The United States Army Corps of Engineers - Essay Example

For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Using Technology for Disaster Preparedness and Awareness Introduction Since June 1775, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, this federal agency has done their level best to embody their motto, Essayons. Try, they have; and have been influential in reducing the risks from natural and man-induced disasters. They have strengthened the security of the nation in providing essential engineering services to the public. The environment as it is today, has suffered from the activities of man that are not well thought-out. It is in this regard that it is essential to implement management solutions of water resources in order to address the issue of climate change. Focussing on the water resources management and safety, this policy is proposed to the Chief Information Officer of the organization. As changes are occurring to the environment, and by extension to water bodies, it is imperative to adopt the policies of the organization to ensure populations near water bodies are kept safe. Many water-related disasters have been witnessed in recent time where the number of casualties is astounding. The people living near water bodies, of in areas prone to water-related disasters need to be kept safe. Keeping them informed is one way of doing this, since it facilitates disaster preparedness. In the implementation of this policy, such populations will be trained on how to ensure their own safety in the event of disaster such as a tornado, hurricane, tsunami or related scenarios. Awareness camps can be taken to the communities involved, where people will have a one-on-one interaction with the trainers. This change will be managed by the civil works division of the USACE. Technology is very influential in reaching out to people, and can be used as a platform in this scenario (Overby, 2007). Take for instance, when doing community reach-out, the trainers can request for the people to give their emails. Using these email addresses, the Civil Works program can send out alerts, and informative articles concerning incumbent disasters. Continuous flow of information to the risk population will give the people awareness they need to keep them always prepared. The information would always avert casualties when these areas are hit by disasters. Intention of using emails as a media of educating the targeted population may be met with resistance though. Spam messages have become a notorious invasion of people’s privacy. This may cause reluctance in the people issuing out their email addresses. Assurance will, therefore, be needed. The trainers need to help the people understand that the emails that will be sent to them are only in relation to warnings on foreseen disasters, and informative articles on the issue. In carrying out stakeholders analysis, it becomes evident that amongst the key stakeholders in this policy implementation program are the USACE, risk populations, service providers, and the organization providing disaster managers (World Bank). The USACE will want to achieve their goal of ensuring safety for all people in both the regional and international front. The organization stands to benefit from implementation of this policy since it will reduce the number of casualties. The target population will have reduced casualty statistics when disasters strike, and they bear the power in themselves to accommodate this change. They need this policy since it is for their own good. Organizations that will oversee dissemination of information, and providing the personnel that will run the awareness programs are also stakeholders in this endeavour. By carrying out their assigned roles, they stand to gain economically, and also meet their business goals. In assessing the viability of this proposed policy, it is necessary to examine the political, economic, social and technological forces that will influence the outcome (Higgs, 2006). Politically, the state is overly concerned with disaster preparedness, as is indicated with the rising demand by people to study disaster management. This policy is economically viable since a decrease in the number of casualties makes it possible for funds to be channelled to other developmental goals. The emphasis on safety is a social concern that this policy looks into, for the benefit of the people themselves. With the use of technology in disseminating information, the stakeholders stand to cut back on the costs incurred while meeting their goals. Technology gives the policy implementation a competitive edge in the accomplishment of its goals. The recipients of these services also stand to gain from tactful use of technology since they gain quality services. They receive alerts in time, and also learn how to ensure their own safety in case of any disasters. Using technology as a media of advancing disaster preparedness and awareness is the main aim of the proposed policy. As is with any issue in business, the implementation plan will often encounter challenges (Guidelines on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis). In carrying out a Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis, the stakeholders increase the chances of success of the goals. The strength of this proposed policy is the reduced cost with increased efficiency. Efficiency is assessed in terms of the people who will be reached with the intended information. The major weakness of using technology for disaster preparedness is that people may tend to overlook the messages (Overby, 2007). Spams have become a common feature of using the internet for communication. If the messages from the service providers become too many, people may mark them as spam, and when there is real danger, the communication chain proves ineffective. The problem is that there are times when a disaster seems to be on the offing, then fails to materialize. This medium presents the opportunity to educate the population on their own safety. As is with the society, parents will inform their children, who will do the same with their children. Over time, this policy will produce a society which from an early age is aware on how to deal with water-related disasters. The major threat of using technology in the proposed method is earning the trust of individuals. A majority of persons seldom give out details like their email addresses. It would take a lot of effort to earn their confidence to a level that they are willing to share such information. Having considered all these aspects of planning on how technology can be incorporated into the organization to ensure disaster awareness and preparedness, it is necessary to consider the viability of the proposal. A look at the recent events around the world provides a gauge for the proposed plan. Japan was last year hit by an earthquake and a tsunami. Many of its people were affected, and the infrastructure was seriously damaged. Though different scenarios may be conjured up to try predetermine what would happen in the event of a natural water-related disaster the truth, is usually far from imagination. An emergency plan may already be planned out; but it usually is an under-representation of the actual scenario. When disaster strikes, communication lines are broken down, technology is destroyed, and victims soon find themselves in isolation from the rest of the world. The staff will be left in disarray because they will not know how to approach the issue. It is necessary, therefore, to carry out drills where the staff members get training on how to deal with such a case. This training should involve technology experts, and is focussed on the Information Technology (IT) department of the organizations. Though the drill will never have the same magnitude as the actual disaster, it gives the concerned staff an idea of what to expect in such an eventuality. Looking at the Japan situation once more, it is evident that early intervention enabled many lives to be saved. Japan being prone to earthquakes, has often conducted earthquake training. People, volunteer evacuators, and organizations on disaster management are trained on how to respond to earthquakes. The preparedness, coupled with the warning that was communicated helped to save the lives of many people. Approximately 16, 000 people were reported dead with an additional around 5, 000 missing. Considering the magnitude of the earthquake, and the effect of the tsunami, these numbers would have been higher than that. This shows that technology use can prove particularly useful in reducing the effect of disasters. In this scenario where the use of the internet is proposed for disaster awareness and preparedness, the people in danger zones are kept in the know at all times. In addition to keeping track to events that present a risk to the population, the Civil Works department can also note patterns in nature if there are any. They may, for instance notice that during a certain time of the year, the number of tornadoes increases. By issuing an alert of the same, the population can take necessary measures for their safety. Other stakeholders in the society such as building contractors will use information from the USACE to model structures that are best suited for these regions. Since the USACE seeks to promote the safety of the society as a whole, input may be needed from other organization s in this endeavour. By keeping track of events that occur in regions that are categorized as risk zones, USACE can make informed decisions on which organizations to partner with, in order to facilitate achievement of their goals. All these are benefits that incorporation of internet technology into the organization would help, towards disaster management and preparedness. References Guidelines on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.npiu.nic.in/pdf/SWOT%20Guidelines.pdf Higgs, B. (2006). Environmental Scanning - Pest or Pleasure? Marketing , 52 - 53. Overby, S. (2007, May 11). Charles Feld on 20 Years of IT Change. Retrieved from CIO website http://www.cio.com/article/108900/Charles_Feld_on_20_Years_of_IT_Change?page= 2&taxonomyId=3172 World Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved January from What is Stakeholder Analysis? http://www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/anticorrupt/PoliticalEconomy/PDFVersion.pdf Read More