ems unit IV case study

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UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE

Organizational Response to Crisis,

Part II

Unit Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Discuss the importance of having a media relations policy. 1.1 Describe the theories of communication and crisis coordination and

provide examples of its application. 1.2 Describe the four-channel mode of communication theory for crisis

management. 1.3 Explain the relationship between communication resilience and

communication in crisis response. 4. Differentiate among the types of media and information each may

request. 4.1 Explain the process of crisis response utilizing the chaos theory

and emergency self-organization. 4.2 Explain the relationship between communication resilience and

communication in crisis response 4.3 Describe the theories of communication and crisis coordination and

provide examples of its application. 7. Develop a policy for responding to media requests.

7.1 Explain the relationship between communication resilience and communication in crisis response

7.2 Explain the process of crisis response utilizing the chaos theory and emergency self-organization.

7.3 Describe the theories of communication and crisis coordination and provide examples of its application.

Unit Lesson Introduction The stages of emergency management are well known to public safety and crisis management. They are hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and emergency response. Communication is a major part of each stage, whether for information, education, or warning. Strong communication can prepare the community, keep it safe by providing instructions, reduce anxiety, and decrease the impact of the crisis. Crisis managers face two problems with communication during a crisis. The first is that communication will need to be constantly flowing before, during, and after the crisis. Additionally, messaging must also assist in coordination and response of the various local, state, and federal agencies. These communications need to be direct and clear to ensure minimal confusion with response.

Reading Assignment Chapter 5: Theories of Communication and Emergency Response

Key Terms 1. Crisis coordination 2. Resilience

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Assumptions of Communication and Emergency Response The first assumption made is that communications are an integral part in the problem solving that must occur during a crisis, and in addressing the specific needs of the community. Because the needs of the community change constantly during the crisis response, communications must remain dynamic. New messages should be released and updates may need to be made to old messages to ensure they meet the needs of the crisis. Additionally, it can be assumed that as part of a community’s response, organizations and structures will form that do not normally exist. These organizations will require additional information and may force the use of new communication methods. They may also assist in spreading messages released by crisis managers. For example, the purpose of community emergency response teams (CERT) is to come together in a local emergency to assist. If the fire department has a need for CERT members, messages will need to provide direction specific to those individuals to ensure they are able to help with response. Chaos Theory and Emergency Self-Organization The chaos theory of emergency response looks at the response of complex systems. It supports the idea that crisis response occurs in a non-linear manner, making it hard to predict. The chaos theory works to recognize patterns that do not rely on the standard expected behaviors and models. The first part of the chaos theory is the recognition that one small action may have a larger effect on the overall system, either negative or positive. Additionally, chaos theory recognizes that a crisis causes an organization to redirect their organization from the original intended path. This can be disruptive to the members of the organization. This redirection, also known as bifurcation, can lead to a system breakdown as the organization regroups and a new process comes out of the chaos. In order to allow for this reorganization/redirection, crisis managers must build organizations that are flexible and resilient. One of the biggest examples of this is the response of the community of New York City on 9/11/01. The individuals organized groups to help each other evacuate the building, get medical aid, or get home. These organizations assisted with response and alleviated some of the issues that the first responders faced, such as transportation and evacuation needs. They also served as a reminder that the public is actual less prone to panic during a crisis, especially when information is shared. This builds on an important part of chaos theory; that is, communication plays an important role in the development and function of the emergency self- organizations. Strong communication encourages the development of these internal response organizations and may increase the speed of response and recovery, while weak communication may detract people from participating, hindering response and recovery efforts. In the chaos theory, communication provides stability, order and balance, even when the situation does not normally support such things. Strengths and Weakness of Chaos Theory The chaos theory points to the fact that there is no way to determine precisely what will happen as the result of one or two actions. It does however provide a general framework for developing response expectations and processes.

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Theories of Communication and Crisis Coordination When a crisis occurs, coordination is a key factor in ensuring that response and recovery occur efficiently. Crisis response will likely involve more than one agency from multiple levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal assets. As discussed, it may also involve organizations that have been put together as a result of the crisis. Crisis coordination occurs when all response organizations agree to a single method for mitigating the incident. In general there are three forms of coordination that must occur during crisis response. The first is bureaucratic response. This is seen as the coordination that must occur between the organizational leaderships. This coordination tends to be rigid and based on the understood hierarchical structure that is predefined. The best example of this in emergency services is the incident command structure (ICS). The development of ICS is based on a rigid and predetermined structure that follows a top-down control hierarchy. The second is structural coordination. Structural coordination is based on the coordination of four elements: domains (D), tasks (T), resources (R), and activities (A) (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). Each of these elements is found in society and also found in organizations that develop during crisis response. Some organizations may focus on a few of the elements, while other organizations focus on others. A balance of these organizations is important. The third form of coordination is network coordination. For crisis response to be strong, coordinated networks must be in existence prior to the event so that they continue to remain strong during the crisis. One example of network coordination is the coordinated efforts necessary to respond to the Boston Marathon bombings April 2013. The networks that already existed between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies assisted in the quick apprehension of the suspects. Additionally in disaster response, there are two types of coordinated networks that exist to assist in response. The first is the Joint Information Center (JIC). The JIC is a prescribed process of coordinated communication released by all agencies involved. Its structure, which is designed in the National Response Framework, allows for the sharing of information in a coordinated manner. The second framework is the emergent multi-organizational network (EMON). The EMON are a group of organizations that come together to respond, based on the situation and the context of the needs of the community (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). The EMON uses five broad strategies that help define the purpose and activities of the groups. They are core strategies, consequence strategies, customer strategies, control strategies, and cultural strategies. Each of these strategies provides focus and direction for the EMON. While the emergency network structure is important, there is no consistency because the needs of the crisis change, which means the structures that emerge are different from crisis to crisis. Strengths and Weaknesses of Coordination Theory The coordination theory recognizes the importance of network coordination and allows for the flexibility to prepare for communications associated with the crisis and also to predict behaviors after the crisis has made its impact.

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Communication and Community Resilience Resilience refers to the ability of a person, organization, or community to take care of themselves and survive a major event. More recently the emphasis has returned to individuals and communities being able to care for themselves immediately following an event, as state and federal aid may be delayed. FEMA even pushes for people to have emergency supplies to last at least 72 hours, if not longer. A community the works to build resiliency is preparing to respond and adapt to the crisis’ severity and to handle the stressors associated with the crisis. A community’s ability to be resilient are based on two areas. The first are the characteristics of the community. Most of these characteristics are things that can be developed pre-incident. They include resources available within the community (e.g., fire, police, and EMS), the quickness of the resource response, the training the resources have, and the supplies they are equipped with. Because of the potential for so many crises, most communities prepare their responders for an “all-hazards” approach by providing training, equipment, and resources for all potential crises. Additionally, resiliency is based on the characteristics of the event. This includes area of impact, level of disruption, pre- event preparation time, and the type of event itself. Much has been theorized regarding community resilience. One researcher mentioned in the course textbook (Weick, 2993), described four elements of resilience. The first element is the ability to improve and problem solve in a creative manner (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). This element requires the ability to think outside the box and assert some flexibility in determining a solution. The second element is a virtual role system (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). These roles are well-defined expectations of the individuals involved in crisis response that are put into place seamlessly after the crisis impact. This system must be developed and in place prior to the impact of the crisis so that it can be shared and learned for the response to be effective. On the communication side this may include templates for press releases, standard communication practices, and predetermined expectations for the release of information or guidance. The third element is wisdom (Sellnow & Seeger, 2013). This is not only having knowledge, but also having the capability to review, question, and examine assumptions regarding the crisis, as well as the beliefs and expectations of the community impacted. The final element suggested by Weick is the ability to respectfully interact and take at face value the statements of others involved in response. As previously discussed, the integrity of the organization is imperative in receiving support of the community and compliance with instructions/directions. Additional researchers have suggested that there are two areas of consensus when it comes to defining and explaining community resilience. The first is that resilience is more about the ability to respond versus the control of an outcome. It is agreed that resiliency is much more focused on the adaptability of the organization as opposed to the ability to remain static through an event. Secondly there is recognition that the characteristics of a community prior to an event are important in determining resilience of the community. These communities will show adaptive qualities in everyday situations. Additionally the stressors and the resources must interact in a manner that allows the resources to control the stressors. It is much like a mass casualty. If a 50-patient accident occurs, then there must be enough ambulances to handle patient load. If the community has not developed a process for requesting additional resources or is unable to be flexible in their thought process of how to get additional resources, than that event will have a greater impact on the community and take longer to mitigate.

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In order to help with this, communication is critical. The agency impacted by the mass casualty must have a communication plan PRIOR to the event. They must know the phone numbers of other agencies to begin requesting resources. If this is an event that includes public involvement, such as a school shooting, than the organization would benefit from templates for media alerts and information releases to ensure a consistent message is sent and received. Secondary is the communication capabilities. A system must be in place to send and receive messages. The system must not only be functional, but it must also have a backup to ensure that, if the primary means of communication ails, communication can still occur. Strengths and Weaknesses of Community Resilience The ability for a community to respond and to provide information on how to respond is an important part in crisis management. Because not all crises can be avoided, it is important for individuals, organization, and communities to be able to adapt and respond as necessary to the crisis, even without assistance from outside resources. However because there are few constructs in this theory, it is hard to apply it to the wide variety of potential behaviors and responses that will occur as a result of the crisis. Four-Channel Model of Communication Communication is key in any event. Early communication methods focused on one-way processes which assumed the receiver was a passive participant who had access to multiple communication channels (print, electronic, etc). However, the advent of wireless telecommunications technology has shifted the communication process, which has led to the four-channel model of communication to interpret the shift. In the four-channel model of communication there are four elements imperative to good communication. In this model it is important to recognize the public as participants in information sharing (i.e., the use of social media). This creates a view of the public as an active participant, not only sharing information releases, but providing new information and first-hand accounts of the crisis impacts. There is also recognition of the media, now considered part of the public. With cell phones, Wi-Fi, social media, and other immediate methods for recording and sharing news and information, the public is rapidly becoming the primary source of information. However the interaction of the media and the public is important for ensuring continued updates and information sharing. An additional channel is the agency-to-agency communication. This is the communication that creates the interoperability and coordination between response organizations. It is important to share event information, as well as resource activities, to ensure response continues in a coordinated and effective manner. Additionally, agencies must maintain an open channel of communication with the public. They share information associated with agency response, needed support, and expected activities, and they receive information such as the public needs and expectations. The final channel is the public-to-public communication. This occurs when the public shares information with other media users, providing insight, information, first hand-reports, or when sharing things they have learned from other communication channels.

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When applying the four-channel model it is important to remember that communication is not solely vertical or horizontal. Communication must flow back and forth in a multi-directional pattern. Because the public is the first to experience the crisis, they are the first to open lines of communication. In a major crisis this is not necessarily communicated through social media immediately. The first line of communication the public will often use is the 911 system. This not only shares knowledge of the event, but begins the response process. When the crisis begins internally in an organization, not all four channels may be used. For example, an EMS agency finds that their treasurer has been embezzling money. Two channels may be opened simultaneously. The first is the agency-to-agency channel when notification is made to law enforcement. At the same time, the organization may be notifying those within the organization. Public notification may come much later, once they have determined the extent of the crisis and the impact it will have on the public. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Four-Channel Model The four-channel model is less of a specific response strategy and more of a framework for developing a strategy. The model recognizes the importance of sharing information with the public, as well as the central focus that they serve in communication during a crisis. It is also one of the more current models, with its recognition of social media as a new method of communication. Conclusion There is no denying that effective communication plays an important role in crisis response. An organization is benefited by the creation of a strong communication system and plan prior to an event. There are many models that work to explain the role of communication during the response process. Regardless of the model applied, maintained communication with those impacted by the crisis will only help an agency respond.

Reference

Sellnow, T. L., & Seeger, M. W. (2013). Theorizing crisis communication. London, England: Wiley-Blackwell.