The Missing Piece to the Crisis Management Puzzle: Making the Best Decision

The field of emergency preparedness and response has been driven recently by training efforts utilizing software based technology to mitigate and respond to potential and/or actual crisis situations. Yet, despite this effort, numerous research findings highlight the failures of both disaster and emergency agencies as well as private sector organizations in dealing with both major disruptions as well as local emergencies. We argue that a critical missing piece to rectify such failures, particularly in the training process, can be attained by refocusing on organizational processes toward preparedness/response with greater attention being paid to the context of how decisions are actually made and who makes them. This critical missing element in preparation/response will be addressed here by laying out how data analytics associated with real-time behavioral decisions during an earthquake simulation can be utilized in optimizing the decision making process. This will provide a window into why protocols are not adhered to or how informal social networks within organizations are critical elements affecting decisions. To delve into this organizational reality, an emphasis will be put on not only the human factor in decision making but the organizational context within which interaction among and between employees takes place that affect how and what decisions are made.