Organizational Learning and Disaster Management in a County Coroner's Office: A Case Study
Open Access
Author:
Rudy, Bruce Samuel
Graduate Program:
Adult Education
Degree:
Doctor of Education
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
September 27, 2007
Committee Members:
Fred Michael Schied, Committee Chair/Co-Chair James Truman Ziegenfuss Jr., Committee Chair/Co-Chair Gary Kuhne, Committee Member Frances T. Munzenrider, Committee Member
Keywords:
Organizational Learning Disaster Management
Abstract:
This qualitative case study explores how a county coroner’s office learns in the preparation for disaster management. A total of eight members of the coroner’s office were interviewed and three themes were elicited from the resulting data. Additional conclusions were drawn based upon the responses of the interviewed participants.
Among the significant findings were that (i) learning occurred in both organized and informal settings; (ii) communication occurs mostly informally; (iii) members are encouraged to develop area of expertise. Additional findings included that single-loop learning occurred more frequently than double-loop learning, members engaged in both exploration and exploitation, and that despite a lack of awareness of the office’s disaster plan the participants demonstrated an understanding of disaster management principles.
