scholarly journals Top-down reconstruction and the failure to “build back better” resilient communities after disaster: lessons from the 2009 L'Aquila Italy earthquake

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Jonas Imperiale ◽  
Frank Vanclay
Keyword(s):  
Command And Control ◽  
L’Aquila Earthquake ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Civil Defence ◽  
And Control ◽  
Post Disaster

PurposeWe consider what happened in the initial reconstruction interventions following the 6 April 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila (Italy). Using the disaster risk reduction and resilience paradigm, we discuss the cognitive and interactional failures of top-down approaches, and we analyse the main constraints to enacting inclusive social learning and socially-sustainable transformation and building back better more resilient communities in post-disaster reconstruction.Design/methodology/approachOur evidence comes from participant observation, action anthropology and analytic auto-ethnography conducted during the reconstruction phase following the L'Aquila earthquake. Findings were triangulated with document analysis, media analysis and retrospective interviewing conducted in 2013 and 2017.FindingsThe shift from civil defence to civil protection did not bring any advance in disaster management and development practice in terms of DRR and resilience. The militaristic command-and-control approach, which is still in vogue among civil protection systems, means that local political leaders become the civil protection authorities in a disaster area. As in the L'Aquila case, this exacerbates local social and environmental risks and impacts, inhibits local communities from learning and restricts them from participating in post-disaster interventions.Originality/valueMost previous commentary on disaster recovery and reconstruction following the L'Aquila earthquake has focussed on the top-down approach carried out by the national government and the Italian Department of Civil Protection (DCP). This paper is unique in that it sheds light on how the command-and-control approach was also implemented by local authority figures and on how this undermined building back better more resilient communities.

Creating and sustaining a highly engaged company culture in a multigenerational workplace

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Blattner ◽  
Thomas J. Walter
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Younger Workers ◽  
Company Culture ◽  
And Control

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how organizations can create and sustain a highly engaged, high performing company culture, one that fully integrates and leverages the strengths of boomers, Gen Xers and Millennials. Design/methodology/approach – Once a company run with a command and control approach, Tasty Catering leadership was confronted by its younger generation, mid-level leaders who said, “We no longer wanted to be told what to do”. Instead, they wanted to be given clearly defined tasks with identified outcomes and measures, and the freedom to pursue those goals how they so choose. In short, they wanted to change from “command and control” management to “team” leadership. After considerable thought, Tasty Catering leadership decided to embrace this creative destruction and the transformation began. From all employees reading Good to Great and breaking into teams to discuss applicability to the company to employee-led development of company culture starting with core values, the leadership team witnessed the beginning of something they realized was going to take their organization to new heights. This case study will outline key steps for leaders and HR leaders with lessons learned and tips for success as they transform with team leadership, open-book management and engaging younger workers. Findings – Business and HR leaders should consider assessing their organizational culture and effectiveness to gain a baseline and make measurable improvements. PAS International administered Tasty Catering’s assessment using the Organizational Culture Inventory® (OCI®) and the Organizational Effectiveness Inventory® (OEI®), finding a rare and very strong match up of ideal and current operating culture for both employee and leadership segments in an organization. The results of the assessment, normed against more than a thousand other organizations, validate Tasty Catering’s healthy, high performing work environment. Originality/value – The culture-based leadership model and financial transparency led and implemented by Tasty Catering’s younger workers are examples of workplace practices that enable high employee involvement, growth, development and recognition. The company’s cultural efforts continue to pay off in high staff morale, as well as a 14 percent rise in sales and a 117 per cent increase in profits last year. Recognizing the importance of sustainability and continuous improvement, all of Tasty Catering’s employees, those representing every generation, are constantly identifying the best and new ways to maintain their strong culture and performance link.

Cascade control for heterogeneous multirotor UAS

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayaz Ahmed Hoshu ◽  
Liuping Wang ◽  
Alex Fisher ◽  
Abdul Sattar
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Disturbance Rejection ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Cascade Control ◽  
Underactuated System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Robust Control System ◽  
And Control ◽  
Stable Control

PurposeDespite of the numerous characteristics of the multirotor unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), they have been termed as less energy-efficient compared to fixed-wing and helicopter counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to explore a more efficient multirotor configuration and to provide the robust and stable control system for it.Design/methodology/approachA heterogeneous multirotor configuration is explored in this paper, which employs a large rotor at the centre to provide majority of lift and three small tilted booms rotors to provide the control. Design provides the combined characteristics of both quadcopters and helicopters in a single UAS configuration, providing endurance of helicopters keeping the manoeuvrability, simplicity and control of quadcopters. In this paper, rotational as well as translational dynamics of the multirotor are explored. Cascade control system is designed to provide an effective solution to control the attitude, altitude and position of the rotorcraft.FindingsOne of the challenging tasks towards successful flight of such a configuration is to design a stable and robust control system as it is an underactuated system possessing complex non-linearities and coupled dynamics. Cascaded proportional integral (PI) control approach has provided an efficient solution with stable control performance. A novel motor control loop is implemented to ensure enhanced disturbance rejection, which is also validated through Dryden turbulence model and 1-cosine gust model.Originality/valueRobustness and stability of the proposed control structure for such a dynamically complex UAS configuration is demonstrated with stable attitude and position performance, reference tracking and enhanced disturbance rejection.

Nurturing an emergent city: parade making as a cultural trope for urban policy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Symons
Keyword(s):  
Urban Policy ◽  
Control Process ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Strategy Development ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
And Control ◽  
The City ◽  
Held Back

This chapter argues for an ‘emergent city’ urban policy, inspired by organisers of civic parade in Manchester which involved over 1,800 participants from 90 community groups. The analysis compares the top-down, command-and-control process of cultural strategy development in the city with the nurturing emergent approach of the organisers commissioned by the council to produce a civic parade. Drawing on parade making as a cultural trope, the chapter describes how the parade makers held back, allowing the parade shape to develop rather than over-directing it. It suggests that city decision makers can learn from this restrained approach.

“We have to tell us what to do.”

2021 ◽  
pp. 160-177
Author(s):  
Jessica DuLong
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Control Structure ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Coast Guard ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Red Tape ◽  
And Control ◽  
Sandy Hook

This chapter discusses how, instead of establishing a top-down command and control structure, the Coast Guard — from the top brass down to the on-scene rank and file — allowed for the organic, needs-driven, decentralized response that played an enormous role in the ultimate success of the waterborne evacuation. This approach, in turn, allowed mariners to take direct action, applying their workaday skills to singular circumstances, without being stifled by red tape. No one had foreseen the sudden need for evacuating a huge swath of Manhattan Island. Yet as terrorized people continued to flee to the waterfront, more and more boats turned up to rescue them. As greater numbers of vessels and evacuees amassed along the shoreline, streamlining operations became the biggest challenge. The only solution was to get organized, and that organization was implemented in large part by Lieutenant Michael Day and the pilots operating aboard the New York, which continued its barrier patrol. Their efforts were made easier by the relationships that both the Coast Guard and the Sandy Hook Pilots had with the New York harbor community.

Locative-Media Artists in the Contested-Aware City

Leonardo ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Context Aware ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Locative Media ◽  
Context Aware Computing ◽  
And Control

The adoption of mobile devices as the computers of the 21st century marks a shift away from the fixed terminals that dominated the first 50 years of computing. Associated with this shift will be a new emphasis on context-aware computing. This article examines design approaches to context-aware computing and argues that the evolution of this technology will be characterized by an interplay between top-down systems for command and control and bottom-up systems for collective action. This process will lead to the emergence of “contested-aware cities,” in which power struggles are waged in public spaces with the assistance of context-aware systems.

A botnet-based command and control approach relying on swarm intelligence

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 22-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aniello Castiglione ◽  
Roberto De Prisco ◽  
Alfredo De Santis ◽  
Ugo Fiore ◽  
Francesco Palmieri
Keyword(s):  
Swarm Intelligence ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
And Control

Digital technologies and the balance between control and empowerment in performance management

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eirik Bådsvik Hamre Korsen ◽  
Marte Daae-Qvale Holmemo ◽  
Jonas A. Ingvaldsen
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Command And Control ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Performance Measurement System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Control

Purpose This paper aims to explore how manufacturing organisations’ performance measurement and management (PMM) systems are evolving when digital technologies (DTs) are deployed. It focusses on the operational level, asking whether DTs are used to promote command-and-control or empowerment-oriented performance management. Design/methodology/approach The findings are based on a single case study from a department of a Norwegian electrochemical plant. The department recently implemented a performance measurement system (PMS) supported by DTs to capture, analyse and visualise close-to-real-time performance data on individuals and teams. The authors analysed both the management practices associated with the new PMS and how those related to other PMM-subsystems in the organisation. Findings When seen in isolation, the new PMS was used to promote empowerment and operators reported a significant increase in perceived psychological empowerment. However, other parts of the organisation’s PMM system remained control-oriented, so that the overall balance between control and empowerment remained stable. Practical implications New PMSs might be added to support local needs and create arenas for empowerment without disturbing the overall balance in the PMM system. Originality/value Building on the insights from the case study, the authors propose that DTs may be deployed to promote both command-and-control and empowerment within different PMM subsystems in the same organisation. Hence, the deployment of DTs is likely to have contradictory effects, which are best understood through a “system of systems” perspective on PMMs.

An Exercise in Liberation

2021 ◽  
pp. 108-129
Author(s):  
Peter King
Keyword(s):  
Command And Control ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Control Approach ◽  
Working Model ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Engineering Company ◽  
The World ◽  
And Control

The chapter will be based on the experiences of a Colombian engineering company from 2003 through to 2013. The company was a local engineering office of an international oil services company based in Scotland but also, with substantial offices in USA and around the world. In 2003 the company was making a loss and in 2004 had to reduce down to 60 people. It had a traditional ‘command and control' approach to management. Over a period of 7 years, they developed a unique culture/working model which focused on allowing employees to contribute and participate in the running of the company and removed all bureaucratic barriers that restricted its employees from working effectively. The company grew to over 1,200 in 2013. The chapter proposes to explain how removing organization charts, eliminating policies and procedures, eliminating working hours, allowing employees to recruit new staff, manage their own holidays, and set their own salaries produced a purpose-driven and fully motivated and successful company.

Learning in municipalities after disasters

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tore Betten ◽  
Kristian Vian Pettersen ◽  
Eirik Albrechtsen
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Important Contributor ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Resilient Communities

PurposeLearning at the local level is an important contributor to safe and resilient communities. The purpose of this article is therefore to explore what motivates municipalities in Norway to learn from disasters and how they learn from them. This purpose has been fulfilled by (1) addressing the process of learning from disasters occurring within municipalities, and (2) learning from disasters in other municipalities, in particular from the terrorist incidents that occurred in Oslo on 22 July 2011.Design/methodology/approachAn interview study was conducted of individuals responsible for municipal emergency preparedness.FindingsUnwanted events that occur outside municipal borders only trigger learning processes if they are geographically proximate. Events occurring within the geographical borders of the municipality represent greater potential for learning than those occurring outside its borders. Availability of resources for municipal civil protection activities is another factor that has an impact on learning.Originality/valueThe local level plays a key role in generating and maintaining adequate civil protection and emergency preparedness in society. Although the literature on learning from disasters is extensive, learning processes at the local level have been given little attention. This article thus contributes to the existing body of knowledge by studying learning processes following disasters at the local level.

The experimenting university

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1398-1417
Author(s):  
Camilo Olaya
Keyword(s):  
Academic Freedom ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
University Administrators ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Managerial Control ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
And Control

Purpose What has been called “the McDonaldization of universities” (another name for top-down and strong corporate managerialism) has gained momentum as a model for governing and managing universities. This trend exacerbates the traditional tension between academic freedom and managerial control – a major challenge for the administration of academic institutions. The ideas of Charles Darwin represent an opportunity for overcoming such a challenge. However, traditional managerial models show inadequate, pre-Darwinian assumptions for devising organizational designs. This paper aims to show not only the opportunities but also the challenges of embracing a Darwinian paradigm for designing social systems. The case of managerialism in universities is an illustrative example. The paper proposes evolutionary guidelines for designing universities capable of maintaining managerial control while warranting academic freedom. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes to understand the tension between academic freedom and managerial control in universities as the same tension between freedom and control that Karl Popper identified as successfully handled by evolutionary processes. The paper uses Darwinian theory, understood as a broader theory for complex systems, as a heuristic for designing social systems – universities in this case – able to adapt to changing environmental conditions while handling equilibrium between freedom and control. The methodology articulates the Popperian model of knowledge with the Darwinian scheme proposed by David Ellerman known as “parallel experimentation” for suggesting organizational forms in which university administrators and faculty can interact for generating free innovations in pseudo-controlled organizational arrangements. Findings A salient characteristic of strong managerialism is its pre-Darwinian understanding of survival and adaptation; such an approach shows important flaws that can lead universities to unfit designs that changing environments can select for elimination. As an alternative, the philosophy behind the ideas of Charles Darwin provides guidelines for designing innovative and adaptive social systems. Evolutionary principles challenge basic tenets of strong managerialism as Darwinian designs discard the possibility of seeing managers as knowledgeable designers that allegedly can avoid mistakes by allocating resources to “one-best” solutions through ex ante exhaustive, top-down control. Instead, a Darwinian model requires considering survival as a matter of adaptability through continuous experimentation of blind trials controlled by ex post selection. The key is to organize universities as experimenting systems that try new and different things all the time and that learn and improve by making mistakes, as an adaptive system. Research limitations/implications Governing and managing universities require to acknowledge the uniqueness of academic institutions and demand to look for appropriate forms of organization. The proposal of this paper opens possibilities for exploring and implementing action-research initiatives and practical solutions for universities. Studies in management and administration of higher-education institutions must take into account the characteristics of this type of organizations and should consider wider spectrums of possibilities beyond the core ideas of managerialism. Practical implications University managers face a special challenge for achieving equilibrium between managerial control and academic freedom. Darwinian models of management invite to reconsider several management creeds, for instance, that “errors are bad things” – instead of innovation triggers and learning opportunities or that “one solution must fit all” – instead of considering bottom-up, different and adaptive solutions triggered by local academic units, each facing different environments. Originality/value Currently, there is no clear picture for governing universities. This paper introduces principles and guidelines for facing the current challenge that strong managerialism represents if universities are expected to maintain academic freedom and also survive in volatile environments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document