Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T09:10:31.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

8 - Structures

Organizing versus Disorganizing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2023

Jori P. Kalkman
Affiliation:
Netherlands Defense Academy
Get access

Summary

Crisis research focuses primarily on how response structures should be organized. There are ongoing debates about the required degree of flexibility in the response structure and what role emergent groups should have. A shared assumption in this research is that organization and structure are synonymous with order in a crisis and enable a rapid, coordinated response. Disorganization, by extension, is criticized for crisis response failures. This view ignores the risk of over-organization and crisis response rigidity. In uncertain crises, disorganizing might produce a looser, less ordered structure that facilitates a novel, adaptive response. The dilemma for frontline responders revolves around the need for both organizing and disorganizing during crises. It is worthwhile noting that different types and phases of the crisis demand different forms of reorganizing. The reorganizing process, through disorganizing and organizing, needs to be ongoing throughout the duration of the crisis situation to ensure that crisis demands and organizational response structures evolve synchronously.

Type
Chapter
Information
Frontline Crisis Response
Operational Dilemmas in Emergency Services, Armed Forces, and Humanitarian Organizations
, pp. 118 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Structures
  • Jori P. Kalkman, Netherlands Defense Academy
  • Book: Frontline Crisis Response
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262170.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Structures
  • Jori P. Kalkman, Netherlands Defense Academy
  • Book: Frontline Crisis Response
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262170.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Structures
  • Jori P. Kalkman, Netherlands Defense Academy
  • Book: Frontline Crisis Response
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262170.008
Available formats
×