Aspects Of Crisis Management Research Articles

Securing Frontline Employee Support After an Ethical Scandal

Although ethical scandals are a common phenomenon in the service industry, there is little research on the service-specific aspects of crisis management. In this research, we argue that frontline employees are of crucial importance after a scandal and examine how firms can secure the support of frontline employees following different kinds of scandals. Specifically, we demonstrate that corrective responses that address the internal causes of a scandal and ceremonial responses that guide attention to positive aspects unrelated to the scandal moderate the impact of different scandals on frontline employee support. Three experiments showed that frontline employee support was greater after scandals that involved a great rather than a small number of wrongdoers and after scandals that had been caused by high-ranking managers rather than low-ranking employees when a corrective response was implemented. In contrast, support was greater following scandals that had been committed by a few low-ranking employees rather than high-ranking managers when a ceremonial response was employed. These results have important implications by illustrating how companies can effectively restore frontline employee support following a scandal.

Crisis Thermometer for housing market recommendations

Early warning, neural networks, expert, decision support, fuzzy and other systems, barometers, housing and real estate bubble indexes have been developed in an effort to analyze and manage crises in housing market. Scholarly literature employs various concepts of housing market crises concepts, including overheated, heating-up, stable, stagnant market, freezing, healthy housing. There are numerous interest groups operating at the meso and macro levels of the housing market who would appreciate receiving recommendations during the various stages of a crisis in the housing market. Therefore, the Crisis Thermometer for housing market recommendations was developed applying the aforementioned intellectual systems and concepts along with the long-term backgrounds of these authors.Different countries frequently select different strategies and tactics in their efforts to lessen the effects from a housing market crisis. This is entirely natural due to differing economies and markets of different countries, as well as their respective legal, institutional, technological, technical, social, cultural, political, psychological, ethical and other kinds of aspects. Traditionally an analysis of a housing market crisis is grounded on economic, legal, institutional and political aspects. Less attention is paid to social, cultural, ethical, psychological, emotional, religious, demographic, spiritual and educational aspects of crisis management. These sorts of factors are additionally used for assessing a housing market crisis with the aid of the Thermometer and for submitting personalized recommendations. The innovativeness of the Crisis Thermometer, developed by the authors herein, is primarily that it automatically determines the “temperature” of housing market, compiles numerous alternative recommendations applicable to a specific user, performs a multiple criteria analysis of these recommendations and selects out the ten most rational ones for that user. This article overviews the housing market crisis management model and its respective Thermometer and presents a practical example to demonstrate how the developed Thermometer works. This article also presents the validation of the proposed model and Crisis Thermometer.

Crisis management aspects of bam catastrophic earthquake: review article.

Bam earthquake was the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. The aim of this study was to review different aspects of crisis management during and after the catastrophic earthquake in Bam City, Iran. Data needed for this systematic review were collected through searching PubMed, EMBASE and SID databases, for the period from 2003 to 2011. Keywords included earthquake, Iran and Bam earthquake. The data were summarized and were analyzed using Content Analysis. Out of 422 articles, 25 articles were included in the study. Crisis Management aspects and existing pitfalls were classified into seven categories including planning and organization, human resource management, management of logistics, international humanitarian aids, field performance of the military and security forces, health and medical service provision, and information management. Positive aspects and major pitfalls of crisis management have been introduced in all the mentioned categories. The available evidence indicated poor crisis management during Bam earthquake that resulted in aggravating the losses as well as diminishing the effect of interventions. Thus, concerning the importance of different aspects of the crisis management and the high prevalence of disasters in Iran, the observed vulnerability in disaster management process should be addressed.

Dynamics of Change in the Aftermath of the 2001 UK Foot and Mouth Crisis: Were Lessons Learned?

This article investigates the UK animal health sector in the aftermath of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis. The article draws together perspectives from crisis management, policy and institutional change literatures in order to assess the extent of reforms since the epidemic. Interviews with government officials and parliamentarians and the analyses of official documentation indicate that lessons have been learned and there are successes in many areas; yet, there remains key aspects of crisis management that have yet to change, which leave the government vulnerable in the event of more wide‐scale foot and mouth outbreaks. The results of the study serve to suggest that post‐crisis change research should consider making more explicit links with the institutional literature on change dynamics.

Междисциплинарный подход к антикризисному управлению: последние тенденции в зарубежных исследованиях

Despite the fact that crisis management both in terms of the nature of knowledge required and approaches used is largely a synthesis of various disciplines, interdisciplinary aspects and the relationships do not receive sufficient attention. International literature of recent years allows a somewhat broader look at a number of both theoretical and practical aspects of crisis management in a wider context of topics and disciplines. A thorough multi-disciplinary approach to crisis management could be an important part of both the domestic research and training, and practice in the field of crisis management. This article reviews some of the most important interdisciplinary connections of crisis management with risk management, corporate governance, macroeconomic shocks, the concepts of stakeholders and corporate social responsibility, information technology, new institutional economic theory, and a number of concepts from sociology and psychology. The list of categories, models, individual concepts and theories of different subject areas which are closely interrelated with crisis management, according to international researchers, is quite long. In connection with the problems of crisis management this paper considers integrated risk management, holistic risk management, COSO-approach, moral hazard, the abuse of information asymmetry, opportunism, adverse selection, bounded rationality, the propagation model of bankruptcies depending on macroeconomic factors, the models of the influence of international integration and globalization on the dynamics of bankruptcies, epidemic models in crisis management, the sociological concept of disaster management, stakeholder theory of crisis management, the concept of reputation damage of crises, high-frequency trading in financial instruments, and the concepts of organizational learning and organizational storytelling. These and other interdisciplinary concepts serve as a book of recipes that can be applied with varying degrees of relevance to various crises in a company. It is plausible to assume that, other things being equal, crisis management, using an interdisciplinary arsenal, will be more effective and adaptive than the more limited approach based solely on the core of crisis management: economic analysis, legal regulation, management and marketing basics.

Crisis management, re-centralization and the politics of austerity in Spain

Abstract The main focus of the article is on understanding the role of the state as a key agent of crisis management within the context of an unfolding global financial crisis. This goes against contentions of the diminishing role of the state and the emergence of a political space that could be described as post-national. Drawing on examples from Spain, the article analyses the challenges of crisis management within the context of a high level of regional autonomy and the presence of highly charged arguments for and against decentralization. The article also argues that these debates are embedded into concrete institutional, political and economic processes that in the case of Spain are associated with the highly complex relationships between different levels of government. Building on a distinction between necessary and contingent aspects of crisis management, the article argues that one of the specificities of the Spanish case is the consolidation of a diverse set of ideas associated with the centre-right as one of the unintended consequences of the unfolding crisis and the process of its management by the Spanish state.

After a Terrorist Attack: Challenges for Political and Administrative Leadership in Norway

This article addresses the challenges that the terrorist attacks on 22 July 2011 in Norway created for central government and, more particularly, for the political and police leadership. The emphasis is on ‘meaning making’, focusing on how the leaders played out their reactions in the media and towards the public. When explaining the different aspects of crisis management, we draw on three organizational perspectives: emphasizing the importance of myths and symbols, formal organization and cultural–institutional traditions. The analysis is based on qualitative content analysis of central policy documents, parliamentary debates and documents, speeches made by central actors and mass media coverage in the year following the attacks. A main finding is that the response to the terrorist attacks is characterized by complex interactions between mutually influential factors, by dynamics between symbolic factors, on one hand, and structural and cultural influences, on the other.

Airway Simulators and Mannequins

Airway Simulators and Mannequins

Temporal aspects in crisis management and its implications on interface design for situation awareness.

Temporality should be considered in the design of information technology support for crisis management (CM), both because crises are dynamic events and because time is a part of situation awareness (SA). This study has used group interviews to explore how different temporal aspects of CM can be considered in CM design and how they can influence crisis managers SA. A prototype and a scenario were used as mediating materials. The result consists of two parts. The first part is comprised of the participants’ reflections on how timelines can be used to display information in CM information systems. According to the participants, timelines should present: deadlines, information sent to the public, incoming and outgoing information, an overview of where the current activities belong in the CM process and what has been going on since the last shift during shift changes. Timelines should not only display the listed information, but also provide functionality for adjusting the timescale so that information can be presented in alternative temporal perspectives. The second part of the result contains several obstacles that might influence the crisis managers’ ability to obtain SA. Obstacles elicited from the group discussions are: information overflow, fast changes of SA due to incoming information, difficulties to share SA with actors outside the CM centre, forgetting things that need attention and that SA depends on the quality of incoming information. The two parts of the result have been compiled into six design principles for how temporality can be considered in CM systems in order to support SA.

Role‐specific psychological requirements in preparing public transportation staff for disaster response

PurposeHuman behavior significantly determines the scale of impact of hazardous situations. If crisis situations are highly dynamic, they can only be managed successfully if both personnel and organization are well prepared. The purpose of this paper is to capture the specific demands disaster management staff are facing, from a psychological perspective.Design/methodology/approachGeneral psychological statements based on action theory and organizational theory serve as the starting point for analyzing aspects of cooperation, especially in inter‐professional communication and coordination. The analysis is based on data which were collected in structured expert interviews and observations within the domain of German emergency organizations and public‐transportation companies.FindingsThe findings suggest shortcomings on different levels: individual (restricted routines, unprepared for “out of focus” events); organizational (regulations, training) and political (lack of public preparedness for disaster in underground traffic systems; and restrictions on large‐scale training).Research limitations/implicationsInterviewees have not experienced “real” major disasters, so their answers are not derived from hands‐on experience. Also, generalization to other traffic systems or companies may show different patterns.Practical implicationsTraining emergency response staff in public transport systems should include psychological aspects of crisis management in addition to emergency management, e.g. building a shared mental model, and requirements of inter‐professional communication.Originality/valuePsychological demands of crisis situations in public transport have not yet been a focus of research or training.

LEGAL, STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA

The article is based on the presumption that contemporary security crises are increasingly and explicitly marked by growth in quantity and important changes in quality as displayed in the endemicity of crises, their composition, duration and complexity. It is a tendency of great contemporary crises that their effects reach beyond national borders, that they expand from one social field to another, and that they connect with existing social problems which are then further exacerbated. The changing dimensions of modern crises have a direct influence on crisis management. Its conventional organization and co-ordination forms are no longer adequate, a rethinking of politics and the capacity of crisis response is needed that takes both the national and international levels of the problem into account. The stated characteristics of a crisis and crisis management are also a concern of Slovenia, which has relatively well-developed crisis management within individual governmental agencies but has not yet established the appropriate coordination between them, i.e. on the national, strategic level. The article comprises a brief theoretical introduction to crisis and crisis management, followed by the results of an analysis of the legal structure regulating this field in Slovenia. It also offers subjective viewpoints of senior state officials on crisis management, selected functional aspects of crisis management, and final conclusions.

The meaning of Petersberg: Some considerations on the legal scope of ESDP operations

The article examines the legal scope of the so-called Petersberg Tasks in Article 17(2) TEU and of their modified version in the Constitutional Treaty. The Petersberg Tasks provide the only specific catalogue of military activities of the EU. Therefore, they offer important insight as to the legal scope of the European Security and Defence Policy. The article argues that the various mission types listed in the Petersberg Tasks have a fairly wide scope. In this context, it is the last mission type – “tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking” – which raises the most difficulties. It is suggested in this paper that the term “crisis management” comprises military interventions in any conflicts that constitute a threat to the peace or a breach of the peace as long as they are outside the scope of the mutual defence clauses of NATO and the WEU. Crisis management interventions must be of a containing nature but they may include the repulse of aggression and the restoration of the integrity of the international legal order. The term “peacemaking” describes a specific aspect of crisis management: the forcible pacification of a conflict between third parties (“triangular peace enforcement”). The modifications introduced by the Constitutional Treaty are of limited importance. However, to a certain extent they mark a conceptual step from reactive emergency measures to a more proactive, constant and holistic policy.

Redefining the Role of Humanitarian Organizations in Civil Emergencies

The end of the twentieth century brought about the collapse of the bipolar world order and the “balance of fear,” and saw it replaced by the increase of global instability, which prompted worldwide integration processes. The position of the authors is that a global war is hardly likely to occur in the twenty-first century. Instead, we find that the main challenges to global security will be insurgencies, international terrorism, civil emergencies such as natural disasters and man-made disasters, and conflicts over natural resources. Consequently, the role of humanitarian international organizations and other institutions is being redefined, along with the nature of their participation in conflict prevention and emergency management. A new overall approach to this issue is being developed that touches on all aspects of crisis management: political, military, economic, humanitarian, social, and environmental. All participants in those processes must adapt themselves to new conditions, and humanitarian organizations are no exception, since they are important players in the prevention and mitigation of emergencies and in post-crisis recovery efforts. The circumstances that can cause emergencies have changed significantly; yet security challenges still exist, as well as the need for efficient civil emergency planning and relief. Within the framework of the new circumstances, crisis relief in cases of emergency and war is the most important humanitarian activity carried out by society. Good organization and efficient functioning of humanitarian organizations in an emergency situation—and particularly in the case of war—can be of paramount importance for the survival of civilian populations as well as for the management of the consequences of peacetime emergencies. In the organization and implementation of civil emergency relief, humanitarian organizations— both national and international—participate alongside the maximum engagement of governmental services and institutions. The core roles, tasks, and principles of the work on which civil emergency relief is based and implemented reside within different areas of assistance provided by humanitarian organizations. The conse-

Crises, scenarios and the strategic management process

PurposeThe aim of this exploratory paper is to consider the strategic importance of crisis management and integration of crisis planning with the organisation's strategy processes, in particular the utilisation of scenario planning as a crisis planning activity.Design/methodology/approachA review of the crisis management literature was undertaken and key issues identified, subsequently strategic aspects of crisis management were developed in the context of scenario planning.FindingsThe paper contains a discussion of major factors related to a strategic approach to crisis management and a more proactive approach to building relationships with the media. Particular attention should be given to the roles and responses of the media and agencies acting on behalf of the company, as both should been treated in the same way as other relatively powerful stakeholders. The authors suggest that firms can obtain significant advantages through proactive preparation for major relevant contingencies, and its incorporation into the strategic management process.Originality/valueThis paper brings together the debate on the strategic position of crisis management with scenario planning processes to provide a mechanism for designing, evaluating and managing crisis futures. It should prove useful to managers considering the development of crisis management, especially in a strategic context.

Speech-gesture driven multimodal interfaces for crisis management

Emergency response requires strategic assessment of risks, decisions, and communications that are time critical while requiring teams of individuals to have fast access to large volumes of complex information and technologies that enable tightly coordinated work. The access to this information by crisis management teams in emergency operations centers can be facilitated through various human-computer interfaces. Unfortunately, these interfaces are hard to use, require extensive training, and often impede rather than support teamwork. Dialogue-enabled devices, based on natural, multimodal interfaces, have the potential of making a variety of information technology tools accessible during crisis management. This paper establishes the importance of multimodal interfaces in various aspects of crisis management and explores many issues in realizing successful speech-gesture driven, dialogue-enabled interfaces for crisis management. This paper is organized in five parts. The first part discusses the needs of crisis management that can be potentially met by the development of appropriate interfaces. The second part discusses the issues related to the design and development of multimodal interfaces in the context of crisis management. The third part discusses the state of the art in both the theories and practices involving these human-computer interfaces. In particular, it describes the evolution and implementation details of two representative systems, Crisis Management (XISM) and Dialog Assisted Visual Environment for Geoinformation (DAVE/spl I.bar/G). The fourth part speculates on the short-term and long-term research directions that will help addressing the outstanding challenges in interfaces that support dialogue and collaboration. Finally, the fifth part concludes the paper.

The role of perception in crisis planning

This article reveals that a company’s perceptions of crises have a profound effect on primary crisis management activities. Although briefly reviewing the technical aspects of crisis management, the research examines the effects that threat and opportunity constructs have on crisis planning. The article concludes with some recommendations concerning the communication of a crisis’s dual nature before, during, and after a crisis situation. John M. Penrose is professor of business communication and chair of the Information and Decision Systems Department in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University.

Choosing the Right Words

Although crisis management has evolved rapidly over the past decade, the symbolic aspect of crisis management has been ignored. More specifically, little research has examined crisis-response strategies (public statements made after a crisis) to see how these messages can be used to shape public perceptions of the crisis and the organization in crisis. This article synthesizes existing literature to create a list of crisis-response strategies and develops a set of guidelines for appropriate use of a given strategy. The guidelines are based upon Attribution Theory and use the crisis situation and the publics as the factors that help to determine when a crisis-response strategy is appropriate.

AFM news

The churn factor Internal moves are a sensitive issue for most facilities managers. Disruptive, costly — and unpredictable — they highlight many of the worst aspects of crisis management According to IFMA research, facilities managers face an average annual churn rate of 25 per cent, but the level can be as high as 100 per cent in fully‐occupied space. So what is the right approach for those faced with the difficult role of coordinator? And to what extent can moves be planned in relation to an overall facilities strategy?