Command Resiliency: An Adaptive Response Strategy for Complex Incidents
Abstract
Many organizations believe they are prepared for the next terrorist event by wrongly assuming there is a predictable threat that can be managed with the purchase of new equipment. Unless organizations develop a resilient response strategy that can adapt organizational and operational elements to respond to new terrorist incidents, they will find themselves with the same difficulties emergency responders did on 9/11. As terrorist attacks unfold, organizations are pushed beyond their normal capabilities. How quickly organizations adapt to the uncertainty of a new crisis is critical. Organizations that cannot adapt to new threats of large, complex terrorist vents will be less likely to respond effectively to future attacks. This paper recommends a resilient response strategy that is flexible enough to adapt to complex incidents. It proposes policy recommendations that address organizational strategy and operational crisis management to deal with the initial critical hours of a terrorist attack. Organizational strategy defines core competencies and what happens when competencies are pushed beyond their capacity. Operational crisis management will examine situational awareness requirements, flexible decision-making and innovation. Command resiliency is achieved by overcoming organizational bias and integrating organizational preparedness and operational adaptability into a synergistic response network.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA439581
Entities
People
- Joseph W. Pfeifer
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School