Emergency management can be defined as the organization and management of available resources and responsibilities when dealing with risk or risk avoidance aspects of an emergency situation or crisis (Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., & Coppola, D. P. 2017). This concept gives necessitates the need for an emergency management leadership team that manages crisis situations and ensures appropriate action is taken based on current effects situation as well as potential impacts and risks of the crisis. These emergency management leadership teams consist of top executive emergency managers who assume critical roles within the leadership teams. These roles include:
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Coordination of Resources
Emergency management involves the organization and management of available resources when dealing with an emergency. This involves the coordination of financial, human, and natural resources necessary in accommodating and reducing the impacts of the crisis.
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Producing Situational Reports
The team also takes part in the coordination of information by creating situation reports. This activity is essential since crisis is dynamic and changes from time to time.
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Managing Public information
Top executive emergency managers are mandated to keep the general public informed of emergency actions and risk reduction mechanisms that are in place in the event of an emergency (Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., & Coppola, D. P. 2017).
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Involved in the Planning for Recovery
Top executive managers are heavily involved in planning and strategizing recovery plan in a crisis cycle. situation can result in significant adverse effects on a country's economy. It is, therefore, essential to plan for the aftermath and design a recovery plan in the event of an emergency.
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Monitoring Continuity of the Crisis Event
Dynamic emergency situations that change from time to time involve the collection of data through situational reports from various departments and personnel. It is the role of the top executive emergency managers to assess and monitor the progress and continuity of the emergency.
Currently, the crisis being faced by most countries is the Covid-19 pandemic. Different emergency management leadership teams like FEMA, have been put in place to reduce and mitigate the effects of Covid-19. The roles of top executive emergency managers are represented in the Covid-19 pandemic in the following ways;
Coordination of available resources including the procurement and distribution of necessary resources. This involves procurement and distribution of personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and personnel, including medics and those involved in the distribution of food within the U.S.A.
Top executive emergency managers like FEMA produce situational reports by keeping track of all essential updates regarding Covid-19 within assigned areas and produce reports that can be shared with interested parties and agencies to ensure everyone involved is on the same page.
Top executive managers ensure that information released by the press or information to be shared through a press conference is vetted. It also ensures that all press releases actionable and accurate information regarding Covid-19.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had adverse effects on citizens and the economy at large. Individuals have lost their jobs while the economy has gone to recession due to containment measures adopted. It is, therefore, essential to have a strategic plan that outlines activities people can deploy as they return to normalcy and cushion the aftermath hence the importance of planning the recovery role of the top executive emergency managers.
Concepts related to Covid-19 pandemic are dynamic and change regularly. Continuous data collection, data analysis, and the data assessment related to the crisis is, therefore, essential since the situation evolves continuously.
Roles in Emergency Situations
The top executive emergency managers acted by requesting for help when it comes to resources from both local and the federal government. Common resources requested are personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and disinfecting wipes. Coordination of personnel to assist in food distribution and medical logistics was also executed.
Top executive managers are working closely with public health facilities in the collection of relevant information and producing relevant situational reports that are disseminated to the various related agencies.
Top executive emergency managers manage public information roles by scheduling press conferences and dissemination of relevant information to the public. Wireless, Emergency Alert systems, have also been utilized to send messages related to COVID 19 to the public.
Various social services programs have been expanded within the country to support citizens' welfare when the crisis comes to an end. Through the federal government, the emergency management leadership team offers reimbursement through the disaster cost recovery process.
Collection of data regarding Covid-19 new infections, recoveries, and deaths has been done daily. Other impacts and information relating to the effects of the pandemic on the economy and at the individual level are conducted from time to time hence monitoring the continuity of the emergency.
Ethical, legal or professional challenges that the management leadership team may encounter within their respective role may include;
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Management of a large disaster/pandemic response workforce
The emergency management leadership team consists of a large workforce that works together towards responding to an emergency (Adams, T. M., & Anderson, L. R. (2019). For example FEMA has a large team consisting of members who work to reduce the impacts of COVID 19 in most states in the U.S.A. Management of such a large response workforce can be difficult since it's not possible to manage every individual within the team posing as a challenge to the leadership team.
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Maintaining the integrity of the different financial assistance programs and organizations
Different organizations and individuals come out to donate financial resources in case of an emergency or pandemic. These organizations and individuals provide financial assistance to respond to a disaster and even to facilitate recovery plans. It is, therefore, critical for the leadership teams to maintain the integrity and manage information confidentiality of such programs and organizations. Managing and maintaining the integrity of the various financial assistance programs and organizations can be both legally and ethically challenging to the leadership teams, especially where multiple people within the leadership teams are involved and have access to confidential information regarding such programs and organizations.
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Accounting Challenges
Accounting challenges involve conducting unethical accounting practices like cooking of books or financial statements. The government and other financial assistance programs entrust emergency management leadership teams with huge amounts of money to facilitate operations and other essential activities. When it comes to Covid-19, different organizations, programs, and individuals have donated money, food, and other necessities to support the most affected and vulnerable. Management of these resources and donations pose a huge accounting challenge to the leadership teams.
The emergency management leadership team consists of vital top executives as well as other important such as media representative and facilities managers, among others. The media representative's role is to ensure that adequate, accurate information is available for the public. The media representative acted correctly since the information available to the public daily is usually accurate and actionable.
FEMA has been successful in the distribution of food and other resources to hospitals and citizens in most states. Distribution of PPEs to hospitals and hand sanitizers has been effective with minimal mismanagement of financial assistance. Effectiveness of FEMA in service delivery proofs that each member of the team has been acting correctly in executing their roles.
References
Adams, T. M., & Anderson, L. R. (2019). Policing in Natural Disasters: Stress, Resilience, and the Challenges of Emergency Management. Temple University Press.
Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., & Coppola, D. P. (2017). Introduction to emergency management. Butterworth-Heinemann.
