The role of videoconferencing in crisis and emergency management
Abstract
This study considers the use of videoconferencing technology for emergency management communication during a crisis and compares it with other more common modes of communicating (eg telephone, radio, SMS, e-mail, etc). It investigates how the medium affects a number of variables including teamwork, participation, feedback and decision making. This is one of the first empirical research projects reporting the impact of this emerging technology on communication during emergencies, and perhaps most significantly, considering when videoconferencing communication options should be considered in emergency planning. This study was designed to learn more about the inherent advantages of videoconferencing technology as a crisis communication modality. The paper reports the cumulative summative findings of the research project, including the results of a research question looking at the fundamental differences between negligible and regular users of videoconference technology. While it is clear that no currently-existing technology can completely achieve the advantages and benefits of well-managed face-to-face team or co-worker interaction during a crisis or emergency, this study finds that videoconferencing is a potentially superior means of crisis and emergency management team interaction and should be preferred over lean channels (eg text or audio only) in a number of situations.
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Author's Biography
Robert C. Chandler PhD is Chair and Professor of Communication in the Center for Communication and Business at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He is a nationally recognised scholar, speaker, trainer, researcher and consultant in the areas of crisis management, organisational communication, assessment and enhancement of workplace behaviour (ethics, conflict, diversity, etc), risk communication (eg pandemics) and public relations. Dr Chandler is the author of three books, including his most recent Managing the Risks for Corporate Integrity: How to Survive an Ethical Misconduct Disaster (2006, Thomson Publishing) with Lynn Brewer and O. C. Ferrell.
J. D. Wallace is the Communication Program Coordinator for Lubbock Christian University. He has been nationally recognised as an awardwinning teacher and researcher. He specialises in organisational and technology-mediated communication, and his most recent research has been in the areas of crisis communication, corporate image restoration data drilling and online immediacy. He has written or co-written over 50 national and international presentations and publications in the areas of crisis communication, technology-mediated communication, organisational communication, and training and development.
Citation
Chandler, Robert C. and Wallace, J. D. (2009, February 1). The role of videoconferencing in crisis and emergency management. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 3, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.69554/YQHG2151.
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