth? Third, which ways lead us out of the crisis? And fourth, which lessons have to be learned? Exploring the novel literature and research findings provides new insights into the pandemic crisis and the crisis management process, which is the aim of the paper. With its results and major conclusions this paper provides a holistic perspective to the pandemic crisis and crisis management.

Highlights

Asking the right questions seems more important than offering answers
The main research questions are: Could the pandemic crisis be avoided? How could the symptoms of the crisis be measured? Which are the ways out of the crisis? What has to be learned from the pandemic crisis management? Literature research and current statistics provide a deeper insight into the questions asked and offer an integrative view
Back to the pandemic crisis: What are the potential crisis areas? What are the weak/strong indicators of the crisis? Where are the limits of tolerance? Among numerous potential crisis areas, this paper focuses on humanity and planet Earth

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Asking the right questions seems more important than offering answers. “...scientific research is never ending in its quest for knowledge, rather than trying to reach once-for-all final conclusions” [1]. COVID-19 is a very infectious disease caused by a recently identified corona virus. Crises are generally not welcomed; they force us to think about who we are, what we really want and where we are headed. These questions seem simple, but the answers do not seem that simple. The crisis is a transient difficult period, a process of conflict between the old and the new. It has a negative connotation as it is accompanied by unpleasant changes. The aim of the paper is to discover the threats and opportunities for humans and planet Earth caused by the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main research questions are: Could the pandemic crisis be avoided? How could the symptoms of the crisis be measured? Which are the ways out of the crisis? What has to be learned from the pandemic crisis management? Literature research and current statistics provide a deeper insight into the questions asked and offer an integrative view

CRISIS AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT

CRISIS DIAGNOSIS AND SYMPTOMS

GETTING OUT OF THE CRISIS

SOME PANDEMIC CRISIS THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Findings

CONCLUSION