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1 – 10 of over 23000The purpose of this paper (including three studies) is to investigate the idea that individuals in an emergency situation experience significantly a higher level of emotional…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper (including three studies) is to investigate the idea that individuals in an emergency situation experience significantly a higher level of emotional activation, lower performance of task, and change in decision making, escaping behavior and conformity as compared to being in a non-emergency situation. It is also suggested that the level of emotional activation mediates the association between situation and the performance of task.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 was an experimental study with 43 university students and revealed that different situations induced different levels of emotional activation and they are positively and significantly related. Study 2 was a further exploration of study 1, in which 49 participants were asked to watch a recomposed video telling a reasonable story about escaping from the emergency and complete several tasks associated with two kinds of situations (non-emergency vs emergency). In study 3, 168 participants, randomly assigned to three groups, were asked to work on judgment tasks with different numbers of options.
Findings
Results revealed that individuals in an emergency situation experience significantly lower performance of task and higher conformity tendency than in a non-emergency situation. Also, the causal effect of the situation on the performance of task is mediated by the level of emotional activation. Moreover, results found that the performance of task is also a mediator between the level of emotional activation and conformity. Result showed that the number of choices is negatively related to conformity, and performance is a mediator between the number of choices and conformity.
Originality/value
This paper suggested that the level of emotional activation mediates the association between situation and the performance of task.
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Kumar Rakesh Ranjan, Rupanwita Dash, Praveen Sugathan and Wen Mao
In important interpersonal service interactions with a frontline employee (FLE), consumers at times fail to carry out their share of responsibility in the execution of the…
Abstract
Purpose
In important interpersonal service interactions with a frontline employee (FLE), consumers at times fail to carry out their share of responsibility in the execution of the service, resulting in a situation of “consumer created emergency”. This might defeat the consumer's goal of availing the service (termed as consumer failure). This study explains the role of employee's hope in managing consumer failure in the situation of consumer created emergencies.
Design/methodology/approach
Hypotheses were tested in three experiments that simulated service emergency across a general printing service situation and a travel service situation.
Findings
The study shows that: (1) FLE hope has a positive effect on consumer satisfaction, and is mediated by the consumer's assumed effort by the FLE; (2) the effect of FLE hope on consumer satisfaction changes with changing levels of consumer hopefulness about the service outcome; (3) despite situation of consumer created emergency, consumer failure results in low consumer satisfaction due to attribution error and (4) external attribution by the FLE could not significantly rectify consumer's attribution error and hence could not alleviate consumer dissatisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The study suggests relevance and pathways of managing emotions and attributions of consumers and FLEs for superior performance outcomes.
Originality/value
The study theorizes and tests the role of hope, which is an important positive emotion during emergencies because frontline service settings have heretofore predominantly focused on managing negative traits and outcomes.
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Shahriar Akter, Ruwan J. Bandara and Shahriar Sajib
Analytics thrives in navigating emergency situations. Emergency operations management needs to develop analytics empowerment capability (ANEC) to prepare for uncertainty, support…
Abstract
Purpose
Analytics thrives in navigating emergency situations. Emergency operations management needs to develop analytics empowerment capability (ANEC) to prepare for uncertainty, support continuity and tackle any disruptions. However, there is limited knowledge on ANEC and its effects on strategic emergency service agility (SESA) and emergency service adaptation (ESAD) in such contexts. Drawing on the dynamic capability (DC) theory, we address this research gap by developing an ANEC model. We also model the effects of ANEC on SESA and ESAD using SESA as a mediator. We also assess the moderating and quadratic effects of ANEC on two higher-order DCs (i.e. SESA and ESAD).
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the literature on big data, empowerment and DC, we develop and validate an ANEC model using data from 245 service systems managers in Australia. The study uses the partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to prove the research model. The predictive power of the research model is validated through PLSpredict (k = 10) using a training sample (n = 220) and a holdout sample (n = 25).
Findings
The findings show that analytics climate, technological enablement, information access, knowledge and skills, training and development and decision-making ability are the significant components of ANEC. The findings confirm strategic emergency service agility as a significant partial mediator between ANEC and emergency service adaptation. The findings also discuss the moderating and quadratic effects of ANEC on outcome constructs. We discuss the implications of our findings for emergency situations with limitations and future research directions.
Originality/value
The findings show that building ANEC plays a fundamental role in developing strategic agility and service adaptation in emergency situations to prepare for disruptions, mitigate risks and continue operations.
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Xiaodie Pu, Meng Chen, Zhao Cai, Alain Yee-Loong Chong and Kim Hua Tan
This study aims to examine the impact of lean manufacturing (LM) on the financial performance of companies affected by emergency situations. It additionally explores the role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of lean manufacturing (LM) on the financial performance of companies affected by emergency situations. It additionally explores the role of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) in complementing LM to enhance financial performance in emergency and non-emergency situations.
Design/methodology/approach
Both survey and archival data were collected from 219 manufacturing companies in China. With longitudinal data collected before and after an emergency situation (i.e. Typhoon Rumbia), regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of LM and AMTs on financial performance in different contexts.
Findings
Our results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between LM and financial performance in the context of emergency. We also found that AMTs exerted a positive moderation effect on the inverted U-shaped relationship, indicating high levels of AMTs that mitigated the inefficiency of LM in coping with supply chain emergencies.
Research limitations/implications
Through simultaneous investigation of LM and AMTs as bundles of practices and their fit with different contexts, this study takes a systems approach to fit that advances the application of contingency theory in the Operations Management literature to more complex patterns of fit.
Originality/value
This study illuminates how AMTs support LM practices in facilitating organizational performance in different contexts. Specifically, this study unravels the interaction mechanisms between AMTs and LM in influencing financial performance in emergency and non-emergency situations.
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War is undoubtedly a dirty business, usually entailing massive destruction and loss of life on both sides. In an attempt to limit this inevitable death and destruction…
Abstract
War is undoubtedly a dirty business, usually entailing massive destruction and loss of life on both sides. In an attempt to limit this inevitable death and destruction, philosophers have argued that belligerents must following certain principles in the conduct of warfare; namely, the principles of discrimination (that only legitimate military targets may be attacked) and of proportionality (that the damage done in attacking such targets must not be out of proportion to the military value of the target). These principles have come to be enshrined in International Law through a range of treaties, which are collectively known in military circles as the International Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC).
The essential idea at the heart of Michael Walzer’s supreme emergency argument, or as Brian Orend calls it, the supreme emergency exemption, is that desperate times call for desperate measures. If the situation is dire enough, and the consequences faced are serious enough, then it will be justifiable to act in ways which would normally be prohibited. In concrete terms, what this means is that during a time of war, a state can in some circumstances ignore the usual rules of warfare (i.e. the principles of discrimination and proportionality). Walzer claims this is justified if and only if the following conditions are met: the state is the victim of aggression, the state is about to be militarily defeated, and that the consequences of defeat will be catastrophic (i.e. would include extreme and widespread violations of fundamental human rights). In other words, when faced with a supreme emergency one is justified in engaging in widespread violations of the rights of some people (people to whom one only has a general duty) in order to prevent widespread violations of the rights of others (people to whom one has a specific duty).
In this paper I argue that the ‘rules’ which must be applied in order for widespread rights-violations to be considered justified are actually well understood, and that supreme emergency is not an unusual situation for which new rules must be considered, but simply an important specific example of such a situation. Essentially I argue that one must dirty one’s hands in war, but that there is no need for one’s hands to get any dirtier in a situation of supreme emergency.
This paper provides a novel framework for considering a much-debated question within military ethical fields, using insights from two of the major proponents of contemporary military ethics.
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María del Mar Gálvez-Rodríguez, Arturo Haro-de-Rosario, Manuela García-Tabuyo and Carmen Caba-Pérez
The purpose of this paper is to examine European citizen engagement for enhancing emergency management and, more specifically, in the context of the terrorist attacks which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine European citizen engagement for enhancing emergency management and, more specifically, in the context of the terrorist attacks which occurred in Paris, France on November 15, 2015. To do so, two main research questions are raised. First, are there differences in the levels of citizen engagement between the country affected, France, and other European countries? Second, what factors foster a high level of citizen engagement in France?
Design/methodology/approach
First, a comparative content analysis of the Facebook pages of local governments in France and other capital cities of the European Union (EU) was carried. Second, a multivariate regression analysis was performed.
Findings
Although the level of online citizen engagement was greater in France than in the other EU cities analyzed, similarities were detected in the messages sent, responses and moment of participation. Moreover, there are certain types of online social behavior that encourage interactive conversations among citizens as well as between citizens and their local governments.
Practical implications
This research enables local governments to understand the similarities and differences between citizens and local governments from the affected country and those from outside it when using social media to engage in emergency management. It also provides further insight for managers of local governments in the country affected with regards to the need to be aware of the influence of online collective behavior that emerges from the information they publish. As a result, the attainment of a high level of citizens’ participation in their social media can differ.
Originality/value
This paper advances in the scarce knowledge of high levels of online engagement (conversational interactions) in emergency situations.
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Chandrakantan Subramaniam, Hassan Ali and Faridahwati Mohd Shamsudin
The purpose of this paper is to identify the initial emergency response time of fire fighting teams in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the initial emergency response time of fire fighting teams in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
In an emergency incident time is of the essence, and the basic philosophy of an emergency response agency is to respond as quickly as possible to minimize the loss of life and property damage. In the current study, emergency response performance refers to team members' speed in responding to emergency situations, which was measured as the time taken for the team members to get to the fire truck from the waiting room in selected fire stations in Malaysia. The data collection period lasted for five months.
Findings
This study found that the overall average initial emergency response time was 84 seconds, while the overall average weighted initial emergency response time was 3.71 seconds per meter. The current study has demonstrated that the average initial emergency response performed by fire fighting teams in Malaysia is apparently better than that reported by previous studies by other emergency responders.
Originality/value
This paper presents empirical evidence of the initial emergency response time of fire fighters in Malaysia, by taking into account the distance traveled by the responders. As such, the performance measure obtained gives a meaningful indicator. The finding of the current study is then compared to emergency response performance by other emergency response agencies in other countries.
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Mahmood Hosseini and Yasamin O. Izadkhah
This paper aims to highlight the crucial role of decision makers and emergency managers in reducing the unpleasant consequences of disasters.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight the crucial role of decision makers and emergency managers in reducing the unpleasant consequences of disasters.
Design/methodology/approach
An attempt has been made to clarify the measures for planning and implementation of training issues in earthquake emergency response for the emergency managers as an essential part at various managerial levels.
Findings
The paper reveals that, although the high‐level managers such as ministers are authoritative bodies for managing the routine problems of the country, in situations such as a “major emergency”, specific knowledge and experience of emergency issues are required for the emergency management to be successful. It also explores the ways and opportunities for achieving successful training programmes for the emergency managers.
Research limitations/implications
The existing challenges, including the lack of adequate background knowledge and experience in emergency management, insufficient time to train, the inadequacy of the required technical supporting tools, and other related issues, emerge, which need to be identified.
Practical implications
The research can be practically useful for emergency managers who are involved in response activities in disasters by providing suitable and appropriate recommendations for efficient training.
Originality/value
There are only a few works on training of earthquake emergency managers, especially in developing countries such as Iran.
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Andrew Swindell, Kathlyn Elliott and Brian McCommons
Education in Emergencies (EiE) as a subfield of Comparative and International Education (CIE) has played a vital role in advocating for the world’s most vulnerable people with a…
Abstract
Education in Emergencies (EiE) as a subfield of Comparative and International Education (CIE) has played a vital role in advocating for the world’s most vulnerable people with a focus on short-term responses to specific events like conflict and natural disasters that often occur in the Global South. However, recent events, like the protests exposing structural racial and gender inequality, the COVID-19 pandemic, and multiple global “slow” conflicts, have revealed a different nature of modern emergencies where issues, which are often considered important but not urgent, can quickly become emergencies under the right circumstances or have in fact always been so. Accordingly, in this chapter, we reimagine a broader framework for EiE which includes long-term, systemic, and universal challenges that affect both the Global North and South. The chapter includes a historical review of EiE as a subfield within CIE along with evidence of new forms of modern emergencies in the United States, Bolivia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Myanmar, and Syria that build toward a broader framework of EiE intended for both CIE scholars and practitioners.
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