The problem of resource allocation and management in the context of multiple crises occurring in an urban environment is challenging. In this thesis, the problem is formulated using game theory and a solution is developed based on the Nash equilibrium to optimize the allocation of resources to the different crisis events in a fair manner considering several constraints such as the availability of resources, the criticality of the events, the amount of resources requested etc. The proposed approach is targeted at managing small to medium level crisis events occurring simultaneously within a specific pre-defined perimeter with the resource allocation centers being located within the same fixed region. The objective is to maximize the utilization of the emergency response units while minimizing the response times. In the proposed model, players represent the crisis events and the strategies correspond to possible allocations. The choice of strategies by each player impacts the decisions of the other players. The Nash equilibrium condition will correspond to the set of strategies chosen by all the players such that the resource allocation optimal for a given player also corresponds to the optimal allocations of the other players. The implementation of the Nash equilibrium condition is based on the Hansen's combinatorial theorem based approximation algorithm. The proposed solution has been implemented using C++ and experimental results are presented for various test cases. Further, metrics are developed for establishing the quality and fairness of the obtained results.

This research discusses the tourism crisis management approach used in handling the recovery of Bali as a tourism destination after the first Bali bombings in 2002 and second Bali bombings in 2005. It acknowledges the importance of a crisis management especially in a situation where the crisis repeatedly occurs in the same place and targeted the similar target. This research examines the crisis management approach through the tourism public policy formulated and implemented by the government of Indonesia. An external perspective from the industry private sector is also investigated as many scholars note that other observations and opinion from senior executives following every episode are necessary because they have different perceptions of the crises. Finally, an investigation of any existence of organisational learning the first and second Bali bombings is also presented. This research concludes in three new findings. First, the Indonesian government did not present any crisis management framework after the first and second Bali Bombings; rather they established a National Recovery Program that lacks few main aspects of crisis management. Second, although the Indonesian government initiated the recovery program after the first Bali Bombings it was the private sector (Bali Tourism Board) who initially instigated the recovery program after the second Bali Bombings. Third, the absence of an organisational learning was also discovered after the first and second Bali Bombings incidents

This thesis addresses the identification of critical incidents in schools, the factors influencing teachers' coping, and the implications for crisis intervention and management. An argument is developed that school communities may be best served by a salutogenic (wellness) perspective for crisis response and recovery, which focuses on the personal and collective resources that contribute to successful coping and mental health. Three aims were addressed. First considered was the potential for commonly occuring events (e.g., the death or injury of a teacher or student, assault, vandalism or damage to school property, professional misconduct on the part of a teacher), to evoke stress, grief, or trauma responses in individuals and organisations. Emphasised was the nature of individual differences in responses to such critical incidents, and ways of dealing effectively with the varying character and intensity of such responses. The second aim was to examine the influence of pre-existing personal wellbeing and resources on individuals' responses, adjustment and growth after an incident. The third aim was to explore the interface between the individual and the organisation following critical incidents, and the nature and impact of intervention and management strategies on an individuals' sense of wellbeing and ongoing investment within the organisation. Two related studies investigated the impact of critical incidents on teachers. In Study 1, 245 teachers completed a self-report questionnaire that gathered quantitative data comprising three measures of personality and positive functioning (Psychological Wellbeing & Sense of Coherence), demographic data, and teachers' previous experience of critical incidents. Teachers also provided an autobiographical account of a personally significant critical incident. Results showed that commonly occuring events, such as the death of a student or teacher, and other issues such as professional misconduct of a colleague, professional conflict, theft and vandalism were regarded as critical incidents by teachers. The four distinct response categories indentified (negative feelings, positive cognitions, negative conditions, & negative impact on functioning) were characteristically grief or stress responses rather than those associated with psychological trauma. Significant relationships were identified among the personality variables and the measures of positive functioning. Extraversion was positively related to positive functioning, and introversion negatively related. The findings point to personal and collective issues that have the potential to facilitate and enhance coping and recovery after a critical incident. In particular, six management strategies (Wellness Factors), comprising both personal and organisational components, emerged as potential contributors to ongoing psychological wellbeing, sense of coherence, and posttraumatic growth outcomes. These Wellness Factors were identified as: (a) emotional and practical support; (b) active involvement; (c) responding according to individual need; (d) access to information; (e) readiness; and (f) leadership. Study 2 involved a more detailed examination of the experience of 30 teachers following a critical incident subsequent to the completion of Study 1. This study examined personality, posttraumatic growth and personal trauma history (gathered through a self-report questionnaire), in conjunction with the pre-event personal characteristics gathered in Study 1. The second component of Study 2 consisted of a semi-structured interview that explored the teachers' personal experiences of the critical incident. Results revealed that PCI Extraversion showed significant positive relationships with Psychological Wellbeing and Sense of Coherence. PCI Emotionality showed a significant positive relationships with Posttraumatic Growth. Interview data showed that 22.5% of teachers reported a high incidence of Acute Stress responses (DSM-IV-TR criteria). In addition, anger directed at the school's leadership, and conflict between disillusionment with authority and the impact of the event. Strong negative relationships were identified among Extraversion and Openness, and the Wellness factors. Results showed that moderate stress responses are associated with Posttraumatic Growth at a personal level. However, the same responses can evoke disillusionment and cynicism at an organisational level. The findings are discussed in terms of the personal and organisational factors that contribute to healing and recovery following critical incidents. Implications for critical incident management planning, intervention and recovery are considered, along with directions for future research.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-281)

<p>In today’s business world it is not just about doing business anymore, the need increases for organisations to take intangible resources, like the corporate reputation, into consideration. These corporate reputations have a multitude of positive functions for organisations. However, in times of crises these assets are most fragile and get damaged easily. This study therefore discusses how organisation can restore their corporate reputations after experiencing a crisis.</p><p>For the collection of empirical data three internationally operating organisations have been chosen, each having experienced a non-self-inflicted crisis over the last three years. With the use of semi-structured, telephone interviews, information was collected from these organisations. This was then compared with the theoretical framework with the intention of disclosing possible differences.</p><p>The main conclusions following this research are that the repair process consists out of two important aspects. The first is the preparation cycle; any organisation should set up a response program to facilitate fast reaction. The second cycle is that of the actual response, in which organisations should, based upon the set-up program, determine the unique approach for the situation. Within this second process both direct and indirect influencing factors should be taken into consideration.</p>

<p>Purpose</p><p>To study how improvisation allows a crisis manager to answer the crisis when it has occurred, and how the improvisational act and the environment are linked. Methodology/ApproachFirst, we led research on the concepts of crisis, crisis management and improvisation. We were able to distinguish two major characteristics of the crisis situation – uncertainty and time pressure – as well as two moments in crisis response – containment and recovery. In parallel, we studied improvisation. The improvisation act intervenes when one realizes the environment conditions, reduces the gap between thinking the action and executing the action, and increases the speed of his actual action. Also, we identified that improvisation was expressed through the use of creativity, bricolage and intuition. At last, some authors developed levels of improvisation whether based on creativity levels or on the distance between the way one acts and the procedures, the normal ways to act. From this literature review, we were able to highlight two research propositions: Proposition 1: As soon as a situation enters a crisis phase, improvisation is used. Proposition 2: The way and the extent to improvise depend on the extent of time-pressure and uncertainty.Our belief in a mainly subjective conception of reality and of our knowledge and the fact we could use enough existing knowledge to enunciate propositions led us to have a semi-inductive research approach and a qualitative strategy. Our data were collected by using recorded semi-structured interviews. Our sample was constituted of managers specialized in the management of a crisis – surgeons and high mountain rescuers.</p><p>Findings</p><p>Our data analysis allowed us to confirm the research propositions. Crisis managers improvise when responding to a crisis by being creative, aware and adaptable to the environment conditions, and by having quick decision-making processes. Their improvisation levels are dependent on the situation uncertainty/novelty levels. In fact, we could identify a “mirror effect”: the level of improvisation increases as uncertainty increases.</p><p>Limitations</p><p>Some points are factors of the limitation of this research. These limitations are essentially linked to a reduced transdisciplinary approach. The topic of this research deserves a larger sample of interviewees in order to improve the relevance of our findings and their capacity to be generalized.</p><p>Originality/Value</p><p>The value of this study comes from the relevance of the investigated fields – fields with recurrent crisis management – and from the experience of their interviewed members. This research was also led with philosophical considerations materialized by a transdisciplinary approach. Indeed, we interviewed persons from fields outside business management.</p>

<p><strong>Title:</strong> Yes, but…<em> - How changes in banks in Västerbotten are linked to the current financial crisis, but are still normal organizational development</em></p><p><strong>Background: </strong>In the beginning of the 90’s, there was a financial crisis in Sweden which hit Swedish banks hard. The Swedish bank Gota banken went bankrupt and Nordbanken was taken over by the government, in large part because of their apathetic reactions to the situation they were so surprised to find themselves in. Today, almost 20 years later, the banks of Sweden find themselves in a new crisis. Because of the important position banks have in society, it is extremely important that they remain stable and have the capacity to ride out a crisis situation comfortably. As the banks did not show any crisis management strategy or skills in the 1992 crisis, it is relevant to explore if the previous experience has given Swedish banks the ability to handle a crisis situation in an efficient way.</p><p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this study is to apply organizational development theory, crisis management theory and adversity reaction theory to the primary data collected from the interviews with the banks and through that analyze if Swedish banks are acting to prevent the financial crisis from affecting them badly.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> The study has a hermeneutical approach and was carried out by interviewing managers from the five major banks in Västerbotten. The primary data collected has been analyzed to get an understanding of the current development in the banks and its possible link to the financial crisis.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We found that banks are constantly changing in order to keep up with their competitors, changes in technology, society and the increasing demands from customers. The current events and changes in the banks are undoubtedly linked to the financial crisis, it has accelerated change, it has slowed down ongoing processes and it has facilitated harder decisions and less popular changes. But the crisis has not caused drastic changes in the organizations or their way of doing business. In fact, it can be said that the changes due to the financial crisis is normal organizational development, as the banks have responded to it in much the same fashion as they do to all changes in the external environment.</p><p><strong>Key words:</strong> crisis management, organizational development, threat rigidity, prospect theory, financial crisis</p>

<p>Background: The Swedish life-insurance business has been extensively criticised lately due to broken promises to customers as well as due to scandals that some companies within the business have been involved in. The companies within the Swedish life-insurance business find themselves in a so- called crisis of confidence, something that is created in and by media. A company that finds itself in a crisis of confidence somehow have to manage the situation and crises of confidence can also result in different kinds of changes. </p><p>Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to explore and analyse how individual life- insurance companies manage crises of confidence. As a consequence, the aim is also to investigate in what way crises of confidence are initiators to change. </p><p>Procedure: The study has been conducted through seven qualitative interviews with individuals holding a managerial position within a Swedish life-insurance company. </p><p>Findings: Essential for managing crises of confidence is communication and information mainly to media, but also to customers and employees. Further, a higher level of clarity and transparency in products and activities, together with increased control of ethical policies, are aspects that have been shown to be of importance in managing the crisis of confidence within the Swedish life- insurance business. The crisis of confidence has generated changes, but it can not be decided with certainty if these changes have been initiated only by the crisis of confidence, or if the changes would have been carried through anyway. What can be established, is that the crisis of confidence has speeded up already planned changes.</p>

<p>Background: The Swedish life-insurance business has been extensively criticised lately due to broken promises to customers as well as due to scandals that some companies within the business have been involved in. The companies within the Swedish life-insurance business find themselves in a so- called crisis of confidence, something that is created in and by media. A company that finds itself in a crisis of confidence somehow have to manage the situation and crises of confidence can also result in different kinds of changes. </p><p>Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to explore and analyse how individual life- insurance companies manage crises of confidence. As a consequence, the aim is also to investigate in what way crises of confidence are initiators to change. </p><p>Procedure: The study has been conducted through seven qualitative interviews with individuals holding a managerial position within a Swedish life-insurance company. </p><p>Findings: Essential for managing crises of confidence is communication and information mainly to media, but also to customers and employees. Further, a higher level of clarity and transparency in products and activities, together with increased control of ethical policies, are aspects that have been shown to be of importance in managing the crisis of confidence within the Swedish life- insurance business. The crisis of confidence has generated changes, but it can not be decided with certainty if these changes have been initiated only by the crisis of confidence, or if the changes would have been carried through anyway. What can be established, is that the crisis of confidence has speeded up already planned changes.</p>

<p>Vad som skiljer en organisation från mängden kan i många fall vara hur god kapacitet som finns för att bemöta det hot en kris kan utgöra. Därför är det viktigt för organisationen att hela tiden aktivt arbeta med att förbättra denna kapacitet, genom att på ett så brett plan som möjligt försöka förbereda sig för de potentiella kriser som kan drabba organisationen. Således blir det en strategisk fråga att ha crisis management-kapacitet, och för att etablera denna måste ledningen styra organisationen i rätt riktning. Därigenom kan en kris hindras från att fortplanta sig som ringar på vatten, och drabba en allt större del av organisationen. Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka och beskriva hur en organisation, ur ett styrningsperspektiv, kan etablera eller förbättra sin crisis management- kapacitet. Undersökningen visar att organisationens crisis management-arbete i hög grad bedrivits genom att förberedelser och förebyggande arbete företagits för de kriser som organisationen har erfarenhet av. Detta arbete styrs i stor utsträckning genom direktstyrning eller genom att individerna förses med den kunskap som kan krävas. Detta är möjligt då arbetsprocessen för dessa kriser är relativt känd, genom de erfarenheter som finns. I de fall då erfarenheterna inte är goda beträffande vad som krävs har arbetet dock stagnerat. Då erfarenheterna är låga blir det svårare att styra crisis management-arbetet och informella styrmekanismer kan komma att bli nödvändiga. För att organisationen skall ges möjlighet att fungera proaktivt måste således ledningen genom ett tydligare ledarskap försöka påverka organisationskulturen. Detta kan gynna crisis managementarbetet, och behovet av formell styrning kan därigenom minskas.</p>