AMU Emergency Management Opinion Public Safety

The Importance of Organizational Culture and Management

By Allison G.S. Knox
Contributor, EDM Digest

Perhaps one of the most discussed managerial issues for any organization is the concept of organizational theory and culture.  Most businessmen have a good understanding of the idea that an organization is comprised of the people that work for their company and the culture the people create. Certainly a company’s clients have a sense of their organizational culture as it can have a direct impact as to whether or not they want to use their services.  Organizational culture certainly has its place in emergency management as it can help an agency to grow and flourish, or have hindrances in its growth.

Single Point of Failure

The [link url=”https://amuedge.com/the-single-point-of-failure/” title=”Single Point of Failure”] refers to a manager who ultimately has to have every decision filter back through them before their team can move forward with a project. The issue with this is they create a system where they are a “single point of failure” making it difficult for their team to function without their presence. While this is a particularly difficult issue for a team, it also creates a culture where individuals don’t trust their best decisions.  It can also create an apathetic culture where employees do not feel motivated to work without their manager.  In an emergency environment this can be particularly detrimental.  Emergency workers need to have a sense of how to proceed with managing a small or large scale emergency – while following their chain of command and the Incident Command System.

Culture and Versatility

Organizational culture needs to foster [link url=”https://amuedge.com/importance-versatility-emergency-management/” title=”versatility”] in emergency management.  While there are potential managerial issues that can break down the decision-making process of employees, organizational culture can work in the opposite respect to promote and foster versatility in an emergency agency.  Emergency management tends to follow certain [link url=”https://amuedge.com/there-is-no-one-size-fits-all-approach-to-management/” title=”guidelines”] for handling large scale and small scale emergencies, but within those guidelines managers can foster the need for employees to be versatile in their thinking for managing the situation.  Giving employees the confidence to move forward with their decisions in a positive fashion can help an emergency agency promote versatility in their hierarchical structure.

Good Managerial Practices

Ultimately, good management practices come back to a couple of important [link url=”https://amuedge.com/what-makes-a-good-leader-in-emergency-management/” title=”pieces”].  Great management stems from the notion that there are certain things about an organizational culture that can be toxic to emergency management, and other things that simply foster great teamwork. Each team, however, is going to behave differently. Thus, it is important for managers to stay abreast of who their team is comprised of, how their team functions together culturally, and work to maintain a positive culture that helps them to manage emergencies effectively.

Allison G.S. Knox

Allison G. S. Knox teaches in the fire science and emergency management departments at the University. Focusing on emergency management and emergency medical services policy, she often writes and advocates about these issues. Allison works as an Intermittent Emergency Management Specialist in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. She also serves as the At-Large Director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, Chancellor of the Southeast Region on the Board of Trustees with Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, chair of Pi Gamma Mu’s Leadership Development Program and Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Paramedicine. Prior to teaching, Allison worked for a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and in a Level One trauma center emergency department. She is an emergency medical technician and holds five master’s degrees.

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