Organizational Innovation In Anticipation Of Crisis

Abstract

Community crises are major emergency situations for which routine
\nsocial structures are inadequate. Crises make preservation of valued
\nitems and behavior patterns so precarious that extraordinary social
\narrangements are deemed necessary to cope with them. Some crises overtake
\na community gradually, so that with foresight social structures can
\nbe gradually modified to ameliorate their effects. Pollution and other
\nforms of environmental decay present this possibility for gradual, if
\nfar-reaching adjustments. Natural disasters and civil disturbances
\nare different. They are crises which overtake a community with little
\nforewarning. Their suddenness and intensity demand extraordinary social
\nadjustments to shield communities from their consequences. They require
\nimmediate response to their unscheduled appearances.