Adaptability in Crisis Management: The Role of Organizational Structure.

摘要

Teams performing in today's command and control (C2) environment are often faced with complex situations involving sudden and unexpected events that can modify the pace and demands of a situation to a great extent. To function effectively, these teams must adapt to a wide range of circumstances and be efficient in coordinating their actions. Adaptability can be described as undertaking effective actions when necessary, promptly responding to unforeseen circumstances, and effectively adjusting plans to take changes into account (Pulakos et al., 2000). We investigated how teams adapt in crisis management situations characterized by the occurrence of sudden events, depending on their organizational structure. C3Fire, a forest firefighting simulation, was used as the task environment to compare functional (role-specific) and edge-like (decentralized and no specific role assigned) four-person teams. Various dimensions of teamwork and task performance were monitored, based on the occurrence of critical events during different scenarios. The results indicate that edge teams perform better prior to a critical event, but functional teams are able to adapt effectively shortly following the event. Also, the coordination of activities across edge-like teams appears to lose some consistency after critical events. The findings are discussed with regard to requirements for team adaptability and agility in complex C2 environments.