It is an industry that requires a specific set of knowledge and skills progressing towards a profession. Many have sacrificed their education and careers to promoting this. This is not a 10 minute google search, this is a complex industry and part of that is defining it and the role of the Emergency Manager. This does several things, it enables people to understand the complexity and is required to stop charlatans from promoting themselves and selling snake oil. It its the exact same reason certain other professions are protected, like medical doctors, police, paramedics, lawyers. Failure to provide clarification can, as we have seen over the past 30 years a profound impact on the community and the industry. There is a n industry definition of Emergency Management but not one that explicitly defines the role of the Emergency Manager which are two very seperate and distinct areas. Just as one can work in the medical profession without being a medical doctor. One can work in EM without being an 'Emergency Manager'. Unfortunately, there are many who fail to meet any level of basic standards and would drive a lower set of standards simply because they are either unable or unwilling to put the work in. They think a short course or even a Google search makes them qualified. That must stop, and defining and regulating the industry can do this.
Hi Lorraine - I think there is value in self-promoting a definition of 'Emergency Management', at the very least for two major reasons: One, society/the public in many countries - including the U.S. - does not know what we do holistically (especially beyond supporting emergency services in response/interim recovery); and two, even professionals in allied fields do not know what we do. That coffee mug I have, which really says it best:
1) a person who solves problems you can't.
2) One who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.
See also wizard, magician, miracle worker
The best examples of this are in the recruiting field (staffing/human resources) - places like Indeed, LinkedIn, even USAJobs. See how many times the 'drop-down' for professions (or majors at a college/university) include 'emergency management'. Watch closely how the Information Technology profession uses the same terms and wording for incident management and business continuity to only describe IT aspects, when we have a much broader understanding and relevance to the operational and tactical aspects of Risk Management. Count the number of times someone thinks you work in an Emergency Department of a hospital. Even our methodologies for agile continuous improvement of project management fits a business school model, yet POETE is not taught alongside of Six Sigma, TQM, and others.
- Mike Prasad, Executive Director, the Center for Emergency Management Intelligence Research. Now on Substack at https://thecemir.substack.com/
That's one great mug you've got, Mike! I agree with you wholeheartedly. We need to be able to define what we do and the value it provides to create a basic level of understanding with our stakeholders and peers. The key is determining what those core characteristics and values of EM are regardless of department size or geographic location.
It is an industry that requires a specific set of knowledge and skills progressing towards a profession. Many have sacrificed their education and careers to promoting this. This is not a 10 minute google search, this is a complex industry and part of that is defining it and the role of the Emergency Manager. This does several things, it enables people to understand the complexity and is required to stop charlatans from promoting themselves and selling snake oil. It its the exact same reason certain other professions are protected, like medical doctors, police, paramedics, lawyers. Failure to provide clarification can, as we have seen over the past 30 years a profound impact on the community and the industry. There is a n industry definition of Emergency Management but not one that explicitly defines the role of the Emergency Manager which are two very seperate and distinct areas. Just as one can work in the medical profession without being a medical doctor. One can work in EM without being an 'Emergency Manager'. Unfortunately, there are many who fail to meet any level of basic standards and would drive a lower set of standards simply because they are either unable or unwilling to put the work in. They think a short course or even a Google search makes them qualified. That must stop, and defining and regulating the industry can do this.
Hi Lorraine - I think there is value in self-promoting a definition of 'Emergency Management', at the very least for two major reasons: One, society/the public in many countries - including the U.S. - does not know what we do holistically (especially beyond supporting emergency services in response/interim recovery); and two, even professionals in allied fields do not know what we do. That coffee mug I have, which really says it best:
1) a person who solves problems you can't.
2) One who does precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge.
See also wizard, magician, miracle worker
The best examples of this are in the recruiting field (staffing/human resources) - places like Indeed, LinkedIn, even USAJobs. See how many times the 'drop-down' for professions (or majors at a college/university) include 'emergency management'. Watch closely how the Information Technology profession uses the same terms and wording for incident management and business continuity to only describe IT aspects, when we have a much broader understanding and relevance to the operational and tactical aspects of Risk Management. Count the number of times someone thinks you work in an Emergency Department of a hospital. Even our methodologies for agile continuous improvement of project management fits a business school model, yet POETE is not taught alongside of Six Sigma, TQM, and others.
- Mike Prasad, Executive Director, the Center for Emergency Management Intelligence Research. Now on Substack at https://thecemir.substack.com/
That's one great mug you've got, Mike! I agree with you wholeheartedly. We need to be able to define what we do and the value it provides to create a basic level of understanding with our stakeholders and peers. The key is determining what those core characteristics and values of EM are regardless of department size or geographic location.