Decision making is difficult because the problems faced by disaster managers are often shifting, unclear, and ambiguous. Moreover, the available information is problematic, unreliable, and inadequate whereas the required resources are often limited and exhausted at an unknown rate (Sinclair 159). During the initial response stage, the prioritization of resources is impeded by the absence of a clear definition of the location of the most affected victims or the profile of their injuries. Other challenges include ethical, environmental, safety, and political factors (FEMA 6.2).
Employing a problem-solving model can make the decision-making process systematic and, hence, overcome decision-making challenges. FEMA recommends the use of a model comprising of five steps: problem identification; evaluation of alternatives; selection of the most suitable alternative; implementation of the solution; and evaluation of the emergency situation by monitoring results of the implemented solution (FEMA 6.2).
Situational awareness can be defined as an understanding of situation-specific elements like environmental conditions, interactions, system states, people, events, and objects that affect performance in various dynamic and complex tasks (Tomaszewski 86). Typically, updated, accurate, and comprehensive situational awareness is crucial to the reduction of human errors in emergency responses.
Political considerations can generate negative consequences such as the inconveniences that occur when elected officials visit disaster sites or interfere with recovery and response objectives by refusing to provide funds or grant the required authority. Unethical or illegal actions can occur when the politicians use disasters to gain personal influence. However, emergency managers can capitalize on the various political interests in disasters. For example, elected officials can exercise their authorities and special powers to promote the management of a disaster (Wilkinson). Secondly, politicians can expedite the provision of necessary resources. Lastly, emergency managers need public support, which can be obtained through political influence.
Conflicts between organizations may arise due to insufficient interagency communications during a disaster, uncoordinated allocation of resources, uncoordinated planning, poor emergency assessments, and the absence of common organizational structures (Lindell et al. 259). Such problems can be prevented by employing two primary principles in the structure of emergency response organizations. First, the structure for responding to typical daily emergencies should form the foundation for an expanded organizational structure aimed at dealing with disasters (Lindell et al. 259). Secondly, local response structures should be flexible to allow rapid expansion as further resources are introduced. The flexibility improves the organizations’ capacity to address the increase in response-associated demands following a disaster. Usually, the major organizational structures used to respond to emergencies include the Incident Management System (IMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS) (Lindell et al. 259).
An emergency manager’s career may be jeopardized by injuries or exposure to harmful substances at disaster sites. For instance, exposure to toxic fumes, severe weather, and other hazardous situations might incapacitate emergency responders and render them incapable of continuing with their career. The managers may also lose their jobs if their inadequate response to an emergency situation results in an avoidable loss of life and property.
Pushing for political changes following a disaster is crucial to promoting preemptive preparedness to ensure an efficient mitigation of current and future disasters (Jha et al. 42). For example, policy changes initiate the enactment and implementation of new regulations and laws, cause the creation and shifting of political alliances, and alter social attitudes and conducts with the aim of ameliorating disaster responses.
Works Cited
FEMA. “Decision Making and Problem Solving.” Training.fema.gov. FEMA, Nov. 2005. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
Jha, A., Basu R., and Basu A. “Studying Policy Changes in Disaster Management in India: A Tale of Two Cyclones.” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 10.1 (2016): 42-46. Print.
Lindell, Michael K. Carla S. Prater, and Ronald W. Perry. Fundamentals of Emergency Management. Hoboken: Wiley, 2006. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
Sinclair, Helen, Emma E.H. Doyle, David M. Johnston, and Douglas Paton. (2012) “Decision‐Making Training in Local Government Emergency Management.” International Journal of Emergency Services 1.2 (2012): 159 – 174. Print.
Tomaszewski, Brian. “Situation Awareness and Virtual Globes: Applications for Disaster Management.” Computers & Geosciences 37.1 (2011): 86–92. Print.
Wilkinson, Emily. “Transforming Disaster Risk Management: A Political Economy Approach.” Gsdrc.org. GSDRC Publications, 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
