Essay on Strategic Crisis Management

While practical and realistic, "real world scenario training takes a lot of funding. Ideally, proper financing should be planned for exercises to be as useful as possible because it familiarizes first responders with the standard operating procedure, lowers response time and can equate out to fewer casualties via containment and control. Training while fighting is very necessary in this regard. Modern crises have complexities and require input from many actors to counter. Baubion, (2013) examines that security preparedness demands effective coordination for a successful simulation whenever a security threat occurs.

Significantly, the new forms of crises today call for new approaches to tackling emerging issues. These recent disasters posit management challenge to the governments and the authorities of the day because they are often unexpected, and unforeseen but when they occur, their effects are devastating. Baubion,(2013). Moreover, the disasters are accompanied by communication breakdown whenever they occur. The recent examples of disaster and security threats include the California wildfires in the US, The H1NI disease pandemics, hurricane Harvey, hurricane Maria in the US, hurricane Katrina in India, and the Tohoku earthquake in Japan in 2011where the tsunami and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear resulted to mass loss of lives Baubion, (2013).

Consequently, the advent of social is beneficial as many people globally visit a plethora of social media to get the updates of any looming disasters or following acts of terrorism. The social media platforms enable authorities, and people to get information faster then take action immediately. Furthermore, organizations can access, scrutinize and analyze data more accurately on social media and take necessary action. Therefore, the might of social media in controlling or informing the masses about a crisis outbreak (Chan. (2014).

Jaques (2011) examines two methods of crisis preparedness which he describes as pre-crisis management. System preparedness including proper planning, documentation, and secondly, proactive crisis prevention involves the actual actions to prevent the occurrence of a security threat. For instance, risk assessment, environmental scanning, and emergency response. Moreover, the risk managers and together with processes and structures put in place cannot counter the new risks efficiently due to some reasons. Vincent, (2017). Reports that the new crises are unique, unprecedented and unexpectedly devastates in large scale. The new crises also need impeccable preparations because of their tans boundary nature. From wildfires, hurricanes, to earthquakes and missile attacks, the crises affects more than one border, changing many lives negatively Baubion, (2013).

Our societies are becoming more vulnerable to security threats due to the advancement of technology and more complexities arising from different countries. Vincent, A. (2017) reports that the characteristics of the risks are getting modified as well. For instance, adverse weather conditions influence the climate change leading to rising sea levels, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Moreover, terrorism and other forms of attacks take new shapes every day because the perpetrators aim at attacking more and more numbers every day. Infectious disease like Ebola also infect the masses continuously due to the viral mutations.

The governments and authorities need to deal with the crises, but privatization and decentralization lead to least committee as roles shift. Therefore, in case of any emergencies, authorities in place act less efficiently, reasoning that such actions occur without their boundaries. The authorities raise different complains when faced with their preparedness to counter risks. First, decentralization means dealing with the unknown as attention is either shifted to developments or fostering international relations. The citizens demand for the government increases and this sometimes overwhelm the ruling authorities leading to less commitment to crisis preparedness.

The Vincent, A. (2017) reveals that risk management should remain the sole responsibility of the government. Many governments make constant progress in the field of science, technology, and information management in an attempt to understand the exposure of the world of threats and hazards, risks and vulnerable situations of the populations Baubion, (2013). Investing in disaster preparedness and crisis management measures is an economic gain to governments who spend less money on prevention measures than on managing crises after they occur. The results obtained after prevention of disasters affirm the importance of crisis preparedness.

The phases of a crisis management process include readiness before the crisis, response to any form of damage during the crisis and finally, the feedback after disaster attacks. Various frameworks are involved in the preparedness phase as outlined in Jaques, (2011). First, the concerned parties conduct a risk assessment. At this point, the governments, NGOs, and relevant bodies identify and analyze possible main threats, harmful effects, and any other health hazards.

The early warning system is also a part of the disaster preparedness. The systems serve as contingency plans to ensure proper preparations. Secondly, Baubion, (2013) posits that the equipment for crisis management should be adequately supplied and stockpiled in readiness to act at any crucial moment. Finally, the preparedness stage is marked by appropriate legislation and policies, and allocation of the resources required for the proper readiness.

The second phase of crisis preparation is the response phase, as documented by Baubion, (2013). This stage prepares governments for readiness once a crisis occurs. The response stage is characterized by various measures, the first on being detection. Crisis detection happens through monitoring of networks and observing any warnings through the information obtained from authorities, the media, citizens and any other relevant organizations. Consequently, watching the development of the crisis helps in getting the best way to tackle it. The governments and appropriate bodies should formulate intelligence bodies to deal with this, OECD report (2013). After the monitoring, effective crisis management plans are evoked.

Nonetheless, Baubion, (2013) examines that there should be crisis cells to help in coordinating, monitoring and adapting the response efforts. Also, there the authorities presiding crisis management should apply standard operating procedures (SOPs), which to help in operations. The methods provide mechanisms to handle the situation in the best ways without damaging property and lives and guides at the correct time to use new response tactics. Additionally, communication on the crisis countering process needs to be constant. The affected individuals and the population at the significant need to know whether the situation has been contained or whatever the progress made. Crisis communication returns hope to the involved parties, making them believe in a possible victory at the end Baubion, (2013). Hence, the governments need to have the risk knowledge to ensure efficacy in subverting any crisis or threat.

For instance, the Mexican government through the National Disaster Prevention Center of Mexican (CENAPRED) created System for the Analysis and Visualization of Risk Scenarios (SAVER) to provide risk scenario information. The state gets information about any vulnerability of hospitals, schools, state departments and citizens and how to defeat such risks through SAVER system Baubion, (2013). Moreover, the ministries of communication and education provide the system with data on any looming threats. Critical is the need for proper coordination between the state departments in attempts to deal with the crises. Therefore, the risk assessment procedures should be shared widely to reach government bodies and individuals in the remote areas.

There are various imitation procedures which when done efficiently, can help deal with a crisis. During the simulation process, practically should be an aspect to consider to choose the best methods which work successfully in a multi-location and across multi-disciplinary organizations. Firstly, top table exercises are one the simulation procedures, designed to test the ability of individuals to respond to a crisis. The method uses role-playing model, and the facilitator prompts the players to respond to an emergency scenario using the plans they have. Also, the parameters occasionally change to help the team members adapt rapidly.

Sometimes the facilitators might choose to conduct crisis drills Bernstein, (2011). The exercises are closest to the real crisis scenario and involve the actual external personnel as in the real cases, for instance, the police and emergency medics. The crisis drills include team members and the individuals from part or whole of the organization. Unfortunately, there might be actual injuries or failures during drills due to panic from the innocent individuals, and therefore, the team should be cautious.

Security crisis preparedness and running an efficient crisis simulation is something every organization and state should allocate excellent resources and train staff and citizens on how to respond to crises. The equipment for the security crisis preparedness should always be ready and well maintained. In every institution, the emergency departments should conduct daily emergency response training to equip their personnel. Importantly, the top leadership of a company, organization or state should demonstrate maturity during the crisis, and deliver accurate communication. Baubion, (2013) reports that the people become emotional during emergencies and therefore, the top leadership should pass specific messages which answer the citizens questions.

References

Baubion, C. (2013). OECD Risk Management: Strategic Crisis Management. OECD Working Papers on Public Governance, (23), 0_1.

Bernstein, J. (2011). Manager's guide to crisis management. McGraw Hill Professional.

Chan, J. C. (2014). 1 THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN CRISIS PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY By.

Jaques, T. (2011). Barriers to effective crisis preparedness: CEOs assess the challenges. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, 12(2), 1-11.

Vincent, A. (2017). EFSA 2017 Workshop on Crisis PreparednessPlant Health. EFSA Supporting Publications, 14(7).