Functions and Challenges of Emergency Operation Centers Explored

This essay examines the crucial functions of Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) in organizational emergency response. It highlights the EOC's role in ensuring resource availability and timely delivery to the emergency site, as well as its function in facilitating communication between the affected facility and the corporate headquarters. The essay further discusses the importance of keeping stakeholders, including the public and the media, informed about the emergency and the actions being taken. A key challenge identified is the potential for unqualified personnel to be employed within the EOC, which can negatively impact service outcomes. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for trained staff to effectively manage emergency operations and ensure the organization's adherence to legal requirements.

Running head: EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTERS
Emergency operation centers
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When an emergency erupts out in an organization, it needs quick attention for the
operations to come back to normal. Emergency operation centers are the key facility that assists
in carrying out the aims of an emergency, management of a disaster at a point which is strategic
to all the stakeholders. There are six main functions of an emergency operations center in an
organization according to Di Matteo et al., (20116). The first key function is that it ensures that
all the needed resources in the emergency site are available at the time they are required.
Therefore, the emergency operation center orders and delivers all the equipment in time. The
second function is to speed up the connection between affected individuals or facility with the
corporate headquarters. Apart from that, it ensures that the top management in the organization
are updated of the activities as the operations go on. The next activity is that it ensures that the
affected society or the employees are sufficiently updated of the emergency that has occurred
and the actions that the emergency operation center is undertaking. On the other hand, Huang &
Chang, (2018) argues that, they keep the media on toes to ensure that the information they relay
to the public about any event is true. Other functions include; ensuring that the agency bides by
the law, acquiring only trained personnel to carry out an operation and inform the suppliers of
any key resources that the employees will require during emergency operations.
The main two functions are:
a. Ordering and delivering resources to the site on time
Emergency operation center aims at saving the situation. Therefore, they ensure that when an
emergency occurs the required resources needed are available in time.
b. Linking the facility affected to the headquarters.

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The link mainly aims at establishing constant communication between the two centers,
thus assisting in the delivery of the resources and the management of the situation.
The challenge that might affect staffing EOC is the employment of unskilled personnel, thus
affecting the outcome of services. The reason why the challenge occurs is that some individuals
get their way to EOC through nepotism and discrimination.

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References
Di Matteo, U., Pezzimenti, P. M., & Astiaso Garcia, D. (2016). Methodological proposal for
optimal location of emergency operation centers through multi-criteria
approach. Sustainability, 8(1), 50.
Huang, R. Y., & Chang, Y. Y. (2018). ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION OF
FUNCTIONAL ORIENTATION MECHANISM FOR CROSS-REGIONAL
GOVERNANCE: CASE STUDY OF THE REGIONAL EMERGENCY OPERATION
CENTERS (REOCS) IN TAIWAN. International Journal of Organizational Innovation
(Online), 10(3), 28-49.