Crisis Management Mechanism Research Articles

The African Standby Force: An Element of Prospective Multilevel Security Governance

This article examines the African Standby Force (ASF), an African-led mechanism for crisis management and peace consolidation in Africa, and its potential contribution to multilayered security governance. It analyses the ASF project, which has gone through many phases of redefinition since it was conceived in the late 1990s and elaborates on the inability of African stakeholders to settle on a clear concept, setting themselves ever more ambitious goals. International partners simultaneously suffer from, and contribute to, this state of affairs as their support too often responds to national or institutional interests. The ASF is also burdened by the lack of ownership by African countries and institutions. Only if AU member states make a conscious effort to increase their political, conceptual and especially, financial, stake in the ASF will they be able to credibly demonstrate that it is not an entirely foreign-mastered project, but a real ‘African solution to African problems’.

Signal detection as the first line of defence in tourism crisis management

The vulnerability of the tourism industry to a range of crises has attracted many scholars to investigate the crisis strategies and practices employed by destinations and tourism organizations mainly with regards to crisis preparedness, containment and damage limitation, crisis recovery and subsequent learning. One over-looked area has been that of crisis signal detection. This paper proposes a three-stage conceptual framework for crisis signal detection consisting of signal scanning, capture and transmission to the crisis response centre. With this framework as a basis, 16 corporate level executives of international tourism organizations were interviewed in order to explore the significance of signal detection in their crisis management practice and the challenges faced in each of these three stages. The findings offer insights into the design of crisis management mechanisms and open areas for further research.

Asian Financial System: Development and Challenges

Postcrisis policy responses tilted in favor of strengthening the global regulatory system and financial stability have limited the attention paid to the role of finance in supporting sustained economic growth and development. This has special implications for Asia which, despite being the new engine of growth to the world economy, continues to be challenged by the persistent gap between developments in its financial and real sectors. This paper examines how Asia’s financial and economic landscapes have improved under the wave of regional macroeconomic and financial management reform, yet continue to be beset by highly bank-dominated local financial systems, financial infrastructures anemic in proper legal and regulatory frameworks, and shallow regional financial markets. The situation compromises Asia’s ability to respond to the financial needs of its vast small and medium enterprise sector, infrastructure deficits, and poor households, constraining prospects for sustained high growth, development, and poverty reduction. The paper concludes that the financial development policy agenda in developing Asia should be focused on: (i) supporting economic growth and development, (ii) promoting financial inclusion, (iii) balancing regulation and innovation, and (iv) strengthening crisis prevention and management mechanisms.

Crisis management for SMEs: insights from a multiple-case study

Research in crisis management involves a variety of perspectives, including crisis impacts, strategic vision and leadership, contingency planning and technical capabilities. However, crisis management mechanisms of small and medium enterprise (SMEs) were rarely investigated for sound theory building and practical guidance for management. The aim of this paper is to explore mechanisms by which SMEs use to manage crisis. This paper presents a general crisis management model that represents crisis management processes in terms of detection, occurrence, recovery and resolution. To validate and refine this model, a multiple-case study is designed to investigate five SMEs’ actual crisis management practices. The case study results show that SMEs, in spite of their resources constraints and relatively weak market positions, display resilient market responsiveness. This paper further suggests that effective crisis management of SMEs involve proactive business mindsets for sustainable growth and continuous expansions.

Factors affecting development of crisis management mechanisms in hospitals

The growing competition among hospitals has almost dissolved hospitals’ absolute dominance over the physician–patient relationship. Many existing systems or regulations governing public organizations are so rigid that outstanding physicians in public hospitals may easily depart or be head hunted by competitors. Therefore, there will be more and starker challenges ahead of public hospitals. Through collection and analysis of a large sample, we attempt to apply a unique data validation method—nonlinear fuzzy neural network model to investigate the research issue. The questionnaire was administered to chairmen or physicians taking administrative positions in Taiwan’s public hospitals. The empirical results are as follows: Uncertainty of the hospital business environment is positively correlated with development of crisis management mechanisms; Operation of crisis management mechanisms is positively correlated with establishment of a medical risk management system; Organizational culture in public hospitals is disadvantageous to operation of crisis management mechanisms.

Research on the Mechanism of Tourism Industry Association-Oriented Crisis Management

With the deepening of economic globalization, China’s Tourism industry has been developing positively, but also accompanied with increasing amount of crisis. On the basic of the systematic analysis of tourism crisis and its characteristics, we treated the Tourism Industry Association as managing subject and put forward the mechanism of crisis management for the Tourism Industry Association in dealing with tourism crisis. Aiming to improve the tourism industry’ capability against risks and provide theoretical guidance for Tourism Industry Association better plays the role of assisting government and guiding enterprises.

The African Standby Force: External Support to an ‘African Solution to African Problems’?

SummaryExternal support is essential to the development of the African Standby Force (ASF), an African‐led mechanism for crisis management and peace consolidation in Africa. This research paper examines external support to the ASF by several bilateral and multinational contributors, assessing its strengths and limits, and attempts to measure the significance of the support to the aspired outcome.The starting point of the study is an analysis of the fast‐evolving ASF project, which has gone through many phases of definition and redefinition since it was conceived in the late 1990s. The ASF, it is argued, is a ‘moving target’, due to the inability of African stakeholders to settle on a clear concept, setting themselves ever more ambitious goals at every stage. Partners simultaneously suffer from, and contribute to this state of affairs. Whilst coordination efforts are undertaken, partners' support too often still responds to national (for bilateral donors) or institutional interests (for multilateral ones), each partner using the leeway created by the conceptual ambiguities of the ASF to press its own priorities. Given the overwhelming role of partners in the conceptual maturation of the ASF, and the impact of their funding decisions, this is turn exacerbates the confusion about the true direction of its development. Said differently, the ASF is burdened by the lack of political, conceptual, and financial ownership on the side of the recipients, who are also its main stakeholders. The result is at best an ambiguous partnership, and at worst a waste of human resources, financial means and political capital.Attempting to differentiate between degrees of ‘ownership’, the study concludes that it is only if AU member states make a conscious effort to increase their political, conceptual and especially, financial, stake in the ASF that they will credibly demonstrate that it is not an entirely foreign‐mastered project, but a real ‘African solution to African problems’.

Developing Asia and the global financial regulatory agenda

The objective of global regulatory reform is to build a resilient global financial system that can withstand shocks and dampen, rather than amplify, their effects on the real economy. Lessons drawn from the recent global financial crisis have led to specific reform proposals with concrete implementation plans at the international level. Yet, these proposals have raised concerns of relevance to Asia's developing economies and hence require further attention at the regional level. We argue that global financial reform should allow for the enormous development challenges faced by developing countries – while ensuring that domestic financial regulatory systems keep abreast of global standards. This implies global reforms should be complemented and augmented by national and regional reforms, taking into account the very different characteristics of emerging economies’ financial systems from advanced economies. Key areas of development focus should be (i) balancing regulation and innovation, (ii) establishing national and cross-border crisis management and resolution mechanisms, (iii) preparing a comprehensive framework and contingency plan for financial institution failure, including consumer protection measures such as deposit insurance, (iv) supporting growth and development with particular attention to the region's financial needs for infrastructure and for SMEs, and (v) reforming the international and regional financial architecture.

The EU Financial Market Policy: Evolution, Innovation and Research Outlook

This paper reviews the process of regulatory integration in the financial markets of the European Union. It shows that the regulatory framework for the single market in financial services has progressed in stages reflecting the evolution of EU policy-modes; from market opening to attempts at harmonization, to reliance on mutual recognition. The slow progress induced the EU to innovate its decision-making processes by introducing the Lamfalussy procedure in 2001. The new procedure accelerated the adoption of new regulations and is being adapted to ensure consistent enforcement across all EU jurisdictions. The next round of challenges to regulatory integration will stem from weak crisis management mechanisms revealed by the current crisis.

Crisis Management—

SUMMARY This paper reviews the crisis preparedness of the Greek passenger shipping industry after two widely publicized crises events (Superfast III and Express Samina). As far as Greece is concerned, the travel and tourism industry is one of the most significant contributors to the country's GDP at a rate of more than 10% and the country's passenger shipping industry contributes fundamentally to this figure. Overall findings suggest that both the State as well as the passenger shipping companies encompass crisis management tools and mechanisms to protect the industry, and the whole Greek tourism sector. This paper also identifies the 'ripple effect,' the wider implications a crisis can have on the business environment. Therefore the Faulkner (2001a,b) model for tourism disaster management framework is adapted to accommodate permanent changes enforced on the whole industry as an outcome of a crisis situation.

Attitudes to telecare among older people, professional care workers and informal carers: a preventative strategy or crisis management?

This paper reports findings from an attitudinal survey towards telecare that emerged from 22 focus groups comprising 92 older people, 55 professional stakeholders and 39 carers. These were convened in three different regions of England as a precursor to telecare service development. The results from this study suggest that informants’ views were shaped by prior knowledge of conventional health and social care delivery in their locality, and the implication is that expectations and requirements with respect to telecare services in general are likely to be informed by wider perceptions about the extent to which community care should operate as a preventative strategy or as a mechanism for crisis management.

NATO Crisis Management: Cooperation with PfP Partners and Other International Organizations

Crisis management and conflict prevention, including crisis response operations that do not fall under Article V of the NATO Charter, have been major themes in the continuing adaptation of the Alliance to the post-Cold War security environment. This article focuses on a key aspect of the adaptation of NATO crisis management and conflict prevention mechanisms: cooperation with Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) and Partnership for Peace (PfP) partners and with other key international organizations that contribute to international peace and security and, in particular, recent developments in NATO–EU relations. The Strategic Concept adopted in Rome in 1991 emphasized the importance of crisis management, and the revised Strategic Concept adopted in Washington on 24 April 1999 identified crisis management and conflict prevention as ‘fundamental security tasks’ of the Alliance. It stated: “... in order to enhance the security and stability of the Euro-Atlantic area: Crisis Management: To stand ready, case-by-case and by consensus, in conformity with Article 7 of the Washington Treaty, to contribute to effective conflict prevention and to engage actively in crisis management, including crisis response operations.” Alliance members noted that NATO’s preparedness to carry out such operations supports the broader objective of reinforcing and extending stability and often involves the participation of NATO’s partners, and that it will make full use of partnership, cooperation and dialogue and NATO’s links to other organizations to contribute to preventing crises and, should they arise, defusing them at an early stage.

Promoting global financial development: vive la différence!

This paper is based on the author’s comments before the Group of 15 (G15) Conference Cooperation among G15 Stock Market Exchanges -G15 Capital Markets: Challenges & Opportunities in the New World. The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, and sponsored and organized by the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges. Dr. Trimbath addressed the topic of “Financial Crisis Management and Prevention Mechanisms” for banks and stock exchanges. The conference took place March 25 26, 2001 at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel, Cairo, Egypt.

Connecting chromosomes, crisis, and cancer.

Cancer is a disease of impaired genome stability. The molecular forces that maintain genome integrity and sense altered chromosome structure are invariably subverted in cancer cells. Here, we explore the contrasting contributions of telomeres in the initiation and suppression of cancer and review the evidence supporting a role for telomere dysfunction as a mechanism driving the radical chromosomal aberrations that typify cancer genomes. Recent work suggests that passage of cells through crisis in the setting of deactivated DNA damage checkpoints provides a mutational mechanism that can generate the diverse genetic alterations required for cancer initiation. A greater understanding of telomere-induced crisis and the cell's crisis management mechanisms should guide the rational development of new therapeutics for cancer and other disorders.

Promoting Global Financial Development: Vive La Difference!

This paper is based on the author's comments before the Group of 15 (G15) Conference Cooperation among G15 Stock Market Exchanges - G15 Capital Markets: Challenges & Opportunities in the New World. The conference was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, and sponsored and organized by the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchanges. Dr. Trimbath addressed the topic of Financial Crisis Management and Prevention Mechanisms for banks and stock exchanges. The conference took place March 25 - 26, 2001 at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel, Cairo, Egypt. Regulators and policy makers are coming to realize what capital market participants have known for a long time: When it comes to developing the financial institutions that provide the infrastructure for robust capital markets, there is no one size fits all. This article provides a review of recent developments in economic and finance studies on the link between financial markets and economic growth. Significant advances in the development of stock exchange safety and infrastructure in G15 countries are included throughout the discussion by way of example. The focus on stock exchange development is highlighted by a discussion of new research on capital market integration.

STRENGTHENING THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM: ASSESSING THE CRISIS AND THE POLICY RESPONSE

The financial crisis that began with Thailand's devaluation in the summer of 1997 exposed significant weaknesses both in the structure of markets in emerging countries and in the crisis-prevention and crisis-management mechanisms built into the international financial system. Since then numerous efforts have been made to assess the causes of the crisis, and official institutions such as the Group of 7, the IMF, and the World Bank have laid out an agenda for reform. This article discusses the four cornerstones of the reform program: 1 Encouraging the development of sound, well-structured banking sectors subject to well-designed systems of bank regulation and supervision. 2 Ensuring that private institutions have the incentives, governance structures, and internal controls in place to avoid inappropriate risks. 3 Strengthening disclosure requirements to ensure that global lenders and investors have the quantity and quality of information they need to make informed judgments about risks and returns. 4 Ensuring that monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate policies are appropriate and resilient enough to permit emerging market governments to withstand a crisis. As recommended in the article on Indonesia, the author encourages the private sector to make greater use of innovative financing arrangements to manage their risk exposures—for example, through standby lines of credit or pre-negotiated options that would allow a debtor to automatically restructure its obligations under certain conditions.

Crisis management mechanisms: How much is enough?

(1989). Crisis management mechanisms: How much is enough? Arms Control: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 105-119.