In 2015, New Jersey was ready for a pandemic. The state’s Department of Health (NJDOH) had conducted a full-scale exercise for influenza response, modeled on H1N1 and SARS as a highly contagious and airborne respiratory illness. Bringing in federal and state partner emergency management agencies, local jurisdictions, and hospitals, the scenario provided valuable insight into rapid procurement of medical equipment, hospital personnel needs, and vaccine distribution, all of which were carefully incorporated into a comprehensive statewide pandemic response plan. Still, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, New Jersey was not spared. More than 26,000 people have died of the virus since early 2020, more than five times as many deaths as the NJDOH had predicted in their 2015 modeling of just such an event.
What Emergency Responders Can Learn from the Business World
Hurricanes, wildfires, the pandemic, and other recent crises have exposed systemic shortcomings in managing disasters.
July 27, 2021
Summary.
As Covid-19 and other crises consistently show, emergency managers remain too heavily focused on the first response aspect of a disaster. To truly manage crises, emergency managers must step away from the response-oriented mindset and adopt a traditional business management approach, viewing all phases of disaster — strategic and tactical management as well as managing metrics — as key to avoiding disaster (or at least disaster at scale) to begin with.
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HBR Learning
Business Plan Development Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Business Plan Development. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to create a winning business plan.