A Study of Organizational Reponses to Dilemmas in Interorganizational Emergency Management

Abstract

Organizational scholars have traditionally used conceptual definitions to classify situational tensions such as dialectics, dilemmas, contradictions, and paradoxes. We propose instead to use organizational members' reactions to define and distinguish among different forms of tensions. In the present study, we propose a model in which dilemmas vary in terms of press (the sense of urgency that they invoke) and balance (the degree to which both sides of the dilemma are regarded as equally important and urgent). Depending on the degree of press and balance, organizations are predicted to undertake various response strategies. To evaluate this model, we studied a large sample of members' descriptions of organizational responses to dilemmas in the Dutch crisis response system (N = 149). Results indicated variation in press and balance, and while some participants enacted dilemmas as choices, others enacted dilemmas in ways that acknowledged and tried to address both alternatives.

Tensions and Dilemmas in Crisis Governance: Responding to Citizen Volunteers

“…The question is "How can response organizations best navigate these dilemmas and enact an appropriate governance response?" In this section, I build on the paradox literature to theorize which response strategies work best (Carlson et al, 2017;Putnam, Fairhurst, & Banghart, 2016;Schad, Lewis, Raisch, & Smith, 2016;Smith & Lewis, 2011). Figure 1 summarizes my theoretical argument, which I will further elaborate in the following sections.…”

“…More autonomy (decentralization) ensures that governance of citizen volunteers does not cost too much time and work for response organizations. However, more autonomy with less guidance increases the possibility that citizen volunteers may put themselves and others in harm's way (Carlson, Poole, Lambert, & Lammers, 2017). Conversely, directing citizen volunteers can take so much time that it decreases the overall response performance.…”

Examining the Core Dilemmas Hindering Big Data-related Transformations in Public-Sector Organisations

“…that public service organisations face dilemmas whose speed and range grows with BD-related transformations. Like Carlson et al (2017), we consider dilemmas to be distinct from paradoxes. Hence, we see dilemmas as managerial challenges that require practical resolutions and paradoxes as a philosophical concept (Kuoppakangas 2015, 82).…”

Kriisivuorovaikutuksen jännitteet organisaation mainekriiseissä

“…esim. Carlson, Poole, Lambert, & Lammers, 2017;Littlefield & Sellnow, 2015). Kriisiviestinnän tutkimuksissa on selvitetty usein erilaisia tapoja vastata kriiseihin eli sitä, millaisia päätöksiä kriiseissä tehdään, ja relationaalisen dialektiikan näkökulmalla on syvennetty ymmärrystä siitä vuorovaikutusympäristöstä, jossa päätöksiä tehdään (Littlefield, 2015).…”