Browsing by Subject "Memphis"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Adoption of Hazard Adjustments by Large and Small Organizations: Who is Doing the Talking and Who is Doing the Walking?
    (Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 2011-10) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem
    Environmental hazards pose a considerable and genuine threat to the survival of organizations. However, organizations can increase their likelihood of survival by adopting various hazard adjustments. Prior studies on hazard adjustments have found a positive relationship between the adoption of hazard adjustments and organization size. However, no study on hazard adjustments has grouped hazard adjustments into active and passive and studied the relationship between active and passive hazard adjustments and organization size. The author investigates whether large organizations adopt more active and passive hazard adjustments than small organizations, using data from a survey of 227 organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. The results show that large organizations adopt more active and passive hazard adjustments than small organizations and both large and small organizations engage in different types of hazard adjustments.
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    Digging through disaster rubble in search of the determinants of organizational mitigation and preparedness
    (DOI: 10.2202/1944-4079.1005, 2010-07) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem
    Disaster researchers have established the determinants of mitigation and preparedness at the household level of analysis. However, at the organizational level, there is limited research and no theory to guide research on the determinants of mitigation and preparedness. The research question is “what are the determinants of mitigation and preparedness at the organizational level?” The data come from a survey of 227 organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. This study uses Tobit regression technique to identify the determinants and finds that organizational size and concern over disaster impact are strong positive determinants of mitigation and preparedness in organizations. In addition, there is a significant and nonlinear relationship between organizational obstacle and mitigation and preparedness activities. This study concludes with policy implications and recommendations for future studies.
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    Obstacles and disaster risk reduction: Survey of Memphis organizations
    (http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000016, 2010-08) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Weible, Christopher M.
    The disaster management literature is replete with surveys at the community and household levels. However, few exist at the organizational level. This study attempts to fill this void by examining the effect of organizational obstacles on disaster risk reduction. The data come from a survey of 227 organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. This study investigates three obstacles to disaster risk reduction: lack of organizational support, lack of information, and lack of financial resources. The findings show that organizations are more likely to engage in low-effort activities indirectly related to risk reduction and are less likely to engage in high-effort activities directly related to risk reduction. The most important obstacle is lack of information about the frequency of disasters, magnitude of disasters, or organizational benefits of reducing disaster risks. Lack of financial resources and lack of organizational support are sometimes positively associated with risk-reducing activities, suggesting that, when organizations engage in risk-reducing activities, some obstacles become more apparent. The study concludes with implications, limitations, and future research strategies.
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    Organizations and Emergency Management: Information, Trust, and Preparedness
    (Journal of Emergency Management, 2012) Huss, Sheila; Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Weible, Christopher
    In what ways do information and trust relate to the level of organizational preparedness for disasters? Interview and survey data on 227 organizations in Memphis/Shelby County, TN, were analyzed to assess the extent to which organizations use disaster-related information for decision making, and report the information as adequate and relevant. Organizations were also asked to identify their sources for disaster-related information, whom they trust for helping them prepare for disasters, and their level of preparedness for disasters. The results show that more than half of the organizations in Memphis/Shelby County relied on information for disaster management, and of these organizations, the overwhelming majority agreed that the information was both adequate and relevant. The police and fire departments, Memphis/Shelby County Emergency Management Agency, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention were identified by responding organizations as major sources of information and as organizations that they trust the most to help them prepare for disasters. Organizations that rely on the Memphis City Government for information are more likely than other organizations to report that they are prepared for disasters. Finally, organizations that rely on the media as one of their top three information sources are less likely than other organizations to report that they are prepared for disasters.