Title: A discussion of decision making applied in incident command

Authors: Ove Nja, Eivind L. Rake

Addresses: Faculty of Technology and Natural Science, University of Stavanger, N-4036 Stavanger, Norway. ' Faculty of Technology and Natural Science, University of Stavanger, N-4036 Stavanger, Norway; Fire Department, South-Rogaland, Stavanger, Norway

Abstract: Rescuers respond to unique emergency situations. Decision making on the scene of an accident is context-bound, embedded in ever-changing environments. Thus, decisions in action sometimes involve huge uncertainty. This paper discusses decision making as part of incident management, as presented in the research literature. Two main theoretical perspectives on decision making in crises are compared. The Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) and Contingent Decision Path perspectives show the similarities and differences in on-scene crisis decision making. In the light of prevailing crisis management research, we conclude that the researcher faces several challenges. Assumptions about experiences, situation awareness, cognitive reasoning and the reconstruction of on-scene behaviour are not easily retrieved. There is a need to develop a better understanding of and methods for rigorous observation and knowledge elicitation of decision making in crisis settings.

Keywords: incident command; crisis management; naturalistic decision making; contingency approach; emergency management; uncertainty; on-scene decision making; crisis decisions; experiences; situation awareness; cognitive reasoning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2009.025173

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2009 Vol.6 No.1, pp.55 - 72

Published online: 14 May 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article