| In 1995, the federal government reported problems with the traditional approach for managing local and regional disasters. Since that report, the federal government has implemented several single-loop learning corrective actions for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster management policy implementation.; As early as 1992, disaster management practitioners in the state of Alaska had suspected similar efficacy problems before they were reported by the federal government. Consequently, Alaska initiated an examination of the fundamental causes of the problem and potential alternatives. In the fall of 1994, a major flood struck a large interior region of Alaska. This disaster exceeded local and state disaster management resources and subsequently provided the impetus to identify, implement, and evaluate a solution to problems reflected in standard disaster management approaches at that time.; Through reconstructive documentary analysis, this case study examines the process of problem identification, alternatives development, solution implementation, and results evaluation in disaster management. It also assesses prospects for a new public-private partnership approach for implementing disaster management public policy at the state government level. Although public-private partnerships have been advocated and used widely in public administration, they are a novelty in disaster management culture. Therefore, the case study situates disaster management in the literature of public administration and illustrates the interrelatedness of organization theory, organization culture, resistance to change, leadership and management, and social change within much of the public bureaucracy charged with the responsibility for implementing disaster policies. |
