Bridging cultures: Nonprofit, church, and emergency management agency collaboration after the May 2013 Oklahoma tornado outbreak

Haley Murphy, PhD; Jason Pudlo, PhD Candidate

doi:10.5055/jem.2017.0325

Authors

Haley Murphy, PhD
Jason Pudlo, PhD Candidate

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2017.0325

Keywords:

nonprofit, church, disaster response, Collaboration

Abstract

Community-based organizations, such as nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and churches, play an important role in helping individuals and communities bounce back after a disaster. The nature of disasters requires organizations across sectors to partner together to provide recovery services; however, collaboration is difficult even in times of stability and requires trust and communication to be built through prior collaborative relationships. These prior relationships rarely exist between the majority of the nonprofit sector, churches, and existing emergency management structures. Furthermore, these organizations often have very different cultures, values, and norms that can further hinder successful postdisaster collaboration. The authors use data collected from interviews with nonprofit and church leaders involved in recovery efforts after a series of devastating storms impacted central Oklahoma in 2013 to understand how well nonprofit and church leaders perceive their organizations collaborated with each other and with government and emergency management agencies in response and recovery efforts. Interview data suggest that NPOs and churches without a primary or secondary mission of disaster response and recovery have a difficult time collaborating with organizations involved in existing emergency management structures. The authors suggest that nonprofits with a primary or secondary purpose in disaster response are a potential bridge between other nonprofits and emergency management agencies.

Author Biographies

Haley Murphy, PhD

Political Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Jason Pudlo, PhD Candidate

Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

References

Weisbrod BA: The Voluntary Nonprofit Sector: An Economic Analysis. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1977.

Robinson SE, Gerber BJ: A seat at the table for nondisaster organizations. Public Manag. 2007; 36(3): 4-7.

Comfort LK, Kapucu N: Inter-organizational coordination in extreme events: The World Trade Center attacks, September 11, 2001. Nat Hazards. 2006; 39(2): 309-327.

Kapucu N: Public-nonprofit partnerships for collective action in dynamic contexts of emergencies. Public Adm. 2006; 84(1): 205-220.

Kapucu N: Building community capacity to respond. Public Manag. 2007; 36(3): 21-25.

Comfort LK, Ko K, Zagorecki A: Coordination in rapidly evolving disaster response systems: The role of information. Am Behav Sci. 2004; 48(3): 295-313.

Auf der Heide E: Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination. St. Louis, MO: CV Mosby Company, 1989.

Moynihan DP: Learning under uncertainty: Networks in crisis management. Public Adm Rev. 2008; 68(2): 350-365.

Bertelli AM, Smith CR: Relational contracting and network management. J Public Adm Res Theor. 2009; 20(suppl 1): i21-i40.

Gulati R: Does familiarity breed trust? The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliances. Acad Manage J. 1995; 38(1): 85-112.

Kiefer JJ, Montjoy RS: Incrementalism before the storm: Network performance for the evacuation of New Orleans. Public Adm Rev. 2006; 66(suppl 1): 122-130.

Moynihan DP: The network governance of crisis response: Case studies of incident command systems. J Public Adm Res Theory. 2009; 19: 895-915.

Thornton PH, Ocasio W: Institutional logics and the historical contingency of power in organizations: Executive succession in the higher education publishing industry, 1958–1990. Am J Sociol. 1999; 105(3): 801-843.

DiMaggio PJ, Powell WW: The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. Am Sociol Rev. 1983; 48(2): 147-160.

DiMaggio PJ, Powell WW: Introduction. In Powell WW, DiMaggio PJ (eds.): The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1991: 1-40.

Ashworth R, Boyne G, Delbridge R: Escape from the Iron Cage? Organizational change and isomorphic pressures in the public sector. J Public Adm Res Theory. 2009;19(1): 165-187.

FEMA: National disaster recovery framework: Strengthening disaster recovery for the nation. Washington DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2011. Available at https://www.fema.gov/pdf/recoveryframework/ndrf.pdf. Accessed January 9, 2017.

Waugh WL: Terrorism and the all-hazards model. J Emerg Manag. 2005; 2(1): 8-10.

FEMA. National preparedness goal. Washington DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2011. Available at https://www.fema.gov/national-preparedness-goal. Accessed January 9, 2017.

Waugh WLJ, Streib G: Collaboration and leadership for effective emergency management. Public Adm Rev. 2006; 66: 131-140.

Tierney K: Recent developments in U.S. Homeland Security policies and their implications for the management of extreme events. In Rodríguez H, Quarantelli EL, Dynes RR (eds.): Handbook of Disaster Research. New York: Springer, 2006: 405-429.

Salamon LM: Of market failure, voluntary failure, and third-party government: Toward a theory of government-nonprofit relations in the modern welfare state. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Q. 1987; 16(1-2): 29-49.

Moulton S, Eckerd A: Preserving the publicness of the nonprofit sector resources, roles, and public values. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Q. 2012; 41(4): 656-685.

Putnam RD: Bowling alone: America's declining social capital. J Democracy. 1995; 6(1): 65-78.

Ammerman NT: Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and Their Partners. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2005.

Cnaan R: The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare. New York: NYU Press, 2002.

Smidt C, Kellstedt L, Guth J: The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. Oxford Handbooks Online, 2009. Available at https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=r8b1LJoWtgkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=smidt+kellstedt+guth&ots=211dCGFTpJ&sig=UFbR7tNyoUHBsygeW1YucpsUZF8. Accessed November 4, 2015.

Wald KD, Calhoun-Brown A: Religion and Politics in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Available at https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Jy8EAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=wald+calhoun-brown&ots=lUsu4FFAtd&sig=7hq9qCPfw1pQxUrKakIzbrQBy94. Accessed November 4, 2015.

Cnaan RA, Curtis DW: Religious congregations as voluntary associations: An overview. Nonprofit Voluntary Sector Q. 2013; 42(1): 7-33.

Chaves M: Denominations as dual structures: An organizational analysis. Sociol Relig. 1993; 54(2): 147-169.

Mao W, Zech C: Choices of organizational structures in religious organizations: A game theoretic approach. J Econ Behav Organ. 2002; 47(1): 55-70.

Ebaugh HR, Pipes PF, Chafetz JS, et al. Where's the religion? Distinguishing faith-based from secular social service agencies. J Sci Study Relig. 2003; 42(3): 411-426.

Alvesson M: Organizational culture: Meaning, discourse, and identity. In Ashkanasy NM, Wilderom CPM, Peterson MF (eds.): The Handbook of Organizational Culture and Climate. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2011: 11-28.

Jones GR: Organizational Theory, Design, and Change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2010. Available at http://sutlib2.sut.ac.th/sut_contents/H113085.pdf. Accessed July 16, 2016.

Fligstein N, McAdam D: A Theory of Fields. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Scott WR: Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1995.

NWS Norman: The Tornado outbreak of May 19, 2013. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2013. Available at http://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20130519. Accessed January 9, 2017.

NWS Norman: Fast facts for the Tornado outbreak of May 19, 2013. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014. Available at http://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20130519-fastfacts. Accessed January 9, 2017.

NWS Norman: The Tornado outbreak of May 20, 2013. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014. Available at https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20130520. Accessed January 9, 2017.

OEM: Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management—Situation update 7. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, 2013. Available at https://www.ok.gov/OEM/Emergencies_&_Disasters/2013/20130518_Severe_Weather_Events/20130524_Situation_Update_7.html. Accessed January 9, 2017.

OEM: OEM-FEMA release storm damage assessment totals. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, 2013. Available at https://www.ok.gov/OEM/Emergencies_&_Disasters/2013/20130518_Severe_Weather_Events/20130527_OEM,_FEMA_Release_Storm_Damage_Assessment_Totals.html. Accessed January 9, 2017.

NWS Norman: The May 31-June 1, 2013 tornado and flash flooding event. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014. Available at https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-20130531. Accessed January 9, 2017.

OEM: Disaster declaration amended to include May 28-June 2. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, 2013. Available at https://www.ok.gov/OEM/Emergencies_&_Disasters/2013/20130518_Severe_Weather_Events/20130612_Disaster_Declaration_Amended_to_Include_May_28-June_2.html. Accessed January 9, 2017.

Ellis B: Donations for Oklahoma top $20 million. CNN Money, 2013. Available at http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/24/pf/oklahomadonations/. Accessed January 9, 2017.

UMCOR: After Moore Tornado, volunteers urged to be patient. United Methodist Committee on Relief, 2013. Available at http://www.umcor.org/UMCOR/Resources/News-Stories/2013/May/0521-After-Moore-Tornado. Accessed February 15, 2014.

NewsOK: How to help tornado victims. NewsOk.com: The Daily Oklahoma. June 14, 2013. Available at http://newsok.com/how-tohelp-tornado-victims/article/3828009. Accessed February 15, 2014.

Noll MA: The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Cambridge, MA: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995.

Sherkat DE: Religion and survey non-response bias: Toward explaining the moral voter gap between surveys and voting. Sociol Relig. 2007; 68(1): 83-95.

Farrag H, Loskota B, Flory R: Faithful action: Working with religious groups in disaster planning, response, and recovery. Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California, 2012. Available at https://crcc.usc.edu/report/faithful-action-working-with-religious-groups-in-disaster-planning-response-and-recovery/. Accessed XXX.

Hull P, Bowen S, Buttress T, et al.: Heralding unheard voices: The role of faith-based organizations and nongovernmental organizations during disasters. Arlington, VA: Homeland Security Institute, 2006. Available at http://www.homelanddefense.org/downloads/Herald_Unheard_Voices.pdf. Accessed January 9, 2017.

Chaves M, Anderson S, Byassee J: American Congregations at the Beginning of the 21st Century. A Report from the National Congregation Study. Durham, NC: National Congregation Study, 2009: 13-14.

Agranoff R: Leveraging Networks: A Guide for Public Managers Working across Organizations. Washington DC: IBM Endowment for the Business of Government, 2003.

Feiock RC, Scholz JT: Self-organizing governance of institutional collective action dilemmas: An Overview. In Feick RC, Sholz JT (eds.): Self-Organizing Federalism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010: 3-32.

McGuire M: Collaborative public management: Assessing what we know and how we know it. Public Adm Rev. 2006; 66(suppl 1): 33-43.

Tompson T, Benz J, Agiesta J, et al.: Resilience in the wake of superstorm sandy. University of Chicago, The Associated Press- NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 2013. Available at http://www.apnorc.org/projects/Pages/resilience-in-the-wake-of-superstorm-sandy.aspx. Accessed December 2, 2014.

Lambert JD: The information-seeking habits of Baptist ministers. J Relig Theolog Inf. 2010; 9(1-2): 1-19.

Wicks DA: The information-seeking behavior of pastoral clergy: A study of the interaction of their work worlds and work roles. Libr Inf Sci Res. 1999; 21(2): 205-226.

Dankasa J: Information-seeking behavior of clergy: The research, the results, and the future. J Relig Theolog Inf. 2015; 14(1-2): 13-29.

Rowel R, Mercer L, Gichomo G: Role of pastors in disasters curriculum development project: Preparing faith-based leaders to be agents of safety. J Homeland Secur Emerg Manag. 2011;8(1): 1-10.

Riley R, Krautmann A: Managing disaster: 20 May 2013 central Oklahoma Tornado. Norman, OK: Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, 2016. Available at http://www.southernclimate.org/documents/May20Report.pdf. Accessed January 9, 2017.