Emergency Managers Interview - Research Paper Example

EMERGENCY MANAGERS INTERVIEW Introduction Emergency management is a unique profession. People who are in this field do it out of passion and some consider it more of a calling than just a profession. They are officials who prevent (where possible,) and reduce human suffering when calamities like hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist activities, occur (Walle et al., 2010). Below are Interviews and an analysis of the interview with the Emergency Management Manager and Emergency Management Coordinator: Mr. Scott ‘Anderson’ and Mr. Jon ‘Smith’ respectively (Their full names are not revealed due to the sensitive nature of the information). How would you describe today’s and or tomorrows emergency manager’s attributes? What skills, attributes and abilities would befit him/her? An emergency manager should have concrete knowledge on disaster planning, applicable federal and state laws, services for emergency management, how to prepare management plans for emergency needs (Personal information from Manager Anderson). He/she should be a good public administrator and a good team leader who can lead a team effectively. He/she should be one who can evaluate and analyze a problem and give effective ideas on how to deal with the problem at hand. They should also have traits of calmness under emergency and stressful situations and portray that calmness outwardly. They should have the ability to maintain effective working relationships with officials at the local setup and beyond. They should also be firm decision makers with excellent communication skills. (Personal information from Coordinator Scott) Resilience and passion for work is also crucial for every emergency manager. Today’s and tomorrow’s managers in the emergency department will succeed in serving the society when they give their work the best that they can. (Personal information, Manager Anderson) Is the existing academic literature on emergency management accurate? Is it something to go by? Hopson (2012) in his publication: Emergency management, states how the role of an emergency manager was thought of as a quiet one, more so relegated to officials of an agency that were appointed to the position of a collateral duty.He states how that is not the case in the recent years. Emergency Managers’ role has been that of resource and coordination with local government partners when there is an emergency. The Emergency Managers currently have an additional role of Homeland security. Manager Anderson agrees with Hopson’s literature. He states that the role of Emergency Management cannot be overemphasized in today’s society. That it is key and important. What is the important issue that today’s and tomorrow’s Emergency Manager face? Today’s Emergency manager faces issues of maintaining an all-hazards approach to emergency management so as to incorporate special needs of terrorism. The Federal Response Plan (FRP) has been revised into the National Response Plan (NRP) (Thiele-Cirka & Oregon, 2008). Investment in mitigation and preparedness has been diminishing. The issues that tomorrow’s emergency manager will face will be in regards to integration of hazard mitigation and disaster management policies up to the community level (Oregon, 2010). Interview: 1. What is your education background? Which schools did you go to, what courses did you take in college? Manager Anderson: I studied in Morgan State University; I have a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in integrated homeland security management from Towson University. Coordinator Smith: I went to Townson University; I have a bachelor’s degree in Economics, Major in Geography and Environmental planning. 2. Is formal education important in this field? What is the significance of formal education in relation to Emergency Management? Manager Anderson: I believe that formal education is important not only in emergency management, but in every profession. It is through academics that one becomes empowered and equipped with relevant skills and knowledge needed in the field. The more relevant education one has the more effective he/she is in their practice. Coordinator Smith: Formal education is important in emergency management. Although in the past there were no course outlines precisely for the field but now there are certificate, diploma and degree programs for emergency management and related fields. 3. Talking of being effective at work, what skills and attributes, would you consider befitting an emergency management official? Manager Anderson: An emergency management official at any level should be someone who is passionate about his work. Ready at all times, i.e. preparedness, since you never know when a crisis or an emergency will occur. Coordinator Smith: He/she should be a firm decision maker, especially if they are at the top rank. He/she should be able to manage a team effectively and execute plans fast and effectively. He/she should also be calm and portray the calmness, especially on the face of a crisis, it is not befitting of an official from the emergency department to be panicky or confused or to be anxious. 4. Is the Emergency Department autonomous from The Police Department, Fire Department e.t.c? Do you carry out your roles separately or is the department part of these examples? Coordinator Smith: The operations and management of the emergency department are carried out in the Department of Emergency Services. It is therefore, a separate department from the police and fire departments. Manager Anderson: The Emergency department is somewhat autonomous from the Police and Fire departments. Our operations are done under the Department of Emergency services. 5. What major challenges do emergency managers face as they carry out their duties? Manager Anderson: Like any other profession, emergency management has challenges. Global climate changes and uncertainties e.g. changes in precipitation patterns, recession in snow cover and increase, in global temperatures and the rising cost of disaster recovery among many. Coordinator Smith: Increasing population density and scarcity of resources. This in the long run can lead to negative aspects like terrorist activities, poverty, increasing risk aversion and intergovernmental tensions. 6. In your views do you think that the government has given emergency management a priority? In the past and currently? Manager Anderson: The government did not prioritize as much, the emergency managers’ role in the past but now matters of the department are given a priority. Coordinator Smith: For many years, the government’s priority on emergency management was low, but it change tremendously after the terrorist attack of 9/11, yet terrorist attack was not new in the United States. Six years before the 9/11 attack was the destruction of Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people in Oklahoma City. Currently the government has prioritized emergency management though there is still much to be done. 7. What professional challenge is the emergency management likely to face in the future? Manager Anderson: The linkage of emergency management with new professions. This is in the sense of for instance the rising concern of biological threats in the form of pandemics. This has linked the emergency management department to health departments. Coordinator Smith: The interrelation of emergency management with different professions. 8. What remedy would you recommend for such future challenges? Manager Anderson: Emergency management officials will therefore, have to gain a wider scope of knowledge in other professional fields. Training can be carried out for the officials to equip them and make them more competent at their work. Coordinator Smith: Frequent trainings to equip the workforce, and working with the relevant department to acquire as much needed information as possible to the success of the tasks of the emergency management department. 9. Pre-disaster mitigation and response capabilities through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), would you consider the approaches effective on the face of a disaster? Coordinator Smith: Mitigation and response are important in emergency management. Mitigation is a preventive approach before the occurrence of the disaster. Response entails rescue activities at the scene of the crisis. Manager Anderson: Mitigation is aimed at reducing injuries, loss of property and time for recovery. Some of the mitigation measures include provision of affordable insurance e.g. for flood, enforcement of rules for no-build zones in places that are prone to flooding. Grants are also available for construction of shelters against tornados and storms. Response is a critical measure too. It is done by a trained team which has been trained at the occurrence of a crisis. These include medical, urban search and rescue, mobile emergency response support, donations management and preparedness for nuclear incidents. 10. FEMA has faced criticism over various disasters that have hit the country, what is your take on that. Has FEMA failed during the mentioned events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Buffalo Snowstorm, in 2006? Manager Anderson: There have been these critics and more, the main complaint has been slow response amidst crises. I believe that FEMA is improving and giving its best to prevent loss of lives and reduce property loss and damage when a disaster occurs. Coordinator Smith: FEMA has been criticized on lack of swiftness in responding to emergencies although there has been improvement in the speed of response to emergency 11. How important is preparedness to emergency management officials? Manager Anderson: All-time preparedness is crucial. Its importance cannot be over emphasized. Coordinator Smith: Preparedness is paramount in this field. We are dealing with emergencies and crises which catch us unawares, but the emergency management official ought to be on guard at all times. The officials are fully trained and equipped on preparedness and immediate public mobilization should a disaster strike. 12. Public awareness on rescue operations carried out my emergency managers and their teams, how critical is it? Manager Anderson: Public awareness is critical for effective participation and positive responses to the emergency management rescue operations. Coordinator Smith: Public awareness is vital. Emergency management is not an exclusive job for the emergency manager. It is involves everybody in the community, both from the private and public sector. 13. What is regional collaboration with regards to emergency management is it something worth upholding? Manager Anderson: Regional collaboration is the establishment of mutual aid agreements between neighboring jurisdictions to provide assistance during emergencies. This is important and it is worth upholding especially at levels where neither one can afford alone. Coordinator Smith: It is joining of forces between jurisdictions with a common goal providing joint aid at the occurrence of a disaster to either or both the parties concerned; it something worth upholding. 14. Apart form the general challenges of the department, what challenges do you face at the office level? Manager Anderson: There are at times financial constraints, which makes the running of official duties, somewhat difficult and poor resilience from the community. Coordinator Smith: Staffing limitations and financial constraints. 15. What could be done to obtain a responsive and resilient community? Coordinator Smith: Training the community on how to handle disaster at a basic level. Letting them know that emergency management is a corporate responsibility that can achieve more by joining hands together and helping them own and be part of the department in every applicable way possible. Manager Anderson: Creating public awareness on matters of emergency management and emphasizing the importance of community input on the same. 16. The cost of disaster recovery has been rising. How is this handled in areas of tremendous losses as a result of environmental hazards? Manager Anderson: There are federal reliefs programs pay for significant losses from environmental hazards. The cost of this program is distributed to taxpayers. Coordinator Smith: The federal relief program pays for the loss. Compensation of insured lost property is also made at the occurrence of disaster against which the property was insured. 17. Given an opportunity to choose another path of career, would you give it a consideration? Why? Manager Anderson: I am passionate about role in the agency as a manger; I will not trade it for anything else. I consider what I do as more of a calling than just a profession. Coordinator Smith: I love my job. I will not consider doing something else apart from what I am doing. I look at it as a way of giving back to the society and I love it. 18. How would you advice new emergency managers? Manager Anderson: I would encourage them to be resilient and give their work the best; to get as much equipped as possible through education and trainings to make them well acquainted to the work. Coordinator Smith: I would advise them to be passionate about, do what it takes to be relevant and be exceptional in the field of emergency management. Analysis The Emergency manager and coordinator gave information on the various issues of emergency management. An emergency manager or any other official in the emergency management office should be a person who is well versed with matters concerning the department and the federal laws governing how activities in the department are executed. An effective manager is one who is knowledgeable, skilled and equipped with skills for administration and leadership besides those for managing disasters including mitigation, response and all-time preparedness. His / Her ability to evaluate a situation quickly so as to give advice accordingly is vital in this field. The manager ought to be a firm decision maker who makes effective decisions prior to, during and after occurrence of disasters. Officials of the emergency management department are well trained personnel who are always on the lookout and swift in obeying the orders of their seniors. They are the ones who carry out mitigation and rescue operations at the scene of emergency. They mobilize people during the operations to help save lives and evacuate the victims to safer places. They are the ones who offer medical aid and distribution of basic needs and materials to the affected masses. According to Coordinator Scott, this kind of job requires passion, zeal and compassion for the people. Training and acquiring broad education in other fields which are relevant will ensure that officials are at the top notch in their practices. The federal government is the chief organ under which the FEMA agency carries out its mandate. Through the previous experiences of disaster and crises of terrorist nature and others, the government has given priority to the emergency management department. The agency ensures that the department officials at all ranks are well trained and equipped for the job. It is the duty of the agency to mobilize the community. Community mobilization, training and marshalling support from every sector both private and public will increase the effectiveness of the work done by these managers, by bringing people both from the private and public sector to join hands in activities of emergency management. This, according to the emergency management officials, will ensure the overall success of the department’s activities. A resilient community plays a critical role in emergency management. They are the stake holders and according to these officials, emergency management is not exclusively done by the emergency manager but by every party involved, including the community. A resilient community is responsive and supportive to the officials from the department. The challenges that the managers are facing are hopefully going to be dealt with, to ensure smooth running of the activities in the department and equip the leaders of tomorrow for this exemplary field. Though there could be little or none to do with challenges of global climate changes, these officials believe that with the appropriate skills, knowledge and support, such issues can be handled and more importantly, their damage prevented or reduced on the way to a better, safer nation, from emerging calamities and disasters. They believe that FEMA is able to carry out its mandate satisfactorily to meet every emerging need, criticism will not continue because of its effective delivery of services at the nick of time. References Thiele-Cirka, S. & Oregon, C. (2008). Emergency management. Salem, or: Legislative Committee Services. Oregon, C. (2010). Emergency management. Salem, Or: Legislative Committee Services. Hopson, N. (2012). Emergency management. Delhi: University Publications. Walle, B., Turoff, M. & Hiltz, S. R. (2010). Information systems for emergency management. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. Read More