The supplemental reading entitled “Disaster Response and Appointment of a Recovery Czar: The Executive Branch’s Response to the Flood of 1927” describes the actions taken by the Federal Government to address the recovery needs of a large geographic area affected by a catastrophic disaster. Many people argued after Katrina that a similar approach should be taken given the long-term commitment that will be required to address the ongoing recovery needs of the Gulf Coast. Describe whether or not you would support the introduction of a system wherein recovery ‘czars’ are appointed, and explain what you see as the primary pros and cons of such a system.
Written Exercise
I did not support introducing a system wherein recovery ‘czars’ are appointed. It is difficult for me to support the effort to create cabinet-level czars. The reasons behind not supporting the same are listed below-
Firstly, in the case of the recovery ‘czars’ appointment here, the authority is in the same hands. If the authority is there on the same hand, then all the directions and the decision-making processes are wholly taken by the same person (Ubelaker, 2022, p.5). Due to the absolute authority of the person, the same person makes all the decisions that are not suitable for the same.
Secondly, poor management will also take place as all the responsibilities are there on one person so the person can’t look for the same and see every detail of the work minutely. This led to poor management at work as well. Management is one of the essential aspects required, and if this is not done correctly, then there is no use for the system, or the system is not termed helpful under challenging situations.
There are various pros and cons of the system, and some of them are stated below-
Pros
No delay in decision-making– One of the pros of this system is that this system helps to conduct the work without any delay. As here one person has all the authorities related to work, the decision which was made in the situation was fast, and no delay can take place at work. As all the other people only have to follow the decision, the decision is taken fast without any delay at work. If the no of members or people crises, then the decision needs to get approved by all the members in the system, which takes more time to come to the ultimate conclusion (Narain, 2022, p.5). So here, this type of situation did not arise, and the decision-making process was done quickly.
Encourage banks and other financial institutions to provide working capital– One of the pros of this system is that it encourages the banks and financial institutions to help the needy in the affected areas. Here the system encourages financial institutions to provide working capital to needy people so they can restart their businesses and work with the support of the capital. This will help the people to start their lives once again and encourage them to work again and start life after the disaster which has taken place and led to the loss of their houses and work.
Rescues were done in an era when telephones were few– The other primary pros I saw in this system is that this system helps to rescue various people and lives in an era where the telephones are few people were unable to connect. The response responded very fast to report to the relevant authorities. It is one of the essential things that the system has done to reach the number of people and reach the relevant places and help the thousands of people who were trapped in trees and on rooftops. In that era, it was complicated to know the situation of the affected area and to provide rescue to the affected person, but the system made the rescues and helped them restart their lives.
Less conflict– One of the pros of this system is that one person makes all the decisions, so the chances of a conflict are less, or we can say that the conflict will not take place (Caroselli, 2020, p.165). Conflict arises when all the members are involved and disagree on the same things, which creates the focus at work and delays the work and making the necessary decisions which is required then. It is the pros that the system helps to reduce conflict as the decision is made by a single person. That person is responsible for making every vital decision for the organization.
Cons
Poor management– One of the primary cons of the system wherein recovery ‘czars’ are appointed is poor management. It can be said that all the work is done and maintained by one person, and it is not possible for a single person to look after each work individually and resolve the issues then and there (Alegado, 2022, p.40). Due to this, the system lacks proper management. All the work did not go according to the plan which has been made and causes the delay in the work or the work is not done by following the proper process.
Never listen to anyone– One of the cons of the system is there is one person in authority, and he makes all the decisions related to anything. He neither listened to anyone nor admitted his errors to make amends. Here the person thinks that he is the person who can take mad and make all the decisions and does not need to listen to other people about the things that need to be performed. This is cons because here, the decision should be made by taking information and reviewing the viewpoint of others as well (Renda-Tanali, 2020, p.121). There are chances that the other people are making decisions in the critical situation and handling the situation as well. Here the sloe person can become arrogant in taking the decision, which can create difficulties in managing the work.
All the power in one hand– It is incorrect that all the powers should be in one hand. If all the powers are situated in one hand, then that person can misuse the power, and the chances of making the wrong decision are high. If all the work is loaded in one person, the recessed task can take time, or mismanagement can also take place and it will take more time to complete the work within the proper time limit. One person should only be there to take some of the power as it can create issues in completing the work.
It can be said that using a system wherein recovery ‘czars’ has several pros and cons. So, according to my beliefs, there are more cons than pros to using this system. Accordingly, I believe that the system should not be used because here, the work is maintained and managed by only a single authority who guides the things that need to be done. So, it is better not to use this system as the person will make all the decisions where the changes are there that the work gets delayed for the proper completion of the work will not take place.
References
Alegado, J. E. B. (2022). Post-Haiyan: Alternatives for Disaster Management Law and Governance in the Philippines. In Post-Disaster Governance in Southeast Asia (pp. 39-62). Springer, Singapore.
Caroselli, C. (2020). A journey through unchartered territory: A nurse executive’s frontline pandemic response. Nursing Economics, 38(3), 164-171.
Narain, B. L. (2022). Disease Outbreak and National Security: Drawing Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis to Improve Emergency Response (Spring 2022). Texas National Security Review.
Renda-Tanali, I. (2020). Emergency management—theories of preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. In Theoretical Foundations of Homeland Security (pp. 121-147). Routledge.
Ubelaker, D. H. (2022). Disaster Victim Identification in the 21st Century: A US Perspective. John Wiley & Sons.
