How to watch the right butterfly: Some guidelines for the design of emergency response organizations

Issue title: Complex Socio-Technical Systems – Understanding and Influencing Causality of Change

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Haslett, Tim

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: thaslett@bigpond.net.au

Abstract: This paper proposes a methodology for the assessment and redesign of emergency response organizations. The paper takes a multi-methodology approach and discusses a series of well-established theoretical frameworks to provide accessible and easy to understand processes for practicing managers. The paper begins by highlighting the non-linear and catastrophic nature of civil emergencies as the basis for organizational design. The methodology proposed to sequential. The first stage uses Pepper's World Hypotheses as a means for assessing organizational responsiveness. The second stage applies Checkland's CATWOE and stakeholder analysis as a means to applying the "wisdom of crowds" to organizational design. The third stage involves scenario planning using qualitative System Dynamics and causal loop diagrams. The fourth stage applies elements of Stafford Beer's Viable Systems Model to the process of environmental scanning. The fifth and final stage is a discussion of the need to build organizational learning into the adaptive capabilities of the organization.

Keywords: Emergency organizations, catastrophic shifts, Pepper's World Hypotheses, System Dynamics, Stafford Beer

DOI: 10.3233/IKS-2012-0192

Journal: Information Knowledge Systems Management, vol. 10, no. 1-4, pp. 175-188, 2011