Emergency management deals with the organization and allocation of necessary resources during emergencies. Such management addresses natural, technological, or human-caused incidents that potentially threaten human lives. Employees working with emergencies should prepare operational procedures for resolving them and help overcome their consequences safely. They incorporate government agencies, officials, organizations, and individuals in their work. The paper’s purpose is to analyze the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a person dealing with incidents. As an emergency manager, my learned skills include effective communication to facilitate public awareness, preparedness for an emergency, resource management strategies, and ways to make quick but valid decisions during a crisis.
An incident can occur at any time, causing many repercussions and taking lives. Tackling ab emergency requires cooperation, forcing emergency managers to efficiently use available resources: personnel, equipment, teams, and facilities. Any manager starts their work by informing all involved parties so that they would understand the risks and the action plan. Gladstone and Brown (2022) point out that “soft skills can sometimes be as critical as hard skills,” proving that communicating to the public eliminates a lack of knowledge (p. 226). When the emergency manager learns to teach others to deal with possible incidents, he strengthens skills and reduces risk. Thus, negotiation is the critical element in resolving the occurring incidence.
Emergency managers prepare for future danger to show their competency in an incident operation. They know how to access information about available resources and personnel skills, so the only thing left would be putting everything into practice (Gladstone & Brown, 2022). Every emergency manager learns the basic structure of the Incident Common System with its characteristics and functional areas used by all organizations and applicable to all incidents. This system provides a standard, flexible, and predesigned structure for all that helps everyone assist in the incident response preparation (US Department of Homeland Security, 2018). For example, emergency managers establish shelters for evacuees in emergencies such as political conflicts, floods, or fires. They respond to the incident using the Incident Common System.
During an emergency, managers are responsible for allocating resources. Depending on the incident type, several resources must be adequately managed. For example, the Emerald city flood justifies how fast and correct decisions led to finding additional resources for evacuation, sheltering, sandbagging, providing food for the displaced people, and scene security (US Department of Homeland Security, 2018). If the managers did not decide on time regarding the resource allocation, then the vast majority of people would not be saved and helped. Thus, systematically organizing resources allow organizations to share them in an emergency.
One of the essential points that incident commanders learn is decision-making facilitated by management by objectives. ICS teaches emergency commanders to establish specific goals and tactics necessary to achieve these objectives (US Department of Homeland Security, 2018). By completing the tasks using the developed protocols, managers obtain the expected results. It is reported in the Incidence Action Plan, which also includes feedback from people experiencing crises and governments. Therefore, emergency managers follow the accepted ways of planning and decision-making.
Poorly managed incidents can endanger lives and undermine citizens’ health. Emergency managers should prepare and respond to the risks promptly to prevent them. The managers eliminate risks by coordinating with governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations and utilizing all resources. To conclude, every emergency manager learns the Incident Command System to develop processes necessary to prevent risks and recover from the effects of the incident.
References
US Department of Homeland Security. (2018). An introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS100.
Gladstone, M., & Brown, S. (2022). Soft skills in a hard world: Why emergency management and business continuity leaders must update their professional toolbox. Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 15(3), 225–236. Web.