Applying Systems Thinking onto Emergency Response Planning - Using Soft Systems Methodology to Structure a National Act in Sweden
Christine Große
2017
Abstract
This paper outlines a soft systems method approach to model a national preparedness planning procedure for the case of an electrical power shortage. Through the model, we provide a new perspective on enhancing and understanding the joint decision-making environment for the actors involved in the planning procedure, as well as its underlying power structure. By a process of abstraction from the current implementation, a core root definition is presented which provides a generic systems view that can be a useful concept for the study of similar contexts. An action model dedicated to determining meaningful and valid activities is derived, providing insights for the improvement of collaborative emergency response planning in general. The paper, thus, aims to contribute to the communication and cooperation between actors and stakeholders in the development of appropriate decision processes and decision support in the context of emergency preparedness.
References
- Avison, D. E., and Taylor, V. (1997). Information systems development methodologies: A classification according to problem situation. Journal of Information Technology, 12(1), 73-81.
- Bergman, L. (1997). Fungera den nya elmarknaden? Ekonomisk Debatt, 25(7), 407-413.
- Bertalanffy, L. von (1968). General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications. New York: Braziller.
- Boin, A., and McConnell, A. (2007). Preparing for Critical Infrastructure Breakdowns: The Limits of Crisis Management and the Need for Resilience. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 15(1), 50-59.
- Boulding, K. E. (1956). General systems theory - The skeleton of science. Management Science, 2(3), 197- 208.
- Bulley, D. (2013). Producing and Governing Community (through) Resilience. Politics, 33(4), 265-275.
- Checkland, P. B. (1972). Towards a systems-based methodology for real-world problem solving. Journal of Systems Engineering, 3(2), 87-116.
- Checkland, P., and Poulter, J. (2006). Learning for action: A short definitive account of soft systems methodology and its use for practitioner, teachers, and students. Chichester: Wiley.
- Checkland, P., and Scholes, J. (1999). Soft systems methodology in action: A 30-year retrospective ([New ed.]). Chichester, Eng., New York: Wiley.
- Checkland, P. B. (1989). Soft Systems Methodology. Human Systems Management. (8), 273-289.
- Cundill, G., Cumming, G. S., Biggs, D., and Fabricius, C. (2012). Soft systems thinking and social learning for adaptive management. Conservation biology : Journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 26(1), 13-20.
- Energy Department (Ed.) (2014). Styrel: Handbok för styrels planeringsomgång 2014-2015. ET2013:23.
- Emery, F. E., and Trist, E. L. (1960). Socio-technical systems. In C. W. Churchman & M. Verhulst (Eds.), Management Science Models and Techniques (2nd ed., pp. 83-97). Pergamon.
- Enander, A., Hede, S., and Lajksjö, Ö. (2015). Why Worry?: Motivation for Crisis Preparedness Work among Municipal Leaders in Sweden. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 23(1), 1-10.
- Grochla, E. (1974). Systemtheoretisch-kybernetische Modellbildung betrieblicher Systeme. In E. Grochla, H. Fuchs, & H. Lehmann (Eds.), Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung: Vol. 3. Systemtheorie und Betrieb (pp. 11-22). Opladen: Westdt. Verlag.
- Hakami, A., Kumar, A., Shim, S. J., and Nahleh, Y. A. (2013). Application of Soft Systems Methodology in Solving Disaster Emergency Logistics Problems. International Journal of Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, Mechatronic and Manufacturing Engineering, 7(12), 2470-2477.
- Hansén, D. (2009). Effects of Buzzwords on Experiential Learning: The Swedish Case of 'Shared Situation Awareness'. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 17(3), 169-178.
- Johansson, J., and Hassel, H. (2014). Impact of Functional Models in a Decision Context of Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability Reduction. In M. Beer, S.-K. Au, & J. W. Hall (Eds.), 2nd International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management (ICVRAM) and the 6th International Symposium on Uncertainty, Modeling, and Analysis (ISUMA), 577- 586.
- Kieser, A. (2001). Konstruktivistische Ansätze. In A. Kieser (Ed.), Organisationstheorien (4th ed.). Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
- Maliszewski, P. J., and Perrings, C. (2012). Factors in the resilience of electrical power distribution infrastructures. Applied Geography, 32(2), 668-679.
- Mendoza, G. A., and Prabhu, R. (2006). Participatory modeling and analysis for sustainable forest management: Overview of soft system dynamics models and applications. Forest Policy and Economics, 9(2), 179-196.
- Mingers, J., and Taylor, S. (1992). The Use of Soft Systems Methodology in Practice. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 43(4), 321-332.
- Mumford, E. (2006). The story of socio-technical design: reflections on its successes, failures and potential. Information Systems Journal, (16), 317-342.
- Nilsson, J. (2010). What's the Problem? Local Officials' Conceptions of Weaknesses in their Municipalities' Crisis Management Capabilities. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 18(2), 83-95.
- Olofsson, A. (2011). Organizational Crisis Preparedness in Heterogeneous Societies: The OCPH Model. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 19(4), 215- 226.
- Palm, J. (2009). Emergency Management in the Swedish Electricity Grid from a Household Perspective. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 17(1), 55- 63.
- Penrose, J. M. (2000). The role of perception in crisis planning. Public Relations Review, 26(2), 155-171.
- Powley, E. H. (2009). Reclaiming resilience and safety: Resilience activation in the critical period of crisis. Human Relations, 62(9), 1289-1326.
- Pramanik, R., Ekman, O., Hassel, H., and Tehler, H. (2015). Organizational Adaptation in Multi-Stakeholder Crisis Response: An Experimental Study. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 23(4), 234- 245.
- Proches, C. N. G., and Bodhanya, S. (2015). An Application of Soft Systems Methodology in the Sugar Industry. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 14(1), 1-15.
- Rinaldi, S. M., Peerenboom, J. P., and Kelly, T. K. (2001). Identifying, understanding, and analyzing critical infrastructure interdependencies. IEEE Control Systems Magazine, 21(6), 11-25.
- Rüegg-Stürm, J. (2001). Organisation und organisationaler Wandel: Eine theoretische Erkundung aus konstruktivistischer Sicht. Organisation und Gesellschaft. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
- Smyth, D. S., and Checkland, P. B. (1976). Using a systems approach: the structure of root definitions. Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 5(1), 75-83.
- Sørensen, C. G., Fountas, S., Nash, E., Pesonen, L., Bochtis, D., et al. (2010). Conceptual model of a future farm management information system. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 72, 37-47.
- van Laere, J. (2013). Wandering Through Crisis and Everyday Organizing; Revealing the Subjective Nature of Interpretive, Temporal and Organizational Boundaries. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 21(1), 17-25.
- Wimelius, M. E., and Engberg, J. (2015). Crisis Management through Network Coordination: Experiences of Swedish Civil Defence Directors. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 23(3), 129-137.
- Ödlund, A. (2010). Pulling the Same Way? A MultiPerspectivist Study of Crisis Cooperation in Government. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 18(2), 96-107.
- Österle, H., Becker, J., Frank, U., Hess, T., Karagiannis, D., et al. (2011). Memorandum on design-oriented information systems research. European Journal of Information Systems, (20), 7-10.
Paper Citation
in Harvard Style
Große C. (2017). Applying Systems Thinking onto Emergency Response Planning - Using Soft Systems Methodology to Structure a National Act in Sweden . In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES, ISBN 978-989-758-218-9, pages 288-297. DOI: 10.5220/0006126202880297
in Bibtex Style
@conference{icores17,
author={Christine Große},
title={Applying Systems Thinking onto Emergency Response Planning - Using Soft Systems Methodology to Structure a National Act in Sweden},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES,},
year={2017},
pages={288-297},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0006126202880297},
isbn={978-989-758-218-9},
}
in EndNote Style
TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Operations Research and Enterprise Systems - Volume 1: ICORES,
TI - Applying Systems Thinking onto Emergency Response Planning - Using Soft Systems Methodology to Structure a National Act in Sweden
SN - 978-989-758-218-9
AU - Große C.
PY - 2017
SP - 288
EP - 297
DO - 10.5220/0006126202880297