The Role of HRD in Integrated Crisis Management: A Public Sector Approach

Abstract

The problem and the solution. This article examines the role that human resource development (HRD) plays in integrating crisis management systems in public sector organizations. We chose to examine the role of HRD in government organizations because public organizations play cross-sector roles in managing large-scale crises and because we have consulted in public organizations for more than 30 years. We reviewed more than 30 journal articles, books, and government studies and identified some possible conditions affecting the integration. As the review suggested that crises make organization adaptability imperative, we maintain that governments facing national man-made or natural disasters require flexible deployment of resources to attain strategic advantage. To explore further the role of HRD, we analyzed conditions in the Charlotte— Mecklenburg (North Carolina, United States) government that integrated HRD in crises management systems.We identified four emergent themes and compared them to crisis management literature to develop three hypotheses of how such integration occurs.We follow this with suggestions for future research and practice.