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Emergency management Discussion: Should emergency management leaders focus their development efforts within their agency and let the rest of the response system develop their own strategies? NameInstructorInstitutionCourseDateIntroductionLeadership refers to the art of an individual influencing the other members with the aim of meeting the objectives and dreams of an organization. This suggests that it is a two way process. In the event that the ruled are not present, then leadership does not exist.
Leadership prevails in all aspects of life. Emergency departments have emergency leaders who perform the preparation, response, and recovery functions. Since the emergency management is a process, it requires leaders who have relevant skills to handle the mitigation, preparedness, awareness, response, and recovery. Not all firms can survive without emergency managers since all face diverse perils and hazards. However, in some businesses, emergency management departments have secluded themselves from strategizing with the rest of the response system in attaining the goals of the organization.
This has raised so many concerns as to whether this act is right or wrong. This dilemma may be solved based on deduced lessons from several reviews of literature.Literature reviewEmergency management has different response departments referred to as agencies. The leaders of the agencies perform different functions. Because the leaders have some emergency solving related jobs, they are grouped under one department. This suggests that they have some related strategies aimed at achieving a common goal.
More so, in time of need, emergency managers consult each other before coming up with some decisions and tactics of solving the problems caused by disasters. The strategies should not work against each other to bring about harmony at the scene of the disaster (Belasco & Ralph, 2008).From the research on ants by the US scholars, emergency leaders may learn the importance of collaboration of the departments. In this setting, ants are not as bright as such, but they are able to tackle any task. In addition, they are more organized than other insects.
They embrace the art of teamwork. Any ant may handle any job at any given time since all have the skills to handle any job. This policy should work in any emergency system. Different departments should be able to perform the duties interchangeably. In case one response system misses, any one present should be able to make informed decisions in solving certain problems. Therefore, there should be collaborative strategies in order to attain the goals of the firm (Gerber & Sims, 2005).According to Waugh & Streib (2009), important duties prior to, during and post disaster requires coordination from multi-organizational, inter-organizational and inter-sectional emergency response and recovery strategies.
In any case, there disunity of command by the objectives of the diverse systems persists; the entire objective of the emergency management team may not be met. Outbreak of wildfires in California forms a good example of merits of collaboration of all response systems. They managed to bring the situation to a halt. In another scenario, Belasco (2008) stresses that leadership works in the same way as a herd of buffalo. He uses metaphors to bring out the point that a manager should lead the workers in implementing general objectives.
The same should apply in this context. The leaders in all the emergency systems should have similar strategies under the overall manager to avoid clashing (Goodmn, 1968).Leadership in the current world demands that all managers perform common jobs concerning planning, staffing, directing, controlling and organizing all the relevant departments of the firm (Goodmn, 1968, p. 26). The same roles exist in emergency management systems. All the systems have managers who have skills to make decisions.
Therefore, the managers ought to have similar strategies for solving any disaster that may befall an organization (Gerber & Sims, 2005). Just like the character of a goose among a flock of geese, each manager has to put the strategies to good use in case others are absent at the scene. Each goose is always updated on the move of the group. This depicts that managers from all the units of emergency management should share their strategies to avoid confusion (Kim, 2005).Conclusion and recommendationEmergency management leaders should put focus into their development efforts as well as considering development of strategies in the rest of the response system.
This is because all the systems have a common goal. Secondly, leadership in the current world demands that all managers perform common jobs. Another reason is that lessons learnt from the character of buffaloes, geese, and ants infer the strength of unity. In addition, Waugh & Streib stresses on the advantages of emergency systems’ collaboration in enhancing problem solving (2008). Therefore, it is important for the leaders to take part in formulating development strategies for the whole system.
ReferencesBelasco, J., & Ralph, S. (2008). Flight of the buffalo: soaring to exellence, learning to let employees lead. Hachette digital, Inc, 40-78.Gerber, B., & Sims, J. E. (2005). Transforming U.S. intelligence. Washington D.C: Georgetown University Press.Goodmn, R. (1968). A System Diagram of the Functions of a Manager. California management review, 23-76.Kim, M. (2005). Blue Ocean Strategy. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press.Waugh, W. L., & Streib, G. (2009). Collaboratio and leadership for effective emergency management.
Public adminstration review, 131-140.
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