What
are the challenges agencies in both the public and private sector
must consider when constructing a long-term vision in preparation for
major natural disasters? How can the agencies address these issues?
Provide an analysis supporting your response.
Budgeting
will be a major factor in constructing long term vision, as
“emergency management
agencies
and programs have not received the political and fiscal support that
they
should
have” (Choi, 2008, p. 3).
There
is also the issue of public awareness versus
public expectations. “The success of government in meeting this
[emergency management] need has led to increasingly higher public
expectations” (Choi, 2008, p. 4). Unfortunately, “in a world of
finnite resources, achieving ideal performance
in such situations will almost never be possible” (Jackson, 2008,
p. vii). Adding to this issue is a lack of public awareness
on dealing with emergencies;“FEMA surveys
indicate that many Americans are still not
prepared”
(GAO, 2010, p. 21)
Another
issue to consider while building the long term vision is the lack of
accurate foresight, such as “the breakdowns that occurred after
Katrina and Rita [and] demonstrated not only capability and
effectiveness shortfalls, but also that we did not know how prepared
we actually were as a country”(Jackson, 2008, p. 2)
The
next challenge to long term vision is collaboration
with agencies that don't share the long-term vision. “Overall, the
existing governmental response system is more accurately described as
disarrayed, disconnected, uncoordinated, underfunded, and
discredited” (Choi, 2008, p. 4).
All
these challenges underly the uncertainty involved
with creating a consistent plan to build the vision for, and “future
policy mandates should recognize that there are factors beyond the
control of those designing the policy that will impact the extent to
which the policy is implemented as well as the policy's performance
and output”(Jensen, 2010, p .114).
How
does agency address these challenges? Choi suggests that agencies
“should have the following in place prior to attempting
implementation: a powerful and effective process sponsor; a strategic
planning team; a willingness to be flexible concerning what
constitutes a strategic plan; and a willing to construct and consider
arguments geared to many different criteria” (2008, p. 6). This
coincides with our week 4 discussion of how leaders sponsor
implementation during every component of
the process. Leaders need to be able to adapt to these changes, and
define the ability to adapt as part of their vision. Indeed, one
principle that is part of FEMA's vision is flexibility (FEMA, 2007,
p. 4).
Choi,
S. (2008). Emergency management: implications from a strategic
management perspective. Journal of Homeland Security &
Emergency Management, 5(1), 1–21. Retrieved February 24,
2015 from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=i3h&AN=31195725&site=ehost-live&scope=site
FEMA.
(2007). Emergency management definition, vision, mission,
principles. Retrieved February 24, 2015 from
www.training.fema.gov/hiedu/08conf/emergency%20management%20principles%20monograph%20final.doc
GAO.
(2010). Emergency preparedness: FEMA faces challenges integrating
community preparedness programs into its strategic approach.
DIANE Publishing. Retrieved January 28, 2015 from
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=yUYS9m5HSV4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=%22DHS+concurred%22+%22practices+for+implementing+programs,+FEMA+would+be%22+%22Jr.+at+(202)+512-8777%22+%22more+information,+contact+William%22+%22completing+these+strategies.+By+doing+so,+consistent+with%22+&ots=ej_ToyIv8g&sig=VTTrs--JD_-Iw7PDhHI2BDuPYAQ
Jackson,
B. A. (2008). The Problem of measuring emergency preparedness: The
need for assessing “response reliability” as part of Homeland
Security planning. Santa Monica, California, Rand Corporation.
Jensen,
J. A. (2010). Emergency management policy: predicting National
Incident Management System (NIMS) implementation
behavior(dissertation). North Dakota State University. Retrieved
February 3, 2015 from
https://cms-devel.ndsu.nodak.edu/fileadmin/emgt/Final_Dissertation_Complete.pdf