TITLE:
Case Review: The Action Plan for the Chicago Center Fire Accident: The Role of Leadership in Emergency Response
AUTHORS:
Robb Shawe, Ian R. McAndrew
KEYWORDS:
Department of Homeland Security, Collaboration, Leadership Competencies, Action Plan
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,
Vol.13 No.6,
June
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: Collaboration
is essential for dealing with natural and technological hazards and disasters
and the consequences of terrorism. Generally, it is accepted that all
administrative agencies require a combination of transactional and transformational leaders, especially within emergency
management agencies. However,
conflicts arose from creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
to impose a command and control system on a collaborative organizational
culture within a collaborative sociopolitical and legal context. The
significant factors are the ability and willingness to appropriately
distinguish the needs and priorities of
disaster management apart from civil defense needs and preferences; the selection of well-qualified disaster
management leaders with a background in natural and accidental
disasters; and the quality of implementation of programs including
administrative execution, number and level of presidential disaster
declarations, and timely presidential involvement in catastrophes. To what extent is crisis management related
to emergency management, change
management, and transformational leadership? How are these distinctions
illustrated at a competency level? While change management is essential, it
must be targeted and time-sensitive. Competencies were identified as
influential leaders’ important characteristics or behaviors during crises. New
leadership strategies that derive their power from adequate strategies practical to the transformational power of a
compelling vision rather than from hierarchy, rank, or standard
operating procedures are recommended.