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Strategic uses of Lessons for Building Collaborative Emergency Management System: Comparative Analysis of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav Response Systems

  • Namkyung Oh
Published/Copyright: May 23, 2012
Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
From the journal Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Volume 9 Issue 1

This study examined whether there are empirical evidences of organizational learning in the U.S. emergency response system and how the strategic uses of lessons enabled organizations to upgrade system’s capabilities and interaction structure to respond to major disasters. For this, this study conducted comparative analysis of Hurricane Katrina and Gustav response systems and analyzed data from semi-structured interviews with the managers of 36 leading organizations that actively participated in both response systems. To address challenges from complex and uncertain circumstances of disasters, organizations need to collaborate and their joint operations should be nicely coordinated. The findings of this paper reveal that, through effective communications, organizations could secure timely, accurate, and valid information and create a common knowledge base that is critical for collaborative response to disasters. In addition, organizational capacity to detect, process, and transmit information could increase through appropriate training and retention programs. Importantly, the collective capacity of organizations to collaborate in coherent ways could be strengthened through the development of organizational culture that facilitates face-to-face interaction.

Keywords: Emergency Response system; Strategic uses of lessons; Hurricane Katrina; Hurricane Gustav; Inter-organizational collaboration; Common knowledge base
Published Online: 2012-5-23

©2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston

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  2. Use of Small-Scale Test Data to Enhance Fire-Related Threat, Vulnerability, Consequence and Risk Assessment for Passenger Rail Vehicles
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https://doi.org/10.1515/1547-7355.1765
Keywords for this article
Emergency Response system; Strategic uses of lessons; Hurricane Katrina; Hurricane Gustav; Inter-organizational collaboration; Common knowledge base

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Research Article
  2. Use of Small-Scale Test Data to Enhance Fire-Related Threat, Vulnerability, Consequence and Risk Assessment for Passenger Rail Vehicles
  3. Strategic Cyber Defense: Which Way Forward?
  4. Effect of a Marketing Program on Freshman Student Registration for an Emergency Notification System
  5. Strategic uses of Lessons for Building Collaborative Emergency Management System: Comparative Analysis of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav Response Systems
  6. The Relationship between Turkey's Provinces' Development Levels and Social and Economic Vulnerability to Disasters
  7. A Review of the Key Legal dynamics of Chinese Military Involvement in Domestic Disaster Relief (MI/DDR)
  8. Testing Social Vulnerability Theory: A Quantitative Study of Hurricane Katrina's Perceived Impact on Residents living in FEMA Designated Disaster Areas
  9. If You Can't Trust, Stick to Hierarchy: Structure and Trust as Contingency Factors in Threat Assessment Contexts
  10. Regional Disaster Risk: Assessment and Mitigation Concepts in an All-Hazards Context
  11. Evacuation Patterns of Ethnic Groups Under Fire
  12. Risk Informed Decision Framework for Integrated Evaluation of Countermeasures against CBRN Threats
  13. The Influence of Politics on Federal Disaster Declaration Decision Delays
  14. Cross-Sectoral Scanning of Critical Infrastructures: from Functional Differences to Policy-Relevant Similarities
  15. Identifying Communication Strategies in Cases of Domestic Terrorism: Applying Cultural Context to the Fort Hood Shooting
  16. The Evolving Role of the Public Information Officer: An Examination of Social Media in Emergency Management
  17. Structural Dynamics of Organizations during the Evolution of Interorganizational Networks in Disaster Response
  18. Investigating the Roots of Crisis Management Studies and Outlining Future Trajectories for the Field
  19. The Multiplicity of Actors Involved in Securing America's Food Imports
  20. Homeland Security as International Security? The Case for International Relations as Disciplinary Model
  21. Challenges for Multi-sector Organizations in Tracking and Sheltering Registered Sex Offenders in Disasters
  22. Communicating H1N1 Risk to College Students: A Regional Cross-Sectional Survey Study
  23. Cultural Influence on the Implementation of Incident Command System for Emergency Management of Natural Disasters
  24. Influencing Factors of Emergency Information Spreading in Online Social Networks: A Simulation Approach
  25. Responding in Crises: A Comparative Analysis of Disaster Responses between Mainland China and Taiwan
  26. Updating the National Planning Scenarios: Using Wicked Problems and Capability-Based Planning Concepts for Homeland Security
  27. The 'Titanic Syndrome': Risk and Crisis Management on the Costa Concordia
  28. Book Reviews
  29. Review of Freedom and Order: How Democratic Governments Restrict Civil Liberties after Terrorist Attacks - and Why Sometimes They Don't
  30. Review of National Security Reform: How Commissions Can Drive Change During Crises
  31. Review of The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management
  32. Communication/News
  33. Public Health's Role in Understanding Community Resilience
  34. Identifying Factors that Influence Terrorist Decisions and Target Selection
  35. Opinion
  36. Emerging Dangers from Direct Botulinum Access and Use
  37. Failing to Establish a Unified Command in Louisiana During Hurricane Katrina
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