Crisis management : myth or monster.

Abstract

Crisis management is defined to be the expansion of the commitments on an organization beyond the capability its normal resources to respond adequately to all of them. Crisis commitments are imposed with relatively short notice, with vague prioritization, and without the privelege of reclama by the organization. Under conditions of goal conflict and workday extension, the organization and its environment are statically and dynamically modelled to demonstrate the critical nature of the time element in the management of crises. An in-depth analysis of the supporting situational elements within the Navy is conducted. Emphasis is placed on the structure of the Navy bureaucracy and its effectiveness in the unstable environment which the military faces. The contribution of bureaucracy to the institutionalization of crisis management as a standard procedure is examined. The sociological norms of individual behavior which are operant in maintaining the crisis management standard are also emphasized. Recommendations for further research and for interim actions to remedy this dysfunctional symptom are proposed.